An exasperated laugh burst from my chest at his admission, as all the hurt I had buried down over the years came roaring to the surface. “I’m not doing this, Cain. I can’t do this with you. There’s an expression, ‘if he wanted to, he would’. Ever heard of that? You’re the opposite of that saying. You didn’t want to, so you didn’t.”
“I was a fucking idiot back then, Rose, but I’ve had time to learn and grow. I know I fucked up, and I’m apologizing for it now.”
“You’re about six years too late, Cain. I’ve moved on from it, and so should you.” My heart sank in my chest and I decided I was done with this conversation. I thought I could handle it, but the scars were too deeply rooted. Pushing to my feet, the cold wood planks sent a chill through me again, and my nipples hardened beneath the too-big t-shirt I was wearing.
As I took a step to walk away, Cain caught my wrist, his fingers encircling the smallest part of my arm as he held me in place. “It doesn’t have to be too late for us.” Cain’s voice was low, practically a whisper, though I’m not sure he was capable of achieving that decibel.
Instinctually, I tugged against his grasp, but his hold was solid. I wanted to scream that itwastoo late, but even as the words formed in my vocal cords, and my mouth opened to speak them, no sound came out. Instead, I stared down at where he held my wrist.
“Rose,please.” His voice sounded strained and plagued with emotion. Vulnerable. And that wasn’t an emotion he showed often.
Not meeting his eyes, I reiterated the only words my brain could think to formulate. “I’m with Sly.”
“We both know you’re notactuallywith him. You may take up residence in his room some nights, but you’re not his.”
“You’re wrong,” I countered, shaking my head. My gaze slid up his body and met his heated stare. “Sly and I have an agreement that works for us. An agreement I have no interest in explaining to you, Cain.”
Giving my wrist a firm tug, my body felt like a yo-yo as it whipped forward, and I collided with him. Falling onto his lap, he shifted his body, so he was partially laying on the couch with me sprawled on top of him. “Ugh, Cain, what the fuck?” I tried to scramble off, but his arms slid around my waist, locking me tight against him.
“Your body fits perfectly against mine, Rose,” he rasped, his nose skimming up my neck. With his lips so damn close to my skin, I could feel the heat from his breath—a warm contrast from how cold the room was. Between the warmth of his breath and the slight brush of his facial hair against my skin, a shiver ran through me. Cain smirked triumphantly, letting his fingers trail up my arm as he did.
My stomach tightened as my body gave into the feeling of him beneath me. It took every morsel of restraint I had not to melt completely into him as heat rippled through me. I could literally feel my pussy get wet, and I clenched my jaw in protest.
Shifting my head toward him, I fixed him with a glare. It was the wrong move to make though, because as our breath mingled, I had to fight against the urge to close the distance between our mouths and give in to him completely. I was absolutely unaware of the restraint I could muster, despite the reaction I had to his touch.
The longer we held each other's stare, the less willpower I had to continue the charade of indifference. As much as I wanted to hate Cain Michaels, I just couldn’t, and though I hated to admit it, being in his arms felt likehome.
It wreaked havoc on my heart.
Softening in Cain’s arms, I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and watched as the veins in his forearm flexed under my touch. His chest heaved beneath me and suddenly the air felt like it was thickening around us. I found it hard to breathe, but I also couldn’t look away from him if I tried. Not when his eyes sparkled through the darkness, unspoken promises shining through, jolting me to my core. I knew I needed to move, but I was frozen against the only man who had ever truly stolen a piece of my heart.
“Do you remember that night when we still lived in Northwood? When you fell from the bed of my truck, and as I tried to catch you, we crashed to the ground? We landed in almost this exact position, Rose.”
Cain's smile widened, and I got lost in the memory of that night.
The groves of the tailgate mixed with the effects of the tequila shots had me feeling slightly uneasy as I bounced from one side of the truck to the other, arms outstretched as though that would help my equilibrium and keep me upright.
My cheeks burned from the permanent smile on my face after Cain came to pick me up from Kodiak’s, a popular bar housed inside of an old warehouse building. Danorah and I decided to call it a night, respectively, calling both of our boyfriends to pick us up. It was what we did—arrived together, then left with whatever guy we were seeing at the time to make sure we ended the night with a bang.
Literally.
To my surprise, Brent’s phone rang repeatedly until clicking over to voicemail. It wasn’t unlike him to not answer, but he knew my plan. He knew he was my ride home.
Within a few seconds, the darkened phone in my hand illuminated as Brent returned my call, only when I answered, it wasn’t Brent's voice on the other end of the line. It was Cain’s. Evidently, Brent had left with one of his buddies and left his phone at home. Luckily for me, Cain was more than willing to come get me.
Grabbing one last drink, Danorah and I headed for the dance floor for a few more songs until our rides showed up.
I hadn’t finished dancing when he walked in and tossed me over his shoulder like a caveman, carrying me upside down through the parking lot until we made it to his truck, where he deposited me—right side up—in the passenger seat.
I swayed in my seat as he climbed into his cab and tossed an In-N-Out bag at me. “Animal style fries, to sober your ass up.”
“Where’s my Coke?” I asked with a slight slur.
The truck’s engine roared to life, the vibrations tingling through the seat. Wordlessly, Cain held out a medium soda. I took it from him, bringing the straw to my lips and drew the sugary liquid into my mouth.
“Mmmmm,” I moaned against the straw as I watched Cain from the corner of my eye while he reversed from the parking spot. “Kinda wish I had a chocolate milkshake, too.”
He chuckled deeply and pulled a smaller cup from the cupholder between us, giving it a small shake to grab my attention. I squealed in delight and grabbed it with my empty hand.
