Remember Me (Storm Lords Book 1) (7 page)

Day Four

Phoebe hunched over her laptop and tried to ignore Cade as he wandered, seemingly
without purpose, around the room. Today he was wearing black pants and a dark blue shirt that matched his eyes. The shirt clung to his broad shoulders and the lean lines of his chest and belly. She couldn’t stop herself from lingering over the sight, and
as she watched, he slowly pulled his tie loose and tossed it on his desk, before unfastening the top button of his shirt to reveal the pale hollow of his throat. His hand hovered for a moment on the next button, and Phoebe had the appalling notion that he
was actually doing a striptease for her, followed by the even worse idea that he was entirely aware of the effect it was having on her unruly equilibrium.

G
rrr.

She forced her hungry gaze away and stabbed her fingers onto the keys, not caring that the word
s that came out were gibberish. She had no story anyway. Three days of this torture and she had nothing to show for it. Either Stormlord Securities was clean, or Caden Wolfe was way too clever for her and had covered his tracks. She suspected a bit of both
, but over the past few days, she’d watched him closely and had come to respect the way he worked. And she hoped, deep inside, that she wouldn’t find her story.

She wanted him to be good and that scared her—her job had always come first.

Maybe she should g
ive up, pack up, and head home. There was nothing for her here.

Except Cade.

He was driving her crazy. Oh, he had kept his word. He hadn’t touched her. But he was teasing her, tormenting her. He was always taking off bits of clothing—well his jacket and ti
e anyway—and unbuttoning buttons. He would come and to sit beside her, or prop himself on the edge of her desk, his long, lean thigh within touching distance, or lurk behind her while she was typing.

Oh yes, he knew exactly what he was doing. It was clear
in his eyes, taunting her with the knowledge that all she had to do was ask.

So many times the words had hovered on the edge of her tongue, and she was getting tired of fighting it.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she was unaware of him standing direc
tly behind her until his warm masculine scent teased her nostrils. He leaned over her shoulder; his hands on the desk, his arms braced on either side of her, not quite touching, but close enough so if she tilted her head, she would touch him.

“Phoebe.” His
voice, low and husky, caressed her ears, his breath feathering against the sensitive skin at the back of her neck, sending tiny quivers rippling down her spine.

Okay. Enough
.

She slammed down the lid of her laptop.

She knew when she was beaten. As she sil
ently acknowledged her defeat, the tight knot inside her unraveled and a fire burst into life, sizzling along her nerves, settling low down in her belly.

For a minute, she sat staring down at the desktop.

Then she straightened and leaned back, so her head
rested against the smooth silk of his shirt. Behind her, he went still. She sat for a minute savoring her defeat, then she swiveled her chair around, forcing him to straighten.

Tipping her head back, she looked up into his face. The hard lines were tense,
but something flickered in his dark eyes. Hope? Need? The same need that was burning in her veins. Why not give them what they both craved?

“Touch me,” she murmured.

Shock flashed across his features. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they blazed with triumph. “You’re sure?”

His words made her pause. When had things gotten so intense between them? It didn’t seem real. Was the emotion for her? Or wa
s he still pining for some other woman? But she’d waited too long to protest. He straightened and brought his hands down on her shoulders, held her gaze as he slid them down her body to cup her breasts.

He squeezed, and a wave of pleasure rolled through he
r, then he rubbed the stiffening nipples, and she was lost.

Plucking open the buttons of her shirt, he slid one hand inside, under the lace of her bra, and pinched one tight peak.

“Oh God,” she groaned under her breath as he tugged the nipple between his t
humb and finger and pinched again.

He seemed to know exactly how to touch her, what made her body burn as though they’d done this a hundred times before. Leaning close, his lips caressed the side of her neck, his warm breath teasing her skin. “Phoebe.”

Her
whispered name drove the last of her doubts away. She turned her face so his lips met hers, and he kissed her as though he was starving and only she could satisfy him. Kissed her until her head was spinning, and she was filled with a sense of rightness.

W
ith her last remnants of reason, she tried to tell herself this was purely physical. She’d never wanted love, but now the words rose in her throat and she had to swallow them down. Then Cade deepened the kiss, and all rational thoughts fled her mind.

***

T
he taste of her was driving him wild. Cade couldn’t believe it was happening at last. How many times over the past days had he cursed himself for making that promise not to touch her? Now, he felt the tension drain from her body as she went boneless in his
arms.

His fangs ached with the need to taste her, but he couldn’t risk it, couldn’t let her see all he had become until she admitted her love for him. He tried not to think of it, concentrated instead on his cock, which had been hard since the moment she’
d first touched him. He’d meant to take this slowly, take her to his bed, but he knew he couldn’t wait.

His hands slid to her waist, and he lifted her out of the chair to stand before him. He stroked both hands over the swell of her bottom, down the long l
ine of her legs, until they reached the hemline of her skirt. Gripping the material in his fists, he dragged it upward to expose her stocking-clad legs and naked thighs, then lifted her so she sat perched on the edge of the desk, her skirt bunched up aroun
d her waist. He wrapped his fingers in the black lace of her panties, ripped them away, and breathed in the warm scent of her arousal perfuming the air.

