“How is she?” Cara looked up from the weird yoga pose she was practicing in the middle of our apartment living room if you could call it that. We needed to get something bigger, but with Cara still in school and me only working the odd day for Jackson, the money Frankie had given us wouldn’t last forever.

“Stable, I think. Jackson didn’t say much.”

“Did you see her?”

I threw down the keys to our car and shook my head. “No, I didn’t see her. I’m the last person she wants to see.”

Cara jumped up and wiped her hands on her skintight work-out pants. “That’s not true.”

“I think we both know it is.” I helped myself to a beer from the refrigerator, uncapped it, and took a long pull.

“She’s just hormonal.” Cara pressed up against me, her sweet smell filling the space behind us, and my dick stirred. “I missed you.”

Placing my beer down, I hooked my hands under her thighs and dragged her up to me, forcing her legs around my waist. “Not as much as we missed you.”

“We?” She cocked her eyebrow, excitement dancing in her eyes.

“Yeah.” I pulled her onto the hard-on straining against my jeans. “We really, really missed you.” My lips came down on Cara’s, hard and demanding, and her body responded, melting into me on a soft moan.

I guided us to the bedroom, the route imprinted on my mind, and threw her on the bed. Cara stared up at me through hooded eyes, heavy with lust and something else I still couldn’t believe my lucky stars she felt for me. Because while this girl owned me—body, mind, and soul—I just hoped Cara knew how much she meant to me.

“I love you. You know that, right?” I said, yanking off my t-shirt.

She nodded, rising to her knees to remove her tank top, but I stepped forward and knocked away her hand. Only one person was undressing Cara.

Me.

I walked my fingers down her sides, dipping them into the hem of the spandex hugging her tight curves.

“God, I missed you.” Cara’s eyes fluttered shut. “Missed this.”

“It’s only been a few hours.” My mouth traced a path from her chest to her neck. Her neck to her ear. Biting her lobe gently.

“Too many ...” She sighed, her body quivering under my touch.

I pulled Cara up with me. Maneuvering her toned legs from under her and pushing her back, I gained full access to her perfect body. Her pants came off next, leaving her in just black panties. Fuck, she was beautiful. Creamy skin and dips and curves in all the right places. Her hair had grown out over the last few months, landing just above her tits like a direct path. My lips curled up at the thought.

“What?” she asked.

“Just admiring the view.” I unbuckled my belt and popped the button on my jeans, letting them pool at my feet. My hand wrapped around one of Cara’s ankles, dragging her whole body to the edge of the bed until her legs dangled over the side. My dick stood proudly; I hadn’t bothered with boxer briefs after my post-run shower. I knew Cara was home, and it was just another piece of clothing I’d have to remove.

“Commando, really?” Cara smirked.

I angled her lower body against me, ignoring her words. There was only one thing I wanted. Needed. My hand smoothed down her stomach and over the scrap of material covering her. Cara moaned. I did it again. Harder. She moaned louder. Hooking her panties to the side, I slid a finger into her. “So wet.” I grinned, pulling it out and swirling it over her clit.

Her body bucked off the bed; her eyes shuttered, and her lips parted on a moan. Gripping my dick in my hand, I lined myself up and thrust into her. Cara cried out, clenching around me, and a growl formed in my throat. Nothing felt better than this did.

Nothing.

“Shit, Braiden. A little warning,” she rasped.

“I couldn’t wait.” I groaned, giving myself a second to relish the feel of her.

“Condom, Braiden, geez.”

“I’ll pull out, promise.” I slid back in, using her thighs for leverage, and my head dropped back, my eyes closing.

“Ahh, okay, don’t stop. God, don’t stop.”

And I didn’t.

I thrust harder and faster until Cara’s screams filled the room and my heart almost crashed out of my chest. “Fuck, you feel good,” I barked, feeling the familiar tingle building at the bottom of my spine.

“Pull out. Don’t forget to pull out.” Cara moaned, her voice thick with pleasure. I didn’t answer, too focused on chasing my orgasm.

“Oh god, god, don’t stop, Braiden, god ...” I pumped her so hard I felt all of her. Every inch. She clamped down on me, her whole body vibrating. And then I felt it. Waves of pleasure pulsing through me. I yanked her body closer, leaning down over her to find her lips.

After a few seconds, her eyes fluttered open. “That was ...” Her face contorted with alarm. “Tell me you didn’t do that on purpose. Braiden ...”

I pouted, nestling my face into her neck as I licked away the salty sweet beads of sweat. “Would it really be the end of the world if I knocked you up?”

Her fist caught me right on the side, and I winced. “What do you think, jerk?” She tried to wiggle free, but I was still on top of her, still inside her.

“It’s not like it’s the first time.”

It wasn’t.

Usually, we used precautions, and Cara had been on birth control until recently. But lately, being around Jackson and hearing him talk about the baby had me thinking about it more and more. About what it would be like to make an honest woman of her, give her my name, my child. Shit, the girl had me completely pussy whipped.

And I wouldn’t change it for the world.

“I’m too young to get pregnant. That’s huge; I can’t look after myself let alone a tiny human.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll pull out next time.”

She punched me again, but my mouth found hers, and her fist unclenched, looping around my neck.

“Besides.” She broke away. “I want to be married before we even think about starting a family.”

Well, damn.

~

“IS IT WRONG WE’RE LYING here while Ana is laid up in the hospital?” Cara brushed her nose across my chest.

“It’s not like we can do anything. Besides, Jackson is there with her. If they need anything, he’ll call.” At least, I hoped he would.

Somewhere over the past four months, we’d grown close again. It wasn’t like old times, but then, we’d both changed. We weren’t the same people anymore. I still hadn’t apologized, but I worked hard every damn day to earn back his respect.

Ana was a different story; she didn’t like me around, and I couldn’t blame her. What I’d done to her—to Jackson—back in Chastity Falls was inexcusable. But I hoped that one day she’d be able to forgive—even if she never forgot.

“What are you thinking?”

A slight smile played on my lips at Cara’s question. We hadn’t known each other all that long, not in the grand scheme of things, but she could read me. She saw past my hard façade and the darkness of my past.

All she saw was the man I was now—not the guy I used to be. And for reasons I still couldn’t explain, she’d chosen me. Her family, school, a bright future—she’d given it all up for a life with me.

Me.

“Braiden?” Cara propped herself up on her elbow, staring down at me.

“What you said earlier about starting a family and getting married. You want that?”

Confusion clouded her eyes. “Someday, sure, but I’m twenty-one, Braiden. I have my whole life ahead of me. I don’t even know what I want to eat most days.”

She wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t stop the sting.

“Yeah,” I said, swallowing hard over the lump in my throat.

“Where’s all this coming from?” Cara nudged my jaw with her nose.

“Forget it.” I sounded like a petulant child, but I didn’t do the warm and fuzzies. Cara said it herself—she was still young. She had her whole life ahead of her. What could I possibly offer her to make her stick around?

“Braiden, talk to me. What has gotten into you?”

“It’s nothing.” I brushed her away, shifting to the edge of the bed. Her eyes followed me as I climbed off and grabbed my jeans. Yanking them on, I padded out of the room. I needed a beer. And then I needed to pound the shit out of something.

I guess some things never changed.

~

AN HOUR IN THE GYM helped, but it didn’t ease all the crap pumping through me.

Guilt.

Irritation.

Shame.

Cara hadn’t said a word as I grabbed my keys and skulked out of the apartment, leaving her wrapped in the bed sheet where we’d made love only minutes earlier.

Made love.

What the fuck did I know about that? I mean I tried to be a better guy for her. Someone she could depend on and give her the life she always dreamed of. But here we were, living out of a box apartment in a city thousands of miles from her family and the place she’d grown up. Eating nothing more than ramen noodles three nights a week while she finished school and I worked for the only person in the world I had left. Besides Cara, Jackson was it. I could put a ring on her finger—but for what? There was no family. No in-laws to visit on the weekends or big get-togethers at Thanksgiving. And I didn’t know if it would be enough.

I didn’t know if I was enough.

My glutes burned as I climbed the stairs to the apartment, my endorphins wearing off. I’d needed to work off my frustration, but now all I wanted was Cara. Although I might not be enough for her, she was it for me.

My fingers dug deep into my jean pockets for my key when I noticed it. “What the fuck?” I grumbled, slipping my head into the gap in the door. “Cara?” I called out, my heart ratcheting in my chest. I hadn’t left the door open when I left for the gym. I was careful about that kind of thing; a habit picked up from my time inside, I guess. “Cara?” I called out again, careful not to touch the door handle as I entered the apartment.

Everything looked the same. Cara’s textbooks piled up on the small table, and our breakfast dishes remained on the counter.

“Cara?”

Nothing.

I yanked out my cell and dialed her number. No answer. My fingers hovered over the screen when it bleeped.

I’m in class.

You’re okay? I replied

No, I’m pissed.

I love you.

She didn’t reply, but I didn’t expect her to. Cara needed time to cool off, and I needed to figure out why in the hell our apartment door was ajar. And all I could think was I was glad she was safe at college and away from here. Because despite the rational part of me wanting to believe it was nothing more than an oversight—that Cara must have forgotten to close the door—I hadn’t been rational for a long time, and suspicion boiled in my blood.

I moved through our small place, from room to room, working meticulously to find anything missing or out of place.

There was nothing.

Until I doubled back from the bedroom and something caught my eye from the hallway as I passed the bathroom. I hadn’t seen it upon first inspection. My eyes had focused on everything but the mirrored cabinet hanging on the wall.

An eye for an eye ...

and I’m coming for yours

My blood ran cold. My mind worked double time, recalling enemies of my past. The list was long. Guys back in Chastity Falls that I’d had a beef with. Guys I’d run into inside Oregon State Pen. Not to mention any number of guys who worked with Jack Doyle, the head of the organization who had wanted to remove Cara’s father, Frankie O’Connor, from power in Seattle.

Fuck. Fists clenched, I felt a low growl form in my throat. Frankie had moved us out here to get away from the family business, but it looked like my past had caught up with me. Maybe a guy with a track record like mine was never supposed to live out a quiet life.

I’d been afforded redemption once, but maybe I’d be forever paying penance.