by M. S. Parker
Our food arrived just then, providing me with enough of a distraction to regain my composure. Everything looked and smelled delicious. I thanked the waiter, then glanced up at Cade. He gestured toward my plate and then cut a piece of his duck. We ate in silence for several minutes. I wasn't sure if he was waiting for me to say something or if he was only enjoying his meal, but there were plenty of things I wanted to say. I just wasn't sure where to start.
Finally, I decided that I wasn't going to let tonight be a total waste. I'd found my mystery male. Or, rather, Adelle had somehow managed to find him for me, and that was a whole other set of questions. I'd thanked him, but there had been something I'd been wondering since I'd been able to think clearly about what had happened.
“Why'd you do it?” I asked.
He raised an eyebrow in question.
“Why did you intervene at O'Mallys with Steven?” I pushed at a bit of watercress. “And why did you take me all the way home? Just putting me in a cab after what you'd done would've been more than enough.”
“Some people would've tried to take advantage of you in your inebriated state.” There was no hint of judgment or mockery in his words.
“But you didn't.”
“True.” He took a drink of wine. “In fact, I seem to remember that if anyone was being taken advantage of, it was me.”
I stabbed a piece of meat a little more viciously than was necessary. “You didn't seem to mind.”
He laughed and the sound rolled over me, coating my skin. Arousal flooded me. Shit. I was getting wet just from his laugh.
“No, I did not.” He leaned back in his seat. “And to answer your question, I stepped in because I don't like bullies, particularly when the person being bullied is a woman.”
His tone was even, but I knew there was something deeper to that statement. I met his eyes, but they were mild and pleasant, betraying nothing of what had prompted his words.
“Enough about that horrible excuse for a date,” he said, leaning forward. “I want to know more about you.”
I blinked at the abrupt shift in conversation. I was glad he wasn't going to be like Steven and only talk about himself, but as we talked, I could feel him controlling the conversation, steering it where he wanted it to go. He answered some of my questions, but rarely in the detail he probed from me. I should have been annoyed; everything about him should have put me off. I liked confident men, but not ones who were cocky. I didn't mind charming, but I'd always been irritated by the men who seemed to think everyone found them as irresistible as they thought they were. Still, there was something about him that drew me to him. I didn't know if it was because he carried himself so differently than Ronald had or if it was just a reaction to the hero worship I'd been nursing for the past two weeks. Either way, the longer I stayed, the more I wanted to be here.
“Was the meal to your satisfaction?” he asked as I finished my wine.
“It was amazing.” I'd purposefully only drunk a glass and a half even though it was probably the most expensive wine I'd ever have the chance to drink. The food, however, I completely devoured. It had been the perfect portion. Enough to make me not hungry, but not so much that I felt full. I wasn't sure, however, if dessert was on the menu. Cade had been an attentive date, not even looking at any of the women who'd checked him out over the course of the meal, but he also hadn't expressed any overt indications that he thought of this as anything but a single evening to please Adelle.
He stood and I tried to hide my disappointment. It seemed the night was over after all. When he held out his hand, I took it, believing we'd end with a shake. Instead, he curled his fingers around mine.
“I've already ordered dessert and champagne to my room. Join me?”
I almost couldn't tell if that last bit was a question or a command. “You have a room?” My mouth went dry and I considered pulling my hand away.
As if he'd read my mind, he squeezed my hand, then released it. "I'll be honest. When Adelle set us up, I was hesitant to accept. She was sure, though, that we would enjoy our time together. So much so that she insisted I rent a room. I'm glad now that I did."
He held out his hand again and this time the invitation was clear. “I promise that things will not go any further than you want them to. You say the word and I'll call a cab.”
My expression must've been more skeptical than I felt because he continued.
“I hope you accept, but I have no problem spending the rest of the night gorging myself on chocolate and watching pay-per-view.”
My eyes slid down his muscular torso. Somehow, I doubted he'd ever gorged himself on anything.
