Walking into the living room, Emma found Cade had already brought in the tree her mother had picked out two days ago. He had it sitting out in the middle of the living room floor. Obviously, positioned to be pushed over in front of the large bay window, at the front of the house. After they were done decorating it. Still feeling angry with him, she really wasn’t in the mood to decorate with him. Or anything else for that matter.
“I’m not doing this with you right now. I’m not in the mood,” she snapped, and immediately turned as if she intended to leave the room. “I’m likely to try and strangle you.”
“Well, it’s not about what you’re in the mood for,” he growled in return, quickly moving to drag her back to the tree. “Your mother wants this tree up. This has been our tradition for the last three years now. We’re going to continue to follow it.”
“You’re a jerk.”
“And apparently you’re more spoiled than I realized.”
“No, I’m not spoiled,” she huffed. “I’m just still trying to deal with the fact that you came into my room, while I was sleeping, and ejaculated on me.”
“I’m sorry I jacked-off on you last night,” he sighed. Taking several deep breaths to try and calm his temper, he stepped closer, trying to take her hand in his. He had to remind himself once more, when she jerked away from him, shouting at her right then wasn’t going to help matters. “I was drunk out of my head last night. Everyone knows I’m a complete idiot when I’m smashed like that. That’s why I don’t normally drink more than one or two beers at a time.”
“Yeah,” she snorted. “That being said, you still never told me why you got drunk to start with. I think you should have to at least tell me that much. After what you done last night.”
“I already told you. I was trying to relax.”
“Bull crap.” She actually managed a small laugh that time. A rather mirthless one, but a laugh none the less. “What you did in my bedroom after midnight was relaxing. That’s not what the drinking was about.”
“Fine,” he growled, taking a step closer, and pushing his nose in her face. “Are you sure you really want to know.”
“Yes, I really want to know,” she grumbled, pushing him back a step. “If I didn’t want to know, I wouldn’t have asked.”
“You went out on a date with Jeffery Moore. If that’s the kind of guy you’re interested in, I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell with you.”
“Oh,” she breathed, her eyes growing so huge, they looked like they might fall out of her head.
After staring at him for several more seconds, she turned and grabbed the first Christmas decoration she could find. She might have liked his answer, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to play nice yet. She was still angry. Jacking-off on someone in the middle of the night, while they slept, wasn’t exactly normal behavior.
Thankfully, she’d managed to grab a string of lights, and she just turned and started trying to wrap them around the bottom branches of the tree.
“We usually start at the top with those,” Cade grumbled dryly from behind her. “They’re easier to plug in if the plug is at the bottom of the tree.”
“Oh,” she whispered. Turning to face him, she found him standing there with his hands on his hips, and a dark scowl on his face. “The tree’s too tall for me to reach the top. You’ll have to start them.”
After taking several deep breaths, he eyed her with such intensity, she nearly took a step back from him. “What’s wrong?”
“Are you just going to ignore what I said?”
“Well, I said you’d have to start…”
“Not the dang tree, Emma. You know what I’m talking about.”
“Can we just decorate the tree for now? I’m not ready to talk about that.”
“Why not?” he growled so low, she barely heard him. “You’re the one that started it.”
“While Jeffery Moore is definitely not the kind of guy I’m interested in, I’m still angry at you. You’re going to have to give me time to process. Your chances are more like that of a snowball’s at the North Pole though. Just so you know.”
“How long?” he asked, barely resisting the urge to crush her to him in a giant bear hug. From the surge of excitement, he got from her words, it was a wonder he hadn’t torn the zipper out of his jeans.
She shook her head in confusion. “How long for what?”
“To process.”
“Well, let’s start with decorating the tree,” she suggested, shoving the lights at him with a little more force than necessary.
Several minutes later, having gotten the lights and a couple strings of colorful garland on the tree, he turned her to face him. “Well?”
“What now?”
“You know what,” he grumbled, starting to lose his patience.
“Look, I’m still trying to process last night. Now this. I’m not entirely sure what you’re trying to tell me with that confession.”
