I pressed my thumb against her clit and she cried out. Cassidy released my hand and gripped my shoulders. I lunged for her mouth, sliding my tongue in to the same tempo as I fucked her with my fingers.
She shuddered around my hand, her inner walls tensing. “Seth,” she whispered in a hoarse voice.
I added another finger and pumped her harder, circling her clit as she writhed beneath me. Cassidy clawed at my shoulders and she panted, her body quivering. I felt her release in every part of me, couldn’t take my eyes off her as she came undone at my touch.
As she caught her breath, I kicked off my jeans and underwear. Cassidy twisted around to grope inside her purse, eventually coming up with a small foil packet that she held between trembling fingers.
“You’re really sure?” I asked, out of breath and sounding as if I’d run twenty miles. My heart couldn’t be working any harder than if I had.
Cassidy opened the packet with her teeth. She sat up and carefully slid the condom down my dick. I was so hard it hurt. I burned for her. “I’m really sure.”
If her words hadn’t reassured me, the look in her eyes would have done it. There was no apprehension, no doubt, no uncertainty. Just wide, clear blue. She wanted this, wanted me. Well, damn it, she could have me. She would have me for as long as she wanted me.
Cassidy eased onto her back and I hovered above her, poised at her entrance. I held her gaze as the tip of my erection met her slick cunt. Cassidy moaned softly and threw one long leg around my lower back, pulling me deeper into her heat. I sank inside her to the hilt, both of us crying out. Jesus, she felt fucking amazing. Tight, hot and like she’d been made just for me. We fit together like two pieces of the same puzzle that had been lost and separated for years. I’d found my other piece. I never wanted to let it go.
I caught her mouth in a hungry kiss as I pulled my hips back and pushed into her again.
Cassidy grabbed my ass, digging in her nails and making me hiss. “Harder,” she demanded.
“Fuck,” I groaned, slamming into her, hard, like she wanted. She scored me with her nails and it turned me on. I wanted to lose myself in her body, disappear together to never be heard from again.
Cassidy lifted her hips to meet my frenzied thrusts. She clung to my shoulders and held me flush against her as we free fell into oblivion. Her pussy clenched, milking my dick as I pushed into her. I was losing control. I was drowning in her, lost beyond redemption.
Her flesh rippled around me as she held me tighter, riding out her orgasm. Gritting my teeth, I gave one final, hard thrust and barked out my release as I came harder than I ever had before.
I melted into her and pressed my forehead into her neck as my dick softened inside her. Cassidy stroked lazy lines down my spine as I fought for breath. “Fuck me, that was amazing.”
Cassidy laughed breathily, her pulse still hammering. “Yeah, it was.”
“I’m glad you agree.”
She patted my cheek. “I do. But I’m not stroking your ego anymore.”
I laughed and kissed her throat. A few moments passed as we both just lay there, our bodies returning to normal. “Thank you, Cass. Truly.”
Cassidy twisted around to kiss the top of my head. “You’re welcome.”
That night I fell asleep with Cassidy tucked into my body as I curled around her, not a part of us that wasn’t touching. I was more content than I had been in a long time and I knew it was because of the woman in my arms and not because we’d had sex. It was because I was on the cusp of something foreign and alien to me, but utterly exhilarating. I wanted to jump into this thing with Cassidy with both feet.
I knew in the morning she would worry. Sometime in the night doubt would creep into her mind and she would worry that I’d have lost interest now that she’d finally given herself to me. And that was okay. It was expected and I didn’t deserve anything less. I had countless days and weeks and years to prove to her that one taste, one million, could never be enough when it came to her.
Cassidy was my new addiction. There was no cure for her. Nothing to sate my desire or quench my thirst. I was lost to her.
I never wanted to be found.
* * * *
Cassidy was still in a deep sleep when I woke. Despite being on an air mattress with nothing between it and the ground but a flimsy sheet of tent vinyl, and therefore not the comfiest sleeping platform on the planet, I had slept like the dead.
Sometime in the night, Cassidy had rolled over. One of her legs was tucked between mine and she had her face pressed against my chest. She looked so fucking cute it took everything I had not to pin her to the mattress and eat her.
I want to wake up like this every single day.
Whoa.
Okay, that was a terrifying thought. Not because it wasn’t true, I discovered. It was. Absolutely and conclusively true. Terrifying because if the thought could come as easily, so could the actual words. I doubted Cassidy wanted to wake up and discover I’d turned into an obsessive psycho overnight.
Cassidy nuzzled my chest and I knew it wouldn’t be long before she woke up. I kissed her forehead and stroked a finger across her eyebrow, her eyelid and over her full lips that were barely parted.
“I’m not ready to be awake yet,” she mumbled, a frown marring her forehead.
“Okay,” I said, kissing her briefly. “But will you be much longer? I’m lonely.”
Cassidy laughed. “You’re like a damn puppy.”
“So wake up and play with me.”
“I stand corrected. You’re like a needy kid.” Cassidy yawned and stretched, sliding her leg down mine and bringing herself even closer to me. My cock jumped at her movement and thickened against her belly. She smiled and slid her hand between us to trace a finger up my length. “Is this the only reason you want me to wake up?”
