Page 6

Gabe

She’s right. The lines are blurred. Hell, there aren’t any lines. I’ve been creeping around her for days, trying to will my dick to behave. Being in close proximity to her has been torture. I forgot how responsive she is. Our chemistry is exceptional, and I know in my soul that I don’t want this to be the only time for this. But I’m afraid to say anything.

“Let’s take it one step at a time,” Cassie says shyly.

I nod in agreement. That’s better than a firm no, so I’ll take it.

Her lips meet mine in a soft kiss. It’s tender, so different from anything we’ve experienced so far. I let her take control, and I feel her tongue tentatively touch the seam of my lips before slowly sliding in to touch mine. She whimpers into my mouth, and I wonder if she’s tasting herself. She shifts, almost imperceptibly, and the heat from her bare and sopping wet pussy soaks through my joggers, making my cock like fucking steel.

Breaking off the kiss, I pat her ass. “Can you go grab my wallet? Think I’ve got a condom in there.”

Cassie quickly jumps up, and I have an insane vision of her in nothing but my jersey as I watch her prance over to the table where my wallet is. The thought of coming home one night and finding her in just my jersey, begging me to fuck her … damn.

I immediately peel down my joggers and kick them off as she walks back to me. Cassie straddles my lap, circling right above the tip, and gasps when it hits her clit perfectly. “Put the condom on, baby.”

Cassie’s hands shake ever so slightly as she rips open the package and gently slides the condom down my length. Just the slight touch of her fingers has me hissing in pleasure and need. I can’t remember the last time I was this anxious to fuck someone. I feel like my body is so tense that the moment she sinks down on me, I won’t be able to keep from rutting into her. I think I might lose control in her.

“Gabe,” she whispers. Our eyes meet, and her gaze is heavy. A beautiful flush covers Cassie’s cheeks and neck, and I’m desperate to see if it trails down to her tits. I pull her shirt off as she slowly positions me, then slams herself down.

“Fuuuuck,” I groan as I lean forward and bite her nipple through her bra. My hands find her hips to encourage her to move faster. Her cries of pleasure reverberate around the room, and I grab her head to bring it to mine. “Don’t wake Mackenzie.”

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry,” she says, a stricken expression covering her face.

“Don’t apologize. Kiss me. Any sound you make, I’ll swallow it. Be as loud as you want, baby. Don’t hold back,” I tell her, crashing our lips together as I quicken the pace again. Cassie doesn’t stay quiet. Her mewls and cries are like a balm to my soul; her nails digging into my shoulders are reaching in to grab hold of my heart. The closer we both get to orgasm, the more attached we become. I can’t see where she ends, and I begin. Cassie buries her head in my neck, her hair blanketing my body.

“I’m almost there,” she whispers in my ear, and I’m relieved to hear it because I’m two seconds from blowing without her. Reaching around, I press my forefinger against her tight rosebud, and that’s all it takes for Cassie to stiffen in my arms. She throws her head back and whispers my name as she comes. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing, and it sets off my own explosive orgasm. Cassie collapses against me as we both try to catch our breath.

Damn. It’s not how I saw the night going, but I’m not complaining.

“That was …” Cassie trails off.

“Intense,” I finish.

“Yeah.”

“Are you okay?” we both ask simultaneously, then laugh together.

“I’m great,” she says with a light giggle. “Can’t complain.”

“I meant with this happening at all. You were saying you didn’t want to blur the lines.”

“I also meant what I said when I told you the lines were blurred ages ago.” Cassie gingerly slides off of me, wincing as she collapses beside me on the couch. “I forgot how big you are. I’m gonna be feeling this tomorrow.”

“I’d apologize, but I’m not even a little bit sorry,” I tell her cheerfully.

She laughs as she stretches her legs out. “Clearly.”

I let a moment of silence pass before clearing my throat. “But we’re good? I don’t want to leave tomorrow with things left unsaid.”

Cassie sighs. “I’m not sure what I want to say just yet. I think I need some time to process what just happened.”

“Oh,” I say, the wind knocked out of my sails. “Okay.”

