Page 158 of Blackwood

We hear footsteps down the hall.

And Cade walks in.

Chapter 48

CADE

Our apartment

659 Days Since Zeke’s Death

The second I get to our bedroom, I see them tangled in each other like a painting that’s been waiting to be finished. Bella. Lex. Bare skin and flushed cheeks. Her hair is a mess. Their lips red. The kind of red that only comes from kissing too hard, too deep, too real.

Bella’s eyes go wide. “Cade?”

Lex moves instantly, rolling over her, instinctive as hell, arm slung across her stomach like a shield, jaw locked like he’s bracing for a bullet. He grabs the edge of the sheet and yanks it up, hiding their naked bodies like I haven’t already memorized every fucking inch of both of them.

His back is tense. Shoulders drawn tight. Muscles coiled like a goddamn wire about to snap.

I stand there, pulse hammering in my ears and force the words out through the static.

“I’m sorry,” I manage, voice rough. “I should’ve called.”

Lex sits up some more, still holding the sheet around Bella. “This is your home, Cade. You never have to call.”

His eyes meet mine. No judgment or anger, only depth. The kind that saysI still want you here.

I look at Bella. She doesn’t say anything at first. Just clutches the sheet tighter against her chest, eyes searching mine like she’s not sure what I’ll do.

Neither am I.

Because I don’t just miss them. I love them. Both of them, more than I ever thought possible. And standing here now, seeing the way she melts into Lex, I know one thing for sure… if I walk away again, I won’t survive it.

“I think I should go,” her voice is soft, barely above a whisper.

“Fuck no, baby.”

I hold up a hand. “It’s okay. You don’t have to go.” My throat’s tight but I push through. “I’m glad you’re here. I…” The words stumble, useless.“…I wanted to see both of you.”

They’re still tangled in the aftermath, but all I can think about is how badly I want to be in that bed. Not watching. Not aching. With them. The way it was supposed to be.

Bella moves first. She stands, wrapping the sheet around herself like armor, but it doesn’t hide much—loose, low, and barely hanging on. The kind of look that would’ve wrecked me couple months ago. Hell, it still does.

She walks away from the bed, leaving Lex exposed. He doesn’t move. Just leans back on one arm, chest rising and falling, eyes locked on her like she’s the only thing keeping him breathing.

She turns and walks toward me. There’s a lump in my throat that just wont go away. She stops inches from me, clutching the sheet to her chest, hands shaking like she’s bracing for impact. Like I’m the one holding the grenade.

Her eyes meet mine, storm and glass. She’s scared. Of me. Of what I’ll say. Of whether I’ll break her again. And it guts me, because once upon a time, before Lex, before everything, I was the one person she was never afraid of.

Now I’m the one she’s preparing to survive.

I don’t know what comes over me, but I say it anyway. “Hi, sweetheart.”

Her lip wobbles. She takes one huge breath, tears clinging to the corners of her eyes. And then she smiles. Hopeful, fragile, but still a smile, and fuck I almost fall to my knees right then and there.

“Hi,” she whispers.

Her voice punches the air out of my lungs. I take a small step forward, instinct kicking in, but she backs up. Just a step and it nearly kills me.