by Alexa Aston
He couldn’t think well enough to form any words so he nodded and shuffled with Gloria down the hall.
“This is my little suite here. I manage the Pussycat now. Danced here for years and years. Slept with the owner and eventually started making the decisions and paying the bills when he got too feeble. In return for caring for him, he gave me the place outright in his will.”
Rhett managed a lopsided grin. “I guess you take care of a lot of people, Gloria. The girls here. Your customers. And people like me.”
She beamed at him. “Shower’s this way, honey. I’ll help you strip off those clothes. Ain’t nothin’ I haven’t seen before.”
She started the shower and worked Rhett’s shirt off him. “My, I have seen it before up on the big screen, but lemme tell you, up close and personal does it for me every time.”
Gloria removed his pants and socks and nudged him toward the shower. “I’ll have a towel and some clothes for you by the time you’re out. Have a good soak, honey.”
◆◆◆
Cassie paced back and forth, TJ’s head swinging from left to right as if he watched a tennis match. Shep sat next to the cat on the leather sofa, his head on his paws.
She hadn’t slept much. Couldn’t force anything down. Was afraid to go for a run and not hear her cell ring. She did manage a shower and actually took the time to blow her hair dry and put on a little makeup to disguise the dark circles under her eyes. If Rhett turned up, she didn’t want to look like the Bride of Frankenstein and scare him away again.
The buzzer rang in the kitchen. Someone wanted in the front gate. Cassie walked over and saw a dilapidated Buick with two people sitting there on the monitor. A man was slumped against the open window, his head down. The woman had on dark lipstick and wore a big smile. Cassie flipped the switch to speak.
“Yes?”
“Hi, there. Am I talking to Cassie? This here’s Gloria Redmond. I’ve got someone that wants to come home. Say hi, Rhett, will ya?”
Cassie watched the screen and saw the man sit up.
It was Rhett.
Gloria began explaining, “Rhett couldn’t quite remember the combi—”
Cassie pushed the button to open the gate and raced from the kitchen. Shep and TJ jumped down from the couch and followed, not about to miss out on the action.
She threw the front door open and ran to the circular driveway as the Buick chugged along the long drive. She couldn’t stand it. The car barely moved. Rhett might not get here before New Year’s at this rate. Cassie took off running as fast as she could, reaching the car, and seeing Rhett.
She pulled the handle and yanked the door open, falling into his lap, covering him in kisses.
They both murmured bits and pieces as they touched each other’s face, stroked hair, clung to one another as if the world was about to end. The driver chuckled to herself. Cassie heard the laughter faintly in the background as she made it her mission to kiss Rhett Corrigan until they were both breathless.
She succeeded.
Finally coming up for air, she actually looked at him.
“What Mack Truck ran over you, Corrigan?”
The driver laughed again. “Oh, Rhett, you’re right. She’s definitely a keeper.”
Cassie glanced at the woman. Had she called herself Gloria?
The redhead stuck out her hand. “Gloria Redmond, at your service. Wasn’t a redhead until a beau of mine thought I’d look good that way, and with my last name being Redmond and all, I thought I’d give it a whirl.”
“Sweetheart, you need to get off me,” Rhett announced.
Cassie looked back at him. Rhett wore a ratty, black biker T-shirt two sizes too large and lime green sweat pants. He was barefoot.
“Corrigan, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”
CHAPTER 27
Rhett awoke to the smell of fresh coffee. He opened his eyes to find himself in his own bed, sunlight streaming through the open curtains, Shep parked next to him.
“Good morning.”
He watched as Cassie entered the bedroom with a breakfast tray in her hands. His stomach rumbled in response.
She crossed the room and set the tray on the floor. “Let’s get you propped up.”
Cassie fixed the pillows behind him as Rhett struggled to sit up. He managed to come to an upright position but he was glad the pillows supported him. She reached for the tray and set it across his lap before crawling onto the bed next to him. She nudged Shep over and Rhett saw TJ had taken up residence near the foot of the bed.
