Cassius Stevens, Madison (best reads of all time txt) 📖

around with a cameraman in public, and millions of people know she’s here and are expecting her to race.” He snorted. “Stop thinking with your dick for a second, and think with your head. If they grab her in NYC, they are all but guaranteed to get attention. They won’t do it unless they’re desperate.”

CJ nodded slowly, the fire of concern fading. “Okay. You’ve convinced me. She’s safe during the race.”

“Again, assuming she’s a Vestal, yes.” Julius shrugged. “If they’re going to grab her, they’d do it on her way back home.”

“Then I need to warn her. I might not be able to catch up with her after the race, and I can’t risk sending her a message.”

Julius stomped across the room. CJ squared his shoulders, letting out a low growl as he stared down the other man.

“You’re not doing crap until you know,” Julius snarled. “Not just because you suspect. Is that clear?”

CJ resisted the urge to shove Julius. “You’re not my commander.”

“I don’t care. I’m not going to let you sink the mission on a mere chance.” Julius’s nostrils flared. “You confirm things, then we’ll figure out what to do. I don’t even care if you want to screw her. Do what you want with her when she lets you, but as long as you always keep the mission in mind.” He backed away and smiled thinly. “Right now, you get to have it both ways because she might be our best bet at identifying anything unusual. So, stick to her.” He smirked. “Even if that ends up being a little frustrating, blue balls never killed a man.”

“Screw you.” CJ headed over to the desk and pulled out a chair.

“Isn’t the problem people aren’t screwing you?”

“Very funny, asshole.”

Julius gave him a lopsided grin. “I try to be, but at least you’ve calmed down. Keep your eyes forward and your attention focused, and if you’re right, you might end up finishing up this mission with a nice little bonus.”

CJ settled into the chair. His Vestal. He’d not thought it’d happen so soon, if at all. Keeping hope alive wasn’t the same thing as expectation, but now he was almost certain she was there.

He swallowed, his dick straining against his pants at the memory of her warm mouth on it. He needed to be sure, but he couldn’t scare her off by demanding sex. He wasn’t some barbarian, despite what his dick thought.

For now, he needed to keep close, protect her, and figure out what Ouroboros was up to. But if Kendra decided her superstitions were silly, CJ wasn’t going to complain about sinking into her and making her moan.

CJ licked his lips, his heart pounding. No. He didn’t need to go farther to know she was his Vestal. His body was sure, even if his mind wasn’t, and he would protect her.

“I’ll arrange a follow-up meeting for tomorrow morning at the course,” CJ said. “As far as I know, I was supposed to go with her anyway. She wanted to help when I gave her BS about my PI investigation.”

“Follow-up meeting? Is that what you’re calling it now?” Julius chuckled. “Doing it in public? You’re brave.”

“Just shut up for a while.” CJ sighed. “I need to get in the headspace to write this text and not sound like a stalker.”

Chapter Twelve

Kendra’s tracksuit protected her from the light morning breeze, but it couldn’t do anything to stop her self-doubt. She kept rubbing her wrists, glancing at the small stream of workers heading past the fences and toward the obstacles to continue their set-up work for tomorrow’s race. Other people, tourists and competitors, though smaller in number, wandered the course, chatting among themselves.

The varied obstacles were laid out in a circle around the central large building. From what she’d read, the sportsplex building was often rented for events, both inside and outside. It came complete with a large kitchen and plenty of storage.

Kendra didn’t care much about the building. The obstacles weren’t inside. It was an all-outdoor course, with pools for safety. There wasn’t any mud pits or similar nasty obstacles. She didn’t mind getting a little dirty, but also loved when the only threat was a little free bath.

Although she wasn’t the only person checking things out, there wasn’t that many other non-staff visitors there. The course would be choked with competitors and spectators the next day. Many people had traveled from across the country for what might amount to minutes of participation. The problem with a lot of obstacle course races of this type is that all the training in the world didn’t guarantee victory.

Kendra smiled at the thought. She’d had her share of early exits. They were embarrassing, but made for good reminders that victory was never guaranteed. They also made good footage for blooper reels with added funny music.

There was nothing wrong with failure during an attempt to make herself stronger. Challenge was what pulled her forward. When the races and events stopped being a challenge, it’d be time to move onto something else.

But, for the moment, she didn’t care about that. Right now, there was only one man she was interested in talking to. She’d never felt such longing and regret mixed together before. She wasn’t so sure hanging out with him before the race wasn’t a mistake, but it was hard to care.

The whole point of her pre-race ritual was to ensure she was in top shape for the event, but she’d had a lot of trouble sleeping after everything that had happened. CJ and his hands and mouth haunted her mind and dreams. Her silly superstition ruined everything.

Superstition? It sounded ridiculous when it came out of her mouth. Believing it didn’t make it any less insane.

Bad luck was an excuse. Athletes succeeded through discipline and hard work.

When she pondered the events of the night before, she realized it was arguably less a superstition than an understanding she needed to keep her focus before anything important. She’d stopped the night before to not be