14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Bellarose
I let out a little moan as the best dream I’d had in ages left me, and my consciousness returned. A warm hand was massaging a breast, while the other was wrapped possessively over my stomach, keeping me pressed against a hard chest and an even harder something else. I let out another moan as Cade played with my nipple, and I couldn’t help pressing my ass into his hard cock.
“Good morning, Princess,” Cade whispered in my ear before he sucked the sensitive part of my lobe into his mouth. I whimpered as pleasure wracked my frame, and I felt my pussy getting wet instantly. “I love those sounds you make.”
“Cade,” I whimpered, already needy for more.
He pulled back, pushing my shoulder down, then covering my body with his, as he kissed me slowly. It was so different from the hurried passionate kisses of last night. This was a slow seduction as his tongue caressed mine and his body moved sensually against me, lighting a fire everywhere he touched that went straight to my pussy.
I reached between us as his lips started making their way down my neck and wrapped my hand around his girth, making him hiss. I only managed to pump him a few times before he pulled away as he headed down my body.
“Wh—Oh, Goddess, Cade!” Any thought disappeared from my brain as Cade’s lips sealed over my bundle of pleasure. My back bowed as he licked and sucked, and it wasn’t long before I was screaming my release.
“You’re so reactive to me. I love it,” Cade whispered, coming back up to line his cock against my entrance.
His words brought confusion to me for a moment, and my brain was a dick that flashed another set of words I heard for years until I felt Cade’s lips against mine.
“Come back to me, Bells,” he whispered. I blinked, seeing his concerned face above mine.
When he saw me acknowledging him, Cade kissed me hard, keeping me in the moment and bringing my body back to the fine humming I was sure only he could evoke.
“Fuck me, Cade.” I opened my legs further apart until he was seated where I wanted him.
“Whatever my princess wants.”
Cade’s words once would have made me irrationally angry, but the way he was looking at me right now made me feel like his words weren’t meant to be mocking. It felt like a promise, one I was scared to take to heart.
Before I could think further on it, Cade’s cock slid inside and I gasped. Feeling him fill me was an experience in itself. It felt like the world righted itself when he did, and left me wanting to mourn when he withdrew. Nothing existed in this moment but him and me. Cade pulled up, lacing our hands together at my sides, his eyes connected to mine, and I was lost in the way his body made mine feel as he pumped in and out of me.
“Fuck, grip me like that again, Bells,” Cade grunted, tightening his hold on our clasped hands and slamming into me.
I complied, coming apart with a hoarse cry, my walls spasming around his length until I felt his warm rush of release coat my insides. Cade collapsed to the side once he was spent, pulling me into his arms, and peppering my face with small, reverent kisses. My eyes fluttered closed and I enjoyed the afterglow until my alarm rang, and reality crashed around me.
“Stay,” Cade whispered in my ear. “Charles and Lindsay can handle breakfast.”
“Lindsay has class this morning. I’m not making Charles cook for so many wolves by himself,” I replied, disentangling from him, my body going instantly cold as I did.
“I can set up another person to help him. You don’t have to do so much, Bells.” Cade stood and followed me into the bathroom.
“I do. This is my pack. I need to see this through.” The words were a mantra by now, and I was beginning to wonder if I was trying to convince others or myself with them.
“I can—”
“You’re already helping. The grapes are almost fully harvested and the shared cost of the bills are going a long way.”
“I—”
“How I run the pack isn’t something that’s up for discussion, Cade.”
I turned on the shower and finally looked at him as I waited for the water to come to temperature. He looked angry, but then he let out a huff of air and walked to me. He pulled me into his arms, and I rested my head against his chest.
“Have breakfast with us this morning?” he asked after a moment.
“There’s not enough room in there for Adam and me,” I replied, pouting.
He and Violet had asked me like five times now, and it seemed ridiculous to me that they hadn’t figured out why I wouldn’t join them.
“Wait, that’s why you won’t join us?” he asked, looking down to meet my eyes.
“Duh. Adam can be a messy eater and there’s very little space around the desk. You and Chris aren’t exactly small men.”
“Can’t we use the conference room next door?”
“Will Violet be okay there?” I asked.
Sometimes I thought Cade knew more about my sister than I did. He spent more time with her, while I was always running around like a chicken without its head.
“I think as long as Chris is there, she’ll be fine.”
“Okay. I’ll get a tray for us together when I’m done,” I conceded, making Cade’s eyes light up. I hated to bring this up and ruin the moment, but I knew I needed to, so I pulled back a little and looked up at him. “Cade, a-about this thing between us...”
A worried look came through his features as I took a deep breath. “You’re not going to say we can’t do this, are you?” he asked.
“N-no. It’s just... I’d appreciate keeping this between us for now.”
Cade’s face hardened at my words, and he took a step back.
“A secret? You want this to be a secret?”
“Well, n-no. Not n-necessarily,” I stammered.
“Then, what are you asking me, Bells?” he asked, crossing his arms.
“I just don’t think the packs need to be aware of what’s happening. It’s new, and you’re going to leave eventually. I worked hard to earn some respect with my pack.”
