The Exception Read online

  He licked slowly up my slit and I could hear him growl before pressing his face between my thighs, licking up, swirling at the top, and down again before dipping his tongue into me.

  I was so close to the brink, my body humming, sparking, demanding more. He removed his thumb before inserting a finger, then two, inside me and I literally saw stars as he moved them in and out in a fluid motion. He watched me, the corner of his mouth upturned, as my world began to spin out of control. He leaned in slowly, my body anticipating what was to come. His mouth was back on me again, roughly this time, licking and sucking, sending me higher and higher. I could feel his stubble on my sensitive skin, a contrast that added its own element to my overloaded senses.

  It was more than I could take. It was my undoing. I could feel his eyes on me as my fingers found his hair again, pulling his face into my body as I rode out my orgasm. His gaze never left me, watching me, taking his cue from me, decreasing the tempo slowly until I shuddered as I came back to Earth. It was ecstasy.

  Cane stood and wiped his face with the back of his hand, smiling mischievously.

  “I’d ask if that was good, but I fucking know it was,” he said cockily. “You are so responsive.”

  I wanted to refute his declaration, to knock him down a few pegs, but I couldn’t work the brain-to-mouth function yet. He knew what he had done to me, anyway. There was no point in trying to dispute it.

  “That was amazing,” I said, trying to catch my breath. The white sparkles I had floating across my sight were beginning to diminish.

  “Get on your hands and knees.”

  I rolled over and got onto all fours without a second thought. I normally hated being in this position. It seemed so crass, so unattractive. But with Cane, it didn’t seem like that big of a deal.

  I could hear him remove his pants and the sound of cellophane crunching as he removed a condom from its wrapper. He wrapped one arm around my stomach and pulled me to the end of the bed, until I was actually standing on the floor with my stomach lying on the top of the mattress.

  He caressed my ass with his hands, smacking it smartly before grabbing his cock and guiding it into my wetness. “This is going to be quick. I need it too much to make it last.”

  I was still sensitive and the contact made me yelp. He grabbed my hips with his hands roughly and pounded into me, his pace growing quicker with each thrust. I called out, my body exploding again before he pressed into me and stilled, finding his release. He pulled out of me slowly and I climbed onto the bed, burying myself in the blankets. Cane was quick to join me, pulling me into him, my back into his front. He rested his chin on top of my head and I could hear his heart beating steadily … reliably. I took comfort in that, nestling back against him.

  “How are you feeling?” His voice was soft against my ear.

  “Good. Relaxed. How do you feel?”

  “Strange.”

  I turned to look at him. “Care to explain?”

  He laughed. “I’m not a cuddler, Jada. This is cuddling.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”

  “I am kind of liking this right now. I hope you don’t have any plans for a while.”

  “It’s your lucky day.”

  “I haven’t had any of those in a while.”

  “Me either,” I said with disdain.

  “Hey! I don’t want to hear any of that,” he said, kissing my cheek. “We’ve both had some shitty days, but they got us here.”

  “I like being here.”

  “Me, too, Jada. Me, too.”

  JADA

  Breathe, Jada. Breathe.

  I pulled up to Kari’s cream colored stucco house and looked around nervously before I got out of the car. Everything looked normal. The neighbor lady across the street was watering her bushes and a teenager a couple of houses down was tossing a basketball through a hoop.

  I gave the house a final once over. The curtains were all drawn, the wooden door closed, the landscaping tidy. Nothing looked out of place.

  I exited the Jeep and made my way to the house. My steps were quicker than normal, my heart matching my steps stride-for-stride.

  Even though none of us had heard from Simon since the incident, I still felt a lot of anxiety when I was alone.

  What if he came for me again?

  I unlocked the door swiftly and locked it behind me. The security system began beeping and I disarmed and rearmed it, before tossing my things on the chair by the stairs and making my way over to Kari’s sofa.

  I sat down and kicked my feet up on the coffee table, smiling to myself that if my sister was home, she would be going on and on about how unsanitary it was.

