Buttons and Blame Read online

  “Everything okay?” Adelina dried the wineglasses with a towel then stacked them on the rack.

  “Yeah. Why?” I folded the cheese in foil before placing it in an airtight plastic bag.

  “Crow usually comes by a few times during the day. But he didn’t come by at all.” She stood on the other side of the bar, her eyes concentrating on her hands.

  She was more observant than I gave her credit for. “We…we’re in the middle of a fight right now.”

  “Oh…I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Thanks.”

  “But whatever it is, I know you guys will work it out.”

  “Why do you say that?” Adelina didn’t know us very well. She barely knew Cane since she’d only been living with him for a few weeks.

  “I can see how much he loves you. And you wear that same expression for him.” She gave me a smile before she placed each wineglass within the cabinet. The tables in the warehouse were covered with bits of food and stains of wine, so she wiped them all down with a damp cloth.

  I hoped she was right. “Yeah…I’m sure we’ll work it out.”

  “Do you mind if I ask what you’re fighting about?” She knocked all the crumbs onto the ground before she tossed the towel in the dirty hamper.

  Cane was probably going to tell her anyway, so there was no point in keeping it from her. I put everything away then took a seat at random in the lobby. The sun was going down over the hillsides. In the next hour, it would be dusk. “Well…I went to see Tristan in France.”

  Adelina blanched at the sound of his name. After she halted for several seconds, she slowly walked to my table and took a seat in the chair facing me. “You went by yourself?”

  “Yeah. I thought I could figure out a way to free you.”

  She was overcome with emotion, and her eyes immediately watered. “Pearl…I don’t know what to say.”

  “But he wouldn’t work with me. I offered to buy you, but he said you weren’t for sale.”

  “I hope he didn’t hurt you.”

  “No, he didn’t touch me. He wouldn’t cross Crow.”

  “That was so dangerous, Pearl. You shouldn’t have done that.”

  Now she was the third person to tell me that. “Crow thinks the same thing. That’s why he’s pissed at me. He’s upset that I risked myself like that.”

  “I can’t blame him. When a man loves a woman, he’ll do everything he possibly can to protect her.”

  “I guess. He’s just so angry…” I wouldn’t tell her the details of the fights we had. The poor girl didn’t need to hear about it.

  “And passionate. It’s better to have a man obsessed with you than be indifferent.”

  I’d recently learned that.

  “And Tristan is a psychopath. I’m so glad he didn’t do anything to you. I know you understand what it’s like to be…you know…but he’s foul. He’s an absolute monster. No woman should be subjected to that.”

  “Exactly, which is why I want to save you.”

  She reached across the table and took my hand in hers. “I appreciate it, Pearl. Really, I do. You and Crow are so sweet…Cane is too. I’m so lucky that I met all of you, that I’ve been given these thirty days to be at peace…”

  She was still a prisoner, but she considered herself lucky. Perhaps Cane really did treat her well.

  “But don’t let this upset you. Don’t let the weight crush your shoulders. You’ve tried your hardest to help me, but there’s nothing that can be done. If Lizzie weren’t still a prisoner, things could be different…but I can’t turn my back on her.” Adelina gave my hand a squeeze before she pulled away. “The three of you have done enough…truly.”

  She was the one consoling me when I should be consoling her. No wonder why Cane was so infatuated with her. “I’ll try to remember that.”

  She pulled her hand away and leaned back against the chair. “Cane has done so much for me. He’s rough around the edges and he comes with a bite, but he’s a great man underneath all that armor. He’s been taking me sight-seeing, stuffing me with more food than I can eat, and…” She took a deep breath as her eyes watered.

  I waited on the edge of my seat.

  “He took me to my parents…so I could say goodbye.”

  He did what? “Where do your parents live?”

  “In South Carolina.”

  Cane took her all the way to America so she could see her family? When did he do this? Why did he do this?

  “He said I couldn’t call them. Phones are tapped, and it’s too dangerous. But he brought me to their house in the middle of the night so I could see them for a while…so I could tell them what happened to me. I didn’t want them to live the rest of their lives not knowing…and Cane gave that to me.”

  I couldn’t form anything remotely coherent to say. Cane flew her all the way back to America, risked getting caught by the police, just to give her something she asked for. Her parents could have called the cops instead. He really risked his neck for this woman. “At least you got to see them…”

  “Yeah. I’ll never be able to thank Cane for his kindness.”

  “Even though he’s a criminal and he’s using you for thirty days?” It wasn’t tactful or polite, but I didn’t think Cane should get more credit than he deserved.

  She considered her response for a long time before she said it. “I’m not saying Cane is a saint. But he’s never made me do anything I didn’t want to do. He doesn’t hurt me. He talks to me. He says he would free me if he could…it’s the most luxurious way of being a prisoner.”

  3

  Adelina

  Crow dropped me off at the house, and I walked inside.

  Cane was at the stove, working the hot pans as steam rose to the vent. He was in a black t-shirt and black jeans, looking exactly the way I pictured a criminal would look—just without all the scars.

