Hard to Love (16 page)

Once
I got home I could hear
Lily
singing and playing
in
her bedroom and
found
Alexa sitting on the couch
waiting for me
. I set the bags of food on the
table
and
turned to
her
.
“You didn’t have to do all
that today
.”
My voice
came out
stern
er than I intended
.

She
stood
and placed her hands on her hips. “I know that, Cade. I wanted to. I never had a little sister. Did you ever think that maybe I like spending time with her?”

Shit. I sounded like a real prick.
I
rubbed
the back of my
neck
. “Sorry, it’s just this is new for me.”
There was no denying that the way Alexa was with Lily complicated things between us. It twisted my insides, and brought out my protective instincts.

Her expression softened. “It’s new for me too.”
She leaned her hip against the counter, drawing herself unconsciously closer to me.

I brought my hand up to cup her cheek, unable to resist touching her soft skin. I brushed my callused thumb along her jaw. “Hey.” Her eyes met mine. “I’m sorry. I get sensitive about her.”

“Yeah, I noticed. That’s the last time I try to do something nice.” Her tone was
serious, but
she
looked up at me with that crooked mischievous smile of her
s
.
I wanted to kiss the smirk off her
gorgeous
face.

“Aw, don’t be that way, cupcake.
Come
on
. Stay for dinner.”

She checked her watch. “That could probably be arranged.”

“You got somewhere to be? Don’t tell me
it’s
another hot date with that country club schmuck.”

She chuckled. “No, actually Peter hasn’t called. It’s just my mom’s been hounding me about coming over for dinner. Let me
step outside to
call her and see if I can postpone ti
l
l tomorrow night.”

“Sure.
Come
inside when you’re done.” 

Lily
came tearing down the hall to show
off
her matching pink fingernails and toenails and
the pink ceramic fairy she’d painted. It was like an explosion of pink had invaded my house
—
hell, my life.

“I’m
gonna
go put it in my room,” she announced, already heading down the hall.

Alexa
returned and headed straight for me
,
a smile on her face
.
I pulled her into a hug. “Well? Can you stay?”

She nuzzled into my neck and inhaled. “Yeah, but I had to make a deal with my mother.”

I kissed her lips then pulled back to look at her. “What’s that?”

“
I told her I was at my friend Cade’s and she insisted that you join us for dinner. Are you free tomorrow?”

“Dinner?
With your parents?”
I held her at arms’ length, looking her over. She couldn’t be serious. I thought we were just having fun, but this…meeting the parents was something more, wasn’t
it?

Her bottom lip jutted out. “Is that okay?”

“Ah, sure.
I can
probably
get Sophia to come over.”

Her smile
momentarily faltered at the mention of Sophia’s name
. “Okay.”

Alexa helped Lily wash her hands while I set the table.
I’d stopped at the neighborhood diner, and not knowing what Alexa would like, I’d picked up a burger and a grilled chicken salad
for her
, along with my usual burger and Lily’s grilled
-
cheese sandwich.

Once we were all seated around the table, Alexa chose the grilled chicken salad for dinner and Lily announced she wanted salad
,
too. Alexa graciously shared the salad, dividing it onto two plates while I stuffed the extra food in the fridge for dinner
another night
.

We made sm
a
l
l
talk while we
ate,
Alexa and Lily both
reminiscing
about their girls
’
day. Once we finished with dinner, Alexa hopped up from her chair. “Oh, I almost forgot. I got dessert.” She retrieved the pink
bakery
box from the counter.

I shook my head slowly. “You spoil us. What’d you get?”

“Cupcakes, what else?”
She grinned.

I chuckled and Lily clapped her hands, completely unaware of
Alexa’s nickname
.
I leaned back, draping an arm across the back of
Alexa’s
chair and watched
as
Alexa remove
d
a pink
-
frosted cupcake from the box and placed it in front of Lily, peeling
off
the paper
cup
. Lily’s eyes went wide and she wasted no time biting into the
enormous treat
. By her enthusiasm, you’d think I never fed the poor kid.  Alexa chuckled and wiped pink frosting from the tip of Lily’s nose.

We watched Lily demolish her cupcake in relative silence. “You didn’t have to do all this you know.”

“I wanted to,” she returned.

I knew there was no use
in
arguing with her, but something about it didn’t sit
quite
right with me. Was she here caring for Lily and hanging around me because she felt bad for us? We were not a fucking charity case for her to take pity on.

Seeming to sense my mood, Alexa dipped her index finger into the frosting of a cupcake and brought it to my mouth, her eyes sparkling with challenge. I reached out and gripped her wrist, my eyes locked on hers as I swirled my tongue gently across the pad of her finger.

Alexa let out a ragged moan. Lily giggled at the sight of us, pulling our attention back to the fact that we had an audience.

