You'll Think of Me (4 page)

Groaning, he wound his fingers in her hair. Her scalp tingled as he spoke against her lips. “You do know how to get a man’s attention.”

She tugged him into the game room. Thoughts raced through her head. Her nipples brushed against his chest, sending streaks of electricity straight to her core.

As she snicked the door shut with her hip, she rubbed her hands over his body, both to keep her desires in check and to entice him. Hard muscle and heat seared her fingers. Her body hummed with excitement only Cade could elicit. Maybe if she stuck to touching, she could keep her heart safe within her defences.

His eyes darkened and a low whistle escaped his lips. He tugged her into his embrace as they toppled over the arm of the knobby brown couch. She ground her crotch against the steel in his pants and clutched his ass. “I want you.” God, it felt good to admit the truth.

When he crushed his lips to her, he explored her mouth with his tongue. He slipped his right hand under her tank top and bra, pinching her taut nipple. Shimmers of lust and need raced through her veins. His normally hard expression softened and he smiled. “Baby, I want you too. I dreamt of you, but not like this.”

Did he want more? Emboldened, she fumbled to remove his cock from his pants. “I need you in me.”

“Wait.” He slid her silk panties to the side and stroked the slickness over her nether lips with his thick fingers, sending tremors through her body at warp speed. She whimpered. Had it been that long since she’d had sex? Yes, and he knew how to push all her buttons with the smallest touches.

As she curled her body into him, she nibbled his scratchy jaw and throat. “Cade!”

“So wet and so pretty, but I want to make this last. I want you so wet you’re begging for me.” He groaned and nipped her bottom lip between his teeth. He grasped her hip with his left hand. With the index finger of his right hand, he plundered her tight pussy in one long stroke.

Melanie closed her eyes and moaned. “Oh, God!”

Once he released her hip, Cade shoved her tank top up over her breasts and cupped the heated flesh as he thrust deeper into her. “Fuck yes, Melly. Come here. Let me taste you.”

With another whimper, she edged up his chest. Cade hooked his thumb into the elastic of her panties. Cool air from the room mixed with the warmth of his breath tickled her throbbing lips. She squirmed, desperate to relieve the building ache.

When he rubbed his nose over her bare mound, he growled. “Want. You.”

Those two little words vibrated through her being. A cry, a cross between sweet agony and ecstasy ripped from her throat. Leaning back, she gave him ultimate access to her body. At the same time, she angled around and smoothed her hand over the tent in his jogging pants. His hips lurched and another groan rumbled over her pussy. She threw her head back and shivered.

As his tongue danced over her clit, his finger, first one then two, pumped in and out of her. She gasped when his other hand, slickened with her juices, cupped her breast. His movements moved to just the right tempo in order to keep her on edge without finding release. “Cade! Let me come, Cade.”

She teetered on the edge of control. Grinding her hips, she increased their pace. Cade shifted his attention between her breasts, pinching and plucking both nipples until she screamed again. At the same time, he eased a third finger into her soaked channel and pistoned with renewed vigour. Withdrawing, he used both slick fingers to caress the tiny pucker of her ass, sinking in one knuckle at a time. Her body trembled with pent-up passion and love for him. His teeth rasped against her clit, increasing the sweet pleasure-filled pain.

In a vain attempt to hold on, she dug her nails into the back of the couch. She should stop. They should stop. Still, she grasped his cock through the slippery fabric. He grunted and bucked his hips in time with her actions. Unable to hold back, she closed her eyes with the oncoming orgasm. Why in hell did she want to walk away from this? A girl could get lost in his control.

Sex on the couch hadn’t been this explosive before. Once she released her grip on the cushion, she forked her fingers into his hair, holding him in place. Wave upon wave of euphoria washed over her. Slumping, she felt weightless in his grasp.

“Melanie,” he murmured, “sweet, sweet, Melanie.”

While she smoothed her bra and tank top over her sensitive breasts, she eased off Cade. He tangled his fingers with hers before she could slip away. “Come here. Let me hold you.”

Although her brain screamed go, she settled in his arms. Her scent, mixed with his, permeated the room. She sighed and buried her face against his neck.

The door opened with a creak and interrupted the cuddle session. Rhett peeked around the wooden barrier.

