Page 28 of Caden's Situationship

Drew took the stage, and I’m sure what she was saying was important, but I didn’t hear a thing. Who could hear anything past my heart beating to the way he rotated his torso, the deep V above his jeans making me forget I was in a room full of people all getting the same show I was?

Slowly, he walked off stage, his eyes scanning the audience. “What is he doing?” I asked Kat.

“Each dancer has a part where they walk off stage to hype up the audience. Typically, they all walk out together at the end, but I guess he has some extra motivation tonight.”

My eyes followed him around the room, not even jealous of all the women reaching out to touch him, grab him, reach for whatever they could. When he locked his gaze on me, I melted into my chair before I realized … “Wait, he’s not going to dance on me or anything in this type of setting, right?”

“My bet is on that he would,” she said. “Do you see that devilish gleam in his eyes?”

Did I see it?Of course I saw it! He was a few feet away, but he was looking right at me. It was pretty hard to miss the way those cognac-colored eyes seemed to shimmer in naughtiness even with the dim lighting. Instead of giving her my panicked answer, I settled for a calm, “I see it.”

“That look you see means that’s not Caden anymore,” she clarified. “Girl, he’s already deep in character, so my advice to you is to relax and enjoy whatever comes your way.”

I felt like the next moments happened in slow motion, my ears only faintly hearing Drew announce on the mic thatRodeo Savagehad found his prey. I hadn’t even heard them say his stage name before, so I assumed that was some of the explanation I blocked out the minute I realized Caden was surprising me in a way I never saw coming.

When he reached me, I held my breath, unable to believe that me—the girl who never did anything unbecoming to the southern morals she was raised on—was sliding her hands down the naked chest of a man who would give her mother a heart attack if she ever caught them this close.

Even before learning this new information, kissing Caden had felt like I was eating a piece of forbidden cheesecake. Not only was I not supposed to be intimate with a client, but my life was more complicated than most people took the time to understand. And Caden was the opposite of what I needed to be focused on right now.

At least, I’d thought he shouldn’t be my focus in my quest to find the real Cordelia. Now, I wasn’t so sure. There was something in this moment that awakened parts of my body I hadn’t even known were dormant. Pieces of my mind filling with shameless thoughts that didn’t match the feelings I assumed I should have about this moment.

“You nervous, princess?” he asked, whispering into my ear in a way I felt all the way down to my toes.

I swallowed. “No, I’m not.” And yeah, truthfully, I was a little nervous, but probably not for the reasons he believed.

“You should be.” His words cut through any tension I felt, my body consumed with nothing but lust for him. He twisted my chair so that I couldn’t be blocked by the table and lifted me into his arms. I had no choice but to wrap my legs around his waist, suddenly understanding why Katrina had been so adamant that I wear my new jeans, black heels, and black lace top tonight. A dress wouldn’t have worked with the way we were basically dry humping in front of God and all the strangers present for the show.

This scene didn’t fit us. It didn’t fit me. This was a Caden and Cordelia who were so unlike our typical selves, and yet, as he bounced me up and down, his chaps clanking to the beat and the crowd losing their minds over us, it felt completely and utterly normal. I knew in that moment, what I had to do next.

Eleven

CADEN

I wonder what she’s thinking.Cordelia had been quiet for most of the night, and the fact that she hadn’t talked was unnerving me. After the show, we’d all gone out to a nearby bar, and besides telling me and the others that we did a good job, she hadn’t said much.

Then, when we all stopped for ice cream at a place that Kat had Googled, she’d remained quiet for the most part, after she’d stroked my friends’ egos.As if those asses needed a bigger ego.

Now that I was walking her to her hotel room since we were both on the same floor, I’d finally had it with the silent treatment.

“Are we okay?” I asked her, when we reached her door.

“Yes. Why wouldn’t we be?” she asked, as she slid in her room key. I stood outside of her door until she invited me in.

“I only ask because you’ve been really quiet most the night.” I left out the part that she hadn’t been quiet at all when she let me dance on her during the show.

“I’ve been quiet for a reason,” she said, slipping off her heels and untying the top of her lace blouse, catching it before it fell too low.What is she up to?The Cordelia I knew wouldn’t pull a move like that with a man in the room. Back in college, she’d kicked me out her dorm room once when she got a stain on her shirt and had to change. She’d said turning my head and promising not to look wasn’t good enough.

She reached into her suitcase with her free hand and pulled out her pajamas. I watched her every move, unable to ignore the feeling I had in my gut that her seeing me on stage had shifted something between us. I felt it earlier tonight, and I was feeling it now. When she mentioned she would be right back and excused herself to the bathroom, I figured I really needed to get myself in check.

I cracked my neck and shook out my arms before taking a seat at the chair in her room. “You looked really beautiful tonight,” I said loud enough for her to hear me through the closed door.

“Because I wasn’t wearing my normal dresses, right?” she asked.

“You’re always beautiful,” I corrected. “I was just trying to pay you a compliment on your new outfit.”

She giggled. “Well, thank you. Katrina said it would be perfect for tonight, and she was right.”

Damn right she was.When I saw Cordelia in the audience looking sexy and sweet all at once, I’d almost forced myself to stay in that dark corner on stage for fear that I wouldn’t be able to get through my show without touching her or dancing on her. Just my luck, she’d been a more than willing participant, which made my night a helluva lot easier.

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