Caden (Loving the Sykes Book 1)

by Elizabeth Stevens

  “Are you not going to put a top on?” she accused.

  I grinned and leant on my crutches. “I hadn’t planned on it, no.”

  “Of course not,” she muttered, pulling herself out of the bed.

  “Lu, hey there you are!” Carter walked in, completely nonplussed to find his little sister getting out of my bed.

  I wasn’t sure whether to be pleased, or slightly annoyed he thought I wasn’t a threat to his sister’s innocence. Pleased was always going to be first on my list – I didn’t want the wrath of three Sykes brothers on my head. But my male pride took a bruising at the idea Carter thought nothing of Lucy and I sharing a bed.

  “Morning, Cart,” Lucy said, making to push past him but he stopped her. “What do you want.”

  My best mate grinned at me. “I wondered if you had any lovely little friends who might be pleased to know my main man is back in town?”

  Lucy looked at me quickly, as though daring me to think it was a good idea, then back to Carter. “I’m sure I can’t think of anyone who will care.”

  “Oh, come on! All the Sykes brothers back together, it will be one hell of a party!” Carter said.

  I was about to open my mouth, but Lucy was quick.

  “Cart, for starters, I doubt Cade wants to go partying with his leg still hurt. Secondly, you think I’m going to help you score any more of my friends? Dude, for once, keep it in your pants. I don’t need any one else running to me either telling me how great your dick is or how much of a dick you are. Some things, sisters don’t need to know.”

  She kissed his cheek for good measure, finally got past him and he grinned at me.

  “She’s probably right,” he said with a shrug.

  “How long has she been cock-blocking you?” I laughed.

  “You’ve been gone six years man, things change. She’s a total ball-buster now.”

  He didn’t need to tell me twice. I’d spent the night against that body, I didn’t need reminding that beautiful little Lucy Sykes had turned into some kind of sexy goddess. I’d thought eighteen-year-old me had wanted to do nasty things to her. Eighteen-year-old me hadn’t even known what real nasty things were! Twenty-four-year old me knew and he wanted to do them all.

  “Yo, earth to Cade!” Carter called and I blinked, looking back at him.

  “Sorry, dude. What?”

  “When’s that hideous thing coming off?” He pointed to the moon boot.

  “All going well, a couple of days. It’s just a precaution. My boss knows I’m liable to overdo it.”

  Carter laughed. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Fucker thinks he’s invincible.”

  “Shut up, dickwad. Wait ‘til this thing comes off, I’ll beat your arse.”

  “Sure you will. Like you always did,” he replied sarcastically.

  I grinned. I’d only beaten him in the last six months I’d been at home. Rarely. “I’ve had six years of very different training, Cart. You’d be surprised what I could do now.”

  He scoffed. “Unless you can defuse a bomb while you’re balls deep in a hot chick, I’m not impressed.”

  I cocked an eyebrow at him.

  “No way…” he breathed, looking at me like I was actually amazing.

  I slapped him on the shoulder. “Nah man.” I said and his face broke out into an ‘I knew it’ smile. “She was just sucking me off.”

  Now, he was legitimately impressed. I laughed, doubting he really needed to know what I got up to during work hours. Sometimes, it wasn’t all killing.

  “Shit. You will actually believe anything, won’t you?” I asked and hobbled towards the kitchen.

  “No, man. That totally happened!” Carter said as he followed me. “You can’t lie to me. I can see it on your face. It totally happened!”

  “What totally happened?” Lucy asked, coming down the stairs.

  She wore a short dress that rode up her legs as she reached up to put her long auburn hair up. There was way too much of her on show. Not that I hadn’t been in prime position to feel all that and more the night before, but even in my sleep I’d managed to be a gentleman.

  “Cade defused a bomb while some chick sucked him off,” Carter crowed and I winced.

  Lucy’s face scrunched up and she threw me a questioning look. “In your obvious excitement, Cart, you forgot who you were talking to. I’m sure I don’t need to know whose mouth has been anywhere near any of your dicks.”

