Chapter Seventeen #2
I’m not a model by any standard—my thighs and butt are thicker than my upper body, giving me a pear shape. My boobs are pretty small, and my hair is frizzy most of the time. But I love my freckles, and my eyes have always been my favorite feature, especially next to my red hair.
Yet I can’t help wondering what Kade thinks.
Does he find me as attractive as I find him? Sometimes it feels like he’s flirting with me. Other times, I’m pretty sure he hates my guts—or at the very least, finds me incredibly annoying. I swear I’ve caught him checking me out before—but maybe he looks at every woman that way.
Did he look at Marlee like that?
Groaning, I force the ugly thought away and open the door, leaving the beautiful, but simple guest bathroom behind me.
Kade’s in the kitchen, back turned, phone pressed to his ear. I bite my lip and take in the house while he’s distracted.
There aren’t any furnishings yet, but the bones are incredible.
It looks nearly done, like maybe he’s just in the final stages of renovations or something.
The kitchen’s complete, and stocked with shiny stainless steel appliances that make my baker heart swoon.
There’s a giant range and two ovens that match a massive double door fridge I could fully stock with all my stuff and still never fill.
The walls may be white, but with the dark floors, dark bronze fixtures, and massive stone fireplace—it’s warm and inviting, big enough to pack with all the friends and family a person could have.
I should leave. Grab my things and find Bea like I was supposed to half an hour ago. But if this is Kade’s new place…
The house he moved into for Aurora…
I turn on my heel and quietly explore the other side of the house, peeking into rooms, closets, and cabinets like the nosey little mouse one of my old foster dads used to accuse me of being.
This wing has four bedrooms, but the one I’m standing in is clearly the largest. A wall of floor-to-ceiling windows wraps around the far side, with a sliding glass door at the center that opens to the back deck.
The view is stunning, just like the rest of them, but this room looks out onto the bigger house down the way that I assume belongs to Bea. It’s lovely, weathered and worn in a way that screams of memories and home .
“That’s the house I grew up in.”
I jump, letting out an embarrassing squawk. My hip throbs in protest, and I wince.
Kade steps up to my side, brows drawn tight, eyes sliding over me in a way that makes me shiver. “You alright?”
Bobbing my head, I ignore his question and force my eyes away from the concern in his. Spinning around the room slowly, I murmur, “This is your house, isn’t it?”
He doesn’t respond for a long time, and when I finally look back at him, he’s staring out the window, jaw tight, arms braced over his chest. I step up next to him and our arms brush, but neither of us backs away.
“I looked everywhere,” he finally says, voice low and thick with something I can’t place. “Wasn’t a good house available in this whole fuckin’ county?”
I scoff and nod. “Summit is seriously lacking in that area.”
He glances down at me. “You lookin’ for a place?”
“No,” I say softly, then shrug. “I mean, I already have one. I sub-leased a little two-bedroom for the rest of the year; it’s right off the highway.
But I was still in New York when I signed the contract, sight unseen, and, well…
” I trail off, huffing. “Let’s just say I’ll never make that mistake again. ”
“Off the highway?” His face scrunches. “There aren’t any neighborhoods out there.”
“I never said I was in one.”
“Then where the fuck is your place?”
“Not that it’s any of your concern, but my rental is in the country and overlooks a big field. The view’s pretty, but the house leaves a lot to be desired.” I smile a little and bump his arm. “Stop trying to change the subject.”
Kade stares at me for a few more beats then looks away.
“This house has been on my family's property, sitting vacant and mostly built for years. I needed a place, and it was here, so…” He palms the back of his neck and points up to the roof where banging and shouts have become a constant echo in the background. “Couple of my buddies came into town, and we’ve been working on it nonstop to get it ready for the final inspection next week.”
My heart soars at that. He really does want Aurora—he’s working his ass off for her. Pride fills me so fast, the room practically spins.
“I know it’s bare. It’ll be tight, but I’ll get it furnished in time. At least her room and mine. The living room, too.” He glances at me, his expression so vulnerable, it hurts. “That’s enough, right?”
My hand finds his, and I squeeze it, ignoring the sparks and tingles that fly through me at the tiny connection.
“Yeah,” I breathe, chest hitching. “It’s enough, Kade. Aurora will be very happy. You both will.”
We stare at each other for a long, tense moment before I force myself to let go and look away.
“Well, it’s really beautiful.” My gaze moves to the hallway. “And big. How many bedrooms?”
“Six.”
My brows jump. “Is this the primary?”
“Guest room,” he murmurs, stepping toward the door where he pauses, watching me. “Four rooms on this side, mine and Aurora’s are across from the family room.”
My mind spins with the implications. Why would he need such a big place for just him and her? And she’s so tiny. She doesn’t need a house this big. Unless he’s not single.
Oh my God.
Why didn’t I ever ask if he was single?
He selected it on his intake paperwork, and said he’d be doing this alone, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to stay alone. And why would he? A guy like Kade Archer is destined for marriage and a happy future on this perfect farm next to an even more perfect wife.
