by Rose Lange
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She shook her head, wiping away her tears. “No, it’s not a big deal. I’m okay.”
“Come on, it’s a bit chilly out, let’s get you inside.” Kade put his arm around her as they walked back into the cabin.
Annabelle was up fairly early the next day, and considering she hadn’t slept well it surprised her. She made her way into the bathroom for her usual morning routine and threw on her work outfit for the day, jeans, and a form-fitting button down white shirt. Secretly hoping she’d bump into Kade despite it being so early in the morning.
Luck was on her side, because he was sitting at the kitchen table just finishing his breakfast when he looked up to greet her. “Hi there.”
She smiled, helping herself to a cup of coffee to go. Hoping it was strong because she needed something to wake her up. She inclined her head, but didn’t say a word as she grabbed an apple from the kitchen table. She flung her purse over her shoulder, got her keys, and was ready to head out the door, but he grabbed her arm, holding her back.
“Have a good day at work.” He offered her a kind smile.
Annabelle smiled back, then quickly turned to leave. She made it as far as the bottom of the stairs, when he stopped her again.
“Annabelle, wait!”
She frowned, turning back to face him. “Yes?”
“Let’s have dinner tonight. I’ll cook, and you won’t have to worry about anything. And,” he raised a brow, “clothing is optional.”
Annabelle grinned. “Kade, I’ll see you later.”
She smiled as she turned away, hardly able to wait for tonight. Or what it might bring.
Annabelle sat in her truck for a few minutes later that evening, anxious and excited to be home, and wondering what on earth he had up his sleeve. Taking a deep breath she threw her purse over her shoulder, grabbed her keys, and stood at the front door. She jingled them in her hand, her fingers manipulating the miniature Kermit the frog keychain. Hesitating, yet again, and unsure of why. Shaking her head and feeling ridiculous she quickly unlocked the door.
Kade was standing there with two glasses of wine, a smile, a pair of jeans, and an apron that said: “Kiss the Cook.” Candles were lit all over the room, the lights were turned down low, and the smooth jazz of Kenny G. filtered through the air. She couldn’t help but smile as she set her things down.
“I told you clothing was optional.”
Annabelle raised a brow. “Yes, I remember. But I hope you don’t think I’ll be getting naked for your benefit.” She took one of the glasses out of his hand.
“No, but it would be a nice perk to the evening, as you look much better naked than I do.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
She lowered her eyes, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “I think that’s a matter of opinion. So what’s on the menu besides you?”
Shit, did I just say that out loud?
When she looked up at Kade, she realized she had. And by the looks of it he was highly amused, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he chuckled. How she loved the sound of his laughter. She brought a hand to her belly, attempting to settle the fluttering. Here she was, a grown woman, checking out her ex-husband like some horny teenager. Had been checking him out constantly since they’d moved in together.
She quickly took a sip of her wine. It was sweet and tart on her tongue, and she was thankful for the alcohol because it would quell her nerves.
Trying to smooth over the awkward moment, she collected her thoughts. “I mean, what’s for dinner?”
“I made a very simple, but tasty recipe. Chicken and rice, so I hope you’re hungry.” He pulled out a chair for her.
She placed the napkin in her lap, smiling as he served her dinner. He brought the salad and the bottle of wine to the table.
“Dinner is served, my sweet.”
“Looks good, Kade.” She took a bite and savored the tangy lemon flavor of the chicken. My goodness, he’s still a great cook.
She finished her bite and swallowed, suddenly not sure what came over her she set down her fork and studied him. “I’m sorry I hurt you, Kade.”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“For hurting you all those years ago, you didn’t deserve it.” She wondered what had taken her so long to say such difficult words.
“I forgive you.”
She wasn’t sure if he meant it. He’d said it ever so casually, as if he was telling her about the weather. Or about a new recipe he was going to try. It unnerved her. And the fact that he wasn’t even making eye contact upset her even more. She knew he was lying.
She scoffed. “Just like that? You’ve forgiven me?”
“What do you want me to do?” His voice had an irritated edge to it. Not the direction she wanted the evening to take.
“I don’t know, Kade, you tell me.”
He lowered his head momentarily before looking up at her, and continuing, “Fine. You want the truth? I don’t think you understand how much I loved you. How much it hurt when you left. And the way you chose to do it, with a fucking letter. You couldn’t even face me to tell me our marriage was over.”
Annabelle inclined her head, and tried to pretend the words didn’t sting, and pushed down the painful memory of that day down deep, never to resurface again. Yet it always managed to come up and make its presence known.
“I understand, Kade, and I was hurt too. Don’t think it was easy for me to leave.”
He laughed, taking a sip of his wine. “Oh, that’s a good one.”
Now he was trying her patience. He knew which buttons to push to get a rise out of her. She abruptly stood, and scooted her chair in. “Look, I was trying to apologize to you and enjoy this dinner, but I guess it won’t work.”
He frowned, dropping his fork with a loud clank. “I guess not.”
