by Kahlen Aymes
I FELT BETTER with Cade's arms around me. As always, he was what I needed to get some perspective on things. Our handlers had gotten us checked in and handed us our room keys as we stepped out of the car and made our way into the hotel. Still more screaming fans and we had to stop and autograph a number of pictures and some of the books.
Cade was more in demand than me, so I went in a little ahead of him and made my way up to my suite. It was nice and furnished with cherry wood furniture with plush cushions on the sofa in dark navy blue and ivory stripes. The bed was large and covered in a huge white duvet. I yearned to sink into it.
Martin was going to be disappointed about dinner. I didn't know how he did it, but he was like the Energizer Bunny. He never fucking got tired. Personally, I was exhausted. The time difference wiped me out in combination with the tears and the anxiety I felt.
My eyes were so tired. Crying always did make me sleepy and my eyelids felt like they were lined with sand paper.
There was a large whirlpool bathtub encased in beautiful Italian marble. I looked at it longingly as I took off my jacket and high black heels. Knowing the fan girls, Cade wouldn't get up here for several minutes, so I decided to take a swim in the tub.
Sadness engulfed my heart as I thought back on my fight with David. I really did care about him and it hurt me that he was in pain. I wasn't sure if Cade was going to understand my feelings, and his reaction worried me. I didn't want to hurt him either. I hated that I'd hurt either one of them. But Cade... he was my priority, and I needed to make sure he knew that.
I could read him so well. He watched David exit and then glanced back at my face. He knew I was in turmoil and probably due to something that happened with David. Still, he reached out and pulled me to his side, wrapping his arm around me, no questions asked. Well, other than if I was okay. He was so beautiful, and good.
I turned the lights out and lit one of the candles on the bathroom counter, before going to the tub to start the water. The sound of the water falling into the tub was soothing to my nerves and I found one of those little hotel shampoos and dumped it in the tub to make bubbles. I smiled to myself. My mother would admonish me for not using some expensive moisturizing bath salts. Whatever. I wasn’t that finicky.
I pulled the dress over my head and let it fall the floor, the gauzy material splaying all over the tile. I didn't care if I ever wore the damn thing again anyway. Ruth would have my hide if I ever wore it twice anyway.
As I stepped into the tub, the hot water made me gasp as I eased down into it slowly. My body was strangely aching and I hoped the heat would ease the muscles and relax me. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes as I let the sensations seep into me. It felt so wonderful.
I wasn't sure how long I lay like that before I heard the card in the door and then someone walk into the room. I smiled thinking of finally being alone with him.
I kept my eyes closed but raised my arm so Cade could take my hand. Mmmm... He brought my fingers to his lips, then brushed them back and forth a couple of times.
"You better be who I think you are," I said softly.
He didn't say anything, but came down on his haunches behind the back of the tub and his warm mouth found the chord in my neck; his hand coming up to cup my opposite cheek, his fingers like warm velvet on my skin. Chills ran through me at the touch of his lips on my skin, his husky scent surrounding me. It was heavenly.
"Mmmmm. You taste so delicious." That sexy voice could make any woman drop her panties, and his thumb brushed across my lower lip. He kissed the corner of my mouth and then moved his lips over mine in a deep searching kiss. I loved the way he tasted, too.
I sighed in contentment. "I've missed you so much. Did you have a good time in London?" My eyes opened to stare into his blue depths only inches from my face. He was so close I could feel his breath.
"Brook, there is plenty of time to tell you all of that. Tell me about tonight." His eyes were serious as he looked at me. I would never get enough of looking at his face as my hand came up to cover his.
"Why don't you jump in here with me?" My eyes danced into his. He smirked and placed another small kiss on my lips.
"I thought you‘d never ask, my love." He stood and started stripping off his clothes. I was mesmerized watching him shed each and every piece before he was standing naked before me. I felt like I was starving; I couldn't stop looking at him in the glow of the candlelight.
I moved up a little as he stepped in behind me and sat down. He pulled me back against his chest, his legs on the outside of mine as we both leaned back and slid deeper into the tub.
