Forbidden Eyes: A Cane Novel 4

by Hart, Charlotte E

  The anticipation in her voice nearly crushes me. Despite everything, I still waver about visiting him, or even picking up the phone to talk. But then I remember the pain and fear, the blood, and the man he showed to me in that warehouse, here on our drive, too. Nothing Mom has said over the last two years has suggested that he’s changed in any way. And then there's my stupid pride, of course. He used to tell me I meant the world to him, that so many of his actions were for my benefit or to keep me safe, but in these last few years he’s never tried to get in touch. Never once turned up or tried to visit. It’s not a secret where I am. Even if he doesn’t like it.

  “I’m not sure, Mom.” And that’s the truth of it. Part of me still feels split open by it all, regardless of the happiness I feel with my life here.

  “Just think about it. I’d hate for you not to have another chance.”

  She says it so matter-of-factly, like talking about a time when he won’t be around is inevitable. Some small part of my heart clenches again, aching for my daddy in ways I don’t know how to manage. What will happen to Mom when he does go? Tears filter into my eyes at the confused dynamic still resting inside of me.

  “Are you okay, Mom? I’m sorry we’ve not spoken about him, and although I might not want to speak to him, I’m sorry you have to see him unwell.” I clasp her hand, desperate for her to stay rather than have to go back to him and face losing the man she lives for.

  “You don’t have to be sorry. It’s going to be what it will be, Fia. Anyway, think about visiting.”

  I nod, watching her stand and straighten her clothes, the conversation apparently over. She grabs hold of her bag and gets a mirror and some lipstick out, applying it.

  “So, have you and Carter got any plans this weekend?”

  I stand with her and cross through the lounge, heading for the kitchen. “I’m not sure. I’ve got a new researcher starting at the lab on Monday.”

  “Do you have to be there for that?”

  “Technically, no. I’ve got a great team around me including friends I trust, but I’ve been clear right from the start that this is my project. My business. And so, I make sure I’m involved in everything.”

  “That’s a good work ethic, Fia. I’m proud of you.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I’m proud of myself, too. If we could only get the latest round of trials to show what I know they can, I know we’d be so much quicker to market.” We’ve been able to focus solely on the primary objective. Hiring Andi really helped. She was with me at school when we were just starting out on this, and now we’ll be able to finish our work together. With our team, we’ve been able to make much faster progress than I ever thought possible. Yet we’re still a giant leap away from what I really want. As we’ve made progress, I’ve been able to adapt and explore other goals and now there are wider implications of my research. Not just regarding drugs, but addiction of all kinds. How the brain and neurons interact.

  “Remember, though,” she says, snapping her mirror closed and putting it in the bag again. “Don’t get lost in your work. I know it’s important to you, to both of you, but you have the same habit as your father. Single-mindedness. Don’t neglect the people around you for another few hours at work. You’re too young for all that.”

  “Mom, I think I aged twenty years when I came out to visit Uncle Quinn.” We giggle because it’s right. I went from a sheltered teenager to an independent woman in a matter of weeks. Something the man upstairs seemed to help with a great deal.

  She opens the front door, revealing a car idling ready to take her to the airport.

  “Let me know when you arrive, won’t you?” I say, trying to keep the tears at bay.

  “Will do. Take care, sweetie.”

  “I will.” She wraps me in her arms and squeezes me as tightly as she did when I was a small child. Through all of this, she’s always ensured I know how much she loves me and how she’ll always be there for me. Even if it did take me a while to see that.

  “Bye.”

  She steps down and into the car with only a quick glance back, a smile on her face. I stand at the door and wait for her to leave, eventually watching as the dust from the drive settles back into position once the car’s disappeared out the gates.

  “Has she gone?” Carter’s hands snake around my waist to seize me.

  “Uh-huh.” Emotion races through me, threatening to take over the calm I’m trying to portray. I miss her already.

  “Would it help if I said I have a surprise for you?”

  “Maybe.”

