Kade looked at me with wide eyes. “Wow, it sounds to me like we both had shitty childhoods, huh?”
We looked at each other and laughed. “You can say that again.”
Kade reached over and grabbed my hand. It was weird sitting here talking to him and telling him all my secrets. I hadn’t talked about my dad . . . ever. It just felt as if I could talk to Kade about anything. He was a great listener, and I knew he was listening to every word I said, as if he actually cared.
It scared me, knowing that he could get past my walls without even really trying.
We heard a loud bang, and we both turned toward the door. “Ten minutes, Kade,” yelled a man’s voice.
Well, I guess that meant sharing time was over.
We looked back at each other and stood up from the couch. I bent down to the table, picked up my trash, brought it over to the trash can, and then turned toward Kade, who had also picked up his trash and started walking toward me.
“Well, that was fun.” I smiled. “I can now say I know things about you that I didn’t read off the Internet.” I picked up my purse, which I had left on the floor by the couch. “I guess I’ll be heading off to work now and let you get back to making out with the infamous Lauren.” I laughed and started toward the door.
“Thanks for staying and having lunch with me. Would you mind having lunch with me again tomorrow?” he asked, walking closer to me. “What do you say? Do you think you could do that?” He was standing right in front of me, and I couldn’t help getting lost in his eyes. Could I have lunch again? Of course.
“Sure, I don’t see why not.”
He leaned down and gave me a kiss on the corner of my mouth before opening the door so we could both head out. I knew he was going to try hard to be on his best behavior. I just didn’t know if I should care. There was nothing wrong with being a bad boy. I just didn’t know how to handle it.
I started walking away and then turned around with a smile on my face. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kade.
“Tomorrow, Scarlett.” He grinned and turned toward the studio.
Chapter 11
The week flew by, and we had lunch together every day. He started calling or texting me at night when he and Max weren’t writing music just so we could continue our game of “let’s get to know each other better.” When he called, I’d squeal and act as if it were my first time ever receiving a call from a boy. Jules would just smile and roll her eyes at me.
He also sent me my favorite flowers every day. I would come home, and the building manager would have a note taped on my door telling me to come down and pick up my flowers. He always sent tulips, but chose a different color each day. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me, and more and more every day my walls were crumbling.
The things I continued to learn about him were mostly things you would get to know if you were dating, but with his schedule, there really wasn’t time for that, so lunch dates were the next best thing. He loved football, his favorite food was anything pasta, and his favorite color was blue, which just so happened to be my favorite too. We talked more about our childhoods, and I told him about how I had met Jules in school and that we’d kept in touch after all these years.
At home, I would talk about Kade so much around Jules that she started asking me every day if we had had sex yet, but things hadn’t gotten heated again since the night at the club. I had told him I wanted to get to know him better, but my body yearned for him to touch me.
Friday after we ate lunch, Kade asked me if I would have dinner with him at his condo Saturday night. He and Max would be working all day writing music, and Max was leaving Atlanta that night to head back to California for a couple of days, so we would have the place to ourselves. I agreed to meet him there at seven.
~*~
Saturday afternoon I was a ball full of nerves and Jules wasn’t helping.
“Girl, you are so getting laid tonight,” Jules said as she took a bite of her burger.
We decided that, instead of hanging out around the house all day, we would go window shopping downtown and grab something to eat before I went to Kade’s. Plus, I was too antsy to stay inside. I was driving myself nuts.
I rolled my eyes at Jules. “I can’t even think about it, Jules. I’m kind of freaking out here if you haven’t noticed.” I pushed my plate away. I couldn’t eat the rest of my burger. Thinking about tonight was making me want to hurl.
“Letti, why are you so nervous. It’s not like you haven’t had sex before.”
“I know,” I sighed, “It’s just . . . I really like him. Like, really like him, and I know if we have sex it’s going to change things for me.” I started fiddling with the straw in my glass. “I didn’t even feel this way for Trey. I’m scared shitless about it.”
I looked up at Jules as she was taking in everything I had said. It wasn’t the sex; it was the intimacy that went with sharing your body with someone else that freaked me out. I knew Jules wouldn’t understand my dilemma though. Sex was easy for her.
“Letti, you are just going to have to go with the flow. If it doesn’t feel right to you, then don’t do it. You’ll know if it’s the right time or not. And you know if something goes wrong I’m a phone call away and I’ll come get you.”
I smiled at her and nodded. We needed to change the subject to calm my nerves. “So how has work been going? With me being gone half the day and you running around getting paperwork signed, I haven’t seen you.”
Jules pushed her plate away and got a disgusted look on her face. “Ugh, work. I swear to God I’m going to have a talk with Matt about firing Jess. I can’t stand the bitch.”
“Oh Lord, what happened now?” I rolled my eyes.
“She must think we are best work buds or something because she was going on and on about some guy she’s been trying to hook up with and her plans for how she was going to get him to pay attention to her.” Jules threw her hands up in the air, “Why the fuck does she think I care about some man she’s trying to dig her claws into? Ugh, she’s such a slut.” She grunted.
