Saving Cassie (Fairfield Corners)

by Remenicky, L. A.

  He pulls my hand up to his lips and kisses it, sending jolts of desire up through my arm. My other hand reaches up and tangles in Logan’s hair, pulling his head down to bring his lips into contact with mine. I start to kiss him, hesitant at first, bolder as he opens his lips to deepen the kiss, his tongue dueling with mine. I murmur his name against his lips, trying to convince myself to end the kiss now before it escalates into something more. I try to back away and he stops me.

  “You started this, now I’m going to finish it,” he says as he lowers his lips to mine again. No protest here, I can’t even think straight when he kisses me. His hands reach under my shirt and start rubbing up and down my back. I can feel his arousal and try to resist the urge to bring my hips closer to him. Doesn’t work and I am moving up against him, unconsciously trying to bring his sex into contact with mine. He looks into my face and sees my desire for him and begins moving me towards the living room, towards the couch as he’s pulling my shirt over my head. His breath becomes ragged as he takes in my bare breasts, moving to take one of my nipples in his mouth, running his tongue over it and bringing it to life. I moan and my head drops back, giving him even better access. Suddenly I am lying on the couch, his mouth on one breast, his hand deftly bringing the other nipple to attention. I move up against him, trying to bring us even closer, my sex seeking his, pulsing with a mind of its own. My fingers are wrapped in his hair, urging him closer. Both hands are now on my breasts and his mouth is tasting every inch down to my belly button, I start to wriggle, moaning, “Please… please… now… please.”

  His mouth and tongue continue down, he cups my sex with his hand and I move against it, straining for release, “Not yet, Darlin’,” he whispers against me, and he moves his mouth down even further, finding my sex with his tongue. I writhe beneath his ministrations. He chuckles, “Almost there, aren’t you, Darlin’?”

  “God! Now! Please now!” I gasp, unable to think. I am now just a mass of nerves that he is playing like a piano, finding each note, each one sweeter than the last. He moves back up towards my breasts, suckling on each in turn. My hips are moving in an ancient rhythm, trying to find anything to relieve that sweet ache, spiraling higher and higher until it feels like I can’t breathe, I can’t think; there is only this man who creates this feeling within me. Finally, he moves up, I can feel his need for me, searching for the opening that will give us both release. His rod is like iron, hot and pulsing against my leg as his mouth finds mine once again. Suddenly he is pushing into me, bringing me even higher. God, I feel like I am going to shatter into a million pulsing pieces. I match his strokes, bringing us ever closer to the peak. My hands are rubbing anywhere I can reach. I am gasping with need, please, please, please now as his strokes become faster, reaching for our mutual release. I feel myself slipping over the edge as Logan slams into me, trying to bring us closer, as if he can make us one being. We both fall off the cliff together, spiraling down together.

  I come back to my senses, gasping, with my heart pounding. It has never been like this before, this all-encompassing need and it scares me to death.

  “Oh! My! God!” I gasp, as my breathing and heart rate begin to slow. I feel so languid, like I could go over the edge of the couch as a waterfall.

  “At least we made it to the couch this time, Darlin’. Maybe next time we’ll actually make it to a bed, any bed!” Logan chuckles.

  I hear someone on the porch, walking up towards the door, “Reggie, you here?” James asks as he comes in the door and looks over towards us on the couch. Logan is covering me, I’m sure he can feel my full-body blush. “Shit, sorry Reggie. Logan? What the hell! I ask you to protect her, and I find you here like this. Who is going to protect her from you?” he asks and storms into the kitchen. We use the privacy to find our clothes, strung across the room with abandon. My face burns, I don’t know why. This is my house and my life, the anger takes over, driving the shame away, James will just have to deal with it.

  Now that I’m dressed, I feel more in control. “James, when will you learn to quit barging in like you own the place?”

  “I thought you and Logan were taking it slow, after the revelation you made last week. And then I find you like this, on the couch, like a couple of teenagers.”

  “What can I say, being in such close quarters has made it difficult to keep this at arm’s length. Now, did you stop by for a reason?” I ask, my face burning. Dammit, I have done nothing to be ashamed of!

