Chapter 13

Apparently Violet was a glutton for pain, because heartbreak or no, she wanted—no, needed—more. By the time she’d woken up from her restless sleep the next morning, she had decided she was going to continue to follow his lead, even if it led her to heartache later. First of all, she needed the help; all of his lessons would pay off when she met someone later on. And second, she wanted more sex. It was as if he’d suddenly opened the floodgates, and now she couldn’t wait to feel him again. She had spent all night thinking about his hands and mouth on her body, the way he filled her up when he’d been inside her, the way he smelled, the way he moved.

Cain had left her a note telling her he’d gone for a run and wouldn’t be back for a few hours, so Violet had spent the next morning lazily listening to an audiobook on the lounge by the pool. Since she didn’t know what to expect when he returned from his run, she wanted to take a shower. If there was going to be another lesson, she didn’t want to be sweaty when he returned. With her earbuds still on, she went inside. The change from the intense heat outside to the cold air from the AC gave her goose bumps, so she ran to the bathroom without thinking…or looking. As soon as she swung the door open she was assaulted by warm steam from the shower and the smell of soap. Violet jumped at the sight of Cain frozen in place, the towel he’d been using to wipe himself dry halfway up his nude body.

“Oh my God! I…uh…” She ducked her head down, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know….”

Naked as the day he was born, he plucked the earbuds from her ears. “You’re yelling.”

How freakin’ embarrassing!

“Sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t hear you in here. Didn’t know you were home.” She quickly turned to leave but instead ran right into the corner of the bathroom counter. “Ow! Shit. I mean shoot!” She rubbed her hip bone.

“You okay?”

She couldn’t meet his eyes. She kept rubbing her sore hip and trying to get out of the bathroom without further embarrassment.

Cain grabbed her forearm and stopped her retreat. “Are you okay?” he asked again.

“Physically? Yes. Emotionally? I wish the earth would open up and swallow me right now.”

If he looked up “heart on your sleeve” in the dictionary, he thought, he’d find a picture of Violet. He chuckled at her sincerity. “Turn around.”

She groaned and shook her head.

“Turn around,” he demanded softly. He needed to see her face. The flush of her cheeks and neck. Slowly she turned around, her eyes tightly shut. “Look at me.”

He laughed when she slowly opened one eye and then the other.

“What the fuck happened last night?” he asked. “It got weird. I knew that would happen.”

“It was my fault. I’m sorry. I, uh…”

“You’re sorry? Why?” He sounded puzzled.

“I…” It was time for the truth. Let the chips fall where they may, she thought. “I screwed up. I’m sorry. I panicked,” she said matter-of-factly. “You’re my friend. I don’t want to ruin that.”

“Violet, you know I’m no good at talking. I panicked too. I want you in my bed again. Last night was hell. I walked down the fucking hall to your room a dozen times, but I was too much of a coward to face you. I thought that maybe you regretted it.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn’t.

She slumped down and let out a deep breath. “Oh, thank God. I was worried it was too weird now, and you and I…”

“There will always be a me and you. That won’t ever change.” She was still staring intently into his eyes, but he knew that was only because she was trying not to look down. “I should’ve probably given you that speech with clothes on.” She laughed but still looked uncomfortable. “After all that, you’re going to be shy?”

When she still didn’t say anything, he stepped back and finished drying himself off. Her eyes followed his movements as he toweled his hair dry, then slid the towel along his arms and chest. He didn’t miss how she unknowingly licked her lips as the towel went lower. The look in her eyes had his cock, which had been hard all night and most of the morning, twitching painfully. It wanted her. He wanted her. “When a man is standing with a hard cock in front of you, the proper thing to do is acknowledge it.”

Her eyes darted back up to his. “Er…um…I’m not sure what to say.”

“Do you like what you see?” he asked with a smirk. She nodded vigorously. “Then you should say so. Good for the ego. Men have fucking huge egos. I have a fucking huge ego.”

She snorted. “Okay. Well, it’s a nice penis.”

Stupefied, he dropped the towel and roughly grabbed his cock. “Did you call this nice?”

“Well, it is!” she screeched. “It’s a very nice penis. What exactly am I supposed to say? I mean, it’s nice. And look, it has that pretty metal ring on it. It’s decorated.”

If he’d been stupefied before, now he was stunned and amused all at once. He shook his dick in her direction. “First, don’t ever call it a penis. If you’re in the middle of any sexual act, you don’t call it a penis. Dick or cock.”

“Cain!”

“Say it.”

