Chapter 5
Cassie’s jaw falls slack and she’s turning on her heel, heading down the trail we just came from. I hear her mutter to herself, “This is what happens when you follow a stranger through the damn woods.”
Jogging, I catch up to her and block her path. She pushes me, but I don’t budge.
“What’s the first thing on your list?” I ask pointedly.
She shakes her head. “Absolutely not. Pick something else.”
“Last night you wouldn’t go near the edge of the bluff. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think…” I place my hands on her shoulders. “You are afraid of heights. Let me show you sometimes heights can be fun. If you do it once and hate it, we’ll pack up and leave, no questions asked.”
Cassie purses her lips, her chest lifting on a long inhale and she lets it out on a huff. “Of course, to you it’s fun. You’re not the person who’s afraid of heights, Liam.”
“True.” I concede. She has a point. Maybe I took her fear too lightly.
“If I were, I’d probably be a lot less smug about it.
” That almost earns me a smile. “But hey, I’m on your side here.
This list we made? It’s not about throwing you off bluffs.
It’s about proving to yourself you’re braver than you think. ”
“Well, I still think you’re being pushy.”
I tilt my head side to side. “That’s fair. How about I work on patience and leave it up to you.”
Cassie looks to the clearing for several seconds and then back to me. “You promise we can leave if I hate it?”
“Pinky promise.” I hold up my finger and her eyes narrow.
“Fine.” And she hooks hers with mine. The brush of her touch lingers longer than it should, but I tell myself it’s nothing and let go first.
Cassie turns and heads back to the clearing.
I’ve been coming here since I could swim, so this is familiar territory to me.
It’s a low bluff surrounded by an outcropping of trees that everyone in town has jumped from at least once in their life.
The water is partially shaded, so it’s perfect on days like today when you feel yourself melting under the August sun.
I follow her up the path until we’re back at the clearing.
But before I can do anything else, Mutt needs some water.
He’s an old man and this heat gets to him.
Digging in my backpack, I find Mutt’s travel bowl, fill it up, and cluck my tongue at him.
He hobbles over, lapping at the cool liquid, and I join Cassie where she stands, closer to the edge than I expected.
“How deep do you think the water is?” She cranes her neck to peer out at the river below.
“Pretty deep. I’ve never touched the bottom.” I point to the rock jutting up from the surface of the water. “All you gotta do is jump to your left so you don’t hit that rock, there.”
“Easy peasy. Jump twenty feet from a bluff. Oh, but while you’re at it, aim your body just right so you’re not impaled by a large boulder.”
I chuckle, and she elbows me in the rib. Despite her unease, though, she still gives me a small smile.
“You’ll jump with me?” she asks. Her eyes hold mine, drawing in the August sunlight, changing from amber to whiskey depending on how she tilts her head.
“Of course I’ll jump with you. I agreed to doing this with you, didn’t I? I’ll even stay on your right side, so if anyone is impaled by a boulder it’ll be me.”
“Right.” Cassie looks to where Mutt now lounges in the sun and back to me. “I can do this.”
We begin peeling off our clothes, tossing them on the grass, and holy shit, I did not think this through.
Cassie in a bikini is a sight to behold.
I allow myself exactly five seconds to look my fill while her back is turned.
Shiny dark hair gathered into a high ponytail, exposing the curve of her neck that shouldn’t be as distracting as it is.
There’s a small birthmark right below her left shoulder blade, barely there, like someone pressed a thumb to her skin and left the imprint behind.
But when she turns around? Fucking hell.
My eyes land right on tanned skin spilling from the tops of her red bikini top, causing my dick to swell. What can I say? I’ve always been a boob guy. I can’t help it. And Cassie’s are a spectacular pair.
Her throat clears, and my eyes leap to her face, where a smirk now dances along the edges of pretty pink lips.
She snaps her fingers in my face. “Eyes up here, sir. And you might should do something about that.” Cassie points to the hard ridge of my cock now visible against my swim trunks.
I puff a laugh through my nose. “Well, I’m gonna need a minute.” Turning my back, I work to get myself under control thinking up the worst things possible.
The Red Wedding episode of Game of Thrones. Cleaning bathrooms at the bar. My sixth-grade teacher who had the worst breath.
Dammit to hell, this woman has an effect on me. I haven’t even known her a full day and it’s like I’m under some sort of spell. She’s all I’ve thought about since I dropped her off at Penny’s last night. I was even tempted to sniff inside the helmet to see if I’d get traces of her shampoo.
I refuse to get in my head about this or question it.
Finally, after mostly wrestling my dick under control, I spin around.
“You ready?”
Arms crossed over her chest, she looks past me at the bluff and sighs. “No. But I’m doing it anyway.”
Cassie steps around me until she’s standing right at the edge and, after assuring Mutt I’ll be right back, I join her. Her breaths come in shaky bursts, so I reach for her hand, lacing our fingers together.
“What if I panic mid-air and belly flop?” she asks, voice wavering.
“Then I’ll belly flop right beside you.”
She cuts me a look. “That’s not helpful, Liam.”
“Listen to me. We may have just met and there’s a lot I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling you’re braver than you think. All you have to do is close your eyes and jump.”
