Page 63 of Fragile Touch (Fragile 1)
She grabbed her phone and texted him, asking what time he would be back from work. He’s probably training someone, she thought when he hadn’t responded after almost an hour, so she finished cleaning the house. When she sat down to answer her pile of emails that had been building up, her phone dinged.
Late, he replied. My last client is at 7. So probably around 8:30.
No problem. I’ll cook.
Don’t do anything too fancy, okay?
Only he would still be thinking about her recuperation in the middle of a training workday. Geez, I’m lucky.
Lillian lost track of time in the quiet hours of the late afternoon. As the sun sank behind the forest, its warm rays came in through the window and washed over her whole body. She tilted her head back and nearly fell asleep until the treetops suddenly blocked the heat. The temperature dropped, and she busied herself closing the doors and windows.
“It’s not as cold now,” she sang to the cats, who were batting a small stuffed animal back and forth with their paws. “It’s still a little chilly to me, though.”
The cats didn’t care, not that she expected them to. She looked around and realized that, for the first time in a while, she was bored.
“Answered emails, made all the phone calls I needed to, cleaned the house...” She bit her lip, trying to figure out what else to do until Cayden got back from work. Nothing came to mind, so she read until it was almost time for him to be home. She meandered around t
he kitchen, making food slowly so it would still be hot when he walked in.
The sandwiches and salad were on the plates when she heard his car drive up. It sounded too distant. She ran to the window and looked out; he had pulled up in his driveway instead of hers, like he had been doing for the last week.
Taking no mind of it, she quickly pulled a more low-cut shirt on and went to meet him.
“Hey, handsome,” she purred as he walked in. She had never seen him slouch like he was now, so exhausted. It didn’t stop his eyes from twinkling and flitting up and down her body.
“What’s the occasion?” he asked, giving the top of her ear a tiny nibble.
She could tell his energy was totally gone, so she pulled him into the kitchen and sat him down. “No occasion. Here, eat. You look like a raisin.”
He said less than ten words the whole meal. When his plate was empty, he leaned back and grunted. “Hit the spot. Thank you.”
“Work okay?”
“Yeah, it was okay. Lots to catch up on.” He rubbed his neck. “I’m dead, Lil. Can I crash on your couch for a while?”
Before she could say yes, he was collapsing onto the sofa. Gray Cat settled between his knees immediately. Lillian’s mind spun. Something isn’t right.
She bet with herself that she could perk him up. Slinking over to the couch, she sat by his waist and draped her body over his torso. “How can I help?”
Cayden opened an eye; she saw the corner of his lip wiggle, trying not to pull up. “I don’t know, how can you?”
Energy coursed down her body to her toes and back up again, balling up in her stomach. Here come the butterflies, she thought as she caressed his collarbone with her lips. She felt like she could rule the world. His skin felt so smooth against hers; she touched the very tip of her tongue to the base of his throat and felt his body tense.
I’ve got him. Pulling at the skin with her teeth, she put her hands on his head and pulled him closer. He shifted positions, accidentally shoving the cat off, but neither of them noticed. She lightly sucked the skin, fully intending to mark her territory.
Then he froze.
His whole body got stiff—not in an aroused way. Her first reaction was that something was wrong. When she pulled back, he was staring at the ceiling like they hadn’t just been playing around with each other.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” he said.
The ball of energy dissipated into oblivion. Cayden sat cross-legged, patting the space between his legs. “Come sit with me.”
Lillian climbed on top of him and wrapped her legs around his body. “Is something wrong?”
“Not really.”
“Why is this so serious?”
