by Parker, Ali
“But at what cost?”
“Only time will tell.”
I nodded.
Caden removed my sandals and tucked them off to the side near the dresser. Then he sat beside me on the bed and rested his hand on my thigh. “Do you trust me?”
I put my hand over his. “Of course, I trust you.”
“Then believe me when I tell you this will all work out. Luke will cool down. He knows he betrayed you, too. He knows he played a wrong part in this. And once he realizes that you’re the girl from my past, I think he’ll start to understand. It may take time. But I finally feel like time is on my side. Don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Caden brushed his knuckles across my cheek. I stroked his bruise and wished I could take his pain away. He leaned into my touch and closed his eyes.
“Caden?”
His eyes fluttered open. I almost got lost in their depth. “Yes?”
“I love you. I’ve always loved you.”
His smile lit up the room. “I love you too, baby. And now you’re mine. You’re really truly mine and no one can take that away from me.”
I had no way of knowing what the repercussions of tonight would be. Luke might hate us both forever. He might never speak to us again. Or he would come around. Either way, it was out of our control. What was in our control was what we did now. In this moment. On this bed.
And I wanted to start this thing out on a better foot as of right now.
I swung a leg over Caden’s lap and pulled myself up onto his thighs to straddle him. His smile still lingered on his lips, but he looked confused.
“What are you doing?”
It was my turn to press a finger to his lips. “Hush. I’m seizing the moment.”
Caden crushed his lips against mine. I moaned against his mouth and rolled my hips as his hands wandered down my back and squeezed the top of my ass. He nipped at my lips and I savored the reprieve of guilt.
We weren’t going behind anyone’s back anymore. We weren’t a secret.
We were us. We were whole. And we had the rest of our lives to make up for lost time.
I couldn’t let Luke ruin that for me. I was done letting my mistakes ruin my opportunities. I wasn’t that weak girl anymore. I was the woman who wasn’t afraid to proclaim to the world what she wanted and run through flames to get it.
Caden Taylor was what I wanted and always had been. And now that he was mine, I was going to show him just how sweet he and I could be together.
I pushed back and slid off his lap to kneel in front of him. Then I tugged at his belt, undid his fly, and pulled at the waistband of his pants. “Pull these down.”
He did as he was told and pulled his slacks and boxers down around his knees. His cock was already hard and waiting for me, straining up toward his navel.
I braced myself on his thighs and leaned forward, lifting his cock to press my lips to his sensitive tip. A soft moan escaped him that spurred me to take him in my mouth. I used my tongue to tease his length as I worked him deeper into my mouth until he pressed against the back of my throat, and then I moaned around his size.
“Fuck.” His hips jerked beneath me.
I bobbed my head and sucked him off like I’d dreamed of doing since I saw his picture on the company website nearly three weeks ago. He gathered my hair up off my shoulders and held it in one hand behind my head. His grip tightened, pulling at my roots, but I relished the tension and the pain and moaned when he used my hair to guide me down his cock.
“Deeper, baby.”
I took him deeper. I took more of him than I imagined I was capable of and I looked him in the eyes as he shook with pleasure. I didn’t need air or comfort or soft hands. I needed this.
And he knew it.
“Good girl.”
Suddenly, he pulled me off him and onto my feet, his fingers still coiled tightly in my hair. He threw me down face first onto the bed, and as I made my way to all fours, his palm slapped against my right ass cheek. I yelped and then a bout of giggles burst out of me.
Caden worked my dress up over my ass and hips and pulled my panties down. They tore. He spanked me again and I bit down hard on my lip as my toes curled and my insides bloomed with desire.
His hand found my wet pussy. He rubbed me in slow circles and I rocked back against his touch in a silent plea for more. He eased a finger inside me, followed by another, and then he pressed down on my lower back, arching my spine, and fucked me hard and fast with his fingers.
Within a minute, my thighs were trembling and my juices ran down the inside of my legs. He wiped me clean, licked his fingers, and pulled his shirt off over his head. I followed suit and stripped out of my dress and bra. I didn’t move from my hands and knees. If he wanted me in a different position, he’d put me there.
Caden stepped in between my legs. He ran his cock up and down my swollen pussy, teasing me mercilessly until I dropped down onto my chest and looked over my shoulder at him.
“I need you inside me,” I pleaded.
He pressed in a couple inches. I gripped the bedsheets. He pushed in deeper.
“Yes.”
He slapped my ass. I cried out his name as he filled me up to the hilt, and then he bucked wildly against me, each stroke bringing me closer and closer to an orgasm that had my eyes rolling back in my head and my breath coming out of me in shaking gasps.
I begged him not to stop.
Caden drove in deep. I pushed back against him. He spread my ass cheeks and pressed a finger between them. I groaned like a wild animal as he pushed his thumb into my ass, and it pushed him over the edge. He pulled out and shot warm stripes of come up my back.
“Don’t move,” he said. Then he tore a pillowcase off one of the pillows and used it to clean me up. He padded to the bathroom, where I heard him run the water. When he returned, he was rubbing his dick, which I knew he’d cleaned before returning to my side.
