Escape With Me (Love With Me 1)
Page 64
The only person she could think of that could help her feel safe again was Wyatt.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Wyatt
“You can stay here as long as you need,” Wyatt promised Cassie.
She sat on the couch with her feet curled up underneath her like a cat. He handed her a cup of iced tea that she carefully sipped on. Cold drinks seemed to be favored in Arizona, no matter the season.
“Thank you,” she told him with a small smile.
“Do you need anything?” Wyatt asked, taking a seat next to her on the couch. He made sure to give her an appropriate amount of room. “I can send someone out to get you a toothbrush and anything else you might need.”
She smiled up at him. “I stopped and picked up some essentials on my way here. Luckily, the paparazzi don't know where I shop yet. I still had my suitcase from the trip in my car, so I have some clothes if I can use your laundry machine.”
“Of cours
e. Maria will be happy to clean them for you.”
“Maria?” A hint of jealousy crossed her face, and it gave hope to Wyatt's heart.
“My housekeeper,” he quickly explained. “She makes sure everything is taken care of for me. Food, laundry, errands, that kind of thing. I will admit, I did miss having someone do that for me on the island.”
The jealousy faded into a comfortable smile. She startled as her phone rang. She reached into her purse and frowned at the screen.
“Another unknown number,” she said, silencing the call without answering. “The reporters found my phone number.”
“I'm so sorry, Cassie.” His stomach felt like ice. The last thing he'd wanted to do was make her life harder. He wished there had been another way to win her back, rather than coming back to the states. The media frenzy was because of him. If he had simply let her be, she wouldn't have to deal with this. She could have just continued in her life.
She reached out and touched his hand. “It's okay.” She waited until he looked up at her. “You didn't tell them to all call me. You couldn't have known this was going to happen.”
“I suspected,” he admitted. “I just hoped that I could fly under the radar a little bit longer. I didn't mean to make your life more difficult.”
She shifted on the couch, turning her body to face him better. “The way I see it, there were two options. The first is that you didn't come and find me. We both would have lived out our lives wondering what would have happened between us.”
He nodded, wondering if that was what she would have preferred at this point.
“The second is this.” She motioned to the world around them. “That you gave up your peaceful life to find me. To give us a chance.” She reached up and touched his face. “Just so you know, I'm glad you went with option two.”
His heart sped up. She wasn't angry. He looked into her eyes, seeing all the melted chocolates and hints of warm gold in their depths. She was so beautiful it made it hard to breathe sometimes.
“You would choose this?”
“I choose this.” Her voice was husky as she leaned in and kissed him. Her lips were so soft against his. Everything about her was wonderfully sweet and sensual. Her skin, her lips, her scent, even her laugh. They all pulled at him with a primal need to feel her.
Time froze as he kissed her back. It started gentle, their lips simply pressed together, but then she sighed, and her mouth opened. He tasted her tongue, and she tasted his. The floodgates of their passion opened once again. The physical connection between them couldn't be denied.
Her fingers went to Wyatt's shirt. He could feel them press against the fabric as she undid buttons and then pushed the material away from him. Without breaking the kiss, he shrugged out of his shirt. Her hands sent heat surging south as she pressed her palms into the skin of his chest. He was surprised she didn't feel his chest pounding under her fingertips. Maybe she did, but she didn't say anything.
She pulled back slightly from the kiss, looking up at him with big brown eyes. Once again, he was caught off guard by her beauty. It shone out of her like the sun. She grinned before biting her lower lip between her teeth as she looked up at him.
He could feel his pants getting uncomfortably tight.
Her hands went to his waist, and with that seductive grin still filling her face, she undid the button and zipper. Her eyes came back up to his as she pulled down on the pants. She looked a little nervous, but excited.
“Are you sure?” His voice came out husky and thick with desire.
She nodded. “I've been sure since last night.”