Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
DRAKE
I wait for the gasp of shock. The pointed accusation. For Cadence to run to her mother and collapse into her arms while my egregious father decides whether he wants to keep his son or his insane-but-incredibly-hot-fuck-buddy in the house.
Instead, she freezes until her mother gives her a little push, and laughs. “Guess we should warn you both, we’re not morning people.”
“N-nice to meet you.” Cadence nods and takes a seat, hands gripping the edge of the table until the skin over her knuckles form shiny white circles.
Raelene hands her daughter a cup of coffee, half milk, and Cadence releases one hand from its death clutch to take it, draining it in one go. Then she holds it in both hands, a shield over her chest like she expects me to lean over and rip out her heart.
Her eyes keep fixing on me, then dancing away. It’s almost cute if I ignore the pallor of her skin, the quiver as a fast beat pulses in her neck.
A moment before the silence would turn awkward, she clears her throat. “Arnold says you go to Ashford Crest, too.”
I nod and my father picks up the slack. “I hope you’ll show her around the place. It’ll be nice for her to know someone.”
“Does this count as knowing each other?”
I try not to stare at her, but it’s difficult. It’s always been difficult. In any room, she’s the central focus, like an unseen director has arranged the lights until my eyes can’t help but turn her way.
“You know what I mean. And you’ll need to give her a lift to and from school until I sort a car.” He turns to her. “I’ll put it in the schedule for next month. We can go to a dealership and find you something suitable.”
Cadence breaks into a wide smile as he presses on her gold-digger button, bringing her to life. “That’s so generous, but I don’t—”
“Yes,” he cuts in with a raised hand and a laugh, turning to include Raelene in his generosity. “Both of you do. I love living up here for the view, but it makes it impossible to get anywhere on foot.”
“I caught the bus to Alabaster.”
He touches her hand lightly, just resting against it for a second, and a bolt zaps me. Jealousy? Unease? Ridiculous. I’m just on edge.
“The bus is twenty minutes down the hill, and you don’t need to worry about the expense for a second, it’s just necessity. Even Emily got a new car when she started working here.”
I shake my head to dislodge the emotion as my father wanks on about how it’s his pleasure, and the money’s there to be spent. His gaze turns to Raelene and an expression I haven’t seen on him before fills his face.
It looks like adoration.
A sickening tug at my abdomen suggests the gullible fool has fallen in love. Given his age, it’s the perfect timing for a midlife crisis.
I concentrate on my breakfast; eggs, wholemeal toast, a protein smoothie with a banana to soften the taste.
“Blaine can take you swimming,” he offers when the conversation lapses. “He’s out in the harbour so often, he’s practically a dolphin.”
I clench my jaw, aggravated by the offer. Swimming is my excuse to leave the house when my nerves scream at the silence. The last thing I want is company. Especially now when I’m pissed that nothing went the way I expected.
Didn’t she see the message I wrote on her chest?
Is she too stoned to care?
“It’s Drake,” I say, chasing the confrontation she denied me. When his face tightens, I add a sweetener. “It’s Drake, Dad. ” Usually, I don’t refer to him at all or call him Arnold or father if he annoys me.
“Your birth certificate says—”
“Blaine Drake Arlington. I go by Drake.”
“Not in this house.”
“You don’t use the same surname?” Raelene asks Arnold, sitting next to him. Her hand squeezes his knee.
Ugh. Like I’d want her as my rescuer if it was needed. “He wasn’t around when the birth certificate was being completed.”
“I was there. Your mother—”
My eyes narrow, daring him to take up the challenge. Miracle of miracles, he backs off.
“We only found each other last year. Blaine’s— Drake’s— mother died unexpectedly. When I saw the notice and went to offer my condolences, I belatedly discovered I’d been a father for all these years.”
Cadence’s lips press hard together, her forehead wrinkling in a frown before she glances at me. Pity hangs in her eyes and a rush of fury burns through me, leaving me breathless.
I’m not the one who needs pity.
But she fires in a different direction. “I think I saw you swimming yesterday. You were in the bay opposite, but you didn’t make it to the platform.”
“There were jet skis.”
“Those things are a nuisance,” my father agrees, looking happy to have found a mutual enemy. “I tried to get an ordinance to keep them out of the bay altogether, but it didn’t pass.” He glowers at the memory, the first time I’ve seen obvious hints of my lineage in his face.
“If you want to go today, I could ask Gretchen,” Cadence says in a shy voice I’ve never heard her use before. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to lock the jet skis away if she knows you’ll be out there.”
“What’s this?” My father jumps at the subtext. “You’ve got an admirer?”
“Gretchen’s a vapid girl with a TikTok obsession and a body shaped like a twig.”
