by C. L. Parker
There wasn’t much room for her to move, so I decided to help her, pumping in and out with shallow strokes, while taking care not to gag her.
“Christ, that’s good.” I let myself become consumed with the mind-boggling sensations riding my body until it was almost too much. Then her thighs fell open, exposing the blood-red lips of her pussy, practically begging for more attention.
I recognized a golden opportunity when I saw one, so I leaned forward and slid two fingers inside. I curled my hand, hitting the spot I knew would make her gush. When her knees drew up, I knew she was close. Wanting to help her along, I added a third finger and buried my face between her thighs. Cassidy’s moan as she came a second time was lessened by the presence of my cock, buried at the back of her throat. But I felt the vibration all the way to my toes. Her release was unrestrained as she rode my face, and I was completely surrounded by her musky scent.
Wrapping my arms around Cassidy’s tiny waist, I carefully stood, bringing her with me while still eating her pussy like it was the last time I’d ever eat anything. Cassidy locked onto my thighs as if she were afraid I would drop her. Not gonna happen. I told myself it was because I didn’t want to lose the fantastic blow job I was getting, but something hinted to me it was more than that.
I turned and reclined back onto the bed, switching our positions, and Cassidy never once stopped sucking my dick. She needed to be properly rewarded for her accomplishment.
Apparently, she had other ideas.
With a stealthy move I didn’t see coming, Cassidy reversed course and cowgirl-straddled my crotch.
“That’s not how this is going down,” I told her with a smirk as I grabbed hold of her hips.
“Shut up.” Her words were clipped, no-nonsense, and she was already positioning the head of my cock at her entrance. Her eyes closed and her head fell back as she sank down onto it with a slow but steady descent.
I didn’t think I could possibly get any harder, but I’d be damned if I hadn’t done just that. All those long, ginger locks spilled down her back and over her shoulders as she lifted her arms and pulled her shirt over her head. Cassidy’s hips never missed a beat while she took her time removing her bra as well. Back and forth she rocked, with an exaggerated roll of her body. The rosy peaks of her full breasts were pebbled and begging for a warm mouth, so I pulled her toward me, granting one its wish.
Cassidy wasn’t having any of that, though. With her hands on my chest, she shoved me away and held me there, using my body as extra support for her ride. “You made your point. Now let me make mine.”
Jesus Christ, but the woman was too damn sexy for her own good.
And then Cassidy did something I’d never expected of her. She used me. Plain and simple. I might as well have not even been in the room. With a slow and steady grind, she moved against me, taking her own pleasure without any concern for my own. I was nothing more than her tool as she leaned forward, putting the palms of her hands and all of her weight on my chest, and then she quickened her pace. She didn’t even look at me. I wanted her to fucking look at me. But behind those shuttered eyes, she was lost to a world of fantasy, and I was hell-bent on making sure I was in there with her.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Shh” was her only response.
“Look at me.”
Cassidy continued to ignore me, her fingernails digging into my chest as her ride became more aggressive. Her teeth pulled at her bottom lip, and her brows furrowed in concentration. When her lips parted and euphoria smoothed her expression, I knew where she was. Her hot sheath became even slicker with each advance and retreat, and she leaned forward and centered the grind on her clit. I cupped her ass, spreading her cheeks, knowing she’d love the feel of the pull on her rear entrance. She did not disappoint.
“Look at me, dammit!” I ordered, with an urgency I shouldn’t have felt.
“No.” She shook her head and continued to ride me.
But what was with the furrowed brow?
“Why the hell not?”
“Because if I do …” Her voice trailed off, and she stopped moving. Slowly, she opened her eyes, the truth reflecting there clear as fuck.
“Shaw—”
“Don’t.” I didn’t want to hear it, didn’t need to. I knew what she was getting at, and I wouldn’t even let my own mind finish the thought. It for damn sure wasn’t going to be said aloud. That shit was not happening. There was nothing touchy-feely about what was going on, and maybe we both needed a reminder of that.
