I’ve never felt this amazing and it’s all I can do to hold on as my climax rips through me, strong and fast and deep. I’m holding on for dear life, moaning as I gasp. Wave after wave crashes down on me, blinding me to anything else. Cade shudders with release soon after, holding me tightly as he shudders and grunts. It feels incredible, and I can’t think straight. It’s perfect, all consuming, dizzying. I love every moment of it.
I never want this to end. The glow that fills me is warm and comforting and settling in a way that I hadn’t understood before now. Sure, I’ve found pleasure, but never like this. So I just hold onto Cade and he holds onto me in return.
And when I catch his eye, something passes between us, and I know that everything is going to be all right. Warmth floods me, and I fall asleep right there, on the couch, in Cade’s arms.
It’s no fairytale, but it’s perfect.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ADAM JONES
The meetings have been going well the last few weeks. Of course, by well, I don’t mean well for my case. Things have been going better between me and Cade. I still can’t get Ellen off my mind and every moment with her has me hoping that we’ll turn into something more, that the uncomfortable relationship we are in will blossom into something better.
I don’t hate Cade. I no longer want to see him fall, and the thought disturbs me. My job is my life and I have never wanted to fail a client before. But I am seeing more and more of Cade’s motivations, what drives him.
If he didn’t cling so tightly to Ellen, we might have already become friends. The tension between us is still thick, but I feel like it is something I can let slide, something I can deal with.
I sit at my desk sipping coffee and browsing through emails. I’ve still found no evidence, nothing that I can use against them, even if I wanted to. I’m about to shut down my laptop and call it a day, when an email from Ellen catches my attention.
My pulse races as I open it, wondering why she’d be emailing me – she’d already sent through the paperwork. It’s a forwarded email, and as I scan through the words, I begin to feel light headed.
“Oh, man…” I breathe.
The evidence that I need has dropped onto my lap. Fate, intervention, a dodgy email system. Whatever the reason, Ellen has emailed me evidence of their ploy, the fact that their relationship is fake. It’s an email with documentation, as well as a brief outline of their relationship and transactions. Clearly meant to just be between the two of them, but now it’s been leaked to me.
I swallow. This is big. This could send everything crashing down for them and land me a damn good paycheck. It would be what they deserved, for lying. Yet the excitement I feel in my chest is for a different reason entirely.
If they are not really in a relationship – if it has all been faked, then the chemistry between Ellen and me has not just been in my head. The longing gazes that Ellen shoots my way, the way she lingers with me at the end of a meeting. All that means something – it must.
Hope blossoms in my chest. I have a chance with her after all. Cade and Ellen’s relationship is as fake as can be, and there’s not much more to add to that. I find myself smiling, my day feeling brighter already.
I glance at the email and push print. I slip it into an envelope and grab my phone. I need to see Ellen and I need to see her soon. If I discard the evidence of their faked relationship, then we all get what we want. Cade gets his money, I get a chance to win Ellen’s heart, if she wants me and she gets whatever payments they’ve struck between the two of them.
I dial her number and wait for her to pick up. The phone rings out, but I am not worried. I decide that she’s probably at her apartment – it’s her day off, after all. I’ll surprise her.
I leave my office in a hurry, swinging past the flower stand as I catch a cab to her apartment block. I feel giddy as I get closer, and I keep the envelope close, arranging my features into a cool and confident mask. I cannot seem overly eager and completely break my charm.
I step out, flowers in hand, marching straight to the elevator. I know my way to her apartment – we’ve met there before, Cade, Ellen and I. When I arrive at her door, I’m not surprised to find it unlocked, but I am surprised to find it ajar. It’s slight, but I’m perceptive and I can tell it hasn’t been shut properly.
I feel concern. Caution rises within me and I barely bump the door, brushing it lightly. I immediately wish that I hadn’t. My concern evaporates into nothing, turning into dust. There, in the hallway, barely five meters from the door, is Cade. In his arms is Ellen and they’re doing as nature intended.