Dare to Kiss (The Maxwell Series Book 1) (27 page)

Becca and I hung by a doorway that opened into a private dining room. Kade, Coach Dean, and Hunt huddled in front of the fire, talking as though they were discussing something top secret. Dad, Mary, Kross, and Kody chatted by the food table.

Kelton swaggered up with his bottom lip sucked into his mouth, his blue eyes appraising Becca and me. “Christ, girls. You two know how to make a guy squirm, don’t you?” he drawled.

Becca and I exchanged looks, rolling our eyes at the same time.

He hugged me. “My brother is the luckiest fucking guy alive,” he whispered in my ear. “Happy Birthday.” He kissed me lightly on the lips.

“Kade is going to have a cow.” I kept my hands at my sides.

“I think he is,” Becca said, matter of fact.

I peered around Kelton and locked eyes with Kade. He had one of his blank expressions, although the area around his eyes twitched.

“Nah. I warned him,” Kelton said.

He might have, but something told me Kade didn’t like his brother kissing his girl.

Kross and Kody made their way over to us. Both wore faded jeans. Kross had on a white button-front shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Kody had a plain, dark-blue cotton shirt that brought out his blue eyes even more. The major difference with Kody was that his nose was swollen, and he had the beginnings of black eyes, which seemed to be a theme among my close family and friends. First I’d given Kade one. Then Dad had one from his fight at the club. Now Kody.

“You’re hogging her,” Kross drawled.

“Happy Birthday,” Kody said. “You’re officially an adult.”

I’d stopped being a kid the night the lights were off
.

Mr. Wiley sauntered in. His green eyes stood out against his dark hair and his unshaven jaw. “Dinner will be served in a moment. Why don’t you make your way into the dining room?” he said, waving his hand at the open doorway next to Becca and me.

I stole a glance at Mary. Her dark eyes were fixed on our host like she wanted to eat him for dinner. I almost giggled. I didn’t want to embarrass her, though.

Becca and I went in first. “Lacey, please sit at the head of the table,” Mr. Wiley said as I walked by him.

There was only one chair at the head at the far end of the elegant-looking table. Red linen covered it, with five chairs along each side. A small arrangement of carnations and lilies sat in the center, the fragrant smell permeating the room.

“I’ll let Kade and your dad sit next to you,” Becca said.

The group wandered in. Mary lingered at the door, talking to Mr. Wiley. Kade smiled as he sauntered over to sit down on my right. Dad followed with a glass of water in hand and sat on my left, and Coach took a seat next to Dad. Everyone else found seats. Mr. Wiley rattled off the menu selections, while three waiters entered and surrounded the table. One poured water. One placed breadbaskets on the table. The other took drink orders.

The conversations flowed. I bounced my knee under the table. While I enjoyed having everyone here celebrating my birthday, I really wanted to spend time getting to know Kade more. I moved my foot to the right until I found Kade’s leg. He gave me a lopsided grin and snaked his hand under the table and onto my knee and squeezed.

“Lacey, have you been following my orders this weekend?” Coach asked.

Dad cocked his head as he glanced my way.

“Yes, sir. I’m resting and I haven’t practiced. I go back to see the doctor on Monday.” I met Dad’s gaze as I replied to Coach.

The muscles around Dad’s eyes loosened. He probably thought I had gotten into more trouble.

“Good. I want to see a note from the doctor saying you’re clear to pitch on Friday,” Coach added.

“So, Coach, did you find out who broke into Lacey’s locker?” Dad asked.

All heads swung to Coach.

“No one is talking,” Coach said as he patted his mouth with his napkin.

Kade and his brothers didn’t look dismayed. Dad, on the other hand, pressed his lips into a thin line, shaking his head slightly. Maybe Coach would never find out who’d done it. Given what the guys had told me last night, I wasn’t going to hold my breath waiting. I just had to make sure I was on guard during the second round of tryouts.