"This is my idea of paradise," he murmured in my ear as his hands started to roam over my flesh beneath the water, my skin slippery from the shampoo in the water. He kissed the side of my neck and continued the loving touches all over my skin. I felt the stirrings of desire deep within me and arched my neck back into him as I let out a soft moan.
"Tell me what happened, Brook." His voice was low and sexy, but insistent.
I sighed. I didn't want to ruin the moment, but knew I had to tell him. We'd promised never to have any secrets between us, and I wasn't going back on that.
"Well... David was distant the whole plane ride over here and stupidly, I asked him what was wrong." I paused, but Cade didn't say anything, just kept running his hands up and down my arms, gently soothing me as he waited for me to continue. “I should have just left him be. He told me he didn't want to pretend he and I were together any more, and wanted me to come back to him for real."
I felt Cade's sharp intake of breath as he tensed. "Hey you. You're the one here with me right now. No tensing up necessary. I love you." I turned my head and placed an open mouth kiss at the base of his neck and sucked on the skin as I raised my mouth away.
"I know. It's just... I can't help being a little agitated. I'm jealous of every minute he spends with you that I can't." His arms tightened around my torso after sliding over my stomach, and mine slid over them.
"There's more," he stated matter-of-factly.
"There is?" I cringed as I hoped he'd let it lie. I didn't want to tell him about David's trying to kiss me, and what came after.
"Brook, this is me. I hope I know you better than anyone, so you can't ask me to believe you were that upset over a simple statement like that."
He was right, of course.
"Yeah, there was more, but it's really irrelevant. I don't want to ruin our time together tonight, okay?" Cade didn't say anything, which meant he wasn't going to let me get away this easy.
"Okay, the gist of it is that I told him point blank that I'm in love with you, and that he and I will never get back together." I took a deep breath as Cade's arms tightened around me again.
"That’s when he threatened to tell the press that you and I are together. I yelled at him and told him to go ahead and that I wanted him as far away from me as possible. And he left. End of story."
I closed my eyes hoping Cade would believe me and let it be. His hands paused on my body for a few seconds and I knew he was fighting with the fact that there might be more.
"This feels so good to be with you... all I want to think about is your hands on my body." My voice was low and sultry and I knew he was as aroused as I was. I could feel the evidence of it behind me, pressing on my lower back. I wrapped my arms around his knees and pulled myself tighter against him, making him groan.
One hand moved to my breast and the other slid lower across my stomach to reach between my legs, his fingers seeking and parting the flesh.
"Oh, God... " I arched my body into him.
"I'll always give you everything you want, love. You know that, right?" His lips burned a trail of kisses down my neck and onto my shoulder and his fingers teased my body to life.
"I'm counting on it," my mouth opened as I gasped. "I love the way you touch me."
His hand became more urgent as he rubbed little circles on the sensitive flesh between my legs, pulling and tweaking my right
nipple with his other hand. I could feel my body start to writhe and tighten under his skilled touches.
"Brook, come on, honey. So many nights when I'm away from you, I dream about you like this. I want to see it. I want to hear you come. I need it, love."
"Jesus, Cade. I love you." I leaned back against him as he continued to play my body like an instrument. I wanted to touch him, but the only place I could reach were his legs and up around his shoulders to the back of his head as I tried to arch up to kiss him.
His mouth closed over mine in a hot kiss; his tongue dove into my mouth the way his fingers found their way into my body, his other hand following the same path to take up rubbing where his other left off.
"Uhhh... mmmm... Cade. Oh, God. I'm close." I panted his name over and over.
"That's right my love. I'm doing this to you. You're mine, babe. I love you, so much." I felt my body clench and pulse around his fingers as I came, my body convulsing and twitching as the spasms washed over me. I was breathing hard as Cade's hands lightened their pressure, slowing their movement, and then sliding them up my body around my ribs to cup my breasts.
His face buried in my neck, he kissed me and told me over and over how much he loved me.