He took a step toward me, closing the distance between us to less than a foot. I could suddenly smell him, the clean scent of soap without any of the usual extras of aftershave or cologne. My stomach clenched.
He raised his hand and brushed the back of it down the side of my face. Heat bloomed across my cheek, but not from embarrassment this time.
“I can see the desire in your eyes, Aubree. I know what you want, and I can give it to you. Stop being so careful and give in to what you want.” His voice was low and sensual, one hypnotic word after the next. “You do want it, don't you? You want me.”
I swallowed hard. Damn. I had no doubt that if I went with him and asked him to stop at any point in time, he'd do just that. He wouldn't force me. It wasn't him I didn't trust though. It was me. I could tell myself I didn't want this night to end and if I went with him, we'd eat decadent desserts and maybe make out a bit, but I couldn't deny that I'd been fantasizing about seeing what was under that shirt of his from the moment I'd first looked into his face. If I went with him, I knew I wouldn't want to stop at a kiss or two, a caress or maybe a bit of skin. I'd want it all.
“Don't deny yourself.” He palmed my cheek, his thumb brushing across my bottom lip. “Come with me.”
A shiver went through me as I imagined him saying those words again, but with a completely different meaning.
Fuck it.
I nodded before I could change my mind. “Let's go.”
Chapter 8
He led me, hand-in-hand, to the elevators, and I envied the ease with which he carried himself. My heart was racing and only some of it was due to Cade. As I passed people, I felt like their eyes were on me, like they knew I was about to sleep with this man on the first date. I never judged anyone for the choices they made regarding their sex life, but I'd had it drilled into my head since childhood that I was a good girl, and good girls didn't have sex on the first date. My parents hadn't been the religious type where I needed to wait for marriage, but sex had never been a casual thing.
As the elevator doors closed, Cade pulled me against him so that my back was pressed against his front. He slid his arms around my waist, and put his mouth close to my ear.
“Don't overthink things.”
His tone made it clear this wasn't a suggestion and my heart skipped a beat.
“If something feels wrong, then by all means don't do it, but if you're thinking about what other people will think, stop.”
His tongue traced the outside of my ear and I closed my eyes. There was no way such a small touch should've been able to make my knees weak.
“It's not about anyone else. It's about you and what you want.”
His hands slid up over my ribcage to rest just under my breasts. His fingers teased at the undersides of them and I felt my nipples tighten at his touch.
“What do you want, Bree?” When I didn't say anything, he tried a different way. “Tell me what you want, Bree.”
I forced my eyes open and noticed our reflection on the gleaming door of the elevator. I watched his head tilt as he nuzzled his nose into my hair. I watched his thumb trace a path across my nipple. Then, he lifted his head and his eyes met mine in the mirror. My breath caught as a single word escaped me. “You.”
He groaned, a sound of pleasure deep in his chest and then moved me away from him as the elevator doors slid open. Lac
ing his fingers through mine, he led me down the hallway toward his room. “Come.”
That word again.
It was a nice room, not one of the highest priced ones with a mini kitchen and sitting room, but that wasn't surprising. He hadn't rented it for a vacation. Everything we needed sat against the wall to the right. He'd at least sprung for a king, and from the looks of things, the thread-count to those snowy white sheets was high. I took a moment to appreciate the decor and then turned my attention to the room service cart that sat next to the bed. A bottle of champagne chilled in a bucket of ice and next to it was a tray of chocolates. My mouth watered just looking at them and I glanced at Cade.
“Try one of the truffles,” he said. “They're amazing.”
I picked one up and took a bite, closing my eyes in pure enjoyment as the chocolate melted on my tongue. “Mmm,” I moaned.
“There's a sound I want to hear again.”
