“Kandy…please, just go back inside.” He shoved rough fingers through his hair. “I’m not in the mood for this shit tonight.”
“No—fuck that, Cane. You tell me why you would do something like this? You haven’t answered my calls or texts in days. You’ve been completely ignoring me after checking in with me every day, and then you show up with her? I mean, I know I’m inexperienced, but was it so bad that you had to go back to Kelly?”
Cane’s head shook, his jaw tight and flexing. “Just move on from me, like I told you to do.” He tossed his cigarette down and stepped on the butt of it with the tip of his shoe, then walked around me to get to the door.
“Cane!” I wailed after him. “Talk to me!”
But he didn’t. He kept walking and didn’t bother looking back.
“Please,” I begged, but my voice had cracked and was much softer than before. He was walking through the door before I could blink my tears away. The tears stung and my throat thickened. I couldn’t believe this. He seemed so into me—so determined to hold onto me and keep me as his…but then this happens?
I bit back tears as long as I could, looking around my neighborhood, feeling like everyone was watching. I couldn’t cry out here, and I didn’t want Mom or Dad to see me, so I rushed into the house, where Cane was nowhere in sight, and hurried for the stairs. Before I could make it to the staircase, though, the downstairs bathroom door swung open and stopped me in my tracks.
Kelly walked out with a gasp, holding a hand to her chest. “Oh, Kandy, I’m so sorry—”
“I need to get to my room.” The tears were becoming harder and harder to control, so I lightly shoved my way past her and ran up the stairs. I didn’t give a fuck if I was being rude. Fuck her. Fuck them both.
“Kandy?” she called. “Is everything okay?”
I ignored her. As soon as I made it to my room, I let my walls crumble. I sat on the edge of my bed and curled over. I felt a pain in my stomach I’d never felt before—an ache that I knew would never dull or be soothed unless a certain someone came to fill that aching hole.
But that person was an asshole.
He was a heartless bastard.
He never gave a fuck about my feelings.
He got what he wanted and then disappeared. And not only that, he shoved another woman in my face. It was like the two days we spent together meant absolutely nothing to him.
The tears were salty and hot, and I tried hard to muffle the sounds so that, if someone were to pass, they wouldn’t hear me. Instead, I drew my knees up to my chest, buried my face into my thighs, and bawled. I cried so hard I couldn’t breathe, and truthfully with my thighs in the way, it wasn’t easy.
I believe five minutes passed by before I heard someone knocking on the door. I jerked my head up with a gasp and waited to see if the person would go away. They didn’t. There was another knock on the door.
“What?” I called.
“Kandy, it’s me. Kelly.”
I frowned then. I didn’t want to see her right now. I was angry with her, when I honestly shouldn’t have been. She didn’t know about Cane and me. She didn’t know that he’d stolen my virginity with pretty words and lies and was now treating me like a piece of shit. Now that I thought about it, I would have been better off giving Carl my virginity. At least with him, he wouldn’t have been so quick to walk away or ignore me.
“Can I come in?” she asked, and I sighed, swiping the tears off my face, though I was sure it wouldn’t cover up the hurt.
“I guess,” I mumbled.
The door pushed open and Kelly walked in with wide eyes. “Are you okay?” she asked.
I pressed my lips and shook my head. “I’ll be fine.”
“Boy troubles?”
I shrugged.
She was quiet for a moment, watching me. I avoided her eyes. I hated crying in front of people. Hated it. I didn’t like anyone seeing me weak or vulnerable…no one besides Cane, obviously.
Kelly finally made a move by shutting the door quietly and then taking a step closer my way.
“Problems with Cane?” she asked, and that caught me completely off guard.
My brows drew together when I picked my head up to meet her eyes. I expected to see a soft, sincere expression, but instead her eyebrows were knitted too, her entire face tight and stern.
“W-what?” I asked.
“You heard me,” she said. Even her voice sounded different—sharper, without the soft touch of a southern accent she’d had previously.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’d like to be left alone right now.”
She tilted her chin with an agitated sigh. Pulling her white clutch from beneath her arm, she opened it and took something out. She then tossed the object my way. It was a pair of panties. My panties.
I dropped my legs in a flash, pushing off the bed. “Why do you have these?” I demanded.
“No, Kandy. I think the question is why were your panties in Cane’s suitcase?” She cocked a brow.
I had nothing to say. I was speechless. Utterly and completely dumbstruck. Kelly huffed a laugh, tucking her clutch beneath her armpit, and took a step to the side. She gave my room a sweep with her eyes, walking around like she had nowhere else to be.
