"You ever see a Claddagh ring before?" he asks me, reaching for my right hand and slipping it onto my ring finger.
I shake my head.
"A Claddagh ring is an Irish ring. The hands symbolize friendship, the crown represents loyalty, and the heart symbolizes love," he says, running a fingertip over each part of the ring as he tells me about them. "Worn like this, on the right hand, with the point of the heart facing the wrist, it means you're taken."
Before I can tell him that I love it, he slides it off my finger and grasps my left hand.
"But I'm thinking it'd look better right here," he says, sliding it onto my left ring finger with the point of the heart facing my fingertips. Intense satisfaction flares in his eyes, turning them that stormy gray color I love so much.
"What does it mean this way?" I whisper, my heart in my throat at seeing the possessive look in his eyes with his ring on my finger.
"It means you're engaged," he whispers back, shifting his gaze from my hand to my face. "I'm not gonna ask you though, baby girl. When you're ready, you're going to marry me. I know you are."
"You do, huh?"
He nods, his expression so solemn and serious. "I refuse to believe there's a future for us that doesn't end with you tying your life to mine. That's how this thing between us was always meant to be, January. You were meant to be mine and I was meant to be yours. We belong together. We always have." He leans down and presses a kiss to my ring before sliding his mouth over mine in a sweet little kiss. "I'll be the best fucking husband, sweetheart. You'll never want for anything."
"I want something now," I whisper against his lips, twining my arms around his neck.
"What?"
"You. I want you."
He groans long and low, then pushes me gently until I'm sprawled on the bed beneath him, a big smile on my face. He runs his hands up my legs, parting my thighs and pushing the material of my skirt up as he goes. His eyes are locked on the flesh of my thighs as he exposes them.
"Did you wear this pretty skirt for me, baby girl?" he asks, wrapping his hands around my thighs. He's so much bigger than me. He almost manages to get his hands all the way around them…his fingers mere inches from touching on my inner thighs.
I don't feel tiny and fragile with him though. I feel powerful, like the strongest woman in the world. The devotion and need flaring in those blue-gray eyes of his tells me louder than any words ever could that he needs me…aches for me. He's always looked at me like that, but it's brighter now, blazing like the sun.
"Yes," I whisper, licking my lips when he fans his hands open so his pinkies come to rest against the apex of my thighs. They brush across the bottom edge of my panties.
"You going to let me eat you before you ride my cock?" he asks, his voice deep and low, hungry…like he's already imagining my taste on his tongue.
The thought makes me squirm beneath him. So do the dirty words rolling from his lips in that decadent whisper.
He's good at the dirty talk. Hearing him say the things he does gets me so hot. Those words coming from his lips aren't obscene or offensive. They're sexy as hell.
"Yes," I whisper again. "Please, Cade. I need you."
He groans and leans forward, burying his face between my thighs.
I clutch the comforter and moan when he presses his nose to the seam of my panties and inhales deeply.
"Christ, you smell so damn good. My mouth is watering, baby girl." He puts his mouth over my panties, licking at the wet spot I know is there.
I feel like I'm always wet when he's around. Once we started having sex a couple months before I turned seventeen, I think I became addicted to it. I want it all the time with him.
"Cade," I whisper and wiggle beneath him, trying to hurry him along.
He turns his head and nips at my inner thigh, pulling another loud moan from me. The sensation shoots straight to my clit. Everything inside me melts into a little puddle of desire for him.
"You're so wet, January," he mutters like he's surprised at how much I want him. "Don't beg me. You know I'll give you anything you want. I'll take care of you." He pulls my panties to the side and lunges.
I moan and arch my hips as his tongue swipes through my folds. My eyes fall closed and I open my legs wider, making more room for him between them. He grunts and growls against my pussy, using one hand to hold me open as he eats at me like he's starving for the taste of me.
"So good," he moans into me and then slides two fingers inside and curls them up to stroke my g-spot.
