Page 39 of Due Diligence

She looked away from me and began to poke absentmindedly at her discarded cup on the bar. “I’ll get it from the data room on Monday.”

I wasn’t expecting her to say that, so when she made the offer I immediately frowned. “What about the sanctity of the room and the security principles?”

“Fuck it,” was her response. She raised her shoulder again. “Right?”

“Right…Thanks, Cassie.”

Cassie glanced up as the bartender passed by us. She paused, lips folded over like she was tempted to order another round.

“Are you going to make me drink if I want to ask you something?” I inquired. “Not going to lie, I pre-gamed back at my apartment, so I’m dancing on the thin line between drunk and sloppy.”

“Depends on the question.”

“Why’d your parents cut you off?”

Immediately, Cassie started to shake her head. “Hell no,” she commented, before she faced the bartender. “Another round here.”

“You’re serious?”

Cassie didn’t respond. She simply kept her eyes on the bartender, who poured us two more beers and handed them to her.

She passed me a beer and I paused, expecting her to count us up to another chugging contest. But to my surprise, she faced me, drank the entire beer in a gulp, and hopped off her stool. I was left alone at the bar, beer in hand, watching as she melded into the crowd on the dancefloor. Gone.

I felt like I had to scoop my jaw off the floor when she left. It was partially due to the alcohol: I wasn’t as sharp as I usually was, so it took me a few seconds to comprehend that she had basically dismissed me—and let me buy myself a beer as her parting gift. It was also partially due to utter disbelief at how disappointed I was that she left me.

Bewildered, I looked over at the bartender, who was leaning back against the wall behind the bar, arms folded. He snickered, raising an eyebrow as he watched me.

“That happen a lot?” I asked, nodding my head towards the dancefloor.

“With her? All the time,” he confirmed.

For some reason, that didn’t faze me. Instead, I rose from my seat and took out my wallet. I dropped a couple of twenties on the bar, grossly overpaying. I was too buzzed to care. I raised my chin in the direction of the bartender, who gave me a salute as I headed towards the crowd.

The hard pulse of bass hit me, reverberating through my chest. There was a faint cloud of smoke above me. It was a mix of cigarette and pot and vape pens lingering over the moving bodies in the crowd. I stepped right into the cloud, inhaling the haze. Now that I was in the fray, a hand landed on me immediately, firm on my shoulder. I was face to face with yet another gorgeous woman. This one had long black hair and was wearing a tight dress that left nothing to the imagination. She pressed her body against me, chewing on her lower lip as she coaxed me to dance with her.

For the second time tonight, I politely declined. This woman was painfully tempting, but she wasn’t the one I wanted. Tonight was a monumental night for me. Tonight, I was going to make up for lost time. The motto of the evening:Fuck PR, fuck the contracts, and fuck common sense. If I was going to put it all on the line, it wasn’t going to be for a random stranger, no matter how hot she may have been.

No. Tonight, I was going to put it all on the line so I could fuck the girl who nearly broke me ten years ago.

As I pushed deeper into the crowd, Cassie wasn’t hard to find. She was the blond one drawing eyes from more than a few guys as she moved with both arms over her head. She flipped herponytail side to side as she danced, mouthing along with the words. I’d never seen her so loose—sofree. Even back in college, I never saw her out at night, dancing alone like this. Back then she was still pearl earrings and polite nods when inebriated lacrosse players would hit on her. I didn’t even think Cassie ten years ago would have spoken to Cassie today—the Cassie I was watching.

I elbowed my way through the crowd until I was just a few feet away from her. My beer sloshed over the rim of my plastic cup, wetting my hand. I chugged it sloppily before I pitched it to the side, never taking my eyes off her. Adrenaline coursed in me, mounting as I watched the ebb and flow of her hips. Her skirt shifted higher with every move, revealing mind-blowing legs.

She was right in front of me, so close I could smell that familiar scent of sweet florals. Her body was inches away. Moving, turning, twisting. I could see the dip in her spine, shimmering with the soft hints of light and sweat. It beckoned to me, relentless like a siren’s song. The urge to trace that dip, to run my fingertips all the way from her waistband and up that column so I could touch her until my fingers reached the clasp of her bra was nearly overpowering. But I spent six years exercising restraint ineverythingI did.

Fuck PR, fuck the contracts, and fuck common sense.

I placed my hand on her ribcage. For the first time, her warm skin met mine. Fuck, she was soft. And I could feel the twist of her abdomen as she continued to dance, unbothered by or oblivious to my touch. My body lit up, fueled by the newfound connection to hers. I wanted more of her. In that moment, she was the only thing I wanted.

Keeping my hand on her bare skin, I moved closer so her back was flush against my chest. I shifted my hand to her front, now splaying it flat along her abdomen. This was blatant. Intimate. She couldn’t mistake what my intentions were. And still, shedidn’t turn around to face me. Instead, she arched her back against me, colliding the globes of her ass against my hardening cock.

Want surged in me, washing over my body. She was temptation embodied, unlocking urges I had suppressed for years. Ideas collided in my head, ideas of what I wanted to do with her. To her. It didn’t just start and end with fucking her. I wanted to suck every curve on her and grind my body on hers, rutting against her bucking hips. I wanted to lose track of where I ended and she began. I wanted to claim her—and I wanted her to take all of me. My body. My hands. My cock. She could own me freely if she wanted.

Cassie’s hand rose to rest on top of mine, fixing it tight against her stomach. Locking me against her. Letting me feel her flesh. Her other hand passed over her shoulder, landing along the back of my neck. She was tangling us together, increasing the connection points between our bodies. Sharply, she tugged my head forward, bringing my cheek against hers.

Good girl.

She wanted me, so she was taking me—but like hell was I going to let her drive.

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