by K. M. Scott
Shaking my head, I smile. “I had a feeling that’s what you meant, but I didn’t need a signal. I knew you were almost there.”
“So you’re not angry I came in your mouth?” he asks innocently.
“No. I guess I could have had you come on my chest, but since I’m still dressed, that would make a mess. Did you want to come somewhere else?”
I know the answer to that, but he’s too cute about all of this so I can’t resist teasing him a little. A look of recognition comes over him a few seconds later, and he pulls me up to kiss him.
“You are officially the sexiest woman I’ve ever known. Hands down.”
“Because I had you come in my mouth? That seems like a pretty low bar since you went down on me and finished.”
His dark eyes dance as he looks down at me and shakes his head. “Seriously, the sexiest woman. You have no idea what it means that you aren’t pissed. I was bracing for some real anger there.”
“That sounds like a mood killer. What kind of women have you been with before me?”
“All the wrong ones,” he says sweetly before kissing me again. “Definitely all the wrong ones.”
Chapter Five
Cade
I roll onto my back, my skin covered in sweat and my body aching in places I didn’t realize I had muscles. Hailey lies next to me, her head on the pillow and her hair spread out behind her so she looks like a mermaid.
An unbelievably sexy mermaid who may have just fucked me into oblivion.
“So, I’m not sure how to phrase this, so I’m going to go with what’s in my head and hope you don’t get upset. Were you a call girl in a prior life or something?”
She laughs and rolls her eyes, instantly putting me at ease because I suspected she might throw a punch for a question like that. “Why do men always assume you can only learn to be good in bed if you do it a lot? Haven’t you guys ever heard of reading?”
“So you read how-to books on sex? Whatever they are, you clearly got what they were teaching.”
Hailey inches over and kisses me. “No, but I read romance books. They were a few of the things that got me through when I didn’t want to go on all those months. There are some pretty graphic ones, and I just mimicked what I read.”
“Really?”
Is it possible this woman is that incredible that she learned how to be fucking fantastic in bed from reading? What are these books with such magic in them?
“Yeah,” she says like it’s just the normal kind of thing everyone does. “It’s how I learned to bake, and it’s how I learned to fuck.”
I wrap my arm around her and pull her to me, loving the feel of her next to my body. “I think you might be the most amazing person I’ve ever met.”
“I bet you’d find lots of women read romance novels and learn some skills from them. I don’t think it’s anything amazing,” she says nonchalantly as she curls up against my side.
“Well, I love it.”
And then, as if the words have a mind of their own and I can’t stop them, I say the three words I’ve never uttered to a woman. “I love you.”
They sound strange coming out of my mouth, and for a long moment they hang in the air around us, neither one of us saying a word to break the silence. My heartbeat pounds in my ears when I realize what I just said for the first time in my life.
I told someone I love them. And as odd as that is, it feels worse since she isn’t saying it back to me.
Hailey lifts her head off my chest and looks at me strangely, like she isn’t sure she heard correctly. “Did you just say you love me?”
Now seems like as good a time as any for some humor, so I shake my head. “Nah. I wouldn’t say that. I mean, I could since I know those three words, but that would be crazy. Right?”
“Well, okay. I was going to say I love you too, but since you didn’t say that, I won’t say that either. Glad we got that straightened out.”
She moves to set her head down on my chest again, but I roll her over onto her back and kiss her. “So if I did say it, you wouldn’t run from the room in terror?”
Those beautiful blue eyes stare up at me with such sweetness in them as she shakes her head and smiles. “No. No running. I’d stay right here, and I might even say them back.”
“Should we try a second take and see what happens?”
Hailey lifts her head off the pillow and kisses me. “Let’s try.”
As much as I always thought saying those three words would be the scariest thing I could ever utter, they come out like they’re the most natural thing I could say to her at this moment. “I love you, Hailey.”
She doesn’t miss a beat before she says the words that sound like music to my ears. “I love you, Cade.”
“I’ve never said that in my life.”
“You did a good job. All the words came out in the right order and very clear. I understood every one of them,” she says with a giggle.
“I don’t know why they came out, but I’m glad they did.”
“I’m glad they did too because I feel that way. I know it’s probably crazy because we haven’t been seeing each other for very long at all, but I have said those words before and I know I felt a little like this when I did.”
Jealousy races through me at hearing her say she’s told someone before me she loved them. Not that I should be surprised since she was engaged to that jackass who cheated on her. Of course, she said it to him.
I just never thought about how much I hate that idea until this very moment.
“Oh, yeah. I guess you would have. So this time felt like that time?”
Hailey shakes her head and wraps her arms around my body to pull me close. “Sort of, but not exactly. It took six months for us to say it to one another. I guess that should have been a clue, huh?”
“So a little over two weeks and after one major fuck up seems fast, I guess.”
“It seems right, Cade. And to celebrate it, I think we should have sex again. There’s this thing I want to try that involves me on top and my legs out to the side. I have an idea in my head about it, but I’d like to see if it will work. You up for it?”