“And the other three?” I ask, voice high-pitched. “You said there are six bedrooms. That’s a lot.” I bite my lip hard enough to draw blood. “Home gym?”
“Not really a treadmill kinda guy.”
“Office, then?”
“I don’t need an office anymore.”
“Why not?” My nose wrinkles, mind flicking back to his tiny studio. “You have so many computers.”
He lifts a thick shoulder. “I quit Iron Shield so I can be around for Aurora as much as possible. Gave my setup to a friend still in the field.”
He. Quit. His. Job. For her.
Oh, shit. That news is excellent for him, for his case, and probably adoption—but so, so bad for my warring emotions.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” I blurt. My eyes go wide and I swallow hard. “I mean, or like a roommate or something.”
“Girlfriend?” he drawls, brows climbing higher by the second. “Or a roommate…”
I jerk a nod and his lip curls in a smirk. “Why would you think I have either?”
“Your house,” I say, voice bland, disinterested. “It’s big.”
“So I must have a woman who’s gonna fill it with shit?”
I shrug, tracing a crease on the wall like I don’t really care what his answer is. He pauses and I hold my breath.
Finally, he puts me out of my unexpected misery. “No, freckles. I don’t have a woman, or a roommate, or anything of the sort. It’ll just be me, that little girl, and my family when they inevitably show up.”
“Then why did you pick a house with so many rooms?” I blurt again, then gnash my teeth together. What is wrong with me today?
His cheeks go a little pink, just enough to catch me off guard.
“You’re blushing,” I breathe, stepping closer. “Now you have to tell me.”
He gives me a long look, something unreadable passing behind his eyes.
“Not sure you can handle the honest truth, darlin’.”
The way he says it makes my blood heat in my veins—sticky and slow, like the very honey they farm here.
Unable to help myself, I murmur the first thing that comes to my mind, “You’d be surprised what I can handle, sunshine .”
“That right?” He steps into me, leaving only a few inches of space between us.
I jerk a nod, doing my best not to combust on the spot.
“Oh, sweetheart,” he murmurs, and leans in, close enough that the longer strands of his hair brush my cheek. I gasp. He makes this low, satisfied sound in the back of his throat, like he can feel what it does to me. “You really that desperate to know about what goes on in my bedrooms?”
“No,” I rasp.
Yes, actually. Truly and honestly desperate.
“Liar,” he mutters, gaze locked on mine. “If you’re curious… all you gotta do is ask.”
I scoff. “And you’d just tell me? Not that I want to know. Because I don’t. One , that’s gross— ew . And two , it’s utterly unprofessional.”
“You’re not my social worker anymore.” Kade tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and drops his voice to a low, seductive purr. “I can be as unprofessional with you as I want.”
Oh my God.
What is happening right now?
I clench my thighs together, and my clit throbs in time with my heartbeat.
His tongue swipes over his thick lower lip, and my traitorous eyes zero in on the motion as my heart threatens to give out.
“I’ll give you a little hint about the bedrooms.”
“Okay,” I choke out.
Kade dips closer, his cheek grazing mine. His beard scrapes my skin, and I swear to God my knees nearly buckle.
“But it’s personal,” he whispers. “Can you keep a secret, Georgia?”
Oh God. I can do anything you want. Just keep touching me.
“Yes,” I breathe.
His breath fans down my throat, and I swear it leaves a trail of goosebumps in its wake.
“I have dreams,” he murmurs, like it really is a secret, just for me. I soak up every word, an addict getting their fix. “Dreams I forgot for a long damn time. But lately, they’ve been coming back. Invading my head like a fucking plague I can’t shake loose.”
Oxygen ceases to exist.
“Dreams of having a big house filled with kids and laughter, messes and sticky fingers. Loud mornings with my family and quiet nights with my wife.”
His voice cracks, and I feel that fracture in my soul.
“Quiet nights where I bury her face in the pillows and fuck her raw, long and hard, again and again, until she’s sated, exhausted, and cum drunk, filled to the brim with me.
” His lip touches my ear, and I swear to fuck, the man might as well be fucking me just like his dream with how my body reacts. “And then do you know what I do?”
I shake my head, and swallow, but my mouth is dry, and I can barely breathe.
Kade tucks that strand back again, but leaves his hand braced on my jaw, tilting it up an inch. He inhales deeply and groans a quiet, desperate sound I feel all over.
“When I’m done, darlin’, I start all over. Because in my dreams, my woman is just as fuckin’ needy and desperate as I am.”
My eyes snap open, and I whimper.
Holy shit, I fucking whimper, the sound desperate and raw.
He chuckles, leaning impossibly closer. We’re touching nowhere else, just that tiny connection against the side of my face, his lips on my ear, hand on my jaw, beard burning through my brain cells, but it feels like he’s everywhere .
“Because those rooms? They’re meant for my kids. And I’ll make damn sure every single one of them is filled someday.”
And then… he’s gone.