Wild Forces: A Friends to Lovers Romance (O-Town Book 2)

by Karen Renee

  I edged away from the door as quietly as possible. Since I had brought my equipment inside, I would busy myself with setting up.

  I didn’t know if Pruitt would take my offer, but I knew I had to do something. If it could protect Cassie and her father, I would do everything I could to help them. Even if it wasn’t the safest or smartest use of my money.

  I’d have to find a lawyer for certain now. For one thing, I wouldn’t want to be implicated in the money-laundering, and having a lawyer on my side would prevent Ryan from swindling me, as he had clearly done to Mrs. Daughtry.

  When I returned to where I’d stashed my equipment, I saw a club employee looking at my cases, and my keys happened to be sitting on top of them.

  “Yo! Can I help you with something, man?” I asked as I approached.

  The man stiffened and looked surprised to see me.

  “No, just curious about what all this is, and I didn’t know why keys would be sitting on top.”

  My smile was half-hearted. “It’s my equipment for the DJ booth. You new?”

  He grimaced. “That obvious, huh?”

  I shook my head. “Nah. Just haven’t seen you around before. I’ll let you get back to it.”

  TO MY SURPRISE, THE club was packed that night and stayed that way. So much so, I worked half-an-hour later than normal, even though the bar had long since stopped serving alcohol. As I put away my gear, I realized I’d be lucky to get home by five-thirty in the morning. Part of me wondered if Ryan had done extra marketing to garner such a large crowd, or if it was just the last hurrah before the college kids went back to classes.

  I tucked my cell phone into my back pocket when I heard raised voices from below.

  “Your first damn night on the job and you take an ‘early’ break! I should fire you right now.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize—”

  “You didn’t ask, Craddick.”

  “It won’t happen again, Mr. Pruitt. I swear.”

  “It better not. Tomorrow, you report in at six.”

  I shook my head, feeling bad for the new guy, but I was dead on my feet.

  Before I could leave, though, I had to wait on Ryan to give me my take of the door. My equipment could all be carried in one trip, and again I set it by the door.

  I ambled over to the bar, setting my keys down. The bartender was drying glasses, and the new guy came up to put a stack of glasses into the sink on the far side of the bar.

  I nodded to him, and said, “Craddick.”

  He lifted his chin and wandered out to gather more glasses.

  I couldn’t remember the female bartender’s name, but she grinned at me, pulled a long-neck out of the cooler, and slid it my way. “Don’t tell Pruitt,” she said, with a wink.

  I shook my head and slid it back. “Won’t do to get pulled over with beer on my breath.”

  She pulled a Red Bull from the cooler, and held it aloft. I chuckled. “Sorry, but no thanks. I have one of those, I won’t sleep at all.”

  I heard footsteps behind me, and knew Craddick was doing his job.

  “Perhaps that’s my aim, G-Rock.”

  I clenched my teeth and shook my head. “My girlfriend wouldn’t care much for that either.”

  She put the Red Bull back. “That’s strange. Heard you don’t have a girlfriend.”

  I grinned. “Things change.”

  I sensed someone to my right and saw Craddick leaning into the bar on his forearms. “New girlfriend?”

  “Suppose you could say that. We’ve known each other a long time.”

  Pruitt sauntered up to the bar with my check in hand. “Had a good night tonight, Sullivan. See how that works when you don’t play old-school hip-hop?”

  I bit back my retort that I hadn’t seen the first person over the age of thirty-five on the floor, and lifted my chin.

  “Maybe you can pull that off again tonight.”

  “Not on for you tonight.”

  His head tilted. “Ah, that’s right. One of your competitors under-bid you.”

  I smiled. “You gonna be in on Monday during the day? I had something I wanted to run by you?”

  He nodded. “I will. Call my assistant, she’ll let you know when I’m free.”

  His attitude made me rethink investing in his business. But I could not let Cassie or her father take a fall for his bullshit.

  Cassie

  I WOKE UP FOR NO REASON at a quarter after five on Saturday morning. When I caught sight of my clock, I grabbed my phone and texted Gabe.

