Page 143 of Cross Checked
He cupped one breast in his giant hand and ground his erection against me.
“He had it coming.”
“He absolutely had it coming.”
That earned a real grin from him finally, quick and dangerous and unfairly attractive before he kissed me again hard enough to steal my breath all over. One hand skimmed my body, the other tangled in my hair as we made out in the dark.
When he finally pulled back, his thumb brushed slowly beneath my jaw while his eyes searched my face with a focus intense enough to make my stomach twist.
“But you and I are gonna talk about this when we cool off,” he said more quietly. “Because there’s more there, and I know it.”
I swallowed hard before nodding.
Not because I wanted to talk about it, but because there was no chance of me taking it to the grave the way I had fought so hard to do. It was time, and I knew it.
I already trusted him enough to know he wouldn’t force it out of me tonight, and that meant I had tonight to be worshipped and wanted by the incredible man between my thighs currently moving against me in a way that had the blood thrumming under my skin.
Cade’s hands flexed once against my thighs before his mouth curved slowly against mine again.
“Right now though,” he said, nose brushing lightly against mine while his voice dropped lower, “right now, my only goal is getting you in my bed so I can finish what I started this morning.”
My breath hitched instantly, followed by a squeal when he pinched my nipple while his mouth licked along my chest.
Cade groaned like hearing that reaction from me loosened something primal inside him. When he kissed me again beneath the empty parking lot lights, all heat and possession, I realized that tomorrow, this night with Cade would become the last memory of this version of me. Tomorrow, my secrets would stop being shadows and become my reality. Tomorrow, my life would change forever, so tonight, I let myself choose this reckless, wild version of me I had always wanted but never been able to keep.
Tonight, I was untouchable.
Tonight, I was his.
20
Bliss
By the time Cade pulled into the driveway at Hockey House, my lips already felt swollen from kissing him against the Range Rover, and my brain had downgraded itself to pure survival mode.
The house buzzed around us beneath warm summer night air, music spilling through open windows while people crowded the lawn with drinks in hand and absolutely no concern for tomorrow morning. Somebody yelled Cade’s name from the porch the second his headlights swept across the driveway, but Cade barely acknowledged it before climbing out and coming around to my side.
The second I stepped onto the pavement, his hand slid around my waist and pulled me straight into him.
“You know,” he murmured against my mouth before kissing me slow enough to make my stomach flip, “I sure like the benefits part of this arrangement.”
I laughed softly against his lips. “It’s the friends part that makes you cringe a little?”
“A lot,” he admitted dryly while his hands slid down to the backs of my thighs. “You’re chaos.”
“Oh my gosh.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, laughing. “And yet you continue renewing your subscription.”
“Worst financial decision I’ve ever made.”
“Liar. Your face says you’re obsessed with me.”
“My face says you’re talking too much.”
“Your face says you wanna—”
The words broke into startled laughter when Cade suddenly lifted me off the ground.
“Holy shit!”