“On your back, woman,” he growled.
Like the good girl I was, I did as I was told, spread my legs, and reached for him.
We made love until neither of us could keep our eyes open, after which we lay tangled up in the blankets and each other, drunk on endorphins. Caden pulled me in close and nuzzled his chin into my shoulder.
“I don’t want to fly back to New York,” I whispered. I didn’t want to face what waited for us there.
“Let’s take it one day at a time. Tomorrow, we’ll sleep in. Order room service. And—”
“Fuck?”
“God willing.”
I smiled. “We have a lot of lost time to make up for.”
He kissed my shoulder. “Lucky us.”
I smiled.
Yes.
Lucky us.
Chapter 36
Caden
I woke to Olivia shaking my shoulder. “Caden. Caden! Wake up. Someone’s at the door.”
“What?”
It was still dark in the room. Very dark. The curtains were open about three feet and the world outside was only lit with stars. I rubbed at my eyes and peered at the clock on the nightstand. It was two in the morning. We’d only been asleep for an hour or so.
Then the knock came at the door again. It was insistent. Eager. Loud.
Olivia pulled the blankets up under her chin. “Who do you think it is?”
I swung my legs over the side of the bed. “I’m not sure. Stay here. I’ll check.”
She made an uneasy sound in the back of her throat, so I leaned over and kissed her after standing up. Then I fetched my clothes from where they lay scattered around the floor, pulled on my pants, and moved into the suite to make my way to the door.
The knock came again before I had a chance to put my shirt on. Irritated, I yanked it open.
Luke stood in the hallway looking like a wreck. His hair was a wild mess, most likely from him anxiously running his fingers through it for the last six or so hours. His eyes were hooded, his brow was creased, and he looked at me like he never had bef
ore.
I said the first thing that came to mind. “Are you okay?”
Luke hung his head and shook it weakly. Laughter that held no real humor escaped him. “No, man. I’m not okay. I’m a fucking mess.”
I heard Olivia coming seconds before she came around the corner of the bedroom wrapped up in a hotel robe. “Caden, who is it?” She froze when she spotted Luke.
He grimaced when he saw her.
I stepped to the side to block her from his view and looked at her over my shoulder. “Go back to bed. I’ve got this.”
She gave me a tight-lipped nod and slipped back into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
I sighed and faced my brother. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“I already knew she’d be here.”
“Still, I’m sorry.”
Luke heaved a heavy sigh and tilted his head back. He closed his eyes as he faced the ceiling and I had the impression he might have been a little drunk.
“How did you get here?” I asked.
“Called a cab. Your father took my car keys.”
Good. “Our father.” I opened the door all the way and stood to the side. “Want to come in?”
Luke smirked. “You sure you want to invite me in? A few hours ago, I tried to pound you into the ground.”
“I deserved it.”
He brushed past me, his shoulder clipping mine as he passed. “Yeah. You did.”
I closed the door and pulled my shirt over my head as I joined him in the living room. He shielded his eyes when I flicked on a lamp and I had to mentally remind myself not to apologize. I had to save those words for when it mattered.
Luke lowered himself onto the sofa and ran his hands up and down his thighs. “I didn’t realize how late it was when I left the estate to come here. I should have waited until morning.”
“It’s fine.”
My brother rubbed his jaw. “I fucked up, man.”
His words surprised me.
How had he fucked up? Sure, he’d hooked up with Annie while he was with Olivia, but when it came to fuckups, mine seemed a hell of a lot more cruel.
“Did you talk to Dad?” I asked.
Luke nodded. “I didn’t want to listen at first. But he’s a persistent bastard. Not that I should have been surprised. He’s who you get it from, after all.”
I took that as a compliment. “And what did he say?”
“He told me the truth. He told me who Olivia was to you. And who you are to her. And after the tenth or so time of him trying to explain it to me, I finally listened.” He paused to run his fingers through his hair. “I wish you’d told me when you first realized who she was.”
“Me too.”
He nodded.
Neither of us spoke as the minutes crept by. There were so many things I knew I wanted to say, but for some reason, the words were lost on me. My brother had never looked so weak, so damaged. And it was my doing. I felt like shit for hurting him like this.
I shifted. “Luke, I—”
“Please.” His voice was thick with exhaustion and regret. “Don’t tell me you’re sorry. I know you’re sorry. I know she is too. And so am I.”
“What for?”
He shot me a look out of the corner of his eye, and for a moment, he looked like his usual self. “For cracking your skull against the patio, for one.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“Liar.”
“Okay,” I conceded. “It hurt like a bitch.”
He smiled. “Good.”
I chuckled despite the current situation. “You’ve got a pretty mean right hook.”
“I was taking it easy on you.”
“Sure you were.”
His eyes flashed with mischief. “Betray me again and you’ll know what real hell feels like.”
I almost shuddered.
He leaned back on the sofa. “I came here to tell you I get it. You and Olivia. And I won’t try to stop you from being together. And I forgive her.”
“You should probably tell her yourself.”
