Kings of Denver - COMPLETE BOX SET 1-4

by Sheridan Anne

  Sean - You busy this weekend? We’re thinking breakfast and visiting the rents.

  My heart breaks at the thought of having to visit both my parents at the cemetery, but I haven’t had a chance to check in with them since being home, so, there’s no way I’m skipping out on this opportunity. Not to mention, after being away from my brothers for the past three years, there’s not a chance in hell they will even let me.

  I hit reply.

  Cassie – I have a shift at the library tomorrow. Can we make it Sunday?

  Sean – Sure kid. We’ll pick you up at 8.

  Cassie – Don’t be late.

  I put my phone on silent as Professor Macintosh walks through the door and calls the room to attention. I see another incoming text message from Bri but don’t get a chance to check it before the professor is launching into his lecture. I throw my phone in the bottom of my bag, turn to a new page in my notebook and concentrate on his lecture, so I can make an awesome Physiotherapist one day.

  “Alright,” Professor Macintosh says towards the end of the lecture, walking from one side of the room to the other and placing a bunch of papers on the front few desks. “This is your first assignment for the year. Take one and hand the rest back,” he instructs.

  I get mine early on, so it gives me a chance to skim through it before the professor continues. He waits a few moments until the whole room has a copy of the assignment before launching into a detailed explanation that has me feeling pretty damn confident, with a million ideas already circling my brain. “You have three weeks to complete this assignment,” Professor Macintosh says, earning a few groans from around the room, but I don’t care, I’m dedicated and will most likely have it done with plenty of time to spare.

  He shushes everyone as he walks to his desk and picks up a clipboard. “I’m sure you would have all noticed by now that this is a pair project,” he starts, making everyone burst into chatter as they begin choosing their partners. “Your peers within this room may one day be a colleague, so, with that in mind, your partner has already been chosen for you,” he explains. “Stand up as I read your name, so your partner can see who you are. You should make arrangements following class to meet up and collect each other’s contact details.”

  Professor Macintosh gets straight into it, ignoring the groans coming from around the room. It doesn’t take long before I hear a familiar name. “Bobby Lucas.” A smile spreads across my face, I hadn’t realized he was in this class, “You’ll be paired with Cassandra Waters. Please stand.”

  I do as I’m told with a big cheesy smile on my face. I turn on the spot and instantly find Bobby standing up the back, grinning right back at me. He gives me a stupid salute and drops his hand back down to his side. My eyes follow the movement and my heart comes to a stop the second I see the person sitting beside him, the very person who looks like he’s seen a ghost.

  My eyes lock on his and I lose my breath.

  Shit.

  My stomach drops and the smile is instantly wiped from my face. I drop back into my seat and face the front of the class, waiting for the professor to hurry up and finish pairing the rest of the class up. My eyes remain solely focused on my desk as my heart threatens to beat out of my chest. I begin shoving things back in my bag, ready to bolt the moment we’re dismissed.

  I hear his name called but I don’t have the guts to turn around or to even stalk out who his assignment partner is. I feel his eyes drilling into me like some sort of intense laser beam.

  The clock starts counting down. One minute to go and I’m out of here. I’ll make my escape before he has the chance to catch up to me and then I can figure out what the hell to do. Maybe I could transfer classes or drop the subject altogether?

  Thirty seconds to go. My eyes focus in on the clock and I grab my bag off the floor. Ten seconds. Five. Four. Three. Two. I go to push up out of my chair but two strong arms come down around me, landing on either side of my desk and caging me in as his body leans over me, leaving no room for escape.

  Jaxon.

  There’s no point turning around to see who it is, the familiar smell of his skin and cologne give it away immediately. Words escape me as I breathe him in, bringing a million memories back with it. Out the corner of my eye, I see his head hanging close by mine with his eyes closed as he tries to control his breathing. His hands on my desks turn into fists and I can practically feel the rapid rate of his heartbeat.

  He doesn’t say a word, just hovers over me for a minute. A sob desperately wants to break free from my throat but I hold it in.

