Chapter 8
EIGHT
HATTIE
“Turn around,” Casper says, one hand on his cock, the other still cupping the side of my face. “It might hurt, but I’ll make sure you’re comfortable.”
A shiver pebbles my skin. I should be cold, but instead I only feel the warmth coming from him. From his body, from the orgasm I’m still coming down from.
My eyes widen. “You want to do it…here?” I ask, breathless.
Casper chuckles under his breath, gaze flickering to the road. We’re still completely alone, though I don’t know how long that’ll last.
“Yeah,” he replies after a moment, eyes meeting mine again. “Right here, shortcake.”
This time when I shiver, it’s not from the cold—or the way his eyes darken. It’s from the thought of what might happen if we get caught out here…doing this.
Casper strokes his dick between us; I allow myself the chance to take him in. Veins line the length of his shaft, which bulge with each pump of his hand. I swallow, wetness growing between my legs.
The thought of being caught disappears from my mind when his lips brush mine. “We go at your pace, shortcake,” he murmurs against my mouth.
I shudder, desperate for another kiss. But he pulls back before I can get it.
Maybe I’m not just desperate for a kiss. Maybe I’m desperate for what it would feel like to be with Casper Sterling.
Chewing my lip, I turn and bare myself for him. Casper makes a sound in the back of his throat, one that goes right through me with how feral it sounds.
“You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to do this,” he says, dragging the head of his cock through the folds of my pussy. He nudges my swollen clit, making me gasp from how tender it already feels. “Are you ready for me, Hattie?”
When he stops at my opening, I release a shaky breath. “Yes,” I say. “I’m ready.”
I’ve always been ready for Casper Sterling. But I had no idea he wanted me, too.
“Good.” With that, he pushes inside me slowly. I feel every inch of him as he stretches me around his girth. Casper groans, hands moving to my hips.
I bite down on the brief pain that comes with his invasion. It burns until he’s fully seated inside me, and it takes me a few moments of deep breaths to push through the pain to what feels like pleasure.
Casper’s thumbs draw soothing circles on my hips as he leans into me. “You doing okay there, shortcake?”
I feel my pussy clench around him from the change in angle. “Yes,” I gasp, eyes squeezing shut. “It feels…good now.”
He says nothing as he pulls away, cock sliding out of me. “I’m going to make sure this feels good for you. Trust me.”
I trust you, I reply internally as he starts stroking my insides with gentle, slow thrusts.
His hips hit mine, pushing me into the hood of the truck, but all I can feel is him.
The touch of his fingers as they circle my waist to brush my clit sends shocks of pleasure through me, more than I thought possible.
I become a mess of sensations that are all entirely new to me, both physically and emotionally. In the back of my mind, I know Casper is talking me through it, his voice soft, but I’m lost to the feelings that arise.
The insecurities I had earlier are forgotten, leaving me trapped in the now.
And right now, Casper is fucking me into my second orgasm.
It builds much slower than the last time, but it flutters in my belly, the walls of my pussy clenching around him after each thrust in.
“That’s it,” he coos, movements becoming harder, voice tense. “I know you’re close. I want you to come on my cock. We’re going to come together, and you’re going to milk me of my cum like a good girl.”
I gasp when it strikes; his fingers work me over the edge, the swell of his cock as he joins me in the aftermath overwhelming.
My orgasm explodes in a rush of wetness, a sound I don’t recognise falling from my lips.
Even Casper cries out, my name heavy on his tongue as heat rushes through me from him.
I slump into the hood of the truck, chest heaving with panting breaths. Casper’s arms wind around me, providing me a level of comfort that makes my belly flutter in a different way.
He kisses the side of my throat before resting his head on my shoulder. “You doing okay, shortcake?” he asks, heart pounding against his back. I can’t actually tell if it’s his heartbeat I feel or my own. Maybe both.
My skin prickles with a shiver, partly from the cold, and partly because of what we’d done. “Yeah,” I reply slowly. I feel myself clench around him, a dull ache following the movement. But it also hits me that we just had unprotected sex. “Casper…are you—?”
“Have I been tested?” he asks, pulling away slightly. My cheeks burn from the embarrassment of letting this happen without a prior conversation.
Casper cups one of my cheeks and guides my face so I meet his stare over my shoulder. “This might be a bit mortifying to admit,” he says quietly, face inching towards mine, “but I haven’t touched anyone until you.”
I swallow hard, eyes widening. I take in the pink flush of his cheeks, the brightness of his eyes. I used to pride myself on being able to tell when the Sterling twins were lying. Mama Sterling used to call me her own little lie detector because of it.
So, for a moment I doubt myself. Could he be lying? But why would he? What does he gain from this, unless it’s my trust?
And yet, the longer I stare at him, the more I’m certain he isn’t. “I thought you and Stella…” I trail off, voice catching in my throat.
Casper’s eyes darken as he shakes his head. “Never,” he swears. “And after you left, I decided it just wasn’t right for me.”
A lump forms in my throat at the sincerity of his words. I always thought he and Stella went all the way. At least, that’s how she made it out to seem. Maybe I don’t know as much about their relationship as I thought I did. And maybe I’m finally ready to put that behind me…for him.
The inn’s shower is too small for the both of us to share, but for the first time in years, I feel…light.
Casper watches me from the doorway in nothing but his jeans while I shower, arms folded over his chest and a smile—soft, easy, and happy—curving his lips.
As he leans against the door jamb, I get a view of all the hard lines of his body.
This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him shirtless, but it is the first time since we were teenagers.
Before, he’d been scrawny in the way teenage boys who lived on farms were. There’d been a hint of muscle, but for the most part he’d been skin and bone.
But now…now he’s all muscle. It lines his chest and arms, making him seem much broader and larger than I remembered. There’s even some hair on his chest, which never used to be a turn on for me.
And now, he’s seeing me for exactly what I am, too. There’s no part of me hesitant or insecure about letting him see me naked.
The smile on his face seems to grow. “What?” I ask, ducking my head under the water.
From the corner of my eye, I watch him shake his head. “Nothing, shortcake,” he replies, raising his voice so I can see him. “Just admiring the view.”
I don’t need to see him to feel the weight of his eyes skim my body. My skin prickles despite the heat of the water, and it takes everything in me not to melt into a puddle.
Slowly, I turn the water off and step out of the shower. Steam billows out behind me, but my sights are set on Casper. He straightens, arms falling to his sides as he openly takes me in, hunger burning in his darkened eyes. And I let him drink his fill. Let him really see every part of me.
Casper makes a sound in the back of his throat and takes a step into the bathroom. His eyes burn with lust, jeans bulging with an erection. I press my thighs together despite the ache between them, nipples pebbling under his heated gaze.
“Fuck, I really don’t deserve you,” he murmurs, fully entering the bathroom and my space. I tilt my head to meet his stare, chewing my bottom lip as he cups my cheek. “I don’t even know if this is a good enough reason to stay here in Willow Ridge, especially when you deserve better.”
I swallow hard past the lump in my throat, the burn of tears behind my eyes making it hard for me to focus on his words. “You want me to stay with you?” I ask quietly, heart pounding.
He bows his head, lips brushing mine. “Yeah, shortcake, I do,” he whispers. “And I know that’s not fair to ask, but think about it.”
It might not be fair, but it is tempting. He might be the only reason I want to stay. My heart says yes, and my mind…my mind isn’t so torn anymore. It’s ready to let the dream of being his become a reality.