Never Just Friends by Katerina Winters

Chapter 12

 

 

"That was a pathetic-ass workout today." Edwards eyed Cade critically as they walked down the hall from the gym. "You look like shit. Did you not sleep?"

 

No, he didn’t. He spent the whole weekend getting his balls drained by the love of his life, Cade thought with a tired grin. "Yes, well, we all can't be Mr. Universe like you," he sighed as they turned the corner to the hallway that led to the men's locker rooms. "Some of us have to save our strength, like, oh I don't know, for the bedroom. Something you may not have heard of, you lonely bastard."

 

"First of all, don't give me that shit," Edwards groused as he rubbed the back of his neck, causing his giant bicep to flex and Cade to look at his own self-consciously as Edwards continued. "I get plenty of bedroom action, it’s just that-"

 

"You've plowed through all the dudes in The Bronx and have nothing to choose from, you giant man whore," Cade offered helpfully as they walked into the empty locker room.

 

"Yeah, well that may be true," Edwards tossed him a shameless smile, "but I'm not even sure if I can believe you since Ritz walked into the precinct this morning looking fit and energized as usual. Looks like you're the only one being worn out."

 

"The woman is a machine," Cade muttered thinking of the truth in Edwards's words. Maritzia had positively glowed this morning. "I seriously need your post-workout recovery smoothie recipe, 'cuz Jesus…I need to keep up with her, man."

 

Edwards laughed. "I'm gonna go take a shower. You can just find yourself a baby-wipe to clean off that one drop of sweat you made," Edwards chuckled as he walked down the aisle to his locker in the back.

 

"Giant bastard," Cade grumbled.

 

It really was a pathetic workout, though. Not necessarily because he was tired but because his mind was still reeling from the weekend of the best sex he had ever gotten. It took his breath away just thinking about it. After that night of complete honesty and admission and very aggressive sex, Cade wasn't quite sure what to expect the next day. But his beautiful fucking goddess was right back to her usual self. Snarky, giving-as-good-as-she-got comments back at him all day as they bantered back and forth. Confident and sexy as she walked around the supermarket in her jean shorts and cut-off top. Everything was perfect between them-or so he thought. No, true perfection was later on that night when she pulled down his shorts and took him into her sweet mouth in the middle of their show right there on the couch. The woman had him moaning like a cheap porn star and promising his soul on a platter to her. He spent the rest of that night and the following day fucking her into the mattress with his hand wrapped around her throat as she sang out his name.

 

God was so good. Again, he felt that wayward tear threaten to come to the surface even now as he thought about how fucking good his life was now. As he stood at his locker, he faintly heard the locker room door open and mentally told himself to man-up. He couldn’t have people finding him crying in the locker room over the love of his life.

 

Footsteps came toward him and Cade turned, nearly letting out a ragged groan at the sight of Victor Ortega. What did this motherfucker want? Did he sense Cade enjoying himself or something? Turning back to face his locker, Cade ignored the man and unsnapped his sports watch, and threw it on the shelf within.

 

Cade could feel the tension in the air as Victor stepped closer. He could feel the man boring a hole in the back of his head.

 

That's it, Cade, don't say a word. Don't say anything to this pussy-ass bastard who walked out on Ritz, leaving her a bitch-ass note. Yes, you're a man of discipline, there is nothing for you to say. Fuck yeah, that's it. Just get your clothes out of your locker and ignore him. Ritz is going to be so proud of-

 

"So how does it feel taking over another man's life?" Victor hissed.

 

Fucking hell. Cade tried. Everyone could see that he tried, right?

 

Turning around slowly, he looked at Victor. The man was dressed in his police uniform as usual. No equipment belt, no vest underneath, just the uniform fitting to the man's slim figure. 

 

"Christ, how did she even get wet for you?" Cade mumbled as he stared down at the shorter man in obvious disgust.

 

Victor's eyes went wild. "What the fuck did you say?"

 

Cade sighed. There was no stopping this train now. Instead, he threw himself directly into the eye of the storm and grinned. "I said, thanks for booking me that vacation, man. It was exactly what we needed. I'll reach out to you next time we are looking to go somewhere. You got some real travel agent talent up your sleeve, Ortega."

 

Cade could see the man's mind break under the weight of his words and felt supreme satisfaction as Victor took one step, then another, and punched him. Turning his head at the right time, Cade made sure the man's fist collided with his cheekbone. Cade felt the sting from the man's punch but didn't allow it to rock him off balance.

