by Bliss Carter
“So, what are you saying Cade?”, Kresley asked. “Gertie and I were drugged by the same person? That Drake happened to come along and see something he shouldn’t have or got in the way somehow?”
“Yes baby. That’s what I’m saying. I’ve spoken to many people over the past week about Drake and his life. I was able to rule out different ones as potential suspects, including his fiancé and soon to be father in law. His own family was also ruled out. I do believe Drake was coming to the warehouse to talk to you, maybe ask you out on a date. I don’t know what his intentions were towards you, but I know he had told his fiancé earlier that day that he didn’t want to marry her any longer. Claudia had asked him to think about things before making a final decision. According to her, he stated his decision was final. His brother Braxton also said he had a similar conversation with him and he tried to talk his brother out of doing something stupid. Then before anyone else talked to him, he was at your alley, with a banana pudding milkshake for you and a couple of condoms in his wallet. The condoms may have been just his regular MO, but still. What I don’t know is if Drake came upon something in your alley that made him a target or he was targeted because he was there to see you specifically? Regardless, he’s now dead, you’ve been drugged and I still have no clue who this asshole is and what their plans are next. But I promise you this, I will figure this out. I swear to you baby, I will free you and Gertie from worrying about someone trying to hurt you again. And I’ll protect Grace and your other sisters the same.”
“I have no doubt about that last statement, honey. I trust you. And I know the girls trust you, too.” Kresley wrapped her arms around Cade’s neck and hugged him tight, kissing his jaw softly, hoping to ease his anger a little bit. “So, what do we do now? Use me as bait? I’ll do it if you want me to. Just tell me when and where.”
Cade looked at Kresley like she had grown three additional heads. “Bait? What the hell woman? Are you freakin’ crazy? I’m not going to use you for bait!”, Cade said, yelling that last bit rather loudly. “You listen to me, and you listen to me real good, Kresley James Anderson. In no way, shape or form are you to do anything dangerous. You hear me? Bait, my ass. God help me with stubborn as hell women.”
“Well hello there, Mr. Asshole, glad to see you again. I thought you had disappeared forever”, Kresley sweetly stated, looking up at Cade’s face. Her fingernails digging into his neck the only sign that she was not feeling very sweet at the moment.
“Claws in, woman. I’m not falling for your asshole comments and getting sucked in to a debate with you on how you think I’m being an asshole while I think I’m just showing you my protective side. I have bigger things to talk about.” Cade glared down at Kresley’s freckled face, losing himself in her green eyes. Damn the woman. Stubborn streak a mile wide.
“Look, it sounds idiotic to use me as bait. But what if it will draw out whoever is trying to hurt me or others I care about? Do you honestly think I’m going to sit around and wait for the other shoe to drop? That would be a hell no.”
Cade signed loud and long. “No, I don’t expect you to do that. But let me do my job, Kres. My job! I’m good at it. I promise. And now that I have new theories, I can begin looking into those and hopefully finding more evidence. In the meantime, you and your tribe will be under the watchful eye of me and some other protective people I know.”
Cade didn’t elaborate on who he was talking about, but Kresley simply nodded, choosing to appease him and filing away the idea of baiting herself to lure whoever was wanting to hurt her into the open. “Okay, you said your peace. And I agree with you. I promise not to do something stupid or rash and won’t choose to act upon anything without talking to you first. Trust goes both way and I want you to trust me.”
Kresley squealed as Cade hugged her against his chest tight, so tightly that she thought he may have popped a rib. She slid her fingers into Cade’s dark, soft hair, liking how it felt cool and silky against her skin.
Cade groaned loud at her actions, saying in a guttural voice, “Now that we’ve talked, tell me how you’re feeling. I’ve been worried about your headache all morning, baby.”
“I’m okay, honest. I know I’m going to feel crappy all day, so if it’s okay with you, I’d like to just hang out here, watch movies, nap, and just be near you”, Kresley softly said, cuddling into Cade’s chest deeper.
