Beyond the Breaking Point: Five

Cassidy woke to a dull throb in her head, raw soreness between her thighs, and the uncomfortable feeling that something was amiss. Reluctantly, she cracked one eye open. She didn’t recognize her surroundings. This wasn’t her bedroom at home.

The thought of home made her think of Phillip, which made her think of Max, Amber, and their much-planned, highly anticipated Florida vacation. Vacation made her remember the events of yesterday, which led to the memory of yesterday afternoon.

Closing her eye, Cassidy withheld a groan. She’d had sex with Max. As the whole night replayed through her mind, she tried to feel guilty because she took her wedding vows seriously and as her mom always said, “Two wrongs don’t a right make.” But remorse just wouldn’t surface.

Last night had been cathartic for so many reasons. Each lust-filled, burning glance Max had given her and every heartfelt curse that had fallen from his lips had soothed her wounded feminine ego and healed something Cassidy hadn’t even realized was broken.

Max made her feel sexy, vibrant and attractive. He hadn’t found her lacking and he obviously hadn’t found sex with her to be so boring he needed to find ways to liven it up. Last night sex had been everything she’d dreamed it could be—passionate, intense, and primal. The sad thing was that it had taken another man to show her what she’d been missing.

It wasn’t that sex with Phillip was bad. He was just so obviously unsatisfied with their sex life that it took a lot of the enjoyment out of it for her. Truth be told, it was giving her a complex. Why couldn’t what they did together be enough for him?

As for last night, maybe it wasn’t Max after all. Maybe it was the thrill of doing something illicit. Or maybe it was because she didn’t love Max, wasn’t concerned with his opinion of her, or even his pleasure. She’d simply done what felt good to her and as a result, experienced the most explosive sex of her life.

Cassidy stared morosely at the ceiling. She’d blasted Phillip for his lack of integrity. What did it say about her character that she’d committed adultery and didn’t feel guilty?

“Morning,” a husky voice rasped.

She rolled her head on the pillow to find Max watching her, those deep-blue eyes wary. She gave him a tentative smile. “Good morning.”

He rolled to face her. “How are you feeling? I was a little rough last night.”

She waited a beat before confessing, “Other than a little tenderness, I feel good. Really, really good,” she added throatily.

Her gaze roamed over his face and down to his neck and shoulders. There was a perfect ring of what could only be teeth marks on his right shoulder. She winced. Reaching out a finger to trace the evidence of her wildness, she said, “I guess I got a little carried away last night myself. I’m sorry.”

She looked away from the wound and their gazes collided, held.

“Don’t be,” Max murmured. “I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Suddenly, he was so close, their breath mingled. His still smelled faintly of the bourbon he’d consumed. Like magnets, they drifted together until their lips met in a slow lingering kiss.

Across the room, her cell phone rang and Max pulled away. “Are you going to answer that?”

She didn’t even pause to think. “No.”

“In that case…” He caught her by the nape and hauled her in for another kiss. When she responded greedily, Max shifted forward and inserted a thigh between her legs. She could feel his erection lying hot and heavy between them.

Another cell phone began ringing. This one had to be Max’s. “That’s probably Amber,” she said, breaking the kiss.

“Or Phillip wanting to know where the hell we are,” Max said, his gaze fixed on her chest.

Looking down, Cassidy realized her breasts were on display and tugged on the sheet to cover herself. In the light of day and without alcohol giving her courage, she wasn’t as bold as she’d been. Besides, Max was used to looking at Amber. Her small, little breasts couldn’t compare.

“No, don’t cover yourself,” Max ordered as he snatched the sheet from her. “Let me see you.” He fingered a bruise on the globe of one breast. “This is purple.”

She glanced down. “It’s just a passion mark.”

Her phone started ringing again. They both ignored it.

“You look like you were attacked,” he said grimly and his hard-on softened.

“I bruise easily. Max, you didn’t hurt me.”

