“Geniuses rarely are,” she said, hoping to lighten the moment.
His mouth lifted, and she caught sight of the dimple she thought was so hot.
“The thing is, my mother didn’t think I was smart. She didn’t think I was anything but an annoyance she didn’t want to deal with.”
She gasped, unable to hold back her horrified reaction.
A muscle worked in his jaw as he spoke, and suddenly she hated a woman she’d never even met.
“It’s okay. I’ve accepted it.” His laugh was harsh. “Anyway, you saw the picture of my brother, right?”
“Yeah.” She held her breath, grateful for the information he’d chosen to share.
“Jeffrey. He’s younger than me, and he was so much easier. Your golden child.”
“There’s no such thing,” she said softly, still holding his hand in hers.
“Tell that to her.” His body jerked inadvertently. “Apparently I came into the world with colic, and it went downhill from there.” He breathed more heavily now, the admission obviously painful. “I had problems in school, difficulties making friends, trouble concentrating, and then there’s anxiety. None of which was diagnosed back then. So she constantly told me I was a pain in the ass, that she wished I was more like my brother, and in the end, she chose Jeffrey.”
Lexie narrowed her gaze. “How so?”
“My parents divorced … and my loving mother took my brother and moved to England, never to be heard from again.”
“Oh, Kade.” No wonder he’d reacted so strongly when he’d found her with the photo.
“You know the strange thing? I never resented Jeffrey. Not once. I looked up to him.”
“I’m sure he felt the same way about you.”
Kade shrugged. “I’ll never know.”
“Have you ever reached out?” she asked.
“No. I wasn’t about to set myself up for rejection.”
More rejection, she thought, grasping his hand harder. She swallowed hard, unsure of what to say.
“But back to what you asked me, about the pizza and the mess?”
She waved away the question. It no longer mattered, in light of everything else.
“The answer is, I don’t know. I can’t control what my brain chooses to obsess over. And the medicine I take helps a lot. So did the CBT sessions.”
“CBT?”
“Cognitive behavioral therapy. It helps solve problems and change thinking patterns.” He shrugged, jerking out of her grasp, obviously embarrassed.
“Don’t pull away from me.”
“You should go.” He rose from the bed. He wore only a pair of track pants, and his bare chest heaved heavily as he breathed. “You will eventually. Might as well—”
“No.” Instead of being insulted, she understood. Enough people had left her for her to recognize the same fear in him.
She climbed out of bed. Coming up beside him, she placed a hand on his shoulder, the muscles hard and tense beneath her palm.
“Don’t assume I’m like everyone else you know or might have been with, because that’s just insulting.” This was no time to get into her history or her past. All he needed to know now was that she wouldn’t run away just because he didn’t fit some cookie-cutter mold. “You can’t scare me off,” she informed him.
He spun back around. “No?” he asked, admiration in his tone, appreciation in his gaze.
“No.” She rocked back on her heels so she could look up and better meet his gaze.
He shook his head and smiled, all the tension leaving his body in a rush of air. “You, Lexie Parker, are something else.”
She grinned, pleased she’d broken through his barriers and gotten through to him. “Yeah?” she asked.
“Yeah. The question is, what am I going to do with you?”
“I can think of a few things.” She waggled her eyebrows before lifting the hem of his shirt and pulling it over her head.
And those were the last words spoken for a good, long while.
* * *
Kade woke up to the sun streaming through his window and a warm, soft body beside him in bed.
Lexie.
He didn’t typically have women over. Sex? Yes. At their place, not his. He didn’t like his privacy invaded, and he loathed the awkward mornings after. Something he hadn’t given a thought when he’d taken Lexie home with him or when they had finally passed out from exhaustion last night. Or should he say from exertion?
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so relaxed or complete. He didn’t want to get ahead of himself or assume too much. Nor did he want to overthink the way he’d spilled his guts last night. It wasn’t his finest moment, yet she hadn’t flinched, except to be outraged on his behalf, which he had to admit had made him feel good.
