He had fucking minded.
Panic had set in. Mike had been flirting with Cassie and she had lapped it up. He’d been trying his best to keep himself included in the conversation, but when Mike had mentioned the idea of the three of them getting it on together, he really should have kept his mouth shut. But no, like the bloody idiot he was, he had pretended that he was keen on the idea.
“Could be interesting,” he’d blurted out. “What do you reckon, Cass? Think we should take Mike up on his idea? Feel like being the centre attraction in a ménage à trois?”
He’d heard the little catch in Cassie’s breath and had watched on as her eyes had grown wide. She had stared directly at him, her teeth chewing on her bottom lip, and his heart had sunk even lower in his chest—she was turned on by the idea. He’d been hoping she might refuse, laugh it off as a ridiculous notion.
“Me and the two of you…” Cassie had finally said, slowly flitting a look between him and Mike. “I guess it has its merits.”
“Shit! Really? Well, I’ll be damned. I was sure you both were going to turn me down flat. In fact, I was half expecting you to sock me in the mouth for even suggesting it, Riley,” Mike had quickly replied.
He’d had to give Mike some credit—the guy genuinely had looked shocked by their replies. Fuck, Riley had been in shock at how easily Cassie had agreed. Just proving what he’d always known, that he was not man enough for her. At least he was to be part of it all, he’d told himself. Could be worse—Cassie deciding to leave him behind and take Mike home instead. So, wanting to be the man and lover she needed, Riley had made the decision, that if that’s what would make Cassie happy, he would do it. He would take part in his first ménage à trois.
But as the memories of how this had all come about finished their horror style re-run, Riley was left with the reality of the moment. He’d been so caught up, distracted making love to Cassie that nothing else had mattered. The sudden reminder that Mike had been in the room with Cassie and him the whole time came as such a shock that Riley lost his grip on her. Cassie, struggling to keep her balance, ended up sliding down onto her knees.
The picture of Cassie naked and on her knees with Mike’s cock inches from her face was one that would be forever scorched into Riley’s mind. Embedded like some sick nightmare. But it was the way she looked at Mike’s dick that made Riley want to vomit. The way Cassie’s big blue eyes stared at it, apparently mesmerised by that fucking monster erection. Her eyes dilated, her tell, the sign of hers that Riley knew meant she was aroused, so obvious for him to see. And by the size of her pupils, Riley could only conclude that she was very fucking aroused.
He heard a growling noise and realised it was coming from him. Anger, now building rapidly throughout his body, was escaping in a hideous animalistic sound. It came from deep inside his chest and was forced out between his clenched teeth and rigid jaw. Then to Riley’s horror Cassie opened her mouth and Mike wasted no time in stuffing his cock right into the opening.
From his position on the floor, Riley had the perfect view, his eyes level with her mouth. When Cassie grabbed Mike’s shaft with her hand and stretched her lips around the girth of his cock, a haze of hatred filled Riley’s mind. He wanted to rip Mike from her, tear his head from his shoulders—wanted to kill him. An image consumed his mind of him tearing Mike’s throat apart with his bare hands. The blood flowing from the gaping wound, he could almost feel the texture of Mike’s flesh under his nails.
Cassie was his. He didn’t want to share her, ever. The sight of Mike’s cock riding her mouth was too much for him. He’d realised that he was going to go mad if he didn’t get the hell away from them. The anger and hatred were so close to the surface that Riley hadn’t thought he could hold it at bay.
Get out! Get
out!
The words screamed in his head. Falling backwards onto his butt he crab-crawled, using feet and hands, to get away from their naked bodies. Cassie’s and Mike’s.
He didn’t look back as he fled the room. The room that had been the centre of so much pleasure in the past few months. A place he had learnt all there was to know about Cassie’s body and what she craved. Where he had spent long nights taking in the sight of her slim and sensual form, lying snug in his arms. Nights spent gazing at her beautiful face as she slept and knowing that she was his—for at least that night.
Fuck! God, help me! Please give me the strength to get away from here.
