Chapter Seven
Kade
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She sleeps as if she finally trusts the world for a moment, and the sight of it does something violent to my chest. The room is dim, the curtains barely letting in the streetlight glow, and she lies curled on her side, breathing slow and even, her hair a dark spill across the pillow.
One strand has fallen across her cheek, soft and out of place, and I lean over her without thinking.
My hand hovers for a second, as if touching her might wake her or break something fragile between us, then I tuck the stray hair gently behind her ear.
She doesn’t stir, she just breathes, and I watch.
I should leave her to rest. I know that.
But I cannot pull myself away. Not when she looks like this.
Not when the memory of her earlier is still burning through me, vivid and consuming.
I can feel it in my bones, the echo of her hands on me, the way she moved, the way she looked at me as though she was letting me see something no one else ever has.
The memory hits me so hard I have to close my eyes for a moment, steadying myself against the rush of it.
When I open them again, she is still there. Still soft. Still warm. Still mine in a way she hasn’t said out loud yet.
I sit on the edge of the bed, close enough that I can feel the heat radiating from her skin.
My hand rests near her shoulder, not touching, just close enough to feel the pull.
Her scent lingers in the air, faint and familiar, clinging to me in a way that makes my pulse stumble.
It is grounding and intoxicating all at once, a reminder of how close she let me be, how much she gave without realizing it.
A slow smile pulls at my mouth, unbidden and impossible to stop.
I remember every moment. Every sound. Every breath.
I remember the way she looked at me afterward, eyes soft and dazed, as if she was seeing me clearly for the first time.
I remember the way she leaned into me, trusting me with a closeness I never expected to earn.
I look at her now, sleeping in my shirt, curled into the space I left behind, and something inside me settles with a quiet, dangerous certainty.
She is the only calm I have ever known. And I am not letting go.
I reach out again, brushing my fingers lightly along her jaw, barely a touch, barely a whisper of contact. She shifts in her sleep, leaning into it without waking, and the sound that leaves me is almost a laugh, almost a prayer, almost something I should not feel.
“Sleep,” I murmur, voice low, meant only for her. “I’m right here.”
And I stay there, watching her, guarding her, letting the memory of her warmth and closeness burn through me until the sun threatens the horizon.
The early morning light filters through the window, stirring me from my sleep, I shift and feel her small frame in my arms, my arm draped across her waist, the other beneath her head, I note how perfectly she fits in my arms, how she smells like honey, like something pure.
I shift just enough to wake her, eyes fluttering open she looks up at me, a sleepy smile on her face.
“If you want to get out of this bed today I’d advise against smiling at me like that Bunny.
” She can still hear the sleep in my voice, and it does something to her, her thighs press together and her eyes drop to my lips, I lean down and brush them against hers, kissing her softly.
The complete opposite of how I handled her last night.
I untangle my limbs from hers and stand, padding into the bathroom, her gaze follows me until I’m out of sight, I lean against the sink and breathe for a moment before turning to the shower and switching it on, the water hitting the tiles pulls me from my thoughts.
I walk back into the bedroom and lift her into my arms, she furrows her eyebrows until she realizes where I’m heading, into the bathroom.
“Relax Bunny, we’re showering, nothing more. Yet.” I whisper in her ear, placing her gently on the toilet seat, I lean down and undo the shirt buttons, slowly pushing it off of her shoulders, I kneel before her and remove her panties, placing a soft kiss at her hipbone.
“Come on, lets get you cleaned up, I’d prefer if you were in my tub but next time, yeah?” My voice is soft, foreign… It takes me aback as I realize just how gentle I am with her.
She smiles at me and climbs into the shower, I step in behind her and pull her into my arms, the water cascades around us, soaking us and hitting the shower floor, I press a kiss to her jaw as I reach to grab the shampoo.
I pump a bit into my hands and apply it to her hair, using my fingers to massage it into her scalp, an appreciative groan slips from her lips and I find myself grinning like an idiot at her.
Once her hair is lathered I take a moment to wash mine, the scent of her shampoo on my hair has my heart skipping a beat, I wash the bubbles away and look down at her, her gaze fully on me the entire time.