  “The results came back on the fingerprints we lifted off of the picture frame. The only prints we found were your Gram’s and yours. No other prints. Whoever has been moving that picture wore gloves and left no evidence whatsoever.”

  Logan walks into the kitchen, now fully clothed. “Damn, can’t catch a break on this one. What now, James?”

  “Don’t ‘what now, James’ me, we need to have a serious talk about what I walked in on this morning. I thought I could trust you, and all you wanted to do was get Cassie in bed. I want you out of this house immediately!” James rants, turning red with anger.

  “Cassie, Darlin’, why don’t you go up and take a shower and let us discuss this in private.”

  “What? Poor little Cassie can’t make her own decisions?” I walk over to Logan and poke my finger in his chest, “What makes you think I need you to fight my battles for me? I’m a big girl and I can stand up for myself and my decisions!” I walk over to James and start in on him, “What gives you the right to judge how I live my life? You are not my father, you are my friend.” They both look at me shamefaced, “If you two are done trying to control my life, I need to get in the shower. I have work to do today and I need to get started.” I stomp up the steps and go into the bathroom and slam the door.

  James and Logan look at each other and burst out laughing. “You’ve definitely got your hands full, Logan. I don’t envy your next conversation with Cassie. She tends to hold on to her anger. Now, we still need to have that talk. As Cassie’s only family, we need to talk about your intentions towards her. I thought you were going to give her time.”

  “James, I fully intended to keep my hands off her, but I can’t seem to control myself around her. She looks at me and the only thing I want is to be as close to her as possible. I knew I loved her the first time I had her in my arms at the dance. I’ve never felt like this before, I can’t seem to think about anything but the next time I’m going to see her, even if it’s to protect her from some crazy ex or an evil ghost. I hope you understand that I will never intentionally hurt her. I love her and hope to marry her. I guess I’m asking for your blessing.”

  “I didn’t realize things were that serious with you. Of course you have my blessing, but know this, if you ever hurt Cassie you will answer to me. Cassie is my best friend and I love her as a sister.”

  Logan reaches out and shakes hands with James, James laughs and gives him a quick “man hug”, looking around to make sure no one saw it. “It’ll be great to have you as part of the family, Logan.”

  “Thanks, James. You’re going to have to stop just walking in here. I’m trying to wear down Cassie’s defenses and I can’t do that if you keep catching us in compromising situations.”

  “Sure thing, Logan. I have to get back to the office. I’m waiting on the lab report on what the message on Cassie’s mirror was written with.”

  “Ok, I’ll see you at two.” Logan says and heads up the stairs, going into the guest room to get his shoes. “Hey Cassie!” he yells, “I’m headed out. Call me if you need anything!” he hurries down the stairs and out the door, hoping that I will have calmed down by the time he gets back.

  I am still fuming when I get out of the shower. Men! The nerve of both of them, trying to run my life! I dress and finish getting ready for the day. As I go downstairs, I notice the pan of bacon is still sitting on the stove. At least the burner got turned off, could have set the house on fire. I clean everything up, the smell of bacon reminding me of our lovemaking. Who knew the smell of bacon cou
ld be so sexy? After everything is cleaned up and put away, I turn to get my keys off of the hook by the back door and notice they are gone. Not again! I search for them, starting with the freezer where I found them yesterday. I feel a breeze on the back of my neck and I hear my Gram’s voice in my ear, “Follow your heart Cassie, not your head. That’s the secret to true happiness.” I sit down in a kitchen chair, thinking about what she said. I thought I always followed my heart and that was what got me in trouble every time.

  “No Cassie, you picked men you thought needed you, not the one your heart needed to be whole. Logan is the one.” And then she was gone. Tears course down my cheeks, I miss her so much! I hope she’s right, I just can’t seem to stay away from Logan and he seems to be OK with the fact that I can’t have children. I guess I’ll just go with it and see where it takes us. I hear my keys hit the table, I guess that’s my cue to get it in gear and get to the bookstore. I wonder what the day holds. Maybe I can get over to the mall in Fort Wayne today, I want to find something for my date with Logan on Saturday that will knock his socks off!

