Paradise Found: Cain (Paradise #2)(25)

“No!” I barked. I didn’t mean for it to be so forceful, but I wasn’t letting Sofie stay anywhere without me.

“Cain,” Sofie warned gently. She had no fight left in her, and in her weakened state, I took the opportunity to strike. Without asking, I scooped her up and began to exit the apartment.

“Cain,” Abel called. “Where are you taking her?”

“Home,” I yelled over my shoulder and felt no further protests, as Sofie wrapped her arms around my neck and nuzzled below my ear. “We’re going home,” I whispered to her as I carried her down the stairs to my SUV.

Once inside the cool blackness of my vehicle, I asked if she wished to return to the apartment for anything. Shaking her head, she then explained how she’d called the police. I wanted to curse her for not leaving instantly. Someone could have been lurking, but her place was small. I shuddered to think what would have happened if she hadn’t been able to escape, despite the smaller place. The idea of a slashed bed, with her body in it, made me grip the steering wheel with vibrating anger. When we pulled up to the house, she retracted her statement and said maybe she should have gone back. She needed to see if anything was salvageable. Her computer. Some clothing. Anything.

“I’ll go back for you,” I offered. “Don’t worry, we’ll replace it all.” She attempted to argue, saying it wasn’t necessary.

I escorted her to an extra bedroom. The house had four. While I had already envisioned her in mine, tonight wasn’t the night for such fantasy. I held open the door to a room bathed in white. Sheers like her apartment blew in the late evening breeze. A white duvet covered the double bed. The walls were a soothing light robin-eggshell blue. Sofie stood in the middle and stared at the space. Spinning slowly, she turned to me.

“Thank you. I think I’d just like go to bed,” she said quietly, tugging at the hem of her t-shirt.

“Of course,” I stated, and drawing on strength I didn’t think I possessed, I withdrew from comforting her. “I’m at the end of the hall if you need me,” I added, hoping beyond reality that she would seek me. I closed the door, shutting her out from my view, but not letting the shell-shocked image of her escape my mind. I waited a beat outside the door, my forehead pressed against it when I heard the first sob. I waited for a second one before I gently forced the door to open again.

Sofie was on the floor beside the bed, curled into herself, with her head on her knees, and one hand over her mouth.

“Sofie,” I purred, as I sat beside her and pulled her against me. She turned her face into my shoulder and let out another sob. The sound of her cry forced me into action, and I pulled her into my lap. In an attempt to soothe her, I gently rubbed up and down her arm, pleading with her to stop.

“It’s okay now. I’ve got you.” At one point, it seemed my words made the tears worse and I grew more awkward.

“I just feel so violated, even though I was never touched,” she cried.

“If you had been touched, I’d be locked up at the moment.”

She stiffened under my caress and pulled back from me, lifting her head to look up at me.

“Why did you bring me here?” she whimpered softly.

“It’s your house, too,” I stated. “I bought it for you. For us.”

Tears fell again. She was ready to question me, but I cut her off.

“Sofie, sweet apple, don’t cry,” I tried again to stop the flow. She started to giggle with tears still sliding down her red cheeks.

“Sweet apple?”

“You are my greatest temptation,” I explained. “Apple of my eye?” I teased again. She giggled once more through the tears.

“Apple of my heart?” I added. She choked on a mix of sob and laughter, shaking her head in teasing disbelief.

“See I can be romantic,” I smiled slowly.

“I never said you weren’t romantic,” she replied softly.

“You think I’m romantic?” Shocked, I stared down at her liquid-filled eyes that glistened up at mine. “Don’t make me soft, Sofie. I can’t be.”

Her giggle melted into that slow smile of hers.

“Oh, Cain, you already are.” She practically beamed at me. There was something playful in those watery blues. Her eyes roamed down my seated body.

“You think I’m soft, Sofie?” I gripped her hand and tugged it to cover the length of me. “I’m hard for you. And I want to f*ck you to the core. But not tonight. Tonight I can be soft for you.” I curved my arm around her waist and lifted us both from the floor. Not releasing her, I adjusted her against me and pulled us up onto the white bedding. I twisted her to wrap my arms around her, pulling her back to my chest, and cradling her against me.

“You’re safe here, Sofie. I’m going to protect you. I’m going to keep you.” The admission seemed too much, so I clarified. “Safe, that is.”





I’d slept peacefully, despite what happened, but my groggy waking left me uncertain of my surroundings. For a moment, I thought I was back at The Belfast, and then I heard the soft thumping noise outside the partially opened window. Rolling my head left to right, I realized I was alone, fully clothed and alone. The idea of clothing reminded me I’d need to go to my apartment. I’d need to file for insurance. I’d need to see if anything was left. My mind drifted briefly.