“You two make it hard to hold back. But there wasn’t room to join in.” Rhett shifted his low-slung jeans shorts. “I heard you clear upstairs.”

“Don’t you know how to knock?” Cade groaned.

With a snort, Rhett shoved the door the rest of the way open. “I did, but you didn’t hear me over your screams.” He folded his arms. “I’m going to eat. But since you had Melanie for dinner, I assume you’ll join me in a moment.” Laughing, he strolled away.

Melanie propped her chin on her folded hands and gazed into Cade’s eyes. Unlike before when she could read him like a book, this time she wasn’t sure what he thought. She nibbled her bottom lip as she debated what to say. “I guess that’s our cue to quit.”

As he glanced towards the door, Cade sighed. “Yep. We’re through.”

She swallowed past the lump in her throat and stood. His words, though meant to be flippant, cut down deep to her soul. He probably thought she still only wanted him for sex. He probably thought she didn’t care. Words teetered on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she watched him inch past her. Why’d she ignore the chance to talk to him? Her hormones got the better of her—again.

Pressing her knuckles against her lips, she bit back a cry. No, his love for her was dead just as he said three years prior.
Move on
. Squaring her shoulders, she followed him out to the kitchen and on with her life.

Chapter Five

When Melanie strode into the game room after dinner, Cade elbowed Rhett and passed his car on the video game. “Told you I’d kick your ass on this game. I’m the racing king, man!”

For two grown men who dealt with multi-million dollar aircraft, destruction and death on a daily basis, they could be rather goofy. Her heart clenched. The scent of pizza and beer hung heavy in the air. The unique scent of sex remained in her mind. With Rhett’s interruption, he knew what had taken place an hour before and more than likely he wanted to join in. He’d have to keep wishing.

Once Melanie slipped around Rhett, she plopped down between the two players. With each accidental bump of Cade’s shoulder and nudge of his elbow, more emotion flooded through her veins. His laughter rang in her ears and reminded her of the magical times they’d shared together. When they had decided to remain fuck friends afterwards, the charm faded a bit, but had never been extinguished. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. Just sitting next to him made her knees weak and sent heat to her pussy. She shifted to ease the ache. God, she wanted to hold him one more time. As he leant sideways along with the car as it went through the turn on the screen, his shoulder brushed hers. His scent imprinted itself on her mind.

The sexual chemistry might not be gone, but she needed the break.

When the race ended, Rhett tossed his controller onto the coffee table. “You win, Cade. You beat my ass off.” He dug his elbow into Melanie’s side. “Well, you got us both here. So what’s this news? I hate suspense, so give it to me straight.”

Melanie clasped Rhett’s right knee and Cade’s left and gave them a squeeze. “Remember how I worked for Mr. Gross and did high school portraits for the kids around town? Well, I got tired of being an assistant, so I decided to make it into my career and sent out some resumes.”

Both men nodded.

She whipped around to sit on the coffee table and twined her fingers together. “I got a new job!”

Exchanging a confused glance, Cade and Rhett applauded.

Practically bouncing out of her seat, she held up her index finger. “But that’s not all. Do you remember The Butler Mudslingers race team over at the dirt track? One Jojo Morris does their publicity, sponsorship and happens to own the team. Based on my portfolio, she asked me to be the team’s personal photographer! I’m also working as the personal photographer to sci-fi author Rusty Fontana. I’m on-call, but the pay is phenomenal.” She clasped her hands together. “I wanted to tell you before, but I didn’t want to jinx myself.”

Once he scooted forward in his seat, Rhett wrapped her in a tight embrace. “Congrats, Mel.”

She glanced over his shoulder to Cade, who folded his arms. A grimace flickered across his lips. “Very good.”

Melanie edged out of Rhett’s bear hug and walked her fingers across Cade’s knee, punctuating her words with each light touch. “But there’s still more.”

With a snort, Cade rolled his eyes. “You sound like an infomercial.”

Although his comment sliced her ego, Melanie continued, “Since they’ll need me at their disposal, and since you’re home for a while and don’t need me to keep the house in order, I got a rental house out on Harwick Road. Before you can stop me, all my stuff’s there. I paid the deposit.”

Rhett’s thick hand cupped her chin. “But…”

“Nope.” Her confidence soared. “You can’t talk me out of it. It’s a done deal.”

