The Neighbor's Son 2: Mind Games (The Forbidden Love Series Book 2) (2 page)

I took a few steps toward him but froze when
I saw the spine-chilling scowl on his face. Rage was setting his
green eyes ablaze. He struggled to get himself off the floor but
eventually got back on his feet. After wiping his bloody hand on
the front of his white dress shirt, he charged at me. He came at me
so fast and so unexpectedly, I didn't get a chance to react. Before
I knew it, one of his hands was gripping the nape of my neck and
the other was clenched over my jaw.

“
You fucking bitch. I’m
going to teach you some respect,” he snarled.

“
You don’t deserve any
respect, Peter,” I snarled back while trying to ignore the pain his
hands were inflicting to my neck and jaw. “Look at you. You’re
nothing but a pathetic little man.” I don’t even know where those
words came from. I had never dared speak to Peter like that. Ever.
I was always the obedient, submissive wife who kept her mouth shut
no matter what. For a second, I felt proud of myself for standing
up to that abusive, controlling pig. But that feeling quickly faded
when the back of Peter’s hand exploded against my cheek and sent me
flying across the room.

I tumbled toward the carpet and landed on my
hands and knees with my back to Peter. The room felt like it was
spinning around me and my jaw throbbed, but I didn't scream. I
guess I was in shock. Part of me couldn't believe what was
happening. Peter raised his voice at me all the time while we were
married, but he never hit me. This was a new low for him. Still a
little dazed from the blow to my face, I flipped around to a
sitting position. I stared down into the pits of darkness that were
Peter's eyes and realized I was not having a bad dream. I had never
seen that look on his face before. It was frightening, but I was
determined not to let him see how scared I was.

“
Get the hell out of my
house,” I barked at Peter while holding the side of my face his
fist had just clobbered. I let out a loud shriek and tried to
scurry away when he started charging at me again. From the corner
of my eye I spotted Cade flying down the stairs while wearing
nothing but his white boxer briefs. It all happened so fast. One
second, he
was leaping over the stair
railing like a mountain lion, the next, he had his arm around
Peter's neck and was dragging him away from me.

Peter did not know what hit him. He never
saw Cade coming down the stairs and probably thought there was no
one else in the house besides me. I saw panic in his eyes as he
struggled to breathe. He kept scratching Cade's arm trying to free
himself from the chokehold but Cade wouldn't ease off. My mouth
couldn't form words so I screamed. When all the blood in Peter's
body had rushed to his face, Cade let go. Coughing and wheezing,
Peter swung around and was instantly met with a swift blow to the
jaw courtesy of the smoking hot and incredibly strong Cade
Fisher.

“
Cade, no!” I shrieked.
Peter stumbled backwards and landed on his ass. Before Cade could
take another swing at my drunken ex, I scrambled to my feet and
blocked his path. When he tried to get around me, I wrapped my arms
around his waist and pleaded with him t
o
calm down. His whole body shook with rage and let's not talk about
the fury behind his eyes. He tried to push my arms away but I
wouldn't let go. I was afraid he’d kill Peter with another blow
from his powerful fists.

“
Who the fuck are you? I’m
going to kill you, you son of a bitch,” Peter barked, rubbing his
jaw and wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. He made several
attempts to get on his feet but kept falling back on his ass. I was
not surprised. Between all the booze running through his
bloodstream and Cade knocking the daylights out of him, it was a
miracle he was still conscious. “Come on, asshole. I’m right here,”
Cade shot back, holding his arms out and charging
forward.

I was having a hard time holding Cade back.
I’m a tiny woman and Cade was easily three times my size. “Please,
Cade. Go back upstairs. I will handle him,” I said, laying my hands
flat on his bare chest.

“
I’m not going anywhere,”
Cade replied without taking his eyes off Peter. Every muscle in his
body was stiff with pent up anger. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t
turned on by it. “What are you waiting for, you piece of shit? Get
up. Try and hit me. Come on. Or do you only hit defenseless women?
Get up, you fucking coward. Let me finish you.”

