Real Challenge (Atlanta #2) by Kemmie Michaels Read Free Book Online

gestured for the waiter. He gave his credit card and looked at her questioningly while he waited for the slip to sign.
    “Just wait,” she said mischievously. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
    He just rolled his eyes at her and pulled her back against the seat again, but he smiled when her hand went right back to that spot on his thigh.  
    He signed the bill when the waiter brought the small leather binder back to the table and helped Cassie out of the booth. He followed her out of the restaurant and kept his hand at the small of her back all the way to the valet. She loved the feel of warmth from his hand through her dress. The late evening air was a bit colder and she shuddered a quick chill without meaning to. She felt Scott pull her backward into his arms and held his hands around her abdomen.  
    “Are you using the weather as an excuse to hold on to me? You cad,” she said.
    “Yes, blatantly. I planned the weather and your outfit so I could spend thirty-two seconds holding you before they brought the car,” he grinned, obviously loving this opportunity to throw her attitude right back at her. “You caught me.”  
    When the valet brought the car back, Cassie quickly ducked out of his arms and walked to the driver’s side door to get behind the wheel. Scott stared dumbfounded as she hopped into the his seat and shut the door. She opened the passenger window and said innocently, “Aren’t you coming?”

    Scott shook his head and laughed as he hopped in the passenger side of his own car and watched her adjust the driver’s seat and mirrors. The valet smirked at them as they drove off. Scott couldn’t believe his date was driving him who knows where in his own car. This was not like any date he’d ever had. He knew he had impressed her with the restaurant, but not because of the cost of the place.  
    Again, she proved herself unique. Most dates wanted the attention, the princess treatment. He was usually well rewarded. But Cassie seemed to loved the originality of the place, not the cost. She appreciated life for an entirely different set of criteria than anyone else he knew. Her energy consumed him, and because she was driving, he could let himself focus on her completely…and those tightly-covered legs under that little fringy dress.  
    Night had fallen completely by the time Cassie drove back along the state route toward Atlanta. However, when they got close to the suburbs, she took a side road that led to the middle of nowhere. She drove them past the suburbs and into the rural area beyond. She turned a few more times down some backwoods roads before finally pulling into a little gravel driveway and up to an old barn.
    “Where the…what is this place?” Scott asked, completely amused by the puzzle sitting next to him.  
    “It’s an abandoned old barn that belongs to a friend from work. Well, actually her grandparents, but they don’t use it anymore. We come out here to talk and relax. The electricity is still hooked up, so it’s kind of cozy. There’s a space heater in the fort we built. It’s one of those infra-red ones so we don’t burn the place down. She lets me come here whenever I need a get-away.”
    “You built a fort??” he laughed out loud at Cassie. There was nothing but energy and surprises from her. She was bigger than life. She reached for his hand once they left the car. He loved the feel of her touching him. Her fingers offered more of that same energy, injected directly into his hand. He couldn’t get enough, and he only planned on getting more.  
    He was confident he would have her. He had yet to be outright rejected after an evening like this one. His thoughts of getting her naked were interrupted by her boisterous response to the question he almost forgot he asked.
    “Of course we built a fort! Jenna laughed at first, too, but it was practically a requirement with all the straw bales sitting around. It took both of us several visits to haul those bales where we