28. Red

Ishould not have said that. Cass's heart is pounding so hard and fast, I swear it's causing ripples across the water. I swallow hard. It's too late—obviously.I'm already so far gone for her. Offering up a what-if scenario was merely a test to see how she'd react.

I'm not ashamed to say I'm wrapped entirely around her pretty little finger. If she asked me to, I'd give up cowboying to start a fucking potato farm so she can eat them endlessly. I'd build her dream house with my bare hands. Hell, I'd even move to the goddamn city, if that's what she truly wanted.

Yes, sweetheart. Anything for you, sweetheart.

But Cass' thundering heart rate makes me think it's not the night to tell her the truth. Not the moment to express that I love her beyond words.

"I don't mean—"

She cuts me off, tilting her head to look back at me. "I know what you mean."

Her wet hand slides up to my cheek, and she kisses me. Soft, slow, in the dim light of my phone's flashlight. For a month, I've been craving the feel of her hands on my skin. For longer, I've been desperate for her kiss. So it doesn't take long before my cock's rock hard, pressed into her back.

Her lips smile against mine. "A little kissing too much for you?"

"When I'm kissing the most gorgeous girl around? Abso-fucking-lutely."

"Should we get out?" She plants kisses between each word, unable to take a break for long enough to form a single sentence.

"What's the rush?" I stroke her hair, letting my knuckles brush along her jaw, then trail down her wet skin until I'm cupping her tit. Rolling my thumb over her hard nipple. "We have all night and, if I get lucky, maybe the snow will trap you here for a few days."

My hand trails lower, slipping between her legs, and her moan gets lost in my throat. Circling her sensitive clit, my fingers send her hips bucking, sloshing water over the edge of the tub. She's writhing in my arms, thighs fighting to press together for more friction. I won't let them—my free hand holds her knee firmly against the porcelain.

"I missed you," she whispers breathlessly. Hopefully it's not only the orgasms she's been missing. I silently—selfishly—pray she's been as devastated to be apart as I have.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you." I snag her bottom lip between my teeth, sucking it into my mouth then releasing it slowly. "So fucking much, Cass."

Her fingers wrap around the tub edge, gripping as her hips lift buoyantly. Even in the water, there's no denying how aroused she is. I could lift her hips a few more inches and slide my cock right in. No doubt her bouncing on my lap in the warm bath water would have us coming in minutes. But I want to take my time with her, let her enjoy herself, savour her, and prove how I feel about her. She fills the air with a soft whimpering sound. My cock's rock hard against her back, and I swear I could come just from the noises she makes.

I smooth my finger over her clit, and her fingers dig into my forearm. "This what you missed, sweetheart?"

"Chase, I missed you." Her hooded eyes meet mine for a split second before they're forced close by my frenzied movement over her pussy. The wave of an orgasm flows through her, and her grip slips from the tub as she falls apart in my arms. The sweetest, relaxed sigh leaving her lips and allowing every muscle to slacken.

When we finally drag ourselves from the cool water, we're stuck dripping and towel-less in the small bathroom. Tiny goosebumps spackling her skin.

"Shit. Sorry. Guess we should've stopped and grabbed some towels." I comb my fingers through her damp hair, giving a tug at the same moment her lips crash back into mine.

"Mmm. I'm too relaxed to care," she mumbles against my mouth.

When my eyes open, I'm greeted by a view of the curve of her back and her thick, round ass in the foggy mirror over the sink.

"Cassidy, turn around for a second. Look at yourself." She blinks up at me, then slowly—warily—spins. Her nose scrunches at her reflection, and I take my cock in my hand, waiting for her gaze to snag on it in the mirror before speaking again. "You're the hottest fucking thing I've ever seen. The next time you start to wonder if I'm attracted to you, I want you to remember what you do to me. I'm so fucking hard for you all the goddamn time. The whole time you were gone, I couldn't even think about you without needing to fuck my hand. You kill me. And I know it's hard for you to watch your body change, but on the days you hate it, I'm going to love it enough for the both of us. You're incredible, sweetheart. And I'm obsessed with you—with this perfect body of yours."

