Caden (Loving the Sykes Book 1)

by Elizabeth Stevens

  There was another crash. “I’ll give you a tantrum!”

  Oscar’s next words were muffled and we heard a door close. Oscar didn’t return right away, so I assumed he’d managed to calm her down enough to get her to talk to him.

  “Damn that man,” Carter shook his head.

  I laughed. “He still the woman whisperer?”

  “Any woman.” Luther shook his head, astounded. “Any woman. And he’s still too stupid to realise most of them would fuck him senseless.”

  “Still a virgin, then?” I asked, with a knowing look at the boys.

  “As far as we know, yeah.” Luther nodded.

  “Mind you, I don’t really keep tabs on my brothers’ sexual exploits,” Carter mused, “I’d have run out of space for you, Cade!” he laughed.

  “Being a super spy sure seems like it has a lot of perks.” Luther nodded.

  I laughed. Super spy wasn’t really my job title, but I let them call me things like that since it made it easier. If I didn’t admit or deny anything, I wasn’t giving anything away.

  “True, it’s easy to love ‘em and leave ‘em when you rarely use your real name.” I winked and drained my beer.

  We chatted for a while longer, until Oscar came back down stairs looking seriously annoyed.

  “What’s happened now? Brit blow her off for some jerkwad again?” Carter chuckled.

  Oscar shook his head and slumped in a chair. “Something like that.”

  “Bloody women.” Luther smiled.

  I watched Oscar though, and I was pretty sure whatever had gone on with Lucy was nothing like that at all. Oscar’s new mood seemed to kill the vibe and we all traipsed to bed soon after.

  4

  Lucy

  Oscar had told me not to worry about him. Well, I was trying not to worry about him. But Tommy got me so mad sometimes.

  I’d showered and was heading back to my room. The lights were off and it sounded like the boys had gone to bed. I paused at Caden’s room, opposite mine, and opened the door slightly. Everything still looked the same as it had six years ago when he’d left. He’d always felt odd about moving in after his mum died, more used to sleeping on the floor in Carter’s room or down in the study. But Dad had insisted he have his own room. Ten-year-old me had been overly excited when I found out he was going to be living across the hall from me.

  Sighing at memories both fond and a little painful – especially in light of Tommy’s outburst that night – I closed the door and went to my room to get into my pyjamas.

  “Ah, water…” I muttered to myself, picking up my water bottle.

  I jogged down the stairs, but stopped at the bottom. I could hear noises coming from the study, low grunts. Turning my water bottle into a highly ineffective weapon, I advanced on the room and pushed the door open slowly. Moonlight streamed in, hitting the much too familiar face as it scrunched in sleep.

  “Cade…” I breathed.

  Caden Reece was in our study and he was obviously having a bad dream. I pushed the door almost closed behind me and sat on the edge of the bed. The covers were down around his middle and I had much too much view of what had been a stunning body six years ago and was now a perfectly sculptured body.

  Where he wasn’t covered in tattoos, he had scars. Where he didn’t have scars, he had still-healing cuts and faint bruises. An eyebrow and nipple piercing were new too. Not that they held my interest for long, as I kept coming back to his hard muscles. He looked a little skinny and I wondered what in the hell he’d been up to. I wondered too, if whatever had happened to him recently was giving him his nightmare. I wondered if it had anything to do with why he was in our study with no notice.

  Did the others know he was here?

  I brushed his ash-brown hair from his forehead, ignoring the tingles I felt when I touched him. His eyes flew open and he grabbed my wrist. Dark grey stared at me, almost uncomprehending for a moment and I felt utterly scared of what this Caden could do. Then, he blinked, breathed deeply and let go of me.

  “Lulu. Watch who you sneak up on,” he sighed.

  “Sneak up on? You’re the one in our study,” I replied accusingly.

  “Did Oz not tell you I was here?”

  Surprised, I shook my head.

  He huffed a laugh. “He was supposed to tell you before I got here.”

