Page 29 of Chaos & Carnage
“The glue they use in hospitals is just super glue, anyway. No different. I’ve an unopened pack. It’ll be sterile. Promise.”
Cade relaxed his fingers, letting my arm slip from his grip, and I twisted away to rummage through a drawer in the kitchen till I found what I needed.
“Ok, nice and still,” I muttered as I settled against him again. “Don’t want to glue your eye shut by mistake.”
“Wait. What?”
“Kidding. I’m Kidding. Done this plenty of times. Well, not eyebrows, but I’m forever gluing up bites. I don’t do hospitals either. Here, hold the strips.”
He laughed, deep and throaty, the vibrations rolling off his chest over me, even though we weren’t touching. Which was good, because he’d relaxed and now I could get a good nip of his skin to push the ends together into the blob of superglue.
“Shit. That stings like a bitch,” he complained, half pulling away.
“Just stay still a few more seconds,” I coaxed, holding the wound together with the fingers of one hand while I peeled the steri-strips from where Cade held onto them a little too tightly. “There, all done,” I said, pulling the last of the little white strips into place.
I took a half step backwards, my eyes dropping from where I’d been concentrating on his eyebrow and catching the greens of his staring up at me. Even with the swelling starting around his face, he was still stunning. The face of an angel. His blond hair swept over his head, only one strand straying and dropping across his forehead. His smile dissolved, a sternness on his face I had never seen before, a storm in his eyes, a darkness chasing away the mischievousness I was used to. My stomach tightened. A warning. A deep, delicious, warning.
Retreating further, I took another step away, watching his head tilt to the side. I should have kept going, put some distance between us, because this was probably highly inappropriate between a vet and their client. Highly. Inappropriate. His fingers slid around my waist, my skin shivering at his touch even over the thin scrubs I wore. Move back. Move back. But my body wouldn’t listen, and even the warning from the most sensible part of me was weak. Too weak, as his fingers tightened on my waist, and he nudged me towards him. Not a pull, no force, and the opportunity I had to move out from his grip was there, all there. And I ignored it.
Cade’s eyes never left mine as he pulled me closer until I was back between his legs, the push of his thighs on mine. He hadn’t shaved today, a thin covering of blond stubble covering his lower cheeks and his chin, the tiny indent more visible as he stared up at me. The hint of ruggedness against the angelic sculpture of his face. A specimen of perfection apart from the split in his eyebrow, there wasn’t a blemish, a spot, a layer of uneven skin. Cade was perfect.
His fingers wound up my back, feeling over thin clothes, just a little pressure to pull me closer. And now his eyes danced over my face, like he was examining every little freckle, every tiny, tired line that marked my skin.
“Take your top off, Alice,” he whispered, his voice low, his eyes capturing mine.
“I…what?”
“Take your top off.” There was no mistaking the command in his tone this time.
I should slap him. Tell him to get out. But I didn’t. I just stood, staring down at him, still not sure I had heard him properly.
“I only ever see you in these green things,” Cade plucked at the green top I wore over my thin long-sleeved t-shirt.
He pushed to his feet, moving into the space I’d been trying to create, his fingers tugging upwards on the green polyester. It lifted, pulling the top underneath with it, but not quite taking it off. His arm wrapped around me again, stopping any escape I’d had, and warm, rough pads smoothed over my lower back, leaving prickles of excited skin everywhere his fingers moved. I shivered.
“You cold, Al?” Cade pushed my chin upwards with the crook of a forefinger.
I bit my lip and shook my head, taking a moment to swallow the pressure in my throat before answering. “Just a shiver.”
Cade’s face moved closer, millimetres from mine, his scent surrounding me. Clean leather, mint, and light sweet and spicy aftershave. His aftershave was always light, just there in the background, never detracting from the smell of something that was just him.
“I want to see you shiver some more, babe,” his voice lowered, deeper, slower, his lips almost brushing mine as he spoke.
He dropped the hand on my back, a finger teasing around the waistband of the green trousers I wore.
“Let me see you shiver,” he spoke against me again, and it took every bit of tired energy I had not to succumb to his words, and his voice, the low commands in them making my insides clench.
And just as I thought I’d taken back control, the finger on my chin moved, his hand sweeping across my neck and lower jaw, spanning out in my hair, a careful kiss over my lips, and then on my jawline. Cade pushed his head lower, his lips travelling over my neck, a nibble of skin making me suck in air, a touch of his lips, a swipe of his tongue, and a low hum from my throat.
“That’s not a shiver, Alice. I want that shiver.” His voice vibrated against my throat and inside I shivered, deep and resonating all the way to my toes.
Cade pushed my head back with his thumb, exposing more of my neck, the tip of his nose brushing the skin, pushing into me, hot breath tickling at the skin he’d stretched out. Then his lips caught my flesh, and his teeth scraped over the vein in my neck, and this time I did shiver, the movement wracking my body, his hand tightening against my back, pulling my neck onto his mouth.
“Good girl, Al,” he whispered, his words caressing and teasing, his tongue lingering over the spot where my heart was trying to break free from.
He pushed against my neck, kissing and licking and sucking, driving a deep, heavy pressure into me. I needed to make him stop, because the flesh he plucked and sucked would be marked. But I didn’t push him away or try to break free. Instead, my fingers felt over his t-shirt, over the hard muscle I’d felt the other night.
“Steady Al,” he breathed those words against my neck as I pressed my fingers under his t-shirt. “I don’t know if I can stop this time. Don’t push me to that line if you don’t want me to cross it.”