Framed (26 page)

That was my chest. Mine to run my fingers over and to trace the outline of his tattoo with my tongue. And seeing it first thing as I opened my eyes made me instantly wet. Reaching out, I curled my hand around his neck and pulled him to my mouth. I nipped his lip, then ran my tongue across his bottom lip until he opened his mouth and gave me what I wanted.

“Come back to bed,” I said as I scored his back with my nails, making him groan in the process.

Kade reacted by pulling the covers down from my naked body and wrapping his warm mouth around my aching nipple. He sucked deep, his tongue swirling twice before he nipped my nipple, sending a gush of wetness between my legs.

“Gorgeous, as much as I want to say yes, D is here to start your training,” Kade muttered as his hand moved down my body and landed between my legs. I arched up, inviting his fingers to dance.

“What training?” I asked as his thumb found my clit and rolled the bundle of nerves.

“I wanna make sure if you find yourself in a situation like the other day, you can defend yourself,” he answered as his fingers slid through my wet folds.

“And you and Mickey are gonna teach me this?” I breathed out before I arched my head at the feel of his fingers entering me.

“Yeah. An hour a day until you have it down,” Kade answered absentmindedly, his focus now on my body as he picked up the pace, rolled my clit, then latched on to my nipple again. Heat engulfed me when his warm mouth tugged and I begged him.

“Kade, please.”

“You want my cock?” he asked around my nipple.

“Yes. God, yes.”

“Fuck, I can’t say no to you. This doesn’t bode well for my future,” Kade complained, but stood anyway, thank God, and ripped the shorts from his body. “Up on your knees, baby. I wanna see that ass while I ride you.”

I climbed to my knees quickly. Kade stepped between my open legs, running his fingers through my folds again. “You want my cock, you got it,” he growled and then slammed into my wet depths. He wrapped his hand in my hair and pulled back, arching my neck as he pounded my core.

“This what you wanted?” Kade hissed.

“Always,” I answered.

“Open wider and take me deeper. You wanted it, you’re gonna take it all.”

I spread my legs like he asked, allowing Kade to sink to the hilt, and he moaned.

“Harder,” I begged.

“I’m gonna split you in two if I go harder.”

“Don’t care, harder,” I shouted.

Kade slammed harder, grunting through his thrusts. I could feel his cock thicken and grow and knew he was close. I reached up and touched myself. The feel of his pounding as I teased my clit sent me spiraling towards a fast climb to completion

“Jesus,” Kade groaned, “That’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” he whispered in my ear. His free hand came up then, and he pinched and rolled my nipple. The combination between his cock, my hand, and his fingers sent a rush of electricity bolting through me and I bucked, tightening around him, and then screamed out as pleasure so intense rocked my body that I thought I’d die from the beauty of it.

Kade thrust once more and then buried himself deep and emptied into my core, a low sexy growl spilling from his mouth. We collapsed to the bed after, and he rolled to keep from squishing me, taking me with him.

“Jesus, you wear me out,” he mumbled.

“If you want me to leave you alone, just say so,” I giggled.

Kade snorted, then rolled back into me. “That’s not gonna happen. You want my cock, all you have to do is ask.”

“Any time, anywhere?” I asked with shallow breaths.

“Your wish is my command, princess,” he chuckled in my ear, nibbling on the lobe as I caught my breath.

“So, about this training . . .” Kade lifted up and looked at me, smiling. “Will you teach me how to shoot a gun?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Damn. I begged my father for years to show me and he won’t.”

“Smart man,” Kade said, rising up on his elbows.

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“Babe . . . You’re headstrong and got a temper.”

“I am not,” I clipped short, pushing him off and rising from the bed to look down at him.

“You’re pissed right now,” he accurately concluded, chuckling as he rose from the bed. “Proving my point.”

“What point is that?”

“You’d shoot first and ask questions later.”

Damn, he had me there. I would definitely shoot first and ask questions later.

“Then what are you going to teach me that I can actually use? How to kick a man in the crotch? Believe me, Kade; I already know how to do that.”

In one swift movement, Kade used his leg to take mine out from underneath me. I landed on the bed face up, caught off guard. My hands raised instinctively to protect myself, but Kade threw a jab between them with his palm up, stopping right before he punched me in the neck.

