Paradise Found: Cain (Paradise Stories Book 2) (24 page)

“You know me. This isn’t me.” Our lips hardly brushed and she pulled back with a jerk.

“I don’t know anything about you.” Her voice was low, raspy, and unfamiliar to me. The sound was hollow, closed off. She had shut me out.

“Kiss me,” I demanded gently, trying to draw her in again, but she refused. Her body was rigid. Her mouth tight.

“Sofie, please, kiss me,” my voice squeaked with fear, hoping against hope that a physical connection would break the spell.

Her hands broke free of my hold and she pushed back on my shoulders.

“No!” she screamed at me. Looking at Atom, she yelled, “Enough!” She pushed against me a second time, and I stumbled in surprise.

“I don’t want this,” she said looking me up and down before turning to Atom. “I don’t want any of this.”

On those words, she brushed past me and exited my father’s office. I took a step to follow after her, but Kursch blocked the way.

“I’ve stood by and watched you destroy a lot of things in your wrath against Eve, Atom. But you went too far this time. And you,” Kursch turned to me. “I won’t let you hurt her, either.”

“What did I do?” I hissed.

“Think about your actions,” he warned, but I ignored him.

“Move, old man,” I demanded, but he crossed his arms. The imposing stature of Kursch shifted from the man of subtle humor to the fierce fighter he once was, in another lifetime. His eyes, which softened as he scolded, were beams of dark severity.  Cold darkness filled them as he glared at me. He didn’t intend to budge.

I turned on my father, who remained shocked in his own right over what just transpired. He stood before his desk; still frozen in the place he revealed the horror of Sofie’s parents. I glared at him while I passed him. Spreading out my arms, I braced my hands on the edge of his giant desk. Pressing against it with all my might, the desk rocked once. The tension grew within me as I grunted and pushed again. It rocked once more. I didn’t acknowledge my name being called as I leaned my shoulder into the weight of the furniture. Then shoved. The desk upended and flipped over with a resounding thud as it hit the floor.

“I’m done!” I yelled at my father. “I don’t want any more of this, either. Enough.” I stated using Sofie’s word. Enough.

Forty days later…

“Hello.”

After forty days of silence, the sound of her voice, softly spoken, was an electric shock straight to my heart. I’d called. I’d driven by her apartment. I’d left endless messages. Silence was all I received. I stood slowly, not trusting myself, before I spun quickly from my desk to face her. Standing next to her was my brother and his girlfriend, Elma. Abel hadn’t failed me. He promised he’d get her to come to the gym for the grand opening of Eden2.

My palms sweated with uncustomary nerves. To my surprise, she hadn’t served me with divorce papers. With no response from my repeated attempts to communicate with her, all I had were assumptions. Assuming she hadn’t filed. Assuming she thought I finally did. I wanted to reach for her, pull her to me, and never let her go. The truth was, I didn’t want to let her go. I didn’t know how to make things right, but I didn’t want her to walk away from me forever. I didn’t know how to rectify the sins of my father.

It felt strange to offer her only my hand in greeting, after all that had passed. It wouldn’t have felt right to hold her hand, so I did nothing. I stood there, wiping my palms on my jeans, attempting to hold her eyes instead. She looked away almost instantly.

I stepped forward and shook the hand of my brother instead.

“So happy you could be here,” I said. “Thank you,” I exhaled, emphasizing that I owed him. Next, I opened my arms for Elma, who stepped into them for a brief hug. We’d come to an understanding long ago, and once Abel got his head out of his ass in regards to Elma and me, it became more comfortable to hug her. I stopped short again when it came to Sofie.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” I said, my voice cracking suddenly, and I coughed to cover the embarrassment of the sound. She smiled weakly at me, a smile I missed but wasn’t quite the smile I remembered from her.

“Let me show you around.” I motioned for them to exit my office. The party was in full swing with sponsors and some of my boys. I was selective about who I’d train specifically, but there was an open membership to the gym available. I wanted those boys who needed a new path. Foster kids; those with a past. My newest recruit was Malik Rutgers, a nineteen-year-old without a history, but definitely a past.

I guided Sofie through the crowd, surprised that she allowed my hand to rest on her lower back. It was a statement, warning those eager young eyes, who were checking her out, that she was with me. It was also a moment of relief when she didn’t flinch away from my touch. We’d had no contact for forty fucking long days.

When she left me at my father’s home, she was gone almost instantly. That traitor, Kursch, wouldn’t let me near her and he helped her escape. He’d gotten to know her better, while she stayed in our home, each time I returned to Vegas. A friendship was formed that made him loyal to her as a protector, despite being my bodyguard and assistant. She didn’t return any of my calls and reached the point of disconnecting her phone. She’d returned to her apartment, albeit small and unsafe in my opinion. I took long rides on my bike, making certain to drive by her place, after putting in long days to finish the gym.

She remained silent toward me as I introduced her to people. As our marriage wasn’t officially leaked to the press, she was just some girl on my arm the few times we were spotted. I didn’t want to splash her all over the media. I wanted to keep her to myself, until we were better settled. Before I knew it, I’d lost her again. In many ways, I was surprised my father didn’t know of our relationship earlier, but then again, he knew enough to attempt to destroy us, by destroying her. Letting her know of his past connection with her parents was Sofie’s undoing, and an evil I never expected, even from my old man.

“The place is really impressive,” she said, interrupting my thoughts of placing my hands on other parts of her body. I led her over to a table filled with sports drinks and pasta dishes. My hands slipped into my jeans after releasing her, so as not to be tempted to press her to me. The attraction to her was so real, the need made me tremble, which was an unfamiliar sensation. It was more than desire that shook through me. Seeing her again confirmed what my heart already knew: I loved her.

“You look beautiful,” I blurted, staring at the way her dark hair hung over her shoulders and her blue eyes glistened.