 

Turning his head slowly he looked back at Victor and raised an eyebrow. "Did that make you feel better?"

 

"I should fucking kill you," Victor growled, both of his hands were balled into fists at his sides.

 

Cade laughed. "I know you've been wishing to do just that since the day I came back."

 

Breathing hard as if he were the one who had just been punched and not the other way around, Victor glared at him with murder in his eyes. "No, since the day you showed up, I've been fucking your girl," he shot back.

 

Cade felt the muscles in his body tense at once. On his second breath, he lunged forward. Raising his hand, Cade caught Victor's head in his palm and slammed it against the opposing lockers. Struggling beneath his weight, Victor punched and kicked, trying to scramble out from beneath his hold, but Cade held firm, pressing his full weight against the man until he had him pinned face forward into the lockers.

 

"Another statement like that will have you getting your jaw wired shut," he growled low. "You think I would spend damn near a year driving a wedge between you two to just let her go back to you?" He let out a cold laugh.

 

"You son of a bitch," Victor hissed between his teeth at the revelation as he tried to renew his struggle against him.

 

"You got that right," Cade whispered darkly as he looked towards the entrance of the locker room, making sure they were still unseen. "She's mine. She's been mine for years. I fucked up once; it’s not happening again."

 

With a surge of strength, Victor pushed kicked himself off the lockers forcing Cade to step backward. Turning around on his heel, Victor gave him a wild, unhinged look. "I'll fucking kill you," he roared.

 

He swung at Cade again. Moving this time, Cade avoided the punch and stepped back to narrowly miss another.

 

Cade laughed as he looked at the man. "The funny part is, you had a slight chance of keeping her if you weren't so fucking stupid," he said, enjoying the frantic anger in the man. Cade knew for certain if Victor would have had his equipment belt, he would have probably drawn his weapon right then and there, but he didn’t, so Cade didn’t see any reason to stop pushing the man over the edge. "I took a bet on your fragile ego and it worked. Thank God, right? I couldn't live the rest of my life knowing my one moment of fuck-up with Bethany would cost me a lifetime watching Ritz be with you. Thanks for being predictable as fuck, bro."

 

Lunging forward, Victor let out a strangled cry catching Cade off guard in a tackle. Cade let out a grunt as he slammed into the lockers behind him.

 

"Hey, what the fuck, guys?!" Edwards's booming voice shook through the air.

 

Looking up, both men spotted Edwards standing shirtless at the end of the locker aisle. Victor turned back and threw one more punch, catching Cade on the side of the head. Cade blinked at the dazing feeling of the cheap shot and grabbed the man by the throat, with every intention of collapsing it beneath his grip.

 

A much stronger hand gripped his wrist and Cade looked up to see the very serious gaze of his partner. "Break it the fuck up," Edwards ordered.

 

Letting go of Victor, Cade stepped back with his hands up and smirked. Shrugging out of Edwards's grip, Victor stomped out of the locker room.

 

Edwards sat on the bench in the middle of the aisle with a tired sigh and gave Cade a level look. "You know you have to tell the chief about this incident, right?"

 

"Yeah, I know.” Cade grinned as he scratched his sore jaw, his smile slowly fading as the adrenaline within him lowered and his thoughts caught up. “Sadly, it isn't the chief's reaction I'm really worried about."

 

 

~*~

 

Sitting outside of her uncle's office, Maritzia bounced one leg as she bit at her fingernail. It was a habit she thought she had broken years ago, but ever since she came back from lunch with Valerie and her brothers to find out from Scanlon and Edwards that Cade and Victor just got into a physical fight in the locker room, the nervous habit was back in full force. Looking from the windows where she had been staring out for the past ten minutes, she sent another pleading look to Tala who sat behind her desk in front of the chief's office.

 

Tala simply gave her an understanding smile.

