“I’d say…” She reached her hand out and flattened her palm against my stomach, her fingers trailing over the contour of my abs. “You can always follow me.”
“Yeah?” I couldn’t stop my hand from grasping her waist, and my fingers connected with the skin showing there. I had no idea what kind of dress this was, but it was calling to me on all sorts of levels. “What would you say if I touched you?”
“Touched me where?” she whispered, her eyes flaring. She was thinking about the other day too. I could tell from the way she shuffled on the spot, and I’d bet my bottom dollar her panties were soaked.
I whispered my fingers across her hips and bent down a little to lift her dress. The dark material bunched in my hand, and then I was between her legs, a grin spreading across my face because I’d been right.
From this position, I could feel the scars on her thighs, and I hesitated. In my office, I hadn’t pulled her jeans down far enough to touch or see them, and part of me had forgotten.
“Cade,” her soft voice pleaded, and she locked her thighs around my hand, stopping my momentum but keeping me there. “I’m sorry.”
“No.” I shook my head and pushed my body flush with hers. “You don’t need to say that, not to me.” My eyes stayed focused on hers, not willing to look away. “You never have to apologize for the scars you hold, whether I can see them or not.” I pulled in a breath and clutched her thigh. “They’re a part of you, and I don’t want to change that.”
“But—”
“Aria?” I yanked myself away from her at the sound of Jan’s voice. Her footsteps followed a second later. “Are you coming to help, or what?”
“I…” Aria shook her head and cleared her throat, backing away from me and toward the stairs. “I’m coming, Mom.”
I quirked my lips and winked as I whispered, “Not yet, baby.”
“Cade!” she whisper-shouted, her eyes widening. “Stop it.”
“Who are you talking to?” Jan asked, and then her face appeared. “Oh, hey, Cade. What are you doing up here?”
I pointed my beer toward the bathroom. “Waiting for Aria to finish up.”
Jan’s gaze batted between the two of us, and she frowned. That frown said so much more than I was willing to admit, but Jan quickly schooled her features. “Come on, food is ready.”
I didn’t look at Aria again as I walked into the bathroom and waited for a couple of minutes for them to be back downstairs. That had been close, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel bad for it. I couldn’t bring myself to care one bit, because all that mattered right now was Aria and me. All I cared about was when I would be able to touch her next, and when I would be able to hear her soft voice again.
By the time I made it into the backyard, everyone was sitting around the table. Asher and Belle were either side of Aria. Ford took the open seat next to Belle with Jord next to him. Jan was next to Asher and Sal with Dad next to them, which left one open seat between Lola and Kyle. I was on the opposite end to Aria, but maybe that was a good thing. Maybe if we were kept apart for a little while, I wouldn’t be so obvious.
Conversation flowed between everyone as we passed around bowls of sides and meat Dad had grilled, but it wasn’t until I heard Belle say, “Do you have a girlfriend, Cade?” that I nearly choked on the potato salad in my mouth.
“Wh-what?” I couldn’t help but flick my gaze to Aria before looking at Belle, but Aria was too busy staring down at her plate.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” Belle repeated and rolled her eyes at me.
“I…erm…”
“Oh snap!” Jord shouted. “Little sister has just outed you.” I blinked at him and his small Afro that was faded from his neck up.
“Outed me?” My pulse quickened, and I kept my gaze on anything but Aria. I’d missed half of the conversation, so I wasn’t even sure what was going on.
“You got a secret girlfriend we don’t know about, son?” Dad asked, and I turned to look at him. His brows were raised, waiting for my answer, but I wasn’t sure what I should say. All eyes were on me, but
I’d never squirmed the way I did right then.
“I…I’ve met someone.”
“You have?” Lola asked, her hand gripping on to my arm in excitement. “Tell us all about her.”
“She…” I swallowed and pushed some food around my plate with my fork. “She’s different.”
“Different how?” Lola asked.
“I…” I blew out a breath and pushed my hand through my hair, pulling on it to try and distract myself, but it was no use. My gaze moved to Aria, and her eyes were focused on me. The light-brown orbs were pulling me in, and nothing I did could make me look away. “I’ve never felt like this before. It’s different with her. Just…more.”