“Try to keep our schedule as was planned. Don’t leave this room, not without me. We’ll announce our franchise at the ball. There will be enough press to give us a boost.”
“We promised your clients to be there. We might lose their respect.”
“I know.” He rubs his face, drilling his gaze at the door. “We have no choice.”
“What if we make an announcement during this ball? We could arrange the live video feed from the hotel. It would impress our clients and appease them. You could make a speech, gloss over all the glitches, and fortify our position in the Middle East market.”
He mulls it over and smirks.
“I’ll speak with Abbas. See if he’ll permit it. Nothing goes without his approval. He’s involved in organizing this event with the anonymous sponsor. But I love this idea. It might work to our advantage.”
My lips tug in a grin as his praise explodes like fireworks inside my belly.
“See you later.” I bite my lip to curb my response to his magnetic field reaching something deep within me. I can’t deny this pull, ardently pulsing like we’re connected. Or find a single strand of logic to push these feelings out of my mind.
When Mark leaves, the maids rush into the room. They insist I wear the clothes the General provided. I don’t argue, afraid I might provoke or upset him with my refusal. And we need Abbas’ support to execute our plan.
As soon as our things arrive, I start working. I catch them staring at me oddly, but they don’t ask questions, and I manage to finish everything by dinner with Fading Ink’s employees’ help. Robert didn’t even blink an eye when I told him everything. It made me think it’s not the first time he’s dealt with such an occurrence.
Grabbing my phone, I dial home, while the maid runs me a bath and arranges my evening gown on the bed. “Mrs. Cade residence. How can I help?”
“May, it’s me, Cassandra. How are my kids? Are they around?”
“So happy to hear from you, miss. No, Liane and Leon are actually at your sister’s right now. I’m packing a few things to take over to their house.”
After I finish speaking with my au pair, I go to get ready, pushing down my anxiety, since neither Leif nor Aisha answered their phones. Pampered with scented oils and full body massage, I get dressed in a bright pink dress with hand-stitched embroidery weaved in a beautiful pattern. Applying my makeup, my nerves rise like a storm, swirling inside of me.
Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I see a woman who just had a taste of freedom, emerging from her shell. Discovering her worth and her strengths. I even breathe easier. I can’t surrender this slither of joy I found working at Fading Ink. But Helen and Darren are going to try to choke life aspirations out of me. They’re already showing their hand to me with General Abbas’ help.
“Miss.”
I jump, startled.
“Mr. Lawson’s waiting.”
I nod, casting one last look at myself. I follow her out of the bedroom.
Once the door opens, my breath hitches in my chest, taken by the abundance of textures, colors, and lighting. The atmosphere in the room is set to entice and forget about the outside world. And yet, I wonder why Abbas is doing this. He declared his alliance to the Cades. That would make sense why he’s protecting us. But Abbas is also hiding something crucial to solve this puzzle. Perhaps he’s trying to keep us from causing trouble. Still, his motives are sketchy.
My thoughts scatter when I see Mark standing by the glass door with his hands in his pockets, looking at a beautiful park. He resembles the prince from the fairy tales I read as a kid. The curtains dance to the blowing breeze as he turns around. Our eyes meet, and I get pulled into his stratosphere.
“Good evening,” I mumble.
Mark’s sharp jaw, graced with neat scruff, tightens. His eyes blaze with male appreciation when he drags his gaze down my body.
“Evening.” His greeting rattles deep inside his throat, and the heat pulls deep in my belly.
My pulse throbs, reacting to his undeniable appeal, but I force my legs to move. My dress whips around my legs like butterfly wings as I walk to meet him.
“You look stunning.”
My cheeks flame as he watches me with the intensity of a hunter. And it makes me confused about why he’s so forward since he made it clear where the boundaries are.
“Thank you.” I look around. “The General isn’t joining us?”
“He thought we needed a little time alone to unwind before tomorrow.” He speaks carefully as if not to disrupt the air lit up with a hundred candles. I nod as he pours us some wine in the golden goblets.
