4. Kane
Chapter 4
Kane
There was no escaping the fact that Kane was attracted to Cassie. Kane’s Daddy senses were going off the scale as he saw how much Cassie needed help.
And how sweet and vulnerable Cassie was.
It wasn’t going to happen though.
Not in a romantic sense.
No damned chance .
Kane was determined to keep this relationship strictly professional.
Right now, that involved trying to utilize his computer skills to help Cassie. Kane could see just how worried Cassie was. It was written all over her subdued face.
‘Here’s the thing,’ Kane said, delivering his words in a controlled and calm way. ‘If you took your equipment to a store, they would tell you it was done. Finished off. Any so-called expert would tell you the same.’
Cassie looked like she was about to burst into tears again.
‘But,’ Kane said. ‘I think I have a very good chance at repairing the hard drives at least well enough to extract the data.’
‘OMG! Wow! Wowie-wowzer! Are you being serious?’ Cassie asked, suddenly alive with optimism. ‘Thank you so much!’
Kane couldn’t help but grin as he saw how happy Cassie was. The smile. The gorgeous bone structure. The eyes. Cassie really did tick every box when it came to physical attraction.
Keep your damn mind on the job.
Don’t let your dick take over…
‘Easy now, I didn’t say it would be a walk in the park,’ Kane said, wanting to ensure that Cassie didn’t get her hopes up too much. ‘There are never any guarantees with this kind of thing. And it will take time. I’m not talking about a forty-five-minute reboot.’
Cassie nodded.
Kane could see that Cassie was paying attention. Hanging on every word he said. This was a difficult situation for her, that much was obvious. Kane wanted to make sure that she had realistic expectations.
‘I’ll do everything I can, you can bank on that,’ Kane said. ‘If it’s okay with you, I’ll take the equipment back to my apartment. I’ve got a studio there where I work on things like this. Does that sound okay?’
‘Yes, it sounds perfect,’ Cassie said, her slender body a perfect silhouette with the evening sun behind her. ‘But… why? Why help me? We don’t even know each other.’
Kane paused.
For a moment he didn’t know what to say.
Part of him wanted to say that he felt a raging, almost uncontrollable attraction to Cassie. That he wanted to be her Daddy. To look after her. To make sure that all her worldly needs and desires were met.
But Kane knew he couldn’t say that.
That he certainly shouldn’t go there.
Not now anyway.
‘I’m helping because that’s what I do,’ Kane said, making sure to sound as stoic and professional as he could. ‘It’s my duty to help where I can. And you need my help. End of story.’
Sydney giggled and blushed.
Cassie smiled, her cheeks reddening a little too.
Kane could see that he was having quite the effect on them.
‘Thank you again,’ Cassie said. ‘I’ll pay you back somehow. I promise.’
Kane nodded.
Then he realized something.
There was a way that Cassie could pay him back.
‘Well, you could start by making sure that in future your equipment is switched off when you leave your apartment,’ Kane said, barking out his words. ‘The bad electrics weren’t your fault. But you could have done more to prevent this. Understand?’
Cassie was clearly taken aback.
For a moment, Kane wondered if he had gone too far.
But no, it seemed that his words hit home.
In a good way.
‘Yes, I do understand,’ Cassie said. ‘I did leave in a bit of a hurry. Usually, I take the time to switch everything off.’
Kane noticed Sydney gently squeezing Cassie, showing moral support. It couldn’t be easy to own up to something like this. To take responsibility.
Every Daddy sense in Kane’s body was flaring up. Cassie had taken his words on board, processed them, and responded well.
‘That’s not all though,’ Kane said, sensing that he could press on and bring the point home. ‘I think you need a course on fire safety. Not a quick Google on the subject. An official course. One that you have to pass to get a certificate at the end.’
‘ Um , okay,’ Cassie said, clearly not entirely sure but going along with it. ‘I guess it could help make sure this never happens again.’
Kane nodded and took out his phone.
‘I’m booking you on it right now,’ Kane said, tapping Cassie’s details onto the online booking form. ‘The course is at my fire station. You’ll show up on time. And by on time, I mean ten minutes before the course begins. Got it?’
Cassie nodded.
Kane could sense that Cassie was excited. Thrilled even. It was as if Kane’s stern instructions were really doing something for Cassie.
Then, suddenly, Cassie looked downbeat again.
Kane worried it was something he’d said.
Maybe he had come on too strong after all.
‘Hey, what’s up?’ Sydney asked, evidently also seeing that Cassie was upset.
‘I’ve just realized,’ Cassie said, a little teary eyed again. ‘I’ve got nowhere to stay. My place won’t be safe to move back into for weeks. There’s no way I can afford to stay in a hotel or anything like that. And I know your place is too small, Sydney.’
Kane felt his heart thumping inside his chest.
It was killing him to see Cassie sad and emotional.
That was when Sydney stepped in.
‘Way ahead of you,’ Sydney said, a big grin on her face. ‘I messaged Katie when we were in line for the gelato. She says you can stay at her place with her and Cage for a few days at least. Just until you work everything out.’
Cassie smiled and hugged Sydney.
