"The fuck? Are you okay?" A deep, dark voice, as velvety as Shane East’s, as rough, as filled with dark chocolate and laced with notes of coffee and cream, wraps around me. My limbs tremble, but this time, not from fear.
That’s not Shane East’s voice. Hell, I’ve never met Shane East. But this man? I know him. In fact, his is the only voice I know more intimately than Shane East’s. The voice that’s filled my dreams and fueled lust-filled images in my mind. I draw in a breath and the scent of cardamon and mint, with a dash of musk and everything sinful fills my lungs.
My belly quivers. My pulse booms at my wrists, at my temples, behind my eyeballs. Not him. Surely, not him. I glance up and up. I tilt my head all the way back to meet the blue gaze of the man looming over me. No, not blue. Not completely blue. His one iris is blue, the other gray. Heterochromatic. He has mis-matched eyes, the kind that can see right through you. The kind that can reduce you to a mass of quivering jelly. The kind that have always swept through the hidden parts of me and known just how to make me feel like I'm unmoored, unstrung, unanchored. The gaze that drags me back to my teenaged years.
"Are you okay, Abby?" he snaps.
"You…” I blink. “What are you doing here?"
Cade
"Saving your arse, by the looks of it." I stab a finger in her direction and demand, "Stay."
I take off after the bastard who dared steal her handbag. He stole her handbag. Motherfucker. How dare he touch something that's hers? I speed up my pace. How dare he try to cause her harm? Adrenaline laces my blood. All of my senses seem to pop. I narrow my gaze, pump my arms and legs, and begin to catch up with the very foolish person who dared mess with her. I speed up until it seems I’m not even touching the ground. I race up the sidewalk, an inch closer to the guy…closer, I'm almost on him…then throw myself forward and grab him around the waist.
He hits the ground, and I slam into him. There’s a gurgled cry, his hand is flung out, and the bag goes flying from his grasp. I jump up, drag him up and around to face me, then swing at him. My palm connects with his face. C-r-u-n-c-h. The sound of cartilage breaking fills the air. Blood spurts from his broken nose. I throw my fist at him again, this time, connecting with his jaw. He howls, swipes at the arm with which I’m holding him up. I raise my fist and connect with his cheek. He squeals and flails around. I raise my arm again when I hear her voice.
"Stop, please, you’ll kill him." Abby pants as she nears me.
I hesitate, and the motherfucker breaks free. He turns and scrambles off. I take a step forward in his direction, but someone grabs my sleeve.
"Please. Don’t, Cade," she pleads.
She pleads. I turn on her, fists still raised. She flinches. Her gaze widens. Those big green eyes of hers are filled with shock and…fear?
Is she afraid of me? She should be. No good will come of me getting close to her. And yet, here I am. I shake off her grasp.
A wounded look comes over her features. My heart squeezes. Shit, shit, shit. This is why I’ve stayed away from her all of these years. This is why I took the first opportunity I had to put distance between us. Her brother, though? Knight is still my best friend. And he’s not going to like the fact that I’ve inserted myself back in Abby’s life. I hesitate. Not that I’m going to tell him that... yet. Not until I’ve gotten my revenge for what she did to me. And while Knight would understand my motivations, he’s going to be far from happy. In fact, he’s going to be royally pissed with me... A bridge I’ll cross when I get to it.
I pivot, stalk over to where her bag lies on the ground and pick it up, dust it off, then turn and bump into her.
She stumbles. I grip her shoulder to right her, and sparks of heat vibrate up my arm. I draw in a breath, and the scent of cherries teases my nostrils. My belly hardens. My cock lengthens. Jesus fucking Christ.
All these years later, and she still smells divine. She smells like the tastiest morsel ever. The kind I can’t wait to sink my teeth into. The kind I can’t wait to tear into and destroy. It’s exactly what will happen if I ever get my hands on her. It’s why I need to stay the fuck away from her.
I release her so suddenly, she stumbles. My body leans toward her, wanting to support her, but I force myself to take a step back. Then another. Putting enough distance between us so I can no longer smell her. Too bad, this urge to lick her mouth, to bury my teeth in the skin where her shoulder meets her neck, can’t be suppressed as easily. Too bad, she grew up to be so gorgeous. So beautiful. The most exquisite creature I’ve ever seen. Too bad, I’ll never let myself have her. I drag my fingers through my hair, and she gasps.
"Cade, oh, your poor knuckles." She reaches for me.
I slap her hand away. "Don’t."
She pales, and the color of her pupils turns a pale green, like young leaves on a shoot, like new moss climbing up a garden wall, like fresh grass on a summer day. Like the most precious of jade stones. I thrust the bag at her, and she grasps it to her chest.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I snap.
She opens and shuts her mouth, then color rushes back into her cheeks. "What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?"
"How dare you walk on the street so late at night?"
"It’s nine p.m."
"You should be home by now," I say through gritted teeth.
Her lips firm. "Who’re you to tell me what to do?"
"Someone who’s known you for a long time."
She scoffs. "I haven’t seen you in years. Speaking of—" She narrows her gaze. "What are you doing here?"
"Would you believe me if I said I happened to be in the neighborhood?"
"How did you know I live here?" she shoots back.
"I didn’t." I raise a shoulder. "I really did happen to be passing by and saw you."
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"Believe anything you want, so long as—" I walk past her and to the car that’s drawn up by the curb. I open the door of the backseat and beckon to her. "Get in."
She stiffens. "Like hell, I will."
I blow out a breath. "Why are you so stubborn?"
"Why are you lying to me?"
"I’m not."
"So, you turn up in East London and just happen to be passing by the tube station when you see me?" She makes a disbelieving sound.
I tilt my head. "What are the odds, huh?"
She narrows her gaze. "How did you know I was here?"
"I didn’t. I’m here to pick up a friend and—"
"A friend?" Her brows knit. "You mean a girlfriend?"
"A girl who happens to be my friend, yes," I say slowly.
She draws her shoulders back. "You really haven’t changed your philandering ways, have you?"
"Why should I, when the ladies find me irresistible?" I smirk.
Her scowl deepens. "And your ego is bigger than I remember it to be."
"Not just my ego, Sparrow." I smirk again.
"Eww! Cringe! Did you just imply what I think you did?" She scoffs. "Also, don’t call me by that name."