Cassi

I told Rem it’d take an act of God to get me in his bed.

So, of course, the heavens opened, the rain poured, and the weather service issued a county-wide flash flood warning.

Too risky – Julian had texted.

Tidus agreed. It’s dangerous.

How did you get my number? – Quint didn’t care.

You’re working for Remington Marshall?? – Varius rarely came out of his room.

And then there was Rem—arms loaded with the two little girls, all three of them giving me a pouty lower lip.

“Dark and rainy, Sassy,” he’d said. “Why not have a slumber party?”

A slumber party with the girls was fine. But did I trust myself with him?

Not a chance.

That’s why he took the couch.

Not that his bed was any better. The soft sheets caressed me with his scent. The mattress held me tight. The pillows ached my head…and everywhere else.

For five years, I’d imagined myself in his bed—and the tossing and turning was usually a precursor to a much more satisfying night’s sleep. Now? I stared at his ceiling, inhaled the earthen pine clinging to his blankets, and counted the crashes of thunder in the distance.

One.

Two.

My eyes drooped closed just as a terrifying crash echoed from outside the window.

“What the…”

Thunder didn’t topple trashcans. Lightning didn’t creak the wooden boards of the porch.

I bolted upright, darting for my phone. The trash cans rattled again. The sky streaked with brightness.

Was that a shadow passing the window?

Who was on the porch?

I dove from the bed, skittering passed the window. The bedroom door stuck shut, and I grappled with the knob as I stared into the night.

The middle of the woods was easy to find, but Rem’s cabin was in a backass corner of nowhere, surrounded by trees, dirt roads, and hidden from any and all civilization. Only by a miracle of science did we get phone reception, and even that was influenced by the clarity of day, the wind in the trees, and a daily prayer to the cell tower positioned on Krieger Hill.

The forest was dark and scary on the best of days. But if someone lurked between the shadowy trees, who could help us? No one in Butterpond would know that we’d been turned into a cannibal’s hamburger until my brothers ran out of Pop Tarts and came looking for the grocery checkbook.

I wasn’t taking a chance with two little girls sleeping in the other room. I half-shimmied, half-crawled into the kitchen, ducking under the windows.

Rem slept on the couch, one arm over his eyes, the blanket low on his chest.

His bare chest.

And bare hips.

Of course he’d sleep naked. That was real practical. We ate on that couch.

At least it was a great sight to see before we’d be brutally murdered by a crazed serial killer during the summer’s worst storm.

I searched for a weapon. Rem’s kitchen contained one dull chef’s knife, a stock pot, and a broom. I grabbed a lid to the largest frying pan as a shield and wielded both the broom and knife in the same hand. No more crashes from the porch.

Did the intruder know I was awake?

“Rem.” My hissed whisper wasn’t loud enough to carry over the rain pounding the metal roof. “Rem, wake up!”

A good slap to his chest startled him awake. I groped the floor to find his jeans crumpled near the couch. I handed them to him before pushing the knife into his hands.

He blinked, bleary, staring at the pants and weapon. “Is this…is this a seduction?”

“It might be a burglary.”

Even half-asleep, he grinned. “You don’t have to steal it. I’ll give it up willingly.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

“I hear something.”

“A racing heartbeat and murmured longings?”

I jabbed him with the broom. “A crash. From outside.”

“Okay.”

“Something is out there.”

Rem rubbed his face. “It’s the woods. There’s a lot of things out there.”

“It could be a murderer.”

“Who the hell would come all the way up the mountain to kill us?”

“What better way to do it? We’re so far out in the boonies. No one would know.”

“Boonies? Sassy, you grew up on a farm. It’s probably an animal.”

“I grew up with domesticated animals—horses, cows, chickens. Not whatever might be out there.”

“Nothing bad is out there. Just a coyote. Maybe a bear.”

“On your porch.”

“Be glad you’re inside.”

“We’ll check together.”

Rem sat up. The blanket fell low. I tried not to look.

Failed.

What was I afraid of outside? The biggest animal twitched to life right beside me.

Rem didn’t notice. He grunted and checked the time. “You want us to go outside and see if there’s a bear on the porch.”

“Or a murderer.”

“Why?”

“So it doesn’t get in here.”

He glanced at my impromptu shield and staff. “Is that why you’re wielding half-assed weapons? Christ, Cas, you are the Dollar General.”

