NINE
In the early hours of the morning, Lilly woke to Cass rubbing her back. He ran his fingers lightly over her skin in circles, sending chills up and down her spine. She fought the urge to shiver under his touch. Her mind wandered to the events of last night. Where had Cass been? What was he doing? He said he was working, but Lilly wasn’t buying it. She also didn’t want to ruin the mood of this morning before it actually began. She lay there for a few minutes, allowing Cass to think she was still asleep before she began stirring. She shifted under his fingertips as they traced that spot on her neck that made her shiver. Lilly rolled over and faced him. He was lying on his side with one hand on his cheek and the other around her waist.
“Good morning,” he said, his voice heavy with sleep.
“Good morning.” Lilly turned her head when she said it.
“What are you doing?” Cass gave her a puzzled look.
“I don’t want you to endure my morning breath.” She giggled.
“Oh, come on. I bet it’s not that bad.”
“Oh no. It is bad. So bad.”
Cass leaned over and put his face over hers. “Let me see.”
Lilly shook her head in protest. “Mm-mm,” she hummed, not opening her mouth. Cass reached his hand over to her ribs and poked her. Lilly let out a laugh. “Stop!” Cass moved, chuckling.
“See. I told you,” she said.
“No, it really isn’t that bad. Actually, it kind of smells like popcorn.”
Lilly cocked her head sideways at him. “Okay, you’re delusional and I’m going to brush my teeth.” She got up and walked out of sight.
After she brushed her teeth, Lilly ran around the corner of the door and pounced right on top of Cass. She opened her mouth right on his nose and let out a long breath.
“No more popcorn,” she said.
Cass stuck his finger in her mouth. Lilly jumped back, laughing. She rolled from on top of him to her original spot next to him.
“Want to talk about yesterday?” Lilly asked. Cass’s smile faded, and Lilly instantly regretted asking.
“I’m sorry that I left you here alone yesterday. There was so much I had to get done, and I’m sorry I didn’t call or text. I didn’t have my phone with me most of the day, and by the time I got back to it, I figured you would have been long asleep.”
“It’s okay. I slept all day and woke up and you weren’t here. Then I decided to venture off to a bar and found one of your prospects there. He then refused to let me leave alone and brought me back here, and, well, then you showed up a little bit later,” Lilly said, leaning up to kiss him.
“No, no, no,” he said, shielding his mouth with his hands. “I have to get rid of this dragon breath before I kiss you.” Cass rolled out of the bed and made his way to the bathroom. Lilly smiled.
Cass snuck around the corner and pounced on the bed just as Lilly had earlier. Lilly giggled. “You got me.” His face was mere inches from her own. She could feel his breath on her lips, the sensation tantalizing.
“Something on your mind?” Cass asked, his tone changing from playful to seductive.
Lilly’s hips moved without her permission, giving Cass all the validation that he needed. His mouth covered hers, and her tongue circled his as she tried to suppress the moan that threatened to escape her throat. The electricity that coursed through her body made the Earth feel like it stopped dead in its tracks, and the only people that existed were the two of them. Cass put one hand on the side of Lilly’s face and the other on her hip. In one swift movement, he rolled with her, pulling her on top of him.
“Just put me where you want me,” Lilly whispered. She straddled Cass’s waist, putting both of her hands on his face as she placed her lips back on his.
His hands wandered down her back and underneath her shirt. He unlatched her bra and grabbed the bottom of her shirt, lifting it over her head. Lilly reached down to undo her blue jeans and slid them off. Reaching down to where Cass’s underwear hugged his hips, she pulled them off him. Lilly kissed his neck, just under his earlobe. His hips responded, pushing against the warmth between her legs. They moaned simultaneously at the feeling.
Lilly kissed down Cass’s neck to his chest. She made her way down his stomach and right above his cock. Cass twitched with each kiss.
She licked around his cock and Cass moaned. “Oh, fuck yes. More baby, please.” Lilly licked up his shaft before taking his length into her mouth. Cass whimpered as she took all of him in and halfway down her throat. “Give me my pussy, baby,” Cass said, his voice barely audible.
