Prince of Fate (Lions of Pride Island Book 2) Read online

  He’d totally forgotten about that. It had been locked away with everything else when he lost his father.

  He was quiet for a long moment. “I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t think I’m that Cain anymore. I think that boy died in a fire.”

  She winced at that. She’d probably heard through the grapevine that his dad had died in that huge fight so many summers ago, when there had been an attack on civilians and a wildfire set in a nearby forest. He and his father and brothers and uncles and cousins had been nearby, just in case, but the royal army had been cut off by the blaze, leaving him and his family no chance but to fight on their own.

  Surrounded by flames.

  He felt himself glaze over and leaned back on his hands again, feeling lost.

  Then her hand was on his face, turning him toward her.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I pushed you.”

  “It’s fine.” He shrugged. “I’m sorry my biking has bothered you.”

  “I just care about you; that’s all,” she said.

  “If you care about me, can you understand I need to do it?”

  “Then why aren’t you doing it now?” she asked. “If it’s so damn important, why aren’t you just jumping over things all the time?”

  It was a good question. The past few days with her had been the most calm in a long time. He hadn’t felt that biting urge to get on a bike and do something reckless.

  And maybe she was right. Maybe he did it for the wrong reasons. A lot of men did it because they seemed unable to comprehend the risks or care about it.

  He did it for the opposite reason. He knew the risks, knew how much someone could fear it, and wanted to prove to himself he didn’t.

  But he also wanted Brenna. He didn’t know what to do about it.

  “You’d be taken care of,” he said. “You and Bee.”

  “I don’t want to just be taken care of,” she stated. “If I mate, I want my mate’s heart.”

  “You’d have it,” he vowed. “But I can’t just stop doing what I do with my life.”

  “You can,” she said. “You just won’t.”

  He shook his head. At least not for now. Just thinking about it made a hole open inside him that he felt he could fall into, screaming for all eternity.

  He was safe when he did stunts. She didn’t have to worry. Hopefully, at some point, she’d realize that. And how much he needed to keep doing it.

  She stood with a huff. “I’m taking a walk. I need to clear my head.” He watched her walk a few steps away, and then she disappeared with a thump and a scream.

  He jumped to his feet. “Brenna?” he called out, running to where she’d disappeared.

  He looked down to see she’d fallen into some sort of pit covered with fronds and dirt and was looking up at him angrily. “Whoops,” he said. “You hurt?”

  She shook her head. “Just my pride.”

  “Understandable,” he said, making her snort. He took a few steps around the trap, looking down at her in amusement.

  “Get me out,” she ordered, standing and leaning against the wall. “Dammit, I thought all these old traps were gone.”

  “What are they trying to trap, bears?”

  “Maybe,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t know. They were dug some time ago.”

  “Hm,” he said, still in no rush to get her out. Not when she was looking at him with such cute, frustrated eyes.

  “Cain…” she drawled.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “I was supposed to leave you alone so you could clear your head.” He crouched by the side of the pit as she gave a little growl. His heart had nearly exploded when she’d screamed and disappeared, but now that he knew she was safe, he might as well have some fun with it.

  “Cain,” she repeated, warning clear in her voice. “Get me out of here, now.”

  He folded his arms and stood, cocking his hip. “Mmm. You told me not to do dangerous things. Then you walked into a pit. If I reach down, I risk doing a dangerous thing and falling in. Then you won’t mate me.”

  “I won’t mate you at all if you leave me in this pit another second,” she spat at him, pacing.

  He grinned. “I don’t know. Maybe I should leave you down there until you do agree to mate me.”

  She rolled her eyes, and he laughed. Of course he was going to get her out. Saving her was his new favorite thing. He’d always looked after her when they’d played as kids, too. But it was extra fun to come to curvy, adult Brenna’s rescue.

  “Am I going to get a gratitude kiss?” he asked, grinning.

  She growled at him. “No. Of course not.”

  “Why don’t you just shift, then?” he asked. “Your lion could get out easily.”

  She snorted. “As if. I’m not used to shifting, and I’d have to shift back after… and be naked.”

  “That doesn’t sound so bad.” He teased.

  She sighed. “All right, one gratitude kiss.”

  Score. Truthfully, he just enjoyed their banter. He reached down, took her hand, and easily lifted her out of the hole, helping her get onto the grass.

  She let out a deep breath. “Thanks.”

  He put out a cheek and pointed to it. “Go ahead.”

  She sighed and gave him a kiss on the cheek that was softer and longer than he expected. When she pulled back, he glanced over to see her looking at him with want again.

  Even after they’d fought, even when they were arguing or he was teasing her, there was just that incredible connection between them.

  And hell, did he want her.

  “Thanks for getting me out,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Even if you were an ass about it.”

  He took her hands, pulled her to stand, and gave her a quick hug. “No problem. And want to know a secret? I’d have helped you even without a gratitude kiss.”

  She scoffed. “I know.” Then she softened. “And thanks.”

