Page 12 of Don’t Leave (Stay #2)

CASSIDY

I ’m about to climb into bed when there’s a knock on my dorm room door.

I nearly jump out of my skin before a deep voice says from the other side, “Cassidy? Are you in there?”

That’s all it takes for me to fly to the door before yanking it open. “Cole!”

Before he can open his mouth, I hurtle myself into his outstretched arms. After everything that happened tonight at the party, I just want to burrow against his chest and stay there forever.

I don’t want him to ever let me go. We hold each other for a handful of silent moments before he pulls away just enough to search my eyes in the darkness.

“What happened to you? Where did you disappear to?” He barely sucks in a breath before rapid firing another question at me. “Do you have any idea how worried I was when I couldn’t find you?” The relief of moments ago gives way to anger. It brims in his whiskey-colored eyes.

“I looked everywhere. And Brooklyn didn’t know what happened to you either.”

He holds me at arm’s length as his gaze slides down the length of me as if checking to make sure I’m still in one piece before backing me up into the room and slamming the door behind him. Only then does he pull me back into his embrace. I can’t help but sink into his warmth.

“Cassidy?” This time, when he murmurs my name, it’s quietly. The sharpest part of his anger already receding. “I was worried when I couldn’t find you.” He squeezes me to him before adding, “I tried calling but you didn’t pick up.”

“I didn’t hear it,” I murmur. “But I tried calling and texting after I saw the messages. You didn’t answer.”

He pulls away just enough to lean his forehead against mine. “My phone sucks. It died on me.”

I let out a shaky little laugh. “Your phone does suck.”

“I scoured the party and tried finding you.”

“There were way too many people.” My gaze stays locked on his. “I looked for you, too.” I bite down on my lower lip, unsure if I want to add that I saw him walking up the staircase with his ex. There’s a part of me that just wants to enjoy this quiet moment with him.

Cole angles his face until his lips can sweep across mine. He continues to brush them over mine until my breath hitches with expectation and longing.

“Did I mention how worried I was when I couldn’t find you?” he whispers against my mouth until I’m breathless with need.

“It’s been noted.”

Bringing up Jackie now seems so stupid. Especially since he’s here with me. If Cole wanted to be with her, that’s exactly where he’d be. The last thing I want is for him to think I don’t trust him, because I do.

I trust him with all my heart.

In this moment, with his lips coasting over mine, his ex doesn’t mean a damn thing. She might want him but that doesn’t mean he has any interest in her. Honestly, now that I’m wrapped up in his arms, I feel foolish for thinking she could come between us.

He breaks our kiss and pulls away just enough for his gaze to skim down my body. “Lost the scrubs, huh? That’s a bummer.”

Rising on the tips of my toes, I suck his lower lip into my mouth before biting down on the plump flesh. “I’m game to give you a physical if that’s what you want, Mr. Mathews.”

A sexy smile curves across his face before his voice dips. “I was so hoping you were going to say that.”

Without another word, I pull the t-shirt and hockey jersey over his head.

Somewhere along the way, he lost his shoulder pads.

Just like always, my breath hitches at the sight of him standing before me in nothing more than a pair of low-slung jeans.

No matter how many times I catch sight of him, his chiseled musculature always sends a punch of arousal straight to my core.

Unable to resist the temptation, my hands glide over the broad set of his shoulders before drifting to the rippling muscles of his biceps.

My knees weaken as I continue stroking my fingers over his cut body.

Stepping closer, I press my mouth against the firm solidness of his chest before slowly licking my way down the sinewy muscles of his six-pack.

He tenses when I nip at him with sharp teeth. Maybe I get carried away, biting down a little too hard. When I pull away, there’s the barest hint of indentations marring his taut flesh. The low groan that leaves his lips sends hot shafts of need flooding my panties.

The tips of my fingers drift over the ink that brands his skin.

It begins on the right side of his ribcage before wrapping around his back.

The shield is divided into four sections of red and black color.

A large golden lion stands on its hind legs in the middle.

On top of the shield sits a golden crown. The detail is gorgeous and intricate.

What I’ve learned is that Cole’s father’s family is Scottish, and this is the Mathews family coat of arms. Under the shield is his dad’s name written in beautiful script along with the dates of his birth and death.