  “Cass,” he breathes my name, ever so quietly, that had I not been concentrating, I would have missed it. The sound of his voice and the feel of his breath against my neck causes a single tear to escape and make its way down my face, spilling onto the desk beside his clenched fist. His thumb strikes out immediately, wiping the tear off the table and the next thing I know, he’s gone.

  I look up just in time to see him clear the last few steps and disappear through the door, leaving me behind just like I had done to him.

  I take a shaky deep breath and force myself to get in control. My hands shake as I grab my bag from my lap and stand on wobbly legs. I force myself to move, putting one foot in front of the other until I have enough control to run home.

  I fly through the door, not stopping to check in on Brianna. I crash into my bed and throw myself down, my head squishing into my pillow as the tears begin to take over. The need to write comes over me but the shaking of my hands is just too bad, making it impossible. Sobs begin ripping themselves from my throat and before I know it, I’m curled under Brianna’s arms in the safety of my bed.

  How the hell could I have been so stupid to assume I could avoid him all year? I mean, sure, I knew there would be the odd occasion where we might end up at the same party or bump into each other on campus. I had prepared myself for that. But this, being in the same class, seeing him all the time, becoming friends with his inner circle. I need to be more careful.

  Damn it.

  Now I think about it, I should have known. Of course, someone whose dream is getting into the NHL is going to take courses to help his own understanding of the human anatomy and its limits, it’s just my luck that those type of classes are very similar to the ones I’d be taking on the road to becoming a physiotherapist. All those times I thought about Jax at college, it was always on the ice or in the gym training. I never thought about the classes he would be taking. Shame on me.

  Brianna allows my tears to run their course before she gets the balls to question what had happened. She grabs me a tissue to wipe my eyes and I gather the strength to finally talk about it.

  “I’m so sorry, babe,” she says, latching onto me and holding me just that bit tighter. “It sounds like what you two had was pretty intense?” she murmurs after I finish spilling my guts.

  “Yeah,” I say. “From the moment I met him, we were attached at the hip. We were each other’s worlds until one day, I… just left. He has every right to be mad at me. Hell, it was three years ago and I’m still mad at me.”

  “How do you know he’s mad? Maybe he was just shocked to see you,” she suggests.

  “Oh, he was definitely shocked, but I don’t know, I can just tell, he’s mad, furious even.”

  We both sit in silence as she allows me to catch up with my thoughts and eventually I fall into a much needed sleep.

  I’m awoken a few hours later to the sound of the front door closing and I immediately sit up and wipe my swollen eyes. I get out of bed and trudge into the bathroom. I catch sight of myself in the mirror and groan. My eyes are all puffy and red with smudges of mascara all over my face, my chestnut hair looks like some kind of bird’s nest and my nose is still red and slightly runny.

  Gross.

  I quickly strip off and jump into a relaxing shower. I give my hair a scrub just for good measure then step out and wrap a towel around my body. I head out into the living room to find Brianna fussing around with food and i
s in her gym shorts and tank making me realize she must have ducked out to the gym not long after I zoned out. “Hungry?” she asks.

  I glance over at the clock to see it’s five in the afternoon and realize I haven’t eaten since my cold toast at breakfast. “Starving,” I reply moving over to the couch and plonking down in my towel.

  “Feeling better?” Bri asks, handing me a plate so I can start digging in.

  “Yeah, actually. Sorry, I put you through all that,” I cringe.

  She shrugs off my apology. “Don’t be stupid. That’s what friends are for. Just know, when your brother breaks my heart, I’ll be expecting something damn special from you,” she grins.

  “Oh, jeez,” I laugh, “You better stay away from Carter then because I can guarantee it will most certainly end in heartbreak. He’s a player through and through.”

  “Noted,” she grins. “So… I have a bit of a confession,” she says nervously.

  “Yes…?” I ask, suspiciously.