  Chapter 33

  Princess and I arrive at the bookstore and find Mel already there, flipping the sign to open. “Hey Mel, did you enjoy your day off?”

  “Yes, I think I slept all day. I didn’t realize how exhausted I was.”

  “I’m sorry for that, and I want to make it up to you. How about a spa day? You’ve done so much to keep this store up and running that it’s the least I could do.”

  “You don’t have to do that, Cassie. I’m just glad I could help. Did you see the new shelves? Dan has them about half done, and I think they are going to look awesome! It will be the perfect place for new arrivals!”

  Dan walks out from the storeroom carrying some boards. “Hi Cassie, hi Princess. I’m sorry about yesterday. I had this awful headache, maybe Princess picked up on it and that’s why she was growling. She seems fine with me today.”

  “Yeah, she does. Maybe she was just in a bad mood or something. I forget to ask Logan about it. I’ll ask him later today. Now, let’s get to work. I want to get the plans for the book club finalized so I can get the flyers printed.”

  About noon, Marie comes into the store. “Hi, Cassie. Do you have time for lunch today?”

  “Sure, I was hoping you’d stop by. We really need to talk.” I turn and see Mel dusting the shelves, “Mel, go ahead and close the store and go to lunch. We’re never busy at lunch time. Dan, lock up when you’re done.”

  “Sure thing Cassie. I should be done in about half an hour or so. I’ll send you a bill.”

  Marie and I head out the door, flipping the sign to closed. “So, let’s pick up grinders at Kaley’s and take them back to my house. I have some things to talk to you about that I don’t want the whole town to hear.”

  Marie replies, “Is it about what happened this morning? I know something happened. James stopped by the house to pick up his phone and I could see it in his face. It must have been a doozy!”

  We get to the house with our lunch. I get out plates and napkins and bring them to the table. I catch a whiff of bacon and I immediately am aroused. Hope that wears off, it could make breakfast at the diner really interesting.

  Marie starts, “So, what happened this morning? I tried to get James to tell me but he mumbled something about having to ask you and left really quickly. So dish!”

  I start out by telling Marie about waking up and smelling bacon, and seeing Logan at the stove. I continue with the incident with the coffee and bumping into him. “It was so intense, I just couldn’t help myself,” I say, “he is just so sexual and so hot! Does that make me really shallow? I have never felt anything like it. All he has to do is look at me and I’m ready for it. He is the sweetest guy, I can’t seem to control myself around him. Anyway, we had just finished some really incredible sex on the couch when James walked right in. No knocking, just barging in like he always does. He’s all ‘Dammit Reggie!’ and then he realizes it Logan who is lying on top of me and he totally goes ballistic! I thought he was gonna blow a gasket, getting all big brother on me. Well, needless to say, I let them know what I thought about that, that I’m a big girl and I can handle my own life. I stomped upstairs and got in the shower. I know they had words, I could hear them talking but I couldn’t tell what they were saying. They were both gone by the time I got out of the shower, I did hear Logan say he was leaving but that’s it.”

  “Wow, wish I was a fly on the wall when James and Logan were talking. I’ll try to get it out of him tonight.”

  And then I told her about the bits of wisdom from Gram. She just smiled and said, “Yeah, I agree with her on that, at least since I’ve known you. I could even see it with Matt, but you seemed to be so happy so I never said anything. Now I wish I would have, maybe you wouldn’t have had to go through what you did.”

  “Oh, Marie, I probably wouldn’t have listened. I thought I was so in love with Matt but he killed it, and our baby!” I say heatedly. “I’m sorry, I’m just mad at myself for staying with him as long as I did.”

  “I’m so sorry we weren’t there to help you through it. Logan seems to be very perceptive, let him help you work everything out. Let him help you heal yourself.”

