“You just walked right past me. You did it earlier, too, when you got back from the mall.” He rested his lower back on the edge of the counter, folding his arms across his broad chest.
I’d been so busy avoiding him that I didn’t even realize he was wearing jeans. Cane in jeans. Such a rare sight, yet I think I loved it just a little bit more than his suits. Dark blue jeans hung low on his hips, and the black T-shirt he wore revealed most of the ink on his arms and throat. It instantly reminded me of the night Dad was shot—the night when he kissed me. Touched me. Shared forbidden words with me.
When I took in the sight of him, my plan to keep him at a distance somewhat backfired. I could smell his expensive cologne and even spotted the defined print of his manhood in his pants. His shirt fit him snugly, molding to his abs. I had no idea how a busy man like him even had the time to develop abs.
I blinked rapidly, pulling myself out of my lust-filled haze. “I got to know her a little better,” I said, taking a step toward him. “She’s a good person.”
“I know she is. You knew that too.” His eyes were cloudier as they studied me.
I dropped my head. “She was telling me how you guys met…and that she loves you but knows you don’t feel the same. I instantly felt bad for her…and for all the things I did behind her back with you.”
“The things you did,” he repeated with a soft growl to his voice. “You mean the things that made your pussy wet while you did them?”
I picked my head up, focusing on him. He’d pushed off the counter and was looking me up and down like he was ready to eat me alive.
“If you don’t love her, why stay with her?” I asked quietly. “Stop wasting her time.”
He narrowed his eyes, and as if my statement had punched him in the gut, he looked to the right, away from me. He was quiet for a beat, so quiet I could hear Mom and Dad’s shower running.
“Come with me,” he ordered lightly. He walked past me, going for the door that led out to the pool. He made his way out, and I blew a breath, looking over my shoulder before following behind him.
It was still warm outside, and also a little humid. I thought about my hair, and how frizzy it would get if I stayed out here for too long.
“Cane, what are we doing out here?”
He kept walking, going past the sitting area made of wicker and plush white cotton, until he reached a door. He opened it, turned on a light switch, and stepped inside. My eyes stretched wider when I realized where we were.
“Holy shit.” We were in a home theater. There was a large projection screen plastered to the north wall and a projector in the aisle between the reclining leather seats.
A popcorn maker was pushed up against the back wall, as well as a counter that was topped with a bowl of various candies and goodies. Beneath the counter was a stack of movies. I had a feeling I was going to make good use of this place with Frankie during the rest of our stay.
Cane took a step aside, closing the door quietly as I scanned the room again. “You have to pay extra to have access to this room,” he said. “Derek wasn’t up for paying for it, but I knew you would like it, so I gave him the money to get it.”
“Wow. Thanks, Cane, but you didn’t have to do that.” I turned to face him but he was already looking at me. “What?” I asked, tucking my hair behind my ear. I was nervous now. He was looking at me like I had two heads. Did I look bad? Did I not put on enough makeup? Had my hair become a ball of frizz from that short walk here? “What? Stop looking at me like that and say what’s on your mind already.”
His stare switched then, to that same searing hot gaze he always used—the gaze that awakened my soul and made me feel my pulse in every sensitive part of my body.
I realized what this was right away.
He wanted to show me this room himself. He wanted me to know he’d gotten it just for me, but he also wanted something else. Needed something else.
Before I could completely process this moment, Cane took a step toward me, grabbed me by the waist, picked me up like I was the weight of a feather, and pressed my back to the wall. His chest warmed mine, his groin sinking between my legs. Without warning, his mouth swept over my neck, nipping, sucking, and biting.