Kade's Game (19 page)

"What the hell?" I ask in my dry morning voice, glaring at Tag like he's lost his
damn mind.

He could have seen Raya
—

Where's she at?

Hot breaths on my hip answer that while making my morning arousal painful.  Picturing Raya's body in the light is already driving me mad.

"Sorry," Tag huffs, reminding me he's still here.  "Your mother called and said Raya never came back last night.  She's pissed at you, and your parents both went out looking for her.  Her bags are in her room.  For some ungodly reason, your mom thought she might have crashed with me at my place.  I told her I knew you had it bad for her, and I'd never cross that line.  She didn't believe me."

Tag sounds wounded, but I'm a little distracted by the fact my mother thinks I'd let my girl wander around Aspen.  Actually, it pisses me off.  But my ugly scowl involuntarily turns into a grin when I pull the sheet back, only exposing Raya's face that is dangerously close to my lower half.

Her eyes meet mine, and a sweet blush crawls over her cheeks, making her look even better than I thought this morning.  Tag needs to go.

"As you can see, Raya is perfectly safe," I say smugly, not caring if Tag notices the fact that I'm naked.  Maybe he'll leave quicker.

Tag bursts out laughing as Raya pulls the sheets tighter over her chest.  Like I'd let Tag see her perfect tits.  He'd stalk her if he saw them.  And I'd end up killing a man I call family.

"Fucking finally," Tag says through his laughter.

"That's what I said," I say, giving Raya a grin.

She rolls her eyes while snuggling in closer to me, and I slide down to start trailing kisses over her face as Tag pulls out his phone.  When my lips find hers, everything feels just as perfect as it did last night.  No regrets.  She doesn't regret it.

"Good morning," I murmur softly, unable to control my stupid grin.  "Still good?"

"Definitely," she says breathily, killing any worries I might have had about this going too fast for her.

"Yeah," Tag says into his phone.  "She's safe... No, she was here all night...  Where did I find her?" When Tag turns toward us, I see the mischief in his eyes.  He's determined to embarrass the hell out of Raya.  "Kade's bed."

Raya in my bed.  I could get used to that.

"Oh no," she groans, embarrassed.  She covers her head when I start chuckling.

But my laughter fades once the sight of her is gone and she's no longer distracting me.  I can't believe Mom thinks I'd just leave Raya out there alone.

"Tell my mother I'd never let Raya wander the streets all night.  I wouldn't have been here if she had been missing."

Tag smirks, but my breath gets caught in my throat when Raya starts kissing my side, letting her full lips drag across my skin.  Early morning tease.

I start rubbing her back, prompting Tag to get lost with my eyes.  The bastard doesn't take the hint.  Raya's lips start inching toward my cock, her head moving under the covers and drawing Tag's eyes.

"You can get lost now," I growl, glaring at him when I see him thinking shit he shouldn't be thinking.

"I bet," Tag says knowingly, shutting the door behind him.

I jerk the covers back just as Raya's mouth takes me, making my breaths painful.  Holy shit.  I'm definitely ruined. Best. Morning. Ever.

Chapter Twelve

"It's been forever since you had a party.  What the hell, Kade?" Brock asks.

I tuck the phone between my shoulder and ear as I dump the last of the tuna cans into the trash.  I've been busying myself all day with meaningless tasks to keep my mind off why Raya isn't answering her phone.

She left earlier, wouldn't tell me where she was going, and now I'm starting to get worried.  I realize we've only been dating for three weeks, but I don't like her keeping secrets from me.

"Sorry.  I've been busy," I lie.

It's hard to share Raya right now, and a party takes up too much of my time.  Not to mention, Raya isn't overly fond of parties.  Maybe after some of the new wears off I'll get back to business.  Right now I just want to enjoy this.

"You two are getting really close really quick," Brock says, surprising me.  "Just don't let her control you."

I laugh, only because that's ridiculous.  "She's not controlling me."

"Then why have you stopped hanging out with us and having parties?  It's not a secret that Raya is a recluse.  Now you're turning into one."

I roll my eyes while tying up the trash bag and walking it down to outside trashcan.  It'd probably be wise to omit what I'm doing right now.

"I'm not a recluse.  I had Raya's family thing, a week in
Aspen, and then several other things to do.  Then I've got work, too.  Sorry.  It's just been hectic."

My stomach twists in anticipation, waiting for Raya to get home.  She needs to hurry.  I can't wait to show her the vineyard.

"Whatever.  Call me if you decide you want to go with us to Silk next weekend."

I hang up just as the door to the front opens.  Finally.

"There you are," I say, grinning as she lifts her eyes to meet mine.  But something's wrong.

When she wraps her arms around me and hugs me like she needs me, I get worried
.

"You okay?" I ask when she trembles in my arms.

"I am now," she says softly, her body moving closer to mine.

I’ve never felt as though I was important—something necessary. Until this moment, no one has ever made me feel needed. But right now, I’d give my soul to the highest bidder to always feel this way. Because I really like being the person she chose to come to. I’ve never had that before, and that’s a level of trust that warms me to my core.

I start kissing her cheek, slowly moving my lips to find hers, not knowing what else to do.  What was meant to be a soft kiss turns into a hungry, desperate entanglement.  My tongue slips into her mouth, and her hands fist in my hair as she pulls me closer.  Before I know it, I've picked her up by her ass and her legs have wrapped around me.

Her kiss becomes more devouring, and she melts in my arms, losing whatever was weighing her down when she walked in.

"I love you," she says suddenly, shocking me to the point I go stiff and still, releasing my lips from hers as those three words slowly sink in.

