He lunged across the bed and straddled me, holding my hands above my head. “Really? You better dial that shit down, woman, or I’m going to make you regret it,” he growled, running his finger down my face and chest. “That’s pretty hard to believe, though. It’s nine and you—”
My eyes shot up. “Nine? Are you serious?”
He nodded, looking confused at my outburst.
“Cane, I better go. I have Kari’s car and I’ve been here all day.”
“So?”
“I’m sure you have things to do, that’s all.” I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but I wanted to give him an out. He had gone from wanting to see me for one night to having me stay at his house. I didn’t want him to feel any pressure.
“If you leave, I will have nothing to do. But if you want to go …” He released my hands and rolled off of me.
I felt the loss of his body immediately. “I don’t,” I said softly, closing my eyes.
“Then don’t.”
“Really?”
“You say that like you’re surprised!” He laughed. “Why is that so hard to believe, Jada? I’ve spent a lot of nights at your house. Why wouldn’t I want you here?”
I looked around his room. It was decorated in all blacks and whites and it reminded me of the initial hot-and-cold Cane. Where did all of this greyness come from?
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I just didn’t want to wear out my welcome right off the bat.”
“I like having you here. When I’ve brought women here before, I couldn’t wait to see them go. I felt like they were invading my space or something.”
I made a sour face, earning a chuckle from him.
“But really, they were never meant to be here. You, on the other hand,” he said, dipping his chin to grin at me, “I kind of like having here. I don’t know why. You just, I don’t know, seem like you belong here. With me.”
I tried not to swoon, but it was futile. “Are you sure?”
“Stay,” he whispered, pressing a searing kiss on my lips.
“Okay. Just let me make sure Kari doesn’t need her car.” I reached for my phone on the nightstand.
“She doesn’t. Max went home with her and I’m sure that pussy is willing to cart her anywhere she wants to go until you get home.”
“I like Max,” I said, falling back against the pillows. “He seems really good for my sister.”
Cane lay next to me on his side, stroking my arm lightly with his fingertips. “He is a good guy. The only person I really consider a true friend. Max isn’t from the city; he’s a country boy. A transplant. Country people are a different breed.”
“How did you meet?”
“We met when he moved here when we were twelve or so and we just hit it off. Well, I totally saved his ass and he still owes me for that.”
“Oh, really? What happened?” I smiled, happy to get some new insight into the two new men in my life.
“It was his first day at school. Coincidentally, it was my birthday. Anyway, he was the new kid, right? Well, if you haven’t noticed, women think Max is cute or something,” Cane rolled his eyes. “I mean, not as hot as me, but cute anyway.”
“No one ever said you were humble!”
He winked at me.
“Max’s first day was your birthday? When is that?”
“Yeah, some birthday present,” he laughed. “November 4th. Anyway, some girl at school liked him right away and her little boyfriend, or whoever he was, got mad. After school, that kid and his buddies jumped Max. They had him pinned against a wall and were talking all kinds of shit. I happened to be walking past and saw it. I essentially saved his ass.”
“Is that the same way Max would tell that story?” I asked, laughing. He was talking freely, his eyes shining. It was fun to watch.
“It better be! That’s what happened. So, because of that fateful day when I cleaned house for my man, he’s owed me.”
“You’re too much.”
Cane chuckled. “All joking aside, Max is the most loyal person I’ve ever met. He just has a different set of standards than most people. Even when your sister was being difficult, Max kept at it. I would’ve said to hell with her a long time ago.”
“Oh, really?”
“Really. Because she isn’t you,” he whispered.
I watched his face. He didn’t smile, didn’t smirk; his face was as serious as I had ever seen it and I realized how far we had come. I wondered how many people got to see this side of Cane Alexander, the sweet, disarming side of him that I had come to love.
My heart lurched in my chest as I replayed that last thought. Do I love him? Is that what this was?
“What are you looking at me like that for? What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
“Nothing.” I smiled shyly. “So, what do you do around here all night?”
“Well, normally I’d be working on a bid or working out. I hit the bag a lot at night. I started doing it as a kid to release some of my anger and it kind of stuck.”
“Were you a fighter or something?” The thought of Cane fighting brought back thoughts of Simon and I pushed them quickly out of my mind.
“No, not really. I was a wild kid; I’ve always liked to do things my way.”