“What are you up to?” he asked.
“I could ask you the same question.” Her lips were light and wanting against his mouth, and Cade started to sink into her kiss when she gripped the sides of his face and stared at him hard. It wouldn’t work, it would never last. But having him so close for so long with what felt like an infinite amount of testosterone swirling all around them had turned her mind inside out. She needed him again, and a part of her hated herself for being that weak. But his arms wound around her back, and Dawn started to fall into his touch. She felt that he would turn in the direction of brothers. Take her fast and head back into the fray with his dick flapping in the wind so that he could reclaim his stake in the action. Maybe there was no way to stop that. But Dawn was not about to go down without a fight.
“I want this, Cade.”
Dawn slammed her small fist into his face, and she gave no thought to holding him as he wheeled back and stumbled about the grass. She heard Cade fall yet still felt him crawling closer. The largest part of her heart wanted to pull him close and bathe his neck with a series of sweet kisses. But that would only make him think that he was in the right, that she should do nothing but move back into his arms and act as if nothing was wrong. So many things were. And Dawn kept trying to move away when his fingers curled around her ankle. Dawn stayed standing as she turned her head and looked down at him.
“I told you what I wanted,” she hissed. “Why shouldn’t I get in on the all the breaking and brawling?”
“Sounds sweet,” he said. “Any way you want it, Dawn.”
Kicking him away, Dawn broke free of his hold and looked down to see his body go limp as he slowly lifted his hands.
“Too much too soon?” he asked. “Sorry. Maybe we can work on that.”
Not in his character, and she wondered if he was truly contrite or just looking for a final chance to get between her legs.
“Oh I bet we can,” Dawn said. “Like this?” She fell forward and kissed him. Her tongue was desperate around his and her fingers slipped slowly to his hard ass. Even through his denim, Cade’s cock was already pounding, and she swiftly steadied his face in her hands.
“Now you’re making like putty,” Dawn said.
“What you want, right? To take control.”
“So you can get off in the end,” she said. “I want… maybe I need it more like this.”
Dawn pulled at his hair and saw him wince even as his eyes sparkled.
“Never knew you had it in you,” he said. “Maybe I should have brought you around sooner.”
“Maybe you should have done a lot of other things.”
“Like this?”
Cade kissed her neck, and his tongue burrowed into her skin. Dawn let him lay his tracks and moaned for more when she heard the roar of the Alphas’ bikes growing dull in the distance.
“So it’s just us now?” Dawn asked.
“Sounds good to me.”
He tried to claim her mouth again, and Dawn granted him the feel of her lips. His taste was still sweet, and Dawn tried to tell herself that she could just be with him and let the rest of it slide. He would take her, slick and sweet with just a dash of spice, and…
…and what then? Rock her world and promise more of the same? Or tell her to hightail it back to Mona’s? Because she was trouble, and Cade had his crew to think about when push came to shove.
“Once more with a bang,” she said. “Do me fast and hard, and let’s forget anything that might come after.”
Cade’s fingers tangled around her hair as he sighed into her cheek. He started to wind his legs around her waist, and Dawn mirrored his moves as she peered into his eyes.
“And when it’s all said and done, we’ll pretend like it didn’t happen. That’s what… that’s what I want.”
Dawn bit down on her tongue and expected the return of his kiss to ease away every inch of the pain when Cade grabbed the back of her neck. His eyes too sweet to touch but promised a sublime experience. “Come on,” she purred, lied. “I won’t regret anything.”
“I don’t believe you, Dawn,” he said. “You didn’t… you couldn’t come this far and not want more.”
Cade shot up and his kiss moved across her neck. As it came close to her lips, Dawn shied away even as she stayed in his eyes.
“Like I had a choice,” Dawn said.
“Choice?” he said. “Yours or mine? You wanted to see this. To stay.”
Dawn nodded into his chest, and she started to writhe into his skin. His jacket fell away like feathers leaving a molting bird, and she wanted his arms about her. His hold tightened around her body, and she kissed her lips up the length of his neck. When her mouth drew close to his, he parted his teeth to take her there and then, and Dawn accepted his offer. If only she had met him on some other plane, there would be ways to savor this and keep the feeling going. But she was in too deep. And he would never look at her only like a lover. To him, she would be the only be the girl that needed to be hidden away because she was too much of a risk.
“Wait,” she said as she eased away from him. “I… I can’t do this.”
“Want to rough me up again?” he teased. “I could get down with that.”
“But I… I can’t,” she said.