Lilly turned around and straddled Cass’s face. The moans from Cass only got louder as he slid his tongue around her clit. Lilly moaned as his tongue devoured her. She teased Cass with her tongue, circling just the head and then taking all of him slowly. It became a game as Cass sucked lightly on her clit and then slid his tongue down into her entrance, playing slowly in and out of her.
Lilly sat up and stroked Cass with her hand. Cass let out a steady moan as Lilly picked up the pace, long stroking him. Her hips moved faster with every satisfying noise Cass made.
Having him in her mouth and knowing she was pleasing him, that she was the one making him moan, did unimaginable things to her libido. Before she knew it, she was grinding her pussy on his mouth and building up to that release she ached for. Cass grabbed Lilly by her thighs, moving her hips faster. Lilly finally couldn’t hold out any longer and as she came all around Cass’s tongue, she shoved her mouth to the base of Cass’s cock. Coming with Cass down her throat only enhanced her orgasm.
His hand reached up and grabbed Lilly by the back of her hair, pulling her mouth off him. Too entranced in her state of ecstasy, she didn’t fight it. She whimpered as she continued to come, and Cass licked every last drop that she would give. When Lilly’s body went limp from the intensity of her orgasm, Cass grabbed her and flipped her over, placing her underneath him. He took both her legs and placed them on his shoulders as he pushed inside of her. The feeling of him inside of her, mixed with the sensitivity from his tongue on her just moments before, sent her spiraling into another orgasm.
“Yeah. You’re coming again for me. Give me that sweet come, baby,” Cass commanded, picking up his pace. Lilly could feel the tightening inside of her as Cass made her come again. “I feel you coming for me. Make me come, baby,” Cass slammed hard into her, extending her orgasm.
“Come for me, Cass,” Lilly said, her voice taking on a demanding tone. Cass’s eyes widened and then closed. Lilly felt him pulsating inside her, and she moved her hips to meet his.
Cass came hard. He slammed into her slowly, releasing more come inside of her with each thrust.
“Oh. My. God.” Cass sounded out of breath when he stopped, laying on her. “Woman, you are so fucking sexy.”
Lilly simply smiled. She wasn’t sure she had the energy to speak. She could feel his heart hammering inside his chest, almost at the same pace as hers.
Lilly ran her hand across his forehead, catching a drop of sweat before she traced her fingers up and down his back. Cass got up to get a towel to clean up. Lilly lay there, satisfied and happy, while she listened to the water running in the bathroom. Cass returned with a warm, wet towel and handed it to Lilly. She smiled at him and stood up to clean herself.
Lilly walked to the bathroom to wash the towel out and Cass followed. She bent over to turn the shower on, aware of Cass’s eyes on her.
“Want some company?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at her.
“Of course.” She grabbed his hand as she stepped under the stream of hot water.
“Good, ’cause he’s awake again.” Cass motioned downward, revealing that he was very much still hard and ready.
“No, no. There’s at least a six-hour hold,” Lilly said, her hand positioned in the center of his chest. Cass laughed.
“What do you mean a six-hour hold?”
“You broke your toy. You have to wait six hours before you can play again.”
“That’s not fair,” Cass pouted.
“But that’s how this works.” Lilly stomped her foot and crossed her arms. Cass’s pout turned into a half-ass smile as he fought it.
“You’re so damn cute.” He closed the distance between the two of them. Lilly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him playfully on his cheek. “Yes ma’am. I’ll be good,” he said, placing his hands firmly on her hips to emphasize that they would stay there. Lilly turned around and put her back to him, letting the water beat down on her face, then her chest.
Grabbing the tiny bottle of shampoo, Lilly lathered her hair. She felt Cass’s hands intertwine around hers. He was moving her hands for better access to massage her head.
“That’s so relaxing,” she whispered. When Cass stopped, Lilly realized she had put all her body weight against Cass’s chest. “Sorry,” she said with a grin and stood up to rinse her hair. Lilly grabbed the bar of soap and turned to face Cass.
