Destined To Fall (19 page)

Cassey’s apartment is quiet when I return. When Quinn showed up, I
decided to give them some time to talk through what had upset Quinn, and
go to my apartment to pick up a few things. After a week of hell without
Cassey, I have no intention of leaving her side any time soon, even if it drives
her crazy. She’s sound asleep, so I strip my clothes and crawl into bed beside
her. I grin when I find that she’s naked under the sheets, and trail my hands
all over her curvaceous body. Her eyes open, and they immediately fill with
lust, and behind it I see her love.
“I missed you,” she whispers. Her hands move up my chest, and she hooks
her arms around my neck.
“I missed you, too,” I reply. “Is Quinn okay?”
“She’s…” Cassey hesitates. “She’s pregnant.”
“Wow,” I sigh. “That’s pretty awesome. Why was she so upset?”
“Jarred reacted like a complete douchecanoe.
He said some pretty harsh things to her, and she came here. She’s spending
the night.”
“Hopefully they can sort it out. Is Quinn going to keep it?” I ask.
“Yes,” Cassey replies. “It’s a shock to her, but she’s going to love that baby.
She’ll make an amazing mom for sure.”
The room goes quiet, and I envision my own future with Cassey. I wonder
what it would be like to make her my wife, to have her belly swollen with my
baby. The thought isn’t as scary as I would have imagined. In fact, I like it.
“Kyler?” Cassey’s whisper breaks through my fantasy, and I look down into
her moon-lit eyes.
“Hmmm?”
“Kiss me.”
It doesn’t take me long to fulfill her request. I devour her mouth with mine,
savoring her sweet taste. My hand lifts her leg and I bring it over my waist,
positioning me at her hot, wet entrance. She whimpers when I rub the head
of my erection against her clit, and I watch her eyes roll back in pleasure as I
push into her heat slowly. It’s so much deeper like this, and incredibly intense
when it’s skin-on-skin. My right hand holds Cassey’s butt as I start pumping into her, slowly first, and then faster, harder. My left arm wraps around
Cassey’s delicate, curvy waist and I bring her closer to me until our chests are
pressed together.
“So deep,” Cassey mewls softly. “Oh God, baby, I’m…”
“Ssshh….” I kiss her mouth, and swallow the sexy sounds she’s making. It
drives me wild when she’s loud, but I’m aware that we have a house guest.

I suck in a breath when Cassey purposefully clenches her muscles, bringing me to the brink of my orgasm. I growl into her neck, and pump my hips
faster. Cassey whimpers, and comes apart in my arms.
She bites my shoulder to stifle her scream, and it pushes me further as I
chase my orgasm.
The fire starts low down my spine, and then erupts violently.
When our erratic breathing slows, I move away from Cassey and grab a
warm washcloth from the bathroom. I clean us both up, and then toss the
washcloth aside before climbing back into bed.
Cassey tucks her head into my neck, and haphazardly tangles our legs together. The feel of her next to me is something I don’t want to go a day without, and the idea of losing her is painful. I’m going to need her, especially
when it comes time for me to say goodbye to my father. I don’t think I can
get through it without her. Pushing the thoughts aside, I hug Cassey to me,
and fall asleep with ease.

I’m woken up by yelling, and a loud bang. I jump up when I see Cassey isn’t
next to me, and pull on my sweats before hurrying out to see what all the
commotion is about.
“What’s going on?” I ask, walking into the living room. Cassey is in one of
my shirts and her sleep shorts, and she’s fighting with Quinn’s boyfriend,
Jarred.
“Where is she?” Jarred shouts. “Fuck, Cass, just tell me where I can find her,
please.” The guy looks like shit, like he hasn’t slept at all. His hair is a mess,
and his clothes are in complete disarray. He has a crazed look in his eye, panicked and frantic. Poor guy looks like he’s about to lose his shit.
“Quinn’s not here,” I answer for Cassey. My voice is hard. I reach for Cassey
and pull her back slightly. I cross my arms over my chest, and glower at
Jarred.
“But she was here last night? She’s okay?” Jarred asks.
“No, she’s not okay,” Cassey snaps. She’s a feisty little thing, and if I wasn’t
annoyed with Jarred right now it would turn me on.
“She was a mess,” Cassey continues, “and if you don’t pull your head out of
your ass, she will leave you. She told you she’s pregnant, and your response
was to throw accusations at her.”
“Fuck,” Jarred growls. He drags his fingers through his hair. “I really screwed
up, and I just need to tell her how sorry I am.”
“It’s time to man the fuck up,” Cassey says. “She shouldn’t have to consider
raising your baby without you, so don’t give her that option.”
“I know, dammit! I know! But I freaked out!” Jarred replies, exasperated.
“Cass, please, I’m begging you, tell me where my girl is so I can fix this.”
Cassey’s lips thin. She’s contemplating telling Jarred where to find Quinn.
I’m tempted to tell her not to say anything, but this is none of my business,
even if Jarred handled the news of Quinn’s pregnancy in the worst way possible. I’d make him suffer a bit longer for being a jackass though.
“Fine,” Cassey sighs. “She left this morning to go to her parents’ house.”
Jarred nods, relief written all over his face. “Thanks.”
“I swear to God though, Jarred, if you do anything more to hurt my best
friend, I will personally make your life hell, make no mistake. Quinn deserves
better.”
“I know, and I’m going to fix it. I promise.”
Cassey nods once, satisfied with Jarred’s promise, and we watch him leave.
She turns to face me, and I wrap her in my arms.
“Seeing you get so worked up is pretty sexy,” I tell her.
Cassey laughs and slaps my chest playfully. “Let’s hope I won’t have to do
that again. I’ll seriously beat his ass if he hurts Quinn.”
I chuckle. “Now that, I would pay to see.”
“What, you don’t think I can kick some ass?”
“Oh, I don’t doubt it, baby. I might just misbehave on purpose so I can get
you worked up.”
“You just want make-up sex,” she laughs.
“Any sex with you will do, I’m not fussy.”
“You’re such a horn dog,” she replies, smiling.
“You drive me crazy,” I say, picking her up. Her legs come around my waist
and she wraps her body around mine.