I opened my eyes and saw that Cade had taken off his jacket and tie, laying them on the chair on the far side of the room. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone and I felt a stab of desire. He walked back over to me and plucked the rest of the truffle from my hand. Holding it between two long fingers, he put it against my lips. I opened my mouth and he slid the chocolate inside. I let the tip of my tongue brush against the pad of one finger as I took the dessert and was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath.
“Champagne?” he asked, his voice rougher than it had been.
I nodded and watched as he poured us each half a glass. It was even more wonderful than the wine had been, a perfect complement to the chocolate. After taking a drink, he set down his glass and picked up a smaller truffle.
“Another?”
“Yes, please.” I waited for him to feed it to me again, but instead, he opened his own mouth and set the chocolate on his tongue.
As he lowered his head, I realized what he was going to do and eagerly parted my lips to receive his offer. My tongue slid along his as it entered my mouth, the bittersweet flavor of dark chocolate bursting across my taste buds. My fingertips dug into his firm chest as I sucked on his tongue, savoring every last bit of dessert. He gripped my hips and pulled me tight against him. I felt him now, growing against my stomach as I released his tongue. I let myself get lost in his kiss until my lungs started to protest the little bit of oxygen they'd been getting and I had to pull away.
“Take off your clothes.” He took a step back and ran his eyes over me, as if he was already picturing what I looked like naked.
I swallowed hard, the taste of chocolate and champagne still heavy on my tongue. This was it, I knew. Sure, if I changed my mind half-way through whatever was about to happen, I trusted that Cade would stop. But I also knew myself well enough to realize that if I made my choice here, I would see it through, no matter how terrified I was. It had been the same the first time Ronald and I had slept together.
I reached behind me, my stiff fingers fumbling with my zipper for a moment before getting it to slide along its track. Once it started coming down, I raised my eyes to meet Cade's. He was watching me with an intensity that was unnerving. There was an expectation in his gaze, as if he'd never doubted I'd do exactly what he wanted. Once the zipper was down, I started to pull off the dress.
“Slowly,” he said, halting my motions.
I let the material slide from my shoulders and down, moving slightly when it caught on my hips. When it pooled onto the floor, I stepped out of it and bent to pick it up. For a moment, I thought he'd tell me to leave it, but he didn't and I was glad. It may have been a thrift store find, but it was the nicest dress I owned and I didn't want it to be accidentally ruined.
I hung it over the back of the chair next to his jacket and realized why he hadn't stopped me. He was enjoying watching me walk around in my heels, thigh-highs, panties and bra. My already damp panties grew wetter. I'd never had anyone look at me with that much heat in their eyes. I wished I'd had fancier underwear than white lace. My mind flashed to my honeymoon lingerie, but I pushed that thought aside. I still wasn't ready.
My heels went next and then the stockings. I rolled them down slowly without having to be told and set them on the seat of the chair. As I straightened, I realized he was still completely dressed.
“Aren't you going to...?” I gestured toward him, unable to finish the sentence.
“What?” He raised an eyebrow.
He was going to force me to say it. Fine. “Aren't you going to take off your clothes?”
His lips curved upwards into a sensual smile. “No.”
A flush of embarrassment spread through me. Had this all been some kind of joke? A trick to get me naked?
“You are,” he finished.
I stared at him.
“Unbutton my shirt,” he said.
I swallowed hard and walked over to him. My fingers were trembling and I glanced up to see if he would laugh at my nervousness, but his expression was serious now. His hands stayed at his sides as I began to undo the buttons. The first time my fingers brushed against bare skin, I felt a shock of pure electricity move through me.
“Touch me, Bree.” His voice somehow managed to be soft and firm at the same time. It wasn't gentle, more like quiet, but there was no doubt in my mind that he expected to be obeyed.
Not that I wanted to disobey. Not when his command was something I wanted to do anyway.
I slid my hands between the folds of his shirt, making a sound in the back of my throat as my palms skimmed over rock-hard abs and then up to a broad, muscular chest. My hands moved to his shoulders and pushed the shirt off them. Damn. He was like some sort of sculpture come to life. Well, except I didn't think Michelangelo's David had a tattoo of a Celtic cross over his heart, the letters RIP in fancy script above the word 'mom.'
