Page 65 of Proof

Because of Cass.

Nothing I did would make up for all the mistakes I’d made from the time I’d learned my life had been irrevocably changed forever, but the little time that I’d gotten to spend with Cass had reminded me that despite all my failings, I still got to choose what path to follow going forward.

The question now was whether or not Cass would give me another chance to walk that path together.

I was shaking by the time I reached the small park a few blocks from my house. I tried to pass it off as the uneasiness of knowing someone could be hunting me, but the second I saw the familiar outline of a man sitting on one of the wooden benches by a tiny football field, the butterflies in my stomach were proof that I wasn’t thinking about a potential assailant.

Surprisingly, Cass didn’t seem to notice my presence at all. The Cass I knew was always aware of what was happening around him. No one got the drop on him.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Cass said softly.

I almost smiled. At least some things hadn’t changed.

“How did you know?” I asked as I moved around the bench and stood before him. The flickering light above our heads only allowed me glimpses of his face. He had yet to look at me.

Not a good sign.

“The same way you knew I was here,” Cass responded, his voice emotionless. “Go home, JJ.”

His dismissal was like a punch to the gut. I couldn’t help but laugh, though nothing about any of this was funny.

“Is that really why you’re three blocks from my house at the very park where we first met? To tell me to go home?” I asked.

Cass’s silence infuriated me. So did his lack of any kind of physical reaction to my presence.

“So that’s it,” I said. “You go off the grid for over a week and then when you finally decide to show up, you aren’t even man enough to come to the house?”

When Cass didn’t respond or even look at me, I backed up so I was standing directly in the light shining over the baseball field and held out my arms. “You think this will give whoever’s out there a clear shot? No trees to block his view, a little bit of light to make sure it’s me and?—”

Cass was on me before I could even finish the sentence. His hand wrapped around my throat, but he didn’t apply any real pressure. His blue eyes were filled with emotion—fury, to be exact—now. I didn’t resist when Cass dropped his hand and wrapped it around my bicep so he could pull me back out of the light. He didn’t stop there, though. He practically dragged me into the public restroom that was meant for park visitors. After slamming me up against the wall, he kicked the door shut behind him and then locked it.

“Well, it’s not the worst bathroom I’ve ever let a guy?—”

“Shut the fuck up!” Cass snapped as he got in my face again. “Is all this a game to you, JJ? You don’t get to lose yourself in a bar full of men anymore so you decide to get your fix by sneakingout of the house like a rebellious teenager just so you could pick a fight?—”

“Fuck you, Cass!” I barked as I shoved him hard. Between the confined space and his assumption I wouldn’t fight back, he stumbled backward and hit the edge of the sink. The brief skirmish left us both breathing much harder than it should have.

I knewmyheavy breaths had nothing to do with being pissed at Cass. Relief, nerves, and lust had my blood heading south. I could feel my cock pressing against the denim of my jeans. It wouldn’t be long before he would see physical proof of my state.

Stepping back, I let my back brush up against the concrete wall behind me, my eyes never leaving his. “Do you have any idea what you put…” I paused briefly because I was in dangerous waters. “What you put Sully through this past week?”

“Sully…” Cass mused as he too leaned back, letting the sink support him. “Last time Sully and I talked, he made it pretty clear what was and whatwasn’tsupposed to happen in that cabin. Boundaries… that’s what he called them.”

I could feel the saliva pooling in my mouth. Sure enough, when I dropped my eyes to Cass’s groin, there was no mistaking that we were on the same page physically. Unfortunately, we were miles apart on everything else.

I didn’t care.

I didn’t care that it would make everything worse. I didn’t care that it would only widen the rift between us. I selfishly didn’t care that I would be hurting him all over again.

That I’d be hurting myself.

My body was in charge and my brain had no interest in regaining control of it.

“What if those boundaries changed? For one night?” I asked.

I nearly came on the spot as Cass straightened and slowly walked toward me. The lust in his eyes was impossible to ignore.

Lust.

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