The Bonds We Break (The Four #5)

by Becca Steele

  “Hi.”

  “Hi.” A small, shy smile pulled at my lips. I rounded the car and climbed in, throwing my bag into the back.

  Cassius started up the engine, glancing in the rear-view mirror, his hand resting on the steering wheel.

  He paused, his gaze flicking across to me. I didn’t even get a chance to take a breath before he was leaning across the centre console and slanting his lips over mine.

  The kiss was over as quickly as it had begun, but it was enough to send butterflies racing through me. And when Cassius manoeuvred away from the kerb, the smile on his face was different to his usual cocky grin.

  Notadatenotadatenotadate, I repeated in my head, enough times that it eventually sunk in by the time we reached the crazy golf course. We picked up our clubs and golf balls—yellow for me, green for Cass—and made our way onto the pirate-themed course. It was set partway up a cliff, overlooking the sea and the pier, and was unsurprisingly busy since it was the middle of summer.

  What I couldn’t work out was why Cassius had invited me on what would have been a date to anyone else, or I guess a friendly thing if we hadn’t been sleeping together. But whatever was going on inside his head, I was happy. Happy to be here, spending time with the man I was falling for, just me and him.

  “How did Lena manage to steal your phone yesterday?” I asked as we attempted to hit our golf balls up a miniature gangplank.

  Cassius huffed. “She came out of nowhere like a bloody ninja, right when I was in the middle of replying to you. She owes me, big time. Even more than before.”

  Twirling my club around, I eyed my ball’s destination before stepping up. A quick tap, and it rolled the short distance up the gangplank, coming to a stop at the top next to Cassius’ ball. “What did she owe you for before?”

  “I voluntarily sexiled myself for the night when she moved into our house at the start of the summer, okay, mostly so I didn’t have to bleach my eyeballs and ears. But she owes me for that, and now she owes me for this, too.” He pulled a face as he hit his ball far too hard, sending it flying through the open jaws of a shark and straight past the hole, rebounding off the wooden board.

  “That’s terrible.”

  “I can sense your sarcasm, you know.” His hand shot out, and he grabbed me around the waist, his fingers tickling my sides. I let out a loud shriek, scrambling away from him.

  “Babe, come back here. I just wanna cuddle.” Holding out his arms, he gave me an innocent, wide-eyed look, but I wasn’t fooled.

  “Fuck off.”

  A hard glare came from a woman at the hole next to ours, accompanied by about five kids. She stepped up to me, shoving her finger at my chest. “Mind your language! There are children present!”

  “Sorry.” I pulled a contrite face, ignoring Cassius practically collapsing with laughter.

  “Disgusting behaviour. In public, as well!” Her outraged mutters continued as she turned her back on us and marched back to her own hole.

  “Oh, Jessa.” Cassius had recovered from his laughing fit, and he came up behind me, leaning down to speak in my ear, all low and husky. “What a dirty, dirty mouth you have.”

  I shivered at his words.

  Then he had to ruin it.

  “You should wash that dirty mouth out. With my c—”

  Reaching up, I slapped my hand over his mouth. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence. There are children present, remember.”

  He laughed against my hand, and after a second, I joined him.

  We made it around the rest of the course without incident, Cassius proclaiming himself the King of the Pirates when he received a pirate hat made of cardboard as his reward for winning the game. He wore it for all of five minutes, took about a hundred selfies for his social media, then decided he’d had enough of wearing it.

  After stowing the hat in the car, he turned to me. “I’m hungry. Want to get some food?”

  I stared up at him, surprised. I’d assumed that we’d go back to his place after golf, but if he wanted to spend more time out here with me, I’d take it. “Yeah, okay.”

  He gave me a blinding grin. “Good.”

  The not-date-date continued with chips down at the seafront. When we’d finished the last of them, he threw our bags in the bin and came jogging back over to me. I watched the people around us admire him, and I was once again struck with disbelief that he’d chosen to spend time with me, out of everyone.

