Cassie made it home without crashing her car. Having Mike and his team respond to a car wreck and find her would be a hoot, wouldn’t it? Between her tears and the buzzing in her ears, she could barely see. She unlocked her apartment door and dragged herself inside, the darkened room a relief to her pounding head. All she wanted was a shower. The blinking light on her answering machine caught her notice. She decided to ignore it.
Drained of energy, she kicked off her shoes and padded down the hall, more than a little weary. A soothing shower and then some coffee. No. Coffee would only make her more wired. Wine would do the trick. And some aspirin. With wine? She shrugged. What difference did it make?
When she reached the bathroom, she stood in the darkened doorway without turning on the light. In her mind, she could see her father on his last day in this world. To her knowledge, he’d never said a word against any member of his family. In his drug induced state, she supposed he could have spoken some sort of nonsense. Why did her sister have to be so spiteful?
Cassie flicked on the light, stepped to the tub and turned on the water faucets. When the temperature felt right, she removed her top, then the rest of her clothes and slipped under the spray.
Water rushed over her head, massaging her scalp. She wished it could wash away the pain. The headache and the stinging memory of the scene with her sister. She rotated her shoulders, the power of the nozzle kneading her muscles while she willed the stream to relieve the tension in her body. Her chest rose as she took a breath, inhaling as deep as her lungs would allow.
A long time passed before her body began to chill. How long she’d stood there, she didn’t know. She’d lost all track of time.
She dried off and wrapped a towel around her, folding one end just above her breasts. She picked up her brush and ambled to the bed. Unable to ignore the blinking light, she plopped down on the comforter and punched the button on her answering machine. Hoping she would not hear her sister’s voice, she brushed her hair as she listened to her messages. The hot shower had helped, but her black mood had not improved. On the third beep, she heard Mike.
Good Lord, the man’s voice was lethal. His vibrant tone penetrated every nerve in her body. Her need for him overwhelmed her senses. After the confrontation with her sister, she was vulnerable. She began to tremble. A delayed reaction, she supposed, from the encounter. Tammy’s words rang in Cassie’s head.
If you don’t believe the mirror and you won’t believe me, then believe Mike.
Could she believe Mike? When he told her she was beautiful? When he made her feel like he truly desired her and not just a woman to warm his bed?
Right now, she needed Mike. She needed his strength. She needed him to restore her confidence as a woman. To heal her bleeding heart.
Mike.
I need him.
Cassie lifted the phone and tapped in the number before she could change her mind. On the first ring, she panicked. What would she say? What if she started crying? What if he didn’t answer? What if he had another girl there? What if …
“Mike here.”
Oh God.
Silence.
“Hello.” His irritated voice came across the line. “If you’re there, you better speak.”
“Mike?” Her voice cracked.
“Cassie?” He sounded unsure.
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Are you okay?” His voice softened and filled with concern.
“Mike …” Her voice broke. Oh hell. “I need you.”
“I’m on my way.”
No words had ever given her more security. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t ask what was wrong. He simply told her what she needed to hear.
I’m on my way.
A man of fortitude, his words were spoken with grit, guaranteeing his strength and protection. Giving her the assurance he was there for her. He was coming to her.
She stared at the phone in her hand. She should get up. She should get dressed. Her limbs were too heavy. She had no energy, no will to move. Mike. She’d wait for Mike. Vague thoughts rolled around in her head until abruptly, she heard a loud pounding on her front door.
“Cassie. Are you in there? Open up?”
Jerked out of her fog, she flinched at the racket.
“Cassie. It’s Mike. Open up!”
Good Lord, the neighbors. She jumped from the bed and nearly lost her towel. Grabbing it with both hands, she ran down the hallway and stubbed her toe on a corner table. She shrieked.
“Dammit, Cassie. What’s going on in there?” He pounded harder.
Her toe throbbed, tears threatened and she worried her neighbors would call the cops. She half-stumbled, half-hopped to the door and threw it open.
