by Liza James
I had to convince him to leave with me, he couldn’t do this ... not right now.
“Can’t you see what he’s trying to do? He’s trying to fight while you can’t defend yourself. Please, I’m begging you, Cade. Don’t do this tonight. Leave with me now and we can go somewhere else ... together.” My voice was trembling, pleading with him to leave with me now before this got too far out of hand. The people around me started shouting, booing, and I knew they were angry at me for intervening. I glanced back and noticed Ryan standing behind Cade, his eyes met mine, and I felt the pain behind them. He gave me a quick nod, imploring me to keep going.
“I can f-fight him,” Cade stuttered, stepping forward and stumbling in to me a bit while I gripped his arms and tried to hold him steady.
“I know, I know you can. Just not tonight, okay? Please ... not tonight.” Tears began to prick my eyes and I fought to keep them from falling down my face. I was scared. Scared of what could happen if Cade fought Devon tonight, scared of what could happen if he couldn’t fight back, and if he were left here alone after he lost. He could hardly hold himself upright, I knew this would be a losing battle if it took place.
I felt a large, hot hand wrap around my arm and yank me backward away from Cade. I stumbled back and fell to the ground, my wrists and forearms catching the fall underneath me.
“Back off, whore,” the loud, booming voice growled as he stepped up to his opponent. Cade glanced down at me and realized what happened a second too late. The look in his eyes left me feeling haunted. It was a mix between pain and searing anger. He looked like he was instantly trying to focus, trying to claw his way through the drunken haze but couldn’t break through. I could see him, the sober, real him in his eyes trying to escape. Ryan jumped in between them, throwing his arms out as Cade lunged forward and tried to land a punch on Devon.
“Don’t fucking touch her,” he said, his voice clearer this time and full of rage. He must have been using every bit of his strength to not slur his words. But I could still see the glassy finish over his eyes as he fought to sober up.
“Yeah? Is that your slut girlfriend? I heard she’s been sleeping around with everyone in your fraternity. Sure seems like you chose a winner.” Devon laughed, coaxing Cade into the fight. I could see the anger rising in his chest as he stepped forward, only this time his foot caught and he grabbed onto Ryan’s shoulder to keep himself upright.
The crowd laughed with Devon as I scrambled to my feet, jumping forward and wrapping my arms around Cade’s waist. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me tight up against him, and I used this moment to push him back a couple of steps.
“You guys shouldn’t be fighting tonight, Devon, and you know it. Go home and save this for another night, when you can fight fairly. You don’t want a win strictly on the fact that Cade can’t defend himself properly, do you? That doesn’t seem like a clean win at all, and every single person here would know you can’t win when Cade’s sober.” Ryan’s words struck a nerve with Devon, and I could see a tinge of embarrassment flash across his face. It was true, he would win solely based on the fact that Cade isn’t sober enough to fight as well as everyone knew he could.
“I can beat Cade’s ass drunk or sober, anytime, anywhere,” Devon stated through gritted teeth.
“Great, then don’t do it tonight. Let’s do it another night when Cade can be ready and you can have a clean fight.”
Devon was silent for a moment as he took in what Ryan was saying. I could tell he wanted to fight Cade now, right in this moment while he had a guaranteed win under his belt. But Ryan’s initial words of how everyone would know he can’t win a clean fight clearly tugged at his thoughts. “Fuck you, Cade. And your fucking whore,” Devon said, taking a step back.
Cade jerked forward and I grabbed his shirt, using all of my strength to push him backward. Ryan joined me and placed both of his hands against Cade’s chest.
“It’s okay! It’s fine ... Please ... let’s go now, okay?” I begged, bringing my hands back to Cade’s face and coaxing him down to look at me. His breathing was ragged and shallow when his eyes met mine, searching my face for something unknown to me.
His hand slid up and his thumb brushed across my bottom lip, his dark, tousled hair falling down his forehead. My skin was on fire with his touch, unfamiliar feelings pulled at my chest, and I knew I couldn’t leave this place without him.
