“Okay,” pouting she releases my jacket as she says, “I love you.”
“Yeah, I love you too.”
Walking backwards away from her I wave my goodbye, turning when I bump into one of the many visitors. And as I walk away, she calls, “Stay away from little girls, Leo!”
Shaking my head, I continue towards the exit. I’m almost past it when I hear her voice.
“Hey!”
I stop abruptly and almost turn to look at her. Cassie’s voice has this velvety depth to it that even when it’s a loud yell, it’s still soft and luring.
Do not look back, I tell myself as I force my feet to move, but it’s too late. Her fingertips tap my shoulder as I reach the top of the stairs to the street. The only thing I can do is shake her off and go.
“Hey! Stop!” People are stopping to stare at us, but I continue down the steps.
“Cass, it’s clearly not him.” I hear her friend tell her.
When I reach the bottom, I can’t help but look up and she’s standing there looking at me with confusion and irritation scrunching her face.
It freezes me to the concrete beneath my feet and fuck me, I can’t move even as she’s getting closer to me.
Her long, lean legs look lithe in her painted on leather trousers and her suede Chelsea boots. Her coat blusters behind her in the wind that sticks her top to her curves.
I can’t help but imagine all the ways I want to fuck her. All the ways I could mark her body as I make it mine. I want to bite her, and lick her, kiss her and eat her. I want every part of me inside every part of her.
My entire body is buzzing with how close she’s getting and how much I want her.
Selfish bastard!
When she stops in front of me, her friend comes bouncing behind her.
I should turn around and walk away, but I can’t. The longer we stand here, frozen, looking at each other, the more violently her chest heaves. And it’s taking everything in me not to grab at her rounded hips and pull her to me.
Just one more touch…a little taste.
Imagining how sweet she must taste has me licking my lips. When she mirrors my action, I wonder if she’s having the same fanciful thought about me. And when she visibly swallows, God, like an idiot I take a step closer to her. With my heart banging loudly in my chest I can’t hear any of my reasoning thoughts.
“Come on, Cass, I know it’s only Tuesday, but it’s church!” Her friend whines from behind her. When I look up at her, her eyes are boring into me like she’s trying to assess me.
Church. I know that’s what they call the National Gallery, I’ve heard them talking about it when I’ve been locked away with her father in his office at their house.
So close and yet so far.
It feels weird to know so much about a girl I’ve only seen from a distance, measured or not. It feels wrong to know more about her than she knows about herself. It feels stupid to want her in this desperate way. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want Cassandra Sinclair, and no one has had dis
aster stamped on them like she does.
Cassandra looks back at her friend and then back at me. Sucking that plump lower lip. I want to bite into her mouth, she takes another step closer and my body tightens on the verge of painful.
Her eyes dart between mine and she asks, “Who are you?”
Who am I?
An idiot, apparently.
Another gust hits and the way she’s swiping the stray hair from her face reminds me of the same way she did it when she was dancing with my arsehole of a cousin.
My blood boils in all the wrong, curdling ways as I recall the way he had his hands on her. The way their bodies were so close, flush to each other as they danced at Freddie’s party.