Page 49 of Silent Secrets

Caiden’s face is somber as he steps up to me, sweeping me into his arms as the music begins. “Addy, you need to give Hunter a chance.”

“Why should I? He’s made it perfectly clear that he can’t stand me. He’s treated me as if I’m no better than the gum on the bottom of his shoe. Which of these things should make me want to give him a chance?”

Caiden shakes his head and when he doesn’t answer right away, I assume that he’s dropped it. At least until he stops us mid step, dropping his hold on me to lift my chin with his hand.

“Hunter doesn’t trust easily. There’s pain in his past from a woman, and it’s left a mark on him. And while his dad isn’t nearly as bad as Kai’s, he’s no walk in the park. You need to cut him a break.”

“I don’t need to do any such thing,” I snort, wrenching myself from his hold. “But you can go happily fuck the hell off.”

So much for losing myself in the dances and not losing my temper. I’m barely keeping myself from grinding my teeth as I turn to Grace. “I think it might be best if I just dance with Marcos… Or just be done.”

“You don’t want to dance with me, angel?” Kai sounds hurt.

My head snaps in his direction and I sigh before hurrying over. “Of course I want to dance with you, but I’m assuming that you’re still hurting—even after the visit to the healers. Am I right?”

Kai gives a small shrug, but won’t meet my eyes—giving me all the answers I need. Making my way over to him, I stroke my hand down his face, waiting until he glances up at me before speaking.

“You need to get better before my birthday, so that we can dance at the masquerade, okay?”

Kai nods. “Fine, I’ll wait to dance with you until your birthday. But the rest of it? I won’t be waiting for your birthday to continue what we started last night.”

Before I can think of a response, he’s leaning in to kiss me. I expect it to be a brief kiss like the night before, but per usual, Kai surprises me by deepening the kiss. My arms loop around his neck as his hands land on my hips, jerking me against his body. My hips roll of their own accord when I feel him hard against me, a moan falling from my lips.

“On that note, I do not think that you need my assistance any longer.”

I break away from Kai, face flushing when I hear Grace’s words. I’d completely forgotten that she was in the room. Kai grins down at me before dipping down to give me a quick kiss and stepping away.

“I’ll see you later, angel.”

I watch him head to the door where Caiden is waiting for him, eyes locked on me as he begs me for something. I don’t know if he’s asking for me to forgive him or for me to give Hunter a chance. It doesn’t matter which one it is, as neither will happen right now.

“That kiss was very hot, kitten.”

I feel Marcos’s warmth at my back, as he leans down to speak, voice quiet as his breath ghosts across my ear. I fight back a shiver but can’t stop my head from falling to the side as I offer my neck up to him. His lips graze over my skin in a barely there touch and I can feel the fire that Kai had lit, roaring inside of me.

Instead of taking it further, Marcos steps away from me with a sigh. I whine as I spin around to see why he’s leaving me feeling like this. He chuckles as he grins.

“Sorry, kitten. I didn’t mean to start something that I wasn’t ready to finish.” He clears his throat, reaching down to adjust himself. “But I’ve been dying to dance with you since you told me you love to dance.”

“But we already danced?”

“How about we dance something that we both love?”

It takes a moment for me to move beyond my desire to strip both of us down and take him right here on the floor, but finally I’m able to focus on his words. It brings a grin to my face as I kick off the shoes that I’d worn for the dances that I’d been learning. I hate dancing with shoes on—one of the many reasons that I love contemporary.

“Hell, yes!!”

Marcos messes with his phone for a moment before a song I actually recognize plays. “Wait… how do you have this song?”

“L’Airid has much better music than we do, so I travel over there occasionally to get new music.”

“Seriously?”

Marcos nods, continuing to flip through songs as he gestures for me to take the dance floor. There’s a momentary pause in the music as he comes to stand next to me, but as the first notes slide over me, I can’t help smiling. And then we’re moving together as “To Build A Home” plays around us.

I love that he’s chosen this song as it’s a song that I’ve always loved dancing to. Though Marcos and I have never danced together, it doesn’t feel like it. It feels natural as we move together, anticipating what move the other will make next. We continue to dance as the song changes again and again.

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