Chapter 14 #2
It had been foolish of me to underestimate Cassius, but after being by myself for three years and having sole responsibility for Mikey, it had been hard to let go.
Sure, Cass had made it clear his job wasn’t babysitting, a conversation that had left me wide-eyed and my heart beating a little too fast. He’d promised he was in this with me and with Mikey.
I believed him. I did. But that hadn’t stopped me waiting for… hell, maybe for him to get a wake-up call and question his life decisions.
Just thinking that made me feel like a piece of shit. Cass was not like that. Ever. He’d never given me a reason to believe for one moment he’d do that. If anything, that made me feel even more guilty about my irrational thoughts.
But seriously, he was my husband.
What the hell was rational about that?
Not that being married to Cass was a hardship. In truth, everything had been perfect. Worryingly so.
Before we’d exchanged vows, I would have told anyone, hand on heart, I knew Cass inside and out. But over the past few weeks, he was so much more than my best friend and the man who I’d known for over twenty years.
Yes, he’d always been thoughtful. But the man legit made me meals for when I got home from work and ate with me.
But because this was Cassius Britton, the man who never did anything by halves, he also made sure he had a tiny version of Mikey’s dinner, so every night when I was at work and missed Mikey’s early dinnertime, they ate together.
Cass’s “No one should eat alone if there’s an opportunity to have company” was now a mantra our little unit lived by.
Considering all that, I didn’t truly expect the other shoe to drop. Not really.
Two kids ran past me, pulling me away from staring at the ogre I quite happily called husband.
“I think it’s cake time,” I hollered, stepping into the fray of squealing kids. “Hey, ogre.”
Cass cut off midroar and peered over at me. While half of his face was hidden by a Shrek mask, his expressive eyes made it clear what an amazing time he was having. I suspected that had everything to do with Mikey’s huge grin.
“You want to bring those offerings you have so we can get a group photo and cut the cake?”
“Can do, my fair and handsome prince.”
I snorted at his god-awful attempt at a Scottish accent, then managed to capture a couple more kids and shepherd them closer to the picnic table.
The cake sporting Donkey’s cheesy grin was pretty epic. And while I was sure none of the other kids here knew who the characters were and likely hadn’t watched the older film, I was grateful that Mikey’s fixation was on Shrek rather than a lame movie.
Appearing at my side after dropping the kids next to the table where Pop and Mama T were herding them, Cass wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
I sighed into his touch, always appreciating his closeness. And days like these, his comfort too.
The day would always be bittersweet.
As always, my heart overflowed with joy and happiness that Mikey was in our lives, but I didn’t know if a birthday would pass without the pain of losing Paula.
A kiss was pressed against my temple, and I blinked back the tears as I watched Mikey standing with his arm around his best friend, Tahlia. That Cass knew I needed his touch made me lean into his side a little closer.
“Do you remember when Paula hid your fishing line and you found it later wrapped around those Disney prince dolls?”
I snorted out a laugh, the sound abrupt. Before I answered, I turned my head a little and dotted a kiss on his shoulder.
And then Cass did things like this. On every one of Mikey’s birthdays, he stood by my side, wrapping me in love, and told stories about my sister.
“She said that she had no interest in the princes, and they weren’t cut out to save the day.”
Cass’s chuckle was deep.
“How the hell my parents didn’t figure out she was a lesbian until she came out to them and left home boggles my brain.” Though I expected, after I left and the humiliation of that, they buried their heads even further in the sand.
Paula had been trying to stick it out at home until she left for college, but in the end, our parents had pushed her too far.
And thank goodness they had. Knowing she was with Mama T and Pop had made it easier to head to a different state for the police academy.
Even more than that, Paula had been happy and loved living with them.
“Mom’s eyeing us.”
I peered over and took in Mama T’s tender expression. A flutter of wings paid attention, too, and I couldn’t help but wonder what she really thought about me and Cass.
We’d told them the truth, like Cass and I discussed.
But still, was she disappointed that Cass hadn’t married the love of his life?
Discomfort pressed against my chest at the thought, and not because of Mama T’s possible disappointment. Cass marrying someone else? Fuck, my heart pinched at the mere idea.