  “Ice cream?” His hand reached out, and his fingers brushed against mine as I nodded. When we stepped up to the ice cream kiosk, he wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder, and it took everything in me to concentrate on the ice cream flavours listed rather than the feel of his body against mine.

  “Uh. Strawberry with clotted cream, please,” I told the white-haired woman at the kiosk after Cassius had placed his order. “I’ve got these.” Pulling my debit card from the pocket of my shorts, I handed it over.

  “I was gonna get those,” he complained, placing a soft kiss to my cheek.

  “Too late.”

  He kissed me again.

  “Young love.” The woman sighed dreamily from behind the counter, and I felt Cass smile against the side of my face. The fact that he made no move to correct her shouldn’t and didn’t mean anything, but my heart still sped up at the thought of us being a real couple. It was all too easy to imagine right then.

  When we both had our ice creams, I turned to head down onto the beach, and Cassius fell into step next to me. His free hand brushed against mine again, but this time, he threaded his fingers through mine.

  The butterflies inside me were going crazy.

  Not a date, remember.

  To distract myself, I took the first taste of my ice cream, swiping my tongue over the melting strawberry creaminess.

  “Ohhhh,” I moaned as the delicious taste burst on my tongue. “This is so good.” I licked around the sides, catching the drips before they made their way down the cone. “How’s yours?”

  When Cassius didn’t reply, I turned my head to see him staring at my mouth, his own ice cream dripping over his hand unnoticed.

  “Cass?”

  “I can’t do this,” he muttered to himself. He tugged at my hand, turning us in the opposite direction from where I’d been heading, leading me under the pier. It was quiet under here, most people preferring to bask in the sun.

  “Can’t do what?” I asked him when he came to a stop next to one of the huge wooden supports that held up the pier.

  “Do you have any idea how fucking difficult it is to not get a boner around you?”

  Oh. I smiled. “Sorry?”

  “You’re not sorry.” He crowded up against me so my back was to the wood and leaned down. “Licking that ice cream like that and moaning. My dick is big, babe. That means I can’t hide my boner in public, not in these shorts.” His tongue darted out, and he swiped some of my ice cream as he pressed into me.

  “I wouldn’t rub up against me if you want it to go down.”

  “How are you so unaffected?” He stared down at me, his pupils dilated.

  Angling my head forwards, I tasted his ice cream. Chocolatey deliciousness, rich and smooth, slid across my tongue. “Mmm. So good. I—”

  His mouth came down on top of mine before I had a chance to finish the rest of the sentence. When we broke apart, both of us were breathing heavily, and our ice creams were dripping everywhere.

  “I’m not unaffected,” I said breathlessly. Taking hold of his free hand, I placed it over my left breast. “Feel my heart rate. Feel how hard my nipples are.”

  He ran his thumb over my nipple, circling it, and I moaned softly.

  “If you moved your hand lower, you’d feel just how wet I am for you.”

  “Fuck, Jessa.”

  “Hurry up and finish your ice cream, then we can go somewhere more private.”

  He didn’t take any more convincing, and neither did I, for that matter. We finished our ice cream
s in record time and headed straight back to the car.

  We couldn’t get enough of each other physically, but it wasn’t only about the sex, despite what I told myself. Our emotional connection was growing stronger by the day. Over the time we’d spent together since I’d first stayed with the Four, both of us had been gradually uncovering the details of each other’s lives, connecting us on a deeper level. No matter how ill-advised it was, since it was supposed to be a casual thing between us, and I knew that the closer we became, the more it would hurt when our arrangement inevitably ended.

  We were in the middle of one of those conversations in his kitchen later that evening, learning more about each other while I prepped lasagne for everyone, and Cassius threw together a salad and homemade garlic bread.

  “Did you always want to work at Alstone Holdings? Or did you feel like you have to follow that path since your family partly owns it?” Straightening up, I closed the oven door and set the timer, then hopped up onto the counter.

