“But she was in your house.” Rex shakes his head. “You’ve got a problem, dude. She knows where you go to school.”
“Where you shit.” Jet raises his beer at me. “You’ve got one hell of a clinger.”
A clinger. Sadly, that’s what Sammy has devolved to in my life, a clinger. It would have been unfathomable in the beginning. We were so in love, or so I thought. We were in heat mostly. But, deep down, I always suspected there was more out there. Sammy was nice enough, but for whatever reason, she didn’t get all my pistons firing at once, and that’s exactly what Cassidy does to me, gets me way too fired up to ever be safe for my beating heart. I never thought I’d fall in love again, and, now that I have, it’s that much more than it ever was before. Heck, it nullifies something cheap that I once labeled as love. Of course, I didn’t believe in it after Sammy and I broke up. And now, I know why—we never had it to begin with.
“Anyway”—Owen steps up beside me, still staring at the pool table—“Piper will be glad to hear you’re not going back. It’s her biggest nightmare.”
“Nope, nothing to worry about here. In fact, I’m seeing someone else and happy about it, too.”
“Piper was sure it was her.” Owen breaks his gaze long enough to glance over, amused. “So, who is the lucky girl? You still keeping it close to the vest?”
My mouth opens, then closes. “Yup. Still keeping it close to the vest.” Cassidy said keep it low-key, and if I’m anything, I am a man of my word.
“What’s the matter?” Rex gives a shit-eating grin of his own. “You afraid Jet and I will try to snag her away if we find out who she is?”
“Nope—nothing like that.” I should laugh it off, but something about this doesn’t settle well with me. Why can’t I say it? They might know something about her. Right about now, I’m ready to jones for information. “She says she wants to keep it low-key.”
“Dude.” Jet closes his eyes and moans as if I should know better. “She’s dicking you around. No chick says that and doesn’t have a damn good reason.”
Owen winces and clicks his tongue. “Hate to break it to you, but it sounds like you’re the other guy.”
“What?” I look to Rex, my levelheaded boarding school counterpart, and shake my head, just waiting for him to side with me, but all he gives up is a shrug.
“She does sound dicey. What does she mean by low-key? Does she make you take her to dimly lit restaurants and wear disguises when you’re out in public? Now, that would be a dead giveaway.”
The three of them belt out a laugh at the thought. It does sound comical, but I’m not laughing.
“We’ve got a class together.” I shake it off. “We’ve been seen in public before.” Once, right here at the Black Bear.
“So, have you gone out?” Owen’s not laughing anymore. In fact, he looks downright concerned.
“Not anywhere in particular.”
“Sounds like not anywhere,” he counters. “Dude, you’re like a magnet for crazy chicks. You’d better ditch this one, too, before things get out of hand. Piper has a cool roommate. You should let her hook the two of you up.”
“The last person I want to date is Piper’s roommate. Sorry, not happening.”
Piper bursts into the room and tackles Owen, landing over his back, causing him to take out Jet and Rex with his pool stick. The party quickly disbands as Owen and Piper take off for part two of their evening. I spot Wyatt at the bar just as I’m about to take off myself and head on over.
“Good show.” I nod over to the stage where Blake is screaming himself hoarse.
“Nothing but the best.” Wyatt pulls me into a quick man hug. Even though our father wasn’t around all that much, Wyatt has managed to remain a constant part of our lives. “Did Owen tell you he’s throwing Pipe a birthday party at my place?”
“Sure did. You know I’ll be there with bells on, whatever that means. You need me to do anything?”
“Nope. Marley and her pals are putting it together right now.” He nods over to a table where Marley sits with a small crowd of girls.
“What are you looking at?” Holt comes up and swats me over the shoulder with a towel. “That’s Izzy over there with the dark hair and pink top. She’s my fiancée. Next to her is her sister, Laney—married. And that’s Baya next to her, Bryson’s wife. You know Annie.”
“I guess all the good ones are taken. You just put a tear in my beer, man,” I tease.
