Page 62 of Fractured Rhythm

Chapter 15

Jamie:Remember that first batch of cookies you made when we were kids?

Cassie:Dad was pissed that I turned on the oven by myself.

Jamie:He forgave you once he tried them.

Jamie:I could really go for some chocolate chip shortbread cookies. You should deliver them in person. We’ll be in Chicago in two days.

Cassie:LOL. I would love to, but I can’t get away from school right now. Next time, maybe.

Jamie:Fine. Guess I’ll have to try cooking myself.

Cassie:For the fate of the tour bus, please don’t!

Jamie:Miss you, Cas.

Cassie:Miss you, too.

CASSIE

I smoothed downmy dress and overthought what I was wearing for the millionth time since I’d walked into my apartment after work an hour ago. Was I trying too hard? Was it obvious that I’d changed a dozen times? Maybe more?

What the hell was wrong with me?

Bash would be here any second for dinner and the ingredients sat out on my kitchen counter while I debated what to wear for a man who’d seen me in everything and nothing. Hell. I could probably pull on my ratty yoga pants and a band shirt, and he’d call me sexy. He was crazy that way, and I loved it.

I loved him. I’d never stopped. But I wasn’t ready to tell him yet. To be that vulnerable around him freaked me out.

I pulled off my dress and yanked on a pair of perfectly worn-in jeans and an Extreme t-shirt. The shirt was his. I’d pilfered it from his dresser last week. He’d had it since he was a teenager, so the fit was a little snug—lanky bastard.

My doorbell buzzed, and I hurried across my apartment and opened the door.

Bash snaked his arm around my back, pulling me close.

“That shirt looks hot on you,” he said, leaning in to nuzzle my neck. “Wonder where you got it.”

He pressed his lips to the sensitive spot where my neck and shoulder met, and a shudder burst through me. I instantly wanted him in my apartment, with the door closed, and no clothes on. He made me insatiable.

He walked me backward until he was in my living room and slammed the door shut behind him.

“I missed you like crazy,” he muttered against my heated skin.

My laugh was breathless. “We saw each other this morning.”

“So what? Doesn’t mean I can’t miss you.”

Then he lightly nibbled along my jaw before brushing his lips across mine. I sucked in a breath, my heart racing, my only thought was continuing to walk backward into my bedroom and pick up where we’d left off this morning.

Instead, he guided me into the kitchen and hoisted me up on the island. My legs instantly wrapped around his trim hips, anchoring our lower bodies to each other. My hands tangled in the hair at the base of his neck. I still missed his shaggy locks, but the short hairstyle was growing on me. It helped that the top was longer, something to grip on to when I needed it. And with Bash I always needed it.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked, staring into my eyes.

“How much I miss your longer hair. And why aren’t you kissing me?” I asked, tugging his face to mine.

“Impatient. So impatient.” He tsked before he sealed his lips to mine, stealing my breath.

I melted into him, sinking closer to his body, and he shifted to meet me halfway. The hard planes of his chest pressed against my aching breasts. I was starving for him. Would I ever get enough?

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