  Are you home?

  I watched the dots jump up and down in that wave-like pattern.

  Just got in my truck. WTH are you doing up?

  I chuckled and sent a shrugging emoji.

  Sometimes, I just can’t sleep in. You could come here, if you want?

  The dots did their special dance, but stopped. I wondered what on earth he had to hesitate about, but I went to the bathroom in order to not over-think it.

  When I came back out, I saw Gabe’s text.

  I’ll be there, but to quote you, no funny business. I’m *wiped*.

  My brows furrowed for a moment, but then I smiled. At least he would be coming here to sleep, and that made me happy.

  It hit me he probably hadn’t had anything to eat. I hustled to the kitchen and checked to see if I had any bacon. There was a half a package. I skipped the oven-bake method and grabbed some paper towels so I could microwave it instead.

  While I flipped the bacon slices over on the plate mid-way through the cook time, a key scraped in the lock and I jolted. Fear coursed through me for a moment before I realized it was undoubtedly Gabe using my key. A moment later, he walked through the door, carrying a duffel bag.

  My eyes met his. “You go to work with a change of clothes at the ready, Gabe?”

  “No, darlin’. Can’t leave my gear in the truck. Had to take it up to my place, and since I was already there, I grabbed my shit.”

  He spied the bacon and he closed his eyes as his stomach rumbled. “You and the bacon, Daughtry.”

  I grinned. “Sorry, not sorry, Sullivan.”

  “Give me a kiss, Cassandra.”

  After I popped the plate back in the microwave, I wrapped my arms around his neck and he took control of the kiss. But no way would I complain about that.

  When he broke our lip-lock, his eyes were warm. “You really makin’ breakfast this early?”

  I shook my head. “I figured you’re probably hungry, and there’s never a bad time for bacon.”

  His lips tipped up. “You sure you don’t talk to Cecilia more frequently? She thinks bacon’s a super-food. Like a superhero of food.”

  I laughed. “Can’t say she’s wrong, now can you?”

  He slid his nose along mine, and whispered, “Nope.”

  “Do you want eggs with the bacon? Or would you rather dinner-type food?”

  He looked up for a moment, then back to me. “Honey, I ate dinner before I hit the club. So, you got eggs, that’s fine. But, I need a shower.”

  My lips pressed together and I slid my eyes to the side.

  He chuckled. “I like that you think you can join me, but I wasn’t joking. I am dead on my feet, baby.”

  “Okay, okay. Mi casa is su casa. I’ll scramble some eggs when you get done.”

  His chin dipped. “Scramble the eggs now. I take pretty quick showers, Cassie.”

  He left, and I grabbed the eggs, but still took my time scrambling them. There was nothing worse than cold eggs, and I didn’t believe him about the length of his showers.

  While the skillet warmed up, I put two pieces of bread in the toaster. Since I knew he wanted to go to sleep, I skipped coffee and poured two glasses of orange juice. At the fridge I grabbed butter and strawberry jelly. The door swung shut, and Gabe wrapped his arms around me from behind making me jump.

  “Geez! You scared me to death!”

  “Told you I took quick showers, baby,” he murmured in my ear.

&nb
sp; “Well, this is the first time you’ve showered here without me, so I didn’t believe you.”

  He chuckled. “Fair enough.”

  I turned and noticed he was only wearing his boxer briefs. His chest had so much definition, I wanted to trace the ridge between his pecs with my tongue, but I remembered he was tired and hungry. Putting the butter and jelly in his hands, I said, “Here. Put these on the table. I’ll get food out in a moment.”

  “I can help more than that, Cassie.”

  I winked. “Yeah, but I’m determined to feed my baby-daddy.” His face fell and his eyes widened and I couldn’t help but laugh. “I was joking, Sullivan!”

  “Fuck,” he whispered.

  “Thought you weren’t worried. You aren’t, are you?”

  He paused. “Not really. But, I didn’t expect you to joke about it. That’s all.”

  I quickly scrambled the eggs, and took our plates to the table.

