CHAPTER 13
Pain radiated off Cassie, her eyes pools of sorrow. “Please, Park. Help me forget,” she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. Like her request took the last shred of her courage.
Well, color him dumbfounded. Parker’s heart ached for Cassie. For the pain that she couldn’t seem to shake. His thoughts drifted to the years of nightmares he’d endured as a kid, afraid to tell anyone about the vivid, bloody dreams. The irrational worry he lived with every day that another family member might be injured or worse on his watch.
He cupped her cheek and kissed her gently, pouring all his love into her. And then he drew back. “Cassie, sweetheart. I… you’re not in a condition… I’m not sure–”
She chased his mouth, and he let her, treasuring each of her kisses. God help him, he’d take any she offered. He wanted all of them. But his conscience got the better of him, and he pulled his hand from her breast. “Cassie–”
“I. Want. You.” She punctuated her words with kisses.
“I want you too…” Always.
She grabbed his hand, this time slipping it under her shirt. He groaned. Her skin was so soft. So smooth and delicate in the space underneath her breasts. And her hand had dropped to his cock, stroking and squeezing through his sweats.
God, he loved how she touched him. He couldn’t stop himself from thrusting against her hand. It felt too damn good, the pleasant ache that swelled his cock and set his nerve endings on fire.
It would hurt her more to turn her down. Maybe that was an entirely selfish justification on his part, but the reptile part of his brain was very quickly taking over.
Cassie’s fingers threaded through his hair, and she pulled his head down for another kiss, her mouth insistent against his. With another groan, he gave into her pleading and opened. At the first stroke of her tongue against his, he was lost. Shifting to his knees, he pulled her flush against him, his hands roving up and down her back underneath her shirt and settling lower to cup her ass and squeeze.
He could give her this. Fill her up with his love. Chase away whatever demons haunted her. Make her forget everything for a blessed moment except the heat of his mouth, the force of his thrust when he filled her up. He might not be able to give her much, but he could give her this.
He pulled off her shirt, and with it, her sports bra, dropping them to the floor. His own shirt followed. Gently, he lowered her to the floor. He stared down at her, eyes raking over her. He recognized the frenetic hunger in her expression. He’d seen it the first night they’d been together. But now he understood what he was seeing. Blind need. Desperate to push out the darkness. By God, he would be her light.
He settled over her, bracing an arm, and tracing her body from hip to shoulder with the other. He grazed his fingers over her collarbone and around the curve of her breast, reveling in its heavy softness and the way it stiffened with his touch. Dipping his head, he marked the same path with his tongue, nipping at the sensitive skin at her collarbone, navigating over the downward arc to sweep up and capture her dusky pink peak.
With a quiet sound of surrender, she arched into him, offering more. He took it, taking more of her into his mouth, circling his tongue over her heated skin. He caressed the swell of her hip, thumb dipping under the elastic of her station pants to find the ridge of her hipbone. There was a spot just below it that set her on fire when he pressed on it. Sure enough, her hips rocked into his when he pressed.
“Parker…”
If she was talking, she was thinking. And if she wanted to forget then he damn well wasn’t going to let her think. He covered her mouth with his, tongue sweeping into hers, tasting her sweetness and her sorrow. Licking into her and drawing little whimpers from the back of her throat. Tearing his mouth away, he worked his way over her jaw, down the arc of her throat to the hollow at the base of her neck. While he worked her with his mouth, he pulled off her pants, baring the rest of her to his touch.
He cupped her pussy, rubbing back and forth in time with the rhythm her hips set, and dipping a finger into her wetness only when she moaned. He slipped inside her heat, palming her clit as he stroked. But tonight – this morning – he wouldn’t give her the release she sought just yet. He moved with her but pulled away when her thighs tensed and began to tremble.
He kissed her deeply as he drew his hand away, swallowing her cry of need. His cock jerked in response to her vocalizing, but he pushed his own need aside, keeping his focus entirely on Cassie. She needed this, needed him.
Sitting back, he licked a path down her ribs, across the concave breadth of her belly, to the slight swell below her belly button which led to heaven. Slowing his pace, he inhaled deeply, letting her scent fill him, and brought his mouth to rest on her mound, right at her pubic bone.
She lifted her hips, and he let her grind into his mouth before he started to lap the area, his tongue flicking closer and closer to her clit. Raising his hand, he traced a thumb over her lower lip while he kissed her swollen pussy lips.