For the next hour, we ate a seven-course meal. Food hadn’t been on my mind when I walked in, but when the aroma from the chicken and beef filtered into the room, my stomach perked up. I took small bites of my chicken parmesan, eating slowly, savoring the delicious taste. Although I had debated whether to devour my food like the boys were, I didn’t want to seem too anxious to get out of there. Becca moved the food around on her plate like she wasn’t hungry. Mary kept making eye contact with Mr. Wiley every time he entered the room. When the plates were cleared, Mr. Wiley carted in a large rectangular cake with
Happy Birthday, Lacey
scripted in frosting.

After everyone sang Happy Birthday, we got up to stretch. Mary helped Mr. Wiley cut the cake on the cart. Kade went down to the end of the table to talk to Hunt.

I was about to use the little girls’ room when Coach cornered me. “Lacey, I heard that the fight the boys got into revolved around you,” Coach whispered. “I asked you the other day if anyone had confronted you about not playing ball. Do you want to change your answer?” His grimace had me cringing.
He knew I was lying, or at least not telling him everything
.

“Is that why you’re here?” I asked. I wasn’t ready to have this conversation. I wanted to enjoy my birthday. Fear and anger had no place in my world tonight. Plus Dad was here. I didn’t want him to know anything about Greg or Aaron.

“Kade invited me. I thought it would be good to see how you were doing. And I want to make sure I don’t have any trouble this year.”

“Do you go out of your way to visit each of us?” I found it odd that he was there. Actually, extremely weird—Coaches didn’t attend birthday dinners of students they hardly knew. Did they? And why had Kade invited him?

“I do what I think is best for the school’s sports program. I want you in my office first thing Monday morning. Between now and then, I want you to think hard about your answer. Have a nice birthday,” he said. Then he was off to mingle with the adults.

Jeepers. Thanks for spoiling a great day.

“We’re all going over to the Cave, now,” Becca said. “We’ll see you over there. Okay?”

“Sure. I guess.” My mind was stuck on the conversation with Coach and why Kade had invited him.

Kade touched the small of my back. “Are you ready?”

I was more than ready to blow this place. But the Cave had no appeal to me tonight. One person consumed my thoughts.

“Bye, Dad.” I waved. “I’ll call if I’m going to be late.”

He nodded and Mary waved. Coach didn’t say anything. As we were walking out, I kept my fingers crossed that Coach wouldn’t share any details about Greg or Aaron with Dad.

The scent of rain hit me as we made our way to the truck. I glanced up at the sky. A lone cloud passed in front of the full moon before several more drifted in. In a matter of seconds, the moon disappeared.

“Why did you invite Coach Dean?” I asked as we buckled in.

“He called the house today and talked with Kody and me. Kody explained the fight between him and Greg and Tyler. Then I got on the phone. He asked about you. He seemed worried, so I asked him if he wanted to join us for dinner. That way he could see you were fine. Mary and your dad said it was okay.” He merged into traffic. “Why? What did he say to you?”

“Nothing much. I have to meet him on Monday morning. He wants to know if someone threatened me in so many words. I don’t want to tell him. I’m not a snitch.” Plus I didn’t want to fuel the fire with Aaron and Greg. Not when I was trying to keep Kade away from them.

“You need to be honest with him. He won’t run to Aaron and reprimand him. If he knows, he’ll be watchful, that’s all. He’ll only step in if he has to.”

“I don’t like it.”

“I know. Let’s forget Coach. Remember, this is your day. I want you to focus on what I’m going to do to you tonight.”

At that moment, everything I worried about fell away. My stomach flip-flopped and the ache I’d had earlier between my thighs came roaring back. “And that would be…?” I swallowed.

“Nope. I want you to use your imagination.”

“So you’re going to tease me all night in a club full of people?” I asked.

“Who said we were going to a club?”

I glanced out the side window. The two-story colonial homes lining the country road told me this wasn’t the way to the Cave.

Chapter 19

F
ifteen minutes later we were in Kade’s kitchen. He grabbed a Coke out of the fridge, popped the top, and guzzled it as though he had just walked a mile in the hot desert.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

After we established that the Cave wasn’t on his agenda, Kross had called. Kade had been on the phone with him until we parked in the driveway.

His lips split into a devious smile as he threw the can into the sink. Stalking toward me, his eyes danced with desire and a warning.

