Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

February 2 nd

6:29 P.M.

With one minute to go, Cassie felt like her heart was almost ready to hammer its way right out of her chest.

How did people do this?

Dating seemed so simple. You went out somewhere fun, grabbed a meal, talked and laughed, and maybe—hopefully—made out afterward. There should be nothing this terrifying about it. She shouldn't have sweaty palms, a racing pulse, and a gigantic knot of anxiety sitting in her stomach.

And she already knew Luis.

She'd known him for almost a month now, and they'd spent the last few days literally together every second. He'd been living in her apartment, and they'd shared their secrets, fears, and insecurities. He knew she was a virgin, and she knew he was carrying around a weight of guilt over his brother almost dying. They'd even gone out and shared a meal already.

There was nothing to be nervous about.

Still, as silly as it seemed to her, apparently, this was normal. To be expected. First dates, especially when you really liked the person, were often anxiety-inducing experiences. Or at least at first.

They were supposed to get better.

Things were supposed to get easier.

Right now, Cassie couldn't seem to believe that would happen.

Already, she'd darted back into the bathroom a dozen times to check and recheck her makeup. It was a lot more than she usually wore, but it wasn't so much that she didn't still look like her. Same with her outfit. The clothes were a mixture of things that belonged to her friends, and while they made her not look quite like herself, she looked enough like herself not to be self-conscious.

While she thought she looked good, Lucy's knee-high white boots, paired with Ella's short black skirt, and a pretty pink blouse of Scarlett's that was a brighter shade than she would usually wear, showed off her long limbs and soft curves without giving too much away, she was worried about what Luis would think.

Did she measure up to Violet the sexy temptress?

Did she look like she was out of Luis' league?

Should she wear something more revealing?

Something tighter, more skin-hugging?

Should she have done something different with her hair?

She'd left it loose, adding soft curls, letting it tumble down her back in a mass of chocolate brown waves. But maybe she should have styled it in a way that looked like she'd put in more effort, the last thing she wanted to do was make Luis think she didn't care enough.

Right at six-thirty on the dot, there was a knock on her door.

There was no more time to check her appearance or worry that she didn't look good enough and should have gone with another option.

It was time.

Maybe once the date actually started, she could stop worrying about it. Because if she was going to worry about it all night, it wasn't going to make for a fun evening. And by the time it was over and he took her back to his place, she doubted she'd have any energy left to make love to Luis.

Which was a whole set of other anxieties she wasn't inviting into her mind right now.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to relax. If she didn't, she really was going to ruin the night.

"There's nothing to stress about. It's only Luis," she whispered aloud as she wiped her hands on her skirt.

As little as the words did to reassure herself, there was no time for anything else, so she opened the door and sucked in a breath as she took in the delicious sight standing in her doorway.

Dressed in black jeans and a black button-down shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders and chiseled chest, Luis looked so good she just wanted to rip his clothes off and run her tongue over every inch of his rock-hard body.

By the time her gaze finished eating him alive and moved back up to connect with his, she found the same hunger she felt reflected back at her.

"Maybe we should just stay here, order in," she said, surprised by the husky quality of her voice.

Fire burned so brightly in Luis' dark eyes that she was sure he was going to agree, but then he shook himself and held out the bouquet of pink roses, nestled in pink tissue paper and tied up with pink ribbon in her absolute favorite shade. He'd also noted her obsession with Lindt Lindor chocolates because dotted throughout the roses were little pretend flowers with the chocolates as the center.

It was perfect.

"These are for you," Luis said, a small thread of uncertainty in his tone that actually helped her to relax.

It helped to know that he was every bit as nervous as she was about this whole dating thing. Just because he was experienced with women didn't mean he was experienced with dating. Neither of them was, but they were in this together, and Cassie was positive that she was overthinking things.

This was only stressful if she made it that way.

No more.

She was going to calm down and live in the moment. That was what people with lives did wasn't it? Not everybody lived in their head and at work all day, every day, because they thought anything else was frivolous and wasteful.

"They're gorgeous," she said with a shy smile as she took the bouquet. "And delicious. How did you know the strawberry-filled ones were my favorite?"

"Because I pay attention to the details. All about the details, princess," he said with a wicked smile that made her body tingle and she had to press her thighs together as a rush of heat pooled low in her belly.

"You're sure you don't want to stay here?" Cassie asked, wondering how she was supposed to get through the next few hours when all she could think about was how amazing it was going to be when she and Luis fell into bed together.

Luis threw his head back and laughed. "Much as I'd love to, I promised you a night out and that's what you're going to get. Although that outfit of yours does have me second-guessing that decision."

Her face fell and doubt assailed her. "You don't like it?"

"Princess, I like it too much, that's the problem. Because every single guy there isn't going to be able to take his eyes off you."

