Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Hunter
I wake up to a loud crash and a string of curses. Cassidy is dumping bags onto the floor in a completely unorganized fashion. Once her arms are free, she lets out a heavy breath and places her hands on her hips. Her meadow-green eyes catch the sunlight peeking from the windows behind and over her shelves. Her gaze drags from her mess on the floor over to me, lying on her couch with a book on my chest.
“Hey, stranger,” she drawls in her best southern accent.
“Hey, yourself,” I counter, exaggerating my own. A smile tugs at her lips, but it looks more sad than happy. A smile like that is like a kick in the balls. I would rather see her fuming than how she is now.
Cassidy leaves all her things at the doorway and takes careful steps toward me. She’s wearing jeans that look like they’ve been with her for more than a decade—worn, soft, and comfortable. A simple black band tee, a band I don’t recognize, but I couldn’t care less, because under the logo I notice she’s braless .
The way she moves as she slinks through the space reminds me of a large cat. She’s cautious, meticulous, and calculated. I feel like I should hold my breath between each step. Time feels like it’s moving slower than usual. We haven’t said another word, and I’m not sure what to say next.
Do I apologize again?
“Cassidy,” I start. She’s standing right over me, the light catching the glitter in her hair as the sun beams through. I push up on my elbows and her slender hand pushes my shoulder back down. She lifts a leg and throws it over mine, straddling me on her couch.
Just as I’m about to apologize, she bends forward and her brown hair falls like curtains framing her perfect face. She smells like cotton and fresh soap, but not her own. She must have used whatever they had at the Airbnb. I’m surprised she didn’t pack her own.
“I’m s—” Her plush lips press against mine mid-word; she knows what I’m going to say, and she doesn’t want to hear it. I shouldn’t be surprised. In a lot of ways, Cassidy takes confrontation head-on, but when it comes to a relationship, when it comes to us, she is downright avoidant.
I could easily take over this situation and end what Cassidy has started, but I want to give her this control. Giving her control over this situation buys me some time with her.
I could take off the edge of whatever it is she’s feeling. It could bring her a sense of comfort because she feels most comfortable with our physical interactions.
She slides her tongue out past her lips and coaxes mine to join hers. It doesn’t take much convincing, I willingly open my mouth and invite her in .
Cassidy is greedy and demanding, but somehow gentle and sweet. I meet her stroke for stroke and our tongues dance in an easy sequence. It’s like we’ve been kissing for ages instead of just a month. I think about how easily I could kiss this woman for the rest of my life and feel satisfied.
As if she can pick up on my latent motions, she presses her lips hard to mine before pulling back with my bottom lip captured between her teeth.
My eyes open and I see a fierceness in hers. Pay attention , they say.
Okay.
I grab her hips in my hands and pull her down and across my pelvis, trying to line her up with the ridge of my erection, but we’re both wearing jeans, and denim is no friend to foreplay.
Despite the extra layers between us, Cassidy is able to help and line herself up just where she needs to be. She visibly shivers once we’re aligned. She sinks deeper into her seat and slides herself forward and back slowly, her lips becoming lazy.
I take the opportunity to seize her mouth in a deep, possessive kiss. I will take whatever she is willing to give to me. The fact that she is still willing to kiss me right now is something I value more than she knows. I feared for her to come in and tell me calmly to leave, with a hard resolve to end things between us.
Cassidy moans into my mouth as I kiss her deeply. Sliding one hand up from her hip, I slip under her shirt and graze my fingers along her rib cage under her naked breast.
Just as I thought, no bra.
I feel goose bumps rise on her flesh as my thumb grazes the underside of her breast. Cassidy quickly pulls away from me and rips her shirt off. Looking down at me, she begins to tug at the bottom of my own, silently demanding its removal. I comply by assisting her, shifting my weight to allow her to pull the fabric off. She lazily drags her fingers along my sides and pulls off my shirt, quickly discarding it onto the floor with her own.
She stays seated on me, her eyes wandering over my body and up to my face. When our eyes meet, I see the look in her eyes shift, and I can’t tell if what I see is worry or lust.
I slide both my hands up her sides and watch her shiver as I make my way to her chest. I massage the heavy flesh and she arches her back and pushes into my palms.
“Too slow, Hunter,” she whispers. Her movements are more calculated than usual. She’s playing things more carefully than I have ever seen before.
I listen to her request and answer it by quickly standing while holding her in my arms. Cassidy wraps herself around me and lays her head on my shoulder. I walk her down the hall and into her room.
She inhales me deeply and peppers kisses along my collarbone and neck. A small nibble at my jawline causes me to stop and look down at her. Her eyes are closed, and her brows are slightly turned up.
Something’s not right.
I want to ask, but fear of the end of everything stops me. I resume my steps until I’m at the edge of her bed. I gently lay her down and she brings her arms above and behind her head.