“See something you like?” I raise an eyebrow at her, her gaze shifts slightly, dropping lower I close the distance between us and press her against the cold tile “Don’t play with me Bunny.
” I growl into her hair, my hand wrapping around that pretty little throat of hers and squeezing, not too hard, a warning.
Morning clings to her skin like the steam still lingering in the air.
She moves through the apartment wrapped in a tight tank top and way too short shorts, damp hair curling at the ends, bare feet silent against the floorboards.
I follow her without meaning to, drawn to her like gravity, instinct, something older than thought.
She smells of warm water and soap and the faint trace of my cologne that clung to her in the shower. It is enough to make my pulse stumble.
She pads into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes, unaware of the way I watch her.
She looks soft in the morning light, softer than she ever lets herself be, and the sight of it hits me with a force I am not prepared for.
I lean against the counter, arms folded, eyes fixed on her as she reaches for a glass.
Every movement she makes feels deliberate, even when it isn’t. Every breath she takes belongs to me.
I should give her space. I should let her start her day without me hovering like a shadow.
But I cannot. Not after last night. Not after the way she let me close.
Not after the way she trusted me with her body in the quiet, vulnerable hours before dawn.
The memory of her warmth against me, her breath on my neck, the way she leaned into my touch, plays behind my eyes like a film I cannot shut off.
It twists something deep inside me, something possessive and unsteady.
She turns, catching me staring. Her cheeks flush, barely, but I see it. I see everything. She looks away, pretending she isn’t affected, pretending she isn’t remembering the same things I am. It makes me smile, slow and involuntary, the kind that feels too honest.
I step closer, unable to stop myself. My hand lifts to her jaw, brushing a damp strand of hair behind her ear.
She goes still, breath hitching for a moment, and the reaction is enough to make my chest tighten.
I want to touch her again. I want to keep her close.
I want to hold her in this quiet morning light and pretend the world outside does not exist.
But the world always intrudes.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I ignore it at first, but it vibrates again, insistent. I pull it out, glance at the screen, and see Jaxon’s name. My stomach drops. Jaxon never calls twice unless something is wrong.
I answer, keeping my voice low so she doesn’t hear the shift in me.
“What.”
Jaxon’s tone is sharp, tense. “Kade, you need to get down here. Now.”
My jaw tightens. “Why.”
“There are some nasty looking motherfuckers sniffing around the warehouse,” he says. “And they’re not here by accident.”
The morning stills. The warmth evaporates. The world snaps back into focus.
I look at her, standing in my shirt, soft and quiet and safe in the space we built for a moment. And I feel something cold settle in my chest.
I glance back at Mara for a moment, her face locked onto mine, reading my emotions, noting the tension in my jaw “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” I snap, hanging up on him.
“I’ve got some business to take care of, are you heading into work today?
” I grab her by the waist and pull her towards me “Not today, I’ve got some time off booked for this Gala my parents are holding at their place.
” contemplation crosses her features, and it’s as though she has a light-bulb moment “Come with me?” she asks plainly, I ponder for a minute weighing the pros and cons, meeting her parents, the fucking gala itself, my mouth moves before I can think “When and where?”
“Its tomorrow night, we’d have to leave today to make the drive up, I have my dress already it was delivered yesterday morning, you’ll need a tux.” Her face lights up at my agreement to accompany her, I can’t help but smile down at her.
“I’ll come back later, and I do own a tux I’ll have you know.” I smirk at her before grabbing my car keys, wallet and heading towards the door.
“Didn’t we get in a cab last night?” she questions, I can’t help but chuckle.
“It’s cute you assume I wasn’t already here yesterday morning.
Her cheeks tint a hue of pink and red as I leave, I wink at her as the door closes.
I jog down the stairs in the same clothes I wore last night, barely awake, barely thinking, just moving.
The morning air is cold enough to bite, but it does nothing to cool the heat crawling up my spine.
I head straight for my car parked a couple streets over, striding fast, purposeful, already imagining the worst. I do not know who the fuck is snooping around my place, but they will regret it.
They will regret breathing near it. They will regret waking up today.