Free Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice by Abigail Reynolds

shuddered and then with a soft cry of fulfilled pleasure, she went limp in his arms.
       He could definitely grow used to this. He took advantage of her slow recovery to prove himself perfectly capable of carrying her into shore. She laughed when he set her on her feet on the beach.
       "This is a little clichéd, don't you think?" she asked him.
       "Clichés are about the last thing on my mind at the moment." He reached down and handed her towel to her before walking off to find his own. Next time, he'd make sure the towels were together. He didn't like being even this far away from her. When he came back, she was toweling her hair dry unself-consciously, her body completely exposed to his appreciative eyes.
       Cassie looked up to see Calder's eyes moving up and down her form. Her blush was hidden in the darkness, but she couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. He was no doubt accustomed to women with bodies toned and shaped by sessions with personal trainers, and while she had no great complaints about her body, she doubted it could be held to the same standards. She wondered why she even cared what he thought. After all, he obviously found her attractive enough for a temporary amusement, which was all there could ever be between them.
       She threw her clothes on quickly, uncomfortable with the situation. She could no longer make out the other two, and she didn't want to spend any more time standing around with Calder than she had to.
       "Do you think we should wait for Scott and Erin?" she asked.
       He shook his head. "They can take care of themselves, and I doubt they want company at the moment."
       They walked back through the marsh without speaking. Cassie grew more anxious as they went, wondering what kind of expectations he would have of her now. Obviously a real relationship wasn't a consideration under the circumstances. Would he expect her to be willing to sleep with him again? Would he expect her to make demands? Or was this never to be mentioned again? She wasn't looking forward to sorting it out. By the time they reached the car, Cassie was intensely nervous about what would happen next, and almost wishing she had a little more experience with the etiquette for casual sex.
       She wrung her hair out again with her towel before entering the car. He was already in the driver's seat when she got in. "Sorry," she said with as much cheerfulness as she could muster. "I don't want to get salt water all over your nice car."
       "Don't worry about it." He paused with his hand on the key. "Would you like to come back to the house?"
       He wasn't going to just let it go, so it was up to her to extricate herself. "I have to be at the lab early, so I really should go home."
       He busied himself with starting the car and finding the way out to the road. "You'll have to show me the way," he said with a sidelong look at her.
       "Of course." She directed him quietly to the cluster of cottages reserved for MBL researchers, reminding herself the whole time of all the reasons why any kind of continuing connection with Calder Westing was asking for trouble.
       He pulled up in front of her cottage, but before she could say anything, he leaned over and kissed her slowly and lingeringly. As soon as she felt his lips on hers, her resolve began to weaken. Her mind might have been made up to have nothing further to do with him, but her body was still frighteningly ready to respond to his touch. She damned herself for being so susceptible to this brand of persuasion, even as desire began to flow through her once again. His hand came up to cup her breast.
       Without planning it, she found herself saying, "Would you like to come in?"
       He gave her a slow, devastating smile. "I thought you'd never ask."

Chapter 5

    CASSIE AWOKE EARLY THE next morning to the pleasant sensation of a warm male body against hers, his leg pinning hers to the bed and his hand curled around her