If she didn’t already know Mike, the ferocious scowl on his face would have scared ten years off her life. With his arm in the air, he looked ready to break down her apartment door. She reached, got a fist full of shirt and hauled his butt inside. Which was no easy feat, since the man was rock solid. Refusing to stick her head out to see if her neighbors lined the hall, she slammed the door.
“Cassie. Are you alright?”
Mike’s face softened, but his chest heaved like he’d just run a marathon.
“My neighbors may call the cops. What were you thinking, pounding on my door like that?”
His brows drew together in a confused frown as his gaze slid slowly down and back up her body. “I thought you were in trouble.”
Realizing she stood practically naked with only a towel wrapped between them, she felt a rush of heat. Instead of desire, she saw his concern. Then his words sank in. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
“Did something happen?” he asked in a gentle voice, resting his hands on her shoulders.
“Yes. No. Oh, damn.” Her head fell to the side, longing to melt into him.
“Cassie. Look at me.”
She took a deep breath, inhaling tangy soap and musk cologne. When she lifted her gaze, pools of cobalt gleamed at her. She wanted to lose herself in their brilliance. Maybe he didn’t offer his love, but something fierce shone in their amazing depths. Caring, compassion, and desire … God, how she needed this man.
“Mike. Make love to me.” The towel forgotten, she slowly raised her arms.
When Cassie dropped her towel, lust slammed Mike’s gut and his dick hardened to steel. His heart cracked at the anguish he’d seen just before she’d fallen into his arms.
“Cassie,” he whispered, his voice like sandpaper.
“Kiss me,” she whispered.
He groaned and dragged her against his chest. Something crucial had happened; he’d find out what later. Right now, this was what she needed. He understood the signs. Something drove her. She needed to lose herself and she’d chosen him. God help him, he hungered for her. He was more than willing to give her whatever she needed.
He’d give her this moment.
He’d give her oblivion.
She kissed him with urgency, as if her life depended on it. Her naked body tempted him beyond all reason. Sinking his hands into her hair, he slid his tongue inside her open mouth, licking every crevice he could find. Her body melted into his and he moaned her name.
Impatient lust surged with raw need. He cradled her in his arms, reassuring her with his body. “Cassie, I’m here. I’ve got you.”
He nibbled at the corner of her mouth, then licked the spot where he’d nipped. She dug her fingers into his shoulders and captured his lips again. His heart thudded as she opened her mouth eagerly, desperately. He groaned low in his throat, a deep hum of pleasure as hot desire ripped through him.
Moving slowly, he slid both hands down the sides of her body, kneading every inch. She jerked at his shirt, pulling it from the band of his jeans and slid her hands underneath, her hot, urgent fingers driving him crazy with need. She made him so hard so fast, he wanted to take her the same way—hard and fast. Her movements frantic, there was no slowing down, no foreplay. This woman was fired up. He’d be insane to deny her.
He cupped each breast, testing their weight, stroking his thumbs over her nipples until both stood proud and erect. Lowering his head to one breast, he kissed lavishly while rolling the bud of the other between his thumb and forefinger. She grabbed his hair and squirmed until all he felt was her desire. With a groan, he tore his lips from her flesh, his breathing ragged.
“Tell me what you want. Anything, and I’ll do it.”
“I want you. I need you. Now.”
She found his zipper and then slid her hand inside. Hunger tore at him.
“You’re magnificent. And silken,” she whispered.
Christ, she fisted him in her hand. He threw his head back and relished the feel of her gripping him, stroking him up and down.
He bit her earlobe as he glided one hand over her smooth skin to the valley between her legs. He raked his teeth over her shoulder as his fingers drifted lower, finding her sensitive nub, slick with desire. He inserted a finger and heard her gasp, then her hips were lifting toward him. He stroked and rocked while the fingers of his other hand massaged her belly, inciting her arousal to fever pitch.
“I need you, Mike.” She shoved at his pants, pushing them down his hips.
His cock strained and his pulse pounded. He fought to maintain control, but she was having none of that. When she positioned his tip at her entrance, he couldn’t hold back. He lifted her and she locked her legs around his waist. Watching her face, he staggered forward, pressing her back against the wall and entered her with a long, hard thrust.
