by Ava Riley
As Cade finished up with breakfast, Tessa couldn’t take her eyes off him. He’d already spoiled her the night before in so many wonderful ways. Cade’s attentions were causing her to feel a little overwhelmed, but incredibly happy at the same time. Their relationship didn’t have that weird get to know you phase. That awkwardness from the normal morning after routine and dealing with someone after having sex with them on the first date was missing; maybe because they had known each other for so long, or because of the chemistry that was evident between them. She didn’t really want to put too much thought into the whys, but would enjoy the gift standing in her kitchen. Normally, she would be so self conscious about her frazzled morning appearance and morning breath, but when Cade had looked at her with that hunger in his eyes as she walked into the kitchen, it all seemed futile. Just with his eyes, he made her feel as though she were the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, bed head and all. She sat there smiling like she had the IQ of a three year old watching him while her thoughts rambled on and on.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asked, placing their plates on the table.
“Nothing you’d be interested in hearing, I’m sure. This smells wonderful. You know, if you haven’t figured it out, the way to my heart is really through my stomach.”
Caressing the inside of her thigh he said, “Wow, after last night I would never have guessed that. I figured the way to your heart was -
“Cade! Let’s not go there,” she said, shaking her head. She really was hungry and didn’t have the strength at the moment to fight off the temptation that sat across from her stroking her thigh.
“Baby, I plan on going there a lot.”
He dragged out that last word as if to emphasize his meaning, then quickly picked up his fork and began to eat, rarely taking his eyes off of her. Tessa dug into her breakfast as well and was quite surprised at how good it tasted. She had not expected Cade to be a good cook, but this was absolutely wonderful. This man was going to have her hooked in no time at all, as if she weren’t already. Not only was he incredible in bed, he was incredible in the kitchen. He took a simple meal of eggs and bacon and made it exquisite. Before Tessa could get the last bite off her fork, Cade grabbed their plates, rinsed them and placed them into the dishwasher. He swept her up out of her chair, bringing her up to his mouth so that he could thoroughly kiss her. Lowering her until her feet touched the floor, he quickly turned her to usher her out of the kitchen.
“Cade, what are you doing?”
“I made plans for us today. You need to get showered and get ready.”
“What plans? And what about clothes for you? You don’t even have any clothes here other than what you wore last night. Which by the way, I’m really sorry about the button.”
“One, don’t worry about the shirt. I’d let you ruin every shirt I own for as many nights as I could have like last night. Two, you need to hurry and get ready so we can swing by my place so that I can get some clean clothes. And three, I thought we’d take a drive up the coast. The view is absolutely beautiful and there is a terrific restaurant I’d love to take you to. Of course, the view won’t be as beautiful as the woman standing in front of me and nothing will taste as good as what I tasted last night.”
Tessa felt the color burn into her cheeks and liquid heat pool between her legs. Cade truly was going to be the death of her. He gently brushed at her cheek with his knuckles.
“I love when you do that.”
“Do what?” A shiver ran down her spine as he caressed her cheek.
“When your cheeks darken with color, that’s when I know I could sweep you off your feet and have my wicked way with you,” he said as he leaned into her.
“Oh, you think so?” She pushed at his chest.
“Mmmhmm, now go get in the shower before I have to carry you in there myself,” he said, as he swatted her backside.
Tessa just stood there staring at him. A part of her really wanted him to carry her into the shower. There were so many wicked, erotic images running through her mind of what they could do in that small shower. And she wanted to try every one of them.
“Tess, I see on your face what’s going on in your mind. And as much as I would love to take you up on those things, I really do want to take you for a drive.”
“Wow. Are you really turning me down? Cade McCarthy, turning down sex?”
“Baby, I would never turn down sex with you unless I had a good reason. And not wanting to miss our reservation is a good reason. So, yes, I am turning down sex, but just at this particular moment. Later, I will be making up for what we let pass now,” he said, with a wink and another swat on her backside as he guided her to the bathroom.
“Great sex,” Tessa said as she opened the bathroom door.
“What?”
“We have great sex, Cade. Not just sex.” And with that she closed the door before he could respond.
Chapter 14
After a quick stop at Cade’s for him to change into clean clothes they made their way up the coast. Tessa couldn’t get over the view. Cade was not lying when he said the drive was beautiful. Lined with the most amazing views of the ocean and hillsides, she was in a photographer’s heaven .
