by Cassia Leo
She shoves my shoulder and I turn onto my back as I kick my boxers off. She straddles one of my thighs and the wetness of her pussy on my skin makes me even harder. I smile as she rubs herself on me a little before she leans forward and takes my dick into her mouth.
Her mouth is warm and her lips form a firm O-ring around my cock as she bobs up and down for a few minutes. She pulls me out of her mouth and smiles as she gently slides her tongue up and down along the slit at the tip. Then she uses the tip of her tongue to stimulate the sensitive ridge under the head.
She sits up and smiles as she mounts me slowly, so I can feel every ridge inside her. “I think I remember now,” she says, leaning forward so she can kiss my neck. “Your hard, naked body was dripping sweat as you were building the walls of the bungalow.”
“And you were lying on the beach, touching yourself as you watched me hammering the studs… and flexing my rippling muscles.”
“Mm-hmm,” she murmurs with a slight chuckle as she slides her hand between us to reach her clit.
I grab her hips and thrust into her as she moves up and down on my cock. “And then I decided to take a break from building so I could help out with the housework.”
She laughs and sits up straight so she can touch herself while I thrust my hips beneath her. “What kind of housework?”
I smile as I grab her breasts, rolling her nipples and massaging her flesh. “I cooked you a romantic dinner of plantains and coconut and I cleaned the machete.”
“Oh, God,” she moans, throwing her head back as she continues to caress her clit.
I chuckle as I reach up, take her face in my hands, and roughly pull her forward so I can kiss her deeply. I bite her top lip and she whimpers. I flip her onto her back and suck on her neck as I move slowly in and out of her.
I bring my lips right next to her and whisper, “Then I made a bed of grass for you to lie down while I impregnated you with my super sperm.” She laughs, but she quickly stops when I trace the tip of my tongue along the inner shell of her ear. “Don’t laugh. It’s a delicate procedure. Do you want me to show you how it’s done?”
“Absolutely.”
I slip my cock out of her and slide down so I can take her firm nipple into my mouth. She moans as I suck on her flesh, her hips bucking against my chest. I slide farther down and trace a circle around her navel with my tongue, then I lay a soft kiss on her abdomen.
“The first step involves multiple orgasms. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she whispers breathlessly.
She got a Brazilian wax for our trip and I smile as I spread her flesh and lick a straight line from her entrance to her clit. She whimpers as I suck gently on her glistening jewel. She gasps as I slide two fingers inside her pussy and massage her g-spot while swirling my tongue around her clit.
I look up at her to see her reaction, but her back is arched so deeply, all I can see are the soft peaks of her breasts. I stop moving my fingers for a moment, focusing just on her hard nub until her body begins to tremble. Then I pull my mouth away and just massage her g-spot. When she begins to squirm, I remove my fingers from inside her and lightly flick her clit with the tip of my tongue. The orgasm is so intense, I’m pretty sure she woke all the animals in the rainforest with her screaming.
I move up to slide my cock back inside her, when I see something on her side. I lean my head to the left to get a better look and realize it’s a fucking tick.
“Don’t move,” I warn her.
Her chest is heaving as she tries to catch her breath. “Why?”
“You have a tick on your side.”
“WHAT?”
She kicks me as she flails about and jumps out of the bed. She twists her neck this way and that, trying to get a look at it, but she can’t view it from this angle.
“Calm down and don’t try to take it out yourself. I’ll get it out.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? This better be a joke!” she shrieks as she races to the bathroom to look in the mirror. “Oh, my God! I have a tick! Get it out! Hurry!”
“Calm down, baby. I have to call the concierge to see if they can get us a lighter.”
“A lighter! You’re going to burn me? What is this, the fucking dark ages? Do not even think about burning me. I want to go to the hospital.”
I pick up the phone on the desk and dial the concierge. “Yes, my wife just discovered a tick on her body,” I begin as I attempt to make my erection go away. “Are you aware that there are ticks and cockroaches in these bungalows?”
