Well, that made him feel good. At least, he wasn’t the only one feeling the powerful emotion—lust or love, whatever it was—always zapping between them. Still, something about her last sentence squeezed his heart.
“What should we do about it?” he asked, a smile pulling at his lips again.
She glanced up at the sky, a darker gray than blue, then at the small groups eating and chatting. When she turned back to him, a gleam of internal fire burned in her eyes as she leaned in and whispered, “You want to get out of here?”
His heart thumped almost painfully in his chest and his sudden impatience to leave had his mouth as dry as the desert sand. But he couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “Absolutely.”
Apparently not needing any other encouragement, Addie grabbed his nearly empty plate and set it on top of hers. “Let me say our goodbyes and I’ll meet you at the truck.”
He nodded. “It’ll be running.”
She giggled as she walked away and Cade took the opportunity to admire her in her stiff new jeans and cowboy boots. He loved her curves, the softness of her skin, and the way she looked at him. The emotion in her eyes had frightened him at first, but now he hated to go a day without seeing it. She had changed something in him, or maybe he’d done it himself. Either way, when he was with Addie, he felt as if he could do anything—maybe even find forgiveness for the brother who had broken his heart.
Cade was just about to climb into the cab of her truck when he heard Helga shout, “Addie! Don’t forget about the ’Fest next weekend. You promised to join us.”
“I won’t. I’ll be there,” Addie shouted back as she rounded the front of the truck.
Cade glanced out his window and saw Lana and Veta had joined Helga on the front deck. The two sisters smiled, but Lana’s held more than a friendly invitation. He mentally reminded himself to thank Veta the next time he saw her for rescuing him from her sister earlier. With all the pent-up feelings swirling around inside him all night, if he’d heard Lana giggle or say “Oh, Cade” in that breathy way one more time, he didn’t know what he would’ve said. Not that he disliked the girl, but she was too young for him. Besides, his interest lay in the woman sliding into the truck beside him.
“And bring that young man with you,” Helga said, waving goodbye to Cade, who replied in kind, wondering what he was being dragged into now.
Addie glanced at him and chuckled. “I will, Helga. Thanks! See you soon.”
Still giggling, Addie pulled her seatbelt around her.
“What was that about?” Cade asked as he put the truck into gear and maneuvered onto the driveway.
“Oh, nothing, really,” Addie said, smiling at him, that hot flame of desire still bright in her eyes. “She wants us to join them at the Oktoberfest in town next Saturday. And she said that you might be more fun if you had a little more to drink.”
He chuckled. “I see. I guess I’ll need to apologize for my standoffishness the next time I see them.”
“I don’t think she was offended,” Addie said. “It was more like she was worried about you.”
He glanced at her and reached for her hand. “I’m fine. With you, I’m more than fine.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles, then flicked out his tongue to taste her skin—sweet and salty, just like her.
She gasped, so he did it again, and then lowered their hands to the seat. He did not let go, even when he had to shift.
“I want to make you feel good, too, Addie. I want to touch and taste every inch of you, feel your body beneath me, and hear your sweet, little moans before I make you scream my name. I want it all.”
Silence greeted his declaration and his heart slammed into his belly. Hot and cold swept over his skin, and he was afraid to look over at her, afraid of what he’d see, but he did it anyway. He had to.
She stared at him, her lips parted, rosiness riding high on her cheeks, and the spark of flame that had been in her eyes had turned into a roaring bonfire of need.
“I want that too, Cade,” she said, her voice rasping in her throat. “I want all of that and more.”
His already half-hard shaft swelled and fire surged through his veins. Too much sensation assaulted him as he tried to concentrate on the short drive back to the house. So much so, that he didn’t think about what she might’ve meant by “all that and more.” With her lavender scent driving him wild with lust and something else he couldn’t quite discern, his foot pressed on the accelerator a little harder, willing to risk a ticket if it meant getting his hands on those soft, sexy curves of hers one second sooner.
“Tonight, sweetheart,” he purred as they slowed to turn onto her driveway, “you’ll get everything you want and,” he lowered his voice, “maybe some things you didn’t even know you needed.”
Her hand tightened on his. “Oh, yes, please!”
Chapter 13
The truck came to a lurching halt in front of Addie’s barn, the tires kicking up a cloud of dust that billowed outside the windows. Tiny bits of rock plinked on the truck’s roof as the airborne soil began to settle back to earth. The new motion light Cade had installed had spotlighted the truck as they pulled up, chasing out the shadows and making Addie blink. But she couldn’t fault Cade for his enthusiasm in getting home quickly. Excited anticipation pressed in on her,
