by Amy Davies
“But you… what?”
“Well, I’ll leave that to your imagination, babe.”
“So, you’re telling me that you can satisfy me in bed?” Do not ask me why the fuck I am having this conversation with her, when that gorgeous woman is sitting at my table, waiting for me. The barmaid smiles at me and bites her lip. “Oh, sexy, I could most definitely satisfy you - and more.”
I lean my elbow on the bar and smile at her. “Oh yeah?” I say with amusement.
“Yeah, baby. Why don’t you ditch the girl and come home with a real woman? My shift ends in three hours.” Before I can answer, a voice from behind me answers for me, and my heart sinks into the sticky wooden floor beneath my feet.
“Yeah, Jay. Why don’t you go home with a real woman?” Cassie says, hurt lacing her voice. I clench my hands together, angry at the bartender, but really fucking angry at myself for being pulled into a fucked-up conversation with a woman that held no interest to me. But being a Castle, I took the fucking bait and it hooked me, and now it has gutted me.
“Kitten, I-” She doesn't want my words. Cassie turns and walks out of the pub, not listening to me when I call out her name. I have fucked up royally. I race after her, but again she ignores my calls.
“Cassie, wait. Please,” I plead. I catch up to her and grip her upper arm to stop her steps. “Please, let me explain.”
She turns to face me, tears brimming her eyes. My heart dies a little seeing the sadness on her face. I move closer to her but she steps back. I breath out and pray that she listens to my explanation.
“She was flirting with me while making our drinks. I was only talking to her. Yeah, I got baited in her little game, but I can tell you now, Cass, the idea of going home with her never entered my mind. The only woman I want to take home is standing in front of me. I am so sorry that I upset you. I’m a dick, I know that. I should have ended the conversation straight away and made her see that I was there with you.”
She reaches up and swipes away a stray tear. She reminds me of a time when Dex made Addy cry because he was a total wanker to her. My heart decides that it wants to rule my body over my head, and it forces me to take a step closer. I slide my thumb over her cheekbone, catching another tear that falls from her beautiful, pain-filled eyes. Our gaze locks and the world fades away, we are in our own little bubble right now. The music from the pub, the sound of cars driving past… Everything fades. The only thing that my mind is focusing on is Cassie standing in front of me.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. I take a deep breath and say it again. “I am so fucking sorry.” I pour every emotion into the words, hoping like fuck that she can see how truly sorry I am. Kitten nods her head and leans forward, resting her head against my chest.
“I don’t do hurt, Jay. I can’t take more hurt from a man. I refuse to. So, if you want to be with me, then it’s only me. I will not be second to anyone else,” she states, still resting against my body.
“Only you. But I do have another female in my life that I love. Do you think you can share me with her?” Her body tenses at first, but then she giggles and pulls her head back to look up at me.
“I think I can share you with a six-month old baby girl.” A big-arse smile stretches across my face and I lean in to kiss her quickly.
“Good, because I don’t think Miss Phoebe would like it if you made me stop seeing her. She’s lethal with her bottle. See this?” I point to a small bruise on my jaw line. Cassie nods her head. “She whacked me with her bottle yesterday. Little minx, she’s going to be trouble when she gets older.” I wink at her. “I have a lot of important women in my life, Cass, but I would never cheat on you. The women in my life, I love with all my heart, they’re family. Plus, if I hurt you, not only will I be hurting myself but the girls would come after me and rip me a new arsehole. They are deadly together. Okay, maybe not Penny, but hell, she can guilt trip the Devil into feeling like a disappointment; she has a way with words.” I shake my head at the way Penny handles the kids.
“I’ve met Addy, so I can only imagine what her friends are like.”
“You truly have no idea.” I lean in and kiss her again, this time I deeper, showing her just how much I like her, how much I want this to work. I know we said we would go slow, but fuck me, she is making me think twice about agreeing to that. And the way her body is melting against mine… I think she is regretting the decision, too.
I break the kiss and ask, “Do you want me to take you home?” Please say no. Please say no, I chant in my head.