The tenuous hold he had on his control snapped. His fingers grazed lightly over the warm wetness betwee
n her thighs, parting the drenched folds of her sex, finding the swollen nub. He swiped the pad of his thumb over the sensitive flesh, and a moan of pleasure escaped her throat.

“I want you.” He parted her thighs, opening her to him, and pushed one finger
inside. She convulsed around him, and he held her in place with a hand on her hips, as he withdrew, then eased inside her again, loving the feel her slick arousal. Finally, he could hold off no longer.

He straightened, flicked open the button at his waist,
and lowered the zipper. His cock sprang free. Phoebe fell back so she was resting on her elbows, watching him down the line of her body as he stepped up close to her, opened her with unsteady fingers, then sank his cock into her in one hard thrust.

He was
back in heaven.

She gasped, but when he made to pull back, she wrapped her legs around his waist and dragged him closer. He stood for a minute, savoring the feel of her tight muscles wrapping him.

“In all my life,” he murmured, “I have never felt anything
so perfect.”

His hands moved to the curve of her hips, and he held her steady while he started to move. He closed his eyes at the exquisite drag of her tight sheath as he withdrew, pushed back inside. He pumped into her, slow at first as she accustomed he
rself to him, then picking up speed, the sensations filling his mind until the whole world narrowed to the feel of his cock.

She shuddered beneath the impact of his strokes, so close now. He remembered the way she’d rub her core frantically against him, th
e tightening of her inner muscles, the wildness of her eyes. He thrust once more, grinding his hips into her, and she imploded around him, screaming his name. He came with her, his head falling back as the pleasure exploded through his cock, his balls, sho
oting up his spine. It seemed to go on forever, but finally he slumped down and rested his forehead against her breasts, felt her hand move to stroke the hair at the back of his neck.

Peace had eluded him for so long, and now just for a moment, a sense of
calm washed over him, pulled him in, engulfed him in its warm embrace.

He straightened and slipped free of her. She appeared dazed, her eyes half-closed, her body boneless. Picking her up, he held her close as he carried her through the door at the back of
his office into his private quarters. He sat on the edge of the bed, propped her between his thighs, holding her steady when she swayed, and stripped off the rest of her clothes. Then he laid her gently on the bed and came down beside her.

This time, with
the urgency gone, he made love to her slowly, erotically, trailing his lips down over the soft skin of her breasts, his tongue lapping her nipples, sucking gently on the engorged nubs until she arched beneath him. He crawled up her body, wrapped his arms
around her, and slid his cock into the tight sheath. As he rocked languorously, the pleasure built inside him. His hips rotated against her swollen, sensitive flesh until she came again and he lost himself in the wonder of making love to her. Afterward he
lay on his side watching her sleep, a small smile curving her lips.

His body felt sated but his mind was in turmoil.

Phoebe still hadn’t said she loved him. He’d seen it in her eyes, but she needed to speak the words for the Covenant to be complete. Fear a
nd panic clawed at his insides. He didn’t think he could survive losing her a second time.

These last few days had been a combination of dream and nightmare. Being close, but not touching her. Knowing if he messed up, he could lose her again. This time for
ever.

His cell phone rang. He picked it up. Torr.

“We need to talk now—we have a problem with Bryce.”

Cade had suspected it would come to this. Bryce had been struggling since his own search had failed. Cade hoped he just needed time away and his soul was
not returning to the shadows.

How would he fare if Phoebe were lost to him forever? Would he cope any better than Bryce? He doubted it. He sensed the darkness that slept deep inside him stir, and he pushed it down, locked it off. He would not return to the
evil ways; he would get Torr to kill him first. He hoped he was strong enough, but he just didn’t know.

Cade stroked a finger along Phoebe’s smooth cheek. She didn’t stir, and he reluctantly got out of bed. He pulled on some clothes and headed out. Pausin
g at the door, he looked back. Her eyes were open, watching him.

“I have to go,” he said.

“Should I come?”

He shook his head. “There’s no need. This is personal, not business. I shouldn’t be too long. Go back to sleep.”

“Cade—”

Something in her voice alert
ed him. Tension seized his limbs, locking him in place. “Yes?” He held his breath as he waited for her to speak.

She came up on one elbow and pushed her hair from her face. “I—” She broke off and bit her lip.

“What is it?” He could hear the urgency in his
own voice.

“Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”

Disappointment stabbed him in the gut. He pushed it down and opened the door. “We’ll talk when I get back.”

***

Phoebe stared at the closed door.

She’d been on the point of saying,
I love you
. The words had hovered
on her lips but at the last moment, she’d swallowed them. She didn’t know what held her back. She couldn’t deny—to herself, at least—that she was falling in love with him. And even that wasn’t the truth. In some strange way, she felt as though she had alwa
ys loved him.

She’d resolved early on in her life that she would never love. She’d freely acknowledged that her decision was based on fear. The dream had haunted her childhood, until as a teenager she had eventually become ill from lack of sleep. Her fathe
r had taken her to a therapist, and with a combination of techniques, the dreams had been banished deep into her subconscious and had remained there until recently. She’d thought they had been forgotten, but now she realized how much they had shaped her li
fe. She’d never been scared of
love
, but of loving and losing.