Absolution_A Chastity Falls Spin-Off Novel

by L A Cotton

  “Is she? Are they?” I choked out suddenly overcome with emotion.

  When I’d asked Jackson and Ana to go to Redmont on my behalf, I hadn’t known what to expect. Cassie probably hated me for abandoning her—again. But I didn’t want her to make a hasty decision in the aftermath of her aunt’s death. I wanted her to be one-hundred-and-ten percent sure.

  “Just open it already.” Cara flicked her head to the door, and I wrapped my fingers around the chrome handle.

  Braiden chuckled from somewhere behind me, but I didn’t give a flying fuck. Because on the other side of the door was my future.

  My heart.

  My home.

  It swung open, and the sight of them standing there almost brought me to my knees. Nothing could have prepared me for the feelings rushing through me. I’d walked away from my old man. My family. I’d broken my promise to Mom and given up everything I’d ever known.

  But seeing them standing there made it all worth it.

  No words passed between us as I gathered Cassie and Lilly into my arms. Burying my face in her hair, I breathed her in. “You’re here; you’re really here.” I held her at arm’s length, ducking my head and pressing a kiss to Lilly’s soft skin. “You’re here.”

  Tears glistened in her eyes as I palmed her cheek. “Where else would I be?” She smiled, and I saw no traces of uncertainty or fear, just hope and love and everything I’d dreamed about seeing reflected back at me.

  “I love you. I love you so fucking much.” I pulled them both back to my chest, holding on so tight I never wanted to let go. And I wouldn’t. Not this time. No matter what the future held, no matter what obstacles lay ahead of us, I was here. Right where I was always supposed to be.

  Lilly squealed with delight, wiggling in her mom’s arms, trying to reach for me. “Here, take her. She’s missed you.”

  My eyes slid to Cassie’s—to the woman I loved—and with that single look, I tried to tell her everything I needed to.

  I’m sorry.

  Forgive me.

  I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered, looking back at me with the same intensity. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

  And it was.

  It’d had taken us six years to get to this point, but it was our time. And I didn’t want to waste a single second of it.

  “SHE’S FINALLY ASLEEP.” Cassie perched on the bed beside me, but I leaned forward, sliding my hands under her legs and pulled her onto my lap. She readjusted herself until she was straddling my thighs, her hands pressed against my chest.

  “I still can’t believe you’re here.” My hands curved over her collarbone, drawing her to me until our lips touched.

  “Dennis, maybe we should ...”

  I eased back, gazing at her. Still barely able to comprehend that this was real. That she and Lilly were here in Tampa.

  “Ana and Jackson are busy with Emma. There’s no one here but us.” And I needed to feel her. God, did I need to feel her. To bury myself inside her and love her. Closing the distance again, I went to kiss her, but Cassie’s hands moved down my chest, creating a barrier.

  “Why, Dennis?”

  “Why?” My brows knitted together.

  “Why now? We lost so much time.” She let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not trying to ruin the moment, I’m not, but I guess a part of me needs to know why.”

  I lifted my hand to her face, tracing the seam of her lips with my thumb. Her lips parted on a soft moan. But she was right; she deserved to know the truth.

  “When I was twelve, my mom killed herself. Overdose. I found her barely conscious. I begged her to stay with me, begged her to hold on until the EMTs arrived. And do you know what she said? She made me promise to never leave him.”

  “Oh god, Dennis, I ... I didn’t know.”

  “It hit my old man hard. He turned to drinking to numb the pain. And when he wasn’t drunk, he was making deals with the devil. Without Mom, all he had was business ... and me. When Jackson left Chastity Falls, I’d hoped things would calm down, but I should have known Miller Hayes would never get out. He started taking more risks, dragging my cousin further and further into things. Walking away from you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, Cassie, but I couldn’t just leave him, and you deserved more. You deserved so much more.”

  I brushed away her tears with my thumb. “What?” My eyes searched hers, desperate to know what she was thinking.

  “You could have told me. You should have ...” She swallowed hard.

