Cade sighed. “I know, Gwen. I won’t tell you anything that would even get you close to danger. You get the bare minimum. I don’t like the thought of one ounce of that shit tainting you. But I won’t lie to you,” he promised, and I knew he meant it.
“Okay,” I said quietly.
I was sure about my decision to stay with Cade, but scared about the life I had just agreed to. Cade pulled me into his lap, kissing me so intensely that I felt like I was being branded down to my soul.
“Babe, what you know, what I feel for you, you’re in deep. You’re mine, no one touches you, no one puts you in any kind of danger now.” He kept a firm grip on the back of my neck before repeating. “Mine.”
Even in this somewhat intense moment, the feminist in me felt kind of pissed the way he kept referring to me as “his”, like some kind of kid who had a new toy. I opened my mouth to tell him to tone down the macho man bullshit, but another angry female beat me to it.
“Fuck you!” Amy yelled. “Get out of my house this instant before I call the police and inform them some biker asshole is trying to rob me,” she screeched dramatically.
I scrambled out of Cade’s lap to run to the door so I could witness what sounded like a lover’s spat, which I had seen a lot of throughout my years with Amy. They were always entertaining. It must’ve been Brock she had out there, I was desperate to get the lowdown on that situation.
I reached the door, attempting to open it, but Cade blocked my exit and the front row ticket to the show. I scowled up at him. Damned macho super speed. He regarded me like I was a naughty child, shaking his head. I poked my tongue out at him to reaffirm this belief.
“Calm the fuck down, babe.” I heard Brock’s calm voice, almost entertained at Amy. “You don’t threaten to call the pigs on me, ever. Do it again and I’ll put you over my knee.” He sounded threatening and sexy all at the same time.
Since Cade wouldn’t let the door budge, I stood there, trying to struggle with him. Deducing I wouldn’t get anywhere, I settled for eavesdropping.
“Ugh, I can’t believe I ever even considered letting such a Neanderthal, cocky, criminal, asshole into my bed. I won’t be making that mistake again. Now get. The. Fuck. Out.” Amy’s voice was pure ice.
There was a beat of silence, and I could almost feel the male fury.
“I can’t believe I bothered sticking my dick in some uppity snooty bitch. Don’t worry, sweetheart, won’t be coming near you again,” Brock yelled before stomping down the stairs and slamming the door behind him.
Whoa.
I looked wide eyed at Cade. No guy had ever talked to Amy like that before, it looked like she had met her match, and lost. I bet she was feeling pretty upset right now. I moved Cade’s hand gently off the door before reaching up on my toes and kissing his cheek.
“I have to go to her, honey,” I told him softly.
Cade seized my hips, plastering my body against his and laid a hot and heavy one on me.
“Yeah, babe, got to go and sort a few things with Brock. I’ll be back soon to take my lady to breakfast.”
I looked at him, puzzled. “What do you have to sort with Brock?”
“I’ll tell you when I get back, go to your friend.” He kissed my nose before turning to get dressed.
I got distracted by his muscled tatted body, full on perving at him. Cade caught me staring and gazed over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
“Babe, Amy?”
“Right,” I whispered and turned back to the door, pulling my robe off the back then opening it. Cade’s chuckle followed me as I closed it behind me.
I spotted Amy across the landing, standing in her nightgown, staring at the stairs, looking dazed. This must be bad, Amy wasn’t a girl to look “dazed.” I made it to her and put my hand on her shoulder.
“Sweetheart, you okay?” I asked softly.
Her head snapped to me. “Yes, I’m fine, Brock’s just an asshole.” She tried to sound blasé, but I knew my friend too well.
“You have been avoiding this subject around me for too long, Amy.”
I directed her to the sitting room that we had between our bedrooms and sat her down on the sofa.
“I know that’s partly my fault for being so wrapped up in my own shit that I haven’t had the presence of mind to properly grill you,” I continued, voice firm. She was avoiding this subject no more. “But you have my full attention and you aren’t leaving this room until I get some answers. Now spill.”
I watched her bite her lip, a suspicious wetness glimmering in her eyes before she let out a groan. “I’m in love with someone,” she declared.
My mouth dropped open and I closed it, then opened it again, but I decided I had no words, so I just managed to look like a fish out of water.
My shock was understandable. Amy didn’t do love. She had fun with men, none lasting longer than a month or two. She wasn’t one of those girls who pretended they didn’t care about men then secretly stalked them; she generally got bored easily and wasn’t interested in settling down. I suspected it had something to do with her parents and their relationship, but that was something she never talked about. After struggling with words for a while, I managed to choke out a question.
“Who? Brock?” I wondered if she was experiencing the same relationship on speed that I was.
An expression of panic crossed Amy’s face, but it was gone before I could question it.
“Of course not. It’s someone back in New York, you don’t know him,” she said quickly. “He’s one of my brother’s friends, travels all the time. You never met him. His name’s… Tom.”
“I need more information.”
I was struggling with the thought that I had been so blind I hadn’t even realized my best friend was in love with someone. That made me an A class jerk.
Amy looked uncomfortable, but I gave her a look and she started to explain. “Well, when my brother first introduced us, I just felt it, I can’t explain it. There was an electricity between us.”
I nodded, knowing exactly what she meant.
“I knew he felt it too, he tried to keep away from me, but it didn’t work. We were like magnets. But he’s in the Air Force, hardly ever in the country. And when I say hardly ever, I mean a couple of times a year. So he told me it would never work.”
She looked pained at this, I stroked her hair.
“Oh, Ames,” I sighed, knowing to a degree what she would be feeling.
“Yeah, I told him I’d wait, till he finished his tour. Whatever it took. But he wouldn’t hear of it. Didn’t want me stopping from living life. So he broke it off. I was majorly pissed at him, tried to forget him. Didn’t work so well. Especially when I saw him with my brother when he was home on leave. That killed.” Her voice shook, betraying the depth of her emotion.
“I can’t believe you never told me any of this, Amy,” I scolded, feeling a little pissed, at her for not telling me, but mostly at myself for not noticing.
Amy looked genuinely regretful. “I’m sorry, Gwennie. I wanted to tell you, but I could hardly get my head around it myself. I couldn’t deal, then you got hurt and no way was I letting some stupid problem of mine take up any of your headspace. I wanted you focusing on getting better.”