Taking his lead, she turned her head, nipping and sucking his thumb, drawing her teeth across the pad. Slowly, he ran the flat of his tongue across her most sensitive spot, smiling as she shuddered with delight.
He lapped and licked, diving into her sweetness and letting her essence flow across his tongue. She was close. He could tell by the way her breathing changed, became more shallow, while at the same time she clutched at anything her hands could touch.
Parker shoved down his sweats, freeing his cock and raised himself on an elbow, taking himself in hand and rubbing the head of his cock against her clit over and over again. She was so wet he couldn’t tell where he ended and she began. All he knew was touching her like this felt damn good, and it made her thrash and moan.
She raised her head, eyes flaming. “Parker. Now.”
He drove home as her eyes grew wide, and a smile curved her mouth. He pulled out slowly then slammed home again, swelling in satisfaction as she gasped and reached for his ass. Her fingernails dug into him, spurring him on. He angled his arm to capture a fistful of her hair. Giving a gentle pull, he tilted her head up, exposing her throat. She squeezed his ass harder. Pure animal urgency short circuited his thoughts. He blazed a trail up the side of her neck, nipping and sucking, to claim her mouth in a searing kiss. He would fill her up.
She raked her fingers up his back, and as his desire spiraled out of control, she cried into his mouth, body shuddering. As her pussy clenched around his cock, he cried out and moaned with her, shaking and emptying himself. He strained against her as relief finally melted his bones. After a moment, his frantic thrusts came to a halt. He was spent.
She let out a satisfied sigh, and he dropped his head to her neck. “I love you, Cassie,” he murmured. He meant it too. This wasn’t just a lusty declaration made in the aftermath of great sex. They’d been having great sex already. This was different. He wanted her to know she wasn’t alone. That she was enough. And that she would never be alone.
Her mouth curved into a tiny smile and she hummed, though her eyes remained shut. Post orgasm relaxation combined with his lack of sleep and suddenly, his eyelids were heavy. He dropped a kiss on the corner of her mouth and let his head come to rest in the curve of her neck.
Parker started awake to the thumping bass of an 80’s metal band. Shit. One of the Benoit twins must have arrived for shift change. He and Cassie lay on the floor, a tangle of limbs. He disentangled his leg while giving her a shake. “Get up. Shift change.”
Sucking in a deep breath, Cassie sat in a fluid motion, then stood gathering her clothes. Hopping to her feet, she stumbled to a chair in the corner and grabbed her leathers. “Where you going?”
“Home.”
“Don’t you want breakfast?”
She shook her head, and he fought the disappointment that expanded in his sternum.
“I need to go.” She met his gaze, and her face softened. Shaking her head, she sat on the bed and pulled a tank top over her head. “Don’t do this, Park. You don’t want to do this.”
“Do what?” But he already knew what she was going to say.
“I’m a hot mess. Last night is evidence enough.”
“Don’t you think you should talk about it?”
She shook her head. “Talking isn’t going to make anything better.”
“Hiding isn’t going to make it better either.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a mother hen.”
“Just because I care doesn’t mean I’m a mother hen,” he bristled.
Muffled voices sounded on the other side of the door. Shit. He needed to get dressed. He didn’t give a shit what people said about him, it was Cassie he worried about. But she’d beat him to it. She shrugged into her jacket and yanked the door open just as he shoved a leg into his pants.
“Ace?” Johnny Benoit’s voice drifted through the space. “Is that–”
“Nothing. Not. A. Word.” Cassie uttered fiercely.
Half of him was proud of her. The other half was pissed as hell that she felt the need to hide their relationship. This was Prairie, not the goddamned military. They might be on the receiving end of some good-natured ribbing, but that would be all.
He pulled his tee over his head and stepped into the rec room. “Where you headed, Cass?”
Without turning to look at him, she spoke. “Mom’s already out at the food truck. I’m gonna pop in and check on her, then go help dad with chores.”
“Catch up with you later?” He purposefully kept his voice light, even though he wanted to hit something right now. And wipe the knowing smile off Johnny’s face with his fist.
“Yeah. Sure.” She kept her back to him. “Laters.” She raised an arm and took the stairs two at a time.
He watched her flee, chagrin covering him like a blanket. He made the mistake of catching Johnny’s eye as he turned. Johnny stood, arms crossed, eyes dancing and wearing a smirk.
“What?” Parker growled. “Get to work.”