I turned down the road with the tunnel of trees as I drew closer to Kade’s house. I wiped a clammy hand on my black skinny jeans. Becca had said the man sitting next to Kade was his dad. Maybe surprising Kade wasn’t a good idea. What if they were having dinner? What if they weren’t home? Had Kade told his dad about me? Would he like me?
The landscape lighting gave the home a warm, inviting feel as I drove down the driveway to park behind Kade’s truck. I sat in my car for a minute, trying to drum up enough nerve to get out. This was a bad idea. You love the guy. Make nice. But what if he doesn’t want to now?
I glanced in my rearview mirror, and the lights were on in the kitchen. One of the triplets peered out from the sliding glass door. Then the door opened and he loped onto the deck. Blowing out a breath, I got out of my car. Face your demons. The Maxwells weren’t my demons. Although Kelton might be able to pass for one. I giggled at that notion.
“Something funny?” Kelton asked as he swaggered down the steps of the deck, feet bare, chest bare, jeans sitting low on his hips, Calvin Kleins poking out of the waist of his jeans.
I looked away, embarrassed for checking him out. Bad girl.
“See something you like, Lacey?” he drawled.
Asshat.
“Is Kade home?” I asked, meeting his blue eyes.
“Maybe. You did well today. Coach should have the roster posted after school on Monday,” he said.
Since I was on an apologizing-and-thanking tour, I owed Kelton a thank-you. “You helped me out on the field. If it weren’t for you, I might have lost it,” I said.
He shook his head. “Don’t thank me. Thank my brother, girl. He owes me though.” He sat down on the top step of the deck.
“Why? Because you said the word love? What’s all that about anyway?” I leaned against the stair rail.
He rubbed two fingers over his chin. “I see how torn up Kody is over the loss of Mandy. He’s been a wreck for the past couple of years. I see how my dad hurts because of my mom. I don’t want to get like that.” He dropped his gaze to his bare feet.
I had this itch to hug him and tell him that losing someone to God or a mental health facility wouldn’t happen to him. But I’d be lying. I didn’t know what the future held for me, let alone for him. I also understood his apprehension since I knew how it felt to get my heart broken. I looked down at my black flats.
The sound of the sliding door opening drew my gaze up. A tall man strode out, his shiny shoes clomping on the wood deck.
“Kelton, why are you out here with no shirt in front of this pretty girl?” He grinned and two dimples popped out on his cheeks. “I apologize for my son’s rude display and lack of manners. You must be Lacey.” He had the same copper eyes as Kade.
“Yes, sir,” I said, not moving. I was mesmerized by how alike Kade and he looked.
He tapped Kelton on the head. “Go put a shirt on. And get Kade,” he said. “Come, Lacey. You don’t have to wait out here for Kade.”
Kade didn’t even know I was here. Or did he? I climbed the stairs, nerves poking my stomach. What had Kade told his dad about me? Kelton stood and disappeared into the house. When I reached the door, Dr. Maxwell waited for me to go in before him. Then he closed the door behind him.
“Please, have a seat.” He waved a hand at the barstools at the kitchen island.
“No, thanks. I was just stopping by to give Kade money for fixing my car.” And to tell him I love him.
“I see.” He tucked his hands into his pants pockets. “I was impressed by your pitching today. I’ve never seen a girl pitch in boys’ baseball before. My boys told me how good you were. Forgive me if I sound skeptical.”
“That’s okay, Dr. Maxwell. I’m used to it. But it really isn’t any different than girl’s fast pitch softball. Sure, the mechanics are different and the ball is bigger, but those girls throw just as fast and hard as I do, or most boys pitching.” God, I hope he didn’t think I was being disrespectful.
He grinned again. A door banged from somewhere in the house. Then footsteps grew louder.
“Ah, maybe that’s Kade. The boys were down in the game room, getting ready to watch a movie.”
“Hey,” Kade said as he walked in. His dark Zeal T-shirt stretched across his chest, and my fingers itched to touch the bare skin underneath. His hair appeared damp as though he’d just gotten out of the shower, and yes, my fingers twitched with the urge to feel his soft hair.
I didn’t bother sizing him up any farther, not with his father standing next to me. Prickly heat danced over my skin, and I prayed I didn’t appear red.
“Son, I’m meeting Buster tonight for a late dinner. It was nice meeting you, Lacey. And, oh, please, call me Martin.” At least his name didn’t begin with a K. He grabbed his keys off the counter and left through the sliding glass door.
“So, that’s your dad,” I said, breaking the awkward moment. The last time we were really alone, he left me at my doorstep, wondering if we would be together again.
“Do you want to talk about my dad?” he asked as he crossed the kitchen floor. His tone was hard.
“Nah, I came to give you money for fixing my car.” I pulled out a folded envelope from my back pocket, and set it on the gold-speckled granite surface. “And you said you wanted to talk.”
Dragging his palm slowly along the smooth granite surface, Kade rounded the island. His eyes flashed with anger, hurt then lust. I swallowed. Was I ready to make nice? Yeah. Was I ready for him to devour me? Hell, yeah.
