"Where… where are you taking it?" my mother asks with a shaky voice.
It's my turn, so I step up and let her know confidently. "I'm going to make her mine," I say, and there's so much confusion in Cassidy's eyes, I have to smirk. "Someday… soon. And it would mean a lot to have your blessing on our relationship."
My gaze turns darker as I go on. "But even if we don't have your blessing, we wanted to let you know we're seeing one another."
The silence in the air is so tense you could cut it with a knife. Mom's hand flutters to her chest as she stares at us, and for once in my life, I wonder if she'll understand.
Cassidy reaches for my hand as she gets back up, and we stand in front of Mom like she's a judge, the silence palpable as we wait for her to comment.
"Well," she heaves a sigh. "Well, isn't that a piece of news."
"So, what do you say, Valerie?" Cassidy's voice is soft and gentle, but we need an answer. "Do we have your blessing?"
My mother gets up from her chair, her motions shaky as she comes closer to us. So, I guess this is it – the moment of truth.
"Cassidy," she says, her fingers stroking Cassidy's cheek. "Dom."
She turns toward me, her gaze mischievous. My heart skips a beat in anticipation.
"You are both my children, but you are not brother and sister. I'd be lying if I said I never noticed the attraction between you, and I always knew we'd be having this conversation someday."
My stomach twists and I don't dare look at Cassidy.
"But…" Mom continues, "I know that together, you two are stronger. You're the best versions of yourselves you can be. And I will always be in full support of you being yourselves."
We stare at her in shock, but Cassidy is the first to react, breathing a heavy sigh of relief as she envelops my mother in a tight hug. Her laugh is the sweetest sound I've ever heard.
I'm grinning like a fool as Mom hugs me too, whispering in my ear that she's proud of me for finding the right way. I've never been this happy.
And we say our goodbyes quickly, Mom eager to get back to her wedding, and me, with plenty of dirty things on my mind…
The drive back to the house takes ages, and Cassidy complains the whole time about missing my bike. It apparently made it easy for us to touch when we were driving. I laugh at her eagerness and regret every time I have to push her hands off me, focusing on driving.
Finally, we arrive back at the beach house, and suddenly, the air becomes heavy with anticipation. We get out of the car silently and Cassidy's hands shake as she unlocks the door.
I put a hand over hers, and she looks up into my eyes with genuine fear in her gaze. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to," I tell her, hoping to calm her down.
She gives me a nervous smile. "It's not that… I'm scared because I want it so much."
And that's all the incentive I need, lowering my lips against hers as we stumble into the house.
The door slams behind us and I walk her backwards, nearly tumbling over the stairs as Cassidy snickers. "You'll get me killed," she whispers against my lips.
"Not a chance," I reassure her, my hands tight around her waist. In the next second, I've lifted her up and her legs wrap around my waist – an instinct I'm glad she hasn't forgotten.
I carry her into her old bedroom, laughing as I spot her teddy bear still perched proudly against the bed frame. "Guess old habits die hard," I tease her as she tosses him on the floor impatiently.
"You should be happy they do, Dom Manning," she replies with a wicked smile of her own. I bruise her lips with a kiss, ecstatic that the girl I fell in love with is back in full form.
I lower her against the bed, my body pressing against her needily. I grind myself against her willing hips, knowing I need to be inside her to satisfy this primal urge.
"Truth or dare?" I ask her. But instead of responding, Cassidy almost rips my shirt off me, exposing my tattoos and ripped muscles.
"I'm done playing games," she says firmly, pulling me down against her own body.
I smile against her mouth and am quick to take off the rest of my clothes, with hers following suit. She's writhing under me now, her body beautifully naked.
Taking a moment to admire that silky skin, the luscious lips and flame-red hair, I drink her in like she's my life sustenance. But she is having none of it, pulling me down ravenously and demanding more right away.
I'm hungry for the taste of her, the feel of her. But she's so impatient, already trying to make my cock slide into her wetness, so slick with the want for me.