Clearing my throat and trying to shake free of my negative emotions, I stepped away from Cassius. A disgruntled “Hey” left him when we no longer made contact. With a smirk and an eye roll, I reached for him, took hold of his hand, and led him toward Mikey.
“It’s time we light the candles and get those wishes nailed down,” I said, tugging on his hand.
He came willingly, and I couldn’t help but make a wish of my own.
I wish he always does. Come willingly that was.
Not having this with Cass, this life we’d started building together, regardless of how it started with that meeting with his lawyer, I didn’t want to imagine what my world would look like.
“You sure you’re okay?”
Having not heard Cassius enter the room, I jolted. Rather than laughing at his ability to take me by surprise, his frown deepened.
“Just tired.” And I was.
The last four-day roster had been long and busier than usual.
With the annual Covered Bridge Half Marathon taking place yesterday, more visitors had been in town.
While it was great for our small businesses, inevitably there were more issues, more patrols needed, more idiots drinking too much last night.
Yesterday, my twelve-hour shift ended up being fifteen hours.
The overtime wasn’t welcome, especially as it meant I’d missed Mikey’s bedtime. Cass being home, lounging on the couch, a cold bottle of beer open and ready for me, though, now that was a welcome treat.
Over the past few weeks of Cassius being here, everything had been perfect. Not that it hadn’t always been great when he visited.
This time felt different. No doubt because it was.
This was his home now.
We had a closet half filled with his clothes to prove it. Not only that but a new routine that worked as effortlessly as breathing.
“Tired yet you still have time to read?” He quirked his brow and eyed the paperback in my hand.
After we’d put Mikey to bed, we’d had a couple of beers before I’d dragged myself to bed. He’d since spent some time on the running machine and showered, discovering me under the covers, devouring one of five books I’d put on special order at our small bookstore.
“Call it time to unwind.”
“Was today’s shift better than yesterday’s at least?” He rubbed the towel over his head, gaze still on me as he waited for me to answer.
“Definitely. I got home on time for starters.”
He threw the towel into the laundry basket and grinned. “And we appreciate that.”
The follow-up wink was one I’d received a million times before, but from the way my heart tumbled, you wouldn’t have thought so.
I still wasn’t quite sure what to do with that—with the flutters of awareness coming quick and fast since our wedding day.
“I’m sorry.”
Sure, he’d shot me a teasing smile, but this couldn’t have been what he’d signed up for, right?
The dip of his eyebrows shadowed his eyes. Not enough to hide the concern in them. Cassius sat on the bed facing me, saying, “Sorry about what? Doing your job?”
Tugging the inside of my cheeks between my teeth, I sighed. “Let’s just sleep.”
“Hell no, not until you let me know what’s going on with this weird self-flagellation shit happening right now.”
Cassius was nothing if not dramatic. It was enough to pull forth a smirk, and I rolled my eyes.
“There’s no flog in sight.”
“Thank fuck for that. No kink shaming, but, dude, my idea of pain is maybe a bite on my nipple every now and then.”
Startled, my brain hooked onto that image with worrying ease. “You like your nipples being bitten?”
“I do, especially if my cock’s being given some TLC. But not enough to draw blood or anything.”
My dick twinged at the thought of nibbling and lathing his nipples. Since his chest was bare and he was clad only in a pair of sleep shorts, the visual was there for the taking.
Fuck, his nipples were a shade darker than his skin. It wouldn’t take much attention on them to make them even darker.
“Are you eye-fucking my nipples?”
Snapping my gaze to his, I parted my lips, only to clamp my mouth shut at his shit-eating grin and quirked brow.
“Fuck off,” I grumbled, ignoring the heat in my cheeks. If I peered down, I suspected my whole chest would be a ridiculous shade of red.
The asshole lifted his hand to his pec and ran his fingers over his nipple. Unable to look away, I followed the movement, stomach clenching when his nipple became taut.
Fuck my life.
It was pointless denying I watched his every move, so I did what any self-respecting man would do. I threw a pillow at him, slammed my back onto the mattress, and hid my face behind my book.
If Cass’s deep laughter and the bounce on the mattress were anything to go by, he found my fascination hilarious. Which I supposed was better than calling me a perv and telling me to keep my eyes to myself.
