Page 8 of Beg for You

I’d changed a lot since I last saw her. It didn’t really surprise me that she didn’t recognize me. Not with the mess the right side of my face was now. And it wasn’t like she’d noticed me back then.

Those few times we’d been close, though, she’d been the only thing I could see.

Cassy had been long limbed, that same creamy, pale skin, long straight white-blond hair, never a strand out of place, perfect even then. Ice.

The only time I’d seen a genuine smile was when she’d been riding. Cassandra Deighton was born to ride. I’d watch her fly across a field, the sun making her pale blond hair glow, eyes bright, cheeks flushed. And that smile on her lips.

The first time those big blue eyes had landed on me, I’d felt it in the pit of my stomach. I’d never seen anything like her in my life. Her clothes, the way she held herself, the way she spoke. Shit, the way she’d smelled had made me damn near dizzy.

After that, she’d starred in every one of my dirty fantasies. It had been her face I imagined when I’d stroked my cock late at night. I’d wanted to mess up her hair, smear her glossy lips, leave a goddamn handprint on her pert little ass. I’d wanted to heat her up and make her fucking melt in my hands.

I’d wanted her to ride me.

How would she look straddling my chair, ass lined up with my dick, while I pressed in close, while I worked on covering the scars she thought I’d had a hand in putting there?

The idea made me hard. Maybe that made me a sick fuck, but I didn’t really give a shit.

I had to be insane to even contemplate it. I didn’t need this kind of complication in my life. I’d tried to put that day, the weeks, months, years following the accident, behind me. I didn’t need Cassandra fucking Deighton stirring that shit back up.

But for some reason, I hadn’t been able to turn her away, probably because a sick, twisted part of me wanted to know the kind of woman she’d become.

I’d always been too damn curious for my own good.

I ran a hand over my jaw.

I’d wanted to make Lyall pay for what he did to my family, for what happened to my brother, ever since Dane was dragged from my grandmother’s home, screaming for me and Logan to help him. After seeing my cousin, terror in his eyes, being cuffed and taken away by police. I never thought I’d ever have an opportunity.

Maybe my chance had finally come, and I didn’t even have to go looking—she’d walked right through the door.

Cassandra

Like I did every night, I walked to the barn to check on the horses. Tierra was eating her hay and I stopped to pat her soft nose. “How’s my girl?”

With the two new mares I’d purchased, all the stalls were nearly full. My grandmother had wanted to breed palominos for as long as I could remember. She’d been so excited when they arrived. I hadn’t seen her smile like that in years, and with her health the way it was, I was determined to do whatever it took to make her smile as often as possible.

Monte, our stallion, whinnied and shook his head. His bloodline had been in our family for generations. A lot of his descendants had been bred and lived on this property. My great-grandparents had loved horses; it had been their passion. Unfortunately, my father didn’t share their passion, much to my grandmother’s dismay.

But that was nothing compared to what my father did after my grandfather died. He’d sold most of the cattle we’d always raised here and a large portion of the land, breaking my grandmother’s heart.

We still had enough land to run a decent breeding program, though, and with my best friend, Ted, agreeing to take over management of the gallery I owned—my other passion—it freed up the time and energy I needed make a real go of it. That’s what I was determined to do.

I locked up the barn and headed for the main house. I’d moved into the guesthouse several years ago, in desperate need of my own space, but I made a point to visit with my grandmother every night. Thankfully, my father wasn’t about when I walked in. Hester was coming down the stairs as I was walking up. My grandmother’s nurse smiled when she saw me.

“How is she tonight?”

“She’s in good spirits. Her pain has been a lot better since Dr. Evans changed her medication.”

I smiled in return. “So a good day, then?”

“Most definitely.”

I headed upstairs, lightly knocked on her door, and poked my head in. My grandmother was tucked up in her big bed, reading, and smiled wide when she saw me.

I walked in. “Hester tells me you’ve had a good day?”

She took my hand and shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about me. Tell me about your appointment. How did it go?”

I grinned. “I almost chickened out, but he had a look at my scars and said he can do it. We start later in the week.” I remembered the way Cal’s fingers had felt grazing my skin and shivered.