Page 115 of Fractured Rhythm

“Yes. Bash. I’m so close.”

He slowed his pace again, and I tried not to scream in frustration. The languid thrusts, like he had all the time in the world, drove me insane, and I caught his smile before he leaned in to kiss me again, hugging me close to his body.

His hand snaked between us, finding my clit and pressing tight circles against the bundle of nerves.

Then I was gone, my orgasm sending me over the edge into pure bliss.

He thrust a few more times before he followed me with a loud groan. He buried his face in my hair, pressing a kiss to the spot behind my ear that sent shivers down to my toes.

“I love you so much, Cassie. I’m so sorry for everything I’ve put you through, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you,” he whispered.

Tears stung my eyes, but I didn’t want them to fall. I didn’t want to ruin this perfect moment. This was everything I’d ever wanted, and it’d taken us so long to get here that I feared it would never happen.

“I love you too, Bash. So much. This is going to work. I’m not going anywhere,” I said, running my fingers through his hair and willing away my tears. I was done dwelling on the years we’d missed. I was only looking ahead.

All too soon, he pulled free of my body and rolled to the bed next to me. We cleaned up quickly and then climbed under the covers. I tucked my body into his, my hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating strongly under my palm.

“Thank you for the gifts. I loved more than the macarons,” I said.

He shifted, turning to face me. His smile melted me from the inside out. The strain was gone, and I wanted to stay like this forever.

“I hope so. I gave you my lyric journal. I might as well have given you my soul, if you didn’t have it already.”

He was laying the charm on thick, and I was loving every second of it.

“Sweet talker.”

“Only with you,” he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “You know I wanted to call you so many times after our last conversation to explain, but I’m glad I waited. I didn’t want to tell you that I was thinking about therapy. I wanted to show you I was going and making an effort to make this work. I didn’t want the pictures plastered online, but I’m glad you saw them. I was running out of patience waiting for you.”

I pinched his side, and he jerked away from me with a grumble.

“I was coming around already. It’s not just you, Bash. The last few weeks haven’t been easy.”

“Why? What’s going on? Are you okay?”

He bombarded me with questions before he fully shifted to face me. His concern was clear.

“I’m okay now. Ugh. I didn’t want to tell you. It shouldn’t matter. But my mother showed up outside my office.”

“You’re joking. What the hell did she want?”

“She said she missed me and needed money because she has cancer.”

“Oh, Cas.”

“Yeah. I didn’t believe it. You know, she always wants to fund her drug habit. She didn’t even bring up being sick until I told her I wasn’t giving her anything.”

“I hate to ask this, but is she really sick? Did you call your dad?”

“I wasn’t going to. I shouldn’t care after everything. But yeah, I called him the other day. He said it was news to him and that he was sorry for everything, and to not listen to her.”

He tugged me closer, if that was possible, and ran his hand down my back. Shit. I really knew how to kill a post-orgasm buzz. It hurt to say all of this out loud, but he needed to know.

“I cannot believe she had the balls to try to claim she was ill to get money. I’m sorry, Cassie. You shouldn’t have to go through this. But you talked to your dad and—”

I cut him off. “And I don’t know. He said we should grab dinner if I’m ever home again, but I don’t know if I want to. Part of me wants to keep that part of my life closed. It truly died when Jamie did.”

“If you change your mind, I’ll be right there with you. Holding your hand or knocking him out. Whatever you prefer.”

---