by Sosie Frost
“And that’s all that happened? That’s why you ran?”
“Isn’t that reason enough? I was no good back then. Pissing around. Drinking. Drugs. What else was there for a fuckup like me to do? I got into trouble, I got Tidus into trouble, and I was good at it. You didn’t need me chasing you.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
It was. “Your family lost so much in that fire. It wasn’t right to stay. I had to get away. Better myself. Try to be…something. If not a good man than just…someone sober who could control himself.”
“Did it work?” she asked.
“I don’t live in the woods because I’m ashamed of myself,” I said. “I stay away from town and people and civilization because that’s the only way I trust myself. When I was logging, I had to stay clean. Out there, I had to be smart so I wouldn’t freeze, starve, or get hurt. So I did it. And I recovered. And I’ve stayed clean.” I looked away. “Never wanted to come back to Butterpond, especially after the last time.”
“When was that?”
Not a time I wanted her to remember. “I came for your mom’s funeral.”
The pause of grief. It only lasted a breath. “I didn’t know you were there.”
“I didn’t want you to know.” I hated every minute of this confession. “I came home for a couple weeks and immediately fucked it up again. Got into trouble. Got into drugs. And I knew that wasn’t what I wanted for myself. That’s when I realized I couldn’t be a part of this.” I waved a hand over the wholesome park. “I had to stay away. By myself. Isolated. And it worked. I’ve been clean for four years.”
“That’s good.”
“I got some money. Had a good job until…” I nodded to the kids. “But I have enough to get by. I finally found a place in the world, even if it’s outside of it.”
“And you like it?”
I’d spent the better part of an hour last night begging the project manager to keep my position open. “Yeah. I’m good at it. Responsible. If only you had met me now. We might’ve had a chance.”
Cassi snorted. “Are you kidding? If I didn’t know who you were, I would have assumed that you were a crazy hermit living off in the mountains. Someone who’d kidnap me and whisk me away to do terrible things in that cabin.”
“I still might. You never know.”
Cassi shuffled closer. “I guess I’ll have to take my chances.”
“With the kidnapping…” I brushed her hand. “Or with me?”
She didn’t look at me, but she smiled. A beautiful, hopeful smile.
“Like I said, Remington Marshall…” Her words were a velvet promise. “No one compares to you.”
Chapter Eleven
Remington
The promise of a free bathroom with complimentary bubble bath was the key to a woman’s heart.
Better than chocolate, wine, or sex.
Well, maybe not sex.
All it took for Cassi to pack her bags and move her gorgeous ass into my cabin was a fight between Tidus and Quint. One busted showerhead and five hundred dollars’ worth of water damage to the downstairs bathroom, and she was mine. I had a tub, some bubble bath, and a pledge to give her all the time she wanted to soak without interruptions.
Once the kids went to bed and Cassi’s bags rested in the corner of my bedroom, I banished myself to the couch like a gentleman. But the thought of her naked, sudsy, and hot in the tub? Not my most wholesome of fantasies.
The image would torment me the rest of my life. What the hell was I thinking? Move in with us. Be a live-in nanny. Torture me every night until I’ve got calluses on my hand because I can’t stop thinking about you.
I was a monumental idiot.
Cassi screamed from the bathtub. A clatter, crash, and problematic splash followed.
But I was a useful idiot.
I hopped the couch and rushed to the door, busting inside as heroically as a bastard could get while hoping to save his lady and catch a glimpse of her goods.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Get the axe!”
Cassi wove herself into the shower curtain. She sunk deeper into the bubbles of the tub, armed only with a rubber ducky and toilet scrub brush. Two shampoo bottles scattered across the bathroom. Only one had the decency to not splinter against the ceiling and explode lavender scented soap over the room. A wadded washcloth slid down the wall like a half-assed spitball, and enough bath salts crumbled over my floors to get most of Butterpond high as a kite.
“What the hell are you doing?” My house was a disaster. “No fucking wonder your brothers didn’t want to share a bathroom with you!”
Cassi’s bubbles thrashed under her kicking feet, but she cautiously floated them back in place to regain her modesty. Her words sputtered under the water line.
“Spider!”
Oh Christ. “You really don’t belong in the woods.”
“Get it before it eats the kids!”
I mourned the tube of toothpaste floating in the toilet. “It’s just a spider.”
I regretted my words when the hairy beast scurried across the bathroom floor, hesitating near a fallen toothbrush as if it wished it arm itself. Easily the size of my hand, the little bastard practically snickered as I stepped away.
“It’s huge,” Cassi said.
“Everything is bigger in these woods.”
“Well, kill it! If that thing bites you, I’m not sucking the venom out.”
“That’s snakes, Sassy.”
“If there’s a snake in this bathroom, Lord have mercy on you, Remington Marshall.”
I wadded up a couple squares of toilet paper, checked the spider once more, and realized I needed heavier artillery for that bad boy. Paper towels maybe. Quilted and four-ply. Hell, maybe the mop. I had big feet, but my boots would have only stunned the beast.
