Chapter 43: Chapter 43

CONNOR/ KADE HAWKINS

I DIDN’T DO SHIT as she blinked rapidly her eyes falling on my chest which if we were being on honest here, the heaving, the fist still stroking my length told the fucking tale.

I was horny as fuck and the minute she told me she didn’t have a boyfriend it was hard to not imagine myself between her thighs smelling her womanhood finding out for myself whether underneath all that sass she was clean shaven or her pussy was fuzzed with hair.

As the telltale of the water streaming down the tiled floor, my chest heaved, the hair sticking to my forehead as it dripped droplets of water, our eyes locked and I took in that little gasp of hers, that nervous clenching of her thighs hidden by that white robe.

Fuck, did she have anything underneath that robe?

Fuck, Kade. Fuck.

For a passing minute, we were locked in this intense stare.

She was stunned and I was mad.

It was not the first time a woman saw me stroke my length or drenching wet in the shower before. Naked, that is.

On the contrary many were the times I came on a woman’s face, her tits and in her pussy when the voices in my head got too loud.

Yet Cassandra what’s-her-name. I didn’t even know her last name and I was calling out her name having fantasies about her.

Her slightly wet ginger hair matched the color of her cheeks and her eyes were wide enough she looked like she had seen another man impaled to the chest by a knife.

Her little fingers clutched my bathroom door and I smirked knowing perfectly well she was hating herself that very second for not moving, for wanting to stay rooted to the ground and watching water run down my naked form, watching my desire flow down with the water down the drain.

And damn me, that turned me on and I could feel life shoot to my dick again.

Redhead or not, nothing fucking thrilled me than fucking a woman who didn’t want me in the first place, a woman who hated that she wanted to feel me inside her, pleaded and hated herself for wanting a kiss from me.

We might have stayed like that for a while, water streaming down my body, Stunned Cass too hot and bothered to turn around and run back to her little room but that was until Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood reverberated in the air breaking the spell.

Cassie stared at me for a second. The magic lost and in its wake anger instead.

She turned around closing the bathroom door, I was out of the shower cabinet taking a towel and wrapping it around my waist before I followed her.

The minute I opened the door, I met her hair, her white robe, standing by the edge of the bed where my pants were.

Pants that had her belongings etched in my pockets.

She swiveled to meet me; the green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle covered phone clutched hard in her hands.

I had it on silent, I was fucking sure I had her phone on silent with the clear intent of throwing it away the minute I stole it from her.

“You’ve had my phone all this time?”

“Yes”

“That is not okay. My parents have been calling me for days now, they might be worried. I should call them-“

“No one’s calling anyone”, I gritted. I took that phone off her since the first day for a reason.

Her being in contact with her friends and family meant trouble. Trouble I was better off without.

“You don’t get to tell me that after you stole my fucking phone from me”

Here we went again with the drama.

“I had my reasons, you know that. Staying in contact with your family puts them in danger”

Her brows formed a V, reality dousing in that I was telling her mother fucking facts.

Her phone dinged again, another message right after another and I caught the worry in her eyes as she perused through every each one of them.

She bit her bottom lip, tugging at it and I watched the action so greedy to have a feel of them.

Bad, Kade. Bad.

Her phone rung, she raised her head to meet mine and I mouthed a no, the song Bad Blood booming through the air frivolously.

“It’s my brother”

I didn’t give a shit.

“You can’t risk it”, I told her, she let it ring before the other person on the end of the line hung up. Gave up.

Two seconds later, her phone dinged with messages, her mouth parted slightly with a gasp.

“He knows something’s up. If I don’t text him back, he’ll send his buddies to look for me”

“They won’t find you”

Her face shone with amusement,

“My brother and his buddies were in the army; it will take them less than twenty-four hours to track me down. And when they do and they look into you, I’m afraid they’ll take you down, turn you in for whatever it is you do. It doesn’t matter if it’s noble or if you are the friendly neighborhood Spiderman, they find a gun on you and a list of dead men you’ve killed for the past years and they won’t think for a second before cuffing you”

I would like to see them try.