“Turn around,” she said. Cass obeyed. She started with his shoulders, then down his back, and, when she was done there, she pulled him to face her. She put her hands in the center of his chest and began to bathe the front of him. First his chest, then his stomach, and down to his growing erection. Cass’s head went back, and he took in a quick breath.
“Is this what you had in mind?” Lilly asked, turning her head sideways to him.
“What I had in mind wasn’t anything like . . . this. This is amazing,” Cass whispered.
Lilly set the bar of soap down on the shelf in the shower after lathering her hands with it. She stroked his length slowly, taunting Cass with every motion. He leaned against the shower wall, his eyes closed and his head rose upward. His tongue slid across his bottom lip, and then he let out a moan as Lilly sped up her hand. “You’re so fucking good at that. Oh my god, Lilly.”
Lilly grabbed the bar of soap again, lathering one hand while she worked him with the other. She switched hands, making sure to keep it smooth and pleasurable for him.
The sound of her name rolling off his tongue made Lilly’s body ache for what she knew was to come. Cass grabbed the back of her head and pulled her to him to kiss her, his lips firmly against her own. His tongue invited hers to dance. Lilly swirled her tongue around his while her hand swirled around the tip of his cock. Cass’s want escalated as Lilly teased him.
His hand reached down to touch her, and she pulled it away, pinning his hands over his head. He was always the one in control, and she wanted a taste of it. Cass moaned. Lilly nibbled on his earlobe lightly, her hand still sliding up and down him.
“Fuck,” Cass whispered airily. His hands slid with ease from Lilly’s grasp and grabbed Lilly’s hips, spinning her around. He put his palm in the middle of her back and bent her over. He slowly inched inside her, controlling the hunger that emanated off him. He wanted her, and he wanted her bad. His pace was slow. He long stroked in and out of her.
“Cass, you feel amazing,” Lilly moaned.
“Yeah. You like this dick? Feeling every inch of it?” he asked, his pace becoming hard and unforgiving.
“Yes, baby. Yes,” Lilly whimpered.
Cass hit spots inside her that she never knew existed. He sent her into a state of euphoria she had never experienced before.
“Harder, baby,” she demanded, hungry for the orgasm she knew he was about to give to her.
“Like that, huh? Is that what you want?” he asked, pushing into her as hard as he could.
“Yes!” Cass’s grip on her thighs was tight and, as he pounded into her, she was no longer able to hold back. “I’m coming, baby,” she cried. “Choke me. Please choke me, baby.” She wanted to feel his hand around her throat at the exact moment that her orgasm exploded within her. Cass placed one hand around her throat and the other firm on her hip.
“I’m going to come for you, Lilly,” Cass said. The ecstasy that filled her body washed over her like a wave during a hurricane—forceful, sudden, and fierce.
“Fuck yeah, I’m coming.” Cass slowed his thrust.
His hand still around her neck, Lilly’s orgasm lingered. Everything around her seemed to feel distant. The sound of the shower echoed, and she could hear herself breathing louder than usual. Lilly was seeing black and white spots, and, suddenly, she felt a pain in her ankle.
“Lilly. Lilly!” She heard Cass’s voice. It sounded like he was off in the distance, muffled as if she were sitting in a large drum.
“Hmm?” Lilly murmured. Struggling to open her eyes, she could make out Cass’s silhouette. That’s cold. What is that?
When Lilly finally opened her eyes, she was sitting in the shower while ice-cold water beat down on her. Cass stood next to the bathtub, looking at her with concern engraved on his face.
“You scared the shit out of me,” he said, sighing with relief.
“I’m sorry. What happened?” She forced herself to sit up.
“You let me choke you too hard, I think, because your whole body just went limp. I grabbed your arms, but you were already on the floor.”
Lilly smiled a shy smile. “Oops.”
“No more choking you for a while,” Cass said.
Lilly held out a hand to Cass to help her up. “But—”
“No ma’am. You went white as a ghost, and it freaked me out. I thought I killed you.”
Lilly stepped out of the shower with Cass, who took a towel and wrapped her up. He kept a hand on her like he was scared she was going to fall. Lilly’s ears were still ringing, but she felt fine. The complete relaxation that coursed through her was gratifying.
