“Cayden what—” I’m cut off when his lips press onto my clit. The kiss is soft, gentle. But then his tongue flicks against me, and everything else has been a warm up for this.
I can’t think. I can’t process any coherent thoughts. I’m not even sure I’m breathing.
I have never once allowed myself to lose control before, but with Cayden, he takes that control and cherishes it, protects it. He takes the control without letting it abandon me. It’s intoxicating.
“Cayden…” I moan, my hands reaching into his hair like a lifeline, but when his eyes meet mine, my body reacts in a way I’ve never felt before.
“You taste so good, darling.” The words cause ripples through me, and suddenly I feel like I’m barely holding on to what little control I have left of my body. But Cayden wants me to let go completely.
His fingers return inside me, curling them to that spot that makes my body tremble, and in a second, I’m done for.
I feel like I’m flying. My body feels in pure bliss, like I can see and reach the stars above, and then Cayden pulls away, letting me come down from the high. He trails soft, gentle kisses down my thigh before lying beside me, pulling me into his arms like I was made to be there.
I can’t move or speak. My body is putty in his hands, and my chest heaves with exhaustion like I’ve just run a mile. “Relax, baby, I’ve got you.”
I know he does, and it’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced.
Being loved by Cayden Ashford will ruin me, and without meaning to, I burst into tears.
Chapter 23:
By the time we leave the room, it’s 9:00 a.m. Cayden helped me dress in one of his shirts and gave me a pair of his boxers to wear. I have never been more comfortable than right now. His shirt hangs off me like a dress, and the boxers are incredibly comfortable.
Cayden makes us both coffee while Bella walks in, dressed in her Academy issued pyjamas and raising a brow at me. I know what she thinks, she knows more about life than I do, so she probably knows what sex is. Ew. I still hate the word.
“Rough night?” she asks, a smirk on her lips, but I roll my eyes.
“Piss off, Bella.”
“Coffee, Bella?” Cayden asks, cutting into the tension effortlessly.
“Please,” she groans, sitting down on the bar stool. Marcus walks in next, looking rougher than I do. He’s in sweatpants and a white t-shirt, and his hair is a complete mess. I turn to Bella; this time I’m the one smirking. “Rough night?” She pulls her middle finger at me, making me laugh.
“At least I made the effort to walk out presentable.”
“She has you there, love.” Cayden laughs, handing me the mug while passing the other over the counter to Bella.
“You didn’t clean up, either,” I mumble, lowering my head in shame.
“I didn’t need to, love, and neither do you. You look beautiful,” Cayden says, kissing my forehead.
There’s a moment of silence we all sit in, only filled by the sound of something chirping outside. A sound I’ve never heard before, but it’s beautiful. For the first time ever, I think I know what peace feels like.
“I think we should all chat,” Bella says, ruining the moment. Immediately, I know where this is going. The conversation I’ve been avoiding like my life depended on it.
“You can’t avoid it forever,” Cayden whispers as if reading my thoughts, lifting my chin so my eyes meet his. The deep brown irises stare down at me; he’s worried about me. I can see it in his eyes. But neither of us voice it aloud.
“I just wanted to feel normal for one day,” I whisper, unable to hide the pain in my voice, not at him, but at this impossible situation. I never got a choice, I was chosen, and now I have to choose a side. I never asked for this, never wanted it.
Bella scoffs, rolling her eyes before standing.
“Darlia, I love you, but your head is literally in your ass. You’re forgetting who you are, what you have survived. You were selected in the first round of trials for an assassin academy. Not many others survived from your trial, and here you are. You have fought off people twice your size, you have ended countless lives with your skills and you’re sitting here all fragile like we have time for it. We don’t. You don’t get to break yet, we still need all the details. And fucking smiley over there only talks to you.”
The room goes completely silent, until I laugh. “Smiley?”
Bella breaks slightly, her lips twitching. “Not the point, you idiot.”
Without realising Marcus had even stepped out, he walks back into the room with a cardboard box in his arms, placing it down on the dining table. “This is everything we have on The Academy.”