"Wait," I interrupt her, and she sighs in frustration, already panting with need.
"What?" she demands.
"I want a taste," I grin at her, and before she can object, I lower myself until I've reached the most tender part of her body. My lips are getting ready to explore her folds.
She arches her back with desperate need, pushing her pussy up to me like she's offering it on a silver plate.
Hungrily, I give her my first lick. God, she tastes incredible, just like I remember. I'm going to crave this for the rest of my life.
I open her slit with my tongue, licking her until she moans my name over and over, but I haven't had enough. My mouth tightens against her clit, teasing it with my tongue until she's whimpering in ecstasy.
"More?" I ask her teasingly, because I need to see her wanting this.
She looks right at me.
"More," she begs with a nod, and I don't need to be told twice.
I lick her good and hard, her body twisting under mine. I keep doing it until her hands land on the back of my head and she pushes me forward like she can't wait a second longer.
Cassidy pushes her clit right against my lips, grinding her hips against my mouth, and I'm losing it at that point. My balls are busting so bad I can feel the vein pulsing on my rock hard cock. If I don't claim her now, I'll come just from eating her out, and as delicious as that prospect sounds, I need to be inside her.
Right fucking now.
I move away from her sweet pussy as she moans in displeasure, but in a moment, I have my cock aimed at her entrance. My eyes are dancing over her glorious body, her beautiful big tits and her face contorted in want.
"We need a condom," I realize out loud, and I’m already scrambling to my feet to get one, when she grabs my hand, her breaths coming heavy.
"We don't need it, I'm on the pill," she says in a rushed voice as I stare at her in wonder.
"You're not worried I have something?" I ask, not realizing how incredibly non-sexy that sounds. "You actually… trust me?"
She smirks at me with a wicked look in her eyes. "I shouldn't, but I do, Dom."
I get back on the bed in my previous position, my cock throbbing. I want her so badly, yet I can't make myself take her bare, thinking it's too much.
"Please," she begs me, and even if I wanted to, I suddenly can't hold back any longer. With a low growl, I plunge inside her, pushing my cock as deep as it goes as her eyes widen and she whimpers. Whether it is in pain or pleasure, I'm not sure.
But her moans turn heavy right away, and she clasps my hands as I drive my cock inside her. I'm making her mine and sealing the deal with each thrust of my hips.
"Dom," she breathes, "Dom, please, please."
"Please what?" I growl against her mouth, needing to hear those dirty words from her lips. I know they're what it will take to push me over the edge.
"Please make me come," Cassidy whispers. "I want to come with you… so badly."
I growl again, and my thrusts become quicker and more demanding, her body quickly responding to the thrusts of my hips.
"Are you ready, Cassidy?" I ask her in a low voice, stilling for a moment as she writhes impatiently, whimpering for more. "Say it," I prompt her.
"Yes," she finally whispers, nodding like it's the one thing she wants in the world. "Please, Dom, I need to come on your cock again. Bare this time..."
I can't stop now, pushing inside her
with such desperate need I can feel the metal of my piercing touching her walls. Her pussy is contracting to fit my huge cock.
"Okay, darlin'," I tell her, my voice heavy. "Let me come inside you. Will you be a good girl and come on my cock?"
"Yes," she promises, her voice laden with the pleasure she's feeling.
And then I give her one final thrust, releasing my cum inside of her as she exclaims my name repeatedly. I thrust a few more times as pure pleasure takes over my body, and I'm well-aware of the grin that's made its way on my face as I fall next to her.
She's breathing fast, her chest rising and falling with each breath she takes as I stare at her in wonder.
"Fuck, Dom," she says breathily.
"We just did, darlin’." I can't resist my cheesy reply, but to make up for it, I kiss her passionately, our tongues not tired yet as they meet in her mouth.
I could stay in this bed for the rest of my life, if the woman I love was by my side.
