Katie's Art of Seduction

Chapter Ten

Katie woke with a pounding in her head. Groaning, she rolled over and pulled the pillow over her head. Her mouth was dry and her eyes were gritty. It felt like she had a hangover but that was impossible since she never had more than one or two drinks at a time, and she certainly didn’t remember drinking anything anyway. Peeking out from under the pillow, she glanced at the bedside clock. It was just after six.

Panic hit her and she rolled up in bed and planted her feet on the floor. She would be late for work if she didn’t hurry. It was then she remembered everything from the day before. Burying her head in her hands, memories flooded her brain. The tense conversation between her and Lucas that ended with her discovery that Cain was the one forcing Lucas’s coffee shop to relocate. Cain was the big, anonymous business buying the building.

Scrubbing her eyes with her fingers to clear out some of the sleep, Katie sat on the side of her bed and wondered what to do. It had been a shock to her system yesterday to realize just how much Cain was holding back from her. She had shared herself totally with him, while he kept most of himself hidden from her.

It was hard, facing the fact that she loved a man she didn’t really know. All her instincts screamed that a good man lurked just under the façade. Katie just didn’t know if she was the right woman to unearth him. Sighing, she knew it didn’t really matter. She loved him so much that she had to try.

Yesterday, she had fallen to pieces. She wasn’t proud of that fact, but it had happened and there was nothing to do now but move forward. After finally trusting enough to attempt a relationship with a man after so long, Cain’s deception had hit her hard. And it was indeed a betrayal of sorts. She had poured out all her fears about what was happening with her job, and all the while he’d been the one controlling the outcome. It made her sad that he felt it necessary to hide it from her. Yes, she might be mad at him, but she would have tried to see his point of view.

With that in mind, Katie made a decision. Cain was expected back this evening and she would go to his place and talk to him. Maybe if she gave him an opening, he would tell her himself. Maybe he was just waiting for the right moment.

Shaking her head at her own foolishness, she raised her aching head and studied the forlorn-looking woman in the dresser mirror. “Maybe I’m just grasping at straws,” she muttered.

Regardless, if they were to have any kind of relationship, there had to be no more lies or omissions. If she couldn’t trust him then they truly had nothing and she would have to face the fact that she’d been mistaken about the kind of man Cain was.

The image in the mirror was pitiful, so she dragged herself out of bed. What she needed right now was a nice hot shower. She was still half-dressed, for heaven’s sake. Stripping off her clothes, she dropped them on the floor. She rummaged around in her closet, pulled out her robe, and dragged it on. It was when she was heading for the bathroom that she saw the note taped to her bedroom door.

She recognized Lucas’s handwriting as she pulled the sheet of paper off the door. The note was short and to the point. “I’ll be by later to check on you.” She read it aloud and thanked her lucky stars that she had such a loyal friend in Lucas.

Now, she really needed a shower. Lucas would not be happy with her decision to talk to Cain, but it was something she had to do. This relationship was worth fighting for and she would not give up yet. Katie needed to reassure Lucas that yesterday’s meltdown was only due to the shock of the moment and fatigue, and that she was strong enough to survive if things didn’t work out with Cain. It would be painful, but if life had taught her only one thing, it was that life went on regardless of heartbreak.

Padding to the shower, she began to practice what she would say to both Cain and Lucas. Both men were difficult and needed to be approached carefully. It was going to be a long day.

Katie was nervous as she stood in front of the large steel door. The wind whistled through the air and penetrated her coat as she contemplated the private entrance to Cain’s building. There was a buzzer to one side that she had yet to push. She’d just finished dealing with one difficult man and now here she was planning to deal with another one. She wasn’t sure if she was incredibly brave or just a glutton for punishment. At the moment, it was a toss-up.

Lunch with Lucas had been challenging, to say the least. It had been incredibly sweet of him to show up at her apartment with a selection of sandwiches and treats. His only concern, at first, had been getting her to eat something. Yesterday’s episode had left him feeling very protective of her. So she’d allowed him to sit her at the table and ply her with good food. When they had both eaten, she’d told him that she planned to confront Cain.

