Blinded By Love by Reana Malori

Chapter 12

Norah

When his lips touched mine, I whimpered. Yup, a full-on whimper that could be heard for miles around. Okay, maybe that was just how it sounded to me. When he leaned down, all I could think was that I didn’t want to fuck this up. Did my breath stink? Was there a pimple on my chin? Stupid shit.

I wanted this moment to be perfect. I didn’t know when I’d get this chance again, so I needed to savor it. Embrace it. Bask in the glory that was Cade Donovan. My eyes were wide open because I didn’t want to miss one second.

His kiss felt right. Time seemed to stop.

My feet lifted as I stood on my toes, trying to get closer to him. Pressing my body against his, I wanted to feel him.

His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me tight against him. When his tongue came out to brush along my lips, coaxing them open, my knees buckled. Grabbing onto his arms with my hands, I relied on his strength to hold me up. The kiss was only a few seconds but then my mind started playing tricks on me.

Why was I kissing Cade?

What would Rebecca say? Actually, I know what she’d say. She’d already told me.

Bigger question is, why was he kissing me?

And although I wanted to pull back, I didn’t.

Lifting my hands from his shoulders, I wrapped my arms around his neck. My fingers rubbed along his short hair. His lower body pressed into mine, his thick member pressing against my stomach. Hard. Hot.

That feeling was what jolted me back. I unwrapped my arms from around his neck and took a step away from him. My hands went to my mouth, covering my lips. “Cade? What are we doing? What are you doing? You’re my best friend’s husband.”

He rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. His eyes bored into mine, freezing me in place. “Don’t do that, Norah. We kissed. We both liked it. Stop acting like I’m cheating on Rebecca. I’m not.”

I wanted to sink into the floor. This is what Rebecca was talking about in her letter to me. She knew that I’d been attracted to Cade, but did she think he was attracted to me also? No, that was impossible. I was the only fool in this scenario.

“It’s the same thing. It hasn’t even been two years since she’s been gone.”

Cade shook his head, his eyes going from me to the wall and back. “I know how long she’s been gone. I’ve lived with that knowledge every day.” He rubbed a hand down his face and took a deep breath. “Just forget this ever happened. Just chalk it up to a long day and a bad night. It was a mistake. It won’t happen again.” Standing in front of me, Cade stared down into my eyes for a few more seconds before he turned to leave. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow,” I couldn’t help but mumble in return.

After the bedroom door was closed, I leaned against it, breathing deeply. I’d kissed Cade. His arms were wrapped around my waist, holding me close to his muscular form. I’m not even gonna lie, it felt good. Even though I was fighting against the memory of his body pressed against me, I knew I’d be dreaming about it tonight and tomorrow and probably the next night after that.

“Rebecca,” I spoke into the silence. “You know you’ve started some shit, right? If you were alive, I’d pinch you.” After a few moments of silent laughter, I sobered up. “Then again, if you were here, Cade never would have kissed me in the first place.”

Stepping away from the door, I climbed under the covers. That was enough excitement for the day. Now the question was, how would I face him tomorrow? Should I act normal? What if he wanted a repeat?

The Love Vixen told me I should give him the space he needed. He was still grieving, right? Was his grief the reason he’d kissed me? Maybe I was the closest thing he had to Rebecca?

Then again, we looked nothing alike, my dark skin to her pale skin. She’d had long blonde hair, while mine was dark, curly, and shoulder length. If I flat ironed my hair, it was much longer, but I hardly did that anymore. Not unless there was a special occasion and I wanted to pull out a sleek look. I was an agitator, fighting against the system every chance I got, while Rebecca was quieter, more lowkey.

We were different in all the ways that counted when it came to looks and personality. There was no way Cade could be attracted to me after being with her for so long. But he kissed me…

“Ugh!” I flopped back on the bed. I was so confused.

No, I wasn’t. I knew the best option was for me to stop acting like one kiss meant anything. It didn’t. I tried to chalk it up to being just the heat of the moment. A slip up. Weakness. Need. Desire.

Yeah, those thoughts weren’t really helping.

“Stop, Norah. Enough. You’re not a teenager. You’re a grown ass woman with responsibilities. You know how life works.” Yet, here I was, talking to myself like a damn loon.

Giving up, I decided to just go to sleep and deal with it tomorrow. Cade had apologized… sort of. More importantly, he said it wouldn’t happen again. That’s what I wanted right?

I mean, what would our friends and family say if we started a relationship? Would they think this is something that had been going on when Rebecca was alive? Of course, nothing had happened then, and honestly, that little three-second kiss wasn’t something that needed to be shared. If we kept it between the two of us, then there was nothing to worry about. I had no doubt Cade would do just that. With that final thought, I tried to relax. Everything would be fine, right?

The following morning, knocking woke me up. My body jackknifed in the bed

“Norah? Are you awake?”

It was Cade. Looking at the time display on my phone, I saw that it was a few minutes after nine in the morning.

Clearing my throat, I responded. “Uh... Yeah, I’m awake.”

“I made breakfast.”

What was up with this man and feeding me? I’d gained ten pounds since I’ve lived here.

“I’m going to pick up Lilly from her friend’s house. I’ll be back shortly.”

Nodding, even though he couldn’t see me, I flipped the covers back and climbed out of bed. “Okay, be safe.”

“I will.”

Then he paused. I know because I listened for the sound of him walking away.

After a few seconds, he spoke again. “Okay, I’ll see you when we return.”

“Okay.” So inadequate, but I heard his footsteps going down the stairs.

Was he waiting for me to say something else? Did he want to say more? Now we’d entered the awkward stage and that felt worse than the sexual tension filled, ‘I want you but can’t have you’ phase. Pulling out some underwear, a pair of shorts, and a t-shirt, I went into the bathroom to shower.

For the next twenty minutes, I wasn’t going to think about Rebecca’s letter or about Cade and his mesmerizing kisses and thick… muscles. Now if I could just decide how to handle him when he and Lilly returned.

I need to get my mind right, because if the opportunity came again for me to kiss Cade, I might be too weak to reject him. This entire situation was so confusing.

“You’re hopeless,” I muttered to myself, stepping into the shower.