Chapter Seventeen

“Mama,” Hannah said, still sounding like she was on the verge of unconsciousness.

“Go back to sleep, sweetheart. It’s all right.” Emma sat down and ran her fingers through her daughter’s black hair.

Hannah opened and closed her little hand in an effort to get Cain to come closer when she saw her standing at the door. When Cain sat on the bed, Hannah put her head in her lap. Emma stood back, wanting to give Cain time with their daughter so that they could establish a relationship.

Not caring if she tore every stitch the surgeon had so skillfully put in, Cain lifted Hannah off the bed, then held her and rocked her until the blue eyes closed again in sleep. But before Hannah gave in to her exhaustion Cain whispered, “I love you, baby girl.”

For once Cain wished there really was an afterlife where the dead went and were able to view the living. She smiled to think that her parents and siblings were looking down and seeing how beautiful the family she’d been gifted with really was. She placed her hand on her wound so she could bend and kiss Hannah’s forehead before she stood and started out of the room.

Emma leaned against the doorjamb and watched the touching scene.

When Cain turned around her smile widened, and once the door was closed she pulled Emma to her. Never had she been on the receiving end of such adoration mixed with a little bit of lust.

“Come on, honey, let’s get you settled in. You look a little tired.” Emma pulled on Cain’s hand to lead her to the bedroom next door.

“Mrs. Casey, is this some plot to get me alone?”

Emma’s sultry laugh confirmed that fact. “I’m merely looking out for your well-being, love, nothing more.”

“Hell, I must be losing my touch.”

Emma led her to the room at the center of the hallway and pushed her gently inside. “Trust me, hot stuff, you haven’t lost a thing.”

From the window they could see the men and women they had brought with them still working to get the precautionary system in place. Emma was surprised to see Hayden with a piece of electronic equipment in his hand, walking to the utility pole across the street.

“What’s he doing?”

“Learning the business from the ground up, like every Casey before him. Just ’cause you’re born with the name, you don’t automatically get to be the leader. Hayden knows that without anyone telling him, just like I did.”

Emma leaned against Cain and wrapped her arms around Cain’s waist. “Before that happens you’ll teach him everything you know, right?”

“I know you don’t agree because he’s your son, but—”

Emma pressed her fingers to Cain’s lips. “He’s our son, and you’ll teach him everything you know, right?”

“And then some, love.”

“Then let’s leave him to his work, and you and me get into that nice comfortable bed.”

Emma helped Cain with her shoes and took off her own heavy sweater before pulling back the blankets and climbing in beside her. They had to reverse sides from their usual sleeping arrangements because of Cain’s injury, but when Emma rolled over and snuggled up, it felt just as wonderful as she remembered.

“Tell me about the Raths,” Cain said as she rested her hand on Emma’s hip.

“What do you want to know?”

“Whatever you want to tell me. I’m just curious.” She moved her hand from Emma’s hip up her side close to her breast. “They sounded nice enough on the phone.”

Emma felt like Cain was pouring liquid fire along her skin. While she’d missed Cain for a variety of reasons, when she was really honest with herself, she had to admit that the sex always came close to the top of the list.

“Maddie and I went to school together. Well, for a little while, anyway. I was just starting high school, and she was a senior. We hit it off from the beginning, and even though she didn’t want to go to college, she was the one who really encouraged me to attend Tulane.”

Emma moved so that she was almost on top of Cain, without putting any undue pressure on her chest. “When I came back here alone and knowing I was going to have Hannah, I cried on her shoulder the most. My father loves me, but he was at a loss as to what to do with me except try to convince me to go home to you and work it out, and my mother was just her usual self. Maddie understood me, but even she wondered why I’d run home and desert the two people I loved most in the world.”

“It was a dark time, love.” The long breath Emma let out warmed Cain’s chest, and Cain ran her fingers through Emma’s hair to offer comfort.

“To tell you the truth, I never understood it myself.” Emma sighed. “I was so lonely, and I missed you so much. It’s a miracle Hannah survived. I was so sick and didn’t want to eat. It was the most miserable time of my life.”

“Was Maddie there when Hannah was born?” Cain asked to keep their talk going. Having Emma get some of that hurt out would only help the two of them in the future.

