by Max Monroe
Fuck. I typed out a quick reply.
Me: The Eagle is in flight.
Cassie: What? What the fuck does that mean?
I shook my head and smiled.
Me: It means we’re en route. If the Eagle had landed, you’d be able to see him yourself because he’d be there.
I glanced up to see Kline staring at me in question.
“It’s Cassie,” I explained. “Just harassing me about using the last of the toothpaste.”
He narrowed his eyes. Fuck him for being so smart.
“Oh, look,” I said, jumping to turn toward the door. “Our stop.”
“What’s going on with Cassie?” he asked as we weaved our way through the moderate crowd and off the train car.
“What do you mean? She’s still holding out, and so am I. You know how it is.”
“Come on. Enough with the innocent bullshit. I don’t care how strong-willed you are; there’s no fucking way that chick would still be living with you if you didn’t like it.”
I shrugged but let my lips curve into a smile as we jogged up the concrete steps and out into the busy intersection at 34th Street.
“She always surprises me. I think I know what she’s gonna do, but I never actually do.”
“And that’s it? The thrill?” he asked skeptically.
Not wanting to get into the details, but knowing he was one of my very best friends, I gave him the bare minimum. “It’s not just the thrill.”
A smile transformed his face.
And then, my friend Kline, a man who complained relentlessly about my one-eyed blinks, winked at me.
Georgia’s angry eyes scoured me through the glass wall between us and the patio as Kline took his time ordering a drink at the bar.
He’d actually cheered up after I shared the little glimpse into my soft heart, and I wasn’t about to ruin it just so everyone could yell the word “surprise” five minutes sooner.
Plus, I had been missing my friend.
But as Cassie started to gesture with a knife in her hand, I knew I didn’t have much time to stall anymore.
“Thanks,” Kline thanked the bartender before taking a slow sip of his scotch—no lime. I smiled.
The bar was filled with people seeking post-work solace, and quite a few men and women looked like they were on the hunt for their next one-night victim. I’d been one of those people not too long ago, small-talking my way into the panties of whatever woman caught my eye.
It was actually funny how different they all looked to me in such a short time. Sexy smirks were now desperate fake smiles, and what I once considered banging bodies held none of my interest.
“Do you ever wish you could drink it the way you used to?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. The answer was in all the little things I’d never been able to see before.
“Not even a little,” he replied without hesitation. It wasn’t about the drink, but the life. We were both really happy guys. We were both content in our habits, hobbies, and careers, but some holes go unnoticed until something comes along that fills them.
“Come on,” I gestured overzealously as he put the glass to his lips again. “Let’s go out on the patio.” I saw Georgia and Cassie turn their backs to the window out of the corner of my eye.
“I guess time’s up, huh?” Kline smirked, and I narrowed my eyes.
“What are you talking about?” I asked in an empty attempt to continue our ruse.
“My wife. She’s ready for me. You’ve killed enough time.”
“How’d you know?”
He scoffed, and I smiled. Clever fucking bastard.
“If I hadn’t known two weeks ago, I would have known as soon as I saw my wife’s ass through the windows.”
I laughed because, yeah, Georgia had a pretty memorable ass. I’d imagine the man who spent hours of his time paying it personal attention was highly attuned to it.
Well, whatever. If he hadn’t known, I probably never would have convinced him to come. He played the part of being dragged along well, but Kline Brooks didn’t do fuck-all he didn’t want to. “Just don’t tell her you knew.”
“Unlike you, I don’t have a death wish or a need to be right out of principle.”
“Hey, I happen to think those are both admirable qualities.”
“Having a death wish is admirable?” he asked skeptically as we walked through a crowd of women toward the patio doors. Several sets of eyes followed us as we did. I did my best not to make direct contact.
“Okay, maybe not. But there’s a certain amount of bravery—”
“No,” he denied, cutting me off. “You can’t save this one.”
Fair enough.
I chuckled and tipped my head in defeat.
“Surprise!” the crowd shouted as we walked out the doors, and I didn’t waste the opportunity.
“Oh, my God,” I squealed with a hand to my chest. “You guys shouldn’t have!”
Plus, I knew Kline didn’t really like the attention anyway.
“Thatcher Kelly!” Cassie chastised, waving her arm in a reprimand. Her tits bounced with her gesture. I waggled my eyebrows and made my advance while Kline rushed his wife and scooped her into his arms. He didn’t make any other effort to address the crowd, and I wasn’t surprised. It just wasn’t his thing—especially not when Georgia was in the room; he only had eyes for her.
“Hey there, honey,” I sweet-talked as I pulled Cass into my arms and tightened my hold. Her chest pushed deliciously against the bottom of mine, and her hands shot up to grab me by my belt. The tips of her fingers snuck under my shirt and grazed skin. I held back a shiver.
“Why do I spend most of my time plotting ways to kill you when we’re apart, and then hug you when I see you?”
Hopefully because you’re falling in love with me.
“My good looks and charm?” I joked.
She didn’t answer, though, her eyes holding mine contemplatively until someone knocked into her from behind. We both swayed from the force, but I at least kept her from hitting the ground. She stepped away from me and our bubble after she gathered herself. I kept a hand at her elbow until I knew she was safely balanced back on her sickeningly hot heels.