With the music turned down low enough to where they could still hear it, but it not interfering with their conversation, they reminisced about their childhood together. Well, it was more about his childhood with Rowan and her view of it as they grew up. Several times along the way, Cade pulled over at certain spots that he favored and Tessa took the opportunity to shoot some photographs. The weather, a perfect seventy-two degrees with a slight breeze and an incredible deep blue sky allowed Tessa to get some magnificent photos. Because the brilliant color of the sky, the clouds looked an incredible stark white, they reminded her of big cotton balls. The sun’s reflection off the water made everything sparkle and she couldn’t help but be enthralled by the beauty of it all. She lived in California practically her whole life and never once took this drive up the coast. Experiencing it for the first time with Cade, made it even more special.
Cade had never realized until today the joy that her photography brought Tessa. Not until he saw her face light up each time he stopped so that she could take pictures. The first time he’d pulled over was to show her one of his favorite areas along the coast, but when he saw the complete bliss on her face as she pulled out her camera, he realized he wanted to see that look a million times over and there wasn’t anything that compared to her joy. There was so much about Tessa he realized also that he didn’t know, even though he’d been around her most of her life. He’d always seen her with her camera and always thought it was just a job for her, something to pay the bills. Today, however, he realized that it was more than that. Tessa saw the world completely different from everyone else. Where everyone else saw the bigger picture of what was laid out in front of them, Tessa saw in frames. She saw what the lens showed her, not what the world was showing her. She was at home behind the camera; showing others what their surroundings truly looked like. A few times she had shown him a picture she was particularly proud of and when Cade had looked from the camera to the actual area of what she had shot, he saw the beauty he hadn’t seen at first glance.
“You are incredible. The things you see that others don’t,” he told her after she’d shown him one of the shots.
“I’m nothing special, Cade. People take shots like this all the time.” Tessa tried to brush off his compliment.
“Yes, Tess, people take pictures of areas like this all the time, but very few people enjoy it the way you do, or capture the true beauty of it. You really have a gift for this.”
“Well, thank you. I do really enjoy it. I feel lost without my camera. I guess that’s why it’s like an extra appendage.”
“What made you get into photography?”
Tessa looked away from him, hesitant to answer. She had never shared with anyone, other than Rowan, her reasoning for picking up her first camera. Her desire
for Cade to know the intimate, secret details about her were quickly becoming evident as she decided to share such a private thing with him. It really scared the hell out of her since she’d never let anyone get close to her, but she wanted Cade to be the one she let in to her world. She knew it would bring them a little closer if she shared it, but where to start. Would he think differently of her if he knew the true reasoning behind her obsession with this small box that held life within it? She stayed quiet for so long, he most likely thought she wouldn’t answer him.
“Remember when we were kids and my mom used to always make us pose for pictures? I hated it so much. I hated having my picture taken. I never understood why she always had that camera with her. Every night I’d pray that she would stop taking so many pictures.”
Tessa paused, her throat felt raw from the memory of her mother. Other than Rowan, she hadn’t talked to anyone about her since she died. It hurt too much most days just for Tessa to think about her much less speak of her. She pushed through the pain because she wanted Cade to know this part of her, to understand as much about her as possible. This is what made her who she is today and why she led the life she did and he needed to know if their relationship was going to work. “When she died, I used to lay awake at night thinking it was my fault. I told myself too many times over the years that if I had never prayed that prayer over and over, she’d still be alive.”
Cade, leaning against the car, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into the shelter of his arms. He’d known how hard it was on Rowan when their mother passed away, but Tessa was so young and he never thought it would have such an impact on her. Hearing the words spill from her now caused his chest to clench and an ache to well up inside him for her. She had to learn to be a woman on her own without a mother to teach her and he never took the time to think of what that would do to a person. As she spoke he heard in her words the hurt she felt through the years.
“Tess, your mom was sick for a long time, even before I met you and Rowan. The doctors said the cancer was too far along for them to do anything for her. It had nothing to do with you.”
“I know that now, but my five year old mind didn’t comprehend that. Anyway, it was about a year after her death, I found that damn camera. I know this is going to sound like I’m crazy, but as soon as I touched it, I felt connected to her. I thought that if I held on to it, she would always be with me. I carried it with me all the time. I never used it until one day while playing outside by myself. I saw some daises. Remember how much she loved daises? I just felt an urge to pull out the camera, so I did and I started shooting nothing but those stupid flowers. I was so excited to see how the pictures came out, but my dad wouldn’t get them developed. He was so angry that I even had the camera, but at least he let me keep it. I was in my room crying when Rowan came in. After he found out what happened, he took the film to develop it right away.”
Cade held her a little tighter and lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “I remember that, I was there that day, but I didn’t know what was going on. He was so frantic to leave the house, I thought he’d gotten in to it with your dad again.”
“When he brought me back the pictures, he told me they reminded him of mom. Not just because of the daises, but because I saw something others didn’t see, just like she used to. I’ve never been without a camera since. I even still have hers tucked away safe.”
