Chapter Fourteen
CADE
A smile played on her lips. I liked seeing her like this, completely sated and happy. I'd never seen this kind of smile on her before. "I'm so thirsty."
"Me too," I said.
"Come on, let's go into the living room. We need to hydrate.”
“You first."
She looked at me over her shoulder. "Why?"
"I like the way you move your hips. You look stunning."
"Oh really? I love the effect my lingerie has on men."
My smile fell. Her words felt like a punch to the gut. On men.
Jesus, I wasn't the first one to see her wear these, obviously. Why was that a surprise?
It wasn't. What was surprising was my reaction to it. I couldn't bear the thought that someone else had seen her naked before me, that anyone had touched her.
"Meredith," I said. Something in my tone probably tipped her off. She turned and looked at me.
"What?" Her eyes searched my face.
I stepped so close to her that the front of my body was plastered against hers. I touched the side of her head, pressing my thumb at the base of her hairline. "Me, just me. I'm the only one who can see you like this from now on."
She parted her lips, surprise etched on her features. Was it because she didn't expect it or because she didn't want it?
"The only one who can make you come, who can make you feel everything you felt tonight."
"The only one," she agreed.
The knot unfurled in my chest. I hadn't been aware of it before then.
"Only you," she repeated, and I pulled her in for a kiss, needing to feel her close and to know she meant every word. I felt her smile against my mouth, and I pulled back, watching her. "I knew you were bossy, but I didn't think you'd be a possessive Neanderthal too."
"I don't know about Neanderthal—"
"Yes, you are," she interrupted.
"But you're right that I’m possessive. I won't share you."
She cleared her throat, looking up. "Neither will I. Word of warning: anyone gets close to you, I might claw her face."
"Fuck yes." Pride thumped in my chest.
She nodded, putting her hand on her throat. "Okay, I really need that water. My throat is aching a bit. Someone might have made me cry out too loud."
"There's no such thing as too loud. I loved hearing you."
I walked closer to her, bringing my mouth to her ear after she turned around. We walked in tandem to the kitchen with my arms around her middle. "To feel you, to see you."
"Wait. First, we drink water, and then you can go back to whatever it is you're doing. No clue what your endgame is, but I'm up for everything, and I like it."
Once at the kitchen island, I let go. I sliced two lemons while she filled two glasses with filtered water, and then I squeezed them into the glasses.
"Well, I have a squeezer, but why use it when I can make good use of your muscles and extremely talented fingers?"
I chuckled before we downed our glasses.
"This is good," I said. "Refreshing." I felt my body temperature cool down. I took her hand, lacing our fingers, and led us to the leather couch. Sitting down, I pointed to my lap. "Come on, sit here, pretty girl."
Grinning, she did as I said, although she planted her ass on the cushion next to me, placing her legs over my lap. Worked for me. I could see her better like this.
I ran my free hand up and down her calf, squeezing rhythmically.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Copping a feel."
"And I'm thoroughly enjoying it." She grinned, shimmying on the couch. "I can't believe you're here, in my place. It's like you're larger than life, you know? Though I have to say, you fit in much better without that suit."
"What's the suit got to do with it?"
"Well, your sexiness level is…” She waved her hand. "Never mind. It all makes sense in my head, but I can't explain it to you."
I was pleased that she was so relaxed around me, that she could say anything that was on her mind. She yawned, taking the last swig of water from her glass. "What do you know? I'm getting drowsy again.”
“We were both full of adrenaline before. I'm feeling the tiredness too."
She pointed at my hand. "That's not stopping you from copping a feel, though, huh?"
"I could be hospitalized with the flu, and it still wouldn’t stop me."
"I love your priorities." She wiggled her eyebrows, moving closer to the edge of the couch. "Want to lie down here with me? I'll make space for you."
"Very generous."
"No, it's just better. I can cop a feel and lie down too." She winked as I lay down next to her.
The second I was in a horizontal position, exhaustion slammed into me. I put my glass on the coffee table next to the couch, laughing when I felt her fingers on my torso.
"How did my fingers even get here? Never mind."
