“Thank you,” I replied softly.
I turned my attention back toward Cayden who stood as motionless and as perfect as a statue carved from marble. I felt my eyes widen at the way he looked at me. His expression, stricken, like he had seen a ghost. The emotion upon his face transformed into something so breathtakingly beautiful, yet, there are no words to fully describe it. A vague awareness of Langdon and Jayden’s movement somewhere close behind me became evident, but I could not tear my attention from Cayden. To look at him overwhelmed me. I wanted to cry. Not from sadness, or even because he looked so much like Austin, but because his perfection overtook my weak eyes. Cayden was too perfect, too unreal. To look at him grew almost unbearable, but I had no will to look away.
I thought I heard Chandler speak. It seemed to be muffled as if my other senses stopped, allowing all my attention, all my energy, to divert to my eyes in anticipation of capturing the vision of the stunning man before them. My heart raced. My stomach flipped. I had to take note of myself, gather my own composure in hope that my own face would not give me away.
Something like sadness flashed across Cayden’s demeanor. Then as suddenly as the flash of sadness appeared, the sadness disappeared. His face smoothed. He looked completely calm, completely serene, and that’s when it happened. His eyes burned like liquid fire into mine. I stopped breathing, struck absolutely motionless myself.
Chandler moved his hand to my arm. He nudged me forward. I moved and allowed my lungs to fill with air while I continued to study every portion of Cayden’s face. I watched his face, his expression which changed once again. The corners of his mouth turned up into a slight, almost guilty, smile. He combed his fingers through his tousled bronze hair. It was a brilliant bronze in the light of this space. Cayden diverted his eyes for a moment before he brought them back to me. He met my gaze with wide beautiful clear liquid blue. His eyes were the perfect shade of sapphires.
“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” Cayden said quite assuredly.
I felt my cheeks turn hot while the silk ridden voice of Cayden, soft and so smooth, echoed through my entire body until it found a place to rest within my loins. I was a wanton. To my shock, a part of me wanted to push Cayden down, straddle him, take him, ride him, love him until we both were breathless, sated, and sweating from our effort.
Get a grip, Winter.
“I am sure you are being too kind, but thank you,” I replied. Trying hard to maintain my own composure.
“Trust me,” he said. “It is you who is being too kind. You are beyond beautiful. I’m unsure there are words.”
I wanted to stand, gawk at him, because he was the beautiful one.
Cayden reached out toward me. He found my hand and took it without hesitation. Heat flew up my arm. He smiled, intertwining his fingers tighter while he led me to the table. In true gentlemanly fashion Cayden pulled out my chair, however, before I took my seat he tugged at my hand. It became clear he wanted me to turn.
“Please,” he requested.
I grinned, unsure if I should give him what he wanted. In the end I gave in and turned around in a slow circle. His hand never fully released my hand. He assisted me in this odd form of a ballerina twirl.
Cayden gave a low whistle. “Damn,” he said, “you are gorgeous, Ms. Wells.”
I glanced up at him from beneath my lashes and said, “Thank you yet again, Mr. Cain.”
He smiled wickedly at my response. We were flirting with each other before the night had even begun. Cayden made sure I took my seat before he sat to the right of me. Another ghostly moment flashed across my mind. So much like Austin. I could get too lost if I wasn’t careful.
I watched as Jayden and Langdon situated themselves at a table beside us. Chandler sat across from me not quite next to his brother. I adjusted myself in the chair and crossed my legs. The side slit of my dress exposed the thigh high edge of my stocking. Without meaning to, the lace of my garter could be seen. I started to uncross my legs but stopped.
Cayden’s eyes popped wide. He fixated on my leg. In a moment of pure sin, I watched him. His eyes traced the curve of my ankle. With a slightly crooked grin, he continued the journey. Cayden’s blazing blue eyes moved slowly up my calf, as to savor the moment then preceded up my thigh to find the line of the garter. He stopped when he found a peek of my flesh and stared. Everywhere his eyes traced, touched me. I swear this might sound insane, but heat sprawled across my skin.
