by Jae Dawson
“Loves them.”
“Good. Because Bob will have to get used to seeing them.”
The silly grins lingered on our faces.
She loved me.
And I had almost missed this. Almost lost her.
Her breath fluttered across my lips. I kissed her again, savoring the warm heat of her mouth. It took every ounce of strength to not rip off our clothes here and now. We had unfinished business, Bella and me. Tonight, I had plans to fly her to the moon and back. She loved me.
I nuzzled her ear. “Is this musical over yet?”
“The musical!” she yelped, jumping away from me and whirling toward the stage where the song Suppertime was just ending. “You’re too distracting. Go wait somewhere out of the way.”
I smirked. “So, I can distract you with my perfect ass as I walk away?”
“Oh my god.” She put her hands against my chest and shoved. “Go!”
I faded into a dark corner to watch the rest of the show, a smile still playing on my lips. I wasn’t going anywhere.
My phone was blowing up. I sighed. There was only one person who would be desperate to reach me right now. I watched the play a few seconds. My phone vibrated again. The final number was half-way through and . . . Screw it. I opened my messages and braced for the lashing I knew I was about to receive.
Kenzie: just when I thought you couldn’t get any dumber, you go and do something like this . . .
I swallowed thickly, watching as the three little dots of doom signaled the final nail in the coffin of my career.
Kenzie: and totally redeem yourself!
I laughed in relief, recognizing the line from Dumb & Dumber.
Cade: safe to emerge from my Kenzie-proof bunker?
Kenzie: ur little duet is viral. The masses think its totes adorbs
Cade: and the HBO show?
Kenzie: Beveled Light was great. HBO isn’t pleased, but not going to sue ur ass
Cade: whew
Kenzie: have to go stop Andy from flirting with Kaylen. He needs a leash and shock collar
I grunted a laugh. She wasn’t wrong.
Cade: thanks beautiful
Kenzie: ur gonna be my pool boy from now on
Cade: we can work something out
Kenzie: in that banana costume
I groaned and shoved my phone into my pocket. I would definitely not be hearing the end of that and I glared at Bella. Though, really, I should be swearing at Gramps for telling Dev. He knew full well that Devon can’t keep secrets. Especially ones that include Cade Owens humiliation.
The curtain dropped and Bella trotted over to where I hid. “You’ll have a lot of adoring fans to talk to.”
“Yeah? Well, there’s only one groupie I want to talk to.” I tapped the tip of her nose.
“Groupie?” Bella threw her hands up in mock annoyance. “I will not be kissing your ass now, or ever.”
I raised one eyebrow.
“You’ll beg to eventually.”
She rolled her eyes.
“All right, Ms. Pagano, here’s the plan.” I leaned in close to whisper in her ear, and I felt her shiver beneath me. “One hour. Shake the hands, take the pictures, woo the school board. And then you and I have a little rendezvous with destiny.”
“Okay.” Her voice was husky in a way that made me harden with need. One hour sounded like a damn long time.
“Meet me at the place we met?”
“I’ll be there.” Those sinful brown eyes met mine and I felt myself falling.
Moonlight and Belladonna,
my poison, my drug.
Moonlight and Belladonna,
You intoxicate me with your love.
That hour passed in a whirlwind. It took me forever to excuse myself from the mass of students, parents, and teachers. Every student in the musical wanted to introduce me to their family and friends, to show they knew me. I made sure to talk them each up—how hard they worked and how talented they were.
Especially Jeremy, who faintly smiled while I shared with his dazed sister how he would make a great DJ. And that a new laptop should arrive at his house within the week. Then his barely-there smile turned into a full-on grin. I knew those were rare, his smiles. And it did something to me inside.
I felt like a million bucks by the time I finally made it out to the parking lot and slid into Gramps’s truck. Tomorrow morning, I’d surprise him at Maple Lane. But tonight was for me and Bella.
