“Come here.”

 

Seeing him strong and sweet in the space of the same second, she couldn’t resist the lure of his lips, and Dawn flew up and into his arms. Cade caught her against his chest, and he turned her into the shadows as she pushed his fingers under her shirt. Dawn felt as if her bruises were already fading as he stroked her sides, and she murmured into his neck when he lifted her gaze back to his eyes.

 

“You were perfect,” he said. He crushed his kiss to her lips. It was strange to seem so content. She was the old lady hiding in the shadows and just doing an Alpha’s bidding, even if the role made parts of her skin crawl. Her heart still burned for him to take the touch further, and Dawn went limp in his hold as he kicked open a stray door at the end of the dark hallway.

 

“It’ll go down easy,” he promised her.

 

“Really?” she asked. “Looks like a mess.”

 

That was an understatement as she saw the dust swirling about the shadows. In the middle of the room, there was nothing but a stray mattress, and Dawn doubted the softness until he lowered her to surface. Once she was there, Dawn felt safe, maybe even sure, and she offered no resistance as Cade fell to her side. He started to remove her clothing, and as soon as he had her breasts under her hands, Cade started to knead her tender flesh. Dawn sighed into his touch and longed for more, and Cade turned her closer to his chest.

 

“Dawn…”

 

Their lips mingled, and Dawn clung to his neck as she tried to deepen the kiss.

 

“Cade?”

 

He broke way and pushed her body lower. Without uttering another word, he kissed her softly. Cade abandoned her lips only to nip at her shirt, her jeans. But before she was once again bare under his eyes, Dawn reached for his face.

 

“Problem?” he asked. “I’m only trying to show you how much I want you.”

 

Relaxing under the feel of Cade’s fingers, Dawn let his fingers probe her flesh. She quivered under his touch but fought to keep from moving as he took his time exploring each inch of her body. Starting at her ankles, he traced soft circles into her skin, and when he leaned his head forward, Dawn absorbed the light sigh passing through his lips as he stopped short of kissing her legs.

 

“Why…why so slow?” Dawn managed to ask as she struggled to stretch her head away from the pillows. Just meeting his gaze, she saw his eyes melt and leaned forward to kiss his mouth when his strong hand made contact with her curved shoulder.

 

“We have time tonight,” he whispered. “Tomorrow…tomorrow we might not be so lucky.”

 

Her body ached at the thought that this might be the last time they would be in sync, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging and kissing at his cheeks, as his arms rested casually against her sides.

 

“Now you agree with me?” she muttered. “Thought you said he was just a kid.”

 

“Doesn’t mean it won’t get ugly,” Cade said. “Plus, who knows when it’ll just be us again.”

 

Pushing back, she gazed into his eyes and waited for the next thought from his mind to pass through his lips when Cade simply twirled a lock of her shorn hair in his fingers. His smile stayed soft as he lowered her back to the bed, and he moved back to her legs, his face hidden when he finally spoke.

 

“Just us right now,” he said. “And I want to make it count.”

 

Trembling in a torrent of fear and want, her anxious hands clutched at the sheets when his fingers dragged up the length of her legs. He stopped every few seconds to etch new shapes into her flesh, and when his lips made contact with her knees, Dawn felt her cunt turn warm and wanting. She started to part her thighs in search of his cock when his hands met her sides. He trailed up her body, pausing every few seconds in his pursuit to close his eyes. Dawn thought that she could see the inner workings of his mind across the lines of his face. Cade eased his hands around her breasts, and he touched her there like a long lost lover finding his way home.

 

“That’s perfect,” she murmured. “It’s almost enough.”

 

“But not quite,” he teased as his lids lifted to reveal his bright blue stare. Feeling as if she was seeing him for the first time, Dawn curled a single finger close to her neck, and his kiss consumed her flesh as he fondled her breasts, lightly pinching her nipples until he came up for air. Cade cradled her cheek in his strong hand, and he lingered above her lips as his body pushed into her keen flesh.

 

“I’ll take my time here, too,” he said, as he started to slide into her. Dawn whimpered in pleasure at the gentle force of his impact.

 

“Yes,” she moaned. “But…but I can’t wait.”

 

“You’ll have to.”

 

Cade’s only other move was to push his fingers into her sides, and for a second she savored the sensation of his cock warm and firm against her entire essence. An old lady would wait, would have to bide her time until he was ready to make the next move. But she still kissed at his wrists and suckled the fingers brought close to her mouth when he gripped the back of her head and silently ordered her to stay still.

 

“Can’t a girl have a little fun while she waits?” Dawn asked.

 

“Maybe,” he said.

 

“Didn’t you like it?”

