“I’m okay. I can walk.”
He grips my hand, and I gratefully thread my fingers through his, letting him lead me down the alley. When we reach the end, he gestures to me to stand back while he pokes his head out, looking left and right. “The coast is clear. Come on.”
He keeps a firm hold of my hand, and we walk briskly to his apartment. I’m practically jogging to keep pace with his longer strides, but I don’t complain because I’m as keen as he is to get off the streets. He doesn’t say one word, and judging by the waves of fury and frustration rolling off his body, I can tell he’s trying to calm the raging storm inside.
Opening the door to his penthouse apartment, he steps aside to let me enter first. The lights switch on automatically the minute my foot hits the tiled floor of the small hallway. Kade closes and locks the door, taking my hand and silently leading me into the main living space.
I suck in a gasp as I take in the surroundings. Floor-to-ceiling windows rim the room on two sides, offering magnificent views of the city in the distance. On the ground level, there’s a large pool and salubrious decked area complete with fire pit, stylish loungers, comfy outdoor seating, and several expensive-looking grills. “Make yourself at home while I grab my first aid kit,” Kade says, striding off with purpose.
I walk to the plush cream leather couch, perching on the edge as I remove my shoes and carefully place them by my feet. The gorgeous hardwood floors are stained a deep walnut color, contrasting vividly with the understated cream and wood furniture and the cool duck’s egg blue furnishings. A massive flat screen TV is mounted over a slick, modern gas fire, both adhered to the wall. A big, fluffy light blue and beige rug rests on the floor underneath.
It’s not at all what I’d expected. This is about as far removed from a mancave as you can get. It’s minimal and stylish, but there is still a warm, cozy ambiance and I see little personal touches all over his living space.
Kade reappears in the corner of the room, padding in bare feet to my side. He props his butt on the edge of the coffee table, placing a white medical kit down beside him along with some towels, a bowl of warm water, and some cotton pads. A pair of leggings, a tank, and a loose sweater rest alongside them. “Can I clean your wound?” he asks softly. “I’ll be gentle.”
I peer into his gorgeous blue eyes, nodding. “I trust you.”
With great tenderness, he cleans the injury on my cheek, applying a salve with gentle fingertips. His touch against my sensitive skin is so familiar, his soft ministrations felt in every part of my body.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?” A muscle clenches in his taut jaw.
I shake my head.
“Are you sure?” His eyes probe mine.
“They didn’t hurt me anywhere else. They tore my clothes, and they were going to … but, yeah, you got there in time.” I grip his hand, squeezing. “I can’t thank you enough.”
He grabs fistfuls of his hair, averting his eyes. “Don’t, Eva.” His chest heaves. “You shouldn’t have been put in that situation.” When he faces me again, a multitude of emotions is etched on his face. “What the hell were you doing walking the streets alone at this hour of night?”
I massage my throbbing temples, as the beginnings of a headache take root. “I know it was careless and thoughtless. I was in a bar celebrating my friend’s engagement, and I just needed to clear my head.” Little does he know my head was consumed with thoughts of him. I’m so happy for Renee and Lee, but I couldn’t help feeling sorry for myself.
I’ll never get to experience that kind of joy with the man I love.
Shaking those thoughts aside—because look what trouble I encountered the last time I zoned out thinking about Kaden—I focus on placating him. “I had every intention of hailing a taxi, but I wanted to walk for a bit first. I wasn’t paying attention, and that’s how they snuck up on me so easily.”
“Where the fuck was your bodyguard?”
My eyes pop wide. “I don’t have a bodyguard.”
“Bullshit, Eva. I know who you’re married to.”
“It’s the truth, Kaden. Yes, they guard our home, and when I’m out with my husband, we always have protection, but I don’t need one, and I don’t want one.”
He looks incredulous. “Are you telling me your husband hasn’t assigned a bodyguard to his wife? What the fuck?”
“I didn’t want one, all right!” I snap. “It’s a constant bone of contention between us, but I have little freedom as it is. This is one way to retain my independence, and I haven’t needed one. Besides work, the yoga studio, the hair salon, and the odd night out, I don’t tend to go many places.”
He drags his hands through his hair. “Look, I don’t want to fight with you.” Air whooshes out of his mouth. “That just fucking terrified me, Eva. What if I hadn’t been passing and hadn’t heard you scream?” Panic races across his face. “The thought of anything happening to you …”
My heart expands in my chest at the look of blatant concern on his face. I’m such a selfish bitch, but it makes me so happy that he still cares.
Silence engulfs us for a couple minutes.
Bundling up the clothes, he hands them to me. “Why don’t you go and get changed in the bathroom. Take a shower if you like. There are towels and shit in there.”
I look at the clearly feminine clothing, scowling a little. “Are these your girlfriend’s?”
He shakes his head. “No, they belong to my cousin Faye. She left a bag behind at my mom’s house a few weeks ago. I took it with me, but I haven’t had a chance to give it to her yet. She won’t mind.”
That makes me feel a lot better. I’m not sure I could’ve worn Kade’s girlfriend’s clothes.