The sting of tears filled her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. She wanted to stay strong and appear tough, willing herself not to breakdown. She’d tried to apologize and now they were arguing. And for the life of her, she didn’t understand why.
But as quickly as she got up, he suddenly materialized next to her. She looked down at his hand on her arm and looked up as he pulled her closer.
“Annabelle, don’t.” His tone was gentle, and she knew he’d regretted his harsh words. And damn it, he held her too close for her sanity.
Keeping her tone even and strong, she said, “Kade, please. Do you think it was easy for me to leave you? What the hell do you want from me?”
He held her gaze, as if he could see right through her. As though he understood she needed to be held like this. She shivered as his hands rubbed her arms, and it soothed her frayed senses. When he looked into her eyes her tears escaped, cascading down her cheeks. She hated herself for losing control so easily. She wanted to cry harder as he took her face in his hands, and gently rubbed the dampness away with the pads of his thumbs. The control she prided herself for unraveled like a ball of yarn.
“Just you. That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” he whispered against her mouth, making her shiver.
Annabelle’s breath caught in her throat, not knowing how to respond to such intimate words, so she repeated, “I’m sorry I hurt you, Kade.”
With this she removed herself from his grasp, and went to seek the relative safety of her room.
Kade spent the rest of the evening cleaning up and putting the numerous leftovers in the fridge. He frowned, raking his hand through his hair.
Annabelle was a puzzle he couldn’t figure out, no matter how hard he tried. He shook his head and went to bed for the night. But he found himself unable to sleep. He just looked up at the ceiling, at the small cracks in the wall, at his damned sheets. The silence of the cabin unnerved him, and save for the sounds of nature outside his bedroom wind
ow, there was nothing else filling the dead silence.
He still couldn’t figure out what was different about her. Wondered what happened after the divorce to make her this way. Outwardly she seemed happy, but it seemed like a part of her soul was missing. He knew her folks had an unhappy marriage, and that her childhood was riddled with alcoholism and abuse. And her older brother left the house when he became of legal age. What else could have happened to make her feel so scared? To make her put all these walls up and shut him out? He supposed how he’d treated her after they’d made love didn’t help the matter. In fact he knew it didn’t and he felt like an absolute ass every time he thought about it even though they’d made amends.
He was in love with her, desired her, and hated himself for it. Which puzzled him most of all. He didn’t know how to handle these new and old feelings. Sleep would be impossible tonight, so he quickly showered and had a drink, hoping it would burn the image of Annabelle out of his mind, and his heart.
Kade also knew it was a hopeless cause, as he took a seat at the edge of the bed and poured himself another drink.
Annabelle was restless, plucking at her bed sheets as she stared up at the ceiling. Her heart was heavy and her brain even heavier with thoughts of Kade swirling around. She tried to pinpoint and think of the moment when things had become so complicated between them. Had it been the first kiss, the first time they made love?
She realized things became complicated when she was forced to share a space with him, after years of being apart.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, she threw the sheets back and got out of bed. Not knowing what in hell possessed her to do it, she raised a hand and knocked on the connecting door.
Chapter 12
The door quickly flew open, startling her, and her breath caught as his large and imposing frame filled the doorway. He was shirt-less, a towel wrapped around that amazing body, and droplets of water still glistened on his chest. She could smell the scent of whiskey on his breath and he had a slightly tipsy look in his eyes. He looked scruffy, his hair rumpled, and a days’ worth of stubble covered his strong chin and jaw. She cocked her head, wondering why she’d never noticed that before. He looked sexy as hell and she wanted to get him on his back right this minute.
“What do you want?” His tone sharp.
She wondered the same thing herself.
“Don’t make me say it.”
He hung his head for a moment, and then looked back up at her. “Say what?”
She was unable to utter a word. His nearness made her lightheaded. Then he started to shut the door in her face, as if her delay in answering infuriated him even more. But she forced it back open with her hand.
“You’re being very rude right now.”
“I don’t have time for this bullshit, Annabelle.”
She ignored his harsh words and angry tone. Getting closer, she put her hand up on the door, to block him from trying to close it in her face again. And in doing so, she stood practically nose-to-nose with him. His whiskey-scented breath caressed her face, and her heart threatened to stop beating. Her pulse raced, thumping wildly against her throat.
He looked straight into her eyes, one hand on the doorframe, the other on his hip. And then there was something different in his eyes, as though they were silently challenging her, as though his body were silently challenging her as well.
“Tell me what you want.”
She could only stare at him for several seconds, and then she finally found her voice. “Nothing,” she whispered.
She held her breath as he stepped closer, until their lips nearly touched. Her breath intermingling with his made her weak with desire. She looked into his eyes and it knocked the wind right out of her. She didn’t understand this power he had over her and frankly didn’t care. He looked over her figure with a slow and seductive gaze, as though he wanted to devour her, and she reveled in the knowledge.
