She was going to miss the routine they made whileon the trip. For the past week of him lying on the bed wearing nothing but apair of sleep pants with an arm folded behind his head as he waited for her tocome out of the bathroom and get settled for the night. She would miss the oddindescribable look he would give her as his eyes traced over her scrubbed skinand wrinkled pajamas before coming back up to meet her gaze. That look filledher stomach with butterflies and shot her nerves to hell each and every time,but she would miss it.
Ensconced in darkness, they sat and ate their food,both debating on how many cases would be piling their desks tomorrow.
Finishing their food, they cleaned up the bestthey could in the dark.
"The bed in there," she said, pointingto the guest room before realizing he probably could barely make out her figurein the dark, "has clean linen. There should only be a basket of sweaterson top of it and maybe something else. Just throw it all in the closet."
"Will do," his deep voice confirmedsomewhere to her left, deeper in the room where the window's light barelyreached.
Unsure of his exact location she nodded beforeturning to go back to the master bedroom. "I'm going to go shower."
Setting her phone on its face she laid it on thebathroom counter, using it as a lantern. Alone now, she allowed herself to takea deep breath and indulge in her new reality. She was free. Pulling off hershirt and pants, Maritzia's eyes settled on the rim of the tub. Only a few monthsago she was sitting right there taking stupid quiz after stupid quiz trying togather up the courage to tell Victor she wanted out—and now here she was.Stepping into the shower's hot spray, she allowed herself to smile. No guilt,no what-ifs, no wondering about Victor's feelings. She was done. God, shewanted to let out awhoopof celebration. She wanted to jump up and downand punch the air. No more catering to his needs, no more having to defend himto her parents, all of it over and done with.
Getting out of the shower, she chuckled silentlyto herself. Damn, she was happy. Pulling on a black and yellow Batman racerbacktank-top with matching shorts with the Batman logo patterned across them, sheturned off her phone light. It was already at twenty-eight percent and she hadno idea when the power would come back on. She needed to conserve what littleshe had.
Reaching for her nightstand, she planned to tossher phone on the bed and go say goodnight to Cade, but she stopped. Staring atthe heavy wooden bed, she frowned. She had hated this bedroom set from themoment they bought it, though there was nothing actually wrong with the solidMontauk wood. The seamless horizontal wood pattern of the head and footboardalong with the matching nightstands gave it that new-age hipster farmhouse lookthat a lot of people were looking for. In a different scenario, she probablywould have liked the set. But now everything about this room symbolizedsomething she never wanted to acknowledge—her defeat.
Turning, she left the room. Grabbing a stack ofsheets from the linen closet, she marched into the living room and nearlystubbed her toe on an end table. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay,slow down, Maritzia, it's still dark as hell in here," she mumbled toherself.
Setting the pile on the sofa, she began pullingoff the decorative pillows.
"What are you doing?" Cade's voicedemanded from the shadows.
Maritzia jumped. Snapping her head towards thesound of his voice, she assumed he was standing in the doorway of the guestbedroom.
"Jesus, Cade are you trying to killme?!" she growled, putting her hand on her heart. "I'm making up thecouch. I don't want to sleep on that bed anymore," she confessed, reachingfor the bright white square of fabric in the darkness. "I don't want anypart of Victor even near me anymore, to be perfectly honest."
"Something I agree with wholeheartedly,Sunshine, but I'm talking about this," he said. There was an odd pause andshe could only assume he was pointing at the couch. "Why the hell are yougoing to sleep out here?" he clarified.
For a moment his words slowly filtered throughher head until finally she discerned his meaning. Her heart hammered againsther breast bone. "Well…because my old bed is only a queen and I thought Iwould give you space," she tried weakly.
"Put down the damn sheets and come in here,Ritz. We have slept next to each other for six days. Hell, some days I woke upwith you in my arms, because who the hell knew you were a snuggler in yoursleep?"
His words stung and for some reason, she wantedto apologize. "I'm sorry, if-
"I wasn't sorry." His tone wasunreadable and she wished the fucking power would turn on so she could see hisface and see what he was thinking. "I'm not going to tell you again, putthe sheets down and come in here."