“I know she’s proud of you.” He placed a kiss on her forehead.
Tessa wiped at her eyes, not wanting any tears to spill. She never cried in front of anyone, she sure as hell wasn’t going to cry in front of him. Her mom being proud of her was something she wished for everyday. She missed her just as much today as she did the day she died. Some days she felt like the memory of her mom was slipping away and that hurt more than the loss of her.
Cade relished the fact that Tessa had just given him a part of her that no one other than Rowan knew about. Although he had been a part of her and Rowan’s life for so long, this was something she kept hidden from the rest of the world. Something he knew wasn’t easy to share. Overwhelmed by the emotions of the moment, he held her tight against him not wanting to let her go. What he wouldn’t give to be able to take her pain away at this moment. He turned her in his arms so that she faced the ocean, keeping her tight to his body.
“Thank you for coming up here with me and for sharing something so private. It means more to me than you know.” He placed kisses on the nape of her neck. He hesitated just a moment. “Are you getting hungry?” he whispered in her ear.
She turned back to face him. “Are you really asking me if I’m hungry? Cade, you should know by now, I’m almost always hungry.” She couldn’t help but laugh even though the situation was so somber. She stretched on her toes to reach his mouth and gave him a heat searing kiss.
He let out a small laugh. “Let’s get going then. It’s not much further until we reach the restaurant.”
He grabbed her hand, intertwined his fingers with hers, and brought it to his mouth to place kisses on it. He couldn’t find the strength of will to break any contact with her as he led her to the car, and held on to her as long as he could.
Once they arrived at the restaurant they were seated almost immediately. It helped that Cade knew the manager and was able to get a reservation on such short notice. He had told her on the drive up how much he enjoyed this particular restaurant and how he would come up as often as he could, even though it was more than an hour’s drive away. The restaurant itself had a beauty all its own with a wood deck that wrapped around the entire building. The view even more spectacular here than on the drive up. The place sat atop a hill that overlooked the ocean. The full moon hung in the dark sky as it danced on the water. All of it took her breath away. Throughout their dinner, Tessa found it hard to pull her gaze from the view. She would have loved to pull out her camera and start snapping off photos, but she didn’t feel it was proper etiquette to do, so she settled for sitting and enjoying the view of both the ocean scene and the gorgeous man sitting across from her.
“So, what do you think? You’ve been awful quiet.” Cade’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
“It’s amazing, Cade. I’m finding that everything you have your hand in is amazing though.”
Cade smiled that sexy smile she loved so much as he reached across the table and gently stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. Tessa found herself getting caught up in his beautiful blue eyes. They reminded her of the deep blue sky from this afternoon and she lost herself in them. She could sit and stare at him for hours never tiring of it.
“You want to take a walk out to the balcony? The weather is perfect,” Cade asked her.
“Absolutely.” Tessa was ready to get up and get some fresh air. After the drive in the car and then the time they spent eating, she needed to stretch her legs.
Cade waved for the waiter. He ordered two glasses of wine, paid the bill then stood next to the table. He held out his hand for Tessa’s as he grabbed both glasses. Amazed at how right everything felt with him, she placed her hand in his while they walked out to the balcony. The view was even more spectacular in the night air. She inhaled the scent of the ocean. She absolutely loved the smell of salt water in the air. Facing out toward the water, she lifted her face to feel the breeze blow against her skin. The temperature felt just right. The breeze cooled off the summer heat that still lingered into the night. Cade brushed up behind her, slipping an arm around her waist and handing her a wine glass.
“I told you it was beautiful up here,” he whispered as he nibbled on her ear.
“It really is, Cade. I can’t even put into words how incredible this is.”
“I’m glad you like it. You know, I’ve never brought anyone else up here.”
Tessa turned in his arms, taking a sip of her wine. She tilted her head to look into his eyes.
“Not anyone? I find that hard to believe, with all the women you’ve been with Cade? Surely at least one woman was worth
y of a trip here.”
“Just one,” he whispered as if the breeze would steal his words, “and, she’s standing in front of me.” He pulled back taking Tessa’s chin between his thumb and finger. “And, just for the record, I haven’t been with that many women.”
As long as they had known each other, of course she had seen him with several women, that he couldn’t deny. He had dated his share, but only because he’d been looking for so long for the right one. After years of dating and not finding that woman, he’d pretty much resigned himself to never give his heart away. At least not until he realized that Tessa was the one person he could give himself to completely and that she’d been standing right in front of him the whole time. It was no wonder she would think he brought other women here. But he hadn’t, and he really had never wanted to. He did want her to understand the implication of what he had done today by bringing her to this place though.