Cade (23 page)

Cade had lost the ability to think. He didn’t care about anything. It was too late. Too many times he had fought this and for what? To feel the agonising pain of it every minute of every god damn day? Too many times he had walked away. Too many times he had let her go, but he wasn’t going to this time. He wasn’t letting her go. He let her slide down his body, his body shuddering from the feel of her. “Come with me,” he whispered against her mouth, ready to beg if she said no.

He stepped back from her, breathing hard. Keeping his eyes on hers, he held out his hand. This was the moment. He had made his decision and now she had to make hers—it had to be hers. What she chose next had to be what she wanted.

It was all on her.

Chapter Twenty-Six

The rain pounded down all around them, but neither of them noticed—neither of them seemed to care. As Gemma stood opposite Cade, breath coming in ragged gasps, she tried to clear her head enough so that she could think straight. Cade stood there waiting, arm outstretched and blue gaze boring into her with an intensity that branded her. God, he was so beautiful—it made it hard to think.

She tried to remember all the reasons why this was a bad idea. He was
wolf
and she was
tiger
—that in itself was going against one of the most fundamental rules of Society law. To make it worse, he was promised to another woman, would be mating her for Phoenix’s sake. Yet, as much as it hurt to know he was mating another, Gemma found herself loving Cade even more—he was sacrificing his own happiness to save the life of a boy. And while all these reasons played out in her head and told her the logical decision was to turn around and leave, everything inside her screamed for her to stay. Nothing had ever felt as right as being in Cade’s arms. “Do you promise?”

“Promise?” Cade frowned.

“That what you said is the truth—that this is real, right here. What you just said to me, promise me that it is real.”

“I meant every word, Gemma. Don’t you see that? This is the most real thing that I have ever felt or done in my entire life. I don’t know why my
wolf
chose you, but he did. He chose
you
. I choose you. Now it is your turn. What do you want?” There was a hint of desperation in his voice, a fear that she might not accept what he was offering. If she chose to leave—if she didn’t choose him—he didn’t know what he would do. Nothing would matter anymore. The Castle woman could have him, but she’d have what was on the outside. Inside, he would always belong to someone else. “You’re what my heart wants,” he rasped, a need emanating from him that made it hard for Gemma not to respond to.

When she took a step toward him and placed her hand in his, Cade’s
wolf
slammed into his chest. He dragged her back into his arms and held onto her tightly for a moment, shaking from the force of the emotions that swamped him. She pressed herself up against him, arms snaking around his middle and filling him with a feral need.

“You’re what mine wants, too,” she whispered. His
wolf
growled in approval. It was what it wanted. It had chosen its mate, and it was keeping her.

“Let’s get out of this rain,” he murmured in her ear, and heat flooded her. She had been waiting for this moment for years, and while in her dreams Cade had always belonged to her fully, not been planning to mate some other woman, Gemma decided she’d take anything he could give her. For now, this would have to be enough.

Cade let go of her reluctantly and took both her hands in his, taking a step backward and pulling her along. He said nothing to her as he turned, letting go of one of her hands while holding on to the other, letting it trail behind him as he walked and brought her with him. Each step grew faster until they were both running. He held onto her tightly—he wasn’t going to lose her now, no matter what. They dashed down the garden, along the side of the house and around the back. Crashing through the door, Cade slammed it behind them and Gemma reached for him. They were both soaked, water pooling on the floor as it dripped from their drenched clothes. Neither seemed to care, though, oblivious to the wet and the cold as the fire that raged between them licked and burned. She tangled her fingers in his wet hair, pulling hard and igniting his need for her even more. A growl escaped his throat as their lips and tongues clashed. Hunger—there was so much hunger it threatened to consume him completely. 

It was her this time—her who took the lead and dragged his lips down to hers. It was her who forced his mouth open and welcomed him into hers. She kissed him with the same desperation that he felt inside. She kissed him with such ferocity that he had to brace his hand against the wall to keep from falling into her. And he let her. He let her take what she wanted, revelling in the fierceness of her need just as it fuelled his own. His entire body ached for her—it craved her in a way he had never felt before. Tearing away from her kiss, he lifted his head, but she grasped onto him, trying to pull him back. “Not here,” he breathed heavily, taking her hand in his and tugging her through the kitchen. Phoenix was asleep in his room, passed out from an eventful day, but Cade was still careful not to make too much noise as he led Gemma through the hallway and up the stairs to his bedroom.

