Ride Me Sweetheart

“I said Godzilla dick—as in you’re being a dick.”

“Red,” he growls, saying nothing else. I sigh out, knowing he’s not going to let this drop.

“Okay fine, maybe we’re really good together.” Cade snorts—loudly. “But you’re leaving town and even if you weren’t, I am.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” My head snaps around when Larry enters into the conversation. Shit. This wasn’t exactly how I wanted Larry to know.

“I was going to tell you, Larry. I wanted to like it here, I really did…”

“What the hell is wrong with Sweetheart?” Larry growls.

“Nothing. It’s just not what I’m looking for,” I answer honestly. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d have left a lot sooner.”

“You could always come to Stillwater. Fuck, you could live in my house. I’m always at the club,” Larry says, but I’m already shaking my head no.

“I tried that before, remember? All those chicks trying to be my best friend because they wanted to be the prez’s old lady.”

“Finley—” Larry starts, but I shake my head.

“I can’t stay,” I tell him, and even I can hear the sadness in my voice. “This isn’t it, Larry.”

“What’s that mean?” Cade asks when Larry and I remain silent, just staring at one another.

“Finley has this idea that she’s just going to travel around until she finds somewhere that feels like home,” Larry rumbles, sounding disgusted.

“And that’s not Colorado, Larry. I’ve tried it a couple of times now.”

“Works for me. You can come to Kentucky with me. You’ll like it,” Cade says and for a second, I feel like I can’t breathe.

“Ex…Excuse me?” I whisper, talking almost impossible.

“You and me. We’ll go to Kentucky. You’ll like it there. It will feel like home.”

“How in the hell would you know that?” I ask him, exasperated.

“Because I’m there, Red and we belong together.”

“We belong together,” I repeat, stunned beyond words.

“That’s what I said.”

“We belong together,” I repeat, not really listening to him at this point.

“Red—”

“We belong together,” I say, yet again.

“She’s going to blow,” Weasel murmurs.

“We belong together.” My words are shriller this time and I can hear Larry laughing. I yank out of Cade’s lap—which isn’t easy because he’s holding me to him. “Are you deranged? Are you mentally unstable?” I growl, my voice stronger, fueled by equal portions of disbelief, anger and panic.

“And there she goes,” Weasel whispers.

“Are we going to have to go upstairs and sort your shit out again, Red?”

“You are completely insane!”

“Looks like that answer is yes,” he murmurs.

“The answer is you’re nuts. I can’t move to Kentucky with you. We don’t even know one another!”

“I think last night proved you’re lying, Red.”

“That was sex! You can’t expect me to move to Kentucky for the mere reason that we’re good at fucking!”

“I’ve had a lot of sex, Red. That’s not all we shared. And I’d say we were better than good—a fuck of a lot better,” he says and immediately I just want to cry.

“Fine,” I whisper, unable to hold onto my temper, which is not my normal. I can nurse my temper for a really long time. But, right now, I don’t want to. I’m hurting, because Cade is sitting in front of me, offering me something that is impossible—no matter how much I want it. And I do want it. Which makes me mad at myself. “It was better than good. It was phenomenal. It was unlike anything I knew could exist. Fucking angels wept,” I admit loudly.

“Christ, I don’t think I need to hear this,” Larry snaps.

“But as fucking unbelievable as it was, it was still just sex, Cade. We can’t plan a future together on just that.”

“I’ve known people plan one on a lot less, sweetheart.”

“He’s a got a point,” Larry says.

“Mm-hmm,” Weasel hums, but I ignore them both. My gaze is trained on Cade. He’s staring at me, waiting, making me want to throat punch him.

“Maybe we can try a long-distance relationship until we figure out whatever is between us,” I compromise, desperate for some kind of sign that we’re on the same page.

I should have known better.

“I already know what’s between us and you do too, Red—even if you want to deny it. There’s no ending this. I’m your man, you’re my old lady. That’s just the facts and there’s no running from it.”

My eyes dilate, and I don’t know, but I have to wonder if I don’t have steam coming from my ears.

He’s driving me mad. I wonder how he would like it if the roles were reversed. With that in mind, I decide to call his bluff.

“Fine. If you truly believe that, Cade, I’ll stay in Colorado and you move here.”

“Fine,” he says at once.

I blink. What in the hell is his game now?

“You’ll move here? Just like that?” I ask, and I refuse to acknowledge the hope that’s trying to claw its way inside of me. “Leave your home, your club, everything, to come live with a woman you don’t even truly know?”