Chapter 7
You’re a good influence.”
Cash’s words played on repeat in Sable’s brain the entire time they prepared their pizzas.
They’d opted to make multiple small pies so they could share a few different flavors, and guilt had chewed through her stomach as she helped Clover arrange the pepperoni slices into a smiley face on the cheese.
If she were a good influence, she would’ve fled the second Clover introduced her to his father, and she definitely would’ve turned down their dinner invitation.
If she were a good person, she would warn Cash he was in danger.
But she wasn’t a good influence. She was a selfish girl who couldn’t think about anything other than Cash when he entered a room.
As she sliced the veggies, all she could focus on was how right it felt standing in his kitchen cooking dinner with him and his son.
Two of her older brothers had married their soulmates, so she’d heard from them about the intense attraction that signaled you’d found your other half.
She saw how her siblings thoroughly changed the moment the right women stepped into their lives, and she suspected she finally understood them.
“Do you have any fives?” Clover asked.
“Sable?” Cash nudged her arm when she didn’t answer. “He’s asking you.”
“Oh, sorry.” She jerked to attention. They’d decided to play games while they ate, and the kitchen table was strewn with colorful cards and every flavor of pizza they could think to make.
“What do you need?” she asked.
“Fives,” Clover said.
“Sorry, go fish.”
“Ugh…” Clover groaned as he selected a card from the deck, clearly not receiving his needed five.
“You okay?” Cash asked while a pizza slice distracted his son. “If you need to leave, I’ll drive you home.”
“No, I’m fine,” Sable half-lied. Guilt swirled in her stomach, but she also couldn’t bring herself to leave.
Why did this house have to feel so much like home?
Why did Clover have to be so fun, and why in god’s name did his father have to be sex and sin and desire wrapped in the body of an honorable and decent man?
“Okay,” Cash said. “But don’t hesitate to be honest with me. Communication is good.”
“Communication is sexy.” Sable slipped her arm below the table and grabbed Cash’s powerful hand.
She gripped him tight, holding his gaze as Clover shoved the meat lover’s slice into his mouth, and everything suddenly felt like it would turn out all right.
Cash had that effect on her. Her mother often said when she looked at her father, she felt at peace.
It’s how she knew he was the one, and Sable understood what she’d been talking about.
Cash’s gaze stopped the spinning in her brain.
“Really, I’m fine.” She released his hand against her will, but Clover was looking at her expectantly. “I was just thinking.”
“Good thoughts I hope.” He brushed her hair behind her ear.
“They were about you,” she whispered, which was the truth. Cash smiled at her answer and adjusted his glasses, and she was glad her little lie made him happy because if he knew what she’d actually been thinking, he’d hate her for coming into his life.
“Okay, Dad,” she teased, twisting in her seat to see his cards. “My turn. Do you have any queens?”
“Hey…” he groaned. “Did you just peak?”
“I would never cheat,” she said, her expression giving her lie away.
“Fine, here are your queens.” Cash handed her three cards, and with a triumphant yelp, Sable slammed the four-pair onto the table.
“I win!”
“He’s out already,” Cash said as he re-entered the kitchen.
They’d finished their pizza and card games and then opted for a movie night which ended way past Clover’s bedtime.
He’d been laying against Cash on one side, and Sable had snuggled up on the other, and as amazing as their first two dates had been, the couch took the cake.
There was nothing better than being wrapped in Cash’s arms.
Clover had been practically sleepwalking by the time the film ended, so Cash had taken him upstairs while she started cleaning up the kitchen. She’d hoped to make a dent in the dishes, but he’d barely been gone ten minutes.
“That was fast,” she said as he settled beside her to help.
“He had a blast today. Thanks for being so cool with him.”
“Aww, I’m glad.” Sable smiled. “But what about you? Did you have fun?”
“Did I have fun?” Cash placed the dish he was scrubbing back in the sink and dried his hands before seizing her waist and hoisting her into the air.
Sable shrieked with laughter as he sat her on the counter, but her voice fell silent as Cash pushed himself between her thighs.
