He wanted to see her. He really wanted to see her.
Cade wasn’t vain enough to think that she was avoiding him in particular, but it had been days since he’d seen her face and he didn’t like it. Their interactions so far had been far from pleasant but there was this pull. This urge to be around her. He didn’t know why but her absence left him feeling edgy so when she walked into the training room this morning, he thought that the Gods had decided to let up on him for the first time in forever.
Gods, she’s beautiful. She didn’t walk in gracefully. No, her strides exuded power and confidence.
Cade wasn’t expecting her to search for his eyes, but that didn’t stop the stab of disappointment he was hit with when she moved to stand next to Hewn without so much as a glance in his direction.
Hands on her hips, Deianira surveyed the inmates on the dead hang. Occasionally she whispered to Hewn, who corresponded with her and noted down the time when each inmate dropped from the bar.
She was in her usual practical outfit, her hair gathered in a tight ponytail. It swished and swayed each time she nodded or turned to Hewn and Cade was caught off guard by an image of himself running his fingers through it. Wrapping his hand around it and giving it a firm tug at the root. Deianira, mouth open, gazing up at him with those eyes. His…
Cade’s perusal was interrupted by Hewn’s booming voice.
“Okay! Whitlock, Bennett, Dalton, and Alden. You’re up!”
Cade flinched and stood up from the bench, quickly walking to the bars. Picking the bar on the end, he stepped up onto his box and wiped his hands on his pants before gripping the cool metal. He looked at Deianira again but it seemed like she was looking everywhere but him. Maybe she was avoiding him.
At Hewn’s whistle, the enforcers behind each bar stand removed the boxes leaving the four of them hanging from the bars and Finch started his stopwatch. The aim was endurance. Though it wasn’t a competition, there would often be a shout or ‘whoop’ at the sidelines from inmates cheering on their friends, but with Devin being excluded from this session, there was nobody cheering for Cade.
He stifled a snort. He knew, without a doubt, that Devin would’ve been there making a fool of himself, screaming at the top of his lungs for him. He hadn’t realized how much time he spent with Devin until they were separated, with Devin being restricted from certain training exercises. The solitude made him miserable.
Cade was still sore from his altercation with Devin so that didn’t help his endurance on the bar. He didn’t let that deter him though. He’d learned a long time ago that no one would make excuses for him, so he didn’t either.
First, Ty Dalton, a friend of Crew’s, dropped from his bar. Thank the Gods. Cade really didn’t want to be the first to drop and his arms were beginning to ache. Chancing a look at Deianira, he was surprised to find her finally staring back at him. In that same second, the ache disappeared. So did everyone in the room. It was just him and her. His chest warmed at the small crumb of attention she had given him and the burst of energy only spurred him on.
Grip tightening on the bar, he let her eyes hold his captive as Whitlock dropped. It was like she was speaking to him without words. Telling him to stay on just a little longer. So he did.
That ache reared its head again but Cade held steady. It was only him and Crew left and though he wasn’t the egotistical type, he didn’t want to drop before Crew of all people. Especially with Deianira watching him.
Cade’s grip on the bar began to loosen as his wrists screamed for reprieve. He began wondering if the pain was worth the win and considered dropping when he caught Deianira’s almost imperceptible head shake.
Not yet, her eyes said. Hold on.
He might have been seeing things but apparently, it was motivation enough because Cade held on even as he felt his muscles burning strenuously. Seconds later, Crew dropped. Cade held on for one moment more for good measure, then dropped. Panting, hands on his knees, he looked up to see Hewn give him a respectful nod as he noted his time and was instantly filled with pride. No one cheered. No one said anything. But he didn’t care. It wasn’t their validation he was seeking.
Looking at Deianira, he could’ve sworn he saw a hint of a smile on her lips. His face lit up with a genuine grin and he set his mind to walk over to her. He didn’t get the chance though because, as a high-pitched voice came from behind him, Deianira’s expression straightened and Cade felt as if a bucket of ice had been poured over him.
“Cade!”
Octavia. Evidently, the Gods weren’t that generous.
