Chapter 19 Cassidy
My head jerks up at the sound of Tyler’s voice.
An embarrassed flush crosses my cheeks as he peers down at me with a concerned frown. I didn’t expect anyone to walk this far down the beach.
“I…I was just…” I trail off as my throat grows tight.
I have no excuse for this. It’s exactly what it looks like.
Tyler sits down next to me, stretching his legs out in front of him. “Did Derek say something? Or Jackson?”
I sigh and shake my head, my thumbs brushing under my eyes to wipe away my tears. “Jackson was just reminding Derek that he has a new girlfriend.”
“I doubt he was doing it politely.”
A tingle of amusement stirs in my chest, but it’s no match for the heaviness that has already settled there.
“Derek deserved it,” I tell him. “Marcus reined Jackson in before he could say anything else.”
I like how protective Jackson is, but he’s starting to draw a little too much attention.
“Why are you out here crying, Cass?”
It would take me a whole hour to list every single reason. Some reasons I can’t even tell him. They’re all weighing down on me more and more with each passing day.
By the time the wedding is over, I’ll probably be crushed into dust.
“I’m just overwhelmed.”
“You’re going to have to give me more than that.”
I tuck my hair behind my ears as the ocean breeze washes over me, not sure what to say first. I do want to talk to him, but I have to watch every word that I say.
“I’ve said it before. I just have a lot of things to do as maid of honor.”
Tyler leans closer until his shoulder rests against mine. “There’s something else. You’re just not saying it.”
My eyes shift to his, my pulse steadily quickening. It’s just us out here. We’re so far away from the party, but I can still make out faint thumping from the music.
“We probably shouldn’t be alone.”
Tyler smirks. “Like you were alone with Jax?”
My eyes grow wide.
Before I can say anything, Tyler places his hand on my thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze. “If you think I’m mad, I’m not. I mean, I’m a little salty with Jax because he’s been on my ass about behaving.”
“It wasn’t planned,” I assure him. “It just happened.”
“I guess I can’t blame him. If I was in his position, I’d crumble too,” Tyler murmurs, his thumb rubbing small circles against my bare skin where my shorts don’t reach.
Warmth blooms from his touch, and I no longer register the coolness of the breeze. All I feel is the heat moving under my skin.
“If you or Marcus were there, it probably would’ve still happened,” I admit, my stomach twisting as the words leave my mouth. Not from nausea for once.
From nervousness.
An intrigued smile crosses his face, but my nerves don’t settle.
“I don’t understand this. I don’t even know if this is right for me to feel,” I sigh as I press my face into my hands, wishing the tangled web of thoughts in my head would unwind.
I can barely process everything I’m dealing with. Figuring out my emotions is a whole other battle, and the pregnancy hormones are not helping.
Tyler moves his hand off my thigh to wrap his arm around me, coaxing me closer to his side. “You’re going to have to decode those cryptic words for me, sweetheart.”
I continue hiding behind my hands, but my lips still move.
“I don’t understand how I can like three people at the same time. Two? Sure. But three?” I say, shaking my head. “Does that make me greedy or something?”
Tyler chuckles, making me drop my hands to stare at him. He’s really laughing at me right now?
“You’re not greedy, Cass,” he tells me. “You can’t help how you feel. Just how we can’t help how we feel. Why do you think it’s so damn hard to resist each other?”
The tense features on my face soften. No matter how hard we try to distance ourselves from each other, we still keep failing.
I’m so exhausted trying to win a losing battle.
“It’s not fair to the three of you. Me going back and forth between all of you,” I reply, uneasiness snaking up my spine.
What if they get jealous? Or angry? Or upset?
What if I drive a wedge between them? Their friendship with my brother is already at risk.
Tyler lets out a dramatic sigh before hauling me into his lap.
A squeak of surprise leaves me as he easily lifts me off the sand, holding me against his chest with his arms wrapped around me.
“I don’t think you fully understand the situation,” Tyler tells me, his eyes falling to mine. “I know Jax and Marc well enough to speak for them at this moment, so I’m going to. We’re fine with it.”
Uncertainty clouds my mind.
“We all like you too, Cass. We’re not jealous of each other in the way you think. Do I wish I was in your hotel room earlier? Yes, but that doesn’t make me upset. It just makes me want to make the most of our time together.”
The dip of his tone makes my breathing pause for a moment. He’s naturally charming, but when his flirting becomes intentional, he’s hard to resist.