 

“I like all of you, Dawn.”

 

Expecting his thrust, anxious for more than sense memory when it came to his body, his lust, Dawn moaned when he held her down to the bed. He remained unmoving, his fingers pressing into her flesh, and she raised her head in search of his mouth when he turned his head into her hair, his whisper drizzling into her ear.

 

“Promise me you won’t get hurt,” he said, pleaded.

 

“Cade, I—”

 

“Say it and mean it,” he implored. “Anything happens to you, and I…I don’t…”

 

She felt sure that she heard his voice catch in his throat, and Dawn managed to bring her hand to his cheek. As soon as their eyes locked, she shook her head softly. “Nothing is going to happen to me,” she said. “Unless…”

 

He tensed her over her, around her, inside her. Dawn relished the feel of his cock moving deeper, and she twirled her hips around his, anything to make him shatter her soul. But Cade kept her fixed to the bed.

 

“Unless what?” he asked.

 

“Unless you don’t fuck me right now,” she said. “We’ve taken enough time.”

 

“Is that a fact, Dawn? And now you’re in charge?”

 

“You said it could be me,” she reminded him. “Behind closed doors. And if… if we can’t count on a next time—”

 

“I take it back,” Cade said. “Not when you feel like this.”

 

His cock stared to pulse, and Dawn fell back to the sheets, her nails weakly clawing at his heaving chest as he twisted and throbbed. It was still a tease, but she felt his desire starting to mingle with her veins. The buzz from his body hit her throat and came out in a luscious moan. She waited for him to finish when he fell toward the edge of the bed, carrying her along with ride.

 

“Cade, don’t—”

 

“Take charge, Dawn,” he ordered in a ragged whisper. “I want…I need you to.”

 

Peering down at him, Dawn almost feared the thought that she would, that she could conquer him with a few sharp pushes of her pussy. However, Cade rested on the bed and folded his hands behind his head. She missed his touch. But there were other ways to feel him.

 

“Now, Dawn,” he said. “All you.”

 

She started as slowly as he had. Slower. The tingle started as a slow trickle up her spine, stopping at the center of her back. Falling into him, her lips played with his chest, and she started to follow his lead. Dawn still took her time. Stunned anew by the sweat glistening off of his warm body, she mirrored his moves and slammed her eyes shut. It wouldn’t be the last time; it just couldn’t be. Yet, she wanted the memory to call to mind if she lost him, if they lost each other…

 

“Look at me, Dawn.”

 

Even as she followed his order, her lips curved into a smirk.

 

“Isn’t it my show now?” she asked.

 

“I still get the best seat in the house,” he said. “Always.”

 

Staying with him, Dawn watched his eyes water, and even as she reveled in the power, she couldn’t bring herself to deny him. She could no longer deny herself. Sinking deeper, she rode his cock to a place where she felt that she would pass out. However, Cade knew how and when to pull back, making her work for the entirety of his length all over again. For several seconds it was a struggle between their shared strength, and Dawn almost feared that she would fail and pass out on top of him when he suddenly grabbed her face and pulled her close.

 

“Stay with me,” he said. “Finish so I can see you.”

 

His words were like an untamed fire under her skin, and Dawn’s pussy frantically pounded onto his cock. She barely blinked as she lost the path of where his body stopped and hers began, and when his cock finally started to rain within her, Dawn dug her nails into his arms, her touch moving to his hands. She gripped his palms and threw her head back with a great moan when his climax consumed her. Feeling weak, loving and hating the sensation all at once, Dawn kept her focus on his eyes, and he bolstered her chin with his hand as he stretched up.

 

“Dawn…”

 

She was more than ready for his kiss when he pulled back and settled for sighing into her hair.

 

“Stay awake,” he purred. “Just stay with me.”

 

She offered no objection even as the pillow that was now his body seemed like the best place to lose consciousness. His cock softened as it stayed inside her, and his hands worked their way down her back. Dawn curled into his arms, and when his anxious nails scratched her skin, doing no real harm, she kept smiling until she found his eyes again.

 

“Wide awake now, Cade,” she said. “So what’s next? What’s the plan?”

 

“Don’t want to think about that,” he said. “Not right now.”

 

“But…”

 

“Just a second, Dawn. I want longer. So much longer. I…”

 

Dawn kissed his brow before settling into his shoulder. Her body still trembled, and she missed the pulse, but his arms stayed strong around her frame, and Dawn listened as his voice filled the small room. “Can I talk to you?” he asked. “I mean like really talk to you?”

