Pulling open the drawers in the center dresser, I breathed a sigh of relief when I spotted the extra sets of iron daggers and cuffs. I closed the drawer and then picked up my makeup case. Setting it on the counter inside the closet, I flipped the switches and rooted around, pulling out the heavier makeup—the stuff I wouldn’t even wear for a fancy occasion.
Not that I attended many fancy things.
I dumped the makeup into an old grocery bag and walked out—
Caden stood in the doorway of the bedroom, arms loosely crossed over the plain gray tee shirt he wore as he stared at the garbage bags.
He lifted his chin, and the room seemed to tilt as our gazes connected. His hair was pulled back, and the beams of sunlight seemed to be attracted to all the striking, symmetrical angles and planes of his face.
Upon the unexpected sight, my heart lodged itself in my throat. Now, it was firmly back in my chest, pounding for reasons unrelated to shock.
Caden was…he was gorgeous, his beauty rugged and raw. As shallow as this sounded, I could stare at him all day, and there was a good chance he knew that. Warmth crept into my cheeks and flowed down my throat. It took a moment for me to find my ability to speak. “How did you get in here?”
One side of his lips quirked up. “You know I’m not a vampire, right? I don’t need permission to enter a home.”
My eyes narrowed. “I’m pretty sure the front door was locked.”
“It was.”
I lifted my brows.
“Tink let me in,” he answered finally, eyes twinkling.
I really needed to talk to Tink about letting Caden in. Not like this was the first time, but that damn brownie knew better.
He unfolded his arms, the act doing interesting things to the muscles under his shirt. “Doing some light spring cleaning?”
“Something like that.”
“What are you going to do with all that stuff?”
I glanced down at the overflowing bags. “I thought I’d give them to Goodwill or a women’s shelter.” My nose scrunched. “Although, they’d probably wonder if an escort had cleaned out their closet.”
“A high-priced escort,” Caden murmured, and my lips twitched at that. “I have to say I’m glad to see you throwing this stuff away.”
I almost said that I didn’t care what he felt, but doing so would lessen the significance of what getting rid of these items meant.
“Although…” He reached inside a bag and pulled out a knee-high boot that took an act of God to get off. “I will miss these.”
Storming forward, I snatched the boot from his hands and dropped it back into the bag. Caden grinned down at me as if greatly amused by my actions. My stomach did a little flip, and I was reminded of Tink’s question. Could I resist Caden?
“What made you do this?” He gestured at the bags with his chin.
I backed up, crossing my arms. Like always, it was almost impossible not to open up. I had no idea why it was like that with him. “They’re costumes—the clothing, the wigs, all of it. I don’t need them anymore.”
“No more late-night visits to clubs then?”
A picture of me in a skintight dress, several months pregnant, formed in my mind, and I snorted. “Not in the foreseeable future.”
“What about patrolling?”
That was a good question. “The Order never really had me patrolling, but I…I like being out there.” How long I would be able to do that safely was anyone’s guess. “I just won’t be looking for any fae in particular, I guess.”
His jaw tightened as if he weren’t all that happy to hear that I still planned to patrol, but he wisely didn’t voice his opinion.
In the ensuing silence, I looked at the bags. “Everything that’s in those bags isn’t me, you know? They really were like costumes, and I don’t need them anymore.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” he replied. “They represent a chapter of your life that’s now closed.”
I blinked in surprise as he nailed how I felt. He really did know me. Better than anyone else. Panic blossomed in the pit of my stomach, and my mouth dried. “Why are you here. Caden? I know last night might’ve confused things, but I’m sure I made myself clear.”
“Oh, you were clear, all right.”
“Then should I repeat my question?”
“If it makes you feel better? Sure. Go ahead.”
“It wouldn’t make me feel better.”
“Good. Because I don’t want you feeling bad.” He stepped forward, and I tensed. That reaction had nothing to do with my time with Aric. “I want you to feel good. I want you happy. I want you to feel safe and cherished. I want you to feel comforted and comfortable. I want you to feel loved.”
Oh God.
All those broken shards of my heart started to piece themselves back together. I needed them to stop. A repaired heart would only hurt worse.
Caden took another step forward, and I moved until the backs of my legs hit the bed. “Did you sleep well last night? I did. Best sleep I’ve had in years, sunshine.”
My heart jumped. Sunshine. He called me that because he said he’d seen me smiling once and it was like the sun finally rising. That was possibly the sweetest, kindest thing anyone had ever said to me.
“It’s time.”
I looked up. “For what?”
“For that talk I told you we needed to have but would be better if we waited until you had time to process everything you’d gone through. But I can see we don’t have the luxury of that time,” he said. “I know, Brighton.”
My breath caught. “Know what?”
Those golden eyes met and held mine. “I know.”
Chapter 10
My legs seemed to have given up on me because I was suddenly sitting on the edge of the bed.
He…he knew?
How?
Well, there were countless hows. Four of them had a name. I didn’t believe Tink had said anything about me being pregnant, but the other three could’ve just been convincing when they’d said they wouldn’t say anything.
“Know what?” I repeated.
His head tilted to the side like it did whenever he was sensing some sort of emotion I was giving off. I was sure he was picking up on them.
“I know you’ve been told what would happen if I do not marry Tatiana or a fae of the Court,” he said.
My mouth opened as my heart pressed against my ribs. Relief made me dizzy, so much so that I almost laughed. He didn’t know. Not really.
His head tipped to the side once again, and I knew I needed to get a handle on my emotions. I dragged my hands over my bent knees, knowing there was no point in lying about what I’d learned. “You mean the basic collapse of your Court and how you’d be dethroned and left to fend for yourself? How the Summer fae would be weakened, and it would eventually lead to the whole world going to hell? How you would be weakened?”
Caden’s features softened as I spoke, causing warning bells to go off left and right. “I’m honored, sunshine.”
I blinked.
He came forward, each step slow and measured. “You don’t need to worry about what will happen to me. I’m not worried.”