Page 280 of Blackwood

This dance is usually split between me, Ellie, and Haley—rotating through the chair, switching places, building tension. But today? It’s just me. One queen. One chair. One man. I adjust on the fly improvise the gaps, slide into every beat.

The music pulses, the bass drops, and I sink onto Cade’s lap. I straddle him slow, one hand dragging up his chest, the other threading through his hair just to tug. A teasing little pull. He leans back and lets me, smiling like the smug bastard he is. I stare straight into those hazel eyes.

“Damn, sweetheart,” he breathes, low and rough, “I missed you.”

I slide off him like liquid silk, letting the next part of the routine take over. It’s flirtatious and filthy—hips rolling, fingers dragging down my own body, teasing him, teasing the whole crowd. They eat it up.

Cade just licks his lips, soaking it all in like I’m his personal religion. God, the way he looks at me like I’m still whole. Like I never broke.

I strut back over and sink down onto Cade again, grinding to the final beat. The Trifecta’s no touching rule? Yeah, not happening. Cade’s hands are on me the whole time, palms sliding up my thighs and fingers tracing my waist.

When he runs his hand down my spine, I arch. Goosebumps erupt across my skin. He laughs. That cocky, low laugh I forgot I loved so much.

I’ve missed my guys. Their hands, their heat, the way they orbit me like I’m their sun.

I’ve missed this too. The music. The movement. The way the bass crawls under my skin and rewires everything I thought I couldn’t feel. The way the beat takes over, louder than my thoughts, steadier than my heartbeat.

The song ends, but he doesn’t let me go. He pulls me in, slow and steady, like I’m something sacred. And when his lips find mine, it’s soft and sweet. That low, burning ache we never really lost. Like his mouth remembers every version of me it’s ever kissed.

I smile against his lips. “So, should I just sit here a minute, you know…” I drag one finger down his chest, stopping just above his belt, “…until you cool down?”

He grabs my hand, heat flaring in his eyes. “Sweetheart,” he rasps, “you are going to be the death of me.”

“I love you, Cade.”

“I love you more, Bella.”

Knox’s voice crackles over the mic, grinning. “Whew! Somebody remind me what the hell happened to the no-touching rule?” The crowd laughs. “Damn, Bella… that was hot.”

Knox runs his hands through his hair. “And Cade, you might want to just sit there for a little bit, buddy.”

Chapter 76

LEX

Wexley University - hard as granite after watching Bella ride Cade…

63 Days Since Henry’s Death

Cade drops back into the seat next to me, breathless and flushed, hair a mess from Bella’s hands. He’s got that dazed, lovesick look on his face and I can’t even blame him.

I nudge his knee. “You good?”

He lets out a low laugh, still catching his breath. “Barely.”

I flash a wolfish grin. “You looked like you were thoroughly enjoying yourself.”

“Yeah, thanks for that.” His grin fades into something softer. “Lex… I think she’s back.”

That gets my attention. I turn fully toward him. “You think?”

He nods, eyes still on the court. “The way she looked at me. The way she moved. That little smirk she gave right before she climbed onto my lap. That was her, babe. That was our girl.”

I take a deep breath, watching Bella reset with the rest of Legacy for the next number. She’s laughing with Ellie, tossing her hair over her shoulder. There’s a glint in her eyes I haven’t seen in too damn long.

“I don’t know. It could just be the dancing. She always lights up when the music hits.”

“It’s more than that,” Cade says, squeezing my thigh. “She didn’t just perform. She played with me. With the crowd. She was teasing, flirting, confident as hell. That spark in her eyes, it wasn’t fake.”