“The thing is that I knew you liked him. I’ve always known. I see the way you look at him, like you’re waiting for something to happen. You are head over heels for him, and I get that. I mean, Cane is a handsome man. And wealthy too. He has this way of making a woman feel…wanted.” Her eyes sparked as she took a step toward me. “For a while, I thought it was one-sided, but then the beach happened…and I noticed the way he looked at you, and I’d never seen it before. He looked at you like he wanted fuck you all over that house. I noticed how protective he was of you. I even noticed when you two would disappear at the same times…and then I remembered our last night there, when he called me by someone else’s name.” She pressed a hand to her chin and tapped it, as if she were deep in thought. My palms were slick, my jaw slack as I watched her. “Bits, that’s what it was. Bits. I had no idea who Bits was…until I heard him call you by that name the next morning. But still,” she continued, “I ignored it and gave him the benefit of the doubt. I mean, what would Quinton Cane, a thirty-five year old man with a million-dollar company, want with a girl who is nearly half his age? It just didn’t make any sense, so of course I just considered myself crazy and figured your little crush on him was getting to my head. He did pay you much more attention than me, and he asked a lot of questions about you, but I’d considered it nothing. I needed time to think, so I eventually got back to my senses and paid him a little visit a few nights ago. He wasn’t home yet, so I decided to wait for him…and that’s when I noticed the unpacked suitcase. And that’s when I found those in the side pocket.” She pointed at my panties on the bed. “I remember them very well. Pink with red hearts. I picked them out for you when we went on our little shopping spree in Destin. Remember?”
Her eyes were hard on me. I’d never seen her like this—almost vicious, like she wanted to rip my throat out.
“Kelly, I—I swim at Cane’s house almost every other day. I used his shower and probably just forgot to grab my panties.”
“Oh, Kandy.” She made a tsk noise. “You poor, sweet girl.” She came closer, but was still staring me down. “I may seem like the nicest, most oblivious woman ever, but trust me…I’m not. I notice everything. Just like I’ve noticed how much Cane admires you—how badly he wants to keep you in his life—I’ve also noticed how riled up Derek can get when he’s tested. I know the extremes he would go for his daughter. You are his world, and Cane is his best friend. If he found out that Cane touched you in that way…well, he would never look at him or you the same again. He would despise Cane…quite possibly ruin his life and career. And for you…well, the trust would be broken, don’t you think? Your parents won’t see you as their sweet, innocent, beautiful girl anymore. They won’t know what to do with you.”
My chest grew tighter. Fuck, I could hardly breathe. I stumbled back when she neared me, her back straight. “Cane had one rule to follow tonight and that was to not talk or look at you. No alone time with you. No running off to be alone, just to see if you would follow. None of that. He is to never be alone with you again. I told him that if it happened, I would tell Derek and Mindy everything they don’t know, and trust me, the last thing Quinton wants is to lose his friends, the few people who truly accept him for who he is. He also doesn’t want his life ruined over a teenager.”
I tried to swallow, but it felt like I was swallowing glass.
“So the same goes for you, sweetie. If I see you so much as look at him in that way, talk to him in that way, or even touch him when you walk by, I will inform your parents. Your father won’t be happy, and just may end up doing something that will ruin both Cane’s and his own life. His career will be tarnished, and your mother will be left to deal with a filthy, desperate daughter she can’t handle, and a husband with a short temper. Your perfect little life, with your perfect family, will be torn apart.” She stabbed two stiff fingers into my chest. I gasped sharply, tumbling backwards and landing on top of the stuffed toys in the corner.
Kelly smirked and shook her head. “Look at you. Pathetic. And you really thought he would give everything up for you? You’re nothing but a secret to him, Kandy. A memory. Go to college and live your life, and stop trying to ruin mine. Make it easier on yourself and forget about him, because I’m sure he’s already starting to forget about you.”
With that, she spun around and walked to the door, yanking on the doorknob with a twist and walking out.
45
CANE
This was for the best.
I loved Kandy, I really did, but there was so much on the line—so many opportunities laid out before me.
My friendships.
My company.
My family.
My life.
Giving in meant all of what I’d tried to keep buried would come crashing down on me. I had to play my cards right.
You hate me now, but you’ll understand soon.
You’ll see…
It was for the best.
46
KANDY
There were too many questions running through my head—too much heartache for me to bear alone. I had one more day left in Georgia, and I needed answers. Immediately.
During dinner, I couldn’t even look at him. The worst part of it was that I had to sit and watch Kelly touch him and pretend everything was okay. I had to sit in the midst of laughter and joy while my heart felt heavy with gloom. Cane didn’t look or interact with me at all. After dinner was over, I went straight to my room to soak my pillow.
After thinking about it all night, I realized that I didn’t care about Kelly’s threats. I could go to him without her knowing. He wouldn’t tell her I showed. I wanted him to tell me to my face that he was already over me, without her threats lingering above us. It was the only way I could accept it and move on, like I should have been doing before.
If I could hear the truth from him, then I’d let it all go. I’d forget, like he told me to.
With that in mind, I got dressed in jeans and a nice blouse, but didn’t bother with any makeup. I didn’t have the energy, and my eyes were too damn puffy from crying to even bother. I was glad both my parents had to work that morning, but they’d promised they would be back later that afternoon to help me finish packing and getting ready.
I grabbed my keys and headed to my car. When I got behind the wheel, I searched my GPS for Tempt’s address. Once found, I started the car and drove off.
Though it was only a twenty-five minute drive, it felt like an eternity. All these thoughts roamed through my brain, intertwining and colliding. Some of them screamed for me to spare my heart and go back home. Others told me to keep going and get answers.
