// Kaden's POV //
I no longer know where my head is at.
Had the timing been right, I would've slept with Bella last night. I would've done so many things to her beautiful body if only the timing hadn't been completely off. As bad as I want the girl, it would've been wrong to have tried sleeping with her after she just finished crying over her deadbeat father.
Taking advantage of vulnerable women is one of the few scumbag traits I never picked up.
"I'm off to work. Say goodbye to Bella for me!"
Evangeline rushes past me as I'm making my way downstairs. She's dressed to impress and looks like she's going out on a hot date rather than going to run a hair salon. I wish her a good day before making my way through the house.
If Evangeline is indeed stepping out on me, then more power to her. We aren't actually serious about this marriage thing, so as long as she's being careful about it, she can fool around with whoever she wants. If given the chance again, I definitely will.
*I guess I'm not the only one who needed to unwind after last night...*
Stepping out into the backyard, I smile when I see Bella's gorgeous body resting on a pool float.
She's wearing sunglasses and a red two-piece bikini that makes my pulse race. I don't recall her buying that when we went shopping, but it doesn't matter. She could wear a fucking garbage bag and still get me rock hard. Speaking of which, to keep my semi hidden, I run and dive headfirst into the pool. Bella shrieks as I make a big splash next to her.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." I laugh when she pushes up her shades to shoot invisible daggers at me.
"Liar." Bella chuckles, putting her shades back in place. I swim slow circles around her to keep my hands busy and from touching her. "I heard my mom yelling about going to work. Shouldn't you be doing the same thing, Mr. Businessman?"
"Not today. I felt like sticking around to spend more time with my totally-not-a-gigantic-brat of a stepdaughter." We laugh together, and she playfully splashes water my way. "Have you been out here long?"
"Nope."
"I'm not disturbing the peace, am I?"
"Nope. I don't mind the company."
I desperately want to change the subject and bring up our kiss from last night, but I also don't want to kill the mood and have Bella shutting down on me. Perhaps I should exercise patience and wait for her to bring it up. Let her take control the same way that she did last night when she kissed me.
I settle walking down the simplest path and pay her a cheap compliment. "Nice bikini."
"Thanks. You were right about the color red. It really does make my skin pop." Bella rolls off the floater and into the pool. She swims to the ledge to place her shades on the ground. I swim over to join her. "I see it written all over your face, Kaden."
"What?"
"I know you're dying to talk to me about last night."
"Oh. Am I that easy to read?"
"A bit." She smiles. "I think we can both agree that last night was... a lot. I want you to know I appreciated the chat that we had about my father. Thanks for being understanding and not acting weird towards me this morning. I don't ever want things to get awkward between us."
"Awkward because we kissed?"
"Yes. That." She blushes, briefly breaking eye contact. "What I did was extremely stupid and reckless, and it can never happen again."
"But we both want it to happen again, so why fight it?" I swim in front of her, and my tolerance snaps as I pin her against the ledge of the pool. "You kissed me last night. I kissed you back. So what? There's no need for apologies. I'm not sorry about anything. In fact..." I lean in to whisper near her ear. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about kissing you again."
"Me too," she replies softly. "I liked it. Maybe too much."
Her confession makes me lose control. My hands dip into the water to wrap her legs around my waist. She drapes her arms around my neck and stares at me so intently it feels like she's peering into my soul. I trail my fingers up and down the backs of her thighs, causing her to make the cutest little sound.
"I know this is wrong, but I don't fucking care anymore." I press my lips to Bella's damp neck, lightly nipping at her skin. Her body shudders and her thighs squeeze around me tighter. "Push me away if you don't want me. Tell me to stop and I swear I'll never bother you again."
"Kaden." The way that she sounds when moaning my name sends another wave of adrenaline coursing through my veins. "I don't want you to stop..."
"That's right. You want me just as much as I want this tight little cunt." My hands drift up her body, caressing her breasts. She throws her head back and gasps when I go underneath her top, my fingers teasing her stiff nipples. "There's more where this came from. So much more, and you can have it all if you give me permission to do what I want."
"Permission to take me inside and fuck me in the same bed that you share with my mother?" Bella brings her head down, smirking devilishly. "Do you not get how twisted this is, Kaden?"
"Yes, but I don't give a damn," I mutter, growing frustrated. "I've never touched your mother in that way, so it isn't like you're sharing me with her."
Bella gets that look in her eyes again, the one signaling she's on a mission to destroy and I know I'm fucked. If only it was in the literal sense.
"I admit that I want you, too. There was a time when I touched myself while fantasizing about you..." She slips a hand inside my swim trunks to grope me, setting the rest of my willpower on fire. "Tell me what I want to hear, Kaden. Tell me the truth and maybe I'll give you more than a lazy handjob."
I growl and push away from her. "Fine! You're not crazy. Your mother and I didn't marry because we're in love with each other, and... and that's all that I can say for now."
The smile that she makes terrifies me, but not enough to have me not wanting her.
"Okay," she says. "I'll settle on half of the truth for now."
"Thank you."
I swim towards her again, but she turns quickly to climb out of the pool. When I ask where she's going, she gives me a cheeky response.
"Out. You can consider this payback for leaving me high and dry in the kitchen the other night."
I can't even get upset at that, but she's in for a rude awakening if she thinks I won't retaliate.