It takes me a second to realize what she just said.
She slept with Asher… the night before our wedding.
My eyes go to him, but he can’t look at me. Nausea and anger paints his face, telling me Mindy is speaking the truth. That feeling from earlier, about my life being a lie, is back and it brought friends—hurt, regret, and humiliation.
“That’s right,” Mindy says, glancing down at her perfectly polished nails. “It’s always been me. We’re meant to be together… it just took him a while to realize it. And now, we’re a family.” She pauses. You can hear a fucking pin drop and then, Mindy drops her final bomb.
“I gave him something you couldn’t.”
Tears sting my eyes as they threaten to spill, but I refuse to give her, or anyone else in here, the satisfaction of seeing me break, so I turn and start making my way through the now-crowded ballroom.
Not running, but walking… holding my head as high as I can. As I pass by people, Cage’s arm comes up to clear a path, his strong hand never leaving the small of my back, something in me snaps. Kind of like the day I walked in on Mindy and Asher, but unlike that morning, I have clarity.
Pausing, I turn back to them. The crowd is parted like the Red Sea, Mindy and Asher standing there in the wake.
“I wouldn’t be so sure that baby is his,” I say, raising my voice to make sure I’m heard clearly. “You might want a paternity test. Apparently, Asher’s swimmers are damaged goods. Isn’t that right, Asher?”
There are a few gasps and a few laughs, but I don’t stick around for his response or anything else. I’m done here.
I’m done with Asher.
I’m done with Mindy.
I’m done with the whole fucking thing and I need some air.
When I get to the parking lot, I stop, bracing my hands on my knees and breathe. The tears that have been threatening to come finally do and a sob breaks free from my chest. Before I can crumble into a heap on the ground, Cage’s strong arms are there—catching me, keeping me from falling.
“I’m here,” Cage whispers. “I got you.”
He’s right. He’s got me and he holds me until I can finally stand on my own two feet again, walking me to the truck and helping me into the passenger seat, even going as far as reaching across and buckling my seat belt for me.
I let him, because right now, I feel so numb.
What was I thinking?
How could I have ever loved someone as vile as Asher Williams?
How did I not see the real him?
The hurt and betrayal from Mindy’s revelation are tangible, feeling like weights on my arms and legs.
“Where do you want to go?” Cage asks, concern and tenderness in his voice.
“Anywhere but here.”
After he gets into the driver’s seat and starts it up, we sit for a minute in the parking lot, Cage’s hand on mine as we let the last half hour sink in.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I should’ve been there—”
“No,” I tell him, my throat feeling raw. “That needed to happen. Don’t be sorry.”
Eventually, he puts the truck in drive and we make our way out of the parking lot and back to the main road. As we drive back to town, my mind whirls and I just want to shut it up… somehow, some way.
“Want me to take you home?” Cage asks when we get closer.
“No.”
“Tell me what you need, Tempest. Anything, I’ll do it.”
“Help me forget… just for a little while.”
Chapter 26
Cage
We’re barely inside my bedroom when Tempest attacks me, her mouth on mine and her hands on my belt.
I know what she wants… what she needs and I’ll gladly give it to her. I’m hers to use for as long as she desires, but I hope she knows I’m here for her in all aspects, not just the physical.
That doesn’t mean she has to do all the work, though.
While she undresses me, I start removing her clothes, as well. “As gorgeous as you are in this suit, I’ve been dying to take if off you all night.” When her top is gone, my mouth goes straight for her nipple, sucking it until she cries out. Tempest stops working on my clothes and grips onto my head when I switch to her other breast, throwing her head back and gasping in pleasure.
“I need you, Cage.” Her words are breathless and full of passion. She’s so beautiful when she’s vulnerable like this, but I want to see her strength right now. I want her to take charge.
I brush my lips across hers and slide my fingers through her hair, holding her gaze on me. “I’m yours, Tempest. I’m yours to use however you need to tonight. All of your anger and pain, your frustration and resentment… use my body to purge all that negativity.”
She looks uncertain, like she doesn’t think she can do what I’m saying or that she’ll hurt me in some way. The truth is, the only way she can hurt me is by shutting me out and not allowing me to help her.
“I don’t know how,” she whispers.
“Take me. Take my body and get your pleasure however the fuck you want. Clear your mind and just feel. Break yourself into a million pieces, if you need to. All I ask, is that you let me help put you back together.”
I watch as her eyes tear up, brightening the green of her irises. “Do it.” My voice is soft but firm, showing her the truth behind my words. After a brief moment, Tempest releases a deep breath and where there were tears is now fire.
Yes.
My shirt already on the floor and my pants undone, she slides them and my boxers down to my feet before pushing on my shoulders until I’m sitting on the bed behind me. I quickly kick off my shoes so the rest of my clothes can follow, leaving me naked and hard for her. So fucking hard.
Tempest takes the rest of her clothes off as I watch but, thank fuck, she leaves her heels on. How I haven’t come all over myself yet is damn miracle.
She stands directly in front of me, between my spread legs, and I think she’s going to straddle me but she doesn’t. Instead, she sinks to the floor and grasps my cock, her eyes never leaving mine.