I put my head down on the armrest, intending to keep chatting for a while, but I went out like a light.
A piercing sound woke me. I blinked my eyes wide open and moved just in time to catch Meredith falling off the couch. Shit, we'd fallen asleep here. It was already morning. A blinding light was shining through the windows.
"Great reflexes," she mumbled.
Sassy even in the morning.
"It's a good thing I woke up," I said, pushing myself up on one elbow, looking at her face. Her eyes were a little swollen, and her lips too. She had dark smudges around her eyes.
"Oh my God," she exclaimed.
"What?” I asked as she sat up straight so fast that she nearly slid off again, then jumped to her feet.
"I forgot to remove my makeup last night." She smiled nervously, which was unlike her. "I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?" I asked, but she was gone before I even finished the question.
"Bathroom," she called from afar.
I pushed myself up to my feet too. My towel had slid off, obviously. I decided not to bother putting it back on. Walking into the kitchen, I glanced at the clock on the oven. It was seven in the morning already, but that wasn't a huge surprise. We'd gotten to bed late.
I found the coffee on the counter, loaded some in the filter, added water, and started the machine.
While it was brewing, I looked around, taking in the place.
On the side of the fridge were pictures of her family.
I hadn't noticed them last night. One was of Meredith, her sister, and, I assumed, her brother-in-law. I took it off to get a closer look.
"My, my. What a sight."
I glanced up from the picture as she stood in front of me, still wearing the same camisole from last evening. She looked fresh-faced and even smelled of toothpaste.
I showed her the picture. "You look beautiful here."
"Thanks. Want to stop distracting me by dangling that gorgeous cock in my kitchen?"
My erection twitched. Hearing her say it was a damned turn-on. Next to the fridge, I noticed a black apron hanging on a hook, and that gave me an idea. Grabbing it, I put it over my head, tying it behind my back. It was all black, which was good. I didn’t feel like a complete idiot wearing it.
"How about this?" I asked. "Make you breakfast? And I’m covered, so now the jewels won’t distract you."
“Okay, I have to take a picture. Damn it, I can't." She smirked.
"You know what? I will anyway, and obviously I’ll be the only one who knows that you're completely commando.
" She grabbed her phone from the high table next to the entrance to the kitchen.
I stood straight as she said, "No, don't move, not even one inch or everyone will know your ass is on display.
" She giggled, snapping a few pictures. "Okay, I've got it.
I can't believe you're actually up for this. "
"Why not?" I asked. "Come on, let's see what you've got in here. We both need sustenance."
"Yes, we do."
She didn't have a lot of food, but we made do with a platter of cheese, toast, and tomatoes. We ate while standing in the kitchen.
"What time do you have to be at the office?” I asked her.
“Nine at the latest. You?” she said between bites.
“I’m flexible. In the evening, I’ll come to your parents’ house.”
“We can handle everything on our own, really.”
“I promised I’d be there, Meredith. I’m not breaking my word.”
She smiled. “Thanks. I wonder when Mom meets Jeannie for the book club. They’ll surely have a lot to talk about.”
“No clue. I’m glad Grandmother’s getting out of the house for that.
I like knowing she’s happy." I leaned against the edge of the counter, making more coffee as soon as we finished our light breakfast. "Sometimes I wonder if my brothers and I had made more of an effort with my mother, she would still be with us.
" Fuck me, I'd never voiced that thought.
I never even realized I harbored it, and yet deep inside, I knew I'd always carried some guilt about those years.
"Why would you say that?"
"I don't know. I was so busy acting out that I wasn’t paying attention to her."
“Cade, you were a teenager. People usually act out at that age without any reasons, and you'd just found out your father had another family."
"I know, but I left all the heavy lifting to Colton and Jake. They didn't even tell us in the beginning that Mom was sick. She only told us later."
"It sucks how everything happened, but you shouldn't feel guilty.
" Her voice was soft. She came in front of me, putting both hands on my chest. My heartbeat calmed down in a matter of seconds.
How did she intuitively know exactly what I needed?
I clutched her wrist, rubbing my thumb over the pulse point.