When I spotted the tall building, I parallel parked in front of it, then sat there a moment. Was I really about to do this? Was I that desperate for answers?
After shutting off the car and yanking the keys out, I found out that I was. I pushed out and headed straight for the spinning doors. There was a woman at the front desk, but she was occupied, so I went for the elevator before she could spot me.
When it chimed and the doors opened, she looked over at me. “Hey! Excuse me!” she called, but I ignored her, tucking my hair behind my ear and rushing into the elevator. I jabbed my thumb into the button to make the doors shut, and then stared at the numbers. Cane was the boss. If he was going to be anywhere, I assumed he would be on the top floor or somewhere near it. I pressed the highest number—15—and my belly dropped with the lift.
The numbers ticked by so damn slowly. I chewed on my fingernail as I anxiously waited.
Finally it stopped. The doors pulled apart, and this floor looked completely different from the first one. This one had floors made of dark gray marble, and at the end of the walkway was a desk. It was vacant. I stepped off, and the elevator doors closed behind me. It was quiet.
Too quiet, almost.
I took several steps forward, hearing something behind the door ahead.
A voice. His voice. He’s here.
I sped up my pace and went to the door at the end of the hall. It was halfway open, and through the crack, I saw Cane pass by with a white button-down on, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. “I need that delivered by tonight, Cora. No—it can’t wait until morning. They guaranteed it would be ready tonight, and I want it there. We will be too busy tomorrow to even deal with that. Good. Thank you for handling it.”
He ended the call with a hard sigh. I blinked slowly, watching him sit on the edge of his desk and scroll through his phone. Now was my chance to talk to him. He was alone. Cornered.
I pushed on the door with the tips of my fingers and it let off a slight creak. Cane picked his head up with a frown but when he caught sight of me, his eyes widened and his lips parted. He placed his phone down and pushed off the desk.
“Kandy—what the hell? What are you doing here?” he demanded.
But I ignored him, pushing the door closed behind me and running into his arms. He caught me before our bodies could clash too hard, and I was glad. So glad. He held me tight in his arms instead of pulling away, and my tears were instantaneous. I buried my face into his chest. “Why?” I asked, voice muffled. “Why? I don’t get it.”
He made a noise that got trapped in his throat. “Kandy,” he murmured, and I could hear the agony in his voice.
I picked my head up, meeting his eyes. “What does she have on you? I don’t get it. What did you do?”
He pressed his lips. “You don’t want to know,” he answered, and his eyes immediately turned dark and filled with guilt.
I wanted to know. I really did, but it hit me that we were alone. All alone, just like we were at the lake house, and in the den the very first time we attempted something. We were best when we were alone. Just us. Uninterrupted.
“I wanted to see you before I left,” I whispered.
He stroked my hair. “I’m glad you did.”
“I’m never going to forget about you, Cane, and I know you aren’t going to forget about me either. I don’t care what she says.”
He unleashed a hard and heavy breath. “I’ll figure this out,” he said with his lips in my hair. “I swear.”
“By the time you do, you don’t think it’ll be too late?” I looked up again.
“I hope not, Kandy Cane.”
I smiled a little. I put my focus on his lips, how full and supple they were. I missed those lips. I missed everything about him. His scent. His touch. His beautiful, sculpted face. The ink that stained his arms and peeked out from beneath the collar of his shirt.
“Can we?” I begged. “One more time?”
He blinked down at me with a pained expression. “Kandy…”
“Please,” I begged again.
He shut his eyes for a moment, inhali
ng through his nostrils and then exhaling. When he opened them, they were softer. Understanding.
He lowered his head and brought his hands up to cup my face in them, and when his mouth met mine, my cold blood ran warm again. Anxious, I tangled my fingers in his hair and pulled at the buttons of his shirt. I was sure I’d ripped it. Buttons clanked on the floor, but I didn’t care and neither did he. He reached down to pull my shirt over my head, our kiss breaking for a just a moment before we were smashed together again.
Picking me up, he turned for the love seat that was against the window and laid my back down on it, climbing between my legs and unbuttoning my jeans with haste. My panties were next, and while he slid those down, I fumbled with his belt, button, and zipper.
We were both free from the waist down. His shirt had been torn open, hanging loosely over his arms. He stared down at me, eyes sparking from the sunlight pouring in through the wide window. I stared up at him, the most beautiful man I’d ever laid eyes on, and my eyes burned again, but I didn’t want to cry. Not yet.
I grabbed his arm and yanked him down, draping my arms around the back of his neck. One of his went under my back and slid up to grip back of my neck, the other holding my waist.
He looked at me again, and though my tears flowed abundantly and my heart was crumbling into pieces, I told him what I wanted.
“I want you to make love to me.” Those words—all I’d ever wanted.
He watched my face for several seconds. “Kandy…” His voice broke, but I shook my head and kissed him. I needed this. I didn’t want him to speak anymore. This was hurting enough. My chest ached and my mind raced and buzzed. With a grunt, he entered me, so deliberately that I had no choice but to whisper his name and beg him to complete the stroke.
Wanting Mr. Cane Page 26