 

Silently, they both listened to her uncle's deep voice through the wall. Cade was inside with him. Maritzia tried to imagine her uncle's anger at Cade and shuddered. She had only seen her uncle angry once and that was when they were kids and they all had returned back home extremely late one night after getting stuck on the other side of town. They all expected Maritzia's father to come marching down the stoop of her apartment building blistering their ears, but it was so much worse. Standing at the building's entrance with his arms crossed over his chest, her uncle was like a silent thunder god. They had all stopped short and audibly swallowed as he crooked a finger at them demanding them over. The silent seething rage he cast over them that night was memorable even to this day. Neither Maritzia's parents nor Pedro's parents said a word as Uncle Andres came down on them like a pile of bricks. They just stood in the hallway watching with almost smug expressions as Andres listed to them what the next two weeks of their summer vacation were going to look like—basically, child labor. From that day forward, every single one of them became religious about checking the time and always made sure they caught the train home. She couldn't imagine what he was saying to Cade right now.

 

Finally, Tala's phone beeped. Picking it up, she spoke quietly on the phone before hanging it up.

 

"You may go in now," she told Maritzia softly.

 

Rushing to the door, she stopped and took a deep breath before opening it. Sitting with his elbows on his desk, her uncle gave her a small smile as she closed the door. A smile was good, right? Sweeping her gaze to Cade, Maritzia stopped short. The side of his face she could see was welted and red. Immediately, she felt her heart reach out to him as she stepped closer to him. Sensing her worry, Cade gave her a grin before replacing it with a dramatic little pout.

 

The pity she had for him evaporated as she made a huffing noise under her breath and purposely looked away from him and back to her uncle.

 

"Chief, I-"

 

Andres held up a hand. "Save it, Ritzy."

 

The use of her nickname surprised her. Well, he couldn’t be in too bad of a mood, she thought.

 

"You're not in trouble," he continued, "and you don't need to take responsibility for anything. Cade has already made it quite clear you were not involved in any way."

 

She looked back at Cade's now serious expression and couldn't help but linger over the bruise. She couldn’t believe they had actually fought one another. How could she not be involved? It felt like all of her fault. "But-"

 

Her uncle gave her a stern, quieting look.

 

Knowing when to shut up, Maritzia nodded. "Sir."

 

Seeing that he had their full cooperation Andres continued. "By his own request, Victor has asked for a transfer to another precinct. Understanding that would be best for all involved, I have granted it. His position will be replaced by Officer Hadley next week."

 

Maritzia felt relieved by that and also a little happy for Hadley since she knew the older female officer had always coveted Victor's position in the equipment room. The mom of four would certainly appreciate the change.

 

"Okay, so be straight with me. Is this thing between you two finally happening?" Andres gestured between them.

 

The cold pit of dread that sat in her stomach out in the hall moments before completely vanished at his words, replaced by a twisting mortification that made her whole face heat up. Casting a worried glance to Cade, Maritzia nearly groaned at his wide grin.

 

"Yes, it is, sir," Cade answered happily.

 

Andres nodded. "You will continue to work with your new partners for the foreseeable future, and don't be surprised if the change becomes permanent," he added looking at Cade. "As I explained to you two before, I can only bend the rules so far until my own superiors start questioning my judgment."

 

"Yes, sir," they both answered at once.

 

Nodding once more, Andres looked down at the papers on his desk and began reading one. "However, not speaking as your chief and speaking from a place of family—I'm glad you," he looked pointedly at Cade, "finally got your shit together and went after her, instead of coming over to your mom's place at nearly midnight and heavy sighing all around her kitchen."

 

"Oh, I'm sorry dad," Cade raised both hands in the air. "Was I messing up your romance time with my precious mother when I came over occasionally to get things off my chest?"

 

"As a matter of fact you did," Andres coolly shot back and Maritzia smiled. "Now go. You both have work to do."

 

Leaving the office together they walked down the long hall towards the elevators.

 

She could feel Cade's searching gaze on the side of her face as they walked. "Are you mad at me?" 

 

"Unbelievably so," she stated crisply.

 

"So, if I pull you into an empty room right now and kiss you until we lose track of time, you're saying you would not be completely on board with that?"

 

Stopping abruptly, she turned to look at him, ignoring his handsome smile. "I'm saying I would lay you out on this floor right now," she threatened.

 

Cade lifted his shoulders in a slow shrug as his smile grew larger. "I've never been big on PDA, but for you, I would cover my naked body in baby oil right here and right now while participating in the most obscene acts in the middle of this hallway."

 

Maritzia couldn’t help but laugh. "Cade, I'm serious. How could you get into a fight with Victor?! You know we walk on thin ice around here as it is," she moaned.