“I will. But I’d rather be sober. She deserves better than a drunken apology from me. Besides, I have a hell of a lot to apologize for. Annie? Fuck. I never should have…” He trailed off and shook his head at himself. “I think it’s time I take a long hard look in a mirror, Caden.”
“Don’t. Every time you look in a mirror, you fall a little more in love with yourself.”
He surprised me with genuine laughter. “Fuck you too, little brother.”
“What are you going to do now?”
My older stepbrother studied me for a moment. I could see in him what I used to feel before Olivia came back into my life. He was lost, floundering. Everything he thought gave him purpose in his life suddenly didn’t. He’d had the rug pulled out from under him and now it was time to evaluate what his next move was.
And who he wanted to be.
“I don’t really know.”
“I’ll be there to help.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I know you will be. But I think I have to figure out this next part on my own. I think I need to step back for a bit. Get my head on straight. Figure out what the hell I’m doing with my life and where I’m going and why. You know?”
“Better than anyone.” I shifted so I was facing him. “Hey, why don’t you stay here? In Houston? Dad is thinking about renting out the ranch. Maybe you could move in and help him keep up with it. Just lay low for a little while and get back to your roots.”
He shook his head. “These aren’t my roots, Caden. They’re yours.”
“Still, it’s a good place to rebuild yourself.”
“I’ll think about it.”
I was glad to hear that. Disconnecting from the wild pace of life in New York might be exactly what he needed. Clean air. Space to breathe.
Luke sat forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together. I could practically hear him thinking. He frowned at the coffee table and I waited for him to speak whatever was on his mind. When he did, I was taken aback.
“Caden, I want to ask you something.”
“Anything.”
“Do you want to marry her?”
“Er.” I hesitated. Was it too soon to tell him yes?
“You can be honest with me. I won’t snap like before.”
I decided to trust him. “Yes, I want to marry her. I’ve wanted to marry her since I was sixteen.”
He nodded and his gaze remained fixed on the coffee table. I knew he wasn’t really seeing it. He was probably seeing the same thing I used to see when I was hurting like this, broken and fragmented memories of what he used to have but lost.
I still held firm to the truth that he didn’t deserve Olivia. Because he didn’t. And it looked like he was finally realizing that.
“You’ll have my blessing when the time comes.”
I looked up, shocked. “Really?”
“Really. I might need some time to be okay with it and to be in the same room as you guys. But I’ll get there. I want to get there. And I want you both to be happy. I think I knew all along I wasn’t making her happy, man. She was with me because—well, I don’t know why. But I think she was waiting for you in her own way. And you were waiting for her. Maybe in a couple years, I’ll be able to look back and think of myself as the catalyst that brought you both back together.”
“Who the hell are you and what have you done with my brother?”
Luke grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should.” I glanced at the time. Two thirty. “Hey, man, do you want to crash here for the night? There’s another bedroom just through that door there. The three of us could grab breakfast in the—”
“No.” He shook his head fiercely. “On breakfast. No breakfast. No three of us for a while. I’ll crash but I’ll be out of here bright and early before either of you wake up.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I have an early flight back to New York. It�
��s all right, man. You don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself. And this? This shit will pass. But I realized if I didn’t come over here and make this right, I was going to lose you and the girl. I couldn’t let that happen.”
I looked at my hands. “For what it’s worth, I really am sorry, Luke. I know you don’t want to hear it but fuck. I never wanted to do this to you. And I definitely didn’t want it to happen like this. I thought I could control it. I thought I could make it so that everyone walked away unscathed. Or at least try.”
He closed a hand on my shoulder. “I know you did, little brother. I know you did. But hey, look on the bright side. At least you look good with a shiner.” He knocked my jaw lightly where he’d punched me earlier, and we both broke down into laughter that felt normal and granted us both a reprieve from the hell we’d put each other through.
Gratitude flowed through me as I realized getting my girl back after six agonizing years wasn’t going to cost me my brother.
Epilogue
Olivia
One Year Later
It had been a whirlwind of a year. Between dropping Luke on his ass, attending Jake and Kari’s wedding, and planning our own, I was beat. Caden had worked things out with Luke so that the partnership still ran as it was intended to. I went back to Tangling, which felt much more like home than working at Caden’s firm. It was a good thing to not be in each other’s faces all the time.
He’d booked a private yacht for us for a week-long vacation, and the day couldn’t get here fast enough. I woke the morning of the trip and rolled over to shake him violently.
“It’s here!”
“Fuck.” He sat up and jumped out of the bed like his ass was on fire. He looked impossibly cute turning around the room naked, looking for a threat that didn’t exist. “What, baby? What’s here?”
“Our trip.” I crawled across the bed and lay down on my stomach before grabbing his arousal and tugging him back to the bed by it. “I’m so excited.”
He pressed his hand to his blue star tat that rested on his left pectoral muscle. “Shit. You scared me half—” He groaned as I licked the tip of his cock and sucked it deep into my mouth. “Nothing. I didn’t say anything at all. Just do whatever you feel like doing.”