Paradise Found: Cain (Paradise #2)(24)

The touch of his lips was a surge of invasion. The sting of his tongue a pleasurable reminder of all that I’d shared with him, and all that I wanted to share again. His hands came to my cheeks and positioned my head so he could take me deeper. While his fingers had previously invaded my body, this was more powerful. This kiss was more intimate and controlling. His mouth demanded; I surrendered, being the weak soul that I was. For a few moments.

Then I remembered myself, and I forced him back from me. It wasn’t aggressive, though my body vibrated with the energy to force an elephant away from me. It was telling. He couldn’t keep coming at me without warning. He couldn’t take and not give. Small hands pressed against a hard, broad chest that rose and fell under my fingers. His heart beat against my palm. Our kiss had done this to him. However, I wasn’t convinced it was me. It was a natural reaction to the physical connection of our lips. Heart rate increased. Blood pressure increased. Pleasure neurons in brain respond with excitement. This was Human Anatomy 101.

“I…I can’t do this,” I stated. My heart aching as it had so many times since the return of Cain Callahan. “My heart.” I clutched at my chest. “It can’t take it.”





She left me standing there vibrating with need and sinking with lost desire. That kiss had reawakened everything I thought I remembered about her and every suppressed fantasy of wanting to keep her. I should have followed her. After she drove away, I remained standing in my yard, for a few minutes, before slowly returning to my bike. Escorting it the rest of the way up my drive and dragging it into the three-car garage behind the house, I stared at the empty space I left for her car someday. Shaking my head, I called Kursch, seeking reassurance that I could do what he advised.

“Don’t be a fool, like me,” he warned. “If you want her, you need to be prepared to fight for her.”

I didn’t know much of Kursch’s backstory. He was always just part of our family, even though he wasn’t. He was present every day in my life, possibly more so than my father, definitely more favorably than my father. He didn’t prevent what my father did, as he often wasn’t present to the action. He did, however, attempt to comfort me afterward. Only once did he admonish my father in front of me. The resulting argument filled me with concern that I’d never see Kursch again. After the loss of my mother, I couldn’t lose him as well. He remained, though. Whatever had been said, had been resolved or forgotten, and he remained.

I spent the day continuing to plan out a project that had developed since I moved to the Preston area. I wasn’t ready to go public with the idea; but the longer I stayed, the more excited I became about the prospect of doing something on my own. Doing something I wanted to do for me, not because my father demanded it or the family needed it. I was working in my home office hours later when my phone rang.

“Abel,” I breathed without the customary hello.

“She’s going to kill me for calling, but I think you need to get to Lindee Parks’ place.”

“Who?” I sighed, bored already with Abel’s call.

“Lindee Parks. Her parents own The Belfast. That isn’t the point. Her roommate is Lucie, Sofie’s best friend, and Sofie’s here. Her apartment was broken into.”

He’d hardly finished his last words and I was up out of my chair. Balancing the phone, I searched for keys in the desk drawer and sprinted to my SUV, demanding an address. I punched it into the navigation system and kept Abel on the line as I drove.

“Tell me what happened.”

“All I got was that the place was trashed.”

I thought back to the time I entered her apartment. Papers were scattered over the floor. Clothing and blankets covered her furniture. The unmade bed. The clothes on a chair beside it. She was rather messy. Something was missing from my remembrance, though.

“Are you certain it was a break in?”

“Her bed was slashed.”

The open window flashed before me. My heart dropped, as did my foot on the pedal. I raced through curving streets to Preston University. It was growing dark in the late summer evening. Lindee lived off campus in student apartments, which were clearly below her means. Her parents owned The Belfast, for Christ’s sake. Pulling up to the brick complex of six buildings, centered by a worn grassy area, I exited my truck and raced to building six. After taking the stairs two at a time, I pounded harshly on the door. It opened straightaway and I pushed forward without introducing myself.

“Cain.” Sofie stood instantly in the cramped space. Her head spun to Abel. “I told you not to call him,” she snapped softly. Her admonishment held no bite. Her hands twisted together. I crossed the small space and gripped them with my large fingers.

“Tell me you’re all right,” I hissed.

“I’m all right,” she replied quietly. Without thought, I leaned forward and kissed her forehead then braced mine against hers. Sighing in relief, I let out a breath I’d been holding as I sped through the town.

“Come home with me,” I breathed. It wasn’t a question.

“I can’t,” she whimpered, closing her eyes. We had an audience, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care if the entire university had been witnesses. If it meant turning into a Neanderthal, I wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“She can stay here tonight,” a feminine voice spoke from beside me. I lifted my head and spun to the girl.