Letting go of my dick, I run my hands along her flushed, damp skin. Kissing her shoulder as I hold her tits. They're full and soft. As expected, they no longer come close to fitting in my hands.

"These fucking tits. Are you kidding me? Shit." I rub my thumbs over her nipples. So much darker than they used to be, and I can't wait to have them in my mouth when I spin her back around. "If you aren't careful, I'm going to keep putting babies in you so I never have to give these up."

"Don't you fucking dare." Her hard glare meets mine in the mirror. "I'll castrate you myself."

My chest to her back, I pull her tight against me with a quiet laugh. "Okay, okay. Definitely one more, though."

She rolls her eyes, but there's no hiding the half-smile.

"You're better than any fantasy I've had about you." I trace the curve of her stomach, the ticklish spot over her hip bone, down between her legs. I can't stop staring at her face—at her eyes following my hand as it roams her body, the freckles on her cheeks, and her kissable lips.

"Sweetheart, you have the most beautiful pussy I've ever seen."

She mumbles a half-hearted disagreement as my tongue slides across her shoulder to her neck.

"I swear to God, I could come just from thinking about it. How wet you always are for me. Your pussy lips hugging my shaft. The way your greedy cunt grips me when you come. It's fucking heaven." I bite her earlobe and her neck instinctively crooks, giving me more.

"And this? Fuck." I draw across the soft skin where her ass meets her thigh. A raspy breath leaves her parted lips when I run the tip of my hard cock between her ass cheeks, precum marking her skin.

"Look at what you do to me. You own me." I grab her hand and wrap her fingers around my cock. "You are everything I need, Cassidy. I want to spend the rest of my life telling you how perfect I think you are. Have you all to myself to worship every day until you stop questioning every compliment I give you."

"I want that, too." She strokes slowly from base to tip, then notches the head at her entrance, gripping the sink with her free hand so I can slip inside her with a groan.

"Fuck, sweetheart. Look at us—look at how perfect we are." I fill her deeper from behind, watching us in the mirror. The sound of slapping, damp skin as I fill her to the hilt. "How well I fit inside you. I was fucking made for you."

She moans, meeting the reflection of my eyes. "You make me feel so good."

"C'mon. It'll be nice and warm out there now. You can get comfy, and I'll keep making you feel good." I reluctantly pull out, knowing she won't be comfortable standing for much longer, regardless of how hot it is to watch us fuck in the blurry bathroom mirror. Not letting my hands leave her body for a single second, I urge us toward the bathroom door and into the small living space. As I expected, it's damn-near tropical out here.

We fall together on top of the dark-green, quilted bedspread, and I slide a hand up her thigh, squeezing and tugging it over my waist. A needy sigh escapes as she rocks her hips into me. Palm sliding down my cock, she begins stroking with an unrelenting fist.

"Easy," I groan. My fingers wrap around her wrist, halting the tugging motion. "Like I said—I want to make you feel good. Relax and let me."

Usually, we fuck. Rough, loud, sloppy, and with the constant threat of it being the last time. And while that's incredible—the best sex of my life, easily—I don't want it tonight.

Despite everything in my body wanting her hands all over me, I remove her fingers from my dick and gently place her arms at her sides. "No more touching, got it? This is about you."

She purses her lips with annoyance, but nods slowly. My hands find their way to her tits without hesitation. After so long without her, the feel of them spilling out around my palms makes my cock twitch against her thigh. I follow the curve of each breast with my tongue, then lick and suck her dark nipples. My lips drag down her stomach, leaving a soft kiss where earlier I felt Little Spud kick for the first time. When I reach her upper thighs, she's lifting her hips off the bed and aggressively gripping the quilt beneath us.

"Quit torturing me," she whines.

"Breathe, baby." I rock forward to kiss her before moving back down to the warmth between her creamy thighs. "I know how you love being treated like a slut, but tonight"—I swipe my tongue along the soft skin of her inner thigh, forcing an arch in her back—"you're my queen. I might not be good enough for you in a lot of ways… this isn't one of them. I know I can fuck you better than anyone. One day you'll come to your senses and find a better man, and you'll think of me every damn time you're in bed with him."

