Page 126 of Insatiable

“I know,” I say, looking at Barry. “Do you have a hotel to take him to?”

“No,” Kade blurts out as Barry tells me yes, pulling away from me as I sit down beside him. “I don’t want to work.”

I stop him from trying to open the car door. He’s that fucked he can’t fight me off.

“I’m not fucking working!”

“You aren’t,” I reply. “Please calm down, Kade.”

When we reach Barry’s hotel, I’m still rubbing his back; he’s slouched forward on the seat with his head between his legs.

We manage to get him inside. The receptionist doesn’t ask why there’s a man standing with his head against the lobby wall, talking about flavours of chocolate. She does offer me water and lets me know there’s a cleaning service if I need it.

Trying to get Kade into the elevator is difficult. He thinks I’m putting him into a prison. He tells me he isn’t an animal that can be caged. So me and Barry carry him up the stairs, which he falls down four times. The last time he manages to grab my arm as he topples.

He laughs as I fall on top of him, telling me that not only do I look like his ex, but I’m also as clumsy as her too.

Kade has already unbuttoned his trousers and is asking me how much I paid as Barry grabs water from his fridge.

“I need to go clean up this mess. I’ll be gone for a few days. Stay here. Make sure he drinks plenty of water and rests.”

“Where are you going?”

He looks at Kade. “If I don’t sort this out, Kade will most likely end up in prison for the rest of his life. He shot a political leader in front of a lot of witnesses.”

I look at Kade as Barry leaves – he’s swaying around the room, humming “From Now On” fromThe Greatest Showman.

“Drink this.” I hand him the water. “And try to make yourself sick.”

He grimaces. “Sick? No thanks.”

He downs the water and tosses the bottle, then proceeds to talk to me about recycling.

Kade then lies on the bed, staring at the roof. “Can you pretend we had sex?”

I frown. “What?”

“Just… tell her we did. I don’t want to work,” he says, slurring some more.

Slowly – and messily – he starts to strip off his clothes. His top first, then he attempts to pull his trousers down, which I eventually help him with. Everything is muddy and covered in blood. Even his socks and hair.

“I probably won’t get hard.”

“Did you kill someone tonight?”

“A few someones, yeah.” He pulls a joint from behind his ear and attempts to light it with a lighter that isn’t there. “Fuck.” Both hands drop, and he groans. “I hate this.”

I go into the bathroom and soak a cloth, coming back in to find him sitting up on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, only in boxers. I rinse the cloth off after wiping his face and come back for his arms, his chest and the back of his neck.

I’m standing between his legs, scrubbing at his hair, when he captures me in his arms. My body reacts to his possessive touch – I stop wiping when his strong arms tighten and rest my hands on his shoulders.

“Are you okay?” I ask quietly as Kade presses his forehead to my midsection.

“Can I hold you and pretend you’re her?”

I tilt my head, narrowing my brows as I look down at him. “Who?”

“My ex-girlfriend.”

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