Page 20 of It Just Feels Right

My fingers dig into her hips, and I pull her even closer, lifting my hips. She leans forward, pressing her breasts against my chest. “Kiss me, Baker.”

She doesn’t have to ask me twice. I press my lips to hers, and my whole body trembles from how intense it is. Kissing Cassie is an addiction. I let my hands slide to her back and hold her to me. She’s as close as can be but not close enough.

She pulls away, breathless. Her eyes are round, nose red, and lips swollen. She’s looking at me as if I have three heads. “It’s never… I mean, you really know how to kiss.”

I run my thumb across her swollen lip. “It’s not me, Cass. It’s us. It’s good because it’s us.”

A worried look comes over her face. “You know that I was joking. I’m not trying manipulate you to like me so I can get away from my mom.”

I nod. “I know that. That’s not who you are.”

She looks at me with doubt, and I know I need to find a way to reassure her. “Cass, baby, you’re nothing like your mom. You have a good heart. You’re independent, and you would never try to hurt someone else.”

Her hands slide from my shoulders up to my neck. “What do you want from me?”

I don’t even have to think about it. “Give us a chance.”

She shakes her head. “We shouldn’t.”

I can feel her trying to put a wall up between us, and I’m not going to let her. “Forget the stepbrother thing for just a minute. Do you like me?”

She laughs. “I feel like you should pass me a note and I should check yes or no.”

“If you’d rather I do that, I can.”

She bites her lip. “Okay, yeah, I like you, you seem like a good guy.”

Encouraged, I ask her, “And do you want to get to know me?”

CHAPTER 11

CASSIE

He has somuch hope in his eyes. I know he doesn’t see the problem with this, but I’ve always worried about everything. But I also don’t think I can just tell him no and walk away. I’m more than attracted to him, and I want him like nobody’s business. I’ve never been attracted to a man like I am to him. I honestly didn’t think I was capable of it. I always thought there was something wrong with me. But right now, with me sitting across his lap, I can feel the pull of desire in my loins.

I try to play it off. “Well, Baker, we are family. We probably should get to know each other.”

He shakes his head. “I told you to forget about that. Tell me, Cass. Do you want to know me? The real me?”

I try to push off his lap, but he doesn’t want to let me go. I run my hand along his shoulder. “We need to talk about this, but I can’t do it on your lap. I can barely think straight.”

“Okay, I’ll let you up while we talk, but I’m not letting you go far.”

I laugh as I climb off his lap, and he pulls me onto the seat next to him. “Okay, talk.”

He repeats his question. “Do you want to know me? The real me?”

I fiddle with the hem of my shirt. “Why are you doing this? My mom is married to your dad.” I point between the two of us. “Nothing can come of this.”

He doesn’t realize how hard this is. It’s nearly impossible to keep resisting temptation. It would be different if I didn’t feel anything, but Baker makes me feel so much. Heck, too much. It’s overwhelming.

He grabs on to my hand and holds it like he doesn’t want to let me go. I raise my head and look into his eyes. He’s searching my face, and it feels like a caress. Almost like he’s trying to memorize my features or something. The longer I look into his brown eyes, the harder it is to keep saying no. Impossible really. I look at a frame on the wall abovehis head, and he knows exactly what I’m doing. “Look at me, Cass.”

I bite my lip and shake my head.

He laughs, puts his hands on each side of my face, and pulls me gently down until I’m looking him in the eye. “From the moment I laid eyes on you, I felt something, Cass. I don’t know how to explain it. I think about you all the time. All I’m asking is for you to give me a chance. Give us a chance.”

Emotion fills me, and I know I can’t deny him. Heck, I don’t want to. “If we do this, we need to keep it between us.”

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