  He turns me, and I look up into his green eyes. He still stuns me when I see him looking at me the way I look at him, and, as usual, it sets my heart beating so fast my breath catches. Maybe I’ll get over the girlishness of it one day. Or not.

  “I’m taking you away this weekend,” he murmurs.

  “Oh?” What a coincidence.

  I never did like the idea of my mom and boyfriend being in contact with one another, right from the get-go when I found out she’d met him in that bar, but after some time I’ve realised that both of them benefit from the alliance. Me, too, in various ways.

  “Yes. And before you say you can’t go because of work, I’ve already spoken to Simon and Andi. They have the new researcher covered. You have a full induction scheduled with them on Wednesday. So you, Sofia Vico, can have a long weekend away with your neglected man.”

  “Neglected?” I scoff, thinking back to last night and the night before. And the night before that. This morning, actually. “And what, do tell, are you neglected of?”

  “You. Alone. Without a fucking alarm clock or schedule.” His lips tickle the column of my throat as he bends to kiss and nuzzle.

  “So where are we off to?”

  “Colombia.”

  I back away from his hold and cross my arms. “Oh, so this is about relaxing together with no work?” I raise my brow, knowing full well that Gabby and Nate have been pursuing interests out there. And that Carter has got plans for that area all lined up. It’s been in the pipeline for months.

  “Well, there will be some work in the shape of an opening night perhaps. And we’ve not seen Gabby or Nate in a while. They’ll be coming back in a couple of weeks, but I thought this would be a great time to go and celebrate.”

  “And what are we celebrating?”

  “Do we need something specific? Get your ass up the stairs and pack.”

  I side eye him and cross the lounge, laughing lightly at his command. He sounds far too cryptic for my liking, but I suppose going away will be good. For a start, it’ll help me keep my mind from straying to the conversation about my dad. And then there’s the thought of undiluted Carter. Alone. Without his business head on.

  * * *

  Ten hours later, after a car, plane, and taxi, we’re at the latest Cane hotel and Casino, this time in downtown Bogotá. It brings back all the memories from when we were first in Miami, and suddenly two years feels like a lifetime ago. A lifetime filled with passion and excitement, but also filled with a shadow over our lives in the form of my dad. It’s a constant conundrum in my head. I should probably go see him, find a way of making up. Mom wouldn’t be pushing so hard if she didn’t think time was running out. It’s all I’ve thought about on the trip here, despite Carter being so distracting.

  The grand lobby of the hotel houses a small, boutique jewellery store with a dazzling display in the window. Diamonds and jewels sparkle and glint in the lights, enticing everyone who walks past.

  “Is this what Gabby’s been working on?” I ask, unable to resist the lure of the glistening stones.

  “It’s part of the business plan that she and Nate have worked up. Her contacts in the diamond industry and a fleet of high rolling hotels and casinos seemed a perfect business venture, even if he is supposed to be retired.” Carter laughs and finishes signing a document the manager’s holding. “She has complete creative control.”

  His hand eventually traces down my neck, sending a shiver through
me.

  “They are beautiful,” I muse. Not enchanting enough for the thought of more time alone to dissipate, though. I turn and face him, dismissing the fancy stones for something far more appealing. “What are the rooms like? Still the same Cane penthouse style?”

  “We have plenty of time to check that out. Believe me.”

  He takes my hand and leads me away from the shop window towards the check-in desk. Again, he signs a few things, nodding as the guy he’s talking to rambles off some Spanish dialogue and he occasionally replies. Carter’s fluent in both Spanish and Italian which I didn’t realise until we started dating with some semblance of normalcy. He told me about his past on our first dinner out free of worry, his mom and dad specifically—the real ones. Latino mother. Italian father. The words were hollow of any real feeling, but the fact that he’s learnt both languages over the years tells me something even if he doesn’t want to admit it. We've got time for that, though—time to find out everything about each other. Still, he’ll never be anyone but Carter to me.

  Wade by name. Cane by heart.

  I giggle at him not working and stare out of the lobby, watching the luxurious cars and guests filing in front of the building. A bell boy gets out of one, and I watch a figure come out of the shadows and head for the driver’s door, dropping his sunglasses.

