Chapter Twenty
Cassian
Lying on the couch, snuggled into Jeremy’s chest, was the best damn place to be. Add in Daisy, who was snoring softly between my legs, and I was home.
“What should I wear tomorrow?” I gasped, almost startling poor Daisy off the couch. “Do we need to shop for something new? I don’t have anything fancy anymore.”
A warm raspy chuckle came from Jeremy. It was very likely he’d been asleep. “You can wear whatever you want. Shifters don’t care much for dressing up. I have two good shirts and one nice pair of pants, that’s it. And you will only see me wearing those to funerals or on date nights.”
“Uuuh, date nights? I can’t wait for those,” I sighed dreamily.
Another soft chuckle escaped him as he hugged me tighter to him. “All the date nights. I can’t wait to show you off to everyone.”
I loved how proud he was of me. I’d dated before him, all were women, though, and they all only seemed to care about money.
One even admitted to only dating me because of how rich my father was.
She seemed shocked when I ended things right after.
Like hell, did I want to stay with someone who didn’t care about me.
“Have you ever dated?” I blurted, only knowing about his crush on Darius.
Jeremy stilled under me. “Um, is that important?”
“Well,” I thought it over. “I guess I would like to know. If any of your pack mates suddenly said anything, I would prefer not to be blindsided by it.”
Did I want to hear of what Jeremy had done with others? No, but I also knew I needed to.
“I kissed Elias when we were fourteen in a truth or dare game. I was already in love with Darius then, so I really wasn’t into it. Elias was into me, though, which made it all sorts of awkward.”
I laughed at that, feeling somewhat vindicated that I’d noticed Elias’ feelings towards my Jeremy. I just wouldn’t tell Jeremy that Elias still liked him.
“Not that far back!” I teased his sides, hoping he was ticklish. He was. “I meant relationships, or people you’ve had sex with.”
Jeremy blushed, and it stopped my exploring fingers. He had never gotten that red-faced before in front of me.
“Hold up,” I gasped. “You’ve never? Not once?”
He shook his head. “Does that bother you?”
“Bother me?” I slid my hand under his T-shirt, letting myself enjoy the feel of his smooth skin. “It’s sexy as hell.”
“S-Sexy?”
“Hmm,” I hummed, sliding his T-shirt up and began kissing his stomach. Daisy could likely feel the change in the air, jumping from the couch and leaving us be.
“Cass,” he breathed, leaning his head further back on the couch.
“Please,” I begged, continuing my exploration. I wasn’t about to let him lose control and claim me, not when it was so important to him to wait. So I simply told him. “I don’t want you to claim me tonight. You don’t have my permission for that. But I want to taste you. Can I?”
His instincts would tell him not to claim me now, knowing I didn’t want it. I hoped it would help him enjoy this and not worry or fight himself.
He blinked, then a shy smirk spread over his lips. “Like I would ever deny my mate anything.”
“Thank God,” I breathed, then moved down to his legs, pulling his pants down just enough to expose his cock. Damn, it was a fine cock. “I’ve never done this,” I reminded him, mostly for my own sake. If I ended up choking or crying , I wanted him to remember I’d only get better.
“Me neither, remember?”
“Oh, right.”
Sliding a tad further down to get comfy, I leaned up and did a quick lick, just to know the taste.
It felt different, licking skin that wasn’t perfectly smooth.
My one hand helped my balance, the other held his base, giving me better control as I explored him with my tongue.
It was pretty addictive, hearing the soft gasps of surprise, then the groans of pleasure from Jeremy, all while feeling his body beneath mine react, too.
I held all the power.
Taking all of him in my mouth, I slid down as far as I dared go.
“Shit, Cass!” he gasped, his hand now holding onto my hair. “Just like that. Don’t stop.”
Like I wanted to stop. I tried swirling my tongue around his head, making sure my teeth wouldn’t hurt him. It was way more fun than I’d ever imagined it would be. Fucking hot, too.
