by Sienna Blake
His hands find my ass and he latches his mouth to mine. He fills me in one swift movement. I’m tight around him and it’s almost painful, but he doesn’t pause before he starts to move. The discomfort quickly gives way to complete pleasure. We are relentless and ferocious as we thrust against each other. It’s like we are punishing each other for every last second that we were apart. It’s angry and raw and just so damn beautiful.
I look down through the gap of my shirt and I can see his thumbs pressing into my hips and the length of him disappearing inside me. This forbidden view pushes me over the edge. I come apart around him.
He pulls me flush against him as I ride my orgasm out. When my Earth stops moving I’m weak and limp in his arms. He picks me up and carries me to the bed, setting me down on the mattress. I don’t argue when he keeps me bound and blinded. We make love until we are both exhausted and spent.
In the early hours of the morning, I’m lying with my back to him, wearing a shirt and a pair of briefs. Like always, he is dressed. I can feel the warmth through his clothing as he holds me from behind. It’s just like it has always been with us. Except this time, Cade is in my bed. In my bed. He fills out the space in my sheets with his body and his warmth and I wonder how I ever slept in this bed without him. He pulls me closer against him and his fingers tuck between the mattress and me. I exhale. I feel safe.
But I don’t sleep.
Is this safety that I feel with Caden an illusion? I still have so many unanswered questions, now even more so. Will I still leave this city? Is there actually a connection between Caden and the Tyrells? Or is the matchbook just a coincidence?
I need to know.
I watch the pale dawn begin to light up the curtains. It has been a struggle to keep myself awake, but I have managed it. I shut my eyes when I hear Caden shift behind me. He’s waking. I feel the mattress depress when he lifts himself up onto his elbow. I can feel his eyes on me. With the softest touch, he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. I hope he can’t feel my pulse thumping under the skin of my neck, otherwise he would know that I’m awake.
He places a light kiss on my shoulder and slips out of bed. I listen intently as I hear him gathering his things. My body surges with adrenaline and I have to restrain myself from moving until I hear the door close behind him. I jump out of bed and tug on the first pair of dark jeans and sneakers I can grab.
Here is my chance to follow him.
Chapter 16
When I get downstairs to the lobby, I’m surprised to see Caden is walking down the sidewalk away from my building. I thought he would have come here by bike. I had picked up my car keys in anticipation of having to follow him in my car.
I slip out the front door and dart behind the small hedge that lines the property. There are very few people out this time of the morning, so I have to be extra careful; I can’t get caught. I need to know whether it’s safe for me to trust Caden.
My breathing is loud as it heaves in and out of my lungs. Too loud. Everything is too damn loud. My heart, my breath, my steps. I am convinced he can hear all these things. He doesn’t. He’s too far away to hear the way my body thunders inside.
My skin is jittering with adrenaline as I watch him walking away. I’m perched on the tips of my toes, my calf muscles tight and ready. He turns the corner and I race along the street after him, light on my feet so as not to make noise. I reach the corner he disappeared around. Did I lose him? I breathe out a small sigh of relief when I peek around the corner and see his wide figure still making its way down the street.
My eyes follow him until he turns again. How far will he walk? Where is he going?
I follow him like this through several more streets. Now I peer around the corner of a fence. Partway down the street, he crosses the road. My eyes widen when I see him turn into the driveway of a small residential building. No. Is this where he lives?
It can’t be. Caden lives four blocks from my home. Four blocks?
Is this just a coincidence? Or does this mean something?
I never want to involve anyone else in my business with Caden, but I’m desperate now. I thank myself that I had the presence of mind to grab my phone on the way out of my flat. I only have three numbers programmed in there. Dixie’s bar, Dixie’s mobile and Mick’s mobile.
I ring Mick. He picks up on the third ring.
“Kid, you’d better have a bloody good reason to call me this early in the God damn morning.”
“I need your help.”