After tapping her nose with his index finger, Rhett cocked his brow and leant forward. “What do you think Cade? Is our girl ready to go off on her own?”

Staring in the direction of the television, Cade spoke. “I want you to do what makes you happy.”

As she stood, she forced a brave face. The tremor in his voice melted her defences. “What I have to do is find my own place in the world. I need trust and to prove I’m my own person.”

“You can do anything you set your mind to, Mels.” Cade’s words came out ragged. “I need you.”

“Cade, you don’t need me for anything other than sex. Never have.” She swallowed past the lump forming in her throat. All the courage she shored up before melted away. “It’s tiring knowing we can’t seem to work out the kinks in our relationship no matter how hard we try.”

The muscles in Cade’s jaw bunched. “Please tell me you don’t mean it.”

“I’m afraid I do. You don’t trust me. If you did, you’d have asked me if I wanted to have a threesome. You don’t know what I might have said or what my answer might have been. I’m open to trying new things, but you never want to talk—just fuck.” Tears threatened at the corners of her eyes. “Look, I gotta go. I have to work tomorrow.”

When she edged around the couch, Cade and Rhett followed her lead and dogged her to the doorway. Before she could leave the room, both men wrapped their arms around her in a bear hug. The simple gesture opened the floodgates to her emotions—heartache, withering love, respect and fear. As tears streamed down her cheeks, her voice trembled. “You guys are one of a kind, you know that? And I love you both.”

As Rhett released her from his grasp, Cade let go and retreated back into the game room. Her heart sank to her toes. Why did leaving seem to hurt so badly? Because she finally got Cade to show emotion and it was to say goodbye.

While he cleared his throat, Rhett yanked the game room door shut. “He’s angry.”

Melanie nodded. “Pissed.”

Rhett shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “Think he’ll get over his attitude and comes to his senses?”

She sighed. “Never.” Only with Rhett could she have a successful short answer conversation.

“I agree, but I don’t know why you’re walking away.” Rhett leaned a shoulder on the chipped white moulding. “Are you going to tell him goodbye in private?”

And have Cade rip her heart out because he saw her as nothing more than a willing partner? Still, he deserved a private moment of closure. “I have to.”

Rhett yanked her into another hug and caressed her hair. “Then I wish you luck.”

As he disappeared up the steps, Melanie gulped air to fortify her frazzled nerves. “Here goes nothing.”

Leaving? Leaving! She couldn’t walk away. Cade clenched his fists. He hadn’t told her how he felt. Not yet anyway. And why did she want to move on? He knew why. She thought he wanted her for sex, not love. She’d read the letters he’d written months earlier and heard the stories from Rhett. The moment he’d walked into the terminal, she saw firsthand the changes in him and couldn’t deal with a crippled man. He paced the room, kicking the controller out from under his feet. Why didn’t he admit his feelings? Who the fuck knew!

A knock at the door halted his tirade. “Cade?”

Ripples of anguish ran up his spine. Only an hour or so ago, she allowed him into her most private space and now, she wanted out. He forced his mouth to move. “Melly.”

She crept into the room and perched on the arm of the chair. “So this is goodbye for now. I’m not leaving the country or anything.”

“Please reconsider.” If he could shut up, then the words wouldn’t come and tear her to bits.

“I can’t.”

His shoulders stooped. “Then it’s goodbye forever.”

Her brown eyes shone with tears. “No. It’s…”

“I put everything on the line and you throw it back in my face like it’s a joke,” he murmured and wished he could take back the torrent of hurtful words. “Wait.” He pushed past his pain in an attempt to calm down. “Melanie, I’m not sure what to say.”

Fear gripped him in an icy fist. The last time he’d formed an attachment to her, she’d left him. Dear God, he wanted to let her in, to let her help him understand the holes in his soul, but he had no idea how. How was he supposed to tell her he’d seen hell and couldn’t deal with it? She deserved more than a man who jumped at every loud noise and preferred silence to laughter. Heaven knew he wanted to believe her—to wrap his arms around her and make both their hurts go away. Dammit, if he didn’t know how to let her in. He rubbed his temple as he thought about the past. He cared about his fellow Airmen, and he couldn’t protect them. But how could he be certain she wouldn’t tear his heart to shreds when she found out his truths?