Kade pushes away from the doorframe. “Come with me. I’ll get you something more comfortable to wear.”
“Do you need anything before I go?” I ask Natasha. Please say yes so I can delay going anywhere with Kade. I’m not sure I can handle being alone with him.
She shakes her head.
“Are you sure?” I say to stall.
“Nope. All good.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
With no reason to stay, I rise from the bed and follow Kade out of the apartment. We head down a long corridor to an elevator. Stepping inside, he punches the button for the top floor.
“So, what’s your name, Kade or Chains? Because if I tattooed a fake name on my body, I’ll be pissed,” I say as I keep my gaze on the ascending numbers. It’s safer than looking at Kade. He makes my insides do funny things.
“What does it matter? You said you lazered it off.” The elevator chimes its arrival, and the doors slide open.
Stepping out, I say, “I did, and it doesn’t matter. I’m only curious.” I’d forgotten I told him I’d gotten rid of it.
At a set of double timber doors, Kade enters a number into the keypad, and the door to the apartment opens.
I enter and pause at the edge of the living room. “Is this your place?”
“Yes.”
The apartment is spacious and beautifully styled with wide oak floors, plush brown leather couches, and a cream wingback chair taking up a corner. A dark steel fireplace floats above the floor, suspended from the ceiling. The floor-to-ceiling windows showcase the sweeping views of the Santa Monica Mountains. This place must cost a fortune. I don’t have time to take it all in because Kade is heading down a hallway, and I follow him.
He opens a door to another room. The bedroom. A black four-poster bed is the most dominant piece of furniture in the room. I try not to imagine what it would be like to have Kade strip me naked and do to me what he did to that woman in the club.
I pull my gaze away. “Are you going to tell me what your real name is?” I’d be shocked if it is Chains. Who would name their child that? No, it can’t be. I’d heard Evan call him Kade.
“Why do you want to know?” He moves closer. I take a step back, but the bedpost presses against me.
I swallow hard. He’s so close that if I reach out, I can slide my hand over his… No! I have to stop thinking like that. He’s not someone I should mess around with. “Like I said, I’m curious. What’s your name?”
“Not until you answer my question first. Are you fucking Evan?”
Oh, that question again. The one that shouldn’t be any of his business, but I hear myself answering, “No.”
A flash of what looks like relief crosses his face, soon replaced by desire. His gaze drops to my lips. His tongue darts out for a beat. My heart rate kicks up; my breath comes in shallow puffs as I wait for his next move.
Then he grips my hips and spins me around. I let out a small squeal of surprise.
He clasps my wrists and lifts them above my head, pinning them with one hand to the bedpost. The warm hardness of his chest pushes against me. And the ridged length of his erection stamps my lower back.
His nose trails along the curve of my neck. His warm breath dances over my heated skin. “Is my name still branded on your skin?” He brushes my ponytail to the side and nibbles on my exposed shoulder. I lock my knees so I don’t fall to the floor.
“Is Kade really your name?” My words are breathy. If he can get an answer from me, I need one from him.
“Yes.”
His tongue glides along my neck, and goosebumps explode over my skin. He’s making it difficult to think straight.
“And Chains? Is that your surname?”
“No, it’s a nickname. My surname is Sullivan.” He nibbles my ear. “Any more questions, Daisy Chain?”
I have loads. But right now, with his body pressed against me, they’ve all flittered from my brain. “Not at the moment.”