Chapter 4
918 Words
Chapter Four
Lanesra stood outside Kade’s apartment, her heart drumming against her ribcage. The note burned in her pocket, its weight a silent reminder of the questions she needed answers to. But not yet. She wasn’t ready to confront him—not when the mere thought of his touch set her skin on fire.
Tonight, she needed him. She needed the distraction, the reassurance, the feeling of being wanted. Erin’s words had shaken her, but Kade—Kade was her anchor. He always had been.
She knocked lightly, and within seconds, the door swung open. Kade stood there in gray sweatpants and a fitted black t-shirt, his hair tousled from running his fingers through it. His gaze softened the moment he saw her.
“Hey, beautiful,” he murmured, stepping aside to let her in.
She stepped into the familiar warmth of his apartment, inhaling the scent of him—woodsy cologne and something uniquely Kade. He closed the door behind her, and before she could say anything, he pulled her into his arms.
“You okay?” he asked, his breath warm against her temple.
She melted into him, her fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt. “I am now.”
He pulled back just enough to cup her face, his thumb brushing over her cheek. “You sure?”
Lanesra didn’t want to think anymore. She didn’t want to question or analyze. She needed to feel.
Instead of answering, she rose onto her toes and pressed her lips to his. The moment their mouths met, Kade groaned softly, his arms tightening around her. He kissed her deeply, hungrily, as if he had been waiting for this moment just as much as she had.
Her fingers slid into his hair, tugging slightly, and he responded with a growl, pressing her back against the nearest wall. His hands roamed her body, tracing familiar paths, igniting a fire inside her.
“Kade,” she breathed against his lips, needing more.
He lifted her effortlessly, wrapping her legs around his waist as he carried her toward the bedroom. The world outside disappeared—the doubts, the note, Erin’s cryptic warning. None of it mattered right now. The only thing that existed was this—him, her, the heat between them.
Later, as they lay tangled in each other, Lanesra traced circles on Kade’s chest, her mind beginning to resurface from the haze of pleasure. The note still sat in her discarded jeans, a reminder of why she had come here in the first place.
She swallowed hard and forced herself to ask the question she had been avoiding. “Kade… who is Erin?”
His body tensed slightly beneath her fingers. It was so small, so quick, that if she hadn’t been paying attention, she would have missed it. But she did notice, and it sent a cold shiver through her spine.
“She’s… someone I used to know,” he said, his voice casual, too casual. “A long time ago.”
Lanesra lifted her head, searching his face. “How do you know her?”
Kade sighed, running a hand through his hair. “She was part of my past. Before you. We were… close for a while, but things ended badly. She didn’t take it well.”
Something about his tone made her uneasy. He wasn’t lying—not exactly. But he wasn’t telling the whole truth either.
“Ended badly how?” Lanesra pressed.
Kade hesitated, then let out a slow breath. “Erin wasn’t just some ex. She was my fiancée.”
Lanesra’s heart stopped. “What?”
Kade sat up, rubbing his jaw. “We were engaged. It was a long time ago, before I met you. But it didn’t end well. Erin… she didn’t leave willingly.”
Lanesra’s blood ran cold. “What do you mean?”
Kade closed his eyes for a moment before looking at her, his expression dark. “She found out things about my family. Things that could have ruined them. My father—he did things, things I’m not proud of. Erin wanted justice, but I begged her not to go public. I was desperate. I thought I could fix it. But when she wouldn’t back down, my family… they made sure she disappeared from my life.”
Lanesra felt like she had been punched in the stomach. “Are you telling me your family threatened her?”
Kade’s jaw tightened. “It was worse than that.”
Lanesra’s pulse pounded in her ears. “Did she leave, Kade? Or did your family force her out?”
His silence was answer enough.
Lanesra shot out of bed, grabbing her clothes with shaking hands. “I can’t believe this. You let me think she was just some bitter ex, but she was trying to expose something? And you let it happen?”
Kade stood, reaching for her. “Lanesra, please. I never wanted this. I was trying to protect her, but I was young, scared—”
“Don’t,” she snapped, stepping back. “You lied to me.”
His face fell. “I didn’t tell you everything because I didn’t want to lose you.”
Tears burned her eyes as she yanked her sweater over her head. “Well, congratulations, Kade. You lost me anyway.”
She turned and stormed out of the apartment, her vision blurred, her heart shattering with every step.
And Kade, for the first time in a long time, didn’t stop her.
- Writer
