Hard Edge - Tess Oliver Page 0,34

say we stop for some sandwiches. We can take them down to the beach, and I’ll give you that surf lesson I promised.”

Chapter 13

Caden

The inside of the beach house was hot and stuffy. I opened the front window. The ocean breeze ushered in, cooling the place instantly. It had only been ten days since I stood in the kitchen listening to my mom tell me that Grady was gone. I’d left in such a hurry, I hadn’t thought to check that everything was turned off. The bathroom light was still on, and I’d left towels on the floor. I’d been in such a fog, I couldn’t even remember leaving the place or getting into my truck.

I switched off the bathroom light and picked up the towels, while Kenna put the milk and eggs into the refrigerator. She was reading a business card as I returned to the kitchen. It took me a second to recognize Mindy’s card, but before I could start with any kind of explanation, Kenna dropped it onto the counter.

“Paris, huh? Nice.” She glanced down at the card again. “And who is Mindy Eaton? Does she live in France?”

“She’s there on a modeling shoot. She’s a swimsuit model.”

“Figures.” She glanced around to make sure everything cold made it into the fridge. “I guess I’ll go put on my tunic and leggings so we can head out to the sand.”

“Tunic and leggings?”

She pointed at the card. “If your last guest was a swimsuit model, then I’m pretty sure me and my out of fashion bikini will be a grave disappointment.”

I walked around to where she was standing in the kitchen and stood only inches from her. It took all of my self-control not to touch her. It was all I had thought about since the kiss. “You have to be kidding? Either that, or you haven’t gotten a good look at yourself in the mirror lately, Trinket.”

Fuck self-control. I reached up and brushed her hair off her face, pushed her chin up and kissed her lips. She gazed up at me with those brown eyes that made me forget everything else.

My heart stopped mid-beat as she reached up and pressed her palm against my face. “I’m having a hard time believing that I’m standing here with you, Cade. I’ve imagined it so often, but I never thought—”

“For every time you imagined it, I’ve imagined it ten times more.” I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her again. My hands slipped under her t-shirt and my fingers trailed over her silky skin. She snuggled against my body so that there were no gaps between us, just body against body. My cock pressed urgently against the front of my jeans, begging to be freed. But I moved cautiously. The last thing I wanted was to scare her off.

Her lips parted, and a soft moan vibrated her throat as my tongue invaded her mouth, stroking her lips until she was nearly limp in my arms. I kissed her long and deep until she drew her mouth away and looked up at me with heavy lids and an unfocused gaze. “What about Mindy?” she asked, breathlessly.

“She’s in Paris.”

Her long lashes fluttered as she blinked up at me in question.

“She’s just a friend. We get together occasionally, but we live our own lives.” I gazed down at her. “Do you want me to stop?”

Kenna shook her head.

My hands continued to explore the skin on her back and shoulders. She felt just as I’d expected under my fingers, soft and silky and fucking intoxicating. I pulled my mouth from hers and turned her around in my arms so that her back was against me.

She leaned her head back against my chest.

“You feel so right in my arms, Trinket. You should have been right here, next to me, for all these years.”

“Cade,” she said softly. “I never knew. I never knew how you felt.” Her voice nearly vanished on the last words as I slid my hand down beneath her shorts. She sucked in a quick breath, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she parted her feet some, giving me room to slip my hand between her legs.

“That’s it, baby. I want to touch you. I fucking need to touch you.” I couldn’t stop a groan as my fingers slipped into the moisture pooling in her pussy.

She grabbed hold of my arms to steady herself. “Cade, I—I’ve had a hard time—” Her voice trailed off again, and she moved her hips so that