“She, Jerry, and Daddy were the only ones who came with me to the hospital, but once Hannah was born and they knew I was all right, I sent them home. I remember sitting in the hospital holding my baby, staring at yet another Casey and crying because I was so happy and so miserable at the same time. Did I tell you that I brought some whiskey with me?”

Cain smiled and shook her head.

“I did, and I baptized her Casey-style just like I remember you doing with Hayden. Then I told her about the proud clan she was a member of. I swear if she could’ve talked right then, she would’ve told me to take her home to you.”

“Considering you and she lived with your mother all that time, it’s a wonder she’s so spirited.”

“It’s that strain of Casey bad grass running through her veins. My mother had about as much chance of breaking her spirit as she did yours. I’m just glad I don’t have to raise her alone anymore. Hannah’s a beautiful child, but let me tell you, she’s a handful. Sort of like someone I know and love.”

Emma moved toward the lips she couldn’t get enough of. Just as the kissing started, Cain’s wandering hand finally came to rest on her right breast, and Emma’s nipple came to life when Cain squeezed.

Their time on the plane, the cuddling they had done, and now this were making Emma want things she didn’t think Cain was capable of delivering because of her wound, but she certainly didn’t want to stop. She pulled back from Cain’s mouth long enough to check for any discomfort.

“Come back down here, love,” Cain said in a gentle voice. “I missed you something fierce, and I’m tired of waiting.”

“I really want to, but you’re hurt.” She knew her protest was weak at best.

“Tell me you don’t want me, and I’ll leave you alone.”

Emma didn’t answer and was on the verge of giving in.

“Tell me you’re not sopping wet, and I’ll stop touching you.”

That did it. Emma lowered herself for one more kiss before getting off the bed.

She knew Cain was about to groan in frustration, but she just locked the door, then stood in the sunlight so Cain could see her. It would’ve been nice to have more privacy so they could really be uninhibited, but she craved Cain, and she had some idea how they could be together without causing her any more pain.

Emma slowly undid the buttons on her shirt one by one, well out of Cain’s reach. She wanted to peel away every stitch of clothing, laying herself bare for Cain’s pleasure. If Cain touched her before she was finished with her little show, she’d give in to whatever Cain wanted before she was done. The shirt dropped to the floor from her fingertips after it had slid down her arms. A dark green silk bra covered her full breasts, and the sides of Cain’s mouth lifted in a smile.

“We’ve been shopping, have we?”

“I remember someone once telling me green was her favorite color,” Emma said, moving her hands to the top button of her jeans. She was a little nervous because her body wasn’t the same as when Cain first fell in love with her. Two pregnancies had left her with more than one stretch mark.

“Are there some matching panties under there?”

The second button came undone, and the question shored up some of Emma’s confidence. “Maybe.” The other two popped open and Emma wiggled her hips, making the jeans shimmy to the floor and pool at her ankles.

Now the bra and a thong in the same shade of green were the only things hiding any imperfections Emma thought she had, and when a full minute went by without Cain saying anything, she wanted to cry.

“I know after Hannah—” Emma started, fighting the urge to put her clothes back on and wait until it was darker and Cain didn’t have the chance to study her this closely.

“I know that after Hannah you’re as beautiful and sexy as the first time I saw you like this.” Cain swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. “You have nothing to fear from me, sweetling. I want you so badly right now that I’m afraid of scaring you.”

“You could never do that.”

Emma watched as Cain unbuttoned her own shirt and stood, once she’d reached the top of her belt. She was mesmerized as Cain started to take off her pants. If this was a dream, Emma hoped nothing would wake her up. In a short time Cain was naked except for the stark white bandage around her chest that the surgeon had put there that morning.

The floor felt cool under Cain’s feet as she moved closer to Emma, and it crossed her mind to punch Giovanni in the face when they finally met. Because of his orders to have her shot, she couldn’t carry Emma to the bed like she wanted. Staring at the strings holding Emma’s undergarments together, Cain reached for them. She stopped at the last minute, looking at Emma’s face as if asking for permission.

“Touch me before I die from wanting you to.”

The thin straps of the expensive underwear came apart in Cain’s hands when she pulled them, running her hands down Emma’s butt to get them completely off. Then she unhooked the matching bra.