I bit my lips to hold in my laugh. I admit I felt sorry for her. I didn’t think I could handle Jess talking my ear off about her man problems either. She was lucky that Jules hadn’t bitch slapped her yet.
I looked down at my phone to check the time. “Well, it’s past four. I think we should head home. I want to take a nice long bath, and then you’ll need to help me figure out what to wear.”
We put down some money on the table and headed toward home.
“You’ll definitely have to wear a dress,” she said, looking at me with a smile.
I looked at her confused. “Why?”
She wiggled her eyebrows at me. “Easy access.” She laughed.
Lord help me.
~*~
I arrived at Kade’s building at 6:56 p.m. After I gave my name to the front desk attendant, he called Kade to make sure it was okay to send me up to the penthouse.
Standing in front of his door, I took a deep breath and brushed imaginary dirt off the three-quarter sleeve sweater dress Jules talked me into wearing. I was about to knock when the door flew open, taking me off guard. He opened the door so fast that I gasped and took a step back. “Holy shit! You scared the hell out of me.” I laughed.
He smiled back at me. “Sorry, I was waiting by the door after Murray called up. Please come in.” He gestured with his arm.
I looked up at him to see that he was checking me out and he wasn’t being subtle about it either. “You look beautiful, Scarlett.”
My cheeks flamed. “Thanks.”
I started looking around the space before me. The penthouse was huge. “Wow, Kade.”
The foyer opened up into a wide open space. The walls were all white and the decor was beautiful. I didn’t get to look around too much because he started walking toward the living room. “Yeah, they set me up well for filming. Come on. Let’s eat before it gets cold, and then I’ll show you around.”
I followed Kade as he made his way into the dining room. On the table were candles and plates with tin covers on them.
“Go ahead and take a seat. It doesn’t matter which one. The food is the same,” he said.
I took my seat, and then Kade sat across from me. We both lifted up the dish cover at the same time. Steam and a flavorful aroma swarmed my senses. I wasn’t extremely hungry because I had eaten a late lunch, but it smelled fantastic.
On my plate was stuffed chicken, mixed veggies, and some type of mixed rice. “Wow, Kade, this looks really good,” I said as I picked up my silverware.
“Thanks,” he said with a big smile. “Would you like some wine.”
“Yes, please.”
He poured us both a glass of Pinot Grigio and set my glass by my plate.
Taking a bit of the stuffed chicken, I closed my eyes and chewed slowly to savor the flavor, letting out a moan. I had never eaten chicken like this before. It was so good.
I looked up to see Kade watching me eat, “Don’t mind me. I’m content sitting here watching you eat.”
I laughed. “Don’t be a creeper.”
He laughed and started cutting up his chicken.
“Where did you get it?” I asked cutting another piece of chicken.
“Well, first, I went to the store to get the chicken and other ingredients that go into the stuffed chicken. Then I brought it back here and magically put it all together and baked it. Ta-da, there you have it,” he said with a laugh before taking a sip of his wine.
I looked at him in awe. “You made this?”
He laughed. “Why do you look so surprised? Do I look like a man who doesn’t know his way around a kitchen?”
I looked at him with a smile. “Well, yeah, you kind of do.” I laughed.
“Well, I’m sure a lot of people would have the same opinion. I actually used to watch my foster mom cook all the time. Since I was one of the oldest kids in the house, I would help her around the kitchen. Cooking for a family of ten wasn’t easy on her, but she loved it. The kitchen was always the first place you’d look if you needed her.”
Watching Kade talk about his foster mother made me smile. “Do you keep in touch with your foster family?”
“Yeah, I do, but I don’t get to see them as much as I’d like. With everything that goes along with being in a band, I just never really have a lot of time.”
We remained silent for the rest of the meal, and I ended up having two more glasses of wine. I could tell that I was a little buzzed, but it loosened up my nerves.
Kade held my hand as he took me on a tour of the condo. I still couldn’t get over how big it was. I knew Max was staying with him too, but I couldn’t understand why one person needed a space this big? I guess I’d just never understand how people could spend so much money on something that wasn’t needed.
The kitchen was about the same size as my living room and was decked out with stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, and beautiful cabinetry. There were three bedrooms, one of which wasn’t being used. He first took me to his master suite. It had a four-poster bed with beautiful metal arches on the head and foot board and all along the frame. I’d never seen a bed like it before. The view of the city from this room was amazing. One whole wall was nothing but windows. It totally beat the view I had from my little balcony.
“This is beautiful, Kade,” I said, staring out the window.
I felt him pressed up against my back, and it made me shiver in anticipation. “Yes, very beautiful.” He moved my hair away from my neck and leaned down to lay feather kisses up to my ear. “Come out to the living room. I got a movie for us to watch,” he whispered.
How he expected me to sit on his couch and watch a movie with him was beyond me. Just having his hands on me made me ready to throw him on the bed and have my way with him.
I had gotten a small glimpse of the living room when I came into the penthouse, but I didn’t get to fully see the view. Like the master suite, it had one wall with nothing but windows. Having the lights dimmed and nothing but the TV on really showcased the outline of the city. I didn’t even need the movie; I could sit there and just look at the view.