“I understand that, but I—”
“Please?”
“I can’t tell anyone?” he asked, looking defeated.
“Only those you can trust.”
“John, Violet and Chris. If you concede to that, I’ll do it.”
“Deal.” I was planning on telling Violet the first chance I got anyway.
“Fuck,” Cade said, and I cocked my head to the side, wondering what was wrong. “I just realized that means I can’t touch you outside our rooms.”
His tortured gaze made me giggle.
“I’m sure you’ll survive.”
“I get to touch you at breakfast, though?”
“Once they know, maybe,” I answered, stepping into the shower.
“I’ll accept these terms for now, Princess,” Cade grumbled, joining me under the water stream, grabbing my loofah, and pouring my shower gel on it. He cleaned my body, and as much as I liked where his hands were going, I turned and glared at him.
“We don’t have time to go where you’re trying to go,” I said, making Cade give me a sheepish grin.
“Can’t blame a guy for trying. I’ll be good now, I promise.”
I rolled my eyes, allowing him to continue cleaning me as he appeared to like doing it.
I got dressed after our shower and was picking up my straightener after drying my hair, when Cade’s hand slid up my arm.
“Why do you straighten your hair?” he asked.
“I—” Why did I keep straightening my hair? I did it because Brandon hated my curly hair. He said it got everywhere, and it made me look childish. “Force of habit?”
“Would you mind just leaving it like this for a few days?” he asked, giving me what I could only call puppy dog eyes.
“You really like my hair curly?” I asked, genuinely curious as I looked at my hair in the mirror. I used to like it too, but I did feel like pack members respected me more after I began straightening it, like maybe Brandon had a point and it made me look more like a luna.
“I do. You have curls a lot of women put so much expensive shit on their head to try to get. Own them. Strut them. Let me see them bounce.”
He grinned at me in the mirror, pulling on one of them and letting it go, so it bounced to prove a point. I rolled my eyes, unable to hide my smile and I unplugged the straightener.
“Just for today,” I warned him.
Cade gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek and smiled widely at me.
“Thank you.”
“Alright, I gotta go.” I tossed over my should as I made my way to the door.
Before I could open it, Cade turned me around and kissed me hard. I felt dazed by the time he pulled back and looked up to see him grinning.
“One to make it last through the day,” he said. I shook my head and laughed. Who would have thought Cade was this cheesy? “I have to talk to you later today about heading South for a couple of days. Lunch in your office, maybe?”
“Sure thing. Bring chocolate if you’re giving me bad news,” I called out as we parted ways at the stairs.
I woke up Adam after helping Charles, who I was happy to see was already marked, prep for breakfast.
“Do you want to have breakfast with Violet, Chris and Cade today?” I asked him as I helped him get dressed.
“Yeah!” Adam fist-pumped, making me laugh.
We walked into the conference room that was open and found Violet and Chris already there.
“Morning, Adam! Come sit by me!” Violet was overly happy this morning as I entered the conference room with a tray of food, and a tornado weaving through the chairs and tables to get to my sister.
I set the tray down on the table, watching her carefully. Something was up.
“Can you watch him for a moment? I have to grab the other one.”
“I can grab it, Luna.” Chris was quick to stand, leaving without even letting me answer.
I looked over at Violet again, who was looking annoyed, but then smiled at Adam when he started talking to her.
Not suspicious at all, Coyo mentioned.
We need another girls’ night.
No more Delphi Brew, though, Coyo warned.
Yeah, no. No more of that, I agreed.
That night I almost said things I didn’t need Violet thinking about.
“I talked to Cory this morning, Bells. I told him I was staying for another three weeks. I think that should be enough time to get everything done.” Violet brought me out of my thoughts, turning my morning from happy to just about perfect.
“Really? Thank you!” I hugged her.
The amount of work I was behind was a quarter of what it used to be, just because most of it was already on the computer. She had plans on organizing it for me after, as well, and that would go a long way to helping it make sense.
“You should really consider getting an accountant to make sense of it though.”
“I can do it.”
I probably couldn’t, but I didn’t need to until next year. If I knew just how badly we were doing financially, I might change my mind about becoming alpha when the council arrived in two months.
Cade and Chris walked in together a moment later, and I felt my face heating for no reason.
“Bells, come sit over here.” Violet patted the seat next to her, and I resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow.
She had Adam sitting on the other side. I looked over at Chris, whose face was blank, but I could see his tight jaw as he pretended not to notice Violet asking to be surrounded by other people. Something must have happened.
Cade sat beside me, forcing Chris to sit across from Violet. Neither one looked or talked to each other, and it made for an awkward breakfast.
“Can I walk you to your daycare, Adam?” Cade asked when I needed to leave so I could drop Adam off.
I wanted to glare at Cade. We were supposed to keep things between us.
Technically he asked Adam, not us, Coyo pointed out, but by her teasing tone, she knew it was a weak technicality.