  I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.

  Cane had stayed with me the entire weekend; he seemed as unsure about leaving me as I felt about him going. We had the house to ourselves because Kari worked a couple of shifts and then spent the rest of the weekend at Max’s. I was worried that it would feel weird because we knew so little about each other.

  Despite my concerns, everything was great. Maybe even perfect … until Sunday.

  I needed to call my father and explain most of what had happened. Cane thought we should go see him in person and then drive to his house stay the night. I didn’t want to discuss everything with my father in front of Cane. Moreover, I didn’t want to leave the house. And staying at Cane’s so soon just seemed like a bad idea. It was too much, too soon.

  With Cane in the shower, I had called my dad and told him I had dinner with Simon and that it had ended badly. Of course he was angry that I had been with Simon at all, thanks to Cane’s phone call. When I told him I was fairly certain that Simon wouldn’t follow through with the purchase of Solomon Place, he said he had received a phone call Friday afternoon from Simon’s lender. Dad wasn’t sure what was going on, but apparently Simon’s financial backing had fallen through.

  So many things had happened so quickly. As I sat on Kari’s couch, a mixture of emotions rolled through me. I was still nervous about Simon, even though Cane assured me everything would be taken care of. I was excited and nervous about my relationship with Cane. I was grateful things didn’t end worse with Simon. And I was disappointed that I let myself get played by him in the first place.

  I looked at the clock, feeling my stomach start to flutter. I had enough time to jump into a shower before Cane came over.

  I made my way upstairs to change out of my work clothes, a silly grin breaking out across my face as my phone chirped.

  Cane: Be ready in an hour. Wear the orange dress.

  Me: What if I have plans?

  Cane: You don’t.

  Me: Maybe I do.

  Cane: Cancel them.

  I laughed at my phone, thinking up a response while another text from him came through.

  Cane: It doesn’t matter. I will be there in 57 minutes. Be ready.

  Me: What if I’m not here?

  Cane: You will be.

  Me: A bit arrogant, wouldn’t you say?

  Cane: I’ve been called worse.

  Me: You are impossible.

  Cane: 55 minutes. Time is ticking.

  I smiled and headed for the shower.

  Fifty minutes later, I was standing in the kitchen when I heard the doorbell ring. My heart began to race as I made my way towards the door.

  “Who is it?” I called, standing on my tiptoes to see through the peephole.

  “There better only be one man coming to take you out tonight,” Cane said from the other side.

  He was standing on the doorstep, looking more handsome than I had ever seen him. A tight black shirt stretched across his broad shoulders, a white t-shirt peeking out of the bottom. His hands were shoved in the pockets of dark jeans and he wore white sneakers.

  He looked young, carefree, and divine.

  I smoothed out my dress before popping open the door. Cane slowly removed his sunglasses from his face when he saw me.

  “Hi, beautiful girl.”

 
He reached his hand out; his fingertips lightly touched my skin right below my ear, sending shivers down my spine. He slowly let them drift down my neck, a wave of goose bumps following in their wake. He took a step forward through the threshold.

  “I told you that you would be here,” he whispered in my ear. I leaned my neck over to give him access. He stood up and laughed. “Come on. You look beautiful and we have places to be.”

  “Where are we going?” I was curious as to what he had planned. We had never been anywhere together and he had told me he didn’t normally take women to dinner.

  “You’ll see.”

  This should be interesting.

  I grabbed my purse and shut and locked the door behind me. Cane held the door to his black Denali open and I stepped inside the cool, clean cab.

  He got in beside me and grabbed his sunglasses out of the front of his shirt, sliding them over his eyes. He smiled sexily and threw the car into reverse and jetted through the neighborhood until he hit the exit for the freeway.

  “Holy hell, Cane!” I cried as he zipped through the traffic. “You’re going to kill me! Stop! Seriously! Or I won’t get back in here ever again, I swear to you.”

