Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
C ashea snuggled down even farther into her cozy cocoon and never wanted to leave. She inhaled and breathed in the warm musk of the figure next to her. A bit of panic filled her. The night came crashing back to her. She opened her eyes and saw a tan chest underneath her face. She blinked a few times and lifted her gaze. Her heart about pounded its way out of her chest.
Draven.
She’d done it again. Slept with the man who she had originally assured him they’d have one night. Not that they had done much sleeping. Cashea remembered dozing off only to soon be awakened by a figure braced over her and her nipple being suckled on. A smile came to her lips at the memory of him sliding back inside her and the tender way he’d made love to her.
Made love?
She swallowed hard. Maybe not made love. Fuck? The first time he’d taken her that night, there was no question that he was fucking her. She hadn’t even minded. She couldn’t ever remember having an orgasm from only penetration before. The way his cock had pounded in her, the position had been perfect for her clit to be stimulated with each of his thrusts. She shivered from the memory.
She wasn’t sure what this was between them, but she had gone and put her foot in her mouth last night. He’d said her name, and an expression she couldn’t read had fluttered across his face.
Just me and you. No thinking. Just enjoying each other.
She hadn’t wanted to know if he was about to change his mind. She was coming to realize that she had a weakness for quiet, gruff cowboys whose name began with the letter D and ended with the letter N.
Draven looked so peaceful as he slept. His dark hair was tousled from her running her fingers through his soft, thick strands. She couldn’t help it. When he’d been between her legs, she had needed something to hold on to while the man sent her to the moon with that tongue of his. There were no scowls or frowns on his face. His chest rose and fell in a slow and steady rhythm.
She should go.
Cashea glanced around and took note the sun was rising. The room was basked in the buttery glow of the sun’s rays filtering through the windows. She hadn’t got a good look at his room last night when he’d carried her in. She had been too enraptured by the sexy, naked cowboy standing in front of her with his massive cock fully erect. Now that she was able to take it all in, it was beautiful, but definitely the bedroom of a single man. It could do with a woman’s touch.
What was she thinking?
Let me get out of here before he wakes up.
She carefully slid to the edge of the bed, and it was then she remembered her clothes were down in the kitchen. She glanced over her shoulder and took in Draven’s muscular form. The blanket was dangerously low on his waist. Her eyes lingered where there was a slight bulge underneath it. With a shake of her head, she slowly pushed off the bed, not wanting to wake him. She tiptoed to the door and let herself out. She pulled the door up but didn’t want to cause any noise if she shut it completely.
Cashea flew down the hall and the stairs. She found her way to the kitchen, and their clothes were in the exact same spot they had tossed them.
“You little hussy,” she muttered, gathering her items. How did she go from driving him home to sleeping with him? The moment Draven had trapped her against the patio door, she’d been a goner.
From the tour he’d given her, she remembered there was a half a bathroom down the hall. She padded that way and went in there with all of her belongings. She quickly used the facilities and threw her clothes on. She tried to fix her hair as best as she could with her fingers. Her bag was still near the front door.
She certainly had the look of someone who had been thoroughly fucked. Her body was already feeling the effects of the bedroom aerobics that had taken place. She opened the door and paused, listening for any sounds that he was awake. She would grab her bag and head out. She’d call Sara and walk toward the main road. Thankfully, she didn’t have to be at work at the normal time due to the office having a later start. Today the doctor would be rounding in the hospital a town over and then would come in to see patients.
Not hearing any sounds upstairs, she made a quick dash toward the front door. She scooped up her bag and hefted it up on her shoulder. She paused with her hand on the knob and glanced behind her. She didn’t know what she was expecting. Him to come rushing down the stairs to tell her not to go? The man had disappeared before she had awoken the last time with no note or a goodbye. A heavy sigh escaped her. She twisted the handle and opened the door. She stepped down onto the porch and pulled the door up as softly as she could.
“Well, howdy there,” a voice shouted.
Cashea froze in place. She released the doorknob and slowly turned around. She blinked, taking in the newcomer who had parked his truck next to Draven’s. If she hadn’t known she had left her cowboy upstairs sleeping, she would have gone crazy looking at the person ambling up to the house.
And when did he become her cowboy?
The resemblance was uncanny between Draven and this guy. Only this version had a wide grin as he made his way to her. He tipped back his worn Stetson, allowing her to see he had the same eyes as Draven. He was slightly shorter than him and not as bulky.