“It wasn’t, but try telling him not to be inappropriate when you start rubbing your beautiful, naked body against me.”
“Oh, I see,” Cassidy said, pushing herself up onto her elbow so she could peer down at me as she continued to stroke my dick. “So it’s my fault?”
I so liked where this morning was headed. “Exactly. You shouldn’t be so hot and then I wouldn’t have this problem.”
She laughed and disentangled her legs so she could throw one over my hip and push me onto my back. Cassidy straddled me, cradling my erection between the folds of her cunt. She draped her body over mine and kissed my jaw. “Since it’s my fault, I should take care of it then, shouldn’t I?”
I grasped her hips as she pressed down on my cock. “Jesus, Cass, you’re driving me insane.”
Cassidy laughed again and reached for her purse. She pulled out another condom and I thanked Christ that she was more prepared than I was. And clearly anticipated us being more than a one-time thing.
“This has to be, by far, my favorite morning ever,” I said as Cassidy sat back and rolled the condom into place.
She smiled and leaned down to kiss me. Her tongue met mine as she rocked her hips against my dick until I thought I would explode. I reached down and found her soaking wet and so, so ready for me. “Has to be mine, too.” Cassidy grasped my erection in her hand and guided me to her entrance. She braced a hand on my chest as she slowly slid her pussy down my length.
I gritted my teeth and threw my head back as she moved up and down me, her movements almost lazy, as if we had all the time in the world. Fuck me, she looked beautiful as she rode my body. Her hair was mussed by both sex and sleep and it flowed over her shoulders, the ends brushing her nipples, which were an edible dusty pink.
She held my eyes as she gradually increased her speed, bringing us to the brink with sure, confident movements. I held her hips as she slammed down on my dick harder. I barked out and lifted my hips to meet her thrusts.
Cassidy tossed her head back, exposing her throat and baring her naked body so I could feast on it with my eyes. I sat up and braced one hand on the mattress, taking one nipple in my mouth. Cassidy moaned and
arched into me. I wrapped an arm around her waist as she quickened her pace, her moans coming fast.
She kissed me, hard and almost clumsy as her orgasm ripped through her body. Our teeth clashed and she vocalized her release into my mouth. I swallowed the sound, wanted it in me forever where it couldn’t escape.
I came violently, so hard I saw stars.
Jesus Christ…if every morning began like that, then I’ll be damned if I ever wanted to wake up without her again.
Chapter Seventeen
Later—much, much later—I packed up our mini-vacation with a heavy heart. Last night with Cass had been nothing short of fucking perfection, and I was loath to leave it behind. If I had my way, we’d stay out there where real life couldn’t screw anything up for us.
Cassidy let me drive again, handing over her car keys without question when I asked for them. She laced our fingers together when I laid my hand high up on her thigh, giving me a secret kind of smile that hit me square in the chest.
I knew that somewhere deep in the back of her mind she would be worried I’d cool off now we’d finally slept together. But Christ…it wasn’t enough. With her, it would never be enough. She was a drug in my veins and there was no comedown from this high.
When I pulled into a car dealership, Cassidy whipped her head around to look at me. “What are we doing here?”
I sighed, like it was the last place I really wanted to be. “This chick I know keeps bugging my ass about not having a car.”
She let that sink in for a second or two. “You’re buying a car. Because I told you to?”
Swinging her car into an empty spot, I turned to face her with a wide grin. “Cass, I’m buying one because I want to be able to come see you whenever I damn well want—take you out, pick you up. Your car is nice and all, but it sort of loses me cool points when I have to borrow it to surprise you. That, and it’s a pain in the ass getting cabs all the time.”
Cassidy laughed and climbed out of the car. “Nice. At least it’s not all on me, then.”
“Exactly,” I said, taking her hand and walking her inside to knock down sales bullshit and get what I came for. And an hour and a half later, I walked out the proud owner of a shiny new black Prius.
Cassidy drove back to her apartment to park her car and I followed behind. We went for a ride, not really paying attention to where we were going. It didn’t matter. The only thing that did was the girl sitting beside me who rested her hand on my thigh and changed all the presets to her preferred stations.
After, we headed to the diner near Cass’ apartment for a decent breakfast before lounging for a few hours in her living room. We had the place to ourselves again, but like last time, Cassidy was too good a girl to start fooling around in a shared space and spurned my every advance.
It sucked to leave and I cursed my job for taking me away from her. But the kiss she gave me before I left went a little way to make up for it, and I drove back to Blake’s with a goofy smile on my face and the taste of Cass on my lips.
* * * *
By the time my next night off rolled around, I wanted nothing more than to spend the night with her. As I walked to my shiny new car to drive home, I dug my phone out of my pocket and dialed her number.
“Hello?” she answered with a yawn after ten agonizing rings.
“Hey, sleeping beauty, wake the hell up,” I said.
She groaned. “Go away, Seth. I’m exhausted.”
I laughed. Like that’d happen. “And? So am I. I’ve been working like a dog all week and I finally have some time off. What are you doing?”
“Sleeping, what did it sound like I was doing?”
“It’s six-thirty! Have you had dinner? I could come over and cook for you.”
