A/N: Hello peoples! So I have now moved to the UK, hence why this took a while (and if anyone is following Lily, a new chapter will be out in the new year, promise)

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed :) there are probably mistakes through this, but I'm suffering with jet lag, and I've been working on it since 4am.

Anyways, on with the show!

Cassandra and Jake had been sent on the food run, opting to take the slower path and drive instead of use the Back Door. There was a Thai restaurant close to Cassie's apartment that Baird loved, and Jake was more inclined to go there than have another pizza like the Australian wanted. Cassie had laughed at Jake's attempt at the Australian cadence - his annoyance at not getting his beloved pizza - and he returned it, his eyes crinkled at the sides when she knew it was a true smile, with something else glimmering in his eyes. She pushed it away, and looked out the window, trying to calm herself. She would not dwell on these feelings again.

Jake practically parked out the front of her apartment, so she decided to run home and grab a book she needed to return to the Library on quantum mechanics. Had she known she was going to run into that particular neighbour, Cassie would have chosen a pizza place in Italy to go to.

Mark was a nice guy, curly brown hair, wore glasses, rather tall; but he wasn't what she wanted and he was rather persistent which was getting annoying. Cassie noticed him noticing her outside her building and he quickened his pace, making a beeline for her.

'Jake, kiss me,' she said desperately before she could stop herself.

'W-what?' It spluttered out of his mouth in shock.

They hadn't talked about the kiss since it happened; hadn't had anymore either, and that was a travesty. She had dreamt about it occasionally, remembered every detail about it and him. He made her heart pound and it was difficult to be around him for a short while after it happened, especially since nothing more came of it. It was only a five minute deal, saving him from that receptionist, but it felt right in every way. It was a kind of hell knowing what something felt like and not being able to get there again. Things had only just started getting back to normal for her, too, she didn't feel awkward every time she was around him and now she was asking to go back to the awkwardness.

Regardless of what most people saw: the innocent, sweet, defenceless Cassandra, she didn't wallow, didn't let it show. And she had sworn to herself over and over - and not even five minutes ago- that she would keep a lid on those feelings. This would certainly make them all come rushing back, swallowing her like a dam breaking.

She turned to Jake, talking at warp speed, 'The guy that's walking towards us, glasses, messy brown hair, he's my neighbour, he wanted to date me, I said no, that I had a boyfriend, he obviously didn't believe me and won't leave me alone.' she said in one breath.

Jake wasted precious seconds looking between her and the guy getting closer with every quick step. She was getting more and more frustrated by Jake's stationary frame.

Until he finally moved, placing an arm around her waist, and pulling her close. Her heart stuttered with excitement as he curled a strand of hair behind her ear and whispered to her.

'I don't have to kiss you, you know. I could wait until he comes over and introduce myself as your boyfriend. That would be the polite thing to do.'

Of course, he would say that, Jacob Stone was nothing if not a polite Southern gentleman, for once it disappointed her. Her heart dropped and it must have showed on her face, because his lips twitched, oddly happy at her sadness. He traced his thumb along the corner of her mouth. 'But it's not as fun as this-' he pressed his lips against hers and she was giddy.

Her arms went around his neck and she giggled into him. She could feel the smile on his lips as he kissed her, felt the heat and the passion that said it was more than a friendly kiss.

Jake broke away from her lips, but didn't move away from her body. Cassie took the opportunity to look for Mark - he should have been right next to them now by the speed he was walking. But he was nowhere to be seen.

Cassandra grinned. It had worked.

'He's gone,' She said turning back to Jake and her smile fell. He hadn't stopped looking at her since their lips had separated. She gulped at the raw emotion written over his face. He should have moved away from her, but he still had hold of her waist with no intention of letting her go.

'Good,' Jake said sternly, cupping her cheek and bringing his lips to hers again. Her blood ran hot as he kissed her deeply, making her tingle from head to toe. Scientifically speaking, she knew romance and love were chemical processes that happened in the body, a drive that made humans come together and reproduce; a biological, subconscious need that couldn't be stopped. But Jake made her question that; made her believe in soul mates and 'meant to be's, because kissing him, touching him was not something she had ever experienced with another human before.

They broke apart a few times, to smile or take in the moment, but neither dared move from each other's breaths for fear of shattering it. She could feel his smile as it met hers, and each kiss got a little more heated than the last.

'Cassie,' he murmured on her lips. That breathy, rough sound of his voice made her stomach twist erotically and would haunt her dreams in the best kind of way.

She hummed as she dove back into him, kissing him hungrily. He pulled her waist closer to his body, responding with the same vigor.

Until his phone started to blare in his pocket. They both groaned at the same time, lips still connected. Cassie pulled away first, but not before Jake pulled her back for one last soft kiss. They smiled at each other, trying to forget the annoying ring of his phone.

Jake kept a hand at her waist while the other dug in his pocket. He scowled at the phone before answering.

'Hello? Yes, we're coming back now. No we did not get sidetracked, Jones! Get your mind out of the gutter!' His thumb tapped the screen violently and put it in his back pocket.

Cassie bit her lip nervously. 'He's not that wrong,' she told him quietly.

The annoyance seeped away from his features as he turned back to her, replaced with a cheeky grin. 'He doesn't need to know it, though.'

The didn't speak for a while, through her mind did start going into overdrive, analysing how many breaths he took, the soft throb of the vein at his neck to calculate his blood pressure, the dilation of his pupils - all of which meant he had been aroused. She saw red, but a nice kind of red, the one that made roses beautiful. The colour of passion. Red was one. She saw images of Jake smiling at her, felt all of his touches; saw the chemical construction of serotonin and how it affected the brain-

'Cass. Cassie, come back to me,' he murmured gently, softly pulling on her fingers, lacing them through his to tether her back to reality.

'Usually I talk you through them, what did you see?'

That I turned you on, she thought to herself. She didn't answer, simply ran her thumb along his lip, removing the shine of lip gloss she put there. 'You, um, have something-'

The look in his eyes made her stop and lose focus. Need. That kind of look had not been directed at her in a very long time.

In that moment, she decided not to run away from those feelings, but let her heart revel. Cassie pushed up on her tippy toes, and kissed him gently, lingering only a few seconds before pulling away. It was different this time, needy in a different way, with so much emotion in that small moment. He kissed her back just as gently, his lips only giving the slightest pressure against hers and she swore she had never been touched so reverently in all of her life.

Jake's eyes stayed closed momentarily as she pulled away, a smile lingering on his lips, a smile she saw on him when he looked at a fine piece of artwork or a beautifully constructed building; the things he loved.

'We better get going, Cass,' Jake's rough whisper broke through the moment. 'Before they think we took a detour upstairs.'

'We could, you know,' she said with a smirk, her libido taking control of her mouth.

'Don't tempt me, darlin',' he said dangerously, his voice still rough and heady. It sent a shiver down her spine and heat pooled in her belly. 'But I want a bit more than just ten minutes rough n' tumble, to map out every inch of you.'

Cassie gulped at the intensity in his voice, and wished they weren't on a schedule.

'Now, we better move before I change my mind and carry you upstairs.' He said, pulling on her hand as he dragged her away.

'You know we need to go back there to get the car, right?' She said cheekily.

A/N: one more chapter to go! reviews give me a happy!