“Yes.” I let that slip out without thinking. Probably too impulsive, but there it was.
And it was worth it to see his face beam. “Good. Great. I’ll pick you up at about seven Friday night. We’ll be back Sunday night. Does that work for you?”
“I think so.” I nodded. I couldn’t think of anything pressing I had to do. I needed to remember to let Cheyenne know. She’d mentioned shopping on Saturday. Plus, no one should go away for the weekend with a man they barely knew without telling someone. “What should I bring?”
“Nothing.” He grinned huge.
“I mean clothes, dork. What kind of party is it? How formal?”
“Did you just call me a dork?” He leaped into my space in an instant, mirth dancing in his eyes as his body leaned forward inch by inch until I had to flatten myself against the arm of the couch at my back.
He didn’t stop. He kept coming until his entire frame covered me, his hard body pressing into mine. With his lips inches from my own, he spoke again. “Listen, you minx. I meant exactly what I said. If you have some special makeup you need or some hair thingies, fine. I’ll cover the rest.”
I stared at him. “You’ll cover the rest?” I finally repeated.
“That’s what I said.”
“You’re going to buy me clothes?”
“Yep.” He trailed a finger down my cheek and then my neck until it rested on my throat above the collar of my dress.
“You don’t know my sizes.”
“I’m good.” His gaze wandered to the spot where his finger lay. “You won’t need much. I don’t intend to let you leave the hotel for much more than the party.”
I swallowed. Was I ready for this?
I’d never in my life been away for a weekend with a man. And I’d been dating this one for about three days, if I could even consider what we were doing dating.
What we had going tonight was nice. Very nice. I liked it. A lot. And from the look in Cade’s eyes, it was about to get nicer.
Cade stroked his finger lower over my dress, between my breasts, watching as he went. He kept going, lifting his body off mine as he leaned to one side to let his finger continue, dipping into the hollow of my belly where it sunk and then down one leg to my thigh. He brushed his pointer over the skin of my inner thigh under the hem of my dress, shifting his gaze to mine.
I willed him to reach farther. Touch me. Anything.
“Are you wet for me, baby?” His voice was lower, gravelly.
I nodded. I always was, but it intensified every time he flat out asked me.
“Good. See, I can do normal.” He smiled, his finger still drawing leisurely circles on my thigh.
I spread my legs wider for him.
Cade suddenly released me and sat up, hauling me to sitting also. He kissed my forehead. “You’re so fucking tempting.”
I was?
“I’m not going to play with you tonight. I don’t think I can without fucking you. And you aren’t ready for that.”
I wasn’t? I couldn’t keep up. I opened my mouth to question him, but he stopped me with a finger. “Don’t. Just trust me.”
I nodded.
“Arthur’s going to drive you home. I need to make a few calls. I want to make sure I’m totally free for forty-eight hours to enjoy you this weekend.”
I liked that idea. Especially after the sweet way he’d managed to spend the evening with me without stripping me both literally and figuratively.
“I’m not going to see you tomorrow, but I’ll be there at seven on Friday. Be ready.”
“Okay.”
He shook his head and then kissed me again, slower, sweeter, longer. Not with the same urgency as before, but just as amazing.
Chapter Eight
I was running through my apartment grabbing things to stick in my bag when I heard the knock at my door. I wasn’t ready. I dashed from my bedroom to the front of my apartment and opened the door, breathing heavily.
Cade stood there, casually leaning against the frame, grinning. “Hey, baby.” His usual greeting made my knees almost buckle. His gaze roamed up and down my body as his face fell and his brow furrowed. He righted himself and stepped inside, pushing me back with a hand to my chest until he could shut the door. “What are you wearing?”
I glanced down, wondering what his beef was. I thought I looked fine. Comfy jeans. Tank top. Flip flops. “What?” Lord the man was intense.
He shook his head. “No way. Change.” He pointed behind me toward the hall.