“No. Maybe we can take a walk down by the beach.” She sounds hopeful. I kiss her nose.
“Come on. We can take the car to the bay, and then we can take a walk on the sand.” I take her hand and lead her over to my car. Her hand feels so small in mine, but fuck it feels good. We reach my car and I open the passenger side door for her. I watch as she climbs in, making sure that I don’t close the door on her leg. Yep, I have done that before and believe me, the girl was not happy with me. She never phoned me again, but she told everyone around town that I did on purpose. She was a bitch, anyway. I was better off without her. Last I heard, she was married to some guy who was now in prison, and she had four kids. Poor kids I say, to have a mother like her.
We drive to the bay without talking, music from the radio filling the space. DJ Snake & Justin Bieber’s ‘Let Me Love You’ plays, the words surrounding both of us. From what little Kitten has told me, and from my shitty past with women, this is a pretty great song, it says a lot about us. I reach across the center console and take her small hand in mine, resting them on her bare thigh. Cassie turns and smiles at me before dropping her eyes to our hands. They look good together. Seeing her in my car makes me feel good about the future. Maybe Addy was right all along: Rachel was never right for me. That is why my heart didn’t fully give itself over to Rach, it was waiting for Cassie.
Can you fall for someone you barely know?
I know the saying ‘love at first sight’ is all the rage, especially in these romance books girls read. Cassie said she loved to read and watch films. Does she like romance books as well as action books? She did say that she’s a huge Marvel fan, and they aren’t romantic. Are they? I know I liked the look of her when I saw her for the first time.
I push open the door to Dex’s room and see he has a client. I completely forgot he said he had an appointment. My head is fucked at the moment. I had another fight with Rachel last night and she has my head spinning. The chick on the table gasps as Dex lifts his head to see who walked in his room. He frowns at me.
“What the hell, dude?”
“Shit. Sorry, I forgot you had a client.” I step further into the room and offer the very sexy blonde my hand. “Hi, I’m Jay Castle, this dickhead’s brother. And you are?” She is hesitant at first, before she smiles and offers her hand to me.
“Hey, Jay. Cassie Dawson.”
“Nice to meet you, Cassie. Nice ink by the way.” I point to the thigh tattoo my brother is working on. She has a large peacock and some cherry blossoms around the bird. My brother is fucking wicked at his work, and I will admit that I learned from the best. She keeps her gaze on mine, while my gaze travels the length of her body. Damn, she is fucking hot. Short blonde hair, toned arms and legs. Her skin is golden, clearly from hours in the sun, which is a mystery since we don’t get much sun here, so maybe she’s just come back from a holiday.
“Like what you see?” Her voice brings my eyes back to hers. I smirk and nod my head. She shakes hers and smiles at me. Dex laughs but never lifts his head.
“Did you come in here for something, or did you just want to perv on Cass?”
“Well…” I wink at her. A perfect blush covers her face and she looks away. “It doesn’t matter now. Cass helped just fine.” I add another wink and leave the room. Yeah, she helped me get out of this Rachel funk. What the hell I am going to do about her?
I pull into a parking space and turn off the engine before I climb out of the car and walk around to he
lp Cassie out of her side. The air is chilly, but it’s not bad enough that you need a big coat. The leather jackets that we have on should be okay, but if they aren’t, it will give me an excuse to hold her close to me. I press the lock button as we start to walk away from the car. I slide my hand around hers and smile down at her when she smiles up at me. Fucking hell, she is beautiful. Her eyes sparkle in the moonlight and… There I go again, sounding like a fucking girl. Oh, if Dex or Liam could hear me now; they would rib me for years to come. Bastards. We walk along the path that runs along the top of the beach, close to the sand.
“I am so happy that it isn’t that cold out tonight.”
“Me too. But then again, it would be an added bonus because you would want to cuddle up to me to keep warm.” I wink down at her and she laughs.
“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Captain Awesome.” I love that she uses the nickname Addy gave me, it’s extra good coming from Cass since she’s a superhero nut, but little does she know that...so am I.
“So, who is your all-time favourite superhero?” I ask. It doesn’t matter what her answer is, I will argue with her, just to rile her up.