“Fine,” he growled, stepping closer. “I want you. A lot. Does that make things a little clearer?”
“Decorations,” she gasped, shoving a Christmas ball at him. “Can you put this one close to the top?”
“Dang it, Emma.”
“One thing at a time, Cade. I’ve been hit with a lot in the last twenty-four hours.”
Several minutes later, with most of the decorations on the tree, she took a deep breath, and turned to face him. “What was going through your head last night, that you thought jacking-off on me was a good idea? And don’t bother trying to tell me you don’t remember. Ethan explained you never forget what happens while you’re drunk.”
“I see he decided to be loyal to you instead of me.”
“What?”
“Never mind that,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “I wasn’t going to try denying I remembered what I did last night.”
“You did before.”
“You have to understand my level of… embarrassment at that point.”
“No, I really don’t have to understand,” she grumbled, rolling her eyes.
“It would make things easier if you at least tried.”
“Maybe,” she shrugged. “Maybe not.”
“At least try to understand, this morning, when you first walked in the kitchen, I was really having a lot of trouble believing what I had done. I’m still having trouble,” he added with a cringe. “I thought for sure I had just dreamed it.”
“Do you often have dreams of jacking-off on me?” she grumbled sarcastically.
“Of course not,” he mumbled. “I’m not some kind of deranged pervert.”
“Okay,” she snorted, rolling her eyes. “So, start explaining.”
“For starters, I didn’t immediately realize you’d come back in, and were in bed. I thought it was going to be your bed I was… relieving myself on. Not you.”
“You somehow think that makes it better?”
“No, not exactly. I’m just trying to tell you the whole truth.”
“For a change,” she scoffed.
“I’m not in the habit of lying, and you know it.”
“True, normally I would agree with you. But I didn’t appreciate you trying to lie to me this morning.”
“Emma, I’m trying here. Besides,” he snorted. “I’m pretty certain, due to something your mom said last night, she didn’t know about your… date. As Ethan informed you, I remember everything that happens while I’m drunk. Everything,” he reiterated with a big smirk.
“Fine,” she nodded her cheeks staining pink. “You thought it was just going to be the bed.”
“Exactly,” he nodded, eyeing her thoughtfully. He was willing to let her lie slide for now. He knew better than to think he was going to be off the hook that easily. Besides that, he hadn’t gotten anywhere close to the worst part yet. He figured he might need to make use of that particular bit of information later.
“You know, you could have just pulled your pants back up and turned to leave once you realized I was there. I’m sure I was still asleep at that point. I wouldn’t have even had to know you’d been in there.”
“Yeah, no,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “I had already started. I was both too excited, and too drunk for that kind of logic.”
“Okay,” she shrugged, crossing her arms in front of her. “What was your reason for doing it to start with?”
“Oh boy. Here we go.”
Huffing, she rolled her eyes at him. “Tell me.”
“This is where you’re likely to try and kill me. Try to remember I was drunk.”
“Just say it, and get it over with.”
“I had the great idea of… marking my territory.” Those last three words came out in a fast grumble, with a cringe. Almost like he was in pain.
“What?” she hissed, blinking rapidly several times. She was obviously having trouble believing her ears. Either that, or she was trying to decide if she was going to let him live or not.
Hearing the doorbell ring, she stopped mid-sentence, and spun back toward the door. Right then, what she really wanted to do was brain the idiot. I’ll make him think marking his territory. I’m going to have to tell Sammy she was right.
Flinging the door open while still trapped in her own thoughts, it took her a few seconds to acknowledge the tall, dark headed guy who was standing there, with his cowboy hat in his hand. “Oh, hi, Phillip. What are you doing up here? Did you need to talk to Cade or Papa Zeke?”
“No, I’m off work,” the ranch hand grinned. Nodding at Cade as he walked up behind her, he continued with a slight flush to his cheeks. “I was actually wanting to speak to you.”
“She doesn’t have time to talk to you. We’re busy,” Cade growled, stepping between the two.
