Rook grabbed at his arm just as Riley turned to leave. “Hold on, Riley, maybe we can sort all this out. The girls must be under some sort of misunderstanding or something.”
“Well, mate, that’s their problem. See you tomorrow.” He shook Rook’s hand from his arm and headed for the door. Riley had walked this route so many times but never feeling quite as low as he did now. The hallway seemed to go on forever and he heard Pippa’s voice behind say, “Let him go, Mitch,” as he closed the door.
Cassie had just stood there fighting back the tears while Pippa had confronted Riley. She was so embarrassed. The last thing she wanted was to air this dirty laundry in front of Rook. But it had been Riley’s comment that it had happened years ago and she’d been a willing participant that had finally awoken her from her trance-like state. He was right. She was the one who was obsessing over a night that had taken place years ago. What a fool she’d been and now she had threatened a friendship that had been going strong for years. Riley’s friendship with Pippa and Rook. It was time Cassie decided to move on. Get the hell over Riley Walters. Pippa looked so miserable and Rook confused. Cassie needed to set the record straight, even if it meant an uncomfortable conversation with Rook.
“Pippa, Rook, I’m so sorry you are now caught up in my drama,” Cassie began. “This is exactly why it took me so long to tell you, Pip. I knew you would go overboard in my defence. I love that about our friendship.”
“I love you, Cass, I hate to see you hurting.”
“I love you too, Pip, but maybe this time I’m in the wrong. Riley made a valid point. I was a willing participant even if it was for all the wrong reasons.”
“Would someone please fill me in on what the hell is going on?” Rook demanded. “Why I feel like I should be hunting Riley down and kicking his butt?”
Even though Rook had tried to make his threat sound like a joke, Cassie heard the worry beneath the attempt to lighten the mood.
“Rook, this is quite an embarrassing story for me…” Once again Cassie found that admitting to what had taken place in her bedroom on that night years ago left her feeling ashamed. Confessing that she had only taken part for fear of losing Riley made her cringe, made her sound so pathetic and weak.
“I don’t know what to say, Cassie.” The way Rook was looking at her almost made Cassie squirm. His gaze fixed so intently on her, Cassie felt like he was looking right into her mind—reading her thoughts. Seeing her true feelings for Riley, hiding in the deepest shadows of her being.
“What I’m about to say is probably going to get me in the shit with Pip, but I think we need to get some rational perspective here. So you had a threesome. Honestly, Cass, there is nothing to feel ashamed about. So you didn’t enjoy it… Okay, you know not to bother going down that road again. Stop beating yourself up about it. You did it for Riley—that’s okay too. We do things for the people we care about. I think it’s bullshit that you did it to stop him from leaving. At the time you did what you thought would make Riley happy. I promise you, Mike never said a word. I would have heard. Sexual conquests are unfortunately a popular topic in the sheds.”
It was so good to hear from Rook that she hadn’t been the subject of locker room gossip. Cassie had worried about that—it was one of the reasons she’d stopped going to the Jets games. Rook was not finished, though.
“I think the problem here is that Riley ran… And to be honest I think it’s not what you girls think. You must have been so hurt, Cassie, not hearing from the little idiot again, but if you ask me, Riley Walters didn’t run from you, Cass. He ran from himself. God, I can’t believe I’m the only one that can see what’s going on. I’m turning into some kind of Sensitive New Age Guy.”
“For heaven’s sake, Mitch. You, a SNAG? Please! Would you just tell us and stop with the stupid grinning.”
The frustration with her husband so clear in Pippa’s voice would have caused Cassie to laugh if she hadn’t been just as intrigued about Rook’s opinion. But nothing could have prepared her for what he said next.
“Riley is in love with you, Cassie. He’s been crazy about you from the first time he set eyes on you. I find it hard to believe you didn’t know. Didn’t you guys ever talk about your feelings for one another? I thought you had given him the flick, Cass, thought maybe he had scared you off. That you didn’t feel the same way. But I guess if you’re still so upset about it two years later, then there is a whole heap more going on here.”