  “Logan’s here?” I ask, surprised.

  It stops Carter in his tracks, making him swing his gaze to where I’m looking. Ever since Uncle Quinn handed over control of the business to Carter, there’s been a tension between the two of them. Nothing obvious, and certainly nothing that’s caused issues, but I can’t miss the hostility that Logan holds towards Carter when he thinks no one is looking.

  “It appears so.” Carter raises his brow and doesn’t look impressed.

  “You didn’t know he was here?”

  “No, but it’s not a problem. Why would it be?” He might be able to fool others with his ice-man façade, but he can’t with me.

  “Are you okay?” I squeeze his hand.

  “Fine. Fine. Don’t worry.” His smile is a weapon he uses all too regularly to distract me, but I can’t be too upset with him over it. “Besides, no work. Wasn’t that the plan?”

  Yes, I suppose it was.

  “Are we seeing Nate and Gabby later?”

  “Yeah. Everything's arranged.” He nods to the man behind the desk, causing him to almost jump to attention and signal to a colleague at the elevator. He also straightens up as if he’s under inspection. I guess, in a way, they are. Especially given it’s apparently the formal opening night.

  We take the penthouse elevator to our room, just like all the other Cane hotels we’ve stayed in, and finally end up somewhere quiet, cool, and alone. “Thank you for pulling me away from work. I’m sorry that I’ve made it hard recently,” I say, heading through the rooms to check out yet another amazing view.

  Bogotá spreads out for miles in the distance, the city hassled and manic down below. I smile and look up to the mountains surrounding the city, wondering how this has become my life in the past few years. Being out of reach of my work, being almost forced to leave it, has made me realise just how much I miss the lazy days spent with Carter before things got hectic. We only really had a few weeks of bliss before the work started. It wasn’t just me. He was as keen to get things moving as I was, as if he knew it was that important to me. The shame of that situation is I’m pretty sure I’m on the right trajectory to become a workaholic. It’s not something I’m going to allow to happen.

  “You don’t have to apologise. I know how important your work is to you,” he replies, coming up behind me and wrapping himself in close.

  “But you’re just as important. More so, in fact,” I admit, turning to kiss him. “And if I’ve not shown you that recently, I’m sorry.”

  “I think you show me how sorry you are plenty.” He wags his eyebrow and gives me that sneak smile that I know means he’s thinking about sex. “And you’re still so damn good at working that deficit off.”

  “Stop it. I’m being serious. My mother reminded me of something when she visited, and I’ve been thinking about it. I don’t want to be so obsessed over my work that I turn into my father.” It’s taken the trip to realise that I do tend to get lost in work, and it’s something I don’t want to emulate in him. I don’t want any similarities between Benjamin Vico and me.

  “You are nothing like your father, Fia. Trust me.” He raises my hand and plants a kiss to our joined fingers. “You don’t hit as hard for a start.” My eyes narrow, annoyed with that fact for some unknown reason. “Now, we have four hours before we’re due to have a late dinner with Nate and Gabby, and there is fuck all else I’m doing except getting up inside you." So romantic. I giggle again, my feet back stepping. "I’ll even give you a head start. Get your ass in the bedroom and your clothes off before I take you on the floor.”

  One thing I know is that he’s deadly serious, so I rush to the bedroom before he has a chance to take me where I stand because his appetite for me has only grown more voracious over the years. At no point has he given me chance to wonder about my inexperience, or question if I’m good enough, because he’s been especially attentive in ensuring I have every sexual experience with him. Romantic. Dirty. Harsh. Quite sordid sometimes actually. I smile and start stripping the clothes off before they get torn, desperate to keep at least some of my wardrobe intact.

  “You better be naked!”

  * * *

  “You look beautiful. Stop fidgeting.”

  The dress that Carter had delivered to the room is obscene, even for his taste. It’s so tight it’s practically sprayed on. No room for underwear at all. I feel totally on show. Decidedly sexy. And absolutely ready to go straight back to the room and carry on with what we were doing before he slapped my ass and called me slutty. I’ve become quite good at slutty when he wants that from me.