“You’re so good. So perfect,” he whispered. “Take everything, yes, just like that!”
Upping the pace, I freed my own dick. This was way too hot and I needed relief.
“Fuck, Cass. Are you touching yourself?”
I hummed.
He let out a long groan. “That’s fucking hot.”
My own release was closing in, so I did everything in my power to hurry Jeremy along. It must have surprised him, because seconds later, he groaned out and filled my mouth with his cum.
The way he came down my throat was enough for my dick to join in, filling my hand with my cum as I tried to swallow everything Jeremy gave me.
I couldn’t wait for him to claim me tomorrow.
It was a perfect morning! Red was sniffing out birds and having the time of his life, while I stood with a smile on my face and watched.
I held a cup of warm coffee between my hands and enjoyed how the warmth kept the chill of the morning at bay.
There were still leaves on the trees, but most were now on the grass.
Red bounced happily around them, causing several of the leaves to fly up.
This was the sort of morning I’d looked forward to. Red was just the best addition to the dream that was now my reality, my life. Another sip of the warm heavenly liquid and I sighed with contentment.
I was finally happy.
An hour later, we left the house and took my car to drive over to the community center. We wanted a quick way to get home after the ceremony, so for the first time ever, we drove there.
Jeremy wanted us to help prepare everything, which meant cooking the food and doing small tasks here and there.
We had three hours until we would eat with everyone, and I couldn’t wait.
I wore my nicest jeans and a knitted sweater in a baby blue color, then my jacket because it was simply too cold not to wear one.
“Ready to get your hands dirty?” Mary asked, startling the shit out of me. I’d only taken one step out of the car. ONE! And she was already putting me to work.
“Yes?” I replied, clutching my chest.
“Perfect!” she beamed, then handed me the rake. “Your ceremony will be held outside, so all the leaves must go.”
“Perfect,” I grimaced, accepting the rake. One longing look at Jeremy was all I was allowed, before Mary pushed me in the direction of the leaves.
“See you soon, baby!” Jeremy called, his tone way too amused.
I would remember this.
“Don’t worry,” Mary whispered, her tone just as amused as Jeremy’s. “The downstairs toilet is clogged. Jeremy won’t be smiling for long.”
I burst out laughing at that and she joined in. “See? I helped you out. Now, we really need to get this cleared. I’ll start collecting the piles that I’ve made. You go work over there and bring them all together.”
Nodding, I got to work. It felt nice just doing something so mundane and easy. My mind could quiet and since Mary seemed to love the silence as much as I did, we just…worked.
We’d been at it for an hour when my phone buzzed in my back pocket. I pulled it out and smiled widely at Greg’s name on the display.
“Greg!” I greeted happily.
“Um, hi, Cass.” He sounded worried, or unsure. It didn’t seem like the Greg I’d met. “There’s a man here at the shelter, claiming to be your father? He’s making Silas angry.”
Shit. Why did he have to find me today? And how would he know Greg knew me? Questions for a later time.
“I’m coming. Be there in fifteen,” I assured him. I ended the call and ran over to where Mary was on all fours gathering the leaves.
“I need to go to the other town real quick,” I said, not giving her a chance to reply. “Please tell Jeremy I’ll be back for our ceremony.”
I ran back to my car and hurried towards the shelter.
When I arrived, loud voices carried outside to the parking lot and made me question whether or not I wanted to enter.
Father stood and gestured wildly with his hands and Silas mirrored the action, both of them yelling about…me?
“That’s still not okay!” Silas boomed.
“He’s my son! I get to decide that!”
“Um, hi?” I said, staring between them from the doorway leading into the reception area.
Father pulled himself together, standing tall. “Finally,” he muttered. “Let’s go.” He went toward the doors where I was still standing.
“What?” I asked, feeling confused.
“Home,” he said, snapping his fingers at the door.
