Page 18

Chapter

Eighteen

W hen I wake up, it’s not with my face pressed to the glass of the passenger seat window. There are no street lights behind my eyelids, and I can’t hear the low purr of Cass’s car around me.

Instead, my face is pressed against something soft, and there’s a warm, comforting weight on my arm, wrapping over me almost possessively. It’s…strange. But not bad , exactly. But I can’t place the feeling until fingers stroke my hair back behind my ear.

“Cassian?” I mumble, eyes still closed as I stretch my legs out, shoes hitting what feels like the armrest of a sofa.

“Yeah?”

“What, and I mean this as disrespectfully as possible, the hell are you doing?”

His fingers trace my jaw, and he doesn’t stop or pull away. Instead, he chuckles softly, shifting under me. “You don’t remember me waking you up, do you?”

“In the car?”

“Yep.”

I scan over my recent memories, trying to fill in the gaps between falling asleep in his passenger seat and now. But I can’t, no matter how hard I try. “I…no,” I admit finally, opening my eyes and rolling over to look up.

When I see his piercing blue eyes above me in the dimness of the room, it finally hits me that my head is on his lap. His hand moves with me, resettling across my collarbones like he doesn’t want to let me go. “I woke you up and I brought you inside. We cleaned up your cuts.” He picks up my arm, showing me the fresh bandages. “They aren’t that bad, by the way. Your head was hurting, so I gave you something for it.”

My eyes narrow suspiciously. “I swear to God, Cass. It better have been Ibuprofen.”

“Does Ibuprofen knock you out for three or so hours?” Cass asks blithely, unbothered by the warning in my tone. “Come on. We both know it wasn’t. You’re fine. You needed sleep.”

I suppose he’s not wrong, and my head definitely doesn’t hurt right now. I feel a little floaty, honestly. Like I’m not quite all the way here. With a groan, I shove his arm off of me, sitting up and pressing a hand over my eyes when my head spins from the quick movement. When it stops, I glance at the bandages on my arms, rubbing the pads of my fingers over them. “I need to go soon,” I say at last.

Cass suspiciously doesn’t reply. Normally, his silence would be expected; he’s not the most talkative person in the world. But this time it seems…different. I turn to look at him over my shoulder, surveying his still-relaxed posture and the way he looks at his phone as he scrolls through notifications. No, it’s too casual. Too easy.

Too innocent, even.

“Did you hear me?” The words hang between us, stagnating in the air of his apartment. He doesn’t reply at first, but I see the muscles in his jaw working like he’s pissed for some reason, or trying to work through his first reaction without saying anything out loud.

A pang of nervousness twists through my stomach. His reaction doesn’t feel right , that’s for sure.

“I heard you,” he murmurs finally, barely glancing up at me. But that’s all he says.

What is wrong with him?

“I really appreciate the kidnapping to get me out of a bad situation, and this.” I gesture at my arms. “It’s umm…” He never makes me this nervous. Not since…well. Not since back then. “But I need to go home and?—”

“Back to your empty house and the cats that have plenty ot food and water for a couple of days?” Carefully, Cass sets his phone on the table beside the sofa and gets to his feet to meander toward the other part of the large, open space. “Back to your sister, who has you babysit on your days off and doesn’t give you a lot of credit or repayment for it?” He flips on a light, illuminating his kitchen and the large granite island that serves as a table and counter. Cassian leans back on his elbows, looking me over with cold blue eyes.

“Or back to your mom, who’s trying to forget you exist?”

That’s what does it. His words, true as they are, shatter my calm and I lunge to my feet, feeling around for my phone in my pockets. “I hate you,” I hiss, heart racing. “I don’t know why you’re mad at me, but I hate you .”

“Why?” he asks lazily, watching my frantic self pat down. “For saying what you already know is true?”

“Yeah. That.” Giving up, I look at him with narrowed eyes. “Where’s my phone? I’m calling an Uber, since you’re being so fucking weird about this. And a dick, in case you needed the clarification.”

Cassian doesn’t reply. He tilts his head to the side, still giving me that strange, almost predatory look. “Tell me, Winnie. When does the kidnapper ever let their victim leave just because she asks not-so-nicely?”