Raw anger, potent lust, and steely determination made for a deadly combination. One that had me flipping her onto her back and gripping her hips to finish what we’d started. I fucked her. Hard and fast. Just as she was fucking me. Only maybe this time, I meant it in the metaphorical sense.
Cassidy held on for dear life, gripping my shoulders and breathing hard. I saw her through yet another orgasm, which brought the unselfish Shaw count to three. And then my balls drew up and I finally pulled my cock out to come all over her stomach.
Releasing her legs, I fought to catch my breath as I rolled away and onto the side of the bed. For the first time in my life, the sex had felt like more than just a release. I had no clue what she’d been about to say, but it scared me to death all the same. And fuck all if I knew what to do with that information.
Standing, I felt like a newborn fawn on unsteady legs, but I managed to cross the room to the bathroom without making a fool of myself. My little buddy was out for the count, lying against my thigh as if begging for mercy. He’d more than earned his reprieve.
Since I was a decent human being, contrary to anything Cassidy said, I soaked a washcloth in hot water and then returned to the bed. Carefully, I wiped the gooey mess from her softly rounded abdomen. She lay there, limp as a noodle, with her eyes closed and her breaths steady as my hand dipped lower and I gently cleaned her most intimate parts. It seemed almost impossible to me that a woman as tough as I knew she could be could also look so angelic.
Back in the bathroom, I washed myself before returning once more and slipping under the covers beside Cassidy. It had been a very long day, filled with emotional highs and lows, physical threats, mental assaults, and sexual acrobatics. Much like my little buddy, I’d also earned some downtime. My sleep-deprived brain didn’t have the wherewithal to realize that I had subconsciously made the decision to stay the night. My last thought as I drifted off was how lying next to Cassidy felt more like home than if I had spent the night on my mother’s couch.
Cassidy
Mornings were never an issue for me. Normally, I’d pop right up, ready to get the day started: another sunrise was another opportunity to meet a goal that would ultimately score the win. But this morning, my body was having a hard time getting to that enthusiastic point. So was my brain.
Snuggling into the cocoon of warmth that sheltered me from the frigid room beyond the covers, I let the steady rhythm beneath my ear seduce me back to the dark refuge of sleep. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so comfortable, so carefree. My body was heavy, almost paralyzed in its refusal to budge, and I was content to let it have its way.
Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub … I released a contented sigh, barely moving my head to settle in deeper to the sound. Until my sleep-addled mind got cognitive and realized that the sound was a heartbeat. My fingertips joined in, sending signals to upper management to clue it in that the warmth their nerve endings were sensing was coming from skin. Skin stretched over a taut muscle, and that heartbeat wasn’t far beneath that.
I frantically searched my memory bank, trying desperately to put together the pieces of the puzzle, until they formed one giant-ass picture that made me gasp. My eyes shot open and my head sprang up, though the rest of me was still in ain’t-gonna-happen mode.
Shaw Matthews’s naked body was wrapped around my naked body. And oh, my God … I’d drooled all over his naked chest. The first order of business was to get rid of that, which I accomplished q
uite well with the use of the sheet. The second was to get him out of my bed.
So, I gave him a shake, only because I thought it was rude to punch someone in his sleep. “Shaw?”
“Hmm?” he answered, still very much asleep and snuggling in closer. The arm over my side tightened to pull me toward his chest, and his crotch played kissy-kissy with mine. Jumping Jehoshaphat, he was rock-hard.
“Oh, my God, get up!” I screeched while giving him a heftier jarring and doing my best to free myself from his clutches. I succeeded well enough and sat up, jerking the comforter away from him and wrapping it around myself for some semblance of decorum.
Shaw’s brow furrowed in irritation, and he rolled over onto his back. “What … is the problem?” he asked, finally opening his eyes.
“You in my bed … is the problem,” I mocked him. “Why are you still here?”
He looked every bit as confused as I was sure I had when I’d first woken. I gave him a moment to think it over, and I could practically see the wheels turning in his head.