Lucas had not taken her decision well. He’d been visibly upset by her decision, and it had taken her the better part of an hour to calm him down enough to understand that she was going to do this whether he wanted her to or not. Lucas wanted to confront Cain, but Katie was having none of that. She was an adult and had to handle this on her own.

It hadn’t been easy, but eventually he had succumbed to her powers of persuasion, and reluctantly accepted her decision. He had stubbornly extracted her promise that she would call him the moment she got home. No matter what time it was.

Wiping her damp palms against her jeans, she plucked up her courage and pushed the buzzer. She waited. And waited. And waited. No one answered. She leaned her finger on the buzzer again and kept it pressed there a full twenty seconds. Faint barking could be heard in the background.

“Who is it?” Cain’s voice boomed loudly from the speaker. He sounded extremely annoyed.

Katie swallowed hard and then cleared her throat. “It’s me.” When he was silent, she glared at the speaker. “Katie.”

“I know who it is,” he growled. “Wait there, I’ll be down in a minute.”

Katie tapped her foot nervously and rubbed her hands up and down her arm. She was shivering and it was as much nerves as it was cold. Tugging the strap of her purse higher on her shoulder, she willed the door to open. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the door was pulled partially open.

“Come inside.” Katie obeyed the stark command and slid through the small opening. The door slammed shut behind her and she found herself in total darkness.

She could feel Cain standing beside her, a solid presence in the pitch-black parking garage. “I’m beginning to think you really are a vampire,” she muttered. She bit her lip to keep herself from speaking again. Why did she always make stupid jokes when she was nervous? Cain said nothing, but took her by the hand and led her towards the elevator. Katie followed blindly in his wake.

“Why are you here? I was going to call you later.” The elevator door slid open and he tugged her inside.

She wasn’t really surprised when the light was extremely dim. Cain was nothing more than a large hulking shape. His body was a solid presence behind her, and it took all her resolve to keep herself erect. All she wanted to do was lean back against him and absorb his strength, his scent, and indeed his very essence.

“I missed you.” Her voice was low and intimate in the small confines of the ascending elevator.

His huge sigh actually ruffled her hair and then his arms enveloped her from behind, his chin coming to rest on the top of her head. She felt surrounded by him and closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation.

Tears came to her eyes, as she knew that this might be the last time this would happen. If Cain refused to talk to her, to be honest with her, then she would not be seeing him again. Not if she wanted to retain her self-respect. Katie wanted to freeze this moment in time, but the elevator came to a halt.

Cain said nothing as the elevator opened. The door to his apartment was open and a lady was leaving. Katie’s heart stopped for a moment before she recognized Martha Jones, the lady who had bought the painting from Lucas.

“I’ll be going if there’s nothing else, Mr. Benjamin.” Martha had a leather folder clutched tight in her arms. She waited until Cain nodded at her and then turned to Katie and gave her a quick glance that was filled with something that looked like pity. “Have a good evening then, sir. Good evening, Miss Wallace.” Martha hurried to the elevator and disappeared behind the closing door.

Before Katie could even begin to wonder what that exchange was all about, Cain ushered her through the front door of his apartment. The door closed with a solid thud. There was no going back now.

The foyer was dark but she could sense Cain leaning towards her. He cupped her chin in his hand and kissed her gently. She leaned into the kiss, loving the warm solid feel of his lips sliding across hers. For a moment, all the anger and doubts of the day before just melted away. There was only Katie and Cain. Nothing else existed. Katie believed that Cain had to feel the magic just as much as she did. Her bag fell to the floor unnoticed as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back with all the love she felt.

“I love you.” The words tumbled from her mouth even as her brain screamed at her to stop. She wanted to recall the words the moment they left her mouth, but once said, they could not be taken back. He froze immediately, his entire body turning to stone in her embrace.

She kissed him again, desperately pouring all of her feelings into the embrace. At first, he didn’t move, but remained an unmoving statue. She rubbed her tongue against his and then sucked on it gently.

