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Lola clicked her fingers and pointed at him. “Exactly that.” She let out a breath. “Anyway.” She turned to face me. “Asher is taking a nap upstairs. Could you go and check on him while I finish off the side dishes?”
“I can do the sides,” I told her.
“I got it.” Lola pulled away and flashed me a beaming smile. “I just want to make sure he stays asleep for a little while. He was up during the night with a temperature.”
“He was?” I frowned. “Is he okay now?”
“Yeah.” Lola swiped her hand over her hair. “It broke at three this morning. I think I got about two hours’ sleep last night.” The bags under her eyes confirmed her lack of sleep.
“I’ll go check on him,” I told her, already backing away to head up the stairs. I took them two at a time, gritting my teeth at the sharpness the stretch of my legs caused against my freshest cut. It was precisely what I needed at that moment, and enough to calm me down.
I couldn’t believe Cade had brought Miss Simmons here. Was this a statement he was trying to make? Was he trying to tell me what happened in the classroom this week wouldn’t happen again? Maybe it was all in my head. Maybe I’d imagined what we’d done.
My hand gripped the door handle to Asher’s room, and I paused. I needed to stop thinking about any of it. It wouldn’t do me any good, not while I was in a house full of people who couldn’t find out.
I turned the handle and pushed all my thoughts aside as I entered Asher’s room. Slowly and carefully, I crept across the floor toward his pirate bed and grinned. He was spread out like a starfish, his mouth wide open, heavy snores coming from him. I had no idea how such a little person could snore so loud, but he was managing it no problem.
He turned his head, and I froze, hoping I hadn’t woken him up, but when the snoring started again, I knew I hadn’t. I backed away and out of the room, then closed the door softly behind me. I could feel the smile on my face as I turned around, but it dropped as soon as I saw who was leaning against the hallway wall.
“Aria,” Cade’s deep voice said, but I shook my head. We couldn’t be up here alone. He couldn’t be here waiting for me.
“Leave me alone,” I demanded. My voice betrayed me, the words coming out breathy and not at all how I’d meant them to sound. My feet carried me toward him, but I had every intention of ignoring him and going back downstairs.
I saw him push up off the wall out of the corner of my eyes and flinched when he reached for me. It was a gut reaction, one I hadn’t meant, and one that caused me to halt in front of him.
“Just let me explain.”
“Explain what?” I asked. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.” I dipped my head back to look up at him, trying not to search his eyes for anything, but I couldn’t help myself. He was addicting, and I had no idea how to not need him. He fueled my every thought, and my brain was out of gas.
“I didn’t invite her here.”
I knew who her was, but I shrugged as if I didn’t care. “I don’t care.”
“She just kind of…invited herself,” he gritted out, and I looked away from him. I refused to allow him to see the hurt in my eyes. I didn’t know why her being here stung so goddamn much. Maybe it was because she’d said she was his girlfriend. Or maybe it was because this had always been my safe haven. A safe haven that would be ripped away from me if she had anything to do with it.
“Was Hope telling the truth?” he blurted out. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
I scoffed and shook my head. “Of course I don’t—unlike you who now has a girlfriend—Miss Simmons to boot.” I was getting angry, and I needed to calm down. I couldn’t let him see how bothered I was about it all. Push it down, Aria. Push it all down. I took a calming breath, pushed my shoulders back, and told him, “I’m leaving now,” then stepped away from him.
This time, when his arm reached out and his hand gripped my wrist, I didn’t flinch. If anything, I sighed from the way his palm whispered along the sensitive skin and wished he would never let go.
“Please wait…” My back was to him, but I heard and felt him shuffle closer. “I just need a second.”
My breaths became heavier the longer we stood in the silent hallway, distant echoes of laughter being heard, but otherwise, it was only him and me. The last time we’d been alone, he’d kissed me…
I turned, my shoulder grazing against his chest because of how close he was, and my gaze flicked up to his lips.
“Don’t do that,” he groaned out, and I swear every hair on my body stood on end.
“Do what?” I asked, my voice so low I could barely hear myself, especially over the pounding of my heart.
“Look at me like that.” He moved even closer, his chest now against mine, and his hand moved off my wrist and to the dip in my waist. “Fuck, I missed having you so close.”
I felt the same, but I couldn’t get the words out, not while he was touching me in the way I’d imagined for weeks. We’d tried to erase each other from our lives the last few weeks, but it was now evident how hard it was.
He pushed, backing me up against the wall, and dipped down. A gasp left my lips as his erection pressed between my thighs, and I stared deeply into his eyes. He had everything there on display for me. Every single thing he felt, and I was hopeless to resist any longer.
I lunged forward, slamming my lips down on his and taking what I so desperately needed. I bit down on his bottom lip, not being gentle in the slightest. I soaked in each of his moans and relished each stroke of his tongue as it dipped and flowed against mine.
