sunsrisen.
there’s a part of zora that knows that cade doesn’t deserve this, he is not some second choice when her feelings get hurt especially after everything they’ve been through, but there is a larger part, as she faces, that doesn’t care. one could cut the tension between them with a knife, and no matter what their current relationship was like, however rocky it may be, there was still a part of her that clung to his warmth. she’d gotten close to being let in on many occasion, but that is no longer her ambition, for what she wants in this moment is cade, is for damien to feel even a hint of jealousy at knowing she was with someone else or to realize their game only went on for as long as she willed it. her body is not yet a stranger to his touch, arching closer as goosebumps prickle along exposed skin. ❝ hm, i do think we’re getting closer, ❞ zora hummed softly in return, not breaking eye contact as she pushes down the other strap and lets the dress fall into a heap at her feet. fingers slowly begin working down the buttons of his shirt. ❝ i hope this jogs your memory, ❞ she murmured, closing what little distance lingered between them as their lips met in an almost tentative kiss.
cade prides himself on his restraint. though it’s lonely, he’s sure his ability to step away from his desires is one reason he has survived as long as he has. but in the moment with zora, he can’t bring himself to abstain. his eyes fall from her face along with her dress, sweeping across the figure he’s so familiar with. desire tightens in his abdomen at the sight of her. lips turn up in a ghost of smile. “it’s coming back now,” he murmurs as she moves closer. she kisses him gently, as if she’s still unsure about what they’re doing, as if she’s still trying to find her way back to the rhythm they had once known so well. finding the last shred of his self - control, cade pulls back, a hair’s breadth away from her lips. he waits a beat, their breathing is the only thing that can be heard in the room, allowing her one more chance to back out. zora doesn’t move, and in an instant, cade grabs her face, his lips crashing against hers. there’s nothing hesitant about it this time, kissing her feverishly. scraping his teeth over her lower lip, he takes her mouth with all the heat and need he has within him.