In one swift motion he pulled her against him, and kissed her hard on the mouth, putting his hands in her hair, and smoothing them down her back, her T-shirt bunched from underneath his fingertips as the cool air hit the small of her back. She groaned as he grabbed her ass, bringing them chest-to-chest, and her entire body went lax and practically melted into the floor beneath. He lifted her up so her feet no longer touched the ground, while he scattered kisses along her mouth, jaw, and neck. Moist open-mouthed kisses that forced her to close her eyes because the earth started to spin much too quickly. Blindly, she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck, bringing him closer, as close as she possibly could get him, and still it didn’t seem close enough.
He gently eased her onto the large bed, and she reveled in the softness of the feather down comforter. She reached up to touch his face, and he looked so very handsome, his eyes shining, and his smile wide and slightly tipsy. His towel slipped. She raised a brow as he ripped it completely away and tossed it over the side of the bed, letting her hungry gaze wash over him.
Kade silently assessed her. His eyes heavy lidded with unspoken longing.
“I want you.” She stroked his cheek, feeling bold. “Body and soul. I don’t want you to go easy, either.”
Kade leaned in closer, placing one hand on either side of her, and without saying a word pressed his lips to hers. He was gentle and she didn’t want him to be. She wanted him to be rough and rile her up. She wanted the dirtiest sex possible. Holding the back of his neck, she kissed him back with equal parts fire and ice, showing him what she wanted as she frantically attacked those sweet lips, loving the taste of whiskey that still lingered there. Her heart jumped into her throat as he reciprocated, scattering kisses along her jaw and down to her throat. She was on fire. A fire that had slowly been stoked and only now was at an agonizing peak, and ready to burst and bubble over the surface.
Then he stopped, briefly gazing into her eyes, as though he could read her mind.
“How do you want it, Annabelle?”
She gulped, gathering her bravado from earlier. “Rough and dirty.”
Kade held her close and kissed her with fierce abandon, not holding back any longer. His kisses were punishing and hungry, and it was as though she’d awoken a sleeping sexy, beast. She gasped as he placed more kisses on her stomach, then traveled up to her breasts and branded them with his mouth, as he began sucking on one globe right through her thin top. As though he were making love to them. He greedily nipped on the other breast, while his fingertips played with the other. Making her nipple nip into a hard little bud. She groaned, not able to help it. She looked down at him, holding his head in her hand. Brushing his hair with her fingers, enjoying the feel of the soft, heavenly texture.
Annabelle closed her eyes, and allowed her head to roll back as her entire body went limp. Even though this was a preview of the devilishly seductive things to come, she found it hard to wait, and wanted him inside her right now. She hitched in a breath as he savagely and quickly removed her top, tossing it carelessly to the side.
Moving to cup her face, he stared into her eyes. “My thoughts exactly.”
She smiled a watery smile, not able to put into words how she felt. Her mind told her this shouldn’t be happening, but her body screamed for release. Had been screaming for sweet release, since the first time they’d made love again after five long years.
“My God, Kade, yes.” She grabbed the back of his neck and took his finely molded lips in a hungry, greedy kiss, not able to control herself.
Annabelle sat up, coming face to face with him, resting her head against the headboard as she held his face between her hands. She softly and gently stroked his cheek, as she gazed into his eyes, wanted to touch every part of him. Feel every part of him, and take possession of him body and soul. She felt reckless and out of control but didn’t care. Bringing him closer, she grasped his arms and caressed his shoulders. The man felt like
smooth polished, cool steel, but hot like lava to the touch.
“Annabelle.” And she could feel the intensity in his voice when he said her name.
It thrilled her. “Yes.”
“You’re driving me crazy.” His voice husky with desire.
“Not as crazy as you’re driving me.”
She recaptured his mouth, and he fought back, only more demanding this time. She managed to roll them over until he landed on his back and she was straddling him. Looking down, she marveled at the glorious and naked sight of him. Slowly, she brought her hands to his chest, loving how his muscles jumped at the contact. She let her fingers do the talking as she explored him. Mere words could not describe all the emotions that welled up inside her.
Annabelle reached for his cock, but stopped just short of touching him. He groaned, and seemed frustrated, lying there and looking lost. She quirked a brow flirtatiously, loving to have this kind of power over him.
She tossed her hair behind her and got down to his level. Her hands captured his and held them behind his back, as though she were holding him captive.
“Don’t move,” she commanded, taking her hands away.
Then she began mimicking him, softly kissing him along his jawline, down his neck and to his chest. She pressed her chest into his, her breasts flattening against him intimately, and kissed him hard. Caressing his tongue, he matched her, reciprocating and fighting fire with fire, making her insides come unglued and her thighs wet. She moaned against his mouth, not sure how much longer she could take of this sexual torture.
Slowly, she broke the kiss and allowed herself to sheath him, her body full and complete as she accommodated his hard length. Her lips parted, but she wasn’t able to fabricate a sentence, a word. Her mind was devoid of thought, and all she could do was enjoy how he felt inside her. How utterly incredible she felt right at this moment. Gazing into his eyes, she took his hands and put them on her hips, allowing them to cradle her bottom. His fingers softly stroked her backside and squeezed.