“I see the gang’s all here,” he said as he picked up his fork to dive into the omelet.
Cassie buttered his toast and smeared strawberry jam on for good measure.
“How do you feel?”
Rhett savored the egg concoction, chewing thoughtfully. He tasted cheese, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, and chives in his first bite.
“Rested. My body still hurts like hell but my head is finally clear. What time is it?”
“About ten. It’s December thirtieth, by the way. You slept for the last twenty-four hours.”
He munched on the wheat toast and took a sip of coffee before answering.
“How much did Gloria tell you?”
Cassie gave him a knowing glance. “Everything. At least what she knew and could piece together, that is.”
She handed him a tall glass of orange juice. “Drink this. You’re probably still dehydrated.”
Rhett followed her orders, draining the glass, hoping to buy some time. But as he looked at Cassie, he knew he could only be honest with her. She would never hold back on him. He owed her the same—even if it did put him in a bad light.
He set down the empty glass, picking up a strip of bacon in one hand and taking her hand with his other.
“I guess you could tell how upset I was at the funeral.” He inhaled the bacon in two bites and waited for the wrath of Cassie to drop.
Her brows raised a good inch. “You mean the part about leaving the business? Or the part where you abandoned me both physically and emotionally without looking back?” She frowned at him, dropping her sarcastic tone. “Rhett, you vanished. You could’ve been lying dead in a ditch and I wouldn’t have known. In fact, you practically were.”
Cassie pulled her hand from his. “I care about you, Corrigan. A lot. But I’ve got to know it’s a two-way street. I don’t trust easily or often. I learned a long time ago not to wear my heart on my sleeve because the world always stomps on you.”
He winced. “Okay. I deserve that one.” He reached for her hand again and captured it in his, entwining his fingers through hers.
“I acted like a first-class fuck-up, okay? I admit it. I stormed out of there, angry at the world, totally selfish. I drove around aimlessly, feeling sorry for myself. Why was I still here and Zak dead? He had his whole life in front of him. He loved doing what he did but it wasn’t enough.”
Rhett picked up the tray and moved it aside. He pulled Cassie next to him, his arm around her shoulders, holding her close.
“Then my little pity party took a turn for the worse. I drove by some dive and wheeled into the parking lot. Went in and had a lot of drinks. I mean a lot. So many I can’t begin to remember.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I felt sorry for Zak because he wanted you and I was lucky enough to have beaten him to you. I felt sorry for me because the world thinks I have everything I could ever need or want in a career, and most of the time I’m empty inside. I’m bored with what I do. I’m typecast. I wanted it all to go away—the press junkets and gift baskets and mediocre scripts.”
Rhett looked into Cassie’s eyes. “Everything but you, Cassie Carroll. You’ve become my world. I can’t believe I put you through hell worrying about me.”
His arm tightened around her. “Can you forgive me for being such a selfish Hollywood bastard?”
“I’ll think about it.” She smiled. “Of course, I do my best thinking—”
Rhett cut her off wit
h a kiss, long and deep.
When he finally broke the kiss, he murmured in her ear, “If you’re going to think, I better give you something to think about.”
She sighed as he nibbled on her ear, her hands tightening on his shoulders. Rhett moved to the slender column of her throat, taking long minutes there before working his way down. His fingers pushed the buttons through the holes of her white oxford shirt and then slipped it from her shoulders.
“Hmm. You did that in record time, Mr. Expert. Or should I say Mr. Sexpert?”
Rhett cupped her breasts, kneading them, enjoying her little sighs of contentment before he unfastened her bra and tossed it aside.
“Baby, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
Cassie moaned as Rhett’s warm mouth touched her breast, his tongue dancing in circles around her nipple. Every stroke brought a new shiver, a new rush of emotion. Her fingers pushed into his hair, clenching and unclenching as his tongue and hands worked their magic.