“I’m good. I’m not going to fall and I feel fine.” She smiled sweetly up at him.
“I know you’re not. See?” Cass scooped her up and carried her to the bed. “Now, I’m going to get all of our things packed up, give you something to wear, and we will be ready to check out of here and head to the airport,” Cass said as he walked around the room.
“Fine,” she said and rolled over to grab her phone. “Geez.”
“What?” Cass asked.
“Eleven messages. Don’t they know I’m on vacation?” Lilly laughed.
Cass moved around the room, picking up pieces of clothing and stuffing them into the suitcase he had. Lilly didn’t have anything with her other than the clothes Cass provided, which meant one less bag to carry back with them. Lilly watched Cass clean up. He had thrown on blue jeans but no shirt, and he was in his own world. She smiled at the sight of him, imagining every part she touched, every muscle her hand brushed when she pressed into him. Forcing herself to stop eye-fucking him, Lilly opened her phone.
“Good morning!
“Guess what day it is?!
“Wake up!
“Lilly Amber . . .
“I know that you are off in some random state, in some hotel room, with some smoking hot biker that fucks you right and makes you smile, but the real world is still out here, it’s still opening day, and I need to speak to you!
“I really need you to be awake.
“Isn’t your flight soon? Why are you not responding?” She finished reading the messages from Mindy.
“I need to call Mindy. She sent nine messages. Evidently, there’s a situation and she needs to talk to me. It’s probably something to do with the grand opening,” Lilly said.
“Nine? Wow,” Cass said. He was nearly done straightening up the room. He walked over to the bed where Lilly sat. Cass handed her a pair of blue jeans and a black long-sleeve that fit so tight, she thought she would have to cut it to get it off.
Lilly dressed quickly and sat back on the bed. She dialed Mindy’s number and waited for the excited and hyper answer she expected when Mindy answered.
“Lilly Amber Summers!” Mindy yelled when she answered the phone.
“Mindy Leann Hollis!” Lilly retorted.
“Okay, let me give you a little rundown of what has gone on in the past day since you’ve been gone. Ryan came in and has helped a ton. She’s amazing. She’s getting the hang of bartending quickly. The other girl they sent in has been doing so much cleaning around here that it’s starting to smell like a Mr. Clean factory. All our orders have come in for liquor and beer. We have a full staff ready to work their asses off tonight, and the only thing missing is you and boss man.” Mindy took a breath, giving Lilly an opportunity to chime in.
“It sounds like you’ve just got it all figured out. How’s business been? Are we starting to get some traffic through there or what?”
“Business has been great. Speaking of, don’t you have a flight to catch?” Mindy asked.
“Yes ma’am. Cleaning up the room now and about to head for the airport.”
“Okay love. Have a safe flight, and we’ll see you when you get here!” Mindy’s overly cheerful voice made Lilly smile.
“Bye love.” Lilly hung up the phone.
“What was so important?” Cass asked, a look of a sarcasm on his face.
Lilly let out a chuckle. “I’m really not sure. I think she just wanted to brag about how great everything is going. I think she just misses me.”
Cass smiled. “I’d be missing you too if I were her.”
Lilly looked down at her phone. The other three messages were from her mom.
“Miss you.
“Hope you’re safe. Call me when you can. Love you.”
I need to fill her in soon.
Lilly did a sweep of the room, making sure they weren’t forgetting anything. The last thing she needed was to leave her things in California. Well, if she had her things with her. She grabbed the key card and stuck it into her pocket. She’d put it up as a souvenir from the time she went to Cali and did nothing more than sleep all day. Well, and get fucked in the airport parking lot. Cass walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her stomach and resting his chin in the curve of her neck. His beard poked her, making her shiver and giggle.
He kissed her cheek softly. “Whatcha thinking?”
“Just waiting to wake up from this dream,” she said.
“It’s not a dream. I promise.”
“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see.” Then she thought about yesterday. “What were you doing yesterday? I know you said you didn’t want to talk about it, really. But, give me something at least.”
