Chapter 6
Channing
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
She’s trying to kill me. The moment she walked out of the bedroom in that fuck-me-ten-ways-to-next-Sunday dress, I knew I was toast. And believe me when I say this. I like to think I’m a gentleman who can be prided over some self-restraint every now and then. But one look at Cassidy, every bit went out the window.
The moment she returned to the villa, my phone pinged with a message from Brooks. I thought for sure it would be another threat, reminding me to keep my hands to myself, but the words that practically jumped out of the screen had me wondering if he knew this exact moment was about to happen.
Brooks: Go get her, tiger.
I try to chalk it up that he may have had one too many drinks. Or that Hayley may have stolen his phone to lead me astray from my promise to keep my hands to myself, but as if he’s reading my thoughts, my phone pings again.
Brooks: Yes, it’s me, you fucker. I’m giving you my blessing. But I’m warning you… you fucking hurt her, I’ll kick your ass.
I can’t help but chuckle at his messages. He’s changed since he chose to get tied down with Hayley. He’s happier. I can’t say it’s not something I wish I had, because deep down at one point, it had been everything I wanted. It’s what I was so close to. I can’t say that I haven’t thought about trying again because I have. But every time I think I’m ready to open my heart again, my mind has other plans.
Yet, part of me can’t help but wonder if Cassidy could be my Hayley. The person to change everything. I’ve regretted leaving her the way I did all those years ago. Our chemistry was off the charts. That was undeniable. Would she even be willing to give me another chance? I guess there’s only one way to know for sure, and if the dress she’s wearing right now is an indication, I would say yes, she is.
“Are you ready to go?” she says, staring at me with a tight smile. Her cheeks have reddened slightly from my perusal, but I can tell from how forced her smile is that she’s unsure of herself.
All I can do is nod. Yeah, a fucking head nod.
Idiot.
I hold the door for her as she walks ahead of me and by the sway of her hips, I know she’s rebuilt some of her confidence. I lift my head to the sky, saying a silent little prayer as I follow closely. God, her ass looks amazing in that dress. I can’t help but wonder what it would feel like to hold it in my hands again.
Stop it.
No more nonsense. Keep to the plan of being here for her as a friend. Nothing more. No matter what Brooks says. Cassidy and I could be combustible but destructible in the end. I know me. I’m the no-commitment type. The hit it and quit it guy. And no matter how much I want to dive in and give this thing a shot, I know it’s only a matter of time before I destroy her completely and myself in the process.
The host seats us at a little table overlooking the ocean. It’s a beautiful night. The sky’s clear, the hot day’s heat has died to a simmer, bringing a slight chill along with it. Waves crash along the shoreline. Oh fuck. Could this place get any more romantic? It’s like I’m in a fucking Nicholas Sparks novel right now.
I look up to see Cassidy staring at me, her brows furrowing slightly as she narrows her eyes in my direction. “You okay over there?”
“Never better,” I say, my voice rough. My mouth is suddenly dry from the heat of her gaze. Reaching across the table, I grab the glass of ice water already present and chug half of it.
“So…”
“So…” I counter as we continue to stare at one another.
She chuckles slightly before placing both arms on the tabletop, her breasts resting leisurely on top. I try not to stare, but the ample amount of cleavage being showcased is making it almost impossible. “There’s a lot of good up-and-coming rookies this season.”
“There are…” I say, trying to lighten the sexual tension lingering in the air.
“Some good-looking ones too.”
I choke on the sip of water I just took. My grip on the glass tightens as I harden my gaze at her. “What are you doing, Cassidy?” I ask as my voice voids from emotion.
She glances at her menu, flipping the pages as if it’s the most amazing thing, and she didn’t just drop a bomb that would ultimately get under my skin. “What am I doing? Nothing, just stating what every other single girl would be talking about. Hockey players are hot, and the rookie class is shaping up to be a good-looking batch this year.”
“Cass,” I warn, my tone sharp.
“What?” she counters, her eyebrows raising slightly. “I’m stating the obvious, Channing.”
I blow out a deep breath before pressing my lips into a firm line. “You’re sure that’s what you’re doing? Because it sounds like the comments you just made were to make me jealous.”
“Are you jealous, Channing?” she says, placing the menu down on the table. She narrows her eyes at me for a moment before a small smirk fills her gorgeous face. “There is no reason for me to make you jealous, Channing. You’ve made your feelings and stance known a long time ago. I read the message loud and clear that night.”
“Cass—” I start to say just as the server comes over, cutting the conversation off.
We order our meals and a few appetizers, and the server disappears as fast as they arrived, leaving us in an uncomfortable silence. Cassidy sips on her glass of red, her gaze sullen and somewhat bothered. Just like the morning I took off on her and called her a mistake. Just like the moment she showed up at the bar on her wedding day.