I roll my hips so she can feel I’m ready to go again. “You’re not just trying to distract me from thinking about you and that guy saying you love each other are you? Because I’m fine if you are. I’m not going to turn down sex with you, so if that’s what you’re doing, I’m all in.”
She wraps her legs around my waist and presses her pussy against my cock. “You don’t have to worry about him. He found someone else before he even left me, so there’s nothing there. I’m really a one-man kind of woman, so since I already said I loved you, I guess you’re that man.”
Looking down into her soft eyes, I feel my jealousy ebb away. “You must think I’m crazy to be jealous of someone I’ve never met.”
Hailey trails her fingertips down over my chest and stomach. “I was jealous of a woman I only saw from twenty feet away and never spoke to, so I don’t think it’s that crazy.”
I can’t let her think for even a second Kylie meant anything with that dance of hers, so I tilt Hailey’s chin up and press a kiss to her lips. “I know why you were, but you had no reason to be jealous.”
“Promise?”
Her eyes fill with so much hope and anticipation that I can’t let her down now. But honestly, I’d promise her the moon at this moment, so promising there’s no reason to be jealous of any other woman on the planet is the easiest thing in the world to do.
“I promise. It’s all you, Hailey.”
“Okay.”
“So we should probably get to having sex again because any more talk and both of us are going to get out of the mood.”
That gets me an adorable smile. “I think we both know that’s not going to happen.”
She’s the perfect woman. That seals it.
Club X during the day always reminds me of what I see when I first wake up in the morning after having a wild party at my house the night
before. Even if I cleaned up before crashing, my place looks too stark, too bright when I wake up.
Normally, that’s because I’m so hungover I can’t handle the sunlight trying to find its way into my room. But the club looks like that every time I come here during the daytime.
Stark and brutal.
At night, it’s all fun and games. The colored lights break up the pitch black but just enough to make everyone look like a far more interesting version of themselves. The music adds to the fun, so people appear like in some kind of wild dream.
If they walked in here right now, I wouldn’t recognize them. They wouldn’t recognize me either. That’s the beauty of night and the terrible reality of day for you.
The club stands empty, like a hollow cavern devoid of all its good times. No one’s here since it’s only early afternoon, but in the office, I hear a noise that sounds like someone talking on the phone.
I push the door open and see my father with his feet up on the desk and his cell phone to his ear. This is the image I have of him from my earliest memories as a child. My mother used to bring me here to see him and the three of us would eat lunch together in this office with no windows and only that one door.
Even as a three year old kid, I always felt trapped as soon as I walked in, but my father loved this part of the club. Everyone else thinks the fun is out there on the dance floor and at the bar, but for Stefan March, the truly good stuff happens right here where he makes his plans and runs the entire show from that desk he’s had all my life.
When he sees me walk in, his eyes get wide and he waves me over, like he’s eager to talk to me. He probably wants to rave about that damn anniversary party again.
“Let me talk to you later, Dan. My son just walked in, so I want to see what he’s up to,” he says, again waving me over to sit down.
Smiling, he nods at whatever the guy on the phone is talking about and says, “Got it! Sounds good. Okay, let’s catch up with each other later in the week and see what’s going on. Talk to you later, Dan.”
A second later, he tosses the cell phone onto his desk and leans back in his chair as he runs his hand through his hair. “There’s no way in hell I’m working with that son of a bitch again. I don’t care how much he thinks he can sweet talk me.”
I give him a half-hearted smile since I have no idea who this son of a bitch is or what he did in the past to make him persona non grata with my father. He probably cheated him on something. That’s a surefire way to get on his bad side.
“So what brings you down here in the middle of the day? I can’t remember the last time you saw this place when the sun was out.”
Probably when he had me running the club and I had to deal with all those goddamned vendors and the million and a half problems that come with them. I don’t say that, though, since I don’t want to get into a conversation about that again.
“I need to talk to you about something, Dad. Before I get into this, I want you to know this is non-negotiable. If you can’t agree to this, then I can’t work here anymore. I don’t think I’m being unreasonable, but if you do, then I guess we’ll be at an impasse.”
When I finish speaking, he nods and gives me a big smile. “Sounds pretty serious. Only one problem.”
“What’s that?” I ask, already fucking defensive.
“You haven’t even told me what you’re here about and already you’ve got me unwilling to agree with you. At least give me a chance to be a hard ass, Cade.”
Damn. I’d been so convinced he’d say no immediately, I never even got to what I won’t be doing anymore if I keep working here.
“Oh, yeah. Well, I guess that would help,” I admit, feeling pretty foolish.
My father chuckles and puts his hands back behind his head, clearly enjoying this more than I am. “You never know. I might disappoint you this time and think you’re right. It has happened before, you know.”
“Not often,” I mumble.
“Well, how about we try to make it happen more often? You’re not a boy anymore, and as your mother reminds me more often than I like, you have your own life to lead. So tell me what’s on your mind and we can take it from there.”