“Guess it’s good you’ll be gone for ten days, huh,” she jokes, but I don’t laugh. I debate on telling her that tonight was eye-opening for me. How it affirmed what I’ve been feeling since I met her, and that I want more. But before I can, Cassie stands up, retrieves her pants and underwear, and turns to me. “If Mackenzie is asleep when you leave in the morning, just bring me the monitor. She’s been sleeping in a little later every morning this week.”

I nod weakly as she walks to the stairs, feeling worse and worse with each step she takes away from me. At the bottom of the staircase, she turns. “Good luck this week, Gabe. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine here, and I promise to send you tons of updates.”

Cassie gives me a smile before she quietly heads upstairs. I hear her enter her room, and I’m taken aback by how quickly the night turned. I let out an aggravated breath as I grab my hair and pull hard. Standing, I pull up my pants and walk to the bathroom to deal with the condom.

When both Mackenzie and Cassie are sound asleep the following morning, I sneak into Cassie’s room and leave her the baby monitor. Standing above her, I want to shake her awake and tell her she needs to get on board with … something. Hell, even I don’t know what to call this thing with her. The fact that I’m paying her to nanny my daughter complicates things. If I asked her to date me, would that be some gray area? Could it be viewed as prostitution? I wouldn’t think of it that way, but would she?

Those thoughts make me doubt whether Cassie and I can move forward with anything, so I don’t wake her up. Instead, I lean down and press a soft kiss to her temple. She sighs my name before rolling over, and I quickly leave the room before she wakes up. Heading back into my room, I quietly peer into Mackenzie’s crib. I can feel tears building behind my eyes as I stare at her. I fucking hate having to leave her. I don’t know how other guys on the team do it.

An hour later, I’m on the team plane, flipping through the hundreds of pictures of my daughter on my camera roll.

“You’re gonna be miserable all week, aren’t you?” Jax says as he drops heavily into the seat beside me. I look over to see Levi wearing a smirk as he waits for my reply.

“Yeah, he’s gonna be miserable,” Grant adds as he throws a bag onto the seat in front of me. He ducks his head over to look at my phone and dramatically sighs. “Jesus. How many pictures do you have of her already?”

“Not nearly enough,” I retort.

“I liked the one you sent where she looked stoned out of her mind,” Jax comments.

“It’s called being milk drunk. Let’s not refer to my child as being stoned,” I reply drolly.

Levi looks at his phone and appears to be counting. “You’ve sent us twenty-five pictures in the group text. I’m a little disappointed, Daws. Thought for sure you’d be in triple digits by now. Grant’s sister will probably send you twenty pics a day.”

She damn well better. But the thought of Cassie makes me feel awkward. She rocked my world hours ago, and now her brother is staring at me. And now he’s glaring.

“God dammit!” he shouts. “You fucked her again, didn’t you? What the hell, Gabe? I thought she’d be safe there because of Mackenzie!”

“Lower your fucking voice!” I hiss.

Grant growls at me. “Tell me I’m wrong. You better not be taking advantage of my sister.”

“I’m not taking advantage of her,” I say defensively. “That would insinuate we both weren’t on the same page. We’re adults, Grant. There were no advantages in this situation.”

“I still don’t understand how you met her weeks ago, man. What are the chances?” he asks, his gaze still calculating as he studies me.

I sigh in frustration. “I swear there were no ulterior motives. I’m not sure you mentioned Cassie moving here, and I certainly didn’t scope out where she might stay. The city is pretty big, man. Never thought I’d run into her at one of my favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants. I wanted to ask for her number, Nally. You have to believe me. I had every intention of seeing her again.”

“Sounds like it was kismet. Karma or something. Meant to be,” Levi comments before turning his phone around and showing me a photo I’ve never seen of Mackenzie.

“Where did you get that one?” I ask.

“Cassie sent it to me,” he says casually.

“What?” I growl.

“We exchanged numbers that first night after you stomped upstairs. I asked for some Kenzie pics, and she’s been sending them regularly.”

“Are you fucking serious? Are you hitting on my nanny?” I awkwardly stand, my height not allowing me to fully extend. I attempt to jump over Jax and get in Levi’s face, but Jax and Grant stop me.

“Dude, no. I just asked for some pics of your kid. Nothing else. You made it clear from the moment you saw Cassie that she was yours,” Levi says, hands up in mock surrender. Jax puts a hand on my shoulder to shove me back into my seat.