  “They knew you were coming?”

  He nodded. “I told Carter weeks ago. Apparently, it was Oscar’s job to let you know, but he never found the right time.”

  I was still finding it hard to believe Caden Reece was back in our house after all these years. Although…

  “Why are you down here?”

  He nodded to his right and I saw crutches and what looked like a rather long moon boot.

  “What the hell happened?”

  “Nothing major.”

  “Nothing major like a bunch of tattoos and piercings? How military standard are those piercings anyway?”

  Caden grinned lazily and my heart flip-flopped in my chest the way it hadn’t in years.

  “Not very, but Gunner and I have a habit of pushing each other to do stupider and stupider…and stupider things.”

  “You’ve got more piercings?”

  He threw me a look, then winked. “I might.”

  I wasn’t going to let him see what that idea did to me. I’d never really considered tattoos and piercings to be attractive before, but it seemed like whatever was Caden Reece, I found incredibly attractive and arousing.

  “Cade…what happened? Why are you home now?” I asked, hoping he’d realise I was being serious now. Anything to stop the flutter in my chest and the tingle between my legs at the sight of him.

  “Can’t a guy come home and see his family?” he asked.

  My heart dropped a little, but at least a reminder of reality helped the tingle between my legs lessen. Caden would only ever see me as a little sister, and I had to respect that.

  “Cade, come on. Talk to me.”

  He opened his arms and made a beckoning motion. “Come here.”

  I snuggled under the blankets and rested my head on his chest while he put his arm around me. As normal as this had been when we were younger – I’d often climbed into the trundle with Cade, sleeping between him and Carter – this felt a whole lot different.

  Act natural, I told myself, It’s just like when Oscar hugs you after a bad dream…

  “I’m sorry I never replied to your email,” he said softly.

  “It’s fine, I know you’re busy. I see maybe you were a little more busy than I expected though.”

  He chuckled and I felt it vibrate through his chest. “Yeah. I got it just before we left. We were only supposed to be a couple of weeks, so I thought I’d deal with it when we got back, you know? Give you the time you deserve instead of some hasty response. But we took longer than we meant to, and I ended up in the hospital for a couple of months–”

  “What?” I raised my head to look at him. My heart pounded. I constantly worried about him getting hurt. The vivid dreams were stupid and irrational on some level, I knew that, but each one felt real and I woke in sweats, crying too often. Oscar was the only one who knew and would wordlessly hold me until I calmed enough to fall back to sleep.

  He looked sheepish. “Yeah, they kept me in a coma for about seven weeks, I think it was–”

  I whacked him as my heart skipped painfully. “I’m sorry, you were in a coma and your family didn’t know about it?”

  “Ah, no, well…see, Luther knew and I assumed he’d told everyone.”

  “Why did Luther know?”

  He shrugged. “He’s down as my in case of emergency.”

  I shook my head and grumbled. He laughed and his hand slipped to my waist. I stiffened involuntarily for a second, then snuggled against him. Whatever he’d been through, he was here now and seemed alive enough.

  “Okay. What happened?” I asked, trying to sound cal
m.

  “Well, I was blown off a building. Aside from taking a few bullets and shrapnel, I broke my leg pretty bad when I hit the SUV. Then, the car was flipped on the way to the chopper, and that just about did me in. But we got home again and they patched me up. I’m still pretty stiff and my leg needs therapy. They sent me home until I’m better.”

  My heart lurched again at the thought of how close I’d come to losing him. Not that he was really mine to lose.

  He kissed the side of my head. “Say something, Lulu.”

  “I’m seriously pissed at you right now.”

  He wrapped his other arm around me and chuckled. “I bet you are. I’m sorry, but it’s my job and I’m fine. I’ll always be fine.” His tone changed and I knew something had happened, he’d lost someone.

  I waited a moment, then asked, “Who was it?”

  “Petrelli,” he said quietly, kissing my head again as though it gave him comfort.

  “Cade, I’m so sorry.”