I cry out his name as my body ignites. My orgasm rushes through me hard and fast, leaving me gasping and shaking beneath him. Stars burst behind my eyelids like fireworks crackling in the night sky.
When I finally come down, he's stripped us both naked. He's on the bed beside me, his cock standing straight up. He's so big. I don't know how we fit together, but we do. Somehow, we always fit like we belong. I think we really were made for one another.
"Come here," he murmurs and lifts me up to straddle him. He sits up too, wrapping his arms around me to keep me close. He tilts his head to mine, sealing our lips together as I slide down his length until he's all the way inside me. He moans then, my name a little rumble at my lips.
I throw my head back and revel in the feeling of having him inside me. I'm so full of him. With his big body wrapped around mine, I feel completely engulfed by him. I could stay like this with him forever and die happy.
"Ride me, sweetheart," he groans, tipping his head down to watch me move.
I ride him slowly at first, rising up and then sinking back down. His cock drags against my inner walls, making us both moan loudly. My hands dig into his shoulders. I use them to brace myself and then start to move faster, rocking and circling my hips. He clamps his hands down on my hips to help guide me up and down.
His eyes lock between my legs, watching as he disappears inside me over and over.
"Fuck, you look good taking my cock," he mutters, pressing his thumb to my clit. "You're stretched around me so wide. I bet you feel full, don't you?"
"Yes," I moan, rocking above him. "I'm so full, Cade."
He leans forward and sucks my nipple into his mouth before biting down.
I ride him harder, faster as pleasure twists through me, hitting all those spots deep inside that make me see stars. There's nothing better than being with him like this.
I moan and whimper, nonsense bubbling out of my lips as he makes love to me. Even though I'm on top, he's in charge. He bucks up beneath me and uses his hands on my body to grind me down onto him every time I take him all the way.
The pleasure is too much, too good.
"Please," I gasp, writhing without rhythm as another orgasm rears up.
"Let go, baby girl. Come for me," he demands, moving from breast to breast to lick and suck on my nipples. His thumb runs in circles around my clit. He uses his other hand to lift me off him and then drop me back down, making me ride him at the speed he wants.
Chills break out on my body and his name leaves my lips in a loud cry. My body unravels above him, an intense orgasm spinning me out of this dimension and into another. I float there, so twisted up with pleasure that the entire world disappears around us.
"January," he moans loudly as he comes too. He holds me down on him and thrusts upward, spilling into me over and over. "Fuck, baby girl. I love you."
I slump against him, letting him cuddle me as we both come down. His skin is slick with sweat, his heart pounding against my breasts. Tears pool in my eyes. I feel so close to him. I never want this feeling to end.
"I will marry you," I whisper into his throat. "It's what I want more than anything."
His cock jerks inside me at my words and he moans softly. "I'll make you so happy. You'll never regret being mine. Not even for a second."
"I love your tattoo."
He pushes backward on the bed until his back is against the headboard. Even then, he doesn't separate from me. Instead, he wraps his arms aroun
d me and pulls the blankets up over us, kissing my shoulders and the side of my throat. "I'm glad you like it. I wanted to be able to carry you with me, just like you'll carry me with you now that you have my ring on your finger."
"I love you, Cade."
"I love you too, baby girl."
When Titan comes home a little bit later, Cade and I are just coming out of the bedroom. I avert my gaze when my brother stops in the hallway to stare at the two of us. My cheeks heat and I know he can tell we were in there having sex. He probably knows by now that I haven't been a virgin for a long time, but I prefer not to wave that fact in his face. Especially when things are already so strained between him and Cade.
"Hey," he mutters to us.
"Hey," I mumble back to him, reaching for Cade's hand.
Titan glances between the two of us before his eyes land on the ring on my finger.
I think about yanking my hand back to hide it from him, but decide I'm not going to do that. He doesn't have to like that I'm wearing Cade's ring, but he's just going to have to get used to it. I'm going to marry Cade whether Titan likes it or not.
