Chapter 20 Cade #2
That makes something inside my chest squeeze. “We already know each other. We just need to get to know each other more.”
I pull open a cupboard, grab a few boxes of crackers, and begin working to make him a snack plate; something his stomach can easily handle.
He eats from the plate silently, his eyes moving around the space, taking in each detail while he chews and swallows.
I watch him intently, and I catch his gaze a few times.
“You’re staring.”
“You’re impossible not to look at.”
He takes a sip of the water I handed him earlier and sighs.
“I’d like to see the rest of the house. I’m sorry for my initial reaction, because this place really is beautiful.
I was just… It’s a lot to process. When I said I’d show you mine, I mean it when I say it’s small and gross.
There are literal mushrooms growing out of the walls. ”
I don’t like the thought of my precious butterfly living in filth.
“You don’t need to live there. Not anymore.”
“We’re from two different worlds.”
“So what? It doesn’t matter.”
He looks suddenly sad, his hands moving up to his face to scrub at his eyes. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter. Show me the rest of the house.”
I don’t think he believes the words he’s saying. It makes me want to tie him to a chair until he does. Instead, I smile warmly. “Let’s go this way. I’ll show you the guest rooms, the office, and the gym. Oh, and the theater I had put in last year.”
He’s quiet once more, letting me lead him through the hallways, telling him how I designed all of this, had it built from the ground up. I’m proud of it, of the place I call home. But in reality, it could all burn down, and I’d be happy with just Ansel in my arms. I don’t need much.
As we walk, I say, “I might have been raised with wealth, but I went without. Often, actually.”
Ansel’s feet falter. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I don’t need this to survive. It’s just a luxury, something I earned from the years of torment by my father. I fucking spend the money in my accounts because I bled for it.”
“You bled for it? The nightmare?”
I swallow around the thickness in my throat. “Yes. One of many. He was not a kind man, not to me or any of my brothers, but he was worse to us older ones.”
“Why?”
“To make us strong, unflappable. And because we were able to intervene to protect the others. That’s the danger of training your children to be weapons—one day they will grow up and turn on you.”
“Good,” Ansel says vehemently. “He deserved it.”
“He did. I wish someone could’ve done it for me, but at least we were able to do it for them.”
Ansel’s hand lands on my chest. “That breaks my heart for you.”
“Then put it back together.”
All of the tension in him melts away. “I’m trying, Titan. I’m trying.”
I sweep him into my arms, kissing him gently, and then set him back on his feet, feeling happier than I have in ages.
My butterfly is here, in my house with me. And yes, he’s overwhelmed, but we can make this a home, or we can reduce it to rubble and rebuild.
The two of us together.
“Come, let me show you my room.”
I sweep open large oak doors at the end of the hallway, revealing a huge living space. There’s a king bed, two sofas, a fireplace, and an en suite bathroom. It’s opulent and yet warm, something I wanted in a place where I’d rest my head. I wanted someplace I felt safe.
“This is a gorgeous house,” Ansel says quietly. “I have nothing bad to say about it. It’s very you.”
“Thank you. That’s what I was going for. And, of course, we can make it a little bit you, too.”
He huffs a small laugh and then pulls me in for a gentle kiss. “Can we go to the theater room and just veg? Watch a movie? Make some popcorn?”
“Of course. You need to rest. And I have the best popcorn. Bought it from a place in Colombia. It’s some of the most flavorful you’ll ever have.”
He laughs. “With you, I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
I link my hand with his, leading him down a hallway and down some stairs.
“Please don’t leave me here alone,” Ansel says. “I’ll be totally lost. I won’t even know how to escape.”
I snort. “Maybe that’s been my plan all along. To keep you here with me.”
He peers up at me and wets his lips. “Maybe I wouldn’t mind it all that much. As long as you keep me well fed and satisfied.”
“I could totally do that.”
Ansel’s lips twitch. “But you’d have to cook for me. No chefs, no staff. Just you.”
“Can I do it naked?”
He giggles, and the sound makes my chest inflate. “I mean, you could, but also, you might burn your dick. And I quite like that bit of you.”
“I’d wear an apron. A fireproof one.”
I push a door open, and Ansel stops, giving a low whistle as he takes in the large screen and the theater seats. “This is really fucking nice. Better than Wylder’s, but don’t tell him that. Do you guys have early access to movies, too? I bet you know producers or some shit.”
“Maybe I do.”
He sighs and moves to the row of seats right in the middle, plopping down and putting his feet up.
“Bring me my popcorn, chef man,” he says, and then he cranes his neck to look at me. “Might as well start now.”
I salute him and make my way back to the kitchen, walking faster than normal. I want to pop this popcorn as fast as I can. But also do it well. I want him to know I’m capable in the kitchen.
The thought of me naked while making him something to eat, his body moving up behind mine and wrapping his arms around my waist before bending me over and taking me…
My cock is aching by the time I make it back to the theater, the lights off, Ansel’s head cocked back as he takes in the galaxy and stars above his head.
“I hope this is okay? I wandered, found a switch, and flipped it.”
I nod and take a seat next to him, handing him the bowl of popcorn.
“The best use of this space. I come here sometimes just to think.”
Ansel takes a bite of the popcorn and moans around it. “Fuck, that’s nice.”
I watch him chew and swallow, giving him a water bottle to wash it down with. He pulls the cap off and takes a swig, a droplet of water lingering on his lips.
Leaning over, I swipe it away with my tongue.
It turns into more, quickly. His head tilts and his mouth opens. I push inside, tasting, feeling, just being. He moans, his hands not on me, but mine are on him. In his hair, around his neck.
“Fuck,” he groans when my lips trail around his ear. “I’m going to drop the Colombian popcorn.”
“Don’t drop it.”
He moans as my teeth graze his earlobe. His body starts to tremble, the breath coming out of his lungs frantic. The projector that he managed to turn on is illuminating stars across his skin, making him almost glow.
A perfect jewel in the midnight sky.
“You look so fucking perfect. Glowing,” I say as I nip my way down his neck to his collarbone. He arches into my touch, and I take the bowl of popcorn from his hand and place it gently on the floor.
I want to get on my knees for you,” I moan as I tug on the button of his pants. He lifts his hips up, and I drag his pants down. “I want to watch you shine as you come.”
My mouth finds his dick, the stars and lights flittering across it.
It looks heavenly, the thing I most want.
I lower my mouth and swallow him down, wet and sloppy.
But he loves it. His fingers wrap around my strands of hair, and he thrusts his hips up and down, pistoning into me over and over. Just like when he fucked me.
My cock aches. I pull it out, stroking it with each inhale, each choke, each groan.
My eyes drift up his heaving chest to his hooded eyes, watching the way the galaxy swims across his pale skin.
He’s an angel. A perfect specimen. And he’s all mine. All fucking mine.
The thought, the sight, it makes my release barrel through me. It bursts onto my palm, some hitting the floor.
His hands tighten against my scalp, and I moan around his shaft. His entire body starts to shake, and on a low, almost desperate moan, he releases into my mouth. I swallow as much of it as I can, wanting him inside of me. Some, however, trickles down my chin.
When I sit up, Ansel is looking more ethereal than before.
“God, that won’t ever get old, will it?”
I swipe at my chin and lick my lips. “No, butterfly. It sure as fuck won’t.”