When they met skin to skin Emma almost came from the exquisite feel of having Cain like this again. “Please, baby, I can’t wait anymore, but I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“You don’t mind doing most of the work for a little while until I can move without hurting?”

“Are you kidding me?” Emma took Cain’s hand, led her back to the bed, and arranged the pillows so she would be comfortable, only to have Cain rearrange them.

“I need to lie down a little flatter for what I have in mind.” Cain stretched out and extended her hand in invitation. Emma straddled her at the waist, giving Cain a wonderful view of pale, soft skin.

Cain started at Emma’s knees and slowly caressed her way up the smooth thighs to her hips. Cain felt like she was rediscovering a landscape that she hadn’t visited in a long time. To avoid pulling on her stitches, she continued from there with only one hand to the pink nipples that had puckered to the point of looking almost painful.

“Cain.” The name came out of Emma’s throat with difficulty as two fingers pinched and pulled on her nipple. “Baby, I really need you to touch me somewhere lower.”

The bed was a beautiful old brass one with a headboard almost as high as the wall behind it. Cain studied the metalwork for a minute and figured it would make a wonderful handhold. “Like I said, I have something in mind.”

“Please, baby.”

“Come up here, Emma.”

Emma stood up on the mattress and walked to the head of the bed. No way was she going to chance dragging herself across Cain’s body and have to stop if anything went wrong.

“Are you sure?” she asked, with one foot on either side of Cain’s head.

“I don’t mean to be blunt, love, but sit.”

Emma did as she was told, and Cain took a deep breath. This was definitely a scent unique to Emma, and having her in this intimate position was like coming home. With a flat tongue, Cain slid from one end of Emma’s sex to the other, dipping in just a little, causing Emma’s fingers to clutch the bed as tightly as the walls of her sex closed around Cain’s tongue.

“That feels so good.” Emma threw her head back when Cain wrapped her lips around her clitoris and sucked it in with as much pressure as she could.

Cain’s hands on her butt encouraged Emma to move all she wanted, and she did, but not enough to lose contact with Cain’s mouth. Four years of wanting came to an end much too quickly, and she felt the first spasm shoot from her groin throughout her body. Emma couldn’t keep from screaming, no matter how many people were in the house. Just as quickly her need overwhelmed her and she started to cry. She needed Cain to reclaim what was hers, and she wanted it now.

“It’s okay, love. Move on down here and let me take care of you.” Emma heard the words and nodded as she moved back to her original position, and the tears of happiness intensified when she felt the two long fingers slide in and fill her to the core.

Knowing what Emma craved, Cain situated her hand so that her thumb would provide the right stimulation whenever Emma moved.

This time Emma tried to use a little control, slowing down and bringing her hands to her own breasts and squeezing them.

“That’s it, let go for me. I want you to relax and feel how much I missed this with you.”

She gazed down at Cain’s beautiful face and was glad she didn’t have to explain the emotions running through her heart. The ability to string words together had left her, and she could only concentrate on Cain’s fingers sliding in and out of her with every thrust of her hips. Every position they’d tried in their time together always felt good, but this was one of her favorites.

It left her open to Cain, who could see how much Emma enjoyed her touch—the way the muscles in her thighs bunched with every jerk and her hips sped up in a way some would have called wanton, desiring to reach the peak Cain was leading her to. Cain knew that Emma would jump without fear because at the bottom was always a set of strong arms to catch her and keep her safe.

Emma pulled on her own nipples when she felt the walls of her sex start to spasm. No amount of control or slow going would prevent the orgasm she couldn’t hold back any longer. Emma’s hips sped up for only a short time before she slammed down on Cain’s hand one last time and stilled with her breasts just barely grazing the muscles of Cain’s abdomen.

Cain had always considered Emma’s letting her see her at her most vulnerable point the greatest gift Emma could give her.

“Are you okay?” Emma asked as soon as she was able to get enough air in her lungs.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that question?” Emma was lying against Cain’s uninjured side, and Cain ran her hand, soaked with the evidence of Emma’s passion, up her chest. “God, I love the way you feel.” Slick fingers encircled a nipple, getting it to come back to life. “I love the way you smell.”

Cain buried her face in the blond, disheveled hair. “And I love the way you taste.” The confessions ended when she brought her hand up and licked her fingers clean.

