Hard to Love (15 page)

I whimpered.

“N
ot tonight, cupcake.”

I moaned in protest. “Cade.”

“
Shh
.” His finger continued its torturous
ministrations. “I’m not fucking you tonight.”

I
winced
at his use of the term. “You mean make love?” 

His finger stilled inside me. “No, I mean fuck. If you want to make love, you go see your country
-
club boy, if you want to be properly fucked, you come
to
me.” His voice was rough.
“But not until you’re ready. Not until you ask me.”

I nodded, knowing he was right. I wasn’t ready, but that didn’t mean I wanted him to stop, especially when I was so close again.

Cade slowly began working his long digit against that sensitive spot once again.
I gripped
his thighs
and I
squeezed my eyes closed as
an intense pressure built inside me and eventually blossomed into an earth-
shattering
orgasm.
He let out a low tortured groan
watching me with desire burning in his eyes.
My eyes fell closed in complete bliss as I rode out the sensations.

Suddenly
I couldn’t
wait any longer
to touch him
. I leaned forward and trailed a path of soft
,
damp
kisses along his shaft.
His scent was musky and
decidedly male
,
and
I wanted more
.
I
craved it in a way that was primal and entirely new to me.

I eased the head into my mouth, and suckled at the smooth skin. His breath released in a hiss
from
between his teeth. My hands joined in the fun, stroking up and down as I
devoured
the
length
of him.

“Damn, baby.” He groaned, his head dropping back against the couch.

I never knew this could be so pleasurable, but I found myself getting lost in the rhythm, sucking and licking and trailing my hands along his shaft.

“Just like that, angel. Stroke it.” He watched my hands work up and down his length and groaned a deep growl low in his throat. My heart jumped. Hearing those sounds come out of him was so sexy.
“I’m going to come,” he gasped.

Seconds later, h
ot jets of semen exploded
down the back of my throat and Cade released a final groan.

A
satisfied
smile crossed his lips and he looked down at me with wonder.
“Damn baby, you didn’t have to swallow it.” He stroked my jaw with his thumb, studying me carefully.
  

It wasn’t like I
’d
had a well-thought
-
out plan. I’d just done what I needed to do. I wasn’t about to go running for the bathroom, my behind jiggling
in his face
as I jogged away.
No
thank you
.
Besides, it hadn’t been that bad.

He smiled a sleepy grin. “In case you’re wondering…that felt fucking amazing.”

I
no longer
blanched at his overeager use of the F-
bomb,
it only endeared
him
to
me
more. Cade was all male. There’d be no changi
ng him, no tempering his ways.
Maybe it was my
strict
upbringing, but something inside me
envied
that.

Warmth
flooded
my cheeks
at his compliment,
and I
lift
ed
my chin to meet his eyes. He continued tracing lazy circles along my cheek, working his hand behind my hair to massage my neck, not bothering to tuck his softening cock back inside his pants.
Since he didn’t care about our semi-nude state, I relaxed into his caresses, resting my head on his thigh.

“That feel good, cupcake?” he whispered.

“Mm
-
hm
,” I mumbled, tilting my head to give him better access. His fingers reached nearly all the way around my neck and
he used
a
strong but
soothing pressure. I would go down on him every day if it meant getting a massage like this afterwards.
I
relaxed into his touch and soaked up the loving attention.

Several minutes later,
and on the verge of falling asleep, I
stood and redressed. Cade straightened his clothes
, pressed a quick kiss to my lips
and
then went down the hall
, I assumed
to check on Lily.
Above all else, h
e was a good big brother,
and that was all that really mattered
.

Unsure
of
what to do with myself, I gathered up the empty beer bottles and brought them to the kitchen to rinse them out. I set them on the counter by the sink
, wondering where he kept the recycling bin, or if he had one at all
. Cade entered the kitchen behind me.

“Just leave it. I’ll clean up in the mo
rning.” He pressed a kiss to the back of my neck
and I turned to hug him, comforted by his warm embrace.
“Let me walk you out. I want to make sure
you get to your car
safe
and sound
.”

I didn’t comment that
my car was only thirty feet away,
I simply nodded and allowed him
place
his hand on my lower back and
escort me to the door. Maybe it had something to do with us sharing
chicken
wings, and
football
, and oral sex. Whatever it was that had brought out his protective streak, I wasn’t about to complain. It was nice.

