It was harmless, really.
“I found some ointment, gauze, tape, and scissors. I figured that would be better than individual bandages, since there are so many scratches. The good news is none of them are very deep. There are just a lot of them.”
“Sounds fine. Now where’s the rest of my song?”
He knelt beside me, and I could just see out of the corner of my eye the way his dark hair fell onto his forehead as he bent over me. I closed my eyes as he began rubbing the cool ointment on my skin.
“About that . . .” he began. “I really don’t—”
“Come on, Cade. A deal’s a deal. Besides . . . I’m in pain.”
I lifted my head a little and gave him my best pout over my shoulder.
He glanced up at the ceiling and shook his head. “You’re dangerous.”
I liked danger. And this . . . this was addictive. Making him want me.
It was because it was wrong, because we were so different, that it felt so exhilarating. I laid my cheek against the cushion and closed my eyes, enjoying the luxurious feeling of his fingers coasting across my back.
“You might as well start again from the beginning,” I said. “So I get the full effect.”
It took a while for him to start singing, like he had to talk himself into it. But when he did, his voice was just as intoxicating the second time around. It was rich and resonant, and it rooted into my soul.
“No matter how close, you are always too far “My eyes are drawn everywhere you are.”
He paused again, and I thought he wouldn’t go on, but then he pitched his voice higher, and I melted at the sound.
“I’m tired of the way we both pretend Tired of always wanting and never giving in I can feel it in my skin, see it in your grin We’re more. We always have been.
“Think of everything we’ve missed.
Every touch and every kiss.
Because we both insist.
Resist.”
They were only words, but their effect on me was just as strong as the kiss we’d shared earlier in the evening. The anticipation of his touch was almost as exquisite as the contact itself. I had to concentrate to keep from arching up into his hands. He began taping gauze across sections of my back, and I lived for the moments when his finger would smooth the tape down and graze my skin.
“Hold your breath and close your eyes Distract yourself with other guys
It’s no surprise, your defeated sighs
Aren’t you tired of the lies?”
His volume had grown, and I felt nailed down by his words, trapped by his hands. I knew this song wasn’t for me. It couldn’t be. We’d only met today. But just because the song wasn’t for me, didn’t mean it wasn’t about me.
“Think of everything we’ve missed.
Every touch and every kiss.
Because we both insist.
Resist.”
I could feel his breath against my bare skin as he sang, and my whole body tensed. I couldn’t even pretend I wasn’t affected anymore. It took all my concentration just to keep breathing.
“No matter how close, you are always too far My eyes are drawn everywhere you are.”
He placed the last bandage, smoothed down the tape, then his finger continued on, tracing the line of my spine. My skin broke out in goose bumps, and I tried to smother a moan into the cushion, but he had to have heard.
“I’m done. I won’t ignore.
I won’t pretend or resist.”
His hand settled at the base of my back. The last line was half-sung, half-spoken, and I was half-mad with desire.
“I want more.”
13
Cade
I was playing with fire, touching her like this. My hand was resting just above the curve of her behind, and I swear she arched her hips back into my palm.
My voice was low and rough as I said, “All done.”
If I were a superstitious man, I would think I’d angered Milo’s alcohol gods because I was having a very inconvenient reaction to our closeness.
I moved my hand, and was ready to make a quick getaway, but she sat up and said, “Wait, let me do you.”
I tried to keep a straight face, I really did. But no male in my condition, whether he’s fifteen or fifty, could hear those words and not react.
She rolled her eyes and said, “Your head, Golden boy. The one that’s supposed to do your thinking.”
God, she was so different from Bliss. I could envision completely how this scenario would have happened with her. It would have started with a lot of blushing and mumbling and probably would have ended with something broken or on fire.
Max was honest. Unafraid. She was so comfortable in her skin.
And it was sexy as hell.
“Let me get a new cloth.”
She stood and took the washcloth and water into the kitchen with her. I sat on the couch, and did my best to adjust myself so that my predicament wasn’t glaringly obvious.