Page 168 of The Outlaw's Savage Revenge

“I mean it, Caden!” Phoenix shouts. He reaches for the bar like he might be sick again. “Keep it sane or get the fuck out.”

“Sane,” Cade mocks. “I don’t think so.”

Phoenix glares then tosses a key at Cade.

Cade catches it one-handed and smirks. “We’ll go, then.” He pivots toward the door.

“Suck it up, Nico, what did you expect? Homing pigeon.” I hear Phoenix brag as we leave.

Nico’s reply is lost as the door clicks shut behind us.

Back in the rain, we dissolve into laughter, our stifled snickers spilling out in waves.

My arms wrap tighter around Cade’s neck, my cheek pressed against his shoulder. Warmth floods through me despite the cold as he carries me to the pickup truck.

“There’s a hotel just outside Harmony,” Cade rumbles. “We’ll be even more comfortable in L.A, which is only forty minutes . . .”

“Take me home, Caden,” I whisper.

Cade’s steps falter. His eyes flicker down to mine, searching. “It’s two hours away, baby.”

“I’m sure we’ll find a way to pass the time, Prez.”

For a beat, he doesn’t move, as if weighing what I’ve just asked, but I can feel the shift in him, something quiet but profound.

He adjusts me in his arms, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint smile. “Home it is, then.”

49

Cade

Luna sleeps like a storm passed through her—hair wild across my pillow, lips swollen from my kisses, thighs bracketing the leg I’ve slipped between them, sticky with our combined juices.

My body half-covers hers, possessing her even in sleep. One hand is splayed across her belly, feeling each breath. The other is entwined with hers above her head.

The emerald ring sits in my jacket. Still. I should have given it to her last night. But lust got in the way—repeatedly.

Two days ago, I was supposed to be ending Antonov. One phone call to this woman and my priorities snapped into place.

I left the hotel room, heading for the Bolshoi Theater, but somehow ended up in a jewelry store, staring at the deep green stone like a bullet to its target.

It’s the exact shade as the Druids’ emblem—fitting for a woman who’s claimed both sides of me. The moment I saw it, I knewwith every bone in my body it was made for Luna. Just like I was made for her.

Alien emotions spear through my heart: Uncertainty. Fear.

I stare down at her. This woman takes everything I give her—my darkness, my violence, my passion—and demands more. I know without a doubt she can take this too.

She can. The question is, will she?

There’s an eerie quiet as the rhythmic thud of fists on leather suddenly stops. Scar’s been destroying the punching bag all night, his rage a counterpoint to my pleasure.

Can’t blame him.

Luna and I weren’t exactly quiet when we burst in last night, drenched from the cold and half-naked, heading first to the fireplace, then the kitchen, then the stairs. It just blurs from then on in a marathon of laughter and food and arguments about Nico and Phoenix’s offers.

I hear banging cupboards, swearing, then running faucets. Scar’s in the kitchen. Christ. I promised him my complete focus after Moscow. That Luna would be like Kat. A partner and helper but not someone who’d get between him and me.

Another promise shattered.

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