So he decided to begin the day the same way they’d ended last night. He rolled her onto her back and tossed the covers aside. Starting at her jaw, he kissed her, working his way down her body. He licked at her jaw, slid his tongue down her neck, and nipped at her collarbone.
She moaned, obviously awake. “Good morning,” he said, lapping at the soft skin of first one breast, then the other.
“Good morn—Aah!” Her words turned to a moan when he latched his mouth around her nipple and began to tease her with his tongue and teeth. She grasped his head, keeping him tight against her chest while she writhed and moaned beneath him.
His cock pressed hard against her thigh, aching and painful, needing release. But he wasn’t focused on himself.
“Kade,” she murmured.
“Hmm?”
“I want to taste you too,” she said, reaching for his dick.
He raised himself up on one arm. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” she said, eyes glazed with desire.
He shifted positions so his head was level with her sweet pussy and his cock was near her mouth. He swiped his tongue across her clit, and she arched into him, but she also gripped his shaft in one hand and licked the head, coating him in moist heat.
“Fuck.” It was his turn to groan.
She pulled him into her mouth, and stars flickered behind his eyes. It was all he could do not to thrust deep and hit the back of her throat, to keep pumping until he came. But he managed to hold back and instead retain his focus on her, sliding his tongue over her sex and nipping at her with his teeth.
She bucked, her hips thrusting forward. He grasped her thigh, holding on as he devoured her, doing his damnedest to deal with the heat and rising tide of desire flooding his body while making sure she came first.
He nudged his nose into her sex, her scent intoxicating, her taste delicious. Addicting. She pumped his shaft, her hand tight around the base, his balls drawing up tight.
Without warning, she stilled, then began to tremble, shake, and moan around his cock. The vibrations set off his own orgasm, and before he could warn her, he came hard and fast, waves of unbelievable pleasure washing over him, pulling him further under her spell.
* * *
The two weeks after the gala were like living a dream. Their photograph showed up on Page Six of the New York Post, online and in print, something Lexie wasn’t used to at all. She actually clipped the picture as a memento of a special night they’d shared and tucked it away in her dresser drawer.
Most women had many experiences with the highs and honeymoon period of dating a new guy, and all the fun and euphoria that entailed. Not Lexie. John was her last serious boyfriend. She’d known then and there, if he couldn’t put up with the drama in her family, no one could. Kade had swept in and just taken over, and for now, with her sister occupied with a new guy whom Lexie had yet to meet, she could enjoy their time together. Still, knowing her sister was on a high, even with new meds, Lexie waited for the next fall. Even with the real fear in the background, she felt like she was living a dream, and she didn’t want to wake up.
Her job stayed the same. She would arrive before Kade and wait to bring him his coffee, but with the shift in t
heir relationship, he seemed to find more ways for her to help him out—and spend more time with her during the day. At night, they went out for dinner after work and often ended up at his apartment for a Mario Party match or other video game he patiently taught her.
One night, his father surprised him by showing up and inviting them to dinner. Kade hadn’t appreciated the interruption, but she’d convinced him to go, and he’d wanted her with him. That he’d want her around his family made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.
More than once, she’d battled with herself over how much to tell him about her sister. It wasn’t that she was embarrassed. After all, she’d already admitted the painful truth about her mother. It’s just that she knew in her heart that Kendall would eventually force Lexie to choose between helping her or being there for Kade. Bringing Kendall into her relationship with him could happen later. For now she wanted to live in her happy bubble a little while longer.
Even if that bubble still included picking up his dry cleaning, dropping it at the store, and delivering the clean clothes back to his apartment every Tuesday and Saturday.
She had lunch plans with her sister this particular Saturday, because Kendall had been busy with Jay and Lexie had spent many late nights with Kade. They hadn’t really talked in a while.
“Kendall, let’s go! If we’re going to make our lunch reservation, we need to get this dry cleaning run finished!” Lexie called from the kitchen.