  “Well, Bobby called me a little while ago to check you were ok. He saw what happened in class and apparently, Jax was in a foul mood, so he sort of put together that maybe you were a little something more than just one of his conquests. He was worried, so I filled him in on the crucial details,” she explains. “I hope that’s ok.”

  “Yeah,” I sigh. “It’s fine. He was bound to find out sooner or later and with me having to partner with him for the assignment, I’m assuming he would have had the whole story within a few days,” I say. “The only reason I wanted it kept quiet was because I don’t want to upset Jax, but now he knows I’m here, so, there’s no point hiding it.”

  “Fair point, but I am sorry. I feel shitty about telling him even though I know you can trust him. Bobby is one of the good guys,” she promises.

  “I know, don’t stress about it, but speaking of your brother. I’m going to need his number so we can organise some time to get this assignment done.”

  “Oh sure,” she says. “Grab your phone.”

  I do just that and within a second, I’m heading back down the hallway, phone in hand. “Hey, I have a message from you,” I say, stopping in the hallway and checking it.

  “Yep,” she responds with a smug tone in her voice.

  I hit open on her text.

  Bri – Babe, heads up. The boys training schedule just got messed around, pretty sure they’re heading your way. Good luck.

  “Oh, shit,” I say. “Why didn’t you tell me you had tried to warn me?”

  “Well, I kind of thought it wasn’t really the right time for ‘I told you so’,” she says.

  “Yeah, maybe,” I laugh as I sit back down beside her on the couch while I start typing out a text to Bobby.

  Cassie – Hey, sorry about class today. When are you free to get this assignment done? Cass.

  I hit send and two seconds later, the front door opens with Bobby popping his head through the door, the sound of his incoming text ringing in his pocket.

  “Good timing,” I say as he comes through the door, making Brianna and I grin like idiots when we see the bottle of wine he’s brought along.

  “Yeah, I saw Bri leaving Micky’s with take-out, so, I thought I’d see if there was any left and I figured you girls could use this tonight,” he grins as if he’s some sort of knight in shining armour coming to save the damsels in distress.

  “That we could,” Brianna says popping up off the couch and grabbing the bottle before disappearing into the kitchen.

  “Was he ok?” I ask Bobby, not needing to clarify who I’m talking about.

  Bobby takes over Bri’s spot and gets stuck into her half eaten dinner. “Yeah, he will be. He’s all out of sorts for now. I think he’s just a little shocked at the moment, but I’m sure he’ll work it out in the gym,” he explains.

  “Yeah,” I agree quietly, falling back into my own thoughts.

  “Nope, none of that,” Bri says, dancing back into the room and handing me a glass of wine. “We’re going to forget today even happened. You in?”

  “Hell yes,” I declare, grabbing the glass and throwing caution to the wind. It’s been a shitty day so the least I can do is not remember it tomorrow.

  Chapter 4

  Jaxon

  I toss and turn all night as my brain won’t shut down. What is Cassandra Fucking Waters doing here in my school and in my God damn Human Movement class for that matter? This is supposed to be my senior year. I’m the fucking king of campus. The last thing I want or need is Cass coming in and screwing it all up.

  My mind is blowing up with so many thoughts that I can’t even think straight, though, one thing I am certain about, is that I. Am. Furious. Question after question takes over. How long has she been here? Why is she here? Why isn’t she in New York like she’s supposed to be? Where the hell is she staying? Why the hell haven’t I seen her on campus? And the one which is making my brain steam, why the fuck did Bobby look at her like they knew each other?

  Fuck. It hasn’t even been a full day and the chick is messing with my head. I promised Coach that there will be no fuck up’s this season. I need to get this shit sorted. I have a career on the line.

  I throw my blankets off and sit up out of bed while grabbing my phone to check the time. Shit it’s only 3:45 in the morning. The only thing, apart from confronting her that’s going to calm me down is getting on the ice, though, the rink doesn’t open until 6 and even then, the Figure Fairies have it booked out all day, so I go with the next best thing.

