CASEN (The Karma Series Book 2) Read online

  Just after I draw my pool stick back and slide it forward I am startled by Trinity’s scream once again. My head drops to the green felt as I miss the shot and I feel Casey slap my ass. “Looks like you’re buying, Fire Man.”

  I shake my head and then pick it back up, looking for Trinity to give her the death stare. I just lost to a fucking woman, who I didn’t even let win. I’m stunned at what I do find. So much so I stand straight up, my dick following suit.

  Embyr.

  She’s hugging Trinity and must not have seen me yet. I allow my eyes to scan her body, and my dick goes full fucking mast in a matter of seconds. I haven’t had this reaction in so long and she is the only one who gives it to me. She looks fucking delectable with her hair curled in the loosest of curls. Her dress, which is dangerously short, hits just below her ass cheeks and conforms to her body. It’s dark gray and sparkles under the lounge lights. Her shoes are gray as well and have a spiked heel. Her legs are more toned and svelte. I start to gravitate toward her, my body acting all on its own without the permission of my brain but put the brakes on when I see she is introducing a man to Trinity and Reece. He’s tall. Taller than me with sandy blond hair and from here he looks semi-muscular and just a bit older. He shakes their hands. Reece leans into Embyr to say something but she rears back, stepping on the schmuck’s toes, tripping. Blondie catches her and takes a really long time to release her.

  Two questions come to mind.

  Why did Embyr pull back from Reece and who the fuck is that guy?

  Trinity pulls on Embyr’s arm, stealing her ear and I watch Embyr’s eyes go wide. She scans the room and meets my heated gaze just as Casey grazes my dick and whispers in my ear, “Looks like I got you all worked up.” Her tongue is hot as she licks my jaw.

  I shiver, pushing her away. “That’s not for you.”

  Casey laughs, irritating me even further. I turn my attention back to Embyr but she and the guy have disappeared into the ever-growing crowd of people.

  “Sure it’s not,” Casey says. “Let’s go. You still owe me a drink.”

  She grabs my bicep and pulls me to the bar where I order another round of drinks before sitting back down in two vacant spots on the couch. I keep my eyes out for Embyr yet again but come up empty.

  Where the fuck did she go? I don’t even spot the guy she was with and he definitely could tower over ninety-five percent of the people here.

  The alcohol must be taking over. I should forget Embyr and take this more than willing, confident, sexy woman beside me home to my bed, but I don’t. Instead, I pull out my phone, ignoring Casey’s caresses on my arm.

  Me: Where are you?

  Embyr: I know where I want to be.

  She’s flirting. This is bad. It’s really fucking bad because I can’t help but respond back the way I do.

  Me: Underneath me?

  I regret it the second I hit send. What the hell am I doing? I have never been this way. I’ve always been so sure of what I want and what I need but right now I’m going completely fucking crazy. She hurt me. She wounded me deeply and though I don’t know if I can forgive her just yet I can’t help but want to be inside her. To have her erase all of the stupid fucking things that have happened. The high school shit. The metamorphosis she went through. The damage she did. The damage I did. I want to sink into her and drown it all out.

  My phone vibrates in my hand, and I look over to Casey, who was now chatting with a girl on the other side of her. I should feel like an asshole texting one woman while sitting next to another, but I just don’t.

  Embyr: Looks like you’re already working on someone for the position. Into blondes now?

  Me: And what about you? Who the fuck is that guy?

  I look up from my phone and like a beacon I find her through the crowd. She’s staring right at me. The dude she brought never leaving her side.

  Embyr: My boss. Are you jealous?

  Me: Have you fucked him?

  It’s torture waiting for her response, which is taking too long for my liking. I spot her again and she is looking down at her phone. She shakes her head and puts the phone in her purse, giving the people around her her full attention. I clench my jaw but barely feel it from the liquor coursing through me. I shove my phone in my pocket and lean back into the couch, finishing off the last of my drink.