She loves me?  I couldn't have heard that right.  I'm not ready for that.  She's not ready for that.  We just started dating.

I don't know how I'm supposed to react to that.  It's all happening so fast since I finally got her, and I'm not sure what I feel.

She starts to withdraw, probably feeling rejected.  I may not be ready to say it, but I'm sure as hell not ready to lose her.

Before she can fully back away, I jerk her to me and give her the most powerful kiss I possibly can, reassuring her that I need her here with me.  I pick her up, push her against the wall, and groan when she wraps her legs around my waist again.

Bedroom.  We need to be in the bedroom.  Now.

She holds on to me while I carry her across the house to our bedroom, preparing to make sure she never doubts what I feel for her.  I've never needed something so badly as I need this.  My body is on fire, and the way she's kissing me back only fuels me, making me hungrier.

Once I have her on the bed, I do good not to rip her clothes off like some barbarian.  They land in a heap, seeming intact, and I revel in her bare body beneath me.

I feel like I've let her down when I see her expectant eyes.  She's still waiting on me to say it.

"I want you to stay here," I murmur while kissing her neck, simultaneously kicking out of my jeans.

She doesn't say anything, which worries me, but then she pulls my shirt over my head, making it hard to think about anything else.  My mouth is back on hers.  She parts her lips, inviting my tongue in, and I'm quick to take the invitation.  I grab a condom from beside the bed without breaking the kiss, and then slip it on.

Her words keep running through my head, and her silence is driving me crazy.  It stirs a primal need in me to make her say it again.  When I sink in and she tightens around me, I lose it.

Any sense of sanity is stolen away with every new twist of her tongue in my mouth.  My thrusts get so forceful that I'm forced to break the kiss, which enables me to watch her as I bring her closer to the ecstasy she wants.  It's too much.  I need to close my eyes, but I can't.

My breath catches in my throat when the words she wants to hear roll to the tip of my tongue, but I swallow them back down and channel all my energy into giving her something she'll never forget.  When a harsh grunt falls through her lips, that primal stir kicks back in, leaving me greedily wanting more.

She moans, screams, and calls my name out in unison, a medley that causes me to explode.  My whole body goes stiff for a minute as everything in me tenses and shudders in release, and I start to worry I'm about to black out.  I believe I just found the definition of
epic
.

Slowly, my body turns languid and I drop down to be on top of her, my head coming down on her chest.  I decide to keep her pinned in case she tries to move, because I don't have the energy it would take to bring her back.

Her fingers running through my hair calm my worry, letting me know I haven't ruined this by not telling her what she wants to hear.  My whole body relaxes, but I still want her to promise to stay.

"I mean it, Raya," I say while panting for air, sounding as though I just swam across the ocean.

Holy shit.  I don't know if I'll ever be able to move again.

"Hmm?" she mutters absently, her fingers still slipping through my hair.

"I want you to stay here.  I don't want you leaving at the beginning of the semester."

She's quiet for a minute, so I start making plans to kidnap her.  Obviously that's the next sane choice.

"I won't leave," she says, allowing me to put away my blueprints for abduction.

"Good.  Now how the hell am I supposed to drive to the vineyard after that?"

Her laughter fills the room, bringing me a peace I didn't know I lacked.  I'm not sure what she's doing to me, but I hope she never stops.

Home.  That's what this place
has always been to me.  When the grapes are in season, this place can't get any more beautiful.  I have a feeling that'll change once I see Raya in it.  The grapes won't seem as glorious anymore.  The more I think about it, the more it scares the hell out of me.

"So... this is it," I say while pulling in, unable to hold back my excited grin as I shove all my worries away.

"Colton Wines?" she asks, her eyes trained on the sign. "This is your family's?"

I wanted her shocked, and she is.

"My grandfather's.  My dad's dad."

Her eyes scour the land, taking everything in, and her mouth drops as it all registers.  Then she looks back to me.

"So not what I was expecting, considering the way everyone has depicted your father's upbringing."

I snicker while turning down the ungodly driveway.  I always forget how long this damn thing is.

I explain the summarized version of how Colton Farms became Colton Wines, enjoying the way she seems to be hanging on every detail.  She never once seems bored or annoyed as she soaks it all in.  In fact, she seems to be mesmerized, which only empowers me.

"This is the business you'll be taking over?" she asks when I finish, letting all the pieces work together, and I can't help but smile bigger.  It feels good to be sharing this with her and seeing her so interested.

"Yep.  People assume I'll be taking over Burndell Industries, but I couldn't care less about all that boring shit.  This... this is me.  It's my home.  When I came out here as a kid, I couldn't get enough of the farm.  Granddad taught me about the grapes, the lands, and the farming portion of the business.  The older I got, the more I came out here.  I'm here once a week usually.  It's been a little longer since I came out here... since I haven't been able to tear myself away from you since you moved in."

I see the house just ahead, so I pull her hand in mine to kiss it before parking the car.  Her grin is infectious.

"Wow," I hear her gasp in awe as I step out of the car.

Her eyes are moving around quickly, making sure she takes in every bit of the cedar, hand-carved details
, and breathtaking landscape.  I'm not sure why it matters so much to me for her to like it, but now it feels as though I can take a breath.

"There's my boy," Granddad's voice announces, making me smile as I head toward him.

The chemo seems to be working good for him, considering how well he's getting around.  I'm not big on hugging usually, but he's an exception, considering he's the only person in this world who has ever had complete and total faith in me.

He pats my back roughly, proving he has plenty of strength, and then he whistles when he sees Raya, appraising her as though he's impressed.  If he's impressed now, he'll be blown away once he gets to know her.