Chapter 7: Get Off Me!
Iris’s POV
"Get off me!" I snapped, shoving Cade’s bare chest with both hands. My palms pressed against his damp skin, and I stood abruptly, my heart pounding as I averted my eyes from him, looking away to another direction. He was completely naked and even though i had seen him naked with Liora, I couldn’t understand the way his nakedness made my body react now. The scattered clothes I’d been collecting lay strewn across the floor from our fall, and immediately, I bent to gather them, my movements jerky, as if keeping busy could erase the tension in this room now.
I was nearly at the door, arms full of his dirty laundry, when Cade’s hand shot out, his fingers clamping around my wrist. His grip was firm, and his eyes... Those piercing cold eyes were no longer blazing with anger but cold, emotionless, and lust. Something that sent a shiver racing down my spine. His gaze locked onto mine as he took a step closer, his voice low and dangerous.
"You came in here to seduce me, didn’t you?" he accused.
"What?" I snapped, my brows knitting together in disbelief. My voice rose incredulously.
"You’ve always wanted to," he pressed, stepping closer still. His grip tightened, and goosebumps prickled across my skin, my body betraying me with a flush of reaction I didn’t understand. I took a step back, but he followed, closing the distance. "Admit it, Iris."
"Take your hands off me," I demanded, yanking my wrist, but his strength overpowered mine. My pulse hammered, filled with fury and something I refused to name. Inside my head, Lyra snarled, her voice a furious echo. "Let go, you fool!"
As if he’d heard her, Cade’s lips curled into a smirk. "You shouldn’t have entered."
Before I could react, he continued to move forward while I moved backwards until there was no space to escape. I was not glued to the wall, his body, pinning me against the wall. The clothes slipped from my arms, tumbling to the floor in a heap. His body was too close as my eyes fell to his hairy chest, his towel still laid on the ground. Seeing how afraid I looked, he smirked but it didn’t reach his eyes. His fingers moved and grazed the side of my face, trailing slowly, down along my neck, and pausing at my collarbone. My breath hitched, my legs feeling like jelly, and I hated how my body was responding, how his touch sent a strange skittering across my skin.