My breath caught. My throat was bone dry. Now
I
needed a soda, or maybe a bucket of ice water.
Yeah, right
. No amount of liquid would cool the fire raging through me. Only one person could douse my flames right now.

Caging me with his arms, his muscles strained against the fabric of his shirt as he held onto the island for dear life. His chest rose and fell as he stared down at me. Pure, raw hunger lingered beneath his mile-long lashes.

Our bodies were so close. Yet not close enough. I closed my eyes and quietly inhaled, breathing him in. I quivered as his scent seeped into me.

“Open those beautiful green eyes,” he whispered as one of his fingers rested under my chin. “I want to see every emotion.”

I whimpered and shuddered at the same time.

“Shit,” he choked out. “The way you react to me… I haven’t even touched you yet.”

His voice made my adrenaline climb, clouding my mind. Without thinking, I pressed my body to his. I sucked in a sharp breath when our hips collided. He was as hard as the granite countertop he had me trapped with.

He let out a low rumble just before he took my lips in his. He was greedy when his mouth crashed against mine. His tongue barreled in and tasted every crevice. It was as though he were punishing me for teasing him on the phone today. I matched him in intensity. My tongue roamed through the cavern of his mouth as he hauled me onto the countertop, lifting me by my waist. I’d fantasized about his kiss all day.
Well, more than just his kiss
.

All of a sudden, he broke away.

“What’s…wrong?” I labored for air.
Was he having second thoughts
?

He held my face between his hands. “I have to know you’re sure, baby. Tell me,” he rasped. “I need to hear the words.”

Reaching out, I fisted my hands in his shirt. “I want to feel you against me. Skin to skin.”

Growling, he ripped open his shirt. Buttons flew in all directions before the cotton fabric floated to the floor.

I chewed my bottom lip. I’d seen his upper torso bare last night, but for some reason, it seemed like I was looking at him for the very first time. Every corded muscle was sculpted to perfection. His biceps, his abs, his chest bunched as I raked my gaze over him.

“How come there are only four hearts and not five?” My fingers traced over the tattoos above his left breast.

“The fifth one is the one beating inside me.”

My head shot up. Right then, I wanted him more than I wanted a baseball scholarship.

His fingers circled my wrist, lifting my hand to his mouth. “You set my blood on fire, Lace. I want to be inside you. Feel you losing control around me.” He sucked on one of my fingers, and a stream of fire wormed its way down to my core.

A strangled whimper barely fell from my lips as he whisked me away to his room. He kicked the door shut and somehow managed to lock it with me in his arms. After setting me on the bed, he flicked on the warm glow of the lamp on the nightstand.

“I want to memorize every inch of your body tonight. But first, last chance to tell me no, Lace.”

“Yes,” I said. My body pulsed with the need to feel his naked body against mine.

Suddenly, he became a madman. My blouse flew over my head. My bra followed. My boots ended up somewhere in the room. I was stripped down to my jeans.

“Lie back.” The possessiveness in his tone shot arrows of heat through me, and I obeyed.

He kissed and licked his way up my body, the soft strands of his hair feathering over me, leaving tingles in its wake. His heated mouth was everywhere. My navel. My stomach. Yet nowhere. He tormented me until I was writhing under him, falling into a deep realm of pleasure. Looking down at me, his dimples emerged. He seemed to be enjoying my pleasurable pain.

My nipples swelled to painful peaks, and a slow, steady ache took root between my thighs. The sensations were too much and not enough.

Or at least I’d thought so, until he sucked in one swollen nipple, and I thrashed violently. He pressed his body to mine, licking his way over to the other breast.

“You’re beautiful,” he breathed as he inched his way off me until he was standing. Slowly, methodically his nimble fingers unbuttoned my jeans, peeling them down over my hips. “Fucking incredible,” he murmured as his hand traced the outline of my black thong.

“K-k-ade?” The word
agony
flitted through my brain. He was going at a snail’s pace. Patience wasn’t one of my strongest virtues.
But—oh, my
. It was his. He’d told me so.

