The Unfortunates(53)

“I don’t like silence. Your voice is a very slight step up from silence.”

I scoff. “Here I was thinking you were going to say something sweet.”

Kade steps away and I miss the contact the second it’s gone. “I don’t think I’ve ever said anything sweet in my entire life.”

“You just did,” I inform him as I turn back around. “You chose this body wash because it smells like me.”

Kade slips under the shower, letting the jets blast through his hair. “It’s all about intention, Nine, and I didn’t intend for that to be sweet. Informative, maybe, but not sweet.”

“Well, I thought it was sweet.”

He steps out of the stream and I turn around to face him. “If I was being sweet, trust me, you’d know.”

“How so?”

He looks at me, dead in the eyes and as serious as all hell. “I’ve got material that’ll make your knees turn to jelly, the floor liquefy under your bare feet, and your virginity beg for my cock all on its own.”

I tuck a lock of hair behind my ear and try hard not to blush at the word ‘cock.’

“Wow,” I deadpan. “You’re so charming.”

Little did he know, his oh so cocky words have my kneecaps wavering.

“Wash,” he orders and I grab more body wash and scrub myself from head to toe. As he dries himself and saunters around his bedroom, I rake shampoo through the tangles in my hair and finish off. As I shut off the water, Kade returns in a pair of low slung sweat pants and drops a pair of my own on the bench.

“What, no shirt?” I ask, as I step out of the shower and reach for a towel. I wrap it around my body as quickly as I can to ward off his lingering stare.

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t wear a shirt.”

“And you think that’s a good idea?”

He folds his arms over his bare chest. The rises and dips of his muscles become prominent and I try hard not to stare at the ridges in his forearms. I’ve never seen a man that looks like him before… not one that makes me wish I was allowed to lick of my own accord.

“Absolutely not, but I’m not about to let you out of my sight.” He taps the sweat pants he left for me. “Dry yourself. Put the pants on and then come to bed.”

He walks off and I proceed to dry my body. When I’m done, I put on the pants and double knot the strings so the pants don’t fall down. In the bedroom, the only light comes from a small, orb-like lamp on Kade’s bedside table and as I approach, I try not to stare at Kade, who sits against the headboard, watching me. When I reach out for the bed, he switches off the light. In the darkness, I can breathe better and I allow my body to relax as I slip under the sheets. I keep my back to Kade and remain perfectly still while he finds a comfortable spot. I just didn’t expect that spot to be right against my back. Strange tingles sear over my scalp and down my spine as he slips his large arms around me and holds me close to his body. I feel my eyes widen and my body tense. This feels good, so good that it makes it bad. He’s a Fortunate, the reason for my sad existence. I try to pull away, but Kade tightens his grip and I lose my breath. The pressure threatens to crush my ribs.

“I want to hold you.”

When I relax, he loosens his grip. “Why?” I ask. “I thought you don’t do sweet?”

“It’s not sweet. Don’t talk.” He yawns into my hair. “Just sleep.”

As much as I’d like to sleep, I can’t. I’m hungry—painfully hungry, and having Kade pressed so firmly against me, holding me so tight isn’t exactly conducive to sleep. The more my body relaxes into his arms the sicker I feel. I shouldn’t feel what I’m feeling. I shouldn’t feel safe with him. Safe. Protection. Defence. All are temporary words in this world… all can be taken away at a moment’s notice. Regardless of that, as I lay here in his arms, I’ve never felt safer. I’ve never felt so free in my life.

After a small eternity, Kade lets out a peaceful sigh and his arm grows heavy. As he sleeps, I press myself back into him and pretend for the briefest moment that we don’t live in this world… that we live in the before time. I wonder what it would be like, what Kade would be like if society hadn’t groomed him to be this way. Would we have ever spoken? Would I still be attracted to him if he didn’t hold power over me? More importantly, would he be kinder? Sadly, it doesn’t matter. The thoughts are exactly that… just pointless words floating around my head. In this world, whether I like it or not, Kade is a Fortunate, he is my master. Underneath that title, he’s also my protector. He’ll keep his word and let me live freely with him when he has everything he wants, I know he will… I hope he will. As my eyes grow heavy and sleep is falling over the cusp of my eyelids, Kade throws a leg over me and lazily presses his lips to the brand on my shoulder. I find myself smiling, because in this moment, even in his sleep, he knows I’m his and his only.