“Fine, when I’m in the middle of a sex act, I’ll call it that. But right now, I’m just kind of in your way.”

Before she could to try to leave again, he continued. “And second of all, you don’t call it nice. What the fuck, Vi? That’s a surefire way to get a pretty, decorated penis to shrivel up and die.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. That’s one big and hard dick you got there, Cain. Never in the history of the world has there been a cock as massive as yours. My lady parts are trembling with the thought of that huge dick trying to get inside my tiny vagina.” She blushed.

“Don’t say vagina.”

“Okay, my pussy.” And just like that, his cock hardened further.

“What would you like to do with my big, hard dick, Violet?” he asked. “And before you lie, I can see your hard nipples and your flushed face, and you’ve been licking your lips for the last three minutes. I bet you’re wet for me, Vi. Tell me.”

“I want to kiss it.” Of all the things he’d expected her to do or say, that was not one of them. Worst-case scenario, he’d thought she’d run for the hills; best case, she’d shyly ask for more sex. Suck his cock? No, that had never even crossed his mind.

He swallowed nervously. He had to be in control or else this game they were playing would fall apart. “Then get on your knees and open your sweet little mouth for me, Vi.”

She did just as he asked, her eyes focused on his dick. “I want you to enjoy this, but I’m not sure what to do with that ring.”

“Do what comes naturally.”

Violet hesitantly gripped him, first with one hand and then the other. Then, through her eyelashes, she looked up at him before doing exactly what she said she wanted to do: she kissed the head of his dick. The quick contact made him jerk and before he had a chance to think she opened her mouth and took him deep inside. Her teeth gently clanked against the metal piercing and her eyes locked on him as she did so. He gripped the counter behind him and tried to control his impulse to thrust in her. Violet reached for one of his hands and placed it on her head. “Show me what you like, Cain. What do you want?”

Fuck. Me.

He was so turned on by her actions he almost came right then and there. “Just keep doing what you’re doing.” That was all he was able to grunt out, his fingers laced in her hair, as she laved, sucked, and nipped his cock over and over while her hands pumped him relentlessly. “Oh, God, Violet,” he groaned. “Last chance before I come in your mouth.”

He had dreamed of her hot little mouth on his cock for over a decade. He could hardly believe it was happening. She looked up, and the little minx winked before she began to suck on the head of his cock, twirling the ring with her teeth like it was her favorite lollipop. He felt it all the way down his spine as he came, and if he hadn’t been leaning on the counter, he would’ve slipped down to the floor. With his head hanging and his eyes at half-mast, he said. “Fuck, Vi. That was so good.”

“Good?” She stood up. “Talk about blows to the ego. I’m glad I sucked your nice penis well.”

He grabbed her by the waist so she was pressed up against him.

“You’re abso-fucking-lutely right. What the hell was I thinking? That was not good. Not at all.” He searched her face, which for a brief second fell, but then he smirked. “It was fucking amazing. Mind-blowing. Never in the history of the world has anyone given head the way you, Violet Channing, give head.”

“You have a filthy mouth, Cain. I’m glad you liked it.” She slapped his shoulder playfully. “Now get out of here, I need to shower.”

“Okay.” He gripped her waist and hoisted her onto the counter. “But not until you get nice and dirty with my filthy mouth.”

“What?” she shrieked, and before she could protest, Cain was kneeling on the floor, her legs thrown over his shoulders and her panties pushed to the side as his face descended on her.

“You should wear dresses more often.” He licked her from her core to her clit and back. It was not frenzied. It was slow and lazy and it was making her crazy.

“Cain!”

“What do you want, Vi?”

“I—I need more.”

He knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted more pressure on her clit, but he wasn’t going to give it to her just yet. “Come and take it. If you want it, you need to come and get it,” he said as he again laved her pussy and gently sucked on her clit. It took her a moment before she relaxed her back against the mirror behind her, twined her fingers through his hair, and pushed his face against her wet pussy. “That’s it, baby. Fuck my mouth.” He said while she continued to move her hips as his tongue assaulted her clit. When her movements became erratic and her clit began to pulse on his tongue, he pushed two fingers deep inside her, sending her completely over the edge as she screamed his name over and over again.

Afterward he stood and helped her up. Her legs were jelly and her eyes were dreamy. He placed both palms on her face and gave her a playfully loud kiss on the lips. “I think you’re sufficiently dirty.” He slapped her ass. “Now you can shower,” he said over his shoulder before he walked out.

After Violet showered and dressed she went to the living room to find Cain sitting on the couch playing with his phone. “Maybe we can do the linen closet and your old bedroom today?” she asked as she plopped down next to him. He turned off his phone and tucked it away.

Unexpectedly, he ran his palm along her cheek and down to her neck. “Look at you. You’re still flushed.” He leaned in and gently kissed her lips. “So you want to do it in the linen closet and my old bedroom? That linen closet may pose a challenge, but we can work it out.”

Violet laughed. “I meant pack. We can pack those rooms today.” She covered his hand with hers and leaned into his touch. He kissed the tip of her nose before standing up.

These were the things that confused her. If he was acting, he could win an Academy Award. Rubbing up against her, the sweet words he said, the smiles, the looks…they were sending her all sorts of mixed signals, and it was getting very hard to keep up with what was real and what wasn’t. “Nah. I’m starved. Let’s go eat.” He extended his hand and pulled her up.

“But we’ve been here for almost two days and you haven’t done any packing. All we’ve done is eat. Don’t you need to—”

“Later. Come on.”

“I forget how stifling hot Texas can be,” Violet said twenty minutes later as they walked along a strip where there were a number of quaint little restaurants.

“It’s hot in Tarpon Springs too.”

“Yeah, I know. But this feels hotter, for some reason. I think since we live close to the water we have a little breeze, at least.”

“I guess you don’t want a table outside, then?” he said with a grin.

A few minutes later, they were seated at a booth in a dark corner of a steakhouse. “Maybe it’s hotter in Texas, but the steaks are better here than in Florida,” she decided after they both ordered steak dinners, along with a beer for him and a glass of red wine for her.

“That is true,” Cain agreed.

“I feel like I’m on vacation. It’s been a long time since I’ve just relaxed,” she said. “So, have you thought about it? You want to tag along to Jer’s parents’ house? I know they wouldn’t mind. In fact, they’d love it.”

“I don’t know,” he said. He had actually been considering it, which was something he hadn’t done in a long time. But he didn’t want to think about that right now. Remembering Jeremy made him feel like he was being doused with cold water. “You look very nice today. I’ve noticed you’ve changed your wardrobe.”

“Well, it wasn’t really a choice, since she took all the clothes I wanted to wear with her and left only the clothes she’d picked out for me.”

“Can we talk about that? Why do you dress like that?”

She tried to hide the way his words stung her, but it must have been obvious, since he slid over to her and laced his hand in hers, “Shit. That came out all wrong. I’m sorry. I mean, why do you dress so—” He paused, trying to come up with the right word.

“Homely,” she answered for him.

“I was going to say conservatively.”

“I’m not sure. My dad would buy my clothes at the commissary or the exchanges. And I didn’t have many female friends, growing up with you and Jeremy. I dress the same way as I did back then; you guys just didn’t notice or didn’t pay attention. Then you left and I met JL. You’ve seen her fashion sense. I love it. She’s courageous, but she’s way out there, and I couldn’t dress that way either. And she never really pushed me to change the way I dressed—she’s always accepted me the way I am. All these years later, she’s started pushing me a little outside my comfort zone, but that’s just recently.”

“Do you like it? I mean, is it that outside your comfort zone?”

“I don’t feel comfortable having my boobs all exposed.”

“No one said anything about exposing your boobs.”

She laughed. “Let’s face it, Cain. I may not have body issues, but I’m not blind either. I have big boobs. They need to be strapped down and kept under control.” They both laughed at her silliness. “I also have a big butt and thick thighs, so I don’t like wearing short skirts. The easiest way I can put it is that the Lycra tops that Jessica uses for yoga look practical and cute on her—you might even say sexy. On me, well, my boobs would be spilling out. It’s not unattractive, per se; it’s just not appropriate. Maybe it’s even a little vulgar. Does that make sense?”

He shook his head. “Not so much. But I don’t like the idea of your tits spilling out for anyone to see, so I’ll let it go for now. I do have to say, I like the way you look tonight, and I want to make it clear that I didn’t not like the way you looked yesterday, the day before, or ten years ago. I just like this look. You seem more comfortable in your own skin and I really like it.” He took a gulp from his beer and added, “A lot.”

“Thanks.” She looked down at the table.

“And speaking of how much I like the way you look…” He snuck a hand under the table and placed it high on her thigh.

She eyed him. “What are you doing?”

“So, I was thinking. We’ve been on a few dates. We’ve slept together. I like to keep my women sated as well as on their toes. You know, make sure that they don’t get bored with me.” His hand moved higher.

She put her hand on his and tried to move it, but he wouldn’t budge. “Cain. Someone’s going to see us,” she hissed.

“Do you trust me?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Either you do or you don’t.”

“I do.”

“Would I embarrass you?” He turned slightly so his lips were close to her ears. His words came out like caresses against her skin. “Would I let anyone see my hand play with that pussy of yours?” She shook her head, and her eyes fluttered almost shut. “Would I let anyone see the beautiful way you bite your bottom lip when you’re about to come? Or the way your eyes seek mine when you’re actually coming?” He said the last sentence as one finger slipped under her panties and moved up and down her slit.

“Oh…”

“But you have to be quiet, sunshine. I know that’s hard for you.” He chuckled. “You can’t scream, you can’t yell, and you certainly can’t moan when I do this.” He slipped a finger inside her quick and deep, and she closed her eyes and moaned loudly. Luckily, the music in the restaurant as well as the conversations of the people around them drowned out the noise. Plus, they were seated in a secluded corner. “I said you can’t moan. So be quiet or I’ll stop…and I know you don’t want me to stop.”

She bit her lip so hard, she could feel the metallic taste of blood on her tongue. “You want to scream, don’t you?” he whispered. Her eyes were shut and she leaned toward him, pushing against his hand, concentrating on being quiet. Not so much because she cared right now about who heard her, but because he’d threatened to stop and she really didn’t want him to stop. In fact, he could have lifted her on top of the table in the middle of the restaurant, stripped her naked, and screwed her senseless, and she wouldn’t have fought him off. She knew it was messed up, but it felt so damn good. So damn naughty and taboo. Just like their entire relationship.

“Your panties are soaked, sunshine.” He leaned in closer, one arm over the top of the booth, the other under the table and his body slightly to the side. He was shielding her from the rest of the restaurant; it still felt so very wrong, but the truth was, that even if the waiter came to the table, the only thing it looked like they were doing is kissing. His mouth was on her neck. “Are you ready?”

“Uh…” Ready? For what?

“I’m going to finger you under this table. Hard and fast. You’re going to sit there and pretend that it isn’t happening and you’re going to fucking come and you’re going to fucking love it.”

“I don’t kn—” His fingers began to move. “Oh!”

“Be quiet or I’ll stop.” He kissed her softly. “Oh, and keep your eyes open and make sure no one’s coming.”

She bit her lip and looked forward, keeping her eyes wide open. His mouth was on her neck as he began to pump his fingers in and out of her hard and fast, just as he’d promised. She held on to the table, white-knuckled, to stop it from shaking. She could feel how wet she was. Thank goodness they were in a loud restaurant.

Then, as if the assault wasn’t intense enough, he used his thumb to add pressure to her clit as he continued to pump into her with two fingers, over and over. “Fuck. You’re coming,” he whispered into her ear. “I wish it was my cock you were squeezing. Don’t fucking make a sound, Violet.” And with that warning he bit down right below her ear where her neck met her shoulder—hard. Very hard. She whimpered, careful to keep her voice down, and parted her legs further as she came, her entire body trembling and pulsating. She slumped down and rested her head back against the booth as he soothed the bite with a gentle lick. Gently, he slipped his fingers out and moved her panties back in place. He moved slightly away and brought his fingers up to his mouth…and licked them one by one.

She was so sated she closed her eyes. “You may have to carry me home.”

He chuckled. “Here, have some water.” He lifted the glass to her lips. “How was that? How do you feel?”

“My cup runneth over.” Her eyes were still closed, and her head now rested on his shoulder instead of the booth. She wanted to cuddle up with him and sleep.

“You need to stop saying that,” he laughed. “It’s as outdated as that Minnie Mouse shirt you always wear around the house.”

“Do you really do this with your dates?”

“Truth?”

She nodded.

“I’ve never done that before,” he answered. “I just couldn’t help myself. I needed to touch you.”

She blushed, embarrassed.

“Don’t do that.” He lifted her chin up. “It was the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever done or seen.”

Later, after they’d eaten and Cain was paying the bill, he asked, “You want to go for a walk?”

“I wish you’d let me pay. I haven’t spent a cent since I got here.”

“No. I always pay on dates.” He extended his hand to her and helped her out of the booth.

She blew out a gust of air. “But…”

“But nothing. Walk? Yes or no?”

“Yes.” He laced his fingers with hers and they left the restaurant.

“Oh, look.” Violet pointed to a small shop with a line outside. “You used to make us come here for ice cream all the time. Remember? You said that the chocolate everywhere else was watered down.”

“It was.” He smiled and pulled her over to the end of the line. “I forgot all about it. It’s the one thing worth cheating on my diet for.”

“Hell must’ve frozen over. Cain Sorenson has a weak spot? I don’t believe it!” she teased.

“I have a few weak spots,” he said with a smirk directed at her. When they got to the window he said, “I’ll have a large double chocolate banana split with extra chocolate sauce and extra whipped cream. Oh, and throw in some Reese’s Pieces and chocolate chips.” Then he turned to Violet. “What would you like, sunshine?”

“When you cheat, you go all out, don’t you?” She laughed. “I’m not hungry. Can’t I just have some of yours?”

“Nope. I don’t share.”

She thought he was joking, but when she realized he was serious she turned to the lady in the window. “I’ll have a strawberry sundae,” she said.

As he took out his wallet he said, “I never did understand the whole strawberry thing. Why would anyone order strawberry?”

“It’s the best flavor.”

“You’re crazy,” he said as they waited for the lady to make their order. “Why don’t you go grab a table outside and I’ll wait for the desserts?” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckle before she walked away.

As he waited, he looked over to find Violet sitting at a small table, her eyes watching the people walking by. Her hair was loose and she kept having to push wayward curls off her face. She was so beautiful, all milky white with a few freckles peeking out from under the straps of her dress. She’d been so responsive, so sensual, and so unrestrained at the restaurant, he couldn’t wait to get her home. He had not planned to touch her so brazenly, but she did that to him—made him feel lighthearted, uninhibited, and…happy.

Happy. It was a foreign feeling to him.

He was beginning to feel himself getting lost in her, and he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to handle going back to Tarpon Springs and a life in which she was dating other men. Maybe it was time to let go of the past, he mused. There were moments where it felt as if this wasn’t part of their game—that they could possibly have a future together. He wanted to say fuck it and just tell her how he really felt. How absolutely in love he was with her. How he’d always been in love with her. Maybe, just maybe, he could be the one to get her to move on from Jeremy. The thought of another man with her made him see red.

“Cain Sorenson?”

Cain squinted as the man approached. “Jim? Jim Lockwood?” Cain and Jim shook hands.

“Shit, can’t believe it’s you. I thought you moved,” Jim said.

“I did. I’m just here for a few days,” Cain said as he grabbed his tray.

“I was just headed to a bachelor party. Why don’t you come along? A lot of the old gang will be there.”

“No thanks, man,” Cain said as Violet walked up to them.

“Hi,” Violet said shyly to Jim. Then she turned to Cain. “I need to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

“Yeah, sure. Violet, this is Jim. He was in high school with us.”

Violet extended her hand. “Hi. Nice to meet you.” She tilted her head slightly. “You look familiar.”

“I have one of those faces,” he said with a wink.

“You want to join us?” she offered.

“I was actually headed out to a party. Just asked Cain here if he wanted to come along.”

“Oh.” Her face seemed to fall. “Uh, well, I’m headed to the restroom, and I left my purse at the table, so if you could wait a few minutes before you go anywhere…Be right back.” She turned and left.

“That your girl?” Jim asked, his brow furrowed. “Wait! Wasn’t that Jeremy’s girlfriend?”

And that was the precise reason he didn’t know what the hell to do with Violet. “Yeah. She was Jer’s fiancée. We’re friends,” he added as he walked over to the table and placed the tray down.

Jim laughed. “Makes sense.” When Cain’s eyebrows knitted together, he added, “If I remember correctly, we had similar tastes in women: tall, thin, and blond. You wouldn’t touch a girl like that with a ten-foot pole. Jer always was a chubby chaser. Can’t see what—”

And before he could finish his sentence, Cain snapped.

They’d been having such a wonderful time together. Fake or not, it was the best date she’d ever had, and not just because she’d never had an orgasm in the middle of a restaurant before. It was because Cain was conversational, sweet, and funny. Maybe even a little silly. She hadn’t seen this side of him in so long, it made her heart full. And now he was going to leave for a party. She didn’t want the disappointment to show on her face and risk losing whatever the hell it was they were doing. If she knew one thing, it was that men didn’t like clingy.

As she rounded the corner she heard Jim say, “If I remember correctly, we had similar tastes in women: tall, thin, and blond. You wouldn’t touch a girl like that with a ten-foot pole. Jer always was a chubby chaser. Can’t see what—”

And just like that, Cain’s hand was wrapped around Jim’s throat. Violet rushed over. “Cain, don’t! It’s not worth it.”

Jim tried to fight back, but Cain’s grip tightened. The man’s face was red and his eyes were bulging. Violet grabbed Cain’s hand and tried to pull it away from the man’s throat. “Cain!” She’d never seen him so angry. His eyes were focused solely on Jim, his jaw twitched, and the vein on his temple pulsed. At that moment, he looked like a killer. All the hand-to-hand training he’d received from the Army Rangers was about to be tested right there in the small ice cream shop. Even when he fought in the cage, he’d never looked this deadly. “Cain, please. He isn’t worth it.” She shook him. “You’re scaring me. Please!”

That seemed to snap him out of it. He turned his face to her and shook his head as if he was releasing himself from a deep trance.

“Cain, honey. Please. You’re really scaring me.” She squeezed his forearm. “Let him go. It’s not worth it.”

Finally something registered, and he pulled Jim closer, still holding him by the neck. “Apologize to her, motherfucker.”

“Cain…,” she pleaded.

The man gurgled something that sounded like an apology, and Cain finally let him go. Jim immediately gripped his neck and bent over, coughing. Cain took the tray and tossed the uneaten desserts away, then grabbed Violet’s hand. She was too stunned to say anything as he all but dragged her back to his motorcycle. Quickly he put the helmet on her, and as she tried to fasten it, he pushed her hands away and did it himself. He put on his own helmet, then helped her onto his bike. He didn’t say anything, and she wasn’t sure what exactly had set him off and why.

It had been years since she’d had her feelings hurt by a weight comment. More than anything, she felt embarrassed because it had happened with Cain around. Her skin was thicker than it had been when she was younger; she wasn’t exactly hurt and she certainly didn’t feel sorry for herself. But it did make her wonder if he would ever really be interested in someone who looked like her. Regardless, she wished the stupid comment hadn’t ruined their perfect evening.

When they reached his house, he tapped her knee like he always did to indicate she should climb off. She undid her helmet and handed it to him as he climbed off as well.

“What are you thinking, Vi?” He wouldn’t make eye contact as he opened the door for her.

What was she thinking? There were so many things in her mind, but none she wanted to say out loud. So instead she blurted out, “I really wanted that ice cream.”

He looked at her, stunned. His eyes wide and his jaw slack.

“What? I did. I haven’t been there in years.”

Slowly his lips tilted up and he smiled a beautiful smile that reached his clear blue eyes. He reached forward and pulled her to him. “C’mere.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek on his chest. He kissed the top of her head. “You’re the only person who can change my mood, sunshine. I never know what’s going to come out of your mouth.” He stroked her hair for a few minutes, and she felt the tension slowly leave his body.

At last he said, “I’m so sorry you had to hear that.”

“It’s okay. It doesn’t bother me.”

“It’s not true, you know. I’ve told you before, I like the way you look. I think you’re sexy and your body’s perfect. That guy’s blind and stupid.”

“I’m never going to be thin. It’s just not the way I’m made. I’ve come to terms with that. It took a long time, but I’m okay with the way I look. I know I’m not your ideal woman—I’m not under any illusion that I am. I can’t fight everyone who’s cruel, and neither can you. I just…” She closed her eyes for a moment, still enveloped in his arms. “I just don’t want what he said to change things between us. I want to keep doing what we’re doing the next few days. I know it’s just pretend, but I want to keep pretending for a little while longer.”

I know it’s just pretend…

The words kept replaying in his head over and over. He kissed the top of her head again. “Yeah. Of course. Didn’t change a thing.” Suddenly he needed to get some distance. “I’m going to get in a workout.”

“Now?”

“Yeah, now. Why don’t you head on to bed?”

It seemed as if she was about to say something, but he didn’t give her the chance because he turned and left to the garage. He hadn’t been in the garage for years, but luckily his father had been very organized, and in the corner still hung the old punching bag and a rack with some free weights. He unbuttoned his shirt, pulled it off, and tossed it aside. Without bothering to wrap up his hands or at least look for his old boxing gloves, he began to hit the bag. He had so many things inside, he didn’t know of a better way to get them out of his system. He really had been on the verge of killing that asshole earlier today. He’d never felt so out of control before in his life. If Violet had not said she was scared—something he’d never want her to feel, especially not if he was the cause of it—he’d probably be in jail right now. But that comment had made him snap out of the rage that had consumed every single cell in his entire body. Well, snap out of it in the sense that he was more concerned for her than interested in breaking Jim’s neck. But the anger was still there, which was obvious from the fact that sweat poured out of him as he pounded his fists against the bag.

Every time Cain threw a punch, Violet could hear the chain clang. The grunts he made as he exhausted himself made her feel anxious. He was obviously upset, and she didn’t know what to do to fix it. He was working his body too hard and the fact that he’d been at it for over an hour already was making her nuts. An hour ago she had decided on a nice hot bath in the hopes that by the time she was finished, he would be back inside and they could pick up right where they’d left off.

She hadn’t brought any nice lingerie—well, she didn’t own any nice lingerie—and since this little tryst hadn’t been planned, all she had was her old PJs. She slipped on the nicest pair of panties she had, ran to his room, and pulled out one of his shirts—a white button-down—and decided to try her hand at seduction. She sat on his bed and waited, unbuttoning all the buttons on the shirt and crossing her legs, then buttoning them all and lying down, then undoing all but one and standing casually by the foot of the bed. She tried every combination until she got tired of waiting, all the while feeling completely ridiculous. By the grunts and the clangs, it didn’t seem as if he would be finishing anytime soon.

Normally she’d want to help him. She wanted to fix everyone’s problems. Hell, she was a nurse. Fixing people was her profession. But now she didn’t feel the need to help him or to coddle him. She wanted to yell. To be angry. If he didn’t want her, he didn’t need to hide out, damn it! And if there was something else that was bothering him, they were close enough that he should confide in her rather than disappear into the garage.

Then it hit her. She wasn’t going to be anyone’s doormat—especially not Cain’s. After putting up with his bad attitude for the last year, she’d officially had enough. Fueled by rage she stormed to the garage, flung the door open, and yelled, “You know what, Cain Alexander Sorenson? I don’t appreciate your nasty attitude. It’s past midnight. Why are you still working out? Why don’t you want to spend time with me? I mean, at the very least you must want sex! All men want sex. What the hell is wrong with you?” Her hands were on her hips and she was breathless. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed how you seem to conveniently need to work out when you’re upset.”

He rubbed sweat off his brow with the back of his hand, trying to make sure he was seeing correctly. His eyes roamed slowly down her body as he tried to memorize the way she looked at that very moment. Her messy long curly blond hair was loose forming a halo around her face. She had on a white button-down shirt, white lace panties, and nothing else. The shirt wasn’t buttoned and even though he couldn’t see her nipples, he could see the traces of her ample cleavage. The fact that she was just a little bit covered up made it all the more enticing. He wanted to run the palms of his hands under her shirt, up her shoulders, and down her arms as the shirt fell to the floor. Those light freckles on her chest and her red cheeks—he wasn’t sure if they were red from anger or because she was horny—begged to be kissed. She absolutely took his breath away.

He held the old worn-out punching bag as he listened to her cute tirade and stared at her—sultry, innocent, mad.

Fuck!

He had to have her. Right fucking now.

He was just staring at her. Did he not hear her? She took a minute to study him. He was sweaty, possessive, mad.

Holy shit!

The anger quickly morphed into need. She wanted him. Now.

“What are you wearing, Violet?” he asked. His voice was controlled, but she could tell by the twitch in his jaw and his fisted hands that he wasn’t the least bit under control.

She looked down at herself and quickly closed his shirt, feeling stupid for having thought she could seduce a man who at his worst looked like that.

“It was dumb. I took your shirt. I thought I’d show you how confident I’ve gotten. I was going to maybe seduce you,” she said, cringing a little. “Or try to, at least. But, you never came to bed. I was in your bed, by the way, and now…” She clutched the front of the shirt even tighter. “Now I just feel embarrassed and stupid.” And so turned on. Why did he have that effect on her? She knew she was rambling, but she just couldn’t help it.

He let go of the bag and walked toward her. “Already told you not to feel embarrassed with me. It pisses me off.” He took a predatory step toward her.

She stood her ground. “Pfft! Everything pisses you off.”

Another step. “You need to release your death grip on that shirt if you’re going to seduce me.”

“I said was. Past tense. I’m done waiting,” she said boldly.

“You want me, sunshine? You don’t have to seduce me. You just have to say the words.” Another step closer.

“I can’t say the words if you’re not around.”

“I’m here now.” He was about to pull her hands free from where she had them crossed over her chest when she shrieked.

“Cain! What have you done?” She took his hand in hers, looking over his raw knuckles. He wasn’t bleeding, but they were inflamed, and she was sure they must hurt.