  “What’s this?” Cane and I hadn’t slept together since we’d returned from South Carolina. I’d been too emotional for sex, and Cane must have picked up on that because he didn’t try to make anything happen.

  I was lucky that he even cared.

  Cane turned the fire down low then wiped his hands on a towel. “Dinner.”

  “You cooked?”

  “Now that you’re a working girl, I had to step up.” He wore a playful smile when he looked at me, telling me it was perfectly okay that I was gone all day while he was working.

  “What a nice surprise.”

  He placed everything on two plates and left the pans in the sink. We sat in the dining room, in front of the large redwood window that looked over the vineyards in the distance. The sun was almost gone, and the birds were chirping outside. We drank a bottle of Barsetti wine as we ate.

  Cane stared at me most of the time, chewing slowly with his eyes trained on me. He’d shaved that morning, so his chin was absent of hair. I liked the shaved look, but I also liked it when his beard was coming in. There wasn’t a look that he couldn’t pull off. “How was the winery?”

  “Good. I helped Pearl with the tastings.”

  “Get a lot of people in?”

  “A ton. Mostly tourists.”

  “I don’t think they’re big fans of the wine. I think they just love the property.”

  “It is beautiful.” I swirled the glass I was holding. “But I do think the wine is delicious.”

  “I guess I’m just used to it.”

  “No. You just like to pick on your brother any chance you get.” I smiled at him, telling him I was teasing him.

  He shrugged and kept eating. “You seem to be in a good mood today.”

  I hadn’t spoken much since we’d come back to Italy. I’d needed a few nights of sleep before I could get back to a state of calm. Seeing my parents made me more emotional than I could handle. “It was nice to get out of the house.”

  “Pearl keeps you company?”

  “Yeah, but she and Crow are fighting right now.”

  When Cane didn’t ask any questions a
bout it, I assumed that meant he knew about it.

  “She told you she talked to Tristan?”

  He nodded then kept eating.

  “I can’t believe she did that.”

  “She’s an idiot. I won’t tell you otherwise.”

  “I wouldn’t call her an idiot…”

  “She a tough girl, but she thinks she’s stronger than she really is. Her overinflated ego has nearly gotten her killed a few times. I don’t blame Crow for being mad. I would feel the same way if my wife did something reckless like that.”

  The idea of him having a wife suddenly made me sad. If he settled down and got married someday, I would be dead and gone—probably for years. He would love her, have children with her, and they would grow old in this big, beautiful house.

  It was the kind of future I would never have. I would miss out on so many things, things I never had the opportunity to experience. My appetite was gone, but I kept eating, not wanting to make it obvious that statement hurt. I wasn’t jealous that he would be with someone else. I was just sad that he would move on with his life…and I would die in that cell with a cyanide pill in my stomach.

  “Everything alright?”

  Maybe I wasn’t as sly as I thought. “I just hope the two of them work it out.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Pearl can do anything, and Crow will forgive her for it. Not because he’s a pushover, just because he loves her so damn much. He doesn’t say it a lot, but he makes it pretty damn obvious anytime they’re in the same room together.”

  “That’s sweet.”

  “I knew he loved her even before he did.” Cane wiped his plate clean, eating every single morsel like he’d skipped breakfast and lunch.

  I ate a few more bites, but that was the most I could stomach.

  Cane eyed my plate, which was still half full. “Can’t eat anymore?”

  I knew he was trying to fatten me up on purpose. As soon as I went back to Tristan, I would be starved around the clock. Tristan wouldn’t like the weight I’d put on, so he would probably starve me on purpose. “I’m pretty full.”

  Cane didn’t push it on me. “I’ll save this for you.” He took both of our plates and put my leftovers in a plastic container.

  I moved to the sink and did the dishes.

  “What are you doing?”

  I glanced at him over my shoulder, seeing the stern look on his face. “Just trying to help out.”

  “The maids will do that in the morning. Don’t worry about it.”

  “You got maids? I thought my job was to cook and clean.”

  “Well, you’ve been promoted.” He came to my side at the sink and turned off the faucet. “You only have one job in this house—and it’s not cooking or cleaning.”

  He sat beside me on the couch, enjoying his scotch while he watched the Italian news. His arm rested around my shoulders as his knees sat far apart. His muscled thighs were noticeable in his jeans. He drank his scotch, glanced at me, and then looked at the TV again. “What would you like to see tomorrow?”

  “Like to see?”

  “Any other parts of Italy?”

  “Cane, you don’t need to keep taking time off work for me.” He’d already done enough for me. “I’m happy going to the winery with Crow and Pearl.”

  “I don’t mind. I haven’t taken a vacation in a long time. So tell me.”

  “Uh…I’ve always wanted to see Siena.”

  “Then we’ll go tomorrow.”

  “Well…thanks. Maybe Pearl and Crow could come along.”

  “No. If I’m not around, then Crow needs to be available to handle a potential disaster.”

  “What kind of disasters do you face?” I asked.

  He took a long drink of his scotch. “People who think they can undercut us or overrun us. Stuff like that.”

  I nodded even though I didn’t understand at all. “What time do you want to leave?”