“Good evening, sir. Would you like us to send you a tick removal kit?”
Less than an hour later, Edie arrives with her medical bag and the tick removal kit she picked up at the front desk for us. She removes the tick for Lindsay and cleans the wound, then she hands her a box of azithromycin (antibiotics.) She drops the tick into a zipped plastic bag so she can have it tested when we get back to the States. When Edie’s gone, Lindsay heads straight to the closet and pulls out our empty blue suitcase.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m leaving.”
She heaves the suitcase onto the bed and I grab the handle to pull it away from her. “Come on. Let’s just go to sleep and we’ll change hotel rooms after the tournament tomorrow.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who’s possibly been infected with Lyme disease!”
I curl my arm around her waist and take her breast in my hand as I pull her away from the bed. “I don’t know why you’re complaining. Lyme disease goes so well with coconut fever.” I squeeze her breast and she stomps on my foot. “Fuck!”
“I’ll give you coconut fever.” I immediately cover my nuts as she rounds on me, but she just shakes her head and goes straight to the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower. And I’m not going to your tournament tomorrow. I’m going to spend the day changing our itinerary. We’re leaving Brazil tomorrow night. And we’re not taking any of our clothes back with us.”
I follow her into the bathroom and watch as she angrily rips off her clothing and turns on the shower. “I can’t leave tomorrow night and you know that. The sponsor dinner is the following night. Anyone who places has to be there.”
“Then you can stay and I’ll leave. And your daughters can wonder where you are while you’re getting drunk with the sponsors.”
She steps inside the shower, so I raise my voice to be heard over the water. “That’s not fair. I don’t want to leave them anymore then they want me gone.”
“Then don’t leave them. Quit. It’s not as if we need the money.”
This is not the first time Lindsay and I have discussed me quitting. We talked a lot about it this year while we were trying to get pregnant and while enrolling Kaia in her new school. But I always got the feeling that she wanted me to do what would make me happiest. Right now, I’m getting a strong feeling she wants me to put my happiness aside for the kids’ sake.
It’s not an unreasonable demand to make. But the thought of quitting the competitions fills me with a deep hopelessness; something I haven’t felt since before we got back together seven years ago.
I peel off my clothes and step into the shower with her. I take the tiny shampoo bottle out of her hand and place it back on the shelf. Then I take her face in my hands and kiss her tenderly. Within seconds, she begins to cry.
“I just want you to be there for them.”
“I know.” I kiss her forehead and let out a deep sigh. “I’ll do it. I’ll quit.”
To purchase RIPPED, please visit:
cassialeo.com/ripped
Chasing Abby Playlist
Prologue
“The Broken Ones” by Dia Frampton
Chapter One
“Cool Kids (Acoustic)” by Echosmith
Chapter Four
“Blackbird” by Sarah McLachlan
Chapter Five
“Two Is Better Than One” by Boys Like Girls, Taylor Swift
Chapter Seven
“Let’s L
ove (Acoustic)” by Echosmith
“You’re My Best Friend” by Queen
“Blackbird” by The Beatles
Chapter Nine
“Somewhere Only We Know” by Lily Allen
Chapter Ten
“Talking Dreams (Acoustic)” by Echosmith
Chapter Twelve
“Pray” Kodaline
Chapter Thirteen
“The Reason (Acoustic)” by Hoobastank
Chapter Fourteen
“Terminal (Acoustic)” by Echosmith
Chapter Seventeen
“Adore You” by Miley Cyrus
Chapter Eighteen
“No Ordinary Love (Live)” by The Civil Wars
Chapter Nineteen
“A Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay
Chapter Twenty
“Imagine” by John Lennon
“Little Wing” by Jimi Hendrix
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Collide - Acoustic Version” by Howie Day
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Tell Her You Love Her Too (Acoustic)” by Echosmith
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Hallelujah - Live at KCRW.com” by Brandi Carlile
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Apologize - Acoustic Version” Kacey Musgraves
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Crazy in Love” Daniela Andrade
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)” by Dixie Chicks
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Fast Car” by Kina Grannis
Chapter Thirty
“Bullet Train – Acoustic Version” by Stephen Swartz, Joni Fatora
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Fuel to Fire” by Agnes Obel
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Wild Horses” by The Rolling Stones
Epilogue #1
“How Long Will I Love You” by Ellie Goulding
Epilogue #2
“In My Life” by The Beatles
Listen to the playlist on YouTube.