 

Cade made a face that threatened mischief just before grabbing her elbow and pulling her into the nearby dead-end hallway. Cupping both of her elbows now, he stroked his thumbs back and forth across her skin as he gave her a penetrating look. She could tell by the firm set of his jaw and the awareness rippling between them he wanted to pull her in close for more.

 

"Ritz, my shining sun, believe me when I tell you it took all my goddamn strength not to break the man's jaw. He got off light. And you and I and everyone who knew the man knew he had an ass-beating coming. It's actually a crime how easy I let that piece of-"

 

"Cade!"

 

"Point is," he hurried to finish, "he's gone and off to start on a clean slate at another precinct. He'll be happier there."

 

"And how do you know that?" She tilted her head in a smirk.

 

"I don't and I honestly don’t care what happens to him. It's you I care about—you're all I ever cared about."

 

Shaking her head, Maritzia glared at him without any malice as a smile threatened at the edge of her lips. "You're a smooth-talking devil, you know that?"

 

Not giving him time to say something clever in return, she pushed at his chest. Complying to her demands, Cade let himself be pushed back against the wall, letting out a deep animalistic sound of satisfaction as she pressed her lips against his.

 

~*~

 

"Breaking news. We have live footage of two police officers fighting off an attacking man wielding a knife in a park," the female news anchor announced. "Two detectives arrived at the Bronx park to question a person of interest in an ongoing case when they are approached by this individual. As you can see officer DeLeon spots the man circling them in the distance and leans over to inform her partner, Officer Scanlon. Officer Scanlon observes the man but remains talking with the person of interest while Officer DeLeon turns her focus to the other man. As the man approaches, both officers shift their attention to the man and call out to him asking him what purpose he has being there. Shouting something that was not picked up by the witness's phone, the man starts running over to them while reaching behind his back. Officer Scanlon reaches for his weapon and backs up, however in a daring turn of events Officer DeLeon runs towards the man. Pulling out a concealed knife the man slashes towards the female officer, but with quick thinking and even quicker reflexes she disarms the attacker."

 

Playing on loop the footage of Maritzia running towards the attacker played on every TV within the precinct. Huddled around desks and standing in groups in the break rooms, officers watched as she pulled out her telescoping baton as she purposely put herself in striking distance of the bowie knife. The heavy, metal bar flicked out as the man jabbed the knife upward towards Maritzia. Meeting the man's thrust, her baton cracked audibly against his arm stopping the strike before she arced it up to the man's face. With two heavy-handed strikes of the baton, the man was disarmed and dazed, allowing Scanlon to subdue the man.

 

Maritzia had seen the video at least five times now as she waited in the offices of Internal Integrity and Affairs. Looking over to the older female officer, a Lieutenant Bishops, sitting across the meeting table, Maritzia watched as the woman scribbled down some notes onto her small stack of papers. With her dark hair pulled back into a tight chignon at the back of her head, the officer finally looked to Maritzia and gave her a tight, professional smile.

 

"Ok, let's go over it once more," Lieutenant Bishops said.

 

Maritzia wanted to groan. This would be the third time she repeated this.

 

"You engaged the suspect because…" Lieutenant Bishops let the words hang purposely in the air between them.

 

Sitting up straight in the mesh office chair that was becoming increasingly uncomfortable by the hour, Maritzia took a deep breath and explained her motive again. "I saw the suspect watching myself and Officer Scanlon as we tried to take a statement from the person of interest in our ongoing case. I noticed that the man was very fixated on us and his movements were becoming increasingly agitated as he circled us. When Scanlon and I decided to verbally confront the individual, he began to run towards us while reaching into his clothes to obtain what I presumed was a weapon," Maritzia paused and reached for her bottle of water, taking a quick drink to wet her lips. "Since there were still people in the park and some further behind the suspect, I knew drawing my firearm was out of the question. I also made the decision that using my taser would not be the best course of action."

 

"And why is that?" Lieutenant Bishops asked, tilting her head in question. "Officer Scanlon pulled his taser out."

 

"Yes, however, I felt that the man was too fast for us to gain enough ground and to have time to properly aim. I also observed him muttering to himself earlier as he was circling us, which you will see in the video in one frame, and I thought he may be on some sort of drug, thus reducing some of the taser's effect."

 

Lieutenant Bishops nodded to herself before writing something down. Setting her pen down, she fixed Maritzia with a level stare that made her gut clench in fear.