  I thought back to the picture of his team I had in my room. He’d sent it to me a couple of years ago when I’d asked him more about them. Petrelli had been a small guy compared to the rest of them, dark-haired, but he’d worn the biggest smile. I knew how much he’d meant to Caden, how much the whole team meant to him.

  “And the others…?”

  “Fine,” he chuckled. “Wankers. Some cuts and bruises, but no hospital time.”

  I could tell it was relief that made him laugh. Relief that they were safe and he was the only one hurt…aside from Petrelli.

  “I met his girl before I left.” Caden spoke quietly, like we were sharing a secret. “She came to visit me in the hospital. She was so lovely, Lulu. She was devastated, of course, but she just went on and on about how thankful she was I’d been there before, how I’d been there for the others and she knew I’d done everything I could.” His voice trembled slightly and he held me tighter. My thumb rubbed over him where my hand lay in what I hoped was a reassuring way. “She didn’t blame me at all, Lu. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t know what to say. What was going to make her feel better after just losing the person she loved?”

  “I’m sure whatever you did say helped,” I replied.

  He chuckled harshly. “I told her the only thing I could. I told her that the only reason he held on so long was because of her, that we all had someone special waiting for us who helped us come home. And I told her sometimes, no matter how much we wanted it to be enough, it wasn’t. I mean, look at me, I’d almost been blown to bits. No amount of wanting to come home safe for someone saved me from that.”

  My heart lurched again, but for a whole different reason. “Oh, you have someone special to go home to?” I tried to sound nonchalant but, to me, it sounded bloody obvious what and why I was asking.

  He stiffened for a second, then kissed my head again. “Of course. What would the Sykes do without me?” He cleared his throat. “And what about you? What had you storming in here earlier, shouting the house down?”

  I huffed, prepared to tell him nothing. Apparently, my mouth had other ideas. “Tommy.”

  He nodded. “Thought so, though Luther and Cart bought whatever crap Oscar was dishing up. What did he do?”

  I sighed and rearranged my head on his chest. “We’re fighting.”

  “Why?” he asked, brushing my hair back from my face.

  I’d never been able to lie to Caden, not when he outright asked me something. Thank God he’d never asked me how I felt about him. “He’s convinced I’m…in love with someone else. Apparently, I always have been and he’s sick of it.”

  He shifted a little under me. “And are you?”

  I paused before I answered. Like I had moments before, did Caden seem a little too interested? Like there was more than brotherly concern and chastising in his voice? Maybe there was some very slim shot with him after all? Maybe I just had to make him see me not as a little sister figure, but a woman in my own right?

  “I did like someone else, a long time ago. And I thought I was over it…” I said slowly.

  “But you’re not?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe not as much as I thought.” Needing to change the subject, I asked, “Were you dreaming about him?”

  Caden knew who I meant and I felt him nod against my head. “Him. The others. All the shit we’ve been through. I love my job, Luce, but we’ve seen some awful things and I can’t shake it some nights.”

  “Can I do anything?”

  “Just stay with me a little longer,” he whispered.

  We lay in silence for a while, his hand rubbing my arm almost absent-mindedly. I didn’t know about him, but I was lost in thought. Him being here created all kinds of problems for me. I’d meant what I’d said to him, I honestly didn’t know how much I actually felt for him anymore. Brit and I laughed about the fact that I was totally in love with him, and I even told myself that on rare occasions. But truthfully, deep down, I’d expected I’d grown out of any real feelings and anything I felt now was just an echo of a teenage crush.

  But, lying in his arms now, I knew that was probably not the case. That teenage crush and turned into full-blown lust and feelings closer to love than I’d ever really felt for Tommy. It was exhilarating and frightening all at once, and I had no idea what to do with it. I’d thought I could make him see I was a proper woman in my own right? What the hell did that even mean?

  5

  Caden

  I’d been awake for a while, but was content to just lie beside her. It was probably the closest I’d come to waking up next to her the way I wanted. If there was some other guy in her heart, then there was hardly going to be room for me. Still, I’d take what I could get.