His eyes sweep over me like he’s admiring every inch of me. He doesn’t hold me like I’m a piece of glass that he’s afraid to break. He holds me like he wants to spend his life caressing my body.
When I’m with him, I feel like I’m the person he wants to be around the most.
“And what would that look like? Making the most of our time together?” I ask, drawn to the line we’re not supposed to cross like a bee drawn to honey.
Tyler glances around, only the light of the moon granting us the ability to see through the darkness surrounding us. “I’ll just show you.”
My eyes slide shut as he leans down to capture my lips. I wind my arms around his neck, my fingertips sliding along the back of his muscular shoulders.
Tyler pushes his hand under my flowy tank top, squeezing my breast through my bra. He twists his body, laying me down on the sand so that he can hover over me.
I reach for the waist of his shorts, but he stops me with a hand on my wrist.
“Not this time, sweetheart,” Tyler replies before moving down my body. “We’ve got time for a taste.”
My eyes widen as he undoes my jean shorts and tugs them down my legs. I quickly look around, making sure no one else is nearby.
All I see is darkness.
Tyler hooks his finger under my panties and tugs them to the side. His tongue drags over me the next second, the tip flicking across my clit.
My back surges off the sand, a shaky moan breaking from me. I slap my hand over my mouth to muffle my other sounds, my other hand gripping his hair.
Tyler wraps his arms around my thighs, anchoring me down as his tongue rolls over my clit. Again and again and again.
My breathing quickens, my cheeks heating up as the pleasure intensifies. He doesn’t tease me or take his time.
He wants me to fall apart in record time, and he’s already setting a good pace.
“Ty,” I breathe out as my hand drops from my mouth.
Tyler secures his lips around my clit and sucks.
“Oh…” I gasp, bliss radiating through me like electric waves.
Everything continues to build. The heat. The pressure. The pleasure.
I writhe under him as his tongue resumes its steady strokes, my fingers tightening in his hair. “So close.”
Tyler groans, the vibrations adding the friction I need to tumble over the edge.
I roll my hips uncontrollably, grinding against his mouth as my orgasm hits me in waves. The air abandons my lungs, leaving me breathless and shaky.
Tyler doesn’t stop until I shudder from overstimulation. His head lifts from between my thighs, lips glistening from my arousal.
I sit up and cup his face, crashing my lips against his. My tongue slides along his, tasting myself.
“You are so sexy,” he murmurs between heated kisses.
I press my forehead against his, catching my breath. “I can’t believe we just did that.”
The excitement on his face dims a little.
“On a beach,” I clarify. “I don’t regret it, Ty. But…”
“We should be more careful,” he says, his lips curling up. “I’ll remember that for next time.”
Next time.
I usually don’t like when people are cocky, but he somehow makes it hot. He’s so confident that he can get me to break again, and he’s probably not wrong.
“I should get back to my room,” I tell him before pushing my forefinger against his chest. “And you should get back to your room. Before we get caught.”
Tyler takes my hand and kisses the inside of my wrist before helping me to my feet. “Feel a little better?”
A light laugh leaves me as I pull on my shorts. “I feel warm and tingly.”
His eyes brighten. “More relaxed?”
I nod. Honestly, I feel like I could fall asleep right now. He wore me out.
Together, we walk across the beach toward the resort, purposely veering away from the party that’s still going on in case anyone from the wedding party is still there. When we enter the resort through a side entrance, we pause in the hallway.
“We should probably head up separately,” I tell him, making sure my clothes and hair don’t look wild and untamed.
“We did grow up together. We can’t even be seen in the same elevator?” Tyler asks, his eyebrow lifting.
My eyes linger on his piercing for a second.
“Not alone,” I reply. “I don’t want anyone to notice any…energy between us.”
Tyler cracks a grin. “Our chemistry is just that off the charts, huh?”
I playfully roll my eyes at him. “Goodnight, Tyler.”
“Night, sweetheart.”
I step away from him, our hands brushing for a second. It’s bittersweet.
Part of me wants to invite him to my room, but it’s just not the right move. I can like them and desire them all I want, but that doesn’t mean anything serious is going to come of that.
It doesn’t mean I’m going to be in a relationship with them. Or that we’re going to have a happily ever after as a big family with our child.
That’s a fantasy, and reality is far more complicated.
Reality includes my brother who would never approve and consequences for me hiding my pregnancy from the guys. They may never forgive me for that.
When everything is said and done, I don’t know how many people I’m going to lose.
But even one is too many.