“Yeah.” His voice had lost all the hatred and was now tired. “A truck.”
“Then it’s not your fault.”
“But if I’d have—”
“No.” I brought my leg over the center console and pushed between Cade’s chest and the steering wheel, not letting go of his face. “You can’t control the actions of people around you. You can only control yours.” I shook my head. “The what-ifs will kill you, Cade. The what-ifs will destroy your soul.”
I knew better than anyone about the what-ifs. I’d mulled over them for nearly ten years, but not once had they made a bit of difference.
“Ford helped me,” Cade said. “He was in town visiting his cousin and came to the hospital. He helped me…he…he was there when no one else was.”
“You’re close with Ford then?” Cade wrapped his arms around me and buried his head in my chest, mumbling something I couldn’t understand. “Cade?”
He shook his head and held me tighter, finally moving his face. “I don’t want to talk about Ford.” His stare met mine. “I don’t want to talk about what happened that night.”
“Okay…”
“I just need you, Aria. I need you more than I’ve needed anything in my entire life.”
I stuttered a breath and placed my hand on his face. “You have me, Cade. You’ve always had me.”
* * *
CADE
“You have me, Cade. You’ve always had me.”
Her words flowed through me, and there was nothing I could do but slam my lips onto hers. I forgot all about what we’d been talking about. I forgot about the scene in my head of the crash. I forgot about what Ford had done for me afterward. All I concentrated on was the feel of Aria’s body pressed against me and the way her lips meshed with mine.
I pushed open the driver’s side door and grabbed my keys from the ignition, all the while not letting go of her.
“You can put me down,” she whispered as her hands gripped my shoulders tighter.
“No.” I stopped at my front door and pushed the key in the lock. “I don’t intend to put you down unless it’s on my bed.” I was being forward, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. I needed her more than anything else at that moment, and I wasn’t going to shy away from it.
Her small smile became bigger as I stepped inside and locked the door behind us. I didn’t bother to turn any of the lights on. I headed up the stairs and toward my room.
Aria rocked her hips against me, and I stumbled. “Fuck, baby.” She didn’t let up, not even when I placed her on the bed. “You’re a goddamn siren,” I told her, sucking against her neck and then licking to soothe the pain.
“Cade,” she groaned, and I pulled back to stare at her. Her dark-red hair was fanned out around her, and she looked like a fuckin’ angel. Her chest heaved with each breath, and the dip in her dress pulled down just enough so I could see her cleavage.
I reached for the bottom of my T-shirt and pulled it over my head, loving the way her eyes drank me in. Her small hand reached for me as she sat up, and the pads of her fingers ran down the contours of my abs.
“You like that?” I asked her, backing away a little so I could stand.
She shuffled down the bed so she was right on the edge. “I do.” She flattened her palm and whispered it up to my chest, standing as she did. Her hand stopped over my fast-beating heart as she looked up at me. “Show me, Cade.” She pressed her lips to my chest, and my nostrils flared. “Show me how much you want me right now.”
She didn’t need to ask me twice. I wanted her more than anything I’d ever had, and I was going to show her just how much.
I drifted the pad of my finger across her collarbone, down between her breasts, and gripped the zipper that held her dress onto her body. My fingers shook as I started to pull it down, exposing more of her creamy skin. I’d never been nervous, but she was making my emotions go haywire.
My other hand pushed her hair aside, and once the zipper was completely undone, I pushed the straps off her shoulders and relished in the way the material fell off her body.
“Fuck. Me.” I pulled in a breath as I stared down at her, enthralled with the way her waist dipped in and the curve of her hips. But it was her bare chest that had my full attention.
I dipped down and placed a kiss to each of her nipples, then licked from her breastbone, all the way to her belly button, and kneeled down in front of her. The edge of her light-pink panties called to me, and I closed my teeth over the edge.
“Cade.” Her voice was nothing but a breathy moan, and when I looked up at her and placed my hands on either side of her hips, I knew I’d never be the same after this. She was burrowing her way into my heart, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.