“Cade. What the hell?” Now I was nervous. “Aren’t we just driving to Nashville tonight? That will take like four hours. It’ll be almost midnight before we get there. Who cares what I’m wearing? This is comfortable.” I plucked at my shirt, miffed with him. How dare he judge my clothes?
I straightened my spine. “Look, I’m not made of money. I don’t own a shitload of fancy clothes like you do. This is me. Take it or leave it. If you’re going to be an asshole about it, go without me.” I stepped back.
Cade followed, taking two strides, grabbing me around the waist and lifting me off the ground to spin me around. He pinned me against the door before I knew what was happening. His hands wormed their way under my tank top until they were splayed on my bare skin.
I tried to wiggle free of his clutch, anger still eating at me, when he lifted his face. Laughter lined the edges of his eyes. He was fighting it. He’d tucked his top lip between his teeth. His hands roamed higher until he cupped my breasts through my bra.
“Cade. Let me go.” I pushed against his chest, but he didn’t budge. And I had no idea what he suddenly found funny, but I suspected I wasn’t going to agree.
“You’re so fucking sexy when you wig out, baby.” He leaned in and kissed the side of my neck, infuriating me further.
I pushed on his hands, trying to dislodge his grip around my breasts, pissed as hell that my nipples had immediately responded to his touch. “I’m not trying to be sexy. Just realistic.”
“Baby…” He reached under my bra and pinched my nipples. I stopped squirming. “Look at me.”
Damn him. I met his gaze.
“Love the outfit. Tight shirt. Sexy as hell.” He released my nipples as he spoke and tugged my shirt over my head to toss it on the floor. “And this bra. Cute.” He reached for the front clasp, popped it open, and wiggled it down my body to join my shirt.
Cool air hit my hardened nipples, and I gasped at his audacity. I shouldn’t have been shocked.
His hands roamed down to my jeans where he popped the button and lowered the zipper. He spoke as he tugged them over my hips. “These also look fantastic on you, baby. Perfect for running around town when you aren’t with me.” He kneeled at my feet and tugged them free.
When he stood back up, his smile had faded. “Panties? Really?”
I flinched. “I can’t go without under jeans.”
“Why the hell not?”
“I would rub. It would…hurt.”
Cade narrowed his gaze. He seemed to be thinking. “Okay, here’s the deal, baby. When you’re with me, skirts, dresses, anything I can reach under and touch your pussy. When you’re with your girls or out running errands, you can wear the jeans. And because I’m so good at compromise, I’ll even concede to the panties.” He grinned big, melting my resolve to be angry.
“Now, as much as I wish we could stay here and I could admire your naked body all night, we have to get going.” He cupped my breasts again as he finished speaking. “How about I help you find something more appropriate to wear between here and the car, and we get on the road.”
Between here and the car?
“Cade…” I warned.
He ignored me and took my hand to pull me down the hall. When we hit the bedroom, he stopped and I ran into the back of him in the doorway. “Holy shit. Did a cyclone hit in here?”
I glanced around. “Did I mention I’m not as tidy as you?”
“Nope.” He stepped over clothes and headed for my close
t. “Why in God’s name do you have everything you own on the floor?”
I shrugged to his back. “Couldn’t decide what to pack. I was trying things on.”
He paused at the entrance to my closet, toeing some shoes out of his way. He looked over his shoulder at me. “I told you not to pack a thing.”
I put my hands on my hips, trying to ignore how ridiculous I felt. “Surely you were kidding. I can’t go away for the weekend with nothing but a toothbrush, Cade.”
“Why not?”
I rolled my eyes.
He glanced down. “Take off the damn panties, baby. I hate them.”
I tipped my chin up defiantly. Yes, I was testing him. Yes, he was making me hotter by the second. And yes, I was a little pissed by his high-handed ways.
Cade’s shoulders slumped. He stepped into my closet, shuffled through several things on hangers, selected something, and re-emerged.
I paid no attention to whatever he held. My gaze was on his face.