“Whatever you want baby. Whatever you want. Does a shower sound good? I’ve got a tshirt and a pair of gym shorts that I bought too small in a drawer. That way you don’t have to worry about getting any clothes from your place. You can use my cell phone charger if you need to charge your phone. I’ll take care of you Kres. It’s what I want to do. See, no asshole here. Only Big Sexy.” Cade winked down at her with that statement and chuckled.
Kresley’s answer was to lick him from his pec, up the tight cords of his neck, to his jaw line. Then ending with a soft suck of his neck right below his ear that would leave behind a slight red mark. “Sounds good honey. I’ll get a shower while you do the dishes.” Red left Cade in a state of heated agony, making sure her hips were swaying back and forth as she walked away from him and up the stairs. She heard his loud groan and curse and she giggled. This was so much fun, Kresley thought, as she headed off to find Cade’s clothes and get a shower.
∞∞∞
Later that night, in the seedy part of Atlanta’s downtown area, sitting in the shadows, they sat and stared at the wall. This whole thing was so screwed up. This isn’t how they normally did things. It wasn’t a part of their routine. Staring down at the unconscious woman on the floor at their feet, they admitted that she was a pale comparison to the red headed sisters they so desperately needed. Gertie was the first that got away. If only they had five more minutes with her, she would have been added to the book of trophies. But the interruption cost them. Cost them time and opportunity. The need was still there. And hopefully this tasty bit of flesh would help sate that need, if only for a little while. Kresley Anderson was next on the list to hunt. But not much was going to get through that behemoth of a boyfriend that she had. The other sisters were options to look at, as well as that blonde firecracker that answered the phones. So many choices. The when and where was the only thing holding them back. But soon. Very soon. Now, on to the rewards of the night. They carefully began advancing towards the drugged-up woman, making sure that she was still asleep. Time for some fun. They wondered if she would squeal like a pig when she felt the first sting of the knife.
Chapter Fifteen
One month. It had been one month since Cade Grantham met Kresley Anderson. And in that month, the time they spent together had been enlightening for sure. Trying to understand the mindset of a woman was a big enough task, but trying to figure out the mindset of an Anderson woman seemed to be the holy grail around here. And Cade not only had his woman to figure out, but her three sisters as well. Plus, Grace, who was another story all together. Cade was going to leave that one up to Boomer to decipher, if he would ever get off his ass and do something about it. Cade was only concerned with Kresley right now. And with good reason. Cade looked around the fairgrounds, trying to find his red headed woman in the crowd of booths. She had told him what color the banner was over the booth that she would be working in, but not which end of the field it would be. Cade looked over at Boomer, who has busy eating a BBQ rib as they walked. Cade wasn’t putting a thing in his mouth with the exception of a mint. Not until after he had kissed Kresley silly.
It had been two days since he had seen his girlfriend. Not by choice, but necessity. Kresley and her sisters, along with Grace, had been away since Tuesday at a wedding event that they had been planning for almost a year. The venue for the wedding was at a plantation in middle Georgia and although Kresley asked Cade if he wanted to go, he had to regretfully say no. He and Boomer had been called in to help with a special case that was based out of state and it meant they had to do surveillance work.
Wow, had he missed his girl. In the
weeks following her GHB drugging, Cade and Kresley had grown closer to each other, with the occasional fight and asshole comment sprinkled in for good measure. Cade had reminded Red that he wasn’t perfect and made no promises to try to be. He would always end the argument with a kiss to confuse her and asking for forgiveness for anything that he might have done to upset her. It was easier just to ask for forgiveness, even when he’d done nothing. He had learned with an Anderson, there would always be something to ask forgiveness for eventually every day. Cade laughed quietly at that and how his life had changed so much.
“What’cha laughing at over there Cade?”, Boomer asked his good friend. “I wouldn’t think you’d be laughing at the thought of your girl kissing so many guys.”
Cade snapped his gaze to his best friend. “Huh? What the hell are you talking about Boomer? Kresley wouldn’t kiss any other man”, Cade exclaimed, a menacing look on his face, aimed at the police officer.
“Then, I’m guessing she didn’t tell you that the booth that she and her sisters and Gracie signed up to do was a Kissing Booth?”
