From Ashes (32 page)

The reception had been a blast, but I’d been eager for it to be over. I wanted to be alone with Gage, alone with my husband. He looked so incredible that I hadn’t been able to stop touching him all night. He wore black slacks and a dark green shirt rolled up the same as the rest of the guys’, but no tie, the top button undone, and a black suit vest. The black and green did amazing things with his hair and eyes, as I’d hoped they would, and it was safe to say my new hubby looked good enough to eat.

We’d danced for hours with our friends and his family. Gage had vetoed the father-daughter dance, but Tyler and Gage had come to an agreement that Ty would get a couple slow dances with me. Other than those two dances with Ty, and a dance split with John and Jim, Gage didn’t let me more than a few inches from him. And that was more than fine with me.

I couldn’t believe just three months before, we’d been at Stacey’s wedding and everything about our feelings for each other and Tyler’s manipulation had finally come out. When I thought about it that way, our relationship had moved fast—crazy fast—but Gage was right . . . we’d already spent too long without each other, and there was no point in waiting; he was all I would ever want. And now he was mine.

Looking back at his green eyes, I smiled softly at him and ran the tips of my fingers over his jaw before kissing his full lips. “Take me to bed, Gage.”

Without another word, he walked us through the house and into the master bedroom before setting me on my feet in front of the bed. I started to unbutton his vest, but he put my hands back at my sides, then brushed the hair away from my neck, bending to place hot, openmouthed kisses there. He made a trail down my shoulder, then around to my back, placing two soft kisses on my tattoo before gripping the top of the zipper and slowly sliding it down.

“You looked so beautiful tonight, Cassidy.”

My breath caught when the zipper hit the end, and holding up the dress with one hand, his other hand trailed along the small of my back, inside the fabric, and around my body to softly caress my stomach. Letting go of the fabric, he let the dress fall into a pool at my feet and turned my body around, all the while keeping both hands on me. His green eyes were so dark I couldn’t see the golden flecks anymore as he pushed me gently onto the bed and moved the dress aside.

Taking a step away from the bed, he undid the buttons on his vest first, then his shirt. When both were done he removed them at the same time and tossed them onto a chair in the corner of the room. My eyes trailed over his tanned body and lingered on the long muscles; my fingers twitched with want but he was standing too far away. He leaned forward, cupped my cheek to kiss me softly, and walked over to all the windows, shutting the blinds and curtains at the same time his other hand went to the button on his pants. With pants undone, but still on, he crawled onto the bed and on top of me, unsnapping and pulling away my strapless bra before lowering me to the bed.

His head bent low and latched on to one breast, teasing the nipple relentlessly before moving to the other and doing the same. When he was satisfied with how worked up he’d gotten me, he kissed me long and hard as he pulled my lacy white boy-cut underwear off and placed a knee between my thighs.

“Beautiful,” he mumbled, and brought my arms above my head, pinning them down onto the pillow.

Leaning up, he kissed my Ursa Major tattoo, and I was able to sneak in a kiss to his abdomen before he slid back down and smirked at me, then slid
all
the way down. No matter how many times I’d had every part of this with Gage, every time felt better than the last and like I’d been denied his touch for years. A breathy moan left me when he swiped his tongue against me and a shudder rippled through my body. One hand lay flat on my lower stomach as the other went to help with his mouth and I thought I’d die right there on the bed. My body tightened but I held off as long as I could before the heat in my stomach exploded, making it even more intense and limb numbing, and I gave myself over to what I knew would only be the first of many orgasms tonight.

Without wasting any more time, I brought his face back to mine and used my free hand, with the help of my toes, to push down his slacks and dark boxer-briefs. He finally kicked them both off and positioned himself between my legs, kissing up my chest and throat to my lips. Grabbing his length, I wrapped my legs around his back and guided him to me, gasping out in raw pleasure when he pushed himself inside me.

“Cassidy,” he groaned, and pressed his lips to the dip in my neck as he slowly started moving.

Our bodies, as always, moved together in perfect synchronization, and I was once again so thankful I’d never done this with anyone but Gage. He had been the only one for me from day one; there had never been anyone who had made me feel the way Gage did. My bond with Tyler and my connection with Connor would never hold a flame to what this was. This was raw and passionate, it was pure and unconditional, and it was tender and full of an understanding I never expected to have.