A light breeze picks up, carrying the faint scent of honeysuckle mixed with a fishy river smell. She takes in a deep breath, like she’s gathering her courage and I see her shoulder relax. “Okay, I’m ready.”
“Then we jump together. You count us down.”
“Three…two…” Her grip on my hand tightens, breaths stuttering. “One.”
We leap off, feet no longer on solid ground.
Wind rushes past my ears, along with a shriek torn from Cassie’s throat.
Then we hit the cold water, disappearing beneath the surface in a rush of muffled white noise.
Even underwater, our hands are still joined.
Lungs burning, I kick us upward, and we break the surface at the same time.
Cassie’s gasping for air between great peals of laughter. A full bodied, alive kind of laugh.
“Oh my god! Liam, that was…” But she doesn’t finish. Instead, she laughs again, this breath stealing wild sound that hits me square in the chest, curling around all the empty places inside of me. I can’t help but laugh with her.
With a swipe of her hand across the surface of the water, she splashes me. “We jumped, Liam! I did it, and it was incredible.” Her excitement is contagious, cheeks flushed, eyes bright.
“You wanna do it again?” I tease.
She slaps me on the chest, looking at me through long, wet lashes. “Hell no! You jump all you want. I think I’ll float here and watch.”
Mutt’s barking interrupts us and we both look to where we were just standing not a minute ago.
“We’re okay, buddy. You’re a good boy.”
Four jumps later, I break the surface, shaking my hair from my eyes to find Cassie. Floating on her back about ten feet from me, she has her face tipped to the sun and arms spread wide like she’s letting the river carry every last worry away.
As I float watching her, I think about everything I’ve pieced together so far.
Austin James is her brother, and from what little I’ve gathered, he’s had one hell of a year.
I’m sure that’s weighed heavily on her mind.
I mind my business, but with Austin’s level of fame, some things are public knowledge.
Then there’s the terrible ex and all the damage he did.
But right now, Cassie looks like maybe she’s letting some of that go.
I swim her way, careful not to splash and break the moment of peace she’s found. When I reach her, I shift onto my back, letting the water cool my skin. We float quietly, side by side, only a few inches of space between us.
“You alive over there?” I ask after a long stretch of comfortable silence.
She doesn’t look over but I hear her hum.
“Mm-hmm.” She sounds dreamy, almost drunk on adrenaline and sunshine. “I haven’t felt this good in…I don’t even know how long.”
I angle my head just enough to glance at her. Her eyes are shut, lips curled in a soft smile.
“How’s it feel knowing you can cross something off your list?”
“Pretty damn good.” A laugh, barely more than a breath, slips from her lips.
“I mean, I screamed like a banshee the whole way down, but I did it.” She drifts for a moment, and her voice is quieter when she speaks again.
“It feels like I proved something to myself, you know? I think you may be right. I am braver than I realized.”
The current has slowly pushed us closer to the rock and Cassie flips, swimming to it while I follow.
She braces herself with one hand, treading water with her legs.
We’re inches apart now, and I want nothing more than to close the distance and capture her mouth with my own.
But no kissing has been a hard and fast rule for me for a couple years now.
Something about kissing feels a hell of a lot more intimate than fucking, and I’m not interested in intimacy.
Not anymore. I know to some it makes no sense, but it’s how I see it.
Her gaze flicks to my mouth and back to my eyes, and I know she wants me to.
The air shifts, the moment between us electric, crackling and buzzing around us.
My heart jackhammers in my chest but I know what I have to do.
I know shadows when I see shadows and I’ve gathered enough information to know getting tangled up with me is not what she needs right now.
And she deserves more than I’m able to offer.
She’s here to rebuild and learn to trust herself.
A groan works its way up the back of my throat as I reach to push a strand of hair from her eyes.
“Cassandra,” I murmur, thumb lingering for a heartbeat longer than it should. “This is highly unlike me. But I think I have to friend-zone myself with you.”
Her lips part, surprised. “Friend-zone yourself?” she echoes.
And even though it’s the last thing I want to do, I nod once.
Her brows shoot up, an amused expression crossing her face.
Pointing back and forth between us, she says, “You thought, what? Something was about to happen between us?” She grabs me by the arm, throwing a hand over her forehead dramatically.
“Oh, Liam, a swoon is upon me. Quick, find my fainting couch.”
Rolling my eyes, I shoot her a grin and play along with her farce, putting on my best Mr. Darcy. “I beg your pardon, my lady, but when a woman looks at a man in the manner you were just looking at me, it would be discourteous not to assume she was on the verge of ruin.”
“But, listen,” I go on in my regular voice. She knows damn well something was there between us seconds ago. “Friends can still flirt. I won’t be able to help myself.”
Her brows knit. “What?”
I sweep a hand in her direction. “I mean, look at you.”
Her lips twitch into a smile.
“And let’s be honest,” I add. “You’ll probably flirt right back.”
“Oh, you think so?” she challenges, one brow arched.
“Absolutely. I’m too good looking for you not to.”
Finally, Cassie bursts out laughing, splashing me again. “You’re impossible. You know that, right?”
And just like that, we’re back to normal, laughing like every fiber of my being doesn’t want Cassie James. And the thought terrifies the shit out of me.