  Another lonely hour passes. Casey has ditched me for a guy who will take her on the dance floor. Reece hasn’t left Trinity’s side and all I can do is stalk Embyr and her date the entire time. It’s torture but one I can’t stop from doing to myself. She keeps her distance from him but I spot the subtle ways he tries to touch her. When I can’t take it any longer I get up. My body sways from the drinks I’ve had, and I use the couch to catch my balance. It takes thirty steps and four deep breaths before I’m in front of all of them.

  “I’m out of here,” I tell Reece directly, even though he is surrounded by Trin, Embyr, and the fuckface.

  “Casen.” Embyr’s voice pulls me from Reece.

  I turn to her but I’m not prepared to be so close. “Embyr.” I acknowledge. “I was told you wouldn’t be here.”

  She shifts on her feet, taken aback by me. Well, I am being an asshole. “I completely messed up the dates. We actually leave next weekend.”

  My eyebrows furrow. “We?”

  Asshat sticks his hand out toward me. “I’m Derrick.”

  I look at his outreached hand and like the prick I’ve been tonight, I don’t take it. Insulted, he drops it to his side.

  “Thanks for the invite, Trinity,” I say and walk to the stairs.

  I pull up the Uber app and order a ride. Finally outside, I take a large breath of fresh air and lean against the side of the building. My eyes are closed but I can hear the sounds around me. Car horns blowing. Drunk people laughing. The clacking of heels on the sidewalk.

  “Casen!” Embyr shouts, jolting me.

  My eyes fly open. She’s standing less than a foot in front of me. “What?” I snap.

  She steps in real close. “Fuck you!” she yells, shoving a finger in my chest.

  I grab her wrist, then snatch the other and turn her around so now it’s her back against the bricks. “Fuck me?” I ask, rolling my body into hers. “No, fuck YOU!”

  Her chest is heaving with each breath she takes. “Let me go.” She whimpers.

  “Are you fucking your boss, Em? Working your way to the top?” I question, and it stings her. She tries to free her wrist and attempts to slap me, but I snatch them in one hand and raise them above her head.

  I reach my hand under her dress, not being able to handle myself, and move her panties aside finding her soaking, fucking wet. I blame the alcohol for losing control but if I’m honest with myself I know after the last few weeks I would’ve done this without its help. “Is this for him, Embyr?”

  She squirms but gives me no indication she wants me to remove my hands. There are people all around us but I remember how much she gets off on public shit. It fuels me.

  “Answer me. Are you fucking wet for him?”

  Her eyes bore into mine, her resolve showing. “No.”

  I move in closer. “Who is it for?”

  She bites her lip before answering, “You. Only for you, Casen.”

  We stare at one another, her eyes dropping to my lips. I lick them, giving her an open invitation. A horn blares, startling us. I turn hesitantly and the driver rolls down his window. “Uber?” he asks.

  My head falls to Embyr’s chest. “I can’t do this,” I whisper. “I have to go.”

  Embyr’s hands fall from my grasp and I leave her there.

  Again.

  I’m an asshole.

  SEVEN

  CASEN

  This is probably the worst migraine I have had in a long time. Maybe the worst I have ever had. When I wake up I’m unsure of what all happened last night but then the flashbacks begin and I sort through every damn thing I did wrong.

  Let’s start with allowing Ree
ce to take me anywhere. Every time he suggests going out I should know just say no. Not to mention the fact that Reece didn’t tell me it was for Trinity. Even if I knew that Embyr told them she wouldn’t be there I’m absolutely fucking sure I wouldn’t have gone. He caught me at a weak moment.

  Then there was Casey. I shouldn’t have led her on but I never gave her any sort of impression that I was interested. That aside, I don’t like to treat women like that. I’m better than that.

  Which brings me to Embyr. The only excuse I have for my jealousy is because I’m still hung up on her. That much I can admit to myself. Her name, her face, her presence sends me into a spiral that is out of control. And her pussy. Dammit if it didn’t feel good on my fingers, thrusting memories of my cock buried inside her. It makes me hard right now despite the headache.