Cass sighed, the weight of his head resting on her shoulder fully. “Club shit,” he said.
“I can live with that.”
Cass growled playfully and pretended to gnaw on her earlobe. She quickly pressed her head to her shoulder to hide her ear from him. He let go of his hold around her and scanned the hotel room. “We almost ready to get out of here?”
“Abso-fuckin’-lutely,” she said.
They packed everything up and were out the door in five minutes. It didn’t take long to get on the road to the airport. Cass’s phone rang as soon as they got in the truck. The guy was someone from another club or something because Cass immediately took him off the truck’s Bluetooth and switched him to his phone where only Cass could hear him.
Lilly didn’t pay the conversation any mind until Cass’s voice rose.
“I already told you, Keith. It’s not gonna fucking happen. You have no business with Mack! If he won’t work with you on your name alone then I damn sure ain’t putting my fucking name on the line for you. We aren’t friends, Keith. Get that fucking shit out of your head!”
His face was a light shade of red, and whatever Keith said in response only fueled his fire. He hung the phone up and set it on the center console before turning the radio up. They didn’t speak the rest of the ride to the airport. Not because she thought he didn’t want to talk to her, but because she was letting him cool off. It was a respectful thing to do, or at least it was in her mind.
Her phone chimed in her lap with a text from her mom.
“Thinking of you today. Love you, sweetie!”
Lilly thought for a moment on what today was and why her mom would be thinking of her.
March eighteenth. How could she forget? Today was the three-year anniversary of her dad’s death. Three long years without him. She fought the lump that formed in her throat. Partially because she missed him, but partially because she had been so caught up in everything around her that she forgot that was today.
“Who did it?” Cass asked.
“My mom,” Lilly said quietly.
“Hi, mom.” Cass waved.
Lilly looked at him with one eyebrow raised. “Oh, we’re saying hi to family now?”
“Why not?”
Lilly sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Mom reminded me what today is. It’s the three-year anniversary of my dad’s death. So, I feel like shit for forgetting and I miss him.”
“I’m sorry, babe. In your defense, you probably didn’t even know what day of the week it was much less the date. Your days got mixed up from the late flight and sleeping all day yesterday.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Cass reached over and grabbed Lilly’s hand. It was comforting to have someone that tried to understand. He kissed her hand before setting it back down on the center console. She reached over to the radio and scanned through stations while Cass navigated them through the light traffic.
When they pulled into the airport, the first thing she noticed was the palm trees dancing in the wind. They seemed to be waving, carefree. It made her hope that people saw her in the same light.
Cass opened her door and gave her directions on where to go inside while he took the rental back.
Lilly made it to the terminal and sat down, watching people move hurriedly through the airport. She watched couples, families, and people alone on their cell phones pass by until Cass returned.
He plopped down in the chair next to Lilly. “Hi,” he said, winking at her.
“Hi,” she whispered.
Cass chuckled. “You are something else.”
“I try.” Lilly laid her head on his shoulder.
Cass placed his hand under her chin. He tilted her face up so that his lips fell right onto hers. Lilly’s lips curved up into a smile. Cass grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. A man’s voice came over the speaker, but Lilly was too lost in Cass to hear what he said.
“That’s our cue,” Cass whispered.
He grabbed their bags, and Lilly followed him onto the plane. Finding their seats midway down the aisle, Lilly slid in first so she could sit by the window.
“I guess I’ll let you have the good seat,” Cass said with a smile.
“Good, ’cause I wasn’t giving it up.” She hid her smile, turning her head just enough where she could still see his face.
“Oh, yes you were.” Cass winked at her.
Lilly felt the heat rushing to her cheeks. “My seat. I wasn’t giving up my seat,” Lilly corrected.
Cass laughed at her. “Yes ma’am.”
As the plane began to take off, Lilly felt the rush of adrenaline flowing through her veins yet again. Something about being in the open air was freeing to her soul, to be on the go again, yet terrifying because she never knew what was next to come. However, it came with her lifestyle, and ultimately, her life. This was her life. It always had been.