  Cassius placed his knife down and moved to stand between my legs, his arms planted either side of me. “Both, I guess. My parents never pushed me, but they let me see the benefits of having a hand in the business.” He tilted his head forwards to kiss me, gently tugging my bottom lip between his teeth. “Did your dad…”

  “He didn’t spell it out, but with Austin going off and doing his own thing, I definitely felt the responsibility of going into the family business.” I wound my arms around his neck, shifting so that my body was aligned with his. “I don’t mind, though. It’s always been interesting to me, and now that his business has more or less merged with Alstone Holdings—” I cut myself off before I could mention how I’d thought about us working together, as business associates, when my mind had run away with me and I’d imagined the impossible dream of us being in a real, long-term relationship.

  “Something smells good.”

  I disentangled myself from Cassius to see Weston peering into the oven.

  “Jessa cooked for us,” Cass was quick to say. “She’s got many hidden talents.” He flashed me a grin before leering at Weston.

  West held up his hands. “I don’t wanna know.” Sauntering over to the fridge, he threw it open and fished out a bottle of beer before turning back to Cassius. “But going by the noises I heard from your bedroom earlier, I can imagine.”

  Cassius shrugged. “You could’ve invited yourself in. We wouldn’t have minded an audience, would we?” His gaze flicked to mine, and I laughed. It was true…but not. There were times when I didn’t mind an audience, enjoyed it, even, but here, with Cassius’ closest friends…it was different. These were the people who knew him better than anyone. His family, not by blood, but their bond was unbreakable.

  So I changed the subject. “What’s the matte black thing all about? I meant to ask you before.”

  “Our cars?” West leaned back against the counter, his bottle of beer dangling from his fingertips.

  “Yeah.”

  He glanced at Cassius. “Cade, wasn’t it?”

  Cassius nodded. “Yeah, when he got his R8. He turned up one weekend and his car was matte black, then it was Z’s bike, and I was bored of my SUV colour, so…”

  “Remember when Cade had Winter’s car redone in matte black?”

  “That’s when we knew it was true luuuurve.” Cassius pretended to swoon, clasping his hands over his heart.

  “She didn’t even know what it meant at the time.” Weston shook his head. “He was so into her, it was ridiculous.”

  “Even when he wouldn’t admit it. And he still is.”

  “True.”

  I smiled, although it was bittersweet. Caiden and Winter…I couldn’t even imagine either of them being with anyone else now, especially not since I’d come to know Winter. It made me long for a relationship like that of my own, even though that had never been a priority for me before.

  Glancing over at Cassius, I caught his eye, and he gave me a soft smile, which I returned.

  I had to face the truth. It wasn’t Caiden and Winter that had made me want a relationship.

  It was him.

  NINETEEN

  After hitting the contact number for Jessa’s brother, I put my phone on loudspeaker while I attempted to decide which sunglasses I wanted to wear from my collection.

  “Cassius.” Austin’s voice came through the speaker. “What’s up? Is Jessa okay?”

  I studied myself in a pair of mirrored aviators before pulling them off. “Yeah, she’s good. Nothing’s happened. I’ve just got a…a feeling.” Pinching my brow, I paced in front of the mirror. This “feeling,” whatever it was, had been getting stronger, and now it was too much to ignore. “It seems like it was almost too easy. One day Littlefinger—Petr—was threatening Jessa, the next, he was gone.” I snapped my fingers. “Just like that.”

  A note of concern entered his voice. “If there’s one thing I’ve learnt in business, it’s that gut feelings shouldn’t be ignored. Is Jessa worried?”

  Shaking my head, I pulled a pair of dark sunglasses from the drawer, black on black. “Not that I know of. She seems happy, and I didn’t want to bring it up with her when I don’t have anything to go on other than a feeling.” Satisfied with my choice in eyewear, I pushed the sunglasses up to the top of my head and closed the drawer. “What exactly went down with Li—with Petr?”

  He sighed. “I guess I can tell you. Creed made enquiries with the Volkovs—who, it turned out, Ivanov was working for. It was complicated—he’s related to one of them, or so I was told. I was all in favour of him having an ‘accident,’ but killing off the relatives of your boss’s important business associates is frowned upon. Who knew?”

