Cade:
The house was spotless. Gleaming and ordered.
I was a storm.
She stood inches away, her breath ghosting over my jaw, eyes wide and wet, mouth parted like she was bracing for impact. My restraint was threadbare, unraveling fast, and then she said it—two words that ripped the ground out from under me.
Then don’t.
I didn’t think. How could I?
The moment her voice hit me, the leash snapped. My hand shot to her jaw, rougher than I meant, thumb pressing against the soft heat of her cheek. Her gasp punched into me, and then I was bending, closing the space I’d starved over for weeks.
Her mouth met mine like she’d been waiting just as long. No hesitation. No retreat. Just fire.
The first taste undid me. Coffee still clung to her tongue, faint and bitter under the sweetness of her mou