My background was clean. I would know because I fucking created it myself.

Changed my name. Kept my last name. Even if they did run shit, they wouldn’t find any dirt on me.

I was Kade Hawkins. An honest working man who’d rose to fame through my own hard work.

No one knew about my connections to Lucas Hawkins and as far as my background said, Lucas Hawkins was just another rando in my life. A man I had never met and a man who wasn’t my father.

Still, it was safe to be cautious, this brother of hers, all he needed was confirmation his sister was alive and that would put his jittery nerves at ease.

Sighing, my hand on my hip, I jutted out my chin at her.

“Text him back. Something subtle, don’t give him your location, don’t sound too nervous”

“Too nervous meaning I shouldn’t act like I have been kidnapped by a couple of vigilantes who steal my phone and lock me up in my little tower like a hostage?”

I let out a little gruff not really in the mood for one of her jokes.

She texted back, we stood there for a minute waiting for the brother to text back.

“He wants to call”

“Why?” the question slipped from my mouth coming out frustrated because the truth of the matter was, I was frustrated.

Naked with a towel on my waist, blue balls sucking the life out of me and let’s not fucking forget about Cassie and her brother.

Stubbornness did really run in her family.

“Ooh I don’t know because he’s one bright bastard that knows when I’m lying? What should I do?”

I reasoned, ignoring her cussing for a while before I said,

“He calls, you take the call and you tell him you want to meet”

“Won’t that be worse?”

“Your brother’s like you. He doesn’t leave things to chance; he knows something’s up and he’s not letting it go so we give him what he wants. And that’s you alive and safe”

Her phone buzzed in her hands; her fingers fidgeted for a while looming over the phone screen.

“There’s a mall west from here. Eastside mall”, I informed, she finally answered the call pressing her phone against her ear.

“It’s good to hear from you too, soldier”

“I’ve been busy, okay? You disappear for months without calling them too. Why? Because I’m a fragile woman who can’t live without some coddling from her parents?”

Cassie and fragile in the same sentence? She wasn’t fragile, that wasn’t the word to describe her.

She was a big girl who spoke her mind and stood her ground and that wasn’t fragile.

Trust me I had met my fair share of fragile women and she wasn’t it.

“You are right, I don’t want to fight too but at the same time I don’t want to be treated like a child. I’m not a child, I’m not eighteen”

She said the words ‘eighteen’ with so much ennui, I picked up some tension between the two.

“Adopted, adopted brother and no, I moved on a long time ago”

This time her long eyelashes fluttered twice a second and her throat moved with slight discomfort, she wanted to cry and if I wasn’t in this room, maybe she would have and I suddenly wanted this brother of hers dead for upsetting her.

Hell kill him for whatever shit he was telling her this very second.

“Fine, if that will put your panties not in a twist then let’s meet. Eastside mall, I’ll call you when I get there”

Panties not in a twist?

Not the best comeback but I was proud of her for putting her brother in his place.

I might have wanted her ass gone from my house but I still cared enough to say no one got to make her feel insignificant except me, her monster.

“You ready?” I asked, she tucked wisps of hair to the back of her right ear realizing that I was still in the room with her.

“Yeah”

“Great because we are going shopping before you meet your brother”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“No”, I barked.

The Versace garish monstrosity made her look like one of those prima donnas stuffed and caked with a hell lot more than makeup.

Cassie twirled, puffing the overflowing garments on her thighs.

“Wittle Kade doesn’t like this dress too?”

She taunted, her smile being the only mellow shit in the boutique.

The salesman—and yes you had right, man not woman—stood next to me on the L-couch, a handful of other dresses hung on his forearm.