Though everything in his body told him to ignore her, Cade turned around out of politeness, but didn’t bother to give her a pleasant smile. She motioned for him to come over but before moving, he looked back at Deianira to find her talking to Hewn again, no longer paying attention to him. Despite the ugly feeling that washed over him, he followed Octavia out into the hallway. Once outside the door, she turned to him with a sultry smile.
“Hey, how’s everything going?”
“Good,” he responded, but his eyes were straying back into the training room, trying to catch Deianira’s.
“Great. Well, I heard what happened with Devin and I was going to be passing through here anyway, so I saved my dad the trip. Do you want to head to the infirm…”
“I’m good.”
Deianira still wasn’t looking at him. Look at me.
“Oh.” She seemed surprised. “Are you sure? Because I have time.”
“I’m sure. All good.” He gave her a fake smile and a nod before moving his gaze back into the room.
She nodded, eyes downcast. “Okay, well, if you change your mind, you know where to find m…”
“Sure.” He was already walking back into the training room.
At the entrance, he took a quick scan of the room. Deianira was gone.
Cade wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he’d done something wrong. He briefly remembered the way she had reacted after his first meeting with Octavia and if she felt anything close to that right now, he was in trouble.
Stepping back into the hallway, he looked left, then right, and saw a familiar shadow turning around the corner. Quickly looking back into the room to see if Hewn was paying attention, Cade saw that he was watching the next group.
Taking the opportunity, he jogged down the hall in the direction of her retreating figure.
Deianira
Deianira had been avoiding him. She’d skipped her observations and even stayed in her room during the program’s transition periods. It wasn’t his presence that caused trouble, it was the way she felt when she was near him. There was too much on her mind right now and she didn’t need Cade Alden adding to it.
During her visit with Mikhael, he’d told her that her headaches were due to stress and she was offered some pain relief. That alone should’ve told her to stay away from Cade, but she soon found herself seeking him out despite all the reasons not to. In her many years, she’d never been drawn to someone like she was to him. She’d never found it so hard to keep someone at a distance.
Deianira had done her best to avert her eyes, but watching him on the bar in the gym set her on fire. The way the muscles in his arms bulged under the strain, the way his veins popped from under his skin, the way a few sweaty locks of hair fell from his tie. She couldn’t look away. She had been quietly rooting for him and couldn’t help the wave of pride she felt when he held out.
He’d been in the program for the shortest amount of time but he was already outperforming his peers. She’d been paying particular attention to his stats during Hewn’s weekly updates on the trainees and was beyond impressed. But seeing him in person was a whole other type of high.
Then Octavia walked in. Despite her annoyance at what might have been happening in the hallway, she was glad for the interruption. It put things into perspective. These weren’t feelings she should have been having toward him. It was inappropriate. She was the Queen, not some civilian who could afford to be lusting after a man, a criminal at that. Not like Octavia.
Having seen enough, Deianira nodded her goodbye to Hewn and quickly left the room, not looking in Cade’s direction.
She had just turned the corner when she heard a baritone rumble behind her.
“Deianira.”
She knew that she shouldn’t have stopped, but hearing her name from his mouth did something to her. There were only two people who had called her that name in over a hundred years. It was just a name, a word. But on his lips, they were like a siren’s call when they should have been cause for punishment.
So like the fool she was, she waited. Once he caught up to her, she stood and stared at him expectantly, trying to feign boredom, to pretend that his very presence didn’t set her alight. But he just stood there, opening and closing his mouth.
Annoyed at herself, she spoke first. “If you have nothing of substance to say, you ca…”
“I didn’t do it,” he blurted, and by the look on his face, that was the last thing he meant to say. It was like he’d just been grasping at words and that was the first thing to come out.
Didn’t do what? Blinking at him, she silently urged him to explain.
Taking a deep breath, Cade shook his head, eyes flicking around the hall.
“I didn’t rob that truck and I didn’t kill those officials.”
Huh? Deianira didn’t know what to say. She’d based her entire opinion of him on the fact that he was a criminal. It was how she managed to shut him out, to deny her interest in him, but now? Deep down, a small part of herself didn’t think that he was capable of the crimes he was accused of. Nothing about his behavior since he’d arrived at the Dome suggested that he was a cold-blooded killer. Not his demeanor either. Deianira had met murderers, many of them; she was one; and either Cade was a master manipulator or he was telling the truth. But why now? Why did he admit to the crimes?
