MAKAYLIE
My eyes begin to flutter, but the first thing that lets me know I am coming to is the memory of Cain leaving me. Pain ripples through my chest. The intensity almost cripples me again as the throbbing in my head makes me let out a small whimper.
“You’re okay, little dove. I’m here. Can you open your eyes?” Cain’s soothing voice gently whispers. The delicate pressure of someone stroking my face calms me as I blink rapidly, opening my eyes to see two worried faces staring down at me.
“Hey, cutie pie. You with us?” Rodberg asks as his and Cain’s faces come into focus.
I mumble something incoherently while my legs feel heavy and ache.
Glancing over at Cain, worry lines crinkle around his eyes as he stares at me, softly stroking my hair.
“You had us worried for a minute there,” Rodberg states while I stare into Cain’s darkened, intense eyes.
“What happened?” I slowly try to sit up on their sofa, the leather squeaking with my movements.
Cain winces, then moves to squat in front of me, holding my hands.
“You went all silent, stalker lady, when Cain kicked you out. You stood at the door for three hours. I mean, you just stood there like a damn statue. It was fucking weird. Then you passed out, smacked your head pretty damn good too. Are you on drugs or something?” Rodberg asks.
“No,” I reply, my voice low and husky.
“Well, you coulda fooled me. You were in some trippy fucking trance. If you weren’t on drugs, then you are one twisted sister. I’ll let Cain deal with you. I’m going out for some… thing. You good here, Cain?” Rodberg asks.
Cain nods, tightening his hold on my hands.
Rodberg grabs his keys from the counter and heads out the door, shutting it with a click behind him.
Cain stands and sits on the sofa beside me. “I regret what happened,” he whispers.
I’m still trying to catch my bearings, but I remember everything more clearly now. “Are we really breaking up?” I ask, my heart still heavy with grief.
“No. I can’t stand to watch your devastation. It nearly killed me to see you like that. Knowing I did that to you.” Cain closes his eyes, then reopens them, the pain more than evident. “I panicked. It’s no excuse, but I want you to be safe. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you, Makaylie.”
“Why?” I sigh. “Why is it so dangerous to be around you, Cain? What aren’t you telling me?” I beg, needing more answers.
“The less you know, the better, and the safer you’ll be. Can you trust me on this? I will tell you in time, and I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t necessary. But Makaylie, let it go,” he demands, wrapping his arm around me and leaning in to kiss my temple hard.
After the trauma of today, I do as he asks. The last thing I want right now is to force more answers from him only to have him shut down on me again.
He presses his hand to the back of my head and exhales as he brings his hand back to the front, showing wet droplets of blood. “I need to patch you up. You hit your head real good. You probably have a concussion. I will take you to the doctor, but let me fix you up in the meantime.”
Shaking my head, I reach out for him. “Cain, I’m fine, honest—”
His unyielding glare makes me stop talking instantly. Cain leans down, gently lifting me from the sofa. I wrap my arms around his neck, honestly thankful to be close to him again as he walks me into the attached bathroom in his bedroom. He moves me to the sink, placing me down on the edge. My legs dangle, and my fingers clench the sides of the counter.
Moving to the mirrored medicine cabinet, he opens it, pulling out the medical supplies. I can’t help but watch how his muscles strain, his biceps bulging. Biting my bottom lip, I internally smile. While filling the sink with water, he steps in between my legs and soaks a washcloth in the warm water, his eyes meeting mine. “You could have really hurt yourself, little dove. I won’t have you put yourself in danger like that for me again. Do you understand?”
“No, Cain, you don’t get it. We are a team. You can’t just toss me aside like garbage and expect me not to react.”
His eyes fall from mine as he dunks the washcloth into the water, squeezing it out, then he gently brings it to the back of my head, pressing on my wound. I let out a hiss at the instant pain when he begins to wipe. He grits his teeth at my reaction but keeps going. “Makaylie…” he exhales like he’s frustrated, then continues, “… you are so. Fucking. Stubborn.”
A slow smile crosses my face. “I’m not going to let you push me away. If you’re honest with yourself, I don’t think you want to, right?”
His eyes clench tight, his fingers sliding around the base of my neck gently as his forehead leans against mine while he takes a moment to simply breathe.
I slide my hands to rest them on his chest, giving him the comfort he needs right now. “I’m okay, Cain. Whatever is going on with you, we can get through it. As long as we stick together.”
His eyes open, so close to mine, his glistening with so much emotion as he stares back at me. I see it, the uncertainty, the insecurity, and the undeniable adoration he has for me. He doesn’t want to give up on us. However, there is something he’s holding back from me.
His hand caresses my cheek. “I’m unhappy I left you out there for so long. Your head injury is on me. I’m your boyfriend. I should be protecting you. Not leaving you to fend for yourself.”
I can’t help the giddy smile that lights my face. “I thought you didn’t like the term boyfriend?”
He shrugs, the corner of his lips turning up a little. “I think this has taught me that I need to compromise on some things. I need you in my life, little dove. After seeing you collapse, I know I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you. So if calling me your boyfriend will make you happy, I’ll do that… for you. I’d do anything for you.”
