The Fortunates (Unfortunates #2) (16 page)

“I just did,” he simply says.

I grimace as he opens the shower door and steps out. Cold air swoops in and clings to my skin, making me shudder. “That’s kind of gross. It also doesn’t count as a meal.”

He laughs and its deep, melodious tune dances around the room. “I’ll have someone bring food up to the room.”

Kade throws a white towel over the shower glass and I catch it, cradling it to my chest. I rub my cheek against it. It’s warm and fluffy. Nothing like the dry, scratchy pieces of fabric I was used to at the Unfortunate camp. These towels are like soft pieces of cloud in comparison.

Kade dries himself quickly and slips into his slacks while I remain in the shower, cuddling the towel like an idiot. Where is he going, anyway? I’m not finished with him.

Eventually, I get out unscathed and I even manage to dry my hair without knocking myself out. I grab Kaden’s shirt off the floor and shrug into it. As I button it up, I study myself in the mirror. I’m still thin. Still sick and gross looking. How Kade can even stomach having sex with me I have no idea. At least my bruises are turning from purple to yellow. That’s a plus.

I squint at my reflection. My eyes seem small and tired. Is it a side effect to the alcohol? Does everyone look like shit when they drink too much? I shrug. Eh. I might not look good, but I feel good, and that’s the main thing.

I don’t know how long I spend in the bathroom brushing my teeth, combing my hair, and spraying perfume in my eyes, but when I come out I’m overwhelmed by the delicious smells. I inhale through my nose and fill my lungs with heaven. Aaah. I could eat a horse.

“It smells good,” I say, tiptoeing into the room.

Kade sits in the middle of the couch, shirtless and comfortable, cradling a bowl of assorted berries in his hand. He smiles at me as he lifts his leg and rests his ankle on his knee. “I didn’t know what you’d want so I got a bit of everything. Bread. Meat. Fruit. Vegetables.”

I scan over the food on the coffee table. The extravagant platters barely fit. Does he really expect me to eat so much? It’s such a waste. Besides, I don’t want to eat. Not yet.

Kade slips a blueberry into his mouth and crushes it between his strong teeth. “Come here.”

Lowering his leg, he sets his bowl on the armrest as I meander over to him.

“You’re not going to force feed me, are you?”

Kade leans forward and grabs me behind the knees. “Force? No. Feed? Yes.”

He pulls my thighs either side of his and tugs me forward. I squeak as I drop into his lap, straddling his hips. My stomach coils at the feel of his strong, hard muscles against my bare ass.

Food? How can he think of food at a time like this? Do I not drive him crazy the way he drives me crazy?

Kade grabs his bowl and holds it in front of me. Without protest, I pluck a blackberry out, pinching it between my thumb and index finger, and examine it. Berries are Kaden’s favourite, which I find intriguing. One would assume a man of his size favours steak, but no. Berries are his go-to snack.

I remember the time he wrote on my skin with a berry. It had stained me. I glance at the berry in my hand. A drop of juice rolls down my thumb and onto my wrist, leaving a purple trail in its wake.

“Do you remember writing your name on my skin?” I ask, smiling sweetly.

“I remember,” he says as I lower the berry to his chest. His body clenches beautifully. “Don’t waste it.”

I lift my gaze and our eyes lock. His concern would be endearing if the hunger behind it wasn’t so overpowering.

My lips twitch. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

I press the berry against the middle of his chest and push it around, bypassing his nipples. As I curve it down toward his belly button, he snatches my wrist and lifts the berry from his skin.

His eyes are black and growing darker by the second and the hairs on the back of my neck stick up in the most delightful way as he guides the squished berry to my mouth.

“Eat it,” he orders.

I part my lips and allow him to push it into my mouth. It’s soft and sweet on my tongue. I swallow it without chewing.

“Good?”

I shrug. “I think all the flavour is absorbing into your skin.”

Kade’s beautiful black irises dance with indecent excitement and I can’t help myself. I crane my neck and lower my mouth to his chest, allowing myself a taste of the berry. Under my lips, his hard stomach muscles tense and he groans deep in his chest.

“You need to eat,” he mutters, but he’s not convincing anybody.

I lift my head and slide my palms over his chest. “Later.” I kiss his mouth. “There are more important things that require my attention.”

“Your health is—”

I grab his face in my hands and kiss him harder, forcing my tongue into his mouth. Kaden’s hand snaps to my ass and air is sucked from my lungs as his mouth devours mine. Forcing myself onto him is all it takes to break his self-control, to revert him back to the hungry beast he was in the shower. That’s what I want. That’s what I need.

We’ve made love. I’ve had my fill of that. Now I want him, the raw him. The primal him.

Why? Because I don’t feel pretty. I don’t feel desirable, especially not after seeing myself in the mirror. I want to be crushed under his desperation and smothered by his need. As sad as it is, I want to feel like I did when I was his Unfortunate. He wanted me then. Maybe it’s the alcohol making me feel insecure and irrational…either way, I want him to rip this shirt from my body.

Kade flicks his hips and traps me in a fumble as he rolls me to the side, pinning my back against the lounge. Heat blooms under my skin and the bowl of berries spills over and rolls over my legs. Berry juice runs up my thighs and soaks into the couch as Kaden moves to suck at my neck.

“Sex then food,” he says, positioning himself between my legs.

“Rinse and repeat,” I gasp.

I reach for his pants and pop the button. He grinds his hips into mine, pinning my hands between us.

“No rinse. Just repeat,” he murmurs, biting my skin between his sharp teeth. I hiss and he snaps his face to mine, sucking my lip into his mouth.

Kade lifts his body, freeing my hands. With them, I grab his zipper and push it down. His pants loosen and slip down his hips, inching over the curve of his ass. He releases my lip and rests his forehead against mine. With a gentle sigh, he plants a tender kiss on the tip of my nose. “What do you want from me?”

