Hating Cain Read online

  Knowing his eyes were on me made my temperature rise. I liked it, and I was tired of acting like I didn’t.

  Pushing every real-life issue out of my mind, I faced Cain with a deep rumble of desire in my throat. When I approached him, his half-lidded eyes were already clouded with want. He lay back as I crawled on top of him, spreading his limbs and offering himself to me. His breaths were short and ragged. His skin felt hot beneath my touch.

  I lifted the hem of his shirt–one of mine, already too big for him–and pushed it up to reveal his stomach. He shuddered as I leaned down to kiss the light brown trail of hair leading down below his waistband. His skin was warm and soft, and I never wanted to stop touching him. It wasn’t long before I saw the growing bulge in his sweats, and noticed I had one to match.

  We both want this. So why am I hesitating?

  Cain arched his back gently, leaning into my touch in a silent plea for more. I pulled his sweats and underwear down in one fell swoop, earning a gasp from him as his cock sprang out. Cain began to murmur my name before I swallowed the head of his cock in my mouth and the sound melted into a soft moan. I felt his fingers lace in my hair and card through it.

  As I sucked and licked the sensitive tip, my dick hardened until it was painful. I freed myself with a groan that sent vibrations up Cain’s shaft. He shivered. I never stopped or took a single pause from blowing him, not even when I fisted my hand around my own cock and messily jerked myself off. The only thing on my mind was pleasure.

  “Johnny,” Cain murmured, his fingers gripping my head tighter. Quiet moans spilled from him as he began to gently buck his hips in time with me. The hot, salty taste of him filled my mouth. Saliva trickled from the corners of my lips as I moved vigorously, bobbing my head until I took his whole length.

  When the tip of his cock brushed the back of my throat, Cain cried out.

  “Fuck, I–”

  I wanted to make him cum. I wanted to feel his cock twitch and throb, I wanted to feel his load gush down my throat, wanted to feel his frame tremble beneath me as the orgasm wracked his body.

  But Cain stopped me. My mouth gave a wet pop as he suddenly pulled my hair back. I glanced at him quizzically.

  “What’d you do that for?” I asked, my voice rough from arousal.

  Cain struggled to catch his breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he met my eyes. There was a sternness in them that wasn’t there before.

  “Tell me you’re not going to stop this,” he said. “Not again.”

  I knew he meant the night of the party. I licked my lips and shook my head. “No.”

  “Is that a promise? Or are you thinking with your dick right now?”

  I couldn’t deny the intense lust pumping through my blood. But right now, I had no intention of repeating that situation.

  Because even though I kept trying to distance myself from Cain, I was coming to terms with the fact that maybe it was a losing battle.

  “I’m not going to kick you out,” I said. “And I have no intention of leaving my own house.”

  That answer didn’t seem to satisfy him. His icy eyes flashed.

  “We don’t need to have this conversation right now,” he said slowly, “but I want to know that you feel something. I want you to stop pushing me away.”

  I paused. Was that what Cain thought I’d been doing? But with that thought came the realization that yes, that was exactly what I’d done to him. Both prior times he and I were intimate ended with me being panicked and emotionally distant because of my own stupid issues. It wasn’t Cain’s fault.

  And I was tired of running from him, from whatever it was we shared.

  “Don’t tell me you’re doing it right now. The overthinking thing,” Cain mumbled, looking ready to be disappointed again.

  “I’m not,” I said firmly.

  I leaned up so our bodies were parallel and I kissed him. He opened up for me, allowing my tongue inside, letting me to seal the promise.

  We broke apart with gasps. Desire burned like fire in my blood but mixed with it was something else–a deeper sense of passion and affection. I wanted to hold Cain like this forever. I wanted to protect him from the world.

  I didn’t want to be apart from him.

  “You look conflicted,” Cain said, caressing my face with a furrowed brow. “Should we stop?”

  “Cain,” I growled, “the last thing I want right now is to stop.”

