𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐎𝐑 [𝟏𝟖+]

𝟏𝟎: 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐞

*WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.*

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𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈

We were in the Bentley, on the way back to my place. To say there was tension would be an understatement. Maybe I shouldn't have phrased things the way I did back there. Maeve seemed a bit startled, yet she'd just nodded and got in the car.

She'd been quiet for several minutes, but I could still hear her short labored breaths. I slowly cascaded my hand onto her bare thigh, where the slit in her dress was exposing her smooth skin.

Her beautiful, smooth, and creamy skin.

She slightly flinched, but almost melted into my touch. I parted my lips, feeling the aura change between us.

I hate that she ran into Cassandra. If she only knew how bad it ended...she would know that Cass meant nothing to me anymore. In fact, after Charlotte, my college relationship, then Cass, and several other hook-ups, I was so done with any sort of relationship with a woman.

I was numb.

Maybe it wasn't to stay celibate and focus on my work deals; maybe it was because I was trying to shut everything out. My plan was not to meet Maeve and fall in love with her...but here I was, chasing her like I was a damn starving lion.

I reached over and pressed the button for the partition, watching it slide up. "I don't want you to be mad at me, Bella," I whisper, slowly meeting her eyes.

"I'm not mad...I'm just trying to process everything," she murmurs, looking out her side window.

"I know it's a lot," I reply, taking a deep breath. "My lifestyle, my past...everything."

She grabbed my hand that was resting on her thigh, squeezing it gently. "I'm not judging your past, Cassian...but we do have a lot to talk about."

"Like?"

"How you called me your girlfriend back there," she mentions, quickly biting her lip and thinking I didn't notice.

But I noticed. I noticed every damn thing she did.

"And I meant what I said," I state firmly.

Because I knew she was the type of woman who needed security in her life. She was organized, put together, all of it. She was too nice for her good, and that's probably how she got taken advantage of in college. She just wanted a man to protect her, a best friend...someone she could truly trust.