As my breathing slowed back down, I turned in his arms and took his mouth with mine. I was starving for his kisses and I wanted his tongue in my mouth, as I fisted my hands in his hair to bring him closer, deeper. We kissed over and over again, wanting more and more of each other.
God, I loved this man so much. I couldn't even breathe without him.
He pulled his mouth from mine to suck on my lower lip and I felt his hot breath fan out on my face. "I want you, Brook. I want you, now. Right now." His sexy voice filled me with new rush of desire, as his arms slid around my body and he went to lift me up on to his lap so we could make love. He was flushed and urgent, almost frantic in his movements.
"Uuuhhhh." I flinched against him, and he stilled instantly.
"Brook, what is it? Did I hurt you, honey?" His eyes searched my face; his pupils were dilated, his lips swollen from our passionate kisses, and a slight flush to his cheeks. His hands moved to both sides of my face as he brushed my wet hair back.
I felt a sharp pain when he lifted me, and I had no idea what it was from. My eyes were half-lidded with desire as I bent to take his mouth with mine again. His arms went around my hips to pull me to him, and I winced again.
"Brooklyn, what the hell? What's wrong?"
"Nothing.” I shook my head. “Just hold me, Cade. Love me, please."
He drew back to look at me his eyes skating across my breasts and then like lightning he leaned forward to look over my body. Before I knew what he was doing he was standing up, lifting me out of the tub to stand me up in front of him. I shivered from the removal of the hot water and his body from mine as he turned me to look over the left side of my body.
His face turned to stone, the color draining from his features, then flushing red.
"What the fuck? How did you get these bruises, Brook? Tell me, fucking now!"
I saw my reflection in the mirror and was shocked to see that I had a bruise on my rib cage and one on my thigh, but I wasn't sure how they got there. Maybe during the rush through the airport, but I couldn't say for sure.
Cade's breathing was coming in short bursts as he grabbed his pants and threw them on.
"Brook, I'm not going to ask you again. Tell me or I'll draw my own bloody conclusions. Tell me!" he yelled at me.
He saw me flinch, and his face softened slightly as he brought a towel around me. His hands were so gentle but he was so upset that he was visibly shaking.
I put my hand on his bare chest. "Cade. Look at me," his hand came up to cover mine and I saw there were tears in his eyes that began to spill softly to his cheeks.
"Did that motherfucker do this to you? I will fucking kill him for touching you!" His voice was fierce, and I could see the muscle in his jaw working as he struggled to get a hold of himself.
I felt my own tears overflow as I tried to put my arms around him... I started to sob. "Cade, please listen to me. Don't. Don't shut me out right now." Suddenly his arms closed around me and he cried into my shoulder. My eyes closed as we quietly held each other for a few minutes.
"Brooklyn. You need to tell me what happened. Now. I mean it. Everything." He pulled back and looked in my face; my heart exploded into a million pieces at his hurt expression.
I took his hand, and pulled him into the other room, to the sofa to sit beside me. I reached up to touch the side of his face as I looked in his eyes. I let my thumb brush back and forth on his jaw.
"I told you what happened." He stiffened before I could continue. "Wait," I tried to control my emotions but my voice trembled as I held him. "Please, let me finish. I don't know how I got these bruises. Honestly. I mean, maybe rushing through the airport. Things happened so fast, that I honestly didn't even feel sore until tonight."
I took both of his hands in mine as we sat there, both of us crying silently. The tears on his cheeks broke my heart. The fact that he would get so upset so fast worried me.
"Did he touch you?" Cade asked quietly.
"After I told him I loved you, he tried to kiss me." Cade's hands tightened on mine and I knew I had to try to put it in perspective before he blew it out of proportion. "It was only a kiss, babe. Yes, he clutched at my body, and tried to pull me to him, but I didn't respond. I-I turned my face away."
"Brook! You should have told me the minute I got out of that fucking car." His eyes were tortured as they looked into mine.
