Need You Now (Love in Unknown)

chapter 14





“Did you get a summons?” Caine demanded as he barged into the police chief’s office Thursday afternoon.

Gage glared at the paperwork he was filling out. “Of course. Mother said she’d heard that you’d gone to a family dinner with your—and I quote— ‘flame of the month’, and protocol dictated that she reciprocate immediately. Are they going to stay at the house?”

“Apparently. They’re even hiring staff from the club to come and serve dinner.” Caine looked at the wall, wondering how much it would hurt if he punched it. Olivia Maddox qualified for hurricane status. With only a few hours’ notice, she expected her every whim to be catered to. And from the barely concealed disdain in her voice, he knew this dinner would be hell for everyone involved.

“Have you told Mel yet?” Gage looked as worried as Caine felt.

He shook his head, tugging his hair. “No. I wish I didn’t have to. Mother’s never been a big fan of the Carrs.”

“You’re going to have to do some serious groveling to get her to agree to this dinner. Especially on such short notice.”

“No shit.” Caine had already started to formulate a plan. “I’ve got a present stored up for a special occasion. I’ll break it out to soften her up and then hit her with the dinner.”

“It better be one hell of a present,” Gage warned.

No kidding. Caine got in his car and drove out to his house. Hating his parents was a waste of energy, but that didn't stop the bitterness of memory from souring his mood. As a kid, part of him had always wanted to please his parents, even when he wanted to escape them. They were family. His grandfather had kept them from being too full of themselves and their own importance. Grandpa James. God, he missed him. The Maddox family patriarch had made Fortune Hill truly feel like home. When he died, everything had changed.

Turning into the drive, Caine remembered the day he’d left Fortune Hill for boarding school. It had been a hot summer day, about a month after Grandpa James's funeral. He’d come in after spending the day swimming in the river with Gage and Micah. Mel had gone to the clinic to help Doc Booth. Even back then, she'd been determined to be a doctor. Olivia and Joseph, his picture-perfect parents, sat in the living room and told him that his bags were being packed. It was high time he went to a proper school, they’d said. One meant for boys of his position in life.

His first question had been why, of course. They’d just given him the standard parent response of “because I said so.” He’d wanted to argue, to stomp his foot and tell them to go to hell. But he couldn’t. Rule number one, his grandfather always told him, was to respect your elders. That day, he’d almost forgotten that rule. Every part of him wanted to act like a little kid and scream and slam doors and tell them he wasn’t leaving. He’d even briefly considered running away to the Carrs’ house. He knew they'd bring him home, though, and that his parents would get their way. So he’d said goodbye to his brother and left for Ardsmore Academy. That day had ended any real respect he’d felt for his father and only increased his dislike of his mother. They focused only on appearance, something he vowed never to do.

And now he had to tell Mel that they were being summoned before the king and queen of darkness. Swell. Luckily, he’d ordered the present right after their first date, intending to take Mel to New York or Boston for a long weekend and maybe a trip to the theatre. He hadn’t intended to use it as bribery, but in this case, he needed all the help he could get.

Later that night, present in hand, Caine climbed the stairs to Mel’s apartment. He’d grabbed a box of chocolates for good measure.

“Hey, you,” Mel said, pulling him inside before giving him a kiss. “Those aren’t for me, are they?”

He handed her the boxes. “Yes, they are. But before you open them, I have to confess that they’re a bribe.”

“A bribe? Hmm.” She set the boxes on the table. “Let’s see how bad the situation is.”

He shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans to keep from helping her rip the paper off. Tessa had laughed when he’d confessed everything to her. He'd told her all about Mel years ago and she'd been happy to send the dress. Her only price in exchange was that she got to meet Mel ASAP.

“Oh, Caine. It’s gorgeous.” She held the aqua-colored dress up to her shoulders, admiring it. “This isn’t a Tessa Styles dress, is it?”

Time to come clean. “Yeah, it is. She and I went to boarding school together and are still pretty close. I ordered it a few weeks ago, hoping I could convince you to go to New York with me for a weekend.”

“A weekend in New York? Oh, I'd love to, but I can't right now. Not with the clinic and the hospital." Mel continued to run her hand along the silk.

“Yeah. See, that’s where the bribe part comes in.” He took a deep breath before plunging in. “My mother heard about my dinner with your family last weekend and is pretty insistent that you have dinner with my family this weekend.”

As expected, Mel looked mildly horrified. “This weekend?”

“Well, tomorrow night, actually. She and Dad will fly into the Maddox County airport on their plane tomorrow morning and stay the night at my place." He shrugged helplessly. "I did everything I could to change her mind or put it off, but she's fixated on the idea."

She sighed and gave him a disgruntled look. “You’re lucky this is a really damn good bribe, Caine Maddox. The chocolates were a nice touch, too.”

Relieved, he set aside the dress and pulled her into his arms. For the first time all day, everything melted away and he relaxed. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“Yeah, well, play your cards right and I might even let you spend the night here tomorrow night so you don’t have to have breakfast with the Wicked Witch.”

He laughed at that. Wicked Witch had been their code name for his mother growing up. Whenever she went out of town, Mel would sing “Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead.”