Another crash. I flinched, but enough was enough. I aimed the broom for the door. Rem hauled me away, tossing me onto the couch while he hobbled into his jeans as quickly as he could without causing permanent damage to his manhood or pride.

“You stay here.” He scratched his beard with a lazy swat of his fingers. “I’ll check it out.”

I offered him the broom. “Take it.”

“Yeah, I’ll sweep him off the porch.” He handed it back. “You keep it in case I get eaten.”

He flung the door open and braved the torrent of rain outside. A still second passed. The light of his cellphone swept across the yard.

Then his shout echoed over the night.

“Cas! Get in the house!”

I leapt away as he rushed into the cabin, slamming the door and twisting the lock with a profanity.

“Seriously?” I clutched the broom. “I thought the storm just freaked me out.”

“No.” He peeked out a window. “I saw him.”

“Him?”

“Yeah. He’s a sneaky son of a bitch. Hiding in the shadows. Knocked over the garbage can.”

My heart lurched. I glanced to the kids’ room. Still sleeping, but they were entirely too far away from us to feel safe. “Who was it?”

“Some little fat guy. Real chubby.”

“You saw him?”

“Not that it’ll help.” Rem gestured over his face. “He wore a mask over his eyes.”

Damn it. Our options were limited. Sheriff Samson never responded to anything outside the bar after midnight—and only because he was usually the last customer served. He’d never make it up the mountain in the middle of the storm.

That meant it was up to us.

“We’ve gotta go out there,” I said. “Confront him. Fight him off.”

Rem nodded. “Good plan. I can’t let him prowl around. My luck, he’d get into the attic.”

“Is there a window?”

“A pest like that? He’d chew right through the damaged shingles.”

“What?”

Rem shushed me with a finger to my lips. “Okay. We’ll go outside. You distract him. I’ll circle back and grab his tail.”

“His…tail?”

“I’ll swing his ass into the woods. That’ll teach him a lesson.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Or maybe I’ll make a hat out of him.” He grinned. “It’s a goddamned raccoon, Sassy.”

I aimed the broom for his gut. “You son of a—”

He dodged the attack. “Shh. Don’t wake the kids.”

Oh, I didn’t need words. I slapped his shoulder once, twice, then another time just to make it hurt. My hand stung. Rem’s muscles hadn’t even twitched.

“You scared the hell out of me,” I said.

He dodged my fourth slap and folded his fingers into mine. One tug, and I was trapped against his chest.

“You think I’d let anything happen to you?” he asked.

“Well, you just gave me a heart attack.”

“Nothing to fear, Sassy. I’m your big strong hero, here to keep you safe all night.”

I snorted. “I’ll take my chances with the bandit outside. At least he’s only stealing trash.”

“Yeah?” Rem’s smile melted my irritation. Wasn’t sure how the bastard did it. “And what do I steal?”

“Anything you can get.”

“Like…” He leaned in quick, holding my cheek as his lips brushed mine. “A kiss?”

I batted at his chest. “And worse.”

“What? Like a touch?” He swatted at my behind.

“Knowing you? You’d take a girl’s virtue.”

His words mellowed. “And her heart, if she’d give it to me.”

My chest fluttered a little too hard. I swallowed. “I think the most dangerous animal in these woods is standing right in front of me.”

“You know it, little girl. Better run. I do worse things than bite and scratch.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

He lunged. I giggled and twisted away, batting his hands from mine and diving around the couch. Rem followed, easily seizing me in his thick arms as I attempted to escape into the bedroom. We tumbled to the couch, my body tangled in his, my legs twisted under his weight.

And like a fool, I’d ended up exactly where I swore I’d never be caught.

Beneath him.

Breathless. Panting.

Staring at the only man who had ever made a raccoon attack actually seem romantic.

“We should go to bed,” I whispered.

“I agree.”

Bad boy. “Alone.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

His fingers trailed over my arms, pushing my wrists over my head. I debated reaching for the broom. A good swat might have stilled his hands.

But it did nothing for his lips.

Rem leaned in, seizing me in a kiss so sudden, so perfect, he didn’t need to hold my hands. My body puddled right there, a mess of indecision, denied urges, and dreaded desire. He nibbled at me, a swift and commanding kiss that threatened my surrender right then and there.

No one was sexier than this man.

I’d fallen for him since the first moment I knew my heart could belong to another. And he knew it was always his. He’d carried it. He’d teased it. He’d broke it. Now it beat with such a fury that I had no doubt he could feel every last thump.