“Ironman. No one beats Tony Stark. I even named my dog after him.” Okay, here we go.
“Are you serious?” Her head spins in my direction, confusion on her face.
“Yeah. Tony Stark is the best of the best. Come on, you have to agree with me.”
“Not really. Captain America is pretty fucking awesome. Now, you have to agree with me. That guy was frozen for what? Seventy-years? He came out and he was beyond the perfect soldier. And even you have to admit that he is a sexy bastard.” I wink at her.
“So, you’re telling me that you would side with Captain America in Civil War over Ironman? Dude, what the fudge is wrong with you? Ironman is faster, strong, and freaking bullet proof. Oh, and did I mention he is rich as hell. He has his own bloody building. And yeah, Chris Evans is hot, but even you, as a man, can appreciate how good looking Robert Downey Jr is,” Cassie replies. I shrug my shoulders.
“Eh, if you say so. I still think Captain America is the best, or then again, Hawkeye is pretty damned cool as well.”
“Hawkeye? He doesn't even have a super power, he is cool with a bow and arrow, that's it. Dude, really?” She stops walking and tugs on my hand to stop me. I turn to face her.
“What?”
“You’re a sneaky rat. You are a Marvel fan, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, babe. I am. To be honest, I’m a movie buff like you. I like action movies just as much as you. I love martial arts movies, too. Dex and me used to go over to Liam’s all the time to watch them when we were younger.
“So, what do you say we go back to my place and watch a film or two?”
“Are you sure?” I ask. I need to be sure she’s okay with having me in her place. I’m trying so fucking hard not to rush this with her.
“Yeah, Mr Castle, I’m sure.”
“Then let’s do this.”
cassie
I unlock my door and let Jay into my house. The warmth hits us and we both shiver. I laugh, and so does Jay. The temperature has dropped a little since we left the beach. I remove my jacket and boots before hanging them in the little cupboard by the front door. I turn to see Jay doing the same, even without me telling him. That shows that he respects my home, and me, most men wouldn’t want to take their shoes off unless they were going to get lucky at the end of the night. I walk into my living room and turn on the TV. I drop the remote onto the couch and turn to face Jay.
“Make yourself at home, I’m just going to put on some warm jammers. Be right back.”
“I can warm you right up, Kitten.” He winks at me.
“I have no doubt about that.” I wink back at him and walk towards my bedroom. I quickly pull the dress over my head and fling it in the corner of my bedroom where my washing basket it. Next, I dash into the bathroom and pull out a pack of wet wipes to clean my makeup off. Once I’ve done that, I pick up one of my hair-ties and quickly tie my hair back into a small ponytail, since my hair is short. Walking back into my bedroom, I pull open the dresser drawer that holds all my jammers. Hmm, do I go for sexy or comfy. I don’t want to look desperate but…
“Oh, fudge it.” I pick up my red and white striped set. It’s tight on me, which keeps me warm. The top is long-sleeved and has three fake buttons that don’t close. I leave my bra on, even though I would normally take it off, but again, I don’t want to seem desperate to Jay. I walk over to my door mirror and check my appearance. God, what is this man doing to me. I wouldn't normally give a fudge what a man thought of me. I steel myself and walk back out into my living room, stopping dead in my tracks when I see Jay, sprawled out on my couch in a white t-shirt and his jeans. He’s taken off the jumper he was wearing tonight, and his body is laying the full length of the couch. He looks totally at home here, and that scares me. Jay has the ultimate superhero power to ruin me. To smoke me to smithereens. To use his lasers and pierce my heart and blow it into a million pieces.
“Are you gonna stand there all night or are you going to come over here and lay with me to watch a movie?” Jay’s voice startles me out of my thoughts. Bugger, how long was I standing here? “About three minutes,” he says, not looking at me anymore, his gaze settled on the TV. I slowly walk over to him and stand in front of him. He drags his gaze from the TV and it stops on me.
“I think Captain Awesome needs to Hulk-down so I can fit on the couch and watch whatever movie he’s chosen.”
