He cried out at his release, his heart pounding in his chest. Words pushed into his mouth. Sweet words, possessive words, words that would change his life and break his heart all over again. Three little words were ready to fall off his tongue, but fear and insecurity pushed them back down his throat.
Instead, he reached down and pulled her up, crushing her against his chest. He wanted her for more than just the physical pleasure she gave him. He wanted her smile, her laugh, that sweet, loving looking in her eyes. He wanted it all, every day.
She wiggled and he loosened his hold. He thought she would pull away, but she surprised him once again by pushing up on her toes to kiss him. Not the slow, gentle kisses she’d given him for the last week, but a hot, needful, demanding kiss that had his body heating again.
She broke the kiss to stare into his eyes, her chest rapidly rising and falling against his. “Is it too soon?”
“Hell no,” Cade growled, pulling her to him and this time, he was the one devouring her lips.
Chapter 24
The gray, overcast sky outside the sliding glass door looked ominous as Addie closed her laptop with a smile. The clouds looked heavy with the promise of snow. The evening temperatures had been well below freezing for the last week, and the daytime highs had been almost as cold. Not that she had minded; she looked forward to the change in weather. And even though the house might be a little colder at night, Cade had made sure to keep her warm.
Ever since that hot scene with him in the shower and the even hotter sex in her bed right after, Addie hadn’t spent another night alone. Even if their evenings weren’t always filled with ardent kisses and passionate lovemaking, she couldn’t get enough of Cade. He was sweet and funny and caring, and she had fallen for him…hard. She hadn’t meant to let her heart get this attached, but it was too late now.
He had never said that he’d changed his mind about staying, but she had high hopes that he would. After all, he seemed as interested in her as she was in him.
Still, doubt sometimes squeezed her heart, but she wouldn’t listen. Cade could have left weeks ago, but he hadn’t. That had to mean something. Right?
Addie pushed back from the table where she’d spent her morning finishing her most recent literary work and stood to stretch a little. Then, pulling her quilted flannel a little closer, she walked to the glass door and stared out at the dreary landscape. The vegetable garden had long since been cleaned out and covered, ready for next year’s crop, and the grass that had once been overgrown and weed-filled was now trimmed and green. By the look of the sky—and the early morning forecast—heavy snow would cover everything by nightfall.
I hope Cade and Jorje get back before it gets too deep, she thought. They were fixing a downed fence on the far end of her acreage today. Some of her cattle had pushed through a weak spot and invaded Mark Harden’s property during the night. His call had come as they were about to have breakfast and had ruined her thoughts about convincing Cade to stay home with long, lingering kisses.
“Sweetheart,” Cade had said, his voice low and raspy after her first kiss, “I’ve got work to do.”
“It can wait,” she’d replied as she kissed his neck. His hands had pressed into her back, holding her a little closer, and she heard a needful sigh escape his lips.
“Jorje is already here,” he murmured halfheartedly as she nibbled at his ear in the hallway.
“I’ll send him home,” she said, undeterred. “I’m sure he’d love a day off.”
“There’s snow coming.”
“I know…”
“Addie…” He grabbed her arms and gently pushed her back. His vivid blue eyes were dark with desire, but he shook his head. “We can’t do this today. I have to feed the animals and make sure everything’s ready for the snow coming in.”
“Maybe I should help…?”
He’d smiled. “It won’t take too long. I’ll be back early, and then we can pick this up where we left off… Okay?”
That was when the phone had rung and all her hopes of a morning tryst had died.
She smiled as she thought back on the promise in his eyes. A little shiver of anticipation made her giggle like a schoolgirl with her first crush.
What was it about him that made her so giddy? He was handsome for sure, but that wasn’t the whole reason. It was how he made her feel.
They’d grown closer over the last several days. Talking late into the night, Cade had opened up even more—telling her about his home for the first time—and she’d fallen even farther under his spell.
“When we were young, my brother and I used to sneak out early on summer mornings to go swimming in the river not far from our house,” he’d told her a few nights ago as she lay comfortably in his arms. “We built a treehouse out there with our dad and had hung a long, thick rope from a sturdy branch that we used to swing out and drop into the middle of the water.”
“Sounds wonderful,” she murmured, her fingers tracing lazily along the arm he had thrown over her middle, holding her to him.
He sighed. “It was.” He remained silent for so long after that, Addie had started to drift off. But she hadn’t wanted to miss out on anything else he might share.
“A treehouse, huh?” she said. “I always wanted one of those.”
Cade chuckled and his arm tightened briefly. “Well, maybe I’ll build you one here.”
“I’d like