“You suddenly can’t do whatever you want?” he asked. “With that mouth on you?”
And again she fell into the path of least resistance.
“Just my mouth, Cade?” she asked.
“And those hands,” he said. “I want to see what else you can do with those magic fingers.”
Dawn barely stifled a laugh as she rolled her eyes.
“Who says that?” she teased. “You’re supposed to be a tough guy.”
“And I thought I was getting an old lady,” he countered. “And that means that we get to do whatever we want behind closed doors.”
“Doors, Cade?” she said. “You got some other hideout to show me? Or you thinking of building a house in like ten seconds flat.”
“Like a… like a metaphor or whatever,” he said. “Thought someone like you could appreciate that.”
Tilting her head to the side, Dawn’s mind scanned the sound of his voice. Just a trace of an insult laced with a tinge of admiration. The rest his tone was as flat as his body, and she touched his side. Her want flooded her brain and slid down to her cunt. Dawn’s body brimmed for more, and their lips nearly touched when she could think of nothing to do but slap his face. Cade absorbed the blow, but came back for more. Now her lips were light against his injured cheek. She stroked his hair without pulling and slowly shook her head.
“Maybe…maybe I was wrong,” she said. “Maybe I need to leave right now and never look back.”
Pushing him away, Dawn felt her feet giving out from under her, and she almost fell to the ground when Cade quickly cradled her head under the back of his hand and met her eyes.
“Look at me,” he said. “Just me, Dawn.”
He kissed her warmly, tenderly, and Dawn started to sink deeper into his embrace when she drew back, her fingers still pressed to his collar.
“I’m looking,” she said. “But I don’t know if I like what I hear.”
“So I wanted to protect you,” he said. “Is that such a bad thing?”
Dawn started to shake her head when she held back and stopped just short of stroking his reddening face.
“It… it could be everything if I… if I only thought that you trusted me.”
“I do, Dawn,” he insisted. “How can you even ask me that?”
“Because your boys are still in charge,” Dawn said.
“And because Nicole is holding her own kind of court,” Cade said. “You played a role in that.”
“I… that’s all Nicole,” Dawn said. “She was hurt, and now she’s strong. Let me up, Cade.”
She slid away from him and moved only a few inches when Cade wrapped his arms around her waist.
“And what are you?” he asked. “Not weak, Dawn. Not from where I stand.”
She relished the sound of her name leaving his lips, and she started to kiss him when the memory of Nicole, of all that she had endured to get to this place, this night, was more than she could bear.
“Nicole needs to come into her own,” Dawn said. “The girl did nothing wrong.”
“I would agree with that,” he said.
“Because you… because you want to play with me?”
Cade smirked, and Dawn was ready for him to lower his jeans and take her when he caressed her face and hummed into her neck.
“Of course I do,” he said. “But like I said. It’s just us now, Dawn.
“If only it was that easy,” she said.
“It can be,” he promised, as he moved his finger over her lips. She nipped at his flesh and saw him smile when her teeth just tore into his skin.
“Sorry,” she said after suckling his hand. “I don’t… I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You didn’t,” he said. “And I won’t hurt you.”
“Sure about that?” she challenged.
“Only in the right ways,” Cade said. “Can’t we both get down with that?”
Dawn nodded as he took she tongue between his lips. So much was still uncertain, but Dawn pushed all of it aside, focusing on nothing but her want for him and more as she reached under the man’s shirt and touched his chest.
“Hope Nicole will fare as well,” Dawn said. “Where is she now?”
“Getting right back into it,” Cade said. “Maybe I didn’t have to hide her for so long.”
“Talk to Mona about that,” Dawn said. “She believed in Nicole.”
“And don’t you think that she’s earned it?” Cade asked. “It’s what you—”
“Her moment and more,” Dawn said.
He kissed her hard and lightly stroked her back. Dawn nodded into his lips when he lifted her up. Losing her breath as he held her in the air, Dawn flexed her arms down, and she just caught hold of his neck. Cade’s arms became her entire world. He spun her closer to his chest and caught her before her back hit the ground. Dawn stayed in his hold and pushed her lips to his ear.
“I would never deny Nicole her last stand,” Dawn said.
“Girl has been through hell and back.”
“I know,” Dawn muttered. “But… but they…”
Her voice trailed off as Cade tried to take her back into his hold, but Dawn resisted and moved away from him as she held his gaze.
“And you should be with her,” Dawn said. “She… she needs you.”
“What do you need?’ he asked.