I had thrown a tarp and a whole bunch of blankets and candles into the cab in a mad dash, and I hoped it would be enough to keep us warm. I had a thermos of hot cider and a couple mugs. Plus, a bag of Tootsie Pops––Bella’s favorite candy, according to her mother.
A sea of beaming orange jack-o-lanterns cheered me on as I passed. My stomach churned nervously and I wiped my hands on my jeans. I hadn’t been this jittery since some of my earliest gigs. But Bella was something new. Something with real stakes. Something I didn’t want to screw up.
The parking lot was empty when I pulled the truck into a corner spot. I hopped out and appreciated the shiny new streetlamp I had paid for.
That night felt so far away, as if the darkness no longer had the same pull on me. I still mourned Gran; I would miss her every day. But life didn’t feel bleak and hopeless anymore. Bella brought me back from that place. She had brought the light crashing down into my life––my moon touched angel.
I smiled to myself before gathering everything into my arms. Then I trudged into the woods to the spot where I stumbled into her. Weirdly, I remembered this spot through the haze of disjointed memories from that night.
I had just finished lighting each candle when I heard soft footsteps in the underbrush. She slowly lowered into the blanket, and the candlelight caressed her silhouette, an hourglass in a purple peacoat. She pulled the tie from her ponytail and dark hair cascaded over one shoulder in an ebony waterfall.
“Hi,” Bella said. Then a shiver wracked her.
“Come here.” I pulled a thick fleece blanket out and wrapped it around her until she was nearly covered.
“Thirsty?” I waggled the thermos to banish my nerves. Be cool, Cade. Women fell at my feet for years. But none of those women were Bella.
“Uh, what it is it?”
“You’ll have to taste it to find out.”
“Really? Fine. I accept your what’s-in-the-thermos challenge. So,” she said more softly, looking around. “When did you have time to plan all this?”
“Well, I had about a thirty second window after the plane landed and before I had to be at the school. Tried to fly in yesterday, but everything was booked.”
I handed her the Ass Cup, full of cider, and she took it in both hands while still soaking in the candles and blankets. “Mmmmm . . . smells like apples.” She inhaled the steam wafting from the mug. “I love apple cider.”
“Fresh from the bakery.” My lips twitched. “Take a sip.”
“Their cider is legendary.” Bella lifted the mug to her lips, her fingers curling around the jean pockets. And stopped. She pulled the mug back and took a good, hard look at the ceramic ass that nearly pressed to her lips. “Is this . . . Are you kidding me? You were going to trick me into drinking from the Ass Cup?”
I burst into laughter at the playful, indignant glare slitted my way. It was worth it, simply for that look alone.
“When will you learn that I’m a worthy adversary?” She arched a brow.
My heart stumbled. “Not until you beg to drink from the Cup.”
“Tricking me isn’t a fair fight.”
“You want a treat instead?” I bit my lower lip playfully.
Bella groaned and swapped mugs with me, then took a large sip and sighed, content. She looked around at the shadowed trees swaying gently above us, dark except for the soft glow illuminating their trunks.
“Just think,” she said between sips. “If not for you stumbling onto me, we never would have met.”
“Well, it wasn’t a coincidence. Not really.”
Bella tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
I waggled my fingers and said in a spooky voice, “it was the seed!”
She froze, her cup halfway to her mouth for another sip of cider. “What did you say?”
“Your magic seed.” I chuckled. “Your mother told me.”
Her voice shot up an octave. “You talked to . . . Mamma?”
“I called to ask what your favorite Halloween candy was.”
Her hands flailed, sending a wave of cider over her lap. “And you just ended up talking about a super private ritual she forced me to do?”
“I better take that.” I retrieved the mug from her before she could burn one of us. Bella was looking up at the overcast sky, muttering in Italian. “Ucciderò quella donna!”
I took her chin in my hand, drawing her eyes back to mine. “You know, it’s incredibly sexy when you speak in Italian.”
Her long lashes fluttered like butterflies as she blinked at me. “Really?”