 

"Although the media and the public find the events that transpired today heroic, it should be no surprise to you that the New York Police Department does not view this event as such."

 

"Yes, ma'am," Maritzia forced herself to keep her voice from wavering.

 

"Despite your assessment of the situation, your actions were incorrect. You could have been seriously hurt, thus endangering the life of your partner."

 

"Yes, ma'am." Maritzia nodded respectfully. Each word from the Lieutenant felt like a hammer hitting the head of a nail directly into her soul. All she could think of was that she fucked up bad and now she was going to get fired. Fabricated images of her having to take a walk of shame through the station as her fellow officers laughed at her while Cade and her uncle looked at her in disgust played through her head. The thought made her want to vomit.

 

"During this current climate," Lieutenant Bishops continued, completely unaware of Maritzia's mental turmoil, "it is imperative that all of our officers follow set standards and procedures in hostile situations such as these. Your decision to use your baton has caused the suspect multiple fractures along his jaw from your final blow."

 

"Yes, ma'am, I understand," she replied, using every ounce of strength not to hang her head.

 

There was a moment of silence between them that almost seemed cruelly intentional. For every second it continued, Maritzia felt her organs just stop functioning one by one.

 

"However," Lieutenant Bishops said, finally unknowingly allowing Maritzia to take a much-needed breath to activate her stopped lungs, "taking your statement into account, your thinking was not completely out of line. Using a firearm in such a public setting would have been disastrous. In reviewing the footage now in a much calmer setting, can you tell me, Officer DeLeon, what you would have done differently?"

 

"Yes, ma'am." Maritzia straightened her deflated body and answered as concisely as possible. "I would have verbally engaged the suspect earlier when I noticed his attention set directly on us and pulled out my taser, allowing me to have the time and the distance to safely put the suspect down without jeopardizing myself and my partner's safety."

 

Lieutenant Bishops nodded. "Yes, that would have been a correct course of action," she said with a faint smile. "I will advise your commanding officer that you are to receive the standard few weeks of desk duty and a five-day course in defensive tactic using your taser."

 

Maritzia let out a breath she had been holding.

 

"Oh, don't sigh in relief yet," Lieutenant Bishops added with a feline smile as she produced two folded pieces of paper from her manila folder. "I was given these before we began to give to you after our meeting. Without needing to read them, I was able to get the gist of it from their expressions."

 

Expressions? Confused she took the slips of paper and unfolded the first one and blanched at its contents.

 

Written on the chief's letterhead, the note contained a simple message. "You are most certainly in trouble. Come to my office when you're done."

 

Not at all wanting to open the second one, Maritzia glanced up at the watching Lieutenant. "Oh yes, that is from Officer Moore he looked—furious," she concluded, not without a little touch of glee to her tone.

 

Gathering her papers and putting them into her satchel, Lieutenant Bishops stood up from the desk and outstretched her hand. "Thank you for your cooperation Officer DeLeon. Despite the technicalities of how it went down, your bravery was noted and appreciated."

 

Standing, Maritzia shook the woman's hand and gave her a tight smile. Waiting until she left the room, Maritzia hesitantly turned back to the table with the remaining folded note. Gingerly, she grabbed it and carefully undid its folds.

 

"Don't even think about running."

 

Maritzia's stomach dropped. After subduing the man, she never really thought of Cade's response or even her uncle's for that matter. Her sergeant had shown up to the scene and told her to go back to the station while Scanlon and another officer transported the suspect to the hospital and then to the jail. Everything had happened so fast she really hadn't had the chance to stop and think. Now she did though. Nearly dragging her feet with dread, she walked out of the office and retrieved her phone from the lockbox in the outer office. Stepping cautiously out into the hallway, she let out a loud sigh of relief at the sight of the empty hall. She could just imagine Cade's tall, muscular figure leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting to murder her.

 

Following the hall down to the chief's office, she heard the sounds of talking coming up at the intersection and forced herself to smile at the group of officers.

 

"Hey there, Miss Black Belt," one of the officers called out in a singsong tone. "Giiirl, you rocked that guy's ass today," he laughed, followed by the other two officers.

 

"Yeah, seriously that was cool as shit." The female officer gave her an approving smile. "But I bet IIA lit your ass up though, right?"