“I—”
Dawn needed… she wanted him to take her. Life was sweeter if he could just hold her and make her forget the doubt.
“I know you’ll cast me off in the end,” Dawn said.
“Not doing that. I—”
“But promise me that you’ll look after Nicole no matter what happens.”
Cade’s jaw clenched, and he nodded as he peered into her eyes.
“Why does anyone else matter?” he asked. “Why sell yourself short?”
“Because she got to take charge,” Dawn said. “But you… you chose to keep me in the dark.”
“Dawn, I—”
“That hurt,” Dawn said. “Made me want to put you in your place.”
“Do it again,” he said. “I can take it.”
Taking a deep breath, she smacked her fingers to his face, and Cade failed to flinch as she continued the assault. Tears started to fill her eyes as her body buzzed, and when she saw the light in his eyes, Dawn lunged towards him.
“Does this feel good?” she asked. “Me hurting you?”
“You already know the answer, Dawn.”
“Then make it… make it cut both ways,” she whispered.
He laughed into her shoulder and shook his head.
“I don’t lay hands on any woman,” Cade said.
“Not even me?” she asked. “Not even if I want you to.”
His eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened as he took hold of a hunk of her hair. A slim stream of air drizzled through her lips as he drew her closer, and the harshness of his hold caused her to gasp when Cade kissed her and forced her body back to the grass.
“Maybe this is where you want me,” Dawn said.
“You opened the door,” he reminded her. “You want it like this.”
He bit down on her lips, and Dawn’s entire body tingled as her want for more enveloped her like an unseen fog. She kicked her legs into the air and savored the feel of him mauling her breasts as her heels made contact with the backs of his legs.
“Like this, Dawn?”
He flipped her to her belly. Never before had any man taken her from behind. But as much as she longed for the feel of his cock pressing into her, she wanted the chase to last longer.
“Cade, I…”
Dawn reached around and fitfully clawed at his face. She stopped short of drawing blood, but the scratches started to appear in a span of seconds.
“Does it… did I hurt you?” she asked.
“Maybe,” he said. “How does this feel for you?”
He pushed his fingers under her waistband, and his hand probed her pussy. Darting in and out of her opening, Dawn felt her eyes rolling back in her head, and she pictured him the victor. As much as she wanted that… for always…
“Could be more interesting,” she said.
“How do you figure that?” he asked.
“Like this.”
Dawn pushed him back and charged into the leaves again, stumbling for a slight second before she was back up and running. Dawn wound through the trees. As she hoped that Nicole would make her bones and take the chance in an effort to right the ship, Dawn knew that she could never be a part of it if he was able to brush her off like so much white noise, send his crew on their way and…
“And what, Cade?” she asked. “Hope that you can get into my pants one more time before you get down to business?”
“Something kind of sweet about that,” Cade said with a teasing smile. “And the shadows are just so I can keep you all to myself.” Taking her into his arms, Dawn tried to resist, but she was powerless against the lure of his lips. She melted into his mouth as his tongue swirled around hers, and Dawn nearly brought her fingers to his neck when she furiously shook her head.
“When you said you… if you really wanted me with you, then you’d let me in. Let me help you.”
“Then do that, Dawn,” he said. “Right here and right now.”
His strong arms enveloped her body, and Dawn curled her hands into tight fists, and she slammed into him with all of her power, trying to drive him back as his hold intensified. Cade’s strength trumped hers, and with no way to fight him, she drooped in his embrace and let him ease her body to the ground as leaves gathered in her hair.
“We’re on the same page, Dawn,” he said. “Pleasure before business. And I could really use this before heading back into the lion’s mouth.”
Cade started to strip her jeans from her thighs, and as Dawn’s pussy buzzed at the prospect of his cock, she managed to wait until his head was bowed. Only then did she kick his side.
“What the hell, Dawn?” he cried out as he winced. “Time to make nice now.”
“So you say,” Dawn spat. “And I’m not just going to be your side piece, Alpha.”
Scrambling to her feet, Dawn pulled her jeans down. Now she didn’t run. The way forward meant nothing; the way back seemed longer still, and a wave of ice worked its way around her heart at the thought that the Panthers would come out of the woodwork and cut off her attempt to flee. But how could she stay?
“No way,” Cade said, as he pressed a firm finger to his mouth. “And I’ll make it right the next time around.”
“You so sure there’s going to be a next time?” she asked.
“No questions about it. But for right now…”
He pushed his hand between her legs, and she started to rock against the feel of his fingers as she pressed her brown to his.