Cadence launches into a spirited defence, showing me the girl I knew at Alabaster High. “At least she’s friendly.”
“For now,” I scoff. “Wait a few weeks. Once the narcissistic slut gets what she’s after, she’ll drop you like a hot potato.”
“Blaine!”
My temper surges, red filming my vision. A drug dealer and a whore sit opposite me, but I’m the one he has a problem with.
With steady breaths, I wrangle it into submission. My three-month stint at camp was a horror show as far as compassion or processing emotions, but it taught me a fantastic lesson on how to mask.
I force a placid smile onto my face. “Sorry. Just trying to warn you of the things I learned the hard way, but you’re welcome to discover the horrors of the school hierarchy all by yourself.”
A statement that mollifies him. “There are ways to do that without resorting to insults.” Then his gaze returns to Cadence. “But I’m sure his heart is in the right place. Maybe you should be careful around this girl.”
“You’re right,” I say. The magic words that always bring a light to the old man’s face. “I should’ve found a better way to word it.”
“There you go.” He checks the clock on the far wall. “But I need to run.”
Raelene frowns in surprise. “I thought you were spending the day with us?”
He pecks her on the lips, then cups her face, letting it stretch for an uncomfortably long time before straightening. “I said I have the day away from the office. There’re still things I need to do, but I’ll be back this afternoon.”
Her expression clears and I won’t be the one to tell her when he returns, it’ll just be to disappear into his home office, catching up on his work from there.
“I’ll see you later.” He gives my shoulder a firm squeeze on the way past, the closest he ever gets to a father-son moment.
Cadence rises to give her mother a one-armed hug. “Did you take your meds?”
“Oh. They’re in…” Raelene waves vaguely at a cupboard, and I sit back, watching as Cadence takes them out, handing today’s allocation to her, then using an organiser to sort out her dosage for the week.
Finished, she collects her empty cup from the table and glances around, looking for a place to put it.
“Just leave it on the side.” I move beside her, banging mine down on the bench as a demonstration. “The housekeeper will clean it away.”
“Okay.” She gives her mum a cautious glance, then whispers, “Can I… Can I talk to you, privately?”
Finally. Some sign of recognition for last night’s efforts. “Sure. I’m going down to the beach. We can talk there.”
Her face drains of colour, possibly thinking of the steep climb. “Not the beach.”
“Then, no.”
She follows me up the stairs, regardless. From the top, I spin and lunge towards her, laughing as she gives a half scream and nearly falls, gripping the railing for dear life.
“Arsehole,” she mutters, stepping safely onto the landing.
“What is it? If you wanted to confess, you’ve left it a bit late. My dad might’ve given some leeway seeing you’re new here and—”
“Confess what?”
“Oh, I dunno. Maybe something about the prescription pills in another person’s name that were under your pillow. But you’re probably best not to raise that issue. I doubt he’ll be happy to know he’s harbouring a drug dealer under his roof.”
Her features spin through so many expressions, it’s like watching Wheel of Fortune. It lands on outrage. “You set fire to me, but you think—”
“Calm down, sis.” Her eyes narrow to slits. “I splashed a bit of water on your shirt. If anything, it’s the opposite to setting you on fire.”
“You fucking terrified me. The police should’ve locked you up for—”
My hand locks around her slender throat, tight enough to feel the flutter of her pulse. I steer her against the cold wall, caging her with my other arm.
With my height advantage, I tower above her and press my knee between her thighs to trap her more thoroughly. My gaze fastens to hers as her chin tilts, jaw locked tight. With every inhalation, her breasts rub against my chest and the fact I notice the light touch makes me angrier.
“Don’t play innocent,” I say in a low growl, speaking through clenched teeth. “I targeted a dealer who sold to kids and got a three-month stint at boot camp for my trouble. You think you’re the aggrieved party?”
I shake my head, squeezing her throat tighter for a second, enough to make her eyes flash as her body responds, thighs softening, nipples tightening. Her lips part and her tongue flicks across to wet them. Desire brightens her irises until they’re poisonous green.
“Cadence?”
The click of her mother’s heels places her downstairs, near the master bedroom, but I still release my grip, wiping my hand against Cadence’s T-shirt before continuing to my room.
An anxious beat grips my heart as I close my door, palms flat against it. Tingles lodge deep under the skin where I touched her. Taking deep breaths, I let logic calm me.
It’s just the same physical attraction that’s always been between us. I can conquer that easily, and judging from her reaction, Cadence is fighting the same battle. It doesn’t put me at a loss.
I can take my time to adjust, to gain total control over my reactions until I can confront her without brainless arousal dictating every move.
After all, I’ve got all senior year to torture her.
The message on her chest is just the start.