 

Maritzia nodded and gave them a solemn stare. "I'm surprised you can't see the smoke because Lieutenant Bishops didn't come to play games today," she informed them, appreciating their unison hiss of pain at the sound of the notorious Lieutenant's name.

 

"Damn girl, do you even still have a job?"

 

"Barely," she groaned before pointing a thumb towards the chief's office. "We'll see after I go talk to the chief."

 

They all gave her pitying grimaces before sharing a laugh. "Oh God. Well, good luck with that."

 

Maritzia just nodded and waved goodbye before returning back to her slow march towards imminent doom. She honestly wasn't sure which was going to be worse, her uncle's reaction or Cade's. Everyone's reaction to her being called to the chief's office made her feel like a delinquent kid being called to the principal’s office.

 

The chirp on her phone brought her attention back to reality and she read a message from Scanlon.

 

"Hey crazy woman, I'm out for the day. I would've waited but I figured there was nothing I could do to prevent you from getting your ass chewed out by your uncle and your mans. Ok, well. if you survive, I'll see you Monday. P.S. In case you haven't figured out, Cade is going to either murder you or lock you in a closet."

 

Maritzia let out a long groan and shoved the phone back into her pocket.

 

Sadly, the remainder of the walk to the chief's office took hardly any time at all. Passing the empty assistant's desk, Maritzia took a deep breath and knocked on her uncle's door.

 

A gruff voice came from within. "Come in."

 

Opening the door, she spotted her uncle's relentless gaze immediately as he sat behind his desk. She was so fucked. Forcing herself to go inside she closed the door behind her and stopped in front of his desk. How many times had she stood in front of this desk now, like a disciplined child? She was starting to lose count.

 

Behind him, the bright orange shafts of the evening sun streaked across the sky, though despite its beauty the scene did nothing to dampen the edge to her uncle's voice. "Don't think for one second Maritzia, that because IIA let you off easy that I will have the same intentions."

 

"No, sir, but-"

 

"But nothing," Andres hissed standing up from his chair. "When I received a call from your commanding Sergeant telling me you were involved in a knife fight, I thought surely I misheard. Surely, he meant that an assailant had a knife on him when you attempted an arrest. What I never expected to see was my niece ignoring all procedures and actually fighting a man carrying a twelve-inch bowie knife!" he shouted and Maritzia flinched.

 

"I-" she tried again.

 

Andres simply raised a finger instantly hushing her. "You will not only take the recommended tactics course from IIA, but you will take these eight other tactics," he said, sliding a pamphlet across his desk towards her. "And policy courses to refresh you on how being a trained officer of the NYPD works in real life." Each word slammed down on her like strikes of a hammer.

 

Nine courses! It would be like being in the academy all over again. Hell, she would be in the academy since that's where she would no doubt be taking the classes.

 

Seeing her outrage, Andres smiled evilly. "You can thank Cade for helping me pick out the classes, too."

 

Her head snapped up at that and she looked at her uncle in shock. "He what?!"

 

"I've never actually seen the boy so angry. He aged ten years right in front of me just from that three-minute video. What did you think would happen, Maritzia?"

 

"I thought I used my best judgment for the situation, sir," she said testily.

 

"I understand your thinking, Ritz," Andres's tone softened a little as he came around his desk and leaned back on the edge. "But your safety is key. The department needs to know that all the money and time they invested into each of their officers is going to pay off in the long run. Not for them to dash into knife fights and get themselves killed. And as your uncle, I need to know when I send you out there," he pointed to the windows behind his desk. "That I'm going to get the little girl that is like a daughter to me back safe and sound."

 

Guilt stung at the corners of her eyes and made her heart feel like lead. Nodding, she resisted the urge to close the gap between them and hug him. Remaining professional, she stood in place. "I understand."

 

"Good, now go face the music with Cade," he muttered walking around his desk. "I'm going home to have a drink."

 

Holding back a pouting sigh she quickly left the office, halfway expecting to see Cade in the waiting area. Thinking of all the new classes she was going to have to take, Maritzia scowled. That bastard! Stopping outside the hallway, she looked left towards the elevators and then right towards the stairs. Screw him, she was going to take the stairs down and then catch an Uber home. Smiling with satisfaction, she walked purposely to the stairs and pushed open the door.

 

"Did you really think taking the stairs was going to get you past me?"