His words send a shiver up my spine. I turn to face him fully, surveying his relaxed posture and the neutral, careful look on his face. “This isn’t…” My brows furrow in confusion. “You didn’t kidnap me. That was a joke . You were helping me after?—”

“Sure, I’m definitely helping you,” Cassian agrees, cutting me off. “But I wasn’t joking about it. Someone is trying to hurt you, and you have a detective who’s really interested in things he shouldn’t be following you around. How long was I supposed to wait, hmm?” He pushes off of the counter and prowls toward me, until he can reach out and wrap his fingers lightly around the base of my throat.

I hold my breath, eyes holding his as I take a deep breath. Then another one. “Where’s my phone, Cass?” I murmur, not pulling away from him, no matter how nervous I am. My nails dig into my palms at my sides as I hold myself still.

“I’ll give it back to you when I feel like it. You should sleep more, you know?” His hand shifts, moving up so he can push my hair behind my ear and cup my jaw. “You look exhausted.”

“I always look exhausted. Don’t change the subject.” Reaching up, I swat his hand away from my face. “I’m not your victim. I never was. Don’t make me do something that one of us will probably regret.”

“Like what? Tell me you hate me? Or will you ransack my apartment looking for—” I bolt around him, heading for the kitchen and the block of knives I see by the stove. Cass makes a sound of surprise and whirls, his arm looping around my waist before he jerks me back with a surprised laugh. “Really?” he asks, incredulous. “You’re going to stab me , sweetheart?”

“What, you think I wouldn’t?” I hiss, writhing in his grip. Fuck, he’s stronger than he should be. It’s too easy for him to drag me through his living room, and he pushes open one of the closed doors behind the sofa before shoving me into what I realize is a bedroom. If I weren’t so anxious and frustrated, I’d take a moment to appreciate the sloped ceiling made of glass that opens to the sky above Akron. I’d also appreciate the dark blue-grays of the comforter, rug and comforter.

Hell, I might even express my surprise at the live plants he has on one wall.

But not when I’m this worked up.

“No,” Cass admits with a laugh, closing the door behind him. “I think you’d do it, but I think you’d regret it…eventually. But you’re more than welcome to try to convince me in here, without knives, to let you go.”

When he tries to move away from the door, I’m quick to tangle my fingers in his t-shirt and shove him right back into it. I feel the way he tenses, then relaxes enough to let me do it. That infuriates me more; knowing he’s giving me the advantage instead of me earning it.

“Fight back,” I hiss, unsure why I say it.

His eyes narrow slightly, seeming to darken under his lashes as he looks me over. The only light in the room is what’s coming from outside, from the glow of the city lights somewhere below his apartment. “That’s dangerous of you, sweetheart. You don’t want me to?—”

“Don’t tell me what I want.” I jerk him off the wall, only to shove him back into it as my heart races. I don’t know why I do it, and I certainly don’t know why I sneer in his face with my heart racing in my chest. “If you’re just going to let me slam you into your door and stand here like a kicked puppy, you should’ve let me grab a knife?—”

I get my wish, even though it takes me a few moments to register what’s happening. Cassian spins us around easily, reversing our position, and shoves me onto my tiptoes with his hand around my throat. I gasp, hands flying up to his arm as panic surges through me, but his knee shoves between my thighs, giving me a way to steady myself so he’s not actually strangling me.

“Keep going,” Cass invites, a warning glittering in his eyes. “Keep pushing me, Winnie. Just keep being aggressive and wanting the last word. Keep going down this road and see where it gets you .”

This time, a full shudder travels through my body, and I close my eyes hard at his words, finding it hard to swallow under his firm grip. “What if I do?” I ask finally, my anxiety warring with my desire to push him. “Would you hurt me?”

The intensity in his gaze falters briefly, and something like a surprised grimace twitches at his lips. “Not like you’re implying,” he tells me finally, relaxing his grip just a little. “But I’ll certainly teach you a lesson about your mouth , since you’ve clearly not been taught it before.”

My stomach twists with something other than fear, and with a shock I realize that while I’m still angry and nervous as hell, I’m not actually afraid of Cass.

Without replying, I dig my nails into his wrist, bracing my right foot on the floor as much as I can before kicking out at him with my left. “Oh, really?” He grabs my leg, gripping under my knee and yanking it up until I yelp and scramble for balance. “Don’t look at me like that. You’re the one who decided to kick. Why don’t you settle the fuck down, sweetheart, and maybe we can have an adult conversation instead of you acting like a toddler who isn’t getting her way?—”

“Fuck you,” I sneer. “If you won’t give me back my phone, I’ll take yours. Even if that means—” He whirls us around with a sigh, shoving me face first onto his bed.