This had to be Ridge.
“Um, hello,” she said. Her heart raced at the thought of being caught leaving Draven’s house at the crack of dawn. She would have at least liked to do her walk of shame to the main road alone until she could find someone to come get her. Cashea’s cheeks warmed as he took her in. She already knew she looked a hot mess. She automatically reached up and tucked her thick hair behind her ear.
“I’m Ridge.” He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and held his hand out to her.
Well, that just confirmed what she was assuming. Not wanting to be rude, she went to him and took his hand in a short shake.
“Cashea,” she replied with a small smile. She hoped she appeared calm because she was having a slight panic attack on the inside. Why couldn’t the ground just open up and swallow her whole? Why did she have to volunteer to bring him home? He had been tipsy, and for all she knew she had taken advantage of him. Her eyes widened at the thought. How drunk had he been? Would he even remember that she had been there? Or what they had done last night? “And I was just leaving. ”
“Oh? I don’t see a car here. Is my brother coming to take you, um, home?” He coughed.
She narrowed her eyes on him, sure that he was trying to hold back a laugh.
“I have a friend coming to get me. She’s running a little late, so I told her I would just meet her at the main road,” Cashea lied. She hated to fib, but she didn’t want to make his brother look bad. She could have woken Draven up and asked for a ride, but she was too chicken to see him in the light of day after the night they had shared. She reached inside her bag and dug around to try to find her phone.
“Before you go, want to grab breakfast? I was coming to make sure Draven hadn’t forgot. He didn’t answer his phone last night, so I figured I’d stop by this morning.” Ridge’s grin grew wider. He folded his arms in front of his chest. He definitely had figured out why she was leaving his brother’s house early in the morning.
“Um, thanks, but I can’t, and Draven’s still asleep.”
There went that cough again. He was having too much fun with this.
She still hadn’t located her phone. She pulled her arm out of her bag and figured she would search again once she started walking. “I’d better go.”
He moved to the side to allow her to pass. She held her head up high and jogged down the few steps, happy she had made it this far. Now she only had to remember how to get to the main road. Her memory was a little foggy from last night, but she was sure once she started, she would figure it out. The bottom of her stomach gave way at the sound of the front door opening.
“Ah, there’s my ugly-ass brother,” Ridge announced.
Cashea froze in place with her heart practically in her throat. She couldn’t help but turn around and glance at the door. Her mouth instantly went dry at the sight of him stepping out onto the porch. He was shirtless but had at least thrown on a pair of gray sweatpants. His dark hair was pushed back from his face, and those icy-blue eyes were locked in on her.
“Where are you going?” Draven ignored his brother. He walked across the porch and stopped at the top of the stairs. He leaned against the pillar in an attempt to appear casual.
“Home.” Her voice ended on a squeak. She had hoped she would have been able to disappear before he had woken up. She reached inside her bag again and searched for her phone. If there were any regrets to having a large bag, it was now. Her fingers finally connected with her phone. She brought it out so she could call Sara or Monica to come and get her.
“Walking?” He arched an eyebrow at her.
Ridge’s head swung back and forth between her and Draven as if he were watching a tennis match.
A frown found its way to Draven’s face. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
She bit her lip to keep from saying what she was going to say. It sounded too personal to say that he’d been sleeping so peacefully. Her gut was screaming that he didn’t get much sleep. Even though Ridge was his brother, she just kept it to herself.
“I didn’t want to bother you.” She couldn’t believe those words tumbled from her lips.
A dark expression rolled in on his face. “It wouldn’t be a bother.” He ran a hand along his face before he flicked his gaze to his brother as if seeing him for the first time. “I’m not late.”
“I just wanted to make sure you were alive. You didn’t answer my calls last night or this morning. So I figured I’d come over to make sure you weren’t going to stand the family up for breakfast.” Ridge’s smile disappeared .
Cashea had a feeling there was more that would have been said had she not been standing there.
“I said I was coming. That means I’m coming.” Draven’s infamous scowl returned. He motioned to Cashea. “Let me take her home then I’ll be there.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll find a way home.” She offered a false grin then spun around and begun walking. She didn’t want to be any reason there was a rift in the family. It was obvious something was going down between the brothers for Ridge to come and make sure Draven showed up for breakfast with their family. She swiped at her phone and opened her contacts so she could try calling Sara first. She cursed seeing how her hands trembled.
“Cashea, stop!” Draven’s voice cut through the air.