‘I can’t believe it,’ Cassie said. ‘I’m so lucky to have a friend like you. And Katie too. And that Katie has such a considerate Daddy!’
Wait, did I just hear that right?
Daddy? That means Cassie must be a Little…
If Kane’s heart rate was up previously, it was off the scale now. Hearing Cassie mention a Daddy was confirmation.
Cassie was definitely a Little.
She had to be.
Surely there was no doubting that now.
But the last thing Kane wanted to do in this moment was to reveal to Cassie that he was a Daddy Dom.
That wouldn’t be good.
Kane needed to make his exit.
And fast.
‘Okay, you’re booked in for the course. Be there,’ Kane said, showing no emotion. ‘It’s not a request.’
With that, he turned and walked back towards his colleagues.
It was time to head back to the station and debrief.
‘Kane, you horny devil!’ McCall bellowed, reaching across the beat-up old couch and punching Kane in the arm.
‘What?’ Kane enquired, taking another slug of hot espresso.
They were back at the station and unwinding after the debrief.
This was always a time where the firefighters enjoyed unwinding a little. Letting the stress and strain of a call-out get out of their system.
The rec-room at the station was comfortable, relaxed, and definitely in need of an interior decorator to come in and add some flair.
Posters of hot cars on the walls.
Posters of hot women.
Hot men too. Plenty of those.
Basically, it was like a college dorm room.
It had all the standard kitchen equipment you’d need. Kettle. Toaster. A super-loud old refrigerator that was usually full to the brim with old unfinished Chinese takeout boxes.
‘You know what!’ McCall laughed, making sure that all the other fire fighters heard him. ‘You so had a crush on that cute girl. I could see that bulge in your pants practically bursting out. You horny fucker!’
The other men laughed.
This was typical banter.
And Kane knew that if he tried to deny it, things would only get worse. One thing he had learned was that if you’re the butt of the joke down at the station then the only option you have is to try and ride it out.
Then he remembered something.
‘Whatever,’ Kane said, attempting to dismiss McCall. ‘We all know the real horn-dog here is you. I saw you checking out Cassie’s friend. Her name’s Sydney by the way.’
McCall laughed and took that as a moment to back off.
Kane smiled. He’d clearly hit a nerve.
With McCall’s reputation as a commitment-phobe, he would be the last person to get involved in a discussion of this nature.
McCall liked to keep his private life private.
He was a Daddy Dom with plenty of kinks to keep him going all night long. But as far as revealing them went, he always kept his cards super-close to his chest.
With the attention off him for a moment, Kane’s mind wandered straight back to Cassie.
Kane looked down toward the bag at his feet.
It was full of Cassie’s fire damaged equipment.
This would not be easy to fix. Kane wasn’t going to kid himself about that. First and foremost, he was a hacker. When it came to repair work, he was good but not remarkable.
But with Cassie as his motivation, he was going to work on it until there were no other options left.
Kane had some hacker friends who knew more about repair than him. Being hackers, they had never met in person. But Kane knew that they were there to offer online support.
It was a good community.
All of them had the same goal. Identical outlooks on what the purpose of their hacking was.
Kane enjoyed being around like-minded people.
It was good too to keep his mind off drinking and gambling.
Speaking of which…
‘Yo, we’re heading out to Jimmy’s Bar after the shift?’ McCall asked, now stripped down to his towel and ready to jump into the shower. ‘Nothing major. Just a few brewskis. Maybe a few more on top of that?’
Kane paused.
He wanted to work on Cassie’s equipment. Make a quick start on it. If it was going to be as tricky as he anticipated it would be, then he needed every spare moment to focus on it.
That being said, Kane was still feeling wired from the earlier fire. Despite having years of experience, each and every fire was as dangerous and exhilarating as the last.
That feeling would never change.
And if it did, it would be time to get out of the firefighter business.
‘Hey? Earth to Kane?’ McCall said, his voice impatient. ‘Come on, come with us. You can work on your nerd stuff afterward. Just one beer. Come on!’
‘I don’t know,’ Kane said, trying to mask the doubt in his mind. ‘I need to be up early. I mean, also I have things to be getting on with. You know. Important stuff.’
Kane knew he probably shouldn’t go for a drink.
But one beer wouldn’t be so bad.
Not really.
As an additional bonus, it would enable Kane to keep his mind off Cassie too.
Despite his protestations to his colleagues, and to himself, Kane knew that fixing Cassie’s equipment was more than simply him wanting to do his duty and help someone out.
Of course it was.
And now that he knew for sure that Cassie was a Little, it made matters a hundred times worse.
Kane decided that he would hack into the hard drives, finish the work, and move on from Cassie as quickly as he could.
No good could come of it.
And he’d start the whole process with an ice-cold beer at Jimmy’s with the guys.
That sounded like a plan.
A very solid, tasty, thirst-quenching plan at that.
Kane would even set an alarm on his cell phone to go off after ten minutes. It would be Kane’s reminder to himself to get the hell up and leave Jimmy’s Bar.
Well, that was the idea anyway.
An idea that was perhaps destined to failure from the very first second Kane considered it.
Good intentions were one thing.
Practicality was another.
Because when it came to beers and bars, Kane’s rules and discipline more often than not went out of the window headfirst.