His expression said he didn’t believe her.

Frustrated, Cassidy ordered, “Let me see your back.”

“Why?”

“Because I distinctly remember using my nails on it,” she said, wondering if there was skin beneath her fingernails.

Max shifted uncomfortably but made no move to present his back so she could see. “It’s all right. Nothing a little soap and water won’t fix. Don’t worry about it.”

Cassidy narrowed her eyes. “If I’m not allowed to be concerned about the damage I did to you, you can’t feel guilty about the few bruises you left on me.”

He thought about it a moment. Though it was clear he didn’t agree, he gave an abrupt nod. Suddenly his hand tightened on her waist. “Cassidy,” he said, his tone serious.

“Yes?”

“We didn’t use protection, and I know you’re not on the pill. I’m clean, so you don’t have to worry about diseases, but pregnancy…”

Cassidy closed her eyes as the possible ramifications from last night’s indulgence hit her. She took a deep, calming breath and opened her eyes. “I doubt we have anything to worry about. Phillip and I have been trying for months with little success, and if I do turn up pregnant, odds are it’s his.” However, Murphy was a bitch and this was just the kind of situation he liked to stick his nose in.

“Still, if you are pregnant and it’s my baby, I want you to know I’ll take care of him or her.” He slid his hand to rest possessively on her abdomen.

The action caused Cassidy’s stomach to knot. “I didn’t change our flight reservations,” she said. “I need your flight information, and there’s a fifty-dollar fee for changing the flight date.”

He hesitated briefly and went with the change of subject. “My paperwork’s in my room. I’ll bring it down after I shower and change.” Max gave her a long look. “Are we good? No regrets about last night?”

Cassidy gazed into his eyes, only inches away. “None. You?”

“None. Friends?” he asked.

She smiled crookedly. “After our little bonding experience yesterday and last night? You bet.”

He briefly chuckled before turning serious again. “Are you going to tell Phillip about what happened between us?”

Last night revenge sex had sounded like a brilliant idea. This morning, however… Slowly she shook her head. “It’s not that I’m hiding what I did. I just don’t think it’s any of his business. At this point, our marriage is just a formality.”

“So you’re filing for divorce this time?”

For some reason, the “this time” made her defensive. “There was no excuse for him cheating before. It took me a long time to forgive him, but when it came right down to it, he was right about one thing. Neither one of us was completely in the right. There were things I was doing that were just as destructive to our relationship. We had some serious issues. Phillip made enough of a case for himself that I decided to give marriage counseling a try. Honestly, I didn’t think it would work, but it surprised me, the lengths he was willing to go to save our marriage. This time it’s completely different.” That’s what made yesterday so devastating, she thought. “What about you?”

Max’s gaze became cold and hard. “It’s over. When I get home, I’m changing the locks. She can make an appointment to come and get her things, which I’ll have boxed up and waiting for her. As for Phillip…” He shook his head. “That’s over, too.”

Cassidy’s phone rang again, and again was ignored.

“Speaking of home, we’d better get a move on if we don’t want to end up on the same flight as them. It won’t take Phillip long to realize you’ll head home rather than stick around,” Max said.

He withdrew his thigh from between hers, scooted to the edge of the bed and got out. Cassidy quickly averted her eyes but not before she got an eyeful of his long, lean muscular frame and the dozens of angry scratches scoring his back and buttocks. She felt her face flush and couldn’t believe how casual Max was being about his nudity. They weren’t lovers. Before this morning, they’d barely qualified as friends. Maybe it was a guy thing.

Cassidy conveniently disregarded the fact that she’d had her lips and hands all over every inch of Max’s flesh.

And wouldn’t mind doing it again, a little voice whispered.

Cassidy squashed that notion immediately. Last night was a one-off caused by anger and too much alcohol. No matter how much she’d enjoyed it, Max was on the forbidden list. It was time to put her shattered pieces of her life together.