New Beginnings (7 page)

Mike was more affectionate with Cassandra than he used to be. Whenever his mouth wasn’t full of food, he was kissing her or planting a kiss on her neck. I wanted to tease him but I was too glad to see him happy. I decided to give him a break.

We settled into the kitchen after dinner and watched TV. Cassandra wore a loose dress and an unbuttoned cardigan. Diane sat beside her and engaged her in small talk. Judging by their smiles, they were getting along fine. I noticed Andrew kept sneaking glances at Diane, trying to be discreet.

Mike moved to me beside the couch. Sean was in the bathroom so I was alone. “I’m sorry about before.”

“You already apologized.”

“Because I was forced to,” he said quickly. “Now I’m being genuine.”

“Well, I appreciate it.”

“I can’t tell you what happened between Cassandra and I, but I will tell you when it’s the right time.”

The right time? “That sounds odd.”

“You’ll understand when I tell you.”

“Okay.”

“Believe me, it’s been hard
being quiet about it.”

I decided to drop the conversation because my curiosity was going to eat me alive. “I’m glad you took Sean with you to get the ring. It meant a lot to him.”

“Who else would I take? He’s my best friend.”

I smiled. “That’s so cute.”

“I like him—sometimes.”

“When are you going to ask?”

“Very soon.”

“Do you know how?”

He nodded. “I know exactly how.”

Judging by the grin on his face, it was something dirty. “It’s going to be during sex, isn’t it?”

“I’m not telling.”

“But it is.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

“I know you better than that.”

“You’ll have to see.”

“Eww, I really hope not.”

He laughed. “Sure…I know you’ve always found me more attractive than Sean.”

Sean approached us then punched Mike hard in the shoulder. “That’s for the comment you just made.” He punched him again. “And that’s for disrespecting my wife.”

Mike looked at me. “Your husband punches like a pussy.”

“It looked like it hurt.”

“It didn’t.”

“Sure…”

Sean glared at him. “You’re in my seat.”

“Go sit somewhere else.”

“I want to sit by my wife.”

“You’re threatened by me, aren’t you?” Mike taunted.

I knew another fight was coming. “Sean, you can sit on the other side of me.”

Sean glared at his brother before he sat down, his hand moving to my thigh.

Mike looked at his watch. “It’s getting late. Cassandra and I like to have a lot of sex before bed.”

Sean cringed. “Can’t you just say it’s getting late and you want to leave? Why do you have to tell us that?”

Mike shrugged. “I’m just being honest.”

“Spare us the details next time,” Sean snapped.

“Are you kidding me?” he said. “The two of you are worse.” He left the couch and grabbed Cassandra. “Ready to go, baby?”

“Yeah.”

His arm hooked around her waist, pulling her to him like she was a sticker. “Night, everyone.”

After they said their goodbyes, they left.

Diane and Andrew sat on the couch and talked quietly.

“Let’s give them some privacy,” Sean whispered.

“Good idea,” I said back.

We slowly crept from the living room to our bedroom upstairs.

“Well, that went well,” I said.

“It did?” Sean asked. “I was about to rip Mike in half.”

“He apologized—again.”

“That still doesn’t explain why he was so weird about him and Cassandra.”

“He said he can’t tell us right now, but he will,” I said.

‘That still sounds weird.” Sean stripped off his clothes and got into bed.

“He’ll tell us when he’s ready,” I said. “I’m just glad they are back together.”

“Me too.”

Sean moved on top of me, going in for the kill.

I pushed him off. “Could we wait until your mom leaves and your dad goes to bed?”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because it’s weird…”

“Scar, we’re married. They know we have sex—a lot of sex.”

“It’s still weird.”

He stared at me for a while before he went in for the kill again. I didn’t fight him because he was irresistible, like always. He made love to me the way I liked, bringing me to the edge until he fell with me. I clung to him, hoping that our baby was on the way.

7

Mike

Cassandra and I returned to the apartment. She immediately went into the bedroom and returned wearing my shirt and her panties. I couldn’t see her baby bump when she wore baggy clothes but she still looked damn fine.

“Take off your clothes,” she barked. She sat on the couch and grabbed the remote.

“You want to have sex or watch TV?”

“I don’t like it when you wear clothes.” She changed the station until she found the right one.

I took off my jeans and shirt and left them on the ground in the middle of the living room. I stood in my boxers and looked at her. “Better?”

“Much,” she said playfully. “I like seeing that perfect body.” Her hand touched my stomach and moved up to my chest.

I worked hard to build my body to this size. If I didn’t work out as much as I did, I’d probably be Sean’s size, which was fine. But I liked being big and burly. Women liked it. And Cassandra did in particular.

I sat beside her, and as soon as my ass hit the cushion, she crawled into my lap, the remote still in her hand. She stuck to me like glue and I loved it. She was thick and toned, making her bigger than the girls I normally dated, who were skinny and had fake tits. But I loved that about her.