Goddamn, her legs go on forever.
“Whoops, sorry,” the clumsy woman apologized, putting a flirty hand to my arm and smiling.
I excused her politely but kept my face neutral. Cassie’s eyes, however, became significantly smaller.
“I’m Jennifer,” the intruder offered.
I stuck out my hand in an effort not to be rude. “Thatch.”
“Oh, wow. That’s a fantastic name.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing when Cassie’s face took on the lethal edge of an assassin.
“It really is a great name, honey,” Cassie emphasized before reaching around and brazenly giving my cock a squeeze. “He’s got a monster—”
“Cass!” I shouted, startled.
“What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow in challenge.
Tucking her back snug to my chest, I put my hand over her mouth.
“It’s nice to meet you, Jennifer. My girlfriend and I both think so.”
“Where’s Phil?” Cassie asked with a smirk as Jennifer mouthed a horrified “O-kay” and walked away.
“At home with the sitter.”
“You left him with someone I’ve never met? Who is this person?”
I walked toward one of the beer coolers Georgia had arranged for the bar staff to set up. Longnecks stood out of a bath of sloppy, semimelted ice, so I plucked one out with two fingers and gave it a gentle shake to shed some of the water. The cap gave way to my twist easily, landing right in the center of the garbage can as I tipped the bottle to my lips and took a swig before answering.
“Yep. I’m paying someone to watch my pig, thanks to you. And it’s a sweet lady in the building next door.”
She raised her hands palms out in front of her. “Phil is so much more than a pig.”
> “You’re right. He’s a manifestation of you trying to win our little game.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she denied, getting up in my space once again.
I opened my arms to accommodate her, leaned back against the wall, and pulled her between my legs. “Bullshit.”
“Hey, guys,” Wes said as he approached us, easy smile lighting up his green-hazel eyes. He was always running fifteen minutes behind schedule. Luckily, he’d somehow managed to make himself important enough that people waited for him.
I half expected Cassie to move away, go talk to Georgia or one of her other friends, but instead, she turned her back to my chest, pushed her ass to my crotch, and settled into me the way I was on the wall.
She pulled out her phone and glanced at it as she waved at Wes, but his eyes never left mine. And they were mighty fucking amused.
“Hey, Cass, did Thatch tell you—” Wes started, and I waved a wild arm frantically to head him off. I shook my head to emphasize the point just as her eyes left her phone and met Wes’s.
A Wes who had paused midsentence because I’d activated the bat signal.
“Did Thatch tell me what?”
It wasn’t that she wouldn’t know about Sean eventually, but I knew she’d both flip her shit and be angry with me that I hadn’t said anything sooner, and I wasn’t ready for the negative side of that coin. My plans for tonight were going to be flirting the line with pissing her off enough.
“Um,” Wes stalled and widened his eyes at me uncertainly. “Did he tell you how much he sucked at rugby practice earlier?”
I closed my eyes and waited for the fallout. I was surrounded by absolute shit liars. How could I be so gifted in something all of my friends struggled with? Wouldn’t I start to rub off eventually?
But Cass didn’t call him on it, instead dissolving into a gentle laugh. “Yeah, right. Have you seen this guy? He tosses people around for breakfast. Trust me, I know.”
Wes’s smile came back at that, and it’d taken on an air of insinuation. “Oh, yeah? How do you know that?”
“Fuck. Forget I said that shit, or I’ll kill both of you.” She shoved off of me so hard it made me grunt in the middle of my laugh.
Cassie’s hand fell easily into mine as she talked to the people around her. She didn’t notice the way people’s eyes went there, the way they watched and smiled—or sneered in the case of a few women and pricks with dicks—but I did. Their eyes widened just slightly, and the corners of their lips turned up or down just enough. The tiny tics of a person’s thoughts out there for anyone to see if they took the time.
I knew I hardly ever did, and I honestly don’t think Cassie ever concentrated on anyone else’s opinion. But tonight, as I publicly claimed her as mine over and over again, I found myself fascinated.
I gently tugged her hand before releasing it and sliding a possessive hand around the curve of her waist to settle on her opposite hip. She sank into me effortlessly, and I wasn’t sure if she’d even noticed what I’d done.
“Excuse me, ladies, but I’m going to steal my girlfriend for a little while.”
Once again, mouths turned up and down in equal supply, but the corners of mine went distinctly north. Cassie hadn’t even questioned the sentiment. I’d obviously done a stellar job of desensitizing her to it. And tonight, I had practically followed her everywhere she went, touching her without permission and interjecting about our relationship anytime the opportunity presented itself. Pushing the boundaries as always, I’d even told a couple of guys I was planning to propose soon. She’d smiled. Of course, she’d felt secure in the fact that I was joking.
I wasn’t so sure.
It was the most fun I’d had in a long time.
Once we were several feet away, Cassie’s commentary returned. “You didn’t even wink at any of those women, Thatcher. Is your game failing?”
I bit my lip to stop a smile, but I didn’t fight the urge to lean down and press a subtle kiss to her lips. “It wasn’t really necessary.” When I pulled back, I didn’t deny her the pleasure, though.