I kiss her clit softly to distract myself from the thought of her with somebody else. It's a heavy, smothering weight on my chest—the seemingly inevitable future where Cassidy and our baby are being taken care of by someone other than me. Where I'm condemned to a life of watching another man give Cass the things she deserves. If I think too hard about it, I can't breathe.

"Chase." She grabs my hair, but not to push my face into her pussy. Instead, she yanks upward, forcing my eyes to meet hers. "I don't want another man. I want you. Only you. The way I've acted lately was shitty, but it had nothing to do with who you are. No matter what happens, how complicated this gets, I'll still want you."

"Then let go of my hair and let me pretend to be worthy of you for tonight." I slip a finger inside her wet entrance while I kiss her bare skin with a moan.

"Fuck," she whimpers when I pull away.

"Get comfortable, sweetheart. We'll be here for a while." Her arousal coats my tongue with a single swipe, and my self-control is quickly fading. I talk a big talk about making this last. About wanting to make love instead of fuck. But the soft moans, her writhing body, and delicate taste of her is pushing me to the brink of coming already.

Alternating between attentive licks and gentle kisses, I don't stop until she's pulling my hair with so much force I might be bald when we're done. Her hips buck against my face as I hone in on her swollen, glistening clit. Sucking. Grazing my teeth across. Fingers crooked deep inside her, coaxing her to make a fucking mess of me. I lick in rapid, tight circles until she's flooding my face with her cum. The most spectacular waterfall I've had the pleasure of bathing in.

"Atta girl," I say, finally coming up for oxygen with a dopey, drunk smile on my face. "Never make me go a month without you again."

"Deal. Even when I meet my future husband, I'll keep you as my side-piece." She squints down at me with a devilish grin. The orange flicker of the fire dances across her skin in time with my wandering hands.

"God, you're such a brat."

And I fucking love you.

"You love it."

I smirk. "I do."

And you. I love you.

To shut myself up, I kiss her stomach—a reminder of why I can't rush my confession and risk losing her again. Maybe for good, this time. Her nails rake across my shoulders and down my arms. Over the scars, bumps, imperfections in my flesh. She sees me. She knows me. And, somehow, she's here in spite of it all.

"Are you comfortable?" I ask, grabbing her ass and pulling her to meet me. Seeing a contented expression on her face, I wrap her creamy, smooth legs around my waist.

The head of my cock glides up her slit with ease, forcing drops of pre-cum onto her clit with each slow thrust forward. "Rub that in for me, baby."

Her dainty fingers find their way to her clit, massaging the beaded liquid into her skin. I notch the tip inside her, then hold still. My cock's pulsing with anticipation, desperate to feel her everywhere. She's so fucking tight, clenching around the head as her fingers work over her pussy. My girl's a soaking wet mess.

"Quit teasing." She rolls her hips to force my cock a tiny bit deeper.

"I'm just watching. I fucking love watching you play with yourself." I touch her, collecting her wetness and spreading it down my shaft with a slow stroke. Then I bring my fingers to my mouth to lick them clean. One by one. Taking pleasure in the sweet taste of her cum, the needy look in her eyes, and the pink blush travelling from her cheeks to her chest.

"Oh, yeah?" She picks up the pace, punishing herself with her fingers and arching her back. Driving my cock deeper yet. It's no longer just the tip—I'm halfway inside her, and her muscles are working overtime to draw me all the way in. I groan, fighting to keep from fucking her senseless.

"How can you question if I'm attracted to you when you do things like that? You're the most gorgeous… most sexy… most incredible woman I've ever seen."

I thrust my hips forward, matching her loud moan as I fill her. Soft and warm, she stretches around my cock, taking all of me so fucking well.

I might not be good enough for her, but she's perfectly made for me.

I stroke her thigh as my cock pumps in and out. For the first time, I wish she didn't have a pregnant stomach in the way. Because I want her to see the way her tight pussy fits around me. See that our bodies are made to be connected this way. But, more than that, I want to kiss her while we make love.