  I saw the slight smirk on his lips before I kissed him again, harder and hungrier. He moaned into my mouth and went limp against the bed. My hands roamed down his chest and stomach, feeling every inch of him as I memorized his body. I felt his bare cock strain against my skin. When I shifted my hips, our cocks brushed against each other, and we both gasped.

  “Fuck. Do that again,” Cain begged.

  I decided to do one better–I reached down, took both our cocks in my hand, and began pumping them together. Cain let out a sharp cry. It was clear from the look on his face that he was experiencing pure ecstasy. I felt smug knowing I’d done that to him. I stroked us faster.

  “Don’t, I’m gonna cum,” he cried.

  I grunted. “Want you to.”

  He bit his lip and dug his fingers into my shoulders. “Johnny, I want you in me.”

  The desperation in his tone caught me off guard, making me blush deeply. I hissed, pulling back to try and find a condom but Cain snatched my wrist.

  “Don’t,” he said breathlessly. “Just cum inside me.”

  My eyes widened. Going bareback was a different level of intimacy than a half-drunk fuck like last time.

  How serious was Cain about us?

  He sensed my hesitation. “If you don’t want to–”

  “I’ll do it,” I said, cutting him off.

  He seemed surprised but didn’t say anything else, simply nodding.

  I rearranged myself behind Cain and took a good look at him from my new vantage point. From here I saw all of him–every inch of skin, every soft blond trail of hair, every dip and rise of his form. I placed my palms beneath his legs and lifted him so they hooked over my own. We fit together like two puzzle pieces. I ran my hands along the sensitive skin of his inner thighs, smiling as he shuddered at the ticklish contact. His skin was pale and dusted with freckles here and there. In this moment, he looked so raw and real.

  “You’re beautiful,” I said.

  Cain’s eyes widened and a blush spread across his cheeks, but he didn’t break my gaze. “Thanks?”

  “What? I’m not allowed to say that?”

  Cain bit his lip. That vulnerable expression had returned to his face. “No, it’s just… no one’s ever said that to me before.”

  My hands slipped up his thighs to stroke his stomach and the fuzzy trail down to his cock.

  “Won’t be the last time,” I said.

  He looked excited at that. It was the promise of a next time. It was a promise that I wouldn’t abandon him this time, like I’d done so many times before.

  Not this time.

  I casually curled my fingers around the base of his cock as I pointed to the bedside table with my free hand. “Lube’s in there.”

  Cain rummaged for it before handing me the bottle. When our fingers brushed in passing, I noticed how warm he was.

  With my fingers slicked up, I pressed a finger firmly to his entrance. It slipped easily inside when he relaxed for me. His walls were tight and hot, twitching with anticipation. I’d fucked Cain before, but this time felt different. As I looked at the man below me, I was filled with urges I’d never known this strongly. The urge to protect. The urge to see him smile, to make him laugh. To see him happy.

  I shivered as a ripple of emotion went through me.

  Focus on the sex before you get all emotional, Johnny.

  With another generous application of lube, I added another finger. Cain stretched for me, moaning and shifting as my fingers explored him. It was so hot to watch his lustful expression and know that I was the one do
ing it to him.

  “I’m okay,” Cain said, breathless and impatient. “C’mon. I want you.”

  My fingers pulled out with a wet noise and I wasted no time wrapping my lubricated fingers around my cock. When I gently pressed the head to Cain’s hole, he moaned softly. He relaxed and opened up, and I let out a groan of surprise as my cock slipped into his ass.

  “Johnny,” he murmured. “Come here.”

  As he beckoned me, I leaned my face over his. He wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me down for a kiss. It was wet, deep and passionate. My blood ran hot. My cock throbbed inside of him. Every stroke of our tongues against one another sent another electric jolt of arousal straight down my spine, sinking into my balls.

  “Fuck,” I moaned into his mouth.