“Cade, don’t be rude,” she huffed, shoving him out of the way. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“Well,” the other man mumbled, looking past her, to where Cade still stood. “I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner with me sometime. Just sometime before you leave for college again. I know you’re going to be busy with family stuff, but I’d really like a chance to see you, while you are home.”
“No, she doesn’t want to go out with you,” Cade growled before she had a chance to answer.
“Ignore him,” she sighed. She had been intending to say no, but now she was going to have to give the impression she was at least considering the idea. She knew she couldn’t let Cade get the idea she would put up with him making decisions for her, or he’d be doing it the rest of their lives. She would just have to explain to Phillip what was really going on later. She just hoped it didn’t make him angry. Her chances were good, things would go well. He was one of the good ones. Nothing like Jeffery Moore at all.
“Maybe,” she smiled warmly. “At this point it will have to wait till after Christmas.”
“Oh, yeah, I understand all that,” Phillip nodded, still eyeing Cade with concern. Judging by the look on the other man’s face, he wasn’t happy with her answer. “Just come and find me when you decide.”
“Sure thing,” she nodded in return. “Bye now.”
“Bye,” he waved, walking backwards off the porch. Someone watching from afar might think he didn’t want to turn away from the sight of the girl standing there. Truth was, at this point, he didn’t want to turn his back on the man standing there with her. He wasn’t a hundred precent sure it was safe.
Growling, Cade yanked her far enough into the house to slam the door closed. “You are not dating Phillip Matthews.”
“Why not?” she smirked. “He’s a good guy. One even your daddy would approve of. He’s always said to make sure I marry someone who’s willing to work hard, and who treats me well. Phillip would qualify on both those counts.”
“You know why,” he growled, crowding her against the now closed door, and slapping his hands against the cold wood surface, one hand on either side of her head.
“No, I don’t.”
“You’re mine,” he whispered, staring her straight in the eyes, sending a shiver of desire down her spine. Two seconds later when he tried to lean in and press his lips to hers, it was all she could do to push him away. But push him away was what she needed to do right then, and she knew it.
“Oh, no you don’t,” she growled, pushing out of the cage created by his body and arms against the door. “You’re a possessive, overbearing jerk. You can finish decorating the tree by yourself.”
Storming off then, she missed the crestfallen look on his face. And the tears forming in his eyes. Or she might have actually turned back.
~~~~
Giving up on trying to sleep, at least for the moment, Cade threw his covers back and crawled out of bed. Where he’d been ever since finishing the tree, and pushing it into place in front of the big bay window. Moving across the room to his dresser naked, he grabbed a pair of pajama bottoms to pull on before heading out to the hallway.
Glancing first at Emma’s bedroom door, he shook his head, feeling a little melancholy, and headed for the kitchen. He was hoping a couple of beers would help him sleep. And take his mind off things he couldn’t change for a little while. He knew no matter how hard he tried, all the pain would come rushing back tomorrow. Once he was sober and awake again. But he’d just have to deal with that when the time came. Right then, he just needed a short break from all of it.
Close to five minutes later, already sitting the empty bottle from the second beer down on the counter, he glanced over at the built-in freezer, wondering how much whiskey was in there. Finding an unopened bottle with what was left in the one from last night, he took them both out and sat them on the counter. That done, he grabbed a shot glass from the cabinet and returned to the bar to sit on a stool.
Having finished the mostly empty bottle off first, he was several shots into the new one when he decided he was done. He was enough in, he had lost count of the number of shots he’d had long ago, and had already gotten about halfway through the new bottle. For him, rational thinking was a thing of the past. At least for the moment. He got up from the bar then, and wandered back down the hall. Stopping at Emma’s door.
Not bothering to knock, he walked in, shutting the door behind him. It took him several seconds to realize Emma had sat up, and was now staring at him.
“Oh, you’re awake,” he grumbled, and started to turn back to the door.
“Stop,” she whispered. When he paused and turned back to stare at her, blankly, she threw her blankets back and stood up. “You’re drunk again, aren’t you?”