“Let’s just be here,” he said. “And I do want you with me. I… Dawn…” His voice trailed off as his hands softened around her face. It had to be the wrong play, but she waited and watched as his lips parted into a soft sigh. “But I understand the lay of the land,” he continued. “And if I want you to hang back and watch, it has nothing to do with not believing in you.”
Dawn’s heart started to bloom her chest, and she felt the question most in need of an answer bubbling in the back of her throat as she nuzzled his neck and cautiously rested her head to the sound of his pounding heart.
“Then what, Cade?” she asked. “And just be straight with me.”
He smoothed his palms down her back. Reaching under the flannel, his touch found her hot flesh, and Dawn whimpered lightly as he pressed his fingers into her skin as she slowly lifted her head to look into his eyes.
“Well?” she asked. Cade smiled softly and pushed a stray lock of her shorn hair behind the ear that still carried the echo of his soul when he just let his hand fall down her cheek.
“Did you ever stop to think that I might want you to come out the other side intact so I can reap the spoils, Dawn?”
“The spoils?” she asked. “So what does that make me? Like a prize or something?”
“Blue ribbon,” Cade said. “And I don’t want to lose you if I can help it.”
Cade suddenly crushed his mouth to hers, his kiss warm as his hot breath trickled down her throat and mingled with the fire already filling her veins. Now she moved to hold him and gave no thought to hurting him in any way. Trying to prolong the precious contact, she whimpered when he abandoned the kiss, but his stare still blazed into her eyes.
“Once this is over,” he said, correcting himself. “Real fun might be there. Don’t you want to see how it all shakes out?”
Feeling her head nod without even realizing the move, her toes curled in her sneakers as she moved back to his mouth and kissed him gently. Her hand left his shoulder and curved down his side.
“Did I… I hope I didn’t hurt you?” she muttered.
“Got a neat roundhouse kick in you for sure,” he laughed. “But I’m all good. Getting better every time we do this.”
Dawn moaned into his mouth, wordlessly begging him for more. Once it was over. Might bring an end to her story to satisfy Michael’s appetite. Or maybe it would mean so much more.
“So you’re going to permit me to stay?” she asked with a sharp smirk.
“Never letting you go. But it’s gonna get a hell of a lot darker before the sun comes up,” he said. “And you have to… I need you to follow my lead if we’re going to get through it. Together.”
She started to sink into his waiting arms when she smiled. “You’re not going to stop me from speaking up if I have to,” she warned him. “If I can’t help myself, I—”
“Right now that’s my line,” Cade said. He kissed her hard and wrapped his fingers in her hair before lifting her into his arms. Airborne in his embrace, Dawn gazed down at him and softly stroked his cheek.
“What now?” she asked. “Take me right here?”
“If it’s what I want, then I—”
“What if I want to take care of you, Cade?”
Cade’s eyebrows arched at her suggestion, and he smiled as he clasped her close. They slipped as one to the ground below, and Dawn let him press her body into his chest as she pulled away his shirt, her fingers stroking the edges of his rippling muscles.
Dawn kissed his flesh, her mouth moving to his waist. There, she could smell the sweetness of his cock poking through his jeans. She started to lower his jeans and bowed her head to his primed piece. Kissing the smoldering tip, Dawn carefully took his cock into her mouth, and she started to suckle his taut flesh. The man’s moans worked their way under her skin, and she loosened her throat to take more of him, all of him in. She could feel his desire just about to fall across her tongue, and his cock pulsed, grew harder than she could fathom as he climaxed. Drinking him down, lapping every inch of him and longing for more, her hands circled his thighs and reached around his body for the feel of his tight ass. He quivered there under her hold, but Dawn did not release her mouth; she kept caressing his shaft with her tongue even as he softened inside her.
“Maybe I should let you take care of me more often,” Cade said. Dawn had her hand pressed against his heaving heart, and she nodded into him as Cade ran his hand down her back. As soon as his hand met her ass, Dawn pulled away from him with a deep breath and let her legs curl around his long limbs. It felt as if there was no way of knowing where his body ended or hers began, and Dawn crawled up his torso as she kept kneading his tight flesh.
“Happy to be of service,” Dawn said. She nuzzled his cheek and let her head fall to his when he turned her eyes to his gaze and smiled brightly under the moon passing through the clouds.
“Cuts both ways,” he said. “Call it a give and take. Would you… Dawn…?”