“Cain,” she warned subtly. I wanted to argue, assure her I meant it, but I could tell by the way her eyes shifted away from me, that she didn’t trust me. Even with a compliment, she didn’t trust me. She brushed some loose curls back over an ear and eyed the gym.

“I like what you did. It seems your vision came to life,” she commented, looking over the open space.

The large warehouse had two practice rings. Behind it was a weight room filled with the latest equipment. As you entered the space, the office was to the left, where Sofie found me. Showers were immediately behind the office. A hallway led to a place I was most proud of making. Asking permission to show her somewhere special, she followed my lead again. We passed the locker rooms. The ones closest to the office were for men, the farthest was the women’s, and beyond that was a designated female workout space. This area was designed for some privacy beyond the chaotic energy of the outer room.

“What’s back there?” Sofie inquired at an additional door marked PRIVATE.

“I’ll show you, but it’s top secret,” I winked, holding my hand on the doorknob for a moment. I knocked once, to make certain any occupants were dressed, and then slipped the door open. Inside was a casual space with two double beds and a flat screen television on the opposite wall. A couch with a small kitchenette and a round café table completed the space. Clothes were spread everywhere, giving the place the look of a hurricane attack.

“What’s this?” she laughed, and I swear my heart punched through my chest. The sound was so lyrical, and I wanted to capture it again, holding it close to the beat beneath my pecs.

“A mess, it looks like,” I said, entering the room I’d made specifically for those in need. In this case, it was Malik and another newbie, Raymond Edwards. Razor. The two were roughly the same age, and this was their safe haven, while we built them a schedule of fights. There was a smile of pride on my face, thinking of how I was trying to help these guys. Trying to give them a way of life that was safer than the underground of LA, a few hours down the coastline.

“Must be convenient to have a bedroom at the gym,” she whispered, an undertone to her meaning. Jealousy was unnecessary, but there was a hint present, and God forgive me, but I took jealousy as a good sign, not a sin. If she were thinking I was with others here, and didn’t like it, it meant she still felt something for me. I related to this because it absolutely made me want to kill, thinking of her with someone else. However, letting her think I was with another woman was what started all this trouble in the first place. I didn’t want to drag her into the limelight, so I let Malinda saunter up to me, wrap around me, and pose for those photos, her bitter tongue in my mouth. It was a horrible taste, and an evil thing to do to Sofie. To top it off, I never got to explain why I did it. Everything crumbled after that.

“The room isn’t for me,” I said, bending at the knees and forcing her to look up at me. Risking a finger under her chin, I raised her face to hold her gaze, but she flinched quickly out of my reach.

“The room was never for me,” I stated softly, emphasizing the words, with unwarranted disappointment in her reaction to my touch. “I have two guys living here, who needed a place to stay while they train, while they try to get their life on track. It was always my intention to have a place for just that. Those who needed time and space to figure out their life.” I could only hope she’d read deeper meaning into my words. I’d been trying to give her time and space, but the wait was killing me. Without the gym, I’d have gone insane. I threw myself into the renovations. My goal was one month, and I’d accomplished it.

“That’s really generous of you,” she replied quietly, attempting to shift her eyes away from me, but being the snake I am, I wasn’t ready to let her go. If the only contact I had with her was a finger under her chin and the connection of our eyes, I wasn’t breaking down. I’d hold her, hypnotize her if I could, to keep her attention on me, willing her to understand and accept my apology. For everything.

The minutes passed and I finally escorted her back out to the open gym space. Refraining from telling her I missed her took all my strength. I didn’t want to scare her when I’d finally gotten her to see me. Actually, Abel got her to see me. I don’t know how he did it, but I knew they were friends. I’d ask him about it later.

The music was loud and some people were dancing. Elma instantly sashayed up to Sofie and dragged her to the makeshift group of dancers, despite her hesitation. Sofie refused to dance, but stood near Elma who sauntered around and around Sofie.

“Hot damn, who’s that?” Malik hissed behind me. He was a smart ass, this one, always trying to rile people up. He was an amazing fighter, unpracticed, but skilled. His temper was a problem, but each move he made reminded me too much of someone I knew. His assessment of Sofie, reminded me even more so.

“She’s off limits, dickhead,” I replied, taking a long pull from the sports drink offered to me.

“Oh, yeah?” Malik questioned, coming around me. I grabbed him before he took two steps.

“Yeah,” I retorted. The challenge was clear in Malik’s intent, but I wasn’t playing. He wouldn’t go near her, if I could help it. Besides he was too young for her.

No sooner had I stopped Malik, when I glanced over to see Ray was talking with her. Compared to Malik’s dark look, Ray was California sunshine, coming across as more all American football player than a fighter. His hands on her hips sent me into a full fury of irritation. I didn’t want anyone to touch her. She laughed at something he said and my eyes narrowed.

Abel interrupted Elma’s gyrations and pulled Sofie in close to him. It was the final straw for me. I’d already had some concerns about Abel and Sofie in the past. I’d seen them together, with their easy banter and even easier smiles. I worked to convince myself they were only friends. Abel was a better man for her, no question, but I didn’t want Sofie to fall for him. Although Abel loved Elma, my mind raced with images I’d had in the past of Abel trying to win Sofie over. It was my own guilt come to haunt me.

Abel wrapped an arm around Sofie’s neck, as he leaned in to whisper to her over the loud music. This was enough to make my already pulsing energy, vibrate uncontrollably. With hands clenched, and a heavy step, I approached them, just as Abel spun Sofie out of his embrace. She smiled sheepishly at him. Abel gave a small nod. It was too much for me. I was ready to push Abel away from her, literally, when she turned to me. Her expression, one of mirth and excitement, dropped to concern the second she saw me stalking toward them.