And Cassidy Lynn doesn't look like she's going anywhere.
Chapter twenty-one
CASSIDY
"I have something for you," Dom says after a moment of lazing in the bed, my breath barely able to catch up as he runs his fingers over my tummy.
"What?" I ask curiously, and he jumps off the bed like he's so excited he cannot wait a moment longer – an impressive feat, given the sex we've just had.
He pulls on some shorts in a hurry, then disappears down the stairs as I call his name. A moment later, I'm left alone in the bed, pouting. I have no idea where he's off to, but I don't like being without him, that's for sure.
I hear a car door closing and for a second, I'm worried he'll just drive off. But even before I hear his steps back in the house, I already know he would never do that. The twenty-one-year-old Dom, maybe, but not the grown-up version – the man I love.
Dom is back in the room in moments, and in the meantime, I've put a dress over my body to hide my nakedness. He has a laptop in his hands along with a big box. He plugs the computer in, placing it on my lap and giving me the big cardboard box.
"What's this?" I ask in confusion.
"Open it and see," he replies mysteriously, and I can't hold back any longer. I shake the box, and something rattles inside. It's quite heavy.
Finally, I take the lid off and am met with a load of CDs, each written on with Dom's awkward handwriting, each in its separate case.
I take one out and examine it closely. It's labeled as #12.
"What is this?" I ask again, my brows furrowing, not getting this at all.
"Find number one and play it," Dom tells me simply. My curiosity gets the better of me as I dig inside the box, pulling out the case with the right number. I insert the CD and wait for the computer to launch whatever is on it.
A video program opens, and I stare at it in confusion as the movie starts up. There's the noise of a fan, and an empty chair. Slowly, someone lowers their body in it, and my father's face fills the screen.
"Hello, Cassidy," he says with a heavy voice, and my heart swells, just like at the wedding. But this time around, Dom's hand lands on my shoulder, reassuring me.
"Just watch," he whispers in my ear, and then moves back to give me some space.
And I do, unable to tear my eyes away from the screen.
My father seems to be looking right at me, as if his past self knew exactly where I'd be sitting. Involuntarily, my eyes fill with hot tears, but I make myself keep watching.
"Cassidy, if you're watching this, I'm already gone," Dad says sadly. There's no bitterness in his voice, which surprises me. "I have a little story to tell you."
I lean forward, not even knowing I'm doing it, my hands bracing on the sides of the laptop screen. I need to hear more.
"I've been keeping some things from you, and now it's time to come clean. I don't know what point of your life you're at, but I do hope you've found it in your heart to forgive your stepbrother."
He smiles cheekily.
"I know about you and Dom, honey. It would be hard not to, with the two of you staring at each other like you're either about to claw or eat each other's faces. If all goes according to plan, you will know that I've come to terms with your relationship.
"He is not who I would have picked for you, but sometimes life makes better decisions than we ourselves do. So, I believe life picked right this time around."
I smile as the first tears start to fall, with Daddy returning the gesture on the screen.
"Cassidy, there is something I don't agree with. I don't think you should have made Dom leave," he continues more seriously, and I listen on. "Yes, he's made a terrible mistake – one he got a bitch slap for from me."
I look at Dom and he nods with a smile. I laugh, knowing my dad somehow found out about this and slapped him on my behalf.
"But I understand you need your time to get over this. I can tell you that Dom is very sorry for what happened, and I hope you've forgiven him now."
"After Dom left, we kept in touch."
This surprises me and I once again glance at Dom, who motions towards the screen, prompting me to continue watching the video.
"Dom realized I wouldn't be around much longer, and he knew how much my absence would hurt you. So together, we came up with a project. Dom chose the name Heartbreak Summer, because he said it reminded him of your time together."
I smile through the tears.
"We are going to make a series of videos for you to watch. When you have a child, when you get married. I hope this is the right way to include me in your life. Because Cassidy, I'll always love you, even when I can't…"
"Hold your hand anymore," we say in unison. We smile at each other, my hand pressed against the screen, like Dad will reach out of there, right this second.
