C. Brown - Compromising

“Well, let me know. Cassie and I are getting married tomorrow, and we need a witness.”

“I said I’ll let you know,” he murmured under his breath. “I need to go. I’ll let you know later on tonight after I have a chance to talk to her.”

“You can’t go without her?”

Riley was beginning to walk away, but paused after hearing my question. “Are you really fucking asking me that? Would you go off without Cassie? I should have decked your ass when you talked to her like that, but I stopped myself. If she isn’t comfortable around you, Alex, then I’m going to stay by her side.”

He turned to Cassie, lowering his voice and softening his tone. “Nothing against you, Cassie, but I think you get it a little more than he does.”

Cassie nodded her head.

Riley grabbed his keys and walked out. The roar of the engine filled my ears as he started his truck, then the barreling sounds of the exhaust as he peeled out of the driveway, leaving me and Cassie standing there.

“You have to understand, Alex—”

“Orders. Now do you see? We fucking need them, Cassie. We need a fresh start, away from this stupid bullshit. I was wrong, yes, I fucking was, but I wanted to make it right with Nat and now this. Fuck it. I’m not kissing ass. When she’s ready to talk to me, she can come to me. The only person I’m chasing is the one I’m fucking, and she sure as shit isn’t it.”

“Alex…I thought you didn’t fuck me anymore.”

Fuck! I was so caught up that the words came out all wrong.

“You know what I mean…”

Cassie stood there agitated, arms folded across her chest, lips in a tightly held pout. I was beyond pissed and growing more and more irritated by the second. She couldn’t see it now, but a new set of orders would be good for us. It was just what we needed, and I intended to make that happen as soon as I slipped a ring on her finger and got through all of this court shit. Life was growing more and more challenging by the day, and if getting out of this desert would make it easier for us, I was hell bent on making that happen.

“You need to get yourself together, Alex. We’re both under a lot of stress, but you’re unraveling, and I don’t care for it.”

I turned for her and held out my hand, but she quickly rebuffed it, turning and storming off while her long, beautiful hair billowed behind her. Common sense told me to stay where I was because she was pissed, and chasing after her was only going to make matters worse.

I needed to chill the fuck out. I needed a break from the incessant conflict.

A beer in my hand and the TV sounding off loudly as I drank returned me to a sense of calm. Cassie stayed in the room, and when I’d finally had enough of being alone, I slowly walked back there, finding her asleep in nothing but a skimpy pair of panties. I undressed and slid into bed next to her, pulling her close to me.

My only hope was that marrying her would set shit straight. She was right—I was starting to lose it, and I needed my sanity back, or things were going to go south in a fucking hurry.

The night was long.

I couldn’t settle into a comfortable sleep, even after Alex had finally come to bed. Everything was wearing me thin, dragging me through the trenches, and leaving me spent at the end of it all. Now Alex was anxious to get married, and while I didn’t doubt his love for me, or my love for him, I wasn’t sure that it was the best thing for us at the moment.

The fact that he was mentally incapable of the intimacy that I needed was a serious sticking point. Our love had blossomed through an intense lust that we shared for one another. Our physical connection was the foundation that made way for what we had now, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I needed him in that way, and yet, he was unable to give that to me. How was I supposed to promise to be his forever when such a massive hole had settled into our relationship? It was the pink elephant dangling over our heads; the constant reminder that not everything was on the straight and narrow and it worried me more than court-martial or anything else.

I lay in bed staring at the ceiling with Alex’s big, muscular arm draped across my midsection and his face buried into my chest. It felt so good lying next to him, skin to skin, that close contact sending even the slightest hint of reassurance my way. I turned my head ever so slightly, my eyes landing just over Alex’s head, to his broad shoulders, and the very top of his back. I saw the very tip of the cross tattoo on his back, and thought of his family. I had no idea what they knew as far as Alex and I were concerned, and the unknown was beginning to make me sweat. He was the prize in his family, the idol, the prodigal son. Now, he was falling and falling fast, and part of that fall was my fault.

Alex began to stir, his arm tightening around my body as he kissed my chest just above my breasts. The electric force that rushed through my body at the feel of his lips had to be quelled because I knew this wasn’t going to go where I wanted it to go, and I didn’t want to set myself up for disappointment.

“Morning, Blondie,” he rasped, his morning voice saddled with extra husk.

“Morning.”

“I haven’t had a night of sleep this good in forever.” He propped himself up on his elbow, allowing his golden eyes to gleam into mine. “I can’t wait to wake up to you every single day. This feels fucking amazing.”

I smiled. Sweet Alex was a real treat, and I had to admit that I enjoyed it when I could get it. He could be a real charmer when he wanted to be.

“Time to get up. We have quite the weekend ahead of us.”

He rolled over and stood, his cock hard as a rod, teasing and tempting me to grab him and just have my way with him. But if he were still in that state of mind, I didn’t want to do anything to further alienate myself where he was concerned.

“Where are we headed?”

He smiled down on me, that impeccably perfect, white smile, matched with the honey hue of his eyes slowly and seductively making me unravel. Alex was beyond beautiful, and he was cocky as hell in the fact that he knew it.

“No questions. Just get up and get dressed.”

“How should I dress?” I figured getting him to tell me how to look would giveaway where we were headed.

