My face heated up, and I took another step back. “We can catch up later,” I murmured.
Cane was still staring at the man. I turned and walked away, but heard Cane say, “Stop fucking staring at her,” when I was halfway down the hallway.
“You date her?” the man asked.
“She’s my friend’s daughter,” he snapped. “How much are you gonna run me? I need the light fixed by this weekend.”
I didn’t hear much after that.
I took a quick swim and felt eyes on me again about ten minutes later. Cane was standing on the deck with his arms folded, aviator sunglasses covering his eyes, and his brows dipped.
“What is he fixing?” I asked.
“The chandelier in my living room.” His forehead creased even more. “Why are you here, Kandy?” He took a step forward and I swam to his end of the pool.
“I’m swimming, Cane. You said I could use the pool whenever I wanted.”
He pressed his lips and shook his head.
I went for the stairs and walked up, going for my towel on the wicker chair. I could feel him watching me the whole time. “Can I use your shower?” I asked.
He bobbed his head. “You already know you can. Just do me a favor this time and don’t walk around half naked.”
“Possessive much?” I grabbed my bag and walked past him to get to the door. “It would be better if you joined me.”
“Go shower,” he snapped, and I turned, fighting a smile as I made my way to the staircase. I went to the guest bathroom and took a hot shower, then brushed my hair into a low ponytail. When I was downstairs again, the man who was working on the chandelier was nowhere to be found. Cane was sitting in front of the desk in his office on the first floor, typing away.
“Emails?”
“Yes,” he answered absently.
I placed my bag beside the recliner and walked to the stool that was beside the desk, taking the seat. I knew I was distracting him. I didn’t care. All I kept thinking about was the time he called me a brat, yet he fed into my spoiled ways constantly. God, I needed to get over myself, but I couldn’t help it around Cane. He made me feel innocent and irresistible at the same time.
“Why can’t you give me what I want?” I asked, and he immediately stopped typing, swinging his eyes over to mine.
“I’m not in the mood for this right now.”
“Well, I need an honest answer. Right now is the perfect time, Cane. My parents are going to be gone for eight days. I’ll be nineteen in September, and in two weeks I’ll be in college. I’m an adult, and they won’t have a clue what I’m up to.”
He didn’t say anything. The clicking of the keyboard filled the void.
I huffed hard then looked past him, out of the window where men were cutting grass and trimming hedges on his front lawn.
“You asked me what I wanted for a going-away gift. You said it didn’t matter what I asked for, you would give it to me.” That caught his attention, and he stopped typing, but kept his eyes on the screen. I leaned forward. “I want this, Cane. I don’t want anyone else to have it but you. Shouldn’t that make you happy? Shouldn’t that please you?”
He made a noise, but it got stuck in his throat.
“I will never ask for anything again, I swear. We can do it once, and that’s it. I’ll never beg you like this ever again, Cane.” He finally met my eyes, and to my surprise, his were sympathetic.
He was quiet for several seconds, pulling his hands away from the laptop. “Godammit.” With a sigh, he sat back in his chair, shutting his eyes and squeezing the bridge of his nose. “Fine, Kandy.” He dropped his hand and said, “Okay. I’ll give you what you want.”
“Really?” My heart sped up several notches. I couldn’t fight my smile.
“I’ll be at my lake house this weekend for a short getaway to catch up on some work. I’m leaving Friday. You can come with me.”
“Oh my God! Seriously?” I hopped off the stool and dropped on his lap, which caused him to grunt lightly. I kissed him everywhere—his forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin. “Thank you!”
He had no idea how ecstatic I was. Friday was three days away. This would be happening soon. Holy shit.
“A lake house?” I asked.
“In North Carolina,” he answered, and I noticed a hint of a smile on his lips. Was it because I kissed him? Did kissing him all over make him feel good?
A lake house meant we’d have a water view. It sounded romantic already.
“I’ll give you what you want, but I want you to realize something,” he started.
“What?”
“After we do this, that’s it. It’s over. I can’t keep doing this behind Derek’s back, and I don’t want to ruin you.”