Chapter Twenty
You’re mine.
Keely stood in his room with those two words on repeat.
No one had ever claimed her, especially in such a possessive tone.
It should’ve sent up warning flags. It did the opposite.
She slowly walked out of his room, scanning the kitchen.
It was empty. As she rounded the wall of the living room, she saw him standing in the center.
He was staring off with his hands clasped at the back of his head.
Now what?
She’d never been in this position. This man had just claimed her and then walked away, as if leaving the decision solely in her hands. Keely made her way to the elevator.
“If I try to leave, will you stop me?” she muttered.
It was childish, immature, and juvenile.
Caine turned, eyeing her. “You want me to?”
Yes!
She shrugged. “I mean, only if you don’t want me to leave.”
She heard the padded steps and followed his bare feet to the elevator. She lifted her gaze and found Caine standing in front of the elevator with his arms over his chest, blocking her path.
“Not gonna keep you a prisoner but gonna make leaving real fucking hard.”
I like that. But she needed just a little bit more.
“’Cause you want me to stay?” Her cheeks heated. It sounded desperate even to her own ears.
Caine stepped closer, only a foot away. His deep scowl eased slightly, and he angled his head.
“Yeah,” he whispered.
“Well” —she glanced around the room— “I might be ready to listen now.”
“Good.” Caine slowly passed her, and she followed him into the kitchen. When he walked around the island, she pulled out a stool and sat.
Caine leaned against the counter, gripping the edge. “I didn’t lie to you. I was working.”
“Doing what?”
When Caine started to shake his head, she planted her palms on the counter and started to stand. There was no way she was going to accept a vague response. Not after everything that had happened.
“This is only gonna work if you’re honest with me. And if you can’t do that, then there’s no point continuing this conversation.”
“I can’t tell you everything. That’s part of my job.”
Keely shook her head, standing her ground. “But I need more than that, Caine.”
He dragged his hand over his face. “It’s my fucking job, Keely.” If she had to guess, he was struggling. He drew in a breath and folded his arms. “Let me explain and tell you what I can. And if it’s not good enough, then you can leave, and I won’t try to stop you.”
“Okay.” She slowly lowered onto the stool.
“I work at the X-Lounge, and sometimes” —he paused— “Other security jobs. That’s what you saw at the bar. There’s always a risk of danger. It was especially high considering the job. I wanted you to leave for your safety.”
She twisted her lips, shaking her head. She was going to need more than that.
“That makes no sense.”
“It’s the truth.”
It may have been, but clearly Caine was leaving out a good chunk of the details.
“Then why didn’t you just come up and tell me all this at the club.”
“I didn’t want anyone to see you with me.”
She gasped, and he immediately blurted. “For your safety.”
“Was it also in the name of safety measures when your friend spilled her drink on me?” There was a sharp bite in her tone.
Caine sighed. “Not a friend, she’s an associate. But, yes.”
“I can’t believe you’re trying to justify that!” Her blood was boiling, but she certainly felt vindicated. She slapped her hand on the counter, glaring at Caine. “I knew she did it on purpose.”
“Jessie did what she was ordered to do.”
Keely furrowed her brows. “Who ordered her?”
There was a long pause. “Me. It was the only way I could get you somewhere in private and get you out of the bar without drawing any attention. It wasn’t a good plan, I admit that. But at the time, it was the only one we could come up with.” He paused. “I am sorry.”
She lowered her head. “It was mean.”
“Yeah,” he muttered.
“And so was the way you talked to me.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I wanted you safe.”
She drew in a breath and folded her arms. “And Jessie? Was it part of her job to be touching you?”
“She wasn’t…”
Keely didn’t even let him finish. “Yes, she did. I saw it with my own eyes. She touched your arm!”
Caine flattened his lips. “She was getting my attention to share intel on the job. Nothing else.”
Keely snorted. “Well, I guess that’s a perk for you. You get a beautiful woman hanging all over you.”
That might have been a stretch. Jessie wasn’t exactly throwing herself at Caine. But Keely didn’t like her close proximity to her man.
Caine pushed off the counter, rounded the island, and came up next to her. He was only inches away.
“You’re the only beautiful woman I want touching me.”
Keely rolled her eyes and snorted. “That sounds like a bullshit line.”
His lips twitched, and he cupped her jaw. “Yeah, it does, but it ain’t bullshit. Got no interest in anyone except you.”
“Is that a bullshit line?” She raised her brows.
Caine softened his gaze. “No, and this isn’t one either.” His thumb caressed over her cheek. “I want you to stay with me.”
Keely wanted the same thing, but… There were still so many unanswered questions.
This went beyond Caine being private. She was missing a part of his life that he admitted he couldn’t share.
Where did that leave them? Keely was seeing the true difference in their lives. She was an open book. Caine wasn’t.
Keely sighed, swiveling her stool to face him. “Will you ever give me more?”
It was a vague question, but Caine seemed in tune with what she was asking.
“Will you give me some time?”
It was a fair request.
She nodded. “Yeah, but give me something now. Like a preview.”
“Keely,” he sighed.
“Tell me something no one else knows. It can be anything.”
He scanned her face and the silence lingered. She wasn’t sure what she was hoping to get out of him. Keely just wanted something.
“Alright.” The corner of his mouth spiked. “Do you remember that day at Elodie’s shop. You were leaving just as I was walking in?”
Ugh! This was a trip down memory lane she’d rather not revisit.
“You remember, Keely?”
She let out an exasperated, dramatic breath and mumbled. “I remember.”
Not one of my finest moments.
“You asked me if I remembered you.”
“Yeah, and you didn’t.”
He leaned closer, only inches away. “I lied.”
“What?” she whispered.
“I remembered you. Remembered everything about you.”