“And I don’t have a girlfriend. I ended things for good with Tiffani,” he adds.
“Oh.” I don’t know what else to say. It’s none of my business anyway. But try telling that to my stupid heart which is currently turning somersaults behind my ribcage.
“The bathroom is down that corridor and the second door on the left,” Kade says, pointing with an outstretched arm.
“Thank you.” I stand up, clutching the clothes to my chest as I take off in the direction he pointed.
I take a hot shower, allowing the water to erase the memory of those guys’ hands on me. The clothes aren’t a perfect fit, but they are soft and comfortable, and I’m feeling a million times better as I walk back out to the main room.
Delicious aromas of garlic and lemon float through the air, making my mouth water and my stomach rumble. Kade has changed into low-hanging sweats and a tight white T-shirt that leaves little to the imagination, clinging greedily to his massive pecs and his tightly rolled abs. I try to rein in my lust, but it’s damn hard. Kade has never looked hotter. Combine that with his chivalrous rescue attempt and I’m a complete lost cause.
He glances over his shoulder, smiling when he sees me. “Feel better?”
“Much better, thank you.” I rest my back against the counter as I join him at the stove. “That smells divine.”
“I hope you still like prawns?”
He remembered. “Yep. I still consume them by the bucket load.” I smile at him, watching as he takes two toasted garlic ciabattas from the oven and loads them with the steaming prawn and chili mix from the pan, adding some fresh herbs on top. “Wow. I didn’t know you could cook.”
He shrugs, jerking one shoulder as he gestures for me to follow him to the island unit. He places both plates on the marble countertop before pulling out a stool for me. Kade always had exemplary manners.
“Thank you.” I sit down and pick up my fork, swirling it around in the air. “Gorgeous place you have here.”
“Thanks. I only moved in over the summer, but it’s great having my own place. My own space.”
“You live here alone?” I ask, groaning as I taste the food he’s made. An e
xplosion of flavors hit my tongue, and I think I’ve fallen in love with him all over again.
“Yeah. My buddy wanted to move in, but I’ve always preferred my own company.”
“I thought you lived with your brother?”
“Used to, but we stopped sharing a dorm a while back.”
I sense he’s being deliberately vague, but I don’t push it. “And your girlfriend didn’t want to move in?”
He almost chokes on his food. “Oh, she did, but it was never in the cards.”
I want to ask why, but I’m being nosy enough as it is. Besides, I don’t want him to think I’m asking for a reason. Because nothing can happen between us. Some things haven’t changed. My current euphoric mood dissipates.
“It was never serious with Tiffani,” he admits, without me asking. I look into his eyes, my heart brimming with emotion. “We were always breaking up and getting back together. It was never going anywhere.”
“So why did you date her then?” I whisper.
He pauses momentarily before answering. “Because I was trying to distract myself from thinking about you.”
Oh. Fuck.
I should feel sorry for the poor girl. I should criticize him for using her, because that’s essentially what it sounds like, but I’m too hung up on the fact he was thinking about me.
When we first ended things, I figured he was probably hurting the same way I was, but, over time, I presumed he’d gotten over it, moved on.
To know he didn’t, he hadn’t, resurrects tons of warring emotions.
We stare at one another, and my chest aches with longing. His gaze flicks briefly to my mouth, and my tongue darts out, wetting my lips, as if it has a mind of its own. His gaze lifts, and his eyes ensnare me, capturing me in place and holding me prisoner. He reaches out, winding his hands through my damp hair. Kaden always had an obsession with my hair. And my hands. When we crossed that line, he was always touching one or the other.
I’ve missed this.
His touch and his devotion.
His obvious care.
“I still love you, Eva.” He drills me with a sincere look. “And that’s never going to change. You belong with me. It’s the only truth that matters.”
I want to tell him I love him too. That he’s the only man I’ve ever loved. The only one I ever will.
But that will hurt him more in the long run, so I bite my tongue, forcing the words back into my mouth, safeguarding them in my heart where the truth lives.
“Leave him. We’ll go abroad. I have the money and the resources to make it happen.” Steely determination is etched on his face.
Tears pool in my eyes. “I wish it was that easy.”
He leans in closer to me, hope flooding his eyes. “I know it wouldn’t be easy, but it would be worth it to have you in my life. I can’t live without you, Eva. You are all I see.”
I lose the battle with my tears, and they roll silently down my face. “I’m not worthy of you, Kade. You deserve better than me. I can’t take you away from your family and your friends. And it would never be over. He would never stop looking for me. And his enemies would seek me out too. You saw what happened tonight.”
Alarm replaces the hope in his gaze. “What? Are you saying it wasn’t a random attack?”
Shit. Why did I have to blurt that out? He won’t let this go now. But I can’t deny it now I’ve said it. I nod. “They wanted my husband to know. It was a message.”
“Holy fuck, Eva.” He grabs my hands, dropping his head onto them.
My chest tightens, and my lungs constrict, making breathing difficult.
