Looking rumpled and without the cocky swagger he usually had, Cane came around the corner. He flashed Max a little wave before his eyes found me.
He walked over with a determined look on his face, taking his sunglasses off and training his eyes on me. He bent down and buried his face in the side of my neck, kissing me lightly behind the ear.
“Hey,” he whispered.
He pulled away to study my face before sitting on the edge of my chair.
“Did you get Howard’s call?” Cane turned towards Max.
Max’s forehead creased as he stopped pushing the broom. “No. Why?”
“We had a boatload of copper pipe go missing from the Benjamin site sometime last night.” Cane’s face was awash in frustration.
“You’re kidding me.” Max shook his head, the laughter in his eyes from a few minutes prior now evaporated. “What the fuck?”
Cane shrugged. “I’ve been dealing with that today. Security makes rounds in two hour intervals, so someone must have been casing the joint or it was an inside job.”
“None of our guys are going to steal that shit. We’ve had the same guys forever.” Max disconnected the broom and hopped up, sitting on the side of the pool.
Cane shrugged again, his shoulders tense. “We filed a police report. They’ll notify the local pawn shops and shit to watch for it. But we’ll probably never find it.”
“Did you call Nick?”
Cane flashed Max a look, causing him to blanch. “Yeah.”
Max nodded, his knuckles white as he gripped the ledge of the pool. “Do you need me to do anything?”
“You did everything I needed you to do today,” Cane said, his voice softer. He looked down at me and smiled. “Now I’m taking my girl upstairs. Unless the fucking house is burning, I don’t want to be bothered tonight.” He shook his head. “On second thought, with the way shit is going, just let me burn with it.”
He chuckled as he stood up with me in his arms and carried me inside. Cane buried his face into my hair and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing my head against his chest. I could hear his heart pounding inside his body and it caused mine to speed up, too.
He kicked open the door to my bedroom and sat me down at the foot of the bed. Grabbing my head with both hands, he stood as close as possible to me, our noses nearly touching. His eyes bored into mine. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t read him.
Silence filled the room, neither of us able to say anything.
“Jada,” he whispered, bending his head down and finding my lips with his own.
“I am glad you’re here.” My voice cracked with emotion as I looked at him. He looked exhausted.
He motioned for me to climb into bed. I lay in my normal spot and he climbed in behind me, pulling me backwards so that my back was pressed firmly against his front. He wrapped his arms around me and tucked my head beneath his chin.
“You are mine,” he said softly. “Do you know that?”
“Yes,” I whispered back. “I’m yours.”
He held me like that, not saying another word, until I felt his breath even out and his heartbeat slow.
I knew he had fallen asleep.
I lay awake for a long time, enjoying being wrapped in his arms. It seemed like such a long time had gone by since I had been able to breathe him in, feel him, relax with him and I didn’t know when the next time would come.
Things have changed so much.
I pushed the thought out of my mind, closed my eyes, and relaxed back into him.
Before I knew it, I was fast asleep, too.
JADA
The following morning, we lay together in my bed, Cane still holding me tight. Every time I tried to move, he would clamp down tighter, like he was afraid I would leave. Even in his sleep the night before, his arms were around me like a vise grip.
We talked about a few unimportant things, but mostly we just lay together quietly. I got the feeling he just wanted to be and I was okay with that. I had missed the physical connection with him as much as anything. Being with him felt like a part of me had been missing but was now back, and I didn’t want to ruin that. As good as it felt being in his arms, I knew that he would probably have to leave long before I wanted him to and I wanted to soak up as much Cane as I could to tide me over until he came back.
“Cane,” I said, turning my head to look at him. His blue eyes missed a bit of the sparkle and mischief that they normally held and that worried me a little. “Are you okay?”
He kissed my forehead. “Of course I’m okay.”
“You know what I mean,” I said, spinning my ring around my finger, hesitant to ask the next question.
Cane blew out a breath and looked at the ceiling.
“There is something different between us. I just feel like I am on the outskirts of your life.”
He grabbed my shoulder and rolled me over to face him. “You are never on the outskirts of my life.”