“Tempest,” I warn, my voice strained. “Don’t do anything for me, do it for you.”
“I am,” she assures me. “I want this. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. You’ll tell me if I do something wrong, though, right?”
Shit. I’d rip Asher apart right now, if I could, but I refuse to let him ruin this moment for her.
“You won’t do anything wrong; you’re perfect, trust me.”
“I do trust you.”
She kisses my tip then slides my entire length into her mouth and holy shit, she’s a natural. Her grip is strong at my base and the amount of suction she’s providing as she moves up and down my cock is absolutely perfect. Too perfect, in fact, and when I groan out her name, she looks up at me. My dick is still in her mouth and the vision before me causes my eyes to squeeze shut because it’s just too much.
The cold air on my shaft as she takes her mouth off is jarring but it gives me a brief reprieve and allows me to collect myself.
“Was I doing okay?” she asks. “I couldn’t tell because your eyes were closed.”
“Oh, my God, Tempest, it was so much more than okay. It was amazing. I had to stop watching because I didn’t want to come yet.”
She smiles and my dick twitches in response, causing us both to laugh.
“I didn’t expect to enjoy that so much, but I did. It really turned me on.” When she admits this, there’s no shyness or embarrassment and that thrills me to no end. It’s exactly what I want for her.
“Can I feel for myself?”
Her eyes darken as she nods her head yes and I waste no time slipping my fingers through her folds, finding her pussy soaked.
“Fuck, Tempest. Tell me what you want. How do you want me?”
“I want to be on top,” she replies confidently.
After I put on a condom, I pull her on my lap with her legs straddling mine. She immediately lowers her
self on my cock and begins rocking her body in a perfect rhythm. I love her being on top while I’m sitting up because it allows me to stay close to her, but I want her to be able to use this position to her full advantage, so I lay back on the bed and give her more room to move the way she wants.
Tempest leans forward, instinctively moving to where her clit rubs against my pelvis. I keep one hand on her ass, guiding her just a little, and use the other to hold her tits close to my mouth. I love flicking her nipples with my tongue as she moves over me and the way her walls are tightening around my dick tells me she likes it, too.
“Yes! Cage! Oh, shit, I’m coming,” she gasps out. I grab her ass with both hands and slam her down on me harder, faster until our orgasms take us over, leaving us both sweaty and spent.
Later, after we’ve cleaned up and calmed down, Tempest is snuggled in my arms, running her fingers over the planes of my chest.
“I didn’t realize how much I needed that,” she admits. “It’s kinda crazy that you knew what I needed more than I did, but I’m really thankful.”
I laugh as I kiss the top of her head. “Anytime.” Her body feels so perfect against mine and I can’t help the feelings building inside me. “I mean it,” I whisper, my lips brushing her hair. “Any time… all the time… whatever you need. I’m here.”
Chapter 27
Tempest
When I wake up, I’m covered in sweat. My heart is beating wildly like I’ve been on a long run. But it’s the lingering vision from my dream that I can’t shake.
I was standing in the middle of the hallway at my old house—mine and Asher’s—the door to the bedroom was partially open and I could hear voices. There were loud moans accompanied by a man’s grunts. It was so vivid. I remember the way the Berber carpet felt under my feet and the smell of the candle I always burned in the bathroom down the hall—apple cinnamon.
In my dream, I looked down at myself and I wasn’t wearing any clothes, kind of like those horrible dreams people have where they’re standing in front of a crowd naked, but there was no crowd… just me and…
Pushing the door open, I could feel the rush of adrenaline and spike of fear. When I stepped into the room, my heart dropped, along with the shoe in my hand, getting the attention of the man who was driving into the woman only seconds before.
The woman smiles at me as the man speaks, “Like what you see?”
Cage.
Bile rises into my throat and I have to force it down. I know my subconscious is playing tricks on me, playing on my fears and insecurities, but the dream was so real. Looking over at Cage, I watch him for a second as he sleeps soundly, his arm draped over my stomach, and I have the worst thought.
How do I know I can trust him?
Unlike Asher, I’ve only known Cage a short amount of time.
Who’s to say he doesn’t have a wife and kids back in Dallas?
I thought I knew Asher. I trusted him with my life and bound myself to him, assuming we’d uphold our vows with only death parting us. And look how that ended up… how terribly wrong I was.
Tears sting my eyes and I press my palms against them to keep them from falling. Feeling dirty and used and so unsure of myself, I can’t stand to lie here any longer.
Slipping out from under Cage’s arm, I ease myself off the bed. I think about showering in his bathroom, but I need some air and I need to think, and I can’t do either when I’m this close to him. He makes me feel things that cloud my judgment.
Maybe that was what was wrong with me and Asher?
Maybe I just latched onto him because he was the first boy to show interest?
What if I’m doing the same thing with Cage?
Anna’s words from a few days ago come back to haunt me. Don’t jump into bed with the first guy that comes along and calls you beautiful.
Am I really that weak and starved for attention?