“Oh, God.” Cassi reached for me, realized it put her within another foot of the spider, and retreated under the water. “Do it quick. Don’t let it get angry.”
Fucker needed a chair and a whip. “He’s already angry, Cas. Think you pissed him off when you doused him with shaving cream.”
“Be careful!”
My shoe rose up.
And Mellie’s scream echoed through the house.
“No!” The little girl sprinted inside the bathroom and attached herself to my leg. “Don’t!”
Cassi nearly launched from the tub to move the child away. I didn’t blame her. Mellie was the right size for a midnight snack. I should have probably checked on Tabby too, just to make sure she wasn’t cocooned in the corner of her room.
“It’s a spider, Mellie,” Cassi said.
“Mommy says they eat bad bugs.”
“That is a bad bug, kiddo!”
“Uncle Rem!”
Damn it. I dropped the shoe.
What the hell was Emma doing with her kids? The only time she was ever a mother to the girls was to ally them with every creepy crawlie that lived in the basement. Then again, they probably didn’t have a choice. I saw the state of their house. A couple spiders would have made it more hospitable.
Mellie burst into tears. I sighed.
“Hold on.”
I grabbed one of the Dixie cups on the side of the sink. No way. Bastard needed a soup bowl. Fuck it. I’d make him fit. What was losing a leg or two when he had six other hairy haunches?
Even I fought a shiver as I crashed the cup over the fat thing. I slipped Cassi’s handheld mirror under the rim and captured the thrashing arachnid.
“You realize there’s creepier things living in barns?” I said.
Cassi covered her eyes. “I never looked in the barn.”
“Mice. Rats. Spiders. Snakes.”
“Don’t tell me.”
I grinned. “You should be thanking us for torching it.”
“What?”
I paused. So did she. Her bubbles went still.
Damn it. “Bad joke, I know.”
“No…” She frowned, her eye
brows furrowed. “You said us.”
“What?”
“You said, thank us for torching it.”
“Did I?” Shit. “I meant me. And you can thank me any way you like, Sassy.”
I nodded to Mellie. She tugged on my arm, uncomfortably close to the crawling captive scurrying around the cup.
“Is he okay?” Mellie asked.
“Better than you’ll be if you don’t get in bed.”
I escorted both to the front door, thought better of letting the beast that near the house, and released him at the tree line with a diligent Mellie waving at him from the driveway.
“Bye, Spider!”
I pointed at her and gave chase, earning a quick giggle as she darted into the cabin. A quick scoop in my arms, a toss into her bed, and a begrudgingly read a story about a hungry caterpillar—what was it with this kid and bugs?—and Mellie was out.
I returned to the bathroom with a cautious knock. Cassi struggled to align the few bubbles still in her tub to cover all the good parts I’d only ever dreamed about. I grinned.
“How’s your bath?”
Cassi raised an eyebrow. “Crowded.”
“The spider is gone. Girls are asleep. Now I gotta take care of you. How’s the water?”
She shrugged. “Cool.”
“Allow me…”
Cassi rolled her eyes, but I carefully adjusted the faucet, trickling in a new wave of warmth to the water. Beneath the bubbles, her sculpted legs twisted. Dark. Tempting. Just begging to be spread.
A goddamned virgin.
Waiting for me.
And I’d blown it.
We had to make up for five years of sinful, delicious excitement, and I wasn’t missing a single moment anymore.
Another hit of bubble bath made her smile. She welcomed the bubbles over her skin.
“You know, after all that hard work with the spider…” I said.
She shook her head. “No more talk of spiders, please.”
“I need to warm up after those shivers too.”
I reached for my shirt.
“You wouldn’t,” Cassi said.
It landed in a heap on the floor.
“Oh my God.” Cassi gasped. “You aren’t really…”
I unbuckled my belt. The pants kicked off. She hid her eyes.
“You’re gonna get me dirtier,” she groaned.
I stepped into the tub behind her. “That’s the plan.”
She scooted forward, sloshing the bubbles over the edge. “You’re getting everything wet!”
“Get used to it, Sassy.”
I grabbed her by the waist and hauled her onto my lap, letting my legs stretch out as she nestled against on my chest, in my lap, in my arms.
I hardened to the point of pain. She could feel it, but hell, wasn’t like it’d surprise her. She knew what I’d wanted—what I’d felt for her.
“Better?” I asked.
She cautiously used an arm to block any unsanctioned peeping. “Well…I’m not as cold now.”
“Believe me, you’re gonna get hot.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to seduce me?”
“No way.” I lied. “You were adamant. Can’t take this any further. Broken hearts and promises and five years of lost opportunities. I missed the chance to seduce you.”
She cuddled closer, watching as my fingers traced a soft line over her shoulders. “So you’re just naked and in the tub with me…platonically?”
“Yeah.”
“And that bulge back there?”
“Platonic bulge.”
“Sounds painful.”
“I’ve learned to live with it.”
Her smile would have boiled the water. I reached for a new wash cloth and dunked it into the bubbles. She lolled her head to the side, and I lathered the sensitive skin around her neck.
“And now you’re washing my back…just as a friend?”
“I live to serve.”
