Free Electric! by Ava McKnight

sucked in a breath.
    He rushed on. “You can forgive me for the hotel incident,
right?”
    “What’s to forgive?” she was quick to ask. “We weren’t
together, Chase. There was no indication of us being together. Just a lot of
innuendos and teasing. You didn’t cheat on me.”
    His jaw clenched briefly. “But I was thinking of you while I
was screwing some other woman.”
    Okay, this was getting complicated. As she’d known it would.
    “Don’t think like that.”
    “It doesn’t bother you?” he challenged.
    “How about I let it flatter me?”
    He reached over and twined his fingers with hers. “I hate
that I couldn’t hold out long enough for you.”
    “Chase.” Her insides coiled. “Why the hell is this your fault?”
    “I’m an asshole for wanting you, wanting you, wanting
you…then having sex with someone else.”
    “How can I take offense to that? Seriously, Chase.” Cassidy
realized the full extent of what she had going with this man—without having
really known it before. She raised their entwined hands to her chest and said,
“Tell me exactly what you want from me.”
    He stared deep into her eyes and—without hesitation—said,
“Everything.”
     

Chapter Four
     
    Chase watched Cassidy closely, as though he could actually
see the wheels churning in her head.
    Yeah, he might have gone too far this time.
    Conversely, he just might have pushed her to that make-or-break
point.
    “Say something,” he told her as he continued to study her.
She had an indefinable look on her face and clearly struggled with the
direction in which she might take.
    Yet she surprised him. “I want you to make love to me. And I
want you to ask me out on a real date. And I want you to just…give a gentle
shove to move me along, but continue to understand that I have issues. A career
I love.” She shook her head. “ Issues. ”
    He could sense the panic welling within her. But she’d laid
it on the line. He grinned.
    “This is a lot for you. I recognize that. And I appreciate
that you’re willing to talk about it, not just brush me off. Cass…” He leaned
toward her and kissed her. “I’ll be cool with whatever pace you need to take.”
    Her eyes clouded, telling him how unsure she was of the
course they plotted.
    “Cass.” He clasped her by the shoulders to steady her. He
could practically feel her anxiety attack coming on, he knew her that well.
“You can’t tell me that you don’t trust me.”
    She nodded.
    “And you can’t tell me that I’ve done anything to
fuck things up between us these past two years, aside from the one thing that I
deem inappropriate.”
    “You didn’t cheat on me,” she repeated.
    “I never will.”
    She sucked in a breath, let it out slowly. “I finally spark with someone, Chase. I finally feel normal. I finally feel
as though I’m not some freak anomaly out there that will forever float on her
own, never connecting with anyone. Can you imagine how wonderful that feels?”
    His lips swept over hers and he muttered, “We can do this,
Cass. We can make this work.”
    “Promise,” she insisted.
    He sensed her uncertainty, but when he stared deep into her
eyes, he saw her intense need to believe in something. To believe in them.
    “I won’t let you down. I swear it, Cassidy.”
    “I’m kind of panicking here.”
    He grinned, despite the intensity of the situation. “I won’t
be surprised if you experience a few more waves of apprehension. Big step we’re
taking. It didn’t exactly happen quickly—been two years in the making. And yet,
it is happening quickly. I swear, I saw you in the country club tonight and
could not fathom how I was going to play it cool with you.”
    She let out a soft laugh. “Come on. You always play it cool.
You’re that cocky football player everyone loves and I’m the geeky math club
girl.”
    His lips brushed over hers. “You’re cool enough to hang with
me.” He winked.
    She stared intently at him. “After all the effort