A kiss, and I was lost. A gentle caress of my cheek, and I submitted.

A nip to my neck, and I was in trouble.

Rem moved over me, wedging himself between my legs as his hardness pressed against my thigh. The denim did a poor job of containing that strength. And I did even less to discourage it.

I’d wanted to feel him.

For so long. So many years. So many broken promises.

And now? He kissed me, deep and dramatic, as if proving that I wasn’t the only one lost to those memories.

My shirt rode up. My dark tummy exposed to him, and his hand tickled upwards, brushing against the swell of my breast. Heat spread from his fingertips—a wonderful magic that shivered and delighted. It washed over my body and ignited every part of me.

My hips accidentally bucked against his.

He liked that.

So did I.

“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted this.” Rem’s words caressed me, sweeter than his hands. “My biggest regret was never getting to touch you. To taste you. To hold you.” He kissed me once more, his words a low growl. “To be with you.”

“It was for the best.” I wished I hadn’t arched as his hand tickled downwards. “We wouldn’t have worked together.”

“Maybe not then…” He teased over my thigh, but he never shifted his gaze from mine. Instead, his eyes widened as his fingers drifted down, over the borrowed pair of boxers separating his skin from mine. He pressed hard. A dozen intoxicating shivers rose from his touch. He smirked as I gasped. “Things have changed, Cas. We’re different now.”

Who could concentrate when a master of pleasure rolled his fingers over that delicate secret?

“You’re all grown up.” He teased me with quick circles. “And I know the kind of man I am now.”

“What kind?”

“Not good.” He didn’t apologize for it, only tightened and quickened his pace. “I’ve never pretended to be a good man. I left because I had to, but I’ve never wanted to hurt you.”

He wasn’t hurting me now. Just the opposite. My fingernails sunk into the couch. I didn’t dare speak.

“You’re the only woman who’s ever made me regret the man I became. You’re the reason I want to be better.”

Sweet words and dirty touches. He traced the most sensitive part of me and watched as I tensed and panted for him. Too intense. Too new and amazing. I moved against his hand and struggled to piece together enough thoughts to break my heart.

“You know this is too complicated,” I whispered.

“Doesn’t have to be.” He caressed a little harder, stealing a mew from my parted lips. “This is what we’ve always needed, Cas. Just to feel each other. We need to be together. To touch and kiss and just…”

“I can’t lose you twice, Rem.”

“You never lost me the first time.” He kissed me once more. “I left you, but I never stopped—”

“Don’t say it.”

“Then let me show you.”

He leaned over me, his heat and strength and the wild promise of his touch capturing me within his arms. I sucked in a breath as his fingers tangled in the waistband of my shorts. Our gazes met.

And the door squealed from the kids’ room.

“It’s thundering. What are shadows made of? Can I have some water?”

Mellie had little tact when it came to entering a room.

Rem swore, panicked, and accidentally rolled off the couch. He struck the floor with an oof, but was on his feet and offering his hand to Mellie before she got too close to the sofa.

“You okay, kiddo?” he asked.

“Thirsty.” Mellie tilted her head at him. “I want Jimmy Fallon.”

“Aha!” I pointed at him. “I knew you let her stay up after her bedtime.”

Rem sigh and led the little girl into the kitchen. He cracked open a bottle of water for her. “No TV tonight. Go back to bed.”

“You’re not sleeping.”

Rem cleared his throat. “We were almost sleeping.”

I smirked. “Hopefully not that quick.”

“Well, in a good two hours.”

“Two?”

He grinned. “At least.”

“Must take you a long time to get tired.”

He eyed me with a terrible, wonderful hunger. “Stamina for days. Need some proof?”

Mellie tugged on Rem’s hand. “Can I have a story?”

The cuteness pained him. He glanced from the girl to me.

“I’m off the clock,” I said. “This is all you. I should get to bed.”

“Sure you don’t want a story too?” His smile was wicked. “I can tuck you in.”

And then where would we be?

Exhausted. Deliriously happy. Hopelessly confused.

And possibly more hurt than I’d been five years ago.

“I think I’ll tuck myself in tonight,” I said.

“Afraid of what would happen?”

No. Because I knew exactly what would happen.

I wouldn’t just fall for Remington Marshall. I’d hit absolute rock bottom.

But I’d so enjoy the tumble.