Anyone But Nick (Anyone But... #3) - Penelope Bloom Page 0,52

was checking on you and that griefcase you like to carry around.”

“What?”

“Emotional baggage. Your griefcase. Don’t look at me like I’m crazy either. You know whoever decided to call it emotional baggage was missing a major opportunity.”

“I don’t have emotional baggage.”

“No? What about Miranda? I’d say the way you pine after her but keep denying yourself qualifies. You know she wants it as badly as you do. All you’d need to do is extend the olive branch.” Cade paused. “Well, or you could extend that. Either one would probably get the message across.”

“Could you stop looking at it?”

“I’m just impressed that it is still full mast. I mean, I’m starting to wonder if it’s me that arouses you. The thing is like a bloodhound that has the scent.”

“Trust me, it has nothing to do with you.”

Cade was quiet for a few seconds, then I saw his feet approaching the bed.

“What are you doing?” Nick asked.

“I didn’t make it where I am in life by being an idiot, Nick. Boners don’t just make themselves, and they don’t stick around that long unless . . .”

I was suddenly staring face-to-face with Cade, who had flopped down on his stomach beside the bed. “As I suspected. Ladies, gentlemen, and erection—we have the source of the arousal right here. Did anyone tell you it’s much comfier to sleep on top of the bed, Miranda?”

I awkwardly wiggled out from under the bed and stood up. “This isn’t what it looks like at all,” I said.

“Classic.” Cade was smiling between the two of us like a proud teacher. “Let me give you whippersnappers a piece of universal advice. When something isn’t what it looks like, that just means the people involved don’t understand what it actually is. Things always look like what they are. And this,” he said, motioning to the clearly visible bulge in Nick’s pants, “looks like two consenting adults who were getting ready to fulfill their biblical duty.”

I tried to avert my eyes from Nick’s pants, but I felt a devious little tug of temptation that made me want to look again. It was flattering to know a few kisses had him that excited, but it was also confusing. “Nick is my boss,” I said.

“Hey.” Cade held up his palms. “I’m not here to judge you two on your kinks. Nick can be your kitty cat, for all I care. All I’m saying is you two lovebirds don’t need to hide it from me. Think of me like your big brother, too, Miranda. I mean, I guess I will be once you two make this whole thing official, right?”

Nick put his hands on Cade’s arm and started pushing him to the door. “Why don’t you get back on your helicopter and go spend some time with your family instead of creeping around our business trip.”

“Hey, if I knew business trips were just sex-fueled kink parties, I wouldn’t have been avoiding them for so long. But Iris and Bear are here, actually. I flew them in last night. We’re going to play some croquet once I’m done here. I don’t know the rules, but how hard can it be, right? Well, probably not as hard as that, at least.” He nodded to Nick’s erection again.

“Can you just—” Nick started.

“Say no more.” Cade stepped out of the door, then popped his head in one more time. “Oh, and don’t use protection. I want nieces and nephews.” He winked, then left.

“I should get back to my cabin,” I said.

Nick looked like he was about to say something, but then he nodded. “Yeah, sure. Should we—”

“Later,” I said. “We can talk about it later. I just need a little space to think this all through.”

“Hey,” Nick said, touching my arm before I reached the door. “You sure you want to go?”

“We’ll talk later,” I said. I practically ran out the door. I felt suffocated, but not in an entirely unpleasant way. The frightening thing was how badly I seemed to want to embrace that lack of oxygen—to let myself drift away to wherever he wanted to take me.

As soon as I stepped outside, I knew it wouldn’t be that simple. I remembered how Cade said Iris was here, and I decided I needed a serious dose of girl talk.

I found Iris after a quick exchange of texts. She met me beside the indoor pool. The echoey room smelled like chlorine, and a pair of men were swimming around the shallow end with a big German shepherd. I