Destined To Fall (20 page)

I smile sweetly at Jessa. “It was nice meeting you,” I say. “But if you ever
touch my man again, your small boobs will be the least of your worries.” Her
face drops and Kyler snorts next to me. I kiss him on the cheek one last time
and walk out of his office, feeling confident and stronger than I thought I
would after a confrontation like that. I ignore Nikola and go back to my office.

A
n hour later, Kyler walks into my office. He shuts and locks my door, and
then purposefully comes to stand in front of me.
“Hi.” My voice is quiet, and low, and I start to doubt the boldness I displayed
in his office earlier. Maybe I could’ve behaved a little more professionally, but
seeing Jessa made my blood boil, and I just wanted put her in her place.
“You,” Kyler breathes out. He lifts me from my chair easily and lowers my
butt to the edge of my desk.
“I know what you were doing,” he says. He pushes my skirt up to my hips
and steps between my legs. “You were claiming me, marking your territory.”
“Yes,” I sigh. He brushes the front of my thong with his knuckle and I bite
my lip.
“Why did you do that?” he asks, leaning in closer.
“Because,” my breath hitches when he pushes my thong to the side. “Because
you’re mine,” I reply. “And I…Oh jeezus… I wanted Jessa to know that.”
Kyler’s fingers sink into me, and I groan. He bends over to kiss my neck,
sucking on the soft skin behind my ear. I bend one arm, and bring my other
around Kyler’s neck for support.
“That was so sexy,” Kyler mumbles, his hot breath making me shiver. “Seeing
you get jealous, and territorial.”
My grip on him tightens as his fingers push into me faster and faster.
“Kyler,” I choke out.
His fingers slow and he starts massaging my g-spot.
“Ohhh my…” I whimper. “Kyler, God, that’s…”
I tuck my head into Kyler’s should to smother my scream. My body convulses, and I’m still shaking when I hear Kyler’s belt buckle. He drops his slacks
and rests his hands on my hips. The head of his erection nudges my sensitive
clit, and I suck in a breath. I don’t know if I can come again, but I won’t stop
Kyler from trying.
He sinks into me, so goddam slowly, and I throw my head back from the unendurable pleasure running through my body.
“Hmmmm,” Kyler hums. “You feel good like this, Cass.”
Kyler pulls out, and then slams back into me. I cry out, craving more and
more of him.
“This. Is. Me.” Kyler grunts. “Claiming.You.”
My arms feel like jello, so Kyler lifts my upper body and holds me up while
his hips move at a steady rhythm.
Kyler presses his forehead to mine, and breathes into my face. “You belong to
me…I belong to you.”
My answer is a loud yelp which he muffles with his mouth.
He stills, and I feel him empty inside of me, which triggers my second,
mind-numbing orgasm.
Kyler brushes my hair out of my face and grins like a cheshire cat. “How’s
that for lunch?” he chuckles.
“Hmmm,” is all I have the strength for. My body is a pool of liquid in his
arms.
Kyler laughs and kisses my nose. “God, I love you, woman.”

