Page 25 of Hideaway

Cade moved his hands up and down her back, taking a moment before answering.“On the rare chance my mother was feeling maternal, this was how she would chase away the occasional nightmare. I suppose I still remember it as the most soothing of remedies. I thought it might help.”Cade continued with his attentions in uneasy silence.

And what the fuck was that?

Cade didn’t know what had possessed him to bring up his mother. The subject of his family was off limits even when he was in committed relationships, and yet, there he was sharing unsolicited, intimate details about his family like an imbecile. Something about the girl disarmed him, and he didn’t like entering any situation unarmed.

“It does help. Thank you,”Kara answered, her voice full. Cautiously, she turned over on her other side so she could see Cade. His eyes were honed in on her, his expression guarded and not quite discernible. He was so close that she could feel his warmth, so close that she had only to reach out to touch the bare skin of his chest. And she wanted to. Desperately.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Cade admonished almost angrily.

“Like what?” Kara asked anxiously, feeling her cheeks warm with embarrassment. Could he see her staring at his lips, aching to kiss him? Could he feel the heat of her skin as she burned for his touch? Did he know that, in her darkest desires, she wanted him to do exactly what Jace had been planning? Because if it had been his hands on her body, ripping off her clothes and forcing her, she would have wanted it. She wanted it so badly she had to press her legs together tightly to keep the proof of her arousal from dripping down her legs. Fuck, she was absolutely ruined for him.

“Like I’m some sort of savior or knight in shining armor,” Cade elaborated, his tone scathing and abrasive. “Because I’m not. I may not approve of what Jace was about to do to you tonight, but I can assure you I’m not much better. I may sound like Prince Charming to girls like you, but I don’t have a noble bone in my body. And trust me, princess, I don’t save. I destroy. And I revel in the chaos.”

“What if I don’t want someone noble?” Kara asked softly, so softly she could barely be sure she’d spoken it aloud. “What if I don’t want to be saved?”

What if I want you.

“Don’t tempt me, love. I’m not in the mood to be gentle. And after the situation I just pulled you from, you’re not in a state to handle what I want to do to you.”

“You know what your problem is, Caden Ashford? You consistently underestimate me. I’m tougher than you think. Or hadn’t you noticed in the week you’ve spent trying to get me to give in to your demands? How did that work out for you?”

“You know what your problem is, Kara Caine? You never know when toshut the fuck up.” Suddenly, Cade closed the space between them, his fingers digging into her hair as he pulled her beneath him. He hovered over her, pressing himself against her and using the weight of his body to keep her pinned. Cade’s fingers roamed her body until he found her throat, wrapping his hand around her neck possessively, but not applying pressure. Not yet. “Is this what you want, love?” Cade whispered harshly against her ear. “You want me to hurt you?”

“Yes,” she answered breathlessly, her pupils dilated with desire and a small dose of fear.

“You want me to take you and make you mine?” he asked dangerously, his other hand traveling between her thighs and grabbing her cunt roughly. “Once I possess someone, they’re mine.Always.”

His words were a warning. An ominous one. But all they did was stoke the fire of passion burning in Kara’s chest. For Cade, she wanted to burn, wanted the flames to consume every inch of her body. “I’m yours, Cade. I’m already yours,” Kara confessed, her voice shuddering with emotion and need. The admission startled her as much as it did Cade. He stilled, as though in shock, before removing his hand from between her legs and ripping his fingers from her throat. Kara felt empty without them.

“You don’t mean that. You’re just a naive girl caught in a trap and looking for the best means of escape,” Cade responded cruelly. “Sorry love, you won’t be able to fuck your way out of this prison. I still need the book. And you’re still going to retrieve it for me.” Cade’s words were far harsher than his actual thoughts, an overcompensation for feelings of weakness regarding Kara that he didn’t want to admit or deal with.

Kara’s face filled with hurt at Cade’s hateful words, tears glistening in her eyes and threatening to spill. But she didn’t move. Didn’t say a word. She didn’t trust herself to be able to acknowledge him without breaking down.

“But,” Cade continued, resolved to twist the knife he’d plunged into her heart just a bit more. “If you want to fuck around to pass the time, I am happy to oblige you,” he taunted, grinding his body up against her once more.

“Get off of me,” Kara demanded, her voice breaking. She stared off into the distance, unable to look at the cruel, beautiful man hovering half-naked above her.

“Suit yourself,” Cade answered nonchalantly, as though he really couldn’t care less if he fucked her or not. As if he really couldn’t care less whether she took her next breath or not. His aloofness was a facade, but a necessary one. Cade turned away from Kara and pretended to fall into undisturbed sleep beside her.

Kara remained on her back, where he’d thrown her a just few minutes before, unable to move, physically overcome with pain as though Cade’s words had evoked bodily harm rather than merely emotional injury. How could he be so fucking cruel, after everything they’d shared between them? She eventually found the strength to roll over to her side, hugging her knees to her chest for comfort. She fixated on the deep, steady rhythm of Cade’s breaths, finding a sort of calmness in the repetition. His words replayed in her head, cutting deeper each time she heard them. In a way, Cade’s assault seemed almost more destructive than Jace’s.

That night—the first time in ages—Kara cried herself to sleep.

Chapter Seven

CADE awoke in the morning feeling like absolute shite. That was, if he had gotten any sleep at all. Guilt had gnawed at his insides as he listened to Kara cry into her pillow until she finally fell into a fitful sleep. He was a fucking bastard; he could admit as much. He hadn’t wanted to hurt Kara, but, in his own fucked up way, he was pretty sure he’d hurt her far worse than any damage casual sex would have inflicted.

He would have liked nothing more than to fuck her into absolute oblivion, to fuck every thought and memory of Jace out of her pretty little head. He would have obliterated her with his cock, split her the fuck open, and made her scream out his name and beg for mercy that would never be given. Butthatwas the fucking problem. She wasn’t like his usual fucks. She hadn’t been vetted and hand picked to withstand his voracious appetites. Their relationship hadn’t been planned, there’d been no agreements or discussions of limits. Hell, she didn’t even know about the Hideaway. She couldn’t handle him; no matter how brave or strong or invincible she thought she was, she couldnotfucking handle the things he wanted to do to her. He would wreck her. And as much as he would enjoy destroying her mind, body, and soul, he was astonished to discover that he preferred Kara in one piece more.

Cade didn’t have a single fragment of selflessness or tenderness in his goddamn body, so why was he putting Kara’s feelings over the needs of his cock? He needed a distraction, a way to burn out all the pent up frustration and energy thatdidn’tinvolve him slipping his dick into the girl sleeping peacefully beside him. And he knew just the fix.

“Wake up, sleepy head,” Cade called softly as he tried to rouse her, his darkness from the previous night vanished.

Kara stirred begrudgingly, desperately clinging to the last fragments of slumber before they flitted away along with the startling nightmares that had plagued her subconscious while she slept. She was exhausted, her head throbbed, her eyes felt swollen and puffy, and her heart ached with the fresh sting of rejection. Kara opened her eyes hesitantly and found the source of her heart’s demise staring down at her with an inexplicable look in his deceptively lovely hazel eyes. Was it guilt? Or regret? Both seemed logical, but neither suited the character she had come to associate with Cade. Caden Ashford was ruthless and had no use for remorse.

“How did you sleep?” Cade asked, his tone conversational. Friendly. It almost masked the inner turmoil he was actively trying to avoid. Almost.

“Fine,” Kara spat out, still pissed about the night before. “The bed was rather crowded,” she added with a scathing look in his direction.

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