Cayden’s lips glistened where he had licked them in one smooth swipe while he gawked at my garter clad thigh like a starving man. My heart started to thump, rapping against my chest in response at how he looked at me. His eyes found my face. He had something of a mixed expression which can best be described as desire, appreciation, and disbelief. Then he smiled. It was incandescent when his eyes met mine. My heart which had been racing fell to my feet.
“How did the interviews go?” Chandler asked Cayden.
Cayden tore his eyes from my face, slowly, like it pained him to do so before he gazed over toward his brother. “The usual same boring questions,” he replied. “Do I identify with the last character I played? The chemistry on film between my co-star and I is evident so it must be true, myself and my co-star are dating.” He gave a low chuckle.
Cayden’s chuckle danced over me, warm and inviting like a gentle breeze on a summer’s day. I was taken back, curled up on a porch swing, sipping lemonade, basking in the warmth of his quiet laughter. I closed my eyes for a moment, revisiting a place I had not been to in so very long.
“Oh, then we can’t forget to ask when can the fans expect the next movie?” Cayden spoke as though this subject bored him.
The previous comment about his co-star intrigued me, pulled me forward into the present. I opened my eyes.
“Who was your co-star?” I inquired, trying for casual while inside I beat down the sheer panic at the thought of a seriously gorgeous woman.
“Cheryl Lynn Adkins,” Chandler interjected, not allowing his brother to speak. “You know they are getting married in the spring.” Chandler gave out a booming laugh. I may have frowned.
“Really?” I asked, trying to be nonchalant.
Cayden looked at me, quite serious. “Chandler has a twisted sense of humor.”
Chandler continued to laugh. A series of guffaws streamed through the room.
“I can’t tell you how many times my little brother has been destined for the state of holy matrimony. It’s truly impressive.”
Cayden shot his brother a glare which was dark and fabulous. Something about that dark glare sent goose bumps across my skin. A tall strawberry blonde appeared at our table, breaking the beautiful intense look Cayden was giving his brother.
“I’m Brit, your server this evening. What can I get you, Mr. Cain?”
“Brit,” Cayden said. The corners of his mouth extended his sinuous lips into a smile. “Mr. Cain is my father.”
Brit’s returning grin was wide, quite pearly bright, as though she would break into song by his response. I watched Brit, a bit intrigued at her blatant behavior. She passed two fingers through her hair, placing a long piece of the perfect strawberry blonde strands behind her ear. She shifted her weight. Her lustful eyes scanned Cayden. She gave a rather impish grin. A pang of irritation struck me.
“Cayden then,” Brit corrected in a cutesy tone.
Chandler chuckled, being amused.
Brit’s voice changed. It became alluring as she said, “I haven’t seen you here in a while. I am glad you decided to come back.” Brit’s eyes flashed while she fluttered her long lashes.
Okay, I decided for sure. My irritation was more than irritation and more than a pang. I disliked Brit, and the dislike poked at me, hard. I came to the conclusion I truly hated the way she looked at Cayden.
“Yes, we are delighted to return,” Chandler said. His smugness made its return quite triumphantly.
Brit reached out. She adjusted a glass which sat offset on the table in
front of Chandler. She completed an expert maneuver, bending over enough to expose her perfectly plump and overflowing cleavage for Cayden’s view. If one of her buttons gave way, she would put an eye out with one of those rock hard nipples which were punching through the thin white material of her shirt. In fact, her shirt was so thin you could see the entirety of her lacy white push up bra which barely contained those plump babies.
“So, Cayden, have you decided what you would like this evening?” Her soprano voice beyond smooth, seductive. I had an idea she wasn’t asking what Cayden would like for dinner, rather she hoped he would decide to have her.
“I think we will have the usual,” Cayden replied then looked over toward me, his eyes burning blue again. “Winter, do you like filet minion?”
“Yes,” I said. Upon my answer, Brit looked at me with total contempt which lashed out from beneath her chocolate brown eyes.
“How do you like your steak?” she asked of me, forcing a twisted form of a smile.
