Page 7 of Cash's Treasure

“What are you doing?”

“Waking you up,” I say hurriedly. “Dinner is ready, and I was, um . . . waking you up so we can have it together.” His eyes stay narrowed on mine as long beats of silence pass by. The grip on my wrist loosens, but he doesn’t completely withdraw his hand. Instead, he starts rubbing circles on my wrist with his thumb that have my breathing growing short. “C-Cash . . .”

“You’re so fucking gorgeous, Freckles,” he says roughly, his voice deep and sultry from sleep, doing things to me it shouldn’t.

I should push away from this madness since it’s clear he’s still sleep-ridden before we do something we both regret, but instead, I stupidly say, “You think so?”

“Of course. You’re the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, Kayla. From your pretty brown eyes to the freckles on your nose and that perfect mouth that I want so badly to kiss.”

My eyes drop to his firm mouth, and I swallow hard as his words slowly filter into my foggy brain. “K-kiss?”

He tugs my wrist, causing me to fall forward, and that is all the warning I get before his lips are on mine. It’s soft at first, a simple brush of skin that causes my body to shudder and my nipples to harden into pebbles behind my bra. He seems to grow impatient with the kiss as he buries his fingers in my hair and tugs, making me gasp into the kiss and giving him the perfect opening to deepen it. He leans in and winds our tongues together in the most carnal of dances. The deep, growly sound he makes at the back of his throat as he twists his lips hungrily over mine sends liquid heat pooling between my legs.

I moan into the kiss, my knees buckling when he tips my head back and devours my mouth like it’s the one thing he’s been his whole life to do.

I think you’re just choosing not to see that Cash has basically laid claim over you.

Lana’s words are an unwelcome thought in the moment, but I can’t shake them off or the feeling that this is something Cash has been wanting for a long time too.

My first kiss.

Does he have a clue that, before this moment, I have never kissed anyone in my life? It fits that Cash would be the man I give my first kiss to, and . . .

I want to give him more.

Christ, I want to give this man everything. If something happens in the future that creates a wedge between us, at least I’ll have this. The memory of his kiss and touch to hold on to.

Cash breaks the kiss but doesn’t loosen his hold. Our breaths mingle hotly with each other, and I realize that we’ve crossed a line. There is no going back now or pretending that I don’t know how his lips taste.

“Tired of waiting, Freckles,” he breathes over my lips, his voice deep and sultry, making my sex clench with need. “I’m going to make you mine now. This is your last chance to run away.”

Run away?

No, that was off the table the second he kissed me. Perhaps we could have ignored the fact that I was crouched beside him and thirsting over his hot, masculine body, but the second he touched me, he unlocked something in me that I can’t ignore any longer.

No, there is no running.

And I am going to show him just how much that is not an option at this point. Even with my limited knowledge, I am going to make my best friend want me.

Here goes nothing.

Chapter Four

Kayla

A few weeks ago, I caught Lana making out with one of the bartenders in the backroom. We have a policy at the bar that forbids staff from hooking up to avoid drama, but when I found them, I was as horrified as I was fascinated. Before then I’d never witnessed anything so explicit, and for a few seconds, I stood frozen, fascinated by what I was seeing.

From the little sounds she made when he backed her up against the wall to the way they tore at each other clothes, I was there all for three seconds when I knew I’d seen enough to corrupt my innocent eyes. Before that fateful night, the two had been eyeing each other all week, exchanging flirtatious glances here and there. Lana would unbutton her shirt to reveal her cleavage, and the man would eat it up, messing up orders as he watched her all night.

“Guys like it when you tease them,” she’d told me when I questioned the cat-and-mouse game she had with the bartender. “They like it when you expose bits of yourself, tease them slowly, and get them all hot and bothered, so it’s more satisfying when they finally pounce on you.”

At the time, I hadn’t paid much mind to her words, figuring I didn’t have to worry about ever seducing a guy, but now . . . so close to Cash, it’s all I want.

I want to show him that I have no intention of running away from these feelings that are developing, and if I am to share myself with anyone, then I want it be him.

Letting out a nervous sigh, I push back from him and rise to my feet, forcing Cash to sit up as well. My fingers are shaky, but I quickly grab my sweater and draw it over my shoulders before I can second guess myself. My cheeks flare with heat, but I don’t even think Cash notices as his handsome features tighten when his eyes drop to my chest. He sucks in a sharp breath when I unfasten my bra, biting nervously into my lip as I let it fall. His hot gaze scours my body, and I fight the urge to shuffle nervously on my feet.

Don’t be nervous. Cash is safe. He’s my best friend, the man who saved me.

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