Chapter Thirty-Three
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C assie waited until Gavin left her alone in the kitchen, took another moment to gather herself, then joined the others. Walking into the living room, she felt off-balance. And, if she was being honest, overwhelmed.
Her mind was cluttered with dozens of thoughts and general anxiety, and now that cryptic answer Gavin had given her, after the comment about anyone else getting stabbed for taking food from Tristan’s plate.
She’d noticed months ago that Tristan had certain almost compulsive behaviors with food, and apparently his family knew it too. At least Gavin did.
She watched him talk with his siblings, his warm, easy smile telling her just how relaxed he was at the moment. How secure he was in their love and support. God help her, she was starting to feel that same way with him.
“You doing okay?” Bristol asked quietly, coming up beside her.
“Yeah. Just tired still, I think.”
Her stepsister rubbed her arm. “I’ll bet. You think it was your ex last night?”
“Yes.” She tucked her arms around her ribcage. Rob couldn’t have gone far. With him at the top of the suspect list, she couldn’t see him trying to get on a flight and risk getting flagged. She’d bet he was still somewhere in the area. “I’m hoping they can verify it was him and get a location.”
Ivy was right. Rob was desperate. And unpredictable. If he’d tried to burn her house down around her, then wait to shoot at her and Tristan when they came out, there was no telling what he’d do next.
“You should be safe in here though, right?” Bristol asked worriedly.
Cassie understood. Bristol had been kidnapped from a condo while waiting for protection to arrive.
“Perfectly. This building is ten times more secure than the one you were in.” She fell silent again, watching Tristan laugh at something Carly said.
“It’s ridiculously adorable, watching those two together.
Makes my dusty old uterus cramp.” She’d never considered herself all that maternal, but maybe she’d been wrong.
Bristol snorted a laugh. “Dusty my butt. He’s great, though, Cass. I mean... really great.”
Cassie could feel Bristol watching her. Could feel her stepsister’s curiosity and concern. “Yeah, he is.” But her heart still quaked in fear. She’d already taken a giant leap of faith with him. There was too much shit going on for her to even think about going deeper.
She thought of what Gavin had just told her. She never wanted to hurt Tristan. He’d proven again and again that he was different than Rob and all the others. The question was, did she have the courage to risk opening herself up for the worst pain of her life if things ended between them?
“Excuse me a minute,” she said quietly to Bristol, and slipped down the hall to Tristan’s bedroom.
She walked past the wide, king-size bed dominating the far wall, the sheets still rumpled. In the en suite, she shut the door, stripped, and quickly took a hot shower. The scent of his shampoo and soap wrapped around her, calming her, and feeling clean again helped bolster her mental clarity.
After toweling off and brushing her teeth, she put Tristan’s shirt back on and started buttoning it. A single knock on the door was her only warning before it opened. Her heart fluttered when Tristan stepped inside.
He shut the door behind him slowly, his gaze moving over her with pure male appreciation, lingering on her bare thighs exposed below the hem of the shirt. “You okay?”
“Better now. Did everyone leave?” She didn’t think she’d taken that long, only a few minutes.
“No, but they’re heading out soon. I think they’re waiting to say goodbye, but if you’d rather not, I’ll just tell them you went back to sleep.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll—”
He cupped her cheek in his big, warm hand, those gorgeous green eyes searching hers. “How’re you doin’? For real.”
Oh, that sweet concern in his honeyed Southern accent. “Best I can.”
He nodded. “Anything I can do to help make it better?”
“You’re already doing it.”
Her pulse thudded hard in her throat. He was so big.
So close. So insanely sexy, she couldn’t think straight.
Her life was in tatters, her ex was trying to kill her, and she was falling way too hard and fast for this man in front of her.
Tristan had snuck into her heart when she hadn’t been looking, and every day he took more of it.
He drew her to him and lowered his mouth to hers. Cassie met him eagerly, a hot surge of desire flooding her system. He was addictive. She wanted more of him. So much more, wanted to lose herself in him and forget everything else.
His hand slid up the back of her bare thigh and over the curve of her rear, waking millions of sensitive nerve endings. At her little sigh, he ended the kiss, gave her a knee-melting grin before turning her around to face the mirror and pulling her back flush against the front of his body.
He bent his head. Nudged the edge of the open collar aside to nuzzle a sensitive spot on the side of her neck. Meanwhile, one hand remained on her hip, the heat of it sinking through the hem of the shirt.
The other slid down to curve around the front of her bare thigh. He moved it up slowly to disappear beneath the hem of the shirt, curling around the inside of her thigh to stop inches from where she was already wet and throbbing.
