32. Fia
Fia
The awards ceremony was over in the blink of an eye.
But now everything has slowed down, like I’m walking through a cloud. Like I can feel every single heartbeat in my chest.
With my feet planted firmly on the wood floors of his living room, all I can focus on is the feeling of Caden’s body pressed against mine.
My mind hasn’t stopped racing since we got in that car tonight, because it scares me how badly I want him.
The lights in the house remain off as his hand snakes through the thin straps holding my dress up. I don’t fix the neckline when it falls, my lacy black bra peeping out.
Caden walks me back until I’m against the back of the sofa, his thumb swipes under my chin, lips sucking on the sensitive skin of my neck.
I moan, my voice reverberating through the quiet, dim house.
As if that’s all he needed, he scoops me up, tossing me gently over the side of the sofa. I sit up properly, but nothing about me feels proper, and I pause to steady my breathing as that thought rushes through my head.
In truth, I don’t want to think, I only want to feel. I don’t want Caden to stop touching me, I don’t want to talk, I just want to be here, with him, in the bubble of tonight.
I’ve never felt this way before. Never.
Maybe it should scare me . . . but it only makes me feel alive.
Caden comes around the sofa, crouching down in front of me. He grabs a remote from the coffee table beside him and hits a button, casting the room in an ambient glow, like a hundred candles are lit around us.
Then he lifts a hand to the exposed skin beneath the slit of my dress. His touch quiets my mind; it pushes every worry from my head. A reprieve from the storm that’s been brewing in there.
“Keep kissing me,” I demand.
If there are consequences to these kisses, I refuse to acknowledge them right now.
Caden smirks, fingers rushing to undo the top three buttons of his now-wrinkled dress shirt. His dark blond hair is a bit unruly from my hands, and I dream about sinking my fingers back into it.
He obliges my demand, climbing over me, boxing me in with his arms.
“I like this bossy version of you,” he says as his lips feather kisses down my throat to my collarbone. I hold on to the back of his thick neck, urging his mouth to dip lower.
He yanks down my dress, eyes briefly locking on mine before unclipping my bra.
My back arches into his broad chest as he sucks a nipple into his mouth, and I let out a guttural sound I can barely contain.
“Caden—” He pauses at his name. He pulls his tongue from my chest, his stormy gray eyes on me.
My stomach clenches as the green fabric of my dress pools at my waist.
It’s both arousal and nerves.
“I haven’t been with anyone since . . .” I start but pause as heat flashes across my cheeks. “It’s just been a while.”
“That’s okay,” he murmurs, caressing my face. He pushes my hair back and doesn’t move quickly. Making me feel safe. “I would never push you, Fia. I want you to lead this. All I care about is that you feel good.”
I nod, my breathing coming easier with each rise of my chest.
Caden stands, getting off the sofa, and spins me to face him as he drops to his knees on the expensive rug below him.
I stifle a gasp.
The length of him presses against his dark navy pants and it’s huge.
I should’ve known that cocky attitude wasn’t for nothing.
Catching me looking, he smirks. But I don’t have time to react before he pulls me to the edge of the sofa. My dress still hangs half off my shoulders, my chest exposed, but I’m not self-conscious.
I feel beautiful in front of him.
“Do you trust me?” he asks, voice raspy.
I think I trust Caden more than I trust most people, so I nod slowly, brushing my hands over his strong broad shoulders.
“Then let me make you feel good,” he replies.
With large hands, he strokes the inside of my thighs and dots supple kisses from my ankles to my knees.
My eyes roll back in my head, and I brace myself against the sofa just so I don’t collapse like a puddle.
Caden pauses, and my hooded eyes meet his, staying there as he daringly gathers the fabric of my silky green dress further up my thigh. It’s making me wild, but his touch is gentle and safe. With his other hand, he nudges me to lean back against the cushions.
Caden parts my legs, gripping me and kisses me on my most sensitive spot, right over my lacy black thong.
Every muscle in my body reacts to his touch, tensing in the most tantalizing way.
“Fuck . . . all I’ve wanted to do since I saw you in this dress tonight was taste what’s underneath.”
