Page 52 of Dirty Play

With Morgan Wallen playing through the speakers, we finally make our way off the freeway toward the town of Ivy Falls.

I’m absolutely dead tired, especially since I didn’t want to stop more than once, which was for dinner in the middle of nowhere, not exactly my idea of excitement.

“So, are you going to tell me anything about your family, or are you just going to make me walk in blind?” I break the silence, needing to talk to wake up a bit.

Long drives at night aren’t exactly my favorite, but Cade’s been doing a pretty good job of keeping me company and playing DJ, taking every single one of my requests. But now I need some info.

“What do you want to know?” he grumbles, adjusting himself in his seat to better face me, his back against the door.

“Why don’t we start with who I’m going to be meeting,” I say, my eyes on the road, trying to see where I’m going. The further we drive, the fewer street lights there are, making it damn near impossible to see.

“Well, we’ll be staying at my parents’ house, so there’s my mom, Shelly—she’ll be the one to welcome you with open arms and a smile on her face. She’s a good one. I feel like you’ll get along with her great.”

“She sounds lovely. I’m excited to meet her.”

“Then there’s my dad, Carson. He’s quiet and more reserved than my mom but once you crack him, he’s funny. Really funny. It’s more of a dry humor that can often come off as rude, but damn, it’s funny.”

“Well, at least now I know where you get that from.” I look over at him and wink, and he just grins and shrugs. “Is there anyone else?”

“My brother, Vince, and sister, Kylie, live in town, so I’m sure you’ll meet them tomorrow. They’re both younger than me. Kylie is twenty-seven, and Vince is twenty-five. Don’t be surprised if Kylie pulls you to the side for ‘girl talk.’ She can talk to anyone. You’ll find that out right away. She might come on strong, but she means well.”

Cade is already standing up for people he hasn’t spent time with in years. People he’s pushed away but is still putting first. It’s in moments like this that he shows me the little parts of him that I've always longed to know. The parts that show me just how good of a man he really is.

“Well, that doesn’t seem that intimidating. I mean, I’m still not a fan of meeting new people, let alone four new people in one day, but we’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah, just ignore my brother, though. From what I hear, he’s broody and grumpy all the time.”

“Again, sounds like someone I know,” I joke, earning me a glare. “What? Are you worried I’m going to flirt with him, too?”

His hand quickly moves from his lap to mine, squeezing my thigh, high enough that I can almost feel his fingers against my pussy.

“No, I’m not afraid of you flirting with him because you won’t. You’re mine, Tink. Even if we haven’t figured out what that means yet, you’re mine.”

“But—”

“I don’t share, Tink,” Cade growls, cutting me off.

His grip tightens on my thigh and I squeeze my legs together, my clit throbbing, just craving his touch. It’s been too long since I’ve touched him, and damn, I miss him. It’s hard forcing myself to wait, but I couldn’t live with it if I hurt him.

I just smile, trying to hide my blush, and continue driving. Deep down I’m kicking my feet and squealing after hearing him call me his.

“I can’t see anything, Cade. There are no freaking streetlights out here,” I groan, only fifteen minutes later. I’m ready to fall asleep just about anywhere. My body doesn’t do well when I switch between night and day shifts, and I usually need a good night to crash to get back to normal.

“No shit, Gwen, we’re in the middle of nowhere,” Cade responds, obviously getting tired as well. It’s been a busy day for him, and whether or not he’ll admit it, he’s still recovering and needs to take it slow.

When we pulled off the highway about thirty minutes ago, I thought we’d be there in minutes. I didn’t realize that we still had almost an hour left to drive, all of which is on this tiny little road that has no lights. I’m worried about driving us off a cliff.

I doubt there is even a cliff around, but I’m convinced that if there were one, I’d head straight for it.

“Take a left here,” he says the moment a street sign pops up. Thankfully, the reflection from his headlights is just enough to make the turn smooth. We learned the hard way that if I don’t turn slow enough, it’s a bit rough for him.

“I don’t know how you get around out here. I’d always be lost.”

“I grew up out here, and trust me, I spent many nights as a teenager driving these roads,” Cade says nonchalantly like he didn’t just send my mind into overdrive.

The thought of him driving these roads with a girl makes me grumpy. I don’t like the thought of them driving these roads at night, alone, looking for a quiet place to fool around. Yeah, I don’t like that thought at all.

It makes me angry and, dare I say… jealous?

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