Free Bared by Him by Red Garnier Page A

the carpet like she had the first night, coiling her limbs around him
     as she settled down on his lap, facing him. “What’s my punishment?” she said, her
     chest heaving.
    “Me,” he answered huskily, his big hands engulfing and massaging her ass as he took
     her mouth with his and kissed her. They had awesome groan-out-loud, excruciatingly
     pleasurable sex in that seated position, where he got his cock incredibly deep inside
     her, hitting her G-spot, making Ivy explode several times in a row.
    On Friday, they left his apartment to grab some Chinese food, and it felt strange
     and wonderful when he parked his car, came over to open her door, and grabbed her
     hand to walk her into the restaurant. He did the same when he parked in his own spot,
     then led her into his building. The gesture affected her so much, Ivy felt her blush
     spread all over her body, and she had to drop her face and cover her cheeks with her
     hair.
    She was sure nothing and nobody could pull her away from Cade as long as he would
     have her, and since he’d decided to enjoy a vacation from work until Monday, she felt
     like they were honeymooners—except there had never been a wedding.
    All they did was lounge around, eat, eat each other, fuck each other breathless, and
     talk in the dark.
    She had never been happier and dreaded the time when reality would intrude on them both.
    Today it was Saturday, and Ivy lounged around in her panties and top, watching Cade
     step out of the shower and wrap himself in a towel. A pang of yearning struck her
     in the chest, and she wished she had the confidence to get naked and in the shower
     with him. She’d almost started to feel sorry for herself when she noticed the text
     message from one of her friends.
    The news wasn’t good. Ivy immediately started dressing.
    “Cade, I should go. One of my friends … it’s really bad. She was diagnosed at stage
     four and now she’s … in her last. I just want to say good-bye.”
    He stared at her for way longer than she expected, then he burst out laughing—not
     a happy laugh. He jammed his hands into his hair, looking very frustrated all of a
     sudden. “My God! I’m going to hear about cancer every day with you, aren’t I? Why
     the fuck do you have to befriend everyone who has it, Ivy?”
    She shot him a furious scowl. She’d seen beneath the layers, and Cade was so much
     better than this, she wanted to slap him. But she also knew his anger was a survival
     mechanism, as was distance, a pretense of not caring. She tried to calm her voice.
     “I want to be there because she shouldn’t be alone. I wasn’t there for my mother,
     Cade, and now it’s eating at me. She died all alone. Because I was in college and obsessed with being a graphic design artist, and obsessed
     with graduating with honors. She died that morning alone in the hospital because I just couldn’t miss my classes. I couldn’t even say good-bye
     to her one last time. What kind of loser daughter do you think I feel like now?”
    He turned away and angrily combed his wet hair, then whirled around. “I said good-bye
     a thousand times to Laura. You think it gets better if you do?”
    Ivy’s heart cracked a little when he mentioned her. Did it mean that he trusted her
     now? Her insides moved at the thought, and her face softened at the tormented look
     in his eyes.
    She took his comb from the sink, hopped onto the small ottoman, and slid it through
     his dark locks, watching the thick, glossy wet strands sift beneath the comb teeth.
     “Let go,” she whispered, in his ear. “It wasn’t your fault, none of this is anyone’s
     fault.”
    He reached up to take the comb away, then set it down on the sink and glared down
     at the closed faucet. “She didn’t deserve to die that way. I was the bad one, the asshole; she was good. She died a … virgin. She’d always saved
     herself for marriage and I … went with it. In the end, we had to marry in a rush when
     she found