“Shhh.” He peered down at me, his darkened eyes sparking with lust. Then he slipped off my thong. “Unconscious beauty,” he whispered when I was completely naked.

A shiver washed over me as his eyes swallowed me, shattered me, loved me. I opened my arms. I needed him on me, around me, in me.

“Not yet.” His tone was low.

I pouted.

“Baby, relax. You wanted to know what I would do to you. Right?”

I barely nodded, holding my breath.

“Well, I’m going to show you.”

I swallowed.
Was he going to…
?

His callused hands slid up my thighs, the roughness abrading my skin. A wild tap dance suddenly beat inside me. Before I registered another sensation, he yanked me to the end of the bed. Nudging my legs apart, his fingers drifted down my inner thighs. He held my gaze as he knelt on the floor and lowered his head. Then his mouth closed over my bundle of nerves, and I practically flew off the bed. I wasn’t a virgin, but Brad had never…
Oh… my… God…
My brain fogged.

His tongue teased, swirled, and circled my clit. He slowed. Sped up. Each time, the muscles in my stomach tightened. I was lost, drunk on him, his heady scent, his touch. A million bright stars flashed before the tightness in my belly exploded. I clutched the blanket as I arched my back. When I did, his tongue plunged into me.

“Kade!” I cried out as a thousand tingles cascaded over me. He continued to tease with his tongue until the last of the tremors left me.

“Sweet Jesus,” Kade muttered as he crept up onto the bed, his forehead against mine. “I’m ruined.”

I licked my dry lips, smiling. He wasn’t the only one. Suddenly, I wanted more.
More of him
. “I want all of you, Kade,” I whispered.

His eyes flashed with a
hell-yeah
look. In one fluid motion he stood and tore off the rest of his clothes. My heart went from fifty to a hundred beats per minute in an instant as I skimmed his naked, jaw-dropping, beautiful body. Every inch of him was ripped and toned—a work of art from head to toe.

My gaze traveled from him to his nightstand where he snatched a foil packet from the drawer. He rolled the condom onto his length. Excitement welled up. Fear pushed it down.

My cheeks burned as I thought about how he would fit. Plus it had been well over a year since I was with anyone.

“I’ll go slow,” he said, as though he knew what I was thinking.

He lowered himself over me, and I opened to him. We locked eyes as he eased inside.

I sucked in a breath.

“Breathe, Lace.” He stilled, bracing his hands on each side of me, biceps straining.

It hurt, but it wasn’t as bad as I’d anticipated. “I’m okay.” I grasped his shoulders.

He pushed in a little at a time, and each time my body stretched, molding to him. When he was all the way in he stopped. “You sure you’re okay?” he said, his lips brushing mine.

“Perfect.” It was the only word to describe how I felt. My mind, body, and soul were his to take, to love.

With a roll of his hips, he pushed in, then pulled out slowly. I moved with him, flattening my hands on his back.
I was here with this man who made my stomach burn, roll, flip-flop, and tingle. His kiss. Oh, God
. His kiss shattered all the nightmares, made the bad stuff go away. I loved the way he looked at me, the sureness of what he wanted—
me
.

I dragged my nails along his back as we got into a rhythm. Grunting, he clenched his jaw as though he was trying to be gentle. I was past slow and easy. I wrapped my legs around him and pushed down onto him, hard.

“What the… I’m going to fucking lose it if you—”

Deviously, I smiled as I rocked into him again. His dimples emerged, and without blinking, he took possession of my body. His mouth closed over mine as he gripped my butt, pushing deeper.

I sucked on his tongue. He tasted like candy, sinful and sweet. A low rumble crawled up his chest. “Kade,” I breathed. “I’m…in…love with you.”

He stopped moving, his eyes searching mine.

No, please don’t shut down
.

“Don’t mess with me, Lace.”

“The heart knows.”
And mine was all his
.

A long excruciating silence squeezed between us as he worked out whatever was going on in his head. Tears suddenly burned my eyes. Did I say the wrong thing? Oh, God. I shouldn’t have brought up something his dead sister had said. My heart was trying to get out of my chest.
Say something.

