Chapter 30
Chapter
Thirty
“Oh my god,that man sure does clean up well,” Gemma whispered to her, as the two of them watched Presley climb out of the Beast and walk over to the dance hall.
Cassie’s heart pounded against her chest. It had been two weeks since she’d come home, and they’d spent most of their free time together – with Delilah. On Sunday they’d gone to church together and then to dinner with his family, and Delilah had been her little shadow.
They’d agreed that they should still live apart for a while. Get Delilah used to having Cassie around before they decided what to do next. But it felt like they were traveling the journey together – one that would end with them all living together.
It was exciting and comforting all at once. She loved it.
“Hi.” He smiled at them both as he walked through the door. “You ready?”
“Yes. But where are we going?” she asked him. He’d asked if he could pick her up right from work, since it was her late night. She’d managed to finish her class and jump in the shower before he’d arrived.
He’d told her to dress casually, but that was such a man-type instruction. What did that mean anyway? Jeans? Sweats? In the end, she’d chosen a little dress embroidered with flowers, plus some cowboy boots and a denim jacket.
And now she was glad she’d made an effort, because her man was looking fine. He must have stopped at home from the new renovation he was working on over in the next town, because he’d changed out of his work jeans and engineer boots into a pair of dark navy pants and a blue shirt, that brought out the color of his eyes. His hair, like hers, was damp.
They both worked jobs that required energy. And a shower in the evening. She liked that he’d dressed up for her.
“Yeah, where are you going?” Gemma asked, grinning at him. “We’ve been trying to guess all day.”
“What did you come up with?”
“Well, if it was me I’d be suggesting you go straight home to Cassie’s and christen every room. But you two have the patience of a saint.”
His eyes met Cassie’s and he grinned, because alone time was a precious commodity. That was one of the things about being a single dad. You came as a package.
One she loved desperately.
But this alone time together, they both needed it. Date night. They’d agreed to do it once a week starting tonight.
“Tempting as that sounds, I’d like to feed her first,” he smiled. “I’m not a complete animal.”
“Just a partial one,” Cassie said, biting down a smile. Because there was that one time last week when things got the better of them, and they’d slipped outside and some things got done when Delilah was asleep.
Specifically her. She got done. So good her thighs were still clenching thinking about it.
In some ways, it was like she’d never left for New York. Gemma had welcomed her back with open arms, and after a couple of days she’d rediscovered her groove with her classes, much to the pleasure of her students.
And she’d called Alex. Who’d begrudgingly said that she’d done the right thing in coming home. They were due to play at a bar in a couple of weeks, but everybody was clear that this was all the band would ever be.
Just a bit of fun. A hobby. Marley had laughed and told them he didn’t want it any other way. Alex had asked if he could keep posting TikToks.
And yeah, they were all okay with that.
She’d even called her mom. Told her where she was living now. And yes, her mom hadn’t seemed very interested but for the first time in her life it hadn’t hurt when she hung up with her. There was an acceptance there. Her mom would never be involved in her life.
But she’d found her family. Her home. With the Hartson’s. Maddie was as excited to have a new woman in the family as Cassie was to be there. They’d already made a date to go to a spa in a few weeks time.
She smiled at the thought of it.
“What’s got you grinning?” Presley asked.
“Just thinking about your mom.”
Gemma laughed out loud. “Is that the most unromantic sentence in history, or what?”
“Shut up. I like Presley’s mom.” Cassie shook her head, grinning.
“Yeah, but try not to think about her tonight, okay?”
Presley groaned. “Can we stop talking about my mom, please?”
“You started it,” Cassie pointed out. “You’re the one who asked what I was smiling about.”
“I take it back,” he said, deadpan. “Let’s not think of any family members tonight.
“We can try,” she agreed.
They said goodbye to Gemma, and then they walked over to the Beast. Pres had promised to drive her to work in the morning, since she wouldn’t have her car at home.
And of course he opened the door for her, because he was definitely half-gentleman half-animal.
Like a minotaur. But better looking.
She smiled to herself again.
“I’m not asking this time,” he said, climbing into the driver’s seat.
“You can ask. No family members are involved.”
He tipped his head to the side. “What are you thinking about?”
“That you’re an enigma. A gentleman when clothed and a beast in bed.”
He blew out a mouthful of air, his face flushing. “Okay then.”
She grinned. “You did ask.”
“I love that movie,” Cassie said, smiling, as Presley pulled out of the drive-in theater. They’d had a prime spot on the parking lot, mostly because his uncle and aunt owned the theater and he’d called ahead to reserve it.