“Has he agreed to help us?”
“Yes, he’s very curious, though.”
“About?”
“How this works out at the end.”
I sip wine, mulling over why Abbas is getting involved at all. His connection with my in-laws also bothers me.
“Did you figure out who’s sabotaging your deliveries?”
Mark shakes his head. Aware of the fact we can’t speak openly, I let it go.
“Everything’s ready for the launch.” I drag my gaze away from him to look around, afraid to get lost in his compelling gaze. “I also contacted Robert. He knows about our situation and helped me to arrange everything with your new partners. I thought to make sure they know what’s going on.”
“Smart.” He seems uninterested in talking about work and his intensity’s shredding my sanity. Why’s he looking at me like this?
“Robert arranged the jet to be ready for us straight after the ball. He said he needs us back.” I’m babbling, afraid if I stop, I’ll nosedive into this energy, wrapping seductively around me.
“That’s probably for the best.”
I feel dizzy. My body thrums with undeniable chemistry triggered between us.
“The lawyers will be contacting Edar Moudi about the contract annulment after the event.”
My lips tingle from the way he traces them with his hungry gaze, every particle of my body reacting to his magnetic field. I lick my lips, and I lift my chin to tell him off.
~Mark~
We stare at one another as an electric current charges the space between us.
“Stop looking at me like that, Mr. Lawson,” she rasps, her pulse hammering against her neck as she slips away from me.
Her vivid hair draws me to her like a moth to the fire to lick the flaming strands. She looks like a princess, lush beauty, ready to be devoured. And all I think about is her curves and soft skin against mine. She moans as the pleasure ignites her body.
I’ve never brought a woman with me and claimed her safety and well-being as mine. Such a level of possessiveness is new to me. But Cassandra Cade is my ultimate obsession, a fascinating bird, living in the golden cage, dreaming about freedom. Her anguish is so familiar to me, my heart is unable to ignore it. I want to set her free as much as possess her.
Abbas thought I was joking about me killing him if he touches her. But I was telling the truth. I would have destroyed him. I learned a few tricks from Logan, and it isn’t beyond me to use all means necessary to secure her safety. Such people like Abbas use their daughters and sons to gain more power, more money. Darren and Helen are using her too. I just don’t know what their end game is.
But here in this majestic room, it’s just us now. No family, no rules or expectations. The undeniable connection’s pulling us closer, one heartbeat, and one breath at a time. If not careful, we both might fall into the vortex. I’m not sure I care to fight this. She’s all I think about, all I see. All I desire. She’s the light consuming my dark dreams and tortured mind.
“I can’t help it, Mrs. Cade. You are a gorgeous woman full of contradictions.” I know my eyes blaze with a hunger she can’t so easily dismiss.
She struggles with my admission, looking for a diversion, but I’m not able to give her one. Not anymore. My restraints are dissolving. All the arguments why I can’t have her look like feeble lies I told myself.
/> “Why do you keep using my last name?” Her voice is low, careful, cheeks glowing as she chugs wine in a few gulps as if trying to douse the fire slowly burning her.
A smirk forms on my lips as I mull over the question, but when I see the veiled hunger in her eyes, I give in. “For the same reason you do.” I pause, watching her nostrils flare. “I need to keep reminding myself not to touch you. That’s why.”
Surprise flickers in her irises. Her hand coils around the goblet as if it can save her.
“I’m here to work, Mr. Lawson.”
I swear she looks straight into my soul with that inner turmoil, swirling like a storm.
Gulping the wine, I nod, trying not to think about her so close, so achingly beautiful. I get her. She has been through enough as it is. Her life’s full of complications. She’s judged, trashed by the public. Her in-laws have done a lot of damage to her self-esteem. Grief reinforced that message, carving wounds into her soul deeper than the flesh.
But I’m no longer interested in letting her hide. She has done this all her life.
“Would it be so bad if you enjoyed yourself? Forgotten who you’re supposed to be and claimed what you want?”