 

Maritzia nearly screamed at the large figure standing on the stairs' landing. Reaching out, Cade held the heavy stairway door open with one hand and grabbed her hand with the other, tugging her into the stairwell.

 

"Cade! What the hell? How did you-"

 

Pulling her flush against his chest, Maritzia was forced to look up at him from the iron cage his arms made around her. Only lit by the dim emergency lights, the shadows fell across the hard planes of his face, making his dark expression somehow even more menacing.

 

"I know you, Sunshine," his voice purred deeply, "and I knew you were going to try and dodge me."

 

She shifted in his hold and glowered up at him. "Did you really just sit in my uncle's office and come up with nine courses for me to take?!"

 

His eyes widened before narrowing in a dangerous scowl. "Maritzia DeLeon, do you have any fucking idea what you did today?" She felt his hands tighten on her hips and could hear the barely suppressed rage in his voice. Taking on an expression she had never seen on him before, Cade's eyes crackled in the dim light of the stairwell as he looked at her. "I watched the woman I have adored since I was a kid fight a crazy man carrying a knife instead of fucking shooting him with one of the fucking guns on her person."

 

"Shooting him with my gun was out of the question Cade. We were in a park with other people nearby, and I did not feel as if my life was in danger. Two, my taser needs about six feet of clearance and I didn't feel I had that." Why was no one understanding her logic!

 

"So going in like Wonder Woman was the most feasible and sensible option?!" he snapped. Releasing her, he stepped back as he scrubbed his face in anger. Maritzia felt the loss of his touch instantly. Even if he was angry, she still wanted him to hold her, she realized. Pacing on the short landing, he shot her a look of urgent anger. "My God Ritz one wrong move could have…I can’t even stomach the words. The images of what could have gone wrong keep playing in my head on repeat."

 

"But nothing did go wrong and I made all the right moves," she pressed.

 

Cade swore under his breath and gave her a fierce look. Laying his hands on both of her shoulders, his fingers flexed before wrapping around the curve of her flesh. "Look, you're a badass. You're the strongest and toughest girl I have ever met. Even when you were thirteen you carried yourself like a girl who put down grown men in your spare time. You would have made a perfect soldier in that aspect. But Sunshine, love of my life, and the reason I breathe, you cannot do shit like this again. If not for yourself, for me. I wanted to die, to rage, and yell and kill something all at once after I saw that video, but more importantly, it scared the shit out of me," he rasped furiously. "I need to know I can trust you when you go out there. I need to know that no matter what you will always come back to me."

 

Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes but she didn’t let them fall. Nodding, she leaned forward tentatively, feeling her heart soar a little as he relaxed his arms letting her in close. Covering his mouth with hers, she kissed him. Growling low in his throat with anger denied and desire emerging he leaned back against the cement wall behind him and wrapped his big arms around her. Holding her impossibly close he worked his mouth over hers, delving and tasting while drawing out little sounds from her.

 

"I love you," she whispered against his mouth, kissing him once more to bind the words. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

 

Giving her a non-verbal grunt, Cade kissed her deeply before pulling her to follow him down the stairs to go home.

 

Pulling out of the police parking lot, Cade kept his eyes on the road as he spoke. "I've texted your parents and brothers and told them they could yell at you tomorrow."

 

Maritzia startled. She didn't even think of her family's reaction to the news. Slumping in the passenger seat she let out a distressed moan. "But tomorrow is my day off."

 

"Should have thought about that when you went all Jet Li against a bowie knife," Cade replied dryly.

 

"But I thought we were going to spend the day tomorrow doing other things," she tempted in a low, coaxing tone. "Like catching up on all the years we missed out on."

 

"Don’t you dare try to wiggle out of getting yelled at by tempting me with delicious sex," he shot back, casting her a dark look over his shoulder that made her shiver underneath the sheer intensity.

 

Sensing the change in the atmosphere around them, Maritzia let a small smile tug at the corners of her lips as her own body reacted to the mood. "So that's no to delicious sex, then?"

 

"Hell, no, it isn't," Cade growled, his eyes bright with promise. "I'm just saying we're going to be responsible adults who allow time for you to get bitched at by your family after or before expending ourselves in the bedroom."

 

Maritzia laughed. That did sound like something reasonable adults would do.

 

Later that night after she spent at least an hour on roundabout facetime calls with her parents, brothers, and cousins getting bitched out for her heroic antics, she finally found herself exactly where she wanted to be.

