CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CASSIE

Confused didn't even begin to describe how I felt.

Part of me was still mourning the past I could never get back, being blissfully ignorant but at least having a comfortable life. 

Another part of me was glad I saw Mark's true colors. The veil was lifted and I was free. Why would I want to tie myself down to someone who didn't appreciate all the love I had to give?

But Rylan, that damn charming and handsome devil with an amazingly fit body confused me most of all. 

He supposedly wanted me but rejected me. Why? 

Should I take what he said at face value? Or was it the more likely answer of him making excuses for the real reason he didn't want to fuck me?

Mark used to say he loved how curvy I was and look how that turned out.

I couldn't decide which was more hurtful, Mark leading me on for five years or Rylan rejecting me right off the bat with lame excuses. 

And Rylan still texted me being sweet and supportive, though I couldn't bring myself to reply. I didn't know what to believe anymore. 

Each decision I weighed in my mind gave me an aching tightness in my chest. Keep seeing him like this and get more rejection or at least more heartache down the road. Or stop this now, which almost felt like another heartbreak in itself, but allowed me to focus on myself and moving on without getting distracted. 

Someone once told me that when faced with a tough decision, do what feels the hardest.

Like a robot, I slowly rose and picked up my purse. 

My car was still at Mark's house, so Beth gave me a lift to pick it up. 

She watched over me, on guard with her pepper spray just in case Mark was somehow bailed out incredibly early. But I got in car and we left in under a minute. 

Now I had to take care of the hard business. 

Beth headed off to work while I drove to the gym. Already my heart pounded like a drum the moment I pulled into a parking spot. It was fairly early in the morning but I had no idea what Rylan's training schedule would be like. I could only pray he wasn't there while I got this over with.

The slim, attractive blonde smiled at me as I approached the front desk. 

"Hi, are you here for Rylan?" she asked too-loudly. 

"Um, no," I muttered, clutching my purse strap like it was a lifeline. "I actually need to cancel my membership." 

Her eyebrows disappeared into her bangs as they raised, and her mouth formed a little O of surprise. 

"Cancel?" she said, not bothering to lower her voice. "Are you sure?" 

"Yes, I'm sure," I said through gritted teeth, pulling out my ID and gym card and slapping them on the desk. 

After a few slow blinks, she took my cards and began typing on the computer in front of her. 

"Well we're sorry to see you go, Cassie," she said as her acrylic nails clicked on the keys. "Would you be willing to fill out a short survey on your experience with us?" 

"Um, maybe later," I said, resisting the urge to look around the gym for any sign of Rylan. "I'm kind of in a hurry." 

"Okay, I'll email it to you."

She returned my ID to me and resumed typing for what felt like an eternity. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, wondering if I should just bolt out the door.

"Okay, I just need to fill out a reason for the cancellation and your membership will be terminated," she said, blinking up at me. 

"Um, financial difficulties I guess," I said. "I just need to tighten my budgets for a little while." 

"Oh! If that's the case, we have a variety of payment plans," she chirped happily. "You can even get two more months of free personal training sessions if you qualify. Let me get you the paperwork!" 

"No, that's okay," I protested but she had already jumped up from the desk and disappeared into an office cubicle. 

"Damn it," I muttered. This process just had to keep getting dragged on and on. 

"Cassie?" 

Double damn it. 

That voice sent a tantalizing shiver down my spine just like when his hands were there the other day. 

There was no escape for me now. I turned toward the direction of Rylan's voice. 

He wore a black tank top with large armholes cut in the sides, showing off his exquisite obliques and that huge, mottled bruise that covered them on his left side. His breath came out a bit heavy and his sexy shoulders looked even more finely sculpted than ever. He must have just finished working out. 

"Hi Rylan," I said with what little breath I had left. 

He slapped a towel over his shoulder as he approached me. He smelled of sweat and Old Spice deodorant, masculine and powerful.

"You haven't replied to my texts." There was no accusation in tone, just a calm observation. 

"I know," I replied, licking my lips before I could stop myself. His presence, his smell, his smoldering gaze-- everything about him was intoxicating. 

"Is everything okay?" 

His eyes were hungry. They dared me to expose my pain, my confusion, and my sadness so he could devour it all. 

"I'll text you soon when I have a place to store my things." My furniture and other items were still in the back of his truck. 

He narrowed his eyes and for the first time, I felt the first spark of fear but it also felt like a thrill. 

"Really, Cassie? That's how it's gonna be?" he said gruffly.

I lowered my eyes, crumbling under his overwhelming intensity and glanced behind the desk. What the hell was taking the blonde so long? 

"I'm sorry. I just need to focus on me and be on my own for a little while," I said, my voice wavering. "I'm canceling my membership now but I might be back after things are more settled." 

Rylan's jaw clenched and he sucked in a deep breath. He looked around the gym for a moment and I wondered what he was thinking. He looked absolutely predatory, like a lion waiting to strike, coiled up with strength and power. But he didn't seem angry. 

"Can I talk to you privately for a minute?" he asked. 

My head nodded, a physical response before my brain could think. A small voice told me this was a bad idea as I followed him through the gym, but my body was too busy appreciating the wide trap muscles of his back and his tight, firm ass. 

He led me to a small room that looked like a break room for gym employees. There was a small table and set of chairs, a refrigerator, microwave, sink, and cabinets.

My whole body hummed, practically vibrating as he locked the door behind us and closed the blinds to the small window. 

Finally, he turned to look at me. For a moment there was no sound or movement except for the pulse in my ears.

And suddenly he was on me. 

His kiss took my breath away before I even knew what was happening. My breasts squeezed against his hard chest and his arms snaked around me, pinning me against him. 

He let out a low moan, primal and hungry, as he tasted me. I couldn't help but respond to him, opening up and drinking him in. Somehow he soothed every longing, physical ache my body carried for months if even years. The ache for this. Pure, raw passion. 

"Do you believe me now?" he growled, nipping at my lips as his hands traveled to squeeze handfuls of my ass. 

"What?" I gasped, shocked at his boldness. He had always been such a gentleman. I barely recognized this possessive, rough-handling man. 

But he set my body on fire like it had never been before. 

With another hot groan, he lifted me up easily with no effort at all and placed me on the countertop. I gasped again as he forced my legs apart and felt something thick, rigid and hot press right up against my clit. 

"Do you believe me when I say how incredibly fucking hard you make me?" he rasped into my ear. "That you're the hottest woman who ever walked into this gym and you deserve the fucking of a lifetime?"

I could only whimper as his mouth traveled down my neck and he pressed into me harder. 

My whole body turned to jello but not in the sense that I was shaking. I was jello still being cooked on the stove-- hot, molten liquid. Only Rylan's arms kept me from melting and spilling all over the counter. 

"Tell me, Cassie," he demanded hotly against my skin. 

His fingers dug into my hips as he moved against me. It was so good, so sweet I wanted to cry from the hot, simple pleasure he created between my legs. Distantly I realized my arms went around his shoulders, clutching the hard muscles and pulling him in.

"Yes," I whimpered in a barely audible squeak. "Yes, I believe you now."