  As I sat down, I said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  He leaned an elbow on the table. “Don’t worry about it, Cassie. Meant what I said. If I’ve knocked you up, it’s just the beginning.”

  His eyes lifted and he sniffed the air. “You put the toast down?”

  I jumped up. “Oh shit!”

  He beat me to the toaster and luckily the toast wasn’t completely burnt.

  I hung my head in shame. “I swear, I never burn the toast.”

  He chuckled. “Honey, it’s not burnt. Just more than golden brown.”

  We ate, and since he finished first, Gabe insisted on doing the dishes. I scarfed down the rest of my food, and closed up the dishwasher with my rinsed dish inside.

  “Bed?” I asked.

  “Definitely, Cass.”

  Gabe wandered into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. I did the same when he was done. When I came back to the bed, he was curled up and appeared to be sleeping already.

  As gently as I could, I climbed into the other side of the bed. He scooted toward me, then his hands grabbed my waist and he pulled me to him.

  “I thought you were tired,” I whispered.

  “Am. But, hugging on you beats the fuck out of hugging a pillow.”

  A huge smile spread across my face. “I love you, Gabe Sullivan.”

  He kissed the back of my neck. “Love you more, Cassie.”

  To my surprise, I fell asleep, even with Gabe’s intense heat at my back.

  I AWOKE HEARING GABE’S heavy breathing. Catching sight of my alarm clock, I saw it was a quarter to ten, which meant Gabe had slept for a little over three hours.

  Last week Gabe had modified my shift at the shelter, but he hadn’t told me he changed this week, too. I found that out when I had called Nona yesterday evening, and she mentioned another volunteer would be at the front desk. It meant I could laze around while Gabe slept, but that went against my nature.

  Slowly, I edged my legs out from under the sheets, but as soon as I moved my torso, Gabe’s arm tightened, and I realized his breathing wasn’t as deep as it had been.

  “Where you goin’?”

  “Gabe. Go back to sleep.”

  He pulled me closer. “Not happenin’. Your bedroom’s brighter than a window to the sun itself.”

  I chuckled. “That doesn’t even make sense, Gabe.”

  “What doesn’t make sense, baby, is you trying to sneak out of bed,” he whispered at my neck.

  I shifted around to face him. “You said you were wiped when you got here, Gabe. I wanted to let you get more sleep because of that, honey.”

  He pushed me to my back as he loomed above me. “That won’t happen since you don’t have blackout blinds. So, might as well make the most of this.”

  Our kiss lingered, but after a while, I moved to push Gabe to his back and he let me.

  Then I took my time, and kissed my way down his body. He had slept naked next to me, and I had to wonder if he always slept naked. I focused on my end goal, and licked his stiff cock. As I inhaled, I caught a whiff of his distinct scent and it turned me on. My hand nudged his thigh and he widened his legs for me. While I stroked him with my hand, I took him fully into my mouth, and loved hearing him hiss in response.

  His hand threaded into my hair, and I looked up at him to see his eyes full of heat. On an upward stroke, I swirled the tip with my tongue and he hissed again, but it mingled with a groan.

  “Yeah, just like that baby.”

  I kept at him with more suction, and surprisingly his hand fell away from my head. Without him guiding the action, I dipped down so my tongue could trace his balls, only to find his hand gripping mine around his shaft. He encouraged me to grip harder and stroke faster.

  “Suck me into your mouth, Cassandra.”

  I followed his order, surprised at how easily his nut slid into my mouth.

  “Fuck, you’ve got a velvet mouth, baby.”

  I let him loose, so I could take his cock deep, again earning me his hand at the back of my head.

  “You want to finish it like this, honey?”

  I let him go. “How else would I finish it, G-Rock?”

  “With me. In you,” he growled.

  I wanted that, but I didn’t want to tempt fate twice with the possibility of getting pregnant. Since his pants were nowhere to be found, I knew he’d have to hunt for a condom.

  I swirled my tongue around him before I said, “I’ll finish you off like this, baby.”

  “Hurry up, Cassandra. You’re making me crazy.”

  “Good,” I whispered.

  Then I finished the job.

