Page 319 of Branded
Smitty whooped.
Some of the guys cheered.
Ethan pumped his arms like he’d just completed a herculean task.
Cas chuckled, called in a voice that sent warmth flowing through every single cell in my body, “Nice job, buddy.”
Ethan, still on top of Smitty’s shoulders, turned and smiled at Cas, and that smile told a truth that smacked me hard enough to make me see stars. Ethan had that same warmth flowing through him. My kid was in deep too.
Panic, writhing and choking, swept through me.
“Breathe, gorgeous.” Another whisper. Another touch of his fingers to my cheek.
How the fuck was I supposed to breathe?
This was all wrong.
And…this was so fucking right, more right than anything I’d ever felt in my life.
This was…almost a fairy tale.
Except, my life didn’t bring me happy endings, so I needed to stop that shit right here.
Right here.
I bundled that determination close, glanced up at Cas, lips parting to pass along my decision, but my words promptly stoppered up in the back of my throat. Because the look on his face as he watched Ethan hit me. Hard. And then he glanced down at me, gave me that same warmth and affection and?—
My brain short-circuited.
My big, dumb heart took over.
I found myself reaching up, smoothing my thumb over the prickly hair on his cheeks that was hiding a taut jaw, the lines fanning lightly out from the corners of his eyes. Cas was hurting. He was here giving me and Ethan warm while he was hurting. And throughout it all, he wasn’t impatient, wasn’t annoyed.
He was just…Cas.
Click.
More armor unlocking.
More of my heart exposed.
“We should let you get back to the trainer,” I murmured, gently brushing the creases near his eyes again. “You really need to get those ribs looked at.”
His big, warm palm was still resting on the side of my neck. My words had his fingers flexing, turning my head toward him now, and—oh look—his face was right there. And his lips were right there. And the memories were right there, flowing through my mind, making me remember exactly how it felt to kiss him, how it felt to touch him, how it felt to see him in my kitchen making pancakes, how it felt to have his warmth shining on me. “I’m fine, gorgeous.” Another squeeze before his hand slid down, smoothing between my shoulder blades, settling at my lower back. “Promise.”
“But—”
“Smitty!” he called, and I jumped again, my body brushing against all the hardness of his, and hell if I didn’t feel that right between my thighs.
Smitty turned, Ethan still on his shoulders. “Yeah?”
“Let my guy down.” Cas’s hand slipped around to hook on my hip, tugging me close to his side. “I have more to show them.”
Yeah.
That was what I was afraid of.
Twenty-Five