  Cain tightened. His hot, tight walls clamped down on my dick. My thrusts slowed, but the velvety friction was ten times more sensual. We kept kissing as I plunged deeper into him. Tiny whimpering noises spilled out of Cain. I crashed our mouths together, desperate to feel and taste every part of him.

  I angled my hips, pushed, hit his prostate. His voice went keening and high, then melted into a loud, obscene groan.

  “Fuck, fuck,” he murmured. “Please.”

  I reached down for his cock, giving it sloppy attention while I fucked him. It was hot and hard in my hand, twitching violently every time I thrust my hips.

  Cain came undone in front of me. His desperate sounds were halfway between cries and moans. He lay there limply as he succumbed to pleasure. As I hit that spot inside him a final time, his cock jerked in my hand and shot a thick rope of cum across his stomach. With my own orgasm looming ahead, I chased it down until white-hot pleasure enveloped me. I came with a groan, spilling my load deep inside Cain.

  As the powerful wave subsided, I opened my eyes to see Cain gazing up at me with what could only be described as adoration. My heart thumped. I reached down with my clean hand to stroke his face.

  We untangled wordlessly, and with no desire to clean up, I slumped next to Cain in bed. The sheets smelled like sex and sweat and him.

  Cain watched me as I settled next to him as if he was still wary.

  “Worried I’m going to ruin the moment?” I asked with a slight smirk.

  “If I say yes, will you get mad?”

  I snorted. “No. Because you’re right.”

  “I am?”

  I sighed, running a hand back through my sweat-damp hair. “It’s just like you said. I was pushing you away. It only took a verbal smack over the head to realize it.”

  The paranoid edge in his eyes softened. “Why?”

  Reality came back to me like the unwanted feeling of waking up after an amazing dream. The real-life issues I’d pushed away to indulge in pleasure returned to the forefront of my mind, screaming at me that it was finally time to deal with them.

  “I was going to leave,” I said.

  “Leave?”

  “Rosecreek.”

  Cain tensed like a rabbit about to bolt, but before he could stress himself out, I took both his hands in mine and held him firmly in place.

  “Wait. Just listen,” I pleaded.

  His eyes flashed warily, but he nodded.

  I steeled myself before continuing. I didn’t want to hide the truth from Cain any longer, but I knew getting the words out would be like pulling teeth–especially if Cain got upset with me before I could finish.

  “I had this plan to sell the house and move back to the city.”

  Cain’s mouth became a thin, disappointed line. “Oh.”

  I squeezed his hands tighter.

  “Wait–”

  “So this whole time you were going to leave anyway?” Cain asked coldly.

  I saw the anger, frustration and disappointment bubbling just beneath the surface of his skin. If I didn’t act fact, I was going to push him away for good.

  “Yes,” I admitted. “But I couldn’t do it.”

  The anger in his face became tinged with confusion. “Why?”

  I got out of bed and put some clothes on. Cain sat up, staring at me with narrowed eyes while suspiciously doing the same. Maybe he was still deciding if he wanted to indignantly leave or not.

  “Was it because of the lawyer?” Cain asked, bitterness in his voice as he followed that false promise of truth. “You said the will’s conditional. There’s something in it that stops you from leaving. Is that it?”

  I turned to face him and offered my hand. He glared down like it was some kind of trick, then hesitantly took it. I led him down the hall.

  “Not anymore,” I went on. “She gave me the title to the house. It’s mine now to do whatever I want with it.”

  I felt Cain tense. He was still on-edge, still thinking I was going to turn my back on him.

  “Okay,” he said. “So? That’s it, then? You’re gonna leave, just like that? Get your money and get out of this place?”

  He half-heartedly tried to pull away from my hand, but I held him tight.

  I wasn’t letting him go. Not anymore.

  We stopped in front of the office door and I faced him head-on. His blue eyes were wide with suspicion and anger, on the edge of betrayal. But when I brushed his face, he softened. Now he seemed more confused than anything else.

  But for the first time, I was no longer confused.