“Coming!” Kendall came out of her bedroom, a broad smile on her face … wearing an outfit Lexie had never seen before. A pair of tight jeans, a style Kendall had never chosen before, a purple top, and a white leather jacket. “Ready!” her sister said, joining her in the family room.
Lexie liked seeing her sister in a good mood and bit her tongue on the new clothes. She already knew there’d been shopping bags in her sister’s room, and Kendall had blown off the conversation when Lexie mentioned it earlier in the week. She wasn’t going to get anywhere now, and it would only ruin their day.
“Okay, let’s head out,” Lexie said, grabbing her handbag and slinging it over her shoulder.
“I can’t believe you pick up your boyfriend’s dry cleaning, drop it off, and head back to his place again with his clean clothes.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust.
“I prefer to think of this as just doing my job. Kade isn’t home. He’s at a business meeting with an investor who’s in from out of town.”
“Oh, I get to see where your boyfriend lives!” Kendall said, sounding excited by the prospect.
Lexie grabbed her keys from the entryway credenza as they passed. “You can see the building from the taxi. You’re not coming inside.”
Kendall frowned. “Party pooper.”
Ignoring her, Lexie followed her sister into the hall. A little while later, they’d stopped at Kade’s to pick up his dirty laundry. As she’d requested, Kendall waited in the cab, bitching about being left behind. They headed to the cleaner’s, where Lexie handed in his clothing, giving specific instructions about his shirts and pressed pants, despite the fact that the same store cleaned his clothing every week. He required the instructions be said out loud each time, so she followed his directions exactly.
Finally, they returned to his apartment, Kade’s cleaning spread out on Lexie’s lap. She climbed out of the cab. “Be right back. Please wait again,” Lexie said.
She’d warned the driver ahead of time there would be a lot of errands and waiting. Kade didn’t mind the bill. Lexie climbed out of the car, lifting the cleaning higher so it didn’t drag on the ground.
As she approached the doorman, her sister ran up beside her. “Get back in the car,” Lexie said, annoyed.
“Oh, come on. I just want to see where your rich boyfriend lives,” Kendall said, too loud for Lexie’s liking.
She turned to face her twin. “There’s no reason for you to come up with me. I’ll be right back.”
Kendall pursed her lips in a pout. “Come on, please? Time’s wasting and the meter’s running. Let’s just go. Please?”
Lexie groaned. “Fine. Just stick close,” she muttered, glad Kade wasn’t home. The first time she introduced him to her sister, Lexie wanted time to prepare herself for any eventuality.
Lexie disarmed the alarm and let them inside.
“Oh, wow,” Kendall said, her mouth opening wide as she took in the large apartment. “Talk about a big screen!” she said, heading straight for the den area. “I love this cinema-like sofa!” Without asking, she threw herself into one of the seats and hit the electronic button that moved her seat back.
“Kendall, get up!” Lexie said, beyond annoyed. “You’re wearing dark jeans. New dark jeans. They could rub off on the white leather. Don’t go near anything else.”
The electronic whir of the seat followed. “Man, you’re uptight. Is he that much of a stick in the mud?” Kendall asked.
“No. You just weren’t invited here.” Lexie shot her sister a glare. “I’ll get the clothes put away, and we can be on our way.”
Lexie took the clothes into the bedroom and stepped into Kade’s walk-in closet. She pulled the plastic off his shirts and hung them up, taking care to leave the same amount of space between each and to line them up by color. She did the same with his slacks. There weren’t too many because he was a casual guy and Helen did his everyday laundry. Still, he’d had meetings, so he’d used his dress clothes a few times this week.
“This bedroom is gorgeous!” Kendall’s voice carried. “I bet this bed is ultra-comfortable too.”
“Just don’t test it out,” she called back of the extremely cozy bed that was nice and large, with ample room for her to spread out and part her legs so Kade could fit his broad body in between when he licked her pussy and brought her to the most explosive orgasms.