“Aw, come on, husbutt. You’re allowed to look at my pretty nipples.”
I ignored him, despite looking ridiculous with an open paperback literally on my face.
A wobble of the mattress was the only warning I got that he was on the move, but it was too late to defend myself.
He landed on me in a sprawled mass of limbs and loud laughter.
“Oomph. Fuck, get your giant ass off me.”
Light filled my vision, then his grinning face when my book fell off.
“I have a perfect ass. There’s nothing giant about it.”
“Perfect?” I sassed, adding a scoff for good measure. “Who told you those lies?” I held back my grin, struggling to focus on his expression since he was legit spread out on top of me, face barely hovering more than a couple of inches above mine.
The daggers he shot at me were easy to see, though.
“Lies, you fucker. Take that back.”
He shifted on me, and fuck if his groin didn’t rub against mine. With two pairs of shorts and a single sheet between us, there was no protection from the semi I sported.
“Dyl?” His tone sounded strangled, and he froze on top of me.
The air thickened, charged. The space around us faded out so all I saw was the man above me. All I felt were his strong, muscled limbs and his rock-hard dick temptingly pressed against mine.
I held my breath, hoping the action would calm my racing pulse.
“Are you hard?” His voice dropped low, the depth awakening my nerve endings with its gruffness.
Because of course Cass would just come out with it like that.
“No?”
The pitch of my voice earned me a smirk.
“I’m not hard.” The defense was weak. The words ridiculously hollow.
“Half-hard is a technicality.” Eyes sparkling with mischief, Cass was having far too much fun with this.
The fuckface.
Two could play at that game.
I squared my jaw and shifted my hips. The movement dragged my dick over his. While it had been years since I’d seen and felt his dick, I remembered just how big he was when erect. And holy fuck, he was rock solid.
With no idea if my plan backfired or not since I barely held back my groan, I took pleasure in the widening of his eyes and the hitch in his breath.
Before I could form a syllable to call him out, his mouth was on mine, capturing my breath and stealing my oxygen.
My brain short-circuited, struggling to compute.
Cass made it impossible to think, to consider anything beyond his warm mouth, his exploring tongue, or how much I liked the feel of the scruff of his jaw against mine.
A spark of heat bubbled in my stomach, quickly flickering fully to life and sending a wildfire of need burning through me.
With my one hand on his cheek, I used the other to claw at his back, holding Cass close.
Eight years was the last time chemistry had flamed so bright. Eight years since feeling so comfortable, so right, despite the alarm bells trying to break through the need fogging my mind.
The alarm shattered around us in the form of a cry, the two of us pulling apart. Wide-eyed and panting, I stared up at Cass, at his wide, confused eyes.
Another shriek.
Mikey. Fuck. Mikey was crying.
“I’ve got him.”
Cass stood before I could speak. Something he was surprisingly good at—getting in there first.
“You’re wiped. Get some sleep. We have to be in the city by nine.”
A bucketful of cold water if ever I heard it.
“Yeah, okay,” I managed between choppy breaths. How the hell was Cass so unaffected?
The man simply shot me a smirk, the same kind I’d received a million times, before he left the room.
There was no sign of, well, anything untoward. Any hint that what had just happened had rattled him in the slightest.
I was losing my goddamn mind.
I turned off my bedside light, leaving Cass’s on.
Another time, when my brain wasn’t mush and I wasn’t so dog-tired, perhaps I’d analyze once again how it was that my bed had become ours.
The best friend in me who expected nothing less from Cass told me to get over myself and simply accept it. Which, technically, I had, right?
I sighed as I closed my eyes, settling my thoughts and relaxing as my pulse finally calmed.
Tomorrow everything would be back to normal.
We’d not mention this again and focus on our meeting with Cass’s lawyer.
There were documents we needed to sign for the adoption application, and he’d also heard from my parents’ lawyer.
I refused to worry, confident Granger would do everything in his power to get this settled. Cass being the driving force behind that completely.
Another deep sigh and Cass’s off-key singing as he hushed Mikey reached me. Warmth wrapped around me, and I soaked it in—Cass’s soft voice, the taste of him still on my lips, and the occasional gentle sigh I could just make out from Mikey.
It wasn’t possible for life to get better than this.