“What does that mean, hmm?” he asks, prowling around the bed. He digs into his pocket and pulls out his phone while I watch, laying it on a shelf between two plants. “What are you going to do to me, Winnie?” There’s a challenge in his eyes that makes my blood heat in my veins, and I sit back on my knees, panting, before scrambling to my feet.

“I’ll make you sorry you asked,” I snap. Though, that’s a vague way of admitting I’m not exactly sure how I’ll either locate my phone or steal his. But the more I think about it, the more I realize going home is no longer my top priority for the situation. No, I want to prove him wrong. I want the last word, like always, and to prove that Cassian doesn’t get to make decisions for me or boss me around like he’s more than a stranger to me.

But something in me whispers that maybe, just maybe, that’s not all I really want.

“Come on then, princess. Make me sorry,” Cass taunts, lifting up a hand in a literal invitation. “Make me feel remorse for the first time in my life, won’t you?”

That brings me up short and I look at him, brows furrowed in slight surprise. “You don’t feel?—”

“ Later. ” He rolls his eyes. “Don’t ruin our game with feelings.” His words make me pause, and I can’t help studying his expression, even when he glares at me with irritation.

“Okay, all right. Don’t get your panties in a wad.” I hold my hands up, fingers splayed in surrender. “I get it, I so get it. You missed me so much that you stole my phone so we’d spend quality time together. Since you figured that’s the only way to make me stick around.” I glance at his phone on the shelf as he stares at me, leaning on the wall beside it.

It’s an invitation.

It’s a fucking challenge.

“I think if I can grab your phone off that shelf, you should give me back mine and pay for my ride home,” I announce, the bed between us as I prop my hands on my hips.

“Oh, yeah?” He glances at his phone, then at me. “All right, but if you get something for winning, I get something for you losing. When you can’t get my phone from the shelf, which I won’t touch, by the way, I get to teach you a lesson. I get to teach you the consequences of running that pretty, snotty mouth of yours. Fair?”

It…doesn’t sound fair. Not one bit. My stomach twists into origami shapes and untwists rapidly, leaving me feeling a little nauseous in an anxious, expectant way. “You don’t think I can get it,” I accuse, striding a few steps closer to him.

He rolls his shoulders in a shrug. “I think you’re incredibly confident, and more than a little arrogant. Tell you what.” He still doesn’t move, doesn’t even tense as I take another two steps closer. “Quit whining about wanting to go home, sweetheart. Stop trying to get my phone, and we’ll go back to the couch to watch your favorite movie. We’ll order something incredibly unhealthy and greasy, and you can sleep off all of this. I’ll take you back home…eventually.”

“Oh, wow.” I drag out the word theatrically. “Gosh, that’s such a nice offer. Really generous. Do you know what I think, though?”

“What do you think?” he asks, voice weary, as if my attitude is tiring him out. I’d feel bad, maybe, if I didn’t see the gleam of excitement in the icy blue of his gaze.

In response, I smile sweetly at him…and launch the pillow my fingers are touching into his face. He jerks away from it, hands up to block it from hitting his face, just as I slide by him in the space between him and the bed. I duck when he reaches for me, hearing the low curses that fall from his lips as a thrill of satisfaction goes through me.

He’s too easy sometimes?—

His grip on my wrist is enough to pull a startled yelp from my mouth just as I’m reaching out for his phone. I feel a shiver of fear go through me just as he uses the momentum of me staggering back to force me to keep going until I’m once again on my hands and knees on his bed.

But I don’t intend to give up so easily. Instead, I surge upward, pushing to my feet…or, well, that’s my goal at least. Before I can make much progress, he’s suddenly over me, a snarled chuckle in my ear as he keeps me on the bed with his own frame. “A pillow?” Cass growls in my ear as I pant. “You threw my fucking pillow at me?”

“You clearly needed to be humbled if this is your reaction to a pillow in your face,” I huff, bending my elbows enough that I can slam upward into him in an attempt to get him to fall backward off of me. Instead, I end up flush against his body with his arm wrapped around my waist.

“If someone needs to be humbled here, little girl, it is most definitely you. And luckily for both of us, I’ve been wanting to do it since you opened your mouth when I bought you hot chocolate. You know what else I think?”

