Page 63 of Cultivating Caden
“Ah, so more than a kiss, then.”
Hell yes, it had been more than a kiss. Quade had dragged Caden into his place, torn off his clothes, and thrown him up against the wall. He’d been animalistic, passionate, and each time he sniffed Caden’s neck, he thrust harder, pegging Caden’s gland with each movement.
Kieran snickered. “Look at the boy blush.”
“Shut it.” Caden grinned. “Okay, I might be willing to get a few more bruises if that’s how he tells me he’s sorry.”
Kieran bracketed his face with his hands and fluttered his eyes. “Aw, she’s in love.”
“Behave, brat.”
“But Sir, I—”
Matt arched an eyebrow, which had Kieran scampering for the couch. Caden wished he had that kind of power to shut Kieran up sometimes.
“So I met someone I’d never seen before. He’s… intriguing.”
Sitting up, Kieran glared at him. “Bitch, you have a boyfriend.”
“Oh, I don’t mean for boyfriend material. His name is Alexander, but… it’s notjustAlexander. Quade says there are a bunch of people who live inside him.”
“Normally I’d ask if you mean multiple personality disorder, but in this place? What’s his story?”
Grabbing a beer for each of them, Caden sat down on the chair across from his friends. He handed them each a bottle, then popped his and took a long draw. He related the story Quade had told him about the attack on the mall and how Alexander ended up being a hotel for the other people.
“Freaky. And he’s unaware of them?”
“I’m not sure. Quade says that since the accident, the others seem to protect Alexander. The doctors and Ten aren’t even sure Alexander exists anymore.”
Wrapping an arm around Kieran, Matt pulled him closer. “I’m sorry to hear that. If anyone can help him, I’m sure they’ll be here. This whole place is incredible. We haven’t even seen much, but what we did? I’m just overwhelmed.”
“I know. Makes me wish we didn’t have to go back.”
Caden bit into one of the cookies that he’d gotten. They were moist and delicious, full of nutty goodness. He begged Quade to ask for the recipe, but Quade assured him Jess didn’t divulge her proprietary secrets for anyone. “You know… Quade invited me to live with him. When I mentioned this place being empty and the two of you, he might have said he could talk with the guy in charge to see if you could move in.”
Caden dared to peek up at his friends. They were staring at each other, and then Matt grinned.
Kieran turned back to face Caden. “Last night I told Matt I wanted us to stay here. I miss you, boo. The house is so empty without you, and having you hours away means we never get to see you.” He sighed and buried his face in Matt’s chest.
“He’s being overdramatic, but he’s not wrong, because the house isn’t the same. If you think they’d let us live here, we’d love being closer to you. And watching Quade strut around without a shirt is another selling point.”
“Yum, the best kind of eye candy.”
Caden glared at them, and they all broke out laughing. This was what had been missing from his life. The more time he spent with Quade, Kieran, and Matt, the more Caden realized how little he’d laughed since he moved to Millinocket. And he sure as hell hadn’t gotten fucked in years. There were some very hot guys in the town, but Caden wasn’t comfortable approaching them, and he wasn’t really sure how to ask.
Quade had taken that problem away. Should he be annoyed that Quade “claimed” him? Maybe, but he wasn’t. In fact, he found it to be fucking hot. Quade in caveman mode was amazing. Rough during sex, gentle after. He made Caden laugh, he made him feel safe, and best of all, he made Caden feel like he was the most important thing on the planet.
The whole Tree of Life thing notwithstanding.
“So do you think we’d be able to get jobs here?”
“You could, or… well, Quade was telling me that he wanted to talk to Dandrot—he’s the guy in charge—and see if he could talk him into opening a park that I would be responsible for. What would you say about working with me?”
Matt’s jaw dropped open. “Seriously? An entire park?”
“Well, I don’t know how big it would be, but I could also open a shop. Quade says he thinks real, live flowers would be a big hit down here. I could grow them from the seeds and plants I grabbed from the shop. It would mean learning to use my abilities, but I really want this.”
“That sounds exciting! I’d be happy to do it with you.”
