Fail to Trust (The Casteel Trust Series Book 2)

by Scarlet Wolfe

  Hurrying to the front door, I let myself in with my key. I change into pink pajama pants and a scoop-neck matching top. I yank a white hoodie over my head and take my hair out of its tight French twist to put it up in a loose bun.

  I looked glamorous in that evening gown, but nothing feels better than comfy clothes. I drag my suitcase out from my closet and retrieve my toiletries from my bathroom. I’m packing clothes and essentials when my mom enters my room.

  “What in the world are you doing? I thought you were out with Clay.”

  “I’m moving in with Travis, and I’m sorry if this displeases you, but you’re not changing my mind.”

  “Your father and I have been waiting for this to happen, and you have our blessing.” I stop moving and look to her. She’s in a nightgown, her thick hair down and messy.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, honey. We know you love him, and I think you’ll be happier there.” Running to her at the door, I throw my arms around her neck. “Thank you, Mom. This news will make Travis as happy as it makes me.”

  “We can pack the rest of your stuff later. You should get over there before it gets any later.” She gives a knowing smile.

  “Mom, uh, some reporters may show up here tomorrow.”

  “Well, your father will drag out the shotgun if they step foot on this property, so don’t you worry about a thing.”

  I’m all grins as I finish gathering my belongings. I have to look hilarious dragging this suitcase to my car. A sweaty, hot mess in her Pj’s, out in the freezing cold, but this girl doesn’t have to look perfect for her man. He loves her just the way she is.

  Travis

  Pacing …

  Pacing …

  Shower, check.

  Grey sweats. No shirt. No socks.

  Skin hot. It’s as if hornets escaped from their nest and are swarming inside of me, my adrenaline spiked.

  Pacing …

  Pacing …

  I hold up the phone I’m squeezing in my hand and text Reese.

  Me: I might’ve fucked up.

  Reese: You crashed the party.

  Me: Did Becca tell you??

  Reese: No.

  In less than a year she knows me well.

  Me: She said she’d come back in an hour. It’s past that. I’m losing my mind here. What if he wins her over?

  Reese: He won’t. Her decision is made. Relax.

  Me: For a girly man Clay has a strong punch.

  Reese: Travis! I’ll be sure to watch the late night news.

  Me: I think the cameras missed that part, however my nose didn’t.

  This banter isn’t making Becca get here any faster, so I toss my phone on the couch. Will she even show up?

  My fingers lace behind my head, and I start putting more wear into the carpet, heading down the hall, away from the front door. I stop mid-step when I hear a car and a door shut.

  The knock is so faint I don’t think I would’ve heard it if my senses weren’t on high alert. My arms drop to my side, and I pad to the door slowly, afraid I’ll get there and have my heart deflated. I open it.

  The space around her is pitch-black, but her gorgeous smile is sunshine, a beam that could warm an ocean.

  “I found my way home. I’m sorry it took me so long.” She shrugs, barely lifting her big brown suitcase off the ground. Her smile turns bashful as we stare into each other’s eyes.

  “I hadn’t given you the best directions, but you’re here now. That’s all that matters, right?”

  “I’m staying forever. I hope that matters, too.”

  I reveal a broad grin. The widest one I can remember. Stepping a bare foot out onto the frigid concrete, I breathe in the frosty air that’s mixed with her apple and jasmine scent. I take her suitcase from her and grab her hand.

  “Let’s get you acquainted with the place and all it has to offer.” I smirk, and she flushes red.

  My beautiful girl is home.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Becca

  Travis sets down my suitcase and faces me. His blond hair, always in need of a cut, is damp and disheveled. The brightly colored tattoos on his forearms are exposed, adding a ruggedness to his sex appeal.

  The seconds pile up.

  We’re staring, and our smiles are fading.

  Passion is clawing at the door, wanting inside our place, too. Travis’s smooth raised pecs are moving in sync with his pounding heart. His carotid artery pulses, his jaw shifts, and his abs tighten. He fists his hands and opens them again.

