Page 9 of Saving Love

Cassian nods, silently encouraging me to continue as he rubs soothing circles over my marred flesh with the pad of his thumb.

“Toward the end of poker nights, Uncle Terry liked to use me as entertainment. He’d throw his still-smoldering cigarette butts at me, giving himself a point for every time he hit me.”

"Jesus fucking Christ," Cassian growls under his breath. I've never had someone upset on my behalf, and I'll admit, it's nice having someone on my side. I've been alone for so damn long.

“Once Uncle Terry got to ten points, he’d light a cigar to celebrate, then drag me over to where he was and decide where to mark me next. This time was my neck,” I whisper, nuzzling into his hand that’s still holding me there. “Other times, it was my arms, legs, shoulders… wherever he could reach.”

“He used you as a scoreboard for his sick, twisted games,” Cassian says, finishing my thought for me. “Blakely, sweetheart,” he murmurs. “I’m sorry you grew up that way. Did your parents ever stop him?”

I shake my head no. “I never knew my parents,” I confess. “My mom dropped me off on her brother and sister-in-law’s porch a week after I was born. That was the last anyone ever heard from her. I’m not sure who my father is or if he knows he has a daughter, but I stopped caring a while ago,” I tell him with a shrug.

“I’m sorry, beautiful,” he says again.

“What did we say about apologizing for things that aren’t our fault?” I tease, hoping to lighten the mood a bit. I didn’t mean to drag everything down with my sob story.

Cassian gives me a soft, sad smile, then leans forward and rests his forehead on mine. “I may not have caused your suffering, but knowing you had to go through everything alone tears my heart to shreds. I wish I could have been there for you earlier. No one deserves that kind of treatment, do you understand?”

I nod. “Yes,” I breathe out, my eyes darting to his lips and then back up to meet his emerald gaze. There’s a mix of longing, empathy, and sorrow in his eyes, along with something else. Something primal and hungry.

God, I feel it, too. I’ve been aching for him since accidentally walking in on him shirtless. Now that we’ve been touching and stroking each other for long moments and sharing secrets, that ache has only grown stronger.

"Have you ever been kissed?" Cassian whispers, his breath skating across my lips and making me tremble. I shake my head no, watching in fascination as his pupils dilate and his nostrils flare. "May I have the honor?"

Instead of answering with words, I close the distance between us, pressing my lips to his in my first kiss ever.

7

CASSIAN

Blakely parts her porcelain lips for me, letting me slide my tongue inside her mouth and get my first real taste of the enchanting woman I found only just a few days ago. How did I survive this long without her?

When my sweet girl whimpers for me, something ravenous claws its way up from my chest, needing more. Blakely’s hands slide up my chest, one snaking down my bake while the other tangles in my hair. Her nails scrape against my skin and scalp, letting me know she wants this. She fucking needs it, same as me.

I spread a hand out over her lower back, pressing my curvy goddess against my chest as I walk us a few steps backward. Leaning Blakely against the wall, I continue my invasion of her mouth, stroking my tongue against hers until she trembles in my embrace.

She finally breaks our kiss, but I’m not done yet. I can’t get enough of her. Blakely’s pulse is pounding against her neck, and I lick my lips before pressing a teasing kiss there. My girl moans and tips her head back, giving me more room to devour her.

I growl as I lick a stripe up her neck and pull her earlobe through my teeth. “Love the way you taste,” I rasp, pressing a kiss to her temple and breathing her in. Blakely writhes against me, rubbing her thighs together in desperate need of friction.

Fuuuuck me, she’s so damn innocent, so young and sweet, and yet broken in a way that will haunt me forever. Blakely is more than what happened to her in the past. She’s who she chooses to be from this day forward. I just hope I’m lucky enough to be a part of her life when she realizes how strong and capable she is.

Blakely might not need me, but I’ve already become addicted to everything about her, from the playful glint in her light blue eyes to her shy smile.

“Cassian,” she half-whines, half-moans. I love how desperate she is, how innocent in her need, how trusting she is that I’ll give her everything she’s asking for.

“Love how responsive you are,” I tell her, my voice deep and filled with dark desire. I’m trying to keep my shit together, but it’s hard holding onto my sanity when the hottest woman I’ve ever laid eyes on is surrendering her curvy, perfect little body up to me.

“Please…” she murmurs, her breaths growing ragged. She doesn’t even know what she’s asking for, but goddamn, I like hearing her beg for me.

Wedging my thigh between her legs, I groan when I feel the heat of her pussy through her pants. Fuck, she’s wearing my pants. My clothes are getting soaked with her cream, and goddamn if I’m not jealous of a pair of sweatpants.

“Ride me, baby,” I growl before taking her lips once again. Blakely doesn’t move at first, and for a moment, I think I crossed a line. Then she tilts her hips forward, grinding her core against my thigh. “That’s it, Blakely,” I praise.

“Mmhm,” she breathes out, her eyes closed, her swollen lips parted as I take all of her in. She’s exquisite, from her midnight black hair, wide, ice-blue eyes, ample chest, curvy hips, and thick thighs I can’t wait to see wrapped around my hips as I drive into her over and over…

“Feel good?” I ask, my voice harsh and raspy. I’m barely hanging on, but I need her to get there, to reach the tipping point and fall right into her pleasure.

“Y-y-yeah,” she stutters out before burying her face into my shoulder. I hear her muffled moans as her legs tremble and squeeze around my thigh. “I… I… oh, god…”

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