“
Jesus Christ, Sidney!
You’re fucking this guy? How old is he? How old are you,
kid?”

I ignored Peter’s questions but Cade didn’t.
“That’s none of your goddamned business,” Cade shot back.

Peter started to laugh, and I mean laugh. A
mocking, condescending, roaring laugh rumbled through him and
thundered through the entire house. “This is unbelievable. How
desperate do you have to be to fool around with a freaking child?
Is he even legal? Does his mommy know he’s here? You are so fucking
pathetic, Sidney.”

“
I’m going to fucking kill
you.” Cade charged at Peter again and almost knocked me to the
ground. It took a superhuman effort from me, but I managed to keep
him from getting his hands on Peter. I snapped my head toward my
douchebag ex and shot him a dirty look. He was still laughing
hysterically and shaking his head at me. By now he had gotten on
his feet but was having a hard time maintaining his balance. “Get
out of my house, Peter,” I hissed.

Peter’s deranged laughter turned into a
light chuckle as he wiped tears from his eyes. “Wait…Is he one of
your students? You’re fucking one of your students? Does the school
know? Wow. You’re one sick, desperate, sad woman, Sidney.”

“
Step aside, Sidney. I’m
going to knock this asshole’s teeth
out”
Cade huffed, charging forward. I pushed back.

“
No, Cade. That’s exactly
what he wants. I won’t let you get in trouble. He’s just a drunk
idiot. It’s not worth it.”

“
Yeah, kid. Listen to your
sugar momma. You wouldn't want me to mess up that pretty face of
yours.” Peter kept taunting Cade by making kissy faces and kissy
noises at him. I couldn’t hold Cade back anymore. He shoved me
aside and within a second, his giant hands were on Peter’s collar.
I pawed at his arm, pleading with him to let Peter go but he
wouldn’t listen. With his face inches away from Peter's, Cade spoke
slowly, spitting his words through gritted teeth.

“
Listen to me, asshole.
This is what’s going to happen now. You’re going to walk out of
this house, take your drunk, coked-up ass home and never come back.
If I ever see you around here…if you ever put a hand on her again,
you’re going to wish you had never been born. Have I made myself
clear?”

Peter stared into Cade's eyes without
blinking. A cocky smile curled his lips. He was trying to appear
cool and collected but his eyes gave away his true feelings. He was
scared shitless and with good reason. Cade didn’t give Peter a
chance to make any more snide remarks. With his hands still
clutching Peter's collar, Cade dragged my ex's sorry ass across the
living room, opened the door and tossed him out on the porch like a
bag of garbage. After slamming the door shut on Peter's face, he
rushed back to where I was standing.

“
Are you okay?” he asked,
cradling my face. I nodded and he threw his arms around me.
Outside, Peter continued to act like a fool, shouting threats at
Cade and making crude remarks about me while stumbling all over the
porch. I was mortified thinking of all the neighbors who must have
been watching and listening. Cade wanted to step out to the porch
and kick Peter's pathetic ass around a little more but I talked him
out of it. After a while, Peter stopped banging on my door and his
voice began to fade. Seconds later, the sound of a car engine
revving and tires screeching down the street told us Peter was
finally gone.

Cade wrapped his arms around me a little
tighter and his palm cradled the back of my head. “I’m so sorry you
had to go through all of that, Sidney. I had no idea your ex was
that big of an asshole."

"I don't know what got into him," I
breathed, clinging to his waist. "He never acted like this
before."

"I should've come out of the bedroom sooner.
I should've been there to protect you."

"Don't blame yourself for what happened.
This was not your fault, Cade. It's my fault. I shouldn't have let
him in the house."

Cade pulled back and caressed my cheek with
the back of his hand. "I won't let him put a hand on you ever
again. I promise.” He gave me the sweetest smile. I attempted to
smile back but my heart was about to burst from the guilt and
regret weighing it down. Cade leaned in for a brief kiss and pulled
back. With tears welling in my eyes, I gripped both sides of his
face and slammed my lips against his once again. I needed that
second kiss to be memorable for both of us because I knew it was
going to be the last one we'd ever share. I felt that beautifully
raw, tender kiss in every fiber of my being. And judging by the
dazed look I saw in Cade's eyes when I pulled back, I think I
succeeded in making it memorable for him too.

