Safe with You (25 page)

Her hands slide down my upper body, torturing me from the caress of her fingers. I can only imagine how good her hands will feel on my bare skin.

Grasping the hem of my shirt she swiftly removes it. It lands somewhere next to us.

Her hands tremble as she fumbles with the button on my jeans.

Placing my hand on top of hers, I gaze into her eyes. “Cass, relax, babe,” I whisper huskily.

Her eyes close momentarily as she takes a deep breath.

“Feel better?”

She nods, reopening her eyes, and resumes her attempt to remove my jeans. Once she successfully unbuttons them, she leisurely removes both my boxers and my jeans together.

After I kick off the bottom half of my clothes, I lean back on my knees so I can admire her for a moment. The moment must have been too long because she starts to cover herself up.

Grabbing a hold of her wrists, I pin them to her sides. “Don’t do that, babe. I love looking at you.”

Even with darkness surrounding us, I know her cheeks are flushed.

Still holding her wrists, I lean down, pressing my lips to hers, gently coaxing her soft, desirable lips.

Releasing her wrists, I reach under her to unclasp her bra, slowly peeling it off of her.

I reach for my jeans, producing one of the condoms I had brought with me. I tear it open with my teeth then slip it on.

I kiss her feverishly as I gradually enter her. I take my time, letting her adjust to me. Her nails rake down my back when I’m fully buried inside her, causing a groan to fly out of me.

Cupping the back of her knees, I lift her legs, wrapping them around my hips.

Her eyes flutter closed as I pick up pace.

“I want to see your beautiful eyes, Cass,” I grunt as I slide in and out of her in a steady rhythm.

Her eyes fly open, burning into mine. I lean down to kiss her exposed neck, heightening her moans.

Cass grips my hair with her fingers, tilting my head up, seizing my lips with hers.

Slipping my tongue through her parted lips, I taste her.
Sweet Jesus, this girl has created an animal inside me.

Placing my hands on either side of her head, I angle my hips to hit her sweet spot, helping her slip over the edge.

The moment my name falls from her lips, I attack her mouth more aggressively, capturing her moans as she climaxes beneath me.

Watching her come apart beneath me has me realizing that this girl has just captured my soul. She’s taken every part of me, claiming it for her own. And I’m totally okay with it.

Chapter Thirty- One

Cassie

Holy crap, what did I just experience? The earth moved, colors swirled. I think I was taken to oblivion and back. J sure knows what he is doing, that’s for sure. I feel a pang in my chest at the thought of how he got to be this good, but I quickly push it away. The past doesn’t matter, only the future which has yet to be written matters. Our future to be exact. Will I get to live my own happily ever after like people talk about? I know what I want my future to be like, yet what it will hold is what I am afraid of.

I’m snuggled against J, cocooned in his warm embrace. “Cass, you are breathtaking, you know that?” he murmurs low in my ear.

The things J says to me makes me wonder if all of this is real sometimes.

Raising my hand up to his hair, I twirl a short strand around my finger.

“Why, J, I think you just lied to me.” I try to act all serious, but I couldn’t help but giggle at the look of panic on his face.

Once the shock wears off his face he recovers with a smile. “Okay, you caught me. You’re not breathtaking, you’re an angel who has not only captured my heart, my entire soul. I live and breathe because of you, babe.”

Be still my heart.

“I love you to the moon and back, Cassie Ann Matlock.”

I can do him one better. “I love you to the end of the world and back, J Allan Michaels.”

He shakes his head. “The way I feel, Cass, is out of this world. There is no way you can love me more than I love you.”

My heart leaps in my chest. If I knew the right words to say, J would know just how deep my love runs for him. He turns my bad days around with a smile and a kiss.

I let him win this round, but every day, I will show him just how much I am thankful for him to be in my life.

Rolling on my back, I pull him with me. He rests his head on my chest, giving me the opportunity to continue to play with his hair. J pulls the comforter up around us, snuggling us deeper in warmth.

My night may have started off crappy, but J made it magical.

Around four in the morning, J wakes me up from my dreamless sleep to take me home. I’m not ready to leave him yet, especially knowing Zack probably has told my parents of my sneak out.

I glance at my surroundings as J and I sprint back to my window to hell. All of the lights are off in the house, which I suppose is a good thing, I hope. Maybe Zack hasn’t told them yet and maybe I might be able to convince him not to. Fat chance, but hey, I can be hopeful.

Wrapping my arms around, J, I hug him really hard, praying that there isn’t a shitstorm waiting for me inside.

J kisses my hair, his hand stroking the length of my back in a calming motion. “It will all be okay, Cass.” Using his other hand, he tilts my chin up then he presses his mouth to mine. “No matter what happens after tonight, remember I love you. You are my world, Cass. I will do everything I can to see you if they try to keep you from me again.”

I wish I knew if things will be okay or not. It’s something I never know anymore. With J, I feel safe and protected, but the moment I step away from him, I am terrified and vulnerable.

“I hope so,” I murmur.

His mouth crashes to mine one last time for a long goodbye. I want him to take me with him, but I know it will be impossible for me to hide out with his family. Plus, it will only cause more problems.

We murmur ‘I love you” one last time before J helps me climb back in my room. 

“Sleep tight, Cass. I will see you in a few hours.” He leaves a kiss on my cheek before vanishing into the darkness again.

I fumble around in my dark room trying to find my way to my bed when a hand clamps over my mouth, masking my scream.

I’m pulled back against the man’s body, his arm locking around my middle so I can hardly move.