“I think maybe you’ve forgotten who’s paying for this room. Technically, you are in my room. You don’t hear me bitching about it.” He started to sit up, but then grabbed his head and lay back down. “Ow! Shit!”
Oh. That headache would be my fault. Before I could apologize, while still yelling at him that he could’ve at least slept on the floor, a knock sounded.
“Cassidy?” came Denver’s voice through the door. “Are you awake?”
I froze. So did Shaw. Our eyes went round as saucers.
“Get out!” I snarled, giving him a shove toward the edge of the bed.
He whisper-yelled right back at me: “And go where, out the window? He’s standing right outside the door, woman!”
“Cassidy? Is everything okay in there?”
“Uh, yeah,” I called back, getting out of the bed as well—still managing to keep the comforter around me, thank you very much. “Just a moment.”
Looking around for a hiding spot, I started gesturing toward the bathroom to get Shaw going in that direction. I so could’ve been one of those marshaling guys with the lighted tubes on the ground at the airport.
Shaw took his sweet, still naked time getting in there, and I was left to do all the thinking for both of us, since he’d neglected to pick up his stupid clothes in the process. With a disgruntled huff, I quickly gathered them together and tossed them into the bathroom, lobbing his shoes one at a time. Shaw gave me the evil eye when one of them almost hit him.
“What? Oh, it wasn’t on purpose!” I said with a dismissive wave before he finally closed himself in.
Securing the comforter a little tighter, I went to the door and cracked it open. “Good morning,” I said, greeting Denver with as much of a smile as I could muster.
“Morning, sunshine! Can I come in?” He started forward, but I blocked his way.
“Um, I’m not dressed yet.” I looked down at myself and then back at him with a demure smile.
And then I heard the incredibly loud, echoing sound of what I could only assume was Shaw handling his morning bladder relief in the bathroom.
Denver heard it, too. “What’s that?”
“I, uh, I left the water running in the tub. I was just about to get in and wanted it to be good and warm.” Sounded plausible to me.
“Oh. Well, do you know where Shaw is?”
Giving my head a slow shake, I said, “Nope. But you know … I think he said something last night about going to visit someone, didn’t he?”
“Right. I forgot about that.” Then Denver got a mischievous look about him. “Hope he got lucky last night. That dude needs to release some tension. Whew!”
I blushed. I knew it because I could feel the heat pool in my cheeks. Oh, he’d definitely gotten lucky.
Denver was trying to look over the top of my head, which wasn’t hard for him to do, given his height. I casually popped up on my tiptoes to thwart the effort as much as possible. With my luck, he’d get a peek inside to find I’d forgotten Shaw’s underwear hanging over a lamp or something. Oh God, I hoped my room didn’t smell like sex.
Concern etched his brow as he gave me a once-over. “Are you okay? You look tired.”
Leaning into the frame, I laid on the nonchalance pretty thick. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Just really want that bath and some breakfast, you know?”
“Definitely.” He nodded his understanding. “Hey, how about if I go on down and get us a table at the restaurant to save some time?”
“That would be awesome! You are so my hero!”
“Want me to order for you?”
“Yes, please.”
“Sausage or bacon?”
And then the toilet flushed. Oh, for the love of …
I did some fast talking, hoping to distract Denver. I also might have been a little louder than necessary to cover the sound. “Ham and eggs, over medium. And some breakfast potatoes, if they have them. And, um, thanks!” I said, closing the door before dumbass Shaw decided to strut his dumbass self out to give Denver a fist bump and a “Whassup, bro?”
Men were so stupid.
CHAPTER 16
Cassidy
The trip to Detroit had been one I wouldn’t soon forget, for many reasons. For one, there was the sex with Shaw. It was hot, dirty, everything it had always been between us. With one exception.
It had also been completely different.
Shaw had refused to open up after I’d badgered him with a million questions, and for reasons I couldn’t begin to understand, his aloofness bothered me.
And then there’d been his commanding voice: “Look at me, dammit!”