“The quickest way to stop a male is to punch him in the Adams Apple then sweep his legs out from under him, giving you time to get away. He won’t be able to speak, or see for that matter, after a hit like that. It will incapacitate him and keep him from calling out for backup, which allows you to get away.”

A smile broke across my lips. “Can I practice that on you?”

“I’m the only one you’re allowed to practice with.”

“Then why is Mickey here?”

“I need to be able to demonstrate the correct technique. I’ll show you what it’s supposed to look like on D, then you’ll try to use it on me.”

“So I get to punch you then knock you to your back?” I asked, grinning in anticipation.

Kade narrowed his eyes at my grinning mouth. “Why does the thought of punching me make you smile?”

“No reason,” I shrugged.

Let’s see: you keep me inside like a prisoner, won’t tell me what’s going on, and you leave me out of important meetings with Chapel.

“Just get dressed in something you can move in,” Kade sighed, not believing for a moment I wouldn’t enjoy causing him pain, “and try to behave yourself.”

Nodding, I moved to the dresser and pulled out my workout clothes while Kade pulled his shorts back on. Once he was dressed, he started to strip the sheets from the bed per usual.

We’d been sharing this room for a week now and he always beat me to making the bed each day.

“Leave it; I’ll get that later,” I mumbled as I searched for clean underwear, watching Kade in the mirror as he worked. He didn’t know I was watching him. If he had, I bet he wouldn’t have rolled his eyes and snorted at my offer.

Great, he’s one of those men who needed everything in its place just to function. So I don’t make the bed the second I roll out of it, sue me. Not everyone is fastidious. Some of us don’t mind a little clutter.

Actually, now that I thought about it, I’d driven my dad crazy as a kid with my messes, too
.
And since Kade is ex-Navy
I could foresee this being a problem in the future, as well. Damn the military and their ‘cleanliness is next to God and country’ belief. They ruin perfectly good men who don’t normally clean shit and turn them into organizational zealots.

“I’ll meet you on the beach,” Kade said when he was done with the bed, kissing the top of my head when he passed. When he was gone, I looked at the military corners and was tempted to jump on the bed just to mess them up.

Childish, yes, but . . .

I rolled my own eyes at my foolishness, then took a shower and got dressed in a halter bra of bright pink with black strips running down the side and matching black yoga pants with a matching bright pink strip. I donned my trainers, then pulled my hair up and brushed my teeth. After I’d slathered moisturizer with sun block on my face, I went in search of Kade and Mickey. I found them on the beach talking with two women. Both were blond and sporting teeny tiny bikinis. D smiled as the women flirted. My hackles rose as I started down the steps when one of the women reached out and touched Kade’s tattoo. Kade stepped back out of her reach, but it was too late. I saw red.

“Hey,” I shouted and all eyes turned to me. “You wanna keep your hands off my chest?”

Kade rolled his lips between his teeth as I approached, his eyes crinkling at the side.

He thought I was funny. Whatever.

The women took one look at my face and spit out, “Later,” then made a fast retreat.

“Yeah, keep on walking,” I mumbled as they hustled up the beach.

“Babe,” Kade chuckled.

“My chest,” I scolded, pointing at said chest.

“Jesus, you look good enough to eat,” Mickey said as I approached, his eyes raking over my body.

Before I could respond, he landed on his back, clutching his neck. Kade stood over him scowling, his right hand still extended.

“And that, gorgeous, is a perfect example of a throat punch,” Kade said still scowling down on Mickey.

“Would you suggest a foot to the balls right about now?” I teased. Poor Mickey would never learn.

“In most cases I’d say no, just get the hell out of there. But in this case, you’re more than welcome to practice,” Kade grinned.

“Tempting,” I chuckled.

“My bad,” Mickey literally wheezed out. “You have permission to kick my balls.”

“I’ll pass; but thank you for your offer.”

“All right, enough fun and games, let’s begin,” Kade said, all business as he reached out and helped Mickey to his feet.

Such was my life for the next few days. Eat, sleep, learn to protect myself, and try not to go stir crazy. With each day, I grew more frustrated, until one day the damn broke . . .

***

The surf is where I’d always felt at home. Growing up, my friends and I would spend every minute we could on the beach. We always had a boogie board or surfboard in hand, trying to catch a wave big enough to catapult us across the water. It was my haven from the world; it insulated me from shit that had swirled around me over the years. Therefore, it was only natural that I sought solace in the waves from the ever-watchful eyes of Kade and his crew.