“Hey. Where’d you go?” Cass asked, tapping Lilly on her shoulder.
“Huh?” she said, realizing she zoned out. “I’m here.” She gave him a reassuring smile.
“No, you aren’t, but it’s your lie. I’ll let you tell it.” Cass grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. Lilly smiled as he kissed each individual finger the way he had done in the truck.
“In your own time.”
And, somehow, that was a language she understood.
Lilly’s mind was all over and she couldn’t calm her thoughts to sleep. Cass was fast asleep within ten minutes, his head resting on her shoulder. Looking over at him, Lilly saw that the edge he had earlier seemed to be taken off.
She had a few hours in the air with nothing but time on her hands. She thought of her dad, how they spent so much time together working on Betty. She missed him, a lot. Some days, it felt like he’d been gone for ten years and others it felt like he’d only be gone a day. It was crazy how time did that.
The flight to Louisiana was one of the longest she’d ever been on, probably because she was emotional the entire flight, but she hated that they had to go back to reality. With reality came stress. Tonight was the grand opening, there were two new girls, and there was so much that needed to be done in such a short amount of time.
When the plane began to descend, Lilly reached over to rub Cass’s cheek lightly. “Hey you,” she whispered.
He took a deep breath and his eyes opened slowly. Squinting, he looked around. “Grr,” he mumbled, a deep growl coming from his chest. “Hi.” He looked back at Lilly.
“We’re landing.”
Cass sighed and laid his head back on her shoulder. She laughed quietly when he started snoring in a matter of seconds. When they landed, Lilly woke Cass up again to get off the plane.
Cass walked to the baggage claim with Lilly following right behind him. He hadn’t said a word since she woke him up to get off the plane.
“What’s wrong, babe?” Lilly asked, walking with Cass to the parking lot.
“I don’t like waking up,” he grumbled, his eyebrows furrowed and eyes still half-squinted. Lilly had to fight the urge to laugh out loud at how adorable Cass was. Instead, she smiled and tried to hide her face in the shoulder of her shirt. “What’s so funny?” Cass’s voice made Lilly laugh harder, and there was no hiding it. She had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.
“You’re so fucking adorable,” she said.
“Hmm,” Cass mumbled.
Cass opened the passenger door for Lilly and placed their bags in the backseat. Even when he was grumpy, he was still a gentleman. “Where’s your car parked?” Cass asked, cranking the truck.
“Umm. Somewhere on the second floor?” Lilly said, more of a question than a statement.
“I’ll drop you there. Then I’ve got to get to the bar and see what’s going on there.”
“I won’t be far behind you, boss man,” Lilly said with a smile.
“I kind of like the way that sounds. It’s almost kinky. Can you call me that while I’m inside you?”
“Umm. We’re going to go with no on that one. Sorry.”
Cass smiled for the first time since they got off the plane. “Fine.”
“Great. My car’s down here on the right.” Lilly pointed.
“I see her.” Cass pulled up behind Betty, and Lilly leaned over the center console, kissing him on his cheek and then his lips.
“Where are you going when you leave here?” Cass asked.
“I need to run to the house first, then to the bar to help Mindy get everything for tonight. I figure everyone will start showing up around eight or nine, so that gives us four hours to get this ball rolling.”
Lilly gave him a smile and leaned over to kiss him again. She stepped down out of the truck with her purse in one hand and the keys to Betty in the other. “See you in a little while, babe.”
“I miss you already,” Cass said as Lilly shut the door. She got in her car and sat there for a minute, letting the events of California play through her mind.
He has no idea. I think I’m falling in love with him. Okay, maybe more than “think.” I’m about ninety-nine percent sure I am falling in love with him.
As soon as she sat down, she grabbed her cigarettes. This whole no-smoking-on-a-plane thing was for the birds. Smoke filled her lungs, and she felt her body relax. Cranking up Betty, Lilly pulled her phone out of her purse. There was a message from Mindy.
“Are you in Louisiana yet?”
“Yes ma’am. Just landed. Going home then to the bar to help you.”
Locking her phone and setting it back in the passenger seat, Lilly drove in the direction of home.