"I... I didn't want to hurt you like this. It meant nothing to me, and it's over. You are what matters." My eyes begged for his understanding. I tried to smile through my tears. "Besides, how would we have kept our secret with you beating the shit out of David at our first premiere, hmmm?"
His mouth quirked a little at the corner as he listened to my words, but his eyes were full of sadness. He nodded softly.
"Well, I'm still going to bloody kill that little bastard." He raised my hand to his mouth to place a soft kiss on the back of it. "No one kisses you but me... and for sure as hell manhandle you like that… at least while I'm breathing."
My heart swelled in my chest at the tenderness in those words.
"He apologized, afterward. And Cade, I feel sorry for him. He really does love me. In his way."
Cade's head snapped up and he shook his head. "Fuck no, he doesn't. Don't make excuses for him, Brook. There is no excuse for hurting you or touching you against your will. And, I'm going to make bloody well sure he knows it."
His arms went around me and as his fingers wound in my hair to bring my mouth to his in a gentle kiss, a sharp contrast to how David had been.
"Will you stay with me tonight? We can deal with David tomorrow. Please?" I whispered against his mouth.
I WOKE UP to the sound of my phone ringing and Cade stirred slightly at the sound as well, flinging his arm over me and pulling me close to his body. Even in sleep he was gentle, subconsciously aware of my bruises. I was stiff and sore as I snuggled into him, pressing my lips to his chest and snaking my arm around him. I took a deep breath enjoying the scent of his skin and faint remnants of his cologne all around me. The warmth from his body seeped into mine as our legs tangled together.
That song really was annoying. I really needed to change it. I had used ‘Flash' by Queen because of David's role in a Marvel flick he’d been in. I was young and idiotic, and he thought the superhero theme was cool. It was clear it grated on Cade's nerves like nails down a chalkboard.
I pushed the hair from my eyes and looked at the clock and it said Noon, which would make it 4 AM in L.A. I hated the jet lag involved in traveling the world. It was exhausting. I didn't want to move and I sure as hell didn't want to answer that phone call. After the scene yesterday, what could David want? He'd made his position perfectly clear.
My brow wrinkled as I considered the possibilities. I suppose I sho
uld find out. My phone tinged as the message was left.
Ugh! I closed my eyes.
I'd never seen Cade as pissed as he was last night when he'd discovered what David had done. An involuntary shiver ran through me at the memory. He'd been so furious, I wasn't sure what he would have done to David had he been anywhere in the vicinity. Lucky for everyone involved, he hadn't been.
Cade definitely wasn't a violent person, so this side of him took me by surprise. I knew he still would want to confront David at some point, but I didn't know what good it would do. Cade's feelings had been a mixture of anger, frustration and pain at knowing that David had touched me at all, and worse, tried to kiss me.
My heart ached when I saw the tears on his cheeks. He had been so tender with me later, touching me with kid gloves... making sure I knew he would always treat me with respect, love and reverence.
My face flushed with color as I remembered the several hours that followed and the passionate, yet gentle, lovemaking he'd lavished on me, always careful not to hurt me.
He just wanted to hold me so there would be no chance of any further pain, but I'd begged him to finish what we started, and then we couldn't stop for hours. We were both full of want from the separation and the out-of control emotions from earlier in the evening.
I smiled to myself. He'd turned me into an insatiable wanton woman whenever he touched me... sometimes with only a look or even a memory. I couldn't get enough of his body and hands, and his beautiful voice always making love to me with his words; and, his perfect mouth. I blushed at the knowledge of how easily he could make me want him and with such amazing intensity.
"What are you thinking about with that sexy smirk on your face?" Cade's hand came up to brush my cheek gently, then raising my chin so he could place a kiss on my mouth.
"Last night. You. Always, you..." His hold on me tightened slightly as did mine on him. "I never want to move. You feel so good. I love being with you. Will you forgive me for losing it last night? When I found out what he'd said to you... that he touched you, I just went crazy. I'm sorry, my love. I never meant to yell at you." He kissed the top of my head that rested on his shoulder.