I’m an idiot.
I’ve mentioned that once before, right? Cause if I haven’t, I’m going to say it now. I’m an idiot. Confirmed, signed, sealed, and delivered right here for a fact on a silver platter. I don’t think I’ve ever realized how much the night we spent together stayed prominent in Cassidy’s mind. It’s one I’ve kept in my spank bank for lonely nights where my right hand has been my only form of fornication. She had been so cool with how things had played out with us and didn’t hesitate in the slightest when I suggested we only be friends. Fuck. I’ve been oblivious to how that night truly affected her all along.
“You know what,” I say, breaking the silence between us. “I am jealous. I’m jealous every time you talk about another man. I’m jealous because they can have you, and I can’t.”
She looks at me incredulously. “Why can’t you have me?”
Because I’m fucked up. “Because I’m not the guy you need in your life. I’m the hit it and quit it type. One who doesn’t do commitment. The one who refuses to settle down because doing so opens the door to feelings.”
“And Channing Halloway doesn’t have feelings?” She looks at me with a serious expression dawning on her gorgeous face.
I want to stand on the table in front of the entire restaurant and shout yes, I have feelings, and I want all that I’m feeling to be felt with her. Yet I can’t; I just shut down. Hoping that the server will come over here to interrupt this conversation.
“No. Feelings open your heart to being hurt,” I say, realizing relief wasn’t coming.
“I call bullshit on that,” she says, narrowing her eyes at me. “I’ve seen you have multiple flings with women. Hookups that last weeks, months. You can’t sit here and tell me that you hadn’t had any feelings for any of those women.”
“I didn’t.” That’s the truth. “They all knew the score when they decided to crawl into bed with me. They knew the risks. They knew I was in it for nothing but a good time. A way to keep my bed warm and not lonely.”
“Then why am I so different?” She raises her voice at me. Pissed at my revelation. “Why are they the exception to your hookup rule, but not me? Did you not think I was willing to accept the risks, that I would understand—”
Before I can process what’s happening, I find myself leaning across the table, gripping the back of her head, and pulling her mouth to mine. I kiss her deeply as her body, once tense, relaxes. She kisses me back with such intensity as I run my tongue along her bottom lip, urging her to open for me. I need to taste her, all of her, and I’m pretty sure the inappropriate moan that escapes from her gorgeous mouth says she needs to as well. Her lips are warm and sweet from her drink as she deepens the kiss, relaxing into my hold as we fight for dominance over one another.
God, I could get lost in her for hours. That’s the dangerous part.
Her hands move to my chest. Her grip tightens their hold as she pulls me closer. The warmth of her body against mine as her chest brushes against mine. My cock tightening as my arousal builds to an unbearable level.
The clearing of a throat has us springing apart from one another as the server sets down our appetizers. “Is there anything I can get you in the meantime while you wait for your meals?” The smug smirk of the server causes a sheen of red to coat Cassidy’s neck and cheeks.
I watch intently as Cassidy thanks the server, reassuring him we’re fine. Imagining those full lips opening, welcoming my swollen cock inside as she drops to her knees on the cold tile floor of our villa. Her fist tightening around the shaft as she works it all the way up to the crown. Her tongue spreading the bead of precum around the head before pulling it deep into the back of her throat.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath as my hands ball into tight fists under the table. Willing every ounce of self-control I have left to stay intact.
This is wrong. I put boundaries in place for a reason, but one taste of hers has pulled me right back into her. Like a drug. She is my addiction and no matter how wrong I know this is, it feels so fucking right.
“Channing,” Cassidy says breathless as she expertly averts her gaze from mine. “I’m sorry I lost control like that. It shouldn’t have happened. You’ve made yourself clear, and I shouldn’t have pushed.”
My hand reaches out instinctively, brushing gently under her chin, angling her head so she’s looking at me. Her short, blond hair blows gently in the wind as the light in her blue eyes turns to a smolder.
Regret, it’s one thing I won’t be doing this week. It’s one thing I won’t be letting her do this week.
We finish eating our meals in uncomfortable silence, and soon after, we decline dessert. The warm cool breeze carries us down the winding path back to our villa. The faint scent of vanilla and coconut teases my senses, reminding me of the night we spent together. Glancing at Cassidy, I take in her beauty, watching as she tugs her bottom lip between her teeth.
God, tasting her tonight was amazing.
“Do you ever think about that night?” she says, pulling me from my trance. Her eyes casting downward at the cobblestone pavement.
Of course, I’ve thought about that night we spent together. More than I’d like to admit. But how could I ever forget? She’d driven me wild for weeks when I first met her. Playing coy often. Acting as if my advances couldn’t have bothered her in the slightest. She had shot me down more times than I could count. Yet, the thrill of chasing her kept me coming back for more. Pushing her until she could no longer resist.
