Fated (23 page)

He
grunted as he pulled out almost all the way and thrust back into me so hard that
he slammed me back against the door. The only thing I could do was cling to his
shoulders, holding on as he supported me effortlessly, impaling me again and
again as the door shook in its frame each time I was pushed against it.

We
were in a frenzy, like rutting animals working purely on instinct, when he
suddenly froze. I made a sound of protest, thrusting my hips to encourage him
to keep moving.

“Shit,”
he bit out. “No condom.”

His
words broke through my haze of passion, and I stilled my hips. I wasn’t worried
about whether he was clean, but the thought of accidentally getting pregnant
terrified me. Yet I couldn’t ignore the hunger still coiled tightly inside of
me.

“Hurry,”
I panted, trying to resist the urge to push against him. “Put one on.”

Caden
supported my back and then lowered us to the ground so that I was lying down on
the floor. The emptiness was almost painful when he slipped out of me, and my
hips rose instinctively, searching for him.

Caden
was still fully clothed with only his jeans unzipped and his erection jutting
out, wet from my arousal. With trembling hands, he frantically dug inside his
pocket and pulled out a condom. In seconds, he had rolled it onto his length
and then grabbed my hips, pulling me towards him.

His
face was tight with desire, his eyes burning, as he ripped my panties off and
pushed himself back inside me. I gasped in relief, the sound turning to cries
as he slammed into me relentlessly.

Sweat
rolled down Caden’s body and his face was harshly determined as he pounded into
me, almost looking like he was in pain.

“Caden!”
I cried out, as I felt myself about to fall over the edge. My body was
tightening and I could feel the beginning shudders running through my body.

“That’s
it,” he bit out, his amber eyes dark as they bored into me. “Don’t hold back.
Give me everything.”

My
back arched sharply as I keened in pure pleasure, my lower body undulating as I
climaxed violently. Caden groaned as he joined me in release, the corded
muscles in his arms straining as his eyes clenched shut, the look on his face
primal as he jerked inside me.

He
collapsed on top of me after he was spent, our sweaty limbs tangled as we lay
limply on the floor. I stroked his back as I listened to his ragged breaths
evening out.

“Have
I ever told you that I love pasta salad?”

I
felt him grin against my neck at my comment.

“I’ll
have to make sure I keep a constant supply for you,” he said wryly.

We
managed to untangle our limbs and stand after a few moments, straightening our
clothes. As it turned out, Caden really did have pasta salad, so we ate
comfortably in his living room.

I
glanced at the stairs that led to the third floor. I couldn’t stop wondering
what was on the next floor, and decided that it wouldn’t be too intrusive to
ask.

“What’s
on the third floor?”

“Nothing.”

I
furrowed my brows. “What do you mean, nothing?”

“There’s
nothing up there except empty rooms.”

“Oh,”
I said nonplussed. “Isn’t that kind of a waste?”

“I
bought this place years ago because it was a good investment and I liked the
layout of the first floor for my office and studio. It’s meant to be big enough
for a family. My bedroom and personal office on this floor is actually supposed
to be the guest room and sitting room. The bedrooms upstairs are supposed to be
for the family.” Caden shrugged. “At least, that’s how the old owners had it.
I’m thinking of turning it into another studio since I’ll never need it.”

I
hurriedly changed the topic. The last thing I wanted to discuss was Caden’s
desire for a family or lack thereof. I didn’t want him to think that I had an
interest in any of that. Having a family with 2.5 kids and a dog was the last
thing on my mind.

“How’s
Michael been doing? He looked healthy and energetic as always last Thursday.”

Caden
put down his empty plate on the coffee table. “He seems to be doing well. I was
over at their house in Greenwich yesterday, and Millie told me that so far all
his tests have come back normal.”

So
that’s where he had been yesterday. It made me feel better that I had a glimpse
of what he did when he wasn’t with me, although the desire to know was
worrying.

I
grabbed his plate and put it on top of mine before walking into the kitchen.
“We should get back downstairs,” I said as I turned on the faucet and started
washing the dishes. I jumped when I felt his warm breath against my neck.

“You
don’t have to wash the dishes.”

“I
don’t mind,” I said as I quickly soaped the dishes and rinsed them. I was
distracted my Caden’s warm open mouth against my neck as he braced his arms on
the counter on either side of me, effectively trapping me. I turned around
after I was done with the dishes. “Caden, I have work to do.”

The
corners of his mouth turned down, and I had to suppress a laugh at his
displeasure that was almost boyish. His eyes gleamed as he noticed my
amusement, but he just leaned down and gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll let you off
the hook
this
time.”

Caden
spent the rest of the day in his studio, and I was surprised that he didn’t
immediately rush out at six o’clock to ravish me. I knocked on the door and
stuck my head in.

“I’m
leaving now, unless you need something.”

He
looked up distracted from the desk, his right hand smudged with charcoal. “No,
I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I
tried to hide my surprise as I closed the door. This was the first time since
we started sleeping together that he had passed up on the opportunity to take
advantage of the official workday being over so that we could concentrate on
our physical relationship instead of the professional one. I couldn’t help
feeling a little deflated, but I told myself it was good to keep a little
distance. Besides, maybe our
pasta salad
interlude had satiated his needs for the day.

That
didn’t stop me from obsessing about it for the rest of the night. It was then
that I realized I was in a whole lot of trouble.

Chapter Seventeen

I
gave Caden a wide smile the next day when I arrived at work. I didn’t want him
to suspect that I had been bothered by his easy dismissal yesterday. I was
surprised when he stopped me from going to my desk.