“George Clooney is way better looking than Daniel Craig,” Cassey argues.
She’s wearing my light blue button down shirt with black lacy underwear.
Cassey’s legs are slung over mine and we’re on the sofa in her apartment.
After rolling around in the sheets for almost two hours, we decided to order
some Chinese and watch television while we replenish our energy. She sticks
a piece of sweat and sour beef into her mouth and I watch her mouth. I never thought eating was sexy. Until Cassey.
“Kyler,” she says, pulling me from my daze. “Why are you looking at me like
that?”
“Sorry, but watching you eat makes it impossible to concentrate on the
meaningless argument you’re having with yourself.”
Cassey licks her lips, and my cock stirs. “It’s not meaningless,” she retorts, a
cheeky glint in her green eyes. “It’s significant to every woman out there. No
one can resist an older, sexy man like George.”
I lift a brow. “Oh, really? Is he the one starring in your fantasies these days?”
Cassey shakes her head, her cheeks flushed and her eyes glued to my face.
“No. He’s not.”
I take the box of food from her hands and lift her onto my lap by her hips so
that she straddles me. The shirt she’s wearing is only buttoned halfway, so I
catch a glimpse of her full tits.
My hands slide up Cassey’s naked thighs, disappearing under my shirt to cup
her delectable butt.
“So, if it’s not George Clooney who makes you wet in your sleep, then who is
it?” I ask wryly.
Cassey pulls her lip into her mouth, and looks at me from beneath her lashes. Her long brown hair falls, creating a curtain, so I push it back and tuck it
behind her ear.
Cassey leans forward, brushing my nose with hers, and starts moving her
hips over the hard-on tenting my sweats. My nails dig into her flesh, marking her.
“The man in my fantasies is way sexier than George Clooney,” she whispers.
“Oh, so it’s Daniel Craig then?” I tease.
“Uhh uhhh,” Cassey breathes. Her hands rest on my pecs, and she flicks my
nipples.
“Cass,” I whisper huskily.
Her hands continue their journey south, and her fingers trace every muscle
on my stomach, making me shiver. My body’s reaction to her is visceral and
electrifying. My breathing stops when her hand disappears into my sweats
and touches my hard erection. I hiss when her fingers wrap around my
length, and start moving up and down.
“Shit,” I mutter.
Cassey kisses me, long and hard as her hand pumps my cock.
“Baby,” I murmur against her lips. “I’m going to - ”
I have no words left when Cassey moves quickly and kneels between my legs.
She pulls my cock into her mouth and sucks hard, hallowing out her cheeks.
“Oh fuck,” I cry out. Cassey looks up, and I watch her swallow while I writhe
under her. Holy. Shit.
I drag Cassey back onto my lap and kiss her deeply. “God,” I sigh. “I really
hope you weren’t thinking about Daniel Craig while you were doing that.”
Cassey chuckles, cupping my face in her delicate hands. “The only man starring in my fantasies is the one I’m looking at.”
“Lucky bastard,” I mumble.
I’m about to lay Cassey down and return the favor when my phone interrupts
me.
“You’d better get that,” Cassey says, climbing off my lap. “It could be your
mom.”
She retreats into her kitchen and I work to catch my breath before checking
my phone. Cassey was right, it’s my mother.
“Hey Mom. Is everything okay?”
“Oh, Kyler,” I hear her sniffling, and immediately jump up from my place on
the sofa. “It’s your father, h-h-he…Oh my God…”
“Mom, I need you to take a deep breath, and tell me what happened,” I urge,
calmly. This isn’t good.
“He’s having difficulty breathing, and they’re trying to do everything they
can, but you need to come, I think it’s time.”
After that, everything happens in slow motion. I end the call, get dressed,
and in twenty minutes, Cassey and I are running down the hall to my father’s
hospital room. When my mother sees me, she collapses into my arms and
sobs hysterically, while the man who gave me life breathes his last breath.

F
uneral arrangements are made, and before the week is up, I watch them
lower my father’s casket into the ground. I’m surrounded by a sea of people
who knew him, the lives of the many people he touched, and I’m left wondering if I can ever be the man he was. I wrap my arms around my grieving
mother and comfort her as best I can. Cassey squeezes my hand, and I find
that while I may be my mother’s source of strength, Cassey is undoubtedly
mine. She has been amazing since my father died. She’s made sure my mother eats, and helped me with everything else when it became too much for me
to handle alone. It takes me back to the conversation we had the day I found
out he was dying of cancer.
“Find the woman who will be your reason to live,
who will stick with you, not during the good times but through the hard times,
and who will tell you when you’re being an ass. Find the woman worth keeping,
for more than sex, the one you can see your future with. And when you look at her,
you’ll know you’ve found her,”
he’d said. At the time I didn’t believe it, but one
look at Cassey and I know. I see her standing at my side, being my partner,
my lover, my friend, and one day the mother of my children. When it’s all
said and done, she’s the one I want to grow old with.
The funeral comes to an end, signifying a much greater meaning than just an
ending, and my mother politely greets our friends and family.
She keeps it together, until I take her back to my parents’ house, where all the
memories flood our house.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay staying here alone, Mom?” I look at my
mother, and can’t fight the concern that she will end up lonely.
Her tired eyes meet mine and she gives me a small smile. “I’m thinking of
going away with some friends,” she says. “Just to get away for a while.”
I hug her to my side as we sit outside on the deck, overlooking our big garden. It was my father’s favorite place. “That might be good for you. I don’t
want you to be alone.”
“Darling, I will be fine.” She cups my face. “I’m so proud of you, you know?
And so was your Dad.”
“Thanks, Mom. I just hope I’ll be able to be half the man he was.”
“You already are, sweetheart.” My mother takes my hand in hers and just
holds it, as if to draw strength from it. “Oh, yes,” she says, standing up. “I
can’t believe I almost forgot.” I look at my mother, confused, as she walks inside quickly, only to reappear a few minutes later. “Your father wanted to give
you this before…” her voice cracks, “but then he asked me to.” She hands me
a small blue velvet box and sits down next to me. “It belonged to your grandmother, and when your father and I got engaged, it became mine.”
I open the box, and nestled inside is a blue sapphire ring with smaller diamonds surrounding the beautiful stone.
“Mom, this is…”

