Resisting Cassidy (A Forbidden Romance)

Tate

I could count in one hand the number of regrets I've had in my life. I admit, opening the door wrapped in a towel wasn't the best idea. These days I'd found myself in a constant rush. Today wasn't an exception.

It wasn't the first time I'd opened the door nearly naked. But this was the first time I'd opened it to the sexiest woman I'd seen in a long while. The semi-hardness beginning to tent my towel was proof of that. I'd be embarrassed but according to my ex-wife, I have no shame. And newly single at my age, I couldn't afford to give two fucks.

"Hey," I said oh so coolly even though I felt like a dork in front of this beauty. She was young-er. A lot younger than my thirty-six years. I was sure she'd run off once she realized a man most likely twice her age was flirting with her. But then, her smile brightened, and as perverted minds went, mine began to undress her upon seeing that.

"Hey!" she greeted back, her smile reaching her eyes--widening them, turning her pupils into bright blues. She nibbled on the corner of her bottom lip, and as if she'd only noticed my half-naked state, she raked her gaze from my head, down and up again, and, God help me, she blushed. She quickly regained composure and the flush on her cheeks was gone as fast as it came. "Is this a bad time to come?"

You can come whenever you want, sweetheart, my dirty mind suggested, but all I said was, "Not at all." Hell, she could be selling life insurance I didn't need and I'd still welcome her. I said a silent prayer she wasn't here to sell me Girl Scout cookies.

"Jason told me about the job this morning. I didn't want to miss the opportunity," she said as though it was enough explanation why she was standing in front of me.

I had to clear the sex-focused cobwebs in my brain and make sense of why she was at my doorstep. "Jason?" Any second now...if only I could stop staring at the delicate lines of her swan neck. "Jason," I repeated.

"Yes, Jason." She giggled then, a sweet and sexy sound. "Don't you remember me, Tate? I'm Cassidy Peters...Jason's sister."

There it was. The instant boner-repellant.

"Fuck," I murmured despite not wanting to say it out loud at all. "Coral?"

I received a haughty eye-roll and pursed lips. "Only my family calls me that," she said it like I'd stepped on her toes. She continued with a cheerier tone, " I use my middle name now. Cassidy."

"Ah."

Cassidy tilted her head to one side and offered me a timid smile -- a look enough to tell me she was indeed nearly half my age. "I can come back later when you're not--" She looked me up and down again, cleared her throat as her gaze stayed a bit longer on my crotch. "You're not too busy?"

Pinching the bridge of my nose to try and clear my head, I managed to say, "No, right now is perfect. Come on in. Let me get dressed quickly."

She took a small step back. "Are you sure?"

No. "Yes, of course." I opened the door wider and stepped aside, waving a hand toward the sectional seating. "Make yourself at home."

She took a tentative step forward, threw a side glance at me, and probably wondering if it was safe to go in, and not be attacked by a man nearly twice her age, walked right into my living room.

"Drink? Coffee? Tea? Milk?" Yeah, I offered her milk. I might not have any shame, but I was rusty when it came to entertaining women. But I couldn't think of Cassidy as a woman. Jason and her five other brothers would have my balls on a stick if they found out.

Thankfully, Cassidy laughed. "Just water is fine. Ice if you have it. It's a scorcher out there."

"Hmmm..." Just then, I followed a droplet of sweat along the side of her cheek all the way down to the top of her collarbone. She was wearing a simple t-shirt and denim shorts, which displayed long tanned legs. Damn. I walked-ran to the hallway toward my bedroom with my stiffening cock between my legs, so to speak.

Damn Damn damn. The last time I saw Cassidy she had braces on and pigtails. And I was still allowed to call her Coral. She had been the annoying little girl who'd liked to hang out with her brothers and their friends--which included me. Being best friends with one of her brothers, I was practically one of the family and I'd treated her like a pesky mosquito. That was nearly two decades ago, before I left Bar Harbor for college, for a more prestigious life as a future doctor.

I thought of that once upon a dream life as I hurriedly dried off the rest of my body and dressed in a cotton shirt and jeans. I scoffed at my younger self for thinking I would have a perfect life, with the perfect career and a perfect wife. I was naive then. Just as naive as Cassidy was probably now, thinking this was the perfect situation.

I did, too, after talking with Jason on the phone two days ago, whining about the situation I found myself in. I didn't think much of it until now.

I almost wished she'd knocked on the wrong door.

Once my dick calmed, I padded to the kitchen, grabbed Cassidy an iced water and took a shot of bourbon for courage to turn her down. I didn't usually find myself in this kind of situation. I had been too busy climbing the career ladder. Apparently too busy to realize how much my ex-wife had been cheating on me with various men. And yet, she had the gall to call me shameless.

Returning to the living room, I offered her the glass. "So you're off for the summer?"

Cassidy nodded before taking a sip of the cold water. She tilted her head back slightly, exposing her neck and the underside of her jaw. What I would do to lick that smooth skin...
I groaned inwardly, wiping a hand over my face as I sat opposite her.

She set the glass on the coffee table. "More like...in-between careers. Jay said you need a sitter."

"More than a sitter. I need a live-in nanny."

"Oh."

"Yeah... I'll be working insane hours at the hospital. My daughter Maddy will be spending this summer with me. She's five." She nodded again, her gaze on the sweating glass on the table. "I need someone here 24/7 since I'll be doing a few nights too." Maybe this would dissuade her and I wouldn't have to turn her down after all.

"Jay didn't tell me that." Cassidy leaned forward, resting an elbow on one knee and reaching for the glass with her other hand. The action offered me the perfect view of her cleavage, the edge of her lace bra peeking out of the V of her shirt.

Leaning back, I crossed a leg over my other knee, to give me some sort of boundary and hopefully, keep her from noticing the bulge forming again in my jeans. This was going to be harder than I thought, in more ways than one.

She slid a finger down the side of the glass. Instead of taking another sip, she took that same finger to her mouth and slipped it between her lips. I about had a heart attack on the spot. Then she tapped her finger on her slightly parted lips. When she looked back at me, her eyes were wide, sure, certain, as though she'd just concluded to a final decision.

"Okay," she said, quietly.

"Okay what?" I leaned forward, still focusing on the finger on her lips.

"Okay, I'll take the job."

That was when I realized I was screwed, and not in the best way.

***
Author's Note: Hope you liked this first chapter. Comments are appreciated.

I use Scott Foley as inspiration for Tate. He's much older in real life but he's yummy.