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“Shit,” I mutter, glancing toward the window.
Lena quickly sits up, wrapping the blanket around herself as she starts looking for her clothes. “I should get dressed,” she says, her voice a mix of urgency and regret.
I reach out, grabbing her hand before she can move too far. “Lena,” I say softly, pulling her back toward me. “You know I will be undressing you later.”
She hesitates, her eyes meeting mine with that same mix of longing and uncertainty. “Do you promise?” she asks, her voice small.
six
CADE
The rain poundsagainst the windows, a steady, unrelenting rhythm that matches the desire thrumming through my veins. Lena is wrapped in a blanket, her bare shoulders peeking out as she curls against me on the floor.
Just as I’m about to say something, there’s a loud knock at the door. My heart sinks, a mix of irritation and dread washing over me. This is the last thing we need right now.
“Who could that be?” Lena whispers, clutching the blanket tighter around her.
“I’ll check,” I say, pulling on my jeans and grabbing my shirt. I can feel her eyes on me as I walk to the door, and I hate that she looks so vulnerable, so exposed. She reaches for her clothes too, dressing quickly.
When I open the door, the last person I expect to see is my brother, Max. He’s standing there, drenched from the rain, a scowl on his face that tells me he’s not here for a friendly visit.
“Max?” I ask, my surprise evident in my voice. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” he snaps, pushing past me into the cabin. “But we’ll get to that. We need to talk.”
I close the door, trying to keep my frustration in check. “It’s late, Max. What’s so important that you had to drive all the way out here in the middle of a storm?”
He doesn’t answer right away, his gaze shifting to the interior of the cabin before landing on Lena. His eyes narrow slightly, and I can see the wheels turning in his head as he takes in the situation—the blanket, the tension, the fact that she’s clearly just been in my bed.
“Who’s this?” Max asks, his tone clipped.
“This is Lena,” I say, stepping closer to her protectively. “She’s staying here tonight because her cabin got wrecked in the storm.”
Max raises an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “Nice timing.”
I grit my teeth, trying to keep my temper in check. “What do you want, Max?”
He crosses his arms over his chest, his expression hardening. “Dad sent me. He wants you to come back to the firm. We’ve got too much work piling up, and he needs you. I would never have come out tonight if I’d known there was a storm.”
I feel a wave of anger and frustration surge through me. “I’m not coming back, Max. I told you and Dad six months ago.”
“Cade, this isn’t just about you,” Max says, his voice rising. “Dad’s getting older, and he can’t handle the workload on his own anymore. You’re being selfish.”
“Selfish?” I snap, my voice sharp. “I left because I couldn’t live like that anymore, and you know it. The stress, the bullshit, all of it—it was killing me, Max.”
“And what are you doing now?” Max shoots back, his gaze flicking to Lena again. “Hiding out in the woods, running away from your responsibilities?”
“I’m not running away,” I say, my voice cold. “I’m making a life for myself, one that doesn’t involve selling my soul to the highest bidder.”
The tension in the room is thick, the air crackling with the unspoken resentment between us. I can see the way Lena is watching us, her eyes wide, and it hits me that she’s caught in the middle of something she doesn’t understand, something she shouldn’t have to deal with.
“Max, this isn’t the time,” I say, trying to rein in my temper. “Lena’s here because she has nowhere else to go tonight. We can talk about this later.”
Max’s eyes narrow, but he nods, clearly realizing he’s not going to get anywhere tonight. “This conversation isn’t over.” He stomps off to the bathroom, leaving Lena and I alone.
“I’m sorry,” I say quietly, my voice rough with frustration. “Max has a way of showing up when you least expect him.”
Lena nods slowly, but I can see the doubt in her eyes, the way she’s pulling back emotionally. She doesn’t know me well enough to understand what just happened, to see past the anger and frustration.