  When she’d woken me up the night before, wearing nothing but a singlet and tiny shorts, I’d thought all my dreams had come true. For a while, I thought I was still dreaming. But then we’d got to talking and I’d realised a different dream had come true; Lucy was lying in bed with me, my arms around her, and I was talking to her, sharing with her in a way I’d never wanted to do with anyone else, even Oscar for all his ‘good shoulder’ attitude.

  Phillips might have been on to something. Maybe this break would be a good chance to tell her how I felt? Make her understand I didn’t expect anything, but that I needed her to know she was the only one who got me home safe. Was that even a legit strategy? I had no idea. I’d been with plenty of women over the years, but there’d never been feelings involved.

  I’d almost told her last night when she’d asked me. I’d come so close to telling her that she was my someone special, that she always had been. But I’d frozen and chickened out. I could face a horde of guys trying to kill me, but I couldn’t tell one girl she meant the world to me. Did I even have any right to tell her if she loved someone else? Where was the line drawn on that one?

  The door opened and Oscar crept in, being careful not to wake me. He shook Lucy awake, obviously still thinking I was asleep.

  “Ugh, what is it?” she asked quietly, her voice thick with sleep.

  “Your phone’s been going off like mad. I turned off the alarm, but didn’t know if you needed to be somewhere. Should have guessed you’d find your way down here.” I heard the smile in Oscar’s voice.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I felt the bed shift.

  “Nothing, little sister. Did you two have time to talk?”

  “A little.”

  “Good. I need to get to work. I’ll see you lot tonight. It’ll be a late one, I think.”

  “All right, Oz.”

  “Love you, Lulu.” I heard him give her a kiss and she mumbled in mock-frustration.

  “Love you, too.” After a while, I heard her mutter, “God, we could have been screwing all night and he wouldn’t have noticed.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh and she turned to me, absolutely horrified.

  “He wouldn’t have noticed, but I’d like to think you would have,” I
said.

  She blushed and looked down at her phone. “Yes. I’m sure you would.”

  I laughed and had pushed her back against the pillows, lying over her, before I knew what I was doing. She looked up at me with amusement and a challenge in her eyes. I thought to myself, why not meet it? After all, maybe I could ease her into the idea I was in love with her? Not need to tell her outright straight away?

  “Are you suggesting I’m delusional about my talents in the bedroom?”

  She mock-grimaced. “Given I have no idea about any talents of yours, in bed or otherwise other than you making a very comfortable pillow, I don’t think I have any right to suggest anything about what you think of them.”

  I smiled and leant down towards her, my eyes telling her exactly what I wasn’t going to let my mouth say out loud; in short, that I’d be quite happy to educate her as to my talents, particularly in the bedroom. I was actually surprised by her response. She didn’t laugh at me or call me gross for being unbrotherly. I saw the way a slight blush crept along her skin, her eyes darkened and she bit her lip as though she liked the idea.

  Maybe I didn’t hold the place in her heart I wanted, but I was pretty sure she didn’t think of me as a brother anymore. Not entirely. Not when I had her pinned to a bed and my leg between hers. And maybe that was as good a starting point as any.

  I was tempted to see how far I could ruffle her in one morning, but I’d waited over six years, I could wait a little longer. I kissed her neck briefly, rolled off her and reached for my moon boot. God knew I so didn’t want to put that damned thing back on, but I had to take care of myself if I wanted to get back to work.

  “Right. So, who’s around today?” I asked as I hauled myself to my feet.

  “Uh…” she started, sounding completely out of it. “Uh…Carter and Luther should be. Oz is working. Luther has a car in the garage he’s been working on, but with you…here,” she said breathlessly, “I guess he’ll put it off.”

  I turned to face her. She was still lying where I’d left her, looking utterly confused, her phone forgotten in her hand. I chuckled and she looked at me sharply.