“I made it clear?” I ask.

“Fuck yeah, you did,” Jax chortles. When I catch his eyes, he shrugs. “You gave off a vibe, Daws. If you could have peed on her to mark her as yours, you would have.”

“I didn’t want anything to happen,” I admit. “But I’ve felt this pull to Cassie since the first moment I saw her, and it’s only gotten stronger since she moved in.”

“What are you going to do about it?” Levi asks quietly.

“Nothing, I guess.”

“Why?” Grant shouts. When I look at him in surprise, his intensity gives me pause. “You talked about that girl for a good week after you met. Had I known it was my sister, I would have stopped some of the conversations, but still. You clearly connected with her, and then for her to be my sister and in need of a job? I agree with Levi. I think you two are meant to be.”

“Weren’t you just pissed that I slept with her again?” I ask warily.

Grant shrugs, his expression nonplussed. “I certainly don’t want to hear any details since I know it’s my sister, but it’s pretty damn clear you’re both into one another. Sure, it was a shock when I realized you’d hooked up with her, but she’s an adult. I can’t treat her like a baby, even though I want to. You treat women with respect, and there are worse assholes out there she could be with. Frankly, you’re one of the nicest guys on the team, and you rarely cause problems. Except for when you tried to hook up with Luca’s girl.”

“I heard that,” Luca shouts from a few rows back.

“I didn’t really try to hook up with Hannah --” I stop as all three guys look at me in shock. “Okay, so maybe I wasn’t opposed to something happening with her, but I stepped aside as soon as I realized she was into Santzy. I’m not into that kind of bullshit on the team.”

“Remember when you told us you just wanted to hit it and quit it, right outside her office door?” Levi asks.

I feel a slight heat cover my face. “That may have not been the most eloquent thing to do. I knew Luca was in there, though, and it seemed like a good time to fuck with him. But other than that, I really don’t want to deal with a toxic situation.”

“Exactly,” Grant agrees. “You’re genuine, except, apparently, when you get to fuck with Santzy, and I know you’d treat Cassie right. If you want to pursue her, I won’t stand in your way.”

“Go for it, man. I think you’d be great together,” Jax says seriously, and Levi nods in agreement.

“There’s a big problem here, gentlemen. You’re leaving one variable out of this equation,” I say with a bitter chuckle.

“What?” Jax asks.

“Cassie.”

“So?” Levi says. “And?”

“I don’t think she wants anything with me.” Sucks even saying that out loud. But the vibe she gave off last night was … cold. Colder than I anticipated. And I’m afraid to ask her what the deal is.

“What do you mean?” Grant asks.

I look up at him exasperatedly. “Can we not talk about this? It’s your sister.”

“Just explain a little bit. Without any specific details involving either of your bodies or sounds you make or —” Grant breaks off with an exaggerated gag. All the guys laugh, even me.

“It’s a vibe I got. She feels it would blur the lines, and she’s afraid of pushing too far.”

“And what do you want, Daws?” Jax asks.

“I’d like to see where things could go with her. I could see being happy with Cassie.”

Levi gasps dramatically. “Our boy is growing up!”

“Aw!” Jax coos and Grant smacks him on the back of the head.

“Alright Dawsy, I’m not gonna butt my nose in and screw with things. But I will say this: I know my sister. And you’re right. She’s probably in her head about things. If you’re meant to be, it’ll happen. Right now, your focus for the next ten days is hockey. Let Cassie work through things independently, and let her care for your daughter. Although I gotta admit, I’d be cool if Kenzie ended up being my niece at some point,” Grant says with a wink before he turns around and sits in his seat.

“What should I do in the meantime? When I have to interact with Cassie?” I wonder aloud.

“Do what you’ve normally done. You’ve spoken to Cassie every day since she moved in, right? No difference now. Ask how she’s doing, then move the convo to talk about Mackenzie. Be nice and cordial, but don’t ask about whatever happened between you.” Jax leans toward me and whispers, “It was good, though, right? Did you enjoy it as much as the first time?”

“More,” I blurt out.

Grant swears in front of us. “I fucking told you to leave out the details!”

“He really needs to get laid,” Jax mutters.

“I heard that,” Grant snaps.