Chapter 32 #2
We finally arrived in the Bahamas, and it seemed he had visited a jewelry store on the mainland. The people from tonight must be royalty if the heavy diamonds dragging my earlobes down weren’t good enough, and I needed to be covered in gems to impress them.
The gesture was magnanimous; he went out of his way to match every piece of jewelry to the earrings.
It didn’t slip my mind that I had been reaping the benefits of being Rose A, without suffering the trauma that had so thoroughly cauterized her heart.
The last few days had been magical as Caden showed me how it was always meant to be between us.
Room service for breakfast. Lunch on his terrace overlooking the water.
Dinner on his private deck with a sunset view.
We spent the rest of the time lounging and swimming in his private pool, adjacent to the presidential suite.
Conversations flew naturally between us, followed by comfortable silence.
Caden was irresistible, brilliant and witty, and equal parts protective and possessive, though something always seemed to keep him tethered to the edge.
We only left our bubble once we docked in the Bahamas.
The marina was slick with humidity, the air heavy with the scents of diesel and frying conch.
Before I could reacclimate to solid ground, Caden hauled me from the slip to an international clinic on the edge of the tourist district for a full-body MRI and numerous other tests. He was a man on a mission.
After the imaging, I overheard him asking the doctor whether I was cleared for sex. They said the X-rays didn’t show any fractures, but it was best to wait for the MRI results.
His careful maneuvering to keep his weight off my pelvis whenever he went down on me finally made sense.
I also realized why he had been so tightly wound.
All week, Caden had exercised restraint against this elusive sex, and it was affecting him.
The restless, predatory energy lingered in everyday activities, like whenever he held me against his chest and inhaled my hair with a shuddering breath, or when I caught him staring at me like he was at the end of his rope.
I felt myself drawn in by the same gravity, my own hunger building around the unknown.
The embargo might finally be lifted, and the last stretch was the hardest. Throughout the day, I had felt the atmospheric pressure inside Caden mount slowly, and now, the tension between us was about to burst. The anticipation was a living, breathing thing, monstrous in its appetite.
The restraint made him almost feral. When Amelie asked him to sign a document, he nearly ripped the clipboard out of her hands and scribbled on the paper before thrusting it back at her.
His eyes never left my face as I finally snapped the clasp in place.
Decorating your body with precious jewels made a girl hungry, and I picked up a piece of fruit. Caden’s eyes flicked between my hand and my mouth.
Hungry eyes watched my every move as I bit into the grape. The dam broke the moment juice dribbled onto my bottom lip and chin.
“Everyone out!” he suddenly shouted, his voice shaking.
The staff, who had been hounding him with requests, froze.
Sensing his radioactive energy, they thought it wise to obey.
Marie dropped the comb in her hand, hung her head, and cleared out.
Amelie hesitated for a fraction of a second and gave me a cursory glance before slipping out with the rest of the team.
The door shut softly, leaving us alone in the spa. Wiping the excess juice off my chin, I turned to face him.
“I want to see you in the jewelry. Now.”
With lightning speed, I fumbled with the tiny clasp of the pendant until the hook slid into place. I slipped on the ring next, absentmindedly trying it on different fingers until I found one that fit.
Grinning, I rose to my feet and slowly turned for him.
“You misunderstood.” The way he spoke—slow, unhurried, as if the entire world had frozen except for the two of us—sent a chill through me. “I want to see you in only the jewelry.”
My mind scrambled to process his words, but a single glance at his face told me he was serious. His eyes were glazed over with lust so acute that it frightened and thrilled me all at once. He leaned back against the reception desk, arms folded with deliberate patience, waiting for my next move.
With trembling hands, I pulled at the belt of my spa robe and slid the plush cotton off my shoulders.
I pushed my underwear down my hips, letting them drop to the floor.
A few days with Caden, and I had forgotten all about my scars.
It was impossible to be insecure when he kissed, licked, and worshipped each one every night.
His gaze traced a path over my skin, lingering on the pendant at my throat and the hollow of my neck, the earrings glittering in my ears, the ring on my finger, and the bracelet on my wrist. The air between us thickened, even my own breath felt too loud in the silence he had created.