  This isn’t the funny, hot guy I fell in love with. This is a man who lost and found himself. He’s scarred like me and real and brave.

  Now, every raw and vigorous part of him is going to claim every single inch of me. We’re going to transcend together, our love prevailing on the other side.

  Charging him, I jump and secure my legs around his waist. He encircles me in his strong arms and releases a deep-throated growl. It’s a roaring ownership, an announcement of relief.

  Our mouths slam together, and our tongues thrash. Our teeth scrape before his lips move everywhere: my cheek, my ear, my neck and chest.

  I’m gripping his hair so I can lean back to give him more space to explore. He kicks his bedroom door open and hurries in. I’m dropped to my back on the bed.

  “If I recall correctly, I promised you some caressing, tugging and nipping. First, we need to get you naked and spread you wide.

  “Oh, and I’m tasting your pussy, too. Actually, I’m going to do more than taste it. I’m going to eat you out like I never have before. I’ll ensure you stay put inside this apartment for days.”

  “Fuck,” I say breathlessly.

  “Damn straight. Fucking. We’re doing that after. A lot of it.”

  His brashness makes me giggle. He can’t help but grin, too. “You’re laughing now, but you won’t be in two minutes.” Slipping off my tennis shoes, he pulls my pajama pants off of me and my panties, too.

  He strips down until he’s naked, and I sit up, getting glimpses of his long cock between the moments he’s pulling clothing over my head.

  He’s standing inches from me as he removes my hair tie, allowing my thick waves to fall. “You’re stunning, Becs. Scoot onto the center of the bed for me.”

  I shift my body, and he crawls over top of me, staying on all fours as his head dips. Reaching up, he squeezes my breast, pushing my nipple upward for him to nip at. He bites down on it and pulls it back.

  I moan, and he let’s go, but it’s only so he can suck it, the sensation an aching for more.

  His tongue laves over me, heading south, and I latch onto his hair as short, soft kisses press to my waist, my navel and my hipbone. My muscles spasm from it, the tingling raising the hair on my arms.

  “It’s time, Becca.” Pushing my legs apart, he settles between them, resting on his chest. His fingers spread me open, the breeze causing a shiver, and they stay there, pressing above my clit.

  He makes light circles with them as his tongue finds the precise point to inflict pleasure. He groans. “Your scent is Becca, and it still drives me wild.”

  Another husky groan becomes muffled as his mouth closes over my pussy, the heat blasting me with a sudden thrill. His tongue twirls around my clit, ever so slowly, and I realize he’s savoring me. Building me up. Prolonging my orgasm.

  His fingertips still move at the same lazy pace above, and the climb is taking my breath away.

  “Travis, my god that feels so good.”

  His other fingers begin to play at my entrance, and I think he’s sticking them inside of me, but instead they continue below.

  Like his fingers above my clit and his tongue that’s spot-on, his other fingertips circle the opening of my ass. The same torturous pace floods my pussy with pleasure.

  All the perfect places he’s teasing me and the precision of his touch is all too much, sending me into the abyss. He grants me mercy, and I close my eyes, convulsing above him.

  “Christ, I
want to fuck you in the ass. Say it, Becca. Say one day you’ll let me.”

  “Who are you, and what did you do with the gentle Travis I remember?”

  “He grew up the last six months, and so did you. That means you’re going to give yourself to me in every adult way.”

  “OK. Whatever you want.”

  A lengthy growl rips from his throat as a need to devour me consumes him. He’s up and reaching for a condom in his nightstand in record time.

  He pulls it over his straining cock, and once he’s between my legs again, he grips my outer thigh and brings my pelvis up to him.

  Penetrating me, he fills me to the hilt. My eyes open, but his are now closed. They’re sealed shut as if they’re what will keep the protruding veins in his neck from bursting.

  “Baby, you take me to the brink in one damn thrust. I need a second after touching your ass and feeling you come on my face. Now, you’re so tight around me.”