Cole comes over and pushes a beer in my direction. “Here’s that drink you’re missing. I don’t see any tears either. That means there’s a girl.”
“There is. And I think I’ll pass the beer to my brother. I’m taking off.” I slap Wyatt over the shoulder again.
Cole repositions the drink, and my brother gladly accepts. “Word to the wise, Cade, if you see a redhead named Roxy, steer clear. Not only is she taken, but she bites and kicks like a son of a bitch.”
“Will do.” I shake my head. “You didn’t leave much for me, did you?” I try to keep a straight face, but that goofy grin of mine floats back to my lips because I already have everything I need.
A blonde moves swiftly toward the exit, and my heart stops as if it just malfunctioned.
“I’ll catch you guys later.” I make a mad dash for the exit and cut her off at the pass, panting wildly through that smile I can’t seem to shake.
“Well, well, here she is. Live and in person,” I muse.
Cassidy Clayton looks up at me, head slightly positioned to the left just enough to hide any idea of a flaw that might be present, but she doesn’t have any flaws, so it’s all for nothing. The way my heart is trying to fist pump its way out of my chest lets me know that Cassidy is the embodiment of perfection.
A giant grin spreads from ear to ear on that precious face of hers, and her eyes sparkle like twin glaciers.
“Cade James, are you stalking me?” She gives a nervous giggle, glancing over her shoulder a moment.
“You were leaving in a hurry.” My affect starts to flatline. “You didn’t see me at the bar, did you?”
Her eyes widen a moment as if she were caught, and my heart thuds to a finish. Could Cassidy really be seeing someone other than me? It’s obvious she’s not loving the limelight shed upon the two of us under the bright lights of the exit, so I do the only thing I can—gently wrap an arm around her waist and walk her backward to the dark corridor leading to the restrooms.
“Is that better?” I whisper over her lips before stealing a kiss. “I don’t think anyone can see us here.” There, I’m calling her out, sort of.
“Oh, hon, this is way too public for the plans I have for you.” She pulls me in by the collar, and now it’s me walking backward. Cassidy leads me straight into the women’s restroom, past an entire sorority of inebriated girls primping in the mirror, straight to the back, and into an empty stall. She seals us inside, sliding the metal latch with a clap of finality, our gazes still pinned high on one another.
“I think I’m loving what you have planned for me,” I whisper soft over her lips. I came so close to rearranging those words, so close to proclaiming my love for her, right here in the stall of the women’s restroom. It would have made for a horrible story, and for just that reason, I’m thankful to have waited.
Cassidy rides her cool hands up my shirt, giving a circular scratch over my chest.
My eyes close involuntarily, and I suck in a quick breath through my teeth. “That, right there, is what I wait the entire livelong day for.” I look into her beautiful crystal-cut eyes and lose myself for a moment. Cassidy has me in every single way.
“Do you want to know what I wait for the entire livelong day?” That devilish gleam in her eye says whatever it is I’m whole-heartedly going to approve.
Her fingers work my belt open, my jeans, and boxers just enough to unleash my hard-on free like a spring. I whip a rubber out of my pocket and offer up that guilty frat boy smile.
Her lashes bat up at me quick as butterfly wings. ?
??Only the smart ones don’t leave home without it.” She takes it from me and rolls it on herself.
Cassidy crashes her lips to mine. She jumps wildly up onto my hips, and I grip her there with my fingers digging into the soft flesh of her thighs. Her dress hikes around her waist, and before I can figure out the logistics of it all, I’m plunging into that hot, wetness I crave both in and out of my dreams. Cassidy moves with me as I rock her, propel her up and down, thrashing her hard over my body as if there were no other way around it, and there isn’t. I need this. I need her hard and fast right here in this slice of a moment.
“Cade,” she whispers into my ear in a fury. I let out a menacing grunt as I come hard, squeezing her down over me as my dick throbs in aching, desperate spurts.
Shit. My lids open heavy as I pant down at her. My thumb circles down to her heated slick, and I work my magic over her until she catches up to me.