She kissed my chest, her blonde hair tickling my skin. “You want to know a secret?”

“Always.”

“I thought you were hot the moment I saw you.”

“I like what I’m hearing…”

“And I thought it was cute how you rambled on like an idiot.”

“Okay, I’m not liking what I’m hearing…”

She rubbed my shoulders and giggled. “I love how big you are. It’s nice to be with a real man who’s got the whole package.”

Her ex-husband was much smaller than me. It wouldn’t even be a fair fight. He was barely taller than her, whereas I towered over
her by at least a foot. “if you’re trying to butter me up, you’re doing a good job.”

“I’m not. I’m just stupid for ever letting you go.”

My heart squeezed at her words. “Well, now I’m yours.”

She kissed my chest again. “And I’m not letting you go.”

My palm moved up her thigh to her ass, one of my favorite features. The light from the TV shined on us but I ignored it. The window showed the lights and skyscrapers of the city. But I didn’t care about any of that. All those things reminded me what it was like to be alone. Now that she was back in my life, I realized how meaningless life was if you didn’t have someone to share it with.

My hand moved to her small stomach. “Why can’t I tell my family? It’s killing me.”

She gave me a sad look. “I just don’t want to get everyone excited for nothing…”

After what happened to Scarlet, that was on my mind too. “That’s not gonna happen to us. Don’t think like that. I’ll get you in with the best doctor in the city.”

“I already went,” she said. “He said everything is good so far.”

My fingers glided over the skin. “I tell my family everything. It’s agony not telling them about the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”

“I know,” she said gently. “Let’s just wait a few more weeks.”

I groaned. “You’re going to start to show. And I think they would be offended if that’s how they found out.”

She looked away as she considered my words.

“And are you going to tell your parents when I meet them? You aren’t going to be able to hide this for long.”

“No, I’ll tell them.”

“Then let me tell mine,” I said firmly. “My dad would be so happy.”

“Happy that you knocked up some girl?” she teased.

“You aren’t some girl,” I said immediately. “And he would be thrilled. He knows I want a family of my own.”

“But we aren’t married.”

“So? Why does that matter?”

“Well, it’s frowned upon.

“I don’t give a shit,” I snapped. “Just because we aren’t doing things by the guidelines set by society doesn’t make our actions wrong. I love you and I’ll take care of you. My dad would be disappointed if I was a pussy and abandoned you. Actually, he’d beat the shit out of me until I was inches away from death.”

She chuckled. “I can’t see Andrew hurting a fly.”

“You haven’t seen him mad,” I said quickly. “When he’s pissed, watch out. When I was little, we were at the mall and some guy came in with a gun to rob the place. When he reached my mom and told her to take off her wedding ring, she couldn’t get it off. So he pulled out a knife to chop it off. My dad slammed his head into the wall and knocked him unconscious. He was hailed as the mall hero.”

“Wow.” Her eyes were wide. “Your dad is a badass.”

“That’s an understatement.” I thought about my childhood and how great a parent my dad was. My mom was good too, but I looked up to my father in a way I could never explain. “It kills me I can’t tell him…”

Cassandra cupped my face and sighed. “Okay. You can tell him.”

I smiled. “I can?”

“I can tell it’s important to you.”

“Yes!”

She chuckled at my enthusiasm.

“When we get the house, we’ll invite everyone over and tell them.”

“Doesn’t it take a while to buy a house?” she asked.

“Not when you’re rich.”

She rolled her eyes. “Money can’t solve all your problems.”

“But it can fix most
of them.” I stood up and carried her to the bedroom.

“I thought we were going to snuggle on the couch?”

“Nope. We’re making love. I want to see that baby bump.”

“You’re obsessed with that thing.”

“Damn right I am.” I lay her down then pulled her shirt off. She got my boxers off just as quickly.

She grabbed my shaft. “Ten inches of pure man.”

I moaned then spread her legs, pushing her knees to her ribs. “Just for you.” I slipped inside her and stared at her stomach while I moved into her slowly. My cock wanted to explode as soon as we began. I couldn’t look at her stomach anymore so I stared into her eyes.

“Mike…” Her hands moved down my chest. Her green eyes burned in a fire while I rocked her back and forth. Her breasts shook with every thrust I made. I knew we both had work in the morning, but I didn’t care. I wanted to do this all night and into the early morning.

I had a meeting that last
ed for three hours. I sat patiently in my chair and waited for the conference to end. My coffee was sitting on my desk, cold, and I had a million other things to do. Having shareholders was a pain because they were obsessed with the well being of the company.

When I was finally done, I returned to my office. Pictures of Cassandra were returned to their rightful place on my desk so I could see her face when I was thinking about her. The bad thing about her working in the same building was my constant need for her. It was distracting. I wanted to fuck her on my desk every time I had lunch.

My door opened and Laura walked inside, looking professional in a suit. I hadn’t thought about her once since I last saw her. I just hoped Cassandra wouldn’t stop by in the next fifteen minutes.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey.” I closed my screen then faced her.

