Getting Rough by C.L. Parker Page B

to…
    The sound of the door sliding open was like a sadistic dominatrix grabbing my shit to put the halt on my release.
    “Hey, Cass…” came a voice that belonged to neither Cassidy nor myself.
    Why, universe? Why do you hate me?
I mentally shouted to the cosmos.
    Cassidy’s buck and shove was enough to make me drop her to her feet and back away just in time for Casey to step into the room. He pulled up short when he saw that she wasn’t alone. The once-over he gave me, coupled with that ticking jaw was proof enough that he knew what was up. No doubt our flushed cheeks and heavy breathing were dead giveaways.
    A victorious grin tugged at the corner of my mouth even though I really wanted to slam his face into the wall for cock-blocking me yet again. Damn. Did the man have built-in radar to detect when a dude was about to get off on his girl or what?
    A very flustered Cassidy attempted to cover the bust with a forced smile and too sweet greeting. “Hey! What’s up, Case?”
    Cock-block Casey wasn’t fooled. I prepared myself for the brawl I knew was about to ensue, almost welcoming it because yeah, I wanted the chance to get a shot or two in as well. But I was surprised when he turned his daggered glare away from me, and instead looked at the unoccupied space to his left.
    “Mom wanted me to tell you it’s time to get dinner started.” It was as if he couldn’t bear to look at Cassidy when he spoke to her. “She’s in the kitchen.” With that, he turned and walked out.
    “Shit,” Cassidy mumbled under her breath.
    I’d rarely heard her curse. She only ever did so when she was pissed at me, and even then, I’d really been pushing her buttons. Clearly, this was an issue for her. Feeling the painful throb of my still-disgruntled cock, it was an issue for me as well. Though for a different reason, I was sure.
    Cassidy fixed her clothes and made to walk past me without a word. That just wasn’t okay, so I grabbed her by the elbow to stop her in her tracks.
    “You’re just going to leave me like this again?”
    She glanced down at the very obvious bulge in my jeans and smiled. This time, the smile was genuine. So was the enormous hard-on that caused it. I wondered if Casey had seen it as well. But then again, how could he have missed it? I did a mental fist pump because even though my shit was backed up and causing me a great deal of discomfort, the points just kept adding up in my favor.
    With a sympathetic frown she said, “I’m sorry, but if I don’t get in that kitchen, she’s just going to come looking for me. And the wrath of Abby is something neither one of us wants to incur. Believe you me, she might look sweet and innocent, and she is for the most part, but if you get her upset, you better look out. They don’t call her Hurricane Abby for no reason.” She laughed and the sound was fucking beautiful. Since when had that happened?
    “We still have things to discuss.”
    She shrugged and then shook her head. “Not really. I mean, what more is there to say? You came here to bitch at me over an incorrect assumption you’d made. So I suppose now that you know the truth, you’ll want to get back to San Diego so you can bask in your win. Right?”
    I knew the answer to her question in an instant. And it was a shocker for me. Maybe there had been more than one reason I’d followed her to Stonington.
    “Wrong. I’m not going anywhere yet.” Seeing Cassidy’s Skype conversation had given me an angle to work with that I hadn’t considered amid the no-cell-service debacle. I could conduct business just as well from here as I could from my desk at Striker Sports Entertainment.
    Cassidy tilted her head to the side to regard me as if I were a complex portrait hanging in a historical museum. “Why not?”
    That question was one I wasn’t sure I had the answer to yet. Things were a jumbled-up mess in my head and I needed time to sort them out. If I told Cassidy that, she’d just push until something