Before I opened my mouth, his hand gripped the granite edge on my right, and the other came up to settle on my face. His eyes skimmed over me. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered.
“I’m still mad at you,” I said, keeping my gaze on his full lips as I licked my own.
“The feeling is mutual.” He lowered his mouth to mine.
“So is kissing me your way of talking?”
“They say make-up sex is the best,” he said.
“Your dad might walk back in,” I said.
He glanced over his shoulder as his hand coasted down from my face to the counter. Now I was barricaded between him and the granite surface, the same position he’d had me in on my birthday. I leaned to my left. A red glow illuminated the darkness in the driveway as the car backed out of the garage. The engine purred slowly. Then the lights dimmed, as did the sound of the engine.
He turned back around, eyes soft, his scent heady. “Let’s go to my room.” He grabbed my hand.
The hallway was dark ahead, and suddenly I stopped, wrenching my hand away. It’s not your old house. Breathe, girl.
He turned, took one look at me and reached around my arm and switched on the hall light. “I’m so sorry. Breathe,” he said.
“I am.” I closed my eyes, taking in his silken tone. His voice was always a safe haven. Before I opened my eyes, I was airborne in his arms, my body bouncing with every footstep.
Once inside, he set me on his bed, shut and locked the door, then flipped on the bedside lamp. Then he sat down next to me. “I’m truly sorry.” Our thighs were touching.
“Hey, I’m fine. You were there. I didn’t black out.”
“I know.” He turned, facing me. “But I’m also apologizing for not telling you about Coach wanting me to watch out for you.”
So we were on that topic. “Coach said he didn’t ask you to watch me, though.”
“Well, he asked us to watch Aaron. He wanted to make sure Aaron wasn’t going to bother you or Renee.”
Should I tell him about Aaron’s recent threat? If I did, he’d probably make me tell Coach. Then I would start a shit storm when I didn’t even know yet if I even made the team.
“I went down to the field that night to see who you were so I would know who I was supposed to keep Aaron away fro
m. I already knew Renee from school. But after you pulled that gun on me, you showed me you could look after yourself.” The backs of his fingers slid up my arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake, and Aaron vanished from my memory.
I didn’t want to talk anymore. I’d been angry, sad, depressed. He and I had been apologizing to each other from the start of our relationship, it seemed. Now it was time to show him how much I loved him. I reached out, touching his face.
His fingers circled my wrists, guiding my hand down to my lap. “I need to know what Tyler was doing at your house the other night.” His tone lowered.
“I told you, it’s not what you think.” I hopped off the bed.
“Then tell me what it was, Lace.”
I walked over to his dresser. If you’re going to build a relationship, tell the truth. Quarters, dimes, and nickels were strewn over the wood top. A photo of a little boy standing in front of a massive pool of water with a polar bear swimming in it sat on his dresser.
“Lace,” he said. “I’ve never been the jealous type.” His reflection grew larger in the glass-framed picture. “It makes me crazy when I see how guys look at you.” Standing behind me, he swept my hair to one side. “And even crazier to think of another guy touching you.” He licked a path along the column of my neck up to my ear. “Now tell me.” He nipped at my ear. “What was Tyler doing at your house? And why was your blouse open?”
I’d probably be asking the same question, if the roles were reversed. I’d kill any girl who had the nerve to throw herself at Kade. “He wanted to make sure we were still friends. And I spilled spaghetti sauce all over me, so I went upstairs to change. When I heard your voice, I ran downstairs.”
His hand came around and flattened against my stomach as he pressed into me. “What do you mean, he wanted to make sure you were friends?”
I couldn’t concentrate with his tongue in my ear. “Kade, there’s nothing going on with Tyler and me.” I knew I should tell him Tyler wanted to be more than friends. But then he wouldn’t trust Tyler around me. I didn’t want to alienate Tyler and the Maxwells. Weren’t they friends too? Well, maybe Kade wasn’t going to be so kind to him now.
“I swear he’ll never play football again if he tries anything with you.” His hand tensed against my stomach. “You’re mine, Lace. No one else can have you. I want to hear you say it.”
I shuddered. Why was his dominance such a damn turn-on?
He slipped one hand into my jeans. I squirmed against him as his fingers dipped inside my panties. “Tell me you’re mine, baby.”
“Kade?” I panted out his name, opening my legs slightly.
“You want me to go lower?” His other hand trailed upward under my blouse.
“Yes,” My body screamed for him to sate the need building inside me.
He teased, his fingers slipping between my folds. “I want to hear the words, Lace.”
“I’m yours.” I sank into him.
He removed his hand. Whimpering, I turned. He grabbed the edges of his Zeal T-shirt and pulled it up over his head, the muscles along his abs tightening. I traced a finger over one, then two, then three. Up and down, each one, until I mapped out all six. His hooded gaze was fixed on me, as though he didn’t know what he wanted to do next. I smiled. As though that were his cue to take control, my clothes came off in a flash, and his were next. We stood naked as he bent down and sucked in one nipple. I arched into him as I rubbed along his length, so soft and so very hard. He groaned, husky and dark, sucked the nipple of my other breast into his mouth, and nipped lightly. Sparks of heat sped down through me. He clutched my hips in his hands, lifting his head. Gold and brown tones weaved through his copper eyes as they dilated.