Cain pulled away from her and she could feel his stare through the layer of darkness. It was if he was trying to see into her very soul. She opened her mouth to speak when the sound of toenails skittering across a floor caught her attention. A soft woof filled the air before a cold, wet nose thrust itself in her hand.

Katie jumped and then laughed, glad the sensual spell was broken. Talk, she reminded herself. They needed to talk. Needing a moment to compose herself, she greeted Gabriel and rubbed his ears and back. In dog heaven, he stretched out on his back and she accommodated him by scrubbing his belly. All the while, she could feel Cain watching her. Waiting.

Finally, he ran out of patience. “Gabriel, kitchen.” Gabriel whined, but with one last lick to Katie’s hand, he trotted back to the kitchen.

Katie took off her coat and hung it by the door, aware of Cain’s presence as never before. Taking a moment to compose herself, she picked her purse off the floor and hung it next to her coat.

“You seem nervous, Katie. Why?” He walked towards the living room, not glancing behind to see if she was following him. She trailed behind him, determined to get him to talk to her.

It was now or never. “Why didn’t you tell me you were E. S. Investors?” Katie waited for him to explain that he was afraid it would have hurt their relationship or that he hadn’t wanted to hurt her. She waited. And waited. She anticipated every response except the one she got.

“It was none of your business.” Cain’s voice was calm and cool as he stood by the fireplace and waited for her reply.

Katie was shocked to her very core. Then she got angry.

“Not my business.” She stalked up to him and poked him in the chest with her finger. “Not my business,” she repeated. “It was my workplace you were affecting and you knew it because I told you all about it. And worse, you let me and didn’t say a thing.”

Cain turned and walked to the corner of the room. Bottles clinked and then the sound of liquid being poured into a glass followed. He returned to her side with two glasses filled with an amber liquid. The smell of scotch wafted up to her nose as he pressed one of the glasses into her hands.

“Drink up.” He took a sip from his own glass before continuing. “There’s no need for this dramatic scene. It simply isn’t any of your business.”

“How can you say that? I thought we were building something special.” She could feel the tears welling in her eyes and her throat tightened as she did her best to fight them back. She had promised herself she wouldn’t cry.

“Just because we’re sleeping together doesn’t mean I’ll let you dictate my business practices. It made good sense to buy the building, so I did. End of story.” He sounded bored by the whole subject.

“I don’t understand.” Katie desperately tried to make out his features in the dark, but he kept to the shadows.

“No, I can see that you don’t.” He paced towards her like some huge jungle cat on the prowl, his eye glittering in the darkness. “Did you think you could manipulate me with sex? Did you think that professing your love would get me to change my mind?” His voice was cold and mocking. “Better women than you have tried, Katie.”

Katie couldn’t believe the hurtful things he was saying. “How can you even think anything like that, let alone say it?” She was shocked by the conclusions he had drawn. It had never occurred to her that he might view her actions in such a way.

He reached out and caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger and leaned down close. “Because that is what people do.” He spoke slowly and clearly as if instructing a child.

“Not when people love each other, they don’t,” she quietly responded.

Cain laughed bitterly. “Love. I’ll tell you about love.” He turned away and began to pace the room. “Do you know where I was?”

“You know that I don’t.” She remained still, not wanting to distract him.

“My mother, my last living relative finally died and I went home to take care of the legal work.” He stopped and turned to glare at her. “Home. What a joke.”

“I’m sorry about your mother.” She reached her hand out to him and dropped it immediately as she sensed his growing anger.

Cain erupted, flinging his glass against the fireplace. It shattered into hundreds of pieces as it crashed into the stone. Shards flew into the air and Katie jumped back in reflex.

“Sorry…” Cain’s voice lowered to a harsh whisper. “Don’t be sorry, I’m sure as hell not. My parents beat the hell out of me when I was a kid for no other reason that they were unhappy, miserable people. They never really wanted a kid and they made that fact known until I got too big for them to hit. Then they got afraid of me as I grew bigger and bigger. And do you know what I did?”

He didn’t wait for her to answer, but kept right on talking. “I used that fear to make them let me go live with my mother’s father. My grandfather, Elijah Stone, was the only person who ever cared for me. I was eighteen when he died.” Anger rolled off him in waves. “I’ve been on my own since.”