“No, but I’m sure you’re going to—” He cuts me off by flipping me over, my back hitting the bed just as he crawls over me to straddle my hips, one hand at my throat as he surveys me coldly.

“I think you didn’t hear no enough as a child. Being on your own and making your own decisions has made you a little arrogant, hasn’t it? Your nephew would do anything you say because he looks up to you. Reagan would never disagree with you because she’s in love with you. So you get away with all kinds of bullshit.”

“Do not,” I disagree instantly. “And Reagan isn’t in love with me, you weirdo.”

Cass only fixes me with a pointed look. “Such a bratty little thing,” he goes on. “You’ve been begging me since the night I broke into your house to put you in your place.”

“Oh, I think we’ve tried this before, Cass,” I’m quick to sneer. “My fucking place ?—”

“Is wherever I want you.” His fingers tighten, cutting off my air. “Maybe no one else has the patience or the desire to deal with a brat who always wants to have the last word, but I certainly do. Frankly, I’ve been trying to figure out how to get you here for days. I didn’t want to do it at your house that first time. I wanted to be nice to you.” He leans down slowly until his face is just inches above mine. “I didn’t want to scare you. But when you’re begging for it like this? When you’re all but demanding I give you what you need?” He chuckles and moves until his lips are brushing my ear.

“How could I ever refuse?” Cass nips at my ear, pulling a yelp from my lips. I move to grab his shirt, but suddenly my hands are slammed above my head on the mattress, accompanied by a soft snarl from him. “Keep them there, Winnie,” he murmurs. “Can you do that for me?”

His gaze finds mine as my fingers curl against my palms, a refusal on my lips. But something in his eyes—something strange and a little bit terrifying—causes the words to die on my lips. A shudder goes through me, and I narrow my eyes at him before nodding once.

“Well, I don’t believe you. But it’s a good start.” He chuckles. Letting go, Cass quickly drags my shirt and bra over my head, leaving me squirming and vulnerable on the bed. “You’re adorable when you’re nervous.” His hands find my leggings and he watches my face as he moves to tug them and my underwear down my legs until he can pull them off as well.

“This time you have to take yours off too,” I murmur, narrowing my eyes up at him. It’s so hard not to do anything with my hands when I feel so exposed under his gaze, and I can’t help wiggling against the bed to try to work out some of the nervousness.

“I’ll consider it.” Smoothing his palms up my thighs, he lets out a soft breath of approval. “Fuck, you’re so much more beautiful than I ever could’ve imagined.”

“You make it sound like it’s something you have imagined,” I comment absently, just to talk back.

“I have.” He says it so simply, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “I’ve imagined you in so many different ways and how I’d take you over and over again.” He leans down to brush his lips against my throat. “And yet the real thing is so much better than any fantasy I could come up with.” His hands tighten on my hips and he moves, urging me to sit up as he gets to his feet beside the bed.

There’s a question on my tongue, but his grin cuts me off before I can even start. “I’m going to show you something better to do with that mouth of yours,” he purrs, reaching up to cradle my face in his hands as I sit on the edge of the bed. “But I think you’ll look better on your knees on the floor, don’t you? No.” He presses his fingers to my lips. “I don’t need you to answer that, Winnie. I don’t need your opinion. Get on the floor, on your knees, or I’ll make you.”

A big part of me wants to see what he means by making me. But that look is still in his eyes, and it makes me unsure enough that I slide to the floor on my knees as he trades places to sit on the bed.

“Good girl. See? It’s not so hard to be good for me, is it?” I roll my eyes at his teasing, only for him to reach out and grip my chin, dragging my face up to his. “Don’t roll your eyes at me,” he warns. “So far, you still get to come tonight. But if you push it, that’ll change real quick.”

“I know how to get myself off, you know,” I can’t help mumbling. “So if you don’t—” His hand shifts to my hair, gripping it hard and yanking my head back to expose my throat. Staring at his glass ceiling, I hear the sound of the zipper on his jeans, and my stomach twists in anticipation.

And then I remember just how big Cass is.

My heart flutters at the realization, and when he finally lets go of my hair, I look down at where he’s stroking himself lightly, jeans and shirt still on. It only serves to make me feel more vulnerable, more…. exposed when I’m the only one naked.

“Come here, sweetheart,” he murmurs, cupping the back of my neck and dragging me close to him until I’m on my knees between his thighs, one hand on his leg. “What’s wrong, hmm? You look a little intimidated right now. Surely it’s not because of me, is it?”