Some people say there’s a moment, one instant, when something happens, something clicks inside your brain. It’s in that moment you know the person in front of you is meant to be with you forever—your one true soulmate. You already care for them, but it’s in that moment when you realize you cherish them. It’s funny how everything you thought mattered doesn’t matter anymore. Once it clicks, they’re a part of you forever.
This is my moment with Cain, where everything has clicked into place.
It doesn’t matter about his past.
It doesn’t matter about his job. Whatever it is.
I want him—all of him.
And there’s nothing that will change my mind.
Right here, right now, I know…
… I have fallen madly in love with Cain.
CAIN
As I stand here, tending to Makaylie, I can’t help but see the adoration in her eyes. Even though she appears pale from standing outside my front door for hours in her own personal hell—a hell I put her through—she still looks fucking beautiful to me.
Something is running through her mind. I’m not sure what, but she appears happy. At peace. Calm even. Considering what I just put her through, my woman is tough, tougher than I probably give her credit for. But being tough mentally doesn’t hold up when there are men who will do anything to get at the Bachelors.
And to do that, they go through the people we love.
This is why we don’t settle down.
Or if we do, the women are not your typical Makaylie—the sweet, innocent types.
She won’t handle my life in the Bachelors.
She won’t fit that lifestyle.
The women in the brotherhood are nothing like her.
Those women are cunning, conniving, with an air of evil. Makaylie has none of that in her. She’s everything I want to be. She is everything I’m finding it hard to be. The man I am and the man I want to be are two different things. But for her, I would try, and I am willing to be anyone.
It all depends on what I am able to do.
Time will tell.
She is worth fighting for.
How do I know? Because no one has managed to get me to open up about my parents. She has. I never thought I’d be able to speak about that again. Yet, she made it okay for me to talk about it with her. Even though I feel the anger, hurt, and despair creeping in in the pit of my stomach, Makaylie being there somehow made it okay. She eased my pain. At the same time, the thought of losing her in some untimely horrific way made me panic.
The shit my brotherhood would do to someone like her—unthinkable.
She’s stunningly beautiful. They would no doubt defile her in the most unpleasant ways or worse…
She wouldn’t recover from that kind of pain.
And that would be on me for keeping her.
I tried to let her go.
I should have let her go.
But seeing her fall apart outside my door.
Fuck!
Every time I checked on her, she turned paler. Her eyes were bloodshot and watering. She was devastated.
It. Nearly. Killed. Me.
With every inch of willpower, I tried to leave her at my front door, knowing it was best this way. Then, when I saw her collapse and slam her head? Fuck, I swear I died a thousand deaths.
The fucked-up part of this is that I know this is going to end badly if I don’t do something about it. Yet, I don’t know how to move things along any quicker. I have to figure out how to keep Makaylie out of the Bachelors’ focal point—but how?
She’s a feisty little thing, and she’s going to want answers soon.
I don’t know how to give them to her.
I am between a rock and a hard place with no room to maneuver.
As soon as I finish tending to her wound, she smiles up at me with that fucking amazing smile, letting the dimple in her left cheek sink in a little. She’s so fucking gorgeous it takes my breath away every single time I look at her.
“Thank you. You have a delicate touch when you try. See, not always the dominant alpha guy.”
Swallowing hard, I weakly smile. “I know you have issues with my dominance. But Makaylie, I hope you see a little clearer why now.”
She sighs and shifts closer, pulling me to her with her legs. “Cain, I know your insecurities stem from what happened with your parents…” She struggles to find the right words, looking up to the ceiling. “Fuck, it was horrific! Losing control like that was terrible, but I’m not going anywhere. You don’t need to control so much of me.”
My shoulders tense. “If I don’t have control, Makaylie, it’s… how do I put it… it’s almost like a physical pain. I know that sounds fucked, but the minute I don’t have everything in my power and under control, my whole world turns to shit. It’s like that with you. I need to know where everything sits with you. I need to know where you are at all times. I need to know everything about you. I need to know you’re safe.”
She jolts back, raising her brow. “Safe? Safe from what?”
Fuck!
“Life. I’ve lost too much… I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you.”
I want to tell her all about my life, but I also don’t want her to leave.
I can’t.
I’m too invested.
She purses her lips, seeming unconvinced of my answer. I’m not entirely sure it was a convincing answer either, but it was all I could come up with on the spot to throw her off from the truth.
“I am a stay-at-home writer. What could possibly happen to me?” she asks.
I let out a bemused laugh. More from the fact that a hell of a lot could happen to her in her own home than she has any idea about, rather than out in the big wide world.
But I won’t tell her that.
“You are right. Sometimes, I let the past rule my present life,” I cover and reach out, grabbing her hand with mine.
“I think you do too. I understand it, though. It was major. I get why it’s affected you so badly. I understand, Cain,” she reiterates, then leans in, gently pressing her lips to mine. Her soft, delicate lips warm mine with her touch.
A tingle ignites over my lips as she kisses me, my cock throbbing at the thought of taking her hard and fast tonight. My hand sweeps to the back of her neck, grasping tightly as I pull her to me. She whimpers into my mouth, not in pain, more in satisfaction. I yank her toward me, grinding my dick into her pussy and kissing kiss her.
The weight of today presses on me, making me slowly pull back, looking into her eyes. “Doctor first, fuck later.”
She pouts. “Promise?”
I lightly press my lips to hers, then slide her off the counter. “I promise, little dove.”
