Defy Fate (Fated Duet 1)

Neither of us looked away, and I didn’t pull my fingers back. Part of me wanted him to let the clothes go and leave the room, and the other part of me wanted him to hook his finger over mine and pull me toward him. But we couldn’t do that. We could never do that. Right?

I moved forward and brought my legs off the side of the bed to stand, but still, he didn’t back away. Without the boots on, I only came up to the middle of his chest, tiny compared to him, but I kind of loved that. I liked the fact that if he wanted to, he could cocoon me in his arms and—

What the hell was I thinking?

“Thanks,” I finally said, and he shook his head at the sound of my voice, almost as if he was bringing himself out of a daze.

“Welcome.” He backed up a step. “Shower is in there. Towels are on the rail.”

“Got it.”

He nodded and exited without saying another word, and I was left standing in the middle of his room, feeling like a fool. I reasoned the only thing that would make me feel better was hot water against my skin and a tube of toothpaste in my mouth. So I did precisely that. I stepped into his newly tiled bathroom—at least I assumed that was why there were still tools in here—and under the huge showerhead.

The water rained down on me like a waterfall, at just the right temperature, and I was debating whether to come here every couple of days just to have a shower. I didn’t think twice about washing my hair, not caring if it dried a frizzy mess.

Once I was out of the shower and dressed in Cade’s T-shirt and my jeans from last night, I sat on the edge of his bed and took a second. I needed to get all my thoughts in order. It was one thing sleeping in his bed at Uncle Brody and Lola’s house, but it was something totally different being in this room.

The air smelled like him, and the little knickknacks dotted on his chest of drawers were calling to me. I wanted to investigate more of his personal space, intrigued by what he liked and didn’t like. The front door clicking closed had me jumping off the bed, afraid he could hear my thoughts from downstairs.

“Aria?” Cade shouted.

“Coming!” I grabbed my cell and my top from last night, then walked down the stairs and toward the smell of bacon.

Cade’s back was to me as he stood in the kitchen, plating whatever he’d bought. “I hope you still like bacon,” he said, not even looki

ng over his shoulder. He could sense I was here, and I wasn’t sure why it unnerved me the way it did.

“I do.” I walked forward, spotting my jacket hung over the back of one of the barstools.

Cade spun around and placed two plates on the counter, but I didn’t miss the way his gaze settled on my chest. His T-shirt was way too big for me, but I’d tied it at my waist. The soft, gray material cocooned my skin, and I couldn’t deny that I never wanted to take it off.

“OJ?”

“Please,” I answered him, my voice rougher than usual. I wasn’t sure whether it was his dark-blue eyes that was causing it or all the alcohol from last night.

He tilted his head at the two plates on the counter, so I stepped forward and pulled myself up onto one of the barstools. I was glad I’d had a shower and found a spare toothbrush because the thought of sitting this close to him unwashed after last night wasn’t appealing.

I dug into the bacon and pancakes on my plate, already knowing he’d gotten it from Sal’s. I could taste a Sal pancake from a mile away.

“You went to Sal’s?” I asked as Cade sat down beside me. There was only a couple of inches of space between us, and I looked down at the gap with a swallow. One move and his thigh would be pressed against mine.

“Yep.” He took a swig of his juice. “I didn’t tell them you were here, though. I assumed your mom would think you stayed at Hope’s.”

I was silent for a couple of minutes, working my way through the food and already feeling better for it. “And Hope?”

“I messaged her from your cell.” Cade turned his face to stare at me. “She was blowing up your cell, and you wouldn’t wake up.”

“Good job I don’t have a passcode on it then, huh?”

Cade shrugged. “I’d have guessed it anyway. You’re pretty predictable.”

“Oh yeah?” I placed my knife and fork on the edge of the plate, not able to eat another bite. “Let’s test that theory.”

Cade laughed and spun on his stool, causing his legs to sit either side of me. I didn’t know whether he was unaware or just didn’t care. “Go on then.”

I pulled my cell out and clicked on to have a passcode then handed it to him. “Try to crack that—” He handed my cell back to me, having guessed the correct passcode. “How the hell…”

“Your birthday. Easy. Everyone uses their birthday.”