CHAPTER 5

Athena's POV

I couldn’t sleep all night. Cassian was all I could think about. His name is Cassian. Cassian. The memory of our encounter on the staircase kept replaying in my mind, each moment vivid and intense. I found myself tossing and turning, unable to escape the thoughts of him. And when I finally fell asleep, I dream about that night from 5 years ago. He is holding me tight, we are entwined in an embrace his touch, his kisses, the way everything felt so serendipitous, and the connection we shared.

The next morning as early as 7 am I was out the door, I had debated whether to go back to the art show venue. I had googled and found out the loft belonged to the Covington’s so I could probably find Cassian there. But I had made up my mind, I needed to see him to talk, I had so many questions.

So, I dressed up in my favorite short grey dress, that looked so good on me enunciating my female body features pairing it with my favorite power high heels for confidence. My chestnut blonde was wavy down my back stopping right above my ass. My makeup perfectly applied. I looked into the mirror satisfied with what I saw before heading out the door.

I had the driver stop at a coffee shop a block away from Cassian’s gallery for some caffeine relief then we drove over. With my stomach in knots, I paced back and forth, willing my mind to switch gears and my heart rate to calm as I reached the door.

“Here for Cassian.” A curly haired woman said as a matter of fact as she let me into the building, her eyes glued to me looking me up and down like she has seen a ghost.

“Is he here?” I asked self-conscious of the way she was looking at me.

“Yes, he is upstairs.” She said pointing to the way.

I walk up stopping midstep and turned toward the oncoming crowd the gallery was being cleared, searching through the sea of unknown faces. My breath caught in my throat when a head of familiar hair appeared above the others.

Get ahold of yourself, Athena. God.

I tried once more to get my body under control and looked up again. Fuck. I am so screwed. There he was, looking better than I’d ever seen him. How the hell does someone get better looking in a span of a day no less.

He stood nearly a head taller than anyone around him, the kind of tall that stands out in a crowd, and I gave thanks to the universe for that.

He wore, a charcoal t-shirt and dark pants. He looked tired and had a bit of stubble on his face, but that wasn’t what had my heart beating a mile a minute. He’d been looking down at the ground, but the moment our eyes met, his face split into the most genuinely happy smile I’d ever seen. Before I could stop it, I felt my own smile explode, wide and giddy.

He stopped in front of me, a slightly tenser look taking over his features, while both of us waited for the other to say something.

“Hi,” I said awkwardly, trying to ease some of the tension between us. Every part of me wanted to pull him somewhere completely devoid of people, but somehow I doubted that was the proper way to great your one night stand from years ago.

“Um, hi,” he answered, his brow furrowed slightly.

“Lets go in,” he pointed towards the door as we walked in the loft like room at the top of the stairs. The room was empty, yesterday it was covered with paintings, including one of me but today it was empty.

Cassian is waiting for me right out the door.

"Hi." I say again.

"Hi." He says back then without a word we walk in the opposite door. Cassian shuts the door behind us clicking the lock. Locking us in. My heart pants and jumps.

"You never told me your name." He states with a small sad smile.

"I looked for you." He adds again closing the distance between us.

He wasn't touching me, but I was excruciatingly aware of his body, the heat and solidity of him.

I smile back at him. A sad smile I'm sure. 

"Athena Diamante Castellanos." He said my full name and my insides jumped just from his word tone alone.

"You never told me your name." I say back.

He reaches down to my hand and touches it so softly it's as if he's aware I'm unable to breathe. He grips two of my fingers, not even coming close to holding my entire hand, and gives them a soft tug.

His touch feels electric, I feel it everywhere.

His fingers tighten around mine, and his expression doesn't deviate from the poignant look he's perfected.

"You and Nick." He finally says his expression sadder than I've ever seen. "You and my brother."

I want to tell him it's not like that, but it's totally like that. I've haven't made it aware to Nick I can't be in a relationship with him and why so I say nothing.

I have no idea what to say. We've had the strangest and most awkward conversations since I met him, and this one definitely takes the cake.

"Our conversations are so weird," I say.

He laughs with relief. "Yes."

The word yes is so much more beautiful coming from his mouth, laced with that voice. He could probably make any word beautiful, suddenly we're standing so close, too close.

I began to tremble. There was a low tightening in my stomach as Cassian's mouth wandered to the edge of my jaw, the corner of my lips. I backed away from him until my shoulders came up hard against the cabinets of bookcases, causing a delicate rattle of books. Cassian's supporting arm forced an arch at the small of my back. With every breath I took, my chest lifted against his.

"Athena...let me. Let me..." I couldn't talk instead I nod yes, just waited helplessly as his mouth eased over mine. I closed my eyes, opening to the taste of him, to slow kisses that explored without demand, while his hand moved to cradle the side of my face. Disarmed by his gentleness, I let my body relax against his.

He searched more deeply, nudging, caressing, closing his hand in the heavy mass of my hair, he held it aside and kissed my neck, taking forever to work his way up to the hollow behind my ear. By the time he had reached it. I wobbled on my toes, straining in every muscle. He held me firmly, anchoring me against the hard framework of his body, and took my mouth again. This time his kisses were longer, grinding, wet. deeply consuming, and I couldn't catch my breath. I molded against him until there wasn't a millimeter of space between us.

Pulling away from my mouth he inhales a shaky breath while looking down at my mouth. "You make it so hard to breathe."

He punctuates his sentence with his kiss, bringing his lips over mine.

A moment of electric stillness. I saw the ripple of a swallow in his throat.

And suddenly I knew how it would be if we slept together again...the rise of my hips against his weight, the hardness of his back beneath my hands. I flushed as I felt a responsive twitch between my thighs, soft secreted nerves making themselves known, a shot of heat everywhere.

"Cass? Are you in here?" We hear someone outside the door calls out. Nick I think, Nick is outside the door.

I pull away gently. Suddenly aware. I'm here with Cassian. I can't be locked in here with Cassian when I was just on a date with his brother Nick last night.

“Cass? I don’t have time for this, you were supposed to be at the board meeting an hour ago.” Nick says trying to open the door. “Have you seen Cass?” I hear him ask someone who says something inaudible to him and we hear him leave.

I wait for their footsteps leave before I head for the door.

Cassian stands between me and the door, stopping me.

"Please," I whispered, and was infinitely relieved when he pushed away from the door and stood back to let me pass.

“When will I see you again?” Cassian asks but I don’t know what to say so I just smile.

He then waits in the doorway a little too long as I left. It might have been my imagination, but as I reached the end of the stairs l and glanced back, he seemed bereft, as if I had just taken something from him.

I hadn't mentioned having met Cassian before, I realized Cassian hadn't said anything about it either to Nick. It made me uneasy, this small secret between Cassian and me.

I have end it with Nick. I did tell him I wasn’t interested in a relationship, but I should have been clearer because I did receive a message from Nick last night telling me how much he enjoyed our date and he wanted us to go out again.

I hate feeling like this, going around Nick's back.