Taming Arrogance (MalexMale) 《COMPLETE》

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The warmth of the evening staves off the nervous goosebumps attempting to climb up the length of my arms. I stuff my hands into my denim pockets and force myself to take a deep breath. The humidity is almost unbearable. It's like breathing in diluted, warm water. The pressure of it feels heavy on my chest, and I hastily exhale.

My stomach knots into a solid ball when headlights flash into the alley. For a split second I have the unrealistic notion that it's Blake, but then I remember that we're not at the front of the bar.

He wouldn't know to find me here.

Cade's grey Prius comes to a stop beside me. The windows are already rolled down and he gives me a confident smirk.

"Hey there, handsome," he purrs. "How much?"

"More than you could afford."

Cade chuckles and licks his lips, the movement slow enough to catch my attention. His tongue and lips seem to glisten against the lights of the city. My mouth waters, but I'm not sure why.

"Try me," Cade presses. "Even if I had to dip into savings, I'm sure a night with you would make it worthwhile."

I roll my eyes and hop in the car. The man is impossible. Cade pulls away from the curb and the two of us become lost into the sea of headlights filling the downtown streets of Miami with as much fervor as a Christmas tree.

"Fuck, is there always so much traffic?" I ask, still trying to rid the image of Cade's lips from my mind.

The blasting of car horns becomes frequent, an unspoken – yet very key piece - of the driving etiquette down here, apparently.

"Not during the week," Cade says with a shrug. "But during the weekends? Yea. You get used to it, though."

He relaxes into his seat and reaches over to rest his right hand on my thigh. It's a casual touch, done with such confidence you'd think he did this on a daily basis. Hell, maybe he does.

I stare at his hand, frowning at his masculine fingers as they curl around my leg. The feel of him touching me isn't exactly wanted, but – to my surprise – it doesn't bother me either. Cade rubs his thumb against my outer thigh. I focus on the touch, and a tingling sensation shoots up my leg and into my groin.

Instead of pushing him away, I let him keep his hand where it is.

Again, not sure why.

I huff and stare out the unrolled window. A few women pass along the sidewalk. Their clothes are skin tight, the entirety of their 'assets' hanging out for the world to see.

"Which one do you like?" Cade asks, following my gaze to the eye candy.

"I'd need to see them up close. Their bodies look decent from here. If any of them wanted it to be anything more than doggy style though, they better have a face to match it."

Cade barks out a laugh and shakes his head. "You're a shallow prick, you know that?"

"So I've been told."

"I can see why Blake has his work cut out for him."

Speaking of which...

I push away Cade's hand and dig into my pocket to pull out my phone. Four unread texts.

And two missed calls.

Blake: I'm here. Where are you?

Blake: Answer me, Callum.