As soon as they were in the room, he kicked the door closed behind them and grasped her hips. Keeping a hairbreadth distance between them, he walked her backwards into his room, his eyes locked onto hers, the intent in them clear. Her legs hit the edge of the bed, and she was forced down onto it. Cade pushed her back and she let out a soft cry.

Bracing himself over her, he bent down and sharply nipped at her lip before starting to move down her body. He slid his hands down her legs slowly, his eyes firmly fixed on hers. Her breathing coming ragged and fast, she propped herself up on her elbows and watched him wide-eyed as he reached the end of the bed and lifted one of her feet in his hands.

“Phoenix is sleeping,” he warned her as he slipped off one of her sodden shoes. “Don’t wake him.” He slipped off the next shoe, and she shivered, shocked that a man removing her shoes could be such a sensual act. As he climbed back up, he ran his hands back up her cold, bare legs, kneading her flesh as he went, pausing only to nip along her skin with his teeth. Her gaze remained glued on him as she watched every move he made, her tremulous breaths sounding loud to her ears in the quiet of the bedroom. When he was eye level with her, he wrapped one hand gently around the side of her neck and buried his face against the other side. Her head fell back.

“Cade.” His name left her lips on a breathless whisper.

“Don’t’ tell me to stop,” he pleaded softly as he pushed her back onto the bed and nuzzled her neck.

“You're going to make the bed wet,” she gasped. “My dress is soaking.”

He lifted his head to stare into her eyes, the smouldering look on his face sending excitement coursing through her veins. “We can fix that,” he said hoarsely, and need lanced through her at his words. He sat back, straddling her hips and hooking his fingers under the hem of her dress. Gemma’s breath caught, and she shivered in expectation. He brought it up slightly, teasingly, pushing it only high enough to expose her panties and bare stomach. He bent down and pressed his mouth to her cold, damp skin, inhaling the perfumed scent of her. She sucked in a breath and his own skin prickled in excitement, tingling all through his body.

She lifted her head, panting as she looked down at him. “Cade, is this wrong?”

He stilled, then lifted his head to meet her eyes. “Nothing has ever felt more right.” He hesitated, afraid of the answer to his next question. “You want me to stop?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head vehemently. “Don’t you even dare.”

Cade drank in the sight of her—
his
… finally. She was so perfect as she lay there, so goddamn beautiful it hurt to look at her. “Then stop thinking about it,” he smiled, keeping his eyes on hers as he lowered his mouth back to her bare skin and ran his tongue along the edge of her panties slowly. He took his time, nipping and licking, the taste of her addictive. A growl resonated deep within his throat, his
wolf
rising close to the surface and demanding he pounce. It needed to possess, and it needed it now. Cade pushed his wolf down—he was not going to rush this. He was going to make sure their first time was special—Gemma deserved no less. He pressed hot, open-mouthed kisses on her stomach and felt it clench in response. Her head fell back again, soft groans escaping her lips with each touch and each kiss.

He slid back down her body, his own already hard, throbbing almost painfully in its need to bury himself inside her. Forcing himself to ignore the uncomfortable pressure behind his zipper, he pushed her dress up higher, just enough that he could see the beginning of her breasts. He groaned—it was like unwrapping a gift he’d waited years for.  His mouth watered for a taste of the round lushness, and he feared he wouldn’t be able to hold back much longer. He trailed his mouth along her skin, leaving a trail of hot kisses from her navel to just below her breasts.

Her hands gripped the sheets and her breathing grew shallow, goose bumps breaking out along her sensitive flesh. She shivered as his tongue flicked and his teeth scraped and grazed. He heard her sharp intake of breath as he pushed her dress, along with lacy cups of her bra, all up in the same movement, uncovering her full breasts to his hungry gaze. “Cade,” she whimpered, the tips beading into hard points that begged for his attention.

