Sidelined: A Wilde Players Dirty Romance by A.M. Hargrove, Terri E. Laine

follows me over that cliff.
    As we collapse onto the bed, panting, I know for sure I will be dreaming about this man for the rest of my life as my heart takes the leap without me knowing. Although it changes nothing, he’s still leaving, and I’m still not going anywhere; I can’t help but admit to myself that I’m still in love with him. But love doesn’t change that our lives are in two different places. Dad thinks it would be easy for me to leave, but my finances are in the shitter. I can’t start over, not yet. And my pride would never allow me to tell Fletcher about my money problems. I won’t be one of those women who want to take from him. So I can only cherish what we have now, and hope I’ll survive when he leaves.

 
    Fletcher
     
     
    Cassidy will be my forever girl if I can only convince her I’m her guy. Stubborn as old Mr. Rafferty’s mule and hardheaded as the rock mountain they blasted through to create I-40, it won’t be easy. But I’m not going to give up until I win her over. Last night at her house surpassed any of my expectations. Never did I imagine she would allow me to spend the night. Poor Brady and Boomer were bustin’ a bladder to go out this morning, and Cass gave me hell about that, too.
    “What were you thinking, leaving those poor pups inside all night?”
    I don’t dare tell her I never thought she’d offer for me to stay over and no way in hell was I turning that invite down. I’ll just clean up dog pee if I have to is all there is to it. Or buy new floors for Mom and Dad if it’s that bad.
    But I don’t have too much to be concerned about. They almost knock me down to get out, though, and I’m pretty sure they pee for ten minutes. Then they kiss me for like a half hour without stopping. Next time Cass is coming home with me.
    As I feed the dogs, I think about what we did, what I did to her, and my dick springs back to life. Damn, I’m going to have to temper those thoughts, or I’ll walk around with a fucking stiffie all day. And I won’t see her again until my appointment this afternoon.
    Checking the time, I know it’s too early, but I send the text anyway. I’ll eat what she dishes out at lunch, after I buy, of course.
    A few hours later, I walk into the cute little deli on the outskirts of town, the one I didn’t think Cass would come to for lunch because it was too far from her work. My “date” is waiting for me.
    “So, how’d it go?” Gina asks.
    My mouth has been turned up all day. “Great. Not perfect. But it was awesome.”
    “You knocked yourself off a piece then, did you?”
    “Jeez, Gina, this is Cass you’re talking about.”
    “So? She needs to get laid just like the rest of us. I take it you did my girl good then?”
    Shaking my head, I say, “I don’t quite know how to answer that.”
    A sly grin spreads across her face. “You just did. I bet you two got into some kink, didn’t you?”
    I fish-mouth several times and then look at the white ceiling, trying to think up a clever reply. But she saves me by tapping my arm and saying, “I’m proud of you, Fletch. You’re really living up to your name.”
    “My name?”
    “Yeah. The Man with the Hands. Isn’t that what they call you?”
    “No, it’s not.” I rub my hand over my head. “They call me Wilde Hands—as in my last name.”
    She waves a hand and says, “Same difference. I kinda like that. Wilde Hands, huh?” Then she giggles and leans in. “How wild did they get?”
    I lean in and say, “You’ll have to ask Cass.”
    “Dang it and she won’t tell me a thing.”
    Her disappointed expression reminds me of a Beagle puppy.
    “You’re terrible. What’s next?”
    Both of her hands grip the table as she pushes back. “You mean to tell me she still isn’t on board?”
    “Like I said before, she won’t ever be convinced because she is of the mindset that we’re destined to be apart. I have to convince her otherwise, and the only thing I can think of is to figure out