He disappeared through the French doors, closing them behind him. I still stood where he’d left me.

“Oh, don’t let him and his ways upset you any,” Becca said briskly, sweeping crumbs from the coffee table. “He has his big, stern look about him, but don’t you let that fool you.” She straightened and brushed the greying hair out of her eyes with the back of her hand. “He’s strong and rich and powerful, sure. He has everything he thinks he needs. But I’ll tell you this, Grace.” She took my hand and led me to the sofa, sitting down beside me with a wink. “That boy has no idea what’s good for him, and that’s the truth.” She patted my hand. “I thought I’d never see him bring a nice young lady home. Just work, work, work for that one. Well, just goes to prove… there’s always hope. Even for a man as lonely as him.”

She stood up, picking up the tray and cocking her head at me. “Come on. I’ll get you all nice and snug in the west suite.”

“But Kaine said the east one…”

Becca smiled coyly as she led the way. “Did he? I’m just sure he meant the west one. It has the loveliest view in the evening. And it’s right next to Mr. Kaine’s…”

The light was starting to fade when Becca left me. The sky was turning pink and the huge windows guided the colors inside. My room was huge, the ceilings high. The bed was enormous, the only dark wood in the room. All the rest was pale, the color of cream. I’d bathed in the claw foot tub in the adjoining bathroom, and was wrapped in one of the thick towels Becca had provided. “Don’t you worry,” she’d said before she left me alone. “I saw how he looked at you, and there’s nothing to worry about. I know that boy better than he does. And a lady as old as I am doesn’t miss much.” She’d kissed my cheek and left me with a warm smile. I wanted to ask her so many things.

I brushed my hair, soothed by the familiar motion, and watched as the treetops moved in the distance. It was easy and gentle. Almost hypnotic. I realized how tired I was. And just how much had happened in such a short time. I sat still, staring out the window until the sun disappeared below the horizon. The room seemed different somehow. That’s when I heard the knock.

“Grace? Are you awake?”

His voice sounded strained from the other side of the door. “I need to speak to you, Grace. Please.”

I opened the door to him. He was in a robe, his hair damp and unruly. I’d never seen him looking so… normal. So real. I reached up to push the hair out of his eyes. They were warm. Warm grey. I felt a tingle run through me.

“I’m sorry, Grace. About losing control. About… well. I feel like I owe you more of an explanation than I was ready to give…”

“You don’t owe me anything, Kaine,” I answered softly. “You’ve given me so much. You’ve kept me safe, bringing me here, wanting to help. If anything, I’m the one who owes you.”

He shook his head gently and led me to the edge of the bed. He sat, pulling me down on his lap and wrapping his arms around my waist. I could feel his arousal through his robe and my towel. A hot, liquid warmth flooded through my core. I wanted him so badly, yet more than that, I wanted to hear what he had to tell me.

“You’ve asked me a lot of questions… ones I haven’t answered,” he began. It was almost completely dark. I watched the outline of his lips as he spoke. “I can’t give you everything you need, Grace. And I’ve never told anyone…” He looked out the window into the darkness. “I want to tell you. If I can make you understand… I want to tell you.”

I kissed him, softly, quickly. Not out of need or desire. But for encouragement. Then I was still, silent. Willing to wait as long as he needed me to.

“I asked Rose here tomorrow, along with Dalia, because they may be our last chance. To get the information we need to prove your mother wasn’t responsible for Claire’s death. Cole hasn’t made any friends at La Laisse, and when Rose heard what he did to you…” I heard the strain and anger in his voice. “She’ll do anything I ask, to help us. And so will Dalia.”

I shifted, uncomfortable.

“No, sweetheart. Not because of anything personal between us. But because Dalia likes to dominate her partners.” I saw his outline change. He was smiling. “She may already know something that could help us. And if she doesn’t, I’m sure she could find out.”

“You mean, use her? To set Cole up somehow. To get him to admit something…?”

