Prince of Fate (Lions of Pride Island Book 2) (3 page)

But she had no chance. He was strong as well, a lion, and had his big hands planted on either side of her hips.

“Let me go,” she said. “I’m going inside. I just wanted to tell you to cut the Oracle talk in front of Bee. I don’t want you to upset her.”

“I’m sure she knows how the system works,” he said.

“Right, but most of us don’t really think about it much, you know?” she said. “It doesn’t affect us most of the time. I would rather she could have believed you just came back on your own.”

Tears bit at her eyes, and she chewed her lower lip, unwilling to let them fall.

He reached up and caught a droplet, wiping it away as his handsome face went serious. “I would have come back on my own. I was just being honest with Bee. I thought it’d be comforting because she was already trying to set us up.”

“You just liked how mad I was getting,” she said angrily, looking away from him, hating how much her body liked his touch, how she felt she was pleasantly on fire wherever he was holding her.

“I do like getting any reaction out of you,” he said. “I always did.”

“True.”

“But you know it’s different now. We were just kids then. Just platonic friends. And obviously, with me coming back here and the attraction between us…”

“You mean the Oracle sending you back here,” she said sarcastically.

“That, too,” he said. “But you know me. I don’t do anything I don’t want to do.”

“You would for your family or your friends,” she said.

“That’s true, but since you’re one of my friends, I’m not going to let you get hurt either. I’m not going to force this on you, Brenna. I’m just going to be the best I can and hope that’s enough.”

She felt a little guilty. He was right. They weren’t kids anymore. This was a different situation entirely. She should just forgive and forget.

But she wasn’t going to do that just yet. She still needed to find out who he was now.

“I’m relieved you aren’t just going to push and push for the sake of your family,” she said. “But there is still a lot of pressure on me. I wish you wouldn’t talk about the Oracle.”

He put his hands on her shoulders, pulling her in. He looked down. “I promise I would have come back.”

“Okay, okay,” she grumbled, wanting to get away from him and the treacherous reaction of her own body to his closeness. She pulled back, and he released her immediately, staring intently.

“So what now?” she asked stubbornly. “We just stay together in that cottage?”

“For now, we wait for the guy to fix the door and for the grocery delivery.”

“Grocery delivery? We have food.”

“I wanted to make sure you and Bee had food and didn’t have to cook while I was here.” He patted his firm abs. “After all, I eat a lot.”

That was probably true.

“Also, if you’re busy cooking, that leaves you less time to fall in love with me.”

And there was that cocky grin again.

“Ugh!” she growled, storming past him. But she wasn’t really angry that he was doing nice things for her or even flirting with her. She was just angry with herself, because he’d only been back in her life for two hours, and she was already forgetting her hesitation.

“Hey, I looked pretty cool rescuing you, right?” he called after her. “Does that give me points?”

She sent him a hard glare over her shoulder and then stormed into the house with him hot on her heels. But as she walked into the cottage, she couldn’t help the grin that came to her face at his silly words.

He had been pretty cool coming to the rescue. Maybe a
few
points, then.

But not nearly enough yet.

* * *

T
he next day
, Cain woke with a headache, confused about where he was. His legs hung over the edge of the too-small bed he’d slept on, and light was streaming through parted curtains, through which he could see tall trees and nature all around him.

He pushed his hands through his hair, using his fingers to comb out the knots.

Brenna’s sparkling eyes came back to him, angry, flashing, aroused.

He grinned.

He was at Brenna’s place. He’d come back to that part of the island, and he was doing just fine there so far.

Not even one bad memory yet.

He stood and tugged on a tee shirt to go with his thick flannel pajama pants and headed down the stairs, stretching as he went.

Bee was in the kitchen, and she looked over at him shrewdly as he came in, her eyes glowing in approval as she noted he’d taken out his piercing.

Last night he’d been busy making sure the door was done right and the groceries fit in the fridge and freezer. After that, Brenna had disappeared to her room, and Cain had decided to go to bed early. He always took his piercing out at night, but this morning, he hadn’t thought to put it back in again.

He supposed Bee’s approval meant more to him than he’d even known.

“Looks much better now,” Bee said, tipping a pan to serve some eggs onto a plate.

“Bee, I brought food over,” he said, walking over to where she was bent over the stove. She had to be pushing eighty at this point, but she still looked like she was doing fine.

“And I still wanted to cook your first breakfast,” she snapped, ushering him to the small, hand-carved table in the center of the room. “So sit down and shut up.” She shoved the plate in front of him and slammed down a fork.

“Yes ma’am,” he said.

Her dark eyes twinkled. “That’s the way to do it. Especially with my Brenna. She doesn’t need a man running her life. She can do that on her own.”

“I know,” Cain said.