“Cassie, it’s me, now stop trying to kick me.” Zack? What the crap is he doing in my room?

“I’m going to let you go and turn the light on so don’t scream okay?”

I nod and the moment he lets me go, I step several feet away from him.

The light flips on, momentarily blinding me.

“What are you doing here again, Zack?” I whisper harshly.

He shrugs. “I was just making sure you came home.”

“Okay, you have no right to know my business and nor should you be in my room in the middle of the night.”

Zack laughs to himself like I didn’t have a clue. “Your Dad wants me to protect you so that’s what I’m doing. Making sure you make it home, is part of it.”

This is ridiculous.
“I think you misinterpreted what he said because I don’t think hiding out in my room is part of the deal. It’s just downright creepy.”

Zack moves towards the door. “You want to ask him, fine, be my guest. Oh, and while you’re at it, you can tell him about your little adventure tonight.”

Folding my arms across my chest, I glare at him. “I’m not telling him anything.”

His hand closes around the faded brass knob. “Suit yourself, but if you don’t, I will.”

“You wouldn’t,” I challenge him.

“Try me,” he fires back.

“Why are you so determined to break me and J up? Don’t you want me to be happy?” Really, I know why, I just want him to come to his senses and not rat me out. Let’s hope my strategy works here.

Zack’s face softens just a little. So far so good. “Of course I want you to be happy, Cassie, but not with him, with me. You know, like we used to be.”

I force my eyes not to roll.
Here we go again.

“Look, as I’ve said before, things have changed.” Do I really need to go over this again for like the twentieth time? Obviously, it isn’t sinking into his brain.

“Yeah, you keep saying that, yet I don’t believe you.”

Oh my God, really? What doesn’t he understand? I don’t like him like that anymore. I’m in love with, J. So much has changed since I left Indy. How hard is it for him to grasp what I’m telling him?!

“You know what, Zack? Continue to believe what you want because I’m tired of repeating myself. If you want to go tell my parents that’s fine, but nothing is going to change between J and I.
Nothing.
You get that?”

There, maybe he heard me then.

Zack recoils into the door. He wasn’t expecting me to go off on him, and I could care less because I’m sick and tired of trying to get him to back off.

Zack’s face hardens, and after a curt nod, he opens my door and leaves. I really hope he isn’t going straight to my parents, yet at least my rant got him to leave.

When I hear the front door close, I sag in relief. Falling onto my bed, I curl up under the covers to try and get at least a couple hours of sleep before I have to get up and get ready for school. Yeah, tomorrow is going to be a heck of a day.

I feel like I literally just closed my eyes and now I have to get up and get through the day with only-I check my clock-one hour and forty minutes of sleep.

I rush to the shower, wondering if my parents are up yet. If they saw me before I shower, they will probably wonder what’s up because let’s face it, I look like a walking zombie this morning. The dark circles under my eyes give it away. Not to mention I look exhausted, which I am. But, spending time with J was totally worth it.

After my not so refreshing shower, I dry off and get dressed before heading to the kitchen to find something to scarf down. I only have fifteen long minutes until J pulls into the driveway.

Luckily, the kitchen is empty which means Mom and Dad are still soundly sleeping. Grabbing a banana, I grab my stuff and walk out on the porch so I can sit and wait for J to arrive.

It isn’t long before I hear the roar of his truck in the distance. When I spot it, I leap off the porch, smiling like a fool as usual.

Dropping my things on the ground, I let him scoop me up in his arms, spinning us around. When he sets me back on my feet, his mouth crashes to mine, his tongue plunging in my mouth. Memories of our night together flash through my mind, making me wish I was back there again.

“Mmm…are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he murmurs between kisses.

“Yep,” I reply automatically, popping the ‘p’.

He groans, deepening the next kiss. Then he sighs and pulls away with a pouty look on his face. “I really want to kiss you all darn day, but if we don’t show up for school, they will call our parents.”

Yeah, we definitely don’t need for that to happen.

With one last peck on the lips, he links his hand with mine then walks me to the truck.

The moment we are on the road, heading to school, J asks the question I was hoping to avoid. I didn’t want to tell him that Zack was in my room waiting for me to come home. Yeah, that is just a fight waiting to happen. As soon as we pull into the school, J would be searching him out, probably not going to let Zack get a word in before he decks him. Then I’m sure Zack will rat us out just out of spite.

“So, I take it your parents haven’t been told yet?”

I really should tell him the truth, but I know it will just create more problems and I don’t want there to be any rifts between us.

“I guess not,” I reply, feeling bad that I have to lie to him yet again.

“I’m surprised to be honest.”

Yeah well, me too. I assumed when I returned home, my parents would be waiting for me, not my ex-boyfriend who seems to everywhere I am now.

I yawn and lay my head on the center console. I just want sleep.

J hand moves to my hair, twirling a lock around his finger.

“Let’s get through today and tomorrow, then Friday is game night, and then I get to spend all day with you Saturday and this weekend, I’m going to try for Sunday as well.”

I half laugh-half yawn. “Greedy aren’t you?”

J chuckles. “Only when it comes to you. If I had it my way, I’d spend every evening with you. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m getting tired of football practice. It’s keeping me away from you during the week.”

“When is football season usually over?”

“Our last game is usually around Halloween. And you know Halloween is on a Saturday this year,” J points out.

I sit up in a flash. “I love Halloween!”

J laughs at my excitement. “Well good, then we’ll go together.”