  26

  Restart My Morning

  Gabe

  CASSIE GAVE ME A BLOWJOB to end all blowjobs, and part of me couldn’t believe she had it in her. Another part of me all but jumped for joy at having a girlfriend who gave such great head. When she was done, though, I was done. We had to get out of her place because three hours of sleep was not enough. Not that I told her, but I had found sleeping without her sucked.

  After I convinced Cassie to come to my place with me because of my blackout blinds, she packed a bag and we left.

  When we walked in, Brock was on his way out for a shift with Clint and he told us Cecilia was working a full day at Walt Disney World.

  After the door closed behind Brock, Cassie commented, “So, I get to watch you sleep some more?”

  I chuckled. “Baby, you won’t see shit in my bedroom with the blackout blinds. I’d love it if you’d lay down with me, but I get it. You’ve had your eight hours and then some, so you’re welcome to watch TV or play the X-Box.”

  She laughed. “X-Box! Gabe, I wouldn’t know where to start!”

  My eyes widened. “Bite your tongue, woman!”

  Her eyes slid to the side. “It’s the truth.”

  I shook my head. “Plans are made, babe. I’m getting my other three or four hours of shut-eye. You can join me... or not, your call. But, when I’m up, we’re Doordashing some food, and I’m teaching you everything you never knew you needed to know about the X-Box.”

  Her head canted to the side. “Is that even a verb? ‘Doordashing?’”

  My eyes widened. “Woman. Do not talk to me about fuckin’ grammar when I need more sleep. Got me?”

  She ambled up to me, wrapping her arms around my neck. “I got you, Gabe,” she whispered, just before she kissed me long and hard.

  I WOKE UP AROUND ONE, to find Cassie in the living room with a legal pad in her lap and CNBC on the television.

  “What’re you doin’, baby?”

  She turned to me and did a double take. “Do you ever wear a shirt?”

  I arched a brow. “Not if I don’t have to. See somethin’ you like, baby?”

  She rolled her eyes as she turned back to the flatscreen. That was not on in my world.

  As I made my approach to her, she stood and leaned over the coffee table to set down the legal pad, giving me the perfect opportunity to smack her round ass.

  She straightened and whirled
on me. “Gabe! What the hell?”

  “You know how I don’t like you callin’ me by my last name?” She nodded, and I continued. “Well, I especially don’t like you rollin’ your eyes at me.”

  She folded her arms under her breasts. “You’re gonna have to get over it, Gabriel. I like everything I see when it comes to you, but you don’t need me to stroke your ego, do you?”

  “It never hurts, Cassie.”

  Her lips pursed and her head tilted for a moment. “Fair enough. I’m sorry. I’m just not used to how freely you wander around shirtless and sometimes even naked.”

  I grinned. “Apology accepted. And just so you know, you’re free to join me, baby. Might even help you get used to it.”

  She laughed. “I’ll just bet.”

  “So, you hungry?”

  “Very,” she sighed.

  “You gonna survive until DoorDash gets here, or do I need to cook?”

  She grinned. “I can survive until food is delivered, but I’m having a snack in the meantime.”

  Twenty minutes later, we lounged on the couch with General Tso chicken, crab Rangoons, and vegetable mei fun noodles. I had music playing through the television for background noise before I schooled my woman on the intricacies of the X-Box.

  I was dying to tell Cassandra what I overheard last night, but I didn’t know what Ryan had over her mother to blackmail her.

  I swallowed a bite of chicken. “So, your dad’s a big-time business man, what’s the story on your mother?”

  Her head swiveled to me. “That’s random.”

  I shrugged. “Just popped in my head, woman. Is she active in charities and stuff? Is that why you volunteer at the shelter?”

  A wry smile pulled at her lips. “Yes, and no. She loved the idea of me volunteering at the shelter because they always have that gala in the fall, and she thought I’d snag a well-to-do husband.”

  “She’s a socialite?”

  She shook her head. “No. Not really. But she cares about money and status. Far more than Dad does. Hence taking me to the fancy chop house for lunch. A few years back though, she started getting more involved in Dad’s business.”

  “Really?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral.