Kade's Game (24 page)

He rolls his eyes, not releasing his hold.

"Listen to yourself.  You sound crazy.  Raya is done.  Can't you see that?  Once they're done, they're done.  Trust me.  I know."

I really don't have time for a Dane Sterling revelation right now.

"What's going on?" Tag asks as he warily approaches, his eyes gauging my murderous glare focused on Dane.

"Take him home.  He needs to sober up," Dane says, releasing me at last.

"He hasn't had a drink," Tag drawls, tilting his head.

Dane laughs as he shakes his head.  "Then he needs to have one.  I've got shit to do."  He starts walking away, but then turns back.  "Don't come back to my club," he pointedly tells me, then disappears into the crowd.

Motherfucker.

"You just made the nicest guy I know pissed enough to kick you out of his club," Tag says in a breath of awe mixed with aggravation.

I shoulder by him as I call Josh, hoping he's still an ally.  By now, Raya has fled.  But he knows where she lives.

I was alone before, and it never bothered me.  In fact, I enjoyed my solitude.  Now, the silence is deafening, the house is depressing, and the days are filled with meaningless tasks I once enjoyed.  It's surreal how one person can change everything you knew about yourself.  And it's painful to know you lost the one thing worth waking up for.  I was hungry for life, needed to be successful.  Now all I can think about is the one thing I threw away, because nothing else seems important without her.

I may not deserve her, but I fucking need her.  She's crazy if she thinks this is over, because I can't let her go.  Not when I see how much she still wants me, too.

"You're kidding, right?" Josh answers.  "I give you what you need to find her, and you're calling me?"

I huff as we reach the outside, and Tag eyes me, probably wondering who I'm calling.

"Work is no longer an option.  I need her address."

His humorless laugh doesn't make me feel all warm and tingly.

"Forget it.  Even if I was stupid enough to give it to you, her dad would never let you across the threshold."

"I just need her address.  I saw her tonight, Josh.  She cried and argued that she wasn't good enough.  I didn't even have time to tell her what I had to say because she ran.  I need a chance to prove myself.  That's all I'm asking."

He groans as if he's considering it but not really wanting to betray his sister, so I push just a little harder.

"I love her, Josh."

He's completely silent for a minute, and finally his breath comes out harsh.

"Fine.  Fuck.  I'll text it to you.  Don't piss her dad off.  That's how those pictures of me circulated.  The one and only time I teased Raya—just like a big brother does—I paid dearly.  And he was still in prison at the time.  Imagine what he can do now.  I'm surprised he hasn't come after you yet.  She must have him really wrapped around her finger these days."

I feel a bit of relief.  As long as I can get past her dad, who I hope isn't even there, I can do this.

"Wait until tomorrow.  When Raya is upset, she doesn't listen.  She needs to cool down if your encounter didn't go so well tonight."

"I'll wait," I say too quickly, making it obvious what a lie it is.

"I know you will, because I'm not sending you the address until tomorrow.  Night, rich boy."

With that, the line goes dead.  Fucking suspense is killing me.  Now I have to wait.  Again.  Damn it.

Two vehicles in the driveway.  I don't recognize either of them, but that doesn't look good for me.  I'm sure her father is home.  Maybe Raya will take pity on me.

Taking in a deep breath, I knock on the door, preparing myself for the worst.

"Coming," a man yells, making me tense.

The door swings open to show a man who doesn't really look old enough to be Raya's father, but I see her in his eyes, which is what gives it away.  This is going to suck.

"Yes?" he asks, seeming impatient.

"I need to talk to Raya, please," I murmur, my sleep deprivation sucking the life out of my words.

"And you are?" he asks, but the narrowing of his eyes tells me he already knows.

"Kade Colton."

His jaw tenses as he glares at me, doing his best to intimidate me.

"I think you know by now she doesn't want to see you.  You should go and forget this address."

He starts to shut the door, but in a desperate maneuver, I shove my foot in its path, keeping the door wide.

"I really have to see her, Mr. Drivel.  It's
—"

"Capperton," he interrupts, seeming thoroughly offended. "It's Ray Capperton.  I don't use Drivel."

"Sorry," I say, biting back a grin.  Didn't realize the name was such a touchy subject.  "Mr. Capperton, I'd really like to have a chance to apologize.  Raya is wrong about us.  I—"

"You hurt her," he says honestly, not finishing my sentence the way I wanted to, but making it true nonetheless.  "She trusted you and you hurt her, because you, like all the other morons she meets, judged her based on
my
actions.  She's a good girl.  She has a heart like you'd never understand.  She's the most forgiving, understanding, and compassionate person I've ever known, and you hurt her.  She doesn't want to talk to you."

He might as well have stuck a hot knife right through my side.  I've already told myself I don't deserve to have her back, but hearing him lay it out... It sucks.

"I didn't judge her.  Mr. Capperton, I fucked up.  You don't understand.  If you'd just let me—"

"What?  Let you in?  Let you stalk my daughter more?  You're lucky I'm not calling the cops.  Believe it or not, I've actually got a few friends in that department.  You have your vineyard, your plans can move forward, and your life will be as fucking shiny as you like it.  You're the one who doesn't understand.

"You didn't fuck up because of what you said
once
.  It's what you've preached about.  Your life is supposed to be perfect.  You want that.  And you've made Raya feel as though she's inferior.  My daughter is a better person than you'll ever be.  Ever.  She doesn't deserve to feel as though she's a lesser person because of decisions I've made, because of the money she didn't have handed to her, or because of where she came from.

"She's strong, and you damn near broke her.  Now, go. The fuck.  Away."

He's so wrong about everything.  Except for Raya.  I once thought she was fragile, but she's not.  Not at all.  I'm far more breakable than she is.

Obviously I'm not getting past the seething father, so I retreat, allowing him to slam the door on me.  If no one lets me talk to her, I can't make it right.  Even if she refuses me, she deserves my strongest apology.

I stare at my one and only leafy option that towers above me.  There's a room with soft, pretty pink curtains that I can see from here, and a tree is beside it, even though it's a hell of a swing to make.  The damn top.  Always the top.

I'll never complain about things being too easy again.

I climb quickly, refusing to look down, and then I shimmy out onto the branch above the window until it starts to creak and bow.  With four large back-and-forth swings, I build the momentum needed to hurl myself toward the window.

I'm sure I look like a psychotic flying squirrel right now, but I don't care.  I scramble to grip the ledge, holding on as my body crashes against the side of the house, and then I quickly shove the window up with one hand, thankful it's not locked.  That thought never even crossed my mind.

Very ungracefully, I
thud
to the floor, and a groan crosses through my lips as I take a deep, much needed breath.  I hate trees.  I hate heights.  I hate myself for getting into this predicament.

Raya comes running in, stumbling to a halt when she sees me sprawled out on her floor.  No doubt I look five shades of insane right now.  Thank God her father isn't the one who came in.

"I knew you'd be on the top floor," I grumble, rubbing my side.

"Kade, are you crazy?" she yells in a whisper.

I shake my head as I stand up, calmly smoothing my clothes back into place, and then I walk over to the door to shut it, keeping myself between my girl and her escape.  Tears waver on her lids as she works hard to hold them back.

"Crazy?" I ask, my exhaustion weighing in. "Raya, I passed crazy a long damn time ago.  I've done everything I know to do.  I'm not letting you go.  I can't.  Not unless you can tell me you don't give a damn about me at all.  Can you do that?  Because judging by those tears in your eyes, you still want to be with me, but you're just too fucking stubborn to listen to me."

I step toward her, and she steps back, but I'm not giving up that easily.  She'll run out of room sometime.

"Your father is right.  You're so much better than me
—too good for me.  You're the most incredible person I could have ever found, and I'm the biggest jerk in the world."

Her eyes flick to the door, possibly hoping her father will barge in and save her.  By now he's heard me.  If he was coming, he'd already be here.  Something tells me I've proven to him how serious I am about her, considering the only way to get in here is that stupid
fucking tree.

"He didn't phrase it like that," she says, sounding breathy and so damn sexy.

I can't help but smile at the uncertainty in her eyes.  She's close to giving in to me.  She just doesn't know it yet.

"He should have," I say, taking another step, smirking when she steps back, matching the distance I closed.

"Please go, Kade," she says too softly, her eyes begging me more than her voice.

"Not this time, Raya.  Even if you forced me out, I wouldn't give up.  I'll jump from that fucking ridiculously scary tree everyday if you make me.  Just try to leave the window up for me from now on.  It's hard to hang on and force a window up."

I grin, but nothing about me feels playful right now.  I've needed her for too long.  She doesn't speak, so I trudge on, pouring my soul out.

"You don't feel like you're good enough, and that doesn't make a damn bit of sense to me.  I couldn't give a fuck about your father or what he did.  I wouldn't give a damn if you had done the same thing," I promise, finally breaking through to her.

Her eyes soften as she stares at me with wavering strength.  Another piece of this wall between us breaks in front of my eyes, and I step closer.

"My father is a con.  Even if he's not out conning the world the way he used to, his past will haunt you just as it does me.  No one in this society will ever back you if you have me and my reputation tethered to you," she says, reminding me how much I've failed to show her my feelings toward her.  "They'll whisper, gossip, and run your name through the ground.  Just like they did mine back home.  It'll catch up with me here.  I'm sure Courtney is already spreading the word.  You need to
—"

"I need to be with you.  That's all I need.  My father's name holds more weight in this town than Courtney's or her family's.  Even if it didn't, so what.  I don't care what anyone thinks.  I've spent my life worrying about the opinions everyone else has.  I've spent too much time playing some stupid, elaborate game that I don't care about anymore.  I was hooked.  That's all.