I couldn’t. Behind my closed eyes, I had concocted the perfect fantasy. Shaw had probably thought I had been thinking of another man. Maybe even Casey. But the truth was more dangerous than that. I had been picturing a different Shaw. One who could be tender and caring. One I could easily fall for. One who didn’t exist.
If I’d opened my eyes, I would have come face-to-face with the harsh reality: Shaw would never be the man I wanted him to be.
The second reason I wouldn’t forget Detroit was that it was where I’d realized that I had probably lost Denver to Shaw. And surprisingly, I couldn’t muster up a good reason to warn Denver off from the deal that was in the making. Shaw had come through in a major way, and I had to respect that. Detroit had put up dollar signs in flashing neon lights and had thrown around extra perks like parade candy. It had been a huge risk on Shaw’s part, as there were no guarantees that Denver would actually sign with him, and the offers from Detroit would still stand through any other agent. But I had a feeling Shaw knew the risks and wasn’t worried about them. His confidence made me nervous.
So did the request from Denver, as we’d parted ways after our return to San Diego, to meet with me first thing Monday morning. I’d spent the remainder of the weekend pacing, poring over all my research, and scouring the net in search of any new information I might have overlooked, in an effort to come up with a possible counter to Shaw’s game-changing play.
Reaching out to Colorado’s deal makers might have helped, but acting prematurely could cause more harm than good. Delilah Rockford had been another option, since playing the mommy card had worked twice before, but I didn’t want to come off like a one-trick pony. And there was only so much leverage even the woman who gave birth to a man could hold. I did manage a call to San Diego to feel out the front-office’s agenda where Denver was concerned, but because I lacked a connection on the inside, no one would to talk to me about a client who hadn’t yet contracted with me. It was business, so I tried not to take it personally, though those rat bastards wouldn’t be getting any special favors from me anytime soon.
I was stuck. And Denver was sitting across from me in my office, exchanging pleasantries like he wasn’t about to drop the proverbial ax, which I could practically see suspended in midair above my head.
“Did you have a good weekend?” he asked, shifting fo
rward and then back again in his chair. It was the fifth time he’d done so since he’d sat down.
“Um, yeah,” I lied. “Just sort of hung out at home, unwinding from the trip. Traveling, even short trips, always makes me tense.”
Denver nodded, but I could tell his thoughts were a thousand miles away.
I leaned forward, giving him my full attention. Whatever the matter was, it was big. Though I was sure I knew why he was here, it was clear the guilt was eating away at his conscience. “What’s going on, Denver? Is something wrong?”
He looked right at me then. “Something is very wrong,” he answered, and the need for me to understand practically jumped out at me from his eyes.
Holy crap, if this Hercules of a man started crying right in front of me, I’d be the blubbering idiot holding him. The mama bear in me wanted to let him off the hook and tell him it was okay if he’d decided to go with Shaw, that we could still be friends and hang out and all that jazz. I could do that for him. I could make everything better, because I was a fixer by nature.
“Denver, look, it’s fine. If you want to—”
Before I could finish, the door to my office burst open, causing me to jump out of my skin. A very excited Demi and Sasha were panting, with panic-stricken expressions on their faces.
“Cassidy … it’s Quinn,” Sasha said, wringing her hands.
“What about him?” I asked, unable to ignore the way my heart free-fell into my stomach. If anything had happened to him … if he’d been hurt … “Oh, God, is he okay?”
Demi did this thing where she shook her head and nodded at the same time. “All we know is, he’s in crisis mode.”
I understood exactly what that meant. Quinn had a flair for the dramatic. Usually, he was riding an extreme high, but when he crashed, he crashed hard, and we never really knew how that might end.
“What happened?”
Sasha threw her hands into the air and let them fall back down. “We hadn’t seen him all weekend, and then finally, he returned my call this morning. He was a blubbering mess, and I couldn’t really make out everything he was saying, but it was definitely something about Daddy being a bastard. He also mentioned something about pills and wanting to be numb so he doesn’t have to feel the pain anymore.”