Chapter 23
CADE
Throughout the next week, my days were filled with training, and in the evening I scrubbed the house from top to bottom. I put fresh flowers from a local stand in every room, with a huge arrangement including sunflowers in the kitchen. Even Echo got a bath in preparation for Brooke’s arrival.
Brooke was never far from my mind. We sent flirty texts back and forth whenever we had a free moment in our schedules.
I couldn’t wait for the weekend, my anticipation amping up with each passing day.
Brooke was driving in Saturday afternoon after work, and I planned to order us a nice dinner and set up a backyard picnic for us.
I hung twinkle lights on the back deck to add to the ambiance.
After Brooke moved across town when we were teens, her mom would drop her off at my house a couple of nights a week.
We'd spend those summer nights in my yard with blankets and pillows set up, with a projector playing a movie.
It felt like our own personal drive-in theater.
I set up jars on the deck for us to catch fireflies, another favorite summer activity from our shared past.
Brooke arrived in the early evening, and my heart gave a leap when she stepped out of her beat up old Honda Accord and I saw her smiling face. Maple hopped from the car and gave me a familiar sniff as I ruffled her fur. I led them inside the house.
It was Brooke’s first time meeting Echo, and the first time the pups had met each other as well. I had Echo on a leash at first, to let Maple get comfortable. Brooke greeted Echo, leaning down to his level and sticking her hand out for him to sniff.
He immediately nudged her hand with his nose, asking for pets. After a moment, she caught my eye and grinned even wider. I knew she’d noticed his heterochromia—he had a brown eye on the brown half of his face, and a blue eye on the spotted half.
“Dogs really do start to look like their owners,” she teased with a wink.
Maple and Echo were fast friends, and we led them into the yard, where they set off to explore for interesting smells.
“Hungry?” I asked Brooke. She had come straight from the hospital and still wore her scrubs, her hair up in a ponytail. I’d tried to dress like I would for a ‘real’ date, in dark-wash jeans and a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up over my forearms.
“Starving,” she confirmed. “Mind if I get changed first?” I waved an arm and she headed back into the house.
“But be comfy,” I called after her.
She came back out with her hair let loose around her shoulders. She wore those tight black yoga pants and an oversized sweater that hung off one shoulder. I saw the strap of a tank underneath. She looked utterly at home in my back yard. Damn if that didn’t take my breath away.
I plated our food and we took our seats on my parents’ wooden deck chairs. We ate, updating each other on our weeks and watching the dogs run circles around each other.
“I finally finished the paperwork to get Maple registered as a service dog,” she told me.
I grinned. “Atta girl. Glad to hear it.”
She told me about the babies that had come into the NICU, and I shared how my wilderness training was going.
When we finished our dinner, I took the plates inside and told Brooke to get comfortable on the pallet of blankets in front of the projector screen.
I came back out with popcorn and queued up 50 First Dates, which was surprisingly romantic for an Adam Sandler flick.
A few minutes into the film, I noticed Brooke shifting around, still trying to get comfortable.
“Is this too rough on your joints?” I asked her. “Should we relocate inside?”
“No, it’s okay. I love it out here. Brings back so many memories.” She smiled.
“Well c’mere. I’m sure you’re stiff from standing at work and then driving all this way.” I patted the blanket in front of me and directed her to sit, taking my place directly behind her. I moved her hair across to one shoulder and began gently rubbing the other, adding pressure as she relaxed.
“Feel okay?”
She sighed. “Feels great, actually.”
I rubbed the muscles of one shoulder, then swept her hair over and focused on the other. After a bit she turned to me and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.
“I’m grateful for you,” she whispered.
My heart soared.
I’d gotten compliments before, and some were even from girls I’d found attractive—but none of them hit me quite like Brooke’s gratitude.
I’d do anything to please this girl. I wrapped my arms around her in a firm squeeze, and she leaned back against me.
We laid like that for a while, her head against my chest.
When I sensed that position was getting uncomfortable for her, I stretched myself out across the blankets.