Cassidy sighed and I imagined her snuggling down into her bed. Was she naked? “That sounds really tempting.” She purred. “But seriously, I’m not good company, Seth. My shift got changed so I worked all last night. I’m like a zombie over here.”
“So we’ll eat then I’ll let you sleep. Maybe.”
She laughed softly. “God, you’re so fucking manipulative.”
I grinned. “I need to go home and shower first. I was hauling crates of beer all day and I stink. But then I’m all yours. And if you wake up enough to be road safe, and you play your cards right, I might let you have a ride in my new car.”
She laughed softly. “How is it?”
Like a hot mix of sex and supple leather. And roomy enough that I’d been fantasizing fucking her in it since I’d picked it up. “Not bad, considering my girlfriend bullied me into buying it.”
Cassidy snorted. “There are so many things wrong with that sentence. But fine. Text me when you’re on your way.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
* * * *
Blake was sitting at the island with Chinese takeout containers in front of him when I got home. He glanced in my direction and went back to his food. It was the first I’d seen of him in a few days, and his mood had been shitty then and it hadn’t improved any.
“Hey, Seth, how’s it going? Good day?” I said. “Why yes, Blake, thank you so much for asking.”
“Shut up, Seth,” Blake muttered without raising his head.
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked, sitting across from him and snagging a spring roll.
He swatted my hand when I reached for another. “Nothing. Get your own damn food.”
The patio door opened and Marley stepped into the kitchen. She glanced between Blake and me before closing the door behind her. The temperature in the room dropped to below freezing and something uneasy knotted in my stomach. Jesus, this really wasn’t getting any better.
“You’re home early,” Blake said, not lifting his eyes from his food. “There’s food if you want any.”
Marley cleared her throat. “I’m not really hungry.”
“You’re not really anything these days, are you?” Blake mumbled.
A flush crept up Marley’s throat, staining her cheeks. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
And…that was my cue to be elsewhere. I stole another spring roll and rounded the island to clap Blake on the shoulder, trying to pass as much brotherly compassion through it as I could. “I’m out. I’ve got the gorgeous Cassidy awaiting my arrival as we speak. I’ll catch you guys later.” And please, for the love of all that is holy, don’t fucking kill each other…
Neither of them replied as I left the room, but the second my foot was on the bottom step, they found their voices again.
“Was that really necessary?” Marley asked, her voice sharper than I’d ever heard before.
“What?” Blake asked.
“Driving your brother out like that. This is his home, too, Blake.”
Blake snorted. “First of all, this is not his fucking home. And second of all, what makes you think he even gives a shit? All Seth cares about is Seth…and maybe about which girl he’s going to use next.”
Wow. That hurt. I tried telling myself that it was just his anger talking. Blake and Marley were caught in this useless fight that they technically hadn’t even had yet—so they were using any other reason for picking a different one. Blake’s words were nothing I hadn’t heard before—from him and my father.
“I’m going to watch TV,” Marley said quietly after a few moments.
Blake chuckled. “Of course you are. Can’t have you actually being in the same room as me for more than ten minutes, right? I can’t even remember the last time we ate a goddamn meal together.”
“What did you expect?” Marley demanded, her voice rising. “That I could keep going like normal—pretending that nothing was wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong,” Blake said, groaning.
“Right. And the fact that you get a letter every other day from Theo asking for your DNA means nothing at all to you?”
“Of course it means nothing. Because it is nothing.”
“So why does he keep sending them?” Marley asked.
“He�
�s an asshole, that’s why,” Blake muttered.
“That’s not good enough!” she cried. “I deserve better than that, Blake.”
There was a loud thump—probably Blake’s temper getting the better of him and his fists taking it out on the island. “And the way you’ve been treating me—you think I deserve that? I was trying to do you a favor. I figured if I didn’t get stressed out over them, then neither would you.”
So…that fight they’d been having without actually having it seemed to have been remedied. I chewed on my thumb and sat down on the stairs. Christ…what the hell do I do? There wasn’t any point in trying to break it up. They fucking needed this fight or they’d never get past it.
“Oh, please, you have done absolutely nothing to reassure me lately. If you had taken the time to actually talk to me, then you would know I am a little more than stressed,” Marley said.
“You didn’t want to talk to me, remember? You were the one who stopped coming home, Marley, not me. That was your choice. I’ve been here every fucking day. You were the one who chose not to do the talking.”
“Because I can’t talk to you! If I talk to you, then I have to ask you the question that has been screaming itself in my head for weeks now.” Marley released a shaky breath. “Did you do it? Did you sleep with Simone?”
My heart thumped like I was the one waiting for the answer. Christ…maybe this fight wasn’t what they needed. When Blake answered her, and I knew he would, what the hell would she do? From what I’d learned about her, both from getting to know her and from talking to Blake, Marley was a serial runner.
It took a lifetime for Blake to answer the question. “Yes.” His voice had lost the anger. Now it was broken and exhausted. Resigned. “Once—before you and—”
“Before what?” Marley jumped in. “Before Vegas? Before the affair? Before I fucking came out here to find you?”
Secrets, Lies & Imperfections Page 18