extra moment before nodding. He bends down to kiss Lennix on the cheek, and then goes.
She turns to face me, her back to the door, arms folded behind her. There’s a somber cast to her face. I’m braced for more disagreements, especially when I tell her about the geotracker, but I don’t want them. Not tonight.
“Let’s not fight,” she says, like she’s reading my mind.
“I don’t want to.”
“It feels like we disagreed so much tonight.” She pushes off the door and crosses the room, stopping right in front of me. She steps so close that her clean fresh scent surrounds me and I could drown in those water-sky eyes.
“After seeing us fight tonight, your friends may wonder if we’ll last.” I loop my arms and link my hands at the base of her spine, bringing her closer.
“My friends remember how I was when we were together ten years ago.” She stares at the floor and pushes long, dark hair behind her ear.
“How were you?” I kiss her temple and work my thumbs into the tense muscles in her back.
“Oh, that feels really good.” She moans and closes her eyes, resting her head on my chest.
“How were you when we were together ten years ago?”
She shrugs one shoulder. “Sure. I knew the first night in Amsterdam I would sleep with you. This from a twenty-one-year-old virgin.” She glances up, speculation in the look she gives me. “How were you?”
I cast my mind back to the darkened streets of Amsterdam and the first blush of what we had. “I was shocked that we’d found each other again, and I was determined to make the most of it.”
“You mean by having sex?” she asks, her grin wry.
“No. I mean, yeah. Of course that was part of it. But mostly, I knew we would be going our separate ways after a week, and I wanted as much of you as I could possibly get before then.” I hesitate before going on. “And I was conflicted because you didn’t know about my family—my last name, who I really was.”
“You’re wrong. I was wrong. I knew exactly who you were. I know it caused problems, but now I’m glad I met you before I knew you were a Cade. You’re not your last name. You’re not your father. You’re someone wholly unique. I don’t know that I would have been able to see that if I’d known you were a Cade right off the bat.”
I resolve to tell her about the geotracker.
“Now I know you’re a Cade,” she says, tipping up to kiss my lips, “and I still want you.”
“Is that a fact?” I ask, smiling lazily.
She walks to the bedroom, the swing of her hips mesmerizing.
“I believe you said something about me deep throating your cock?” She raises her eyebrows, all innocent.
I’m on her in seconds, scooping her up. The geotracker can wait until tomorrow. This erection has waited long enough.
13
Lennix
Run.
The word pounds through my head like footsteps as soon as I wake. My arms and legs practically tingle with the need to move. A glance at my bedside clock tells me it’s only five in the morning. There’s a gym in my building where I often work out before dressing and then eating breakfast at Royal, where Maxim ambushed me and declared his intentions, as they were.
In my bed, he holds me from behind, his grip as tight and possessive in sleep as when he’s awake. We’ve only been back three days, but having him here has me imagining how our lives could be, our dreams intertwining, our goals intersecting.
Our bodies interlocking.
Good Lord, this man can fuck.
As promised, his cock was as far as it could possibly go down my throat after my friends left, but he repaid the favor. The girl who chases stars finds them every time we make love. I didn’t know any better when he lied in that alleyway and told me you sometimes find the connection we have with others.
You don’t.
I never have, and I have no desire to keep searching.
“Nix,” he sleepily mumbles into the curve of my neck, his arms tightening around me. One hand wanders to my breast and even half-asleep, he squeezes. My body responds instantly, my nipples pebbling, and I’m wet in seconds. If he wakes up, that’s it. No run. No early start to a day I’m determined will be more normal than the last three have been.
The doctor warned me I might have bad dreams after the traumatic events. Bad dreams are