With a low, deep rumble in his throat and his self-control teetering on the edge, he cupped the fullness of one breast in a calloused palm and lowered his head. His mouth latched onto the nipple, sucking it deep into his mouth. She cried out, her back arching off the bed as her fingers gripped the sheets tighter. Without lifting his head, he pushed the dress the rest of the way up, forcing her arms above her head and slipping it free from her.

“Oh god,” she breathed as he tossed her dress to the floor. He took the pert nipple deeper into his mouth, opening his mouth wide as he sucked and flicked his tongue back and forth. His hand found her other breast and pinched the straining tip lightly between his thumb and forefinger, making her gasp and her hands fly to his shoulders, her nails digging in deep. She moaned beneath him, her back bowing under the onslaught of erotic sensation.

“See?” he said hoarsely, letting the hard nipple pop free from his mouth. “Wet clothes problem solved.”

Gemma lifted dazed eyes to look at him, incapable of rational speech. But Cade wasn’t interested in talking—luckily. With a growl, he nipped and kissed his way to her neck, burying his face against her. “You're so god damn beautiful,” he breathed as he nuzzled her.

Impatient fingers reached for the buttons of his shirt, practically ripping them open in their haste. She purred in pleasure when the shirt finally fell open and she was able to run her hands along the contours of his toned chest muscles.

Gemma was shivering, and Cade realised it wasn’t only from arousal. Droplets of water dripped onto her and the bed from his open shirt, and his sopping wet jeans were fully pressed up the long length of her legs. “Wait,” he murmured, reluctant to leave her, but hating the thought that he was making her cold. She protested as he pushed himself up and moved to stand at the foot of the bed between her dangling legs.

She sat up, breathless as her eyes took in every hard ridge of magnificent male perfection revealed to her. Her lips parted, heart thudding in her chest as she drank in the pure masculine beauty of him. With his eyes never leaving her, he shook the wet shirt from his shoulders, letting it drop to the floor alongside her dress, then reached for his belt.

“No,” she whispered. “Stop.” Cade stilled, his heart sinking as he held his breath.
God no, don’t let her change her mind.
He would die if he didn’t have her tonight.

She looked up at him and gave him a devilish grin—one that offered promises that made his heart thump loudly in his chest. Her hands pushed his away and she set to work on his belt, chewing on her bottom lip in expectant excitement. The belt clanged as it came loose and she let it fall open. Her eyes locked onto his as she reached for the top button of his jeans and popped it open. Cade tensed as she worked the rest of the buttons free and her knuckles rubbed against him. He grew unbearably hard, curling his hands into fists to stop himself from reaching for her before she was done. She smiled when she finished unbuttoning the very last button, then leaned forward and pressed her mouth against the light smattering of dark hairs just below his navel. Her breath was hot against his skin, sending jolts of electricity coursing through his body. She pushed his jeans down his legs, coming away only long enough for him to step out of them.

“These are too wet,” she said huskily, hooking a finger beneath the elastic band of his tight boxers where it covered his hip and starting to pull them down.

Cade caught her hands and shook his head.

“No,” he said. “Not this time. This one is mine.” He stepped back out of her reach and then bent down to her, hooking his finger under chin and tilting her face up to his. His eyes bore into hers, their lips just inches apart. Her breathing hitched. “I've waited too long for this, dreamt about it. This is mine today. Okay?”

Her eyes wide, she nodded. He pushed her back onto the bed and climbed on top of her, sliding his hand under her back and pulling her up the bed so that she was on it properly and her head rested on the pillows. Her legs were forced open as he knelt between them, staring down into her face. He was going to take this slow. He was going to savour every moment of this. He had waited too long for it to be over too quickly. He had dreamt about this moment thousands of times. Shit, part of him wasn’t even sure if this was real now as he watched her. He wondered if he was about to wake up and discover it was all a dream.

“There’s no going back after this, you know that, right?”

“There has never been a going back for me, Cade. Not ever. I love you. I don’t just say that to people. My life feels pointless without you. When I'm not with you …” Her words trailed off as a sob caught in her throat.