  I noticed her gaze travel quickly down to my crotch and back up my body before she moved into the kitchen and busied herself at the coffee machine.

  Had Carter not been there, I might have said something witty and flirtatious. But, even if the Sykes boys hadn’t been like brothers to me, I wouldn’t have flirted with their little sister in front of them. That would just be suicide.

  “Can you lot ever stop taking the bottom shelf mugs?” we heard her grumble. “Seriously, short-arse here can barely reach the second shelf.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’ve got it,” Carter called, shaking his head at me.

  I swung in after him and watched as he reached up for a mug, his hand on the small of her back, and passed it to her. He said something quietly to her and she laughed as she put her arm around his waist. He hugged her shoulder and kissed her head. The Sykes had always bickered like champions, but there was also intense love in that house.

  “Yep. Some things never change,” I said as I lowered myself into a seat at the table.

  “You mean the fact that all my brothers are still tall jerks? Or the fact that all my brothers are secretly giant softies?” She gave me a look over her shoulder that told me she was including me in that analysis. She grinned as I looked at her incredulously.

  “I’m neither a jerk nor a softie, thank you,” I said, patting my abs.

  We held each other’s gaze intently until she blushed and turned back to the coffee machine. Carter had his head in the fridge and missed the whole exchange.

  “All of you are gooey on the inside and you know it,” she said. “Coffee?”

  “Hell yes,” Carter replied, pulling a bunch of things out of the fridge.

  “Thanks, Luce. Oz still leaving plenty of breakfast?” I asked.

  “Yes, he is. All we need to do is warm these goodies up.” Carter grinned and set to work.

  “Remember, you’ll have me cooking tonight, so make sure you have plenty of breakfast and lunch!” Lucy smiled, putting a coffee in front of me.

  “Surely, you’ve learned to cook by now?” I laughed.

  She shook her head. “Not well and no one in this house will ever be as good as Oscar. He often leaves us dinner, but he ran out of time last night with a certain pleasant surprise.” She smiled warmly at me, ruffling my hair as she passed to Carter. “Get away from there. Let me do it.”

  “No, I’m doing it. You go away,” he answered, nudging her.

  “You’ll ruin it.”

  “I won’t. You’ll ruin it.”

  “Stop being so damned stubborn and let the woman in the kitchen, you big oaf.”

  “You are such a sexist pig!” Carter laughed.

  “Not in the slightest. Oscar’s as manly as they come and he rules this kitchen. But he dubbed me second in command, so shut up and deal with it.”

  Carter grumbled and came to join me at the table. “Yeah. Great that some things never change,” he said with a grimace and I laughed.

  6

  Lucy

  I hurried into Brit’s parents’ shop.

  “Where the hell have you been?” she asked, looking up from a magazine.

  “I am royally fucked.”

  Brit blinked in surprise. “Jesus. I’ve never heard you say that word. Must be serious. What happened? God. You’re not pregnant are you? Was it the fight? You’re pregnant and now you can’t tell him because you fought? Shit…we’ll get through it, Luce. It’ll be okay! You can be a single mother. I’ll be there for you, and the boys. Oh my
God, I’m going to be an auntie!”

  I was stunned into silence for a moment while I watched her face of total blissed out excitement as she obviously daydreamed about being an aunt.

  “No. I–”

  “Luce, you left your phone at home,” Luther said as he came in.

  “Lucy’s pregnant!” Brit shrieked.

  Luther’s face went stormy and I was about ready to shoot Brit. “What?” he said slowly. He stormed outside and I saw Carter and Caden were in the car out the front.

  “Oh, shit. Brit, you are such a totally lovable wanker.” I pushed out the door after Luther and Brit hurried after me.

  “Did you know about this?” Luther was asking Carter.

  Carter and Caden were staring at me in shock and Luther was about ready to murder someone. But whatever Caden was thinking was the only thing that mattered to me. I had no idea if there’d ever be a me and Caden – I doubted it, but I could hope – but there wasn’t going to be if he thought I was pregnant with someone else’s baby.