  “First thing in the morning. I want to beat the tourists.” He grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. “Let’s go to bed.”

  I followed him upstairs and entered the bedroom. It was a cool night, so Cane kneeled down and got a fire going in the hearth. He didn’t have a TV in his bedroom, but most of the other rooms had them. All of my things were stored in my bedroom down the hall, but I just assumed he wanted me beside him. I hadn’t been screwing him for the past few nights, but he expected me to sleep with him.

  I changed out of my clothes and pulled on one of his cotton t-shirts from the drawer. I’d probably just take this off anyway, but at least I had one picked out. I pulled back the covers and got into bed.

  Cane washed his hands in the bathroom before he returned. He turned off all the lights so only the crackling fire brought illumination into the room. The heat slowly filled the bedroom, reaching the four corners and chasing away the chill.

  He stripped off his clothes, dropping his boxers along with everything else, and then got into bed. The light from the flames licked his skin, highlighting the definition of his arms and shoulders.

  He got comfortable beside me but didn’t smother me with his masculine affection. His powerful arms didn’t form a steel cage around my body. He didn’t heat my side of the bed with his personal heating system.

  I stared at him with the sheets pulled to my shoulders, wondering what he was thinking. His chiseled jaw was set firmly in place, and his green eyes didn’t give anything away. He stared at me without blinking, his dark hair repositioning as he lay on the pillow.

  It didn’t seem like he was tired, judging by the pointed stare directed my way. But he didn’t start a conversation or touch me. He just stayed put.

  I knew this had something to do with our trip to South Carolina. He assumed I wasn’t ready, was too much emotional to feel an ache between my legs. The restraint spoke to his kindness. I could be bleeding, but Tristan didn’t care about my feelings. He took what he wanted like he’d owned me my entire life. But Cane gave me power the second I was in his captivity. I could do whatever I wanted—and we both knew it. I didn’t even have to sleep with him, and he wouldn’t send me back.

  I was a very lucky woman.

  Cane sold illegal weapons to clients, had a secret power over Italy. He and his brother were mixed up with the craziest characters, men who were so evil the police couldn’t even retaliate. I’d seen that kind of barbaric cruelty, had been at the hands of it myself. Now that I knew what evil looked like, I didn’t recognize it in Cane.

  Not at all.

  He was my friend, my confidant. He was my safe place. I knew I would think of him when Tristan had his hands around my neck. When things got really rough, I would think about the way Cane would look at me—just like this.

  And when I took those pills, I would think of him until the darkness came for me.

  When I thought of the future, it dragged me down like a weight tied to my ankle. I still had a few weeks before I had to think of that terror, so I put it out ofmy mind. Right now, I was in a comfortable bed with a roaring fire—and a handsome man was staring at me.

  A handsome man who wanted me.

  I scooted closer to him under the sheets and pressed my mouth lightly to his. The second our lips touched, I felt the shivers run all over my body. His lips were soft and full, and the hair around his mouth gently scraped against my skin. I liked feeling that hair, feeling the masculine shadow that was prevalent on his face every morning.

  My hand moved to his chest, and I explored his muscularity, feeling the way each muscle combined with the next one. His skin was soft, but underneath that gentleness was concrete. My fingertips loved feeling his strength because it made me feel safe. Cane was my personal gate, my personal protection against anything that could hurt me. For the next couple weeks, every single hair on my head was safe. No one could touch me, could get past this powerful man.

  Once he felt my kiss, he moved his hand around my waist and felt the soft skin of my back. He explored the deep curve in the area between my shoulder bl
ades. Sometimes his fingers felt my hair as it trailed down my back.

  His kisses grew deeper, more intense. Sometimes he gave me his tongue, and sometimes he pulled my bottom lip into his mouth. He squeezed me, gripped me, devoured me. When his patience disappeared, he rolled me onto my back and held his mass on top of mine. “Are you ready?”

  He gave me all the power and didn’t bother hiding it. He allowed me to make the decisions, to have the ability to override him. If I didn’t want this, all I had to do was say it. This kind of freedom was addicting, and the more he gave it to me, the more I wanted him.

  The more I adored him.

  “Yes…I want you.” I hooked my legs around his waist and locked my ankles together. I pulled him tightly against me, his cock pressed against my folds. I was already wet for him, my body getting ready to take his impressive length.

  He spoke into my mouth, accompanied by a hot breath. “Bellissima…” He tilted his hips and pressed his cock inside me, slowly sliding inside as his length became coated in my desire. He breathed harder as he felt me, his body tensing in pleasure. He inched farther and farther until he was plunged deep inside me, our bodies connected.

  I took a deep breath once I felt all of him. “Cane…”

  He held his weight on his arms and burned his gaze into me, fucking me with his eyes as much as his body. He rocked into me slowly, getting used to me like he hadn’t had me in weeks instead of days.

  I moved with him, matching his slow pace and pulling him into me by the hips. We were hardly moving at all, our thrusts slow and measured, but it felt better than it ever had before. My eyes were locked to his, and I felt my body already begin to betray me.