“What?”, Cade asked, looking around in a panicked stated that quickly turned into hot rage. “Oh, hell no. She neglected to tell me that. No freakin’ way is my woman going to sit there and kiss guy after guy. Let’s go! Find me that booth now, Boomer”, Cade heatedly said as he scanned the booths up ahead. Fury was beginning to numb his insides, but it fueled him to walk faster and faster across the grass field.
“Kresley Anderson, where are you?”, Cade could be heard bellowing across the fairgrounds. “You better answer me, woman.”
“Over there, Cade”, Boomer called out as he indicated a booth off to Cade’s left. It was a red booth, with lots of glittered lips all over it with the word kiss in huge letters on the banner above.
Cade stalked over to the booth and broke through the line of men standing there, waiting, ready to light into Kresley about sharing her luscious lips with others. When Cade made it to the front, he was totally confused when he came upon four older women, lovely ladies with grey hair and sweet smiles. They were sitting side by side on stools, with an Anderson sister standing behind them. Cade was completely baffled when he noticed one of the ladies was his Aunt Mae. “Aunt Mae, what the hell are you doing here?”
“Cade Grantham, you better watch your mouth young man. I’m here for a good cause, to help raise money for our local firefighters. And what better way to help than to have handsome man after man kiss me on the lips”, Aunt Mae stated with a big wink. Cade watched as an older gentleman, named Alvin, put a $5 bill in the bucket on the side and lean in to his Aunt Mae for a kiss. Cade turned his huge, blue eyes away from the sight before him and turned his attention to Kresley, who stood behind his aunt. Lord, she was beautiful. Each time he saw her, she literally stole his breath. How can a woman do that to a man over and over, every day? Cade absently rubbed his chest, as he often did when he had warm thoughts about his girl. Kresley stared back at him, with a big smile on her face and a blush on her cheeks. She usually blushed at seeing him, no matter if it was hours after being together or a day or more. He would never get enough of it. Her red hair was extra curly today, flowing long down her back and brushing against her butt. He needed to touch its silky strands. Soon.
“Hey honey. I heard you calling out my name across the aisle. Everything okay? Like our booth?”, Kresley stated to him, the booth façade between them. She motioned for him to come around the back, and he and Boomer walked around the crowd there, taking in the amount of men waiting on a kiss.
“Hey Boomer. Get in line to get a kiss from Grace in a few minutes”, Kresley quietly stated to the giant man. “We’ll be taking our turns from Aunt Mae and them soon.” She looked up at Cade after that statement and was taken back at the raw emotion she saw there. Anger was evident, but jealousy was soon taking lead. “What? What did I do?”
“You didn’t tell me your booth was a kissing booth baby. I mean, what the hell?”, Cade asked irately. “I don’t want my girl kissing other men. Period. Shut this shit down now.” Cade was almost pouting, arms crossed, jaw firmly set. Which was hilarious to see in person. Big man Cade Grantham, Big Sexy, lead detective for the Mercy Springs PD, was jealous and throwing a tantrum.
“Hey, Big Sexy, get your panties out of your crack for a sec. Stop acting like a toddler who’s lost his toy”, Birdie stated next to Kresley. Red knew that Birdie wouldn’t know subtlety if it hit her in the face. She ignored Kresley’s elbow to the boob and Boomer’s outright snicker of laughter at Cade’s expense.
“Birdie, by all that’s holy, shut up. Please. This is between your sister and me”, Cade stated, putting his large hand over Birdie’s face and pushed it gently backwards. When he felt her lick his palm, he quickly let her go and stated with affection, “Brat. God help the man who claims you one day.” He ignored the eye roll she gave him.
“Kres, you’ve got five minutes to discuss this with your man before our time slot”, Francie quietly stated in Kres’ ear. Kres nodded her understanding and took Cade by the hand, intertwining their fingers and pulling him away to a quiet spot. Kresley observed that Cade was quiet and he was rarely quiet. She looked up at him concerned and noticed that he was looking down at her head intently. Kresley stopped in the middle of the midway and took both of Cade’s hands.
