Page 17 of Hideaway

Cade stood from his chair, and Kara had to resist the instinctive urge to turn and run for safety. “Miss Caine,” Cade greeted smoothly, the words sounding far too seductive on his lips. He pulled out the empty chair beside him and gestured for Kara to sit.

Finding little cause for objection, Kara obeyed, crossing the room hesitantly until she stood beside the man she’d inadvertently kissed a few hours before. Timidly, she lowered herself into the offered chair, trying not to indulge her senses in the intoxication of the musky scent of cedar and mint that pervaded the air at his nearness. She may have inhaled a little too deeply, despite her attempted restraint.

“You look ravishing,” Cade whispered by her ear as he pushed her chair in toward the table.

His words, softly breathed against her sensitive flesh, made Kara’s cheeks flush and her skin prickle in arousal, but there was an dangerousness in his tone that sent a shiver down her spine. She couldn’t be sure if his words were a compliment on her appearance or a commentary on his intent to assault her at the nearest opportunity. Her previous knowledge of the ruthless man implied the latter. And Kara tried, to the very best of her abilities, not to long for his ravishment with every fiber of her being.

The stifling tension of the room was broken with the grateful entrance of Mrs. Hughes carrying the first dishes of dinner, her arms full with a heaping platter of delectably buttery garlic rolls. Immediately, Kara rose to help her, unaccustomed to sitting around uselessly while being served by someone else. Her offer of assistance was sharply halted with a strong clamp of a hand on her thigh.Cade’s handwas resting on her lower thigh, his fingers splayed across the skin laid bare by the slit of the dress.

“Stay,” Cade commanded quietly, his tone firm. “Mrs. Hughes is very accustomed to handling the dinner proceedings on her own. As much as it is in your nature to help, she’d be slighted if you attempted to interfere with her job.”

“Oh,” Kara answered sheepishly, settling awkwardly back into her seat as Mrs. Hughes left to fetch another dish. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, mortified to have almost inadvertently offended the kind cook. The incident was a reminder that Kara didn’t belong, and she felt suddenly very out of place in the indulgent lifestyle that was merely a part of Cade’s daily routine.

“Don’t apologize,” Cade said with a vexed crease between his brows. It was the second time that day he’d needed to scold her for a tendency toward self-deprecation. “You did nothing wrong.”

“Sorry, it’s a habit,” Kara replied automatically. She realized her additional infraction when she received a stern glare from Cade in response. Left with little option other than to apologizeagain, Kara tried to smooth away his irritation with an apologetic smile. Cade didn’t appear placated in the slightest.

“Don’t make me put you over my knee, Kara,” Cade threatened, his eyes glittering with eagerness at the idea as he squeezed her thigh to emphasize the full seriousness of his warning.

Kara gasped slightly at the reminder that Cade’s hand was still on her bare leg, the pressure of his fingers sending a flood of heat straight to her core. She shifted slightly beneath him, rubbing her thighs together shamelessly in search of friction. If Cade noticed her arousal, he didn’t let on, his hand still unmoving on her thigh as though he had forgotten it was there. Shyly, she stole a glance at Cade, but his attention was on Ortega as they discussed something about strengthening security on the perimeter. Biting her lip nervously, Kara gathered her courage, took an unsteady breath, and parted her legs, spreading her knees until they reached the armrests on either side of the chair.

Thatdrew Cade’s attention. He startled mid-conversation, his eyes wide with shock and something more primal as he turned toward Kara. He searched her countenance for any sign that her wide open legs were anything other than a goddamn invitation. Finding her dark eyes full of a desire and hunger that matched his own, Cade took the fucking hint and allowed his fingers to roam along the bare expanse of Kara’s thigh. He didn’t know what she was playing at when she came down in that bloody red dress with her tits out and her fuck-me lipstick after he’d used every ounce of his restraint tonotoverstep any boundaries in the library. Perhaps he had misjudged the game she was playing after all, if her spread thighs had anything to say about it. Maybe his prim little librarian was a little more naughty than she seemed. But if she expected him to be courteous enough not to throw her on the table and fuck her while the rest of the guys watched, she clearly didn’t know who she was dealing with.

A whimper slipped from Kara’s lips as Cade’s fingers finally reached the apex of her thighs. She tried to focus on the bolognese, which was absolutely divine, as his knuckles brushed against her pussy, separated from his touch only by the thin lace of her panties. Cade caught her eye as his index finger trailed along the edge of her underwear; he raised a single brow, as though asking for consent to go further. Kara sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded incrementally. Causally continuing his conversation with Ortega and Brax, Cade’s fingers slipped beneath Kara’s panties and cupped her hot, dripping pussy.