He covered his ears with his hands as he ran down the hall leading to the door that would allow him to escape the sounds of Mike’s groans. Let him escape before he turned around and headed back into that room and followed through on his wish of ripping out Mike’s throat so he would never make a sound again.
Chapter One
The present…
Sitting in the quiet classroom after another sleepless night was not working out very well for Cassie. She had hoped that the topic test she’d scheduled for her class today would have ensured a peaceful start to her work day. Instead, as her students worked away diligently on their papers, Cassie found her mind drifting—or more precisely obsessing over the events of the recent night’s dinner at Mia’s restaurant and her run in with
him
.
What was it about Riley Walters that did this to her? After all this time—nearly two and a half years—and still just being in his presence turned Cassie inside out. She craved the man like some drug-addicted loser desperate for a score. She was a loser, when it came to him, her dignity and self-preservation flying out of the door at the mere thought that he might want her again. Touch her again. It was a pitiful thought for a fully grown, mature, professional woman, to know that at one time she had been so enamoured of a man that she would have gone to any length to keep him happy. Put herself through any kind of emotional or physical discomfort for fear that he might find her wanting, boring, and leave.
Cassie, though deeply wounded by the way Riley had just up and left her, tried to convince herself that it had been for the best. Knowing how much of herself she had been prepared to risk, the lengths she had been prepared to go to for him, was a chilling reminder that the relationship had not been healthy for her. No partner should have that much control over the other, or be prepared to use that power. Not that Riley had threatened Cassie in any way—for all she knew he’d been unaware of her deep feelings for him—but it had not stopped her from feeling like a slutty whore when he had walked out on the ménage he had suggested they partake in. Walked out without a word and never contacted her again.
Thinking back on the night—and Cassie had done that, fixatedly—she had come to the conclusion that if she’d only said no, then maybe things might have been different. At least she would not have had to deal with the sick feeling in her stomach or the crawl of her skin when she remembered the events of that night. She had been so infatuated with the few years younger Riley that Cassie had been terrified he would find her lack of sexual exploits or experience boring. She was, after all, the older woman, or so everyone had pointed out repeatedly. Riley’s friends winking at her all the time, stupid grins on their faces with some kind of amusing agenda in their implication. Like Cassie was some sort of Mrs Robinson or something. When the truth was, Cassie had spent so much time studying to become a high school teacher she really hadn’t had much time to explore her sensual side at all.
A few quick flings during university had been the extent of her experience, but from the moment she had met Riley, her body had gone wild for him. Cassie had never been able to get enough of him and he had taught her so much about her own desires, her cravings and what made her scream with pleasure. And she had screamed, moaned, pleaded and begged at times. Riley had been like a master magician casting a spell over her, knowing exactly how to satisfy her sexually. She would have tried anything, done anything not to lose him.
Cassie had not only worried over their age difference, but also the fact that someone with as much skill in the bedroom as Riley must have had a long list of sexual conquests to his name. How else could he have understood what she needed and achieved that goal so completely, so effortlessly? He seemed to have known exactly where and when to touch her to bring her undone.
Riley had never made her any promises, never discussed being exclusive, and Cassie had been too nervous to ever mention it, for fear of looking too needy. But it had not softened the blow when he’d upped and left.
These were all the reasons, Cassie reminded herself, why being with Riley was not in her best interests. The fact that he still had the ability to make her hurt years later and her body lust for his attention after all he had put her through made Cassie feel hopeless.
Even sitting in a classroom full of sixteen-year-olds could not stop Cassie from reminiscing about how Riley had made love to her. Her nipples poked hard against her blouse and moisture began to pool between her legs, wetting her underwear at the memory of how good they used to be together.
“Miss… Umm…hello! Earth to Miss Davies… Wakey, wakey! What’s wrong, Miss? The boyfriend have you up all night doin’ it? Although you don’t look too happy—didn’t he give you an—”
The voice of one of her more unruly students snapped Cassie from her thoughts.
