KADE
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"I was thinking more along the lines of sushi or something," Emara muttered, chewing on her lip as she stared up at the restaurant, then looked back at me.
"Fancy restaurants are similar to sushi restaurants, they just don't have those iPads that you can order from."
Emara rolled her eyes at my statement and I grinned, giving her a quick kiss on the lips before moving back and closing the car door. Emara tugged her coat over her shoulders and I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close so that she was warm.
"You didn't have to go all out and fancy, you know," Emara reminded me with a chuckle. "It isn't like you to take me all out like this. I prefer our fast-food dates, I'll have you know."
I couldn't stop the grin from growing on my lips. I knew she didn't like it when I took her out anywhere expensive, or when I bought her anything. But as much as she said she despised it, I could always see the smile threatening to break through her scowl.
"You love me," I said cheekily, leaning down and kissing her slowly. Emara hummed, running her hand up my chest before cupping the back of my head. I suppressed a moan, moving my hand to her hips and parting her lips with my tongue.
"Consider it a blessing that I do," she then said breathlessly, pulling away with a playful glare in her gaze. "I wanted fast food."
"You always do, baby," I said, cupping her round ass in my hands. Fuck, she looks good in her dress. "I wanted tonight to be special. Take you out, spoil you a bit, and then we can go back to laying in bed eating Chinese and watching Avengers. Sound like a plan?"
Emara smiled and nodded her head in agreement, taking my hand in hers. We walked inside, talking lowly, and stopped at the tiny podium. A blonde hostess appeared and greeted us both with a kind smile, guiding us to the booth I had reserved for tonight. We sat next to each other and I moved my arm around her waist, kissing her temple.
"How many times have I told you how beautiful you look?" I mumbled, smiling when I saw the much larger smile grow on her lips before she looked at me.
"From today alone or since we've been together?" She teased, opening her menu and looking through it. "Because from today it was a total of one-hundred and fifty-two times and counting."
I chuckled and opened my own menu, deciding to order the calamari as our appetizer since Emara was obsessed with the food. She began to talk about ideas she already had for her wedding and the more she talked about it, the sooner I wanted that day to come.
All I could think about was her in her wedding dress, walking down the isle with her father — who was also very terrifying, especially since he's been in the military for over twenty years. I already wanted our honeymoon to be in Greece but I didn't want any final decisions until she approved.
But, goddamn, I wished I proposed sooner.
I bit my lip, watching her plump ones move every time she spoke, and the dimple that appeared in her right cheek every time she smiled up at me. Right when I opened my mouth to finally answer the questions she never gave me the chance to answer, a familiar voice greeted Emara.
"Reagan?" Emara questioned with a confused smile.
"Hey, Emara," Reagan said with a large smile — it almost looked forced. "I can see you're busy with your boyfriend so I don't want to disturb you, just thought I should say hello."
I have a name, I wanted to say, my face blank as I stared at her with narrow eyes.
"Thanks," Emara spoke slowly, her smile still confused as she glanced at me next. I gave her a reassuring smile and kissed the engagement ring, not realizing that Reagan was staring at it hardly until I looked away from Emara.
"Promise ring?" Reagan asked, one of her eyebrows raising.
"Engagement ring, actually," Emara answered with a wide grin, turning to look at me. "We're waiting until we get back from our little weekend-getaway before making it public."
I nodded in agreement, smiling at her before meeting Reagan's blank stare, the smile on her looking completely fake at this point.
"That's so amazing to hear," she exclaimed, "congratulations!"
"Thanks," Emara said, still completely oblivious to how sarcastic she sounded.
"Well, I should probably get going," Reagan with a nod, "I'll have you updated on any meetings you have once you get back, okay?"
Emara nodded her head, thanking her. Then, Reagan turned her attention to me, showing me a tight smile before walking away. I glared at her retreating back until Emara snapped her fingers in front of my face.
"What's on your mind, Kade?" She asked, pursing her lips.
"I don't know," I breathed out, "there's just something about your agent I don't like."
Emara rolled her eyes. "Reagan is nice, Kade, stop being so paranoid."
"I'm not being paranoid, Em, trust me," I replied, biting my lip as I narrowed my eyes at the direction she left. "There's something that just doesn't seem right about her, okay? When I follow my instinct, I'm usually right."
Emara hummed, watching me suspiciously. "Once again, that's just paranoia."
My fucking lord, why did she have to be so kind yet so fucking naïve?
I decided to let it go, sighing. I felt a hand on my thigh and looked at it, then at Emara to find her grinning at me. Slowly, I returned it with a smile and kissed her forehead.