"You gave her a ring?" he asks, looking at Cade.
Cade clenches his jaw and then nods, not speaking.
Something flickers through Titan's green eyes. For a second, he appears lost, like he's completely alone in the world. The sight makes my heart ache for him. But before I can say anything to ease his pain, that lost look vanishes and determination fills his gaze.
"Can we talk?" he asks Cade, running a hand down his face.
Cade stands there silently for a second and then sighs. "Fine." He turns to me and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. "Go get ready for your party, baby girl. I'm going to go outside and talk to Titan for a minute."
I frown up at him and then over at Titan. "You two better not get into a fight on my birthday," I warn them, though I'm speaking more to Titan than Cade because I know Cade would never take a swing at Titan first. I'm not so sure about my brother though. I barely know him anymore. "If you fight, I'll never speak to you again."
"I'm not trying to fight with him, January," Titan promises me, holding up his hands. He actually seems hurt that I think he'd do something like that. "I may be an asshole, but I'd never ruin your birthday."
"You better not," I mutter and then release my grip on Cade's hand to step around him.
Titan stops me with a hand on my arm.
"What?" I ask him.
He opens his mouth and then closes it and pulls me in for a hug. He holds me to his chest for a long moment, tucking my head beneath his chin. I'm so surprised by his display of affection it takes me a second to hug him back.
"I hope you know I love you and I'm proud of you," he whispers, his voice gruff. "And I'm sorry I've been such an asshole. Happy birthday, sis."
"I…. Thank you," I mumble.
He hugs me for another second and then lets me go before turning on his heels and heading for the front door. I watch him go, not sure what's going on with him.
"Go get ready, sweetheart," Cade says, stepping up beside me to kiss me on the cheek.
"Okay," I mumble and then watch as he follows my brother outside and shuts the door behind him. A big part of me wants to run over to the front door and press my ear to the heavy wood to listen to what they're saying. It's been so long since they've had an actual conversation. I'm dying to know what Titan has to say to him now. But I don't do that.
Instead, I send up a little prayer that they're finally going to start being friends again…and then I go get ready for my birthday party like the adult I finally am.
Chapter Fifteen
January
Present Day
Spending the night in Cade's arms is perfection. He keeps me close, not letting me separate from him for even an instant. We spend most of the night lost in one another, making love again and again. I don't know what time I finally fall into an exhausted, sated sleep but I wake a few minutes before six, still wrapped up in his arms.
Even sleeping, he looks lethal, like the warrior I know he is. I'm not afraid of him. Despite what he told me last night, I feel safe with him. It hurts to know what he's been through. Hearing him talk about how he received each of his scars broke a little piece of me. To think I almost lost him so many times without even knowing is unbearable.
So is the fact that he's still afraid I'll learn to hate him. I wasn't lying when I told him I knew about what he did before he left Los Angeles. The truth wasn't hard to uncover if you knew where to look.
When the news hit the papers back then, it didn't take me long to put the pieces together. If he's a monster for killing them, then I'm a monster for wanting them dead. I hope they're burning in hell for what they did, unable to find even a moment of peace.
"Where you goin'?" Cade asks, snaking an arm around my waist when I try to sneak out of the bed to get ready for work. He rolls me underneath him, covering me with his hard body. He gazes down at me with sleepy eyes, looking so rumpled and handsome.
I brush his hair away from his forehead. His eyes fall closed and he rumbles like a big cat purring. I think that might be my favorite sound in the world. It's sweet and sexy at the same time.
"Fuck, I missed that," he whispers, dropping his head to take my mouth in a deep kiss. He's soft and gentle, and then he growls and his control slips. He attacks my mouth, thrusting one hand into my hair to hold my head still as he takes what he wants from me, kissing me until I'm wiggling and moaning beneath him.
"I have to work today," I groan even as I wrap one leg around his hip, opening myself up for him.