“Now my pants.”
I quickly looked away from his tattoo, feeling like I'd intruded on something personal. My hands had steadied and I didn't have trouble getting the button of his dress pants undone. The zipper, however, made me hesitate. I could see the outline of his erection and knew that if I unzipped his pants, I'd be touching him, albeit through another layer of cloth.
Cade cupped my chin and tilted my face up so that our eyes could meet. “Do you want me, Bree?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Say it,” he commanded.
“I want you.” My voice was barely above a whisper.
“I think it's obvious I want you.” He gave me a crooked smile. “So you have nothing to worry about.” He brushed his lips across mine, making me shiver. “Now, unzip my pants and pull them down.”
I inhaled slowly, my face burning where his skin had touched mine. My head was spinning as I reached for his zipper. Sure, Ronald and I had undressed each other, but never like this. He'd never been this direct. I’d never felt so observed.
My fingers brushed against the bulge in the front of Cade's pants as I lowered his zipper. I could almost feel his flesh straining against its confines, begging to be released, and I suddenly wanted to be the one who freed him. I wanted to see him. But, I did as I'd been told and nothing more, crouching to finish lowering his pants. At some point earlier, he must've taken off his shoes because they were already gone, as were his socks, and he kicked his pants aside.
I stood, waiting for my next instruction. I wanted this to be perfect, and I wasn't about to let my lack of experience screw things up. I'd follow Cade's lead.
“Take off your bra.”
I'd already mentally prepared myself that he'd ask for that next, so the nerves in my stomach only danced a little. I bit my lip to quell its tremor as self-doubt began to rear its ugly head. The biggest reason I was nervous was fear that he wouldn't like what he saw. My body was proportional, but that meant my breasts were a bit smaller than average, ‘only a handful’ Ronald used to say. I'd spent my life watching men ogle Adelle's much larger chest and I hoped Cade wouldn't be too disappointed.
As I dropped my bra onto the chair, I saw t
he heat flicker in Cade's eyes and my nerves quieted and then settled. The cool air made my nipples harden almost immediately and I flushed, the color spreading across my chest as well as my face.
“You have beautiful breasts,” he said sincerely. He took a step forward and reached out, gently cupping them in his large hands. “Don't ever let anyone tell you differently.”
I blinked. What had prompted him to say that? I knew Adelle never would've shared any conversations we'd ever had about body issues.
“Panties next.”
I swallowed hard and slowly lowered the last thing that was keeping me from being totally naked. When I straightened, it took all of my willpower not to cover myself. When Ronald and I had been together, he'd watched me undress, but he'd never stared at me with this intensity, the burning passion I felt coming from Cade. I'd never been looked at by anyone the way he was looking at me now.
“Lie back on the bed.” Cade's voice drew my attention.
I did as he asked, my curiosity piqued as he picked up my half-refilled glass of champagne. What was he going to do with that?
He moved carefully as he climbed onto the bed next to me, settling about halfway. Despite his previous words, I suddenly felt self-conscious about my breasts. Lying flat on my back, no matter how firm they were, made them seem smaller. Before I could overthink, however, Cade was tipping the glass and I gasped as a small amount cold liquid splashed across my breasts.
“What...?” I started to sputter half a dozen questions and push myself up.
“Stop.”
I froze, my body automatically obeying the quiet command.
“Lay back down.”
I did as I was told, shivering as the now-damp bedspread came in contact with my back.
“Trust me,” Cade said. “You'll enjoy this. Just relax.”
I flinched as another splash of champagne came down on my breasts. My nipples hardened even more, pale pink points jutting up from my flesh. The liquid ran down between them as Cade moved the glass down, spilling the expensive drink on my stomach and letting it pool in my bellybutton.
