The back of my legs met cool stone, and he deposited me on the marble island, finally breaking the kiss. He pressed his forehead to mine, still holding me tightly, both of us trying to catch our breath.
“I see you.” Those same words he’d said to me during the fireworks, spoken with rough insistency, made my stomach flip, and I shivered in his arms as his hot breath fanned across my skin.
He ran his hands up my back, sliding into my hair, his lips brushing against mine, his words stealing the breath from my lungs.
“Only you, Snowflake. No one else compares.”
It was around four in the morning when the party ended. People were crashed out everywhere, all over the house—chairs, floors, beds, anywhere there was space. Zayde and Weston had both disappeared, and I’d ended up back outside on the deck with a small group of people—me, Cade, Cass, two guys from uni, both named Mark (yeah, a little confusing, but on the plus side it was easy to remember their names), and four girls—two of whom were currently draped all over Cassius. Cannabis smoke hung thick and heavy in the air, and rain fell steadily around us, beating a soft, hypnotic rhythm on the roof that covered the decking. The area was illuminated by a string of fairy lights which cast a soft glow around the space, and the boys had turned on the patio heaters which were keeping the chill from the air.
I was snuggled into a large recliner with Caiden, one of the fluffy blankets covering our legs. We passed a joint back and forth while we chilled with our friends, the conversation laid-back and flowing. It was so good to be able to be with Caiden again, to be close to him, to not have to keep my distance. None of these people would be bothered about us being together, and I was making the most of it.
Cade took a large hit of the joint, pulling my head towards him. He exhaled against my lips, sending the smoke into my mouth, following it with a soft bite to my lower lip. I smiled up at him, completely relaxed in his arms.
“You must have a magical pussy to tie down Cavendish,” one of the Marks commented, staring at me through glassy, heavy-lidded eyes.
“I guess you’ll never know.” I shrugged, feeling Caiden stiffen behind me, starting to lean forward.
“Leave it.” I twisted to face him. “We’re all pretty wasted.”
He looked down at me, frowning. “No. I—”
It was my turn to shut him up with a kiss. He growled in frustration but eventually kissed me back. I rolled my tongue against his, tasting whiskey and weed, a combination which somehow worked, or at least it did after the amount of weed and alcohol I’d already ingested.
He finally pulled back from me, muttering, “Good thing I like you so much.” His jaw was still set, but his gaze softened as his eyes met mine.
“The feeling’s mutual.” I passed him the remainder of the joint. “Not that you needed me to tell you that.”
He exhaled, smoke curling through the air, before he flicked the end off the decking into the wet grass, then turned back to me. “I did. I’ve been without you too fucking long.”
Smiling, I shook my head but said the words he wanted to hear. “I like you, Caiden Cavendish. A lot.” I took a deep breath, coming as close as I’d let myself to admitting how strong my feelings for him were. “More than a lot, actually. And I’m beyond glad that you got everything straight in your head. This night ended up way better than I’d imagined.”
“Yeah, it did end up being pretty fucking epic.” He grinned, his frustration forgotten. “Tell me again what you said about liking me more than a lot?”
“Stop it!” I buried my face in his chest, my cheeks hot. It had been hard enough to say it the first time.
“Say it again.”
“No.” I kept my face hidden.
Leaning down, he gripped my jaw, angling my head so he could press his mouth to my ear. He breathed out, and flutters of sensation danced across my skin, then licked across the shell, sending shivers through my body.
His voice was a whispered rasp, but I heard it as clearly as if he’d shouted it.
“I like you more than a lot, too.”
EIGHTEEN
It took the whole morning to clear the remaining partygoers out of the house and then put the house back in order. All on about three hours’ sleep. The boys called the cleaning agency, who sent two cleaners over to help, okay, to do 90 percent of the clean-up, reiterating that they needed to be paid double for working on a Sunday. Weston and Cassius had disappeared earlier, giving Lena a lift home, then Weston was collecting a package from one of his mysterious web contacts. It all sounded a bit odd; he was picking it up from the lockers that were held in the local train station—they were the type that you could have packages delivered to from various couriers, and you’d be given a passcode so you could collect your items. Still, I got the need for secrecy, and the fact that these guys could never risk showing their faces, thanks to their activities being highly illegal for the most part.
I’d called Kinslee to see if she was free, and I was finally getting a chance to sit down, now she’d arrived. We were currently curled up on the sofas in the huge lounge, drinking hot chocolate while I ran through the events of the previous night. I’d missed not having her around, and I had so much to catch her up on.
“That’s a lot to process.” Kinslee stared at me when I finally ran out of steam, tucking a strand of caramel hair behind her ear and picking up her hot chocolate. She blew across the top of the mug, dispersing the steam, then took a tiny sip. “Mmm. So good.” Cradling the mug in her hands, she sat in silence for a moment, taking the time to go through everything I’d told her.
“First of all, have you checked your phone today?”
I shook my head. “I’ve hardly had time to think, what with trying to clear out the house, sorting breakfast for about thirty people, and cleaning up. My poor phone has been very neglected. All our phones have, for that matter. We’ve been too busy.”
“Check it.” She looked at me expectantly, and I picked up my phone from the coffee table, where it was lying next to Caiden and Zayde’s phones, unlocking it and scrolling through my social media.