His grip tightened on her hips, and her breath hitched as he yanked her against him.
“Being with you all day made me happier than you realize,” he growled before slamming his lips against hers. Sable’s legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, and she gasped when she felt him below his jeans. Surely, she was imagining things. There was no way he was that big.
“Fuck, Sable.” Cash released her hips and tangled his fist in her hair, yanking her head back to gain better access.
With a seductive roll of his hips, he ground her against him, and this time Sable’s gasp was embarrassingly needy.
He was that big, and even through her jeans, he was burning her alive.
Every thought fled her brain as she kissed him.
He invaded her body, her mind, her soul, and she wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer.
Arousal flooded her moans, and she parted her lips to allow Cash’s tongue to slip inside her mouth.
She could kiss this man for the rest of her immortal life and never tire of him, and as he guided her writhing hips against him, she wondered if his tongue would be that talented buried between her thighs.
“Fuck.” Cash tore himself away from her, and Sable almost fell off the counter at his dizzying departure. “I can’t.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, not entirely sure why she should be sorry.
“Don’t apologize, you’re perfect,” he growled, his voice so low with desire that she was certain she could climax from the sound alone. “It’s why I can’t do this.” He stepped forward and cupped her jaw, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“I realize I’m not playing this cool, but I’m a dad.
Dads aren’t supposed to be cool, but everything I’m about to say is true,” he said.
“I like you, so I can’t fuck you on my kitchen counter.
Not yet, at least. I hope to earn that privilege, but I want to get to know you first. I’m sorry if this comes off a little strong, but I’m not looking for a hookup.
My son likes you, and I like how you include him, so please forgive me for being blunt.
I want to do this right because I hope this lasts between us.
So, I won’t fuck you in my dirty kitchen tonight.
I’m going to take my time and make you fall in love with me.
Then…” he smirked at her, sending her heart into overdrive.
“Once you love me, I’ll fuck you on this counter.
It’ll be hot and absolutely filthy, but not yet. ”
“Cash…” Sable whispered, seconds away from confessing her sins because she thought she was alone in this obsession.
She assumed she was the only one experiencing destiny’s tug, but based on the way this gorgeous man clutched her knees, he was falling off the edge without a parachute along with her.
She should tell him. She should come clean because she wanted to live that future he’d described.
The one where they put Clover to bed after pizza and tv and then came downstairs to clean up only to get distracted when Cash bent her over the table and fucked her so hard, she had to hold a palm over her mouth to keep quiet.
“Did I just freak you out?” he asked, rubbing her knees gently. “I did, didn’t I? People don’t talk like that after three dates.”
“You could never freak me out.” Sable cupped his jaw and pulled him close, kissing him slowly.
She savored the taste of him, the scent, the feel, the power of him, and then she hugged his neck, unable to look at him for this next confession.
“I want to get to know you too.” She started to cry, tears streaming down her face where he thankfully couldn’t see them.
“You do?” Cash slipped his arms around her waist and stepped between her thighs, but this time, her legs wrapped around him in a hug and not lust-filled arousal.
“I do.” She forced her voice to remain steady despite her tears.
She didn’t have a future with him, but her words were true.
She wanted him, even if it was impossible.
If she told him the truth, the competition’s organizer would kill him.
And if He didn’t kill Cash, the other thieves might.
His best chance at survival was if she stole the egg.
She had no choice. She could either break his heart and save his life, or stay and get him killed.
It didn’t take a genius to know which she would choose.
“That makes me so fucking happy,” Cash said, oblivious to her tears. “But just because I’m not going to fuck you tonight doesn’t mean I can’t kiss you on this counter.” He twisted his head and captured her lips.
“I like the way you think,” she teased.
“Good girl.” Cash gave her hair a sexy little tug. “Now shut up and kiss me.”
“Yes, sir,” she moaned, and it was the last words she spoke for the rest of the evening because even once he pulled her off the counter and they finished the dishes, they couldn’t stop their lips from meeting in a conversation deeper than their voices could ever achieve.