FOURTEEN
Cassie
Five Months Ago
I answered the incessant knocking on my door late Sunday night, rubbing my finger over my eye to get the sleep out. I’d fallen asleep on the couch in the middle of my book, exhaustion from the week overwhelming me.
Mick and Victoria weren’t here tonight, Mick finding some permanent residence over at Tanner’s lately and Victoria mysteriously disappearing for days at a time. I didn’t ask where she was spending her time, and she didn’t tell me, which told me wherever she was going was private.
I peeked through the little hole in the door and sighed, opening it and glaring a little at the man standing there.
Put your hate face on, Cassie.
“What the fuck?” he said deadpan, and I frowned at the opening line.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, concerned over the haggard way he appeared. I knew from his texts that he had just gotten home from two away games. The bag over his shoulder told me that, but the way his hair was sticking up every which way said that he was stressed about something.
He moved past me, coming into the apartment and ditching his bag by the door, and because I knew this was how he operated, I didn’t protest.
I didn’t even want to, and that was concerning.
“You didn’t tell me this ended on a cliffhanger, Cassandra!” He held up his phone, and I blinked when I realized he was talking about my book.
My eyes widened in surprise. “You already read the whole thing?”
Truly, it was a very long fantasy book. I didn’t expect him to read it in one weekend.
“How could I have stopped? I had to know everything that happened next and needed the happily ever after. But oh no.” He started to pace by the couch, and unable to help it, I smiled. “I needed to know what the king was doing and how the rest of the world was going to react to it and I needed to know if she was going to save them but WHAT THE FUCK, SUNSHINE?” He roared the last bit, and I couldn’t hold it in anymore, grabbing at my stomach as laughter bubbled out of me.
“You think this is funny?” he asked, pitching his phone toward the couch. “I’m pissed!”
“I’m sorry,” I said unapologetically. “Did you not like the book?”
“Are you kidding? I fucking loved it.” I tried not to, but I felt my grin widen at the compliment. “I had no idea what the fuck I was reading half the time, but I was completely consumed by this stupid book,” he said, gritting his teeth and raking his fingers through his hair again. ,
I leaned against the wall and sighed. “You thought it was stupid.”
“Stupid in the way that it pissed me off, and I need more right fucking now,” he ground out, still up in his feels about it. “I was a bitch to anyone who even dared talk to me all weekend because I couldn’t fucking put it down.”
I smiled as I watched him calm down, overwhelmingly thrilled that he loved the book. It was a part of me, and therefore, I wanted him to love it.
I didn’t want to think about what that meant.
Finally, he looked over at me, and something in his eyes changed as they took in my body.
Because I’d fallen asleep alone on the couch when his knock had sounded through the apartment, I didn’t give much thought to my appearance when I opened the door. I was wearing my most comfortable silk pajamas, which consisted of short shorts and a tank. Not something I would normally wear with company, but I still had the relaxed, sleepy feeling happening and didn’t really care that he was in my apartment and I was nearly naked.
“Sunshine,” he said, using the nickname that lit my heart on fire. When did I stop hating this man and start wanting more?
You know the answer…you never hated him.
I ignored my inner thoughts and kept leaning against the wall, holding perfectly still as I did.
He took sure steps toward me, his eyes alight with want, and I wanted nothing more than for him to kiss me in that moment.
God, what if he’s just worked up from the games and the book? What if he doesn’t feel that way and I’m over here falling all over again like a lovesick fool?
But then he placed a hand against the wall by the side of my head, his other hand caressing my cheek, and before I knew what was happening, he slammed his lips down onto my own.
I held perfectly still for several seconds before my body acted on instinct. My arms pulled him toward me until he was pressing me completely against the wall, his arms both wrapped around my lower back, holding me in a way that lovers might, completely enveloping me until I was surrounded by him on all sides.
His lips were coaxing mine in such a delicious way that when I opened myself to him, it felt natural to let him in, to let him consume me.
My thoughts were hardly my own, giving in to this man who’d had such a hold on me for so long.
I’d never wanted to give in, and yet, I never wanted this moment right here to end.
For long moments, we kept hold of each other, with him pulling languid kisses from my body and moaning like he couldn’t get enough.
Finally, we pulled away for air, and my eyes snapped open, realizing that he was there holding me, kissing me, like he hadn’t hated me since I started to hate on him. Since I started using my defenses to protect myself.
“I thought.” I paused, licking my lips, our arms still firmly around each other like we were both afraid if we let go, we’d never get this moment back.
“What, Sunshine?” he rasped, squeezing me tightly. His eyes met mine, and I gave a shy yet sassy half smirk.
“I thought you hated me.”
I thought he’d come back with something sarcastic, something biting to get us back into hatred territory, but he said something that I would never forget.
“I could never feel hate toward you, Sunshine.”
I melted at the words because I understood them more than he probably knew and realized that all our animosity was us both shielding ourselves from one another.
Our arms were still wrapped around each other when he reached lower and pulled me up, making it so I had to wrap my arms and legs tighter around him so that we could stay together, and he took me into my room.
My room was dark, with the stars shining brightly throughout, and he laid me down on the bed.
I naively thought that he was going to say good night, but I watched as he stripped himself down until he was only in boxers, tugged the comforter down from underneath my body, and slipped into bed, pulling the blanket into place over us both, and pulled me back into his arms.
I froze for long seconds, wondering what he was planning. There was no talk of anything, and knowing horny college boys, I had a feeling he was curious about where the night could go.
Instead of alluding to sex, he squeezed me tighter and nudged my chin up with his finger.
My eyes met his in the dim light of the stars, and I felt my heart rate tick up several notches.
I’d absolutely had fantasies such as this one.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked, surprising me with the question.
“I’m thinking we’re half-naked in bed together,” I replied honestly, shocking us both.
He blew out a breath. “Yeah, we are.” He reached down and placed his hand delicately on my hip. “It’s fucking awesome.”
I rolled my eyes at the very boyish remark. “What do you—”
“We’re not having sex,” he declared, rubbing at my hip to maybe cover for his blunt words. “Not yet.”
“We’re not, huh?” I said, finally feeling bold enough to run my hand over the bare skin of his chest, relishing in the sound of his sharp inhale.
I almost couldn’t believe that I was touching him and wondered briefly if this was some hazy dream. Maybe I was still on the couch, sleeping.
But then he rubbed his finger over my cheekbone again and leaned in close, whispering the words, “No. You don’t trust me yet, but you will.” His hand wrapped around the back of my head, holding me. “And when you do, we’re going to do everything together, and it’s going to be the way it should have been.”
I blinked. “Muscles, you sound awful sure of yourself.”
“Sunshine, I’ve been dying for two years to earn the chance to kiss you,” he breathed out and moved in closer to me. “I’m not about to fuck that up now.”