I pulled his face down to mine, bringing our foreheads together and closing my eyes against his touch. “Please,” I whispered, my heart slammed against my chest and hot tears began falling down my cheeks.
“Okay,” he whispered back. His hands gripped the edge of my shirt, and I quickly turned to pull him out through the back of the crowd and away from Devon.
I didn’t stop moving until Angela’s car was in sight. My feet moved quicker than ever before, and the experience had obviously sobered Cade up a bit because he was following tight on my heels with only a single misstep. I kept my hand clasped tightly around Cade’s and pulled him along, refusing to let go now that I had him in my grasp.
“Emma!” I heard a shout behind me and turned to see Savannah and Jake running up to us.
But I couldn’t stop, I couldn’t risk Cade changing his mind for any reason, so I pushed forward, unlocking the car and opening the passenger door. I pushed Cade into the seat and grabbed the seat belt that hung at the top of his door. Pulling it forward as I leaned across him, I was buckling him in when his hand slid up the side of my face, pulling my face around to look at him. Our lips were inches apart, but his eyes weren’t focused on my mouth. They were pouring into my eyes, speaking to me without saying anything at all.
I felt the heat rise in my chest as his breathless words left his mouth.
“I don’t want to go back to the house,” he said, and I knew in that moment I’d do whatever he asked me to.
“I won’t take you there.” My words were barely above a whisper, and I was having a hard time focusing on breathing. I leaned back, pulling myself out of his grasp and shut the door, putting a physical barrier between us.
Savannah and Jake finally reached us as I stepped around to the driver’s side. Her arms flung around my neck and she pulled me in for a tight hug, relief washing over me simply from her touch.
“Emma, holy shit that was insane. Are you okay?” Her words spilled out of her mouth quicker than they ever had before. But I knew I didn’t have much time, I needed to get Cade out of here.
“I’m fine, I promise. But I have to leave, okay? I can’t risk Cade wanting to go back out there and fight. Can, uh, can you stay with Logan tonight? I want to take him back to our dorm. He doesn’t want to go back to the house,” I asked as I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand, it ached from all the tension I had been holding in it tonight.
“Of course. Text me though, okay? Let me know you’re safe. If you need anything, you know you can call us,” she said as she leaned forward and gave me a peck on the cheek. I nodded back and moved the other side of the car, opening my door and stepping inside.
I turned the car on and quickly backed out of the dirt lot, glancing over to look at Cade briefly.
“Where are we going?” he asked me, his voice was steady and quiet.
“We’re going to my place. You can stay with me tonight before you head back to the house,” I said as I focused on the road and focused even more on steadying my breath.
In, out. In, out.
Cade didn’t respond and turned his head to stare out the window. He didn’t say another word for the rest of the drive.
Chapter 20
I unlocked my door and the two of us stepped into the darkness. I flipped on a lamp we had sitting next to the door, allowing a small amount of light to enter the room. By now it was four AM and the sun would be rising soon. I thought that too much light would be uncomfortable for Cade, who was obviously still drunk, but definitely more sober than he was at the fight. He could walk without stumbling and he wasn’t slurring his wo
rds anymore. Not that he was doing much talking at all, but the few words he did say were clear as day.
I moved into the kitchen and reached for a small pill bottle I had sitting on the back of the counter and filled a glass of water for him, motioning it toward him so that he could drink.
“Drink this, here’s a couple Advil, too. You’ll want that for the insane hangover you’re going to have when you wake up.”
He didn’t say anything. Instead, he threw the Advil into his mouth and drank the entire glass of water in one motion. I took his glass and filled it up again before giving it back to him. He took it back, but this time he drank it slowly, leaning back against the counter and staring into my eyes.
He stayed silent and I felt the tension in the room with his gaze. I knew he wasn’t mad, at least not mad at me. But there was something else, something heated in the way he stood there and my heart started beating rapidly under my skin.
