“Used to be.” She gives a wry grimace, her scarred cheek naturally veering toward her left shoulder. “Anyway, I don’t really want to get into four-legged humans right now.” She eyes the exit with a wary glance. “You know, maybe it’s best I leave. If that not-so little pooch gets out, I just might be liable to jump through the ceiling. You can still mop up a girl or two from the Black Bear. I’d hate to block you from a good time.”
“He won’t get out.” I hold up a hand as if testifying to the fact and carefully step in front of her. “I promise. And now that I have you here, the only thing I want to block is the exit. Unless, of course, it’s me you’re trying to avoid.”
“Oh, hon”—a dark gurgle of a laugh trembles from her chest, and she’s ten times more adorable—“if I wanted to avoid you, I would have done that hours ago.” Cassidy blinks back the moisture lining her lashes and takes a step into me. “So, now what, Cade James from New York City?”
I close the gap between us and gently land my hands to her hips, the first place I’ve managed to touch this beautiful girl, and my fingers memorize how soft she feels.
“Now we settle the age old question.” I lean into her neck and take in her sweet as honey scent and envision my lips on her perky tits, her naked ass seated on my face, her mouth plunging over my cock. “Lights on or off?”
“Off and quick, just like your clothes.” She clicks her tongue with a promise, and I kill the lights and peel off my shirt before she can protest. Her heated hands seal over my chest, and I suck in a quick breath.
“Hey—” She stands on her tiptoes, and the moonlight licks a line over the right side of her face as if it too were shielding her wounds from me. Here we go. My gut cinches, because as much as I don’t want to get shut down right now, I can feel it coming. I don’t blame her. In fact, I blame myself for letting us get this far. I’ve had my fair share of one-night stands, and not a single one of them has struck me as down-home and kind as Cassidy. Their bark was as bad as their bite, but Cassidy—there’s a gnawing ache in my belly that tells me she’s different. This shouldn’t be happening, not like this, not tonight. She deserves better than anything quick and dirty I have to offer.
“I get it.” I drop a kiss to her forehead. “I can give you a ride back to your dorm if you want. It’s getting ugly out there.” My fingers glide up to her shoulders and stay there. This is the part where I should let go, turn the lights back on, and unceremoniously dig out my keys from my jacket.
“What in the heck are you babbling about?” She swats me over the stomach. “I was just gonna say can we please keep this low-key?” She shrugs a little, and a blonde curl swings over one eye, making both my dick and me perk to attention. “You know, loose lips sink slutty ships and also have a way of welding my knees together. So, like, if you could keep this between the two of us, my good reputation and I would very much appreciate it.” Her cool finger rides down my chest, soft as water.
“I swear I won’t tell a soul.” My hand finds a home in that delicate spot in the back of her neck as my fingers get lost in a tangle of satin curls. A low groan comes from deep within me, and I pray she didn’t hear it. The last thing I want to do is send her running for the hills. There’s something in me that desperately needs this beautiful woman in my bed. It’s a violent ache that I’m not sure I’ve felt before, but every last inch of me demands to have her. Cassidy has become the prize I’m suddenly desperate to have.
She swallows hard with those large eyes of hers trained on mine. “You mentioned that sister of yours—”
“You’re kidding, right? I’d rather light my dick on fire than tell my sister who I’m bedding. We’re close, but not that close.” A rumble of a laugh drums through me as I evict Piper from my brain. “The only girl I want to focus on tonight is this one.” My entire body begs to touch hers. My gaze rides down her tightknit sweater, and my mouth waters on cue. I plan to spend a small eternity just giving the girls each their due before I move the party farther down and taste a bit of that Southern charm she doles out like cotton candy. There’s no doubt she’ll taste just as sweet.
“Well, then…” Her entire body exhales with relief, and that wicked grin of hers perks right back to her lips where it belongs. “It looks like you’d better show me to your room, Cade the City Cowboy. I’ve got me a bed to warm, and I believe you owe me one expletive-riddled tirade that will make me scream with pleasure.”
My heart thumps with a violent thrust as if beating for the very first time. I have never met a girl this bold and beautiful, never seen my dick this trigger happy, but I’m not complaining about either.
I scoop her up and sweep us down the hall, past Buddy’s whining and scratching while Cassidy kicks off her heels with a laugh.
We land softly on the mattress as I swipe clean the laundry debris cluttering up the remainder of the bed and dot a simple kiss to her forehead.