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Once I, hopefully, looked a little less haggard I said, “Thanks,” then waved the hanky in front of him with an eyebrow raised.
“My mom says a gentleman always carries a handkerchief.”
If you would have asked me five minutes earlier if I had it in me to laugh, I would have said, hell no, but the serious look on Cade’s face when he said that sentence had me rolling.
I was leaning into him again, shaking in his arms, but this time it was because I was guffawing as I tried to speak.
“You, badass biker who lives in a cabin with his crotch-sniffing dog, doing what needs to be done and answering no questions … You carry a hanky?”
I was laughing so hard I didn’t notice he was annoyed until he said, “Keep up the jokes and I’ll bend you over and tan that ass.”
What? That made me sit up and listen.
No longer laughing, I asked somewhat breathless, “Really?”
“Jesus,” Cade replied, all signs of annoyance gone. “You’re a piece of work.”
“So, does that mean no spanking?” I asked with a straight face, then lost it when I started to giggle.
With a frustrated growl, Cade lifted me off his lap and put me on the couch next to him, then got up and walked into the kitchen.
“Uh-oh, Rufus, I think I made your daddy angry,” I joked, reaching out to pet Rufus’s ginormous head.
A few minutes later Cade turned on the TV, sat back down, and handed me a healthy goblet of wine.
“Figured you could drink that and relax, then do the shower and pajamas thing, unless you want to shower now…”
I looked from the beautiful red liquid to the beautiful man next to me, and replied, “I’ll relax first.”
He nodded and settled in, putting his arm over the back of the couch so I could scoot back and fit in the crook of his arm. When The Heat came on, he put the remote down and I curled my feet up under me, then we sunk back in the cushions and laughed while Melissa McCarthy gave Sandra Bullock a hard time.
Feeling loosey goosey after two goblets of wine and two hours of laughter, Cade helped me up to his loft. When we got to the top, he pushed me gently toward the shower and started to the bed.
“You aren’t going to join me?” I asked.
“Lila, you’ve been through a lot.”
“Yeah … that’s why I need you to wash my back,” I said coyly, starting to take my clothes off and hoping he wouldn’t reject me. After the ordeal I’d been through, I felt fragile, and really needed to know that he would comfort me, however I needed it.
Cade must have read what I was feeling on my face, because he crossed to me and turned on the shower, then helped me undress. I stepped into the steaming stream as I watched him take off his shirt, then his pants, and let his hair down, then join me and close the glass around us.
“C’mere,” he said, reaching for his shampoo and turning me so he could lather it in my hair. I placed my hands against the glass for support, moaning at how good it felt to have him massaging my scalp.
When he was done he turned me to rinse it out, then added conditioner. I peeked at the bottles, curious as to what brand he used, since his hair always looked so lush, then closed my eyes again and enjoyed the pampering.
Other than his hands cleaning my body, the shower was PG-13, but once we were done I felt a thousand times better.
He wrapped me in a fluffy towel, his hands moving vigorously as he dried me off. When he was finished, I curled into him and said, “Thanks … Really, for everything, Cade. For coming after me, taking care of me, making me laugh.” I tipped my head back and looked up at his gorgeous dark eyes and admitted, “I don’t know how I would have got through all this without you.”
I reached up to kiss him. Softly, slowly, thoroughly. My head tilted and his large hand came up to cup the back of my head. The towel fell to the floor and I pressed my naked body against his.
“Lila,” Cade said in warning, and I knew he was worried it was too so
on.
The desire coursing through me reminded me I was alive and well, and that was exactly what I needed, so I looked him in the eyes and pleaded, “I need this. I need you.”
Saying no more, Cade swept me up off my feet and carried me to his big comfy bed, laying me on the bed as if I was delicate, precious, before covering me with his strength.
