Lose Control by Donina Lynn

for a moment and smiled again. “Are you sure you haven’t been talking to my
mother? That’s the same tone she uses whenever she reminds me I’m not getting
any younger, and I should be latching on to someone and running down the aisle
as fast I can.” She shrugged. “I’m not against marriage. I just don’t think
it’s the right thing for me right now. Maybe someday down the road, I’ll find
the right guy. Someone who can handle me the way I want to be handled and believes
marriage shouldn’t be about settling down into something that is dull and routine.
It should be about finding the excitement, together, in life and in love. But,
that’s just my opinion. How about you? Ever get close to tying the knot?”
    The odd sense of
relief he felt by her answer was quickly replaced by an uneasiness that settled
in his gut at the conversation being turned to him. He didn’t want to talk
about how he was to blame for destroying the only relationship he’d ever had. The
guilt he’d placed and carried on his shoulders was enough to bear. Telling
Cassie and having the sparkle in her eyes be replaced by distaste and
disappointment when she looked at him would be too much. That would break him,
and breaking wasn’t an option. Remaining in control was.
    “Once. Didn’t
work out,” he said in a clipped tone, hoping she would take the hint and let
the subject drop.
    “If you don’t
mind me asking…why? I can’t imagine any woman not jumping at the chance of being
with you. You’re sexy, honest, amazing in bed, thoughtful, and nice. What’s not
to like?”
    That was the
second time Myles had heard Cassie use that word to describe him. And just like
the first, she couldn’t be more wrong. “I’m not nice, Cassie. I’m the furthest
thing from it. I would think what I did to you would show you of all the things
I am…nice is not one of them.”
    “Why would say
that? How can you even think that? If this is because of the mark on my hip,
you need to get over it. I told you it wasn’t a big deal and it’s not. In fact,
if you give me a chance, I will show you exactly how much I want you to do it
again.”
    Myles warily
watched as Cassie began to inch her way across the hot tub. If she got any
closer, if she got within arm’s reach, he wasn’t sure if he could resist the
temptation to touch, to taste, to fuck her senseless. Crossing his arms over
his chest, he gave her the same stern and displeased look that made most of his
employees scatter and run in the opposite direction when they saw it. If it
worked on them…   “Cassie. What are you
doing?”
    Not even the
least bit intimated, she slipped closer until she was directly in front of him
and answered, “Proving to you that you don’t scare me.”
    Maybe he should
be the one afraid, because her fingers, bold and sure, began creeping up the
inside of his thighs. Myles closed his eyes against the sensual feeling and
tried to breathe as she inched higher. He knew he should push her away. His
brain was screaming at him to do so, but his cock had other plans as it
hardened even more in anticipation of her touch. Instead of her fisting him
like he was envisioning, though, what he felt was loss when she suddenly
removed her hands.
    Myles opened his
eyes, wondering what she was up to, why she’d stopped. The air caught in his
lungs when he got his answer. Cassie was positioning herself to straddle his
lap. His body tensed, bracing for when she made contact, and when she settled onto
his arousal, he hissed out her name in both relief and warning as his hands shot
to grasp her hips. If she moved even a little, wiggled that ass against him in
the slightest, the fine line he was walking between trying to do the right
thing and taking what the hell he wanted was going to break. There was only so
much he was going to be able to endure, and Cassie was damn close to pushing that
limit.
    “Myles, do you
know why I didn’t stop you last night?” Not waiting for his