19. Reed Is Kissing Me!

Cassian

Rhett fucking Reed is kissing me!

Rhett, the most masculine of masculine men, who has never afforded to have anything emasculate him or bruise his fragile masculine ego and… have I said the word masculine? Yep! This can’t be.

It has to be a fucking dream.

I freeze for a second too long, trying to process it, trying to tell myself I am imagining the moment. But his warmth is in my mouth, and his hands on my neck are definitely pulling me closer.

Bloody fucking hell.

I kiss him back—very much against my will, but there’s this force I can’t stop. We are staggering away from the wall, stumbling blindly through the living room until my legs hit the frame of a sofa that’s crowded with pillows. He pushes me down onto it, while my hands are tangled around his shirt, touching the rock-hard muscles that are burning to the touch. Blood rushes to my groin instantly, an ache I haven’t felt in a very long time taking over my senses. An ache that I didn’t expect to feel for him… to feel with him.

The kiss becomes more intense as the both of us are pulling at each other as if we’re trying to tear each other apart. He grips my waist, his fingers digging into my hips so hard it’s going to leave marks, and for a split second, I completely forget about the revenge. I forget about the bullying. I forget everything except the way he tastes.

My hands reach up to touch the rim of his sweatpants and disappear inside. Rhett lets out a groan and his eyes go wide.

Suddenly, there’s a sound of a floorboard creaking, causing us to separate instantly, our mouths ripping away from each other. Our chests are heaving up and down as we pant and try to get ourselves together.

I scramble backward, sitting up on the couch properly, and rub a hand over my swollen lips, trying to get them to look normal. I’m horrified by what just happened, even though God knows I want more.

What the fuck did I just do?

Rhett is standing opposite the couch; his face looks flustered and red even in the dim light. He looks just as terrified as I feel, his hands trembling at his sides.

Savannah appears at the edge of the living room. She’s scratching her hair groggily, her eyes squinting against the darkness. “Rhett? Babe?” she mumbles, her voice sounding extremely sleepy. “I thought I heard something... and you weren’t beside me...”

She blinks rapidly, her gaze moving from Rhett’s frozen posture over to where I’m sitting on the sofa. Her jaw drops slightly. “Who’s that… wait... is that Cassian?”

Rhett swallows hard, looking incredibly guilty and flustered. He tries to clear his throat, but it comes out as a weak choke before he manages to find his voice. “Um... yeah. Yeah, Savvy. I, uh... I heard an intruder outside and went to check on it. But it was just Cassian... he just showed up.”

Savannah frowns, looking between the two of us. She completely misses the sexual tension, probably because she’s too confused and sleepy. Thank goodness she isn’t fully awake or she would have put the pieces together—or maybe it’s just what the paranoid part of me thinks. She turns her eyes to me, her brows furrowing. “What are you doing here anyway, Cassian? It’s the middle of the night… I’m, uh… I’m surprised.”

My heart is pounding against my chest so fast because I am completely unsure of what lie to tell.

“I’m really sorry to disturb you guys,” I say, putting on a guilty, tired expression as I stand up from the couch while still trying to cook up a believable story. “Honestly, I was just worried. Rhett didn’t return to the dorm after a long while, and he’s been in a really bad mood lately with his dad… training… I knew it was just taking a toll on him, so I got scared. I checked his shared location because I thought he passed out somewhere... and it led me here.”

I pause, letting out a soft sigh to make the lie sound deeper. “I know how this place holds heavy memories for him because of his mom. I didn’t want him to be alone out here in the woods if he was having a breakdown... I had no idea he was with you, Savannah. He didn’t mention he was taking you along or that he was even coming here.”

Savannah’s expression instantly softens. She’s looking at me with wide, touched eyes, her hand coming up to touch her chest. “Aww... wow. Cassian, that’s... that’s incredibly sweet of you.” She turns toward Rhett, still with that look on her face. “See, Rhett? I told you he cares about you a lot.”

Beside me, I can hear Rhett letting out a breath of relief, but I can feel his eyes, which are still burning into the side of my face. There’s relief, but I know he’s annoyed by the one I just told and the fact that Savannah believes I care about him.

“I should, uh… I should get going now that I know you’re safe. See you tomorrow,” I say, standing up and flashing the two of them a smile.

“Oh no, no,” Savannah replies hastily, touching my arm gently. “It’s very late, Cassian, and it’s not safe to drive. Spend the night.”

I let out a nervous chuckle. “I wouldn’t want to intrude on you guys’ private time more than I already have. I can take care of myself.”

“Nonsense!” Savannah tuts. “There’s a spare room we cleaned earlier on… you could stay there. And then we all go back tomorrow morning. Deal?”

I look toward Rhett, whose jaw is now clenching very angrily at Savannah’s suggestion, so I smirk. “Deal.”