The Exception(62)

“Get on your hands and knees.”

I rolled over and got onto all fours without a second thought. I normally hated being in this position. It seemed so crass, so unattractive. But with Cane, it didn’t seem like that big of a deal.

I could hear him remove his pants and the sound of cellophane crunching as he removed a condom from its wrapper. He wrapped one arm around my stomach and pulled me to the end of the bed, until I was actually standing on the floor with my stomach lying on the top of the mattress.

He caressed my ass with his hands, smacking it smartly before grabbing his cock and guiding it into my wetness. “This is going to be quick. I need it too much to make it last.”

I was still sensitive and the contact made me yelp. He grabbed my hips with his hands roughly and pounded into me, his pace growing quicker with each thrust. I called out, my body exploding again before he pressed into me and stilled, finding his release. He pulled out of me slowly and I climbed onto the bed, burying myself in the blankets. Cane was quick to join me, pulling me into him, my back into his front. He rested his chin on top of my head and I could hear his heart beating steadily … reliably. I took comfort in that, nestling back against him.

“How are you feeling?” His voice was soft against my ear.

“Good. Relaxed. How do you feel?”

“Strange.”

I turned to look at him. “Care to explain?”

He laughed. “I’m not a cuddler, Jada. This is cuddling.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”

“I am kind of liking this right now. I hope you don’t have any plans for a while.”

“It’s your lucky day.”

“I haven’t had any of those in a while.”

“Me either,” I said with disdain.

“Hey! I don’t want to hear any of that,” he said, kissing my cheek. “We’ve both had some shitty days, but they got us here.”

“I like being here.”

“Me, too, Jada. Me, too.”





JADA

Breathe, Jada. Breathe.

I pulled up to Kari’s cream colored stucco house and looked around nervously before I got out of the car. Everything looked normal. The neighbor lady across the street was watering her bushes and a teenager a couple of houses down was tossing a basketball through a hoop.

I gave the house a final once over. The curtains were all drawn, the wooden door closed, the landscaping tidy. Nothing looked out of place.

I exited the Jeep and made my way to the house. My steps were quicker than normal, my heart matching my steps stride-for-stride.

Even though none of us had heard from Simon since the incident, I still felt a lot of anxiety when I was alone.

What if he came for me again?

I unlocked the door swiftly and locked it behind me. The security system began beeping and I disarmed and rearmed it, before tossing my things on the chair by the stairs and making my way over to Kari’s sofa.

I sat down and kicked my feet up on the coffee table, smiling to myself that if my sister was home, she would be going on and on about how unsanitary it was.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.

Cane had stayed with me the entire weekend; he seemed as unsure about leaving me as I felt about him going. We had the house to ourselves because Kari worked a couple of shifts and then spent the rest of the weekend at Max’s. I was worried that it would feel weird because we knew so little about each other.

Despite my concerns, everything was great. Maybe even perfect … until Sunday.

I needed to call my father and explain most of what had happened. Cane thought we should go see him in person and then drive to his house stay the night. I didn’t want to discuss everything with my father in front of Cane. Moreover, I didn’t want to leave the house. And staying at Cane’s so soon just seemed like a bad idea. It was too much, too soon.

With Cane in the shower, I had called my dad and told him I had dinner with Simon and that it had ended badly. Of course he was angry that I had been with Simon at all, thanks to Cane’s phone call. When I told him I was fairly certain that Simon wouldn’t follow through with the purchase of Solomon Place, he said he had received a phone call Friday afternoon from Simon’s lender. Dad wasn’t sure what was going on, but apparently Simon’s financial backing had fallen through.

So many things had happened so quickly. As I sat on Kari’s couch, a mixture of emotions rolled through me. I was still nervous about Simon, even though Cane assured me everything would be taken care of. I was excited and nervous about my relationship with Cane. I was grateful things didn’t end worse with Simon. And I was disappointed that I let myself get played by him in the first place.