I can feel, and hear my pulse as I try to catch my breath. I run the pads of my fingers over his abs, and he nuzzles his nose against mine.
“So…” He lets the word hang in the air.
I chuckle and kiss his sweat-slicked lips. “So…”
He smiles, and our eyes meet. “You’ve officially left me crazed once again, Nia Connell,” he says.
My throat tightens at his words. “And you, Cass Madden, have officially left me craving for more, just like before.”
“Hmm, I kinda like the sound of that,” he muses, then slowly pulls out of me. “Let me help you clean up.”
And there goes my heart, fluttering helplessly with the wind.
“Okay.” I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him again. “Thank you.”
“What for?” he asks.
I shrug. “For being you, I guess.”
He grins. “Well, in that case, thank you to you, too.”
I arch a brow in question.
He searches my face while holding onto me tighter. “For giving me a second chance,” he tells me.
And as I struggle to find the right words to say to him, I keep looking at the candidly beautiful man in front of me – who has made me feel alive again after years of staying shadowed by my fear of disappointing those I care about.
I’ve always lived my life for others. Never for myself, but only for those around me. With Cass, though, it feels like I’m living forme. Like I’m breathing and laughing and smiling formyself.
Fuck, I’m falling irreversibly in love with this man for the second time around, aren’t I?
Why yes; yes, I am.
9. Cass
I’m a complete goner for this woman. I’m drowning in her; I’m falling too hard, too fast for her. It’s a feeling I’m familiar with, yet it feels amazingly foreign this time.
Every moan I’ve elicited from her, every kiss we’ve shared, every request of hers that I’ve fulfilled – it keeps replaying in my head on a loop. Because I can’t, for the life of me, stop thinking about any of it.
Being with her is like crashing against a current that is bound to reach the shore. She keeps me adrift with her smile, with her touch. She makes me feel whole with her kisses, with her laughter. With eyes that speak volumes, and a voice that calms the ones in my head, she makes me feel like myself again. And that, for me, is eternal bliss – one I consider myself lucky to be subjected to.
10. Cass
“Hey, guys.” I wave at my phone’s camera, then turn to show the viewers the open space behind the B&B, capped beautifully in thick sheets of snow. “It’s another day of filming the documentary. We’ve yet to set things up for the day, so while I wait for the crew to get on with it, I thought I’d show you all the gorgeous view I’m currently witnessing.” A gust of cold wind whips by me, making me shiver. “Jesus,” I mutter, then chuckle. “I’d forgotten how relentlessly chilly Adenbrooke can get during the winters,” I say, then brush the snow off my hair and stubble. “Oh, and I’m sorry for not posting as much on my YouTube channel, and on here as well. I know you guys like my reels, but with filming and trying to stay in shape without a gym, I’ve hardly had time to create content for y’all. But I promise that once I’m back in NYC, I’ll be posting as much as I can. So, stay tuned, and I’ll keep updating you guys on the documentary’s progress. Peace.” I hit post on my IG stories, and scowl when the upload buffer moves at the pace of a sexually frustrated sloth.
“Hey.” Her voice sounds from behind me, right before I feel her presence on my back.
I grin before turning around to face her, and there she is, dressed from head to toe in fuzzy wool and denim.
“You’rereallyfeeling it today, aren’t you?” I tell her.
“Myhairis frozen,” she mutters. “Like,all of it.”
I laugh, then gesture at the white cups she’s holding. “What’s this?”
Nia hands one of them to me, then sniffs and rubs a hand over her face. “Hot cocoa.” She shudders a little, so I quickly move forward and wrap an arm around her.
“Nice…but I’d rather drinkyou,” I tell her.
