by Lane Hart
“I guess you could stay with me,” I tell him as I grab his lapels and flatten them.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Great,” he replies with a grin. “I, um, I also signed something else this week – a contract for a fight in five months.”
“You did?” I gasp in surprise, wondering why he didn’t mention that in any of his calls or voicemails.
“I did,” he agrees with a nod. “I couldn’t wait to tell you in person. No one else knows yet except Coach Briggs…”
“That’s amazing, Xavier!” I wrap my arms around his neck to hug him, because this is bigger than our silly fight. He’s going to pursue his dreams. Finally.
“Or it’s insane,” he says into my hair as his strong arms hug me back tightly to his hard body. “Still not sure which. Either way, I start training at Havoc first thing tomorrow morning.”
“You’re going to do great. You’re a natural in the cage,” I tell him, and he finally releases his grip on me to pull back far enough to kiss my lips again.
“Thank you, Cass. You’ve always been in my corner cheering for me. I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize how lucky I am to have you in my life. I love you, baby. Always have, just now I love you a little more because you let me kiss you.” He demonstrates the action again in case I forgot.
“Hey, Xavier?” I ask between kisses.
“Yeah?”
“The store is officially closed, and I’m ready to go home.”
“Is that an invitation, or are you trying to get rid of me?” he asks.
“An invitation.”
“Good,” he says as he kisses me again, hard with lots of tongue. “Because I want to rip your clothes off and take you right here and now, but I don’t want to rush once we get started. I want to spend hours touching you, kissing you, loving you the way you deserve.”
“I’m still mad at you for not telling me you were technically married,” I tell him, although it’s hard to remember why with his arms still around me, holding me like he never wants to let go.
“I’m still mad at me too,” he replies. “Good thing I know a great way for us to work out that anger.”
“Oh really?” I ask with a grin, loving the easy way he talks about us being intimate when just a few weeks ago it was nothing more than a fantasy in my head, a wish I’d had for years about something I never thought would actually come to fruition. That’s what triggers the sudden onset of sobs faster than you could flip a light switch.
“No, no, no,” Xavier says when he pulls back to look at my face. “Please don’t cry.”
“S-sorry. It’s just a lot to take in, you know?” I tell him. “This is what I’ve wanted for so long…”
“Jesus, Cass,” he grumbles before hugging me to his chest. “I wish you would have told me how you felt sooner.”
“You didn’t feel the same way…” I explain.
“I do now, okay?” he says. “It wasn’t your fault it took me so long to open my eyes. It was mine. But just because it took me longer doesn’t mean that how I feel about you now isn’t as strong. I love you. I’m in love with you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. I’m more certain of that after a few weeks than I ever was with my marriage.”
“Really?” I ask.
“I swear, Bambi.”
“It’ll probably take some time before I’m able to trust you again,” I warn him as I rest my face against his chest, soaking up his rich boy cologne and listening to his heart thumping.
“I know, and that’s fair. Actions speak louder than words, and I’m all about showing you how I feel, over and over again.”
He’s obviously talking about sex, and I can’t wait to finally get Xavier into my bed after waiting so freaking long, even if I am a little nervous. Our first time at the reunion was explosive, but it happened so fast I didn’t have time to be self-conscious. Now, tonight, we won’t be in a rush. What if the sex isn’t as good as before? What if it was a fluke? God, I have got to get out of my head and get Xavier into my bed before he changes his mind.
“I guess I’ll, um, lock up and meet you at my house,” I tell Xavier when I finally pull away from him. I even give him a little push with my palms against his chest to hurry him out of here so I can have some time alone to pull myself together.
“I’ll see you there,” he agrees, placing a kiss on my forehead. “But I’m going to wait in the parking lot for you to leave.”
“I have a security system,” I assure him.
“Yeah, you do. And his name is Xavier,” he replies with a grin.
Xavier
Cassidy makes me wait half an hour in the parking lot for her to lock up. It doesn’t take a detective to figure out that Cass is nervous. Whether she’s still unable to completely trust me or if she’s worrying about how things are going to be between us in bed, I’m not sure.
Our first time happened fast. Now, though, she’s had time to think. Too much time, so she’s more hesitant.
Finally she comes out. With a quick wave of her hand, she gets into her car, and then I’m following behind her in my rental.
That just reminds me of one more thing I’ll need to do once I get settled in – buy a car since I sold mine in Seattle rather than figure out how to get it here.
At Cass’s, I grab one of my bags and head up to the door she’s already unlocking, or at least trying to. She drops her keys not once but twice.
“Gosh, I’m clumsy tonight,” Cass says with a puff of nervous laughter.
“Want me to help?”
“Nope. I’ve got it. There!” Triumphant on the third try, she opens the door and starts turning on lights as I follow her inside.
“Do you want something to eat? Or drink? I could fix something if you’re hungry, and there’s a ton of snack stuff in the pantry…” Cass tells me when we stop at the kitchen for her to put her phone and keys down on the counter.
“I’m good,” I say to stop her rambling.
“Okay, then I guess we can go on upstairs and get ready for bed. Unless you want to watch some television?”
