Chapter 14 #2
"Yes." Arlene nodded. "Her father and I had left early to attend a function, and the rest of the staff had already gone for the day. There was a guard there, but he was around the back." Picking up the cup, she sipped.
"She had started bleeding and went into labor. Fortunately, the ambulance came just in time and the technicians started working on her. They saved her and Zoe's life."
He pushed back from the counter and almost stumbled. Arlene felt alarm coating her face, as she pushed to her feet as well. His face was pasty white, eyes dilated.
"Cade--"
"No." Holding up a hand, he stopped her from rushing toward him. "I just need a minute."
"Are you all right?" Concern gripped her as she continued to watch him.
"I just need a minute." He managed a sickly smile. "Thanks for telling me. I have to go."
"Cade--" She called out, but she was talking to an empty room. By the time she rushed to the front doors, he was already outside and in his car.
Wringing her hands in distress, she rushed back inside to call her daughter.
*****
She was hurrying toward her car when headlights cut through the encroaching darkness, signaling his arrival. She had been calling him since she hung up from her mother. That was twenty minutes ago.
She stood there waiting for him to hop out of the vehicle and frowned when he just sat there. The light from the dash allowed her to see him sitting still behind the wheel. The fury that had propelled her out to try and find him, dissolved at the bleak look on his face.
Bridging the distance, she tapped on the passenger glass. He released the lock and she opened the door and got in.
They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Realizing that she was the one who was going to have to make the first move, she touched his arm.
"Why don't we go up to my office?" She suggested softly. "You had me worried. I was calling."
He finally turned to look at her. Abby felt her heart doing a quick flip at the empty look in his beautiful eyes.
"I apologize." His voice was stiff and formal.
"Apology accepted." She told him carefully. "Shall we go in? It's cold."
With a nod, he unhooked his seatbelt and opened the door.
The icy wind whipped through the trees and set their jackets swirling. Unlocking the doors, she waited until he had followed her in, before locking up. Jacob, their longtime security guard, was around the back and would be checking on her shortly.
Leading the way, she wound around the back and up the stairs and into her office. She had left some files stacked on the side of her desktop that she had been working on.
"I think the coffee is still warm."
"None for me, thanks." He sat in front of her desk, hands clasped loosely between his thighs.
"Uhm, Zoe was asleep?"
His eyes darkened and he turned his head away, not meeting her eyes.
"Yes." He rasped.
"I bet she inveigled two stories out of you." She was trying desperately to break through the wall she suspected he had placed between them.
He turned to look at her then, expression haunted. "You must hate me."
"No. I--"
"I hate myself. And I finally realize you're right. There's no way on earth I could expect you to forgive me."
She came to him then. Sitting on the opposite chair, she took his hands in hers and slowly took off the leather gloves. He had yet to remove his coat.
"I could never hate you."
"Why the hell not?" he whispered harshly. "I left you." His fingers gripped hers so hard, she could feel bone pressing against bone. But she did not wince or give any indication he was hurting her.
"You almost died. Right out there in that parking lot. You almost died and I wasn't here for you. How can I live with myself knowing that? Tell me how." His voice broke and left her feeling shattered. His despair was so thick, she felt it spreading around the room.
"It's in the past." She tugged on their joined hands to get his attention. "Yes, I went through a rough time giving birth, but some of the fault was mine. I should have gone home--"
"Stop making it easier for me." He tried to pull away, but she clung to him and dropped to her knees in front of him.
"What do you want me to say, Cade? That I resented you back then? I did. That I cried out for you even though I knew it would be useless? Yes. But the point is, it happened a long time ago and you didn't know. I got over it. Zoe is alive and well and so am I."
"What am I supposed to do?" he asked bleakly. "How can we move on from that?"
"I already have." Easing up, she plopped into his lap. Tugging her hands from his, she wrapped them around his neck.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was waiting for the right time and frankly, it was something that wasn't on my mind." She studied his face. "Are you going to allow that to spoil things between us? Will it make a difference in how you feel for me? For Zoe?"
His eyes darkened. "Don't be ridiculous."
The sharp tone almost made her smile. "Good." Tipping her head to his, she brushed her lips on his, feeling the quick intake of breath.
"We need to talk--"
"No. Uh-uh." She knew exactly how to get around him. Just like her daughter knew his weak spots, she had discovered that he was vulnerable to her touch. She had every intention of using it now.
She was going to do everything in her power to wipe that look of despair and hopelessness off his handsome face.
When he started to lift his hands to clamp on her shoulders, she brushed them aside and went on the attack. She knew his weakness and marveled that she had so much power over this magnificent specimen.
She did what he was always doing to her, to weaken her defenses. Pulling his bottom lip between her teeth, she nibbled. Desire came thick and strong instantly.
"Listen--" he broke off with a groan when she sucked his lip into her mouth and used her tongue to soothe the sting from her bite.
"Abigail--" he had to stifle a groan. She was moving her bottom sinuously over his groin. He went as hard as steel. The blood started to roar inside his ears, making it impossible for him to think.
"Just let me--" the words died inside his throat, when she tugged the sweater over her head to reveal an excuse of a bra, the delicate lace showing everything. Her nipples were rigid.
"Abigail. Baby." He felt as if he was going to burst into flames.
"Please." he had never pleaded with a woman before. This was a first for him. It was also a first that he was finding it very difficult to control himself.
"I want you deep inside me." She was toying with his tongue, twisting his belly into knots.
With a tortured groan, he rose, lifted her up with him. He wondered dazedly if his knees would be able to carry them over to the sofa. It took forever, or so it seemed, for him to tumble her down against the plump cushions.
He fought to get his clothes off, his fingers feeling as if they were all thumbs.
By the time he lowered himself over her, bracing his hands beside her head as he stared down at her, eyes burning into hers.
"You wanted to distract me."
"Or I just wanted to have you inside me." Her hands lifted to curl on his chest. "And tell you that I am in love with you."
He went still. His muscles flexed, his body shivering. "What did you say?"
"I love you." She ran her fingers through the silky dark hairs on his chest. "I've always loved you. I never stopped."
The breath whistled through his teeth, and he felt his head spinning. Lowering himself slowly, he felt his bones shaking as if he was past his prime. He felt clumsy and uncertain.
"You love me." He breathed, sliding into her wet warmth and gritting his teeth as she closed around him like a vise. "Say it again!" he demanded greedily, chest expanding with the effort to breathe.
"I love you." Saying it over and over again liberated her, giving her such joy that she could burst from it. "I love you, Cade Paul Tyrell, and would very much like to be your wife."
He drove into her, mouth covering hers. He was greedy to taste, to savor. It was as if the words had opened something fierce inside him. He wanted to take, take, take. But he also wanted to give.
She loved him. Nothing else mattered, the world could come to an end for all he cared. She loved him. The words spun round and round inside his head and became a litany as he took them both to the edge of the cliff.
He had left her mother's place feeling such despair, he could hardly stand it, but now he had amazing hope.
"Abigail." He whispered feverishly. "Abigail." His lips raced over her cheeks, her eyes, her lobe before coming back to her lips. He wanted to devour her and never stop.
"I love you." He whispered brokenly. "I love you."