Everything. I want everything.

His love…

His name…

His children…

His hopes…

His dreams…

His heart.

I want him and all that comes with him.

“Just you.” I swallow hard. “Only you.”

Crunching my body, I slide his slacks down his thighs until they bunch at his knees. Keeping my eyes on his, I smooth the palms of my hands up his strong quadriceps muscles, over the scar of his bullet wound, and along his clenching stomach. My chest rises and falls with quick breaths. He notices it and I see it click in his eyes. He realises how bad I want him.

And he understands.

Kaden rears back onto his knees and I fight hard to keep my stare north of his belly button. I fail miserably, of course, but my gaze doesn’t stray for long. He grips the hem of my shirt in his hands and tugs it outwards, sending buttons scattering in opposite directions. They bounce across the floor and skid over table tops, but they don’t pull my attention from the burning desire in Kade’s face. I slide my hands over my stomach, covering the scratches and bruises. He watches me, frowning as I move my palms over my hip bones.

“What are you trying to hide?” he asks, grabbing my wrists.

I tell him, resisting as he tries to guide my hands away. “They’re not nice.”

He flinches and releases my wrists. “They’re not nice?”

“No.”

I sink my teeth into my lower lips as Kade glides his palm over my left hip. “You know what they tell me?”

“What?”

“That my woman is a warrior.”

I scoff. “A warrior? You’re crazy.”

“It’s true. Your body reminds me that, unlike everyone around you, you had to fight to get where you are. You think a few scrapes and bruises affect how I see you? You could lose an arm tomorrow and I’d still want to be with you.”

“You would?” I touch his forearms and slide my fingers up over his biceps as my heart balloons in my chest.

He lowers his body against mine, pressing our hips together. “I fell in love with your humanity. Not your appearance.”

He’s soft and sensual, feeling like silk against me. Like always, our bodies connect, effortlessly slipping together like the pieces of a puzzle. He dances the tips of his fingers down my thigh and glides them under my calf. With a gentle tug, he hooks my leg over his hip and swallows the distance between our lips.

“I love you,” I manage to blow out on a sigh before he presses his lips to mine.

He touches my cheek and moans his agreement into my mouth. I can’t help a small smile as he pulls his hips back far enough to allow the very tip of his length to press against my entrance.

Where I need it to be.

Kade pauses, focusing only on the way he kisses me. Sensually. Deeply. Like the only thing that matters in this moment, even when he’s a centimeter away from entering my body, is how loved I feel.

I’ve never felt so loved. Not ever.

Pushing his hips forward, he reaches between us to guide himself inside me. His smooth, thick cock fills me inch by inch and I revel in the pressure as he gently stretches me in order to accommodate him. Kade blows air through his nose and ends the kiss, dropping his head against my chest. He mutters something, something I can’t hear over the sound of my heart in my ears, so I touch him to let him know I’m listening. Even when I’m not. I slide my hands over his strong shoulders and touch his back. He has flawless skin. Skin that’s as smooth as glass and as hard as marble.

“I love your breasts,” he murmurs, grabbing them with greedy hands and squeezing them against his face.

He kisses them. He licks them and sucks them until they’re red, swollen, and throbbing mercilessly.

Electricity zips up and down my spine as he moves his hips in and out at a torturously slow pace. By the time he’s done with them, I can’t keep my hips still. I can’t control the heavy pants forcing themselves from my lungs at will.

“No more playing,” I huff, grabbing his face in my hands. “Give it to me.”

His black stare scans my face and settles on my over-kissed lips. With calculated wickedness, he flicks his hips incredibly hard, filling me to capacity in one extreme swoop.

“Oh!” I dig my short, blunt fingernails into the sides of his face.

“Like that?” he teases, returning to his slow, careful tempo.

Swallowing hard, I nod. “Like that.”

He makes no sudden movements, not like I expect him to, and it’s a delirious kind of torture. With a brain drowning in alcohol, I’m not sure what feels good and what feels great. Hell, I don’t even know if this is happening at all. For all I know, I drowned in a puddle of my own vomit and died.

I guess it doesn’t matter. What matters is now. Here. Us.

I arch my back as he pulls out and slips in, rhythmically. He roams my body with his hands, touching everything, appreciating
everything.

Sensuality starts with appreciation. I know that now.

“You’re soaking,” he groans. “You’re making it so easy for me to just…” He rams into me, forcing the air from my lungs. “Fuck you.”

Fire ignites in the pit of my belly and dances with the electricity that zaps my spine. They swirl together, and twirl together, creating chaos inside me.

Sweet.

Beautiful.

Chaos.

My breath hitches as he slams into me again while catching my bottom lip between his teeth.

“Kaden…” I whisper on an exhale, freeing my lip from his bite. “Do it. More.”

“More? Yeah?” He flicks his hips relentlessly, pumping his rigid cock in and out of me. “That’s what you want?”

I nod, and cry, and whimper. I make all kinds of stupid noises that make me cringe, but can’t be stopped.

Over and over.

Harder and harder.

Faster and faster.

Kade, who began this session with steely determination to make
me
feel good, succumbs to his selfishness. His gorgeous and somewhat arrogant stare has glazed over in lust. He watches me through desperate slits, begging me not to make him pound away any longer.

But I’m not ready to stop.

And he knows it.

Without warning, he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me onto him as he drops back against the couch. We fumble briefly, neither of us caring when the berry bowl drops off the couch and hits the tiles, breaking the porcelain in two.

I settle onto him with a satisfied moan. He touches parts of me that he never has and it is…
everything.

Kaden’s hands slap against my ass and I clench my teeth, absorbing the burn. He pushes me. And I pull.