“Bambi, do you want me to just sleep in the guest bedroom tonight?” I ask. Even though it would suck not to finally share her bed, I don’t want her to stress.
“No!” she quickly objects. “Unless you want to sleep in the guest bedroom…”
“I’m just trying to figure out what you want me to do,” I tell her when I sit my luggage down by my feet. “I want you. I think I’ve made that clear. But not until you’re ready.”
“I’m ready. Why wouldn’t you think I’m ready?” she asks with her hands on her hips.
“No reason.”
“Then let’s go to bed. Together,” she says.
“Good,” I reply before I grab my luggage and make my way to the stairs with her following behind me.
Once we’re in her bedroom, she goes to her usual side of the bed while I put my things in her closet before standing on the other side. And then neither of us move. We just stare at each other across the neatly made linens that smell faintly of strawberries like Cass.
“Why does this feel awkward?” she asks, reaching down to nervously fluff her pillow and then hold it against her chest.
“I’m not sure.”
“Does this mean we made a mistake?” Cass questions with a cringe. “The first time was just a fluke or whatever?”
“I don’t think so,” I answer because I really hope that’s not the case. “The problem is you’re overthinking it, and I’m hesitating to make the first move because you’re not acting like you’re ready for this.”
“I’m ready,” she says confidently. “I’ve been ready for years, Xavier.”
“So then what’s the problem?” I ask her before I peel off my suit jacket and then undo the buttons on my vest.
Cass’s eyes watch my fingers go to work on my dress shirt buttons while she continues to hug the pillow to her chest. “Maybe…maybe I’m scared that when we’re�
��together, you may not be able to handle how…needy I may be.”
“Needy?” I repeat in confusion.
“Fine, horny!” she amends, causing my brows to lift in surprise before she buries her face in the top of the pillow.
“I don’t think that could be a bad thing, Cass.”
“You don’t understand,” she says, her words muffled by the pillow. “For years, many, many years, I’ve fantasied about kissing every inch of you, and I mean every inch,” she says when she lifts her flushed face. “I want to bite your very firm ass, lick forbidden places, and have you inside of me all night long!”
I swallow around the knot in my throat, because all of that sounds good to me.
“That’s…that’s great,” I tell her. “As long as I get to reciprocate, because I want to do all that to you too. It’s all I’ve been thinking about…”
“Sexual cravings from a few days or weeks isn’t the same as starving to death for years!” Cass explains.
“Do you think I never thought about you naked before the other night? Because I have over the years,” I admit to her. “I’ve woken up from having dreams about fucking you, just out of the blue, when I was a teenager and even when I was married and in Seattle and we hadn’t talked in weeks. I always forced myself to push those thoughts down and lock them up tight because it made me feel like a pervert, like that was a violation of our friendship because I loved and respected you. Now I wish I had given in to them sooner. It’s why I snapped at the reunion and had to have you right then and there! Trying to wait another minute seemed impossible thanks to the pent-up feelings.”
“Really?” she asks softly.
“Yes! So there’s nothing that you can do to scare me away.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay,” Cass replies with a heavy exhale. She strolls over to my side of the bed; and when she’s right in front of me, she tosses down the pillow she was just using as a shield to the floor right in front of my feet. The fact that she’s not only planning to kneel for me, but to be down there so long she needs the comfort is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.
While I’m still standing there stunned, Cass’s palms fan out on my shoulders and then push the open dress shirt down my shoulders and off. I expect her to kiss me, but she doesn’t go straight for my mouth. Instead, her damp lips brush over my pec muscle while her fingers start undoing my pants. As soon as the fly is open, her hand shoves into the front and fists my hardening cock, causing me to choke out a string of profanity. That’s when her tongue gets in on the action, tasting my flesh between kisses as her mouth moves lower and lower, teasing the hell out of me.
My knees go weak before Cass is even on hers. I carefully lower my ass down to the mattress and pray that she doesn’t get deterred by any sudden movement.
Her firm grip on my shaft remains constant despite my new position. Scooting up closer on her knees between my spread legs, she leans forward and runs her tongue around my crown. It’s such a light, brief touch, but the effect is cataclysmic. Nothing has ever felt so fucking good.
But Cass is just getting started. Her eyes close on a moan as she parts her lips to begin to devour me, slow inch by slow inch like she loves doing it. Before, in my experience, women hurry through oral like they’re doing it because it’s something that’s required of them and they don’t particularly like performing the act.
Cass is clearly enjoying it. Thoroughly. Which means I’m in fucking heaven. Her mouth is hot and wet, and best of all, eager as hell. This isn’t a blowjob. She’s worshiping me with her mouth. Loving me with every stroke of her tongue that starts at the base of my cock and moves all the way up the underside to my weeping slit. In fact, she’s so good that I have to grab her ponytail to reluctantly pull her mouth off before I explode.
Instead of relenting, Cass just blinks up at me with glassy, lust-filled eyes as the tip of her tongue flicks over my ball sac before rolling one into her mouth.
“Jesus, fuck!” I groan as my head falls back. I have to fist either side of the comforter and grit my teeth to keep from coming.