  “Would it have changed anything?” The words hung between us, and when she didn’t say anything, I had my answer. I’d loved her more than anything, but sometimes love wasn’t enough.

  I knew that firsthand.

  My old man had loved my mom, but it wasn’t enough to leave his corrupted life behind, and Mom had loved him, but in the end, loving him had destroyed her.

  “Setting you free was the right thing to do. But when I saw you across the bar, I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk away again. Not a single day went by when I didn’t think of you, imagine where you were and what you were doing. I will never forgive myself for what you went through, but if you let me, I will spend every day for the rest of my life trying to make it up to you and Lilly. I love you, Cassie Malson. I never stopped.”

  Cassie’s mouth crashed to mine, and we sank into the pillows in a flurry of desperate kisses and heated touches.

  “You’re sure they’re busy?” she murmured against my lips, her hands sliding underneath my t-shirt. But I didn’t reply because that would have meant pulling my lips away from her skin. I traced her skin with my tongue, exploring every dip and curve until she was gasping above me.

  “Clothes, too many clothes,” she panted.

  I didn’t need asking twice. Her tank top went first, and then she helped me remove mine. Her bra was next. Then her leggings. Cassie crawled off me to let me shuck out of my jeans, and I used the moment to my advantage, tugging her down the bed and caging her body with my own. Her soft lines fit against my hard planes perfectly, and she cradled my face, gazing up at me in awe. “I love you, Dennis Hayes. I never stopped.”

  But words weren’t enough. I needed to show her what she meant to me. To reacquaint myself with every inch of her body until I was so deeply tattooed on her soul there was no chance of ever removing me.

  Pressing a tender kiss to her lips, I moved off her slightly, rocking back onto my haunches. Licking down the hollow of her neck, I scraped my teeth against her skin, soothing the sting with my mouth and drawing tiny whimpers from her. Cassie’s body arched up, needy for more, but I had plans ... and they didn’t include getting her off quickly.

  “Dennis—” she moaned, and my eyes snapped to hers. She looked so good—cheeks flushed, eyes dilated—and my heart swelled with the knowledge that this wasn’t a one-time deal. This was forever. I got to spend all my tomorrows worshiping and loving her.

  Gently, I teased her breast. Kneading and squeezing, I leaned forward, sucking the sensitive bud into my mouth.

  “Jesus,” she panted as she fisted the bed sheets.

  I released her nipple with a pop and moved lower, kissing the stretchmarks around her stomach and across her hips. Visible evidence of her strength and courage. And then my mouth hovered over her core.

  Cassie’s hips bucked, and I steadied her thighs with my arm. “I’ve got you,” I said, earning me another soft moan. Working her panties to the side, I slipped a finger inside her, watching as her eyes fluttered shut with pleasure.

  “More, god, I need—”

  Shrill cries pierced the room, and Cassie let out a frustrated groan. “I’m sorry.” She blushed, turning her head to the side as I crawled up her. Capturing her chin between my fingers, I brought her face back to mine.

  “Never apologize. Lilly is a part of you. I knew what I was signing up for.” I smiled, and she batted my arm.

  “I guess I’d better go get her.�
�� Cassie went to move, but I pressed a quick kiss to her lips and sat up, grabbing my t-shirt off the floor.

  “Stay, I’ll go.”

  “But—”

  “Cassie, I didn’t just choose you. I chose Lilly too. You’re my family now.”

  Family wasn’t always your blood. It was the people you chose. The people you loved not because of DNA or obligation but because you just did.

  Family was where your heart was.

  And Cassie and Lilly owned my heart.

  They always would.

  Epilogue

  Cassie

  “Emma, not the—” I squeezed my eyes shut unable to witness the massacre of Lilly’s birthday cake.

  “Did she just finger the cake?” Dennis dropped his chin to my shoulder, stifling a chuckle, and I leaned back against him, letting out a long groan.

  “Yep,” I said. “So much for spending all day yesterday baking the thing.” It had taken me hours to perfect the icing, knowing that if it didn’t look exactly like the unicorn from Despicable Me 3, we’d be facing a toddler tantrum of epic proportions.