He’d made a picnic for them that they’d eaten on the flatbed of the truck while they waited for the movie to start. And of course half the town had walked over to say hi to them, in an attempt to get all the gossip on her being back in Hartson’s Creek.
She’d half-expected Presley to be annoyed about it, but he’d actually been smiling at people, laughing and joking.
She felt like she’d found yet another side to this man who seemed to have a thousand facets. The friendly, laid-back side. She hadn’t seen it before. But some of the people who’d known him for years hadn’t been fazed at all.
She wondered if he’d hidden that side after Jade died.
Whatever it was, she liked it almost as much as the gentleman and the animal.
Though she’d always have the softest spot for the animal.
The credits were rolling, and Pres leaned forward to switch off the digital radio station they’d tuned to for the movie audio. Her heart did a little clench because only Presley Hartson would have noticed that as part of an eighties revival festival, Flashdance was playing at the drive-in.
He’d never seen it before. And yeah, it was cheesy and so very old-fashioned with the steel mill and the welding, but he’d held her tight while they watched it.
And reminded her that he still wanted to rip a leotard off her.
Next date night, she was going to make that happen.
“Where are we going?” she asked, when he took a left instead of a right out of the theater.
“We’ve got one more hour before curfew,” he told her. “I promised Delilah I’d be home by midnight.”
One of his neighbors’ teenagers was babysitting. It was another first, him being able to trust somebody other than family with his daughter.
Not that he hadn’t been checking his phone every half an hour. But she liked that.
Liked that he’d always put his daughter first.
“We could go back to my place,” she suggested. Because she did have a leotard in mind.
“We could. Or we could go here.” He turned up a dirt path. The Beast’s suspension started to rise and fall with the dips in the dirt, making her lift up and down with it.
“What’s here?”
“Nothing,” he grunted. “That’s the point.”
They’d reached the end of the road. Ahead of them was a gate that led to a forest. She assumed it was an access road.
“Did you just bring me to the local make out spot?” she asked him.
He gave her a wicked grin. “Very possibly.”
“Even though we’re both grown adults and we have our own homes where we could get undressed without half the local wildlife watching?”
“We can’t go to my place, and it’d take too long to get to yours,” he told her.
“It takes ten minutes.”
His eyes met hers. “As I said, too long. Now are you coming here or what?”
She looked at the space between him and the steering wheel. “It looks kind of cozy.”
“That’s the plan.” He was still looking at her as he reached his arm down and sprung the seat backward. Then he was helping her scramble on top of him until she was straddling his long, muscled legs, her arms wrapped around his neck.
“Hi,” she said softly.
“Hi.” He brushed his lips against hers. “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”
“Yes, but I’m happy for you to do it again.”
His lips curled. “You’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Actions speak louder than words,” she told him.
And it was like she’d said the magic words. Because he was kissing her like his life depended on it, his hands feathering over her body, his fingers tracing the soft skin of her thighs, then moving up to her hips, pulling her down on him.
Leaving her in no doubt of how gorgeous he thought she was.
Their kiss deepened, and she realized how much she needed this. The animal in him.
Her beast.
He tipped her head back, grazing his teeth across her throat, then dipped his head to the top of her chest, kissing it, before reaching around to unzip it at the back.
“Bet you’re glad I wore a dress now,” she said breathlessly, as he cupped the weight of her breasts through her bra.
“Very, very glad.”
“Note to Presley. Don’t say casual when you mean fuckable.”
He grinned at her. “Noted.”
“Thank you.”
Her bra was next to come off. His mouth captured her nipple and the pleasure of it made her body arch. Too far, because she hit the horn on the steering wheel making them both jump.
“Jesus.” He shook his head. “You want to wake everybody up?”
“There’s nobody here.” She looked around. “Is there?”
He laughed. “No, luckily for us. How often have you made out in a car anyway?”
“I grew up in New York City. Nobody had a car.”
He lifted a brow.
“In that case, welcome to your first lesson in being a small town girlfriend.”
The next few moments were a scramble of mouths and fingers. Unfastening zippers, pulling down panties. And when he finally lifted her over him his eyes were shining.
He was smiling.
And yeah, she was smiling too.
Because it didn’t get much better than this. Making out with your guy in the cab of his truck because you couldn’t wait until you got home.
And then she slid down on him, a groan escaping his lips as he was engulfed by her. He let her get settled for a moment. Accustomed to being full. Before he curled his fingers around her hips and braced his biceps to lift her up before slamming her back down. He buried his face in her breasts, kissing and worshipping, then he moved a hand down between them to make sure she came first.
There he was. The gentleman. Blending perfectly with the animal.
He was her beast.
And she would never get enough of him.