“Will you say something else?”
She leaned forward, her eyes flicking to my lips. “Baciami, Cade Owens.”
I didn’t need a translator to know what that meant. I surged forward and claimed her lips—desperate to tear down the last wall between us. To let myself fall, fully and completely. I knew her light would be there to catch my dark.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Bella
The cold air nipped at my nose and fingertips, but Cade was everywhere, warming my body with every look of longing.
I opened the thick, down blanket around me, and invited him inside. He prowled forward with animal grace and tipped us backward, his hard body atop mine.
“I’ve been dying to taste you again,” he rumbled against my skin. His kisses explored my jawline, my ear. When his teeth grazed my earlobe, a gasp escaped me.
“Me too,” I whispered back.
My hands roamed over him, taking in his every texture and angle. The silky strands of his hair above the velvet stretch of his side-shave . . . the prickle of stubble along his jaw . . . the way his muscles moved beneath the smooth expanse of his back, the skin flushed beneath my fingertips.
Cade adjusted the blanket until it totally covered us, cocooning us in a nocturnal world of pine trees and heated breath. He unthreaded the belt of my peacoat and unbuttoned each button by feel, laying it open with a triumphant grunt. Even though I was still fully clothed beneath, a trill of excitement and need shot through me, straight to my core.
“More buttons?” he lamented playfully while his hands toyed with the neck of my dress.
“I can help, if you’re feeling too worn out from the jacket,” I teased, starting with my top button.
“I love that sass.” Cade seized my hands and forced them above my head—reminiscent of the dressing room—his mouth just a breath above mine. “But I’m taking my time with you, Ms. Pagano.”
He started unbuttoning my shirtwaist dress, even as his other hand still gently corralled my wrists.
My body trembled. “So, what am I supposed to do?”
I wasn’t ready for Cade to see how desperate he was already making me. At this rate, I would melt into a puddle before he even got my panties off.
“Kick back and enjoy yourself, Belly.”
I rolled my eyes and his sexy, taunting smile grew wider.
His fingers unfastened the final button and brushed the loose fabric aside. A single finger traced along the black-laced curve of my breast. I shivered––an exquisite, hot shiver. The corner of his mouth tilted in a satisfied smirk right before he cupped my breasts and lowered his lips to the soft flesh between them.
Oh my gawd!
His eyes flashed to mine. “Feel free to moan my name when the time comes.”
“That’s a bit presumptuous,” I said, my barb deprived of some of its force by the gasp that followed. Damn, his hands felt good.
“No Bella.” His eyes gleamed in the dark—first making love to my lips with a single, meaningful look, then meeting my breathless gaze—before whispering, “That’s a promise.”
The dam within me broke. No more playful jabs or pillow talk. I needed Cade desperately. I needed him now. I surged up to kiss him, my hands on his cheeks, and pulled him to me.
Sensing my change of tempo, he responded in kind. I fell into the rush that was Cade Owens, and I almost laughed with the thrill of being his. Knowing his heart and now learning his body. He smiled against my lips, a devilish, boyish grin that warned he was both angel and demon. Then he deepened our kiss.
His tongue tangled with mine, and the weight of his body pressed into me. Fingers, soft and teasing, caressed the swell of my breasts through the lace of my bra while the other released my wrist to trail down my arm. Each touch pooled fire between my legs. Each heavy, fluttering breath of his pulsed beneath my skin in a matching, heady beat. The tip of his fingers continued to brush along my breasts, stopping only when finding the peak of my nipples—already hard for him. My eyes fluttered closed.
“It’s a front clasp,” I said.
Cade wasted no time baring my breasts, then drinking me in. “God you’re beautiful.”
That voice, smokey and aching. All for me.
He captured one nipple in his mouth, sucking gently. His other hand snaked up the side of my thigh, higher and higher, until his thumb rubbed along the plane of my hipbone, underneath my panties.
A moan escaped my lips in anticipation.
