Paradise Found: Cain (Paradise Stories Book 2) (39 page)

Her eyes widened.

“I hurt you and I’m sorry,” I swallowed hard. “I didn’t mean to do it. I was … scared.” I swallowed again and blinked. “Kursh is like …”

“Shhh,” she said, stroking my cheek.

“And if you got too close to me…” I tried to continue, but my voice cracked.

“I know,” she soothed.

“You’d break me,” I whispered. Her mouth tenderly came to mine, a soft delicate brushing of the lips.

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” she said. “I wanted to help you, hold you,” she breathed softly.

My head shook in acknowledgement.

“I’m … I’m scared,” I mumbled, my voice continuing to tremble. “I shouldn’t have said what I said. I didn’t even mean what I said. I don’t want to lose you, yet I keep doing the wrong thing. Don’t let me lose you,” I begged, holding her tighter against me.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she stated.

“I’m scared,” I mouthed to her. The words would choke me if I admitted them one more time.

“I know,” she said in that soothing tone she had. “But I love you,” she whispered, words that both frightened me and thrilled me.

“I don’t know why,” I muttered. She tried to pull back, but my mouth came up to capture hers. It was a slow struggle at first, as I wanted to claim her. She finally gave in to my lead and let my lips take hers. Sucking her lower lip, then nipping so she’d open, my tongue invaded her mouth and we coiled together. I spun us on the bed, so she was beneath me, and she moaned as my length hit her core, despite the clothing barrier.

“I’m sorry,” I said against her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

“Show me,” she smiled slowly. I loved her more than ever as I frantically undressed her.

We found Ava in the room with Kursch the following morning. Her hair was down from its customary knot at her neck, and dark waves fell forward to hide her face. The sheen of it matched my own, if I had any hair to speak of. The beeping of monitors was background noise to the pounding in my heart. An eerie silence wavered through the room. It was clear we’d interrupted something, and I offered to come back later.

“I was just leaving,” Ava said, standing quickly and wiping her cheek.

“Ava,” Kursch spoke with a gravelly tone. She simply nodded and excused herself, not looking up at me as she went. Sofie held my hand while I approached the bed.

“How are you feeling today?” I offered.

“Ornery as fuck. I want out of here,” he swore.

I smirked, sensing the old Kursch was back and ready to take life by storm, or at least take Ava, if he could catch her.

“We’ve made extra arrangements for you. The apartment above the garage is waiting,” Sofie spoke cheerfully. She patted his arm in comfort and Kursch smiled in spite of himself.

“Have you seen your father?” he asked, his eyebrows pinching, as if the very question was painful.

Shaking my head in response, Kursch tipped his chin once. My father had been arrested for the stabbing. Kursch didn’t want to press charges, as I suspected, but the scandal had already begun. Sofie told me how Malik had been coerced into telling her that I was in danger, and she needed to come to that field to help me. She didn’t believe Malik ever would have followed Atom’s orders, if he didn’t fear that somehow Atom would hurt her for not showing, or me, if I did. I hadn’t made amends with Malik. I wasn’t certain I could, despite the honest confession on his behalf from Sofie. I didn’t need to worry about him yet. There were tons of legal things to handle with my father. Thankfully, seeing him wasn’t mandatory. From this point forward, any issues could be dealt with through lawyers and representatives.

No longer an active member of the fight, I was ready to be on the sidelines and assist others instead. My father’s final evil was a warning to me. I wouldn’t fight my brother. I wouldn’t leave my wife. I wasn’t giving up my life to a man whose love was given only by threats.

To my surprise, Abel was one of the people I found at Eden2, later that day.

“Ava asked me to leave,” Abel offered without my asking. He stood in the middle of the floor staring at the cage. “She said she needed time. She was having difficulty processing that I was her little brother.”

I shivered at the thought. I didn’t care for Ava. A female fight coach didn’t equate with me, although I wasn’t against woman fighting. Admittedly, I’d witnessed a fight or two and found it hot as hell to watch. I’d also tumbled in bed a few times with one or two fight ladies, but ladies they weren’t in the sack. Not to mention, too competitive in bed. I wanted an equal, not an opponent, and wrestling a woman in bed turned out
not
to be my thing.

“I wondered if I could train here, instead?” Abel asked nervously. He looked down at his feet, and for a moment, it reminded me of when he was a kid. His hair fell forward to hide his face. Uncomfortable in his own skin, he was shy to ask for anything, least of all things that connected us as brothers. Knowing me, I most likely ridiculed him for asking. In that moment, my heart filled with pride.

“I suppose,” I drew out, “but no slack just because you’re my brother,” I snapped. “No fraternizing with the others,” I continued.

“Are you…”

“No drinking. No drugs.”

“Be real…”

“No sex in my gym.”

“Forget it,” he blurted, his face turning red. I let out a laugh.

“What?”

“I’m not making that condition. Hard limit.”

I laughed harder. “How do you know about hard limits?” My eyes narrowed to question him. “Do you know about hard limits?”

“None of your fucking business,” Abel stammered, and I laughed harder.