Of course it’s because of him.

“No, nope,” I deny, lying through my teeth. “Maybe it’s just my face. I’m not intimidated or—” He tugs me forward, shifting his grip back to my head.

“Stop talking, Winnie,” Cass says with a sigh. “And open that bratty little mouth for me. We’re going to find out just how good it is for the things that matter.”

I don’t really have much of a choice. Not exactly, when his cock slides against my lips, causing me to shudder with anticipation. I open my mouth just enough to feel the weight of him, enough to cautiously taste him with my tongue.

This time, it’s him shuddering with anticipation.

“Don’t tease,” he breathes, watching me with bright blue eyes. “Open your mouth for me. Actually open it. I’ll do all the work; all you need to do is open your mouth.”

“You’re—” His grip tightens, making me wince.

“I didn’t ask for an opinion,” Cass tells me sweetly. “You wanted to push me, so now you get to find out what that gets you. Open your mouth before I put you over my knee and spank you.”

God, that shouldn’t make heat rush between my thighs like it does. But I’m definitely fucked up enough that I shouldn’t be shocked, I suppose. This time, I open my mouth without protest, watching his face as much as I can as he pulls me forward, his cock sliding between my lips and sitting heavily on my tongue.

He’s so fucking big .

My jaw aches a little when I have to open my mouth wider to accommodate him, and I release a soft sound from between my lips when it does.

“Poor thing,” Cassian goads, though there’s no pity in his eyes. “Well, I say that, but I don’t really mean it. Not when you look so good on your knees for me. And by the way, Winnie…” His grip tightens in my hair, holding me in place as he thrusts slowly into my mouth, pushing himself deeper.

“In case you ever need more clarification on where your place is?” Fuck, he’s so big and still going. I shudder when I feel him brush the back of my throat, and thank the lord I’ve never had a gag reflex. Or this would be a lot less sexy.

“It’s right here.” With one last roll of his hips, my nose presses against his skin, a full body shudder going through me. My jaw still aches, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to need Tylenol after this. “Right here . And I’ll prove it to you however many times it takes.” He pulls my head back with his grip in my hair, until I can take a breath through my mouth, before thrusting into my mouth again, just as slowly and just as deeply.

By the fourth time, my eyes are watering. Breathing isn’t an issue, really, but keeping my jaw and throat relaxed is a feat given how he feels.

“Take a nice, deep breath for me, sweetheart.” His words are accompanied by his cock resting just on my lower lip. “Just breathe.”

“Cass—”

“You’re wasting your air,” he replies, chuckling. “I’ll forgive you this time. But you’d better breathe deeply for me. Otherwise you might not like this so much.”

My stomach twists with nervous anticipation. But I do what he says, breathing deeply through my nose and mouth.

“Good girl.” He adjusts his grip on my hair, his other hand coming up to trace my jaw. “I know you can be so good for me.”

His words send shudders through me, and I’m so focused on the feeling that it takes me a moment to realize he’s dragging my head down again. This time, he’s a little less slow. A little less accommodating, and my jaw is forced wide as he buries himself in my throat again.

“ Fuck …” He sighs, keeping me there, not pulling back as he had before. “So perfect for me. Just for me.” He leans back on one hand and tugs on my hair, forcing me back before shoving me down once again, until he’s fucking my face in a consistent rhythm.

It’s a lot different from what he’d done before. Saliva pools in my mouth, but I can’t swallow. Almost immediately, breathing through my nose isn’t quite enough, and my lungs protest as he buries himself harshly in my throat, prompting me to whine in protest.

“I’m barely even doing anything, Winnie.” Cass chuckles, rolling his hips upward the next time he drags my face down. The movement causes my eyes to burn, and I feel tears sliding down my cheeks that I want to wipe away. But I can’t. My hands are gripping his thighs, like anchor points for how he’s using my mouth for his pleasure.

It’s too much .

It’s hot as fuck.

It’s way too fucking much .

A few more thrusts have me writhing, saliva dribbling from my lips when he pulls back just to shove himself back into my mouth. My heart races, lungs protesting even louder, until I start seeing spots in my vision and my hands tremble against his thighs.

I need to?—

All of a sudden he yanks me off of him, and before I can do more than suck in a breath, Cassian has me up and straddling him. My hands fly to his shoulders as I meet his bright gaze while I pant for air.