Before she has a chance to answer, doors open and servers bring food, filling up our glasses. We take a seat and start eating when we’re left alone. The silence stretches between us, while her mind is light-years away, searching for answers.
“They’ve done a number on you, haven’t they? You can’t see past it.”
Her cutlery stills in her hands as she stares at me.
“You know nothing about me, Mark. Don’t believe everything you read or see. I’m more than just a name, more than a fictional character created by the press. There’s more to me than you think.”
“I’m not a fool or blind.” I chew my food slowly, pondering something, and then I dab my mouth with a cloth, determined. “But you’re afraid of your own shadow. You’re allowing your past to define you. This way, you’ll never be able to surpass it and redefine your life.” And I know something about it. Warfare with yourself is the hardest battle a person struggles to win.
“Have you beaten your demons, Mark? Have you ever been able to live without them dragging you back?” She challenges me as if knowing I have a share of them. I know I hit the aching spot when angry tears well up in her pale eyes.
“At least, I don’t let them rule my life, make decisions for me.” I avert my gaze as the meaning of what I’m saying registers.
She huffs, jumping to her feet, throwing her cloth on the table. “You have a nerve. What do you know about me to make these assumptions?” She moves toward the door to leave. My hand shoots out, grabbing her wrist, and she twirls to look at me, shaking like she’s about to burst open.
I pull, and she stumbles into me. “I can teach you how to fly, but you have to spread your wings first, Lovebird. That cage is just in your mind. You’re free, but you act as if you’re locked up.”
“I’m not a bird, Mark,” she seethes, and I love that anger storming through her body. She looks fierce. I just wonder if I could push her even more. If I could crack her binds.
“Aren’t you?” This fighter needs a little push.
“How about you, Mark?”
I blink as she steps into me, raising her chin. My body winds tight, my instincts sharp, but my pulse throbs with the violent need to taste her rage. To soothe her pain and take over that turmoil.
“What about me?” I lean, locking my gaze with her.
“Tell me about your childhood, about the people who broke you, about the life that hurt you.”
I stiffen. I know why she probes my wounds.
“You don’t get to teach me about bravery when you cower and hide your own demons. So, don’t take offense if I don’t listen to your advice.”
I straighten to full height, hiding my reaction to her harsh words. Instead, I tower over her petite form, holding back my burning desire to pull her over my knee and spank her ass until she stops fighting me.
I know how to control myself. How to take charge of my demons. But Cassandra managed to provoke havoc that needs an outlet. It’s winding me tight like a string. I’m not ready to show her the dark side of my past. Not when she burns bright with a nipping passion to push my buttons. Something hot and exciting burns inside my belly, shooting thick need straight to my hard as steel cock.
“If I remember correctly, I gave you a fair warning last time you asked about my past, Mrs. Cade.” My husky tone is quiet and controlled. “Do you remember what it was?”
“Was it the one to stay away or you are going to taste—” Before she can finish, I wind my hand around her small waist, moving her against the door, until I have her caged in.
“Mark,” she gasps my name like a sensual plea.
I lean closer until our lips almost touch. “And I always keep my word, Cassandra.”
“I’m not the one who can’t keep the distance, Mark,” she whispers into my mouth, pressing her palm against my pounding heart.
I groan, closing my eyes for a moment, and then snap them open.
“You’re the one who wants to change the game. I was okay keeping it professional,” she pants, melting against me as my breath fans against her skin. I know we both are at fault; she won’t be able to deny the truth forever. “But you want what you can’t have, don’t you?” Shadows flicker in her gaze, and I stiffen realizing something.
“I know what kind of people the Cade family is surrounded by. I’m not one of them. This attraction between us has nothing to do with your name or what benefits I could reap having you in my bed.”
She blinks, then pushes away from me and strolls toward the window. Stepping on the porch, she searches the night for answers. Fresh air blows inside, lifting curtains as lightning pierces cloudy skies, promising a massive thunderstorm.
