Chapter 20
MEMPHIS
I wanted nothing more than to carry Cassia into my bedroom and lock the world out for a day or two, but I knew as soon as I turned down the driveway that wasn’t going to happen immediately.
“Well, shit. They’re still up,” Cassia grumbled.
We hadn’t left the wedding festivities right away.
Instead, I introduced her to friends and family she hadn’t met, sat at the table and talked with guests, mingled to visit with others, and danced quite a few more times.
Through all of it, we stayed together, most of the time holding hands.
I was thrilled when we ran out of seats at our table and friends began standing around to talk, because it gave me the perfect excuse to pull Cassia down onto my lap while we visited with everyone.
All eyes were on us, especially after that blazing kiss on the dance floor.
Per usual, no one said anything too obvious about our sudden change in status.
Anyone that knew me understood that this was my goal.
I could tell they were happy for me, but so were the people who didn’t know the story and just thought Cassia was my date.
Once the wedding festivities wound down at the Conners, we moved to the Texas Kings’ clubhouse.
The men in my club were glad to host the afterparty, which I knew would go on well into the early morning hours.
Fortunately, Cassia was up for it when I suggested we at least make an appearance.
Unfortunately, we got stuck there for much longer than I planned.
However, it was nice to catch up with old friends I didn’t get to see often, especially the ones that had come in from Colorado.
Our time at the clubhouse was enlightening because I got a sense of what a true relationship with Cassia would be like.
Yes, we’d become friends, which had its own parameters, but after our kiss on the dance floor, it seemed as easy as flipping a switch to go from friendly banter to holding hands with the occasional kiss and plenty of secret smiles.
It made me so crazy that I wanted to drag her out of here and bring her home.
I finally couldn’t resist any longer and did just that without even saying goodbye to anyone.
Instead, I took her by the hand and led her out into the night.
I was happy when she not only didn’t complain, but seemed as excited as I was.
I would have been able to see the lights on in my house from the parking lot, but I was too focused on Cassia to pay attention to that.
Now, driving down the road, I could see that there was no way she and I would be able to go straight to bed without being completely rude.
Just this once, I hoped Cassia would forget her manners–and give me an excuse to forget mine–and walk straight past the women to my bedroom.
“They’re still up, which is probably a good thing.”
I parked the truck and looked over at her. “How is that a good thing?”
“That probably means they were able to get the match that they wanted to watch and won’t even notice us come in.” Cassia grimaced before she said, “That also means we’re going to have to listen to them yelling at the top of their lungs . . .”
“What match? It’s the middle of the night!”
“It’s not the middle of the night on the other side of the world, sweetheart.”
I tried to frown at her, but her grin was so mischievous I couldn’t pull it off. Instead, I affected a deep Texas twang and said, “What’cha mean ‘the other side of the world,’ girl? There is no other side. The land drops off at the Texas border. Anyone with a brain in their damn head knows that.”
Cassia shook her head. “Sadly, I’m sure there are people out there who actually believe that.”
“If people like that exist, I don’t ever want to meet them.”
“My bedroom or yours?” Cassia asked, the excitement in her voice so contagious I couldn’t help but smile. Before I had a chance to answer, she said, “Mine. It’s farther away from the kitchen so we won’t be able to hear them, and they won’t be able to hear you.”
“Me?” I asked as I got out. “Honey, I’m not the one that’s gonna be screaming.”
“You talk a big game, Forrester. Let’s hope you can see it through.”
“Nothing like pressure,” I muttered to myself as I walked around to open Cassia’s door.
By the time I got there, she was already standing beside it.
I knew she’d heard me when she said, “No pressure. If you don’t live up to the admittedly low standards I’ve set for you, I’ve got an arsenal of battery-operated boyfriends who will. ”
I hummed before I pulled her into my arms. “The thought of you using them admittedly does something for me. Any chance that you’ll give me a demonstration someday?”