“There you go,” he murmurs, reaching up to swipe at the tears on my cheeks. “You’re so pretty when you cry, Winnie. And your mouth is perfect, just like I thought. You know what else I think, though?” His hands fall to my hips, and slowly he urges me to sit until I feel the brush of his length against my folds.

“Cass, wait, I’m?—”

“I think what you need is repetition. To remind you of what your mouth is really meant for.” His words are a soft growl as he forces me down onto his length, rolling his hips upward so he can sink into my body in one smooth motion.

It’s so much that I can’t help burying my face against his shoulder, my entire body trembling as he just holds me there, as deep inside of me as he can go. “You’re so fucking big,” I whine against his shirt. “I’m never going to get used to?—”

His hands on my hips urge me upward, and I have no choice but to let him control our movements as he fucks me, interrupting my words by crushing his lips to mine. “Yes, you will,” he promises against my open mouth. “All you need is more practice. I’ll fuck you every day, Winnie. I’ll make sure I’m the only person you crave, and the only one who can make you feel good. You’ll get used to my cock because I’ll make you want to beg for it. ”

He kisses me again, grip like iron as he fucks me, until I’m moaning into his mouth and writhing in his grip. My hands are on his shoulders, and without thinking, I tug on his shirt until he lets me yank it off of him, before I find his mouth again.

It hits me how fucking turned on I am just from him fucking my face. And how close I am now, with the drag of his cock as he continues to fuck me as thoroughly as humanly possible. I can feel him panting against me, making his own soft, needy noises as his movements become a little less controlled.

“Cass?” I whisper, pulling back and panting, hands braced against his chest.

He lifts a brow, not stopping, though his movements become a bit less rushed and a bit more fluid.

“I’m…” I don’t know why I need to say it right now. But I do. “I’m really glad you came back.”

Surprise flickers in his eyes, and he gazes up at me from under his lashes. When his hands freeze on my hips, the sharp sound of our breathing is the only thing I can hear in the room.

“Yeah?” he murmurs, finally starting to move again, though I can feel that he’s holding himself back; trying not to be rough just yet. “You sure you aren’t just?—”

This time I’m the one to grip his hair, and I yank his face toward me so I can kiss him hard . He tastes like perfection, like everything I’ve always wanted in a relationship but never found.

He tastes like home , a home I’ve never found in Hayden Fields without him.

Without warning, Cass’s grip tightens, and in a surprisingly graceful motion he gets to his feet with me in his arms, just so he can slam me down on my back on the bed, causing me to gasp in delighted surprise.

He’s not far behind. In seconds, Cass is over me, yanking one of my legs up over his hip and burying himself inside me with a growl. “ Fuck , Winnie. If you’re trying to convince me to let you leave…” he trails off with a groan, and I can feel how desperate his movements are. How frantic .

“You’re doing a really shitty job of it. Come for me, come with me, sweetheart.” His fingers find my clit, stroking it harshly and driving me straight towards my release. “There you go. Just let go. Let me feel your cunt squeeze around my cock when you come.” He keeps going, praise and encouragements falling from his lips as he fucks me and rubs my clit in a way that’s driving me crazy.

“Cassian!” I don’t get to finish the sentence. Whatever it might be. My spine arches, head thrown back against the bed as I nearly scream with appreciation at the pleasure rippling through my body as my orgasm hits.

But any other sounds are lost in his mouth as he kisses me, thrusting into me once more before he shudders and rolls his hips into mine with small, rocking movements while he comes.

“Next time,” I pant, while my head is spinning, but I’m still holding him against me with my arms thrown over his shoulders. “You’re taking off your fucking clothes. All of them. Or I’m putting mine back on.”

Cass chuckles and nuzzles against my throat, tugging me onto my side as he rolls onto his. He keeps going, pulling me over him until my head is pillowed on his chest. “Next time you can have whatever you want,” he tells me. “And just for my own sanity…your phone is in my nightstand. I’ll take you home once we have a plan, all right?” His eyes glitter and he grins down at me. “So you can stop planning on how you’ll strangle me in my sleep.”

“I wasn’t going to strangle you in your sleep,” I argue, nipping lightly at his shoulder. “I was going to tie you up with your own bedsheets and ransack your apartment, obviously.”

His breath hitches as I bite down, and then Cass snorts. “Obviously,” he agrees, voice dry. “What was I thinking?”