"I don't know, maybe if we hadn't given her so much headache. If we'd bothered to take a look at her and suggest that she go to the doctor earlier. Maybe they could've helped her."
I usually hid this part of myself, mostly because people in business circles appreciated my cutthroat ability to make things happen.
I didn’t want to appear vulnerable in negotiations.
If people knew you had a soft spot, they used it.
But Meredith was seeing both sides of me.
That was rare. I typically didn't let them blend. I was breaking my rules for her.
"Cade, stop. That's not how illnesses work," she murmured.
"I know. I'm not sure what’s gotten into me this morning. Anyway, back to Grandmother. There's a simple rule: when she's happy, we're all happy."
"Oh, so it's self-serving, huh?"
"Partly, yes."
She chuckled. "Why don't I believe you? You’re actually a very thoughtful person. Who would've known?”
"I'm not sure that's a compliment," I said.
"Who says it is? I like keeping you on your toes."
A beeping sound filled the air.
"Not mine. Must be yours," she said.
"Yeah." I went to the entrance where I dropped my suit jacket yesterday and picked up my phone. "Speak of the devil. It's my grandmother," I said.
Meredith nodded, sipping her coffee.
I immediately answered. "Good morning, Grandmother."
"Darling, I didn't wake you up, did I?"
"No, all good. What's up?"
"Well, I called to tell you that I want us all to get together for dinner next week."
"Sure, Saturday?" That was our go-to day unless someone had plans.
"Yes, that works."
"Okay." I wasn't sure why she was calling to tell me that.
"More coffee?" Meredith asked.
"Who's that? Is it darling Meredith's voice?"
Meredith must have heard Grandmother because she pressed her lips together before mouthing, “Sorry.”
"Yes."
"Oh good, the two of you are together. I was calling you because I’d love to have her here too."
Meredith heard her, clearly. She grimaced and then mouthed, “Sorry,” again.
I waved my hand. It wasn't her fault. Grandmother was just meddling in our lives, as usual. I had a great deal of affection for both my grandparents, and I owed them everything I was today. If it hadn’t been for them, I would’ve gone completely off the rails.
But I didn't appreciate the way my grandmother liked to butt into my love life. I had no idea what had even gotten into her. She’d only started her matchmaking project—as she called it—last year.
"Grandmother, I'm sure Meredith is busy."
"Nonsense. I can totally change the day of the dinner to suit her."
"What are you talking about? You always say Saturday is the best day."
"Yes, but I don't want to inconvenience her. And I dearly want her to come. I’d invite her on Thursday for Thanksgiving, but I’m sure she already has plans with her family.
And besides, I don’t want to put pressure on you youngsters.
Spencer lectured me on the fact that attending holiday events together is a sign of a big commitment. ”
"I'll ask her. Was that all?" I asked.
"Well, yes, actually."
I wondered if she knew I'd spent the night with Meredith before she called. I wouldn't put it past her. The woman had a scary amount of information.
"Take care, Grandmother. Say hi to Grandfather for me, and I'll talk to you later." After hanging up the phone, I looked straight at Meredith, then filled her in on the conversation.
“I can tell her no,” I said.
A smile played on her lips. She put down her coffee cup, placing her hands back on my chest. "Can you? I'm not so sure.”
“Look, I don't want you to feel pressured into anything. I was the one who got us into this by indulging my grandmother's idea that we're in a relationship."
"But we’re not." That took me by surprise. True, one night of hot sex was not a relationship, but things had changed since Grandmother walked in on us. At least I thought they’d changed. Didn’t Meredith?
Still, she was right. I'd made it clear to Meredith that I wanted her all for me. But one thing didn't imply the other.
Maybe it should.
"Come with me to the dinner," I said. "You'll have fun with me and my family.
You know everyone." I needed her by my side.
I couldn't explain that impulse, but when it came to Meredith, I was starting to learn to just take things as they came and act on them.
“Grandmother will assume whatever she wants. And you and I know what we have.”
“Which is what? Two adults enjoying each other’s company, right?” she murmured.
"Enjoying it very, very much.” I tilted closer.
She flashed a huge smile. "Okay. Then let’s do this."