Guilt stung at the corners of her eyes and madeher heart feel like lead. Nodding, she resisted the urge to close the gapbetween them and hug him. Remaining professional, she stood in place. "Iunderstand."
"Good, now go face the music withCade," he muttered walking around his desk. "I'm going home to have adrink."
Holding back a pouting sigh she quickly left theoffice, halfway expecting to see Cade in the waiting area. Thinking of all thenew classes she was going to have to take, Maritzia scowled. That bastard!Stopping outside the hallway, she looked left towards the elevators and thenright towards the stairs. Screw him, she was going to take the stairs down andthen catch an Uber home. Smiling with satisfaction, she walked purposely to thestairs and pushed open the door.
"Did you really think taking the stairs wasgoing to get you past me?"
Maritzia nearly screamed at the large figurestanding on the stairs' landing. Reaching out, Cade held the heavy stairwaydoor open with one hand and grabbed her hand with the other, tugging her intothe stairwell.
"Cade! What the hell? How did you-"
Pulling her flush against his chest, Maritzia wasforced to look up at him from the iron cage his arms made around her. Only litby the dim emergency lights, the shadows fell across the hard planes of hisface, making his dark expression somehow even more menacing.
"I know you, Sunshine," his voicepurred deeply, "and I knew you were going totryand dodgeme."
She shifted in his hold and glowered up at him."Did you really just sit in my uncle's office and come up with ninecourses for me to take?!"
His eyes widened before narrowing in a dangerousscowl. "Maritzia DeLeon, do you have any fucking idea what you did today?"She felt his hands tighten on her hips and could hear the barely suppressedrage in his voice. Taking on an expression she had never seen on him before,Cade's eyes crackled in the dim light of the stairwell as he looked at her."I watched the woman I have adored since I was a kid fight a crazy mancarrying a knife instead of fucking shooting him with one of the fucking gunson her person."
"Shooting him with my gun was out of thequestion Cade. We were in a park with other people nearby, and I did not feelas if my life was in danger. Two, my taser needs about six feet of clearanceand I didn't feel I had that." Why was no one understanding her logic!
"So going in like Wonder Woman was the mostfeasible and sensible option?!" he snapped. Releasing her, he stepped backas he scrubbed his face in anger. Maritzia felt the loss of his touchinstantly. Even if he was angry, she still wanted him to hold her, sherealized. Pacing on the short landing, he shot her a look of urgent anger."My God Ritz one wrong move could have…I can’t even stomach the words. Theimages of what could have gone wrong keep playing in my head on repeat."
"But nothing did go wrong and I made all theright moves," she pressed.
Cade swore under his breath and gave her a fiercelook. Laying his hands on both of her shoulders, his fingers flexed beforewrapping around the curve of her flesh. "Look, you're a badass. You're thestrongest and toughest girl I have ever met. Even when you were thirteen youcarried yourself like a girl who put down grown men in your spare time. Youwould have made a perfect soldier in that aspect. But Sunshine, love of mylife, and the reason I breathe, you cannot do shit like this again. If not foryourself, for me. I wanted to die, to rage, and yell and kill something all atonce after I saw that video, but more importantly, it scared the shit out ofme," he rasped furiously. "I need to know I can trust you when you goout there. I need to know that no matter what you will always come back tome."
Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes but shedidn’t let them fall. Nodding, she leaned forward tentatively, feeling herheart soar a little as he relaxed his arms letting her in close. Covering hismouth with hers, she kissed him. Growling low in his throat with anger deniedand desire emerging he leaned back against the cement wall behind him andwrapped his big arms around her. Holding her impossibly close he worked hismouth over hers, delving and tasting while drawing out little sounds from her.
"I love you," she whispered against hismouth, kissing him once more to bind the words. "I'm sorry for scaringyou."
Giving her a non-verbal grunt, Cade kissed herdeeply before pulling her to follow him down the stairs to go home.
Pulling out of the police parking lot, Cade kepthis eyes on the road as he spoke. "I've texted your parents and brothersand told them they could yell at you tomorrow."
Maritzia startled. She didn't even think of herfamily's reaction to the news. Slumping in the passenger seat she let out adistressed moan. "But tomorrow is my day off."
"Should have thought about that when youwent all Jet Li against a bowie knife," Cade replied dryly.
"But I thought we were going to spend the daytomorrow doing other things," she tempted in a low, coaxing tone."Like catching up on all the years we missed out on."
"Don’t you dare try to wiggle out of gettingyelled at by tempting me with delicious sex," he shot back, casting her adark look over his shoulder that made her shiver underneath the sheerintensity.
Sensing the change in the atmosphere around them,Maritzia let a small smile tug at the corners of her lips as her own bodyreacted to the mood. "So that's no to delicious sex, then?"
"Hell, no, it isn't," Cade growled, hiseyes bright with promise. "I'm just saying we're going to be responsibleadults who allow time for you to get bitched at by your family after or beforeexpending ourselves in the bedroom."
Maritzia laughed. That did sound like somethingreasonable adults would do.
Later that night after she spent at least an houron roundabout facetime calls with her parents, brothers, and cousins gettingbitched out for her heroic antics, she finally found herself exactly where shewanted to be.
"Cade!" she cried out into the darkroom as her body swayed forward under the pressure of his hips.
Bracing herself against the headboard, Maritziadropped her head to the hardwood surface as her body shook back and forth underCade's powerful strokes. Beneath her, the bed was a mess. Tangled around theirlegs the linens were damp already in various spots from her earlier climaxes.hands on her hip rocked her back to meet his relentless thrusts. Sounds oftheir flesh slapping married themselves to the sounds of Cade's animalisticgrunts and her high-pitched cries.
She felt the hot slick warmth of his chest alongher back and tensed as she felt his calloused hand wrap around her throat. Hersex clenched at the feeling and she felt her pulse spike. His deep grunts ofneed were right in her ear now, the position making the punching strokes of hiscock shorter but so much deeper. Again and again the tip of his fat cockpunched at the entrance of her womb making her release her own grunting noisesas the pleasure bordered on that fine edge of pain just like she needed.Wrapping her hands around his wrist just below her throat, she pushed her hipsback with frenzied need. The tension within her was escalating.
"That's it, baby," Cade growled darklyin her ear. His big body covered hers completely, his powerful thighs justbehind hers moving in time with hers as he pulsed desperately inside of her."Come for me now," he commanded.