Cassidy starts in on a panting session that makes it sound as if she’s about to blow a lung out, and I’m loving it.
“Are you okay in there?” a girl calls out from the other side of the stall just as Cassidy hits her peak. Her body writhes and bucks in my arms as I move faster and faster.
“Yes!” She lets out a wild yelp. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” She screams so loud, I bury my face in her neck as my chest rumbles with a quiet laugh.
“All righty then!” the girl on the other side of the stall shouts before clicking her heels all the way out of the restroom.
Cassidy covers her face a moment before coming up for air and kissing me sweetly on the lips.
“You bring out the naughty girl in me like nobody’s business.” She takes a nip out of my cheek. “Now, go on and slink out of here before anyone sees us together.” She dismounts and tugs her dress down just enough.
A cloud of heartbreak sails over the good time we’ve just had.
“Ladies first.” I land a heated kiss to her lips and refuse to part until she does.
“I’ll see you later—stud.” She gives a playful wink before ditching out the door.
One thing is for sure. I’m beginning to feel like Cassidy Clayton’s dirty little secret.
Lust So Hot It Burns
Cassidy
By the time Saturday night rolls around, I’m all worked up like a cat on a hot tin everything. Piper and Owen are headed out for a scorching night on the town, and I wait patiently until he picks her up.
“You’re not fooling anyone with those bunny PJs on.” She smears her perky little lips with a dash of red. “I know you’re going to see Hot Buns.”
A tight knot builds in my stomach the shape of her spiked heels. Good God, if she knew I had her calling her brother a tasty heated confection, she’d have my own buns on the grill. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I might run downstairs for a quick cup of joe, but other than that, my night is ending with a hard thud.”
“Oh, honey, everybody knows your night is ending with a hard stud.” She spins around, looking every bit polished and beautiful. Both Piper and Cade look as if someone ripped them out of the glossy pages of a magazine. “And a cup of joe? Try a bite out of those honey buns you’ve been chasing after for the past few weeks. Seriously? This has been going on for a couple of months.” She gives my shoulder an aggressive tap. “My best friend is boning some ‘hot’ dude for weeks, and I can’t meet him?” She gasps and clasps her hands up over her mouth as if she’s just come to a brotherly epiphany. “Oh my God!”
Oh my shit, she knows! The Pipe bomb is about to go off! I turn around and cover my ears a moment, but the room is strangely silent. It takes a moment for me to gather my courage to turn around to find her shaking her head, clicking her tongue at me with her arms crossed over her chest.
“You’re ashamed of him.” She blinks back tears. “God, are you dating a man old enough to be your grandfather?” Her eyes grow with worry. “Holy shit! Are these stale hot buns you’re ditching out night after night to take a bite out of?”
There are two ways I can go about this. “Yes.” I sniff back my pride. Technically, Cade is older than me by a few years. “But, trust me, sweetie, he’s hardly stale.” There, at least there’s a modicum of truth dashed on the side of that liar’s pie. “He’s sweet, and handsome.” I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and step on over. He’s the only person on this planet outside of my momma who’s kissed the nasty mess on my face. He tells me I’m beautiful, and, strangely, I have a tendency to believe him. “He’s kind to me.” I take a breath and brush the hair away from my eyes with my fingers. “Plus, he’s a firecracker beneath those sheets, over those sheets, in the bathroom stall at the Black Bear.” I suck in a breath at that last admission. I swear, it’s as if I’ve been dying to talk about him, and the words just bubbled right out of me.
“It’s true then!” She pulls me back by the shoulder. “That nasty Ina Eugene was spreading rumors about you in the commons, and I swatted them down like a fly with a swatter dipped in bullshit.” Piper’s entire body enlivens with rage. “She said you were in the bathroom screaming your head off while some dude bounced you around like a rubber doll!”
An entire series of howls and gagging sounds emit from my throat. “So that was the little bitch who kept trying to weasel her way into my good time.”