Immediately I hear the change in his voice and alertness in his tone. “What’s wrong?”
I take a deep breath. “It’s a long story, but I need you to help me break into someone’s flat.”
Then I hear him muttering. “Jesus, kid, what the hell have you got yourself into?”
“I have a good reason. Will you help me or not?”
There is a long pause. “When?”
“I’m down the road from his building, waiting for him to leave. You don’t have to help me. But I’m going to find a way in with or without you.” Preferably with you ‘cause I’ve never had to break into a place before. I’ve had to sneak out. But never in.
Mick mutters a string of curses. Then he sighs. “Text me the address. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I eye the street while I wait for Mick to show up. The streets in this part of town are only just wide enough for two cars. The sidewalks are either nonexistent or cracked and broken and littered with large overflowing bins. The sky has begun to lighten and I bite my lip nervously. Soon the world will be up. I keep an eye on the front of Cade’s building, but he hasn’t come out yet.
A car pulls up to the side of the road near where I am waiting. It’s Mick. I hop in the passenger seat. He nods hello and turns the corner to park at the end of Cade’s street.
“Has our man left yet?” he asks.
“No.”
“You wanna tell me about him and why we’re planning on breakin’ the law for this guy?”
“His name is Caden Thaine. At least, that’s the name he gave me. I found another wallet on him and all the ID in there says his name is Harper Lexington.”
Mick’s brow creases. “Harper Lexington? Sounds familiar.”
“His family was murdered fifteen years ago. It was in all the papers, that’s probably where you know it from.”
“Huh.”
“Anyway, I followed him here this morning. He lives here. Or at least, that’s what I think.”
Mick frowns at me. “What is this man to you? Did he hurt you?”
“No. No, nothing like that.” I decide that if I am dragging Mick into this then he deserves to know why. “We’re seeing each other but he’s hiding something and… he may be connected to my past somehow. And that isn’t a good thing.”
He scratches at his chin.
“I think I love him,” I say in a small voice. “You have to help me.”
“Ah shit,” he says. “Alright, kid. I’ll help.”
I squeeze his knee. “Thanks for doing this.”
He grunts. But I can tell he appreciates my thanks.
It doesn’t take long for Caden to reappear out his door. I sit up in my seat. “There he is.”
“Careful with those claws, woman.”
I look down and realize I have grabbed Mick and my nails are digging into his thick forearm. “Sorry.” I snatch my hand back.
We watch from the safety of the car as Cade sits on his motorbike and rides away. I slide down into my seat as he flies past us and around the corner.
“Do you know where he’s going?”
I shake my head.
“How long he’ll be?”
Again, I shake my head. Mick snorts, and I sense that he’s groaning in exasperation at me on the inside.
“Al-bloody-right. We’re just gonna have to hope he ain’t just gone out for a pint of milk. Let’s do this before the whole dang neighborhood is awake and taking their dogs for a shit.”
We get
out of the car and walk towards the building side by side.
Mick talks low to me as we walk. “So I did a bit of quick digging into the property records before I came. There are five flats in that building. One on the ground. Two on the other two floors above. Most of them are rented to couples, but there is one which doesn’t supposedly have a lease on it. But the listed owner has a different address than this one. My best guess is that the owner leases it out to your guy cash in hand. It’s one of the units on the top floor.”
I nod. I’m listening, but my ears are peeled for the sound of Cade’s motorbike returning. My skin jitters and I feel ready to run a marathon. My eyes are darting around me and come to rest on the windows of the top floor. What will we find?
At the lobby door, Mick reaches under the hem of his shirt, where I see a small black kind of tool bag strapped around his waist. “Keep a lookout, kid.”
I keep one eye out on the street while he fiddles with the door. Within seconds it’s unlocked. I can’t help but feel scared at the fact that it’s this easy to gain access to anyone’s building. I think about the locks on my door and pledge to have them upgraded.
If I stay.