The small shop they called a boutique smelled like flowers and women’s perfume, add in the pink splotched walls, the sprinkle-colored ceiling, the bright as fuck chandeliers and the bright dresses everywhere and I felt like I was drowning in a Barbie movie.

“Take the dress off, Cassie”, I barked, the salesman threw her another navy-blue dress and she picked the Louboutin heels at the end of the runway on her way to the dressing room.

“I’m sure you’ll like this one, Sir. Lucky for us, her body can pull off any outfit”

Lucky for us? I ground my teeth waiting for Cassie.

She came out a few minutes later.

The heels being the first thing I saw before skimming through her thighs stopping just where that blue dress formed a v on her thighs revealing creamy skin.

It hugged her curves as well and my mouth fucking salivated for a touch, a bite as I glided upwards, past the slit of the dress on her stomach that revealed a tight waist, tons of olive skin walking up to her ribs and up to her cleavage, those squished boobs calling onto me.

“Wow”, the imp next to me panted like a tiger unable to hold himself together at the sight of his next meat, I fucking stood up.

Taking the dresses from the salesman, I threw them to Cassie.

“We’ll take all of them”, I inched the salesman cocking my head to Cassie, “Keep the dress on. That’s the one. Get the cashier to ring it up, I’ll be there to pay up”

She stepped away from the runway, looking at her dresses like a kid who’d gotten an ice cream sundae on a school day.

Once her red hair disappeared down the isle of winter collection clothes, my eyes lingered on the man who’d been practically ogling Cassie the minute we came here.

“It’s a nice choice, Sir. All of them are nice choices for her-“

“Cut the bullshit. You don’t give a shit about the dresses same as me and we both know it”

The bulging of his crotch hid slightly well by his brown slacks proved it.

And that damn sweater vest he had on wasn’t fooling anyone.

I never trusted sweater vests or the people who wore them.

And this little piece of shit had a hard on for Cassie.

“I don’t know what you are talking about S-“

“I’ll bring her back here you know and I’ll pick you to be the one holding her dresses, to watch her with me as she tries every damn dress in here but you know what the difference will be?”

He gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

Good, nothing like a little fear to sink my words in.

“Next time I catch you looking at her like that, getting turned on like that by her, she’s not the only one who will leave here with her hands full. I might just leave here with your eyeballs too, Freddy”

I dusted the name tag on his chest, making sure I would remember the name Freddy embellished in the fake gold coated tag every time I came to this mall.

I left the turd walking by the cashier to pay for everything before Cassie and I walked out.

She’d texted her brother a while ago, only thing left was to sit and-

“He is here”, Cassie informed placing her milkshake on the counter next to her.

I dawned the last of my liquor from the flask making sure my gun was locked and loaded.

“I’ll see you later, I guess. Do you think this is safe?”

“It’s not but I’ll make sure it is. Go”

She hopped off her stool straightening her dress before she walked down the hallway, to the escalators.

I followed discreetly with her shopping bags in my hands not pulling too much attention to myself.

Five minutes down the escalator next to some Peppa squealing teenage girls, a balding man with a SpongeBob t-shirt in front of me and I was at the center of the madness.

I spotted Cassie standing by the fountain looking around for her brother.

I also looked around spotting anyone that didn’t look right before I disappeared to the margarita stand ten feet from Cassie.

She couldn’t see me but I could see her, as well as have a magnanimous view of the mall. The first floor, the second floor, they were all clean.

No eerie looking men from the Zeta, no snake tattoo in sight, everything was going well and if I was lucky, I wouldn’t have to shoot anything.

The bartender plopped a glass next to me, I took it spotting the bulky man dressed all in bulk walking to Cassie.

Cassie turned around, they hugged, the man’s face got hidden by Cassie’s hair and I couldn’t really see him that well.

She smiled. A nervous smile that accentuated her laugh lines in a hot sexy way.

The guy---well would you fucking look that.

The bodyguard.

And what a fucking small world it was.

Lucia Amato’s bodyguard?

