Tattoo My Heart (Heroes of Seaside Point, Book 1) (13 page)

Of course he wouldn’t take her explanation at face value. “Honestly, I miss Vanessa.”
And you. I miss you so much, Casey
. She bit her tongue almost in two to keep that confession inside.

“Do you think Mourning Dove Harbor can help?”

“I can pick up more beach business.”

He hit the blinker and turned down a side road. “How about we scope out the location?”

“Now?”

“Yeah. It’s not dark yet and you’re with me.”

Once parked on the sand, Casey opened her door and helped her from the truck. The soothing sound of roaring waves rolled over her tense nerves, kneading them into a comfortable hum.

Casey slipped her hand inside his and urged her down the beach. “Remember the first time I brought you here?”

Remember? That memory was burnt in her psyche just as permanently as the tattoo on her hip. “Do you?”

“You were seven and scared to death of the water.” He squeezed her hand. “I had to bribe you with gummy bears to stick your feet in.”

She grinned as the warm sand seeped over the sides of her sandals and tickled the tops of her toes. “I’d do just about anything for gummy bears back then.”
And for you
.

“Would you now?”

“Depends. What do you have in mind?”

His gentle laugh wrapped her into a warm cocoon. “By the end of the summer, we couldn’t get you out.”

“Do you ever come back?”

“I haven’t had a reason.” He stopped and pulled her against him. “Until now.”

“You know everything about me, don’t you?” she said into his chest.

She listened to the steady sound of his heartbeat while waves rolled across the water until they disappeared at the shoreline. Pressed against him, she felt tension leak from her muscles.

“I really screwed up, didn’t I?” he said against the top of her head.

His question didn’t exactly surprise her. She took a deep breath and stepped back. “Not entirely. I think I may have had a part in it.”

“No, baby. You tried to show me how you felt and I was too damn selfish to let you express yourself.”

“Selfish?”

“Yes. I should’ve given you a chance and then explained why I turned you away.”

“You think you could’ve stopped me?”

“Not without a fight, I’m sure.”

“Your denial affected me a little differently than you think.”

“You were hurt.”

“Embarrassed,” she mumbled, “but I got over that.”

“You did?”

“After I finally came to the conclusion you pushed me away to save our relationship.” His silence gave her the advantage she needed to continue. “After my parents died I had some serious abandonment issues.”

His warmth lulled her into peaceful contentment. “You wouldn’t let Travis or me out of your sight. Took us months to get you through that. Broke my heart.”

She nodded and stood silent to allow him to process the hidden meaning behind her explanation. Suddenly, pain graced his handsome face.

“I abandoned you too,” he whispered.

“Not on purpose.” She placed a soft kiss on his lips to dispel his discomfort. “I understand now. I wanted you so badly. I just went about it the wrong way.”

“So the sex didn’t really matter?”

“Oh, it mattered. Just not as much as leaving me, Casey.”

“God, the things you made me think, Ness.”

“Things?”

“Things I had no business thinking then.”

“Like what?”

“Remember last night on the couch?”

She released a desperate groan. “Oh yeah.”

“I’ve dreamed about that in vivid detail.”

Her heart began to pound. “What else?”

“Every time I kissed the tip of your nose I had to fight to keep from sliding my lips down those few inches to your mouth.” He closed the distance between them. “And when I cradled your soft body in my arms, it was all I could do not to ease you underneath me and warm you with my own kind of friction.”

His lips nuzzled the base of her neck, prompting the all-too-familiar throb between her legs. “Casey,” she moaned.

Her panties dampened as he drew his tongue across her skin to the top of her shoulder and then nipped the soft skin there.

“What baby?”

“I’m ready now.”

“You’ll get sand in your—”

She forced his head up and then sealed their mouths to smother his excuse. “Don’t care,” she murmured against his lips.

A low groan left his throat as he grasped her hips and pressed their bodies together. Packed so tightly against him, she felt the strength of his erection against her abdomen and her libido purred like a napping cat.

While he continued his tender assault on her lips, arousal pushed her to reach between them and stroke his length through his uniform pants. Her fingers tightened around him as she slid upward, moved her palm over the swollen head, and then moved downward, only to repeat the whole process with the next stroke.

“Your touch makes me crazy,” he said as he pushed further into her hand.

She tightened her fist around his solid length and squeezed. Her nipples stood at attention and her clit quivered. Suddenly she understood the meaning of
crazy
.

He slid his hand under her shirt and up her torso, grazing her bare skin with his fingertips until he rolled her nipples between them, tugging and teasing until they begged for mercy. Desperate to feel him against her, she plastered her hips to his groin and resumed the up-and-down motion on his erection in an effort to ease the ache in her needy clit.

As if he sensed her desperation, he moved one hand down her body and beneath her skirt until his fingers found her slick flesh. Very gently, he opened her and slid inside to play.

Annessa moaned as his thumb worked her clit while his middle finger entered her swollen passage. Her hips swayed in time with his movement as she sought relief.

“That’s right, baby.” He encouraged her with a short pinch to her clit. “Take what you need.”

She ground her hips tighter against him and he responded by inserting another finger. Her body answered with a tight squeeze on his fingers.

“You want to come, don’t you?”

She groaned out load at the absurdity of his question. Of course she wanted to come.

“Inside me,” she whispered.

“Not here, sweetheart.” His fingers began a rapid pace. “Reach between us and stroke me.”