“Ah, there it is,” she breathed. “Just delayed a little, I guess.”
“Something like that.”
I held the door as we walked inside and then pushed through the crowd until we came to another door on the other side. It read Emergency Exit in big official letters, but I knew there was no alarm on it. At practice, one of the guys had been telling a story about drunkenly stumbling through it while trying to woo a woman. Not exactly A game material, but I wasn’t going to be the one to tell him. That was a lesson he really needed to learn for himself.
And tonight, I was going to make sure it paid off to pay attention.
“Where are we going?” Cass asked as we stepped out onto the deserted rooftop patio on the other side.
“Just doing a little experiment, honey.”
“Experiment?” she questioned suspiciously.
She had good reason. I wasn’t really sure how my plan was going to go over, but I had to try. This was the kind of opportunity smart men didn’t pass up.
“Just a little pleasure versus fear tug of war.”
“Fear?” she snapped. “What the fuck are you up to?”
“Come here, baby,” I coaxed with a tug on her hand when she turned for the door. “I promise to make this whole ordeal worth your while.”
“Ordeal? That’s not a fucking promising word. Ordeal suggests pain and suffering.”
I laughed.
“I don’t like to suffer, and if you make me, I’ll be sure to return the favor.”
“Duly noted,” I agreed.
All the way across the patio now, I pulled her toward the fire escape ladder and urged her to go up in front of me. She didn’t exactly do cartwheels.
“You want me to go higher? Are you crazy? You know I fucking hate heights. I already threatened to murder Georgie in her sleep for choosing this as the venue, and she’s my best friend. I like her better than you.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
I laughed. “I do love your honesty.”
“Oh, yeah,” she grumbled as I pushed her to the ladder and put her foot on the first rung for her. “Well, I honestly hate you right now.”
Tucking my chin into her neck, I breathed her in before whispering my words out. “No, you don’t.” My lips smoothed over the skin as I twisted my head back and forth. I nipped the soft flesh with my teeth and then sucked it into my mouth, sliding the tip of my tongue over it gently to soothe the sting. My beard rubbed at the surrounding skin, and she shivered.
“Thatch,” she whispered but didn’t say more.
“Go up the ladder, Cassie,” I ordered softly, giving her one last squeeze with my arms before stepping back to spot her.
She paused for a moment but didn’t look back, scurrying up the ladder and moving quickly away from the edge.
As soon as I reached the top and traversed a safe number of paces away from certain death, she charged me. Her nerves were driving the conversation, and it felt unnatural to see her anything but confident and in control. I actually felt bad for a minute, that her discomfort was making me feel special, but when she fisted her hand in the material of my shirt at my chest, any regret retreated immediately.
“What’s this about, Thatcher?”
I smiled. She glared.
“Do you trust me?”
“No.” Her answer was emphatic and immediate and completely devoid of thought.
“Cass,” I stressed.
“Fuck!” she shouted, frustrated, and squeezed her eyes shut. “Yes. For some completely insane reason, I do. And I have not one clue why since you’re a psychopath.”
“Takes one to know one.”
“Thatcher—” she snapped, and I lunged.
My lips slammed to hers aggressively, and she didn’t delay or hold back.
A gasp moved from her mouth to mine as I pulled her body flush with a hand at her ass. Her skirt was
short, and the tips of my fingers just barely grazed the skin of her thigh.
My hand flexed at the feeling, doing its best to leave my mark on the perfect canvas of her skin whether either of us gave it permission or not.
I nibbled at the plush padding at the center of her lower lip, and she tugged at the short strands of hair where my beard met my hairline.
“You want me to take your mind off the heights, baby?” I asked, pulling my lips off of hers just enough to speak clearly.
“You already were, you idiot. Now I’m thinking about it again.”
When I put my mouth on her, I had a feeling she’d forget again.
I smiled with my lips against hers. “Not for long.”
Starting slow, I wrapped my arms around her body until they met in the middle of her ass. I gripped her soft flesh until she moaned.
“You have on panties, baby?” I whispered against her mouth.
When she bit her lip and shook her head, I couldn’t hold back my groan or desperate need to know if she was telling the truth.
Roughly, I bunched the fabric of her skirt in my hands and slid it up until there wasn’t anything between my palms and skin. I dropped to my knees in one smooth motion, and her head fell back as her hands found my hair and tugged.
Leaning forward, I put my tongue right to her bare clit.
“Goddamn. I will never be the same,” I told her pussy honestly. Now that I knew she really would go out without anything under a little skirt like this, I’d be constantly out of my mind wondering when she’d do it again.
Settling one leg over my shoulder, I licked and sucked her pussy until her knees started to shake. With two hands at her hips, I lifted her other foot off the ground and urged her to settle the other leg over my shoulder too.
“Holy shit,” she breathed. “I am literally sitting on your face right now.”
Right where I want you. I nodded and flicked the tip of my tongue against her clit.
Pulling back just enough to speak, I rubbed at the juncture of her thighs. “Close your eyes, baby.”
She took a minute, staring down at me between her legs, but eventually, something she saw made her comply.
