Page 5 of Broken Strings
“Picked it out on a map and found a town. Never heard of this place, so I figured it was a good choice. I wanted something small, like where I grew up. I needed something quiet with a slower pace.” She gazes around the bar, taking in her surroundings. “If this is the town’s hot spot, I’m in the right place.”
“My mother ran away too. Ended up here ten years ago, except she was running away from Nashville. I get why she wanted a clean break, but why are you running away? Mommy and Daddy cut you off? Your rich New York City boyfriend bought you the wrong present?”
I said the wrong thing because the sexy little kitten morphs into a predatory tiger. She gets up so fast that her chair barrels over behind her. Her pretty eyes zero in on me, and she glares with pure venom. I smile at her anger. How hot will that fiery anger burn when she’s panting beneath me?
“You know what, buddy? Screw you. You don’t have the first clue about my life. Let’s also not talk about being born with silver spoons in our mouths. I’m sure being the son of Loretta Shaw meant you didn’t want for anything in life. You’re what? Thirty? Her biggest hits were a decade before you were born.” She doesn’t wait for me to answer. She turns around and shows me her ass, making me feel like one.
“Hey, wait up!” I call, chasing after her.
I’m ready to give the spoiled princess a piece of my mind. She doesn’t understand shit about my life or what I’ve been through. Did I grow up with money? Sure, but money doesn’t keep you warm at night and doesn’t mean a fuck when it’s the only thing you’ve got.
I grab her elbow, forcing her to turn and face me. A fierce fire now fuels the eyes that were so soft not too long ago. I’ve seen that fire before in my mother’s eyes when she realized she was everyone’s toy—used and discarded by anyone who claimed to give two shits about her. Forcing her to realize that she’d sacrificed her best years for the record executives and a revolving door of men who made her a commodity and not a real person.
“I’m sorry.” Three words I rarely utter, but I mean them wholeheartedly.
“It’s frustrating when people assume they know me.” Her hard eyes level on me. “You don’t have a clue about me. You have no idea what my life is like. I’m twenty-five years old, and my entire life has been mapped out since I was twelve. You have any concept of what it’s like to be responsible for those who are supposed to take care of you? I’ve been taking care of my family for ten years. Everything I do is for them. It doesn’t matter what I want or what I need. God forbid I try to unwind or do something that lets me escape for thirty minutes. I can’t create, think, or love. I can’t even fuck the way I want. I didn’t come here because my life was too easy. I came here because my life was too fucking hard. And I don’t need you or anyone else telling me who or what I am.”
The longer her monologue continues, the bigger my smile.
“What the fuck are you smiling at? This isn’t funny.”
“No, you’re right, this isn’t funny, but you’re sexy as sin when you’re mad.”
She looks outraged. “Are you hitting on me?”
“We could start with dinner. I’m off tomorrow night. Pick you up at seven. I assume you’re staying at the Holiday Inn.”
“You’re arrogant, you know that?”
Heat radiates between us as I move to stand in front of her. Her breathing increases when I dip my mouth next to her ear. “Not arrogant, darlin’. Confident,” I whisper. “Besides, I’m pretty sure my brand of cocky is something you’ll be screaming for. So how about you give me your name?”
“Cashleigh…but most people call me Cash.”
“Cash isn’t the name I would have chosen for you. A pretty little thing like you shouldn’t have a name that hard.”
She smiles and pushes her body against mine. “Looks can deceive darlin’, especially when this pretty little thing likes it hard.”
“Hard is something I can do better than those pathetic NYC boys you’re used to, darlin’.”
ChapterFour
Cash
“And that’s supposed to mean what…?” My breathy reply betrays my rattling heart.
His blue eyes watch me intently, making my stomach flip in the most obscene way. I’ve never been so irritated and turned on by another human being.
“You sing like a sparrow.” He slips strands of my hair between his fingers like he’s flipping the conversation, sending cartwheels cascading through me. “And are a helluva lot prettier than anyone I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
Keep it together, Cas.
“So pretty that I can’t help but think of all the ways I’d like to unravel every perfect little inch of you, revealing all the ugly you try to hide from the world. I’ll make you belt out my name like it’s the last song you’ll ever sing.”
His lips hover a breath from mine, and his sexy blue eyes dance across the angles of my face. He pauses, licking his lips before a cocky grin turns up the corners of his perfectly full mouth.
“You’re one cocky son of a bitch.”
“I told you, darlin’, I’ve got cocky down pat. There’s so much cock that I don’t think your pretty little ass will handle it.” His fingertips blaze a trail down my waist, whispering under the edge of my waistband. I clamp my eyes shut. His other hand slips against my bottom before his lips connect with mine. “I’m giving you a sample, darlin’, and by the looks of you, you’re itching for more.”