  He nodded, feeling awkward with the tension rising between them. Tension that always threatened to explode into something physical.

  “I’ll try to think about what you said,” she conceded. “About what your job means to you. But I also hope you’ll think about what it feels like to see your mate doing something that could hurt them.”

  “I won’t hurt myself,” he said.

  “Can you promise that?” she asked.

  “No,” he admitted, grabbing the basket and walking beside her as they headed back to the house. “I guess I can’t.”

  “So yeah, just think about it.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I will. Now, for the walk back, I want to talk about you. What do you see happening for us if we mate?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I’d want a house of our own. And Bee nearby, or living with us if we have the right place. Wherever she’d be cared for.”

  “And what about you?” he asked. “Your dreams. Your ambitions.”

  She shrugged, but he saw a small light of something in her expression. She looked up at him, honey eyes sparkling. “I guess maybe I could go back to college?”

  He frowned. Go back to college, surrounded by dudes? Away from him all the time? But he supposed he had no right to complain. “Do they have online classes?”

  “Yes,” she said. “For graphic design. More expensive, though.”

  “I’ve got that covered.” He dismissed her concerns with a shake of his head. “So graphic design, huh? You always were into art.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “And I went to school for it. But when Ox got sick, I came home. And now…”

  “Now you can’t leave.” He finished for her.

  “I wouldn’t want to,” she said.

  “It’s the same thing as far as love is concerned.” He realized he never wanted to leave her either. But what about when the need to escape his past surfaced? What about when the urge to face danger became stronger than the need to breathe?

  They talked more about her art all the way back to the cottage, and by the
time they got there, he was relaxed and happy again, all thoughts of stress and tension gone.

  Despite all the complications between them, there was something so right. Something that felt like everything else would just fall into place as long as they were together.

  But life experience had taught him that wasn’t always true.

  Still, here with Brenna, listening to her talking about her art while showing him her bright smile, he wanted to believe it could work, at least for them.

  Could he trust himself to keep moving forward with her and that things wouldn’t be ruined?

  They spent the evening laughing together, went to their rooms for a nap, and then came back for dinner.

  Around seven, they were wondering why Bee hadn’t called yet.

  Brenna sort of thought they were both in trouble if the older woman didn’t return soon. The more time she spent with Cain, the more she was irrevocably in love with him, wanting things she knew she shouldn’t. Especially now that she knew he wasn’t going to give up his life of danger.

  But then he’d made her laugh with the whole pit thing. Even when he was being an obnoxious idiot, he made her smile. Made her life light up. He asked her what she wanted and seemed interested in helping her get it.

  Maybe all the dreams she’d put on the back burner were possible again. Though, if she were honest, the biggest dream on the back burner had been him.

  “You think we’ll hear from Bee soon?” he asked, worried.

  She loved that about him. His protectiveness. Even as he’d teased her, she’d known he’d never leave her stranded. He was always eager to help her, seemed like he actually enjoyed it.

  Did he have actual feelings for her, though, or was he just treating her like a friend while trying to charm her into being his mate?

  The way he kissed her didn’t feel like a friend at all.

  The phone rang, and she jumped up to get it, whipping the receiver to her ear.

  “Hi, dear. I’ve decided to stay here with Theresa overnight. We have a lot to catch up on.”

  “Overnight?” Brenna asked, apprehension moving through her. Then she remembered Theresa was a retired nurse. Bee would be as safe there as she would be anywhere. Maybe safer. “Okay. You have a good night.”

  “You, too,” Bee said, and Brenna could hear the smile in her voice. “After all, that means you two have the house all to yourselves. Toodles.” Then before Brenna could respond, she hung up.

  Brenna slumped in the chair across from Cain, seeing the sun already starting to set through the windows behind him.

  “What’s going on?” he asked. “Is something wrong?”

  “No,” Brenna replied with a sigh. “Nothing. Just… she’s staying with Theresa overnight.”

  He blinked. “Oh.”

  Tension stretched between them. The implication of being in the house all alone. All night. Everything they’d done so far echoed through her. The kisses, the touches… watching him cut wood in the rain.

  Things she wanted him to do.

  She pressed her legs together, and his eyes snapped up at her.

  “Um,” she mumbled.

  “Don’t worry,” he said, putting up one large hand. “I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to. You mean a lot to me, Brenna.”

  Her heart pounded at that. His ability to wait for her despite clearly feeling the same desire she did only made her yearn for him more.

  She wanted to see all that care, that protectiveness, displayed in bed.

  She wanted him to touch her everywhere.

  But maybe he was right. They shouldn’t rush things.

  Her heart pounded as they stared at each other across the table. He bit his lip, worrying it slowly with his straight, white teeth. His blond hair was wind-blown, sexy. His shirt lay slightly open.

  “I… What if I want you to do it?”

  He choked. “What?”

  “I mean, you said you won’t do anything I don’t want you to do. What if I do want you to do it?”

  He swallowed, putting his hands together in front of him and exhaling slowly. “What do you want me to do?”