“Right back at you,” she whispers. Her phone starts ringing just as we
reach her bedroom, and I put her on her feet. She runs to grab it, and I head
towards the shower. I hear her voice, and a few minutes later she walks into
the bathroom. Her face is pale, and she stares at the phone.
“Cass?”
Her head whips up and she opens her mouth to speak. “It’s my parents,” she
says. “They’re dead.”
I rush to her side just as her knees give out. “Okay, baby, I’ve got you,” I say,
lifting her. I sit down on her bed with her in my lap.
“What happened?” I ask, gauging her reaction.
“They overdosed on heroin,” she swallows hard. “And then their trailer was
set alight with their bodies inside.”
“Shit,” I mutter. I don’t know what else to say. I wait for the hysterics, and the
tears to come. Instead, Cassey’s expression remains blank.
“We can be on the next flight out of here,” I say.
She shakes her head. “No. I don’t want to see them. We don’t have any relatives, so there’s no point in me going.”
Her eyes well up, and finally the first tear falls. “I shouldn’t feel…” her words
trail off and she swallows hard, her brows scrunching slightly.
“You shouldn’t feel what?”
“Relieved. I shouldn’t feel relieved, but I do. I’ve hated them for most of my
life, and all I can think about right now is that I’ll never have to see them or
hear from them again.”
I wipe her tears away, and hold her face in my palms. “They can’t hurt you
anymore, but are you sure you don’t want to go home?”
“I’m sure,” she says, nodding. “I have nothing left to go back to. This is my
home. You are my home.”
What more can I say to that? I can’t begin to fathom what her parents did to
make her hate them so much, but now I hate them, too. Why would anyone
want to hurt Cassey? She’s kind, with a big heart, and she’s so fucking strong.
I don’t know what I ever did to deserve her love, but I will spend the rest of
my life proving to her that I can be what she needs. Her parents are assholes
for never treating her the way she deserves, and I find myself feeling relieved
that she won’t ever have to deal with them again.

