Page 49 of Fractured Rhythm

Chapter 12

Jamie:Boobytrap spelled backward is partyboob.

Cassie:Should you really send that to your sister?

Jamie:Just trying to make you laugh. You sounded a little exhausted last week.

Cassie:I was. I barely got any sleep. Restaurant hours are insane.

Jamie:Now that it’s over, let your partyboob hang out. Okay, no, yeah. Not the right joke.

Jamie:Miss you, Cas.

Cassie:Miss you, too.

CASSIE

As soon aswe walked through Bash’s front door, he was on me, pressing me up against the wall and stealing my breath.

I’d spent most of the cab ride taunting him, running my hands down his chest and over his thigh. Fuck. I couldn’t remember wanting anyone this much. Hell, I wasn’t sure I’d ever wanted anything as much as I wanted Bash. I barely had a buzz. His kisses left me in a drunken haze that had nothing to do with the booze I’d had at the bar.

And that was exactly how I wanted this. I’d purposely kept my drinking to a minimum as soon as we’d linked our hands under the table the first time. This could bite me in the ass in the morning, and maybe I should wait to see where this was going, especially after everything we’d been through, but I was done second-guessing every damn thing. I wanted Bash, and he sure as hell wanted me if that impressive erection that he’d pressed against me on the dance floor meant anything.

“Fuck, Cassie,” he said, flattening me against the wall next to his front door with his hard body. Every inch of him was rock solid, and I resisted the urge to climb him like a tree, to jump up and wrap my legs around his waist and never let him go.

Whoa. Hold up.

This was about tonight. No thoughts about the future allowed.

“That’s the idea,” I murmured with a grin before I pulled his face down to mine and darted my tongue between his parted lips. I swallowed his groan, and he pulled me tighter against him. I rose up on my tiptoes to get closer. His tongue swept past mine, dueling for dominance, but I was leading this kiss and giving him all that I had.

His hands snaked down my back and gripped under my ass, lifting me in the air, and I wrapped my legs around his hips, shifting my body against his hard cock, feeling the heat and power of him through the layers of fabric I desperately wanted to strip away.

My hands sank into his hair, clawing for purchase as his lips left mine to skate down my throat. His tongue traced my collarbone, and I moaned loudly.

“Cassie, are you sure? We can stop now if you want to,” he whispered against my heated skin.

I tilted my head back to look at him. “Do you want to stop?” I asked, my heart frozen in my chest.

“Fuck no. I never stopped wanting you.”

He leaned in, lightly brushing his lips against mine and I shivered.

“It would kill me to stop now, but I want to make sure you want this,” he said, and I tried not to melt even more.

“I want this, Bash. I want this more than anything. We’ve wasted a lot of years with lies and stupidity—all your fault, of course,” I said with a smirk.

“Completely my fault. I should spend hours—no, days, months, years—making it up to you,” he said with a grin.

“I might hold you to that, but for now, let’s focus on tonight and getting out of these clothes,” I said, glad that we were both on the same page. I hadn’t completely forgiven him for lying to me, but it was better than still thinking he’d disrespected me enough to cheat on me.

He sealed his lips to mine with another breath-stealing kiss, his tongue tracing along mine before diving in, and I moaned against his mouth, happy that we were done talking about the past.

After an endless moment, he broke the kiss. “Sure you don’t want a tour first?” he teased.

“Just of your bedroom, thanks,” I replied cheekily as I unhooked my legs from his hips and stood in front of him. I trailed my fingers along the bottom edge of his shirt, slipping under the fabric to caress his abs. Perfection, just as they’d always been.

His muscles shuddered under my touch as I moved up his chest, taking his shirt with me. He yanked it over his head, and I placed my hands on his warm skin, my thumbs raking over his nipples. He dropped his head back with a growl.

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