“If you play your cards right, I just might,” Cassia said before she kissed me softly. “Now, let’s go in there and get naked before I lose my bravado.”
That sentence gave me pause, so before we got to the door, I asked, “Do you feel pressured to . . . ?”
“You’ll find that I don’t react well to pressure.
I won’t cave. If anything, I dig in my heels.
I want you in my bed, Memphis. I have since we got here and I watched you walk toward us to welcome us to your home.
My attraction has grown the more I’ve gotten to know you until you’re almost all I can think of now. ”
“Really?”
“Don’t get a big head about it,” Cassia warned. As she stopped in front of the back door, she looked down at the front of my pants and said, “Or do. I guess we’ll see what my compliment brings up.”
“Brings up? It hasn’t gone down since the first time I saw you.”
“You’re good for my ego.”
“I’ll stroke that along with every other inch of you if you can get us into your bedroom without your sisters realizing we’re home.”
“I didn’t plan on stopping to say hello. You’ve been living in this house longer than I have, so you know it’s a straight shot down the hall. It shouldn’t be hard to manage.” She slipped off one of her sexy heels, then the other, hooking them over a finger. “I’ll race you.”
“As long as you’re the prize at the finish line, I’ll be the winner either way.”
◆◆◆
CASSIA
I sprinted down the hallway and heard Memphis grunt when he slipped at the corner and bumped into the wall. I was still giggling about it as I ran through the doorway into my bedroom and then spun around to watch him run in behind me.
As he shut the door, I boasted, “I win!”
I squealed when he lunged for me, but I didn’t have time to react before he picked me up and launched us back onto my bed. Somehow he twisted us so I landed on top of him. My legs naturally fell to either side of his hips, and I felt just how excited he was to be here with me.
Yes, I still had reservations. But I’d learned that life could change in a heartbeat. Nothing was certain–bombs fell, governments crumbled, leaders grasped for power, children went hungry, and people were yanked from your life in an instant.
I had developed an appreciation for happiness. I craved stability– a family, and I believed in my heart Memphis would help me build one. His loyalty to the people he loved made me realize Ivy was safe with him. If I would just give him a chance, I would be too.
I planted my hands on his chest and pushed up just enough to look down at him. My hair fell like a curtain around us, dimming the light from the lamp I always left on. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
He lifted his hips to press his cock against me and raised an eyebrow.
I leaned down and kissed him. Within seconds, we were lost just like we had been on the dance floor and again outside the wedding celebration.
Clothes disappeared with an urgency. I pushed up long enough to pull my dress over my head and toss it aside, leaving me in the lingerie I’d chosen specifically for tonight.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Cassia,” Memphis murmured as he cupped my breasts. “I couldn’t dream up anyone more perfect than you are right now.”
With his shirt unbuttoned and parted to show the tattoos spanning his broad chest, his pants undone with his cock peeking over the band of his boxer briefs, and desire clearly written across his face, Memphis looked hotter than ever.
I’d seen him shirtless before–first when I stalked him online before moving to Rojo, and then in passing around the house–but this was different.
Seeing him beneath me with so much heat in his eyes as he put his mouth on my nipple through the silk of my bra was enough to take my breath away.
I suddenly remembered Oksana’s advice and put my hands on his shoulders to ease him back. He looked at me in confusion.
“I’m not trying to ruin the mood, but I have to ask - when was the last time you got tested?”
Memphis laughed softly. “The day after your sister showed up and told me I’d fathered a child. The condom had broken without me even knowing it. I wasn’t taking any chances.”
“And?”
“Clean as a whistle.”
“I’ve had more than enough doctor’s appointments in the last few years to assure that I am too.”
“I’m not ready to talk about having more children. I’m not willing to risk it.”
“Neither am I. I’m on the shot, and I’ve never been late for a dose, so we’re as safe as I can make us. But before we go any further, I have to make something clear. If we’re together, that’s it. No fans. No secret rendezvous. None of the rock-star nonsense, okay?”