She shivered at the reminder, her nipples perking up. Nope, not this afternoon, she thought. No sex until tonight. She grinned and gathered the plastic to throw it in the garbage before she left.
She found her twin waiting in the hallway near the front door. Apparently Lexie’s chiding had accomplished something, and Kendall had behaved better while she did her job. She tossed the garbage in the pail hidden behind a wood door in the kitchen.
“Ready for lunch?” Lexie said.
“Actually I’m not feeling well. I have a headache,” Kendall said, shifting from foot to foot, suddenly antsy.
“I’m sorry. But I’m sure food will help your head. We’ll just go get lunch and—”
“No. I want to go home and lie down,” Kendall insisted, grabbing Lexie’s arm and leading her toward the elevator. “I don’t want it to turn into a migraine.”
Lexie glanced at her sister, concerned by her sudden change in behavior.
“If your head hurts that badly, of course we’ll go home.” Even if she wasn’t convinced that Kendall had a headache after all.
Chapter Ten
Kade headed for lunch at an exclusive Italian restaurant in Midtown Manhattan with one of Blink’s key investors, Ian Dare. Normally Kade would enjoy meeting up with Ian, an old college buddy, but Ian had made it clear today’s meeting was about business. Ian had flown in from Miami on his private jet, specifically to discuss something about Blink going public and Ian’s financial contribution to the IPO, the Initial Public Offering.
Kade’s stomach clenched, and acid burned in his gut, but he pasted a big smile on his face and joined Ian, who was already waiting at a table in the back of the small restaurant. As usual, Ian wore a suit, and expecting that, Kade had dressed up himself, choosing a pair of black slacks and a white button-down shirt.
“Ian, good to see you,” Kade said, shaking hands with his old friend.
“Same.” Ian pumped his hand and the two men sat down.
“Derek and Luke send their best.” Kade shook his napkin out in front of him.
“Get into a fight?” Ian asked, gesturing to Kade’s injury and the splint covering his fingers and knuckles.
Kade
didn’t see the point in lying. “I took my frustration out on a wall. The wall won.” He smirked at himself, because what else could he do?
Ian laughed. “I’ve wanted to do that a few times myself.”
“How’s your beautiful wife and daughter?” Kade asked, changing the subject to one that always put Ian in a good mood.
He grinned, leaning back in his chair. “Fantastic. Riley’s pregnant again,” Ian said.
If Kade wasn’t mistaken, the other man was fucking beaming. “Congratulations. That calls for a drink.” He gestured to the waiter.
Ian ordered himself a Glenlivet on the rocks.
Kade ordered his usual. “Macallan 18, neat, filled three quarters of the way full. I’ll also take a fresh bottle of natural spring water, room temperature, and a straw please.”
Ian raised an eyebrow but said nothing. It’d been years since Kade and Ian had shared a meal with drinks ordered, and the last time, they were college kids drinking beer.
“And your daughter?” Kade asked.
“Adorable, as you saw last time you were in town.”
Kade laughed because Ian’s little girl had indeed stolen the show at his mother’s second wedding, as the flower girl.
The waiter returned a few minutes later with their drinks. He placed Kade’s glass on the table, followed by a bottle of water and straw.
“May I?” the waiter asked.
Kade nodded.
The waiter poured water into a separate glass. Once the man left them alone, Kade took the straw and dipped it into the water, then placed exactly four drops into his scotch.
He raised his glass and spoke. “To your family,” he said, wanting to express his honest feelings before they delved into more serious business matters. “To their health and happiness.”
Ian clinked his glass. “Thanks, man.”
Kade inclined his head.
The waiter started to walk over, and Kade waved him away.
“Let’s talk first. That way we can enjoy the meal,” he said to Ian, hoping that whatever his friend wanted was something Kade could address and put behind them.
Summer Heat: A Steamy Romance Boxed Set Page 11
