Cassie's Choice by Donna Gallagher Page A

he wanted so badly was now standing in his living room.
    “Is this where you grew up? The place you shared with Caitlin?”
    Riley stopped in his tracks and watched as Cassie roamed the small space that he called home. She touched the back of his sofa with her hand, and he imagined her stroking his shaft the same way. He refocused and returned to his original plan of making tea as he answered her.
    “Only for a few years. We moved in with Brodie after that. It doesn’t look the same as it did back then. This furniture is new and the paintings and photos are courtesy of Caitlin. I didn’t really have much input.” For the life of him Riley didn’t know why he was spilling so much information. There was no reason for Cassie to be interested in who had decorated the place. Riley’s mouth just seemed to take on a life of its own. Pretty much just like the rest of him. His brain was saying slow down , but his mouth and dick had different ideas.
    Turning his attention to filling the kettle with water and finding the tea bags, Riley tried to pull himself together.
    “I like it, it’s cosy. Caitlin did a good job because the place suits you, Riley.” She spoke from directly behind him. She had entered the tiny space of the kitchen. Riley would only have to turn around and she would be within reach. The temptation of knowing that was torture. Riley, ignoring the belief that a watched pot never boils, stared at the kettle waiting for the steam to rise—tried to ignore the voice that was killing him.
    He certainly could not take the chance of looking at her yet. He tried for some small talk, amazed at the length of time it took for the so-called rapid-boil kettle to heat up. “So how have you been?” It was the most ridiculous question he could have ever asked. As soon as the words had left his lips he wanted to haul them back in.
    “Now that’s an interesting question… Confused, angry, sad and lonely just about sums it up. What about you, Riley? How have you been?”

Chapter Eight
    Cassie started to think her spur of the moment idea was turning out to be a massive mistake. She could hardly believe she was standing in Riley’s kitchen, staring at his back. His broad shoulders were within the reach of her fingers. She only needed to take one step forward and she would have been able to wrap her arms around his waist, lean her body into his muscular back. The T-shirt he wore stretched deliciously, enticingly over that wide expanse, reminding her of times past, when snuggling into the warmth of Riley’s body was as natural as breathing.
    But that was then and after the offhanded comment he’d made and her incredibly stupid response, Cassie doubted she would ever get the chance to lay her hands on him again. Why she’d admitted to being lonely was beyond her. Desperate Cassie needed to be reeled back in and locked away if they were ever going to have a chance at being friends. And that was why she had made the decision to come here in the first place. She had been feeling so guilty that Pippa and Rook had been avoiding Riley. It was not fair to him for her mistakes to come between them. Cassie had hoped that if she could get Riley to talk to her maybe they could move on and everything would settle back down.
    Well, that was the excuse she had made up for herself—but now standing so close to the man who had haunted her dreams for the past few years, Cassie was having a hard time remembering those reasons. She wanted to hold him. More to the point, she wanted to feel his arms around her body. And more than that, she wanted to feel his cock buried deep in her aroused and eager pussy. The man had done nothing but offer to make her a cup of tea and she was ready to fuck him senseless—yes, Desperate Cassie needed to be put back in her cage, and quickly.
    “Fuck it!”
    Cassie was still trying to figure out what Riley had meant when he spun around to face her. “I’m sorry for what I’m about to do…but I just can’t