"Cassidy, I am gone, but that doesn't mean you should let yourself fade away, too," he says next. "Keep my memory strong and learn to be happy."
I nod to myself, my gaze glued to the screen.
"And now, I think someone has a question to ask." Dad's eyes look above the camera, and he laughs. "Go on."
And I stare at the screen in confusion, then look for Dom, but he's not standing next to me as he was before.
My breath immediately catches in my throat when I find him kneeling next to me. "Dom?" I ask with a shaky voice, one of my hands floating to my chest.
"Cassidy," he says my name seriously, and my heart skips a beat. "I've been a jackass, a prick, and a douchebag to you – sometimes all three combined. But I knew as soon as you were in my arms that you were the one for me, and I never stopped loving you since."
I stare at him as he produces a blue velvet box, opening it to reveal a gorgeous ruby ring. He takes it out and offers it to me.
"Please, will you make me the happiest man in the world, and be my wife?" he asks, his strong voice faltering slightly, but that smirk always present as he looks towards the screen. "We're waiting."
I don't need long to answer, pushing the laptop off my lap with trembling fingers and falling into Dom's arms. "Yes," I whisper in his hair as he laughs in mine, sliding the ring on my finger.
"Dom, we've made a terrible mistake," my dad goes on in the video. "How the hell will I know what she said?"
"She'll say yes," Dom calms him down in the video while we grin at one another in real life.
"She could say no. You are a jackass sometimes, you know that?"
"Goddamn it, Tony–"
And then the video cuts off and Dom and I look at each other with our eyes wide.
"You did this all… for me?" I ask, my voice shaky.
He gives me a simple nod.
"How did you get together?" I want to know.
"When you dropped him off at the doctors. I came to town for a few days and we shot some of them. The hospital gave us a room to use. The rest we did on webcam," Dom explains, his voice heavy.
"I needed to say goodbye to him, Cassidy. Even though you didn't want me to."
I reali
ze this isn't just about me. Dom loved my father dearly.
"How many videos?" My voice is shaky.
"Thirty-seven," he replies, and my eyes fill with more tears. I can't believe they did that for me, the two men in my life I love the most. Dom made it possible for my dad to stay with me every step of the way, even now that he is gone in the literal sense.
"Thank you," I whisper against Dom's lips, and he claims me in a passionate kiss.
"I'd do it all again for you, Mrs. Manning," he teases me, and I laugh with him as we fall back on the bed.
My past and my future have just combined in the best way possible. Now, I can see the silver lining as the stormy clouds retreat, revealing a blue, perfect sky.
CASSIDY
"Mom, can I light the candle?"
My little girl reaches for one of the candles we've brought with us, but her brother is eager to get in on the fun as well. "Me too, Mom!" he says, reaching for another one.
"I'll help you," I tell them, and their hands tremble as they each hold out a small candle for me to light.
It might be inappropriate to be doing this, but visiting the graveyard is a weekly tradition. Often enough, we get some strange glances, but I love bringing the twins here, and I don't want them to dread these visits. I try my hardest to make the trip more interesting with story time, telling them all about their grandfather.
"Here you go, Grandpa," Sophie says, placing the candle on my father's grave with a solemn expression. "We think of you every day. I wanted to tell you that Daddy said we can go ride a pony this week, and I am very happy! I wish you could come with us."
Even after all these years, I still have to hold back my tears. But at least they aren't tears of sadness. They are tears of joy for seeing my children connecting with a man who may be long gone physically, but will always be alive in our memories.
"Grandpa, I wish you saw me yesterday, I swam all by myself," Rocco tells him excitedly. "I did a lap in the pool, but I'm too afraid to go in the sea." He blushes, something he's inherited from his mother that I'm sure will drive him crazy in his teenage years, just like it did me.
Heartbreak Summer Page 16