  She lifted her eyes to his, feeling the cat in her come alive. Feeling the woman in her aching to be one with him. To feel everything he could do.

  When she thought about telling him yes, she thought she knew for a moment how he felt about doing dangerous stunts and jumps. There was something to be said for living a little dangerously, and her whole life, she’d been far too safe.

  “Everything,” she said in answer to his question. “I want everything.”

  “And you won’t hate me after?” he asked, blinking and pushing hair back over his shoulder.

  “I guess that depends how good you are,” she teased. “I thought you were going to make me fall in love with you.”

  “Well, yeah.” He scoffed. “But this seems like an almost unfair advantage. I mean…”

  “Will you just shut up and carry me to bed?” She demanded, standing with hands clenched into fists.

  He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

  She smiled as he lifted her in his arms as if she weighed nothing. “That’s the right attitude.”

  “Bee warned me about that,” he said, taking the steps two at a time up to her room.

  “What?” she asked, confused.

  “Nothing,” he said. “Now let’s get started on making you fall in love with me.”

  He walked into her room and tossed her on the bed, prowling over her with his big body, covering her with his fresh, spicy scent.

  He seemed eager, ready, predatory, as he caught her hands in his and pinned them over her head.

  He was really into proving he could make her fall in love with him.

  She didn’t think she needed to tell him she already was.

  Six

  Cain didn’t know what to say. Brenna wanted him. Wanted him.

  Granted, he could tell from the first time he’d walked through her door that he aroused her senses. That her lioness called to him. But it was something entirely different going from thinking she was attracted to him to having it confirmed and her asking him to give her everything.

  He intended to pleasure her senseless.

  Looking at her lying on the bed, her perfect curves going on for days, he could feel the winds of fate finally going in his direction.

  “Are you going to just stare, or is that part of the plan?” she teased, light-brown eyes sparkling in the last rays of evening light as they poured through the thin curtains.

  He gulped, his adrenaline pumping a million miles an hour, his body already painfully aware of how close they were.

  “Oh, I haven’t even started, kitten,” he growled as he leaned down to lick along the length of her outer ear. Her body shivered in response, her wrists testing his gentle but unyielding hold on her.

  She opened her mouth to respond, but he caught her lips with his own, sealing over them and diving into her mouth, their tongues entwining. As he flicked and slowly thrust deeper, she moaned against him, her body writhing and her breasts rubbing against his chest, turning him on even more.

  Damn, Brenna was beautiful. But it was something else entirely having her beneath him. Feeling her body’s response to the pleasure he gave her.

  The kind of thing he would want forever.

  If he were so lucky.

  He deepened the kiss, pressing his body against her, their chests brushing as he brought one hand down to cup the back of her neck, the other easily holding both her wrists at once. His fingers entwined with her soft curls, brushing the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck while he continued to kiss her, hearing her breathing pick up, her soft moans against his lips.

  “How’s that for starters?” He finally ended the kiss and looked down at Brenna, whose eyes slowly opened as she caught her breath.

  “It’s a start I guess,” she said breathlessly.

  He grinned as his hand found the generous swell of her breast underneath h
er shirt. He touched it lightly, enjoying the way she arched, the way her breath hitched. The last thing Cain wanted to do was shoot their chances of being together in the foot by going too fast for her.

  Even if the lion in him was roaring to claim its mate right here, right now.

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” he said between kisses down her collarbone and along the tops of her breasts. So delicious. So kissable. So needing to have his tongue on them this very instant.

  “Just no mating; that’s it,” she said, her breath catching as his tongue dipped under the edge of her bra, coming close to her nipple, but not quite reaching it.

  “Of course. Nothing you aren’t comfortable with.” He lifted her shirt and began to kiss along her stomach, his tongue finding her belly button and stroking inside several times, making her legs tense.

  Cain would make her his soon enough. He’d do anything for her, whatever it took to make that happen. To be able to be with her.

  He released her hands and pulled off her shirt, then undid the clasp of her bra with a quick flick, pulling it off and baring her torso to him. Her dusky nipples stood erect, aroused already by his touch.

  Before Brenna’s hands could rest at her sides, though, he gathered them again in his left hand, pinning them above her as she watched him, the slight blush in her cheeks obvious in the dim light of her small room.

  “Believe me; you’ll like it better this way,” Cain said as his mouth covered one nipple, sucking on it long and hard.

  Immediately, she responded to him, moaning quietly, her body writhing beneath him in pleasure. He did the same to her other breast, and again, her body tensed beneath him

  “You don’t have to be so quiet, you know,” he whispered into her ear as he kissed the base of it, his hand gathering the soft flesh of one breast and massaging it deftly.

  “Right…” she choked out, interrupted as his thumb lightly tweaked her nipple. “I just…”

  “Let me hear exactly how much you like it.” He commanded, his free hand finding the button of her jeans and flicking it open. As he slowly pulled down the zipper, her eyes widened in anticipation. He could scent her arousal so strongly, so fresh and delightful, a gentle waterfall surrounded by lilies.