"You're a nervous wreck, baby," she mumbled, smiling at the waiter that came to our table. She ordered the drink she wanted and I did the same, along with the calamari, thanking the waiter as he wrote it down and left to get our beverages.
"I can't help it," I said back, frowning. "You're forgetting that my brother developed my father's genes, making him a complete psycho. I'm just scared he'll reach that state of crazy if — no, when he finds out."
I cupped her cheek with one hand and rubbed her bottom lip with my thumb, watching as her lips parted. I smiled, pulling my hand away and pressing my lips to hers. She hummed, entwining her hand with the one on her thigh.
"I love you," she whispered as she pulled away, smiling up at me.
I grinned, pecking her lips another time. "I love you, too. I'll try not to worry anymore. I'm just worried."
She smiled softly, quickly thanking the waiter as he handed us our sweet beverages. When she turned back to me, she chuckled. "I know you're worried, Kade, but you need to relax — at least for today. Please?"
I nodded my head, sighing. I knew that something was up and I wasn't just going to forget this but I promised a romantic night with my fiancée and I was a man that delivered. Plus, stalking wasn't the smartest option to choose so I would simply have to do my research on Reagan and what the hell her problem was.
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The night flew by quickly, unfortunately. After I ate dinner with Emara, I took her through the old small town to look around. We managed to slip into one of the doors just before it closed and purchased some giant fluffy blankets, then we made our way back to the car.
However, now that we were back home, it was different.
I pushed Emara against the front door, hearing it click closed. Our lips refused to part as one of her legs wrapped around my waist, her nails digging into my shoulder blades as I moved my tongue into her mouth. She moaned softly, pulling me closer to her.
"You promised... we could watch... Avengers," she said through ragged breaths, whimpering when I moved my hips up to meet hers.
"And we will," I mumbled dismissively, kissing down her throat slowly while moving my hands to her waist. "I just wanted a quick kiss."
She chuckled breathlessly, bringing my head back up and kissing me. "Let me change first, baby. Can you wait that long?"
I groaned, pulling away so she could move. Emara chuckled, pushing me away even more before pecking my lips. I hummed, returning the kiss before watching as she walked down the hall, quietly singing to herself. I smiled, following her into the room where she had disappeared into the closet, I sat on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
It was weird. Three years ago, I was doing anything I could to lose the feelings I had for Emara. It was always too painful to see her in the magazines with that fucktard of a brother I had, scurrying behind him with Kylar as he spoke on the phone. Their relationship made me irritated because I tried talking to Emara about it and she shut me out. Back then, she was too weak to know the truth; Tristan got back with her and used her more so for the fact that she was a gorgeous upcoming fashion designer with experience in the modelling industry from the time they were apart, and he knew it would look good on him.
I just wish I came back to the city sooner than I did.
I didn't realize I had dozed off until Emara walked back into the room in the silk baby blue nightgown, her hair removed of any pins as it rolled down her shoulders and back in soft waves. I hummed, biting my lip when she went straight on my lap, her arms wrapping around my neck.
"Is this new?" I asked her, running my hands over it. "I've never seen you wear it before."
She nodded her head, smiling. "Yeah, it's new. I bought it while you were going to the washroom earlier and put it in my purse."
I hummed, moving my arms around her waist. I kissed her jaw, then rested my head on her shoulder. Emara moved one of her hands through my hair, smiling when I let out a tired groan. I pulled back, grabbing her left hand and playing with her engagement ring. I kissed it, then kissed the top of her hand.
"How about I get us a few drinks and we can turn on the TV here?" Emara suggested, kissing my cheek before getting off of my lap. I groaned even louder, hearing her distant laughter as she left the room to grab them. I stared at the open door, waiting patiently. I could hear the distant opening and closing of cabinets as she searched for glasses.
"Having trouble, Em?" I called out, chuckling, hearing her yell a soft "shut up" before continuing to search.
And then there was the sound of a window breaking. I stood up quickly and practically ran into the kitchen, finding Emara's head covered by her arms. She looked up at me with a terrified expression, looking at the window before moving her trail back to me. I ran towards her, getting on my knees and cupping her cheeks. I inspected her face with my brows pushed together with worry, watching as her bottom lip slightly trembled.
"What the hell just happened?" I asked her. "Are you okay?"
Emara went to nod her head but stopped midway, her mouth falling open. I didn't get a chance to hear what she said before something smashed against the back of my head. White static replaced the sounds around me and the room began to spin, making my eyes cross before my vision went black.
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