We walked to the daycare with Cade talking to Adam about the upcoming Halloween party next month, asking what Adam was going to be for the party at his daycare. It reminded me I hadn’t looked at any costumes for him. I should buy one soon, if I wanted it delivered on time.
“I thought we were keeping things normal in front of the pack,” I hissed at Cade on the way back.
“I walked my friend Adam to daycare. Sue me, Princess. It’s not all about you.” I glared over at him and Cade grinned. “Alright, so it wasn’t just about that. Did you notice the tension between Chris and Violet? What the hell was that about?”
“Oh, thank fuck someone else noticed. Something must have happened because Violet doesn’t upset easily. I literally ate the cheesecake she made Dad for Father’s Day one year, and she said ‘It’s my fault. I should have labeled it.’”
“You ate her cheesecake, Bells?”
“I didn’t know she made it! I thought Mom made it. I tried to help her make another one, but...” I felt my face heating and he chuckled.
“What happened?”
“I left the top of the blender off, and got the cheesecake mixture everywhere.”
“Goddess, how many cooking stories do you have, Princess?”
“Too many,” I grumbled.
Cade started laughing, and because I was annoyed and embarrassed, I stole his Stetson and put it on my head. He stopped laughing, and a hungry look took over his face.
“If that’s how you want to play it today, it’d be my pleasure to let you, Princess.”
“Huh?” I asked.
He shook his head with a snort, and took back his Stetson.
“Why don’t you google what taking a cowboy’s hat from him means?” Cade crossed his arms and a sly smile appeared on his face. “Go ahead, I’ll wait.”
I pulled out my phone and began googling, my eyes going wide as I read what it meant.
“I don’t—” I squeaked.
“No takebacks, Bells. I’ll be coming around your bedroom tonight to collect.”
I wanted to tell him he could go fuck himself instead, just to push his buttons. Thinking about it, though, I didn’t mind him collecting on that, so I smiled, swiped his Stetson off his head one more time and ran.
I didn’t get very far. Once I rounded the corner of a building, I felt an arm wrap around my waist, lifting me off the ground. I squealed, unable to contain my laughter when Cade started tickling under my ribs.
“Mercy!” I cried.
Cade finally stopped, and as I breathed a sigh of relief, he bent down and looked me in the eye.
“I like seeing you like this, Bells.”
Before I could ask what he meant, he pressed his lips to mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
We came up for air a bit later, and as I tried to get my breathing back under control, I asked, “You were saying about heading south?”
“Oh, no. I’m keeping my lunch date,” he chuckled.
He took a step back, looking around to ensure we were still alone, took his hat from where it had fallen on the ground, and gave me a short, sweet kiss.
“Let’s head back before I throw you over my shoulder and take you back upstairs, Princess.”
We entered the pack house, and Cade dipped his hat to me before walking into the dining room.
“Red Wood Wolves, let’s get to work!”
I shook my head and walked to my office. I ordered a cute little costume for Adam and paid the month’s bills. I sighed as I looked at the balance of the pack accounts. I needed to rent a delivery truck next month to start sending out the first shipments. It was going to be pricey, considering the goods transported, but I should hopefully be able to pay for it after the first delivery.
I was going to need to find the company that Brandon used.
I got up, walked over to the luna office and knocked.
“It’s me, Vi,” I called out.
Chris opened the door and sat back down on the chair he usually occupied. Instead of grabbing whatever he usually busied himself with while he guarded Violet, he crossed his arms and glared at the wall.
“I was wondering if you’ve come across any of the delivery services Brandon’s used in the past before I go googling?” I asked my sister.
“Umm, I did. I’m not sure which of these boxes have it. I’ll take a look after lunch and let you know.”
“Thanks, Vi. Umm...” I shot a look at the grumpy man in his seat and added, “Want to have a girl’s night sometime this week?”
“Sure. Let me know what works for you.”
“You okay, big guy?” I asked before I stepped out, just to poke the bear.
“I am.” Something was definitely up with them, because Chris forgot to add his usual, overly courteous ’thank you, Luna.’
I nodded as I left, and pulled out my phone the moment I was out of the room to text Violet.
Me
Everything okay with you two?
Vi
Yes. Everything’s just peachy.
Well, alright then.
I put my phone back in my pocket and got to work. Time flew by, and soon it was time for me to go help prepare lunch. I was sweating but excited with the progress. I hurried up to my room to shower and change. I was almost disappointed Cade didn’t follow me like he did after that first night, but figured he understood I had a lot of work to do.
When I got down to Lindsay was back from her class, and she and Charles were so adoringly cute around each other now that I wanted to gag, in the best way.
I teased them about it, much the same way I teased Cory and Evie when they finally found out they were mates. It was a good thing Lindsay would be done with her studies by December. She could head to Red Wood without having to struggle with transferring her credits. It also meant I had Charles and Lindsay until then, even if Cade had left by then.
My mood soured a little at thinking Cade was going to leave at some point. It was already so easy to imagine myself waking up next to him every morning. Hell, he was going to leave for goddess-knew-how long soon.
I shook it off. I needed to take things one step at a time. Compartmentalize.