Page 1 of Don't Leave
CHAPTER 1
CASSIDY
“Wake up, babe.” Cole kisses his way across my naked shoulder. “We’ve got class in an hour.”
Still sleepy, I stretch against the firm length of his body. “Not yet,” I mumble, “we don’t have to get up just yet.”
Twenty-five minutes. That’s all we need to roll out of bed and still have roughly thirty seconds to slide into our seats for psych 201. Unable to pry my eyelids open, I turn in his arms as my palms find the solid planes of his chest before stroking over them. It isn’t long before my wandering fingers descend down his body.
Have I mentioned just how amazingly hard and cut he is?
Hours spent on the ice playing and lifting in the gym have made him into the chiseled god that he is. A few heartbeats later and my hand is delving into his boxer briefs before gliding over the rigid length of his morning wood.
Well, hello there.
“Looks like we won’t be making it out of bed on time after all,” he growls, warm breath feathering across the outer shell of my ear as he rolls me onto my back. Before I can offer up a response, his lips crash down on mine as my fingers caress histhick erection before sliding further down to play with the only soft part of him.
Squeezing, petting, and teasing.
God, I love the feel of him.
The barely harnessed power that hums beneath the surface of flesh, bone, and muscle. It’s something that used to make me nervous. But I know Cole would never use that well-honed strength against me. After what happened last year, being touched or manhandled can send me spiraling into a panic.
I hate when the icy tendrils of anxiety flood through every cell of my being before wrapping around me. My heart jackhammers a painful tattoo against my chest. Nerves careen and skitter across my flesh. Nausea churns in the pit of my gut...
Until I can’t breathe.
I.
Can’t.
Breathe.
But I’ve been working on that with a therapist and it’s getting better.
I’mgetting better.
The attacks don’t happen with nearly as much frequency as they used to. I’m controlling it instead of being controlledbyit.
Cole is always so careful and patient with me. Right from the start, he was gentle and kind. It’s probably the reason I fell so easily for him.
Well, maybe noteasilybecause in the beginning, I fought against the attraction. Fought against getting to know him. I tried to shut him down at every turn. But the guy is seriously persistent.
After my life imploded last year, it was important I get my life back on track. And a boyfriend or even a hookup situation wasn’t part of the plan.
No distractions.
That was my mantra.
What I’ve found is that the best laid plans never turn out the way you expect them to. If you’d asked me a year and a half ago, I would have told you that I’d be dominating on the ice at at Dartmouth. Succeeding academically because that’s what I’d always done. I had worked hard my entire life to get to a Division I school. I’d sacrificed friendships and a social life to make that dream come true.
Instead of taking Dartmouth by storm, I’d crashed and burned spectacularly.
Too much pressure and stress.
I’d ended up losing everything.
Including my family.