Finally, he brushed his lips along my jaw to my ear. “You’re mine, Lace. My polar bear.”

A jolt of electricity kick-started my heart. The sudden unease coiling in me untangled.

Then we got lost in each other, moving in perfect sync as that familiar sensation roared back to life in my stomach. I dug my nails into his back, rolling my hips forward, wanting everything he had to give me.

“You feel so fucking good,” he whispered. “Perfect.”

My body hummed, the pressure building. My core went liquid. Then he pressed his hips up, rubbing against my nerves. I screamed his name as spasm after spasm rocked my body in one glorious wave after another. I shuddered as he drove deeper once, then twice more before his body tensed.

“Lace,” he groaned as he buried his lips against my ear, thrusting one last time as he came.

We stayed connected, trying to catch our breath.

“I love the crap out of you,” he rasped, resting his forehead on mine.

“Best birthday present ever,” I said. I’d never experienced passion, tenderness, and desire like this until Kade Maxwell.

On Sunday I didn’t see Kade. His dad finally came home from a long business trip. He and his brothers were catching up with him. Kade and I talked via text messaging. Mostly “I miss you” and “I love you” messages, until he had a chance to call me before he went to bed. I daydreamed about him all of Sunday, replaying how he touched me, softly and tenderly. When I finally heard his voice, husky and smooth, a familiar ache took root inside me. After we talked about his day with his dad, he told me he wouldn’t be in school on Monday. His dad wanted him and his brothers to accompany him to see their mother, who lived in a mental health facility in the Berkshires.

I’d had a follow-up doctor’s appointment on Monday before school. The attending physician who’d examined me ran a few tests, then gave me a note clearing me to resume activity. When I got to school, I slipped my doctor’s note under Coach Dean’s door, then ran out of the sports complex. I was still reluctant to snitch on Aaron.

Becca bugged me all day to dish about my night with Kade. A girl shouldn’t kiss and tell. At least, that was what my mom had said. I gave Becca a bland answer about having a good time.

After two days of not seeing Kade, I was having withdrawals. He’d texted me around nine the night before to let me know he was on his way back home. We agreed to meet before school where he normally parked his truck in the lot of the sports complex…only I forgot to set my phone alarm. I’d been up late studying trig and calculus. Mrs. Flowers had told me on Friday that my tests were scheduled for Wednesday the next week. If Kade hadn’t called me, I’d probably have kept sleeping. Usually Mary would’ve woken me up, but she was missing in action when I ducked into the kitchen to grab a banana. Later she’d explained she’d had a date with Mr. Wiley and didn’t get in until midnight, so she slept in.

The cafeteria was bustling. Tuesdays were busier since pizza was on the menu. I sat at a table in the far corner, cramming more math. I would’ve gone to the library, but Kade had cornered me between classes and said we needed to talk at lunch. I’d tried to get him to tell me what it was about.

“I have an English test I’m late for,” he’d said tersely.

What had I done
? He’d been sweet on the phone that morning. I sifted through our conversations and text messages. Nothing jumped out waving a red flag.
Had I spilled my feelings too soon? Had I scared him all of a sudden
? An ugly thought sprang to mind. Maybe after seeing his mother, he’d decided he didn’t want to handle my PTSD and all the craziness that came with my illness. No matter how strongly I felt about him, doubt still survived in me, and probably would for a long time. Nausea churned my stomach, and I kept trying to tell myself it wasn’t about us.

“Hey, Lacey,” a familiar male voice said.

I glanced up from my book.

Tyler stood over me, his arm in a sling. “You know Coach is looking for you.”

“Yeah.” I was surprised he hadn’t tracked me down or summoned me to his office.

“Where’s Becca today?” Tyler asked. “You two have been inseparable.”

“She’s out sick.” Becca had sent me a text early this morning.
Got the flu. Take notes for me.

He scanned my face. “I know this isn’t the best time, but I’d like to talk. I got football all this week after school. Coach is making me take notes while my arm is in a sling. Can we meet for a shake on Thursday? I can let you know then what time I expect to be done with football practice.” His free hand gripped the back of the metal chair as he studied me.