Somehow, she found herself without any clothes on, Rhett stretched above her like a chiseled Greek god. She’d always laughed at stories back in high school of girls losing their heads, couples who said they got carried away and didn’t know what they were doing.
Little Cassie Carroll from Waco, Texas now counted herself a member of that club. Rhett Corrigan drove every coherent thought from her mind. She found herself caught up in a physical wanting, an emotional needing, that only this man could fill.
Perched above her, Rhett cradled her face in his hands.
“I love you, Cassie. I always will.”
And then he drove into her and caused all thought to cease.
◆◆◆
Cassie slowly came back to earth, her limbs entwined in Rhett’s, not knowing where she ended and he began.
And realized that was a good thing.
No—a great thing.
Rhett nuzzled her temple, his lips scorching a path across her cheek and to her mouth. Oh, this man could kiss. If anyone asked what heaven was like, she would immediately respond that it was being kissed senseless by Rhett Corrigan.
He reached and pulled the sheet over them as he brought his arms around her. Cassie knew pure safety and comfort in that moment.
“Am I forgiven?”
She looked up at him. “Only if you’ll do that every day.”
“For the rest of our lives.”
She bit her lip. She wondered if this was merely pillow talk or if Rhett was serious about this forever thing.
“What’s wrong?”
This was getting scary. Rhett could read her like a book. No one had ever gotten inside her head the way he did.
She shrugged. “Nothing. I just wondered if this was a good time to hit you up for a raise,” she said flippantly, not wanting him to guess what was really on her mind. “Or an end of the year bonus. You know, for all my emotional stress and suffering, Corrigan.”
Rhett’s eyes searched hers. “I am truly sorry for being an ass, Cassie.” He pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. “I am very serious about our future together.”
She tried to move away but he wouldn’t let her put any distance between them.
“Rhett, you don’t have to make empty promises to me. We’ve only known each other—”
“We do know each other, sweetheart. I knew more after being around you one day than I have some people I’ve known for years.” He kissed her again, lingering a moment, causing desire to ripple through her.
“I can’t imagine my day without you in it, Cassie. I want to wake up next to you until both our hair has turned white. Or fallen out. Until our kids have their own kids. I want to take you to Italy and tour the vineyards there. I want to run on the beach at Maui together and salsa dance in Spain. I want us to sail around the world.”
“Rhett, that sounds so grand.”
He placed his hand over her heart. “I want the little things, too. The assembly line in the morning as we make sandwiches for the kids’ school lunches. Staying up until three in the morning, bleary-eyed, as we read instructions on how to put a bicycle or doll house together before the little buggers come down and catch us at it and cry because there’s no Santa Claus.”
Cassie placed her hand over Rhett’s. “What you’re describing is so . . . normal. Rhett, your life is so not normal. You leave for months on end for location shoots. Photographers document your every move in public, from sipping a latte to putting change in a parking meter.”
“We can have normal, Cassie. I came from normal. I know normal. I want normal. My job is a perfect one to raise kids. They can see new and interesting places on those shoots. We can live anywhere. Get as far from LA as you want.
“I can stay home during the school year and coach Little League and go to dance recitals. Hell, I could do that all the time. I have beaucoup money that could last us forever.”
He gazed intently at her, his gray eyes stormy. “I need you to say yes to me, Cassie. Nothing works without you. Nothing will be right. I need you. I want you. I love you.”
Her wall of resistance crumbled. “I need you, Rhett,” she whispered. “More than I’ll probably ever admit.”
He grinned. “You just did, babe.” He kissed her every which way then. Soft. Hard. With longing and desire. With passion and love and hope for tomorrow.
“I’m a better man with you, Cassie.” He glanced down at the lime green sweats he’d stripped off before falling into bed and saw TJ had nestled in them during their lovemaking. “Despite my recent fashion faux pas.”
Cassie followed his glance. “I was wondering about those and the biker T-shirt. I know they couldn’t be Gloria’s.”
