From Ashes Read Free

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 Brynn, Gage’s girlfriend.” Her eyes narrowed on the last word.
    I shouldn’t have, but I glanced at Gage again. His brows were pulled down in either confusion or annoyance when he looked at Brynn. You have got to be kidding me, I thought. I didn’t care if it had been only two seconds since I first saw him, this couldn’t be a normal reaction for two people just meeting to have with each other, and he had a freaking girlfriend. It hadn’t even felt like this with the cop who came to my door that night, and I’d thought about him for almost two years!
    I squared my shoulders and dropped Gage’s hand, focusing on Brynn. “It’s great to meet you, Brynn!” I hoped my smile looked genuine. I didn’t need an enemy yet, especially if she was dating the guy I was going to be living with. But hell, I’m not gonna lie—I was already thinking of ways to get her out of the picture.
    Tyler and Brynn shook hands, and she looked back to me, noticing that I was doing everything to keep from looking at her boyfriend. Tyler and Gage were catching up, and every time Gage would speak I had to force myself not to shut my eyes and lose myself in the way his voice caused chills to go through my whole body.
    “So, Cassi, what do you say we go introduce you to the rest of the girls?” Brynn finally said sweetly.
    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?” Brynn nudged my shoulder.
    “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 planning on going to school at all.”
    “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