AMELIA’S P.O.V

It had been two days since Aiden came to visit and Kaden had not spoken about him. We acted as if it were a fever dream that was locked away in the far parts of our minds.


I knew that Aiden wouldn’t give up anytime soon and I knew that one day, I needed to tell Kaden about what had happened but I couldn’t even figure out how to bring it up. It was unsettling and uncomfortable but I didn’t have solid proof that he meant for anything malicious to happen.

“You’re thinking hard,” Kaden’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned to find him standing at the doorway to the kitchen

It was his presence that reminded me of what I was doing and I cursed as I pulled the oven open. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that my cake hadn’t burnt but if I had left it for a few more minutes, I wouldn’t have been able to say that at all.


I rushed to get it out and put it on a cooling rack all the while I could see Kaden trying to hide a smile out of the corner of his eye.

I was doing better. I saw my friends almost every day and Kaden’s mother had surprisingly been a great help. She was sweet and brought over home cooked meals for me. She wasn’t an angel, she didn’t have a personality shift overnight but she treated me with respect and that was all that I could ask for.


“Is there an occasion?” Kaden asked and from his voice, I could tell that he was closer but I didn’t turn to him. I busied myself with trying to clean up after myself.

We both knew that I didn’t bake just like that. Something was bothering me and that was why I was standing here.

“Not really, I just felt like it,” I lied. “Do you want a slice? It’s hot so-”

My words died on my lips when Kaden’s hands settled on my hips. I hadn’t even realized he was behind me until he touched me. I nearly jumped in fright but I recognized his hold, I knew it in the deepest parts of my mind and I could tell it in my sleep.

His body wasn’t touching mine, just his hands but I could feel him everywhere. I could feel the searing heat of his skin against my back and it took everything in me to remain standing where I was and to not turn back to him.

“Amelia,” his voice was an octave lower than usual. “What are you thinking about? Tell me what’s bothering you.”

“Aiden,” I admitted and he stilled for a second before laughing.

“I definitely wasn’t expecting my cousin’s name out of your mouth.”

Before I could ask what he meant, he grabbed me by my hips and placed me to sit on the counter before standing in between my thighs. The action shocked me to my core and I just sat there with my mouth open as I stared at him.

“What did he do? Did he approach you?” I shook my head. “Then why were you thinking about my cousin.”

I debated my next choice of words carefully. “He is weird.”

“I know that,” Kaden’s hand settled on my thigh. “What happened? Tell me.”

I sighed and explained all the weird interactions I had with Aiden from the library to him telling me about Nadine. Kaden was quiet the entire time but his grip on my thighs grew tighter. It wasn’t tight enough that it hurt but firm enough that I knew he was holding onto me.

“Is there a reason you didn’t tell me about this sooner?” he asked but I couldn’t respond. “Stay away from Aiden, I don’t know what he’s playing at but it can’t be good.”

“I didn’t mean to hide it, there was just so much going on that-”

“It’s okay,” he cut me off, his fingers stroking my cheeks softly. “I’ll handle Aiden, you just need to stay safe and away from him.”

“What if I’m just reading too much into things and he-”

“I’ll handle it,” he assured me before kissing me.

He didn’t initiate contact often especially because of what happened but for the first time in a long time, I felt relief that he did. He wasn’t treating me like I was broken or like there was something wrong with me, he treated me like I was fine.

I was so shocked at first that I didn’t react immediately, I just froze and Kaden pulled back. He looked incredibly guilty as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

“I am so fucking sorry,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have done that. You weren’t ready. I should have waited or asked before doing it.”

“Kaden, I-”

“No, please,” he cursed loud. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable around me. That was never my intention and if I did that then I am so sorry.”

I knew he wasn’t going to stop apologizing. He had convinced himself that he had hurt me and until I made him know that he hadn’t then he was going to keep talking. He wasn’t letting me speak so I couldn’t tell him but maybe I could show him.

Before I managed to chicken out, I grabbed him by the cheeks and kissed him.

He stilled for a moment before kissing me back with equal fervor. His fingers tangled into my hair as he kissed me deeply, stepping closer to me until our bodies were almost fused together.

I could feel him everywhere. I could feel the hard lines of his chest as my nipples brushed against them and I could feel him growing hard between my thighs. It had been so long since I felt him inside of me, I couldn’t stop myself from rocking my hips.

He pulled back with a curse. “Fuck, if we keep going, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop.”

“Then don’t,” I didn’t know when the words left my lips but I knew I didn’t regret them.

“What?”

“I don’t want you to stop, Kaden. I want you.”