“She does need a protector, though,” Bee said, looking thoughtful as she settled with a huff on the chair across from him. Her face was so deeply lined, like she’d lived a long life and enjoyed every emotion that came with that. She always looked so wise to him. Even when she’d been younger. “With Ox gone, she isn’t safe. And I don’t know how long she’ll have me.”

“You’ve got lots of time left,” Cain said.

Bee waved a hand. “Not enough for Brenna. We had her mother when we were older. We were too old to be grandparents but definitely too old to be parents. But we did what we could. We’ve loved her. But she needs to move on. Have a life of her own.”

“Yeah,” he said. “When she
has
to.”

Bee sighed. “I want you to promise you’ll protect her. Promise.”

“I promise,” he said seriously. Was Bee sick? Was there something he didn’t know? “I’ll protect her with my life.”

“Even if she doesn’t mate you?” Bee asked.

“Of course,” he said. “How much I care about her isn’t dependent on whether she mates me.”

“Good,” Bee said, leaning back. “Because that’s the attitude you’re going to need if you want her to mate you.”

Cain nodded. “I hear you. Now, how about I taste these eggs?”

Bee grinned. “Prepare to be amazed.”

“I always was,” Cain said, lifting a fork to his mouth. He’d no sooner gotten in the first soft, savory bite when he heard Brenna’s voice sharply cut in.

He looked up to see her at the top of the stairs, wearing a ratty white robe over pink bunny pajamas. He stifled a snort.

“What are you two in here being so cozy about?”

Bee pointed innocently at the pan that was steaming in the kitchen. “Cooking!”

“Bee!” Brenna chided, running down the stairs to turn off the stove. “You know you aren’t supposed to be doing that. What if you had one of your seizures?”

“You know those are rare,” Bee said.

Cain frowned. Things were more serious than he thought. “Seizures?”

“Yes,” Brenna said, folding her arms. “So from now on, you know better than to let her cook for you.” She turned to Bee. “And you know better than to be around hot objects when you could fall on them.”

Bee just shrugged. “I’m not sure you’re in a place to nag us when you’re wearing that.”

Brenna looked down at herself, and Cain could practically feel the embarrassment washing over her.

She turned indignantly to stomp back upstairs and disappeared into her room. What followed was the sound of slamming noises, and Bee and Cain shared a grin.

Then Cain grew serious. He took Bee’s weathered hand. “She’s just worried about you. What did she mean by seizures?”

“I don’t know,” Bee said, pulling back her hand and looking abashed. “I’ve had a few of them. They aren’t sure why.”

“Well, it was very nice of you to cook for me today, but promise you won’t do it again. I couldn’t stand if you got hurt.”

She blinked at him and then let out a loud laugh. “How can I say no to such a handsome man? Damn if you can’t be charming when you want to.”

He grinned and looked up in Brenna’s direction. “Hopefully I can be charming enough for her.”

Bee leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. “Oh, I think you will, Cain. I think you will.”

B
renna got
herself together and came back downstairs to see that Bee had that shrewd look that said she was planning something.

“Where’s Cain?” Brenna asked, sitting at the table with a yogurt and pulling off the top.

“Upstairs changing, I guess. He said he wanted to take you out today, now that the door is fixed.”

“Oh,” Brenna said. “Will you be okay here alone?”

“I’m old, not useless,” Bee snapped. When she saw Brenna’s face fall, her voice softened. “I’m sorry. I know you’ve been worried since Ox is gone. But I want to see you living your life, not worrying about me every moment of the day.”

“I can’t help it,” Brenna murmured. “You’ve given me everything. I want to give that back. To you
and
Ox. How can I just leave you here?”

“That man made sure there was a darn good deadbolt installed on our door, and you won’t be far. Honestly, it would do this old woman some good to live vicariously as you go out with that young hunk.”

Brenna rolled her eyes. “Bee…”

“I’m serious.”

Brenna could see she wasn’t going to budge. “Did he say where we were going?”

“I think he wants you to show him around your old childhood haunts, see what’s new around here.”

“Nothing, pretty much,” she said.

“That’s what I told him.” Bee grinned wickedly. “I think it’s just his excuse to have his way with you in the woods!”

Brenna gasped. “Grandma!”

Bee waved a hand. “Worse things than getting busy with a man like that with only the trees to peep on you.”

Brenna felt a deep blush coursing through her, and she quickly stood up. This was
not
a conversation she wanted to have with her grandmother. She’d never been this frank before. Then again, there’d never been a man around that Bee liked.

And she obviously liked Cain, despite the fact that he’d been gone and appeared to have forgotten them for years.

“Doesn’t it bother you at all that we haven’t seen him?” Brenna queried, touching Bee’s hand.

“No,” Bee answered. “All that matters is he’s back now. We don’t know what’s gone on for that boy since his father died. Maybe give him a chance and let him explain.”