I’d donned my favorite bikini as the boys had another
private
meeting and announced I was hitting the waves. Of course, that meant they had to move their meeting outside onto the deck so they could keep an eye on me.

I hadn’t been allowed to leave the house in five days and the constant flux of bodyguards that came and went was wearing thin. No one had seen hide nor hair of the white van or Pirate Roberts near the garage or the beach house. It was as if he’d disappeared. This further irritated my cabin fever because if he’d given up or succumbed to the gunshot wound he’d received, then my house arrest wasn’t needed. Kyle came and went, Kade came and went, even my father came and went, but I was stuck in hiding out of fear that Pirate Man might try to grab me. I couldn’t go to the office, I had to tell the dog shelter I was on hiatus from IDPT until further notice, and none of it sat well with me. Kade didn’t trust me in anyone else’s care, so I couldn’t leave the house unless I was with him. A trip to the grocery store now took twice as long because I was so tired of being stuck at his house that I dragged my feet. Picking the perfect tomato could take upwards of ten minutes in my current state. The only bright part of my day was when Kade taught me basic self-defense because I got to hit someone. I could now gouge the eyes out of a man, flatten his Adams Apple, and sweep his legs out from under him like a pro. Well, maybe not a pro, but Prez said he wouldn’t want to piss me off.

Kade and I were suddenly living together after being on our own for many years and it wasn’t going well. I was laid-back, didn’t sweat the small stuff and he was military precision. I made my bed when I thought about it, but he wanted it done as soon as he rose for the day. I washed dishes when there was enough to be worth my time and he thought the deck should be swabbed daily whether it needed it or not. We hadn’t fought about our differences yet, but with each day that passed the more he sighed and clenched his teeth when he saw what he perceived to be a mess.

I was stuck with nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs and think. And with time alone to think, those differences became more apparent. They were a big warning sign to proceed with caution; that, or I’d kill him in his sleep.

For example, this morning when he got up, I made pancakes for all three of us. When we were done eating, I cleared the table and put the dishes in soapy water because syrup needed time to soak before you washed them. When Kade saw I wasn’t going to wash them immediately
,
he got up without a word and headed for the sink. Now, any other time I might have thought he was being thoughtful since I’d cooked, but the dramatic sigh he let out came through loud and clear. He was annoyed. Problem was, I was annoyed, too. For a whole host of different reasons. So I let him wash the dishes out of spite, then went into the bedroom and messed up the bed he’d just made. No, it wasn’t my finest moment, but everyone reverts to childhood antics when they’re stressed. At least that’s what I kept telling myself. So I kept biting my tongue, as painful as that was, because Kade had just endured two years of hell and it was the least I could do until this nightmare was resolved.

It was clear, however, we were going to kill each other soon if something didn’t give, I could feel it. We’d had no time to adjust to being a couple, to get to know each other and our habits before being thrown together twenty-four seven. It should have been a gradual progression as opposed to being roommates overnight. The problem was, I didn’t know what to do about it short of morphing my laid-back attitude to fit his military precision, which would only cause more frustration. Something had to give soon before we ended up spewing words we couldn’t take back.

I was thinking about that as I trudged through the surf, watching Buck and Buttercup frolic on the beach, chasing sand crabs as they darted back inside their holes. For their difference in size, thankfully they got along well and had become fast friends. When I looked towards the deck where The Brute Squad stood sentry, a large wave snuck up on me while my back was turned. It took my feet out from under me, tumbling me roughly in its foamy tide. I stood up to catch my breath, but my hair was covering my face, making it hard to breathe. When I finally cleared my eyes and took a deep breath, I looked up and saw Kade storming from the deck with a towel in hand. It took me about three seconds to realize why. When the wind kicked up and cooled my skin, causing my nipples to pebble, I looked down and realized my top had come off, swept out with the tide. I turned around quickly to shield my body from The Brute Squad, though the fact Kade was approaching meant it was probably too late, only to face what looked like college aged men bobbing in the water about fifty yards away. I’d covered my breasts, but I wasn’t on the small size. I whipped back around wanting that towel Kade had, just as he hit the water and I started laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. I couldn’t help it. My life had become a comedy of errors.