“They’re dead?” Quinn asks. We’re sitting on the sofa in my office drinking
coffee. She sips her tea, staring at me wide-eyed over the rim of her cup. I
nod, finding it difficult to believe myself. It was only yesterday that I found
out about my parents’ death, and even after speaking to a detective who confirmed it, it still doesn’t feel real. I haven’t cried yet, and I’m not sure I will. I
feel both guilt and relief. Guilt because I’m not heartbroken over my loss if I
can call it that; and relief because I haven’t had this sense of freedom in forever.
“A detective called me yesterday,” I say. “He said they overdosed, and somehow their trailer caught fire while their bodies were inside. He said they
think it was an accident, but they’ll investigate to rule out all other possibilities. He said the only way they could be identified is through dental records,
because of how badly their bodies were burned.” A lump forms in my throat
and I try to swallow it. To anyone else I would look heartless for not being
upset about my parents’ death, but no one really understands that the only
thing that made them my parents in the first place is nothing more than biology. They showed no parental inclinations and made sure to tell me I was a
mistake at every chance they got. How do I mourn people like that?
“Wow,” Quinn sighs, “And I thought I had problems.”
“About that, what happened with Jarred?” I ask, thinking about the state
he was in when he showed up at my apartment yesterday. Kyler wasn’t impressed, but I’m glad he didn’t get involved.
Quinn turns to face me, tucking a recently pedicured foot under her butt.
“He showed up at my parents’ place,” she replies, eyeing me warily. “You
wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
“I’m sorry, Quinny. But he showed up at my place, looking freaked out because he couldn’t find you, and I wanted him to find you so that he could
grovel for your forgiveness. I felt bad for him, okay?”
Quinn exhales audibly, pulling her fingers through her platinum blonde hair.
Even with the dark circles under her eyes, Quinn still looks immaculate. “I
know, Cass, it’s fine. My parents gave him a hard time, too. My dad was so
angry, not about the pregnancy, but because Jarred acted like an ass. Eventually, I told my parents to let us talk.”
“I hope he declared his undying love for you, and promised to be the best
damn father the world has ever seen. If not, I’ll castrate him on your behalf.”
“I told him we need a break,” Quinn says, tears building in her eyes. “I told
him he needs to decide what’s important to him, and what’s not. If he can’t
be there for me and our baby, then he must tell me now. I don’t want my baby
coming into a volatile environment. He or she will be loved, even if it’s just
me.” She sniffs, and I reach over to hand her a tissue.
“You won’t be alone,” I tell her. “I told you this kid is going to have the best
godmother in the universe. And you’ll probably have to fight your parents
off,” I giggle.
“I’m scared, Cass,” Quinn whispers. “What if I’m no good at this? What if
Jarred decides he can’t do this?”
“First of all, you are going to be an amazing mother, and second of all, if
Jarred leaves you then he doesn’t deserve you or your baby. But I don’t think
you have to worry about that. Jarred will come around when he realizes just
how much he’s losing.”
“I hope so,” Quinn replies softly.
We sit in silence for the shortest time, both consumed by the events in our
lives. I can’t help but think of the irony of our situations. My parents are both
gone, and Quinn is pregnant.
My desk phone rings and I jump up quickly to answer it.
“Cassey Emerson speaking.”
“Miss Emerson,” Kyler’s assistant greets me on the phone. “Mr. Knight has
requested that you meet him in his office right away.”
“Okay,” I reply, frowning. “I’ll be right up.”
“Who was it?” Quinn asks, standing up. She straightens her cream colored
linen work pants and her red bell-sleeve blouse.
“Kyler’s assistant. He wants to see me.”

Quinn smirks. “Let me know what sex feels like on a desk,” she chimes,
waving goodbye as she leaves my office.
I follow her out, and take brisk walk to the elevator. When I reach Kyler’s
office door, Nikola, his assistant, has a gleam in her eyes that makes my skin
crawl. She’s up to something. She motions to the door but doesn’t escort me
inside, which is strange because she usually does. I open the door, and my
feet root themselves to the floor. My body tenses and I freeze.
“Cass? What are you doing here?” Kyler asks, surprised. It takes me a minute
to reply, given that I’m staring at the bitch who tried to ruin me and Kyler.
Jessa fucking Price.
“Your assistant called,” I reply icily. I have the urge to run like hell, but I
don’t. I made a promise to myself that I would trust Kyler again. I just didn’t
think my trust would be tested so soon. “She said you wanted to see me.”
Kyler frowns confused, and then he rises to his feet. “There must be a misunderstanding.”
Jessa looks at me from over her shoulder, and gives me a venomous smile.
Bitch. Then it dawns on me. She planned this. She wanted me to walk in
here and see them together. Too bad I won’t let her win this round. Or any
other round after this.
Kyler rounds his desk and I walk towards him. I square my shoulders, and lift
my chin by an inch.
“I’m sorry- ”
“Kyler,” Jessa interrupts, rising from her own seat. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
I step forward and stick my hand out. “Cassey Emerson,” I reply. “Kyler’s
girlfriend.”
Jessa’s expression falters, and if I wasn’t staring at her, I wouldn’t have noticed.
She shakes my hand and then drops it quickly. Kyler’s hand rests on the
small of my back, and his touch somehow eases my rigid muscles.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she says. I can almost see the venom dripping
from her mouth.
“Likewise,” I lie. I turn to Kyler and smile up at him. I wrap my arms around
his waist, pressing my body to his. He inhales and grins at me. He knows
what I’m doing, I can see it in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, baby, I didn’t mean to interrupt your meeting,” I tell him. I bat
my eyelashes slightly, just for effect. “Call me after, and we can have lunch in
your office?”
Before Kyler can respond, I slide my hand up his chest and around his neck,
pulling his head down. I press my lips to his and ravage his mouth. We pull
apart, breathless. “Come find me when you’re done,” I suggest innocently. He
clears his throat. “I won’t be long,” he replies, his voice rough, and thick. It
only sounds like that before or during sex, and I revel on the fact that I can
turn him on with just a kiss.