“You and Cassandra are back together?” She stood in front of my desk, her arms across her chest.

“Yep.” I thought that was pretty obvious.

“I’m happy for you.”

I wasn’t expecting that. I thought she might be mad by the way Cassandra yelled at her. “Thank you.”

“I hope it works out this time.”

“It will,” I said firmly. “I’m sorry about the way she yelled at you. I—”

“Don’t apologize,” she said immediately. “I was standing on your doorstep wearing lingerie. Her response was appropriate.”

Wow. This conversation was going to be easy. “Yeah. It didn’t look good…”

“So, I can put my two weeks in today.”

“What?” I said quickly. “Why?”

“I doubt Cassandra wants me to work with you anymore.”

“It’s fine. She trusts me.”

“But I don’t want to—”

“You aren’t stripping anymore,” I said firmly. “We’re all adults here. She’ll get over it. I think it’s pretty obvious I’m in love with her.”

“If you’re sure…”

“Don’t worry about her. You did quit, right?”

“Well…”

“If you weren’t a girl, I’d slap you.”

“I’m leaving, but my boss is having a hard time replacing me. I work a few nights here and there.”

“You don’t owe him anything,” I said firmly.

“But when he throws cash at me, I can’t say no.”

“I’ll give you a raise if you quit.”

“No,” she said quickly. “I’ll quit. Don’t worry.”

I sighed in relief. “I really don’t want Ryan to find out. He’d rip my head off.”

“He won’t. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to go into a strip club.”

“Definitely not.”

“So…was Cassandra mad about us?”

“No. She and I weren’t together at the time. She has no right to be upset. But I do feel like shit because of it.”

“We all make mistakes,” she said simply.

I eyed her. “You’re really cool. I’m surprised you don’t have men swooping in after you. You’re smart, pretty, logical, and easy to get along with.”

She shrugged. “I guess no one catches my interest.”

“You got burned, huh?”

“I may have…”

I could tell she didn’t want to discuss it. That was fine.

The door opened and Cassandra walked inside, holding a Starbucks cup. She stilled when she saw Laura by my desk. Why did she have to walk in right this second? Laura was just ab
out to leave.

Cassandra gave her a hateful glare before she marched to my desk, her heels echoing against the hardwood floor. She put the cup down. “I figured you were grumpy without your morning coffee.” She snuck another spiteful glare at Laura.

“Thank you.” I stood up and kissed her. “That was very thoughtful of you. But I should be the one taking care of you.” I waited for her to leave but she didn’t make a move.

This was awkward.

Laura averted her gaze then headed for the door. “Thank you, Mr. Preston.”

“You’re welcome, Ms. Campbell.” I hoped being professional would make Cassandra less intimidated.

When we were finally alone, Cassandra calmed down. “How was your meeting?”

“Boring.”

“You always say that.”

“Well, they are always boring.” I pulled her into
my lap. “You shouldn’t wear heels anymore. Your back is already carrying a lot of stress.”

“It’s not a big deal. I pretty much sit on my ass all day.”

“And it’s a beautiful ass.” My hand rubbed her behind.

“What did she want?”

She changed the subject quick. “She and I hadn’t had a chance to talk since she…came to my apartment a few nights ago.”

“Did you tell her to take a hike?”

“Will you calm the hell down?” I snapped. “What do you think I said? Let’s have a thing together on the side?”

That seemed to bring her down to earth. “I just don’t want to fight for you all the time.”

“Fight for me?” I asked incredulously. “Cassandra, I’m yours. What about trusting me?”

“I do trust you.”

“Then start proving it.” I didn’t mean to be aggressive but her words got under my skin.

“I just don’t want her to keep throwing herself at you.”

“Who cares if she does? You think I’d want that when I have you?”

She averted her gaze in embarrassment.

“You know what she said to me? She said she was happy for me. She knew how depressed I was over you. Honestly, you shouldn’t be jealous because being with her was depressing and carnal. There was nothing else going on. She was a friend more than anything. And then she asked if she should quit to make things easier for you and I.”

“What did you say?”

“I said no. There’s no problem between she and I. We’re both mature about it. And I really don’t want her to go back to stripping. That’s not an option.”

She studied me. “It sounds like you care about her.”

“Well, I do. She’s my friend’s sister-in-law. I wouldn’t want my sister being a stripper. I got to get her out of there before anyone finds out. And I can tell she’s been struggling. I’m just trying to help.”

Her eyes softened. “I’m sorry for being psycho about this. It’s just…it’s hard for me.”

“I understand.”

“But I do trust you, Mike.”

“Good.” My hand moved to her stomach. “And if you’re really worried about me betraying you, just remember my dad will annihilate me if I do anything. I mean, anything.”

She smiled. “I guess that makes me feel a little better.”

I kissed her cheek. “You’re the only one for me, baby. The only pussy I want is yours. And it’s a damn good pussy.”