“So, if this isn’t seduction…” She wouldn’t turn without revealing more of her perfection to me. I willed every last bubble to pop. “What exactly are your moves?”
“Damn. I’ve got so many.”
“And how many would work on me?”
“Just one.” I murmured. “Just a kiss.”
“You’ve kissed me before.”
“Not the way I should’ve kissed you.”
I envied the washcloth as it caressed the softness of her skin. With a bit of encouragement, I moved her arm from her body and rewarded her bravery with a gentle stroke of the cloth down to her fingertips. She sighed and nestled deeper against me, the swell of her breasts barely peeking over the water.
“You’ve always kissed me good,” she whispered.
“Nah. This would have been a real kiss. Just you and me. A gentle touch. A million heartbeats. A kiss so good no fire would’ve ever separated us.”
She didn’t tense as the washcloth crossed over her chest.
Over the swell of her breast.
Tickling her hardened nipple.
Then below.
She shivered against me. “Why didn’t you ever kiss me like that?”
I pressed my hand against her belly, the washcloth teasing her with a slow massage. “I knew what would happen.”
“You must have known I fell for you.”
“That didn’t make it right. You weren’t supposed to be with me.”
“Says who?”
“Your brothers.”
She hummed. “They’re just overprotective.”
“They were right to be. I was a bad influence. On Tidus. On you.”
“I hope you weren’t doing these things with Tidus.”
I nipped at her neck. Her giggle transformed into a mew.
“Even he knew I was no good for you. The things I might’ve done to you…”
Did she realize she’d ground back against me? “Like what?”
The washcloth drifted lower. Cassi’s breath quivered in a quiet coo. How could such a tiny, sweet noise drive me so crazy? My cock twitched, pressing against her back. The heat didn’t make this any easier.
I dropped the washcloth.
Held her tighter.
And my fingers demonstrated just how much I’d missed her.
“I might have touched you, Sassy.” Regret punished us both. “Might have teased you in all sorts of special, beautiful places that weren’t mine to touch.”
Her legs opened—not enough to sate five years of denied passion, but just enough to slip two fingers over her slit and revel in the velvet softness. The water only made her slicker.
So fucking tempting.
I parted her folds and circled that sensitive, perfect button. She flinched as my fingers rolled over her, but her head sunk against my chest. I claimed that chance to give her every pleasure I’d imagined since I last held her in my arms.
Too long ago.
“I might have teased you,” I whispered. “Petted and stroked and kissed all those secret spots a good girl like you kept hidden from a man like me.”
Her lips parted. “Kissed?”
My mouth watered at the thought. “Kissed. Licked. Sucked. There’s not a part of you I wouldn’t have devoured. You would’ve had to fight me off, Sassy. Once I finally got a taste of you, I would have been insatiable.”
My fingers circled her clit quicker, pulsing a quiet rhythm with the softness of her breathing.
“I never told you how beautiful you are,” I said. “Not back then. Not now. Never told you how much I wanted you. How much you deserved someone to hold you…” I wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her closer. “Touch you.” She glanced back to me. “Take you.”
I captured her kiss and overwhelmed her with quick flicks of pleasure to her quivering folds. The heat destroyed me. She wasn’t just ready—she was eager. Hot and frustrated and so desperate for my finger, my lips, my cock that she ground back against my teasing hand.
“You shouldn’t have left me…” C
assi’s words broke with quick and sudden gasps.
“I couldn’t have stayed.”
“We could have fixed it then.”
“Can’t we fix it now?”
She stared up at me, eyes wide, body trembling on the verge of absolute pleasure. “I…I don’t know. I thought it was over.”
“We were never together, Cassi. Give me a chance to do it right.”
“So much has happened, Rem.”
“So forget the past.”
“Can you?”
She twisted for me, pinching her eyes shut, gripping my arm. A sudden shudder quaked her body. Then a second. I rubbed her clit harder, watching as each sharp graze wracked her in dozens of shivers. She gasped my name. Clutched my hand. Braced herself against the tub.
And I delivered her every passion and pleasure I’d promised.
But it was too late.
She’d lived through five years of lies. Five years of silence. Five years of idiotic regret.
I’d lost her.
And here I thought I was protecting her. Protecting her family. Protecting myself.
Secrets and lies and deceit ruined everything—including how her heart might have softened for me.
“Rem…” Cassi breathed my name and shook her head, still shaking from my touch. “I…”
I didn’t need to hear it. Couldn’t handle the words. The apologies. The end of it all.
“I’m going to bed,” I said. “Enjoy your bath.”
“Wait…”
I pushed out of the tub, hating the hardness that made wrapping a towel around my waist impossible.
I didn’t look back, couldn’t see what I was losing once again, what the past had taken from me.
What good was hiding the truth when I was the one getting hurt?
Chapter Twelve
Cassi
This was a mistake.
I escaped from the tub with shaky legs.
This would be a terrible mistake.
I wrapped only a robe around my body, dripping with soap and desire and every aching urge to be close to Rem once more. Wrapped in his arms. Surrendering to his touch, his voice, the promises we never made and would never have kept.