  Cane threw his head back and laughed. “Well, being as though we just got on the same page, I’ll behave. It’s too soon to have you threatening to leave me.” He slowed to a more agreeable speed and turned on the radio, Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock singing about pictures. I relaxed back in the seat, watching the cacti fly by, feeling completely at peace and reveling in it.

  “How was your day?” I asked.

  “I got a lot of shit done, if that’s what you mean. How was your day?”

  I sighed. “It was good, I guess. I wasn’t quite as productive as you, apparently. I just still feel so, I don’t know. Off, maybe. At least when I’m alone I do.”

  He scowled. “I hate that you feel that way, baby. I wish I could do something to show you that everything is okay.” He reached his hand across the console and grabbed mine, running his thumb over my knuckles.

  “When I’m with you, I believe that. But for some reason, when we are apart—”

  “I get it. I feel the same way.” The corner of his lips turned up in a grin. “It’s fucking crazy, but with you, I feel really … centered? I don’t know what word to use. I just feel like everything is in focus when we are together. I can concentrate at work. I know what needs to be done.”

  Warmth blossomed in my chest. “I know what you mean.”

  “Crazy, right?”

  I nodded.

  We rode in silence for a while, Cane stroking my hand with his before linking our fingers together.

  Finally, Cane turned south towards the mountains and I became curious. I held my tongue until I couldn’t take it anymore. “Where are we going?” Everything you would traditionally consider as date material was getting farther and farther behind us.

  “Patience is a virtue,” Cane said.

  “A virtue I’m lacking.”

  “That’s okay,” Cane said, pulling into a little parking lot. “We’re here.”

  We were on the outskirts of the city next to a little cantina, as the sign described. It was a little stucco building, the size of a large bedroom, with a metal roof and a little overhang where you could walk up to place your order. There were picnic tables scattered around the structure beneath the massive palm trees and other makeshift tables with hay bales as seats. White lights were strung haphazardly around and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  This was so quaint, so random, and not at all what I expected. And I loved it.

  I looked at Cane, curious, silently asking him if he wanted to explain. He shrugged his shoulders and tucked his sunglasses into the front of his shirt before shoving his hands into his pockets; he looked a little embarrassed.

  Puzzled, I reached out and took his hand and gave him a soft smile. I loved seeing this other side of him that I was sure very few people got to see.

  He looked to the ground and toed a rock, looking a little sheepish. “I grew up out here and used to come here all the time when I was a little boy.”

  The image of a little Cane with bright blue eyes flashed through my mind.

  “The city didn’t come out nearly this far,” he said, his eyes soft in the setting sun. “It was really quiet out here. I would walk over here all the time for dinner.”

  He looked over and waved at the little old lady behind the counter. Her face lit up like the sun. “Dad wasn’t much of a cook, so she,” he nodded at the lady, “did a lot of our cooking.”

  The lady motioned for us to come to the counter excitedly and Cane blushed. “This place is as close to home as I can ever take you. I don’t know why I brought you here. I just thought, I don’t know, maybe you’d like it.” He smiled hopefully.

  “I love it, Cane. This is perfect.”

  We made our way up to the stand and the old woman’s smile grew. She leaned over the counter and kissed both of Cane’s cheeks. “¿Mijo, como estàs?” she asked, beaming at Cane.

  Cane smiled back, obviously very fond of the lady in front of him. “Bueno. I’m good, abuelita. This is Jada,” he said, nodding at me. “Jada, this is Mrs. Munoz.”

  We smiled at each other and I was unsure what to say. My Spanish was horrible and I wasn’t sure if she spoke English.

  “¿Como estàs, abuelita?”

  “Ah, bien, bien. Sentarse,” she said, nodding at the seats. “Voy a la comida.”

  “Do you want to sit at a table or a hay bale?” Cane asked, his eyes dancing with laughter.

  “Well, the hay bale does look inviting, but in this dress, I’m not so sure,” I laughed. “Why did you ask me to wear this if you knew we were coming here?”