Cassie blushed. "I don't care about other guys, the only one I care about is you."

"Ditto, princess. Only woman I've ever had eyes for."

That turned out to be true.

After helping her into her coat, he held her hand as they headed down to his car, opened her door for her like he always did, and filled the drive to the restaurant with small talk, sharing funny stories about things that had happened to him and his team.

By the time they arrived at the restaurant, and he once again took her hand as they walked inside, Cassie was beginning to relax. There was a moment when they walked inside, and the head of almost every woman there turned to stare at her man, and she was drowning in doubts again.

But Luis was true to his word.

He didn't even glance at a single one of them.

Turned out, he really did only have eyes for her. Not just that, he couldn't seem to get enough of touching her. As soon as his hand released its hold on hers, it settled on the small of her back, guiding her to a table in the back of the restaurant. It was a lively place, and as they looked through the menus, music playing around them, chatter and laughter from the other patrons, he took every excuse he could to brush his fingertips across her hand or smooth his knuckles across her cheek.

Not that she was complaining, because she couldn't get enough of him touching her either.

The more they talked, the more he seemed to ignore the rest of the world like it didn't exist, and the more all her anxieties faded away.

What was there to be nervous about?

Luis couldn't take his eyes off her. He talked to her like he wanted to share everything with her, all about his life, the good and the bad. Talking with him was so easy, and she shared just as much with him, random things she'd enjoyed studying over the years, and some of the places she'd visited with her parents.

As anxiety faded her desire only grew.

Those little touches weren't enough.

She needed more.

So much more.

Since she knew there was no way he was taking her home until after they ate, he had this determination to make the date perfect, Cassie knew there was only one way she was going to get more of his touch.

"Dance with me?" she asked, eyeing the dance floor.

There was no hesitation in his answer. He just smiled at her indulgently, then stood and held out his hand.

When she took it, he guided her to the space by the bar where a few other couples were dancing. His arms wrapped around her waist, and he drew her close against his body as they began to sway in time to the music.

It was the most delicious form of torture, being surrounded by Luis' scent, flush against his hard body, unable to not notice the bulge pressing against her stomach, so close to him but unable to get anything more than this.

Not even knowing there was a mole at Prey, bombs set across the city, and someone wanting to sell the Reactivator could steal this moment of joy. And when Luis' head dipped, touching a kiss to the top of her head and then nuzzling at her neck, Cassie felt like she had died and gone to heaven.

February 2 nd

7:10 P.M.

This was the moment Luis knew.

The woman tucked close against his body, a dreamy sigh falling from her lips every few seconds, and holding onto him like he had stepped right out of her dreams, had the potential to own him, mind, body, and soul.

If he let her.

It was now or never.

Time to make his choice.

With the ten-year age gap between them, and Cassie only just allowing herself the freedom to explore her feelings, her desires, and her sexuality, there was every chance that in a few weeks or months, she'd want to spread her wings and fly. Try dating other people, want to try sex with others to compare, sow her wild oats, and do all the things she hadn't gotten to do when she was younger because she was too stuck in her parents' plan for her life.

Could he move forward knowing the risks?

Was he prepared to let her spread those clipped wings of hers and fly? To wait for her to come back to him, and fight for her if he had to?

All these years, it had been about keeping others out, never letting anyone get too close, and shutting down things before feelings could develop. But now it had changed. Now it was about accepting there were already feelings, and even if he wanted them to grow, the other person might be the one in the driver's seat this time around, the one who might do the shutting down.

Was it worth the risk?

Was Cassie worth protecting himself from pain that might not ever come?

Was it worth giving up what could be an amazing life because it might not work out?

Her head turned, and she touched her lips to his jaw in a soft kiss. "Thank you. For being here, for being with me. I've never felt this sense of … belonging … before," she whispered. There was amazement in her voice, as well as a sense of peace that he was also feeling.

Like they belonged together.

Like they were two puzzle pieces that had just clicked into place.

All of a sudden, those what-ifs didn't feel as important. Not when he was holding this woman. Not when he knew for certain he would fight for her with everything he had if it turned out she needed to experience more of the world before she could fully commit. Not when he knew he would tear the mole at Prey apart, limb by limb, if they ever came near Cassie again.

"Thank you for seeing something in me nobody else ever has," he whispered back. Cassie had looked past his shields, his playboy attitude, his insecurities that had made him lash out, and just seen him. The real him. The one that would exist if his dad had stuck around, and his mom had been a real mother, and he'd gotten help for his dyslexia before it destroyed his self-esteem.

When she was in his arms, he felt free.

Movement by their table caught his attention and he reluctantly pulled back a little. He had only agreed to dance because it was what Cassie wanted to do, but now, he'd much rather be here with her in his arms, swaying to the music, because holding her was right where he wanted to be.