Chapter 13

Cade

Having Alexa’s willing body that close nearly sent me over the edge.
Watching her small hand close around my shaft
had
sent a throbbing rush of blood to my cock. Was I crazy enough
t
o believe that something would become of this, other than
a
friendship centered around Lily and the
side
benefits of worshipping her sweet body
once
the sun went down? Surely she had to realize that I didn’t fit into her life
,
n
ot by a long shot.
But I’d take what I could get, for as long as I could have it.

That night I fell asleep to the memory of Alexa’s gentle voice reading from Lily’s favorite book,
and
the way she animated the voices of each different character
to make
Lily chuckle. With a sleepy smile planted on my lips, I rolled over and fell asleep.

On Saturday Alexa called and asked if she could pick up Lily for a girls day.
After I recovered from my stunned silence, I’d agreed.
This girl continued
to level me. It
was like she knew
the way to my hardened heart
—
through Lily. Maybe I never considered a serious relationship
before
because no one
had
ever shown an interest in developing a relationship with
Lily
too.
O
nce they
found
out about my sister, they
usually
bail
ed
.

An hour later, Lily
chanted
Lexa’s
name
as she watched the
little BMW SUV
pull up alongside the curb. We met Alexa on the sidewalk. “So what are you girls up to today?”

“Well, I was thinking I’d leave it up to Miss Lily. We could have a beauty day at the spa, or
we could go
to
this boutique where you get to choose a ceramic figurine to paint.”

“Yeah!”
Lily’s face lit up.

“Which one
,
baby doll
?
You have to choose.” Alexa’s generosity was too much as it
wa
s.

Lily’s face scrunched up in concentration for a moment before she
looked up at Alexa. “Can we do both?”

Alexa
grinned
that crooked smile I’d grown fond of and nodded. “Sure
can,
swe
e
t pea.”

I helped buckle Lily in the backseat and placed her walker in the
rear
cargo space
,
then meet Alexa at the driver’s door. “You sure you’re okay with this?”

“Absolutely.
Go enjoy your Saturday. Just keep the
booty calls
to a minimum.”
She patted my chest.

“Will do.”

I watched them drive away.
The little girl who owned my heart and the beautiful Alexa who was pulling it in a
n entirely
new direction.

I took advantage of the
rare
opportunity
for an extra gym session
with
Ian
,
b
ut coming home to an empty house felt too weird. After about an hour
of aimless pacing and puttering
I decided to call Alexa and check on them. Maybe she was going crazy
. I
t
was definitely time to
check on her. I dialed her cell and she answered on the first ring.

“Hi Cade.”
She sounded out of breath.
“We finished at the ceramics place and grabbed some lunch. What’s up?”

I heard a squeal of laughter in the background. “Where are you guys?”

“At the spa
just down the road
.
Is it okay if Lily gets her hair cut? It’ll just be a trim.”

“Ah, sure.”
My neighbor lady usually cut it, but what the hell.
“Where are you guys? I could swing by and see Lily.”

“Sure. She’d love that I’m sure.” She gave me the directions and I set off in my truck, needing to get out of my too
-
quiet house.

When I walked in the spa, I was greeted by
the sounds of new age
music
mixed in with
bird calls and the babble of water,
and the
scent of lavender that was
so strong it slapped me in the face
.

I turned a corner and found
Alexa and Lily
seated
in a large chairs
, their feet propped up in front of them.

“
Caden
!”
Lily squealed once she spotted me.

They
wiggled their pink toe
nails at me. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be noticing. “
Look at that.
Two
very
pretty girls.”

They smiled at my compliment, so it app
eared I’d said the right thing and we made our way to the front.

“
Here.
”
Alexa
handed me her credit card. “Will you check us out? I want to run over to the bakery next door.
I’ll just be a minute.
”

“Sure.” I took the card, but planned to pay with my own once Alexa was outside. She’d done too much for us already. But when the girl at the counter told me the bill came to three-hundred dollars, I reluctantly handed over Alexa’s card.
Three hundred dollars for toe
nail polish and a couple of haircuts?
Their hair didn’t even look any different to me
. One thing was clear
—
Alexa le
d a lifestyle I’d never be able to afford. And I sure as shit didn’t need Lily getting used to this kind of treatment.

Alexa came back a few minutes later car
rying a little pink pastry box, looking smug. She signed the credit card slip and took her card from the counter, then headed outside to her car with Lily
in tow
. “See
ya
back at the house,” she called.

I stood by uselessly until they drove away,
then
stomped off to my truck.
I stopped on the drive home to pick up dinner for the three of us, needing to do something to
get
things
back under control.