I wondered if her face hurt.
“Very well done,” I replied.
“And to drink?”
I glanced at Cayden. He asked, “Would you like wine?”
“Yes.”
Cayden turned his attention back to Brit. “She will have what we are having.”
I was thankful he saved me. Brit actually made me uncomfortable. I imagined she contemplated different ways to poison my food while she glowered at me then her eyes shot back to Cayden.
I glanced over the table to see Chandler who sat there smiling like the cat who ate the canary. I figured my face showed my dislike for Brit, but I tried hard to maintain some self-control. Confirming my suspicions that Chandler knew I was none too happy, Chandler winked at me before he looked back at Brit. She still stood at our table.
“The band will start in a few minutes. Would you like me to move this?” Brit asked. She pointed to a dark curtain of a wall behind Chandler.
“Sure. Thank you,” Cayden answered.
Brit’s expression teetered somewhere between flirty and smarmy. She bent over quite enticingly. Her short black skirt slid, rising up to the edge of her perfectly round, flawlessly young aspirations. I watched while Brit clutched at something close to the ground then stretched up quite gracefully while extending out her chest. She moved the curtain back and exposed a stage just beyond the swags of the dark fabric.
Chandler could not contain himself. “Brit, thank you so very much,” he said then gave a toothy I’m a very bad boy grin.
Clearly, Chandler was thanking Brit for the view of her ample chest, as well as the view of her round firm backside, and not for the view of the stage. She did take notice. Brit responded with a little giggle followed by the slight parting of her plump blush colored lips, but in the end, she seemed much more interested in Cayden.
“Anytime,” she replied. Brit turned to swallow Cayden whole and gave him a bright devilish smile. She raked her eyes over his entire body before she walked away.
Looking at his brother, Chandler mused, “Well, I never get tired of what you seem to get women to do.”
“It has nothing to do with me,” Cayden said, his voice irritated yet beautiful.
“I would suppose the flirting, the cleavage, and the bending over does have something to do with you,” I interjected.
Chandler chimed in, his face beaming. He leaned back triumphant in his chair. “Thank you, Winter.” Chandler chuckled proudly. “Finally a voice of reason.”
I ignored Chandler and turned my gaze back toward his dazzling brother.
“I mean, I doubt you are unaware of how beautiful you are.”
Oh, my God. Did I just say that?
Chandler laughed then tapped his napkin like one would flick a marble. “Not you, too,” he said. “Just when I though there was some hope for a beautiful, smart, dare I dream, sensible woman, you went and ruined my allusions, Winter.”
“Um.” I mumbled.
What was I, thirteen and star struck?
Cayden smiled the kind of smile which would break the heart of a better woman. One dark brow rose. “So you think I am beautiful, do you?” He sounded amused.
“Well, I doubt hearing that was a first either,” I replied assuredly.
“No. Not the first,” he admitted. Then he smiled a crooked, almost guilty smile. “But it has been the only time in which I was actually pleased to hear it.”
The flush to my cheeks returned with a vengeance. Sure they were burning hot and chili pepper red, I wanted to hide. Cayden reached toward me and brushed his hand down my cheek. I trembled; another reaction in which I am sure did not go unnoticed by him. He gave me a guilty crooked grin. I think I stopped breathing. As much as I already disliked Brit, thankfully we were interrupted by her.
“Your drinks,” she announced. Brit placed the tall stemmed goblets on the table before placing two bottles of some expensive wine in front of Cayden.
“Thank you,” Cayden said. He never broke his gaze from mine. His hand moved down to the table rather inconspicuously.
Brit looked at me or better glared. Pure unbridled rage ran over her face before she turned her full attention back to Cayden. “I will be back with your salads.”
Cayden never broke away from my face. He nodded in acknowledgment then leaned over toward me. I could feel his warm breath blow across my lips. I had to lick my lips, lip gloss be damned, allowing his breath upon my tongue. Cayden’s watched the movement of my tongue, and the parting of my lips. He seemed, fascinated.
“How do you do that?” he whispered.
I was baffled by his question. “Do what?” I asked.