Cass is relentless. Her hand replaces her mouth on my balls and then I’m thrusting down her throat again like a maniac. With every stroke, her increasing moans vibrate around my shaft until I can’t last a second longer. I cup the back of Cass’s head, my hips pumping in and out of her mouth that’s stretched to the limit as my release pulses down her throat.
When I finally come back to my senses, I let her go, afraid I was too rough. But Cass doesn’t stop until she’s licked up every drop of my seed.
“That was…Jesus, Cass,” I say when I grab the side of her face and brush my thumb over her lips. She leans into my palm and sucks on my thumb, causing my sated dick to twitch.
Letting go with a pop, she asks, “Not too much?”
“Fuck no,” I respond, my words somewhat slurred because damn that was so amazing.
“Good,” Cass says before she stands up and starts to undress in front of me, no longer looking hesitant or worried. Once she’s completely naked, she climbs up on my lap, wraps her arms around my neck and finally kisses me on the lips. “Now, if you don’t mind…” she says between kisses. “I’m going to sit right here and kiss you until you’re rock hard again.”
“Sounds good to me,” I agree as I reach around and grab two handfuls of her ass before taking her nipple into my mouth, sucking on it hard enough that she moans before I let go. “Shouldn’t be long at all with you looking sexy as hell on me.”
“How many times do you think you can go tonight?” she asks with her hips rocking on my lap.
“As many times as you need, Bambi,” I promise her.
Cassidy
Being able to kiss Xavier anytime I want, still blows my mind. Like after our second time, when we both drifted off to sleep for a few minutes before I woke up and licked his abs to get him up. We laid there just making out for what could have been hours before I finally couldn’t take it any longer and climbed on top of him.
Xavier let me ride him until I came, then he flipped our positions like I weighed nothing, pinning me underneath his big, muscular body and slamming inside of me urgently like it was our first time and not our third or maybe even fourth time. I can’t remember.
All I know is that the night of the reunion wasn’t a fluke. Sex is just as good every time, maybe even better.
So good, in fact, that I had to get my mouth on Xavier when the alarm on his phone went off this morning, almost making him late for his first day training.
“Why did I agree to start today,” he groans as he pulls his suitcase out of the closet while completely naked to find his workout clothes. I could get used to this view every morning. His ass is firm enough to bounce pennies off of.
“Because you want to be the Heavy Weight World Champion, and you’ve already wasted too many years?” I offer.
Xavier grunts his agreement.
“Should I wait here in bed for you to return?” I ask. Rolling to my side to see him better, I prop my head up on my fist.
“Yes,” he agrees seriously when he glances over his shoulder.
“How long is training again?”
“Ugh, as long as Coach makes it,” Xavier says, pulling a pair of shorts up his legs. “I just hope I’m still able to move after the beating he’s going to put on me.”
“If not, you can just lie down and I’ll do all the hard work,” I promise him.
“It’s a deal,” he says when he comes over with his shoes in his hand to kiss my forehead. “I’ll see you later, baby.”
“Have fun!” I say as he walks out of the bedroom and I flop to my back with a sigh. There’s a goofy grin on my face, one that may never leave now that Xavier and I are finally together.
Chapter Nineteen
Xavier
The next morning comes way too soon because Cass and I had a very late night, one that I didn’t want to end. If I thought the night at the hig
h school was the best sex of my life, well, it wasn’t. I swear that being with Cass is unlike anything I’ve ever dreamed of.
My only regret is that I may have used up all of my stamina on her when it would’ve come in handy in the gym.
For the past hour, I’ve been going through a series of striking moves with Coach Briggs in the cage while Macy and Jude critique me. My uncle flew up from North Carolina this morning to stay and help me train over the next few weeks. My dad got here before everyone else and refuses to leave the cage even when I’m working with Coach. At least his comments are all positive encouragement.
“Okay, um, let’s take thirty,” Coach Briggs says as he lowers the red punching pads.
“Thirty?” I say because that seems like a long ass break.
“Yeah, ah, why don’t you rehydrate and rest your muscles. Take as long as you need,” he says before he drops the pads to the canvas and walks out of the cage.
“Here,” Dad says when he thrusts a sports bottle in my face. “Drink up. I think you need the electrolytes and maybe an energy drink…” he trails off. “I’ll go find you one.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“This is very concerning,” Macy says dryly from the side of the cage with the side of her face pressed against it.
“What is?” I ask in confusion, looking to her and Uncle Jude, trying to figure out why everyone looks so worried.
“Zave, you’ve gone soft,” Macy says as her and Jude join me in the cage.
“Soft?” I repeat. “I’m not fucking soft.”
“He was better a few weeks ago,” she tells my uncle. “Like whooping ass in here, and now…” she sighs. “He got the girl and he went soft. There’s no other explanation. Jealous, lonely Xavier hit harder, faster.”
“Shit,” Uncle Jude says. “He’s mellowed out.”
“We’ll just have to un-fucking-mellow him!” Dad shouts on his way back to the cage with a can of Red Bull. “Drink it,” he says, thrusting it into my face before the three of them continue talking about me like I’m not there.
