Page 108 of Fall Into Me

“Okay! First, though,” Cass said, letting Bri tug him up, “we have to have breakfast, because we all need to have plenty of energy to play at the playground, right?”

“Pway, yay, yay, yay!”

“Wow, you’re going to regret this,” Ash chimed in, laughing as he stood back and watched Bri drag Cass across the room to the door. She tried to reach up and grab the handle, but she was still too small. Cass knelt down next to her and put his finger to his lips.

“Shh, we have to be quiet when we go out into the hallway, okay? My mom might still be sleeping, and she gets very tired sometimes.”

Bri’s eyes widened like she really understood the assignment, and she nodded seriously and put her finger to her mouth, mimicking Cass. “Shh.”

“That’s right.” Cass stood back up. “Let’s go make some breakfast, and then we’ll see if my mom wants to come with us, okay?”

Bri nodded. “Kay! Kay! Oh, shh!” Her finger flew back to her mouth, though she was also grinning and giggling. “Shh!”

Cass glanced at Ash again, but Ash shrugged.

Together, the three of them headed out down the hallway, quiet the whole time, and then into the kitchen, where Cass worked to make a simple breakfast of toasted bagels, scrambled eggs, and quartered strawberries. Not long after, Cass’s parents joined them, which delighted Bri to no end.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon was more of the same. After breakfast, they all got dressed and headed out on the short walk to the playground. Even Cass’s dad came, pushing Cass’s mom in her wheelchair while letting Bri pretend to help. Then Ash and Cass took turns pushing Bri on the swing, and Cass’s mom and dad took a bit longer walk around the pathway surrounding the park. At some point, Cass’s parents left to head back home since they had planned a lunch date with friends. And only when Bri started getting tired and a little grumpy did Ash and Cass finally make their way back to the house too.

Bri had a snack and a quick bath and then fell asleep on the couch, which gave Ash and Cass their first—and probably only, Cass realized—alone time for the day. Cass helped Ash get Bri comfortable in the crib, and then they retreated to the kitchen to make lunch and, Cass hoped, talk a little.

But lunch was delayed indefinitely. As was talking.

Because as soon as they were alone in the kitchen, Ash took Cass’s hands and moved them to his waist, then wrapped his arms up around Cass’s neck and tugged Cass’s mouth down to his. They kissed long and slow and tenderly, right there in his parents’ kitchen. And it was somehow even better than it had been last night and the night before that.

“Mmm, I’ve been wanting to do this all day,” Ash admitted between kisses. He shuffled them backward until Cass was stopped by the counter, and then Ash’s hands slid down to rest low on Cass’s chest.

Cass groaned. “You should have done it sooner,” he mumbled against Ash’s mouth.

Ash laughed and then pulled back for a second, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “When? While we were eating breakfast with your parents? Or when we were pushing Bri on the swings? Or maybe when we were walking home from the park and passed that group of kids riding their bikes?”

“Any of those times. Or all of them.” Cass grinned and lowered his mouth to Ash’s again. His hands slipped around to Ash’s back, where they seemed to fit perfectly, and he gently pressed Ash into him as his tongue peeked out of his mouth to run along Ash’s lower lip.

The quietest whimper rumbled in Ash’s throat, the sound sparking a new burst of heat that rushed through Cass like a wildfire. He repeated the motion with his tongue, this time a little more insistently, and Ash’s mouth opened for him for the first time.

Cass tasted him, and Ash reciprocated, their tongues dancing together with a gentle, exploratory playfulness. All the little sounds escaping Ash continued to feed the heat growing in Cass’s chest and lower, and when Ash pulled back a few minutes later, breathing hard, Cass almost welcomed the reprieve.

Ash rested his forehead against Cass’s. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Cass agreed, unable to say anything more. He loosened his arms from around Ash, though Ash didn’t put any distance between them. If anything, he only pressed himself up against Cass more as his hands slid up to Cass’s neck again.

“Is it—” Ash started but then turned his head away, dropping it to Cass’s shoulder with a groan.

Cass brushed a soft kiss along Ash’s temple and let one hand rub up and down Ash’s back. “Is it what?” he asked gently.

Ash seemed to hesitate for a second before straightening up, his cheeks flushed and his eyes unfocused. He shook his head but then said, “Is it always this . . . good?”

“Is it always—oh, uh . . . no.” Cass let his hands find Ash’s hips. “I mean, not in my experience. It’s actually never been this good, for me,” he admitted.

“Never?”

“Not that I have a ton of experience, but, well, no. Uh . . .” He looked down at where Ash’s hands were still resting on his chest, and he shrugged, unable to meet Ash’s gaze. He wasn’t really sure how much to say, either. He cleared his throat. “I’ve kissed just a few other guys, and honestly, uh, nothing has even come close. The most it’s ever been before is like . . . vaguely pleasurable, maybe? This, though . . . this is . . .” He trailed off again.

Ash’s hands slid down lower, to Cass’s stomach, which had the unfortunate effect of putting some space between them. At the same time, however, the touch ignited another fire inside him, and Cass closed his eyes as he let himself really feel it—a warmth and tingling that radiated outward, sending his heart racing and another bolt of arousal straight to his groin.

He didn’t have the words to describe how different this was, not even close. So he didn’t really try. Instead, he shifted them, turning around so Ash’s back was to the counter. Then he lifted both hands, framed Ash’s face, and brought their mouths together again in another kiss that started out slow and quickly deepened.

“This,” he said between kisses, “is incredible.” He paused and pulled back, resting his forehead against Ash’s and closing his eyes again. “It’s more than anything I’ve ever had. More than anything I’ve ever expected to have. And . . .” He brushed his thumb over Ash’s cheek. “And it’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”