Chapter Seven
It was just ridiculous that a man could be so messed up over a woman. The more Riley thought about Cassie—the way she looked, how much he missed her—the more frustrated he became. Adding to this misery and causing him some confusion was the notion that Cassie was still upset over what had happened. Yes, she might still be angry with him over the way he’d left it unfinished between them. Riley was starting to believe he may have acted in haste, shown his immaturity by doing a runner, but it was more than that. She had really seemed to be upset.
He had spent much of the night mulling over the possibilities and here it was the next morning and he was driving to work with Cassie still the main focus of his thoughts. He was so preoccupied that he nearly ran into another car, and just to make that even worse the other car belonged to Brodie.
Fuck! Nice one, idiot, way to go. Running over your boss, nice start to the day.
“Sorry ’bout that, Brodes, didn’t see you,” Riley apologised as he climbed out of his car.
“Well, I hope you didn’t see me. Hate to think you tried to run into my car on purpose,” Brodie replied, but there was no smile to go with the words. “What’s up? I’ve known you long enough to be able to tell when something is eating at you. Is it the job? Do you need help? Don’t feel like you have to prove anything to me, Riley. If you need help just say so… No one will think any less of you. This is a crazy time of the year for everyone.”
Think less of him… That was it in a nutshell. The one person Riley wanted to talk to over his obsessive feelings for Cassie was the one person in the world Riley never wanted to disappoint. Talk about a rock and a hard place.
“Job’s fine, Brodie, busy and yes crazy at times, but nothing I can’t handle.”
“Well, son, something’s upsetting you. You know I’m here if you need to talk. I’ve been around the block a time or two and can probably give you another outlook on whatever it is that’s been bothering you. And, Riles, I think you’ve been off your game for a while now. You know I think of you as a brother, even a son, but I won’t push it. Just know that when you’re ready I’m here.”
Brodie walked away, leaving Riley standing motionless beside his car—the car given to him by the very man that had just made the remark about him being like a son, who had called him son.
Riley even tried to imagine how the conversation might go…
“Well, two years ago Cassie, Mike and I were having a threesome—you know, Brodie, both of us boys taking turns fucking Cassie, like she was some kind of sexual plaything for us to use. Problem was that when it was Mike’s go, I lost it. You see, when I saw Cassie and Mike together I wanted to kill him for daring to touch my woman. I wanted to, at the very least, beat him senseless then take Cassie and lock her away from the world so that no other man could touch her—look at her. Bit like that bloke that beat up Mandy, I couldn’t see myself without Cassie in my life, no matter what it took to make that happen. So instead of becoming a raving lunatic stalker, I ran away. Never spoke to her again. The punchline is that I’m still that lunatic, two years later. All I can think of is Cassie. She fills my thoughts awake and asleep. Yeah, I’d make great son material for you, Brodie. You, a man who is so principled, honourable. I’m just the sort of kid you’d want.”
No, that was never going to happen. He just needed to man up and get over this infatuation with a woman who didn’t feel the same way he did.
Even if she almost acted like she did.
* * * *
The rest of the day had flown past. Riley was glad to have been kept busy organising all the Jets players’ media appearances and organising the events planned for the weekend’s final. He’d expected a visit from Rook. Every time Riley had heard a voice outside the office doorway he’d waited for Rook to appear, but it had never happened.
As he drove home to face another night alone in the apartment he’d once shared with his sister, he tried to decide if he was relieved over Rook’s no-show or hurt that his friend had obviously turned his back on him.
It’s probably for the best anyway,
he decided as he let himself into his claustrophobically silent home and collapsed on the sofa.
If I don’t socialise with Rook or Pippa it’s less likely I will run into Cassie.
He told himself this, but it didn’t make him feel any better.
What I need to do is to go out and meet someone else. Maybe I’ll go to Jetstream after the weekend game
. Even as he was making the plan, Riley knew he was kidding himself. He might go to the nightclub but searching out another woman—it wasn’t going to happen. He was so lost in his own thoughts that when he heard the knock at the door he had no idea how long his unexpected visitor had spent trying to garner his attention.
“Yeah, I’m coming, hold on,” he shouted as he took the few strides from sofa to doorway. There was no way he could hide the look of shock on his face as he laid eyes on the very last person he would have expected to be standing on his doorstep. Cassie.
“Umm, I hope I haven’t called in at a bad time, Riley. It’s just I think we need to talk.”
