The Enemy - Kelsey Clayton Page 0,72
look at him. "I know, and no part of me would blame you for never speaking to me again, but that douchebag doesn't deserve you. Hell, I don't either, but fuck if I don't still hope you somehow choose me anyway."
Taking my hand in his, he presses a kiss to it and then puts it back down at my side.
"You're incredible, Lennon, and any guy would be lucky as hell to have you. Me included."
I say nothing as he pushes off the counter and leaves the room. There's a kiss mark on my hand in his blood, which should gross me out, but it doesn't. Because deep down I know he's not just some guy, and he's certainly not my stepbrother.
He's Cade—the irritating, rude, arrogant guy that drives me insane on a daily basis—and he's mine.
I TOSS AND TURN in my bed, unable to fall asleep, when I finally give in. I slip out of my bed and down the stairs. The whole house is pitch black, but I know this place like the back of my hand. As I reach the familiar bedroom door, I take a deep breath.
If it's locked, I'll go back to my room knowing it wasn't meant to be, but if it's not, we're doing this. We're actually doing this.
As I twist the knob, the door opens, and butterflies fill my stomach. I creep inside and shut the door behind me. Cade's steady breathing fills the room, but just when I go to slip in bed next to him, he wakes.
"What the fuck?"
I giggle softly. "Shh. It's just me."
He sighs. "Lennon? Is everything okay?"
I get in bed, and he moves his arm out of the way for me to cuddle into his side. I lay my head on his chest and take a deep breath, inhaling his intoxicating scent.
"Yeah, everything's fine."
As I drift off to sleep, I feel him press a light kiss to the top of my head and his arm wraps around me, holding me tightly against him.
Yeah, everything's just fine.
I WAKE IN THE morning, after what was probably the most peaceful sleep I've had in awhile. It was so deep, not even a dream interrupted. My head moves up and down as my pillow breathes.
Wait a minute.
My eyes snap open as the events of last night come swarming back. Cade's room. Cade's bed. Cade.
"Good morning, sunshine," he chuckles.
I sit up and run my fingers through my hair. "Uh, hi."
"Sleep well?"
The tenderness of his voice eases me away from the edge. "Yeah, actually. I did."
He smiles in the way that sets me on fire inside. "Good. Get dressed."
"What? Why?"
Standing up and walking over to his closet, his torso is on full display. "We're going surfing."
I choke on air. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't know the first thing about surfing."
"No, but you do know everything about dance, which includes balance." He pulls out a shirt and puts it on, much to my dismay. "Don't think I didn't see you eyeing up my board in Malibu."
Okay, so maybe he's right. Since seeing him do it, I've always wondered what it would be like. As a kid, I used to love boogie boarding, but I never tried surfing. And learning from him might not be too bad after all.
"You won't let me get hurt?" I question.
He snickers. "It's surfing, babe. Not rock climbing."
"Right." I climb out of bed and head for the door. "I'll meet you downstairs then?"
Nodding, he bites his lip. "One more thing."
In one swift motion, he walks over to me, wraps his hand around the back of my neck, and pulls me into the kiss of a lifetime. It's soft, yet heated. Full of all the intense emotion that has built up between us over the last few weeks. Any regrets I had about coming in here last night go right out the window. This is what I want.
He is what I want.
I LAY ON MY new board and push myself up to a sitting position, just like Cade showed me. Since he didn't have an extra, we had to stop at the surf shop to grab another. I wanted a pink and white one, but when he suggested a teal one because it matched my eyes, I couldn't say no.
"Now we just sit and wait for some waves," he explains.
Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen this side of him. Caring. Compassionate. Kind. He even brought us to a beach with smaller waves so I can learn on easier water.