Gage propped himself up on one elbow and cupped my cheek with one hand as his pace quickened; my legs left his back only for my thighs to squeeze his hips and my heels to dig into the bed. My hands urged him to move faster and I felt that familiar heat intensify as my body began tightening around him again. His breaths were coming harder and faster, and I begged him not to stop. The hand on the bed clenched the sheet, his forehead hit mine, and the muscles in his jaw worked as he tried to hold off a little longer. My head fell away from his and my mouth opened, but no sound left as I climaxed for long, incredible seconds before crashing down just moments before he did.

We lay there holding each other, still connected, and waiting for our breathing to even out. His lips were pressed to the top of my head while mine were pressed to his chest; the only words we could seem to form were
I love you
.

Chapter Nineteen

G
AGE

W
E’D JUST FINISHED
herding the last of the cattle into a different section of the ranch, and God, this day couldn’t have been longer. Cass hadn’t been feeling that great when I left her that morning, and I hated leaving her when she was sick, but the move couldn’t wait. There was a huge storm coming in that was supposed to be there all week, and it’s too hard to move the cattle during a storm—point made when the storm came halfway through the day. It was almost the middle of October, and it was already cooling down, but the cold front that came with this storm was wicked, and swear to God the cattle just decided to plop their happy asses on the ground. Not like we weren’t expecting them to prepare for the storm, but this storm was why they needed to move in the first place; there were too many creeks running through the part of the ranch they were in, and where they were going was elevated. So when they’d all lain down in groups, I’d groaned and tried to prepare myself for a long afternoon.

It’d ended up taking an extra three hours to get them all in, and by that point I was snapping at some of the ranch hands whom I’d known practically my entire life. I apologized as much as my pissed-off self would allow when we got all the horses back to the stable, hopped in my truck, and drove back home. I had a sick wife who needed taking care of, and she’d expected me home hours ago. Driving up, I hated not seeing Cassidy standing there with Sky—not like I really expected her to be there tonight, but it showed just how bad she was feelin’.

Since our “honeymoon,” which was really just an amazing week in our home of uninterrupted time with a naked Cassidy, she’d started her own routine with our lives, and damn, I loved it. Every morning I got my hug in bed; she’d tell me to come back after I finished feeding all the other animals, and she’d have breakfast waiting for me; more often than not, breakfast led to a whole lot else that resulted in our having to sanitize different surfaces of the kitchen again. Then she and Sky would walk me out and stand on the porch until I was gone. Some days I’d come back for lunch if I wasn’t busy, but every night she and Sky were waiting on the porch as I drove up. Seeing her waiting with a big smile on her face in the house I built got me every time. I was a lucky man, and I thanked God for giving her to me every damn day.

Sky jumped up from where she’d been lying near the steps on the wraparound, and I barely scratched her ears as I raced into the house. The scent of food caught me off guard and I slowly made my way back to the kitchen. Cass should have been in bed. Rounding the corner, I was relieved but also worried that Mama was standing there making soup.

“How is she?”

She looked up and smiled. “Sleeping. She’ll be fine though. Just the flu.”

I nodded. “Thanks for comin’ to check on her, Mama.”

“Of course, of course. Dinner’s in the oven, should be done in just a few minutes. And I just need to put the last of this in the pot for her soup. Why don’t you go take a shower? I’ll be outta here in ten or so minutes.”

“All right, thanks again.” I kissed her cheek and crept down the hall. Sky had followed me inside and was now stretched out along Cassidy’s side, with her head on Cassidy’s stomach. Cass was completely out; her face was ghostly white and a thin sheen of sweat clung to her. Kissing her warm forehead, I turned and headed for the bathroom to take a quick shower.

C
ASSIDY

I
WOKE UP
with a start, and it only took a few seconds before I realized why. My stomach rolled and I raced to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time. I groaned and slid down to the cool floor of our bathroom. It felt so good right there, I was going to stay there forever. I curled up onto my side, pressed my cheek onto the tile floor, and hoped my stomach would stay calm the rest of the night.

Gage had woken me up some time ago and fed me a cup of soup. It’d stayed down for an hour and he’d let me go back to sleep, but apparently I still wasn’t ready for food. My stomach rolled thinking about dinner and I took calming breaths through my mouth until the uneasiness passed.