So be it. He wants to know what I’m thinking? Now he will.
“If I’m going to be bartending here anymore, I’m not going to do any more of that bullshit that Kylie pulled the other night. I nearly lost someone I care about because of that. So no more.”
He shrugs and gives me a nod. “Okay. No more. We talked about this the other night, though. Didn’t we?”
“The other night I was out of my mind angry. Today, I’m thinking straight. I won’t do that again and risk Hailey finding out. She wouldn’t understand.”
My mention of her name makes him lean forward. “So your girlfriend’s name is Hailey. Is this the infamous young woman who my brothers and Alex can’t say enough about with the desserts? Is that the same Hailey?”
I cringe at the thought that my family has already begun to discuss my girlfriend. Nothing good can come from that.
“Yes, and I never realized all the men in the family were such gossips. Maybe you guys could talk about something else. We have sports teams in this city I know you guys are fans of. You could talk about them. Or a million other topics. You’ve known each other all your lives, right?”
My father smiles, but remains silent for a long moment. Folding his arms across his chest, he finally says, “You’re a little touchy about this subject, Cade. I’m not saying we were all sitting around talking about this woman. Your uncles and cousin were actually very impressed with her talent at making desserts. That’s all. Nobody’s gossiping about her.”
I need to change the subject now before we go down this rabbit hole and he starts pumping me for information I don’t want to give any of them just yet. Better to focus on my reason for being here.
“Whatever. The point is I’m not interested in being a show pony anymore. I’ll tend bar. That’s it. If that means you have to put me at the back bar or upstairs, that’s fine. I’m not doing this for money anyway.”
He surprises me when he nods again. “Okay, that works for me. But I’m a little confused. The other night, you didn’t act like Hailey was anyone important. How was I to know what Kylie was doing would be a problem? You wouldn’t even refer to Hailey as your girlfriend, if I remember correctly.”
As much as I hate to admit it, he is remembering correctly. That was then, though. This is now, and now she’s my girlfriend.
“That’s true, but things have changed.”
To me, this conversation is over, so I move to leave, happy to have gotten all I wanted out of our little talk. But as I stand up, my father asks the question I always dread about anyone I’m seeing.
“Will we get to meet this girlfriend any time soon?”
I wince at the very words when they hit my ears. Nothing would make him and my mother happier than my bringing a girlfriend to meet them, have dinner, and hang out for a few hours. And nothing makes my stomach twist into knots more.
“We’ll see, Dad.”
On my way to the door, he adds, “Because I know your mother would be over the moon to finally meet one of your girlfriends. She never gets a chance, but she’d be thrilled to, Cade.”
The doubt in his voice tells me he doesn’t think it will ever happen. Good. Maybe he won’t mention it to my mother and I won’t have to deal with having to put her off about this topic yet again like I have countless times.
“Well, then don’t tell her about it and she won’t get her hopes up. We’ve only been dating for two weeks, so it’s a little early for all this talk anyway.”
I hear him chuckle behind me and turn around to see him grinning at me. “Something funny?”
“Just that I thought this was farther along than it is. Two weeks is nothing in Cade time. I thought this was something more involved.”
The smug look on his face bothers me, and even though I know I shouldn’t let him bait me like he a
lways does, I walk back toward him and ask, “What the hell is Cade time?”
My father shrugs. “Just the way we think of how long you generally are with your girlfriends. Here today, gone tomorrow. Two weeks is nothing. When it gets to be a couple months, then it will be something.”
“It’s something now,” I snap, barely able to contain the anger rising in me.
“Sure, sure, but you’re famous for going through women like a fish goes through water, Cade. You can’t expect your mother to get excited about every girl you see. She’d be finding out about a new one every few days.”
I shouldn’t say anything to that, but I can’t stop myself. “It’s like you don’t remember being my age, Dad. Like having a good time is a problem. But for your information, I’m not just having a good time with Hailey. Not that I plan on bringing her around any of you guys in our fine family since it’s clear everyone thinks I’m nothing but a guy who goes through women like I change my underwear. I can imagine the word manwhore being thrown around.”
Damnit, I hate that every time my father and I talk for more than two goddamned minutes it ends up like this. I don’t know if it’s because we’re too alike or too different. Whatever it is that makes us like this, it’s fucking exhausting.
Before he can keep this thing between us going, I turn around and head for the door. “See you later, Dad. Tell Mom I’ll call her.”
“Call your sister too, Cade. Ava thinks you’ve fallen off the face of the earth.”
“Got it. Call all the women. Bye!”
Chapter Six
Hailey
Everyone from Hector to my mother has been giving me strange looks since I got to the restaurant this morning. I can’t tell if they’re worried about me or if they can’t figure out why I’m happy. I catch them looking over at me while they’re working and then when I meet their gazes, they quickly turn away all sheepishly.
“Honey, the apple tarts are all gone already. Did you make more?” my mother asks in her usual way, but I sense she’s looking for a way to start a conversation.