Surprised. Shell-shocked. Aroused. Riley stood looking at Cassie. Her words had sounded hesitant—she was nervous. He could tell by the way she chewed at her bottom lip while she waited for his response. A response he knew he should give…but the words were just stuck in his throat. Refusing to come forth. He couldn’t believe she was standing at his door. So close, he wanted to drag her inside and crush his lips to her mouth, she looked so fucking hot. His mind raced as he tried in vain to come up with a good reason to turn her away. But he wanted her to stay. Go. Stay.
“I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have come without calling first…” Cassie started to turn, ready to leave.
It was now or never. He had to make a choice. This was a chance to make things right with Cassie so that he could face his friends again. But Riley was worried that he would not be strong enough to let her leave. Once she entered his apartment would he have the fortitude to keep his hands from her? Keep from kissing those tempting lips? Running his fingers through her blonde curls or feeling the weight of her breasts in the palms of his hands again?
“No… Don’t go, Cass.” The words came, a plea, as he reached out to stop her. The moment his hand touched her arm, Riley knew he was in trouble. That small connection to her opened up a dam of emotions. The familiar tingle raced up his arm. Just barely a touch and his body was on fire. Needy. Wanting. The power of her over him was indescribable. He wanted to fall to his knees, beg her forgiveness. He would have given anything at that moment for her to touch him. But he could not be weak. He had to pull himself together. If Cassie wanted to talk then talk they would.
“You wanted to talk, let’s talk. Do you want to come in? I can make you a cuppa, I have tea. Actually, I’ve got some of your favourite—it’s still chamomile, right?”
“If you’re sure it’s no trouble, and yes it is.” The smile nearly did him in. When Cassie smiled, her face lit up a room, her eyes sparkled and a dimple appeared in her left cheek. It was adorable and sexy as all get out. He had teased her over it many times but it always turned him inside out. Tonight was no different. God he was in trouble.
Riley stepped back and as Cassie entered past him he caught a whiff of her perfume—no, not perfume, Cassie didn’t wear any, it was all her. Enticing and fresh. Reminding him of what he had lost, what he missed.
“I’ll just pop the kettle on then,” he muttered as he tried to not obsess over the fact that the woman he wanted so badly was now standing in his living room.
“Is this where you grew up? The place you shared with Caitlin?”
Riley stopped in his tracks and watched as Cassie roamed the small space that he called home. She touched the back of his sofa with her hand, and he imagined her stroking his shaft the same way. He refocused and returned to his original plan of making tea as he answered her.
“Only for a few years. We moved in with Brodie after that. It doesn’t look the same as it did back then. This furniture is new and the paintings and photos are courtesy of Caitlin. I didn’t really have much input.” For the life of him Riley didn’t know why he was spilling so much information. There was no reason for Cassie to be interested in who had decorated the place. Riley’s mouth just seemed to take on a life of its own. Pretty much just like the rest of him. His brain was saying
slow down
, but his mouth and dick had different ideas.
Turning his attention to filling the kettle with water and finding the tea bags, Riley tried to pull himself together.
“I like it, it’s cosy. Caitlin did a good job because the place suits you, Riley.” She spoke from directly behind him. She had entered the tiny space of the kitchen. Riley would only have to turn around and she would be within reach. The temptation of knowing that was torture. Riley, ignoring the belief that a watched pot never boils, stared at the kettle waiting for the steam to rise—tried to ignore the voice that was killing him.
He certainly could not take the chance of looking at her yet. He tried for some small talk, amazed at the length of time it took for the so-called rapid-boil kettle to heat up. “So how have you been?” It was the most ridiculous question he could have ever asked. As soon as the words had left his lips he wanted to haul them back in.
“Now that’s an interesting question… Confused, angry, sad and lonely just about sums it up. What about you, Riley? How have you been?”
Chapter Eight
Cassie started to think her spur of the moment idea was turning out to be a massive mistake. She could hardly believe she was standing in Riley’s kitchen, staring at his back. His broad shoulders were within the reach of her fingers. She only needed to take one step forward and she would have been able to wrap her arms around his waist, lean her body into his muscular back. The T-shirt he wore stretched deliciously, enticingly over that wide expanse, reminding her of times past, when snuggling into the warmth of Riley’s body was as natural as breathing.