Kara moaned, a little too loudly, drawing the attention of everyone at the table. Her face burned with embarrassment as she tried to cover for the outburst even as Cade’s fingers continued their assault on her pussy. “The pasta is delicious,” Kara said with a nervous laugh, hoping the tastiness of the food was a passable reason to have moaned aloud at the table. A murmur of agreement from the others helped to assuage her mortification as she tried to refrain from any more audible reactions to Cade’s under the table attentions.

“Fuck,” she breathed as Cade slipped two fingers inside her and began thrusting them in and out at a steady pace. At that point, the others could think what they liked, there was no way she could keep her composure with Cade finger fucking her under the table like a madman. Her back arched with need as Cade spread the wetness of her arousal over her clit and began to rub in soft, circular patterns. All too quickly, she felt the tension building, the warmth in her center growing as Cade expertly strummed at her sensitive bundle of nerves. Too overcome with sensation, Kara’s eyes closed as Cade plunged two fingers into her pussy and continued to rub her clit with his thumb. Regardless of the inconvenient setting, she couldn’t contain her body’s natural response to the perfect assault of Cade’s fingers. Kara came silently, biting her lip and holding her breath to keep from screaming in ecstasy as Cade drove her over the edge of pleasure. Her thighs clamped against his hand, keeping him inside her as she spasmed around his fingers over and over until she slumped back in the chair—exhausted, sweaty, and sated.

Hesitantly, Kara opened her eyes to find every man at the table staring back at her.

Fucking fuck.

She had just come in front of five other men who were practically strangers. In the middle of fucking dinner. And she was too blissfully post-orgasmic to give too much of a damn about it.

“Hope everyone’s got room for dessert,” Mrs. Hughes announced, bursting into the room with a tiered chocolate cake.

Thank fucking god.

Eternally grateful for the distraction from her dinner exhibitionism, Kara was the first to request dessert as the conversations around the table started up again. Slowly, Cade removed his hand from Kara’s cunt, her wetness visibly covering his fingers. Rather than wiping them on his napkin, like a normal fucking human being, Cade trailed his index finger through the frosting on the cake and brought it to his lips, sucking the mingling taste of chocolate and her cum as though it were his favorite combination of flavors.

“Delicious,” Cade said with a mischievous smirk, his eyes not leaving Kara’s.

Kara ate her dessert in silence, her thighs still quivering in the aftermath of her very public orgasm. Thankfully, everyone seemed to have moved passed the incident, apart from Cade, who occasionally flashed her a self-satisfied grin as he talked business with Jace. The insufferable man seemed to think he’d won at something, achieved some sort of victory by dominating her body and dragging an orgasm out of her while his friends watched. Well, she had no intention of bending to his will simply because he was skilled with his fingers. Incredibly fucking skilled with his fingers.

Finally,finallythe awkward dinner came to an end as Mrs. Hughes came by to collect the cleared plates and carry them to the kitchen. Kara resisted the urge help as the Scotswoman came by to take her plate, having only her gratitude to offer for the delicious meal. Mrs. Hughes accepted her thanks warmly, her eyes glittering with an amusement that implied that she knew Kara enjoyed more than her food at the dinner table. Kara’s cheeks flooded with renewed embarrassment as she waited for the room to clear so she could make her escape with some remnant of dignity.

Looking entirely disinterested as the others took their leave, Cade remained in his seat, his smoldering gaze never leaving Kara as she squirmed beneath the raw, all-consuming fire she saw in his eyes. Slowly, Cade traced his fingers over his full lips, the same fingers that had been inside her pussy a few minutes before. The subtle, sex-infused gesture had liquid need pooling between Kara’s thighs all over again. She needed to escape that room before she had the poor judgment to allow him to fuck her right on the goddamn table.

Painfully prying herself from Cade’s molten stare, Kara stood on shaky legs with the express intention of running for the exit. She’d relinquished quite enough of her propriety to him that evening. Before she could remove herself from the table, Kara felt the firm grasp of familiar fingers latch onto her wrist. She looked at Cade with the wide-eyed trance of a doe rendered frozen beneath headlights, a mere helpless creature caught in the orbit of something far more powerful and dangerous than she could possibly fathom. He smiled at her darkly, the grin of a predator viciously contemplating his next conquest.

“Going somewhere, Miss Caine?” Cade asked menacingly, his eyes alight with a raptorial gleam as his hand tightened around her wrist.

This version of Cade terrified her; the man who seemed accustomed to taking whatever he desired, regardless of her own willingness. She’d invited his touch during dinner, enjoyed his advances no matter how questionable they were in terms of proper etiquette. But Cade’s eyes currently pinned her with a ravenousness that she didn’t feel prepared to satiate. What would he do when there was no invitation?

“I’d like to go to my room, please,” Kara responded, her tone pleading.

“May I come with you?” Cade asked, the weightiness of his suggestion hanging heavy in the air. His grip loosened as he rubbed his thumb softly over the bones in her wrist, feeling her shiver in response.

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