“You keep that up and I won’t ever let you out of this room.”

“Is that supposed to be a threat?”

Emma sat up enough to see Cain’s face. “It’s what you want it to be, just as long as I get to return the favor.”

“You know you’re free to do whatever you like without threats.”

Cain’s statement earned her a kiss before Emma got back on her hands and knees over the long stretch of skin below her.

“Let’s see if I remember how to make you feel as good as you just made me feel.”

“Well, if you don’t, please take all the time you need to get it right.”

“I seem to recall you liked this,” Emma said, as she slid down, planting kisses along the way.

The muscled legs spread, and Emma stopped in the right position and cupped her breast, squeezing long enough to get the nipple to harden for what she had planned.

Feeling the feather-light touch of Emma’s nipple on her clitoris drove Cain mad. It didn’t take long for her right hand to land on top of Emma’s head, encouraging her to keep moving down. “Don’t be cruel now, lass.”

“I have no such intention.” The promise of bliss was just on the tip of Emma’s tongue, or that was what Cain thought when Emma spread her open and lowered her mouth. And that was all she used for the longest time, just the tip of her tongue. The gentle touch coaxed her clitoris to harden to the point where Cain thought she would have to start begging for Emma to do something about it.

“Tell me what I want to hear,” Emma said when she pulled back and gazed up at Cain. At times like this in the past Cain had let her defenses down and showed what was in her heart. Not because of the possibility of good sex, but because Emma had the ability to strip away everything Cain used to shield her soul from the world. “Tell me,” she said a little more firmly.

“I love you.” Cain cupped Emma’s cheek in her palm.

Three such simple words, but they conveyed every ounce of what she felt for this woman. The only woman she’d let in, only to have Emma slice her heart in two with such ease it had amazed her for months after the door had slammed behind her. To say the words again now was to lay herself open and bare once more, and she knew Emma could see the fear in her eyes. Cain was holding nothing back, which scared her more than anything Giovanni Bracato or anyone like him could do to her.

Emma kissed Cain’s center before moving back up to lie next to her. “Say it again,” she said, with her hand flat over Cain’s heart.

“I love you.” The words didn’t sound as haunted, and Cain closed her eyes for just a moment as if to gather her defenses. “And there’ll be no other for me as long as I draw breath.”

“Then we have something in common, my love. Because for me there’s only been you, and there’ll only be you for the rest of my life. Thank you…”

Emma didn’t have to say the rest. She pressed her lips to Cain’s as she slipped her hand between Cain’s legs, this time applying the pressure Cain so desperately wanted. To try and keep her from moving too much and hurting herself, Emma draped herself over her lover’s body as her fingers moved easily over the wet heat. “Now you let go for me, love. Show me that you still belong to me.”

It was the same soft voice that Cain heard in her dreams, luring her to the pleasure always just out of reach, because every time she reached for Emma she would disappear into mist. This time, though, the pressure continued to build, and she could feel the compact body pressed up against her and heard the loving words being whispered in her ear. “Aaaah.” The groan signaled that Cain had reached the point of no return. “Fuck.”

Emma just smiled against her skin at the vulgarity. That was just Cain, she thought. A unique combination of polish and rough edges.

When Emma pressed harder, the orgasm overtook Cain, and she clamped her legs together to make Emma’s hand stop moving. The intense sensation was almost painful, and, as her nostrils flared with one last explosive breath, the final spasm rushed through her body. When Cain opened her eyes again she was surprised to find tears spilling from them just as they had from Emma’s before. Emma never lifted her head from her chest, but Cain could feel Emma’s breath and the touch of her hand as it left its warm haven and rubbed her lower belly.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“You did once, but I’m thinking it’s getting better.” Cain laughed in a carefree way Emma hadn’t heard since they’d seen each other again. “And what of your hurts, my love?”

“With you by my side I’ll never need anything else.”

“May that always be true.”

“Oh, it will.” Emma kissed the shoulder she’d been resting her head on before moving to Cain’s lips one more time. As much as she didn’t want to, they had to get up. Hannah would be waking up from her nap, and Hayden would most probably be finished and coming back in. “Are you ready, or do you want to get a little nap in before you go face the masses?”

“I think I’d better get up. Three weeks is long enough to be lying about doing nothing.”