“As you’ve figured out, I work out when I have shit on my mind,” he said as he tried to pull his hands free. “It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

“It’s not fine.” She pulled him inside and into the kitchen, where she put his hands in the sink and cleaned them. “What’s on your mind?” He took a breath and closed his eyes but didn’t answer. “Stay here. I’ll be right back,” she said.

Violet ran to her room and rummaged through her bag for some antibiotic ointment. When she came back, he was sitting on a chair, his head bowed, looking defeated. She knelt down, took his hands in hers again, and silently rubbed ointment on him.

“What are we doing, Violet?”

She looked up to see his eyes full of pain. “I’m trying to figure out why you’re hurting yourself. Why you got so mad today. I’m also trying to fix your hands.”

“And you’re trying to seduce me?”

“Oh, well, yeah…that too. Or at least I was. Before I got pissed off.”

“That was you pissed off? We’ll add that to the list of things we have to work on.”

“Very funny. But then I saw you were hurt and I forgot I was pissed off.” When she was finished, she let go of his hands. “Try not to rub them against anything so that the ointment stays on.”

He nodded and then looked back at her. “Can I see you? Can you stand up and show me what I would’ve seen had I not been an idiot holed up in the garage?”

“I think the moment’s passed.”

He pulled her up to standing. “No. Do it. Show me. I got a glimpse and I want more.”

“Nothing to see, really. It was just me, wearing this,” she said, smoothing the shirt and brushing back her hair. “Waiting for you on your bed.”

“Waiting on what?”

“Another lesson,” she said, this time coyly. “But now you can’t touch me and the moment’s passed.”

Cain held his hands up. “Why? I didn’t break my mouth—or my cock.” He winked and leaned toward her, careful not to use his hands as he swiped his tongue softly against her mouth, eliciting a tiny whimper.

“You sure you want me to show you a few more things? Are you sure you want this?”

“You keep asking that. Isn’t it obvious?” She stormed to the window and opened the shade, then went and turned on all the lights in the kitchen. He followed her to his room.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

She climbed on the bed and opened the curtain on the window over the bed.

“Vi?”

Still standing on the bed, she reached for the shirt she was wearing and in one fluid motion slipped it off her shoulders. It pooled onto the bed.

“Vi…” He was either warning her to stop or begging her to keep going. He wasn’t really sure at the moment because his brain short-circuited as she stood there in only white lace panties.

She glanced over her shoulder at the window. “It would’ve been much more dramatic if it was daytime.” She hooked her fingers in the sides of her panties, slowly pushed them down her legs, and stepped out of them. When she was completely bare, she stood in front of him with her hands on her hips and every light in the house turned on. Testing him. Daring him.

“There you go. I’m naked. In the light. In front of you. We can move on, don’t you think? If there is any apprehension now, it certainly isn’t coming from me.”

“The only reason I keep asking, Vi, is because I keep thinking you’re just going to run away one of these times. It’s too good to be true, and it scares me,” he admitted. Finally, some real progress, she thought.

“You’re the one who keeps running away. I’m here. I’ve been here. I don’t know why you’re so hesitant. I may be squeamish, but it’s only because of my own issues—it doesn’t have anything to do with you. You, I want. It’s like…now you’ve shown me something I’ve never had before, and I can’t seem to get enough of it. Even if it ends tomorrow, my eyes are now wide open to these pleasures I didn’t know existed, and I want more. So here I am. The ball’s in your court, Cain.”

Cain wanted to bash his head in with a hammer. On one hand, how the fuck could he deny her more pleasure? How could he deny himself? And on the other hand, he was setting her up to screw some imaginary man in the goddamn future. But there she stood, completely naked and waiting…on him. He wasn’t a complete idiot. He was done thinking and talking about what would happen in a few days. Fuck it. He was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

He unfastened his jeans and slid them down his legs. “You’re playing with fire, little girl,” he said as he placed one knee and then the other on the bed, forcing her to move back against the headboard. He flipped over to his back, rested his head against a pillow, his hands clasped behind his neck, and looked up. “Since I can’t use my hands, we’ll have to get creative,” he said.

She visibly swallowed. “Uh…”

All of a sudden he rose up on one elbow. “What the fuck is that?” He pointed at something by her pelvic bone.

She looked down. “A tattoo.”

He groaned and lay back down.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“I don’t want to think about the fact that some man’s face was that close to your pussy.”

“Can we please discuss this later?”

His muscles tightened as he looked up between her legs. “Bring your pussy down here.” He pointed to his face; her feet were on either side of him, her hands resting behind her on the headboard. “We’ll talk about that later.”

“What are you doing?”

“Lesson sixty-nine. Right now.”