  I drag myself, and my erection, to the shower. The cold water does nothing to help so I give in and turn it warmer. Reaching down I grab my cock, close my eyes, and stroke. As hard as I try, I can only think of Embyr as I glide my hand up and down. My pace quickens when I envision her brown eyes, the ones that had been hidden behind the green, looking up at me from her place on her knees. I imagine her mouth wrapped around my dick and my hand on the back of her head. I hit the back of her throat, causing her to gag, and the sound I envision that would emanate from her makes my right hand jerk faster and a hot stream of come shoots out my release.

  “Fuck.” I growl, draining every last drop, my shoulders dropping as tension slightly releases.

  My cell rings from my nightstand after I finish toweling off. I don’t really want to talk to anyone right now. The shower didn’t help with my headache.

  KATE’s calling.

  Fuck. I need to answer this. She is still going through a lot of the grieving process. She spent a lot of time here after Ian died but eventually went back to her job and apartment. Kate and Ian’s parents aren’t any closer to finding the asshole that shot him.

  “Hello,” I answer quietly, rubbing my free hand down my face and taking a seat on my bed.

  “Casen?” Her voice is distressed. I stand up, ready to take on whatever she is about to say. I’m immediately scared and nervous something else has happened. I can’t take much more.

  “Kate, what’s wrong?”

  She’s crying. I can hear it behind her breathing. “I forgot.”

  “Forgot what? What’s going on?” She doesn’t say anything and I’m trying to be nice by holding out how irritated I am that she is taking forever to answer me. “Kate?”

  More crying before she finally answers, “I forgot I asked Ian to take me to a friend’s wedding today. I asked Ian to go because I had just broken up with my ex. After he died a friend of mine said he would take me but now he’s sick. I don’t want to go alone.” She hiccups a sob. “Please, can you go? I don’t know if you have to work.”

  Crying. It can be my kryptonite sometimes. I’m not working and have no excuse not to go since there are no pressing plans. I could pop some Tylenol and do this for her. It wouldn’t be right for me to just let her go alone. Ian is gone and Kate is like a sister to me. “I can take you. Just tell me when and where you want to meet.”

  “Okay.” I hear a smile in her voice. “Thank you. You don’t have to go to the ceremony but I’d love if you joined me for the reception. It’s at three o’clock.”

  I look at the clock, finding it’s close to twelve o’clock. Jesus, I can’t believe I slept that late. “Text me the address, Kate, and I’ll be there.”

  “Thank you.”

  It’s three o’clock on the dot when I walk into the hotel where the wedding is taking place. I spot Kate immediately. She looks beautiful in a one-shouldered pink chiffon dress that comes about four inches above her knee. Her blonde hair is pinned up and her light pink shoes bring her closer to my height. Meeting halfway, she pulls me into a lengthy hug.

  “Thank you so much,” she says into my shoulder. “You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

  I lean back, taking her appearance in more closely. “You look stunning, Kate. Beautiful.”

  She blushes before giving me the same once over, raising a brow. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Casen.”

  I’m wearing the same suit I wore to Ian’s funeral. I don’t have many opportunities to wear it.

  I hold my arm out for her. “Shall we?”

  She grabs on. “We shall.”

  The reception is nothing like anything I ever would have expected. I’ve never seen so many people in one room at a time. With close to fifteen hundred guests, it’s overwhelming for me. Not that I don’t like crowds – crowds I can handle. It’s the sheer size of the room. From the street, you would never think the hotel has a room of this magnitude.

  Kate drags me between the tables. “We’re at table seventy. It’s just over there. I think they are about to do introductions of the wedding party so we can grab some drinks afterward.”

  When we finally reach our table on the other side of the room, I pull a chair out for Kate and notice how close to the front we are. “How do you know the bride and groom?” I ask her.

  She takes a sip of water. “I went to college with Marissa, the bride.”