"Not yet," he says, licking and biting my neck. He slides a hand down my side before wrapping his fingers around my thigh and hitching it higher up his hip. "Can't let you go to work all wet and aching for me."
"Cade," I gasp when he slides inside me, filling me full of him.
He makes love to me slowly, circling his hips and grinding down against my clit with every thrust. His lips never leave my skin as he takes me, loving me with his body until I'm digging my nails into his ass and coming all over him. He follows me over, whispering my name like a prayer.
We stay just like that until my alarm begins blaring through the room.
"Shit," he grumbles and reluctantly rolls away from me to silence the stupid thing.
I hop up before he can get his hands on me again. If he does, neither of us will be leaving this bed today, and I actually do have to go to work.
Once he's got the alarm silenced, he flops down on his back on the pillows with his arms behind his head. A lazy grin spreads across his face, those dimples popping out. His piercing flashes silver in the light. "You really going to leave me in this big bed all alone?" he asks, that lazy grin turning predatory as his gaze roves down my naked body. "You didn't even let me eat you for breakfast, baby girl."
Oh, Jesus.
Heat rushes through me in a flood. I stumble over my feet before I manage to catch myself.
"You're evil," I mutter when he chuckles, the deep sound sending another wave of heat through me. "I have to work today. I have parents coming in for meetings."
He must hear the regret in my voice because he sobers, his expression softening. "As much as I'd like to tie you up in this bed and have you screaming my name all day, I have shit to do today too," he says and then sits upright before climbing gracefully out of the bed. He moves like a big cat stalking across the bedroom toward me. Despite the fact that he just came—and I know he did because I can feel him dripping down my thighs—he's still hard. "Gotta deal with the mess Kaleo made of Ma Rose's, get your windows replaced, and then swing by the airport to see T and Little Mama off."
When he holds out his arms, silently demanding I let him hold me for a minute, I step willingly into his strong embrace. He sighs in contentment once I'm pressed to his chest, my arms looped around his waist. I sigh too, my entire body humming with energy.
"What are you going to do about Kaleo?" I ask, tilting my
head back so I can peer up at him. He's so much taller than me. I feel small and delicate in his arms, but not fragile. Not breakable. He gives me strength in ways I'm not even sure I understand. Being with him is still as simple as breathing. As effortless.
His expression darkens at the sound of Kaleo's name, his brows snapping together. "I'm going to take everything from him and then leave him in a ditch where he belongs," he growls.
I flinch, caught off guard by the hatred seething in his tone.
He notices. "I'm not a good man, baby girl," he says, his expression hard. "You keep thinking I'm some kind of hero, you're going to be disappointed. I've spent so much time with gangbangers and cartels that I'm as bad as they are. Worse. I'm the monster other monsters are afraid of. Don't ever forget that."
"I'm not afraid of you," I whisper, pressing my ear to his chest to listen to the steady thrum of his heart. "You don't scare me."
"You never have to be afraid of me, January," he vows, the quiet intensity in his voice letting me know he means that. "I'd give up my life in a second to keep you safe."
"I know." He's done nothing but try to protect me since he came home. "And I know you have to deal with Kaleo too. He's dangerous."
Cade disentangles my arms from around him and takes a step back, tipping my face up until our eyes meet. His are solemn blue, so serious. He looks like the boy I fell in love with all those years ago….the one who told me so earnestly that he'd never be mean to me.
"He's more dangerous than you know," he murmurs, holding my gaze. "Promise me that you will never let him get close to you. If he comes looking for you, you run and hide. If I'm not here, you call me."
I've never been particularly afraid of Kaleo. Even when we were kids, he didn't scare me. He's stayed away since Cade left, keeping his gang off my block and out of my hair. If that new housing complex hadn't gone up across from the park, I don't think he'd be trying to run me off now. I know what type of man he is. I hate him for who he is and the things he's done. But I'm not afraid of him.
Fight for You: A Second Chance Romance (A Warrior for Her Book 1) Page 19