  “Of course, I didn’t know!” Carter yelled back, getting out of the car. “Luce, what the hell have you done?”

  I was still looking at Caden, when Carter grabbed me by the shoulders and made me face him.

  “Dude, you can’t just manhandle a pregnant chick!” Luther said.

  “Oh my God!” I yelled loudly enough that people on the other side of the street stopped to look. “I’m not pregnant!” I hissed at them, batting Carter’s hands off me.

  “You’re not?” Brit asked, sounding disappointed. Her, I’d deal with later.

  “So not pregnant,” I said. I saw Luther and Carter were having trouble believing me, so I half-forgot Caden was there while I tried to reassure them. “Have so not even had sex recently enough to even think it’s a concern. I promise. It was one time. Months ago.”

  “What?” Brit asked in total disbelief as Luther and Carter grimaced.

  “I didn’t need to know all that.” Carter looked like he was about to vomit.

  “You… You just keep your sex life to yourself, Luce,” Luther agreed.

  Caden just laughed and I finally realised exactly what I’d said and who I’d said it in front of. I felt myself blush as Caden was watching me with far too much interest. There was too much going on in his grey eyes that I couldn’t look into them anymore.

  I cleared my throat and smoothed my dress. Something about the way Caden was looking at me was making me hot. Not just turned on, but my temperature spike. I vividly remembered the feel of him lying on me that morning and the hungry look in his eyes. I was no expert, but I was pretty sure that wasn’t the way a guy looked at a girl he thought of as his sister. But it was early in the morning and he was a hot-blooded male, I’m sure it was just circumstance.

  Do you really believe that? Or, is it just easier to maintain he only thinks of you as a sister?

  Of course, it was easier. That morning, I’d had a primal reaction to him, something I’d never felt anything close to with Tommy. I’d wanted all of him; breaks, bruises, bad memories, that laugh, that smile, his tenderness, his kindness, and most of all his body.

  “Shit, Caden!” Brit squealed, laughing. “How are you?”

  “Little bruised and broken, but nothing time won’t heal,” he replied with a sexy, lazy grin.

  Brit nodded. “Well, we have to get back to work. But I’ll see you later?”

  “Of course, a lot of catching up to do.” He grinned.

  Luther was still looking at me carefully.

  “Dude, enough with the dad act. I’m so not pregnant. My period finished two days ago. Want me to dig the evidence out of the trash?” I asked.

  He made a disgusted face as Caden laughed again.

  “No, that’s fine. I believe you.” Luther twitched a little.

  “Ew, Luce. Gross,” Carter replied, getting into the car. “We’ll see you home for dinner.”

  Luther gave me a hug and kissed my forehead, like Dad used to do, before getting into the car with them.

  “Good to see you, ladies.” Caden smiled as Luther drove off.

  “I see now why you’re fucked,” Brit said, grabbing my arm and dragging me inside. “This is so much better than you being pregnant.” She gasped and I hated to hear whatever fiendish plan she’d cooked up now. “Oh, now you can be impregnated by that beast of a man!”

  “Brit, you’re losing your focus.” I snapped my fingers in front of her face. “Still have a boyfriend remember, and Cade only thinks of me as a sister.”

  She scoffed. “So, what were you going to tell me before I caused a minor panic?”

  “Minor,” I huffed, then told her everything that had happened, including the incident this morning.

  “See, does not think of you as a sister. He wants you, girly. Plain and simple.”

  “No, he doesn’t.”

  “You want him.”

  “Have a boyfriend.”

  “Easily fixed.”

  “Not really the point?” I said, although it came out more of a question I wasn’t sure even I believed.

  She waved my ‘frivolous’ concerns away. “How did you feel this morning?”

  “What?”

  “When he threw you down, how did you feel?”

  Here was another person I was never going to lie to. “Very me-Tarzan, you-Jane. The guy got me going, Brit. I’d never felt attraction like that before.”