“What? Why are you staring?” I asked, willing myself to be bold with him.
“Why did you come tonight?” His hand moved up and raked through his dark hair.
“Because Savannah called me and told me what was going on.”
“That’s it? Just because Savannah called?”
“She said Devon was trying to push you into fighting while you couldn’t defend yourself.” My eyes shifted toward my hands. He was making me nervous, but not because I was afraid of him. The simple closeness of him caused unexpected feelings to ripple through my body.
“So? I probably deserved an ass kicking after all those rumors started about you.” His voice was low, ashamed, and a wave of frustration shot through me.
“Did you start those rumors? Did you tell everyone what happened? Please, Cade. Just be honest with me.”
A split second later Cade was only inches away from my body. With every breath I took my chest came closer to his. The warmth of his body radiated off him and washed over me, causing the tips of my breasts to tighten against him.
“No. I told you, I’d never do that.” He was so confident, and I searched his eyes for any signs of dishonesty, but I couldn’t find them. It was in that moment that I knew he didn’t have anything to do with those rumors, I knew he didn’t say anything about that night we shared together.
Maybe it meant something to him, too.
“Then why would you deserve an ass kicking? I believe you, by the way. I don’t think you said anything.” My words were coming out quickly, much quicker than I intended, and my breathing was getting shallower by the second. It was crazy the way my body instinctually reacted to him. My heart was racing, my skin was tingling, my breathing was sporadic, and I fought every urge I had to reach out and touch him.
“Because I knew what you did with Tyler that night and I was ... I don’t know ... jealous? I wanted you and I wanted you to want me. I could have kept my distance and let you two have each other. You seemed to have fun with him.” His hand reached up and brushed my cheek. He moved his thumb in slow, lazy motions back and forth against my skin until he tipped my chin up to look at him.
“I didn’t want Tyler. I mean ... I did ... for a minute. We did hookup, but it wasn’t the same.” I gave in to the unrelenting impulse and lifted my hands up, resting them on his chest and feeling his strong muscles move underneath his shirt with each breath.
“What wasn’t the same?”
“I don’t know. It just ... didn’t feel the same with him. I didn’t want to stay up there with him, that’s why I went downstairs in the first place.”
Cade shifted his hand from my cheek and let his thumb trace the bottom of my lip for a beat of silence. The tension in the small kitchen was building between us, and that tightening in the pit of my stomach kept growing. He leaned down so that his face came closer to mine and his warm breath brushed across my ear as he spoke in a quiet whisper.
“Tell me. Did he make you come?”
My pulse quickened at his words and sparks shot across every inch of my body. The familiar heat that only he awakened in me began building in the pit of my stomach and an ache settled between my thighs. He pressed himself up against me, bringing both of his hands on either side of my arms, and pinned me against the counter.
“No,” I whispered, and I felt my breath hitch as I said the word.
His lips moved against my ear before they slid down my neck, leaving goosebumps in every spot he kissed. I found my hand gliding up the back of his neck and tangling in his hair, pulling him tighter against me and focusing on the feel of his tongue sliding down the sensitive skin on my throat.
“Fuck, you have no idea how glad I am to hear that.” He nestled his head into the crook of my neck and continued kissing me. His arm snaked around my waist, pulling me tightly up against him, and both of my arms wrapped around his neck.
“Cade, we should go to bed,” I said in between breaths as I tried to break out of the trance he was constantly putting me in. Believe me, I’d rather stay in his arms all night, letting him touch me and kiss me in any way he wanted. In the ways I’d fantasized about him touching me. The way his hands slid across my skin, awakening sensations in me that I never knew existed was unmatched. But he was still drunk, and I couldn’t help but want him to be entirely present if we were to do anything together again.
“Why?” His voice was husky now, breathless as his heavy chest shifted against me.
“Because you’re drunk, and it’s four AM and you have to get some sleep so that you can sober up.” I pulled my hands back down and took one of his in mine, pulling him out of the kitchen and into my room.