We slip inside and climb the stairwell to the top floor. Cade’s apartment is supposedly the first door closest to the stairs. Mick presses his ear to the door. “I don’t hear anyone in there,” he whispers. “You still want to get inside?”
I nod. I’m not walking away until I find out what the hell is going on. I need to know.
“Alright. Keep an ear out for anyone coming.” He bends to the lock and puts his tools to work again. After a few seconds Mick has breached that lock, too.
“After you, kid.”
I nod and push open the door. I know immediately that Cade lives here because I smell his scent of musk and wood smoke. The apartment is a studio. It looks old and little cared for; cracked walls and the smell of mold hangs in the air under Caden’s scent. The small kitchenette on the left is aged. There is no microwave, only a small fridge. The only other furniture in the place is a double bed and side table. Through a door I can spy what looks like a basic bathroom. Another door, I assume, is a built-in cupboard.
I frown. If Caden has so much money, why is he living in a place like this?
“I’ll go stand by the window and keep a lookout,” Mick says. “Don’t dawdle.”
I nod and head to the bathroom first. The bathroom is just big enough to fit a toilet, a small basin and a standup shower. I open the medicine cabinet. Inside, a single glass holds a skinny toothpaste tube and one toothbrush. One toothbrush. Which means that Cade lives here on his own.
I crouch down and open the cupboard under the sink. One general purpose cleaning spray, a rag and a half-empty pack of four toilet rolls. I’m about to close the door when I notice a small flap of tape hanging down from the top of the underside of the cupboard. I lean in and peer under the sink. There’s a gun taped to the underside. I run my finger across the black steel. It’s a Smith and Wesson, but it’s bigger than the one I have in my bedside drawer. Why does he keep a gun? I stare at it until my knees hurt from the tiles. I close the cupboard doors and get up.
I step out from the bathroom and head for the cupboard. Inside there’s a suit jacket, a white button-up shirt, two pairs of dark pants and one pair of denims hanging up. Folded in a drawer are several dark shirts and a jumper. A handful of briefs and socks occupy another drawer. A single pair of brown shoes sit on the open space at the bottom. More evidence that it’s just Cade living here. This can’t be everything he owns. Where are the rest of his things?
Then I realize that Caden mustn’t live here. This must be where he stays when he’s in town. If so, where is his real home? I search the drawers for any hidden things. I lift up the shoes and peer behind the dark space. Finding nothing I place them back down. I frown. Did the base sound hollow when I placed the shoes down? I pull out the shoes and tap at the base of the cupboard.
It is hollow.
I feel around until my fingers find a break in the wood. I slide the thin wood base out. Underneath is a safe built into the floor. I test the handle, but it is most definitely locked.
“You don’t know how to crack open a safe do you?” I call out to Mick.
I hear him grunt. “I could… if I had the tools and the time. But I have neither.”
Dammit. I’m not going to find out what he keeps in his safe today. I replace the lid and the shoes, then stand and shut the cupboard doors.
As I move around the bed, my fingers skim along the dark blue cover. This is where Cade sleeps when he’s not with me. Why has he never invited me over? Why, if he has a place here, do we meet in hotel rooms?
I stop in front of the bedside drawers. Besides a lamp and a half-empty glass of water there’s nothing on the surface. I open the only bedside drawer. Inside it is a single manila folder. I frown. I take out the folder and open it. Inside there’s a stack of photos. I can only see the top one. It is a photo of… me. I am standing on the road I recognize as my street. The photo is grainy and I’m not looking at the camera. My stomach clenches.
What the hell?
I flick through the rest of the photos. Me. Me. Me. All me. From various angles. Wearing various clothes. Outside my house, outside my gym, outside my work.
Cade has been following me. And taking photos.
This must have been what he meant when he said he had followed me in the last few weeks to make sure I was okay.