“Cade, honey, tell me what’s wrong. Are you upset about the kissing booth?”
“Well, Kres, of course I’m upset about the kissing booth. I can’t help but be upset. Can you blame me?”
“Honestly, I didn’t even know our booth was a kissing booth until about 30 minutes ago. I would have told you what it was if I had known. I figured I’d let you know when you got here. I wouldn’t keep anything from you Cade. Ever.”
Cade sighed heavily. “I’m sorry Red. I guess I have left over baggage from a past relationship that I haven’t thought of in years. A woman I dated for months would purposely use things to try to make me jealous while we dated. It drove me insane and is the reason I broke things off with her. I don’t like jealousy and don’t like feeling that way. At all. But thinking of you being kissed by another man, even if its just a quick peck on the lips for charity, makes me feel unhinged.” Shrugging his shoulders, trying to loosen the knot at his neck, Cade took a step back and raked his fingers through his hair. “Sorry about that Kres. I told you I’m a guy. And I’d act stupid sometimes. I’m really sorry. I’ll leave and just see you later?” He looked at Kresley then and searched her eyes, preparing to turn around to find somewhere quiet to lick his wounds.
Kresley took the few steps towards Cade and wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him down towards her. There in the midway of the local county fair, with people walking all around them, Kresley Anderson gave Cade Grantham a kiss like no other. One hand cradled the back of his head, while the other stroked up and down his back. Her mouth wrapped softly around his lips, waiting for them to open. Cade took in her tongue to twine with his. Neither tried to dominate the other. They each gently took what the other gave, which felt a lot like love. Cade cradled Kresley’s face with his hands, gently stroking her features with his fingertips. Small kisses were dropped on each other’s mouths, chins, cheeks and nose. Kresley had eyes only for Cade, locked into his blue depths, letting him know that he was the only person she saw in that moment, the only one she wanted, her everything.
Soft green eyes looked up at Cade, imploring him to stay put. “Don’t leave Big Sexy. I need you here for back up. Besides, your Aunt Mae already told me she would take my shift since I’m your girl. You may need to watch her close anyway. Ash stopped by earlier to lend his money to the FD fund, and your Aunt Mae caught him in a solid lip lock. I swear I think her tongue went down his throat. You should have seen Ash’s eyes. And Francie was about to have a cow either laughing or seizing in a fit.” Kresley grinned as Cade began to choke on air as he took in the mental picture of his aunt tonguing Ash the firefighter.
“Baby, when you put it lik
e that, I think it’s my duty to stay close by. You’re okay? You’re not mad at me for going caveman on you back there? Boomer was having a ball watching me unravel. Can’t wait for him to watch Grace in lip action in a minute.”
“I’m not even a little mad. Honest. You’d know if I was. You’ve learned the signs by now”, Kresley joked. Closing her eyes as Cade kissed her forehead gently, she admitted how much she had missed him the past few days. Being away from him for even a day or two was torture. They spent all their free time with each other. Every day. And if they weren’t in the same place together, they were texting or calling each other. It’s was driving her sisters and Grace crazy. And Kresley loved that. “Uhmmm, honey, I know us kissing in the middle of the fair may make it seem like we’re okay with everyone knowing our business, but could you do me a solid and take your hands off my ass?”
Kresley felt Cade’s chuckle deep inside his chest, vibrating across hers. One more squeeze from his hands, and they dropped. She automatically missed them, but knew they needed to get back to the booth. As she turned with Cade’s hand on her back, she noticed that line had gotten longer at the booth. And her sisters were all up front and center at the stools, being kissed over and over. Grace was on the end at her own stool, with Boomer already in line, rocking back and forth on his sneakered feet. Kresley elbowed Cade and pointed to Boomer. Cade just grinned and snuck up behind Boomer.
“Need a mint there, brother?”, Cade whispered in Boomer’s ear. Boomer dodged his breathy comment and put him in a headlock. Cade just laughed and pulled away. He handed Boomer a mint from his pocket and gave him a wink. “Go get her dude. You deserve it.”
