Cade (Society Book 2)

by Mason Sabre

  The door to Stephen’s room swung open and Gemma gasped. Cade backed out of the room fast, the swift reflexes of his wolf a gift he was ever so grateful for in that moment. He pulled Gemma’s door shut behind him and turned to walk away.

  “Cade?”

  Heart hammering in his chest, he hesitated for a minute before turning to face Stephen. He knew that his face was flushed, and the heat emanating from his every pore had little to do with his fever right now. His wolf prowled inside, growling. It had been denied what was his, and it was not happy. “Hey,” he croaked, running a hand through his dishevelled hair in an attempt at composure.

  Stephen frowned at him, his eyes narrowing. “Are you okay?”

  Cade fought the guilt that came rushing to the surface. He imagined the betrayal Stephen would feel if he knew what Cade had almost done. The anger. This was Gemma’s brother … his best friend. He trusted him with his sister. He trusted him not to be having fantasies of her naked, and he definitely trusted him not to be considering sleeping with her. “Yeah. I’m fine,” he finally said, looking anywhere but at his friend.

  “Everything okay with Gemma?” he asked, cocking his head to one side.

  Cade stared at Gemma’s door, hoping to god that his expression was not giving him away. “Yeah,” he said absently. “I’m just heading to bed.”

  Gemma let out the breath she had been holding on a tremulous sigh. She stared at the door with disbelief, her entire body shaking. Arousal still coursed fiercely through her veins, Stephen’s sudden appearance not having dampened it one bit. The discarded shirt still lay on the floor, Gemma having been terrified to move and pick it up. Discovering that his little sister had just tried to seduce his best friend was not something Gemma was pursuing. She had no idea what had come over her—or where she had found the nerve to do what she did. What must he think? Fucking Stephen’s best friend and she just took her clothes off and practically invited him in. Yet, he was coming. They would probably be lying on this bed right now had it not been for Stephen. That thought alone made her shudder inside with forbidden excitement. Her stomach clenched at the memory of Cade’s gaze on her, the hunger in his eyes.

  She scooped the shirt up from the floor and plonked herself down on the side of the bed. This was all wrong—all so god damn wrong. What was wrong with her? But inside her, nothing felt wrong. Cade felt right. Her tiger was drawn to him—it didn’t see his wolf as different to her.

  She heard Cade go downstairs after saying goodnight to Stephen, disappointment washing over her. She realised that she had quietly been hoping he’d come back. But god, that would have been crazy. Stephen might have heard them. She shuddered. If he had caught them … She wasn’t so sure she wanted to think about that. Stephen would never understand. And he’d never accept it.

  Gemma brought Cade’s shirt to her face, breathing in the smell that was so distinctly Cade; a scent that seemed to have imprinted itself onto her soul. It went so deep that her tiger had wrapped herself contently up inside it. She was tempted to scream into the shirt, frustrated and disappointed. But between a tiger and wolf in the house, screaming her lungs out into a shirt would mute the sound as much as if she had screamed into a loudspeaker.

  She slipped the shirt back on and curled up on his bed, pretending it was Cade wrapped around her instead of just his shirt.

  Stop it. Stop it.

  A light rapping on the door had Gemma nearly jumping out of her skin. She knew without a doubt that it would be Stephen. It was custom for him to say goodnight to her and her sister at home before they went to sleep. Like it was his job to make sure they were both in bed before he went himself. She could understand the need to check on Evie—she was just a little girl—but Gemma was almost twenty. She wished he’d stop being so over-protective.

  Heart pounding, she stayed quiet, hoping he’d go away. She didn’t want to speak to him tonight. The guilt on her face would give her away completely. She took a deep breath as she snuggled deeper into the bed—Cade’s scent was everywhere. Teasing her, torturing her. She choked back a frustrated sob. The door cracked open and Stephen peered in. Gemma closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

  “Gem?” he whispered. “Still awake?”

  She rubbed her eyes and mumbled something that she hoped was inaudible to him.

  There was a pause, as if he were deliberating saying something. For a long moment, she was sure he knew—that somehow he had realised what had happened. She held her breath. “Goodnight,” he said finally, and Gemma sagged in relief.

  “Goodnight,” she whispered back, but knew it was going to be anything but good. As soon as he had pulled the door closed, she rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

  What was she doing?

  Cade tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable, and knowing full well it had nothing to do with the couch he was lying on. He rolled onto his back with a frustrated sigh, his eyes wide open as he stared at the ceiling. His mind was tired—more than tired—it was downright exhausted. But he couldn’t get over that mental hump and off to sleep. There was something stopping him, and he knew that that something was upstairs, lying in his bed.

  Rolling back onto his side, he stared out of the window and into the night, trying to ignore the sexual frustration in his body. He hadn't bothered to close the curtains. That would have meant moving even more books and he just didn’t have the energy or the mind to do it.

  He wondered if the Humans were still searching for the boy outside and how close they were to them. God knows what destruction they would wake up to in the morning. Of course, if the boy was caught, every single fire would be blamed on him, and he would have to be punished for those, too. It was all the more reason why Cade would never hand him over. He couldn’t. No matter what.