  I get out of bed and pull on some clothes and my runners then take off like a bat out of hell. I push through the front door, letting it slam closed behind me, not caring who the fuck it wakes up inside. I breathe in the fresh air as I try my hardest to concentrate on the feel of the concrete path under my feet. I push myself harder and harder, but the thoughts of Cassie still remain.

  I think back to yesterday, sitting in class waiting for Professor Macintosh to call out my name while the cute blonde a few rows down was busy eye fucking me. I had my whole day planned out. I was going to skip my next class, take the blonde home and screw her until she couldn’t walk, then I was going to go to training and spend the night partying with my boys.

  Until my whole world came to a standstill when I heard the name that has been haunting me since I was twelve years old. Though, it used to give me a different sort of rush, now all it does is make my chest ache for all the things that could have been.

  At first, I thought my mind must have been playing tricks on me. There was no way Professor Macintosh had gotten that right, maybe I’d misheard him, either that or some prick must’ve been playing some twisted prank on me because there’s no way Cassandra Waters would be back in Denver. She left over three years and never looked back.

  My heart stopped when I saw that familiar wave of chestnut hair. Then the goddess had to go and turn around, blinding me with that perfect smile. The smile I still to this day think about every night before falling asleep, the smile that could bring me out of the worst mood and give me strength to keep pushing on, the smile that could easily drop me to my knees.

  I saw the exact moment she noticed me beside Bobby. That beautiful face of hers fell, that smile dropped away, and that sun-kissed skin immediately turned white. I would have given anything in that moment to take away the pain she was feeling but my anger and frustrations took over.

  My eyes didn’t move from her for one second as I watched her jam her bag full of her things and watch the clock countdown. I knew she was planning on bolting, but I was going to beat her at her own game. I stood up when my name was called, though I still have no idea who my partner is, all that mattered in that moment was Cass.

  I took my seat and watched the clock right along with her. With ten seconds to go, I saw as Professor Macintosh scowled at me as I started making my way down the stairs. Her body shifted, ready to run but she wasn’t going to make it. I stepped up behind her and slammed my hands down on either side of her.

  That same
fruity smell of her shampoo was nearly enough to paralyze me as I took a deep breath in and was assaulted by the feeling of home. My mind was jolted back to the past. “Cass,” I whispered as I hovered over her, with the desperate need to bring my arms in and hold her.

  I clenched my fist to regain some sort of control, but it was shattered the moment I saw a perfectly round tear drop from her cheek and come crashing down on the table. My thumb struck out before I even knew it and wiped away her spilled tear before I was out the door like a lightning bolt.

  To say my afternoon was shit is an understatement. I went home, punched a hole through my wall and ended up at training, where I nearly got into a fist fight with Bobby. I spent my night trying to work my frustrations out at the gym, but here I am at 4:30 in the morning and the frustrations are still riding high.

  I shake out my head and push myself to the limit, concentrating solely on my footfalls against the pavement. A runner up ahead catches my eye and I move to the side to allow room for the person to pass. As the person grows near it becomes startling obvious who it is. “You’ve got to be shitting me,” I groan to myself as I continue on.

  Cassandra grows closer, her head down and earphones in, completely oblivious to me coming her way. Anger once again takes over me. I mean, does she have any idea how dangerous it is for a woman to be out here at this time of the morning, alone, especially with the way she looks in those little shorts? No matter how furious I am with her, I can’t help that protective nature which comes over me whenever she’s around.

  I try my best to zone it out and concentrate on my run, but I can’t take my eyes off her. She must notice my movement when her head snaps up. Her eyes widen as she recognizes me immediately. Her head snaps back to the ground and she does her best to ignore me, but I know my presence affects her as she nearly fumbles and eats dirt.

  I eye her as she passes and I get smacked in the face with that damn fruity shampoo again. Even with her eyes cast down, I can still see the red swollen eyes and the dark sleepless bags lingering beneath. I want to be happy to know that she’s suffering just as much as I am, but the thought kills me.