  “Tommy will be heartbroken.” At least she looked like she was trying not to grin.

  I looked at her with a frown. “Gee, thanks. Because I need to feel worse about this.”

  “You can’t help how you react to him, Luce. If you feel bad about Tommy, just don’t do anything about it.”

  “Thanks, Brit. As always, you’re help is invaluable.”

  She shrugged and gave me a self-satisfied grin. “It’s what I’m here for.”

  ****

  The rest of the week passed pretty quickly. I tried to avoid any situation where touching Caden or being alone with him in a room might be called for.

  But other than that, it was great to have him home. It was like nothing had changed in six years. We were all older and drank more than we used to, but we still all just sat around chatting and laughing. Brit joined us sometimes and we’d all wait up until Oscar got home and then listened to him talk about his shift.

  I’d avoided Tommy successfully. Well, it wasn’t hard when he worked every day and hadn’t tried texting or calling me. Not that I’d tried either. The problem was, with Caden here, I didn’t know how he’d react. Well, I had a good enough idea how he’d react to Caden being home, and I didn’t really want to go into it, especially when I had no idea how I felt about him.

  I’d been fifteen when I realised I’d lost my heart to Caden Reece. Then, he’d left and I’d got on with my life, falling in love with Tommy and putting my teenage crush behind me. Or, at least, that was what I told myself before he came swanning back into my life and I couldn’t hide from the truth anymore. I was completely in love with Caden, always had been, and I wanted him badly.

  How did I tell the guy who’d been patient with me for almost five years all of that? I couldn’t see how I would. And I couldn’t see how all of that would matter really. Caden Reece saw me as a little sister, and nothing I could do or say would change that, so I might as well just get over him and let Tommy love me the way I wished Caden would.

  God, I’m a horrible person… I groaned.

  “You right?” Oscar asked.

  I looked up at him from where I had my head on his lap. He had a rare day off and we were just chilling on the couch reading while Carter and Luther were both at work and Caden was at rehab, wherever the hell he did that. It was all very hush hush; a black car came to get him and dropped him off. We had no idea where he went or what he did. Some secret agent crap, I guessed.

  “Yeah, fine. Just thinking about this crap with Tommy.”

/>   “It’ll be okay, Lulu. We all get delusional about girls we love sometimes, can’t see what’s right in front of us because we’re too busy believing something stupid.” He brushed my hair back from my face and smiled down at me.

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “I know so, Lu. Guys can be idiots sometimes. You know that. You grew up with four of us, not counting Dad. Let him work out in his own time that he’s being an idiot.”

  For a guy who seemed to have so little insight into when girls were throwing themselves at him, he was a remarkably insightful guy. I knew he could really only speak for himself and the other Sykes brothers, but it was still helpful to get a little insider knowledge into how guys’ minds worked.

  “Nothing you say will convince him. He’s got to work it out on his own.”

  I wondered if we were still talking about Tommy. There was something in his voice that made me think he was trying to tell me something else. But I ignored that.

  “And what if he’s right, Oz?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What if I am in love with someone else but it doesn’t matter because he’ll never love me like that?”

  “Is this the same guy from years ago?”

  I nodded. I’d told him about Cade over the years, but never actually mentioned his name.

  Oscar sighed. “Well, I guess you have a decision to make. You either have to get over mystery guy and be with Tommy, or…”

  “Or, not be with Tommy anymore,” I finished for him.

  “Not an easy decision, Lu. I don’t envy you. But you know I’m always here if you need to talk.”

  I nodded again but was saved replying when the front door opened and Caden walked in with a bit of a limp but unaided.

  “Well, look at you supporting your own weight!” I smiled, sitting up.

  He beamed at us. “Finally got the bastard thing off. Have to take it easy of course – no jumping off buildings or anything – but this is going to make life so much easier.”

  “We should celebrate,” Oscar said, standing up. “I’ll get us a table at work? Invite Brit. We’ll make a night of it!”