She needed no further direction and quickly lowered his zipper and slipped her hand inside his pants and under his boxer briefs to close him in her grip.

“Pull hard,” he ground out as his fingers resumed movement between her legs.

Her breathing quickened from excitement while she worked his long hard length with rapid, determined strokes, and her body tightened around his fingers.

“Now, Annessa,” he demanded. “Come with me, baby.”

She tossed her head back and moaned as her orgasm wrapped her in warmth and shook her whole body with its force. Casey released a low growl as his erection pulsed in her hold, leaving behind evidence of his satisfaction.

For several seconds, she rested her head against his chest and listened to the sound of his heavy breathing, matching it to her own. Finally, he placed a soft kiss on her lips as he extracted himself from her grip and moved his hands from her body.

“Again,” she said against his lips.

“Later.” He kissed the top of her head before he straightened her clothing and then tucked himself back into his pants. “Let’s go check out the rental.”

***

Once they stood outside the business, Casey watched Annessa jam the key into the lock, her hands shaking.

“Let me.”

He slid the key in and then turned the knob. The door popped easily open.

Annessa pushed against his back. “Go inside. Hurry.” The door closed behind them and she twisted the lock.

He ran a hand across the top of his head, angered by her fear. “This is borderline insane, Annessa. You’re running around like a scared rabbit.”

“I’m fine. Besides, I’m armed.”

“Pepper spray is no match for a bullet, baby.”

“True, but I happen to have a bigger weapon.”

“Are you packing, Ness?” He raised an eyebrow and hoped to hell she wouldn’t answer his question in the positive.

She moved her gaze to his usual hard-on. “No, but you are.”

He groaned. “Seriously, I need to call in reinforcement.”

“No.” She stepped out of his embrace. “C’mon, I’ll show you the dressing area.”

Casey glanced out the glass door with an evil eye, almost daring someone to challenge him. The street and the sidewalk on the other side remained lit by the spotlight over the door. He gave the knob a tug.

“Now who’s paranoid?” Annessa’s sultry tease traveled the length of his cock.

“Go.” He nudged her out of the storefront and followed her to a room in the back with three cubicles built into the far wall.

“They’re actually roomy,” she told him as she stepped into one. “There should be plenty of space to maneuver yards of taffeta and lace.”

He assumed she was talking about the frilly crap on most wedding gowns.

“I see a problem.” He stepped inside then closed the door and pressed the lock on the knob.

“What?” She frowned. “I think it’s perfect. Obviously it’s the right size. Two people can fit in here.”

He simply grinned and waited for her to process the meaning behind her observation.

Her lips finally curved into a smile. “Ah, I see what you mean.” She pushed him against one wall and pressed her body to his. “It would be so easy for something naughty to happen in here.”

He grasped her hips and molded them to his groin. “Yes.”

She laid her palms flat against his chest. “Thing is, the groom is not allowed to see the dress before the wedding.”

“True,” he said as his blood heated from her touch, “but men dress here too, right?”

She nodded.

“And sometimes they come with women,” he continued.

Another nod, this time with a mischievous grin.

“Sometimes I need help with my tie.” He lowered his head and placed his lips against the creamy skin of her neck.

She groaned and threw her head back to grant him easier access. He moved his lips across the surface, nibbled the smooth skin, and allowed his tongue to taste her.

His back muscles pulsed as her hands kneaded the firm flesh. His breath came in labored gasps and he fought the primal instinct to flatten her to the wall and shove his cock deep.

He moved his lips to hers and captured another breathy moan as he devoured her. His dick swelled impossibly harder behind the button of his jeans.

She lifted her lips and looked him straight in the eye. “I’m on fire, Casey. Please don’t tease me if you’re not serious.”

He moved her hair back from her neck while her accusation stabbed his heart. Trust still didn’t come easy for her. “Annessa, I have never been so serious about anything in my life.”

Her voice was barely audible as she spoke. “Okay then.”

He pulled her back against him and rested his chin on the top of her head. He suddenly found himself in unfamiliar territory. He knew Annessa inside and out, everything from her allergy to blueberries to the brands of shampoo she refused to buy. Even the story behind the tiny scar on the back of her left knee – the one left behind when she attempted to sneak out her bedroom window by climbing down a tree. He’d been waiting on her at the bottom.

But he didn’t know her as a lover and that scared the hell out of him.

She released a soft sigh and burrowed further into his embrace. He felt her complete trust to keep her safe and protected, but not with her heart. There was only one way to earn that – show her. And he planned to put on quite a show.

A loud crash brought him out of his self analysis.

Annessa jerked her head from his chest. “Tell me you heard that.”

“I heard it.”

Her eyes widened. “I locked the door. You saw me.”

He eased her to sit on the floor. “Do. Not. Move.”

She struggled to stand and he pushed her back down. “Don’t leave me alone, Casey,” she hissed. “I’m going with you.”

The complete, unhidden terror in her eyes caused his restraint to break. “Annessa, if you even
think
about moving your pretty little ass out of this dressing room, I’ll turn you over my knee and spank you until it’s good and hot.”

For half a second, she appeared stunned and then she opened her mouth to speak.

“No!” He refused to back down. Not this time. “Stay here. I meant each and every word I said.”

Annessa watched Casey leave, not exactly surprised about his ultimatum. He and Travis both had a Neanderthal gene. Yet she knew when to push and this was not one of those times. Through unbelievable fear she couldn’t help but wonder, though, if a spanking from Casey would really be a bad thing.