Paradise Found: Cain (Paradise #2)(39)

“My grandparents live here,” she stated. Her voice held an edge of surprise to it, as if the realization that she’d have a male roommate for a night was scandalous.

“Well …” I wanted to remind her we were married, and then it occurred to me, we hadn’t told anyone. We weren’t pretending, but we weren’t public.

“I could sleep on the floor,” I added. I don’t know why I offered. I couldn’t be in the same room with Sofie, without wanting to touch her. Each time she passed me tonight, as she poured drinks near me, when she smiled shyly at me, I’d reach for her. Sometimes I would get a soft rub of skin, other times I missed the target. A snake to prey, I wanted to strike out and touch her in the most delicious ways.

She stared at me for a moment then motioned her head for me to follow her. She didn’t say a word as she entered the private door under the staircase and made her way down a hall to a door that looked similar to all the hotel rooms above. Opening it, I found her personal chamber. A room that was feminine and petite. Her bed was only a double, the space around it minimal. She had an attached bathroom. The room was a mix between hotel and personal. Pictures lined the dresser. The open closet door exposed hanging clothes. Boxes littered the floor within the closet space.

She quickly reached for the door and closed it, shutting out her clutter, but a look at the desk displayed a pile of textbooks and an older desktop computer. Headphones lay across the keyboard. Binders of work were collected on the floor beneath the desk.

“I’m sort of creatively messy,” she giggled. “I’ll be right back,” she stated then left me alone in her room. I noticed her suitcase was open and clothes spilled out. I set my own bag down near hers then stared at the juxtaposition between the two. Mine was leather and zipped up tight. Hers was fabric, open to exposure, including a lacy red item peeking out from under some jeans. I reached for the silky material and slowly tugged it from its hiding spot. Holding before me a camisole that was practically transparent, I choked then jumped when a hand reached around me.

“I’ll take that,” she whispered, balling it up and shoving it back into her case.

“What was that?” I demanded, despite her avoidance in looking at me.

“Something special,” she said, then forced inside the case any items sticking out the edges and closed it.

She stood and stepped around me, causing me to turn and notice a pile of pillows and an extra duvet.

“I’ll change first,” she spoke softly, before exiting into the bathroom and shutting the door. I couldn’t believe she actually wanted me to sleep on the floor, but then again, I had offered. I stripped down to my boxers, laid the duvet on the floor beside the bed, and punched the pillows for comfort, before lying back to stare at the ceiling. The light went off, and I heard Sofie climb onto her bed before I saw her peek over the edge.

“You okay down there?” she asked, with no implication that I should join her in the bed.

“I’m fine,” I huffed. We lay in silence for a long time. I was listening for her breathing to soften, as a hint to her sleeping.

“I’m so tired,” she said quietly, “but I can’t sleep.” Exhaustion laced her tone. I’d seen her wince once or twice while she worked and I asked her about it. She brushed it off but suddenly seemed willing to share.

“I worked so hard today,” she began. “I helped move barrels. I carried cases. I stocked shelves.” She paused. “I ran through the vineyard.” I waited a beat, thinking she had more to say, but she didn’t offer anything else.

“Why?”

“I just needed to do ... something,” I heard her shift on the bed, but I couldn’t see her in the dark room. Before I could reply, she spoke again.

“I’m still angry at you, Cain,” she sighed. “But it’s sweet that you’re here.” She paused again. “Why do you have to be sweet while being the devil?”

I laughed bitterly. Sweet didn’t describe me. Devil, I deserved.

“I don’t try,” I chuckled. “It just happens.”

“The being sweet or being a devil?” The sheets rustled above me, and her head now rested on the edge of the mattress.

“Both. Neither.”

In the pale light that came through her window, I could see a sharp sparkle to her crystal blue eyes. It was as if the stars were reflecting down on me, but only a few could watch over me.

“My father was a tough man,” I stated, turning to gaze in the direction of the ceiling. “I guess when you’re the spawn of the devil, you don’t have much choice but to act like him, too.”

“My father was a sweet man, but he was weak,” she sighed. I lost sight of her as she rolled away from the edge of the bed.

“Tell me about your grandparents.”

“I owe them everything. Them and my uncle, so to speak. And my great grandfather, too.” She sighed but a shaky voice continued. “They would never understand what happened. They would never forgive me. I’m a good girl, Cain,” she whispered. “I don’t do reckless things like marry a man in twenty-four hours, then stay married a year without knowing it.”

My heart clenched at the anguish in her voice.

“My great grandfather: he’s so old school. If he found you in this room, the shock might kill him. My grandfather, he’d disown me.”