I was torn in two—half of me wanted to explore every inch of him, to roll him over so my hands and mouth could make him quake with desire. Being laid open before him felt incredibly vulnerable. But the other part of me wanted to do as he said, kick back and enjoy myself. There would be plenty of time to go Lewis & Clark on his delicious body. He had come back. He was here. He was mine.
Cade was teasing my other nipple with his teeth, and his fingers toyed with my slick entrance between my legs. My breath hitched as he slipped a finger inside me.
All right. Brain, off.
Seed of intention, you win!
I tugged at the hem of his shirt and he got the message, rearing back to pull it over his head, then his hand returned to worked me senseless. And I was almost there—undone and gasping. Blond hair fell over his eyes in a disheveled mess.
Candlelight flickered across his muscled torso and outlined every dip and ridge of his abs and pecs, as well as the toned muscles of his arms and shoulders. Damn. He was beyond beautiful. A wild longing so fierce, so intense, roared through me at the sight of him leaning over me. I wanted his skin on my skin. I wanted every inch of him nestled inside me. This was maddening. Every second torture.
Unable to stop myself, I unbuckled his belt and fumbled with the button of his jeans.
“See, buttons are hard,” he murmured with a chuckle.
And holy hell, so was he. My core clenched at the feel of him through his jeans. I slowly unzipped his pants, then delved inside to feel the long, hardened length of him.
Cade groaned, a low rumble, as I stroked his shaft through his boxer briefs. “You’re going to make me come.”
“Would that be so bad?” I replied with mock innocence.
“I told you I was going to take my time.” He crawled away, down my body, biting his lower lip in another heated promise. “Plus,” he purred. “You haven’t moaned my name yet.” He reached underneath my skirt and tugged my panties down, pulling them off with a sultry determination.
Moonlight poured into my veins the moment his calloused hands ran up the inside of my thighs. And the sun set fire to each galloping heartbeat when his head nestled there next and his breath kissed my arousal. I arched my hips, needing him closer, much closer. His tongue darted out and licked my clit, and I bucked beneath him. And then he began to work in earnest, his crooked finger stroking the walls inside me, his tongue dancing patterns across my clit until I saw stars. I writhed beneath him, but he held my hips firm, leaving me helpless and desperate to his heavenly ministration
s.
“Oh Cade . . .” His name escaped my lips as the waves of heat built within me, taking me toward the edge.
A deep chuckle was the only response, but I didn’t even care that I’d played into his arrogant promise. I didn’t want to play fight anymore. I wanted to let go. I twined my fingers in his hair, pulling his head closer, twisting my hips as he nipped at my most sensitive spot, sending me tumbling over the edge.
“Holy shit, Cade,” I hissed as my orgasm thundered around me.
“I’m here, Bella.”
My eyes flickered open to rest on his lips, flushed and parted. My heart was open fully as I had feared it never would be again. And he knew it—his soft look a promise to cherish that gift. He crawled up my body, trailing kisses up my stomach and between my breasts, before settling himself between my legs.
“You want more?” he whispered hoarsely into my shoulder.
Touched by his tender question, I seized him in a kiss, ignoring the taste of me on his lips. I pulled his jeans over his slim hips and caressed him as he sprung free. Silky soft yet hard as iron.
“I want all of you,” I whispered into our kiss.
And I did. I wanted his caramel baritone and his storm-cloud moods and his complicated career and his deep yearning that he showed so few. I wanted every piece of this man. The good, the bad. We would get through it all, together.
My head tipped back as Cade entered me inch by blessed inch. He groaned into my neck. “You feel amazing.”
“I love you, Cade.”
He claimed my lips, his arms around me. “I love you, too.”
And then he began to move in a rhythm my body somehow knew by heart. As if some part of me had always known that Cade and I could make beautiful music together.
I lost myself to the cadence of his thrusts, the bliss of the tempo we danced together. And I knew, without a doubt, that I’d found my partner in this duet called life.
Epilogue