She felt her whole body flush at that deepcommand.
Letting go of the sheets, she obediently walkedover to where he stood in the dark. Feeling the heat of his body, she walkedpast him into the room. Behind her, she heard the door click shut. She feltnervous as if she was the guest and this was his home. She felt him move pasther in the room, a small disturbance to the air as he moved to the other sideof the bed.
Painfully in need to break the tension as shepulled back the cold sheets, she threw him a smirk in the dark. "Butseriously, what is with this dom voice you keep doing with me?"
The bed dipped to her left and she heard hischuckle vibrate the air. "It's not so much a dom voice, Sunshine. It'sjust the only voice that works with you. Now get in the bed and let's go tosleep."
Chapter11
"Sooo…Carlos has told me that Cade has beenstaying with you for the past week since you two came back," Valerie beganwith barely suppressed glee from her pedicure seat next to Maritzia. Wigglingher perfectly arched eyebrows suggestively at her, she demanded details."Tell me, tell me, tell me all the details!"
Pressing her back further into her massagingseat, Maritzia stared ahead at the fish tank on the opposite wall of the nailsalon and smiled. "It's not like that, we're just friends. He paid for thetrip, and I figured he could save money by just moving in with me and-"
"Don't you dare lie to me right now,Maritzia DeLeon," Valerie growled at her left. Maritzia could see theseriousness in her cousin’s bright eyes. Leaning over the side of her plushmassage chair, Valerie ignored the water splashing at her feet and got closerto Maritzia. "You're finally living with the man you've been in love withsince we were kids. I don’t have time for lies, just tell me how you trulyfeel."
Her words took her breath away. Valerie neverreferred to her love for Cade. Only once years ago when they were still in highschool after Cade had left did Maritzia admit to Valerie her feelings for Cade.She had consoled her and told her everything would work out but never once did theyrefer to it again. Now here she was saying the words out loud and Maritzia feltexposed and out of breath all at once.
"I…just can’t. It's like it's just toomuch," Maritzia confessed with a steady breath. Focusing on theslow-moving colorful fish, she tracked their slow progress back and forth inthe tank. "I can barely even think about it without feeling like my chestis going to explode."
It all felt too surreal. The happiness she feltjust thinking about waking up to him next to her only a few hours ago feltlethal. The golden-brown skin of his bare chest gleaming in the morning lighthypnotized her each morning. She wasted who knew how much time just staring athis big body in the sheets next to her, watching the slow rise and fall of hissteady breathing. Everything was different with Cade—things felt right. Shefound herself suggesting carpooling to work, something Victor had oncesuggested and she categorically turned down. Her drive to and from work was heronly free time to herself, and she did not want it filled with shitty podcastsand the latest gossip around work. Now each morning for weeks since theirreturn from their trip, Cade drove her car while she slowly sipped her coffeein the passenger seat. Their morning rides were perfect. They stopped at abodega near her building each morning and grabbed two breakfast sandwiches andcoffees and spent the remainder of their ride in blissful silence as theylistened to the news. But what really made her life feel like it should belongto another was the kiss Cade gave her each night before bed. It was always alittle different and a little unexpected, keeping her on her toes. Sometimes hewould catch her when she was at her closet pulling out her clothes for the nextday, waiting for her to turn back around before pulling her into his arms for aquick peck on the forehead. Or sometimes he could sneak up behind her as sheput away dishes and lean in to kiss her on the cheek. But the worst of them waslike last night's. Disappointed that she had not received a surprise attack shepulled the sheets up to her chest and watched Cade turn off the lamp near thebed. Draped in darkness she felt the bed dip next to her and assumed he wassettling down to sleep. It was the dark shape moving over her that made herblink in shocked confusion. Seeing the glint of his eyes in the darkness,Maritzia's face warmed at the steadiness of his gaze. Leaning down, his hotchest brushed against her hands still clutching the sheet as his lips found hercheek and the corner of her mouth.