Cassie caught her breath, her focus narrowing to the erotic image of them in the mirror.
The dim lighting spilling from the shower behind them illuminated the side of his face.
The edge of his hand, his fingers as they stroked over the soft, hypersensitive skin of her inner thigh.
Her clit throbbed, her core squeezing around the empty ache inside her.
He raised his head. Met her eyes in the mirror.
Her throat went dry. “Your family,” she managed to whisper. If they didn’t come out of the bedroom soon together, everyone would know what they were doing in here. “They’re waiting for us. We can’t—”
“We can. And we’re going to. At least...you are.” The hand on her inner thigh eased a fraction higher. His other one reached up to undo the top button of the shirt.
At the feel of his big, warm hand cupping her breast, she lost the will to protest. It was impossible to think at all as he teased her nipple, dragging a gasp from her and making her come up on her toes.
His other hand shifted to cup between her legs. She pressed her lips together, stifling a moan.
“You’re so wet.” His low tone was full of approval as he dragged his tongue up the side of her neck, making her shiver.
She was. Couldn’t help it. Her body was starving for his touch, and everything was heightened with him. His quiet, controlled power was an aphrodisiac she had never experienced before.
He continued to play with her nipple as he teased her. “Cass.”
“Y-yes?”
“How turned on do you need to be to come from penetration?”
Oh, shit, he couldn’t be a dirty talker too. Her brain couldn’t handle it. “Very.”
“Hmm.” His fingers slid up her wet folds to tease her clit, wrenching a gasp from her. “How much more do you think it would take right now?” His hand shifted. Fingers teased her opening. Light strokes. Too light to give her what she craved.
“I...”
“This much more?” He teased her opening again, the heated look in his eyes telling her he knew her body’s secret and was looking forward to exploiting it here and now.
She started to shake her head. Or nod, she wasn’t sure.
“No?” he murmured, staring hungrily back at her in the mirror as his teasing fingers drove her to the edge of madness. A slick caress along the edge of her clit. A bit more pressure below.
She reached one arm up to hook around the back of his neck and gripped the edge of the counter with her free hand, her body clamoring for release. “Yes,” she whispered, praying he wouldn’t stop.
Her stare locked on the hand between her thighs. She watched him push two fingers into her, the pads sliding over exactly the right spot with firm, devastating precision.
Her inner walls tightened around him, pure pleasure streaking through her. And it only amplified with every deliberate, knowing stroke, the occasional glide of his thumb along her aching clit.
“Oh God, don’t stop,” she demanded breathlessly, past caring whether Bristol and his family knew what they were doing in here. She needed more. Needed the release he was pushing her toward.
Her eyes squeezed shut, the exquisite pleasure too sharp to bear.
She could feel him watching her as the tension built and built. She dug her fingers into the back of his neck, bit down on her lips just in time to silence a whimper. The fingers playing with her nipple tightened slightly, rolling it, the rhythm of his other hand reducing her to mindless need.
Jesus .
She pressed her lips together to muffle the cry as her orgasm started. It rolled through her in powerful waves that brought her up onto her toes and made her legs quiver. Tristan’s arms held her upright, his hands prolonging the pleasure, dragging it out while she trembled and fought for breath.
“So pretty, Cass,” he murmured against her temple, the admiration and praise in his voice hitting that soft, unguarded place inside her.
Slowly the pleasure eased, gradually fading into little aftershocks. His arms were the only things holding her up when she came back to earth. When she found the strength to open her eyes again, his gorgeous green gaze smoldered with heat and satisfaction in the mirror.
Now that her brain was functioning again, she could feel the thick, hard length of his erection pressed against her rear. But when she turned to face him and reached down to grip him through his jeans, he covered her hand and growled against her mouth. “Later.”
“Why not now?” She wanted to get on her knees right here and return the favor.
He groaned and nipped her lower lip, reaching under the hem of the shirt to squeeze her butt. She could feel the dampness of his fingers on her skin. “Because I plan on taking my time with you this time. So as soon as everyone leaves, I’m taking you back to bed.”
Her abdomen clenched, toes curling at the thought of him lingering over her that way. “When did you say they’re leaving?”
His grin made her heart flutter. “If they stay more than another ten minutes, I’ll tell them to get lost.” He squeezed her hip, washed his hands in the sink, and gave her one last tender kiss that left her swooning.
“Autumn brought you some clothes. I put the bag on the bed.” He gave her a heated look.
“The sooner you get dressed and come say goodbye, the sooner they’ll leave. ”