  “Toddler germs never hurt anyone. All adds to the flavor.” Jackson tipped his bottle of beer to Braiden’s and they both laughed.

  We watched as Ana rescued the cake from Emma, scooping her up and trading the pink unicorn cake for a stuffed bear that looked like it had seen better days. Thankfully Lilly was too busy playing in the yard with Bruno, our Labradoodle, to notice. “That was a lucky escape,” I murmured.

  “So are you going to find out?” Jackson raised his eyebrow as Dennis slid his hands over my protruding belly. Heat flashed through me, and I wiggled against his crotch. Ever since finding out I was pregnant, I’d been as horny as hell.

  “No,” he said at the same time I said, “Yes.”

  Jackson laughed. “Word of advice.” He aimed his words at his best friend. “The pregnant lady always wins.”

  “That’s what I keep telling him,” I said with a smile.

  Dennis grumbled something, but then he was pressing his lips to my neck, sending delicious shivers rolling up my spine.

  “Seriously, guys, it’s a three-year-old’s birthday party. Let’s at least try to keep it PG.”

  “Fuck the three-year-olds, you’re hurting my eyes,” Braiden grunted, and Dennis leaned over and punched his arm.

  “Language. That’s my unborn child in there, and he doesn’t need corrupting before he gets here.”

  “He?” I glanced around, meeting his eyes, and he flashed me a blinding smile. Even after all this time, I got butterflies just looking at him.

  “It’s a he.”

  “And if it’s a she?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Have you seen the three of us?”

  Jackson and Braiden concurred, clinking their bottles again, and I rolled my eyes at their over-the-top displays of macho. Dennis nuzzled me again, and a sigh slipped from my lips.

  “Seriously?” Braiden’s eyes went wide.

  “What?” we both said in unison as I turned to Dennis, hiding the flush of my cheeks. It wasn’t my fault if growing a tiny human made my hormones go all over the place.

  “You think I don’t know that look?” Jackson said. “I’ve been there. Trust me, I know that look.”

  “What look?” Ana joined us, licking frosting off her fingers.

  “The horny pregnant lady look.”

  She rolled her eyes, nudging him in the side. “That is not a thing.”

  “Oh, it’s a thing. Remember that one time when we were—”

  “Okay, okay,” She clamped a hand over Jackson’s mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief. “It’s a thing. But don’t mind us. We’ve all been there, apparently.”

  “I have to go supervise the games, anyway. Guys, shall we?” Dennis pressed a final kiss to my cheek and slipped his arms free.

  “Me? I don’t remember signing up for any games,” Braiden protested, and I smiled to myself. He was going to have a big shock when Cara finally told him she was expecting their first child.

  “I promised Lilly and Emma a water fight. The proper kind with Super Soakers.”

  “Aren’t they a little young for Super Soakers?”

  “Yes,” Ana and I said in unison, but Dennis grinned.

  “You’re never too young for Super Soakers. I’ll grab the guns, you grab the hose.”

  We watched on as the gaggle of hyper three-year-old girls shrieked with delight as the three guys tried to herd them outside.

  “He’s going to make such a great dad.” Ana sighed dreamily. “I know I’ve said it so many times already, but you guys make the best couple.”

  “Ana, it’s been two years.”

  “What’s been two years?” Cara appeared looking pale, a slight sheen to her skin.

  “Still sick?” I asked, and she clutched her stomach on a groan.

  “It’s never ending.”

  “It’ll get easier. I still can’t believe he hasn’t put two and two together,” Ana said.

  “You know how he gets. He barely lets me out of his sight still. Can you imagine what he’ll be like when the baby comes?”

  “You need to tell him.”

  “I will.” She shrugged, helping herself to a can of ginger ale. “Soon.”

  I shot Ana an incredulous look, and she stifled a giggle.