“Oh my God! Who are you?” Piper jumps back as if I’ve just sprouted a new face. “The Cassidy Clayton I know wouldn’t go running around sleeping with some guy and hiding him from her friends like he’s yesterday’s regurgitated lunch—and, now, you’re hauling him into the ladies’ room at the Black Bear of all places? You’re lucky that little shit stall shuffle of yours hasn’t gone viral on the Internet by now!”
My face bleeds of all color at the thought of anyone taking a camera to that intimate moment between Cade and me. I’d die if Piper found out—especially that way.
There’s a knock at the door, and Piper is quick to whisk over, opening it to a smiling Owen Vincent ready to get a massive sugar fix from his princess.
“Mark my words”—Piper points a long purple fingernail in my direction—“I am going to find out who this bathroom rodeo, old-timer Romeo is, and I’m going to nail him to a wall with my shoe if he’s married or taken in any way. Something is not right. I can’t put my finger on it, but I know, I know something is not right in the town of Hollow Brook!”
Owen pulls her out and gives me that look as if to ask what’s up, but these lips are sealed.
Piper wags her purse at me. “For the love of God, stay safe tonight. No more sexual bathroom brawls for you, missy! You’re better than that.”
They say goodnight, and Owen hauls her off to who knows where. She’s fit to be tied, and that’s about it.
I do a quick change into my little blue dress, the color of Cade James’s bedroom eyes, and matching four-inch heels—swipe my lips with a touch of color and speed out the door.
I’m fit to be tied, too. In fact, I vote that’s exactly how Cade and I keep ourselves occupied tonight.
Cade’s home is lit up like Cinderella’s pumpkin by the time I get there and give a little knock. That four-legged spook of his lets out a few gruff barks, and I can see Cade through the window trying to wrangle that stubborn beast off to his dungeon, but he’s planted his furry tush to the floor, refusing to budge.
“I’ll be right there!” Cade calls, trying to drag the giant stuffed animal toward the hall, but he’s digging in his heels. Cade is such a gentleman to go through so much trouble for little old me. It makes me feel like a princess myself to know a man would treat me with such respect by putting my needs above that of his own and his beast.
The door opens just enough as Cade blocks it with his body, and down by his knee, the fur man sticks his head out, his long pink tongue dangling to the side, dripping with saliva, while he pants up at me with those curious chocolate eyes. But it’s those damn teeth, sharp as steak knives, packing a promise that with each bite a little bit of my life will forever change, and I freez
e.
Can’t breathe. Oh dear God, please let me pass out so I can go home and avoid this mess altogether.
“He’s being stubborn.” Cade tilts his head as if begging me to understand. “Would you mind meeting him? I promise, I’ll carry him to his room and sequester him for the night, but he’s been dying to meet you. He’s asking one question after another, and it’s become impossible to shut him up.”
A nervous laugh titters from me. Dear God, what have I gotten myself into now?
“Hello, you.” My fingers move in lieu of a wave. In truth, I’m simply trembling. “You’re awfully handsome. I bet all the pretty little pooches come sniffing around, just hoping to get a look at that face.” My entire body remains solid as a sheet of ice. I’m not sure what Cade wants from me, but I’m pretty sure I’ve just given it everything I’ve got.
The poor thing lets out a whimper, struggling to get out here and eat me alive while Cade yanks him back into the house. He widens the door and smiles with those glorious white picket fence teeth of this.
“Come on in.” He nods me over while restraining his best furry bud by the leash.
Everything in me wants to “come on in,” but it’s like moving through a pile of hot tar. It just isn’t happening.
“I swear he won’t bite.”
“Well, if you swear.” My voice shakes as I make a mad dash to the sofa and jump on it with my feet tucked underneath me as if there were a mouse in the vicinity. Trust me, there is something far more lethal than a mouse in the vicinity, and right about now, I’d welcome an entire herd of little white snowballs with foot-long tails.
Cade gets down and gives his friend a scratch behind both ears. “Buddy, this is Cassidy—Cassidy, this is Buddy.”
The dog looks over with his menacing, albeit cute, fuzzy little face as if he understands every single word.
“He minds you pretty well.”