His eyes gleamed with that wicked edge she’d seen in the janitor’s closet earlier that night. “Not a damn chance.”
FOURTEEN
Kylie existed in a state of anticipation as the limo pulled up to the same hotel as the one she’d escaped from this morning. She’d left him hanging midsex over twelve hours ago . . . and she suspected it wasn’t going to happen again.
And honestly? She wasn’t sure she wanted it to happen again.
Their interlude in the janitor’s closet had pretty much proven to her that all Cade needed to do was snap his fingers and her panties would practically melt off of her, legs springing open in eagerness for him. She wanted him more than anyone she’d ever dated in her life. It wasn’t just because the sex was great—and it was fabulous. It was that Cade made her feel . . . well, beautiful. He never looked at her with that strangely questioning look that the limo driver had given her. He never made her feel like she was the ugly one in the relationship. He always made her feel desirable and perfect at his side.
Of course, that was what made this off-and-on relationship with him difficult. Because the more she tried to push him away, the more she wanted. The more she craved.
His arms were still around her when the limo stopped, though they hadn’t spoken in several minutes. He was probably tired, she told herself. She knew she was. Her head hadn’t stopped throbbing all day, and she’d been drinking water by the gallon in an effort to wash away her hangover. The weight of her new wedding ring was still heavy on her finger, and she couldn’t resist twisting it occasionally, as if to remind herself that yes, it existed, and yes, she was married to Cade, however drunkenly spontaneous the ceremony had been.
She didn’t recall the wedding. Okay, there might have been flashes of memory that included flowers and a drive-through wedding chapel and Elvis, but that was about it. Overall, the canvas was a big blank. It probably was for him, too.
And she felt a twinge at realizing that he’d drunk-hooked-up with her twice now. It seemed like every hookup they had was buoyed by alcohol, except for the interlude in the closet from earlier. And that had been fueled by anger.
What did that mean for tonight?
Kylie kept the doubts in her head as the driver opened the limo door on her side. She got out and waited for Cade, her big purse clutched to her shoulder.
Cade got out a moment after her, and pressed a wad of cash into the driver’s hand. “Thank you, sir. We need you back here at . . .” He looked at Kylie. “What time does the tour bus pull out?”
“Ten.”
“All right. We need you back here at eight thirty,” he instructed the driver, then looked again at Kylie. “It’ll give you time to pack up your hotel room and still be on schedule to leave with the others.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, and was a little pleased when Cade’s arm went around her waist possessively. He began to steer her into the hotel.
They were silent as they went up to Cade’s suite, and she wondered which Cade he’d be in bed tonight—the ruthless man he was in the closet earlier? Or the laughing, smiling man he normally was?
But when the door shut behind them, he took Kylie’s purse from her arm and set it down on a nearby chair, then moved toward her and cupped her face.
And he began to kiss her. Softly. Sweetly. Tenderly.
It threw Kylie for a loop, and made her ache deep inside. Made her want things she couldn’t have.
“Please,” he murmured between kisses. “Let’s not argue over whether or not I get to hold you tonight. Let me just love you, Kylie. Let me touch you and lose myself in you. I need that tonight.”
He kissed her again, his eyes closed, and she saw the strain on his face, the worry and sadness for Daphne. Kylie might be jealous of her, but she was still a childhood friend of Cade’s and she was still heading toward self-destruction. And if Cade needed comforting?
Kylie wanted to be the one to do it.
So she put her arms around his neck and kissed him back with all the pent-up longing she’d been fighting all night.
He groaned against her mouth, and then the two of them were staggering toward the bed as Cade shrugged off his jacket. She tugged at his shirt, and then they were both unbuttoning it together, anxious to get him free of his clothing. Within moments, Cade was undressed, and then it was Kylie’s turn. She kicked off her shoes and tugged her top over her head, quickly followed by her bra and her skirt. Then she was just as naked as he was.
And Cade pushed her back on the bed, his gaze reverent as he stared at her breasts. “God, I love these,” he told her, reaching out and caressing one nipple. It hardened against his touch, and Kylie shivered, gazing up at Cade as he moved over her. His knee pushed hers apart, and she spread her legs for him.
“You have the most beautiful breasts,” he murmured, cupping them in his hands and then leaning down to kiss the nipples. “I want to bury my face in them constantly. A man could lose himself in these gorgeous tits.”
He made her feel pretty. Made her feel sexy instead of just fat. She loved that, and so she raised her arms over her head and clasped them there, knowing that the movement would make her full breasts stand at attention.
He groaned at the sight of it and leaned in to kiss the valley between her breasts. “So beautiful, Kylie. So soft and gorgeous and all mine.” He raised his head. “If I go get a condom, are you going to abandon me again?”
She shook her head. She didn’t think she could, even if she wanted to. And it was the last thing on her mind right now. At the moment? All she wanted was Cade, between her legs and thrusting deep inside her. “I need you,” she whispered.