I thought distancing myself after that night would stop the want. The need. The lust for her.
It didn’t. It only made me want her more, making everything I had promised myself go to complete and utter shit. Her eyes catch mine as we face one another. The lust from dinner burning deep behind them.
I clutch my fists at my sides, trying to restrain myself from reaching out to her. Claiming what I want. But I know it’s useless. I need her like she needs me, and I won’t apologize or regret anything that will happen next.
No more running. I want Cassidy Reynolds, and it’s time I man the fuck up.
I watch as her chest falls and rises. Her breath quickens as her eyes darken a shade. “Fuck it,” I say, just as I reach out. My hands snake around her waist, pulling her body close to mine.
Perfection.
She fits perfectly against me like she was always made for me. She always had; I just fought it for so long. I bring my mouth to hers, my tongue rubbing along her bottom lip, begging for entry. Once she allows me inside, I suck her tongue into my mouth, silencing the light moan that escapes her lips. My hands stay firmly planted on her hips as she weaves her hands into my hair, gripping and pulling. Deepening the kiss causes the most animalistic groan to rumble deep in my chest.
“Fuck, Cassie. If I don’t get you inside soon, we’ll be giving the whole resort something to talk about,” I say, as I pull back, breaking the kiss slightly.
Her lips part slightly, her answer written all in the deep-blue depths of her eyes. My hands slide down her waist and grip beneath her ass, hoisting her up so her legs wrap tightly around my hips. I move swiftly toward the front door of the villa, struggling to twist the knob. I successfully open it before moving inside and kicking it closed.
Pressing her back against the entryway wall, I trace my lips over her cheek, trailing down the tip of her nose before working my way to her jaw and neck.
Teasing.
Tempting.
Savoring the moment, the taste of her once again.
Remembering just how good it feels to have her writhing beneath me.
Her head lulls to the side before her eyes widen as if realizing what we were doing. Pushing at my chest, I gently let her legs fall to the floor, but leave my hands pressed firmly to her hips.
“We should talk about this,” she says, trying to put some space between us.
But I’ll be damned if I do that again.
Pinning her to the wall with my hips so she can’t push me away, I lean forward, my teeth grazing the shell of her ear before nipping the lobe. Her breath hitches as she arches into me.
“Channing…” she says, on a breath as I move to kiss the sensitive spot behind her ear. “If we do this…”
“If we do this? Oh, we’re most definitely doing this,” I say, cutting her off.
“Yeah—” she moans out as I kiss along her jaw. “But for how long?”
Forever.
It’s on the tip of my tongue, yet I swallow it down, bringing her mouth back to mine in a searing, hot kiss. “As long as you’ll have me,” I say, before picking her back up and carrying her to the bedroom.
Lying her on the bed, I push her dress up till it’s bunched around her waist before sliding the barely there piece of fabric she calls underwear down her legs. “Beautiful,” I say, as I swipe my tongue between her thighs. “So wet, baby,” I say, my words murmured against her warm, slick heat.
“All for you,” she moans out as her back arches, pushing her need closer to my mouth. “Always for you.”
“Is that so?” I say, kissing my way up her body as she shudders from the touch. Her eyes catching mine, pausing time.
She is Cassidy, and I am Channing. We’re together. The night in the hotel room never happened, never separating us from the start.
The lust-filled gaze in her eyes is for me and me alone. Always has been there for me.
And having her splayed on the bed in paradise, like a feast, will always be for me.
“Yes—” Her words come out in a breathy moan as I take her pert nipple into my mouth, sucking and teasing the sensitive bud.
She pants and arches for me as I reach between us, adding one finger, then another. Her moans of me pushing her to the edge. Pumping, and sucking onto her clit as I move my mouth to meet her sweet nectar.
“Channing!” she moans, gasping and panting as she’s right on the edge of falling.
“Tell me what you need,” I say against her. My voice guttural and strained as I try to hang on myself.
“Channing, please,” she says, arching into my pump, fingers threading in my hair. “I.. I’m… I’m going to—”
Her words are cut short as she screams out my name. The walls of her pussy clenching around my fingers as I continue to pump them in and out of her wet heat. Sucking and biting her clit until she comes down from her high.
Slowly and agonizingly, I kiss my way back up her body, bringing her back to earth’s orbit as I seal my mouth to hers.
“So, greedy my good girl is,” I say, as her eyes finally open, meeting mine in a hooded gaze.
One only for me.
And I knew in that exact moment—heated, charged, yet relaxed—that I need this to last forever. A weeklong fling on vacation with her will never be enough.
Not even by a long shot.