“I wanted to give it you when the time is right, and I’d hoped your father would be here to share the occasion with us when you do ask Cassey
to marry you, but, unfortunately, God had other plans for him.” My mother
sniffs and dabs under her eyes with a rumpled tissue.
“How do you know I’m going to propose to Cassey?” I ask out of curiosity.
My mother lets out a small laugh. “I don’t, but your father did. He told me
as soon as you two met, you’d fall head over heals. And when he saw you two
together, he was thrilled. She’s a wonderful woman, Kyler. The two of you
remind me so much of me and your father when we were your age.”
“So, you like her then?”
“I adore her. I couldn’t have picked a better person for you if I had handpicked her myself.”
I chuckle. “I always thought you wanted me to end up with Jessa.”
My mother looks down, a little embarrassed judging by the color in her
cheeks. “That was before I saw you with Cassey. I knew then that who you
decided to spend the rest of your life with, wasn’t up to me. But, darling, I
had the best intentions, really, I did. And I’m glad you didn’t stay with Jessa.
She’s quite a little bitch.”
My eyes widen. My mother never swears. “Go Mom!” I tease.
“Oh hush,” my mother chides playfully. “I cuss now and then.”
“So, it doesn’t bother you that she’s not like us? That she doesn’t come from
money or social standing?”
“No,” she replies, waving me off. “Quite the opposite actually. Cassey is
strong and independent, and she will challenge you the way you need to be
challenged. She’ll love you fiercely and unconditionally, and that, my darling,
is all I want for you. Someone to spend your life with who makes you happy.”
I nod, no words necessary, because my mother and I both know Cassey is
that person.
My mother stands and I follow. “Now, as much as I love you, I need to get
some rest. Tell Cassey we’ll do lunch in a few days.”
“I will, Mom,” I reply, kissing her forehead. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart.”

I
leave my parent’s house, my grandmother’s ring tucked away safely in my
pocket. I want to propose to Cassey, and I will, I just don’t know if now
would be the right time. We’ve had so much going on that I need to stop,
and take a breath. When I walk into my apartment, it’s dark, and I’m surprised to find Cassey curled up in my bed. I can see the silhouette of her
small, curvaceous figure under my sheets. It makes me smile.
I place the ring box in my drawer before pulling of my clothes off. My body
is weary after the weeks events, and even more so after today. I want nothing
more than to wrap Cassey in my arms and sleep. She turns, rolling onto her
back and her green eyes find me.
“Hey you,” she says, her voice laced with sleep.
“Hey, baby,” I reply, crawling under the cool sheets with her. She slides closer
to me, nestling her head under my chin and throws her leg over mine. I trace
lazy patterns down her bare spine, and she does the same on my chest.
“How’s your mom?” she asks. I can tell she’s really concerned. Her and my
mother have become quite close.
“I think it’s going to be hard,” I reply. “They’ve been together forever.”
Cassey sighs and I look down to see her regarding me. “I want that kind of
love,” she says. “The kind that will be forever.”
I want to tell her we’ll have that, but before I can she asks, “Are you okay?”
Her face is drawn, and she also has dark circles under her eyes. I realize that
she’s stuck with me through everything this week, and that my parents are so
right about her. She’s
it
for me.
“No,” I reply honestly. “But I will be. As long as I have you, I’ll get through
anything.”
She moves closer and lays a gentle kiss on my mouth. I cup her head and
deepen it, fusing our tongues together. It’s intimate, even without it leading
to sex, and I know, deep down in my soul that we are forever. Cassey’s eyes
open, and her lips turn up into a sweet, soft smile. Then I do excatly what I
said I wouldn’t.
Before I can stop myself, I blurt out, “Marry Me.”

I stare at Kyler wide-eyed. Did he just propose? Judging by the look in his
face I’m guessing he did. And he’s waiting for me to respond.
“Uh…” My words disappear, and I immediately wish I hadn’t said anything
at all. Not exactly how I imagined my proposal, or how I would respond.
Kyler’s expression shifts, and he slides out from under me.
“Not quite the response I was imagining,” he murmurs. He pulls his sweats
on, and starts to stand when I grab his forearm.
“I’m sorry, I just - ”
“Don’t want to marry me,” Kyler intercedes, his body going rigid under my
hand. I’ve hurt him. I can hear it in his voice.
“Will you let me explain?” I ask quietly. I hold the sheet to my chest, and
move to sit on my knees.
“There’s nothing to explain,” Kyler replies, sounding both resigned and agitated. How the hell did the mood change so quickly? One minute we’re kissing, and the next he’s proposing and I’m stuttering for an answer. Again, not
how I pictured this moment happening.