 

“Like you even have to ask me….” Dawn’s voice trailed off when she looked up to find the fear in his eyes. Startled by the sight, she pushed up on her elbow and lightly palmed his brow. Her thoughts flooded with all that he had already lost; he had said that the last thing he wanted was to lay flowers on her grave.

 

“Talk, Cade,” she said. “I promise you that I’m not going anywhere.”

 

His hold intensified, and she missed his cock less when she was able to rest her cheek to his chest and soak in his nearness, the feel of hands moving up and down her back.

 

“I don’t want you to,” he whispered. “That’s the last thing…”

 

He trembled, and Dawn clutched him closer. Listening to his heart, she silently resolved that she would never lose him. She took hold of his fingers, kissing the tips as she shook her head.

 

“Looks like no,” he said. “Can’t say that I like—”

 

“It’s no to losing you,” she assured him. “Leaving you. And I… that’s all I’m thinking about. I swear to you.”

 

He smoothed his hand down her face and stopped to grab her chin with a wink and a fresh smile.

 

“I like to the sound of that,” he said. “But…but for right now…” Cade kissed her again, and as soon as their lips pulled apart, she managed a laugh. “Want to go again?” he asked.

 

His cock lingered against her thigh, and Dawn longed for the touch. But after she had…

 

“Cade? Just listen to me for minute,” she said.

 

“I told you that I wanted forever,” he said.

 

“If you could manage as much,” she said.

 

“So what the hell happened to that?”

 

“Cade…” Dawn lifted up and brought him along with her as she spoke fast. “If you let me go just one more time,” she started. “Then I can make it all be over.”

 

“How the hell do you think that you’re going to—?”

 

“I know cops back in Plainfield. I—”

 

“No. That is not a plan.”

 

Cade pushed away from her, and Dawn tried to bring his arms back when he suddenly pushed way from the bed like a wild man and started searching for his clothes.

 

“Cade, I—”

 

“Have you even been listening?” he demanded.

 

Dawn bristled as he covered his flesh, and she thought of retreating deeper into the sheets when Cade fell to her side and held her arms.

 

“It like kills me to tell you no when we’re like this,” he stared. “But no cops, Dawn. Not under any circumstances.”

 

“Cade…” She touched her hand to his chest and started to lift up his shirt when she drew back and faintly smiled. “I know other people in Plainfield,” she said. “I’ve written about their bazaars and picnics and whatever.”

 

“Whatever,” he said, as he stroked her hair and peered hard. “That’s what we’re up against. And you need to believe me when I tell you that need to steer clear.”

 

She didn’t, but Dawn failed to say as much if not more as she settled him back to the bed and nestled her brow close to his heart.

 

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Guess I just didn’t know.”

 

“Sweet thing like you, you wouldn’t.”

 

“Like I’m not an ace reporter?” she asked. “You took me to bed and—”

 

“Far from the only reason why, Dawn.”

 

Cade kissed her lips, and Dawn tried to prolong the contact when Cade turned away. She touched his broad back as it flexed, and Cade tried to shrug her off when Dawn clung to his shoulders.

 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know that you think more of me than that.”

 

Cade started to nod, and Dawn curled around his body in search of his lips when Cade held her face and nodded his head.

 

“Damn straight I do,” he said. “And we don’t trust the fuzz,” he said. “We don’t trust anyone outside of the ranks.”

 

“Then how do you explain me?” she asked.

 

Cade seemed startled by her question. Dawn wanted to know why he hated the police so much. She swallowed her fear and her confusion back, as she tried to take comfort in his arms.

 

“Please, Cade,” she begged. “Just tell me why.”

 

“Because the police in Plainfield always bet on their friends. And right now, that ain’t us.”

 

Dawn stared to object when she remembered his revelation that Bauer was firmly planted in the Panthers’ ranks. That meant that he had a point. Maybe more than one, and she settled back into his arms and lightly nodded her head.

 

“I get it,” she muttered. “You did say something about that.”

 

“It’s a lot for you to take in in one day,” he assured. “At the end of things, you handled it like something close to a pro.”

 

“Just close?” she asked, as she brushed a light strand of hair away from his blue eyes.

 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” he said. “One step at a time. But…”

 

Taking her face in his hands, he kissed her passionately, and Dawn clung to his neck, saddened when she lost his lips even as he stayed in her eyes.

 

“But here,” he started. “Alone with me, got no complaints.”

 

“You better not,” she whispered.

 

Cade pressed her into the sheets, and he pushed her arms up and over her head as his kiss fell to her breasts.

 

“Let’s see it again,” he moaned. “Make it count.”

 

She dragged her fingers down his chest, clutching at his taut flesh as she wound her legs around his waist.

 

“Always, Cade. I promise.”