"Come on. Let’s go back to bed," Cade cooed
against my lips. "I'm going to hold you in my arms until you fall
asleep. Don’t worry about a thing, doll. I won't let anyone hurt
you ever again. I will keep you safe.” He grabbed my wrist and
tried to drag me toward the stairs but I held my ground.

“
You should go home, Cade,”
I said, my voice breaking.

Cade shook his head and his
brows
knitted. “What? No. No way. I’m not
going anywhere. That maniac could come back and hurt you. I’m not
letting you spend the night alone.”

I tugged at his hand until he was back
standing in front of me. With his hand nestled between mine, I drew
in a deep breath and let it out slowly. The lump in my throat was
making it hard for me to speak but I pushed the words through. “You
need to go home, Cade. You need to leave and never come back.”

Cade just stared at me without blinking.
Confusion once again squished his brows together.

“
I’m sorry, Cade, but
Peter’s right. What you and I are doing is wrong.”

Cade jerked his hand free
and r
an it through his hair while stalking
away in a huff. “Come on, Sidney. Not this again," he said with his
back to me and his hands on his hips. After taking a calming
breath, he hopped back to where I was. "You’re going to listen to
that drunk? Who cares what he thinks?”

“
I don’t care what he
thinks, Cade, but he’s right. You are too young for me. What you
and I are doing is inappropriate. If the people at the school where
I work find out about us, I could get in serious trouble. I could
lose my job.”

“
Why would you get in
trouble? I’m not your student. I don’t even go to that school. You
are unattached and so am I. We are too consenting adults
here.”

“
This is a very small town.
People talk. You just moved in but I've lived here for many years.
There are parents in this neighborhood who wouldn’t want me around
their teenage sons if they knew you and I were fooling
around.”

Cade wrapped his palms
around my shoulders and reduced his voice to
a whisper. “Sidney, please. Don’t do this to me again. Don’t
do this to us. How can you ask me to stay away from you after what
we just did upstairs in your bedroom? We’re great together. Are you
really going to let a couple of close-minded people stand between
us? Are you asking me to swallow my feelings for you and pretend
nothing ever happened? I don’t think I can do that,
Sidney.”

His hands traveled up to
cradle my face and he leaned in for a kiss. I turned my face away
before his lips could seize mine. This time, his powers of
seduction were not going to work on me. It was time for me to
behave like the adult I was supposed to be. Cade's hands fell from
my face and he took a step back. Slowly, I shifted my gaze back to
him and the sadness in his eyes made my heart shatter into a
million pieces. “I'm sorry, Cade. What we shared today in the pool
and upstairs was incredible. Tonight was a night I will never
forget for as long as I live. You made me feel things I never felt
before, things I didn’t even think I was capable of feeling. But
this amazing connection that we share does not change the fact that
what we did was wrong. This won't end well, Cade
, and you know it. It’s for the best that we stop now before
someone gets hurt.”

Cade hung his head and
placed his hands on his hips. “I can’t believe this,” he muttered,
a bitter chuckle
tumbling down from his
perfect lips.

“
I’m so sorry, Cade, but
it’s for the best.” I took a step forward and tried to touch
hi
s arm. I hated myself for causing him
that much pain. I wanted to comfort him and make him understand I
was doing the right thing, but Cade was too angry and heartbroken
to think rationally. He swatted my hand away, and without meeting
my gaze, zoomed up the stairs. A couple of minutes later, he was
flying down those same stairs. His jeans and shoes were on and he
was holding his crumpled t-shirt in his hands.

“
I’m so sorry, Cade,” I
whispered over and over again as Cade darted past me without making
eye contact and headed for the door.

“
Whatever, Sidney” were his
last words to me before the front door swung open and then slammed
shut behind him. He was gone. And just like that, my steamy affair
with my nineteen-year-old neighbor came to an end.