Reunited (The Love You Left Behind #1) (6 page)

We chat with Laura and Bill about their kids and their jobs and Cass seems to relax a little more. I can’t help but watch her face as she talks. The way she smiles, man. Happiness hits her eyes like a goddamn light source. She practically glows.  It’s so different than the pictures I’d seen on her Facebook page, the forced, fake-ass smile that she puts out into the world. I can see the potential of her blush, of her flushed skin. I can practically remember how soft it was under my hands. How can fifteen years seem like only a minute ago?

              After two more drinks and some passed appetizers, I see Cass start to yawn. She sees me watching her and chuckles apologetically.

              “Sorry. I taught early this morning.  I probably should have taken the day off.”

              I lean in a little closer, under the guise of whispering into her ear.

              “You want to go?”

              She glances at her watch. “God, it’s not even ten. I feel like such an old lady.”
              It’s my turn to laugh and I shake my head.

              “Come on. I’ll walk you to your room.”

              Cass opens her mouth to protest, but another yawn slips out instead. Without another word, I grab her hand and gently tug her away from the bar. She waves to Laura, who’s already chatting with another couple, and we slip out the side exit and toward the elevator.

              “That wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected,” Cass says, smiling up at me. We reach the elevator and I press the UP button.

              “Yeah. Could’ve been worse.”

              Frankly, it could have been way fucking worse. I don’t know how I managed to get away with not running into Diana tonight, but I’ll take that gift any day of the week. If I can manage to dodge her tomorrow, too, I’ll be goddamn thrilled. Maybe she just won’t show up at all. That would be some stellar shit.

              As we reach the seventh floor, though, I start to focus on another source of anxiety – okay, not anxiety as much as nervous energy.

              “So,” Cass says, fiddling with her key card. She squints a bit as she looks up at me.

              “So,” I echo. We walk toward our rooms and, when we get to her door, I lean back against the wall. I cross my ankles one over the other and my arms over my chest and regard her.

              She bites her lower lip, then heaves in a breath before speaking.

“Can it…would you have any interest in maybe sticking around tonight?”

              I raise a brow. “Define sticking around.”

              She swallows hard and I can see the tenseness in her jaw. She’s nervous.

I’m making her nervous.

God, I fucking love that.

              “I’ve got a great mini bar and an even better view,” she says softly. “If you want to come in for a drink, it’ll give me an excuse not to go to bed at 10 pm like an old person.”

              I tilt my head down to look deep in her eyes.

              “I thought you were tired.”

              She blinks rapidly, then licks her lips. “I – I am, a little.”

              I watch her mouth, her wet lower lip, and I’m unable to stop the next sentence from spilling out.

              “I can stay and we could go to bed at 10 pm anyway.”

              For a long moment, we’re both frozen in place, staring at each other. Waiting for the other one to make the first move.

              Fuck it. I’ll do it. We’ve already wasted too much time.

              I stride the few steps of distance between us, reach out with both hands to cup her face, and attack her mouth with the kind of energy and vigor I should probably tone down.

But I can’t. I have to have that taste of her, that light and air in my mouth. Everything about her is desirable. But it’s more than that. It’s like everything about her is
necessary
.

              “Jay,” Cass murmurs against my lips. She’s gripping my biceps hard, her nails biting through my dress shirt.

              “Ask me again,” I growl into her mouth. I pull back to see her gazing up at me, her eyes heavy and full of desire.

              “Ask you what?”
              “To come inside.”

              She licks her lips rapidly, then smiles.

              “Will you come inside?”

              I bend down and capture her mouth once again.

              “Fuck yeah, I’ll come inside,” I assure her, pulling the key card from her clenched fist and sliding it thought the sensor. The door behind her pops open and I press her body backward. We don’t stop kissing or touching as we make it into the room. Finally, the door slams shut behind us and we’re alone.

              “I can’t believe this is happening,” Cass whispers. “It’s like we’re in the Twilight Zone.”

I reach for her again and pull her against me.

“No, not the Twilight Zone,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s like we’re in a time machine.”

“A time machine,” she echoes.

“Exactly,” I say, reaching up to cup her chin in one hand. “So, tell me, now that we’re in it, gorgeous, what are we going to do with it?”

***

Will Cass open herself up once again to the kind of passion she’s only known once in her entire life?

Will Jay reveal to Cass that starting something now means unfinished business once again?

Check out REKINDLED, the second book in the LOVE YOU LEFT BEHIND series, on 2/23/16!

About the author

Annie Kelly is the pen name for writer Kelly (Fiore) Stultz. When she’s not writing romance, Annie/Kelly loves cooking, rocking out to 80s hair metal, and spending time with her husband, three children, and five (yes, five) pets.

Kelly teaches and resides in West Virginia.