“Hulk-down?” he questions.
“Yep. Dude, you have to know how big you look laying there.”
“Baby, I’m big everywhere, not just lying here with you. Now get that sexy arse of yours down here and nestled against me.” He wiggles his perfect eyebrows. Should men have eyebrows that well shaped? I arch my own eyebrow at him.
“You think very highly of yourself there, Mr C,” I say and lower myself onto the edge of the couch. Jay has pushed himself all the way back into the cushions to make space for me. Damn, I need a bigger couch. Jay wraps a tattooed arm around me and pulls me close, his head up on the arm of the couch so he can see the TV over my head. I rest my head on his bicep, and what a bicep it is. Hard yet soft. His skin is warm against my cheek. His left arm is clear of any tattoos, and I can’t help but wonder if he would get a second sleeve done one day. I need to ask. I slide my palm over the inside of his forearm.
“Do you think you’ll get another sleeve added?”
“Maybe one day. I’m in no rush to cover every part of me. I like my tattoos to having meaning. Like my right arm. The art explains me and my past.”
“Tell me,” I say. I snuggle in closer to his body. I know we’re going slow, but if you could see this man, you would want to get as close to his body as much as me. His arm tightens around me, the movie on the TV forgotten.
“The warrior woman on the top is to remind me that women hold all the power in life. They can heal a man and crush him. The smoke around her is related to the fire that killed my parents. I have the castle surrounded by trees, each tree is someone in my heart.” I turn over his arm and stare at the design there. There are three trees and three crosses. The tattoos all blend together in a work of art. Dex did a wicked job.
“Three trees and three crosses. Who are they for? I get that a tree is for Dex, and maybe Addy. And the two crosses are for your parents, but the last one...”
“Yeah, babe. Two trees are for Dex and Addy, the third is for Liam. I think you have met him at Castle Ink. Him and his girl, Penny, they have three kids now. Two crosses are for my parents, the third…” He takes a deep breath. I turn over to face him. The pain shines through his eyes. Oh God, did he lose a girlfriend?
“The third cross is for Fiona.”
“Fiona?”
“Yeah, she was Dex’s wife before she died. She was in an accident. Dex took it hard, as anyone would, but it was Addy that took the brunt of his grief and anger. But they’re fine
now, as you have seen. Plus, if Dex hurts Addy now, she will cut his balls off.” We both laugh but I can see the pain in his eyes. I reach my hand up to cup his face, his stubble tickling my palm. I bet that would feel amazing against my thighs.
Oh my God, Cassie. How can I think those things when he just told me about Dex’s wife’s death? Oh my God, I am going to burn in The Underworld for all eternity. I press my head into Jay’s hard chest and breath him in, forcing the naughty thoughts out of my head. He has my head spinning in so many directions I don’t know whether I’m coming or going.
“Coming I hope.”
“Damn it,” I mutter. I really need to stop speaking my thoughts out loud.
“Every time.” His chest moves with his laughter. I lean my upper body back and slap his chest before snuggling back in and taking a deep breath of the all good-smelling ‘Jay-fume’.
“Sorry. This past week has made my head spin. I want to go slow with you, but I want to go fast at the same time. You make my body tingle from head to foot, Jay. I’m scared of how you make me feel. I’ve been hurt before, and I don’t think I will come back from it if I get hurt again.”
“I would never hurt you, Kitten. I’ve been hurt as well, so I know how you feel.”
“I doubt it,” I mutter against his chest.
“So much for us not going deep tonight.” He chuckles as he slides his hand up and down my back, soothing me. God, I could stay here forever.
“I thought you wanted to go deep,” I let slip before I can stop it. I cringe at my words. See, this is what this man does to me. Jay bellows out a laugh, his whole body shaking with the action. His laugh is amazing; deep and rich like melted chocolate. It slides over me and makes me tingle again. I swear I am going to be living in damp knickers with this man around. I pull my head back again because I need to see him laugh, I need to see the smile on his face. His smile lights up his whole face. His perfect, straight white teeth wink at me from inside his perfect mouth.