  “I’m trying. At least he can make me forget about what happened while we are making love; he’s that good! Anyway, before all that happened this morning, Logan and I made plans to go out Saturday to dinner and the Komet’s game. Can you believe he’s never been to a hockey game? Do you have time to go to Fort Wayne with me after lunch? I want to find the perfect outfit for our date. I want his eyes on me and only me. I’ve seen the way some of the Komet groupies dress and I don’t want his eyes to wander.”

  “I really don’t think that’s an issue. Logan can’t seem to take his eyes off of you anyway. Let’s go find you something that will knock his socks off!”

  We drive into Fort Wayne and head for the mall. We walk in and out of stores, not finding the right thing until we see a jacket in the window of the leather shop. It’s fitted and mid-thigh length; there is just something about it that draws me into the store. “I think this is it Marie. I’ve got to try on that jacket.”

  Twenty minutes later, we are walking out of the store with bags. The jacket is the perfect color and the perfect length. We head for the shoe store next, finding boots, and then to the food court for a soda. “Wow, that jacket is perfect. Just right for a hockey game, and that color with your hair… Logan won’t be able to keep his hands to himself.”

  “That’s the point! A little turnabout is fair play. Let him drool the whole game, and then I can jump him when we get back to the house. That’s an advantage to him staying at my house to protect me, no having to leave in the middle of the night. He’s not going to know what hit him.”

  “So, what do you feel for Logan? You’ve told me about the sexual compatibility,” she laughs, “but how do you feel about him?”

  “I’m not sure, it’s so different from anything I’ve ever felt. When he leaves a room my heart breaks, it’s like I only feel complete when he is near me. When we’re apart its torture; waiting for him to return. I guess I have to admit it if only to you, I am in love with Logan. Wow, I can’t believe I said it out loud. I love Logan! Now, let’s head for Victoria’s Secret, I want to buy something special for our date.”

  Chapter 34

  I work from home the rest of the day. I want to do some more of my cult research without interruption. As I am getting ready to shut down my laptop, I finally get an email from the lady in Indy who was a member of the same cult as my parents. I’m hoping she can tell me more about Reverend Jake. There wasn’t much detail in the police report and I can’t find much information on the internet. I open the email, and thankfully, she has agreed to talk to me, but she wants to do it in person. I put her number in my phone; I will call her after I talk to Logan and James about it. I pull up the picture of Reverend Jake and study it for a few minutes, wondering what is familiar about it.<
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  I just finish closing down my laptop when Logan pulls up. It’s late, there was an accident involving a fire truck out on 69 that was pretty bad and it kept him on duty later than usual. I hope he doesn’t get any more calls tonight, he must be exhausted.

  He walks in the door looking very grim. “What’s wrong Logan?”

  “That accident was a bad one. A Fort Wayne fireman was killed.”

  “Oh, that’s awful!”

  “He has a wife and a young child. It’s going to be very hard for them.”

  I get up and wrap him in my arms, trying to will the hurt away. I can see the defeat in his eyes. I don’t like seeing him like this, it breaks my heart. He’s normally so upbeat all the time, nothing seems to bother him. But this does; the death of this young fireman.

  “Have you eaten? I’m going to make you a grilled cheese sandwich. You look like you need to eat something.”

  I move to go make the sandwich but he wraps his arms around me and holds me close. “Just let me hold you for a minute. I just need to hold you.”

  We stand there, wrapped in each other’s arms, feels like the whole world has dropped away. Eventually he lets go and moves towards the kitchen. “A sandwich sounds good. I don’t think I could eat much more than that right now. I’m sorry I’m in such a mood, Darlin’.”

  “Why don’t you go up and take a shower. I’ll have your sandwich ready when you get done.”

  He heads upstairs and I call Marie. “Marie, did James get called to that accident on 69? Logan just got home and he’s a wreck. Is James OK?”

  “It hit James pretty hard, too. I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll start a fundraiser for the fireman’s family. James said he had a young child, it’s so sad. I’m sure both James and Logan will want to go to the funeral.”

  “Give James a hug from me. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Marie. Love you, bye.” I put my phone on the table, thinking about how hard this must be for the fireman’s family. I say a short prayer for them and one for James and Logan.