“GET OUT!” I roar, pushing a hand to halt my mother from causing any more damage. Perry holds my sister as she sobs uncontrollably, his face pulled into an angry scowl.
“Katherine, I didn’t… I’m sorry.” Olivia trembles, trying to reach for her daughter.
“That's assault,” I lean down to hiss in her face, pointing out the camera angled down the hall. “Unprovoked. You fucking disgust me. What dad ever saw in you is beyond me. I won’t let you hurt her like you did m—” I swallow the rancid confession. “—Him,” I finish, refusing to give her an insight into my mind. Her eyes gleam, as hateful and as cold as mine. When they move to Kat, they soften with regret, and the truth I never wanted to admit stares back at me. My mother never once looked at me like that. She adores Kat, but I look too much like my dad. I’m too bull-headed—too much of a reminder and living proof of her mistakes.
“Kat, come on,” I hear my girl's soft voice, the sweet encouragement to help my sister, even though she is putting herself in harm's way. I keep my eyes firmly on Olivia’s. The slightest interaction between Lauren and me will be fed back to Royce.
Amberley appears and hooks an arm around my sister's back, ushering her away as Perry storms to the door and pulls it wide. “GET OUT!” he booms. I've never seen him so worked up. When she doesn’t move but stares after her daughter, he powers toward her and takes hold of her elbow. “You just lost her. You don’t deserve them—you never fucking did.” The moment her heels cross the threshold, he slams the door in her face and stands, shaken, his shoulders heaving with unbridled fury.
I’m in shock, unable to move. I’ve not come face to face with my mother for over two years, and seeing her has provoked something deep inside, twisting up old feelings and causing my hatred to gurgle like boiling lava. Soft hands slide around my stomach, and my abs flex involuntarily as the distinct weight of Lauren’s body presses into my back. I’m glad she isn’t facing me because I can’t look at her right now. “Kat needs you, Cain,” she speaks softly. I thread my fingers with hers as my friend turns with bewilderment plastered over his face.
“We need that footage,” he says, rushing past me, pulling his phone from his back pocket, no doubt calling down to Walter to have the footage sent up.
“I want to know who let her up,” I snap. Whoever it was, was about to lose their job.
“Do you need a minute?” Lauren murmurs.
“No,” I grip her hand and turn to walk us back to the others. Matt is already icing Kat’s face, and when I walk to her, she sniffles and begins to cry loudly. I take over, holding the cold compress and tucking her into my side. “You did nothing wrong.”
“She’s never hit me before.” She shudders, and I hug her tight and refrain from telling her that I wasn't surprised, not after having been on the tail end of my mother’s palm.
“It’s the only damn time it will happen.”
Chapter26
Lauren
Ilie in bed with the balcony door partially open. I don’t want to be alone with my thoughts, so the flutter of the curtains and low groan of traffic below helps focus my mind. Cain said he needed to blow off some steam, so I left him in the gym and had a shower after Kat excused herself to one of his spare rooms and the others left. He's barely met my eye, and I know it’s because he is hurting. I’m hurting for him and for Kat. Things may be strained with my brother, James, but the love I have from my parents is unconditional, supportive, and nothing as destitute as what Cain has experienced. Witnessing this first-hand has only cemented my feelings for this man. He’s viewed as a successful entrepreneur with the Midas touch. Handsome and respected. Tonight I got to witness just what pushed this man to be who he is—why he is so ruthless and aloof.
Rain begins to patter against the windows. Twisting, I stare outside, lulled by the rush of water falling from the sky, and fall asleep.
Hands bigger than my own graze my skin and run up my stomach, and a soft kiss lands on my shoulder. “Cain?”
“Shush, go back to sleep.” Tension pours from his body. His muscles are tight, and his voice is strained.
Gripping his hand, I pull it to my mouth, kissing the soft skin on his palm. The moonlight filters inside, and I see how raw his knuckles are. I kiss it again, and his lips find my shoulder for a second time. He shifts, and I feel the hard ridge of his arousal pressing hotly against my thighs. “Cain.” I sigh, pressing back. His damp hair sticks to my skin when he rolls his forehead over my back.
“She’s a real gem, huh?” He means his mother. He shifts behind me and hauls me against his chest even tighter.
“Kiss me,” I whisper, arching into his palm as it drifts to my breast. “Just be with me, here, now.” I offer him the only thing he doesn’t have. Unconditional love.
“I fucking hate her,” he admits thickly.
“It’s okay.” I twist, but he holds me still, his hand running to trace my throat. He tilts my head and leans to capture my mouth in a bruising kiss. I sense the pain behind it, the anger and injustice, as he sweeps his tongue inside and holds me so tightly that I might crack. So tightly that no one can take me away. I cup his jaw and give myself to him. Twisting in his arms, I hold my mouth just out of reach. “Cain, don’t ever let this end,” I plead, hooking my leg over his as he lines up. I take him all the way, and he fills me, stretching me wide with a deep ache. His mouth slams to mine as he grips my arse, grinding himself into me. We move slowly, kissing and licking. His fingers drag down my back, marking and possessive, and I shudder as my orgasm swirls and blooms, pulsing between us. “Cain, I…” I swallow my words. My almost confession is a raw burn on the tip of my tongue. His eyes hold mine, ripped of emotion. Vulnerable and wide. Does he know? Can he feel it too? I say it without speaking, but in the way that I take him inside and the slow but heavy kisses. My lip bows with emotions, and he grips my jaw.
“I don’t want it to end either.” They are not the words I so desperately want to hear, but they are close, so close that I can feel them curling into my heart. I splinter, my legs spasming and my body pulsing. Cain grunts my name, his cock flexing and swelling as he comes. Slumberous eyes lift to mine, and his mouth chases upwards to claim my own. I sag into him, and he flops back, holding me tight to his chest.
I'm in love with this man. I love his passion and beauty. I love seeing the cracks in his hard exterior and how he has let me slip between them, honouring me with the softer energy he keeps for his loved ones.
I protest when he lifts me to pull out, his tired chuckle making me smile. I grin into his neck and kiss and nip at his jawline. Cain rolls, tucking me into his chest. It expands in a big contented sigh, and I pull his arm, holding it to my chest. “Sleep, pretty girl.”
I swallow any uncertainty, hoping that this is growing into something much more than the little secret we promised to keep after hours.
Something knocks me awake. The covers rip from below me, forcing my eyes wide as the low and unmistakable moan of pain permits the air. I sit up rapidly, demanding my eyes focus to see through the sheet of darkness around me. Another moan. I turn towards Cain, groaning in his sleep. Gently, I reach out, finding that he is drenched in sweat.“Don’t!”his plea is cocooned in so much desperation, such anguish, that I know it’s not my touch he is begging to end. I cup my mouth when he jerks in sleep, chokes out a gargled pain, and then snaps upright, gasping for air.
“Cain?”
“No.”He heaves breathlessly.