Cloud Riders(26)

‘Thank you, Woody. Glad to finally meet you too.’

‘Cassie, this is Conor. And last but not least, my brother, Ethan.’

She smiled, shaking his hand as if she already knew him. Ethan resembled and sounded so very much like Jason, only he was a little shorter. Conor—well he was so different from the others she couldn’t help but stare at him. She was fascinated by his head that was shaven and smooth as a button. Cassie wondered if he would be offended if she rubbed her hand over the glossy patch. It was the first time in her life she had ever seen anyone up close with absolutely no hair. He also had many tattoos and she found him so interesting she wanted to just stand and soak him in as he politely made conversation.

While Cassie chatted to Conor, Jason dropped his arm from around her and punching his brother, said, ‘Let’s see what the big guy’s gawking at.’

Kayden was showing Woody a diagram of some sort. They moved over to get a better look. He eventually called Conor and Cassie over. Cassie felt awkward. She knew nothing of what they talked about. She decided to give them space and sticking her hands in her pockets, she leant up against one of the cars, watching in silence. It was confusing to her that Kayden had not once glanced in her direction or made any effort to include her in the conversation.

Cassie was so used to him holding her or being wrapped up in his arms that she felt a little lost. She eyed the five men: just the size of them overpowered her. She began to think Kayden was embarrassed to show that they were together or maybe a little ashamed of her. She looked down at her simple jeans and T-shirt. Her hair was tied back and she was wearing no makeup. She guessed she did look a little like a frump. What has happened to me?

Cassie felt annoyed with herself as she always took such pride in her appearance, even though she usually did just hang out on her own all day. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was totally letting her insecurities creep back in again so she glanced out over the property, trying to pull it together. She was definitely freaking out. Maybe she should just tell him no, that she wasn’t ready for any of this, he and his arrogance included. After all they had only slept together last night. Maybe he did it so she wouldn’t go to Jason.

Her heart jolted, thinking suddenly that he might not feel as she did. Had he said what he did to get her to work with them? Her mind was swimming with every conceivable negative thought. She shook her head, trying to settle her nerves.

A load cheer brought her attention back to the new members of the team as she attempted to shake off how neglected she felt. First she studied Ethan as he stood with his arm around Jason, chatting. He had similar features to Jason. Both were blond-haired, blue-eyed, model-type men. Ethan had more tattoos and he was not clean-shaven. He had a five o’clock shadow going on that was quite trendy yet his expression was a lot more serious.

Conor, although bald and clean-shaven, had a cheeky grin. He had tattoos down both arms like sleeves as well as one that curled a little up his neck that looked very sexy. His eyes were hazel and almost as bright and happy-looking as Kayden’s but his build was short and stocky. Yet in saying that, he would still have been around six foot; he just looked shorter because the others were all closer to Kayden’s height which had to be around six foot five or maybe a bit more. All she knew was that they all towered over her and made her feel pint-sized. Jeez, what am I doing here with these people? She was nowhere near their league.

Woody laughed and attracted her attention. He leaned on Kayden and had to be at least a couple inches taller than he was. Christ, the guy is a giant, she thought. And yet there was a delicate sweetness about him. Maybe it was the red curly hair and bright green eyes. His creamy-smooth skin was sprinkled with cute freckles; across his nose they made him look distinguished. Whatever she saw in him it drew her like a moth to a flame and in that instant he made her feel like she could trust him with her life.

Yes, they were all smoking-hot men, she concluded as she looked down and drew circles in the dirt with her foot. They must have girls swarming around them. She would pale to the likes of the women these men normally hung with or dated. No wonder she was getting the cold shoulder suddenly. If the ground could have swallowed her daggy self up she would have been happy. She glanced back at Kayden who was joking and enjoying his mates. A flittered glance in his direction had her compelled to compare him to the others. He was drop-dead gorgeous. Out of all of them, he was definitely the pretty boy. Christ, no wonder he is ignoring frump-girl.

They all started to walk over to the stable and she was asked to follow. Inside the horse stable the bales of hay that she normally sat on were pushed out of the way. They all stood on a platform that was lowered into an underground room. Cassie’s nerves were rattled and she wished Kayden would hold her as he normally did when she was doing something new. She decided to be brave and just suck it up.