“What if there is no good explanation?” Brenna asked, doubt rising in her like muddy water. “What if he just… forgot about us?”

Bee reached out to stroke her granddaughter’s cheek. “No way he forgot about you, sweetheart. Not with the way he looks at you now.”

Brenna felt that blush again, grateful her complexion didn’t easily show it.

“What are you two talking about?” Cain’s deep, raspy voice interrupted as he came down the stairs.

He was dressed a little more normally today, in stone-washed jeans that hugged his thighs and hips tight and a soft blue tee that molded to his powerful shoulders and chest.

Bee gave her a wink, and Brenna bit her lip, ignoring her.

“Bee said you wanted to go for a walk,” she said.

“If that’s good by you,” Cain stated, lazily plodding down the rest of the stairs. He’d only been back a day and was already acting as if he owned the place.

She glanced down at her outfit. A zipped, hooded red jacket over a white tee and skinny jeans. Fine for walking. “Sure.”

He approached and reached out a hand, but she stood on her own. She wasn’t sure how she would react if she actually touched him.

“Gotta be a bit friendlier if you want to win over a man like that,” Bee called as Brenna made her way to the front door and opened it.

“Who said I’m trying to win
him
?” she called back.

“Who wouldn’t?” Bee cackled, and Brenna rubbed a hand over her face.

She didn’t dare look over at Cain, not at all interesting in his smug expression.

“I was thinking we could go see our tree fort,” Cain suggested as they strolled down the dirt road that led away from the cottage.

She turned toward him, surprised he remembered. “You want to?”

He nodded. “Lots of fond childhood memories there.”

“You used to run over when Axel was nagging you or Beau was teasing you, and then we’d disappear there. Fun times.” She smiled despite herself.

“Have you been back there a lot?”

That stopped her as she walked forward into the shade of the trees forming a demi-canopy overhead. At first, she’d gone back to the fort, wondering when Cain would come back to visit. His family only showed every couple years, so at first, it wasn’t so weird. But then more years passed, and she didn’t want to visit the treehouse anymore.

She didn’t want to be reminded.

“Not really,” she said. “But given that Ox built it, and you know how good he was with his hands, it should still be there.”

“Think we can go in it?” he asked. “We’re pretty big now compared to before.”

She leveled a glare on him. “Thanks.”

“Hey, I meant me,” he said. “I’m practically a giant. I should be illegal in tree houses. You, on the other hand, are perfect. Just as you should be.”

She glared again. Where was he going with this? She knew she was plump.

“I like my women curvy,” he declared, and she felt her cheeks flame.

She stomped ahead of him and then took a hard right into the foliage that led up the side of the hill behind the cottage. He followed her silently, and she thanked the heavens for that at least.

She took several more turns in the brush, knowing the path by heart. When she stopped in front of the tree where the fort was, she put out a hand, gesturing to Cain that they’d reached their destination.

She looked back to see him just standing there, taking it in, a solemn expression on his face. His long hair was lifted slightly by the wind. His green eyes remained cool and calm.

For once, no snide joke or rude remark slipped from his mouth.

He took a step forward, pushing tree branches to the side so he could duck under them and step onto the wide platform of nailed-together boards that rested on the tree’s largest branches just a few feet above the ground. The cool thing about the “fort” was it was mostly shaded by the other branches but had none directly above it, so there was room to sit. Ox had removed those branches for space.

The tree still seemed happy as ever, though, growing with long branches and green leaves. Dirt and little weeds grew up around the platform, but Cain didn’t seem to mind as he walked out and sat down on the dusty floorboards.

It creaked slightly, and he tensed, but then it seemed fine, and he reached out a hand to help Brenna up. She took it, feeling warmth spread through her immediately.

The second she sat next to him, she dropped his hand.

There wasn’t room to be very separate, so she could feel his hip touching hers.

“I’m really sorry I wasn’t here to say good-bye,” he said, voice tense. He folded his arms over his knees and leaned forward. “Was he mad?”

She shook her head. “You know Ox… Never held a grudge. He missed you. Asked about you occasionally. But I don’t think he ever expected anything you couldn’t give… Unlike me.”

“I’m sorry.” He leaned back on his hands, making the treehouse creak again. “Just… I guess I was running from the past. Trying to leave behind some things. This place reminds me of times I don’t want to remember. But the problem is, in leaving that pain, I left people I loved, too. I left people out of my life that I wanted to see. I sacrificed too much trying to outrun the past.”

“You’re still sacrificing too much,” she said quietly. “It drives me nuts to see you risking your life out there.”

“I like adventure,” he said.

“I guess so,” she said. “Though, I don’t remember you doing dangerous things as a kid. Unless someone needed your help.”

“Maybe,” he replied. “Anyway, I really am sorry. I’m sorry things aren’t the same, and I’m sorry we’re caught in an awkward situation.”