 

"Cade!" she cried out into the dark room as her body swayed forward under the pressure of his hips.

 

Bracing herself against the headboard, Maritzia dropped her head to the hardwood surface as her body shook back and forth under Cade's powerful strokes. Beneath her, the bed was a mess. Tangled around their legs the linens were damp already in various spots from her earlier climaxes. hands on her hip rocked her back to meet his relentless thrusts. Sounds of their flesh slapping married themselves to the sounds of Cade's animalistic grunts and her high-pitched cries.

 

She felt the hot slick warmth of his chest along her back and tensed as she felt his calloused hand wrap around her throat. Her sex clenched at the feeling and she felt her pulse spike. His deep grunts of need were right in her ear now, the position making the punching strokes of his cock shorter but so much deeper. Again and again the tip of his fat cock punched at the entrance of her womb making her release her own grunting noises as the pleasure bordered on that fine edge of pain just like she needed. Wrapping her hands around his wrist just below her throat, she pushed her hips back with frenzied need. The tension within her was escalating.

 

"That's it, baby," Cade growled darkly in her ear. His big body covered hers completely, his powerful thighs just behind hers moving in time with hers as he pulsed desperately inside of her. "Come for me now," he commanded.

 

Fingers brushed up and over her parted folds and found the tiny pearl of nerves and pinching it ruthlessly.

 

Her body caved to the demand. A scream burst from her throat as everything inside of her shattered at once. Closing her eyes, Maritzia felt her body tighten and vaguely heard Cade's hoarse shout behind her as his own release spilled forth inside her. Easing her off the headboard until she was face down in the pillows, Cade gripped the sides of her ass, milking the remainder of his pulsing release inside of her with a string of dark curses and growling confessions of love under his breath.

 

Finally, after a few minutes, she tiredly felt him adjust both of their bodies until they were comfortably laying together in a panting sweaty pile.

 

After a while, Cade spoke, his voice raw and guttural. "I can't believe you're finally mine. After so long...after wanting you for so many years, here you are." Moving aside her wild curls, Cade kissed the back of her neck, sending shivers of awareness somehow through her exhausted body. "I'm finally where I belong. And you—goddammit Ritz—baby—you could've taken that all away from us. You could've been fucking killed!" he hissed behind her.

 

"But I wasn't," she moaned tiredly in her defense. "I knew what I was do-"

 

His heavy arm that rested over her snaked up until his hand found her throat again and lightly grabbed it. The action shot straight to her swollen and abused clit, waking it up with a sexual zing. God, she loved it when he did this. "Don't," he muttered in warning behind her. Stilling at the command and feeling herself get wet at the same time Maritzia listened on the simultaneous edge of pure exhaustion and the need to be fucked into the mattress again. Laying kisses down her spine, Cade nipped at her sweat slickened flesh, making her tremble. "I can't live without you, not again," he confessed. "I need you to swear to me you'll never do anything like that again. Don't put yourself in unnecessary danger. Swear to me, Ritz," he ordered, his voice hard and unyielding as stone but she heard the desperate need there too. He truly meant what he was saying. He had been scared by her actions.

 

Turning over in his arms she inwardly sighed at the grasp of his big hands settling on her naked waist, loving the way his hands held her as if he was afraid to let her go. Cupping his face in her hands, she stared deeply into his eyes and felt the years of love bursting like fireworks in her heart. "I promise," she said before sealing it with a kiss.

 

Letting out a groan, Cade's arms wrapped around her and pulled her painfully close. Kissing her back with fervent urgency, he held her close.

 

Breathing heavily, they finally pulled back and looked at one another. She watched as something mischievous glinted in his eyes.

 

"Now that I have your word you won't do anything crazy again. We need to get back to the rest of your punishment for scaring the goddamn life out of me," he announced cheerfully.

 

"The rest of it! You can't be serious?"

 

Turning them both until she was pressed against the mattress and Cade was bracing himself above her, he looked down at her and gave her a feral smile. "When it comes to you, it will never be enough. Just as we have never been just friends." His gaze warmed over her like dark liquid honey. Maritzia held back the urge to shiver under his gaze. Somehow, he looked at her as if she was the sexiest woman alive. Lowering himself to brush his lips across hers, she felt his smile against her lips. "When it comes to you, my love, you are my life."

 

Fin