Page 84 of Finding Forgiveness
She takes everything I give her like a champ as I gobble her up like a starved man and finger fuck her like it’s my sole purpose in life. When she finally falls over the edge, her hands slip from my hair to my shoulders and her nails dig into my flesh. Her orgasm seems to go on forever as her body arches off the mattress and her inner walls contract against my fingers. She’s so fucking hot I can’t help but grind my cock against the bed. I need back inside her, stat.
My lips and chin glisten with her arousal as I make my way back up her body, settling between her parted legs. I reach for her hands, dragging them above her head and lacing our fingers together.
I rest my head against her shoulder and groan when I thrust my hips forward and enter her in one fluid move. My dick is as hard as steel.
She locks her ankles around my arse, and the next time I bottom out, she holds me there. Sweat breaks out across my skin as a mixture of pleasure and torture washes over me as she restricts my movements. I’m buried to the hilt and as good as it feels, I need to move.
I roll my hips as much as I can in this position, and although my body is screaming for more, when I raise my head to stare down at her, I’m momentarily winded by the intimacy of this moment. Nothing in the world compares to being here with her, like this.
Releasing one of her hands, my fingers move of their own accord, caressing down the side of her face. “I love you, Cass.”
Truer words have never been spoken, but my stomach plummets as soon as they are out of my mouth. The last thing I want to do is ruin this moment or scare her away by moving too fast. Technically, we only officially became a couple last night, but my love for her never stopped. Even when we were apart.
Her reply is the last thing I expect to hear. “I love you too, Connor Maloney … with all my heart.”
Chapter25
Cassie
I’m sitting beside Grace on the lounge in the viewing room of the bridal shop, waiting for Jacinta to come back out in the next gown. She’s tried on five so far and they were all beautiful, especially on her, but I could tell by the look on her face that none of them were the one.
As soon as she steps out of the dressing room my breath hitches in my throat. And when my eyes flicker from the dress to her beaming smile, I know this is it. The gown is a lightweight, airy tulle. The netting on the outer layer creates a cloudlike volume to the skirt. The corset bodice is hand pleated, with a keyhole back that’s finished with a dainty bow.
She looks like a princess and the sight has tears immediately rising to my eyes. This is a moment we’ve been talking about since we were little girls. I’m so overcome with emotion as she steps onto the pedestal in the centre of the room that a small sob bubbles in the back of my throat. Grace instantly reaches for my hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. I glance over at her and find tears streaming down her face too.
“This is the one,” Jacinta says as her gaze moves from the mirror to us.
“It’s perfect,” I manage to squeak out.
“You look beautiful, sweetie,” Grace whispers, dabbing her eyes. She rises and crosses the short distance to her daughter, where they hug it out in the middle of the room.
I feel blessed to be experiencing this mother-daughter exchange. Unfortunately, I’ll never get to share a moment like this with my own, and that saddens me more than I care to admit.
Even though Jacinta and I often fantasised about marrying best friends and bringing our kids up together, deep down I knew she was only going along with it for my benefit. Because back then, marriage was never on the cards for her. Due to the extensive damage she suffered in the first twelve years of her young life—growing up with an abusive father—men were never on her radar.
The significance of this moment is not lost on either of us. Not only is she defying the odds by marrying the man of her dreams, but she’s also carrying his baby.
My best friend is living my fantasy. Even though Connor and I expressed our love for each other this morning, I’d be a fool, given everything that we’ve been through, to bank on a happy ending for us.
I can’t guarantee it won’t happen, but after sitting down with Connor and his father last night to discuss what happened, the cold hard truth is I have no proof to substantiate my claims, just my word. Common sense tells me that won’t stand up in court. As confident and competent as they seemed despite this, it left me feeling like a dark cloud was looming over us, because nothing in life is a certainty. If my mother has anything to say about it, we’ll be lucky if we walk out of this as a couple.
I feel high on life by the time we arrive back at our building. The dresses are chosen, including mine and the mother of the bride’s. The things that still need doing are extensive, but we went over Jacinta’s list during lunch and have decided to divide and conquer. I’m confident between the three of us we’ll smash this out of the park.
We exit the lift on my floor, and when I unlock the front door, I’m greeted with a scene that instantly deflates me. I’m again coming home to a house full of people. Aside from Jim, it’s not the same crowd from last night. Logan Cavanagh—Brooke’s husband—two other men in suits, and an elderly, casually dressed man, whom I’ve never seen before, sits alongside my father, going through a stack of papers.
“Daddy,” is the first word out of my mouth.
“Pumpkin,” he says, rising from his chair and crossing the room. When he opens his arms, I immediately fall into them. “I’ve been so worried about you.”
“I’m okay,” I lie. “What are you doing here?”
“Helping in any way I can.”
I tilt my head back and smile up at him. Although I’m not overly confident there’s anything anyone can do, it’s comforting to know I have his support and all these people in my corner.
Connor gets up to greet me next, cupping my face in his big hands and brushing his lips against mine. There is a sparkle in his eyes, one that I haven’t seen in a very long time. I’d like to think I’m the one who put that there.
“Come,” he says, reaching for my hand and leading me towards the table. “I’ll show you what we’ve been up to since you’ve been gone.”