Katie backed up as Cain stalked towards her. A bead of sweat ran down her back even as she shivered. Deep down, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but right now he was a frightening sight. His face was a shadowy mask of rage, contorting his features. She’d forgotten how large a man he truly was until he began bearing down on her. His massive chest heaved with every harsh breath he took, and his hands were clenched into giant fists.

“Love. My parents claimed they loved me even as they did everything to destroy me. Love doesn’t exist.” Cain loomed over her as he finished his tirade. He raked both hands through his hair in agitation. “So you can see, Katie. I can’t be controlled or manipulated by anyone or anything. I do as I choose.”

Katie tried to stop herself, but she could not restrain the tears that fell from her eyes. The images Cain’s words conjured broke her heart. She could picture a young, dark-haired boy being abused and knew that far worse damage had been done to his heart. She reached out to him, wanting to do no more than comfort him. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t you dare feel sorry for me.” Cain gripped her by the arms and pulled her close to him.

Katie knew Cain would never have told her any of this if his mother’s death hadn’t ripped open a wound that had never healed. All his old memories and hurts had boiled over and he’d been unable to contain them. If she hadn’t demanded to see him tonight, his defenses would have been firmly back in place and she might never have known anything about his mother or his childhood.

“Don’t you dare,” he muttered between clenched teeth before leaning down and kissing her hard.

Katie could feel the anger and pain in his bruising kiss, so rather than fight him she gave in to him. His lips ground hard against hers and she forced them to soften. Opening her mouth, she invited him in. His tongue thrust into hers and she responded by wrapping her arms around him. Immediately, his kiss softened. He gently sucked her tongue before licking her swollen lips in silent apology.

When his lips licked up a salty tear, he used his thumbs to carefully wipe her tears away. He took a deep breath before slowly releasing it. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Katie sniffed back her tears and, although she knew she shouldn’t ask, her heart needed to know. “Is that what happened to you?” She brushed the side of his scarred face before he could withdraw.

He quickly captured her hand and drew it back to his lips for a kiss. “No. That was an apartment fire when I was in college.” Cain wrapped his arms around her and they held on tight to one another, two people spent by the outpouring of emotions. The dark was like a protective cocoon, protecting them from the rest of the world. Katie took these few moments to try and digest everything she’d just learned about Cain. She sensed his growing restlessness and knew their moment of respite was coming to an end.

Cain pulled back from her embrace, drawing his protective armor back on as he went. Spreading his legs apart, he braced himself as if for a blow. “So where does that leave us?”

“I don’t know,” she honestly replied.

Cain laughed and it was a hollow sound. “So much for loving me.” His voice was laced with sarcasm as he poured himself another drink, gave her a mock salute, and took a large swallow.

“That’s not fair.” Katie’s thoughts were totally disjointed, but she suspected that Cain didn’t know what love really was. If his childhood was as bleak as he’d painted it, and she suspected it was even worse, then it was up to her to teach him about true love. Having made her decision, her next action was easier than she expected.

Padding silently across the floor to Cain, she found his hand and gripped it in both of hers. Without saying a word, she tugged at his fingers, urging him to follow her. She knew she couldn’t move him without his cooperation, but she needn’t have worried, for he put down his glass and followed her unquestioningly.

Katie gingerly picked her way up the darkened hallway and into Cain’s bedroom. He stopped right inside the door and wouldn’t budge. Instead, he tugged her around to face him.

“There’s no going back, you know.”

“There never was.” Reaching up to him, she tugged his head down to hers and kissed him, holding nothing back. She poured all her pent-up feelings and emotions into this one kiss. Love, tenderness, and passion all mixed together in this heady embrace. Katie gentled him with her hands, massaging his scalp with her fingers before moving downward to rub the tense muscles in his back and his shoulders.

“Damn it, Katie.” Cain groaned and pulled her into his embrace as he crushed her mouth against his. Katie was only dimly aware that her feet were dangling in the air above the carpet. She didn’t care. She was where she wanted to be. In Cain’s embrace.