“We’re
playing hooky today.”

I
raised an eyebrow. “You can play hooky, but I have work to do. My boss is a
real taskmaster.”

Caden
grinned. “I’ll put in a good word for you.”

I
decided to play along, unable to resist his boyish enthusiasm. “Okay, so what are
we going to do today?”

“Whatever
you want.”

“I
want to work.”

Caden
shook his head disappointedly. “You lack imagination. Isn’t there anything that
you’ve wanted to do since you moved here?”

I bit
my lip as I thought about it. As much as I had enjoyed living in New York so
far, I hadn’t ventured too far into it. Except for a few excursions to a couple
of tourist spots during the weekends, I hadn’t seen much of the city. The
crowds were overwhelming and I had gotten into a bad habit of holing myself up
in Macie’s apartment. She had offered to introduce me to her friends before she
left, but I had declined, not wanting to become an obligation to people I
didn’t even know. I realized I liked New York in theory, but I hadn’t
experienced much of it firsthand.

“Well…”
I said slowly. “I’ve always wanted to go to Brooklyn.”

Caden
raised an eyebrow. “Where in Brooklyn do you want to go?”

I
shrugged. “I don’t know, but I always read articles about all the fun stuff
that happens in Brooklyn.”

He
nodded, although I thought I saw a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “Okay. An
excursion into Brooklyn. What else?”

I
felt excitement start to mount. Exploring New York would be a lot more fun with
Caden by my side. The fact that he was willing to be my tour guide made me
flush with pleasure.

“Can
we go to the Bronx Zoo?”

Caden
ticked off another finger. “Okay, the Bronx Zoo. What else?”

I
looked at him incredulously. “Isn’t that enough for one day?”

He
grinned. “You have to make the most out of playing hooky. We can squeeze in one
more activity.”

The
anticipation of spending the day with Caden beyond the office was dizzying.
“Can we go to the Meatpacking District?”

“Sure,
but what do you want to do there?”

“I
read about an elevated park built on an old rail line called the High Line.”

Caden
agreed to my suggestion, and decided that we should start with the Bronx Zoo.
It was a surreal morning. We weren’t exactly a loving couple holding hands and
staring into each other’s eyes, but Caden always found ways to touch me,
whether it was guiding me with a hand on the small of my back or running his
fingers up and down my arm as we gazed at all the different animals. I had
suggested the Bronx Zoo on a whim, and I hadn’t expected to have so much fun,
but I did. Caden was easy company, and I found myself laughing often with him.
The sexual tension was always just under the surface, but I was surprised by
our easy camaraderie. We talked about nothing important, simply enjoying the sunny
May morning and the simple pleasure of wandering around the expansive zoo.

Afterwards,
we went to Brooklyn and Caden took me to a barbecue restaurant called Fette Sau
in Williamsburg. I balked when I saw him return to our wooden picnic table with
a tray piled high with brisket, ribs, thick strips of bacon and half a dozen
sides.

“Are
more people joining us?” I asked as I looked at the amount of food with
amazement. “There’s no way the two of us can eat all of that.”

“Speak
for yourself,” Caden said with a challenging grin. “Three hours at the zoo has
worked up my appetite.”

Despite
his big words, we ended up with a lot of leftovers after we were done, but it
was inordinately fun trying out all the different foods, not caring that our
fingers were getting sticky with barbecue sauce in the process.

We
spent the rest of the afternoon leisurely exploring Williamsburg. There were an
endless amount of small shops and boutiques, and I was surprised that Caden
didn’t seem to mind when I pulled him into several of them.

“What
do you think of Brooklyn so far?” he asked as we left a vintage jewelry store
and stepped back out into the sun.

“I
like it, but I don’t think I’m hip enough for it. Either that, or I’m too old.”

Caden
raised an eyebrow. “If twenty-six is too old, what does that make me?”

“Ancient,
of course,” I said with a wry grin. “I’m surprised you’ve been able to keep up
today.”

Caden
wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close, a suggestive smile on his face.
“I’d be happy to show you that I’m still young at heart. As well as other
places.”

I
opened my mouth to make a smart reply, but before I could utter a word, Caden
pulled me towards him so that I was flush against his very youthful and very
hard body. He leaned down and kissed me, gently at first but then the familiar
urgency took over. As much as I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and lose
myself in the moment, I was cognizant of the fact that we were standing in the
middle of the sidewalk in broad daylight.

I
pushed him away with a firm look. “Behave, or I won’t take you out on daytrips
from the nursing home anymore.”

Caden
grinned and allowed me to pull away. I stopped in front of a tiny art gallery.
“Let’s go in here!”

Caden
didn’t seem enthusiastic about my suggestion, but he followed me inside. Ever
since working for him, my interest in art had grown and I was eager to expand
my base of knowledge.

The
gallery had a different mixture of mediums, from paintings to photographs to
sculptures. They were able to fit an impressive amount of art in the small
space without making it seem overcrowded.

There
was no one else in the gallery except for a woman wearing a long, green gauzy
skirt and a blue tank top who greeted us when we entered. A dozen bracelets
adorned each arm and their clanking almost drowned out her greeting.

“Welcome!
Please feel free to look around.”

I
nodded in greeting. “Thanks.”

The
woman’s eyes slid over to Caden and studied him appraisingly. I saw the exact
moment when she recognized him as a wide smile stretched across her face.

“Caden
Riley!” She rushed over and held out her hand. Caden obligingly shook it but I
could see his reluctance. The woman was oblivious to it.

“I
can’t believe Caden Riley is actually in my little gallery! I’m a huge fan!
What brings you here?”