Cade tossed the hanger on the end of the bed and pranced toward me like a predator. “Amelia, you so do not want to play these games with me.”
Oh, but I did. And I didn’t miss his use of my given name. My spine stiffened. It took everything I had to keep from crossing my arms over my chest. I didn’t want him to have the satisfaction.
Calm as can be, Cade strode over my discarded piles of clothes until he reached my side. I had no idea what his intentions were, but him leaning down to heave me up and throw me over his shoulder hadn’t made the list.
I squealed. “Put me down. Jesus, Cade.”
The next thing I knew, I was facedown on the rumpled bed I hadn’t made in months, my panties yanked down to my knees, and Cade was on the bed beside me. The entire mattress dipped as he landed.
I fought to flip over. He held my lower back with one strong hand. His other palm landed on my ass. Hard.
It knocked the wind out of me and shocked me into submission, literally. I froze, unable to breathe.
Cade rubbed my ass where his hand had landed. And then he spanked me again. Several times. I lost count. It hurt. And my pussy ached to be fucked. I was so embarrassed by my response that I buried my face in the mess that was my comforter and stifled a moan.
This should not be arousing.
Cade palmed my ass again, squeezing it gently, molding my flesh in his huge hand. “That’s my good girl. Five more, baby. Stay still.”
I sucked in a breath and held it while he landed three more slaps, paused to rub the burn covering my entire ass and part of my thighs. And then the last two, a bit harder.
I didn’t move a muscle. For one, I was afraid I would come, and I didn’t want Cade to know that. For another thing, I’d never been so humiliated. I was a grown woman who’d been spanked by a man as though I were a naughty child.
Which in a sense wasn’t far from the truth.
He might have gone easy on me for wearing the panties in the first place. But even I had to admit I’d crossed the line when I’d flat out refused to remove them. I’d known somewhere in my mind what might happen. I might have even willed it.
But that didn’t take away from the shame.
Cade lay down alongside me and stroked my skin lightly, starting with my ass and moving up my back until he brushed my thick hair from my hidden face.
I turned in the other direction, trying not to cry. If I breathed or spoke, I wouldn’t be able to hold back my emotions.
“Baby, look at me.” He reached across and tucked my hair behind my ear, but it fell right back into its place in front of my face. The first time in my life I was super glad my hair was so thick and unruly.
Cade set his chin on my back and continued to soothe my heated skin.
Thank God. If he’d forced me to face him, I would have freaked out.
As it was, he didn’t give me enough time, but it was something. Grabbing my shoulders, he turned me onto my side, facing him. I kept my eyes shut, my lip tucked between my teeth. A tear rolled down my face, pissing me off. I knew there would be others, and I wondered how Cade would react.
Cade wiped my tear away. “That’s it. Get it out, baby. You’ll feel so much better after.”
He wanted me to cry? Jesus, I was in over my head. But the tears piled up, running down my face until I was engaged in the full-blown ugly cry that included my nose running and me choking back noisy sobs.
I lifted my hand to cover my face, but Cade pulled it away. He kissed my cheek. “That’s my girl. I know that was tough. It’ll get easier.”
It’ll get easier?
I didn’t want it to get easier. I didn’t want it to ever happen again.
I wanted to tell Cade to get the fuck out of my apartment and leave me alone to lick my wounds. I felt like an idiot.
“Baby, look at me,” he repeated, gently stroking my arm now.
I kept my eyes closed, willing myself to stop sobbing. I sucked in deep breaths, making things worse.
I couldn’t move my legs because they were tangled together by my stupid panties. And my ass stung like hell.
Cade eased me back onto my belly and climbed off my bed.
I listened without moving, wondering what the hell he was going to do next. I heard him step toward my bathroom, his feet landing at odd intervals among my clothing. I heard the water running. And then he was back. He gently pulled my panties down my legs and then climbed back up to my side. He turned me toward him again and wiped my face with a cool cloth.
I felt marginally better. My ass still stung, but at least I could breathe.
