From Ashes

I’d seen plenty of attractive guys—Tyler looked like an Abercrombie and Fitch model, for crying out loud. But Mr. New couldn’t even be described as something as degrading as attractive. He looked like a god. My breath was becoming rougher, and my blood started warming as I took an unconscious step toward him. Just then a tall, leggy blonde bounced over to his side and wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing his strong jaw. It felt like someone punched me in the stomach and I was instantly jealous of whoever this girl was. Shaking my head, I forced my eyes to look away. What the hell, Cassidy? Calm down.

“Cassi, you coming?”

I blinked and looked over to Tyler, who had his hand outstretched to me. “Uh, yeah.” I glanced back at Mr. New and saw he still hadn’t moved. The perky blonde was chatting his ear off, and he didn’t even seem to be hearing her. I felt a blush creep up my cheeks from the way he was looking at me, like he’d just seen the sun for the first time, and continued over to Tyler.

Tyler pulled me to his side and whispered in my ear, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I reassured him, trying to slow my heart down for a completely different reason now.

He kissed my cheek and pulled away. “Okay, well let me introduce you to Gage.”

Right. Gage. Tyler dropped my hand, only to put his on the small of my back as he led me over to Mr. New and the leggy blonde. Oh no. No no no no no.

“ ’Sup, man?” Tyler slapped him on the back and Mr. New slowly dragged his eyes from me to the guy who’d just hit him.

Gage’s eyes went wide when he saw Ty. “Tyler, hey! I didn’t realize y’all were here yet.”

Oh. Good. God. That voice. Even with that small sentence I could hear the drawl in it. It was deep and gravelly, and easily the sexiest thing I’d ever heard.

“Yeah, we just got here. Cassi, this is my cousin Gage. Gage, this is Cassi.”

Gage brought his hand out. “It’s a pleasure, Cassi. I’m glad y’all are finally here.”

My knees went weak and a jolt of electricity went through me when I shook his hand. From how he glanced down at our hands quickly, he’d felt it too. “It’s nice to meet you too.” Now that I was up close, I could see his bright green eyes, hidden behind thick black lashes and eyebrows. He was the definition of masculine. From his strong jaw and brow, high cheekbones, defined nose, and perfectly kissable lips, his looks screamed man. The only thing offsetting the masculinity were his boyish deep dimples, which had me hooked. Yep, god was the only word out there that fit him.

Our hands didn’t separate fast enough for the tall blonde, so she thrust her hand forward. “I’m Bry

I shouldn’t have, but I glanced at Gage again. His brows were pulled down in either confusion or a

I squared my shoulders and dropped Gage’s hand, focusing on Bry

Tyler and Bry

“So, Cassi, what do you say we go introduce you to the rest of the girls?” Bry

Tyler looked elated; this was exactly what he wanted. “Sounds great,” I said, and stepped away from the guys. It felt wrong to walk away, but I could feel Gage watching me as I did.

“You and Tyler, huh?” Bry

“What do you mean?”

“Y’all make such a cute couple.” She wasn’t complimenting, she was reaching.

“Thanks, but no. Tyler and I are best friends, nothing more.”

“You sure about that? I saw the way he was looking at you, and he had his arm around you.”

“We’re just different like that. We’ve been best friends our entire lives.”

“Right. Are you going to UT too?” she asked, sounding a little too curious.

“Uh, no. I’m not pla

“So why are you here?” If it hadn’t been for the curled-up lip, she would have just simply sounded interested.

“Honestly? I have no idea. Tyler packed my bag and threw me in his Jeep. Apparently Gage didn’t care if I lived with them.” I smirked and turned to begin the introductions with the girls who were now right next to us.

G AGE

WHAT THE HELL was that? Nothing like that had ever happened to me. One look at Cassi and it felt like my world stopped. All I could think about was closing the distance between us. I don’t know how to describe it, but I needed to go to her. Unfortunately, I was frozen in place, taking in the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. Her long brown hair was windblown, and those wide honey-colored eyes made me want to get lost in them. She looked so sweet and fragile, I wanted to wrap my arms around her and protect her from seeing anything bad in the world, but something in her eyes told me she knew too well what the world was like and could take care of herself. Which is why it was so damn confusing that she clung to my cousin like he was a lifeline.

Tyler told me he was bringing his friend to live with us, and that she was a girl. I’d remembered hearing her name over the years, but whenever he spoke about her, it seemed like they were only friends, so why did he hold her hand and kiss her damn cheek? I couldn’t even stop the growl that came from my throat when I saw it. Then freakin’ Bry

When Cassi first spoke, I had to force myself to breathe. Her voice was soft and melodic. It fit her perfectly. She was petite and even with how short she was, those legs in those shorts could make any guy fall on his knees and beg. I couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d feel in my arms, how she’d look in my truck or on my horse. And yeah, I’m not go

After Bry

“She’s mine, Gage. Let’s get that clear right now.”

Okay, so maybe I’d been a little more obvious than I’d thought. “Thought you said y’all were friends.”

“She’s my best friend, but you’ll see. She’s mine.”

I nodded and clapped his back, forcing my hand out of a fist. “I got you, man. Come on, let me get you a beer.”

As the night wore on, I continued to get closer and closer to where she was. I felt like a creep, trying to be near her, but I couldn’t stop it. I wanted to listen to her talk and laugh; I swear she sounded like an angel singing when she laughed. I almost groaned out loud—Angel singing? What the hell is wrong with me?

We were all sitting around the bonfire talking and drinking. I was just a few feet from Cassi when she got up to head over to Jackie. If it hadn’t been for what happened immediately after, I would have punched Jake in the face for touching her. With one hand he grazed the front of her thigh, and with the other he grabbed her ass, causing her to stumble and fall right into me, her beer soaking my shirt.