CHAPTER ELEVEN

RYLAN

I rescheduled my morning appointments and showed up with my truck at 9 am sharp. 

"Morning!" I greeted Cassie as she walked down the driveway and held out a paper cup to her. "Coffee?"

She smiled, looking brighter, refreshed and less sad than yesterday. I fought the urge to greet her with a kiss. 

"Thank you," she said, accepting the cup from me and climbing into my passenger seat.

"They didn't have peanut butter or chocolate creamer so I opted for the pumpkin spice. Hope that's alright." 

She laughed lightly, taking a tentative sip. 

"It's delicious. You've already gone above and beyond the call of duty here." 

"Not at all," I grinned. "So the old boy should be at work right now?" 

Her smile dropped and she nodded.

"He should. Hopefully this goes smoothly." 

She looked nervously out the windshield and I gave her hand a light squeeze. 

"Everything will be fine," I told her. "Whether he's there or not." 

Her smile returned and my heart jumped. Just like her, I couldn't wait for this ordeal to be over with, but possibly for different reasons.

I wanted her to be free of all the burdens of her last relationship so we could enjoy each other with nothing hanging over us. 

All my professional boundaries had gone out the window. I wanted this woman. This beautiful, luscious girl who made me hard when I thought of her at night. This fiery redhead who was somehow able to keep herself together while her life seemed to be falling apart.

I was used to women with boyfriends and fiances going after me, dying for that satisfaction that their men couldn't give them. But I was no one's dirty little secret and I stayed far away from untrustworthy, trainwreck type of women. 

Cassie never did that. She kept her dignity and her self-respect while all this was going on and it only made me want her more. I wanted a woman with brains and class, and also happened to be a sucker for curvy redheads.

You're a fucking idiot, Mark, I thought. You treated the best thing in your pathetic life like garbage. She's going to have someone who appreciates her and you'll regret letting her go for the rest of your life.

With Cassie's directions, I pulled up to a small duplex. One car sat in the driveway, a little Camry, which Cassie thankfully said was hers. 

"You can follow me to the storage unit when we're done here," she said. 

"Sounds good," I replied. "Shall we?"

I grabbed Cassie's hand as we got out of the truck and she didn't resist. Rather she stayed close, wrapping her other hand around my arm as I looked all around us and listened carefully.

She carefully put her key in the lock and pushed the door open. I walked in first, keeping her close to me. 

"Looks like we're the only ones here," I said cautiously, sweeping my eyes across the empty living room. 

"Thank God," Cassie sighed. "We should still move fast, just in case."

She opened the garage door and I turned my truck around so we could easily load her things. Like clockwork, we got right down to business. 

I carried the heavy pieces out to the truck while she packed away the smaller items into boxes and plastic bins. When I secured the big things down with some rope and harnesses, I decided to help her with the small stuff. 

She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by boxes stuffed with books. I had to remember this girl liked to read. 

But she stared at a framed picture in her hands. Her and Mark canoodling and looking all happy. I was experienced enough to know that every relationship, even the worst ones, had its happy moments. Those moments were dangerous in some ways. They were what kept people in bad situations, waiting for the storm to pass and the sun to rise again. 

But how many storms was it worth weathering just for a few, precious moments of sunlight?

"Hey." I walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" 

"Yeah," she replied. 

And unceremoniously dropped the picture in the garbage can. 

"Not all memories are bad but that's all they are," she said dryly. "Just memories."

She reached her hands up toward me and I easily pulled her to her feet. The momentum sent her crashing against my chest and I held her there. 

My hold was light so she could move away if she wanted to, but she didn't. 

She looked up at me, blue eyes shimmering and sweet lips parted beautifully, just aching to be kissed. 

Fuck me, I wanted to take her, make her mine. 

"You'll find someone," I said, my voice low and throaty. "Who won't just give you a few happy memories, but will make you feel like a queen every day of your life." 

"I don't know," she said barely above a whisper, her eyes never leaving mine. "I'm not sure if such a person exists."

I couldn't tell who leaned in closer but her breasts barely grazed the fabric of my shirt, sending a tendril of heat down my torso and stood my cock at attention.

"There has to be," I insisted in a low growl. "Because you deserve nothing less." 

My hand found its way to her cheek, brushing my thumb against her plump lower lip.

Her eyes began to close softly as she leaned against my chest, those sweet lips growing ever closer. 

"CASSIE! ARE YOU FUCKING HERE?!" 

A crash and a loud bellow came from the front of the house. Cassie shrieked and leaped into my arms. 

"Oh my God, it's Mark!" she said in a terrified whisper.