The one I had left in the restaurant hours ago?

This was the brother?

They talked at first, I finished my first glass watching things play out.

Then Cassie looked upset and before I could stand up fuck it all to hell and take her back with me, her brother’s hand snaked her waist, his fingers digging into her bare skin and I lost my fucking cool.

She didn’t stop him.

No, her eyes looked at him like he was her world.

The brother leaned in and in a matter of seconds I was watching them kiss like two bloody lovers who hadn’t seen each other for a while.

What was that she said?

Adopted? Adopted brother?

CASSANDRA BATES

HIS HAIR WAS A tad bit longer than the last time I saw him and to be honest, I liked it.

I liked his lumberjack look, maybe hated the all black that screamed bodyguard and missed the flannel shirts he used to wear but this was alright.

He was alright, handsome, rugged, pissed like he was most of the times but I couldn’t help feeling hot all over, getting uncomfortable as his eyes gobbled me in.

“You’ve changed”, was his first statement. Not mad, not happy yet but just happy he’d seen me.

And somehow deep down even though I still bore some resentment to him, I was happy to see him too. I had missed him, missed his cooking, our usual banter, him cussing about everything and just about anything that he thought was nonsense.

Those were the old days.

The days I had a brother.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, Trigger”

His nose scrunched. He didn’t like the nickname, I knew, dad had told me.

“What are you doing, Cass?” he asked, I crossed my hands on my chest.

“Besides from living my life? Well, I’m here because you called”

“You know what I mean? You know how Jason gets when he’s worried—”

Jason? I rolled my eyes.

He was still his father too. Why did he insist on calling my father Jason when he had practically raised him since he was five?

“Ooh I’m sorry did I steal you from your important work? Did I disrupt some special military mission?”

“Don’t do that”, his voice heaved, tears stung my eyes but I held them back.

“Do what? You are here because dad called you, didn’t he? You are not here because you are worried about me or because you suddenly decided to check up on me, find out whether I existed after you left me heartbroken, crying myself to—”

I didn’t get to finish my statement when he grabbed my waist, pushed a strand of hair from my face and kissed me so hard I couldn’t help but feel the burn behind my eyes pushing tears out of me.

Suddenly it was like I was eighteen again, having loved my adopted brother for years now, wishing he would see past my age and finally see me and my love for him.

His lips claimed mine possessively and I was swirled into another world where it was just me and him.

I opened my mouth for him letting him claim me, mark me, letting him know that it had always been—him?

Was it still about him anymore?

Did I love him like I did years ago?

No, this was—closure.

Kissing him like this reminded me of the years I spent calling him knowing very well where he was, he couldn’t take calls.

He had rejected me, made me feel so bad about myself and I had pulled myself together and moved on.

This wasn’t me.

My hands slapped his chest pushing him off me.

He stood a distance away, angry, his chest heaving like a motor engine about to combust in flames.

“That’s what you wanted right? That’s what you’ve always fucking wanted from me, Cass and I couldn’t give it to you because I-“, He paused, his eyes softening with sympathy, “I’m an asshole. I’m a protective asshole who didn’t any guy to look at you because I thought you were my property. The only good shit in my life”

“Did you…ever love me?” I asked feeling needles prick my throat.

“It wasn’t love. I was a selfish bastard. A miserable one and I wanted you to be miserable with me too”

The tears continued, I gasped for breath, Jace walked closer trying to reach for me but I took a few steps back.

“I’ll call mom and dad, I’ll tell them I’m okay”

And I was damn leaving.

“I came because I care, Cassie. You are family and I wouldn’t leave my family hanging”

“You left me hanging for almost three years, Jace so don’t give me that crap. I needed this, to let go, of you, my mistakes, all these feelings that were unreciprocated”

“I love you, Cass”

“Like a sister, I know and I love you too but I don’t think I have the bone to forgive you for everything. Maybe someday we’ll laugh about all this over a shot of tequila but not today, Jace. Goodbye and please do not meddle in my life, that means no sending your pals to follow me and no putting trackers on me”

“Cass I can’t—”

“Promise me, Jace. It’s the least you can do for me after everything”

“Fine”, he said and I lunged into his arms hugging him for old times before I held onto my purse walking away to my scarred kidnapper.

