But Emily knew what happened when she lied to an alpha. Under ordinary circumstances, it was hard to bend the truth without detection by their extraordinary senses…but if she couldn't even convince herself, she had no chance of convincing Cade.
Add in that puddle of slick on the floor, and she was done for.
"You sure you're all right?" Cade didn't sound convinced.
"Yep!" Emily knelt to try to scrub the wet spot from the floor using the pile of wet clothes, a doomed effort.
Even if it had worked, the glistening drops of moisture clinging to her ankles would be a dead giveaway. And even now more slick trickled between her legs. She stood and pressed her knees together tightly, but it was no use.
No, no, no, no, no.
The bedroom door was flung open. Cade filled the doorway, his arms crossed over his massive, naked chest, the muscles in his arms and pecs flexing enticingly. If Emily's had any hope of concealing the slick dripping down her legs, it was lost as a new rush soaked her thighs.
"I'm all dressed!" she said brightly, backing away from him, knowing she wasn't fooling anyone. But if she could somehow get around him, get to the kitchen where she could busy herself making tea or cleaning the counters or—
Cade cleared his throat, having instantly zeroed in on the wet spot of the floor. His gaze traveled up to her slick-coated legs. He didn't bother to mask their effect on him, taking a deep, chest-expanding breath before looking directly into her eyes, his own flashing like strobe lights.
"You don't have to clean up after yourself." His voice did that rumbling thing again, as though she were a piano, and he was running his fingers over the keys in the lowest registers.
"It's really no problem." Emily couldn't keep the nervousness from her voice, but she busied herself at his small closet. "Here, let me get you a shirt."
"I don't want a shirt. And yes, it is a problem."
A tiny lightning bolt rocketed along Emily's spine, another sensation she'd never experienced before today. A part of her wanted nothing more than to fall into Cade, knowing he would catch her. That he'd cradle her in his strong arms as he'd done before, rumbling against her ear and heating her blood, making even more slick pour down her legs.
This rogue desire didn't make any sense. Emily had worked hard to squash all her feelings since she'd accepted that she couldn't escape the hell of living with Sloan, but desire and lust had left on their own, dying in the face of his cruelty.
And yet, since the moment Cade had approached her, it was like they'd been awakened again, not dead but dormant. As if they'd been waiting for the right moment. Waiting for him.
Cade isn't Sloan, a little voice in her head promised. He's the one you were supposed to find. The one you were meant for.
Emily knew she couldn't trust that old traitor, hope. She'd promised herself never to be fooled again. But it was so damn tempting to believe.
So she would have to fight. That was fine.
Emily fixed a cool smile on her face, avoiding his eyes. "You really shouldn't work out in the sun without a shirt. You'll get a sunburn."
"No, I won't." Cade didn't budge from the doorway. "We're not going outside to work."
The only sound in the bedroom was the droplets of fresh slick splashing on the floor. "Why not?" Emily asked eventually, dreading the answer.
"Because I'll be carrying you over to that bed and filling you with my cock all day instead."
Emily's heart began to hammer—not entirely in fear. She gripped her wet clothes to her chest, her hands trembling.
"You said you wouldn't force me," she whispered, staring at the floor. "You promised."
"And I won't," Cade replied. "You'll be the one who kisses me. You'll be the one who pulls me against you. And right before I enter you, Emily, you'll be the one begging for my cock.”
Chapter Ten
Cade had been patient—as patient as any alpha could be.
It hadn't been easy. The scent of Emily's slick—so sweet and alluring—had been slowly filling up the whole cabin since the moment they arrived back from clearing brush.
Within seconds, Cade knew he had to find a way to settle himself down. He'd tried waiting out on the porch, but that hadn't worked. Just like the night before, the wind carried her fragrance right to him.
He'd balled his hands into fists, his whole body rigid, and considered punching out his window. Maybe pulling a sapling from the ground and tying it in a knot. Or digging up a few boulders.
None of that would do any good, though. The urge to go to Emily was too strong, too primal. Cade had never felt anything like it. He didn't just want her; he needed her.
Just as she needed him.
Surely, she had to understand that now. Her body was telegraphing the truth with all that slick flowing from her. Cade knew she felt the same pull, the same desire.
But she was stubbornly pretending that she didn't, even while dressing herself in his clothes and inhaling his scent.
Yes, he could smell her smelling him—that's how wound up he was, his instincts exquisitely focused on Emily. He could sense the battle she was waging with herself.
There was a mirror in there—a small one on the wall framed in an interesting piece of madrone wood he'd found on his property. If Emily looked in it, she'd see the need in her own eyes, the glow of her skin, those damp, pouty lips. She wouldn't be able to deny what she could see in front of her and taste it in the air. It was everywhere, undeniable.
So why the hell was she still pretending otherwise?
But Cade knew the answer. It was the sum of all the reasons she'd been so hesitant to leave Sloan yesterday—fear, shame, pain. These weren't emotions that came naturally to an alpha, but that didn't mean Cade couldn't recognize them, especially knowing his omega's history. It was a past no woman should have to endure, with an alpha who didn't deserve to breathe the same air, and it had blunted her natural instincts.
The urge to break something made Cade's hands twitch. There was no help for it: he had to at least see her, to force her to see him, even if she just ordered him out of the room.
But he wasn't prepared for the sight of a gorgeous, lush omega standing barefoot on his floor wearing nothing but his shirt…with slick literally cascading down her inner thighs, puddling onto the floor, the air thick with it. Her eyes met his, and in them he saw panic, shame, and embarrassment.
"Cade," Emily gasped, raising her hands, defensively at first, but then something changed. She reached out toward him, almost as if she was about to give in and finally run those soft fingers down his chest...but a second later, she snatched them back to her side. "I don't—"
"I know all about what you don't want," Cade growled before she could tell him any more lies. Before she could convince herself. "I want to know what you do want."
Emily blinked, her tongue skittering out nervously to wet her bottom lip. But then she shook her head.
"I don't know," she said bluntly, despair creeping into her voice. "I can't go home. Not to my beta one. Not to Sloan's cabin."
"No, you can't."