“Cain, you were shot. Give yourself a break.”

When Cain sat up and put her feet on the floor, Emma pressed up to her back. “It’s true I was shot, but now it’s time to build my strength back up. Want to sneak down the hall and take a shower with me?”

“I wonder how thick these walls are?”

The only answer Emma got was a knock on the door. Cain stood to see who it was and what they wanted, but Emma cleared her throat. “I’d hate to ruin this wonderful afternoon by having to get into a fistfight with whoever is going to ogle you from the other side of that door if you answer it dressed like that. I’m almost positive there’s a robe in the closet.”

The possessive comment made Cain’s chest puff out a little and a huge smile break out across her face. When she looked at the bed, the sight of Emma sitting there with the sheet pulled up just under her arms was enough to make her want to go back and spend the afternoon exploring the skin that lay beneath the thin cover. “Have I told you recently just how beautiful you are?”

“You’re killing me here, baby. Put something on before the whole house knows what we’re doing.” The favor asked almost in a whine prompted Cain to the closet as the person awaiting entry knocked again.

There was only one robe, but when she headed for the closet she watched as Emma picked up the shirt Cain had been wearing and put it on. It was an old habit of hers on most mornings when she felt chilled and found some shirt of Cain’s lying about. The shirt covered as much of her as the robe did of Cain.

When Cain finally made it to the door, Maddie was standing in the hall with an amused expression. She glanced from the woman who was clearly naked under the robe to the bed that looked like it had been put to good use. “I thought you might want to know that your other surprise for the little woman has arrived and is having coffee downstairs. Or maybe he’s down there having his horizons expanded? At this point it’s a toss-up, and here I am not having time to take a cold shower.”

The teasing had been done in a tone low enough for Emma not to hear her. Maddie remembered the young girl who’d always been embarrassed to talk about anything intimate. Hopefully from the scream she’d heard earlier, Emma had gotten over her self-consciousness, at least when it came to Cain Casey. Maddie was amazed as she watched Cain’s blush run up from her neck like a fire through a dry field.

“Please tell me you’re kidding?” Before they’d left New Orleans, through mediation from Maddie, Cain had called Ross from a secure phone and told him what their plans were. He’d said he’d get to the Rath place as soon as their plane landed to see them all back together. “This isn’t exactly how I planned on him finding out just how together we are.”

Maddie peeked in to see Emma picking up clothing and placing the folded items on the bed as she went along. “Honey, as much as he wiggled around in that chair downstairs, the man had a smile about a mile wide the whole time, and please don’t take that the wrong way. He realized a long time ago how happy his little girl is when she’s with you. I just think he’s thrilled that she’s found that happiness again.”

With nothing else to pick up, Emma moved to the door to see what the hushed conversation was about. “Hey, Maddie, is something wrong?”

“No, I just thought you wouldn’t want to sleep the afternoon away, and Hannah should be up soon.”

“Thanks, we’re just going to freshen up. Then we’ll be right down.” Emma noticed Cain’s face, which still bore some signs of her blush, and gave her an easy way out. “Go on in, baby, and I’ll get our stuff together.” She pointed to the bathroom to the right of them. When the door closed and the water started in the shower, she opened one of the bags and pulled out a fresh set of clothes. “So how much did you hear?”

“Enough to be envious.” Maddie laughed and sat on the bed. On the top of the dirty clothes was Emma’s discarded thong. “Good Lord, does this happen often? Your underwear bill must be outrageous. Though how much can this dental floss cost?”

“You’d be surprised. Now leave me alone so I can enjoy the afterglow.”

“Oh, honey, I’m not teasing you…”

Emma arched her brow much like Cain would have done in the same situation.

“Well, not as much as I could. You look like a woman in love, and it looks good on you. Are you sure about this?”

“I’m positive.”

Cain stood in the doorway and wondered if Emma was now the one in need of saving. “Em, the water’s running. Are you coming?”

“Not yet, but with a little luck, I may soon,” she whispered to Maddie, then gave her a wink.

Maddie shook her head and laughed. Her friend had most certainly changed, but it was a change for the good. Emma had come into her own, as the saying went, and as accomplished and strong as Cain looked, Emma was her proverbial match.

The groan Cain let out as Maddie went down the stairs was testament to that.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14