Page 78 of Unofficial

"I know you didn't," she says and stands with the blanket covering her. She walks over to him and uses a corner to wipe his chin. "You hadn't planned to tell me at all."

His hands cup her face, and everything in him screams to tell her he loves her. To say the words right now before he leaves, but he's afraid she'd find a way to convince him to stay once he does. "I have a lot to make up for, and while you may not think I deserve to be punished, I do. And my punishment is not taking you right now, in all your sexy glory, and going home to think about how much I hate the fact I decided to respect you so much. God, these pants are really tight."

"I can help with that," she says.

"Because you caused it, baby," he says and kisses her. "But I should be going."

Her eyes look up at him, and he almost gives in. God, does he want to. "I want you to stay, Kade."

"And I'm scared you'll regret it in the morning if I do. I can handle a lot of things, Jess, but being part of something you regret… that I can't handle."

"I won't regret it."

His hands drop from her face, and he rests his forehead on hers. "I know you don't think you will, but I can't take the risk. Not with you. So, I'm going to go, and I'm going to think of you as I help relieve myself from the current predicament I'm in. I'll text you in the morning, and we can plan to get together again this week. Maybe in public. Like a playground where it's illegal to pleasure each other."

"You're really determined," she says.

"I really, really want you, Jess. I want you to trust me and believe what I say. And I want you to be sure enough in me to decide to be mine."

"And how will you know if I'm truly ready?"

That's a great question. He thinks for a few moments and decides. "You'll tell me you're my girlfriend. That you're mine, and I'm yours, and we're going to move forward without too many hesitations from the past."

"Okay," she says with a smile.

Kissing her, he groans, hating how much he loves her right now. "Goodnight, Jess."

"Goodnight, Kade."

He runs to his pickup, never turning around, and racing home to relieve himself. Two more minutes, and he would have given in. Damn him for not waiting two more minutes.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jess sits on the couch and stares at the phone in her hand. It's been almost a month now since she went on that date with Kade, and she can't believe how happy she is. But with that happiness comes the need to be honest with someone else. She needs to bite the bullet and call Lena.

The woman has been on a cruise with Joe for the past three weeks. Lena knows about Kade showing up because Landry called and gave Joe an earful after that first confrontation, but she isn't sure what they've been told since. And she doesn’t know how the woman will react to the news that she's in love with Kade again. Still. Whatever.

"Hey lady!" Lena's bubbly voice comes through the phone.

"Hey!" Jess says, her stomach flipping. "How was the cruise?"

"It was good. Oh, I have to see you so we can talk about it."

Lena loves sharing her sexual endeavors, and as long as they're not involving Kade, Jess is more than happy to live vicariously through her.

"Deal. I need to talk to you about something, though," Jess says.

"You and Landry broke up, didn't you?"

Can they break up if they weren't ever really together? She felt like she and Kade broke up when they weren't, so she supposes yes. "Yeah, we did."

"Kade really threw him for a loop. You're not seeing Kade now, are you?"

Here goes nothing. "Kind of."

"Jess!"

"I know," she groans. "But there's so much you've missed."

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