  If he was caught … It wasn’t even an option. He wouldn’t be. Cade vowed it.

  The clock on the cluttered mantel displayed just after three in the morning, and Cade was still wide awake. He closed his eyes tight, desperate to just drift off, but then images of Gemma filled his mind—naked, beautiful.

  “For god sake,” he cursed, slamming himself onto his back again and kicking his frustration out at the blanket that was around his legs. He snapped his eyes shut again. “This time, just fucking sleep.” He listened to the sound of his own breathing, hoping that it would calm him enough. Breathing slowly and steadily, he focused on the rhythm, and finally felt his body start to relax. He started to drift, the tension gradually easing away. Soft, delicate hands cupped the sides of his face, rousing him. His eyes fluttered open and he stared up into beautiful, green eyes that haunted his nights and days. He lay absolutely still, afraid that this was an apparition that would fade any minute. God, she was so beautiful. He dared to touch her, his hand sliding up along the soft skin of her arm and up to her face. She turned her cheek into his palm and closed her eyes with a small sigh. His eyes fell to her parted lips, his heart speeding up at the thought of tasting them. Softly, he slid his hand to the nape of her neck, gently tugging her down. He heard her soft gasp, her heart as it began to thud loudly in her chest. Her long hair fell down the sides of her face like a curtain as he pulled her down. He lifted his head so that their mouths were inches apart, their breaths mingling. He closed the distance between them and heard her sharp intake of breath just before his mouth captured hers. Her lips were warm and moist, and he groaned from the pleasure of the taste of them. He deepened the kiss, forcing her lips open so that he could sweep in. She moaned into the kiss and spread her hands over his chest, the contact snapping all control. He growled, the kiss turning fierce and desperate. Tangling his fingers in her hair, he tugged her down so that he could feel the full weight of her as she balanced herself against his chest, holding her head in place as he ravaged her mouth. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted more. His other arm came around her, pulling her even closer in an attempt to satisfy some infinite longing inside that was insatiable.

  She dragged her mouth from hi
s, panting. “Wait, Cade,” she whispered, barely an inch from him. Her eyes searched his as if seeking the same answers he was to what was happening between them. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, shaking her head. Disentangling herself from his arms, she got up and ran from the room before Cade could do anything.

  He blinked, his breathing erratic and uneven. He stared at the spot where Gemma had just been.

  Had he been dreaming?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Gemma’s chest constricted so tightly that she was sure any moment she was going to have some kind of heart attack. She held her hand to her chest to try to calm it down and ease the pain inside. Her heart thudded against her ribs, making her gasp for breath. She stared at Cade from where she stood at the foot of his garden path. He was talking to Stephen as they decided on their next course of action now that he and Gemma would be leaving. Her heart wept from it. Her tiger was in mourning and she sure as hell was not going to get through the next few hours away from him. He was like a drug to her system.

  Her lips still tingled with the memory of his lips against hers. His mouth, his kiss, it had been just as hungry as her own—more so perhaps. She could have drowned in it and stayed there for all eternity.

  Neither of them had mentioned the kiss that morning, but he had watched her with a hot look in his eyes—one that said he was thinking about it. She loved her brother, but she had cursed the fact that he was there. She’d have given everything to have been alone with Cade. It was evident to Gemma from the dark circles under Cade’s eyes that he hadn't slept that much, either —probably as much as she had herself. She didn’t know if she had done the right thing pulling away from him. Hell, she didn’t know if she had done the right thing going to him in the first place, but she’d had to. Once the idea had lodged itself inside her mind, she couldn’t keep herself upstairs. She hadn't meant to kiss him. She had just wanted to sit with him a while, an unfamiliar longing inside her for contact—unfamiliar because she was tiger, not wolf. Tigers did not have that profound need for touch that wolves did. But her tiger seemed to forget that when she was around Cade.

  She had cursed herself as she had run back to her room. How far would they have gone? Had she just thrown away her only opportunity? Would Cade be more on guard now around her … try and keep his distance?

  It didn’t matter, she decided. She had done the right thing by walking away. Stephen could easily have heard them, and then all hell would have broken loose. What mattered was what she did about it now. She was not about to let Cade get away.

  But right now, they had to go. Cade’s eyes kept flicking to her, even as he stood talking to her brother and discussing the plans for the next couple of days. Every time they did, her breath would catch. She didn’t want to go home. She didn’t want to leave him for one moment. He needed their help, she told herself. He shouldn’t be left to deal with the boy alone. But Gemma knew it was more than that. She just wanted to be around him all the time. She hated the thought of being separated.

  What if I never see him again? The thought rose unbidden to her mind, and a shaft of pain lanced through her. Of course she’d see him again, she tried to calm herself. There was no reason why she wouldn’t. But the thought niggled inside her, and she longed to race back along the path and wrap her arms around him, never letting go.

  She and Stephen were going to walk into town. From there, they would be collected by their father’s driver—Malcolm had insisted. Stephen had told him that they needed to feed first and would meet Seth, the driver, at The Shovels, a local pub. In truth, he didn’t want anyone, not even his father’s driver coming to the house. It would be just their luck that Seth would arrive at the exact same time the boy would decide to wake, Stephen had declared. Then, of course, they would be screwed without a doubt. Gemma knew he was right, but it didn’t make it any easier.

