I inhale deeply. “Fuck.I’m obsessed with you.”
Clenching my jaw to fight the urge to come, I fill her repeatedly, watching her head loll side to side. She moans under her breath, and the feeling of her strangling my cock has my balls tightening with a tingling warning. I can’t hold back—not with Cass. Coming too soon was never an issue before I met the woman who drives me completely wild with desire. From the moment I slide my dick inside her, it’s a losing battle.
Who am I kidding? It’s a losing battle from the moment I touch her.
My fingers find her clit, desperately swishing across it until her legs begin to shake and her spine stiffens. And then I let go, closing my eyes and snapping my neck back, succumbing to the shuddering relief that starts in my groin and explodes out through my limbs. Her pussy tightens in waves around me, drawing out my orgasm as she comes. Cass’sforehead falls to the countertop and, for a moment, we stay perfectly still in stunned silence.
Tugging my pants up, I kneel behind her and gently lick my way around her pussy. My fingertips gripping her thick ass, I clean our mess with my tongue and revel in the trembling of her thighs against my cheeks.
“Can’t say I’ve ever experienced that on a first date.” She says when I stand back up, tucking loose hair behind her ears with a satisfied smile. Attempting to smooth out the creases in her dress. Her cheeks are rosy, hair mussed up, eyes hooded, and she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. If I were a painter or a photographer or a writer,thisis how I’d want to capture her; leaning her elbow on the counter, free hand cradling her stomach, and a slow rise and fall in her flushed chest.
“Should’ve let me ask you out a long time ago, Cass. Clearly all those other first dates were a waste of time.”
“They fed me dinner, though. And you… have no food anywhere in sight.” She bites her lip and scans the now-empty counter space.
Grabbing her shoulders, I turn her in the direction of the long wooden dining table and gently push her forward. “That’s enough out of you. Go sit down and let me clean up, then I’ll feed you before you get any meaner.”
Broken glass, potato shrapnel, and an assortment of cookware litter the floor. By the time the kitchen’s cleaned up and dinner’s served, it feels like there’s a ticking time bomb in the centre of the table. I don’t want to be here when Kate and Jackson get back and, based on how quickly Cass inhales her mashed potatoes, I think she feels the same. And this confirms why Ineedto talk to Austin about moving into his place when their fancy new house is built—it may only be one bedroom, but it’s better than the bunkhouse. Maybe I’ll temporarily stay in the empty cabin where Cass and I spent the night while I wait for his place to be available. I’m sure I’ll be at Cassidy’s house most of the time after Little Spud arrives, but I want her to feel comfortable coming here if she wants to.
Holding a firm grip on her hand, I lead Cass along the snowy driveway from the big house to the barn. Even with her knee-length, puffy jacket, she’s trembling. I should’ve warned her we would need to go outside—I’ll run her a bath and hold her all night after this. We move slowly so she doesn’t slip, following the beam of light from a flashlight clipped to my chest pocket. Finally, we stop in front of a small shed tucked around the backside of the barn.
I turn to her. “Ready for your Christmas present? Close your eyes.”
She gives me a wary head bob, eyelids drifting closed, and I unlatch the shed doors. Once I’m sure her eyes are fully shut, I reach inside the door and flip the singular light switch. A small ceiling light glows across the wooden work benches and casts shadows onto the snow through the window and open door.
“Okay. Open.”
She’s completely silent, her mouth agape, as she takes in her present. A small wooden shed, complete with handmade work benches, a wall of drawers and storage shelves, and even a plush, light-blue rug that’s the same shade as her eyes. I’m not a carpenter, but I think I did a damn good job.
“Chase… what—I thought you said a small present. Whatisthis?” She lightly bounces in place, trying her damnedest to hide her excitement.
“Well. It started small, with that leather working tool you said you wanted but were too cheap to buy.”
A memory dances across her face. “The fancy maul, yeah.”
“Anyway, it turned into this entire workspace. Guess I got bored and needed a way to pass the time, with you ignoring me and all.” I nudge her gently with my elbow, and she rolls her eyes. “I don’t want you to have to give up something you enjoy. So this way you have a place to do it, and I’ll make sure you get the free time.”
Cass heads inside, letting her fingers glide across the worktop. She opens drawers, a wide smile making her squint, as I continue explaining. “It has a small heater, and we can do a window AC unit for summer. Figured we could put it in your backyard over the unused garden beds. I also have twenty cowboys with pretty extensive orders placed… belts, chaps, headstalls. I think Jackson wants to talk to you about some custom artwork on a saddle for Kate’s birthday.” I pull out the notebook where I’ve been keeping track. It started with a bit of coercion to get every single ranch hand to order a belt. Once the ball started rolling, it got away on me pretty quickly.
She thumbs the pages. “That’s alotof orders, and I won’t have a lot of time.”
“They’re all okay with things taking as long as you need. You’re too talented to box up your supplies and call it quits.”
“Chase, I… thank you.” She launches toward me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling our bodies tight. Suddenly the collar of my shirt is damp, and I press a kiss to her hair.
Before I can catch myself, I whisper the truth that’s been pestering me for months. “I love you.”
Her sniffling breath stops. Time stops, I think. I can’t feel the hum of her heartbeat through all of our clothing layers so, hopefully, she can’t feel the way my own is hitting my chest like a jackhammer.
“Cass, please don’t freak out. You don’t need to say it back…ever. I didn’t…fuck.” If asking her to go out with me was enough to scare her off a few weeks ago, there’s no way this isn’t going to bring out the easily spooked wild horse in her. “I didn’t say it because I expect you to say it back. You don’t ever have to. I-I’ve never loved someone before, so I don’t know how to do this sort of shit. But you’re the only one for me, and I can’t keep lying to you. Can’t keep pretending I don’t feel this way. Whether you want it or not, my heart belongs to you.Pleasedon’t hate me for it.”
With a shaky exhale, her fingers tighten against my back, drawing us closer. “Thank you,” she whispers, looking up at me. Her cheeks are tear stained and eyelashes drenched, but the smile she gives me is real.
She loves me. I’m sure of it now.
I never need to hear her say the words, as long as she keeps smiling at me like this for the rest of my life. That’s enough for me. It means enough.
I swipe away her tears with the pad of my thumb, then hold my lips to her forehead, her nose, her cheek, and her mouth. And repeat. And repeat. Until the tears stop and her face is pink from my scruffy facial hair, not from crying.