“You did?”
He slowly nodded, holding her stare. “I remember you stumbling into my arms “cause you were drunk off your ass at the club. Remember you looking up at me and thinking ‘never seen more beautiful eyes like yours’. And I never had anyone look at me the way you did.”
Keely was in a trance listening to him.
“Your hair smelled like strawberry and vanilla.”
My shampoo.
“It was pulled up when you left. But when you and Charley first arrived, you had it down.”
Wait, what? Keely had spent hours trying to tame her wild locks before going to the X-Lounge. By the end of the night, after dancing, it’d become a frizzy mess. She’d tied it up in a bun when they’d gotten into the VIP area.
“How’d you know that?”
“Security cameras. Saw you come in.” His hand trailed down her throat resting above her breasts. “I clocked you before you ever saw me. Like I said, I remembered everything about you, Keely.”
Her eyes welled and she was overcome with emotion. She wasn’t memorable to most people but she was to Caine.
She slid off the stool and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly.
“I’ll stay.”
****
It wasn’t lost on Caine, hours earlier, when asked if his status with Keely would change, he’d said no.
To Oz. This had all the makings of blowing up in his face.
There would always be things about his job he couldn’t and wouldn’t share with her.
It could put her in possible danger and Caine wouldn’t risk that.
Not with Keely. But he was prepared to give her more, especially when it came to his personal life.
Caine just needed to do it on his terms and in his own time.
Opening himself up and exposing the sins and secrets of his past wasn’t something he’d ever done with anyone. Until her.
When Keely had excused herself to go to the bathroom, he pulled out his phone and sent the text.
Caine: Not gonna be in tomorrow. Got something I need to handle.
Caine didn’t even know how to ask for a day off. He’d never done it. But for the first time since he started in the Underground, he was going to put someone above the organization and his position.
He hadn’t expected a response so quickly, but Nash immediately texted back.
Nash: Personal?
Caine: Yes.
Nash: Is Keely with you?
Caine cupped his mouth, staring down at the screen. He was hesitating. This dipped a little too deep into his personal life than he was comfortable with.
Caine: Yes.
Nash: I’ll be in touch if I need you.
Caine walked through the loft, double-checking the locks and turning down the lights. All except the kitchen. He left the dim, undercabinet lighting on. He always did. By the time he entered his bedroom, Keely was nestled in his bed. Exactly where I want her.
He dropped his phone to the nightstand and emptied his pockets. All the while, he could feel her eyes on him.
“So?” She paused. “Tell me about Jessie.”
Ah, fuck. Why was she obsessing over this? Hadn’t he explained Jessie worked with him? There was nothing more, and there never would be.
“She’s really pretty.”
Caine sighed, lifting his shirt over his chest and tossing it on the chair in the corner. He ignored her comment and unbuckled his jeans in hopes Keely would let the conversation go. That was wishful thinking.
“Beautiful, actually.”
Caine took off his pants and glanced back over his shoulder. “Is there a question?”
Keely wiggled up to a seating position with her back against the headboard.
“Do you agree?” She lifted her finger, pointing at him. “And don’t lie.”
Fuck me. He may not have had a lot of experience when it came to relationships but he knew enough about women. There was no right answer here. Caine settled with the truth.
“She’s attractive.”
Keely pursed her lips and huffed, pulling the sheet tighter around her chest. Is she fucking pouting?
Keely was unlike any other woman he’d been with.
Jealousy had never been a factor in his casual relationships.
This was new territory for him, and he was carefully trying to navigate uncharted waters.
“I’m sure she gets a lot of male attention.” Caine narrowed his gaze. “But not from me.”
“But you think she’s beautiful, right?”
Jesus fucking Christ.
“I think you’re beautiful.”
Keely turned her head, but he caught her smile. “I’m cute, at best.”
What the… Is that what she thought? Caine wasn’t having any of that. He lunged over the bed, wrapped his hands over her wrists, and pinned them above her head. Keely was caught off guard and gasped. He didn’t let up, holding her down as he straddled her hips.
“Don’t tell me what I see when I look at you.” He growled, leaning closer. “You’re fucking beautiful.”
Keely smiled, brushing her lips against his. “That’s a great answer.”
Caine snorted, shaking his head.
This woman is a fucking menace, and she’s mine.
He released her wrists, and rolled over, turning off the light. When he settled into the mattress, he curled his arm around her waist, pulling her against his chest. Keely snuggled closer, threading her fingers through his hand, resting between her breasts.
“I like new Caine.”
What? “New Caine?”
“Yeah, a little sweeter, more open. Letting your guard down a smidge.”
Did she just say smidge? Caine fought against his smile.
“I just want to know you more,” she whispered.
Caine froze, knowing the implications of what she was asking without posing it as a question.
For Caine, he’d always kept people at a fair distance.
Even those he considered closest to him.
There had always been an invisible barrier.
An impenetrable wall that no one could get through. Except Keely. If he let her.
“I don’t trust myself with you.”
“Why not?”
“You make me want things I’m not supposed to have.”
“Like what?” she whispered.
“You.”
It was probably the most honest admission he’d ever made.
Keely tried to turn in his arms, but he tightened his hold, circling his hand over her stomach and pulling her back into his chest. This had gotten too deep.
“It’s been a long night. Go to sleep,” he said.
There was a long stretch of silence, but he knew Keely well enough that he wasn’t fooled with the quiet.
Three, two, one…
“Well, can I ask you something first?”
“No.”
Her heavy sigh had the corner of his mouth hitching.
“Really, Caine?”
He dropped his face to the crook of her neck, caressing his lips over her soft skin.
“Tomorrow,” he whispered.
Caine wasn’t sure what she’d ask or if he’d answer. But for tonight, he’d said enough.