“I can’t afford any mistakes in my life. Not anymore.”
I close the space between us, standing behind her as if I’m ready to fight this storm alongside her.
“Mistakes are part of life, part of the journey. Inevitable hiccups in life. We can only choose people who’ll stand with us in thunderstorms.” At my words, the thunder erupts as if splitting the skies, then downpour follows. The rainstorm’s so heavy it dominates the atmosphere with a singular blast of sounds.
“I made my share of them, and it cost me way too much. I want to change the curve of my devastating past to something else. This job is important to me.”
“And I can teach you how to fly if you stop being afraid.” I brush my fingers against her palm, hoping she’ll let me.
“How will that happen if I’m in your bed?” she challenges me, but I stay silent, afraid to admit I want everything with her. Possess her demons and know her heart. “Why are you doing this? What’s in it for you?” she asks, tilting her neck to the side as I draw her against my chest.
“I’m done pretending I don’t want you.”
She turns around, her eyes blazing at me.
“You are smart, intelligent, and beautiful even with thunderstorms and battle scars. I admire you. Why deny what we feel? Why not see what it can become?”
“The press will slay me for this. Trust me, I’ll be nothing after they’re done with me. Let me be. There’s very little I can spare.” The vulnerable look on her face does maddening things to me. “My children will pay the price. I’ve hurt my family enough.”
Standing on the porch surrounded by the storm, I can’t find the strength to walk away from her. “I tried, but you’re all I think about. You’re a fire consuming my sanity.”
Coiling my fingers in her silky strands, I tilt her head toward me until our lips align and air charges between us. But is she brave enough to set her fears on fire?
“You either obey or defy your demons. You either take charge, or they’ll control you.” A shiver treks down my spine as I challenge her. “Make your choice before it’s made for you.”
“Defy,” she whispers, e
yes like a turbulent sea calling me to dive deep.
I don’t know who moves first, but our lips collide and sparks fly, igniting my body. Our mouths battling, claiming, tasting in a violent passion, syncing with the storm. My chest explodes at the taste of pure wildfire, and I groan, consuming her thirsty moans.
The thunder cracks the whip above us, and we halt, our heads turning toward it.
“Want a taste of thunder and rain?”
She tilts her head, her eyebrows arching. I smile.
Pulling her outside, I let the rain wash over us. It’s so heavy we get completely soaked, her dress clinging to her like a second skin. Her lush breasts, torso, and hard nipples are poking through the see-through material. She’s pure temptation, with hair clinging to her angelic face like crimson ink. Only the look of pure abandon on her face keeps me rooted in place.
When her gaze finds mine, I step toward her, pulling her drenched form into my arms. I kiss her, tasting the storm while delicious warmth radiates off her body pressed against mine. I drink her deep until she is part of me and I’m part of her.
Aware we’re skirting the dangerous line, I gather her in my arms and carry her to her bedroom. “We can’t stay here. It’s not safe.”
Cassandra buries her cold nose into my neck, as I push her bedroom doors open with an elbow. It was a risk to bare our growing feelings, knowing we’re watched, but I couldn’t pretend anymore. I kick the door shut and carry her to bed, placing her on the edge before I kneel in front of her.
“See you tomorrow.” I graze her jaw with my lips. “Good night, Lovebird. Think about what I said. And dream about me.” I kiss her parted lips, sweet with desire, until she’s breathless. I leave her bedroom with a gripping need to own her fears.
8
Threads
~Cassandra~
This morning the chaos and nervous energy coursing through Abbas’ estate made me uneasy. Especially when I haven’t had a chance to speak with Mark, and the staff refused to tell me where he was. I have no idea what’s going on even if he sits a few rows up on a personal plane, close to the captain’s cabin, speaking with Abbas and a few other men. Their expressions look terse, and Mark has this tautness in his broad shoulders that keeps me on edge.
Tangled IN LIES (Book#3, IN YOU) Page 9