Blindfold

“I'm not.” His voice was firm. “That's what I came here to tell you. I'm done with that life. After experiencing with you what it's like to have that emotional co

I folded my arms across my chest. No, I wasn't going to dare to hope. I'd let my guard down in the elevator, but he'd surprised me. I hadn't had time to shield myself, to prepare. Now, I'd pulled myself together.

“I haven't been able to stop thinking about you, Aubree.” He moved closer, his gaze holding me in place. “The way you look. The sound of your voice. Your scent.” He reached out and wrapped a curl around his finger. “How you feel.”

I closed my eyes as he ran the back of his hand down my cheek. I couldn't deny the way my skin warmed under his touch, how the heat in my stomach spread through me at the mere thought of his hand in more intimate places.

“Tell me you haven't thought about me,” he said. “Tell me honestly that this isn't what you want and I'll go. That you don't feel the same way I do. You do that and, I promise, I'll walk away and never bother you again.”

Tears burned against my eyelids and I bent my head. I couldn't tell him any of that because it wasn't true. I cared more about him than he did me. I'd been lying to myself when I'd said that seeing him with that blonde had gotten me over him. I wasn't over him and I didn't think I'd ever be. I wasn't just falling for him. I was in love with him.

And that was why I had to let him go.

It hurt now, but it would be so much worse if I let him in and then he realized what he felt for me wasn't that strong. I knew myself better because of him and that meant I knew if I allowed it, I would give myself over to him whole-heartedly, without reservation. I was already his and to admit my feelings would be the final step. Look at how long I'd stayed with Ronald because I'd refused to consider that things were done. And I'd never felt for my ex even a fraction of what I felt for Cade. How depressed I'd been this past week was proof of that. If I let him, he'd own me.

So I stayed silent and let him read into it what he would.

His hands rested lightly on my shoulders and I felt him kiss the top of my head. “Okay then. I'll keep my promise.” He released me. “Good-bye.”

The tears spilled over at the pain I heard in those words and I pressed my hands against my chest. I heard him start to walk away. And then, so quiet that I might have imagined it, I heard him speak.

“I love you, Aubree.”

Chapter 5

I felt my heart thump wildly against my palms. He loved me. He didn't just care about me or want to be with me. He hadn't even said that he was falling for me. He'd said he loved me.

My head jerked up, tears streaming down my cheeks. The door was open and he was stepping into the hallway, but I couldn't move. I couldn't even speak. He was going to close the door and disappear. I'd never see him again and he'd never know that I loved him too...

“Cade!” His name ripped out of me and I saw him freeze. “Don't leave me.”

A shudder went through him but he didn't turn. The fingers curled around the doorknob tightened until his knuckles turned white. “Aubree.”

The agony in that single word, in my name, the name only Cade used, it broke through my paralysis and I ran to him. He must've heard me move because he started to turn, getting enough around in time to catch me as I threw my arms around him and buried my face against his chest. His arms closed around me, tentatively at first, as if he was still trying to process what had happened, then tighter.

“Please don't leave me.” I was crying, as the realization of how close I'd come to losing him hit me.

“Shh,” he murmured as he smoothed down my hair. “I'm not going anywhere.” He moved us both so he could shut the door and give us privacy, but we didn't go more than a couple steps. He rested his cheek on my head as his hands moved up and down my bare back, but there was only comfort in his touch, nothing sexual.

Slowly, I calmed down. He'd stayed. I hadn't said those words yet, but he'd stayed because I'd asked him to. I pulled back until I could look up at him. His expression was blank and I understood why. He'd opened himself up to me and I'd been the one who'd fucked up this time. Well, I wasn't going to wait any longer to fix it.

“I love you, Cade.” I reached up and put my hand on his cheek. “I was just too scared to say it. I didn't think you felt the same way.”

I saw cautious hope in his eyes and vowed that I'd never again do anything to make him think I didn't care.

“You don't have to say it,” he said. “It's okay. If you want me to stay, I'll stay.” He ran the tip of his finger just under my bottom lip. “You can have as much of me as you want and I won't ask for anything in return.”

“I want all of you, Cade,” I said firmly. “My Cade.”

I had a moment to see desire and love blaze across his eyes and then his mouth was on mine. His tongue pushed at my lips and I parted them willingly, ru

I didn't know how long we stood there, only that when he finally broke the kiss, we were both gasping for air and my knees were trembling.

He rested his forehead against mine. “My Aubree?” He made it a question, so tentative that it tore at my heart.

“Your Aubree.” I smiled and pulled him down for another kiss.

Any hesitation that had lingered must've been chased away by my answer because I felt him shift back into that confident, dominating man I'd first met less than two months ago. His hands slid down over my ass as his tongue plundered my mouth. I tugged at the hem of his shirt, eager to get my hands on bare skin. When my palms skimmed across his sides, his muscles twitched and he groaned. His hands moved further down and he picked me up. Without breaking our kiss, I wrapped my legs around his waist, my arms around his neck.

He began to walk us back towards my bedroom as I moved my lips down his jawline, the light stubble there rough against my mouth. He swore as I latched on to a spot just under his jaw, sucking the skin into my mouth and worrying at it with my teeth until blood came to the surface.

“Mine,” I whispered fiercely in his ear.

Cade spun us so fast that I barely processed it. Suddenly, my back was against the wall and his mouth was on my neck. My head fell back, granting him easier access as he nipped and sucked every inch he could reach. I was sure he was leaving hickeys all over,  but I didn't care. In fact, I wanted him to mark me, something to remind me that I was his.

“Mine,” he growled as he ground himself against me. “My Aubree.” His hands ran up my sides and squeezed my breasts. “Only mine.”

“Yes,” I gasped as his jeans rubbed against me, the thin material of my dress instantly soaking through. When he pulled down one strap of my dress, baring my breast, his fingers immediately went to my hardening nipple, rolling it and sending a ripple of pleasure through me.

“Come again,” he demanded. He tugged at my nipple and rotated his hips, rubbing against my already sensitive clit.

He didn't have to tell me. I was already there. My head fell forward and I called out his name as I came. Even as I was still riding out my orgasm, he pulled away from the wall and finished carrying me into the bedroom.