Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
DRAKE
It would be amusing to watch everyone rushing around, the air filled with smoke and panic, if it weren’t for the misery on Cadence’s face. Her embarrassed fear leaves me wanting to phone my friend again to arrange more destruction.
Maybe torch Hudson’s bedroom. Possibly while he’s asleep in it.
At least get rid of the guest shower decked out like a pervert’s private playground.
Cadence hugs herself, head down as we follow the surging crowd. Hudson sprints through Gretchen’s house, running along the footpath to reach his parked car. The last part of the journey, there’s enough light from the greedy flames to illuminate the outrage on his face.
“But… how…?” Hudson sweeps a hand through his hair, face crumpled in misery and utter confusion.
He turns to me, accusation clear in his gaze but I shrug. Everyone saw me standing with Cadence and his brother when the car caught fire.
Travis is good enough to destroy any evidence. There’s no chance anyone will pin this attack on me, any more than they did the last one.
Cadence reaches out to Hudson, the destruction cutting through her disgust at his behaviour; her natural impulse to offer comfort and support, but he shakes her hand off his arm.
The crowd withdraws from the flaming wreck in the driveway as a siren blares, the note rising and falling as the emergency vehicle descends the winding hill streets.
A second influx of partygoers joins the ranks as the truck arrives, men quickly jumping to the ground, sorting hoses and moving people back to a safe distance. I hover near Cadence, watching her more intently than I watch the flames.
The moment her gaze moves away from the burning debris, it finds me. Her expression is dazed as she moves to my side. “Did you do this?”
Even with her voice pitched low, we’re packed so tightly nearby students can overhear. A point proved when Gretchen storms over, taking my arm and aiming a vicious glare at Cadence.
“Stop making false accusations against my invited guests, especially when you’re the one who causes nothing but trouble.” She lifts her nose in the air before loudly proclaiming, “Blaine had nothing to do with the fire. He was with me the whole time.”
I pat her hand, skin crawling from her touch but worried anything more abrupt will increase her hostility towards Cadence.
“You don’t need to lie for me, Gretch.” I nod to the cameras mounted either side of the garage door. “The CCTV footage will show them quickly enough who did it, and it wasn’t me.”
Both girls relax at the differing responses, and I gently remove Gretchen’s hand.
I need to get Cadence out of here before the night overwhelms her completely. “We should leave. The party’s over.”
“But you could stay,” Gretchen protests. “There’s plenty of room.”
I shake my head. “Your parents don’t want us inside, stinking of smoke.”
The way her eyes linger on me, I doubt she cares, but steps back a little, nodding. “Yeah, I guess.”
I turn and walk along the street to where my vehicle’s parked and after a second’s hesitation, Cadence follows me. Luckily, my car is outside the perimeter set by the first responders, and the road ahead is empty as we pull away from the excitement.
Without asking, I head for the park at the top of the hill, holding Cadence in my lap as we watch the tiny figures racing back and forth, occasional sounds drifting up to us on the late evening breeze.
“Did your friend cover his tracks?”
“He did.”
She swivels on my lap, and I open the door so her feet can hang over the edge of the seat, her weight shifting against me in the most delicious way. As my arms wrap tighter around her waist, she tips my chin to read my expression. “Is this… Did you know about the video?”
“If I’d known, there’d be a body bag wheeled out of there, not a car.” I bend lower, letting our foreheads kiss. “I’m so sorry. I’ll make sure no one ever sees it who hasn’t already.”
“You can’t.” She gives a small shrug, body nestling closer. “And I don’t want you going after him again. If anyone confronts him over this, it’ll be me.”
A vehement protest rises to my lips, but I nod, letting it fall away unsaid. Cadence deserves my protection, but she’s also earned the right to refuse it. If she wants to handle this on her own terms, I’ll stand out of her way.
She suddenly punches my shoulder.
“What’s that for?”
“Tying me to a tree.”
“I should return the favour for not staying where I left you despite my strict instructions.” A statement that earns me another blow. “Who did you sweet talk into letting you go?”
Her nose goes into the air. “I could’ve got free myself, you know.” I let the silence blossom with my scepticism. “But it was Ben.”
“I guess all the Carters are going on my shit list.”
She makes a tiny noise of disapproval, but not enough to change my mind.
“What was your plan for the night before we were so rudely interrupted?”
“This. Watching a toasty bonfire at the base of the hill.”
Cadence clicks her tongue. “You realise it doesn’t count as entertainment for anyone else, pyro boy?”
My right hand drops to her thigh, playing with the hem of her dress, slowly trailing my fingertips up the inside of her leg. She parts for me, head tucking under my chin, palm against my shoulder, giving me access to trace circles on her inner thigh, feeling her shiver at my touch.
I cup her pussy, middle fingertip rubbing against the silkiness of her panties, feeling the sweet juices of her arousal soak through the fabric.
And the smoking wreck below is no match for the fire flashing in her eyes.
“I believe there is some unfinished business from earlier,” I tease, dragging at the waistband of her panties until my hand slides inside, fingers eager to enter her, the sensation drawing a groan from my throat, her wet warmth clenching tight around me.
“You feel so good,” I mumble as her hips tilt, thrusting towards me, matching the rhythmic pump of my finger inside her. “I can’t wait until you’re ready to take my cock.”
Her lips close over mine, trapping the words I had queued up to say next, lost as my head spins, her tongue licking inside my mouth, as alluring as my finger working inside her.
My arms clutch harder as she moves away, whispering in my ear, “Do you have protection?”
And I’m shaking my head.
“I don’t,” I admit, chest bursting as I hear her snuffle of dismay. “But I’m clean. I’ve never been with anyone before.”
“At all?” She pulls back a little, staring quizzically. “But… what about Gretchen? She said—”
“I would rather cut my dick off than let her touch me like that.”
Cadence ducks her head to hide a smile, then adjusts her body to straddle me, bunching my shirt to drag me closer.
I grab her hand, pressing it against my hard cock, head fizzing as she eagerly rubs against me, the heel of her palm sending a shudder of pure need from head to toe.
“This cock has only ever belonged to you.” I suck her lower lip into my mouth, teeth grazing as I slowly release it back to her. “Always and forever.”
I can’t think of how to tell her that the thought of trying with another girl had always deflated me until I preferred my imagination and my hand. Even when I hated her, I couldn’t bear to replace her with anyone else.
Maybe one day I’ll detail the frustration of nobody ever measuring up to her. Not even in my imagination. Tell her about the long nights wishing I could fall for someone else, feel the same stirrings of desire for literally anyone .
Of wishing that… yet being simultaneously grateful there wasn’t.
For now, the cliff notes version is enough.
“You’re my girl, aren’t you?” Her enormous eyes blink, staring at me with a small frown creasing her brow until she gives a tentative nod. “Why would I settle for someone else when we were made for each other?”
My thumb rubs along her windpipe, feeling the depths of her swallow before my teeth close either side, sucking and grazing and nipping at her skin until the pulse in my cock throbs like it’s close
“I need you, Cadence.” My fingers plunge into her hair, the silky-smooth strands tousled by the wind, smelling of smoke. “Let me take care of you. I want the first cock you take to be mine.”