“They’re Lenny’s. I’ll be sure they’re washed and returned to the Pussycat Lounge. He’ll probably want to wear them when he’s breaking heads of rowdy customers.”
“Oh, that reminds me. Breck took a little visit down there last night with a few of his stunt friends. Looking for Zoe.”
“Who’s Zoe?”
Cassie nodded. “I didn’t think you’d remember. Gloria said she took you out hand in hand after slipping you the GHB.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t remember anything other than getting drunk and waking up in an alley.”
“Gloria seemed to think Zoe’s lowlife boyfriend spotted you or your car and talked her into helping him out. Breck went over to . . . remedy things.”
He groaned. “I’ve seen Breck fix things before. How bad was it?”
She grinned. “You have your credit cards back, minus the cash. Breck couldn’t establish what you had on you. Your car also is safely in the garage, all parts intact.”
“And?”
“The boyfriend has left town. With Zoe in tow. And a promise to call the cops if they reappear.”
“Breck is talented,” Rhett admitted. “He’s always been pretty rough and tumble, even before the military, but he’s learned an awful lot from the stunt guys he works with.”
Cassie grew serious. “Breck’s talents lie in other directions, too, Rhett.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know that outline you read? The one you were interested in contacting the writers about? Well, you’re sleeping with one of them—and your best friend is the other.”
He glanced around. “You mean Shep and TJ pounded out that treatment?”
She punched him in the arm. “Get serious, Corrigan.”
Rhett focused on her as it dawned on him. “You’re not kidding. You and Breck put that together. For me.”
Cassie nodded. “You’ve already looked over the outline and character sketches. We’ve completed about a third of the script.”
He eyed her appreciatively. “Hmm. If I’m married to one of the writers, do I get a discount on the property? ”
“Only if you agree to work for scale and a percentage of the profits.”
Rhett fired back, “There might not be any profits, Cassie. If we set up a production company and film it independently, I can bankroll that but it
’s quite a departure for me. I don’t know if the public’ll buy me as some slick assistant district attorney, much less a widower and possible serial killer.”
“You haven’t read the script, Corrigan. It’s tailor-made for you, by us. Breck and I are huge movie buffs. We see everything. We know what works and what doesn’t.
“Trust us.”
Rhett’s eyes gleamed. “Trust my two favorite people? That’s the easy part, sweetheart.”
He climbed out of bed. Cassie couldn’t help but admire his washboard abs and tight butt. And he was hers. It didn’t seem real. Cinderella had nothing on Cassie Carroll.
“I need a shower and then I want to take my girl ring shopping.”
“Really?”
“You bet. This is a joint effort. If you’re going to wear the ring, you need to help pick it out.”
Cassie leaped from the bed and threw her arms around him. “I am so happy.”
“Baby, you—”
The loud rapping at the door startled them both. They sprang apart like guilty teenagers caught by their parents.
“Mr. Corrigan? Are you awake? We’ve got a problem.”
Cassie barely recognized Mimi Morgan’s voice, usually so bright and cheerful. Instead, she heard how strained and tense the cook sounded.
“What is it?” Rhett called out.
“There are . . . people. They want to see you. Now.”
“Grab that shower and get dressed,” she told him. “I’ll throw on some clothes and handle it.” She smiled sweetly but Rhett caught the deadly look in her eyes. The phrase about a mama bear defending her cubs came to mind.
Rhett was glad he had Cassie on his side.
CHAPTER 28
Cassie hurried down the stairs, concerned because of what she’d heard in Mimi’s voice. The older woman always radiated calm. She had heard Mimi get after Breck for not eating his vegetables, as well as sharing some of her special casserole ingredients with Leo. If Mimi had a problem with whoever was downstairs, Cassie would have the same problem. In spades.
She turned the corner toward the kitchen and found the cook pacing back and forth in the foyer, her face bright red, her eyes glassy with unshed tears.