“I beg your pardon, Ben,” Cassie’s stern retort was voiced quickly as she attempted to cut him off before he managed to embarrass her further or get himself into any more trouble. Then realising that she really did not want the boy to repeat himself, Cassie shouted, “No! Wait, I heard you the first time… Do not open your mouth… In fact, one more word and we will be discussing this further in detention. Do you understand me, Ben Somers? Not one word.”
Looking at the classroom wall clock, Cassie realised that she had been caught up in her own thoughts for most of the lesson, and with only minutes to go she still had to collect the answer sheets.
“Pens down, please,” she instructed her class, hearing the usual mumblings of displeasure from the students who had not finished the exam or were unhappy with how they feared they had performed.
“Quietly pass your papers forward, then you can all pack up and have an early mark.” Of course her twenty-six students had no concept of the word ‘quietly’, especially with the temptation of the weekend looming so close. The sounds of chairs scraping the floor and the excited chatter of the teenagers making plans filled the room to a near deafening level. “Ben, did you need something before or were you just trying to be annoying?”
The boy was one of the brightest in this class of gifted and talented students. It was probably the reason he was such a handful. Ben already knew most of what she taught in the personal development class, would probably go on to study medicine or something. He was also a very talented sportsman with a confident personality that was both humorous and entertaining. Unfortunately, teachers were often the brunt of his quick wit, much to the amusement of students.
“Nah! It’s all good, Miss Davies, just checking that you were okay. Have a good weekend.” Ben waved to Cassie as he raced out of the classroom door.
With the classroom empty, Cassie collected her belongings, wondering whether she could skip the usual staff meeting, just go straight home and make a pillow fortress to hide in. Luck was not on her side, though, she soon discovered when the deputy principal walked in.
“Cassie, could we have a few words before the staff meeting? I wanted to run something by you before I broached the subject later.”
Crap!
Cassie thought as she waited to hear what new project she was going to be expected to volunteer for. “Sure, what’s up?”
“Well, there has been a lot of talk about the local rugby league team doing so well and I remembered that you had a contact at the Jets. I was hoping that you could use some of your influence to get a few of the players to attend next month’s school fundraiser. I know it’s short notice, but I think if we could guarantee a few sports stars attending the fête, it would garner more interest. The money we raise is important, Cassie—as you know the school needs more than the government can give us. It’s so important to have someone with a public profile attend that I will even sweeten the pot. I will give the sports department a quarter of all money raised to spend on new equipment, if you can help out.”
If the request had been made last month, Cassie would have had no problem trying to get a couple of the Jets players to turn up. She did have a contact at the Jets—her best friend was the physio there and married to the Jets halfback and captain. A week ago she would have just picked up her phone and given Pippa a call right on the spot, in front of her boss. That was last month, last week. This week, Riley Walters had taken over the role as promotion and marketing manager at the Jets. And just two nights ago, Pippa had thrown Cassie’s world into a spin by inviting her out to dinner, forgetting to mention that Riley would be sitting right there beside her, the only other single in the group of married couples that were dining together.
As usual the timing in Cassie Davies’ life sucked.
Chapter Two
Riley understood that life was made up of many moments that could impact, change or redefine your life and where you were headed. He had been exposed to many of these moments throughout his nearly twenty-two years, the most significant when his parents had been killed in a car accident. Riley had been ten years old, yet he still remembered with clarity the moment Caitlin, his sister, had told him what had happened. She had promised to look after him, that they would survive together through the awfulness of losing both parents in one single, cruel blow.
Caitlin had kept her promise, but it had been tough for them both financially and emotionally. Riley had tried to help, be responsible and cause his sister no trouble, but he had been ten—just growing had put pressure on their little family every time Caitlin had needed to find the money to pay for new clothes or shoes. She had also found the funds to pay for all the swimming, coaching and school excursions, but Riley had been able to see the strain. Caitlin at twenty had put her own life on hold for him, she had been the reason Riley had not become a ward of the state and she had never questioned or bemoaned that extra responsibility thrust upon her.