I didn’t know how long I’d been lying there, but I was still awake when I felt something on my leg. Figuring it was my imagination and not wanting to take my arms from my sensitive stomach, I wiggled my leg and curled back up into a ball. Not a minute later I felt it again and I sat up to look, wishing I’d turned on the light in my race in here. I had to blink my eyes a few times to focus on whatever the large lump was on my leg, and only when its tail curled up above its body did everything become clear.

“Gage!”

G
AGE

M
Y BODY SHOT
upright and I was out of bed before I realized that Cassidy wasn’t in bed and had screamed my name. I was already in the hall heading to the living room when a short, pained cry came from the master bathroom. I turned around and burst through the door as soon as I reached it. She was in the bathtub and it took me a second to notice she was fully clothed and there was no water in there. I took two large steps toward her and her hands shot out.

“No, stop!”

I froze.

“It—it’s right there.” Her hand was shaking uncontrollably as she pointed down.

I looked down but only saw the floor. Taking a step back, I flipped on the lights and had to blink a few times before I could look at the dark tile, and there, not two feet from the bathtub, was a scorpion. I laughed and looked up at a freaked Cassidy.

“Hang on, darlin’, I’ll get him.” I jogged into the closet, grabbed the first shoe I found, and went back to smash the shit out of that ugly thing. “That isn’t the first one you’ve ever seen, is it?”

She didn’t answer and I decided it probably was and felt like an ass for laughing. I’d grown up in the country, where scorpions were a common thing; she’d grown up in a country club neighborhood in a rich city in California. I’m sure she’d never once had to worry about these things.

When I had it cleaned up and thrown away and the shoe wiped off, I looked up and noticed she was still violently shaking; her cheeks were wet, eyes were huge, and lips were chalky white and trembling. She didn’t look like she had earlier from being sick; she looked freakin’ terrified. God, I was such a dick. I lowered my voice and spoke in a soothing tone. “Cass, it’s okay, he’s gone. Come on, let me take you to bed.”

Her head started shaking quickly back and forth when I got to the edge of the tub, and she was still staring at where the scorpion had been.

“Cassidy, it’s okay. You need to calm down or you’re gonna force yourself to go into shock. Breathe, babe.” When she didn’t make any move I exhaled loudly and put my arms under hers; it was when I started to lift and her hands slipped from the side of her calf that I saw the trickle of blood coming from a small red circle. “What the hell? Shit, Cass, were you stung?!”

She nodded slightly and a soft sob followed by a huge breath in snapped her back to the present. “Gage! It was on me! I had no idea—I was just lying there and I felt something. I tried to get it off and it was still there!” Another huge breath in. “I looked down and I didn’t realize what it was at first, and then its tail, oh my God, its tail did that thing where it, where it, you know . . .” She tried to show me with her hands.

It was so damn cute, but she was freakin’ out and had just been stung. I knew from experience that it hurt like a bitch, and the one that got her wasn’t little either, so I kept my mouth shut as I carried her over to the counter where our sinks were and turned the water on, waiting for it to warm.

“A-a-and I just freaked! I tried to sit up and scramble away and it stung me before I could get it off. I’ve never even seen one before! Why was it here? They aren’t supposed to be in Texas, are they?!” She took another shuddering breath in, and before she could continue her chest started heaving up and down quickly.

“Breathe, Cass, deep breath in and hold it, then blow it out. Darlin’, you’ve got to calm down, now, you’re gonna hyperventilate. Come on, Cass, deep breath in.” I gripped her shoulders and tried to force her to breathe with me for the next couple minutes until she was breathing normal and her head was slumped onto my chest. “Good girl. All right, let’s get this washed off, I’ll get you some ice, and we’ll go back to bed; sound good?”

She whimpered some kind of agreement and clutched her stomach.

God, I’d forgotten she was sick too. This was just not her day.

After we washed where she was stung, I laid her down in bed and propped her leg up on a couple pillows before getting some ice wrapped in a towel. I held the towel against her calf and rubbed her back until she was sound asleep, then curled around her tiny body, and before my head hit the pillow I was out.

NO WAY IT’S time to get up yet. I would put money down that I just went to sleep.
My eyes opened and I realized my alarm wasn’t going off, and it wasn’t even predawn outside, it was pitch-black. I heard Cassidy getting sick in the bathroom and realized that must’ve been what woke me up. Turning slightly, I checked the clock and saw we’d only gotten back in bed about an hour ago. I wished there was something, anything, I could do for her. I felt so helpless, and I hated it. I’d just swung my legs off the bed when a loud smack came from the bathroom and for the second time tonight I shot off toward it, this time to find my wife sprawled out on the floor, eyes rolled to the back of her head and barely breathing. As soon as I finished checking her, I was at my nightstand grabbing the phone, dialing and running back to her side, sliding up to her on my knees.