I can’t decide whether I feel that this is creepy or kinda sweet in a messed up sort of way. Then I see a photo that makes me stop. In the picture I’m standing at a set of traffic lights outside of the place I sometimes get my coffee. I’m wearing my hair up in a ponytail and I’m in workout gear, obviously coming back from the gym. I’m holding a takeaway cup in my hand. It’s the shirt that gets my attention. That white t-shirt with “nerd” written across it. I love that shirt. Correction. I loved that shirt. Some douche knocked their frozen raspberry slushee drink over me in that shirt. I couldn’t get the red stain out, so I had to throw it away.
That was during the first month or so of me moving to this city – almost eight months ago. Which means that this photo was taken before Cade and I had ever met. The realization sends a stab of fear through my heart, making my chest constrict. Cade was stalking me before we even met. He knew who I was before we met at the club.
The folder slips from my hands and the photos of me go everywhere. My face scatters across the floor and under the bed.
“Shit.” I hear Mick say. I look around and see him peering through the curtain of the window. “I think your boy is coming back.”
Oh God.
I start to collect the photos from the floor. Mick rushes over to help.
“What the fuck, kid?” he demands when he sees that the photos are all me.
“I don’t know. I don’t know,” I say. I can hear my voice is shaking. I refuse to admit to myself yet that Caden deliberately inserted himself into my life for some reason.
I take a stack of photos from Mick’s hand and I shove the photos back into the folder. I don’t have time to put them back in the order they were in when I found them. Hell, even if I did have time I don’t remember what order they were in. I drop the folder back into the drawer and slam it shut. Mick is already at the front door.
“Come on,” he hisses.
I run over to him and we slip outside, Mick relocking the door behind me. I cringe when it makes a loud sharp click as it shuts. I creep to the top of the stairs. I lean over the railing but quickly jump back when I see the top of Caden’s dark head below. I hear the steps of boots echoing up the stairwell.
“He’s coming,” I mouth. I’m not sure what Caden would do if he found me here. I don’t want to find out.
Mick starts to wave frantically for me to hurry the other way down the corridor. I run with him, trying to keep my feet light. The echo of Caden’s footsteps follow me down the corridor and they get louder as
he climbs the stairs, getting closer.
I feel a hand grab my collar and I almost yelp out loud. It’s Mick. He yanks me back and pulls me through an open grey door into a dark stairwell. The fire escape. As he closes the door behind us, shutting out the light, I see the fading image of Mick holding his finger up to his lips, signaling me to be quiet. I hear a soft click as the door slips into place.
In the dark, with nothing to see, I am reminded of all those nights spent behind blindfolds with Caden’s hands and lips all over me. My traitorous body still reacts with heat even after what I have discovered. Along with this heat is another feeling… another feeling that I have never felt before with Caden.
Fear.
Oh my God.
I let him touch me. I let him inside me. Inside my body and inside my heart. I let him into my life, as far as I have let anyone in over the last five years. He’s just another man with his own secret agenda, another man I’ve fallen in love with and don’t truly know. Suddenly, I feel sick. I make a small retching noise from my diaphragm. I put my hand on my stomach and the other over my mouth and try to keep my breaths calm. I can’t freak out right now. I could still get caught.
We. We could get caught.
Mick is here, too. If Mick got hurt because of me I couldn’t forgive myself.
“You okay, kid?” Mick whispers to me in the dark.
I nod then remember that he can’t see me.
I slowly take my fingers from my lips, testing my nerves with each one. “I’m okay,” I whisper back.
Then I hear, “He should be in his apartment by now. I’m going to find a light switch so we can go down the fire escape.”
There’s some fumbling before the light flickers on, illuminating the grey block stairwell. Mick directs me down the stairs. We don’t talk as we descend.
The stairs lead to a small back courtyard. Mick leads the way as we slip around the side of the building. I wait against the building as Mick gets the car and pulls up in the driveway. I slip in and he pulls out. I slump into my seat and keep my face turned away from the windows in case Caden is looking out.