“Yep,” he nodded several times. He almost reminded her of a toddler, telling on himself. The biggest difference, not even an eighteen-year-old would have the kind of body Cade did. He was six-foot three inches of solid, well-honed muscle, and just enough chest hair to make a woman weep with true feminine appreciation.
“Come here,” she whispered, moving to the side when he stepped up beside the bed. “Sit down.”
“Okay,” he whispered, frowning at her in confusion. “Why?”
“I want to try something.” Which wasn’t exactly a lie. She wasn’t sure how well her plan was going to work.
“You know I’m in love with you, right?” he grumbled, watching her toss her blankets over to one side of the bed.
Struggling not to let her surprise show over his words, she motioned for him to move farther up the bed, until his back was against the headboard.
“What are we doing?” he asked, trying to lean in and kiss her on the cheek.
“Nope, no kissing while you’re drunk. Not even on the cheek,” she added, having him lean forward, so she could place a pillow behind him, making sure to turn it, so it would best protect his back from the hard, metal bars of the headboard. “The most innocent of kisses could lead to a far more involved situation with the two of us. Something I’m not willing to have happen while you’re drunk. And like I said, I’m trying something. Now just sit back, and stay where you’re at.”
“Okay,” he mumbled, immediately doing as he was told. He was obviously drunk enough, his self-preservation had completely shut down.
Jumping off the bed, she grabbed the two extra-long scarves she needed for the experiment she had planned, and moved behind the bed. She had made sure earlier, when she realized he might get drunk again, to pull the bed away from the wall enough she could squeeze in behind it.
Quickly wrapping the first scarf around his waist a few times, she soon had him tied in place. Several seconds later, she had the second one tied around his chest, in the same fashion, up under his arms. That done, she double checked the scarves were tight enough to hold him in place, but not so tight as to restrict blood or air flow. She wanted him unable to move. Not dead.
Grabbing the two smaller scarves, she crawled back up on the bed with him. Taking one of his hands in hers, she tied one end of the first scarf around his wrist.
Pausing when he whispered her name, she glanced up to find him watching her intently.
“My being in love with you probably won’t be enough,” he choked out, tears forming in his eyes for about the hundredth time that night. “Not after the things I’ve done.”
“You were drunk, Cade,” she whispered, patting him on the thigh before dropping her eyes back down to where she was now tying the other end of the scarf to the headboard. After making sure he could move his arm enough to encourage blood flow, but little else, and that his hand was able to rest beside his hip on the bed, she moved to the other side of the bed to repeat the process with his other hand.
“Yeah, but you’re still angry about my thinking I could mark my territory. That’s not something I would have ever considered while sober.”
“I know the real you, Cade. You don’t have to explain that.”
With him now tied in place, she moved off the bed, tossing her blankets over him.
“I know I still probably don’t have a chance of you ever wanting to date me now. Much less marry me.”
Stopping in her tracks to turn a look of surprise on him, she shook her head to try and clear the fog in her brain. Not sure she’d heard him right, she debated whether or not to ask. Deciding against it, at least for now, she moved closer to the head of the bed to tuck the covers up behind his shoulders, adding another pillow behind him, for him to rest his head on. “You still have a chance of our getting together, Cade.”
“What?” he growled, trying to move forward, his intentions being to wrap his arms around her and drag her back into the bed with him. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“I’ve tied you to my bed,” she grinned. “Sort of as a payback for you jacking-off on me. It also accomplishes keeping you out of trouble, and out of the rest of the alcohol, until you’re sober again.”
“You’re going to just leave me here like this?”
“I’ll keep an eye on you throughout the night. And I’ll untie you in the morning.” Once I’ve conducted my experiment, she added in her head.
“But you said I still have a chance.”
“Yes, you do,” she laughed. Well, more than a chance. It’s really a forgone conclusion. You’re the only one I want. “We’ll talk about that, but only while you’re sober. For now, you need to get some sleep. I’m going to sleep in your bed.” That said, she kissed him on the cheek before turning to walk out of the room, leaving him sitting there, tied to her bed, with his mouth hanging open from shock.