Widening his knees, Cade once again shifted in his chair, trying to ease the increasing tightness in his jeans. That happened more and more frequently now when he thought about her. He hadn’t wanted to feel this attraction whenever Addie was near or the charged zing of awareness whenever they happened to touch, but he did. Every. Single. Time. Denying it would be less than useless and he was done lying to himself. He’d been around her for almost two months, and in that time, she hadn’t done or said anything that hinted at a red flag of warning.
No, all she does is look at me as if she wants to lick me all over like a popsicle. He smiled at the thought.
The heat in her eyes had seared right through his resolve more than once. In the last week, he’d barely kept from kissing her more times than he could count. He wanted her, but aside from some smiles and laughter—two things that had been absent from his life for far too long—he had kept his distance, giving her time to recover. She seemed to have bounced back rather quickly from the assault, but then, she was resilient that way and he respected her for it. It hadn’t happened overnight, but day after day, her fear and doubt had slowly eked away and left the sweet, tempting woman he’d come to adore.
This desire he felt for her wasn’t right. He had no intention of staying, and Addie deserved so much better than him, but refusing her because of his own fears didn’t feel right, either. He saw the disappointment in her eyes whenever he figuratively dragged himself away, putting distance between them and temptation out of reach. But maybe she just wanted to feel needed for a while, wanted someone to make her feel loved. Maybe she wasn’t ready for forever.
Then again, maybe that was all him.
“Food’s ready,” their host cried from where he stood in front of the huge grill on the deck of their house several yards to the north.
The groups of people who’d been chatting and laughing around the bonfire slowly moved toward the house, still conversing as they went. Cade waited, staring at the flames, lost in his thoughts and the lust that burned inside him.
He didn’t know how long he sat there alone, but when a plate of food suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, he sat up a little startled. Following the hand that held the paper plate, to the arm, and then to the face of the woman who’d brought his meal, he couldn’t help how his chest expanded or the frisson of heat that swirled inside him. A grin curled his lips as he met Addie’s sparkling gaze.
“I thought you’d be hungry,” she said. “I didn’t want you to go without.”
He chuckled as he took the plate from her hand. “I’m sure there’s plenty. You didn’t have to do this.”
“I know,” she said, plopping down in the chair beside him, her own plate of food in her lap. “But I wanted to.”
A different kind of heat crawled up his neck. It had been a long time since anyone waited on him or since anyone had made him blush with pleasure by looking at him, but Addie did both all the time. And she made him want to return the favor.
He could get used to life with her.
They ate quietly for a few minutes, their silence a testament to either their hunger or how good the food really was.
“You’re awfully quiet today,” Addie said, after finishing most of her dinner.
He heard the question in her tone and shrugged. “Just not into big groups, I guess.” No way would he admit that he was too turned on by her right now to carry on a decent conversation with anyone.
“Do you want to leave?” she asked without looking his way, but he heard the concern in her tone.
He frowned at his food and shook his head. “No.”
“I don’t want you to feel trapped here. I thought you’d enjoy the party.”
He gently bumped his shoulder into hers and her head snapped toward him.
“I am enjoying myself,” he said with a little wink that made her blush. He hadn’t meant to make that comment sound so suggestive, but the deep pitch and gravelly quality of his voice more than hinted at the desire that had been rolling through him for the last week.
She lowered her chin and used her fork to fiddle with her food. “Are you?”
A lightning bolt zapped through him at the evocative heat that infused those two words. His jeans grew a little tighter and he held in the groan that wanted to break out. “Are you flirting with me, Addie?”
Her sweet, brown eyes were hooded and left no doubt about her meaning when she met his gaze. “Of course, I’m flirting with you, Cade. I think I’ve been trying to get your attention for weeks.”
He grinned. “You didn’t have to try. I noticed the day you picked me up on the side of the road.”
“Really?” The bonfire had nothing on the blaze in her eyes.
He nodded once, his gaze locked with hers. “Would you like me to prove it?”
Her playful grin did something to his heart—it leaped and stuttered and shot electric tingles of heat through his veins.
“Yes, please.”
The male part of him jumped with excitement, but he sobered and the smile slipped off his face. “Are you sure, Addie? My plans haven’t changed, and I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Yes,
