Defy Fate (Fated Duet 1)

“Next week,” I told her. “Next week, me and you, movie night at my place.”

“Yeah?” Her lips pulled up into a smile.

“Yeah.”

“Awesome!” She high-fived me, and I blinked. We never high-fived. “I’m gonna go sort my life out. Catch you later?”

“You betcha.” I watched as she walked down the hall, waited a second, and then spun around. Cade’s office wasn’t far from this part of the school, so I made it there within a couple of minutes, which would give us twenty minutes until the bell rang for class.

I stopped outside his office. The door was closed, and I wondered if he’d left in the time it took me to get here. What if he was busy and didn’t want to see me? What if—I shook my head. There was no point in me wondering about the what-ifs. I needed to stop overthinking and knock on the door.

Pulling in a deep breath to try and calm myself, I knocked. “Come in!” his gruff voice shouted, so I slowly opened up the door. Cade was staring down at something on his desk, a frown on his face. I stayed silent, waiting for him to look up at me as I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

All of his blinds were closed, so not an ounce of sunlight streamed in the room. The only window not covered was the one on his door, so I slowly turned around and pulled the blind down, then leaned my back against it.

Cade still wasn’t looking my way, but the longer I stared at him, the shallower my breaths became. He had on his shirt and pants, the top button of the shirt undone and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showcasing his tattoos.

He finally glanced up, his gaze landing right on mine. “Aria.” The way his tongue rolled over the letters in my name had my eyes closing, and when I opened them back up, he was leaning back in his chair.

My hand fumbled behind me to find the lock, and the click of it rang out in the room. His nostrils flared at the sound—his body knew what was going to happen. I pushed off the door, let my bag drop to the floor, and sauntered over to him. He watched each one of my steps with rapt attention, and when I was in touching distance, he reached out for me. I went willingly, not able to deny him. I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to deny him.

“I fuckin’ missed touchin’ you, baby.”

I groaned as his hands gripped my waist, his fingers curling underneath the edge of my T-shirt. “Me too,” I murmured, and pushed my hand through his hair. His head was level with my chest, but he kept his gaze fixated on my eyes. He didn’t look away once as his hands pushed higher, taking my T-shirt with them.

We’d kissed and got a little hot and heavy, but we’d never gone any further than that. Today, though…today I wanted to beg him to touch me in places no one ever had.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” he told me, dragging my T-shirt over my chest. I lifted my arms for him to pull it over my head. I lost sight of his eyes for a second, but as soon as he threw my T-shirt on the floor, I looked back at him.

“I know,” I told him, resisting the urge to cover my chest. The black lace bra was covering half of my breasts, but I knew he could see my nipples through the thin material.

“Tell me to stop,” Cade pleaded, his thumbs reaching for my nipples. I groaned as they made contact. “Tell me, Aria. Tell me to stop.”

“I can’t,” I whispered, pushing closer to him.

“Fuck.” He stood so quickly it made my head spin. “Why can’t I resist you?” He didn’t want an answer, and even if he did, I couldn’t give him one. I had no idea why my heart beat faster around him. I had no idea why the thought of him never touching me again made me feel like I would break apart into a thousand tiny pieces.

Cade reached around me, and I widened my eyes as he shoved all the papers off his desk and then placed me on it. He pushed between my legs, his lips connecting with my exposed shoulder. I let my head drop to the side as he trailed a path up my neck. He waited a heartbeat, and then slammed his lips against mine.

My stomach dipped and my legs wrapped around his waist, unable to resist touching him. I groaned when his hand reached behind me and undid my bra, then grasped his hair tighter as he pulled his lips off mine and moved to my nipples. He pulled one into his mouth, flicking his tongue over it as he ran his thumb over the other one.

All too quickly he was pulling back, leaving my chest heaving. He didn’t take his eyes off me as he backed away a step, taking his fill. “I need to touch you.” It was part statement, part plea, and there was no way I would deny him.

The bell rang out for the next class, but neither of us moved to exit. Instead, Cade undid the next button on his shirt. My stomach dipped at each one being undone, and when it was finally completely open, he yanked it off and threw it on the floor next to my T-shirt.

“I don’t have a class,” he told me, stepping back between my legs and reaching for my jeans. “But even if I did, there’s no way I’d walk away from you right now.” His one hand trailed up my stomach and between my breasts, stopping on the side of my neck. “No way in hell.”

I gulped as he fingers pulled down the zipper of my jeans, and choked on a breath as his hand pushed beneath my panties.

“Cade,” I moaned. “I’ve never been touched—”

“I know, baby.” He pushed against me, making my back hit his desk. “And that just turns me on even fuckin’ more.”

My back bowed as he ran his finger through my slit, hitting the bundle of nerves I was sure would make me explode within a second. His lips trailed over my breast and moved back to my nipple, lapping at it.

“Fuck, Cade, I can’t…”

“Mmmm, say that again, baby.”