“Legs around me,” he said, picking me up.
I locked my ankles behind his waist, my hands behind his neck. He walked us over to his bed, where he gently eased us down. Untangling my body from his, I clenched my fingers in his hair, pulling him down and kissing him, thoroughly, sensually, and with everything I had. His lips were soft, wet, and tasted of sugar. I loved him and wanted to be loved by him. I wanted every ounce of what he had to offer, faults and all. As our tongues tangled, twisted, and tasted, our bodies molded to each other.
He broke the kiss, pinning my arms over my head. “Leave them there,” he growled as he snatched a condom from his nightstand.
His dominant tone made me obey and quiver at the same time. A frisson of heat propelled itself south and kept going all the way to my toes. He tore through the wrapper, the sound an intimate whisper in the quiet room. The soft glow of the bedside lamp licked across his strong jaw. He glanced at me while he sheathed himself in the condom. His eyes flashed a warning—last chance to run before I ravage your body.
At least, those were the words screaming through my head. I licked my dry lips, and the copper in his eyes disintegrated, melting in a deep, dark brown. I barely moved my arm, and he secured my wrists with one hand while the other teased its way down over my breast, my waist, my hip, stimulating already heightened nerve endings. His knee eased my legs apart.
“I told you to leave your arms up,” he growled.
“I’m not afraid of you,” I countered. I wasn’t sure why those words came out of me. Maybe it was the fire in his eyes or the bite in his tone.
“You should be.” He pushed into me, hard.
I cried out, and his mouth covered mine, catching my gasp. A tingle took root just below my bellybutton, coursing through me. He paused, our bodies stuck in neutral as he held me captive.
“Do you still want me to tell you what I’m going to do to you?” he asked in challenge.
“Show. Tell. Do.” I grasped his hips, trying to get him to move.
“Do what?” He lifted his head up slightly with a freaking impish grin on his face.
I wiggled under him, my efforts ineffective.
“No, Baby. I’m not moving until you tell me.”
Asshat!
He stared down at me.
“I want you to love me. Touch me. Kiss me.”
“Why?” His hips began to move.
I closed my eyes.
“Open those pretty peepers, Lace.” God, he was demanding. In this instance his possessiveness only served to arouse me more.
“Please, Kade. I want you. I love you.”
“Magical words,” he breathed as he flipped us.
Now I was on top. I was in control. Or so I thought, until he sat up, shifting us so I was on my knees, feet behind me, straddling him. He took hold of my hips, guiding me up, then down as he thrust at a slow pace. I grasped his shoulders to anchor myself to him, smashing my mouth to his.
“You feel like heaven.” His voice was thick with lust as his fingers weaved through the long strands of my hair, licking his way down my neck.
I tilted back my head as a pulsing sensation began between my legs. I arched slightly, and his strong hands anchored me. His mouth found my breasts, heavy and swollen. A bead of sweat trickled down my cleavage. I didn’t know if it was from him or me. It didn’t matter. I wanted to stay like this forever, to bask in the way our bodies fit perfectly together. To feel every inch of him on me and inside me. He shaped my hips, guiding me as we moved together. A whispered moan escaped my lips. He snaked a hand between us, his fingers settling on my bundle of nerves. One stroke and the fireworks in my belly exploded, shooting intense waves of glorious heat down my legs, making my body shudder around him. I’d barely caught my breath, and I was on my back. He began a frenzied pace, thrusting in and out as he buried his head in the crook of my neck, his breath pounding together with mine.
“Lace,” he growled as he pushed deep one last time before his body quaked. He held onto me tightly as he kissed me gently on the lips. “I’m never letting you go.” He peeled away my hair from my sweat-slicked forehe
ad. “Unconscious beauty.” His voice was soft and sensual as he dragged his lips along my jaw, down my neck.
I titled my head to give him better access. “Kade.”
“Yeah, polar bear?” He supported himself on his elbows.
“What does unconscious beauty mean?” I lightly dragged my nails along his lower back. I had yet to ask him. I was more curious than anything.
He nipped my chin. “When you walk into a room, you turn heads without even knowing it. The way you carry yourself with confidence, poise, and beauty. And those damn green eyes of yours make every guy’s dick hard instantly.”
“Like yours is now.” I giggled.
“Round two?” He combed over one of my eyebrows with the tip of his finger, grinning.
Chapter 23
The weekend came and went. I didn’t see Kade at all. He and his family were spending the weekend in the Berkshires. His father was apartment hunting. He wanted to find a temporary place where he could stay to be closer to his wife on occasion. Becca, Mary, and I went shopping. Mary had wanted to get me something for my birthday, but she wanted me to choose the gift. We strolled through the mall, and Becca kept showing me clothes that would look good on me. After two hours of trying on different outfits, Mary and Becca coaxed me into buying two skirts. One was a black-layered lace miniskirt with a scalloped hem. The other was a floral printed mini with a crocheted lace overlay. Now I just had to wear them.
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