“Take my breath away,” he replied.
The sound of his voice wrapped me in a warm velvet blanket. I stayed there, caught in his gaze, paralyzed, and speechless. He looked at me as if I were the only woman he had ever seen. As if I was the only woman he ever wanted to see. Like I was the first as well the last woman he would ever look at again.
His name fell from my lips in a whisper. “Cayden….”
Everything seemed to fade into the background. The noise which came from the room beyond us disappeared. The presence of his brother faded away. The bodyguards left, and there was nothing but Cayden. He filled my vision, my mind, and my heart. Then without warning, my body moved closer to him.
I felt the pull. Like the force of a magnet pulling me forward. Without thought, as though this were a reflex reaction, I brought my hand to his face. I ran my index finger over the perfect line of his lips. The contours of Cayden’s lips were not foreign to me. My fingers knew their way. My face, my lips, stopped scant inches from his perfect mouth. My palm rested on his jaw. My lips parted. Cayden’s warmth breath gusted across them. My hand shook. Time froze, or perhaps I did. What was I doing? You’re going to kiss him. God, I wanted to kiss him. I needed to experience his mouth on mine, his tongue tangling with mine. To feel him, taste him….
Realization of what I was doing plunged through me. It slashed through my insanity and tore its way to the surface.
“Sorry.” I dropped my hand to my lap and quickly moved back from him.
Cayden closed his eyes for a brief moment.
“Never be sorry. I’m not,” he finally whispered.
“Thank God!” Chandler exclaimed, seeming exasperated.
I heard Brit’s high pitched voice. “Your salads,” she announced. Brit placed the green leaf filled bowls in front of us.
Cayden turned to look at her. His face, disturbed, almost angry at the interruption. However just as suddenly, his face smoothed. “Thank you, Brit,” he said.
She smiled bright. “You are welcome.” Her eyes remained on Cayden for a long moment before she turned to walk away, hips swaying.
Chandler reached out. The movement of his arm caught my attention. He adjusted one of the bottles of wine then moved it toward him. His eyes flickered to Cayden then to me. Chandler’s eyes seemed to rest on my face. I could not read his expression. It bounced betwe
en confused, angry, and blank.
“Chandler, maybe you should move,” Cayden suggested.
“Why?” Chandler returned.
“Your back is to the stage so you won’t be able to see the band.”
Chandler looked strange. Perhaps he was upset.
“All right,” Chandler finally said. He adjusted his chair to my side of the table.
Music along with a mixture of voices broke in as the band took the stage. They were testing the sound. I looked at the band, finally able to see with understanding. I turned toward Cayden. Surprise had to be covering my face.
“Are you kidding me? This is–” I was completely derailed by Cayden’s musical laugh. I sat there and gazed at him, unable to move.
At seeing my expression, Cayden continued to laugh. He propped his elbow on the table. I could tell he was quite proud of himself. “You like this band, don’t you, Winter?”
His laugh haunted me, but I wanted to be haunted by his laugh.
“Yes. How did you know?”
“I have my ways,” he mused. Cayden swiped the tip of his index finger down my cheek before he touched the tip of my nose once with a tap. I froze.
“What?” he asked.
I shook my head. Felt my hair move. It was being brushed over my shoulder, by Cayden.
“Nothing,” I replied.
My hand rested near my napkin. I picked it up, placed it in my lap, grabbed the salad fork, and proceeded to poke at the fancy green leaves in front of me. I had to gain control over myself, because I was already in far too deep. There must be a way to retreat gracefully. Observing Chandler, he pushed his salad to the side. He leaned back in the chair. He tilted the chair onto the back two legs and balanced himself, teetering back and forth, as though bored.
“You don’t like salad,” I said. It was not a question.
“I hate it.” Chandler laughed. He adjusted his chair back down on all four legs. “Only rabbits and bugs eat this stuff,” he mused. Chandler picked up a fleshly leaf from his bowl and flipped it over and over before he sat it back down. He stared at me for a long moment. “Would you like some wine?”
Requiem Page 12