  “I’m surprised you’d let me out of the room in something like this.”

  He’s often shown his displeasure at some of my sexier outfits. Of course, he loves them when it’s just us, but he doesn’t like anyone’s eyes on me but his.

  Possessive is an understatement.

  “You’re right. It’s fucking indecent, which means I’m going to be hard all night and trying not to fuck you against a wall somewhere down here. Don’t expect to get any sleep tonight.”

  I giggle and lean into his arm as we arrive at the entrance to the restaurant, trying to keep the blush from my cheeks before I see my uncle and aunt.

  “Mr Wade. Ms Vico. Good evening. Mr and Mrs Cane are already at the table.”

  We’re shown through a path of busy hustling guests until I see Gabby and Nate sitting in a corner table at the bottom of a sweeping staircase.

  “Sofia Vico, look at you. I approve. Carter, what’s gotten into you?” Gabby beams at me as we approach, and I lean over to give her a hug.

  “Don’t fucking start, Gabby. It’s not what I had in mind.”

  “You look beautiful, Sofia. And it’s great to see you both here,” Uncle Nate says, planting a gentle kiss on my cheek. “Cheer up, Carter. It’s a good night. Be happy.”

  They shake hands and we take our seats. No sooner than we do, we’re presented with menus, water glasses are filled, and wine is poured.

  “A toast,” Nate starts. “To expanding the Cane name.”

  “The Cane name.” We all raise our glasses. Gabby looks positively giddy as we clink our goblets.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, wondering if we’re celebrating some news other than the opening of the venture and hotel.

  “Oh, just excited,” she says. “This place is amazing. Life’s nice now. More relaxed.”

  “I saw the store in the lobby. Gabby, those diamonds, the pieces in the window, are they yours?” I’ve never seen Auntie Gabby without a diamond on her neck or her wrist.

  “They might be. You like?” Her eyes light up, sparkling like her creations.

  �
�Of course. I’ve always loved all of the pieces you’ve given me over the years. You’ve truly spoiled me.”

  “Nope. I’ve done no such thing.”

  I take a long sip of my wine and turn my attention to Carter. His head is down and he’s talking quietly with Nate, but not softly enough for me not to hear.

  “Did you know Logan was here this weekend?” he asks Nate.

  “No. He keeps his movements fairly quiet. Although, I do know this isn’t the first visit he’s made this month. I wouldn’t worry too much. Quinn’s on top of him.”

  "Hmm."

  I follow their conversation and wonder what Logan’s playing at, until Carter finally snaps out of it and looks at me with heated eyes, as if he's been watching me watch him. In that moment, he makes me feel so loved and so vulnerable at the same time. Like he’s mentally going over everything we did back in the room and I’m sure everyone in the room can see it in the smile he’s giving me. The excitement in my blood rises to my cheeks and the air in the room grows thick with anticipation. I guess the music here helps. It’s bustling, dramatic. Nothing like the States really. My smile widens as my shoulders bounce to the sounds. No work, just happiness and fun.

  Abruptly, he stands, and I mentally think of any excuse I can give to Gabby and Nate as to why Carter’s dragging me back out of the restaurant to have more sex. But he doesn’t move to take me anywhere other than the middle of a small dance floor off to the side, interspersed with a few other dancing guests. He grabs me to him, looking down at me, his fine suit with the crisp white collar open so I can see more of his scar.

  “Carter?” I question, starting to feel self-conscious.

  “Dance with me,” he says. “Stay close because I want to talk to you about something.”

  My interest piques as I mould myself around him and he clasps my hand to twirl me away, and then back into him. Wow. I didn’t even know he could dance. I could do this all night with no problem at all. I laugh lightly and listen to the piano and violin being played, a tango rhythm lighting up the space around us. It’s alive and bustling, all of it. The people, the atmosphere. Even the hot scent of flowers in the air smells like fun and laughter. Two more twirls and I begin to completely forget about work, about everything but being here with him and living our lives. Together.