“It’s all part of the games she likes to play. And if we send her back to Cole, knowing the kind of information we need…”

“She’ll seduce it out of him…?”

“One way or another, I expect. She’s good with a whip.”

I sat quietly, not sure I wanted to hear any more. Kaine gathered my hair in one hand and twisted it, turning my face to his. I couldn’t see his features anymore. The light was gone and there was no moon.

“I’ve been to La Laisse a half dozen times, Grace. I’ve paid for almost every woman there, at one time or another.” I could feel his breath, warm and close. “I haven’t fucked one of them. Not at La Laisse. Not anywhere else.” He kissed me, his lips warm and gentle on mine. “I watched them. I encouraged them, just as I did with you. But I didn’t touch them. And I never let them touch me.”

“I remember,” I said. “The rules.”

“Yes, the rules.” He bit my lower lip softly. His teeth were sharp. “Rules I broke only with you. Rules I’m breaking right now.” His tongue slipped against mine and a powerful shudder ran through me. My pussy was clenching with a rhythm of its own. I could feel his rock-hard cock, so close. So fucking close…

“I was wild in my teens,” he said. “I thought sex could make everything better. And for a little while it seemed to.” He spoke into the curve of my neck. My nipples tightened.

“But it didn’t change who I was. Or what I’d done. The pain always came back. And I was hurting the women I was with. I couldn’t keep doing it.” He lifted the rope of my hair and breathed in, at the nape of my neck. “They wanted more. And there wasn’t any more I had to give them. And then one day I stopped. Not wanting. I never stopped wanting.” His breath was quickening. “But I stopped hurting them, using them. Taking from them.”

“You gave them pleasure,” I breathed, my mouth open, lips soft as I remembered. “You only gave. And watched their pleasure. Experiencing it through them.” His hand moved up my belly, cupping the weight of my breast in his hand. He squeezed gently and I felt a pool of moisture form between my thighs.

“You let the desire drive you,” I panted. “For the control. For the power it gives you…”

“Yes, Grace… I need all those things. I need the strength. I need the focus. I need to control all the things that I feel… All the things that I want…” He cupped both my breasts, lifting them and pushing them tight together. Then he slowly spread them apart, lifting and pulling gently. His cock was pounding beneath me. “I need the strength that you give me, my beautiful girl,” he whispered against the hollow of my spine. “And I need the power to hold back.”

He kissed my skin, dipping his tongue into the curves. “You’re perfect, Grace. Innocent and unmarked. You’re the loveliest woman I’ve ever seen. The loveliest woman I’ve ever touched in my life. You’re strong and perfect. And you know how to love…” He pulled away and took a long breath. “I won’t take all that from you. I can’t.”

I turned in his lap in one swift movement, wrapping my legs around his waist, my hips open, my hot center against him. My belly was to his belly, my chest to his chest. “You wouldn’t be taking, Kaine. I’m here for you. Right here. And I want this. I want you, Kaine.” I held his face in my hands. “You’re not taking from me, Kaine. I’m giving.”

He put his hands over mine, pressing them against his jaw. I could feel his heartbeat there. Fast and strong.

“I can’t love you, Grace. I can’t love anyone… and it wouldn’t be fair.” He was so close… but still so far from me. “You don’t know who I am. What I’ve done.” He drew in a shaky breath and let it out unsteadily.

“I was responsible for the death of my brother.” The words were little more than a whisper. “He was so little, so young. And he loved me.” His head fell forward in my hands, his forehead resting on mine. “He trusted me to keep him safe. I loved him and I failed him, Grace. I let him die, right in front of me… and I couldn’t save him.”

I held him in my arms, rocking him silently. There was nothing more to say. Kaine held me too, and we sat in the quiet dark. Rocking each other. Holding each other.

I couldn’t tell him now. He wouldn’t hear me. But I knew he was wrong in what he’d said… that he couldn’t love. He didn’t know it yet, but he was loving me right now.

He’d finally let me in.