“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.