She moaned and clutched and arched into him. Swelling heat took over his aroused body and consumed his mind. He kissed her hot and hard. He meant to excite her, scorch her. Burn the image of him into her brain, and banish whatever unpleasant thoughts or events that had upset her.
Her grip tightened, her nails raked his back. He plunged again, filling her, burying himself to his balls. Her whimpering cries filled his ears, making him growl and thrust again, each lunge more powerful than the last. A black hole swallowed him, where the only thing he felt was need. Pure and raw.
“Harder. Faster,” Cassie panted out between breaths, sending him into a mindless trance. He slammed into her roughly, sinking as deep as he could possibly go.
“Yes, Oh God, yes.” She cried out as her muscles spasmed.
He could hold back no longer. He roared out her name and spilled himself into her, ecstasy ripping through his blood.
For a long time, he stood there, his legs trembling where his muscles clenched, waiting for his breathing to return to normal. Completely spent, he cupped the back of her head, his eyes holding hers. Emotion swarmed in her turquoise depths, engulfing his already raw nerves in overwhelming sensation. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, for fear of the spell being broken. Cassie was right where he wanted her—in his arms.
“Stay with me,” she whispered. “Don’t leave me.”
Never.
Her words stabbed his gut. Melted his bones and seized every cell in his body. He drew her up to meet his lips and kissed her with all the tenderness erupting inside him.
He’d never felt such strong sentiment before. His innards twisted in knots and a sting smarted in his belly so fierce, he ached. Slowly, reality intruded as their position slowly crept to awareness.
And the fact that he’d taken her without protection. He’d never been so careless. He dropped his forehead against hers.
“Cassie. I, I didn’t use a condom.”
“I’m on the pill. I haven’t been with anyone in two years.”
Two years?
“Believe it or not, I haven’t been with anyone in a while. And I always use protection.” So, they should be safe.
With tender care, he lowered her and removed the rest of his clothing. Then he swept her up into his arms, loving the feel of her cradled against his chest, wondering how he might keep her forever. Her arms secure around his neck, she skirted kisses over his collarbone.
After padding to the bedroom, he stepped to the bed and gently placed her on the edge, where she quickly scooted up and pulled down the covers. She crawled in and patted the space beside her. With a satisfied grin, he released a pleasured sigh and slipped under the comforter with her. Curling up with Cassie in his arms was the closest thing to heaven he could imagine. They lay entwined as the evening’s light disappeared into shadows.
Sweet pleasure swirled through Mike’s chest at having Cassie snuggled up against him. Mike was afraid to close his eyes for fear the one good thing in his life would disappear. Cassie’s breath felt warm on his shoulder. Her even breathing created a sense of contentment. The slow rise and fall of her chest told him she was asleep.
What had possessed her to behave like a wild creature? He wasn’t complaining, although he couldn’t help but worry. All the signs were there.
Desperation. Agony. Distress.
The concept of something, or someone, doing anything to hurt Cassie … he couldn’t wrap his mind around what might have happened to make her react in such a way. The idea of her being hurt brought out the beast in him. He wanted to crush anyone who dared to harm her.
He did not want to delve into the reasons why.
The back of his mind niggled him. What if?
Was it too farfetched for him to want a life with Cassie?
What they had shared was deeper than anything he’d experience before. It could be the beginning of something real.
But it was doomed before it began. Even if he faced the truth that his attraction was more than physical, he knew in his heart to hope for a relationship would be wrong. He wasn’t a fool. He knew she would leave him. He had no reason to think otherwise and every reason to believe his time with her would end.
Cassie was beautiful, smart and had a big heart. She loved children. But what woman would take a risk on him? He could never put her through the worry and torment. He never wanted to see the look on her face that he’d seen on his mother’s. And he sure as hell never wanted to go through the pain he’d experienced with his mother’s desertion.
If he took a chance and lost Cassie, it would be much worse.
Someone would surely get hurt in the end.
He feared it just might be him.