“But she’s had everything. Everything I didn’t even realize I wanted, and she just took it all for granted and walked away. And now she’s here acting all entitled, and I’m so jealous that my teeth ache with it. I have never, never felt like this, and I want it to stop.” The last part comes out pleading, like he can take away the ball of anxiety lodged in my chest.

“You don’t want what she’s had. You want more. You deserve more. And I’m going to give it to you. Nod if you understand me.”

With a deep sigh, I nod, eyes locked on his. Heart racing in time with his. “But she—”

He cuts me off. “I thought I told you to stop and listen to me?”

“You did but—”

“If you can’t stop running your mouth with that self-sabotaging bullshit, I will shut it for you.” His hand cups my cheek tenderly. “I love Luke. You love Luke. And the three of us feel right together. Tonight she’ll be gone and you’ll still be here. At the end of this summer, you’ll leave, but you’ll be back. Because there’s no way in hell that this ends here. I won’t allow it. We’re going to figure this out. You got me?”

I swallow hard, searching his dark, serious eyes, his furrowed brow, the look of intensity on his face. The little voice in my head says he’s joking, but I know Cade well enough to know he wouldn’t joke about this.

“But—”

In the blink of an eye, he’s adjusted his grip to pop open my jaw and stuffs my panties inside. My irises widen as he works the fabric in and I stand stock still, too shocked to stop him. Too turned on to want to.

“There are no buts about it, Red. Now get your palms flat on the counter and bend over.”

I still stare at him wide-eyed, a little shocked by how quickly this conversation has flipped. With a gentle hand on my shoulder, he turns me away, and I let my hands slide across the bare countertop.

“That’s my girl,” he murmurs, pushing down between my shoulder blades so that my torso presses against the counter, the edge of the cool marble biting into my hips. “Teasing me with this dress all afternoon. The only thing I can think about is bending you over and checking what you’re wearing underneath.”

I moan against the fabric in my mouth, hips shimmying as I arch my back in a silent invitation for him to check.