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Filling my lungs with air, I try to put into practice all of my coping mechanism I’ve learned over the past few months, but nothing works. As panic starts to set in, I look frantically around the room. Grabbing my clothes from the floor where they fell as I lost myself in Cage, I quickly put them on, forgoing my shoes.
“Where are you going?” Cage asks, his voice groggy from sleep. My back is to him as my hand grips the frame of the door. Pausing, I try to think of something to say to get him to go back to sleep and just let me leave, but I know that’s a lost cause. He’s too much of a gentleman for that… too nice… too caring. And why is that? What would he want with a girl like me?
“Tempest?”
“I… I just need to go,” I tell him, still not turning around, biting my lip to keep from crying, not from sadness, but pure fear. I’m afraid of myself—of what I’ve done, of how I’ve let myself fall for him, of my ability to make good decisions. Nothing is making sense right now and it’s freaking me out. “I would call you later, but I don’t even have your phone number,” I say, something between a sob and a laugh catching in my throat and that’s when I feel it, that snap in rational thinking. The one I’m always fighting so hard against, but it overtakes me.
“How crazy is that?” I ask, finally turning to face him. “We’ve had sex twice and I don’t even have your telephone number… or know what your favorite food is? Maybe you’re married? Or are a member of the Communist Party?”
Cage rubs his eyes and sits up, the sheet falling away, exposing his amazing torso.
“Cover up,” I tell him, my voice taking on that tone of insanity it’s become accustomed to lately, especially in moments when it feels like my life is falling apart. “I can’t think straight when you’re naked… or when you look at me like that. Actually, I can’t think when you’re around period. It’s like my brain takes a hiatus and hands over the controls to my hormones.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” he asks, still trying to wake up and get his wits about him as he runs a hand through his hair.
“Yes!” He doesn’t get it. “It’s a very bad thing. Don’t you get it? You’re so… you, and when I’m around you, I’m not myself. I think what Anna said is right… you’re the first man to show me any interest and I think I’ve been using you… like a diversion… or a rebound…” I pause, knowing those words don’t settle well in my chest, but I can’t take them back now. “You shouldn’t want—”
“817-222-4561.”
“What?”
“That’s my phone number,” he says, standing up and grabbing his slacks from the floor, making quick work of pulling them up before he turns back around. “I should’ve given it to you earlier… meant to a few times, but kept forgetting. I’m sorry.”
His tone is no-nonsense and the look on his face is fierce as he walks around the bed and into my space, but doesn’t touch me. Just stands close enough that I can feel his warmth. And it’s all I can do to keep from reaching out to him, knowing a touch from him would make all the crazy thoughts and second-guessing fly out the window.
But I can’t.
“I’ve never been married.” His tone is the exact opposite of everything I’m feeling—rational, right-minded, calm, cool, collected. “I’ve only had two serious girlfriends. My last long-term relationship was in college. I’ve had sex with quite a few people, but always wore a condom and I’ve been checked for STDs on a regular basis. My favorite food is steak. I’m a Scorpio. My birthday is a month from tomorrow. My mom’s name is Janice and my dad is Kristoph. I was born in Dallas. Moved to Boston for college, but moved right back when I dropped out, so Green Valley is only the third place I’ve lived, but I’ve been practically everywhere, in and out of the country. I’m an Independent, but hate talking politics.”
He finally stops, taking a deep breath and scratching the back of his head. “Anything else you want to know?
I shake my head, but not in response to his question, because deep down, I want to know everything about Cage Erickson, but I can’t… I don’t trust myself.
And that’s the bottom line. That’s the real problem here. It has nothing to do with the man standing in front of me and everything to do with me.
“You shouldn’t want to be with me,” I tell him, finishing my thought from a second ago before he began pouring out his heart on the floor. “I’m damaged goods and I’ll probably never be able to trust anyone ever again… let alone myself. So, if you want a relationship with someone, I’m not your girl.”
“I want whatever you want,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest. “I told you already… the ball’s in your court.”
“For how long?” I ask, my voice rising. “I know you don’t have plans to stay… I overheard you talking to your brother about going home. Back to Dallas. And I can’t stick around and get my heart broken again. So, let's just end this now and save ourselves the trouble.”
And by us, I mean me.
Because as much as I’d like to deny it, I have feelings for Cage… big feelings. He could easily break me, far worse than anything Asher has done.
When he stands there, stoic and rigid, not budging, I try another tactic.
“I… I don’t want to be with you...” I stammer, struggling to get the lie out of my mouth. “You were a fun time… and you, uh… helped me clear my mind, but that’s it. Thanks for that,” I say, my eyes going to the floor because I can’t look him in the eye. “And thanks for playing the part and going to the reunion with me.”
We stand in silence for a moment, but I can’t stand this any longer. As I turn to go, he reaches for my hand, but I hide my face from him, tears already trickling down my cheeks.
“Tempest,” he pleads. “Don’t do this.”
The slight break in his tone is what sets my feet in motion. I’m a horrible person. I must be, because it would take a monster to break a heart as good as Cage’s.
“I need… I have to go,” I say, turning for the stairs. “Please don’t follow me.”
Fall in Love Book Bundle: Small Town Romance Box Set Page 131