His words only make my need stronger.
I glance down at him with heavy eyes.
“Then taste me,” I reply with a confidence I didn’t know I possessed.
A growl rips through his throat—it’s all the permission he needs before he’s tearing the lacy thong straight off my legs, tossing them over his shoulders. I buck up into him, hands tangled in his mess of hair, as my feet—still in three-inch heels—dig into his shoulders, holding him to me.
His tongue flutters along my slit, and I toss my head back, giving into my desire.
All I know is he’s kept his promise from the moment I met him, up until now.
Because as he worships my body like a temple, bringing me to the edge of ecstasy, I don’t think about my past.
In fact, I’m unable to do much of anything but scream his name as he keeps his promise to make me feel good.
“If you want to go back over to the guesthouse, you can,” Caden whispers as we sit on the sofa, my body draped over his.
“I’m not kicking you out, but I want you to feel comfortable.
” He pauses, running his fingers lightly through my hair as his eyes flick to mine with a smirk. “Or you can stay here.”
I stare up at the ceiling, pondering the events of the evening.
One minute we were coworkers at a dinner event, and the next thing I’m naked in his living room . . . but it’s not really that simple.
It’s been building for weeks, even if I wanted to ignore it.
Tonight was just the pinnacle, the point of no return.
I’m not ready to return to real life, not when tonight has felt like a fairy tale. I’m inside my own book, and I’m not ready to turn the page.
“I’d like to stay here,” I whisper back, playing with the button on his shirt, hoping that’s what he wants too. “I don’t have to pick up Daisy until the morning.”
Caden smiles softly. “I would like that.”
It’s quiet again, the hum of the ceiling fan above us, the gentle breeze outside the window reminding me that this night is almost over.
I swallow hard, the words coming up my throat, the fear encasing me.
We’ve come this far. I know I need to just say it. While I still have a lick of courage.
“I don’t want this to be a one-time thing.”
Caden studies me, eyes cast down. His face is serious, stern. Sexy.
“I don’t think I’m capable of stopping now,” he says with a confidence that makes me smile despite myself.
I sit up, my hair tumbling over my bare shoulders.
“You’ve seen my life,” I whisper, “up close and personal. Daisy is my number one priority, and my time is so limited, I don’t really have time to date . . .” I trail off, blushing.
Caden hooks a finger under my chin, tilting my face to his. “I’m crazy about you, Fia.” He closes the gap, kissing me softly. “And I love how you love your daughter.”
I bite my lip, warmth spreading through me.
“I would never ask for more than you can give,” he continues. “Don’t overthink this, we don’t need to complicate things. You’re here for three more weeks, so we’ll keep doing us, however it feels right. We don’t have to label it. We don’t have to make rules.”
The words settle in, and I take a moment to see how they feel. “Us. Okay. So what exactly . . . ?”
Caden lets out a little laugh. “I want to keep spending time with you. I want to kiss you when I see you. I want to get to know you, Fia, all of you.”
Oh.
“Okay,” I breathe out. “What about work?”
Caden runs a hand across his strong jaw. “Yeah.” He sits up a little straighter too.
I know this is still a fear of his even if he’s pushed it aside for tonight.
“I think it’s best to keep things between us.
” He rubs my hips. “I’m not asking you to lie to anyone, but this is all new .
. . and I don’t want to ruin what we have professionally.
But please don’t confuse that with how much I care about you, how much I like you, because I promise it outweighs the fear.
” He swallows, and his eyes flicker. Then he lifts his chin. “I’m just trying to catch up.”
I think about Penny and explaining this relationship, about how everyone at work will think differently of me. Treat me differently.
He’s right.
“I understand, I do,” I reply, my hand over his. “I promise, my lips are sealed.”
I like this bubble we have here. I don’t want things to change.
“Like I said to you the first day you moved in,” he says, “all I care about is that you feel safe. That hasn’t changed.”
My chest constricts, and my eyes prick with tears. Because as I sit here, his arms around me, there’s a calmness in my body.
A realization.
I don’t know if I’ve ever felt more safe than I do now.