Chapter 105 One More Time
Chapter 105 One More Time
ARDEN
I lost track of how many times we did it.
At first, it was me–I was the one who pulled him closer. One time wasn’t enough.
But somewhere along the way, it was Cade, too. By the time we were finished with the fourth round, I was sure his hands had memorized every inch of me.
“You’re so soft, Arden,” Cade murmured, brushing his fingers along my waist down my hole. “I could stay in you forever.”
I bit my lip. “You are inside me,” I muttered.
Dawn was nearing, and we were still tangled in each other’s arms. The back of my head. rested on his chest, and I could hear his heartbeat.
His arm wrapped around my back, fingers stroking the side of my ribs while his cock was still inside my hole.
“Can you tell me what happened now?” Cade’s voice broke the silence, right beside my ear.
“With you inside me like this?” I murmured.
He chuckled, the sound rumbling beneath me. “Do you want me to move?”
I swallowed. “Please don’t.”
I wasn’t ready to lose his warmth just yet.
However, eventually, we made our way to the tub.
Cade ran the water while I sat on the edge, my knees curled up against my chest. He didn’t speak while it filled. He tested the temperature with his hand before turning to me.
“Come on,” he said softly. “Let’s wash the day off.”
We stepped in together, and he pulled me close so I could sit between his legs, my back resting against his chest. The bubbles covered us like a soft shield from the rest of the world. My fingers played with the foam, trailing circles along his knee.
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It felt nice.
His chin rested on my shoulder. “I’ll wait as long as you need.”
I didn’t deserve someone like him.
The silence stretched for another long minute. For some reason, the water still felt warm through it all. I could sense it was because of Cade’s body.
Finally, after a while, I spoke. My voice cracked slightly at the end.
“Kieran kissed me.”
Cade stilled underneath me.
His arms around me tightened just a little, and I felt his breath stop for half a second.
I closed my eyes. “I never thought of him that way. I pushed him as hard as I could, but he still got a taste. I hated it.”
“I felt disgusting, Cade.”
His arms held me even tighter, but it didn’t hurt. And even though he said nothing yet, the silence between us felt like a promise.
He would not let this go.
I buried my face in his arm, letting the tears come again.
This time, I didn’t feel alone.
I don’t know when I started crying again.
Maybe it was when Cade tightened his arms around me, the warmth of the bath surrounding
The quiet made it easier to speak and think.
“I’m really broken, Cade,” I muttered. “I just never had someone to talk about it like this.”
“My first memory,” I said softly, “was of my birthday.”
He shifted slightly behind me, but still didn’t speak.
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“I was maybe four? I remember I was so excited. I think I had this idea in my head that birthdays meant something magical. Like in the books I used to read. Cake. Balloons. A surprise.”
I let out a soft breath. “But nothing happened. No one even said anything. My brothers got theirs each one bigger than the last. I thought maybe I just misunderstood. Maybe it wasn’t my birthday after all. Maybe I got the date wrong.”
I felt him press a kiss to the side of my temple.
“But it was my birthday. I knew because I heard the housekeeper hum the ‘Happy Birthday‘ song to me while she brushed my hair.”
My chest ached as I spoke. “That was when I realized birthdays weren’t for me. I thought maybe the default was that they were just ordinary days, and everyone else had something extra. I learned to live with it. To grow with it. But no matter how much I tried to ignore it, the difference was always there.”
He ran his hand slowly down my arm, holding me close.
“They always celebrated my brothers. They gave them everything–the best clothes, the best teachers, even their own cars. I got leftovers. A cracked desk for studying. Hand–me–downs. I heard once that the youngest kids are usually the spoiled ones. But that wasn’t true for me.”
“As I got older, it got worse. They stopped pretending altogether. My parents would leave me out of trips. Kieran barely looked at me unless he needed someone to insult. Lucian never even acknowledged my presence. I got used to it. I think that’s the scariest part.
I curled my knees up in the water. “That I got used to being treated like I didn’t matter.”
The silence stretched long.
“Don’t worry,” he muttered. “It’s never gonna be like that again.”
I closed my eyes. “Maybe that’s why I liked Jaxon so much back then. I thought maybe 1 could finally belong to someone.”
Cade’s grip froze just slightly. I rushed to add, “It’s not like that now, obviously.”
“I know,” he said, pressing a kiss against my temple. “That bastard doesn’t deserve you.”
“I think I was just desperate,” I whispered. “Back then, I mean. Belonging felt so foreign, and Jaxon made it feel like I could have it. But then he cheated on me with Sienna, the one
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Chapter 105 One More Time
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He let out a deep breath like he was holding himself back. I held his arms and leaned my head against his shoulder, looking up at him.
“I came to Elite thinking I had no one. I was fine being a ghost to the people who left me behind. But the past doesn’t really leave you alone.”
My voice cracked again. “And then Kieran. He shows up and just confirms it all. That I’m not part of them. That I never was.”
“I guess we’re both adopted,” I whispered with a chuckle, trying to cope with the situation with humor.
He didn’t say anything in response, and I was grateful for that. I just really wanted someone
to listen to me.
A quiet moment passed before he said, “You don’t celebrate birthdays?”
I shook my head.
“When is your birthday?” he asked instead.
“June 6th,” I murmured.
He stiffened behind me. “You’re kidding.”
I turned to glance back at him. “No. Why?”
He cursed under his breath. “It already passed.”
“I didn’t think it was a big deal,” I said softly.
“You should have told me. We could have celebrated together.”
For the first time that day, I laughed out loud. “How could I say that to you so casually. Should I have come up to you and said–‘hey, it’s my birthday.”
“Yes,” he grumbled.
I shook my head. “That was back when you still hated me.”
“I didn’t hate you,” he muttered, pressing a kiss to my bare shoulder. “You were just too pretty
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Chapter 105 One More Time
everywhere I went. It was annoying.”
I laughed weakly.
“Next year,” he said firmly. “We’re celebrating it. No matter what.”
“Okay.” I smiled, leaning my head back against his chest. “Yeah.”
I felt lighter. Not healed entirely, but lighter.
His fingers began to trace circles along my side again. Slowly. Warmly.
Until I felt it again.
“Cade?” I said, a little unsure.
“Hmm?”
“Don’t tell me that’s what I think it is.”
“Something’s poking me.
He cleared his throat, not even trying to deny it. “I can’t help it.”
I turned around in his arms with a glare. “Cade.”
His lips brushed against mine. “One more time.”
“Cade-!”
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