"I was hooked on the game—just like your dad, Raya.  I'm nothing more than a con.  I don't have a single genuine friend outside my family.  I realized that almost as soon as you left.  I'm the one people should look down on.  I'm the one who could tarnish your name.  But I won't be this way anymore.  Fuck it all.  I want real friends—people who are there for me when I need them, just like my family.  Just like you were."

Tears trickle down her cheeks as she stares up at me, seeming immobile.  I close the distance between us, and reach out for her the second I'm close enough.  One of my hands finds her cheek, and the other tugs at her waist.

"You were all I wanted to see when Granddad went into the hospital, and you came. Even after all I did, you came.  After the way I treated you, you risked it all to help me.  I lost more than my girlfriend when I pushed you away.  I lost the only friend I had ever made on my own.  I don't want to lose you, Raya.  I can't.  I'm not hooked on the game anymore.  I'm simply hooked on you.  I love you," I murmur softly, not caring how pathetic I sound as I brush my lips against hers, leaving her with the choice to push for more.

Everything in me boils to perfection when her arms wrap around my neck and pull me closer, and then her lips part in invitation.  Her soft tongue presses against mine, sending a powerful shot I can feel all the way to my toes, among other places.

Her fingers thread through my hair as the sound of the front door shutting is followed by a car cranking and leaving.  That brings a smile to my face, because now I have her all to myself.

The reunion gets heated and intense when I rip open the button to her shorts.  Her tongue grows more demanding and greedier, toying with the bar in my tongue as she reacquaints herself.  Then she pushes her shorts down, taking her panties with them, and I pick her up, stifling a moan when her legs wrap around my waist, letting me feel her wet heat.

Damn, I've missed her.

The panting headiness in the room is enough to make me lose control, and then she strips off her shirt, making it even harder.  No bra.  I've really missed her.

She tugs my shirt off, but I never let her go.  I kick off my jeans and boxers, and push her against the wall, not hesitating to push inside her, finding the home I've been missing.  When a throaty moan escapes her, I fight back my early-striking release.  Christ.

"Fuck," I whisper, tugging at her full lower lip with my teeth.

Feral sounds escape us both, and I push forth a month's worth of pent-up passion.  Her lips become savage, ravaging me—driving me into a breathless frenzy.

Her back claps the wall each time I surge forth, but she rewards me by devouring me more and giving me those sexy, carnal sounds.  She starts clawing at my shoulders and her legs tighten simultaneously, forcing a growl to vibrate in my chest.

When she whimpers, my balls tighten in response.  When she screams, I lose it.  A powerful release jerks out of me when I push in hard one last time, and we both pant wildly, lost in the lingering effects of epic ecstasy.

I try to kiss her while moving away from the wall, but that is a failed, sloppy disaster, considering I'm still gasping for air.  Our foreheads press together as I hold her as tightly as I can, still trying to calm down from my high.

I drop to the bed, still holding her, and she curls into me.  "I'm glad your dad left," I snicker, kissing her forehead as she smiles.  She snuggles in closer, and all the weeks of pain vanish.  This is real.  I have her back.  And I'll never lose her again.

"Me too," she says, still a little breathless.

Looking down at our naked bodies entwined, I think of how perfectly made for me she is.  I never realized this could exist, and I'll never be the same without it.  Granddad tried explaining it to me once.  Dad's tried numerous times.  But until Raya, it didn't seem sensible.  Now that I've met her, nothing else in life makes sense without her.

"I meant it, Raya.  I love you.  I'm sorry I didn't say it the second you told me.  I was... scared.  That doesn't mean I didn't feel it.  Christ, I felt it.  I was... well, an idiot."

I feel her smiling as I kiss her neck, savoring her taste.  I'll never take this for granted again.

"I love you," she says, turning and pushing her leg over my waist, stirring up a need that is far from sated.

"Then we have a lot of making up left to do," I murmur with a grin, kissing her gently. "But, first things first," I continue while getting up and pulling on my boxers.

I don't even let her question me before I run down the stairs, hoping her dad hasn't returned without our knowledge.  Running around in his house with nothing but my boxers on could end up being fatal
—for me.

Fortunately, his car is still missing when I run outside.  There are only a few houses around.  Much to my dismay, there's an elderly woman outside, spraying a water hose with her jaw dropped as she stares at me.  I'm pretty sure she isn't meaning to water her mailbox.

I wave casually, pretending as though this isn't at all awkward, as I strut to the rear of my Range Rover.  After popping the hatch, I grab the crate, feeling a ruffle of excitement course through me.  I've been waiting on the perfect day, and it's finally here.

After giving a quick nod to the woman who's now watering her car's back, right tire, I make my way back inside.  Raya doesn't have to know her neighbor just saw most of the goods.  Besides, I don't plan on leaving her here.  And unless she wants me living with her and her father, she'd better agree to come home with me.