“However you want to,” he said, flashing that million dollar smile my way.

Shaking my head, I pushed the covers off, then stood. Alex made his way around to my side of the bed and took me in his arms, pulling me up against his rock hard chest—the erection he was sporting unable to avoid the inner part of my thighs. He kissed my neck, then his moist, plump and wholly delectable lips trailed down my neckline and over to my collarbone. What he was doing felt incredible and unfair. His touch was my kryptonite.

Slowly pulling away, he commanded, “Get in the shower and I’ll make us some breakfast.”

My lips pursed. As much as I knew that he wouldn’t go there, I was hoping that he would, and the fact that he hadn’t allowed a bit of disappointment to settle within me. I tried hard to smile, only able to muster a very faint one, then turned for the bathroom. Alex smacked my ass and turned for the dresser, throwing on some shorts before leaving the room. I wasn’t sure what was going through his head, but my emotions were written all over my face, and he was either oblivious or ignoring them. Either way, I was growing more agitated by the second.

When I stepped out of the shower, the smell of bacon and chorizo filled the house, sending my stomach into a convulsion of movements. I was hungry as all hell, and even though Alex was pissing me off, he knew his food would go a long way to smooth things over. I threw my hair up into a towel, then dressed in a camisole top and some PT shorts. Alex was singing in the kitchen when I strolled in, wearing nothing but a tight fitting pair of PT shorts that accentuated his firm and impossibly perfect ass with every movement that he made.

“Breakfast with a show. I like it.”

He jumped, then laughed as he poured the crumbles of chorizo mixed with eggs onto my plate next to a couple of slices of bacon.

“Yes, you get a show. I could have done so much more if you had just asked.”

Shaking my head, I took a seat at the island and dug into my food. I noticed that we were still alone, and it was well into the morning. Riley hadn’t come home which worried me a little. He was supposed to be heading out with us for the day.

“Have you heard from Riley?”

Alex’s shoulders tensed as he sat his plate down and took a seat next to me. “He texted me last night and said he wouldn’t be able to make it with us today.” His voice was arctic cold, sending a shiver down my spine. The mere mention of Riley’s name had settled an angry shade over him that he was solidly sitting under.

“Did he say why?”

“We already know why, Cassie. Oh-fucking-well.”

We sat in a moment of silence, Alex’s bad aura sucking the life out of the room. I squirmed a little in my seat before I finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“Well, we can’t just go off and get married with no witness, and Dalton isn’t available this weekend.”

“We don’t need them. My family can be our witnesses. I need them present anyway.”

My mouth damn near hit the island. His family? Was he serious?

“Alex! Do you really think having your family go is the best thing for us?”

“Absolutely. I couldn’t imagine getting married without them there.” He stopped and studied me for a minute, his hazel eyes growing darker as he narrowed them while the intensity of his gaze stabbed into me. “You don’t want my family there?”

“Alex that is not what I am saying and you know it. Your grandmother doesn’t like me, so I know she won’t want to be there.”

“Cassie, that’s nonsense. My grandma does like you. She is just a little shy because she doesn’t know you.”

“My ass, Alex, but if you want to believe that, then you go right ahead and believe that.”

Alex took my plate and cleared the kitchen, making sure that everything was put back in its rightful place. He was so meticulous in that way, not wanting anything left out or causing clutter. I watched him, trying to figure out how he could be so blind to his grandmother and her treatment of me the one and only time I had ever met her. Sure, her goodbye was much more welcomed than her hello, but neither could be classified as warm and receptive, and I was having a hard time trying to figure out how Alex couldn’t see that.

When he was finished with the kitchen, he turned to me. “You ready?”

I eyed him, still a little awestruck that he was so oblivious to things, then nodded my head and jumped down from the stool. After quickly throwing on a pair of cut-off jean shorts and a tank top, I brushed my still damp hair into a tight ponytail and grabbed my bag, then headed for the truck. Once again, Alex looked well put together and delectable while I looked like a train wreck.

He took my bag and threw it into the back, then walked around and opened my door. Even when he got on my nerves, his manners never faltered, showing off that chivalry wasn’t dead.

We pulled out of the driveway, the roar of the Ram’s engine belting through my ears. I pressed the button for the window to go down, even though it was well over one hundred degrees. Something about the pent-up irritation brewing between us was making me a little unsettled, and hot air or not, I needed it to provide a reprieve from what I currently had.

Alex reached out and placed his hand on my thigh as we barreled down the road. He knew he had made me mad, but he knew how to ease that feeling, and had worked himself back into my good graces. I couldn’t stay mad at him for long, especially not when that cocky ass smirk graced his lips and those eyes sparkled into my soul the way only he knew how to do.

Letting out a sigh, I threw my head back against the headrest and placed my hand on top of his. My head turned slightly to the left and our eyes met. My heart raced a little, and butterflies went off in my stomach—this was my moment of realization. I was about to become a married woman.

There were still so many mountains to climb, and so many hurdles to jump, but Alex seemed content with it all, and his confidence was slowly easing its way into me. I wasn’t nearly as strong and poised as he was, so whatever he could pass along was welcomed by me.

I fell asleep to soft rock on the radio, hot air blowing on my face, and Alex’s hand blanketed by mine on my thigh. It was the best sleep I’d had in days.