Surprisingly, he settled me back on my belly, and I heard the pop of something right before a cool substance landed on my butt. “It’s just cream, baby. Found it in your bathroom. It’ll take away the sting.” He rubbed it into my ass for an eternity.
I began to relax while he worked, my body loosening and sinking into the mattress. I was almost dozing when he finally stopped and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “I know you’re tired, baby, but we really have to hit the road. You can rest on the way.” He brushed my hair out of my face, and I finally opened my eyes to peer at him.
He was so gentle. Actually, he’d been gentle through the entire scene. He hadn’t gotten angry. His blows had been hard and accurate, but not out of anger. He was completely calm.
I stared at him. Could I still go with him for the weekend?
He lifted me like a rag doll and held me in his lap, rocking me back and forth for several minutes while he looked into my eyes. “Such a good girl. I’m so proud of you. What you’re feeling is completely normal. You slipped into a sub-space. It leaves you exhausted.”
I said nothing, blinking at him.
His hand smoothed down my body until he reached my sex. “Were you aroused, baby?” He eased me on to my back across the bed and nudged my legs apart.
I let him, completely limp and unable to stop him. I wanted him to touch me.
And when he did, I moaned. Loud.
“Oh, yes. Baby you’re so wet.” He lifted his fingers between us and sucked them into his mouth. And then he smiled. “Everything’s going to be okay, baby.” He climbed off the bed, pulled me to sitting, and reached across to grab something at my side. A second later, he eased the dress he’d chosen from my closet over my head.
I glanced down. It was a sundress, soft material, low cut. I hadn’t worn it for a while. I thought it was too short, and the way it hung in the back made it difficult to wear a bra. But of course Cade had no intention of adding a bra, and he probably selected it intentionally for the length.
I rolled my eyes.
“There she is.” He smiled at me and tugged me to my feet. He snapped his fingers. “Hang on.” He picked his way across the room again and returned carrying a pair of sandals. When he kneeled at my feet and put them on me, I grabbed his shoulders, fighting the urge to cry again at the way he took such care.
When he stood, he took both my shoulders in his hands and faced me. “Let’s go, baby.”
I nodded, finding my voice and glancing around. “I still need to pack a few things.”
“Still?” He chuckled and glanced at the ceiling. “She doesn’t get it.”
I shrugged free of his clutch and ducked under his arm. I went straight to the bathroom and grabbed my bag from the floor. I’d packed everything I would need as far as makeup and bathroom shit. When I turned around, I ran right into Cade. He set his finger under my chin and lifted my face. “You got everything you need from the bathroom?”
“Yep.”
“Then let’s go.” He took my bag from my hand, grabbed my arm, and tugged me out of the room and back to the front, flipping off lights as we went. He even reached for my purse on the table next to the front door. And that was it. He was done. He opened the door and ushered me out.
We were leaving, and I was taking nothing with me for a weekend trip to Nashville. Not even one pair of panties or a bra. Just makeup, toiletries, and a toothbrush. Great.
Chapter Nine
I was surprised to find the limo out front, Arthur in the front seat waiting. As soon as we approached, he jumped from the Mercedes and rounded it to open the back door.
I cringed, wondering what he thought had taken us so long. I also knew my face was red and splotchy from crying.
And it didn’t help one bit when I wondered if Arthur was used to picking up crying women with Cade.
Cade set a hand on my back and urged me to get in the car.
After I climbed in, he appeared beside me. The back was roomy and comfortable. I gritted my teeth against the sting of my ass hitting the seat, sending renewed heat to my cheeks.
The door closed, leaving us in silence.
“Lift your skirt, baby. The leather will feel good against your sore skin.”
I lifted my butt to do his bidding and turned my gaze toward the far window so he couldn’t see my face.
I would sooner cut off my right arm than cry again.
I was aware of Cade setting my belongings on the floor, and then he wrapped his hand around my neck and pulled me down into his lap. His fingers threaded in my hair as I braced myself against his thigh.
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