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CHAPTER 12
CASSIE
Cassie tossed and turned for hours. It wasn’t worries about her future that kept her awake, it was a pair of amber eyes that kept drifting into her dreams. She dreamed of Eros wanting to satisfy her in ways she’d never known before.
Covered in a sheen of sweat and desperate for release, she let out a frustrated breath.So what if she didn’t know his full name? She wanted to be consumed by him, writhing underneath him or on top of him. But Eros was gone. Her chest tightened with regret. She could have insisted he stay for dessert. The desire in his eyes was unmistakable. But it didn’t matter because she missed her chance. Again.
Meeting Eros awakened the need for passion in her life. She craved it, and she deserved to have it. Her insight also laid bare a painful part of her relationship with Owen. She loved sex and wanted to experiment, but her eagerness and curiosity turned him off. His rejection left her feeling ashamed for what she desired. She should have left him as soon as she recognized his disinterest in her and resented his criticisms. In the future, she would look for someone who could stimulate her mind and body, as Eros did. But it wasn’t going to be Eros, she thought with frustration.
The wind picked up and whistled through the sliding door she’d left open a crack. Moonlight shone through the sheer curtains billowing around the glass. It was peaceful and she was about to drift off, but something kept knocking outside. She tried to ignore it, but it became too distracting.
Cassie grabbed her phone, frowning at the time. It would be sunrise in a couple of hours. She clicked on the flashlight app and stepped out onto the balcony to find the source of the knocking. A wooden gate in the low wall separating the next room from hers was banging against its metal lock. She reattached the lock and turned off the flashlight. “That should do it.” Now that she was wide awake, she leaned a hip against the iron railing and opened her phone, curious to see if Daphne had checked in yet. She did a quick calculation about the time difference in Princeton. Strange. Daphne must have checked her email by now.
A strong gust of wind blew over the balcony, whipping her hair around her shoulders. Shoving her hair aside, she scanned her newer emails and froze. Owen had sent her an email. She hadn’t had any communication with him since he broke up with her. Staring at the subject line,Big News,she hesitated before opening the email.
Cassie,
I know you won’t believe me, but I was certain you would win the Hayford Fellowship, so it was a complete surprise when I won. I’m excited to go to London to accept the award.
I also have some news. Daphne and I are engaged. I would never have met her if it weren’t for you. Fate can be a strange thing sometimes.
Regards,
Owen
She gasped and covered her mouth. Not Daphne. Her hand shook while searching for Lucy’s number. She pushed the call button and waited for her friend to pick up. The voicemail came on, and she remembered Lucy and her family were traveling back to London.
Cassie hung up and tossed the phone onto a nearby table and cried.Owen was engaged to her best friend, and he deliberately chose to tell her in a gloating email.Why did she ever trust him?
The wind howled over the balcony. Another gust whirled around her, and the gate broke free from its latch and banged against the metal. She attached the lock again, but the metal latch broke off and fell to the ground.
“Damnit!” She slammed the gate a few times, sobbing. Her life was as broken as this stupid gate.
Something moved to her right. She jumped, her heart racing in fear. Was someone there? She pulled the hair away from her tear-streaked face and saw him. It was Eros.
His tanned bare chest wassmoothand broad. His shorts rode low on his hips, accentuating a lithe body and the sexy V framing his impressive abs. With the wind blowing through his hair, he was her sexual god come to life. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Cassie shook her head, choking on a sob.
“Can I come closer?”
“Okay.” She wiped her eyes. All this time, he’d been in the room next to hers and she never knew it.
Stepping through the gate, he approached her with caution. His eyes, even in the dim light, expressed concern.
Cassie stood still. Her fingers twisted around the thin fabric of her tank top while she deliberated what to do.Listen to your heart more and your head less.This was exactly where she was supposed to be.
She took a couple of steps toward him, unable to catch her breath. When he reached for her, she fell into his arms. It was like taking a leap of faith, and Eros was there to catch her. He wrapped his strong arms tight around her. She cried onto his chest as the gate slammed in the wind. His warm skin smelled of freshly laundered sheets and musky male.
“Shh. What’s this about?” he asked into her ear.
Cassie lifted her head to him.
He cradled her face in his hands, his eyes searching her face with concern. “Why are you crying?”
Unable to answer, a few tears trickled down her cheek.
Eros wiped them away with his thumbs. “What happened?”
