I Want You, Sora Raine

Sora

“What are we doing here?” I look around the place; it’s a hotel, but not quite one, if that makes any sense.

Kade, unsurprisingly, ignores me and makes his way to the entrance, leaving me to either follow behind or go back.

But here’s the thing: he’s well aware I will follow him because as much as I know Cam won’t kick me out, I can’t deal with being next to him either.

“Are you going to ignore me our entire ride here?” I ask again as we step into the elevator, but yeah, just as I suspected, he is still quiet.

What the fuck is wrong with him?

Wasn’t he the one teasing me all night? Even the ride down here had been rather fun, so where is this switch coming from?

I want to punch him square in the face and not give a shit about his silent treatment, but I cannot.

I hate that he is ignoring me.

I don’t know why, but it makes me want to cry. Want to scream.

The feeling crawls under my skin the longer he stays quiet.

Did I say something wrong?

No.

Maybe.

Fuck.

Great, now I’m replaying every conversation we’ve had in my head like some lunatic trying to find the exact moment everything went wrong.

Was it the kiss?

The ultimatum?

The fact that I agreed to the bet?

Or maybe he finally realized I’m not worth the trouble.

The thought punches me so hard in the chest that I actually have to look away from him.

Stupid.

This is stupid.

I’ve known him for less than a day.

Less than a day and somehow this whole silent treatment game is driving me insane, much more than Cameron’s lack of trust.

Okay, that’s it, I’ve had enough. I push him deeper into the elevator until his back is pressed against the metal.

My fingers poke at his chest. “What.” poke. “The.” poke. “Is.” poke. “Your—”

He grabs my wrist, stopping my pokes, but that doesn’t deter me. I kick his knees, making him buckle to the floor.

“Problem.”

I smile triumphantly, arms crossed. Kade just stares at me, then the floor, and back at me, still very much quiet.

I can’t even tell what he is thinking; his face is blank and oh my goodness, this is driving me insane. Kade is driving me insane.

“Why are you mad at me?”

He shrugs on his knees. That’s his answer. A fucking shrug.

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed about Kade, it’s that the man despises standing. Any opportunity to sit, lie down, crouch, or kneel, and he’ll take it without hesitation.

“You said I wasn’t a terrible kisser, so why are you ignoring me now?”

Again, more silence.

Fine.

Anger bubbles deep in my bones. If he wants to act like a bitch, I’ll show him how to be one.

I spin around and smack the red emergency stop button.

The elevator jolts violently before grinding to a halt.

“If you don’t speak to me,” I tell him sweetly, leaning against the elevator doors, “then we might as well spend the night here.”

His brows shoot up. “I don’t mind as long as I get to sleep.”

“Kade,” I warn, “what was it about being transparent, or does that only work when it’s convenient for you?”

He gets off his knees and sits in a crisscross position, looking up at me, and oh boy, my hands itch to ruffle his hair. It’s not my fault; he looks like a really cute poodle.

“I am not upset or ignoring you,” he drawls. “I haven’t had the chance to rest in a while, and today was kind of a long day, don’t you think?”

I hadn’t thought about that. With the whole Cameron thing, I’d been so busy feeling sorry for myself that it never occurred to me Kade might actually be exhausted.

Shit, I’m certain he doesn’t want to fake date anymore. Way to go, Sora.

“I’m sorry. I just—”

“It’s fine,” he leans back, resting on the metal and closing his eyes.

I stare at him, his features burning at the back of my mind. I don’t understand why men are built prettily.

This sicko has the healthiest, longest eyelashes I’ve ever seen in my life, and looking at them makes me want to crawl into his lap and pepper kisses from his forehead to his lashes and then—

Woahhh, I shake my head, hoping the thoughts will leave, but it grows even stronger.

“Come sit with me.”

I hit the button again, feeling the soft buzzing of the elevator before indulging Kade and sitting next to him.

“What?” I ask, my eyes trained on the door.

“I want you to understand one simple thing about this bet we have, Sora.”

I turn my attention slowly to him. This is the first time I’ve heard him call my name without that teasing tone or in a genuinely serious manner.

“What bet?”

“This relationship.” He shifts against the wall, finally looking at me. “I know you’re doing this because of Cameron and a few bucks, but I need you to understand that I’m not in this only to clear the allegations.”

A strange feeling pools at the depths of my stomach.

“Then why are you doing it?”

His gaze drags over my face before settling back on my eyes.

“Because I want you, Sora Raine.”

That is fucking ridiculous. We’ve known each other for less than a day. No one ever wants someone that quickly.

Right?

Kade’s mouth curves into something dangerously close to a smile.

“And unlike you, I’m not pretending otherwise.”