  “He’d better not show his fucking face again.”

  “I’ve been informed that he’s no longer in the country. But, fuck, if your hunch means anything, I’ll make some more enquiries. That bastard isn’t getting within ten feet of my sister, relative of the Volkovs or not.”

  “I’m with you there.” Crossing over to the window, I stared out over the garden, where I knew Jessa was, although I couldn’t see her from my position. “I won’t let anyone touch her.”

  “You’re a good man.” His voice warmed, and a grin tugged at my lips. “I’m glad you’re there for her, especially since I’m stuck here and can’t watch out for her. I know how independent she is, but in times like this, it’s good to know she has someone watching her back.”

  “Yeah, well. Uh.” I cleared my throat. “Happy to be of assistance, captain. Whatever you need.”

  Captain? What the actual fuck?

  He laughed. Loudly. “Relax, mate. You don’t need to suck up to me. You’re already on my good side. Don’t hurt Jessa, and you’ll stay there.”

  “Okay. Yeah. Good. Great. Brilliant.”

  He laughed again. Bastard. “Speak soon. We’ll have drinks. I haven’t had a chance to play big-brother interrogator for one of my sister’s boyfriends before.”

  The call disconnected with the sound of a distinctly evil laugh echoing through my room before I had a chance to reply that I wasn’t Jessa’s boyfriend.

  Maybe for the best. I probably shouldn’t tell him that I was his little sister’s fuck buddy.

  Leaving my phone behind, I headed down the stairs to find Jessa.

  On the deck, I stopped, scanning the garden. Lena and West were over by the trees, West lying on his stomach in the shade and Lena stretched out on her back in the sun. But I bypassed them both, my eyes going straight to the girl on the sun lounger with a hand thrown over her eyes, hair piled on top of her head, and her toned, tanned body clad in a tiny mint green bikini.

  “Fucking hell.” I let out a strangled groan that no one was supposed to hear, but I heard Cade’s snort of amusement from the chair to my left.

  “You alright there, mate?”

  “Fuck off. It’s my natural reaction to seeing a hot girl. You’re no different when you see Winter.” Hopefully, my loose shorts would hide my gro
wing boner. If they didn’t, oh well. Nothing to be ashamed of here on private property. I made my way over to Jessa before he could say anything else and crouched down next to her, discreetly adjusting myself. “Jessa.”

  She dropped her hand and turned to look at me, her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. This close, she looked even better, and fuck it, I had to get my hands on her. “Roll over. Let me put sun cream on your back.”

  She smirked but obediently moved onto her stomach, removing her sunglasses and burying her head in her arms. “I’m not going to say no to you getting your hands on me.”

  Picking up the sun lotion, I took a minute to admire the curves of her back and her ass before straddling her thighs. Drizzling some of the lotion into my palms, I placed my hands on her back.

  “That’s cold,” she muttered, flinching away from my touch.

  “Your skin’s hot.” Kneading her shoulders, I began to rub the lotion in. Very thoroughly, of course. My hands stroked over her back, stopping at the string of her bikini top, where I tugged lightly. “Can I?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Shifting on top of her, I undid her bikini top with one hand, the other trailing across her shoulders.

  “Mmm.” Her voice was sleepy, her body relaxing under my hands. My fingers stroked down, over her shoulder blades, and down to her sides, over the curves of her tits. My dick hardened as I slid my hands under her body, cupping the full weight of her tits. Leaning forwards, I put my mouth to her ear as I ground my cock against her.

  “You’re so fucking hot. Feel how hard I am?”

  Something that was a cross between a laugh and a moan fell from her lips. “Don’t stop.”

  “Are you wet, baby?” I kissed down the back of her neck, and she shivered.

  “For you? Always.”

  There was something in her throaty murmur that had me pausing. But it couldn’t be what I thought it was. Jessa was like me. She wouldn’t catch feelings. This was a casual arrangement.