“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

“M-my wife collapsed, she’s—I don’t know, she’s barely breathing and she’s not waking up.” The hand that wasn’t holding the phone was going everywhere: her eyelids, her mouth, her neck, her chest, her wrist. Anywhere to get a response or to feel her breaths or pulse. “Cass, baby, wake up, please wake up!”

After telling the woman on the other line where we were, she asked, “Sir, can you tell me what happened prior to you finding your wife in this condition? Had she been drinking or—”

I didn’t even let her finish. “No, no, she’s been sick all day with the flu and then an hour ago she was stung by a scorpion. I cleaned it and everything and we went back to bed. I woke up and she was throwing up, then I heard her hit the floor.” My whole body was shaking and I kept begging Cassidy to wake up. The fact that her pulse was so faint I had to struggle to feel it was scaring me worse than anything had in my entire life.

“You said she was stung by a scorpion?”

“Yeah, about an hour ago. But everyone in my family, including me, has been stung at least once before. I washed it, put ice on it, and elevated it.”

“Has your wife ever been stung before, sir?”

“Cassidy,
please
wake up! What? Um . . . no, no, she’s never seen one before tonight.”

“What does the area look like where she was stung?”

“What? Look, is someone coming? I need an ambulance, she’s still not waking up!”

“Sir, I dispatched them as soon as you gave me the address. Now I need you to tell me what the area where she was stung looks like.”

I touched Cassidy’s face and throat once more before looking down at the side of her calf. “Oh shit,” I breathed. “It—it’s big.”
What the hell?

“Is it red?”

“Yeah.”

“All right, sir, she might be having an allergic reaction to the sting.”

“What can I do?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but there’s nothing to do right now other than wait for the ambulance.”

“She’s barely breathing! This isn’t a normal allergic reaction. I’m not just gonna sit around and wait for someone to get here!” I shot up and ran into the bedroom, grabbing the first clothes my hands touched. “Do you know how fuckin’ long it takes for an ambulance to get out here?! You tell the EMTs they see a black SUV trying to get their attention, it’s me meeting them on the way.” I hung up and rushed back into the bathroom. Cassidy usually slept in nothing but my shirt, but thank God she’d been sick, because she had little sleep shorts on with her hoodie. Sick or not, I didn’t want anyone else seeing her but I wasn’t wasting more time dressing her.

Grabbing her up in my arms, I walked as steadily and quickly as possible out to her Tahoe, put the passenger seat all the way down, and laid her in it. After putting the seat belt over her, I ran around to the driver’s side and took off while dialing the main house. Dad was outside and waiting for me when we pulled up; Mom was in a nightgown with her hands covering her mouth. Thankfully Dad said we’d call her and she ran back into the house to get ready in case we needed her. He jumped into the driver’s seat and I hopped into the back so I could watch over Cassidy as we drove.

About ten minutes after we’d gotten off the property, she groaned and her eyes fluttered open. My heart started racing as I brushed my hands lightly over her throat; her pulse was still soft, too soft. “Cassidy, baby, can you hear me?”

She nodded and it looked like she was still struggling to breathe.

“Thank God,” I whispered, and rested my forehead on hers for a moment before sitting up to look into her honey eyes. They held mine for barely two seconds before rolling back again. “No, Cass, no. Wake back up!” My hands started doing their check, and when they passed over her chest, I realized it felt wrong.

Even compared to her shallow breathing in the bathroom, this felt wrong. I put my hand back on her chest and crouched low in the seat, making myself eye level with my hand. It wasn’t fucking moving.

“Cassidy, Cassidy, babe, I need you to wake up. You hear me? Wake up, darlin’, please, God, wake up.” I let one hand go to her wrist and the other go to her throat. “Damn it, babe,
please.
” My hands were shaking so bad, I had to take deep breaths in just to calm them so I could check for a pulse. “Come on, sweetheart . . . open your eyes again.” I kept quiet as I focused and about cried out in relief when I felt the faintest beat in her throat. “Keep breathing, Cassidy, ple—” My words broke off on a sob and I let my forehead fall onto the top of the seat. “God, Cass, don’t leave me, wake up.”