“No. Can’t sleep.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know,” I lied. I closed my eyes so I could concentrate on the sound of his voice in my ear.
“Are you boycotting the hospital?” he asked.
I frowned, unsure what he meant. “No . . .”
“Because I haven’t seen you today.”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I . . . I know you need to rest, so you can get better, and I didn’t want to come by tonight and wake you again.”
“You’re lying.”
I didn’t reply. I never could get a lie past him, so there was no sense denying it.
“Why aren’t you here really?” he asked. “And don’t lie to me, because I’ll know.”
I sighed. There was no hiding it. I might as well just tell him and let the chips fall where they may. “Because I was out to dinner with Blane tonight,” I confessed, flopping onto my back. “And it felt . . . wrong for me to see him, then come see you.”
Kade was quiet for a moment while I held my breath. Would he be angry?
“Do you want to see me?”
My answer was immediate. “Yes.”
“Then come to me.” The low growl of his voice sent a delicious shiver through me.
My smile was wide as I said, “I’ll be there soon.” I ended the call and bounded out of bed, slipping on flip-flops and grabbing my purse before bolting out the door.
I made record time to the hospital and was now an expert at avoiding nurses as I crept to Kade’s room. When I slowly pushed open the door, I realized the machines had been removed. That was a good sign. That meant they’d be releasing him soon, I hoped.
I tiptoed into the room, conscious that Kade might have fallen asleep. My eyes hadn’t adjusted yet when I felt hands descend on my shoulders. I yelped in surprise, spinning around to see Kade standing behind me.
“You scared me,” I said, slightly breathless.
Kade’s face was steeped in shadow, whereas the meager light filtering in through the window in the door fell on me.
“You’re out of bed!” I said, a wide smile breaking across my face with the realization. “That’s fantastic!”
“Took a shower. Sick of sitting on my ass.”
I took a step or two back to put some space between us, then promptly forgot everything I was going to say.
Kade was completely naked.
Oh God.
“Wh-where’s your . . . your . . .” I stammered, my mind coming up empty. Bandages still covered the wounds in his chest, but it didn’t detract from the hard lines of muscle. His arms were relaxed at his sides, the veins standing out in stark relief from hours of pumping iron. My eyes dropped lower to see that being shot hadn’t affected Kade’s libido in the slightest. My mouth watered at the sight.
He did nothing to cover himself as my hungry gaze devoured him, and when I finally jerked my eyes back up to his, the smirk I knew so well curved his lips.
“See something you like?”
Kade’s low drawl had heat curling low in my belly.
“C’mere,” he said, crooking a finger to beckon me. His hair was still damp, the dark locks a midnight black, and he’d shaved.
I stepped forward, unable to resist the compulsion to obey him.
His hands rested on my hips and he tugged me closer until our bodies touched. Leaning down, his lips grazed my cheek, then whispered down my jaw to my neck.
“You smell like him,” Kade murmured against my skin.
I stiffened, my eyes flying open. I tried to step back, but Kade’s fingers bit into my flesh, holding me still. I didn’t know what to say. Should I apologize? My face grew hot and that squirmy feeling came back into my belly, the feeling like I was doing something wrong.
“I don’t care if you go to bed smelling like him, so long as you wake up smelling like me.”
Kade’s words had barely registered before he was kissing me. His taste was dark and dangerous. Addictive. I couldn’t get enough, and it seemed he couldn’t, either. Our tongues dueled while his hands roamed, sliding inside my shorts to cup my backside and hold me closer to him. The heat of his palm seemed to brand my skin. I couldn’t resist the temptation any longer and reached around him to squeeze his amazing ass. He groaned, the sound quickly consumed by our mouths. His cock grew harder as it pressed insistently against me. It took everything I had not to shove my shorts and underwear down my legs and climb him like a tree.
“You shouldn’t be doing this,” I gasped, pulling my lips from his. “You’re not well yet.”
Kade took my hand from his ass and wrapped it around his straining erection. “Does that feel like I’m not well?”
Desire pooled between my legs, soaking my panties.
“We can’t,” I said, though my words seemed a far cry from my actions as I gripped him, my hand sliding up and down his length.
“Then you’d better stop doing that,” Kade rasped.
Somehow, I managed to make myself release him and step away. I devoured him with my eyes, the fire burning in his gaze making me want to rip off my clothes and damn the consequences.
“Probably wasn’t the best idea to come here,” I admitted, forcing my eyes to look away. “I should go.”
“Don’t,” he said, taking a step toward me. “Don’t go. I’ll be good.”
I glanced at him and the skepticism must have shown on my face, because he followed up with “Scout’s honor.”
I rolled my eyes—Kade had never been a Boy Scout—but watched as he slid back into bed, pulling the sheet up to his waist. It didn’t hide the fact that he was still aroused, but at least it provided something of a barrier between his skin and mine.
“That better?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Not really, I thought with an internal sigh of disappointment. It seemed a shame to waste his . . . energy. Shoving the errant thought aside, I climbed into bed beside him, nestling against his side while he curled an arm around my shoulders. I rested my hand on his chest, careful to avoid the bandages. The strong beat of his heart echoed against my fingertips, reassuring me.
“So Blane took you on a date tonight,” Kade said rather than asked.
“It wasn’t really a date,” I said. “Just dinner.”
“Did he pay?”
“Yes.”
“Did he kiss you?”
A bit of a hesitation this time. “Yes.”
“Then it was a date.” He paused for a moment before he spoke again. “It seems it’s going to be an all-out war for you, princess,” he mused.
I lifted my head, alarmed. “No,” I denied. “I don’t want that.”
“You say that as if you have a choice,” he replied, his tone derisive.
“I won’t have you two fighting over . . . over me,” I stammered, struggling to sit up and slide out of the bed. Kade’s grip tightened on me. “It’s ridiculous.”
Kade moved, turning so he lay half on top of me, pinning me to the bed. The sheet slid away and his leg pressed between mine.
“I want you,” he growled. “And I’m not giving up. Not now. Blane’s going to wine and dine you? That’s fine with me. I’ll just use sex to make you mine.”
I opened my mouth to argue that there was no point to it. Kade himself had said there was no future for us. But before I could, his leg moved and his hand was inside my shorts, his fingers slipping between my thighs. My words strangled in my throat.
Kade’s lips brushed mine, his tongue tracing my lower lip before he drew it into his mouth to lightly suck the tender flesh. His hand stroked me and my nails dug into his shoulders. “You’re so wet for me,” he murmured. “Like liquid silk.”
“I thought you were going to be good,” I managed to gasp.
“It will be,” he whispered. “Just spread your legs for me, baby.”
I couldn’t reply, forming words as far from my current ability to function as it was for me to perform cold fusion. Obediently, I opened my thighs to him, then I was lost in his touch, the taste of him as he kissed me, the feel of his body over mine. My fingers were buried in his hair, the long strands soft and damp.