Page 57 of Freeing the Wild
We reach her truck, and Cassie stops at the driver’s-side door.
She sticks her hand out to me.“Alright, well … lots of progress tonight.Good talk?”
“Good talk?”I ask.This fucking woman.Could she get any more awkward?Or any cuter?
“Yeah … friends?”She crosses her heart with her first finger.
Yep, she can get cuter.I grip her hand and shake it like we’re making a business deal and cross my own heart in response.
“Friends,” I affirm.
“And uh … thanks for being a good sport about me following you.”She smiles, sliding her hand away from mine just enough to grip my pinky finger with her own.
“It’s not like you gave me the choice,” I joke.We’re still locking eyes and pinkies and I can’t seem to look away.
Before I can stop her, Cassie surprises me, letting go of my hand and wrapping her arms around my waist in a hug.Her soft hair settles against me and my body comes alive with her touch.My chest tightens as I give in and wrap my arms around her too.The way she sinks into me is so comforting and it feels like we were just made to fit together.Perfectly.
I breathe her in.Goddamn.She smells incredible.
“I had fun shoveling shit with you tonight.”She laughs softly into my chest, and the feeling of her like this, of us, ignites me.I have to physically force myself to pull away from her.She’s too sweet, too warm and too enticing.That tiny scrap of control, that last shred of armor I’ve still got is hanging by a thread.I remind myself that she won’t be here long and that Wade asked me to keep my hands off her.
“Follow behind me close,” I tell her, backing up even further.“There are deer all over these roads at this time of night.”
“Yes sir,” she says, saluting me.
I must be spending way too much time with this girl.A week ago I was constantly annoyed by her.But now?I don’t know what the hell I am.She says I’m not who she thought I was and that sits with me as I climb into my truck.Because she isn’t the princess I thought she was either.And, right now, I’m struggling to think of one reason not to like Cassie Spencer.
“So, next time you want to know what I’m doing, just ask.Yeah?”I call to Cassie from my driveway as she gets out of her truck.
“I don’t know.The stalking worked out well for me tonight.”Cassie smirks with a hand on her hip, before looking down at her keys in her hand.She looks back up at me and I see the sincerity in her face as she says her next words.“I had fun with you, Haden.”
The snow falls lightly around us and the space between our cabins seems too fucking far as my eyes hold hers.I force myself to look away and forget the way she felt in my arms.To forget the way she smells.I turn and head up my steps, breaking the connection between us.
“Stop trying to butter me up, Princess,” I joke.“I’m not forgetting you stalked me.”
“Stop pretending you didn’t like it!”she singsongs as she climbs her own steps and closes the door before I have a chance to respond.I pull my front door closed and lean against it.Blowing out a breath, I fight the urge to go to her as I head to the shower.All I want to do right now is take her in my arms and kiss her like it’s the second chance I never thought I’d get.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Haden
After an extra-hot, extra-long shower that was spent forcing the way Cassie’s beautiful eyes looked up at me tonight from my head, I toss on just a pair of sweats and head to my room, ready to sleep for a week.The snow is already falling more heavily outside and will only get worse tomorrow.The weather networks are saying it will be the biggest snowstorm in five years.If the wind hits just right, it could make a real mess of the highways and town roads.Wade has had us preparing for the last few days.Almost the whole crew left for Florida at noon and will be back in a couple of days.Rowan and Angel’s Wings left a few days ago, to get there early.Even though he knows I have everything under control, Wade will still worry about us all being prepared if we all need to hunker down for a day or so.I’ve already told the day workers to stay safe at home.Which means it will be up to myself, Dusty and Brent to keep everything moving here.Cole will be on high alert at the county sheriff’s department, but I can always call him if I need him at the ranch.
I flick the TV on and stretch out in my bed, clutching a double shot of bourbon.The heat of the whiskey soothes mymuscles more than the heat of the shower.I try to get into a movie but the flick of the soft light in Cassie’s window catches my eye through the dark snowy night.I can’t stop myself from looking as her silhouette passes the window.Her arms reach up over her head and I swear I see her hair fall down around her shoulders before she disappears from my sight.I stand and start to pace my room, trying to push her from my mind.It doesn’t work.I close my eyes, stand beside my window and picture what she’s doing right this second as I instinctively run a hand over my swelling cock.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Cassie
The only hint of light out of my dark window is the soft glow from Haden’s cabin.I assume it’s coming from his bedroom window since I know his cabin is virtually a mirror image of mine.
I pull my hair out of my clip and toss a tank and panties on as I climb into bed.I stare up at the ceiling and remember what it felt like to have Haden’s strong arms around me.I think of the machine he is for this ranch and Penny Lane.The easy, gentle way he is with the horses, and the hungry look he gave me last night as he knelt in front of me at the edge of my bed.I was drunk, but I can’t forget that look.I remember the way he licked his lips when I gripped his hair the night we spent in the truck.The way his eyes traveled over my body as we explored one another.
Heat travels through me as I touch my lips, remembering the brush of his against mine.My fingers slide under my tank to pinch my pebbled nipple as my eyes flutter closed.I let my mind wander as I roll it between my thumb and finger.A small moan escapes my lips as I think of the way it felt to have his mouth there all those months ago, the way my naked skin felt pressed against his.I can almost taste him—like sweet bourbon mixed with mint—and remember the way he smells like cedarand leather.I picture his strong hands and the veins that ripple when he holds the reins during our morning rides.I slide my hand downward under the lace of my panties.In my mind it’s Haden’s hand.I’m in his bed and he’s hovering over me.
“Fucking Christ you have the prettiest pussy,”he would say, his eyes full of lust as he pushed two fingers into me.I moan again, letting him consume me.My small case that houses my vibrator is just under my bed but I don’t even bother reaching for it.I don’t need it.All I want is the vision of him in my mind while my first two fingers find my aching clit.The sound of my arousal fills the quiet room as I imagine Haden’s face between my thighs.I remember the way his strong arms wrapped around my legs and pulled my pussy to his face as he made a meal of me.The tickle of his soft, wavy hair against my skin and the rough scrape of his beard and mustache.I remember his groans when he tasted me, the warmth of his mouth against the flesh of my thighs as he sunk his teeth into them, then licked over the pain.And the way he sucked my clit firmly into his mouth then flicked it perfectly with his tongue as he worked his magic.Pure magic.
My breath increases as the tight coil of heat begins to grow stronger in my core.
