"Okay," Cadence said, trying to push the questions out of her mind. She knew him well enough to know that probing for answers would do her no good. Changing the subject she asked, "Is my breath atrocious?" She was very much aware that her breath was hitting him directly in the face. Since he hardly ever slept, bad breath didn't seem to be much of a problem for him, a fact that had her momentarily jealous.
"No, it's fine," he assured her, laughing. He honestly hadn't noticed, and with the possibility of kissing her very presently on his mind, he knew he wouldn't have minded tasting her mouth to see just how stale it was. With her lips hovering so close to his, it was becoming increasingly more difficult each second to keep from doing so.
Cadence paused for a second, waiting to see if he would lean forward and kiss her. When he didn't, she asked, "Do you know if they have scheduled the memorial yet? I haven't checked my phone yet this morning." Even though there was no reason why he should know, he always seemed to be aware of everything before she was, so she thought it was possible he had heard.
"No," he replied, staring into her brown eyes. "I don't think they've scheduled it. Are you planning on riding back to Shenandoah with your friends?
"I don't know," she said, dropping her eyes. "I just. . . can't relate to them anymore, you know? It's so difficult to carry on a conversation with people who have no idea what I'm doing now. They have no idea what they don't know."
"I understand," he agreed. "Well, Elliott still has the Enclave. He can drive you. Hannah can go with you, too. I think that's probably a good idea. But, I think I'll take Eliza with me."
"Oh?" Cadence asked, retraining her eyes on his.
"I don't think she's been particularly helpful to you, and I don't want her in your way," he explained. He withdrew his hand from her waist and began to idly rub her back.
Cadence nodded. "Okay. No, I haven't really talked to her much." She was always a bit apprehensive whenever Eliza would be spending any amount of time with Aaron, particularly when she wouldn't be present. She was confident that he no longer had feelings for his ex-girlfriend, but Eliza clearly still longed to be with him, and she made it fairly apparent every opportunity she got.
"In fact," he added, an annoyed expression briefly crossing over his handsome fact, "Ever since I told her that she was going with me, she won't get off the IAC. I guess she can just drive me nuts for a little while instead of you."
Shaking her head, Cadence mumbled, "Unbelievable. She just knows you're in my bed, and she doesn't like it," she added coyly. He didn't reply, just gave her a little grin, which made her smile in return. "My IAC is going a little crazy now, too," she admitted. "I guess word has gotten out."
"About Barbarosa? Yeah, I don't doubt it. People talk," he said. "Hunters are very impressed with you, you know?" He added, “I've heard even some of our old veterans, those guys who are never impressed with anything; they're making comments about your skills.”
"I got some mad skills," Cadence said giggling.
"You do," he agreed, joining in her laughter. "Unbelievable, mad skills."
She caught his eyes again and stopped laughing. After a moment she said, "Well, it's nice to know I'm appreciated. The only people I'm hearing from are our peeps at LIGHTS, which is great. They're so sweet to check in with me."
"Jamie and Meagan?" Aaron asked, wondering specifically who she was referring to.
"Yeah, and Christian, couple others," she said nodding.
"Oh, Christian stopped by yesterday to ask about you, too," Aaron said as nonchalantly as he could muster. "I guess I didn't realize you guys were that close. I mean, I know how he stood up for you after you killed Henry, but, well, I just thought it was a little strange."
Cadence was well aware of exactly why Christian would be asking about her, but she didn't offer that information at that moment, seeing no reason to. "He's a good guy," she said shrugging. "I guess you could say we are friends."
"Yeah?" Aaron asked. "That's good," he remarked and then decided to change the subject. "No more flowers from Jamie?"
"Oh, God, no," Cadence said, dropping her forehead into his chest sharply. "That was awful," she added, referring to the time that Jamie had shown up at her doorstep with flowers, only to find Aaron was already there. "I felt really sorry for him. He's such a nice guy!"
"He is a nice guy," Aaron agreed. "He's a great guy."
"But I don't want to date him," Cadence chimed in.
"No?" Aaron said teasingly. "Not right now?"
"Not ever," she admitted, crinkling her nose up. "Just not my type."
Though it crossed Aaron's mind to inquire as to what her type might be, he wasn't prepared to hear her answer. It could lead to other things, and he was trying to steer the conversation away from those other things. "Well, you probably aren't going to want to date anyone for a little while, I would imagine," he admitted, referring to the circumstances with Jack.
Cadence considered his statement for a moment. She knew exactly why he had said it; she shouldn't be thinking about dating so soon after her ex-boyfriend had just died. Of course, laying on his chest with her hand up his shirt, she had other thoughts. "I guess not," she said quietly.