  It was almost hard to believe I’d arrived in Tampa just before Lilly’s first birthday. And we hadn’t looked back since. Dennis was a doting father to Lilly and worked with Jackson at his private security company while I taught at the local elementary school.

  “You have that look,” she said pulling me from my reverie, and I rolled my eyes.

  “Not the horny pregnant lady thing again.”

  “No, I was going to say you look like a woman in love.”

  And I was.

  God, was I ever.

  Dennis

  “IS SHE DOWN?” CASSIE closed her book and placed it on the nightstand. I yanked my t-shirt over my head and kicked out of my jeans.

  “Yeah, out like a light. I had to read the pony book three times.”

  “She loves that one.”

  I climbed into bed and slid a hand around Cassie, dragging her body closer. She shrieked, turning in my arms, her little bump between us. “Thank you for today. Lilly had the best birthday.”

  Dropping a kiss on her nose, I pulled back and stared at her. The woman I loved. The mother of my children. Because although Lilly wasn’t my blood, she was mine. A part of me, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. If I could have freeze-framed a moment in time, it would have been this one, right here. We’d come so far.

  I felt like the luckiest man alive.

  But it hadn’t all been smooth sailing. When we first moved out here, she was still grieving the loss of her aunt, and I was coming to terms with the decision to walk away from my old man. From Brett and Stonewood. Everything I’d ever known. But together, we learned how to walk in the light again. Cassie finished her therapy with a local counselor, and I spent time with Jackson. Talking to Jackson.

  And then, about eight months after leaving, I got a call from Hale. My old man was dying. Of lung cancer. It hit me hard. The overwhelming guilt. It ate away at me until Cassie finally put her foot down and bought us tickets to fly home. I didn’t want to go. Didn’t want to even think about her being anywhere near him. But, in the end, I knew it was something I had to do.

  Not only for myself, but for the promise I’d broken.

  My old man died a week after we got back. I didn’t attend the funeral; I’d said all that needed to be said when I sat across from him in his hospital bed. But we planned to take the baby to see his grave one day. To meet his grandpa.

  “What?” she asked when I didn’t speak.

  “You.”

  “Me?” Confusion pinched her brows. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Yeah, yeah you did,” I said a little choked.

  “Dennis, you’re freaking me out.”
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br />   “You’ve given me everything, Cassie. Don’t you see, you saved me.”

  Her hands glided up my chest and over my shoulders and then she was pulling me toward her, kissing me. And I got it, I did. Sometimes actions spoke louder than words, and I’d spent the past two years trying to show her how important she was to me. How much I loved her.

  But sometimes, sometimes I needed to say the words. To remind myself—and her—of our story.

  I stroked my tongue against hers. Soft and unhurried. Cassie sighed against my lips as my hands moved over her body. The new curves and dips from her changing body. I couldn’t wait to watch her grow round with our child.

  “I love you,” I breathed not breaking the kiss. “I love you so much.”

  “Dennis,” she moaned, and the sound of my name on her lips, the feel of her skin pressed against me, was enough to bring me to my knees. And the thought made me smile. She had no idea I planned to propose soon, that the blue velvet ring box was hidden in my closet inside my inconspicuous gym bag.

  I had it all arranged.

  Dinner at our favorite restaurant overlooking Tampa Bay.

  I’d already made the reservation.

  Cassie’s fingers skimmed the tip of my dick, and I hissed, a bolt of desire rushing through me. “I love you,” she whispered. “We love you. Me, Lilly, and our baby.”

  Images flooded my head. Cassie screaming in pain as she gave birth to our child. The tears. Holding him or her for the first time. Standing at the altar as my angel walked toward me.

  I broke away and scrambled off the bed.

  “Dennis? What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “Wait here, wait right here.” I dragged a hand over my face and padded to my closet.

  “Dennis, you’re freaking me out.” Her voice rolled off my shoulders as I rummaged to locate the box.

  With it firmly in my grasp, I stalked back to the bed, stopping just short of it. “Marry me.” Dropping to one knee, I flipped the lid and held it out for her while Cassie just stared at me as if I’d lost my damn mind.