He lifts his head up, pinning me with anguished eyes. “You need to tell him. Let him deal with those fuckers so they don’t come back. If I’d known, I would’ve never—”
“No. Don’t you dare say it,” I cut in, fury rendering my tone. “You are not him, and I never want you to be. That is why it has to be like this. Why we can’t ever be together.”
I remove my hands from under his, sliding off the stool. “I can’t drag you into this world, Kaden. I won’t see you hurt because of me.”
“Don’t leave,” he begs. “I’m not ready to let you go yet.”
I cup his beautiful face. “I have to, because he’ll start wondering where I am if I don’t come home.”
“Promise me you’ll think about what I said. I can figure a way out of this.” He turns his face into my palm, closing his eyes and emitting a sigh of contentment. “Just give me some time to work out how we can be together.”
I shake my head sadly, ignoring my pleading heart. “I can’t promise you that, Kaden, no more than I could promise you it two years ago.”
I release his face, and, although it kills me to say this, I do what I have to.
I say what is necessary to protect the man I love.
“You need to forget me. Nothing has changed, Kaden, and it never will. I will never be yours.”
Chapter Eight
Past – Sophomore Year of College
Kaden
Eva’s really distracted tonight. I watch her stare off into space for the umpteenth time, and I’m just about to ask her what’s wrong when the door swings open, stopping me. A woman with cropped blonde hair sticks her head into the room. “Turn on the news, Eva! They’ve found a mass grave a couple miles from your house. The whole area is being cordoned off.” She glances at me briefly before closing the door and departing.
Eva opens her laptop and pulls up the local TV station app. I round the desk, leaning over her as we both watch.
“A man out walking with his dog made the gruesome discovery a few hours ago,” the reporter is saying, gesturing behind her to an area of woodland that is now teeming with cops, FBI, and medical personnel. Yellow police tape keeps the news crews and nosy bystanders away from the crime scene. “According to my source, twenty-one bodies have been recovered so far, but more extensive digging is taking place across this whole area.” She sweeps her arms out to her sides. “And further bodies are likely to be found. While no official report has been issued yet, we have it on good authority that all the victims died from gunshot wounds. Police suspect this is the result of the recent acceleration of violence amongst those warring factions controlling the supply of illegal drugs in the Massachusetts area. This will come as a big blow to local authorities, coming so soon after the disastrous, failed drug raid on several warehouses at the docks last month.”
Eva slams the laptop closed and walks to the sideboard resting against the far wall. She removes a bottle of whiskey, and I dart forward as it almost slips from her hand. Grabbing hold of it, I place the bottle on top of the sideboard. Removing two glasses, I pretend not to notice how her hands are shaking like she has Parkinson’s.
I pour her a drink and she has it out of my hands before I can blink. She drains it in one go, and damn, if that isn’t a major turn-on. Most women hate whiskey. Eva just knocked it back like a pro.
“Another.” She holds out her glass, and I duly oblige, pouring one for myself too. I’m a few months shy of my twenty-first birthday, so technically I shouldn’t be drinking, but I doubt Eva notices or cares. She’s way too preoccupied to worry about something so minor.
She tosses the sharp, amber liquid down her throat with skill, barely flinching.
I refill her glass before she asks. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Drawing a large breath, she shakes her head. She sips her drink this time, staring off into space, and there’s a dull glaze to her usual warm brown eyes. Seeing something so gruesome, so close to home, is bound to be shocking, but somehow her reaction seems more personal than that.
“I’m sorry, Kaden,” she says after a little bit. “But I’ll have to cut our session short tonight.”
“That’s okay,” I assure her, as her tummy emits a large rumble. I smile. “I think someon
e’s hungry.”
That barely raises a smile. “I’m not sure I could eat now. Not even prawn, garlic, and chili masala.”
I arch a brow, and her lips tug up at the corners a little. “Do you know Veda Restaurant?”
I rack my brains, shaking my head. “Can’t say that I do.”
“It’s a small family-run restaurant off the beaten track. Everything is made from scratch and it’s delicious. Their prawn chili masala is to die for. My friend Renee teases me mercilessly because every time we order takeout I get the exact same thing. It’s just too good to turn down.”
I have my cell out while she’s talking, and I’ve already opened up the app. She frowns when I press the cell to my ear. “What are you …” She trails off as the call is answered, listening with a funny look on her face while I place our order.
I hang up, sliding my cell into the back pocket of my jeans. “I hope you don’t mind, but you’re hungry, I’m hungry, and I don’t have anything planned for tonight.”
That’s not one hundred percent true, but I can cancel my plans. I’d chew off both testicles if it meant I got to spend more time with her.
For once, she appears lost for words.
I grin. “I can hang out with you for a bit. Maybe we can stream a movie while we’re waiting for dinner to arrive?”
Surprisingly, she nods, and I take her laptop over to the couch, plopping down and pulling up the site I need. She places my whiskey on the coffee table before sinking into the downy couch alongside me. I prop the laptop on my knees as I log into my account. “What do you like?”
Seducing Kaden (The Kennedy Boys Book 6) Page 7