She nodded. She could feel the tension in her melt away at his genuine apology. Maybe it was time to let go of her grudge and just try to see this new Cain as his own man.

Maybe she could.

He reached over and put his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. “Is that all right?”

She nodded tightly.

“I never stopped thinking of you. All of you. Ox. Bee. But mostly you. I know we were just kids, but you made an impression on me that I couldn’t forget. Before races or stunts, you were always in my mind.”

“Then why didn’t you come back? Why didn’t you answer any of my letters?” she asked, exasperated. Even if part of her was excited he did care about their past, she didn’t know why he was only telling her this now that he needed something.

“I didn’t come because of the Oracle,” he explained. “That was just my excuse. I just needed a reason to make me stronger than I was in order to get back here and face the past.”

“But nothing horrible happened here,” she said. “I don’t understand. Weren’t you always happy here?”

“I always came here with my dad,” he said quietly, looking out through the gaps in the leaves. “It’s weird to be here without him.”

Oh. She hadn’t even thought of that. When he’d come, it had been her chance to play with her best friend. She’d loved his dad, too, a kind, handsome man that had never acted kingly or as if he thought he were better than anyone else.

But she hadn’t thought about the fact that, for Cain, these were trips with his father. At least on the way there and back, even if he spent most of his time with her once they arrived.

“He was the reason for coming. His friendship with Ox. I was confused after he died. What our new role was. But Axel couldn’t talk about it. None of us could.”

“Axel did check in over the years, just to make sure we were okay,” she said.

“That’s good.” Cain nodded. “But yeah, I was a loser.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” she said. “I’ve been hard enough on you for the both of us.”

“Okay,” he said with a laugh. Wind whistled in the leaves around them. It was cool and refreshing. His hand was a warm presence all around hers. “So where does that leave us now?”

“I guess it leaves us with a second chance,” she said. “If you stop being a goof and pervert.”

“But I am a goof and a pervert,” he said, frowning.

She laughed. “Then stop it.”

“Sorry.” He looked at her with mock seriousness. “I won’t change myself for you, Brenna.”

“Really?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No.” He shook his head. “I will absolutely change everything. Yup.”

She laughed at that and gave his hand one more squeeze before pulling back. “Silly.” She stood and felt him catch her wrist lightly. Their eyes made contact, and she felt a sizzling heat between them.

“Cain,” she whispered hesitantly.

“Sorry,” he said, letting her go. “Yeah. We should head back. Get lunch.”

She nodded. They’d only talked a little, but things were clearer, more out in the open.

On the way back, they walked a little closer to one another, and Brenna didn’t even mind.

* * *

A
fter lunch
, they spent the afternoon laughing with Bee, listening to old stories about Ox, and hearing what Cain’s brothers had been up to.

“So Beau is mated,” Bee said, amazed. “Well, he always was a sweetie pie. Looked just like a little angel.”

“Not anymore,” Cain muttered.

“I’ve seen him on the TV, dear. I’m aware,” Bee said. “But what about Axel? That stick in the mud matched with anyone yet?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Cain said. “I think it’s my turn.” When he saw Brenna give him a dirty look, he quickly switched subjects. “We went out to the tree fort this afternoon.”

“And you didn’t break it? That’s a miracle,” Bee crooned.

Cain sighed in relief as Brenna and Bee bantered back and forth. He’d just gotten Brenna to open up and give him a chance. He didn’t want to ruin that by bringing up the Oracle thing, something that was definitely a sore spot for her.

Now that he thought of it, it did seem really bad. Not coming back to see a friend until you needed something from them.

But it was fine now. She was okay with him, for the most part, as long as he didn’t go and screw it up. He couldn’t say she’d actually
want
to mate him. He could tell she was at war with her attraction to him. He didn’t know if it was a war she wanted to win or lose.

Bee stopped talking to Brenna and looked over at Cain thoughtfully, a smile creeping over her lips. “Looks like it’s going to be cold tonight.”

Cain looked out at the land, where the wind was blowing, leaning the grasses. “Maybe.”

Bee looked at the empty wood box. “Need some more wood chopped.”

Brenna sighed. “I got it.”

Bee put up a hand. “We got a man here. No harm letting him do it.”

Cain perked up at that. He’d always loved chopping wood with Oxford. “I’ll be happy to.”

Bee grinned. “I’ll just go up and work on my needlework,” she said. “You two have fun.”

“Why am I going to have fun?” Brenna asked, perplexed. But then she just shrugged. “Sometimes I think I’m just part of a big master plan I don’t understand.”

“Welcome to the club,” Cain said.

“Says the schemer,” she retorted.

“Hey, now.” He slipped an arm around her waist and pulling her to her feet. She looked up at him, and he could see desire pooling in her honey-brown eyes.