A message shot through my phone and it read.

Parking lot.

Kade, I smiled unnecessarily.

I scurried to the parking lot making sure Jace hadn’t followed me before I traced Kade’s Ferrari and his brooding self in it.

I knocked on his window, he didn’t look at me as he unlocked the door from the inside and I hopped in.

Kade Hawkins didn’t speak a word as we pulled into his driveway. He hadn’t spoken a word to me really since I got in his car and I got the feeling something was wrong.

Did Ice call him with bad news? Did something wrong happen? Did one of his guys end up dead?

That was about everything I could guess that had gone wrong to make Kade silent, brooding and tipped off as hell.

“Should we order for pizza for dinner? I’m not really hungry”

Silence.

“Kade? Okay so we are being silent now. Are you going to let me what’s wrong or are we going to sit here all night with you like that?”

“Like what?” his voice rocked everything in the car flaying my nerves raw.

“Angry, furious”

“And why do you think I’m furious Cassandra?”

“I don’t understand where this attitude came from but whatever happened when I was away I must sure you can fix it”

“Get out!”

“What?” I asked, afraid now at the sharpness of his voice.

“Get the fuck out!”

He repeated facing me, his hands balled into fists, his eyes raging fury, I flinched feeling as if air had been knocked from my lungs.

My hands were already on the handle, tugging at the thing and as soon as the evening breeze slapped my legs, I ran into the mansion not looking back.

Afraid even.

What the fuck was that? What was wrong with him?

My heart didn’t calm down even as I entered the house to find I was alone, my pulse didn’t plunge even as I poured myself a glass of water and it certainly didn’t stop even as I went to sleep that night.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Another thud.

My eyes opened of their own volition.

What was happening?

I sat on my bed listening in for the sound. Was Kade back? Or the guys? Was that them?

Spooked a little I couldn’t go back to bed, I pushed the covers away from me, my eyes matting with sleep.

I waded through the darkness in the room, opening my door to really understand what was going through.

“Ah—aah”

Just what the hell? Was that…a woman?

I walked even further down the hall my slippers touching the floor softly. I didn’t want to spook whoever was downstairs but my mind at the same time shot one thing and one thing only, Kade.

We had been alright today. We had joked, shared a milkshake-even though I’m the one who drank it but still—I thought we were achieving some common ground before he lashed at me like a caveman.

The more I trudged down stairs, the more the voice became louder.

The sound of skin slapping skin, the sound of groans filling the air, the smell of sweat and women’s perfumes admixing in the air, add in the moans and I knew what was going on and I still went on.

I stood on the last staircase, clinging to the wall.

“Just like that…fuck, fuck,fuuuck”, a woman cried.

The sound of sloppy kisses followed. The sound of someone being rammed hard from the back hit my ears.

I popped my head from the wall ever so slightly to take a peek.

A woman’s legs lay between Kade’s mighty ones as he drove in and out of her on the table, faster, faster and harder she wailed like she was being split in half.

One hand fisted her hair pulling her back, the other hand—Oh God, I was going to be sick—

The other hand held the woman to his right in place and his head was lost between the valley of her breasts.

Both women panted with pleasure, squirmed in blissful passion and I stood there watching them, watching him pleasure two women at the same time without a fuck in the world and even as he pumped into the woman underneath him, spite, jealousy and hatred crept my neck.

I couldn’t stand the sight.

Two minutes later I was up the stairs, into my room, my chest roaring like crazy, wailing like crazy.

I wasn’t supposed to feel like this.

Yet I did and it hurt so bad I couldn’t breathe.