She kept going and shook her head.
“I’m fine. I’ll find a way home. Go to breakfast,” she called out over her shoulder. Her heart slammed against her chest. She was panicking and didn’t want to lose her shit in front of Draven or his brother. Why didn’t she wake up earlier where she could have avoided them? Now she understood why Draven had dipped out of her place before she had woken up. He had avoided an awkward morning after like this one.
“Cashea!” Draven’s voice was closer. A hand clamped around her wrist and spun her around.
“What the—” A scream escaped her as she was lifted and tossed over a strong shoulder.
Her bag fell to the ground. Draven bent down and scooped it up and stalked back toward his house. She scrambled to find a way to hold on to him and not drop her phone. She wrapped her arms around him and held on for dear life.
“What are you doing?”
He ignored her and kept walking. She couldn’t see where they were going until his truck’s tires come into view. He came to a stop by his vehicle and deposited her onto her feet. She stared up at him in surprise. There was a strange glint in Draven’s eyes that she’d never seen before. He appeared flustered and not like the quiet, unreadable Draven she had come to know. He raked his fingers through his hair again and stared down at her.
“I said I will take you home,” he growled.
He trapped her against the truck. She didn’t know how to react. His nearness was doing something strange to her. Her body was responding to him as it appeared to always do. Her gaze flicked over to Ridge who was staring at Draven in shock. He opened the passenger door and motioned for her to get in.
“Let me throw on shoes and a shirt.”
“But Draven?—”
“Either you get in yourself or I will put you in there myself,” he threatened. He rested his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes on her.
Cashea’s mouth opened then closed. She reached for her bag that he had put on the ground and hefted it up onto her shoulder. She lifted her chin and stepped up into the truck. She settled back into the seat while she watched him jog over to the house. She left the door open, figuring she would wait until he came back before she closed it since it was late summer. He spoke with his brother for few moments, then went into the house.
Ridge walked over to his truck that was parked next to Draven’s. His driver’s door was next to her door.
“It was so nice to meet you, Cashea.” He faced the house again to stare at it, turning back to her. His smile widened. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other again soon.”
“Bye.” She gave a small wave to him .
He shook his head and got in his truck. His engine roared to life, and he backed up and drove off.
Cashea sat in a stunned silence regarding the way the morning was turning out. She glanced down at her phone that was still in her hands. Looked like she wouldn’t need to call anyone at the moment. She placed it in the cup holder on the center console. She didn’t have long to wait. Draven reappeared from his house. Cashea shut her door and watched him stroll to the car.
He got inside and turned to her. They stared at each other for a brief moment, then he reached over and brought her to him. He covered her mouth in a kiss that left her breathless. He pulled back, his hand still resting on the nape of her neck. Her eyes remained closed as she tried to regain control of her breathing.
“Good morning.” His low voice sent a chill down her spine.
Cashea opened her eyes and stared into his blue ones. She reached up and ran her finger along his rugged jawline that was still covered with a light dusting of hair. The memory of his bristles tickling her inner thighs came to mind.
“Morning,” she whispered .
“Cashea, I like you. A lot,” he said.
She froze in place. Her fingers had trailed down to his lips. Those lips had touched every facet of her body last night. Her gaze crept back up to his. Draven’s hand slipped away from her neck and came to rest on the back of hers. He took it in his and entwined their fingers together. His was so much larger than hers. It engulfed hers completely.
“I want to see you,” he said.
“I’m sitting right here.” She couldn’t help herself. When nervous, she tended to make jokes, and right now it slipped right out of her.
He was dead serious, but his lips curved up in a slight smile. Her heart skipped a beat. Just the half-crooked smile was enough to change his face completely. She had an inkling of what he would look like with a full-blown smile, thanks to getting to meet his brother.
“You know what I mean.” He raised their hands and placed a soft kiss on the back of hers.
This was a gentle side of Draven that she was captivated by.
“I’d like that,” she breathed. Hell yeah, she wanted to see him again. She could barely contain her excitement because she didn’t want to look like a goofball in front of him. But she did have to clarify what he meant. They hadn’t started off on the right foot. Both nights they had ended up in the bed together. Did he mean just continue to sleep with her? She frowned. “Wait. Do you mean take me out on a date or just?—”
“I want you, Cashea. As in you be my woman.”
She blinked. Be his woman? She smiled and gave a nod.
“I want you, too, Draven and I like the sound of that.”