  The music begins and we listen as the DJ announces the bridal party. I see what they mean by the bride picking the ugliest bridesmaids dresses. These are hideous and I’m glad men get to wear tuxedos. When the last of the bridal party appears from behind the doors, the bride and groom begin their first dance. The groom is one lucky bastard. He is definitely marrying up. The beginning of “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran starts and he spins his bride around the dance floor. The last of the notes ring through the speakers. Kate motions for us to stand up and get some drinks when I’m rooted back into my seat.

  Embyr is in the back corner next to the DJ, clipboard in hand and headphones over her ears. The bride pales in comparison to her. She is a vision even from fifty feet away. Her hair is down and stick straight. She smiles, and it shatters another brick from the wall that is crumbling at my feet. Two days in a row I see this woman and all I want to do is bow down at her feet and lick my way up to the top. The black pencil skirt would be easy to slide up over her waist. The button up white shirt just a rip from busting open and scattering buttons across the floor. I swallow the lump in my throat and try to keep myself from going over to her. To finish what we started against the wall last night.

  “Isn’t that your girlfriend, who isn’t your girlfriend?” Kate laughs from beside me. “The one who showed up at your door?”

  “It is,” I tell her as I stand. “Can I get you a drink?”

  She gives me her order and I walk to the furthest of the four bars, avoiding Embyr.

  This must be her new job. I know she was interviewing for a corporate planning position at a hotel but that was the day I found out she was Annie. Reece told me she got the job but never where it was. I guess it was here, a few blocks from her new condo. I didn’t think she was interested in doing weddings. Not that it mattered. Even if I knew she was going to be here I wouldn’t have denied Kate. She needed me – someone to fill in for her big brother. I just hope that’s all that this is. I wouldn’t want to give Kate the impression that I wanted anything more than to just be her friend. Even if that was the case, I’m still fucked up about Embyr.

  How can I still be head over feet for a woman who betrayed me? But I guess she could ask the same from herself if she does even still love me. How could she have fallen in love with someone who hurt her like I did?

  I try not to look around for her and in a room full of a thousand people it shouldn’t be that hard to do. Within seconds, our eyes meet from across the room and it’s all I can muster to break free. She looked past me so I wonder if she even saw that I was here.

  The line for the bar doesn’t take long and before I know it I’m back at our table, handing Kate her pink moscato.

  She takes a sip while squeezing my hand. “Thank you so much, Casen. For everythi
ng.”

  Kate introduces me to the entire table but I know for sure I won’t remember any of their names. As much as I was seemingly interested, I can’t help but look for Embyr in the background.

  I catch her speaking to another employee in the corner. Her hands are animated while she speaks and the pen in her hand drops to the floor. Both the male employee and I take advantage of the view as she bends to pick it up. He licks his lips and smiles. I want to rip his head off and feed it to the fucking fish in Lake Michigan.

  I’m possessive of what isn’t mine anymore and I realize how much of a dick I’m being to Kate. I don’t think I have said one word to her since I brought her drink back from the bar. I’m disappointed in myself and I know Ian would be as well. Resolving to right my wrong, I give her my full attention.

  When dinner is done I ask if Kate would like to dance. She smiles brightly as she takes my hand and I lead her onto the dance floor. She is an attractive woman. Any man would be lucky to have her on his arm.

  “So, what happened with your ex?” I ask as we glide across the floor, between other wedding guests.

  She shrugs. “I don’t really know. One day I was happy and content and the next I realized he didn’t have what I wanted in a man. We weren’t compatible. Not in the bedroom, not in our careers. I was starting mine and he was still trying to figure out his. Plus, we weren’t in love. I wanted to be with someone who made feel alive all the time. It felt like we just kind of lost our way and I knew I needed to end it before it got too far. Before we both felt like it was too late to let go of one another.”

  “How long did you date?”

  She thinks on it for a moment. “Just over a year and a half. We broke up a month before Ian died.”

  Pulling her in tighter, I kiss her cheek. “I’m sorry, Kate.”

  “Me too,” she whispers. “I just want to have that all-consuming love. I don’t think it’s too much to ask.”

  “I don’t either.”

  She leans back. “Did you have that with Embyr?”

  “Oh, she consumed me all right.”