Her eyes are open now, and they are that stormy meadow green. She eyes me and lifts her foot. She’s still wearing her shoes, so I go to remove them for her, undoing the laces and pulling them off her slender feet.
She doesn’t make a sound; all I hear are her even breaths and my own heartbeat. After I pull off her socks, I reach up and undo her jeans. Grabbing them and her underwear, I pull down hard, meeting a little resistance at her thigh, but I give a hard tug to get it all off.
She lies before me in her naked glory. Absolutely stunning . She doesn’t shirk away from my hungry gaze; she watches me as my eyes explore every inch of her body. The sun catches the glints in her hair and there appears to be some glitter sparsely speckled on her shoulders and collarbone. It highlights her features in a way I can appreciate.
“Brought back the glitter?” I ask.
“Seemed like a good occasion,” she gently quips.
I’m about to climb into bed with her when she kicks out her leg and toes the loop of my pants. I catch her ankle and pull it from me. My pants are quickly gone and onto the pile of discarded clothes on her bedroom floor.
Cassidy’s eyes are as hungry at the sight of me as mine are for her. She lazily drags her eyes across my body taking extra time to appreciate my swollen cock.
I climb onto her bed, parting her legs and kneeling between them. I pull her leg up and kiss the inside of her ankle, sliding my hand down, using my thumb to apply pressure on her hamstring in a long kneading trail.
I wrap my free hand around my length, sliding my grip up and down slowly, and her eyes are locked onto the motion. I nibble at her ankle before kissing it again. I’ve never considered myself a man who’s interested in foot play, but everything about Cassidy is beautiful and leaves me wanting more. My right hand slides from her hamstring to her wet center, and I drag my fingers up her slit and find her hidden clit.
She lets out a long sigh of approval, egging me on. With my hands, I coax an easy and eager orgasm from her. She is slick and labile under me with a sheen of sweat across her forehead and chest, it mixes beautifully with the glitter on her skin.
We share a look, and I am given a silent command to further things and keep moving forward. No argument here. When Cassidy expresses herself, I am soaking it up. This can be through verbal angry assault or the little sighs and whimpers she lets out without a second thought. I can’t stand her radio silence when she distances herself like she’s so used to with every previous partner.
Today she’s connecting with me, but I feel a distance from her all while feeling closer to her than ever. She’s letting down walls with me this very moment, but I can feel her apprehension as we move together.
I line myself up to her opening, now calm and no longer pulsing from her previous orgasm. When I’m connected to her, we let out a long breath together and lock our gaze. I lower myself to be over her, my right elbow resting over her shoulder, my left hand skimming her skin.
Her eyes stay locked on mine, and I wish I could hear her thoughts. Or maybe I don’t, I can’t really say. It would give me some peace to know where she stands regarding us.
My hips’ movements are slow and measured, my left hand exploring her damp flesh peppered with goose bumps in my touch’s wake. I line her neck and jaw with light kisses until I get close to her ear.
I can feel the words wanting to leave my lips, but if I let them go, it will be the end of my era with her. It would be my death sentence.
“I’m crazy about you.” I love you. My words are barely over a whisper, too breathy for my comfort, but I feel Cassidy shiver under me.
Her slender hands slide up my back and grab my shoulders. She pulls me closer to her, almost causing me to lose my balance and lay on her completely, but I catch myself.
She’s hiding her face in my chest, but I can feel heat rising from her. I know she is blushing and feeling something she’s uncomfortable with, and I hate that I did that to her. For my selfish want to express feelings she’s not ready to hear.
I can know I love this woman and not tell her until she’s feeling stable and ready to hear it. This is the most careful and reckless I’ve been with her, physically and emotionally. I wish I could take the words back, but they’ve already left me.
As I bring my lips down to Cassidy’s head, I swear I hear her say, “Me too,” against my skin before she kisses right where my neck meets my collarbone.
We move in what seems like an orchestrated dance, I can sense Cassidy’s needs and with that, she can sense my next move. Our skin is sweaty, our breaths are heavy. I can start to feel my rhythm break as I get closer to finishing.
Cassidy is on the edge, and I feel her pussy take hold of my cock with every stroke I take. I wouldn’t stop now if my life depended on it.
Cassidy lets out loud moans as she reaches her climax, with me right behind her. I’m about to pull out to finish when her legs pull me close.
“Don’t,” she moans, and I listen. I feel myself empty inside her and it rockets a feeling up my spine.
Cassidy lets out a long sigh and pulls me close to her.
I don’t care what it will take to prove to Cassidy that she’s worth it all to me, and that she can have a fulfilling life with me. I can do long-distance if that’s what she needs. I can do whatever it takes, but I know I can’t stay right now .
I’ve got to get back to town and get Jake and Sharon’s things together for them. I just hope after I get that all sorted out, Cassidy will hear what I have to say. Hopefully, this interaction and a little space will put me in her good graces.