I sat on the huge black leather sofa that was directly in front of the TV. Handing me another glass of wine, which I didn’t intend to drink, Kade sat down a couple inches away from me. He grabbed the remote and turned on the movie. He had told me on the way out of the master suite that he had gotten a romantic comedy since I had told him this past week that it was my favorite type of movie. I thought that was really sweet of him, but I honestly didn’t think I’d be paying much attention to the movie at all, so I didn’t even ask what he got.
With the movie on, I took a sip of my wine then reached over and put it on the side table. I crossed my legs and rested my hands in my lap. The movie was playing, but I couldn’t pay any attention to it. All I could focus on was how close he was sitting next to me and how my lower body was clenching in hopes that it would be getting some attention tonight.
Kade leaned over and rested his hand on my thigh. “I hope you haven’t seen this one before; it just came out.”
I looked over and shook my head, “No, I haven’t.” I lied with a smile. I was barely able to reply. With his hand on my thigh, heat started to flow through my body, making me bite my lower lip. I closed my eyes for a second to calm my breathing. I’m hot because of the wine, I told myself.
Not being able to resist, I rested my hand on top of his, and he moved his hand into mine and entwined our fingers together. We looked at each other and smiled then focused back on the TV. His thumb started making circular motions on my hand, and I started thinking about another places I’d like his thumb to do that.
A smile crept on my lips. I could see out of the corner of my eye that he was just as affected as I was. He almost looked nervous.
He shifted on the couch, causing me to turn to look at him, and before I knew what was happening, I was on my back with Kade’s lips firmly pressed against mine. I opened my mouth for his tongue to slide in without hesitation. Lifting my arms, I ran my fingers through his soft hair and scratched my nails on his scalp.
This was what I was craving. The butterflies in my stomach were going nuts. I could feel my lower half clutching in excitement.
Kade was resting firmly in between my legs with my sweater dress now wrapped around my waist. I could feel his erection straining against his jeans as he ground against my core. I moaned as my sensitive nerves started to ignite from the friction.
He broke the kiss and started trailing kisses down to the swell of my breast. I could feel him running his tongue along my skin. Then he worked his way back up to bite my ear lobe.
“You taste so fucking good, Scarlett,” he growled in my ear. “I think it’s time to find out if you taste this good everywhere.” He lifted us both off the couch.
Wrapping my legs around his waist, I grabbed his head and brought my mouth back down to his, slipping my tongue in for a deep passionate kiss. I could feel him groaning with every swipe of our tongues, and then I was slammed up against the wall. He left my mouth and started biting my neck, making me grind up against his jeans again. I could feel the clenching of my wall muscles as they strained for release.
He lifted his head and looked at me with that sexy grin. I smiled back at him before he lifted my sweater dress over my head and tossed it on the floor. Then he reached behind me and unfastened my bra and tossed it with my dress. Holding me firmly up against the wall with his hips, he leaned his shoulders back to assess my body.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said before capturing my mouth once again.
With his hands on my ass, holding me to his body, he moved away from the wall and walked down the hallway to his room. Then his hands were on my waist, and I was lifted and thrown on the bed, landing with a bounce on a bunch of fluffy pillows. I couldn’t contain the giggles that escaped me as I adjusted myself on the bed and moved some of the pillows out of the way.
He pulled his shirt over his head, and I watched as his muscles rippled. Smiling at the view before me, I couldn’t wait to run my hands up and down his stomach and chest. He slowly made his way onto the bed. Bringing my arms up around his neck, he brought his mouth back to mine for a brief kiss before he started trailing kisses down my neck then down to my collar bone. Breathing heavily in anticipation, I tried lifting my breasts up, pushing his head down in an attempt to tell him where I wanted his mouth next.
He looked up at me with a smirk. “Someone’s being impatient.”
I bit my lip to hold back my laugh.
Lifting off my body, he leaned up to move the rest of the pillows out of the way. Then he moved down my body hooking his fingers on the side of my panties, pulling them down my legs. I could feel the cool air hit my wet core and shivered even though my body felt like it was on fire.
“Scoot up and grab onto the bed,” he commanded.
Excitement flowed through my body as I did what he said. I grabbed the metal frame as he leaned over me with my panties still in his hand. Reaching up, he grabbed my right arm and wrapped my wrist in one hole twisting it tightly and wrapped it around the metal frame of the bed, and then he took my other arm and wrapped my other wrist in the other hole making makeshift handcuffs with my own underwear. How creative.
He lowered himself to my ear. “Now you have no choice but to be patient,” he whispered.
I bit back my moan as he started kissing and biting my neck, working his way down to my breasts. He gently bit and twirled his tongue around one nipple until he sucked it into his mouth while the other was being caressed and pinched between his thumb and finger. The feeling was almost more than I could take. Letting out a moan, I arched my back, wanting him to take more. My wrists strained around the headboard. I wanted to sink my fingers into his hair and feel his body. He sucked harder making me cry out in pleasure. Then he released my nipple to give the same treatment to the other.
Lifeless Page 10