  Stephen had gone out in the early hours and caught enough small animals to last Cade until tomorrow at least. It would last him two days if he stuck to eating the frozen stuff he had, which Gemma decided he probably would do. If there was anyone who had control of shit like that, it was Cade. He hungered like them all for the fresh kill, but he had willpower and a calmness about him that meant he could handle almost any difficult situation with level-headed patience. That was why he was suited to the DSA. They needed people who could keep their cool even under the most arduous circumstances. Cade was not a slave to his instincts, except … Gemma remembered the way he had lost control the night before, the way he’d been unable to stop himself from coming to her even though she had seen how hard he had tried to resist her. Liquid heat ran through her veins at the memory. She hoped that, like her, he would not be able to keep calm and deny this attraction between them. She hoped that he’d not try to be reasonable and use logic like he usually did with everything. She needed him to lose control—she needed him mindless around her.

  She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt at some semblance of comfort, but it was completely useless. She stared at her feet to try to keep from looking at the one thing she wanted more than anything in the world. She bit down on her trembling lip, barely holding herself together, ready to unravel with just one pull of a thread.

  “Ready?” Startled, Gemma spun around to look at Stephen, who had come up behind her. She blinked in surprise then quickly tried to avert her eyes, but she wasn’t fast enough to hide the tears brimming there. Stephen caught her chin, worry etched on his features. “What’s wrong?”

  Inadvertently, she glanced at Cade. Stephen’s gaze followed hers, his face softening as he mistook her tears for concern, not realising it reached much, much further than that. “Hey, we’re coming back” he said gently. “We’re not leaving them in this shit together. Okay?”

  She nodded. It was all she could do. She didn’t trust herself to speak. Stephen pulled her into his embrace, and she wrapped her arms around his lean waist. Normally she could seek out comfort in her brother. But today, it wasn’t her brother’s consolation she wanted. Her eyes met Cade’s as she let her tears fall freely now. She saw the way he tensed and the worry that flitted over his features. He took a step towards them, but she shook her head. He came anyway, but just stood there quietly when he reached them. He let Stephen do the consoling, but she could see by the rigid way he held his body that he was straining to hold himself back.

  “I’ll sneak Gemma here if I have to.” Stephen murmured, and Gemma froze in surprise, until he continued, “for hunting. I can't promise to get here every day. You understand, right?”

  “You have duties to the Society. It has to come first—you’re the heir. It’s fine. I’ll be fine.”

  She knew Stephen hated it. She knew that it killed him not to be there for his friend as much as he would like to. But there was more at stake here than just Cade and the boy. This entire incident could mean imminent war between the Others and the Humans. As she followed her brother with a heavy heart, she forced herself not to glance back at Cade as he stood there watching them leave. It didn’t matter that she told herself Cade would be fine without them. He was strong and he was smart. He could take care of himself without any problem. But her heart still wanted to stay—it didn’t want to be parted from him for even a minute. Like an invisible cord that seemed to pull tighter between them with each step she took away from him, she waited for it to finally snap and send her tumbling into an abyss of absolute misery.

  She forced herself to put one foot in front of the other and walk.

  Cade clutched a hand to his heart as he watched Gemma walk away. It literally physically hurt. Such longing in his gut and his chest—he had never felt this way before. It was total madness, he knew, but a hunger had awoken inside him, and he had no idea how to appease it. Cade could not give in to what it was demanding. He stood at the gate to his garden watching them disappear down the lane, unable to bring himself to just go inside. Not until they had disappeared around the corner did he turn towards the house. It was then that he realised h
e had been holding his breath, waiting for Gemma to turn around and look at him just one more time.

  A sudden pain shot through his head and Cade fell to his knees from the force of it. He clutched his head, his knees digging into the gravel of his pathway as he waited for it to pass. When he could breathe again, he staggered to his feet and made a beeline for the house. He knew it was the boy—he was awake. As soon as he had stepped into the house, he heard the sounds of the boy moving around upstairs. The door rattled, the vibration resonating through the walls. Cade hoped that meant he had shifted to wolf again. He needed to do his first shift alone, and survive it. The one he had done with Cade was not the same. He searched his mind—it was like groping around the bottom of a dark closet. Try as he might, however, he couldn’t find the small wolf.

  Heart thumping, Cade headed for the door that was off to the side of the kitchen. It opened to a small pantry—a pantry so small it could barely fit one person. Shelves filled it from floor to ceiling. Stephen had stuffed small animals into boxes and wedged them in below the shelves for Cade to get when he needed. It was rabbit mostly, Cade discovered from the scent. The smell of fear and life was so strong when Cade opened the door that his own stomach growled with hunger for it, his wolf waking from the scent of food and the crave for the hunt. Cade swallowed everything down and forced himself to breathe slow and deep. He had to calm down before it set the boy off upstairs. A loud thump from upstairs spurred him on, and he stuck his hand into the box and grabbed whatever was there. It didn’t matter what—rabbit, squirrel, hare. They were all the same. They all served the same purpose—to feed the boy.