  “I love that dress on you,” he said quietly. “I won’t apologize for that.”

  I swooned as he grabbed my hand and led me to a table. We got settled and within a few minutes, Mrs. Munoz brought us an entire spread of food.

  “Hágamelo sí usted necesita cualquier cosa,” Mrs. Munoz said.

  Cane looked so young, so respectful, as he watched the grey-haired lady return to the building with a fondness I had never seen in him before; it was endearing. I imagined this is how he interacted with his mother.

  Watching their interaction reminded me of my own mother. It wasn’t something I liked to think about a lot.

  “Please send Jada to the office, Mrs. Costa. She won’t be back for the rest of the week.”

  I packed my things into my backpack and walked to the office with such trepidation I was almost sick. I knew, in the pit of my stomach, that something was very, very wrong.

  I rounded the corner and saw Kari sitting in one of the stiff black chairs. Her hair was sticking to her face from tears, her eyes wide with fear. My father stood behind her, his hands on Kari’s shoulders.

  I had never seen my father cry before and I had never seen him cry since. But that day was etched in my memory forever. Tears fell so quickly down his face that it looked like a constant stream.

  And I knew.

  Dad had never been to the school for anything. That was Mom’s job. And Mom wasn’t there.

  I stopped in my tracks, my heart dropping to the floor with my backpack as I waited for the words that I knew were coming.

  “Jada,” Dad choked. “It’s your mother …”

  “So you used to live all the way out here?” I asked him, placing some sour cream on top of my quesadilla and trying to bring my thoughts back to the present.

  “I did,” he said quietly, all of a sudden engrossed in his enchilada.

  “Where?”

  “Over that way,” he said, nodding his head across the street.

  “Does your mother still live there?” I realized I didn’t know where his parents were or if he had brothers and sister. I knew so very little.

  “No,” he said, swallowing hard. “She doesn’t.” He picked up his water and took a sip, staring off into the desert.

  “I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean to push.” I felt embarrassed and curious all at the same time, my cheeks heating.

  “You’re not pushing. My father passed away a while back, as you know,” he muttered, his eyes betraying his cool exterior. He swallowed again. “Kellie, or my mother as my birth certificate shows, ran off when I was a little boy. She found someone worth more financially than my father. Just your classic gold digger.”

  “Oh, Cane, I’m so sorry! That must have been awful! Were you an only child?” I suddenly felt very alone for Cane. I couldn’t imagine being by myself in the world. Even through my divorce and my feelings of loneliness then, it couldn’t compare to what Cane had to feel.

  “Yeah, just me,” he shrugged, moving his enchilada around on his plate.

  “Did you ever see your mother again?”

  He shook his head. “Nah, she married the guy she left Dad for and had some other kids. Or so I heard.”

  My heart broke for this strong man in front of me that, in that moment, looked so mortal. I knew he was trying to hide what he was feeling, but I could see the memories cross through his eyes.

  “I lost my mother when I was fourteen,” I said quietly. “She was pregnant but didn’t know. She had an ectopic pregnancy and bled to death before my dad found her. So I understand what you feel like. I know how it feels to lose your mom, Cane.”

  He sat his fork down on his plate, staring at me. He didn’t move for a few moments and then began to speak. “She left when I was really young, maybe five or six. I don’t have a whole lot of memories of her.” He looked out across the desert. “I do remember waking up one morning and she was gone, though. I kept thinking she was going to come back. I sat outside with my little Tonka trucks for days, pushing the sand one way and then pushing it the other. I’d jump up every time I heard a car, knowing it was going to be her.” He dragged his eyes back to mine and shook his head. “Dad carried me inside every night as the sun went down, kicking and screaming. I’d climb into my bed and bury myself in my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sheets and cry myself to sleep.”

  “That breaks my heart, Cane.”

  “Don’t let it. What you went through was much worse. A whole different scale entirely. You probably loved your mother.”