The Secrets We Hide (The Four #2) - Becca Steele Page 0,39

smile about, y’know? Until you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Look at him, in there.”

I turned to look back into the kitchen, watching. Caiden spoke animatedly to the guy he was with, then tipped his head back in laughter, playfully punching the guy in the shoulder.

“I like him so much, Cass.” My voice came out as a whisper, my emotions overwhelming me.

“The feeling’s mutual, babe. He’s fucking crazy about you.” Resting his beer bottle on the arm of his chair, he sighed heavily, adding, “He’s lucky to have you.”

“Yep.” I smirked at him, and he grinned, his tone lightening.

“Not that I want to be tied down to one woman, but if I did, you’d be top of my list, of course.”

“Of course.” Laughing, I reached for my drink but stiffened as I glanced over at Caiden again and saw Jessa making a beeline for him, putting her hand on his arm and reaching up to speak into his ear.

I held my breath, watching to see what he would do.

He shrugged her arm off, an angry look on his face, shaking his head and taking a step back from her. She took a step forwards, pressing against him and hooking her arms around his neck.

That. Was. It.

I saw red, shooting out of my chair and storming through the doors, stalking up behind her and gripping a handful of her hair, using it to jerk her backwards. Not too hard, but enough to tell her that I wouldn’t take her shit anymore.

“What. The fuck. Do you think. You’re doing?”

She dropped her arms from Cade’s neck, a look of shock on her face as I spun her to face me. I let go of her hair, glaring at her, and her eyes widened at my expression before she tried to recover, her lips curling into a sneer. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m spending time with my date. Got a problem with that?”

Unfortunately, with her being in skyscraper heels, and me being in the scuffed pair of trainers I’d thrown on after my shower, the effect I was going for was kind of ruined as I had to look up at her, rather than us being a similar height. Even so, I wasn’t about to let her intimidate me. No, I was way, way past being intimidated.

I was raging.

It was a build-up of things. The scathing looks, the catty comments, the blatant hitting on Cade right in front of me…didn’t she have any self-respect? And shouldn’t women be trying to build each other up, rather than tear each other down?

That final thought was the only thing that kept my temper from completely boiling over and slapping the smug, disdainful look off her face.

“Jessa. Listen carefully, because I’m only going to say this once.” I stepped closer, my teeth gritted and my firsts clenched as I hissed out the words. “You—”

I never got to finish my sentence.

In one quick movement, Caiden brushed past Jessa, moving around behind me, spinning me around and lifting me into his arms, and then his mouth was on mine. My rage melted away, and Jessa was instantly forgotten, as my legs went around his waist and I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him back. He flicked his tongue against my lips, and I opened my mouth for him, sliding my tongue against his, my eyes closing. I dimly heard noises around us, as he carried me, holding me effortlessly.

The back of my legs met cool stone, and he deposited me on the marble island, finally breaking the kiss. He pressed his forehead to mine, still holding me tightly, both of us trying to catch our breath.

“I see you.” Those same words he’d said to me during the fireworks, spoken with rough insistency, made my stomach flip, and I shivered in his arms as his hot breath fanned across my skin.

He ran his hands up my back, sliding into my hair, his lips brushing against mine, his words stealing the breath from my lungs.

“Only you, Snowflake. No one else compares.”

It was around four in the morning when the party ended. People were crashed out everywhere, all over the house—chairs, floors, beds, anywhere there was space. Zayde and Weston had both disappeared, and I’d ended up back outside on the deck with a small group of people—me, Cade, Cass, two guys from uni, both named Mark (yeah, a little confusing, but on the plus side it was easy to remember their names), and four girls—two of whom were currently draped all over