Jill Shalvis - The Detective’s Undoing

What was he thinking as he looked at her like that, as if she was the only woman in the world?

Ty and Zoe held hands as they spoke their vows, their gazes filled with such wonder and love that Delia had to look away, or the deep ache inside her might consume her.

She didn’t want Cade to go, maybe she’d never wanted him to go.

He was intelligent, funny, passionate, and the most caring man she’d ever met. He was on her mind from the moment she awoke in the morning until she fell asleep at night. She dreamed about him and got up with the memory of his taste, his touch, and instead of being satisfied, she wanted more. She wanted all of him, and it wasn’t just a physical wanting, though her body yearned and burned.

With all her heart she wanted him to stay.

Forever.

The thought made her gasp out loud, and Maddie shot her a surprised look, but Delia regained her composure quickly, for it was foolish to wonder what it would be like to have Cade forever.

Ty leaned close to Zoe and kissed her hard and long. Cade and Maddie laughed and clapped, Edna looked touched, and as the kiss dragged on, Jacob wore an expression between feigned disgust and happiness. Delia smiled, but she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Cade.

Later, after everyone had left the church and they were at dinner together, Cade pulled Delia aside and gazed deeply into her eyes. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”

His words stole her breath. “You’ve seen beautiful women before.”

Not denying that, he laughed softly, sexily, and blocking her from the others with his body, he stroked a work-roughened thumb over her jaw. “What’s on that gorgeous mind of yours, Delia? It’s not another woman.”

“Yes. Yes, it is,” she whispered. “I want to know about your wife.”

His thumb stilled. “I’m not comparing the two of you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Because there’s no comparison?”

“Because you’re so different.” He sighed when she only waited for more. “I loved Lisa. We were high-school sweethearts. Best friends. We were…comfortable. Cozy.” His gaze waited for hers. “What you and I have, Delia, has never been cozy.”

“No. Not cozy.”

His eyes heated and he touched her again, making her shiver.

“Would you ever be happy staying here?” Shocked and horrified at herself, she scrambled to backpedal. “Never mind. Just…never mind.” When she tried to step away, he stopped her.

“I didn’t know you thought of me like that,” he said, clearly surprised.

“Yeah, well, don’t let it go to your head.” Determined to let nothing ruin this day, Zoe’s wedding day, she again tried to turn away.

And again he stopped her. “Just because I’ve avoided commitment since my family’s death doesn’t mean I don’t know the meaning of the word,” he murmured, watching his fingers on her arm as he ran them down to her fingers to link their hands. Then he raised their joined hands to his lips. “I don’t know what to do about you, Delia. God help me, I just don’t.”

What did that mean? Whatever it meant, he wasn’t offering undying love, that was certain. And anyway, she didn’t need it. She had everything that mattered. Her life was perfect as it was, or it would be after the custody hearing.

She tried to pull away once more, afraid to let him see into her eyes, because all she felt for him was there, leaving her far more vulnerable than she’d ever been in her life.

“Delia-”

“No, don’t.” And with a tug, she broke free.

Jacob was at the table when she got there, watching her carefully, and she smiled at him.

“You look funny,” he said, his brow puckering. “You’re not going to…cry or anything, are you?”

“No.” Swallowing hard, she forced another smile.

The fact that Cade was indeed the prince she’d been looking for all her life didn’t escape her and certainly didn’t help her already-bruised pride.

She didn’t want to need him as much as she did, didn’t want to need anyone.

The restaurant had a small dance floor and a three-piece band. But they were good, and it wasn’t long before Ty dragged Zoe out onto the floor for a dance.

Cade watched them for a moment, locked in each other’s arms and apparently lost in each other. The way Ty held Zoe, the way she looked at him, stirred the emptiness in his own heart.

Automatically, without even realizing what he was doing, he searched out Delia. And found her, quietly watching him. The now familiar confusion hit him, the one that always came when he looked at her.

Her light eyes were clear and warm. The soft flickering glow of the candles gave her skin a pearly luster. Her glorious hair, loose and wavy to her shoulders, shone.

Delia by candlelight.

He’d never seen anyone lovelier.

Slowly, almost against his will, he moved toward her. Her eyes widened when his intent became clear, but his Delia, his strong valiant steady Delia, held her ground.

“Come with me,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her up.

“What are you doing?” she asked in an alarmed whisper, glancing back at Maddie, who just smiled serenely.

Cade smiled, too, and didn’t let go of her, so that short of making a scene, she had little to no choice other than to follow him. She managed to throw a smile back to Maddie and the others, but he could feel how stiff she was.

“Relax,” he murmured in her ear, drawing her close for a slow dance he knew would be pure torture.

“I can’t!”

“Sure you can. You just take a deep breath and-”

“No, dammit! I mean, I can’t dance!”

He laughed, but when she went even stiffer, he eased back and looked at her. “You’re not kidding?” For some ridiculous reason tenderness filled him. It meant that no one had ever held her quite like this, which shouldn’t have been so thrilling. The music obliged him, became slower more sensual, and there in the dark they began to move to the beat.

“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered, clearly flustered. “Or where to put my hands…or my feet.”

“Just ease up against me…yeah, that’s it. Put your hands here…” He wrapped one around his neck. “And here…” He entwined her fingers with his, drawing her against him. Ignoring the shaft of heat that caused, he smiled into her tense face. “This is supposed to be fun, you know.”

“Fun,” she muttered, but she swayed with him, holding him as if she liked it in spite of herself. “We’re awfully close.”

“That’s the idea.” He held her gaze as she blushed. Then she tucked her face into the crook of his neck, which was just as good because now he could feel her every little breath, which seemed to be coming faster and faster.

Cade could have drowned in the pleasure of it.

We’re awfully close.

It’d been a problem for both of them since the first time they’d met. But he found that he no longer had the will to fight that closeness, that he actually wanted to savor it, go with it. For him, it was like coming out of a dark tunnel, one he’d been in for eight long years. It was like feeling the warmth of the sun on his face after a cold and bitter winter.

His body gravitated toward hers until there wasn’t an inch of space between them as they moved to the music. Her fingers were curled in the ends of his hair, stroking lightly in a caress he wasn’t sure she was even aware of; but he was, so much so that he had to close his eyes. But all that did was intensify everything. The feel of her soft body against his firm one, the easy flow of her movements, the heat those movements generated.

When he rocked, she rocked, and she let out a little sigh, losing the last of her resistance. He nearly groaned out loud. Her touch felt good, too good, and the feel of her arms around him only added to the sweet pain. He buried his face in her hair and held on tight, wondering if she could feel his heart racing, wondering if she knew he was as hard as a rock.