He inked it onto his skin when he turned eighteen in memory of his father who was killed a decade ago by a drunk driver.

“I love the way you touch me,” he growls.

“Not half as much as I love touching you,” I whisper against his warm flesh. I could do this all night long and never grow tired of it.

His hands wrap around my ribcage, the thumbs brushing the undersides of my breasts through the thin fabric of my tank top. Another ripple of pleasure shoots through me as his fingers drift to the frayed hem before slipping it over my head.

A heartbeat later and I’m just as bare chested as he is.

Not so long ago, it would have embarrassed me to stand in front of him like this, especially since I can feel the heat of his gaze licking over my upper body.

Now, however, I love it. I love the worshipful way his eyes eat me up.

The thrill of his attention has my nipples tightening.

A sexy growl escapes from deep in his throat as his hands rise to gently cup the fullness of my breast before stroking the pebbled tips.

“Do you like that?” His voice is low and gravelly as his attention stays locked on the movements of his fingers.

When I don’t immediately respond, he tweaks each puckered bud.

My breath catches. Who would have ever thought that pleasure could ignite from a bite of pain?

“Hmmm?” His hot gaze arrows to mine, skewering me in place.

When he pinches them again, more pleasure floods through me before settling in my core as I gasp. “Yes!”

“Good, because I love touching you.” He palms a breast in each hand, lifting the softness before leaning down to sooth each tip with his tongue and lips until I’m squirming.

Just when I don’t think I can bear another moment, he pulls away and the cool air of the room wafts over my damp flesh. His hands sweep down my sides to the curve of my ass before lifting me until I can wrap my legs around his waist. My arms tangle around his neck, tugging his face to mine.

Flexing my hips, I rub my core against the taut muscles of his abdomen, wanting only to relieve some of the intensity building and swirling within me. Cole is the first guy to show me what desire and passion taste like. The way he sets my flesh to flames is something I never dreamed existed before.

I have no idea how I’ll ever get enough of him.

Each frantic buck of my hips has him hissing out a breath as he quickly crosses the room and lays me out on the twin bed.

Before I can blink, he’s following me down, covering my body with his muscular one.

There’s nothing more that I love than the feel of his heavy weight settling on top of me, pressing me into the mattress.

Or his thick erection nestled against my aching center.

It never fails to steal my breath away.

As his lips crash onto mine, his tongue slips inside my mouth to mingle and dance with my own.

The way he kisses drives me insane. There’s a mindlessness that sweeps through me as pleasure floods every cell of my being.

Before I’m able to sink into the caress, his mouth trails across my chin as he licks a hot path down to one nipple before sliding over to the other.

He pulls back enough to mumble, “You have no idea how damn sexy you are. I just want to fuck you until I’m all you can think about. Until I’m your everything.”

My gaze locks on his as the possessiveness of his words wash over me.

My lips lift as I whisper, “You are my everything. The way you touch me…no one else could ever make me feel the way you do.”

He thrusts his hips against my core, making even more moisture flood my panties. “No one will ever make you feel the way I do.” His cock strains against the V between my thighs. Hot bolts of pleasure shoot through my body as he pushes against me. “Say it. Tell me that I’m the only one you want.”

“You are, Cole. I don’t want to make love with anyone but you.”

His hand slips between us until his fingers can slide beneath the panties and shorts. “No one but me gets to touch this.”

My eyelids feather closed as I arch into his warm palm, wanting to feel his fingers slide inside me. I need him to relieve the throbbing pressure building deep within me. When he doesn’t make a move, I arch, pushing against him.

“Say it, Cassidy.”

“Only you,” I whimper. “You’re the only one who gets to fuck me.”

As soon as the words escape, he slides two thick digits inside me, stroking my wet heat until I’m mindless with the need he has stoked to life within me.

He swirls his finger across my slit before murmuring, “Your pussy belongs to me.”

“Yes,” I moan. At this point, I would agree to just about anything and he knows it. My hips gyrate against him, seeking a release.

His fingers still as he leans down and presses a kiss against my mouth. “Oh, no, you don’t. Not like this. When you come, I want to feel you pulsing and throbbing around me.”

I groan when he drags his fingers from me.

A devilish smile spreads across his handsome face, making him look even sexier.

I love him so much.