“Fine, but can we sleep together?” He sighed, but I had already decided he wouldn’t be sleeping on the couch tonight.
“Mmhmm.” I reached for my pajamas that I had carelessly thrown on the floor in a panic after Savannah had called me earlier.
“Wait. Put this on,” he said as he gripped the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head. The sight of his broad shoulders, strong chest and defined abs immediately had me weak. Even in the dark I could tell how incredibly muscular he was, and I was definitely enjoying the sight.
“I want you in this.” He handed it to me, and I hesitated before taking it in my hands.
“Okay.” I stepped out of my room and into the bathroom, leaving him alone to get undressed if he wanted and climb in bed.
I pulled my own shirt off and unclasped my bra, letting it slide off my arms and threw it in the small hamper I had in the bathroom. Sliding off my jeans, I threw them in there as well and pulled Cade’s shirt over my head. It hung halfway down my thighs again, covering the black boy shorts I had on.
I shut the bathroom door behind me and walked back into the silent bedroom. Cade was already in bed and under the covers when I slid in next to him. He rolled toward me and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling my back up against his front so that we were nestled closely together. I could feel that his legs were bare as they snaked through mine, but he was still wearing his boxer briefs. His skin was incredibly warm, heating me up instantly, and I snuggled up even tighter against him.
His hand brushed against my cheek, pulling a strand of my hair and tucking it back behind my ear as his lips brushed against my neck.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
I intertwined my fingers through his, pulling his arm back around my waist as we both drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 21
I awoke to the loud noise of something clanking in my kitchen. I wasn’t sure how long I had slept in, but when I rolled over to check the time, I was suddenly aware of something hot and heavy, pinning me in place. I brought my hands up to my eyes and rubbed them as I tried to focus my sight and take in my surroundings. Every moment from last night came slamming back into my mind all at once.
I turned my head and found Cade, still sound asleep nestled against my back. His heavy arm was draped over my stomach and I looked down, remembering that I was wearing his shirt. As insane as last night was, I couldn’t help the he
ated feelings growing my stomach at the sight of Cade asleep in my bed.
I slowly lifted his arm off of me and sat up, reaching for my phone in order to check the time. It was twelve PM, we had slept for eight hours, and I was oddly and completely okay with that. I didn’t have class today, so I knew I wasn’t missing out on studying, and I also knew that Cade absolutely needed as much sleep as he could get in order to shake that drunken haze he was in last night.
Assuming Savannah was home and in the kitchen, I slowly stood up and made my way to my door. Opening it quietly so that I wouldn’t wake Cade, I took one last peek at his large, sleeping, body and allowed myself a quick thought of how incredibly sexy he looked tangled up in my bedsheets. After softly shutting the door, I turned and jumped back in complete surprise.
“What the hell?” I yelled as I flung my hands over my chest and over my bare thighs. I was still wearing Cade’s shirt, with my black panties and no bra. Tyler stood in front of me while Savannah stood in the kitchen. She stopped mid sip of her coke as her eyes met mine. I could tell she was nervous for the encounter and wasn’t exactly sure how to handle Tyler showing up at our dorm this early in the morning.
“Oh, for fuck sake. Really, Emma?” Tyler said as his eyes drifted down my body and back up to my face. Little bumps ran across my skin at his eyes, but it wasn’t in the same way that Cade raised them for me. My mind quickly shot back to our last conversation, when his anger had clearly gotten the best of him in the middle of a restaurant and how that petite brunette had to pull him away from us.
“Excuse me? What are you doing here? And by the way, whatever I’m doing, is none of your damn business,” I stated, the frustration bubbling out of my throat and coating my words.
Tyler immediately stepped toward me and his hand wrapped around my wrist as he pulled me up against him. I tried to pull my hand back as I tilted my head up, searching Tyler’s eyes for answers.
Why was he so angry? And how in the hell did he find out where I live?