He seemed unable to finish his thought, and Dawn seized the sides of his face and waited as she bit down on his lip. His silence and the prospect of whatever loomed behind his playful stare nearly sent her head spinning, and Dawn was on the verge of hitting him again. Not to hurt him; only to drag the truth away from his lips when Cade pushed her back and held her to the ground. Now she made no move to struggle as he held her arms at her sides, and Dawn accepted a brief kiss when his tongue moved down her neck. Burying his head in her breasts, he lapped at her nipples, biting down lightly. The contact made her feel as if she was floating towards the sky, but Cade brought her back to earth with a gentle push.
“Where… where you going?” she managed to ask.
“Time to return the favor, Dawn.”
Before she knew what was happening, his mouth pressed close to her cunt. His tongue darted in and out of her soft folds, teasing her with the promise of complete contact. He drew back every few seconds to suck in a deep breath. Cade exhaled around her pussy like a gust of wind crashing against a stony shore, and Dawn shifted her body to move closer to his lips when Cade consumed her. His tongue worked wildly, and Dawn dug her trembling nails into the earth, her head falling back as she begged for more.
His face popped closer to her eyes, her own lust dripping from his lips as he nestled her cheek and whispered into her rumpled hair, “Say that again, Dawn.”
“Say… say what?” she asked.
“Tell me that you need me,” he said. “Tell me that you need me enough to trust me.” Their eyes locked, and Cade started to push his head back between her legs.
“Not just there,” he said. “But when I bring you into the breach.”
“So you… you do still want me to come, Cade?”
“Always and in every way,” Cade answered. “But you will follow my lead.
Dawn softly nodded her head, and his neck was like hot clay in her hands as she guided him back to her pussy.
“Show me the way,” she said. Dawn felt his laughter swirling around her fiery folds, and she clenched her tender muscles around his tongue. His mouth moved with a strength that rivalled his cock, and Cade sucked her desperate pussy to a place where the blood left her head. Forget the sky; now she felt as if she was falling through the ground towards the earth’s core. It might have been the sweetest way to slip into a dream, but Cade shifted his body again and took hold of the back of her head with a moist smile.
“Sleep later,” he purred. “There’s too much to do tonight.”
She kissed him, her own taste passing through his lips as she clung to his neck and stretched up to stare deeper into his eyes.
“Like plan for a war, Cade?” she asked.
“Something like that,” he admitted, as he started to hang his head.
“No. Can’t just brush me off now,” she said.
“Fair enough,” he said. “Here.”
Helping Dawn to her feet, Cade brushed the dirt and the leaves from her back. Pulling up her jeans and swiftly following suit with his own denim, he patted her cheek and smiled at her under the light of the moon.
“Time to plan for now and plan for time,” he said.
“That some kind of a riddle?” Dawn asked.
“No,” he continued. “Only what’s needed most. Here. Take my hand.”
She accepted his fingers without another sound passing through her lips, and she leaned on his arm as they moved back to his bike. He lifted her up and swung around in front of her. Still shaking from the force of his kiss, Dawn clung to his neck and rested her head to his back.
“That’s my girl,” he said as he kissed the top of her head.
“Is that what I really am?” she asked.
“After that show?” he said. “How could I ever think about anyone else?”
“Even… even Nicole?” Dawn managed.
Cade looked taken aback as his blue eyes grew as wide as an ocean, and Dawn fought the urge to dive in deep when he grabbed her neck, his nails just digging into her skin.
“She’s like… she is my sister, Dawn,” he started. “And do you really believe that I would hurt her after… after what she went through.”
“It didn’t stop, Lenny,” she reminded him.
“That’s their thing. I don’t get it. But there it is.”
On the verge of believing him, Dawn sighed heavily.
“But there… there has to be more to the story,” she said. “I know that much.”
“What if I told you that you’ve reached a dead end, Dawn?”
She lurched back and forgot her lust as he took hold of her face.
“On that front,” he said. “I took care of Nicole. Guess I got her back where she needed to be. But it stops and ends there. And this… this…”
Cade dragged his lips down her cheeks, stopping at her lips to smile against her mouth.
“This is where we all are now,” he said. “I’d ask you if you want to step off, but I need my head on straight to ride.”
“So you can lean into the turns?”
“And you are coming with,” Cade said. “On my terms.”
“On our terms, Cade.”
He hesitated before finally nodding, and he kissed her fast before turning his head back to the night.
“You ready?” he asked.
She murmured her assent into his ear, and Cade’s back slipped closer to her breasts as he revved up the motor.
“Then just hang on to me, Dawn.”