“He’s not a dog,” Greg growled.
I couldn’t help it. I smirked at Greg, then winked. I wasn’t a dog, no, but it was funny realizing that they were. Greg winked back, his arms crossed over his chest in a protective stance, but he was still the Greg I knew.
Father pinched the bridge of his nose in clear irritation. “I don’t have time for this, Cassian. I let you have your little vacation, but now it’s time to get back to work.”
“I quit,” I lamely replied. He knew that, of course, but I also wasn’t surprised he was acting like it had never happened.
“No, you didn’t. You had a hissy fit and emailed me,” he retorted.
“I’m staying here,” I declared. I rarely won an argument against the man who got paid to argue with people, but I wasn’t going to give in.
He laughed bitterly. “No, you’re not. I have people who need you back in the city, and that’s where we’re going now.”
“People?” I felt truly puzzled by his words. I didn’t have anyone there.
He waved me off. “People working under me. They apparently like you and miss you. So, we need to go.”
Silas moved to stand beside me. “Tell your son how you found him.”
Father glowered at Silas, but still answered. “I had a PI look for you. Since you weren’t at the house you’d inherited, he found out you recently adopted a cat from here.”
“A PI?!”
Damn, was he that desperate to get me back? Me? The man who didn’t even know what I did while working for him? That couldn’t be right.
“Yep,” Silas said. “And then he came in here and tried to threaten us into giving him your current address.”
“You can’t just waltz in here and threaten my friends!”
Again, he waved me off like I was a child. “I’m your father, Cassian,” he huffed, as if that gave him the permission to act like a jerk.
“This was so not how I planned today to go,” I whined, letting my head fall back in anger. “I had my ceremony today with Jeremy,” I explained to Silas, Greg, and Rowan, the latter glaring at Father from the corner.
“Really?” Greg asked, sounding excited. “That’s awesome! Congrats!”
“Yeah,” Silas agreed, smiling. “Congrats. If only you could be with him instead of here.” He shot a glare at my father.
“For fucks sake, Cassian!” Father snapped. “You’re with a man now too? I have Vanessa waiting for you back home!”
“Who?” I asked, coming up blank.
“Her father is our biggest competitor. When you marry her, we can merge the businesses,” he explained, talking to me like I was a child.
“Eh!?”
My stunned reaction was enough to make Father look at me like he always did when I disappointed him. “You will marry her.”
“The fuck he will,” Rowan snapped, joining my other side. “He’s engaged to be married already.”
Father scoffed at that. “I’ll throw some money at the man, make him go away happily.”
“The fuck?!” I gasped. I had no idea my father could be that cruel.
“Like that would work,” Greg laughed mockingly. I had to agree; it wasn’t as if it would work.
“All you’re good for, Cassian, is a pretty face. We all know it. Now, come home and put it to good use,” Father demanded, tapping his watch impatiently.
“What did you just say to him?” Greg snarled, moving in on my father.
“Yeah,” Silas agreed. “I would love to hear you repeat that.”
“Dammit, Cassian!” Father snapped, eying my friends with disgust. “Are you fucking the whole town?”
A loud crack filled the air, then Father was sprawled across the floor, his nose clearly broken and bleeding furiously. Silas wiped his knuckles against his dark T-shirt, growling at my now unconscious father.
“Thank you,” I whispered, not sure how I should react.
“No worries,” Silas smiled at me. “You’re pack, Cass. We protect our own.”
Well, I guess I was fucked then, because I was in Jeremy’s pack, not theirs. I was about to remind him of that, but he held up his hand. “I’ll explain once we get you back to Jeremy. He’s likely worried and he can’t enter our territory without an invite.”
“Oh.”
“Rowan, you take Cass’ car and ditch his father somewhere. Greg, you drive with me and Cass back to Jeremy. We’ll be allowed to cross because we have Cass with us.”
“Shotgun!” I yelled, running outside with Greg right behind me.