Sweet Collide (Saints of Redville)

by Ava Harrison

The abuse. The neglect. The hurt. The betrayal. The accident. This money is for me. You forgot about me. You don’t know shit. My eyes blur as I stare at the computer screen.

Ten years ago was the last time I saw him. He opened it a month after he left. It shows a deposit of only twenty-four dollars. I open the next one, and there’s no activity other than a deposit of five dollars this time.

Liquid wells in my eyes, the words on the computer screen becoming blurry with unshed tears. He never forgot me. Aiden never forgot me. Almost every month of every year since he left, he’s been paying back my investment. I should’ve told him the truth. Should’ve trusted that our bond was too strong to be that easily forgotten. I’ve ruined everything.

slept with Pippa. My Pip. The girl you spent years looking for. The girl you missed with all your heart. Yeah, she lied. But she also gave me hope. Always put me first. Loved me unconditionally. For her to lie, she must have felt she had no choice. Shit.

“Penny for your thoughts?” she says, repeating words she’s spoken before. In another life. “Or in this case…60,000.” She knows. That’s why she’s here.

“I shouldn’t have lied to you. I’m so sorry, Aiden.” I shake my head. There’s too much to say, to talk about, to ask. “Not here.”

“I saw you on TV. Heard you were in town.” She clears her throat. “My friend works at the hotel, and she let it slip you were staying there.”

“But please don’t get her in trouble. It’s my fault. Not hers.”

would remind me of you. For years.” She huffs a humorless laugh. “That night I’d been drinking and seeing your face on the screen…affected me. You actually haven’t changed at all. Not much. I’d know your face anywhere.”

“I know I was wrong.” Her voice shakes, and the need to reach out and grab her is intense. But I don’t. I can’t. “Why did you do it?”

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

“Honest answer?” “Always,” I grit through my teeth, attempting to rein in my emotions. “At first, I was upset.”

“Devastated.” I swallow that fucking lump that won’t go away, hating the hurt in her tone.

“But then something shifted. Something was…differ...

“I saw the way you looked at me. It was different. You weren’t

the boy who left me behind, Aiden.” Her voice pitches, and she takes

“The way I felt when you looked at me like that…it’s not normal for ...

“What...

“Like you saw me. Cassidy.”

“Not the little girl you used to look at like a little sister.”

I nod slowly, recalling that first night she crawled to me. G...

“The way you looked at me changed things. I didn’t see you as that boy. I saw Aiden that night, and I wanted him. Wanted you.”

“I said fuck it. One night. I’d allow myself one perfect night with you.”

“That was all it was supposed to be. I debated telling you while I showered. I was goin...

“Sorting,” I say, remembering that night all too well. “And…” “And I was brought back to our childhood. I couldn’t not help you. You were my only safe place. You were my home, and when you left, you took that with you...

“I get why you came to t...

“I even get how we ended up...

“But you could’ve stopped there. You could’ve turned down my offer and then turned your back on me. Hell…you could’ve told me who you were…bu...

“I wanted to say something.”

“So many fucking times. But every time I got close, something would happen. Something that would have you needing me, or worse. Something would happen to trigger you, and I couldn’t rock the boat more. I wanted to be there to help you calm down. To show you that you had someone in your corner.” “How was this supposed to end?”

“I would have helped you, and eventually, when I felt like you were going to be okay,...

“All I cared about was you, Aiden.” “And what about you?”

“I’m used to being second.”

“You’d put my happiness before your own?” I mutter, understanding dawning on me. She’s falling back on old habits. “Yeah. Every time, Aiden.”

She chooses me. I know she lied, but hearing her reason, hearing her truth, I can’t be mad.

“I have to be honest with you, Cassidy, leaving Pippa—you—behind has eaten at me for years.”

“I understand why you lied. I’d have probably done the same thing in your place. A moment more with you would be worth it.”

“I never meant to leave you. Not for good. I wanted to come back for you. But shit was hard, and I couldn’t risk my mom interfering with what I was building.” “I understand.” Her lips tremble. “I’m sorry for lying. I’m sor—”

silence her with my mouth, not allowing another apology to leave her lips. She has nothing to atone for. She’s done the one thing no one else has ever done for me… Care.

Our tongues tangle, and so do our bodies. This kiss is different. It’s putting the past behind us and forging a future. One in which Cassidy and I can be honest with each other. Be there for the other. She said she’d put herself before me, and I know she means it. I’d do the same for her, and I won’t stop until she believes that. Until she knows I care. More than she can ever understand.

His lips crash against mine, hungry and desperate. It’s as if he can’t get enough of my taste, and the truth is, I can’t get enough of his. My arms lift until they wrap around his neck, fingers sinking into his disheveled hair. His in turn roam my body, stroking down my back until he cups my ass in his hands, pulling me closer to him. Once flush against his hard chest, he deepens the kiss, if that’s even possible.

“I need you,” he grits out against my lips, his hands moving from my body and letting me go. I want to protest at the lack of his warmth, but then the sound of his zipper echoes through the air with a promise, and my heart beats faster. Need courses through me at an intensity I’ve never felt. He pulls his mouth away from me, and a whimper escapes, my eagerness to resume evident.

at his long, hard cock, and my tongue darts out to swipe across my bottom lip. That hunger only grows with every second that goes by. My mouth waters at the sight. The desire to drop to my knees and take him in my mouth washes over me, but before I can, he’s sealing his lips against mine again.

I’m standing naked in front of him, offering myself to him. His lips moves into a smirk. “You’re mine,” he growls, and then he pushes me back until I’m lying half on the bed, legs dangling off. He steps up, and I part my legs for him, giving him room to stand. He grins down at me, and a shiver runs up my back. “I’m going to devour you, Cassidy. Every fucking inch.”

With that promise, he drops to the floor in front of me, grabbing my legs to hang over his shoulders.

A groan escapes his mouth as he feasts, drawing a line from my ass to my clit, inserting one finger to skyrocket the pleasure. He takes me to the edge but stops just as I’m about to fall over. “You’re going to come on my cock,” he practically growls, pushing to a stand. He positions himself at my entrance but doesn’t put me out of my misery. “Aiden,” I groan. “Please.” He only smirks as he slides his cock along my skin.

“What do you want, Cass? This?” he asks, gripping his dick in his hands while rubbing it against me. No matter how close he gets, he doesn’t breach me. He just teases. Tortures.

“Aiden,” I say again, making it clear I’m about to take care of myself. He rocks back and forth a few more times before he aligns himself with my entrance. On one thrust, with no warning, he fills me.

Like this, with nothing separating us, I can feel every inch of him, and I love it. “Fuck,” he groans through clenched teeth before he’s rocking his hips back and forth. Slowly. Methodically. Until he’s picking up speed and slamming into me. “So fucking good.” His head is turned down, and I follow his gaze. He’s watching us, completely enthralled by the vision in front of him.

lift onto my elbows, and from this angle, I too can see, and I understand the glazed look he’s wearing. This is intoxicating. Erotic as hell. What I’m seeing makes me grow even wetter. I can’t take my eyes off where our bodies meet. How his cock disappears inside me. My hand palms my breasts, squeezing, and Aiden’s eyes darken.