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Chapter Two
Cassie couldn’t deny that Slade was a good looking guy, but he also knew it. He was way too cocky, and she didn’t like him. Even though he was pretty to look at, she wasn’t falling for him. She knew he was a player as well, and she had heard the evidence with her own ears.
Running the pen along her lip, she couldn’t help the way her body awakened at the thought of his touch. It was wrong. After being with Andrew and losing a part of herself to him, she’d vowed to never be with anyone else. Growing up all she had ever wanted was kids and a family, a home, but she had changed her mind. There was no way she could trust a man again.
“You’re still here?” Daniel asked. “Don’t you go out to lunch?”
She jumped as she turned to look at the sheriff. Seeing that a couple of hours had passed, her cheeks heated, and she jumped up. “I’m so sorry. Time flew by, and I didn’t even realize.” She’d been too busy daydreaming about Slade, and she was going to snap right out of it.
He was a player, and she meant what she said, a walking, talking sexual disease.
Leaving the sheriff’s office, she made her way toward the diner where her meatball sub was waiting for her. She loved meatballs with pretty much anything. Paying for her sandwich, she left the diner and headed toward the park near the lake. Taking a seat at the bench, she unwrapped her lunch, and took a bite. Closing her eyes, she released a moan as the flavors of the onion, garlic, tomatoes, and beef exploded in her mouth.
She loved her food, so much.
“This is where you come to?” Slade asked.
Opening her eyes, she watched as the object of her thoughts took a seat beside her. She frowned. “Did I invite you to eat lunch with me?” she asked, feeling like a bitch but really needing to keep him away from her.
“Nope. I invited myself, and I have to say, I’m not disappointed. I’ve been curious about where you disappear to.” He looked around at the other families that came to the park to each lunch.
Taking another bite of her sandwich, she tried to ignore his presence. Lunch was something she enjoyed so much. She loved her food, and right now, he was invading her space.
“You’re not going to talk to me?” Slade asked.
She glanced at him as he unwrapped his own sandwich, which looked like roasted beef with onions and peppers, and lots of cheese.
“That’s fine. I can deal with the silence. It makes a refreshing change actually. Women usually talk my ear off. It can get quite irritating.”
Gritting her teeth, she kept on ignoring him, refusing to say a word to the man beside her even as she felt rude.
“I mean, women love to talk a whole lot, don’t you think? Usually it’s them begging me to do stuff to their bodies, to make them scream a li—”
“Don’t you have anyone else to each lunch with?” she asked, caving as the images he was giving her were just too much.
“So you do speak. I knew I’d get something that would make you give in. Talking about sex unnerves you. I find that really interesting.”
She sighed, and slid down the bench to try to put some distance between herself and his very hard body. She was never affected like this by anyone else, and right now, it was driving her crazy that he was getting under her skin.
Was something in the air? Had there been some gas released? Her hormones were all over the place, and she was hating it.
“It doesn’t unnerve me. I don’t need to hear about what you do with other women, or any woman.” She took a bite of her sandwich, and watched the families as they were having fun. Lunchtime always evoked these feelings inside her. She felt like she was missing out on something. Her father never brought her to the park, or taken her out to lunch. From a young age, she’d had to learn to do everything herself.
The pain struck her hard, and she rubbed her chest, aware that the dreams she had as a little girl would never come to pass. In all of her twenty-five years, she had learned one thing: men were never to be trusted.
Daniel was the only exception to the rule. He’d been like a father figure when he needed to be. Still, it didn’t help that it only served to remind her that her own father preferred the bliss at the bottom of the bottle. For many years she’d thought she could help him, to get him to stop. He’d not always been addicted to the bottle. Sure, when her mother was mean, he’d drink, telling her it was easier to numb the pain. Her mother was her dad’s greatest weakness.
“Then come out on a date with me. I’ll show you what a really good time is.”
She turned toward him, and glared. “I have no interest in dating you, Slade, nor being anything other than neighbors, or colleagues. Please, try to bug someone else.” Thinking about her father had taken her appetite. Wrapping the half uneaten sub, she stood up, and carried it back to work with her. She couldn’t throw anything away, food especially.
“Wait, wait, wait.”
She hadn’t made it more than three steps when Slade stopped her, grabbing hold of her arm.
It was then that she realized neither of them had touched before, and she didn’t like how good his hand felt on her elbow. Using every single ounce of strength she owned, she didn’t flinch away from his touch. She stared at him, and waited.
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