Without actually moving, he said, "I need to go." He slowly brushed the hair back from her face again.
She looked disappointed but didn't try to keep him. She knew he had a schedule to maintain, and she couldn't interfere with it, not if she wanted to keep the team happy and continue to pursue the possibility of getting back together with him someday. "Okay," she said quietly but not pushing herself off of him so that he could get up.
"Wow, I didn't think you'd agree that quickly," he teased, still not trying to get up yet either.
"Well, I know how busy you are," she explained. "And, besides, the longer we lay here, the more I'm going to want to do things to you," she added, seriously, peering straight into his eyes. His eyes stayed locked on hers, a small smile on his face, but he said nothing. She was still running her hand across the skin beneath his shirt when she felt a change in texture, a raised area, and realized she had inadvertently found his scar, the one he had gotten when he saved her life. She wasn't sure if it would hurt for her hand to be there or if it would make him self-conscious, so she slid her hand back a bit. "Sorry," she said quietly. He shook his head slowly, as if to say it was okay, prompting her to ask, "Does it hurt?"
"No," he said, his voice just above a whisper. "It's fine."
Hesitantly, she asked, "Can I see it?"
He seemed to consider the request for a moment before shrugging and saying, "Sure, if you want to."
She sat back on her heels, allowing him to sit up, pulling his shirt off as he did so.
Cadence stifled a gasp, not because of the scar but because this was the first time she had seen him without his shirt on, and though he certainly wasn't what one would consider hulky, she wasn't prepared for just how muscular he truly was. Every muscle was clearly defined, from his abs to his biceps, and she was suddenly extremely aware that she had made a mistake. She should have never asked him to take his shirt off when she was still practically on top of him in bed.
Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on the scar; after all, that is what she had asked to see. She reminded herself of the seriousness of what had happened the night that he was shot and how he had taken that bullet saving her. The mark wasn't large or mangled-looking, just a simple circular scar, a bit raised compared to the area around it, right under his ribcage. It was evident that Jamie's quick skills in healing it had kept the damage to a minimum, at least externally. She carefully ran her fingers over the circumference. "Doesn't seem like much now, does it?" she admitted.
"No," he agreed. "The exit wound is almost unnoticeable," he added, though he didn't turn around to show her. He was very much aware that having his shirt off had affected her more than she was letting on, and if he didn't start moving out the door soon, the situation could easily get out of control. With that in mind, he pulled his shirt back on, prompting her to slide toward the edge of the bed, so that he could do so as well.
Cadence slipped off of the bed, got to her feet, and scooted out of the way so that he could follow her. Before she turned to face him, she took a deep breath and attempted to clear her mind, which was easier said than done. When she finally spun around, he was standing so close to her that she almost ran into him, taking her breath away again. "Sorry," she whispered.
"It's okay," he assured her, locking his eyes on hers and placing his hands on her hips. "Let me know if you need anything while I'm gone."
Sliding her hands up his chest to rest on his shoulders she nodded. "Be careful, okay?" she insisted. "No getting shot this time, not for anybody."
"I'll be careful," he assured her. "Nobody there worth getting shot for."
"And, was I worth getting shot for?" she asked, her voice just above a whisper, her lips dangerously close to his.
"Absolutely," he replied before finally giving in and kissing her, gently at first and then more eagerly.
Cadence slipped her hand up to the back of his neck, pulling him to her, returning his kiss and parting her lips. He was caressing her neck and jawline now, and she leaned into him, no longer capable of caution.
It took all of Aaron's self-control to keep from falling backward onto the bed, dragging her on top of him. He knew he couldn't stay, shouldn't take this too far, wouldn't want to cause her to do something she might regret, particularly under these emotional circumstances, but he was, after all, nearly human. Still, he somehow managed to pull back at last, putting a breath of distance between them, momentarily, before she leaned back in and slowly kissed him again. She seemed to be fighting her own battle with restraint, however, and eventually found a way to back off herself, though she did quickly kiss him twice more before finally taking a step backward, leaving a wide enough gap between them now that the spell was temporarily broken.
"I'm going to go now," Aaron said quietly, staring in her eyes, his hand still resting on her face, his thumb caressing her cheek softly.
"Okay," Cadence whispered. "Bye."
He grinned at her, slightly amused at her awkwardness. "Bye. I'll talk to you soon," he replied, finally releasing her.
Cadence nodded and dropped her hands to her sides. She took a few steps backward before finally turning and walking into the adjacent bathroom, closing the door behind her. She didn't want to watch him leave.