But he'd promised her the perfect date and that meant feeding her.

"Waitress is bringing us our food," he told her.

She looked every bit as disappointed as he felt when he touched his hand to the small of her back and guided her off the small dance floor and back to their table. For tonight, he'd chosen a more casual location since he'd already taken her out to a fancy restaurant. He could have done that again, but he thought they'd both be more relaxed here and he wanted this night to be fun. He wanted to be able to touch her whenever he wanted and stare at her without stuffy diners getting in his way.

As they headed for their table, he caught sight of who was sitting at all the tables around them and immediately rolled his eyes.

Sure, he'd known that somebody would be watching them tonight in case the mole tried anything, he just hadn't expected it to be an entire SEAL team and their wives.

Blake "Rocco" Wise and his wife Caite, Decker "Gumby" Kincade and his wife Sidney, Beckett "Ace" Morgan and his wife Piper, Mark "Bubba" Wright and his wife Zoey, Cole "Rex" Kingston and his wife Avery, and Forest "Phantom" Dalton and his wife Kalee all sat at tables forming a ring around the one he and Cassie had been seated at.

"Nice moves," Rocco teased as they passed his table.

"Yeah, don't think I've ever seen you dance like that," Ace added with a smirk.

"Shh, don't tease him," Piper rebuked her husband, swatting at his arm. "I think it's so sweet how he was dancing with her, the way he was looking at her. When's the last time you took me out dancing?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"Hey, we've got five kids at home, time is a thing of the past," Ace countered.

"So just because we have a big family, which was exactly what you wanted by the way," Piper reminded Ace, "I don't get to go dancing?"

Holding up his hands in surrender, Ace grinned at his wife. "Okay, okay, as soon as the lovebirds stop undressing each other with their eyes and sit down to eat, I'll take my best girl out to the dance floor."

"We weren't undressing each other with our eyes, were we?" Cassie turned huge, mortified eyes on him as red stained her cheeks.

"Course we weren't," he assured her, shooting daggers at Ace. Teasing him and trying to embarrass him was one thing, but he wouldn't let Cassie get caught up in her head which she would absolutely do if she thought she was doing something she shouldn't.

"You totally were," Avery piped up, "but don't worry, Cass, that's exactly what you're supposed to do on a first date."

The mortification faded from her gaze as she looked over to Avery and smiled. "Oh, okay. Well, I guess it doesn't matter then."

"Only matters to Luis since he's going to have the worst case of?—"

"Don't finish that sentence," he warned Gumby, tossing a glower the man's way. Inexperienced as she was, he didn't want Cassie getting any more embarrassed than she already was because these goons couldn't keep their mouths shut and their jokes to themselves. He knew they meant it all good-naturedly. They teased because they cared, and Rocco and his team had been helping Prey with this mess for as long as his team had been. They were all good guys, and they would do anything to keep Cassie and Athena Team safe, but while they might have guessed, they didn't know Cassie and just how inexperienced she was, and he was protective of her.

"Why? What's the end of the sentence?" Cassie asked, glancing around at all of them with a confused expression, looking for someone to answer her. Only his glare was enough to keep them all silent.

"Come on, our meal's getting cold," he said, guiding her over to their table, and throwing one last warning frown over his shoulder to the guys and their wives. "Sorry about them," he grumbled as he pulled out Cassie's chair for her.

"It's okay, they just want to make sure we're safe," she assured him, gifting him with one of her sweet, shy smiles.

"It's like having a date with an audience," he muttered. Having the guys and their wives watching his every move meant he couldn't try anything risky, like touching his girl beneath the table, but then again, he probably wouldn't have done that tonight. Since this was all new to Cassie, he wanted to make sure he did everything right and gave her everything she deserved.

Her giggle was like magic, and he relaxed, letting go of his annoyance at having an audience. "Yeah, it kind of is, but having them there makes me feel less nervous. They all managed to overcome the odds to wind up happy. They didn't let anything hold them back. Not terrorists, not plane crashes, not even first-date nerves. If they could do it, then we can do it, too."

She said it with such confidence that he no longer cared about the guys being there. If it made Cassie feel better, calmer, more relaxed, he was all for it. Besides, once he took her back to his place for the night, there would be no audience, it would just be the two of them, and he could spend all the time he wanted exploring her body and teaching her all about sex.

Then they were going to spend the rest of their lives learning about love and life, overcoming two vastly different childhoods but one that had led them to the same place where they felt they didn't have room in their lives for a partner.

Now that he was all in with Cassie, he wasn't going to let anything get in his way, so the mole better pray he never got his hands on them, because if they tried to hurt his woman, he was going to destroy them.