This was what she did. Every time he tried to bring this incredibly important subject up, she started talking about all the problems with him leaving Bliss.
And yeah, he really should give Roger notice. But not today. It was Tuesday. Friday was more of a day to tell someone about an inevitable departure. Two weeks. Yes. Two weeks from Friday. That would satisfy his conscience.
Gemma pulled the shirt free. “Don’t you prefer to be naked?”
He did. He knew it was weird, but he liked the way it felt, and it would be dangerous around Gemma. Who he wasn’t going to fuck. Nope. “That’s just a rumor.”
“I don’t know. I think I might like it, too.” She pulled her sweater up, teasing him with inch after inch of perfect flesh. She pulled it over her head and tossed it his way with a sexy little wink. She wore a lacy black bra underneath that barely managed to hold her breasts. They threatened to spill out over the top. One little flick to the back of that bra and her breasts would be free. He could touch them, take them into his mouth. He could lick and suck those sweet pink nipples.
He reached over and handed her back the sweater. “Gemma, this isn’t right.”
She pouted a little. “But I told Jesse I was here to seduce you and he just asked me to do it in front of the security monitors so he could watch it later. And I bought new lingerie.”
Damn Jesse. He’d known Cade would have a hard time turning away Gemma. But he had to do it. His dick protested mightily, but if he ever wanted to be friends with her, he couldn’t keep fucking her at every given opportunity. He needed to leave, and maybe in a few years he could look them up again. They would be married and maybe have a couple of kids, and Cade would just be a mild part of their wild courtship, a thing to look on fondly. He could still be friends with them.
He needed to keep them the only way he could.
“Get dressed, Gemma. I’ll take you to lunch.” He would talk to her over lunch, lay out all the reasons this couldn’t work. He would tell her about his family, and she would understand.
She stood there for a moment, that previously flushed skin turning white. He caught a brief hint of tears as she turned and pulled the sweater over her head. She took a moment, and when she turned back around, she was perfectly composed. “I think I’ll go join Naomi. I should get my nails done or something. I’ll see you later. Tell Jesse I’ll be at home.”
Fuck. He’d hurt her, and he was trying so hard not to. This was what he did. He fucked up time and time again. “Gemma.”
She didn’t turn, simply grabbed her purse and smoothed her sweater down. “It’s okay, Cade. You said you were leaving. I thought I could make you want to stay. It was a stupid idea. I’m not some sexpot. I just…just forget this happened. I’m deeply embarrassed.”
He caught her before she made it to the door. “Baby, it has nothing to do with how much I want you.”
She turned her eyes up to him, tears falling. “Oh, I beg to differ. Please just let me go. I won’t fight you anymore. I got it into my head that you were leaving because you had some dumbass idea that you were cursed or something. But that’s stupid. It’s because of me. I’m difficult.”
She was and he fucking loved her that way. “You’re perfect, Gemma.”
She snorted. Yeah, he loved that, too. “Hardly.”
He was dangerously close, staring down at her with a hard cock and a soft heart. He couldn’t help himself. He used his thumb to sweep away a tear on her cheek. “I am bad for you.”
“I don’t care.”
He sighed. “You will one day. Or maybe not. But I do care. I cost some people close to me their lives, Gemma. Every time I open up, someone gets hurt. I’m tired. I don’t want to try again. Can you understand that?”
She nodded, her hands coming up to find his cheeks. “You’re wrong. One day, you’re going to meet the woman you love, and you will open yourself up and, god, I hope she makes you happy, Cade Sinclair, because if she doesn’t, she’ll answer to me.”
“Gemma.”
“No, it’s okay. You can’t love me. It’s okay. I still don’t even know what I want. I don’t trust that Jesse will stay. I’m just holding on for dear life as long as I can because I’m pretty sure this is the most I’ll get. If a few weeks with the two of you is all I get, then I want to take it.” She pulled away. “But you don’t have to leave town because of me. This is your home. I’m not going to make things difficult for you.”
She didn’t understand anything. “Gemma, seeing you will be difficult.”
“I could leave. You were here first and all.”
“It’s not some contest, baby.”
“Please don’t call me that. And let me go, Cade. I made my play and it kind of sucked. I should have taken sex-kitten lessons or something. I’ll try that on the next guy.”
Oh, there was the bitch. Yep. The bitch got his cock hard while those tears kicked him in the gut. It was a perfect mix. One without the other and he could let her go. As it was, his hands tightened. “You are the only woman I want and the idea of you stripping down for anyone but me or Jesse makes me fucking insane.”
Her eyes narrowed, calculating the power shifting between them. His Gemma knew when she’d just gotten the upper hand. “You don’t have any right to say that to me.”
He was so fucking weak. “Baby, I don’t want to hurt you. I’m trying like hell not to hurt you. I want you so bad, but I don’t know if I can stay.”
Her body moved into his. She might think she wasn’t a sexpot, but she was a goddamn siren. Everything about her called to him. “I’m not asking for a ring, Cade.”
“You deserve one.” She deserved two.
“Can’t I just have a few weeks? Can’t I have a few weeks where we just let things flow?”
A horrible idea. He was already in love with her. If he let himself be with her for a few weeks, he might never be able to leave. A terrible idea and yet his head dipped down, his lips brushing against hers. He should have known this wouldn’t work. He should have known he couldn’t resist her. “I’m not a good man.”
“Then be my bad boy.” Her hands skimmed his chest. “Just for a while.”
He would break her heart, and she would never know that she held his in the palm of her hand. Just for a while, he might pretend he was good for her. And he couldn’t leave until that fucker Patrick was dealt with. Did he really think he could be around her and not kiss her and love her and fuck her? Memories. He could build memories of her, of the family he could have had if he was just a better man.
“Gemma,” he started.
She put a finger to his lips. “Don’t. I just want to be with you. No promises. No regrets. Just here and now.”
She needed to feel wanted. He’d damn near crushed her by turning her away. She’d spent years discounting her value for anything but her brain and her ambition. Cade pulled her close, growling a little. She needed to feel sexy, and he could do that. She was the sexiest woman he’d ever met.
“Give me that sweater.”
She hesitated. Cade decided to take a page from Jesse’s book. She liked a dominant male. She liked to fight and scratch and struggle, but in the end she wanted to be taken down by a man who cared about her. He could be that man.
“I said give me that sweater, Gemma. I want to see your breasts.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“I’m sure that if that sweater isn’t on the floor in two seconds, I’ll pull your pants around your ankles and we’ll start with a spanking.”
Her skin flushed a darling pink, her eyes dilating with desire. She pulled the sweater over her head and let it fall to the floor.
“That’s what I want.” He stared down at her breasts, letting his hand trace a line from her throat to the valley of her chest. Smooth curves beckoned him. “Take off the bra.”