My heart gave a steady thump, thump, thump when she laid down next to me, snuggled up close in the crook of my body with her head on my chest. I sighed in contentment, running my hand up and down her arm.
She turned up to gaze into my eyes, and the movie was suddenly forgotten.
My gaze snagged on her perfect mouth, with her rose-colored lips.
She leaned in and met my lips and I opened for her.
I let her take the lead, deepening our kiss as she took control.
I nibbled her bottom lip as she ran her hands up and down my chest and stomach.
She pulled back from me slightly, slipping her sweater over her head, leaving her in just a tank top.
With the thick wooded area surrounding the back yard, we were essentially in our own little haven, well-hidden from the spying eyes of any nosy neighbors.
I sat up and stared at her for a moment. “You’re beautiful.” I shook my head in disbelief. My hand cupped her cheek.
She gave a soft smile, then leaned back in to meet my lips. “Touch me,” she instructed between kisses.
“Where?” I asked, swallowing the lump in my throat.
“Everywhere.”
I ran my hand down the column of her throat and dropped a kiss on her now-bare shoulder. I trailed my fingers down both arms, which had exploded in goosebumps.
“Sure you aren’t too cold?” I asked, though I knew the June night was warm.
She bit her lip and shook her head.
I captured her mouth again and let my palm brush her breast, feeling the nipple harden for me through the thin material of the tank. She let out a soft moan, and I felt myself stiffen beneath my jeans.
“More,” she pleaded.
I was more than happy to oblige. I kissed down her throat and across her collarbone, then slipped the strap from her shoulder. She gasped as I suddenly covered her soft skin with my hot breath, swirling my tongue around her nipple and pulling it into my mouth, sucking gently.
“Oh god, Cade, yes. Just like that.”
I grinned around her, enjoying her responsiveness and the sound of my name falling from her lips.
Her fingers tangled in my hair, urging me on.
I slipped the other strap off her tank, sliding it down til she was bare from shoulders to waist. I played with her other nipple, then moved my mouth over, lavishing it with my attention. She continued to squirm and moan.
“Please tell me I can touch you,” I said softly.
She nodded, her eyes closed and head tipped back.
“With your words, baby,” I instructed.
“Yes,” she breathed out. I met her lips with mine and slid my hands to her waistband. She rose up on her knees, looking down at me when I bumped her leg to let me slide a pillow underneath them.
Permission granted, I reached down, my fingers exploring until I reached her slick heat. “Oh god, baby—you’re so wet.” I slipped a kiss behind her ear. “This for me?” I whispered.
She nodded, her head still tipped back in pleasure.
I slid one finger past her entrance teasingly, watching her jerk in response.
She shifted her knees on the pillow, silently pleading with me to enter her.
I slowly slipped one finger in, feeling the effects of my attention.
I found her sensitive bud, gently rubbing with my thumb.
She adjusted again, forcing my finger deeper until she was riding my hand.
I found her pulse point in her neck and gently nipped it. She rode harder, gripping my shoulders to steady herself.
“You’re doing so good, baby,” I encouraged, mesmerized by her breathy moans and the way her face twisted in pleasure. Her body’s response told me she was enjoying my verbal praise. I slipped in another finger, letting her adjust to accommodate and find her perfect rhythm.
We moved in tandem, her body against my hand.
When I could tell she was reaching out for that finish, I steadied her with a firm grip on her waist and whispered in her ear.
“Come for me, Brooke. Let go for me. That’s my girl.
” Her body shuddered and she cried out while I continued to praise her, feeling her climax soak my hand.
“So beautiful,” I whispered, and she leaned her forehead on my shoulder, totally spent. I slipped her tank back into its place and grabbed her hand and guided her inside. I knew from her shift and the long drive, she was undoubtedly exhausted.
“Go lay down.” I kissed her forehead. “I’ll be right there.”
I got the dogs back inside and shut down the projector. By the time I entered my bedroom, her head was on the pillow, her long hair spilled around her.
She was fast asleep.