“I can never seem to keep myself in check when I’m around you. I don’t know if I can wait for the MRI clearance.”
I shivered at his words. I loved having this effect on him, where he sounded on the brink of losing it. “How long before the results are in?” I asked breathlessly.
“A few hours.”
“It’s a good thing we’re going to a party then. It’s the perfect distraction.”
His lips curl into a hungry grin. “I can think of a better distraction.”
“Such as?”
“Your hands.” He took a step forward. “Your mouth.” Another step.
My eyes dropped to his tented pants. “What about them?”
“They’re great substitutes while I wait for the real thing.”
Every night, he used his fingers, mouth, and his “tongue massages” to make me see God. The idea that I could do the same with mine made my chest flutter. My gaze was glued to his pants, and his body’s involuntary response beneath the fabric.
“I-I don’t know how to…” I admitted awkwardly. I wanted to please him, but I knew my inexperience stood in the way. “You’ll have to show me.”
Something unholy ignited behind his eyes, and when he charged toward me with purpose, the sheer energy of it sent me backward, with my ass landing on the vanity chair.
Not knowing what else to do, I reached into the fruit bowl for a slice of watermelon.
My teeth sank into the light, crisp flesh of the fruit as I watched his purposeful strides, mesmerized.
The sweet, refreshing juice coated my tongue at the same time Caden reached me.
He leaned down and grabbed the nape of my neck, pulling me into a fierce kiss.
The syrupy sweetness on my tongue tangled with his heated one.
He tasted traces of the watermelon juice with a lewd, mouthed kiss, greedily slurping it down his own throat.
It was the most erotic way I had ever shared a piece of fruit, and I felt discombobulated by the time he let me go.
“Undo my pants.” He straightened, getting right to the point.
My eyes widened, and he sensed my nervousness. He reached out to thread his fingers through my hair. The slight tenderness in his raw gaze made my chest tighten.
“I need you, Rose,” he said, voice thick with desire.
My fingers fumbled with his belt buckle, then the buttons of his pants. I tugged down his boxers, revealing his erection straining toward his stomach. I swallowed when beads of liquid gathered at the tip. The instinctive urge to touch and taste it clawed at me.
“Touch me, baby,” he murmured.
Reaching down, he covered my hand with his, guiding me to take his big, hard dick in my hands.
A low groan reverberated in his throat when he curled my fingers around the base.
With his head tilted backward, he moved my hand up and down his length.
The way he kept his hand atop mine, coaxing the motion, made the rhythm click into place.
Up and then down—slowly at first, then faster. I kept going as he removed his hand.
I saw his jaw clench and his breath catch.
“You’re driving me fucking crazy.” His voice was a low rasp, the words torn from him as if they hurt to say.
The blue diamond glinted on my finger, catching the light each time I brought my hand to the tip and back again. I was mesmerized by the transformation, the way his body tensed, his muscles flexing with every stroke.
“I’m about to come on your face and chest.” His voice, usually so controlled and measured, was guttural and ragged around the edges. “Do you remember what happens when a man comes?”
He was panting from the effort of keeping himself in check, his body vibrating with the tension of a held-back wave. The muscles of his abdomen were rigid and defined, giving away how close he was to unraveling.
“I think you’re about to remind me,” I whispered.
“It’ll make a mess of your hair and makeup.”
“Maria will be displeased if you destroy her hard work.” The poor stylist had spent hours on my hair and makeup.
“Then put your mouth on me and swallow my cum instead.”
Whether he meant to or not, he looked sexy as fuck making dirty demands. I pressed my lips together, willing my voice to stay steady. “My mouth?”
“Do you like it when I use mine to make you come?”
Oh God, yes.
“It’s torture holding back from you,” he said hoarsely. “If I can’t fuck you right now, let me fuck your mouth instead. Can you do that for me, baby?”
I didn’t understand everything he said but nodded regardless.
I tentatively leaned forward and took the head of his dick between my lips.
He let out an involuntary sound. He tasted clean and faintly salty, the skin hot beneath the smooth tautness.
I pulled back, swirling my tongue experimentally, then took him deeper, feeling the heavy weight press past my lips.
Both his hands speared through my hair and held me above my ears, anchoring himself while he told me what he liked.