  I turned the handle to the office and pushed the door open.

  “Come with me,” I said to Cain. “I want to show you something.”

  30

  Cain

  For the first time ever, Johnny hadn’t immediately run away after a moment of intimacy.

  But whatever he was doing now freaked me out even more.

  After his admission of wanting to leave, I was scared and angry. Scared that he might go through with it and scared that I wouldn’t be able to stop him. I was also pissed that he even entertained that thought in the first place, which was stupid because he was a grown man and he could do whatever the hell he wanted.

  But I felt jealous and possessive because he was my grown man, damn it.

  Still unsure of what Johnny was up to, I frowned and stepped into the office. I entered the room like I was afraid the floor was going to crack and give way beneath me. But the floor held steady. As I looked around, I saw there was nothing of particular interest about the office. It smelled like old books and paperwork.

  Johnny stopped behind the desk. With an unreadable expression, he held up a large envelope. I came up beside him and saw his handwritten name on it.

  “Is it from your parents?” I asked quietly.

  He nodded. He slipped out a letter from inside and my heart rate quickened.

  A letter from Johnny’s terrible parents? The ones who were never there for him? The ones who kicked him out and left him a conditional will, for fuck’s sake?

  I forced my boiling blood to still as Johnny handed me the letter and nodded at me to read it.

  Dear Johnny,

  I hope this letter finds you well. Since you’re reading it, that means you’ve completed the conditions of the will to Ms. Walker’s satisfaction, and thus our own as well. We hope you enjoy ownership of the estate and leave it in good condition for your own children to inherit. Consider the title of the estate our gift to you.

  There is still a generous portion of your inheritance that you’re undoubtedly wondering about. Your mother and I came to an agreement. This is a separate gift from the estate, which we wanted you to own regardless. But this gift is something special. While there is no lawyer to oversee the terms, we trust and hope you’ll fulfil them from a moral obligation to your parents who wanted nothing but the best for you.

  Before I even finished the letter, I felt the hairs rising on the back of my neck. If Johnny noticed I was clutching the paper a little too hard, he didn’t comment. He remained silent while I continued reading.

  The remainder of your inheritance is sealed in the second envelope. But before you deposit the check, here is the term we hope yo
u’ll agree with: you must first acquire a wife.

  My blood ran cold and I nearly choked. “What?”

  When I re-read the line, it didn’t change. I looked at Johnny, but his expression was still neutral and unreadable.

  As difficult as it is to live in conflict with our only son, we do not agree with your lifestyle choices. Thus, we’ve left the inheritance up to you. You may choose to correct your path by finding a suitable woman and marrying her, or live without our blessing. The choice is yours. We hope you do the right thing.

  Sincerely and with love,

  Edward & Denisa Hunter

  I stared at the letter for what felt like an eternity, like I was waiting for some practical joke to happen. But nothing happened. There was only Johnny and I, and the letter’s cold words to shatter the silent office.

  “This can’t be real,” I said, at a loss for anything better to say.

  Johnny took the letter and put it on the desk with an air of finality. “It’s real.”

  “Is it forged?”

  “No.” Johnny smiled, but there was no mirth in it. “It sounds just like my dad, actually.”

  “It was signed by both your parents.”

  Johnny shrugged with one shoulder. “He probably got her to agree, even if she didn’t completely. She was never very good at standing up to him.”

  I touched his arm. “Johnny… I’m so sorry.”

  He nodded without responding. He was quiet, letting me wrap my arms around him in a small attempt to offer him comfort. I rested my head on his chest and breathed steadily like I was the one who was upset. I pulled back.

  “Are you okay? Can I do anything to help?” I asked.

  I didn’t know what to do. What could I do in a fucked-up situation like this? Johnny’s parents had rejected him both in life and death. They dangled a carrot of acceptance and wealth in front of him in hopes of correcting his ways, which infuriated me beyond belief. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became, but I forced myself to stay calm for Johnny’s sake.