The movement's so relaxed and natural, it feels like I'm dreaming in slow motion. The world's hazy and disorienting, and it's hard to remind myself not to tell her I love her right now. Our bodies rock together, making her gasp with each thrust. She grabs my thighs, urging me deeper, closer.

"Can you… hold me?" she asks breathlessly. A request I didn't expect but definitely won't say no to.

"Lie on your side, sweetheart." My entire body's falling apart the moment I'm not inside her, like a piece of me has been torn away. I move to press my lips to hers with a slow, explorative kiss. Letting our tongues brush, holding her bottom lip hostage between my teeth, feeling her whimper travel down my throat.

She can't roll to her side fast enough before I'm cuddling in behind her and slipping my cock back into its warm, safe home. And now, without her stomach between us, I can hold her. I can love her properly. With my hands caressing her boobs, my lips on her neck, and my chest pressed to her back. The fiery glow illuminates her soft curves. The smell of her shampoo fills my nostrils, and there's only the sound of crackling fire in the room. With unhurried, effortless thrusts, I hope this is as magical for her as it is for me. Because, fuck me, I love her with every part of my soul.

She looks back at me with a small smile, and I'm smiling back like a love-drunk idiot when I feel her muscles tense around my cock. Her fingers work her clit in a frenzy to draw out an orgasm. The tingling starts in my balls, engulfing me with an intensity that makes my legs numb and my breathing weak. I gasp when I crash into her for one final time. Falling apart together, my cum fills her completely. Leaking out around the edges of my cock, which I refuse to pull out. As far as I'm concerned, we can stay exactly like this forever.

"You're so good to me." Her fingers weave between mine. "I'm sorry for pushing you away."

"Shush. I'm the one who fucked this all up." I push her hair away from my face and kiss the smattering of freckles on the back of her neck. One upside to the variety of sex positions we've been in is learning every intimate detail of her body. The freckles she doesn't even know she has. The small scar on her left inner thigh. The soft blonde hair on her lower back, which I'm sure she would hate to find out I've noticed. "And, despite me being a huge idiot, you came back. If I had to lose sleep over something for the last month, I'm glad it was you."

She's quiet for a moment, scratching her nails up and down my forearm that's draped across her. "I'm done being scared of this. I want to be with you, if the offer still stands."

"What if I let you down again?"

"Then we talk about it. Which is something we clearly both need to work on." She rocks her hips so I regrettably slip out of her. Then rolls onto her back, a sated smile appearing on her lips. Blue eyes shining in the dim fire glow. "Speaking of talking, I want us to have dinner with Dad. I need things to be good between you two."

I seriously doubt anything I do will make him think I'm better than my dad. But if Cass wants me to be her man, I'll die trying to prove myself. As long as she thinks I'm worthy, the rest of the world can go to hell.

"You're right. I need to apologize to him, too. I'll cook?"

She kisses me, pulling my hand down between her legs. Gripping my middle finger and guiding it gently over her clit. Drawing teasing lines up and down.

"You're incredible, you know that? Now…" Her sentence trails off with a moan as she increases the pressure. "Slow and intimate was amazing. But it's been a month, and I need you to fuck me. Please."

Jesus Christ. I love her.

"You should probably be punished for driving me so goddamn crazy for the last month, shouldn't you?"

She grins. "Definitely. Do whatever you want to me—I'm all yours."

"Guess fucking you until you're so sore you can't do anything tomorrow without thinking of me will work. Are you still full of my cum, baby?"

Her nose twitches, eyebrows lowered in confusion. "I assume so."

"Squeeze your pussy, sweetheart. Use those tight muscles you love to grab my cock with. I want to see how good of a job I did marking you as mine, watch my cum drip out of you."

I push up to my hands and knees, eyes racing from her blushing face to the perfect V between her legs. Her hands clenching her thick thighs, spread wide in front of me. And when my cum flows out and down the crease of her ass, I swipe it with my fingers and spread it over my rock-hard shaft. Shoving my cock inside her with a strangled, feral moan. Then I fuck the ever-loving hell out of my girl until our muscles are too fatigued to carry on and we fall asleep tangled on top of the bed.