I cleared my throat, trying to regain some composure and stop the throbbing ache low in my balls.
“Do you want to show Alexa how to start your bath water while I clean up the kitchen?”

Lily hopped up and with one hand holding her walker, she grabbed for Alexa’s hand
with the other
. “Come on,
Lexa
. I’ll show you where I keep the bubbles.”

Watching the two of them together had me wondering if Lily needed more a more stable female role model in her life.
The thought was sobering.

I cleaned up the kitchen to the backdrop of pleasant sounds of feminine laughter and splashing water
coming from down the hall
.  Once I was through I peeked into the bathroom, finding Lily covered in bubbles, playing with her
bath
toys and Alexa kneeling over the side of the tub, wiggling that fine little ass at me. I took a moment to inspect her shapely backside, the way her jeans hugged her curves and the way her shirt had ridden up, exposing the curve of her lower back. She was sexy as hell and didn’t even know it. And seeing her nurturing side with Lily
—
hell, that just set off all kinds of alpha male in me. I wanted her.

They caught sight of me watching, and Alexa straightened, pulling her shirt down to cover the bare flesh of her back.

“
Lexa
,
you can have a bath and use my bubbles when I’m done, if you want
,” Lily said.

Alexa’s eyes went wide, blush rising in her cheeks.
She gave the little girl a tremulous smile.
“Oh,
no thanks, sweetheart.
It’s okay
.”

“Finish up. It’s bedtime,” I growled.

They turned at the gruffness of my voice and Alexa’s eyes lingered on mine. “Come on,
lets
rinse you off,” she instructed, her voice just as shaky as mine.

Alexa tucked Lily into bed and met me in the living room.
Without a word or a single
moment of
hesitation, Alexa crossed the room, and lowered herself on my lap. I
cupped
her ass
, tugging her
in closer, and kissed her.
Her soft, tender kisses were messing with my head. This no longer felt like we were just
fooling
around.  It felt like more.
Much more.

Chapter 14

Alexa

Cade had turned on a movie under the ploy of us cuddling on the couch, but the way his body was pressed firmly against my backside, and he nuzzl
ed
and nibbl
ed
at my neck was a teensy bit distracting. I could feel his heartbeat against my body, and
relaxed into the comfort he provided, even if it couldn’t last forever.

“Where do you live,
Lex
?”
he asked softly.

“
Hm
?”

He
absently twirled a lock of
my
hair around
his
finger.

“Across town.”
I
yawned. “Why?”

“I don’t like you having to drive home late at night in the dark.
” His gentle concern hung in the air around us feeling out of place, but sweet nonetheless.
“
But if you stayed here… Lily would ask all kinds of questions
that
I’m not ready to answer.”

What he meant was
,
he wasn’t yet ready to discuss where this relationship was heading.
Were
we
even in relationship territory?
God, I really needed to get a grip
.
“It’s fine Cade. I live in a safe building. I have underground parking and a doorman.”
I didn’t mention the on
-
site fitness center, spa and twenty-four
hour
concierge,
knowing
they
were a part of my life that Cade wasn’t used to
.

He didn’t press the issue further, but I could tell my answer hadn’t satisfied him.
He
draped a heavy arm around my middle and tugged me in tighter against him.

“How is it possible you’re still a virgin,
cupcake?
You’re sexy as hell.”

I considered not only his question, but also my answer. It
wasn’t something I’d
planned on. “I went to an all-girls private school, and the few dates I had were mostly chaperon
e
s to my dances, arranged by my parents. We spent Christmases in Aspen, summers at our lake house, and I guess there just really wasn’t time.”

I shifted, snuggling in closer to his warm body. “I decided to stay nearby for college rather than moving away and finding my own path like I’d promised myself I would. And I guess I just kept right on the living
in
the mold my parents had created.
Stupid
,
huh?”

“Not at all, baby. That’s not what I meant.”  He
gave me a squeeze,
holding me close. “I know I’m not the type you
usually date, but maybe…just for
now…”

“
Shh
. Let’s just go with it
, Cade.”
I laced my
fingers
with his and brought
them
to my lips to press a kiss to the back of his hand. He chuckled against my ear, sending a warm whisper of
breath
down the back of my neck.

“I can think of something I’d like you kissing bette
r than my hand
.” His voice was low and rough.

I reached behind me to feel the
growing erection in his jeans
and he sucked in
a
r
agged breath. I
rolled
over on the narrow couch so that I was facing him.
His eyes were dark and intense, and full of desire. Wordlessly, we each began unbuttoning
the
other’s jeans while our tongues
collided in a frantic kiss.

Cade yanked my jeans down my legs, taking my panties with them. I tugged his pants and boxers down just enough until I felt the warmth of his solid cock pressing against my naked belly.
I grasped him in both hands, plentiful as he was, and carefully stroked him.