  “Fuck me,” I whisper. It’s all it takes for him to pierce me with a look of lust. He backs out until the tip is right at my opening, but in a heartbeat, he’s thrusting his cock inside me again. Back and forth. In and out.

  Letting my leg go, he falls over and slams his palms to the bed. He pounds harder and faster until he’s exploding, marking his territory.

  Rolling off of me and to the side of the bed, he then removes the condom. He lies back down and tugs on my body to come closer, so I blanket him with my sweaty skin and rest my head on his chest.

  We pant for air until our heartbeats calm, our breaths falling into a rhythmic, quiet pattern. Fingertips skim down my back and up again, and my heavy eyelids close.

  Both of us are drowsy, comfortable, and every natural movement adds to my contentment.

  “I’m glad you’re home, beautiful,” he whispers.

  “So am I.”

  Everett

  “They’re here,” Reese says as she stands at my office door. Her trepidation is evident from the squint of her eyes. She’s in tight jeans today, her blouse low-cut, and I feel an escape coming on. Me plus her … alone and naked.

  “Where?”

  “In Becca’s office. Go easy on them, Ev.”

  I smirk. “Am I really that bad?”

  She shrugs. “More bark than bite.”

  “Then I’m losing my touch because you know how much I love to bite.” I wink at her, and she rolls her eyes. “I think you need to be bent over this desk after that eye roll.”

  “Maybe later,” she says with a timid smile. “I’ll send them in here.” Without a reply, she leaves my office. A minute passes before Travis ambles in.

  His hand is holding Becca’s, and he’s practically pulling her across the threshold. She creeps up next to him and bites down on a fingernail.

  I fall back in my chair, and with my foot to the floor, I swivel from side to side.

  “Let’s see. I don’t recall either of you putting in a vacation form for three days off.”

  “Bro, surely you can understand why we were held up in the apartment all these days.”

  “Yeah, and the reason you’re going to give me is bullshit.”

  Travis smirks. “OK, in all honesty, the media craziness was only part of it, but didn’t Becca and I deserve a mini-vacation after everything? We had to make up for lost time, if you know what I mean.”

  “Travis,” Becca says in a hushed tone.

  “You’re still such a shit,” I say. He flashes me his megawatt grin, and he’s lucky he owns part of this damn company. “Let’s get to the next issue. When are these camera crews going away? They’re bad for business.”

  “No, there not. Franklin said we’ve been busier than ever this week since a shot of our store has been on the news each day.”

  “OK, well, I don’t like it, and how do you plan to make it go away?”

  Becca looks up at Travis before her eyes widen before me. “Uh, I spoke to Clay last night. He’s making a statement at eleven today. He thinks everything will die down then.”

  “Excellent. Now, can the two of you keep your hands to yourself while working in the same building?”

  “Says the man who seduced his employee in like a day,” Travis mocks.

  Becca snickers, and I have to grin along with them.

  “Can you at least keep it private?”

  “That I can try to do.”

  “Becca, could I please have a word with you alone?”

  “If this is about me, I’m stayin’.”

  “It’s not, so you and your ego can head back to the store to work.”

  He hugs Becca and hesitantly sulks away like he’s some lost puppy already.

  “I’m so sorry, Everett, about everything.”

  “Don’t. We’re moving forward. Well, as soon as the reporters quit showing up here. I wanted to talk to you about something else. You know we don’t have enough work to keep you busy on a full-time basis.”

  She looks to the floor and nods.

  “I understand. I’ll find a different job right away.”

  “Stop, Becca. Listen. You don’t have to leave here. I have an idea.”

  “Oh.”

  “I was thinking you could do some consulting. You can keep your office here, work for us part-time, and then branch out, doing marketing for some other companies.”

  “That sounds promising. I don’t know if anyone else will want to hire me, though.”

  “I already know someone who does. I was showing my buddy at Field’s Tractor and Supply your billboard design. He said he’d like to hire you to do some marketing for him.”

