Colin jumped to his feet, nodding enthusiastically. He was always up for an adventure and was, thank goodness, impulsive. “That sounds like an excellent idea. I’ll call the Hendersons. Can you book flights?”
She could and she would, she thought, glancing down at the screen of her phone. Because she definitely needed to put a border and a couple of cities between her and Kade Webb.
Ten
Kade couldn’t remember when he’d been this angry. Angry, disappointed...hurt, dammit. And the fact he was hurt pissed him off even more.
Gone away. Will be back in a few days.
A few days had turned into a week and he still didn’t know where the hell Brodie was and, crucially, whether she was all right. She was ducking his calls and not returning his increasingly irate text messages. His...whatever the hell she was...was AWOL and he was not amused. Not amused as in ready to slam his fist into the wall. He’d do it but he recalled, from previous experience, it hurt like a bitch.
Kade stood on the balcony off his master suite and gripped the edge of the balustrade, peering past the trees to the street below, hoping to see Brodie’s car. He wanted to make sure she was okay, to make love to her, to put her over his knee and spank her silly for driving him out of his mind with worry.
What if she never came back? What if she’d just packed up and left town, heading for...wherever? What would he do? How would he find her? Would he make the effort to track her down?
Of course he would. Apart from the fact she drove him insane, she was the mother of his child. For that reason alone he’d follow her to the ends of the earth...
Jesus, Brodie, where the hell are you?
Kade heard the subdued chime signaling someone had accessed his private elevator and since Quinn was out of town and Mac was home with Rory, it had to be Brodie. Thank God. She was the only other person who had the code.
Kade waited for the elevator doors to open and his heart both stumbled and settled when she stepped into his loft. He did a quick scan, confirmed she was physically in one piece and told himself not to lose his temper.
Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.
* * *
Brodie only needed one look to see Kade was pissed and exceptionally so. His eyes were the color of bittersweet chocolate and flat with anger and residual worry. She’d needed time away but she’d been wrong to avoid his calls, to avoid talking to him.
She’d done him a disservice; Kade was a fully functioning adult and he would’ve understood her need for some time alone to think. But she’d been unable to pick up the phone and tell him that—due to embarrassment and pride. Instead she’d let him worry and, judging by the increasingly irate messages he’d left her, stew. She deserved the verbal slap she was about to get and she braced herself to take it.
She’d created this situation and she wasn’t going to whine about the consequences. She’d acted like a child because she’d felt smothered, and she deserved to be treated like a child now that she’d returned. He’d yell and she’d apologize and hopefully it would all be over soon.
“Hey.”
Kade frowned and started to walk in her direction. Ah, hell, he was even angrier than she realized. Brodie lifted up her hands in apology. “I’m so—”
Her words were cut off by his hot mouth on hers and she could taste his frustration. His fingers dug into her hips and he yanked her into him, slamming her against his hard frame and his even harder erection. She couldn’t help it; she encircled her arms around his neck and poured her own frustrations into the kiss...
I want you but I don’t want to rely on you. I like feeling protected and cared for but it scares me spitless. I’m so close to falling in love with you but I can’t let myself be that vulnerable again.
Brodie felt Kade tugging her shirt from her jeans and sighed when his warm hands spanned her back. His thigh pushed between hers and suddenly she was straddling his hard leg. Her body responded immediately by rocking against those hard muscles, moaning when the friction caught her in exactly the right place. Kade immediately responded by slipping his hand down the back of her jeans and he growled when her tight pants stopped his progress.
“Get them off.”
This was too intense, too urgent, and Brodie knew they should back off, but she didn’t want to. She wanted him out of control and reckless, demanding and insistent. He was feeling raw and so was she. It added an edge of excitement she’d never experienced before. It was primitive sex—hot, urgent—and she wanted to ride this maelstrom with him.
If they worked off enough frustration they’d be able to talk calmly and she’d be forgiven sooner. Besides, there was nothing wrong with channeling their anger into something that afforded them a great deal of pleasure...