“Jesus, the shy ones always have a secret.”

He shook his head, twisting his lips, and smiling slowly at my teasing him.

“I’d be honored to have you train here, Betta,” I said, sticking out my hand.

“I’d be honored to be here, Cobra.”

The late summer sounds of my grandparents’ vineyard surrounded me. The birds chattered overhead under a bright sunny sky. The ripple of a cool river flowed before me. The soft rustle of the trees and low bushes protected this space: Eden. So many times, I wanted to return here, for its peace, its calm, its memories, but running away from trouble didn’t seem to solve anything. My parents had proven that by ignoring the money they owed and dismissing the debts my father incurred which resulted in their deaths. Kursch killed my parents in youthful haste, and while I had a difficult time forgetting this fact, I was trying to forgive him. He had many demons of his own to wrestle. He needed my compassion and friendship more than my hatred. Hatred destroyed, and there was no greater testament to this than Cain’s upbringing. Love could destroy, too and it was one of many reasons why he struggled with the concept. He was learning slowly, though, that love was powerful and above all things, it ruled in patience and kindness. He had the love of a mentor in Kursch, the love of his brother in Abel, and he had my love, too.

What I’d seen in Cain, after the stabbing of Kursch, was a glimpse of the small boy inside him, who steeled himself to the blows of a father, who did them in the name of love. Who steeled himself to the heartache of a mother leaving him behind with a responsibility too great for a child. A boy who wanted to be loved for who he was, not what he did, and the only person who did that was a man injured in a hospital. Until me. I was here to assure Cain that love could come in other means, other forms, and that knowledge was mine to teach him.

Large arms slipped around my waist and his chin rested on my shoulder. My fingers methodically traced over his wrist, down his hand, finding comfort in the silver band that surrounded his left ring finger.

“What are you thinking, wife of mine?” he teased softly into my neck.

“About life,” I smiled slowly.

He pulled back and gently turned me to face him.

“It’s going to be a good life, Sofie. I promise,” he said, and those dark eyes searched mine with concern. He was going to give us what we needed, those eyes assured me. “I never want you to regret you followed me,” he added.

“I don’t regret anything,” I said in reassurance. Leaning up on my toes, I kissed him briefly. Soft brushes were never enough for him and his mouth captured mine before I could pull back. His tongue coiled around mine, lovingly sucking me into him. His hands slid upward from my arms to brace my neck, as he continued his eager attention to my lips.

“I love you,” he muttered against me. He was rather forthcoming with the words, sharing them often as he welcomed the release of saying them and the warmth of receiving them. The empowerment I felt each and every time I used those words for his attention was indescribable.

“I love you,” I replied, and those dark eyes lit up like the night sky, speckled with stars.

“So,” he smiled slowly. “Renewing our vows with a real wedding in the fall. Family present this time. Honeymoon to Italy. What else do we need?”

Our families. Abel and Elma had come to meet my grandparents, who immediately welcomed them into the fold as if they belonged to the long line of Vincentia. My Papa was the one with the strangest reaction to Abel. He literally wept when he met him, drawing him in for a deep hug. Then he surprised us further by reaching out for Cain. Placing his hand reverently on him, he spoke rapidly in Italian I didn’t recognize and a peacefulness washed over Cain. It was almost spiritual.

Cain’s teasing tone led me away from being serious. It was my turn to smile sheepishly. An eyebrow rose slightly, questioning me before I spoke.

“I’m so excited to see David again,” I prompted, my mouth tweaking into a crooked smile.

“David?” he hissed, drawing back from me.

“You know, he’s hung like a horse,” I whispered conspiratorially. Instantly, my feet left the hard packed earth and a breeze wiped my hair as Cain raced for the river with me over his shoulder.

“I’ll show you hung like a horse,” he growled playfully. “Rather, thick like a cobra. Long,” he exaggerated. “Fierce,” he continued as the sound of water splashing under his feet made me squeal with fearful anticipation.

“You wouldn’t,” I shrieked, tightening my hold on the seat of his pants.

“Slick, pulsing,” he carried on, ignoring me as he continued to descend into the cool river, struggling with the growing depth of it.

“Cain,” I warned, but it was too late.

“Wet,” he laughed, and together we dunked under the cold water. We were under for mere seconds when he pulled us upright. I let out a scream at the shock of the coldness, but he only laughed harder and the sensation of it rippling over his chest warmed me.

“How wet are you, my sweet temptation?” he teased, bright eyes glaring down at me with that hypnotic way he had; only the intensity had softened. I was already a willing prey; he an eager captor, but we didn’t need to play that game anymore.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I replied, reading into his innuendo.

“Oh, you know I do, Sofie. I do, I do.” His tone turned serious.

“I love you. I do,” he said, kissing me. He released me and I stood before him in the slow flowing river.

“I love you as my wife. I do,” he continued, kissing me harder.

“I promise to keep you safe, never lose you again. I do. I do,” he muttered, kissing me between the vows.

And standing fully clothed in the river of Eden, I knew the only way we’d ever be lost again, was in each other.