  “He did?” Her eyes are lit up with excitement.

  “Yes, and I’m hoping you’re going to believe me now when I say you’re talented.”

  “I don’t know how to thank you, Everett.”

  “You already have. You’ve done more for my brother and our family than you could ever understand. You saved Travis’s life, Becca, and don’t ever forget that.”

  She smiles and looks away.

  “You saved him, too, and he’ll never forget.”

  “I try to be there for him. Anyway, I truly think you can find other companies to work with, especially as more of your designs get out there for people to see. So, if you’re good with it, Shawn Fields would like you to stop by his store soon.”

  “Thank you. I won’t let you down.”

  “Good, but this doesn’t mean someone else is allowed to steal you away. I will still have work for you.”

  “I think Travis will ensure that doesn’t happen.” She giggles, and damn it makes me happy to see her and my baby brother smiling.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Travis

  I stroll into the break room close to noon. Clive is eating his lunch, so I sit across from him at the table.

  “So, the horndog returns. Is it still attached? I figured you used it so much it fell off,” he says in his strong southern voice. The guys who are sitting around Clive laugh along with him.

  “Ha ha. Trust me; it has a lot of life left in it.”

  “In all seriousness, I’m glad things worked out for the two of you.”

  “Thanks, man. How are things with you?”

  “Still going good. I think we should hit a meeting soon, though. I know you’re on cloud nine, but we need to stay grounded since life can throw us curve balls at any turn.”

  I nod. “True. Let’s go tomorrow evening.”

  “There’s your girl, Castle,” he says, pointing his fork behind me. I stand to give Becca a hug before we walk over to the television hanging on the wall. Reese comes in to join us, her arms crossed.

  I’m nervous wondering what Clay said during his press conference at eleven. The room is noisy, so we step even closer to the TV, aware that any minute our dirt will be aired for all to see once again.

  At ten after, Clay’s face appears on the screen as he walks toward the camera. Becca mumbles that he’s in front of his law office in downtown Atlanta.

  My a
rm stretches around her back, and I pull her close to my side. It should be to show my support, but it’s not. Well, a little, but not entirely.

  It’s that insecure part of me that wonders just this tiny bit if she’ll always believe she made the right choice. I know she did.

  I’m who’s best for her, but her self-doubt is my life-changer, so it can never, ever happen, and I’ll spend the next seventy years making her happy enough to ensure it doesn’t.

  He’s in a charcoal-grey suit, and his black hair is short enough to portray a polished appearance each and every time he’s before the camera.

  It will show grey, too, though, and way sooner than mine ever will, but I stop analyzing the differences in us as soon as it looks like he’s gonna open his mouth. A mouth that’s been on my girl.

  “I’m going to speak briefly, and I will not be taking questions. What transpired this past Saturday evening during the annual fundraising event for traumatic brain injuries was a misunderstanding.

  “My close friend Rebecca Abbott stepped out of the Atlanta History Center for some fresh air. When she didn’t return, I left the event to check on her.

  “It was dark, and I believed she was in danger when I spotted her in close proximity to another male. Once an altercation between this gentleman and myself occurred, I discovered he was someone Rebecca new personally.

  “Ms. Abbott was never in danger, and I ask that you please respect her privacy, along with those close to her. I’d also like to address the rumors in regard to my relationship with Alice Sommerfeld.

  “Alice and I came to a mutual agreement to end our engagement this past May. We are still dear friends, and I ask that you please respect her privacy, as well. Thank you.”

  The shimmer off the back of his grey suit jacket shines under the camera, and in a few short steps, he’s back inside the building.

  “As I expected from a soon-to-be politician, he lied,” I say.

  I’m an asshole, and fuck, the whole room is silent. Becca pulls free from me and glares my direction. Those feminine hands of hers are hugging her hips. The hips that curve into an attitude in a breath.

  “He did it to keep me from looking like a cheap whore and you some raging jealous boyfriend.”