“Why are you telling me this? Did you expect me to absolve you?”
She had meant to sound bitter, but it came out as more of a breathy whisper.
He took a step closer, shaking his head slowly. “No. I…I just wanted you to know.”
She took a step back, feeling overwhelmed.
“Why now? You didn’t have a problem with me thinking you were a killer last week.”
Cade sputtered before settling on a non-answer. “I don’t know,” he whispered.
His gaze was bouncing off the walls. He seemed to be having some sort of internal battle but when his eyes locked onto hers, she knew that it wasn’t the Cade she knew that won. The man standing before her was not the same soft soul she’d met weeks ago.
He advanced another confident step, but she didn’t step back this time.
“I have no fucking idea,” he told her with an amused grin before his hand came up and gripped the back of her neck and his lips collided with hers.
Cade
He didn’t know what came over him.
Why did I tell her that?
In that moment, Cade would have said anything just to get her to stay another second. It was true though, he did want her to know. After all her harsh words towards him, he just wanted her to see that he wasn’t who she thought he was.
Cade knew that kissing her was a huge risk. But it was as if something had switched in him. His whole life, he’d never had much control over what happened to him. He just wanted to do something for himself, regardless of the consequences.
Cade had expected that taking matters into his own hands would give him a rush, but nothing could have prepared him for the tide that almost knocked him over as his lips met Deianira’s.
Ascension. That was the only word he could think of that described the feeling. He felt like he was flying, a high better than any feeling he could get from throwing a punch or a kick.
Cade could tell she knew it was coming, but she still stiffened when his lips touched hers. Attempting to ease her, he slid his free hand to the small of her back and pulled her body in, tight against his. Instantly, she melted into his touch and brought a hand to his chest. As her fingers grasped at his shirt, Cade felt himself harden. That sensation only intensified when her nails dug into his chest.
She opened her mouth to speak between kisses.
“I know…” he murmured against her lips. He knew what she wanted to say. We shouldn’t be doing this. But Cade wasn’t in the mood for reason.
Threading his fingers through her hair, Cade pushed his luck, nudging the tip of his tongue at her lips. As she opened her mouth, Cade’s groan of approval echoed in the hall. Their mouths danced with one another harmoniously but before long, Deianira was grabbing at him and tugging his lips harder onto hers. She wanted more.
Taking the hint, Cade backed her up against the wall, lips never separating, and positioned a leg in between hers, sliding the hand on her back lower to grind her against his thigh. Deianira moaned her assent, arching into his hold, but Cade didn’t let up as her breaths quickened.
Pulling her up with one hand, he brought her center to his and she immediately wrapped her legs around his waist, grinding harder. Deianira broke from the kiss with a deep moan as she lifted her head. Cade practically growled and attacked the soft skin on her neck with demanding kisses. Her hands left his chest to grasp his hair at the scalp when he ran his tongue up her throat and nipped the area just below her jaw, only pausing to groan as she ground herself down against his length with more urgency.
With the hall that they were in and the sounds that they were making, it wouldn’t have been hard for someone to walk in on them, but Cade didn’t care. He pushed his hips into her center again and again, living for the little gasps and moans that fell from her lips.
A small beeping noise from Deianira’s bracelet had them both freezing.
As Cade removed his lips from her throat, she sighed and buried her head in the crook of his neck, still holding his head.
Gutted and already prepared for her rejection, Cade slowly released her, letting her slip down his body and onto her feet. He knew that the small interruption was like a reset button that allowed her to go right back to hating him.
Cade averted his eyes. He knew what was coming but he didn’t have to see the cold look in her eye when she said it.
“You need to come with me.”
That wasn’t what he expected her to say. He chanced a look at her and found her eyes on the hologram coming from her bracelet, brows tense. He’d seen Hewn with the same one but by the look on her face, this wasn’t a standard alert.
That wasn’t necessarily a rejection, so, grateful for any extra time with her, Cade agreed quickly.
“Where?”
Deianira looked at him suspiciously. “Sub-level. There’s been a breach.”
It seemed as if she was watching his face for some sort of reaction but he didn’t give her one. What does a breach have to do with me?