Listen to the playlist on Spotify.
“Chasing Abby”
You’re the sun that shines down on this carnival of hearts.
The ray of light that breaks through when the curtains part.
You’re the healing breath waiting for me to surface.
The spark of hope that lights me up with just a kiss.
But you’re just beyond the horizon.
Yeah, just beyond my reach.
An ocean between us and I can’t,
Can’t find a ship on this beach.
And I’ll keep standing on this shore,
Hoping the light will catch me.
Send up smoke signals you can’t ignore,
But I’ll keep chasing Abby.
’Cause time catches up with everyone,
So I’ll catch up with Abby
All through the streets and down the broken lanes.
All across the years, time and time again.
Your heart keeps me yearning, through the ages.
Your love keeps me learning, flipping pages.
But you’re just beyond the scope,
And this ship hasn’t breached.
You keep dangling the hope,
Just out of my reach.
And I’ll keep standing on this shore,
Hoping the light will catch me.
Send up smoke signals you can’t ignore,
But I’ll keep chasing Abby.
’Cause time catches up with everyone,
So I’ll catch up with Abby.
When I sailed the seas and found you huddled just beyond the signs,
Thought I’d found the grail, but turns out all I found was my sunshine.
I knew then that your heart would never really belong to me,
Because blackbirds can’t touch the sky if you never set them free.
And I’ll keep standing on this shore,
Hoping the light will catch me.
Send up smoke signals you can’t ignore,
But I’ll keep chasing Abby.
’Cause time catches up with everyone,
So I’ll catch up with Abby.
Fly away, my little sunshine.
Fly away where I can’t see.
Acknowledgments
FIRST AND FOREMOST, I have to thank my beta readers: Jordana Rodriguez, Paula Jackman, Kristin Shaw, Carrie Raasch, Sarah Arndt, and Cathy Archer. Thank you so much for taking this journey with me.
Thanks again to Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations. Thanks for helping me fix this cover. I’m very grateful for your patience and expertise.
Thank you to Marianne Tatom for fitting me in and doing such an amazing job finding my million typos.
Huge thank-you to all the book bloggers who have shared the Shattered Hearts series with your friends, families, and readers. Thank you for sharing the teasers and cover reveal. Thank you for supporting me and my books. Thank you for making my life easier. Especially you, Holly Malgieri!
My daughter for encouraging me to continue writing whenever I’m ready to give up (every day.)
And, last but not least, a huge thank-you to my street team, Cassia’s Kittens, and all the readers who have shared my books, cheered me on, and begged for more. Even the ones who challenged me and drove me up the wall so I’d write this book. Thanks for bugging the crap out of me.
More books by Cassia Leo
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Forever Ours (Shattered Hearts #0.5)
Relentless (Shattered Hearts #1)
Pieces of You (Shattered Hearts #2)
Bring Me Home (Shattered Hearts #3)
Abandon (Shattered Hearts #3.5)
Black Box (stand-alone novel)
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
Parallel Spirits (Carrier Spirits #1)
EROTIC ROMANCE
KNOX Series
LUKE Series
CHASE Series
UNMASKED Series
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cassia Leo loves her coffee, chocolate, and margaritas with salt. When she’s not writing, she spends way too much time watching old reruns of Friends and Sex and the City. When she’s not watching reruns, she’s usually enjoying the California sunshine or reading – sometimes both.
CHASING ABBY
by Cassia Leo
http://cassialeo.com
Copyright © 2014 by Cassia Leo
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations.
Copyedited by Marianne Tatom.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the retailer and purchase your own copy.
All characters and events appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