“I told you before, when I find the one, she’s it for me. I don’t have it in me to cheat, Cassia.”
“I trust you. But if that trust is broken, it’s over. I’ve seen what diseases can do to people, and I won’t gamble my health for anyone.” I shuddered as I remembered my mother explaining what was wrong with the people in the hospital ward we visited in a remote town in Africa.
“I’ve got a box of condoms in my room, and I’ll wear one every time if that makes you feel more secure, Cassia.”
I shook my head and then leaned down and kissed him. “I trust you.”
“Good,” he said, pulling me closer. “Because I plan on spending the rest of my life proving I’m worthy of that trust.”
What followed next was slower. Intentional.
Before I even realized he was moving me, I was on my back beneath Memphis, and he was kissing his way down my collarbone as he pulled the strap of my bra down my arm.
I slipped my hands under my back and unhooked my bra to give him better access, smiling when he let out a pained groan as he tossed it aside.
I shoved his shirt down over his arms, relieved when it followed my dress to the floor and his bare skin touched mine. Once the shirt was gone, I pushed at the waistband of his pants and slid his boxers down with them before cupping his ass in both hands and giggling.
“Well, that’s not a good sign,” Memphis mumbled.
“I just realized that, right now, I’m the envy of countless women–and probably a whole lot of men too–because I’ve got my hands on the infamous Memphis Forrester’s ass.”
Memphis chuckled. “Hearts are gonna break all over the world when people find out your hands are the only ones that’ll ever touch that ass again.” He kissed his way along my jaw before nipping at my earlobe. “And you’re the only one who will hear me whisper in her ear.”
His mouth trailed down my neck as he moved lower, kissing his way down my chest. I was anticipating his next whisper when he kissed one nipple, then flicked his tongue across the other. “And these magnificent boobs are the only ones I’ll ever touch again.”
His trail continued down my stomach until he was lying between my splayed legs. I ruined the romantic mood by cackling when he said, “Oh, look! Memphis the Explorer has discovered the Island of Clitoris!”
My laughter dissolved into a long moan when he flicked his tongue back and forth over my clit.
By the time he pushed his finger inside me, I was restless with need.
I knew Memphis sensed my urgency when he brought me right to the edge and then backed off.
I growled in frustration as he ignored my pull on his hair and frantic whispers, begging him not to stop.
Instead, he surged up and filled me in one stroke.
I gasped at the stretch as my body adjusted before he pulled nearly all the way out and thrust forward again.
He kept moving deep inside me as his lips met mine.
After a scorching kiss, he rose onto his knees between my legs and lifted my feet to rest against his chest.
I barely had time to process the new position–aside from a fleeting thought that, if he had a foot fetish, I’d need to have regular pedicures–before he leaned forward and changed the angle of his thrusts.
With my body bent at an unfamiliar angle, I wasn’t comfortable at first, but that quickly ceased to matter.
The new position opened me in a way that fit my clit against his pelvic bone perfectly.
With every thrust and twist of his hips, the stimulation ramped up until I could do nothing but let go.
Memphis led me to the most explosive orgasm I’d ever experienced.
His hips stuttered as my muscles gripped his cock like a vice.
Even though he never stopped moving, I felt him twitching deep inside me.
We rode out our orgasms together until I was limp and drained, gasping for air.
He collapsed on top of me before rolling us over so that I was sprawled across his chest. I rested my head on his heated skin, trying to catch my breath, smiling as his hands roamed from my ass to my shoulders, rubbing with just enough pressure to loosen muscles I hadn’t realized were tense.
My last discernible thought before sleep took me was that I was the luckiest woman alive.
To be held by a man who was not only thoughtful and considerate, but also strong and handsome was more than I’d hoped for.
The fact that he was fantastic in bed was an added bonus I looked forward to exploring every day for the rest of my life.
And I would be happy to explore it again once I woke up.