By the time Caine picked her up the next night, neither of them was laughing.

“You look amazing,” he told her, helping Mel into his Aston Martin. “Mother’s going to turn pea green with envy when you tell her you’re wearing a custom Tessa Styles creation. Tess refuses to make anything for Olivia.”

Mel’s smile wasn’t as bright as usual, but she relaxed a little. "I think I might like this Tessa Styles for more than just her designs. Whatever happens, you and Gage are not allowed to leave me alone with the Wicked Witch."

“Don’t worry. We won’t.”

For the first time since he’d redone the place, it didn’t feel like he was coming home when he pulled up to his house. Caine knew why. Behind the front door, it wasn’t his personal space. No, tonight it was home turf for his mother. Gage sat on the front steps, tugging at his gray tie.

“Big bad police chief too scared to go inside without back up?” Mel teased as he helped her out of the car.

Gage nodded. “Scared. Smart. Same difference. You ready for this?”

The look Mel gave his brother spoke volumes. She didn’t want to be here anymore than they did. At least if Caine had to suffer through an evening with his parents, he’d have her by his side. It also helped that she looked phenomenal in that dress. The aqua silk gleamed again her skin and barely skimmed her knees. Long legs stretched down to what he’d heard women call “f*ck me” heels that were doing their job by putting all kinds of ideas in his head. He kept his gaze away from the cleavage revealed by the low dip of her scooped neckline. The last thing he needed during this dinner was a hard on.

“It’ll be fine, sunshine,” Caine said. “Just remember that nothing she says has any effect on us. She doesn’t even line in Unknown anymore. The Wicked Witch’s powers are severely limited. This is all for show.”

Gage and Mel didn’t look like they believed his speech anymore than he did. Wrapping an arm around Mel’s waist, Caine led the way into the dragon’s den.

Just as she had for so many other agonizing dinners, his mother waited for them in the formal living room. For some perverse reason, when he’d redone the house, he kept the front room as the “formal” living room. Rather than the well-worn leather furniture of the great room, he’d bought a dark brown velvet couch, a brocade covered sofa in the same color, and two dark blue club chairs covered in a metallic looking fabric. A big glass coffee table stood in the center. He never came in here without getting flashbacks to his childhood. Now it replayed before his eyes.

His mother sat on the couch in an elegant, overpriced black dress that was so structured he thought her shoulders might poke someone’s eye out if they got too close. Joseph Maddox lounged in one of the chairs, long legs crossed, his suit—immaculate as always— was the same shade of gray as his once dark brown hair. Unsurprisingly, he already held a tumbler full of Caine’s best scotch in his hand. What did surprise Caine was the third person in the room.

Shit.

Portia.

“There they are. My sons.” Olivia’s recently botoxed lips stretched into a feline smile. “So nice to see you. It’s been too long.”

Caine clenched his teeth, tightening his hold on Mel in attempt to keep himself grounded. “Mother, you didn’t tell me that you were bringing a…guest.”

“Your mother realized right before we left that we’d have an uneven number for dinner and apparently that is bad luck.” Joe shook his head.

Olivia sniffed. “And Portia graciously agreed to save us from that faux pas.”

“Mother, Dad, you remember Melody, don’t you?” Gage stepped in when Caine couldn’t come up with anything to say that didn’t start and end with an expletive.

“Of course. The baker’s daughter, right?” Joseph stood and shook Mel’s hand. She looked at Caine, obviously expecting him to release her, but he didn’t—couldn’t.

Portia stood, her short fire-engine red cocktail dress barely covering her ass. “Melody, was it? Hello. I’m Portia, Caine’s fiancée.”

#

Mel blinked at the tall, overly made-up Barbie in the tiny excuse for a silk dress. Fiancée. That was a new one. Mel lost her breath for a moment. Oh, she’d known he’d had other relationships, but engaged? That was a horse of a different color. Mel darted a look at Caine. She turned in Caine’s grip to meet his eyes, which were almost as black as his expression.

“Ex-fiancée, Portia. Ex.” Mel couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him so mad. It might have been the day her father kicked him out of the house. She’d spied on him from the window and she would swear that he looked exactly like he did now. “Melody’s my girlfriend now.”

Caine steered her towards the couch, sitting on one side of her while Gage sat on the other. Portia sat down, crossing her legs so that her dress rode up her spray-tanned thighs. Mel watched a lascivious expression come over Joseph Maddox face, confirming her suspicions that from a certain angle someone could see up Portia’s dress.

A chill crept up her spine as Portia’s sharp green eyes swept over her in a calculating assessment. “Charming. Such a lovely dress. Did you get it from one of those cute little boutiques we passed on our way through town? They look so rustic and charming.”

Mel pasted on a smile she’d perfected when she and Caine first started dating. She used it as armor against women like Portia, women who only saw designer labels and model-like features. “Actually, Caine got it for me. He’s good friends with the designer and he asked her to make a dress for me as a surprise.”

“A designer? Caine, sugar, since when do you know a fashion designer?” Portia’s voice, full of Southern twang sounded brittle with tension.

“I’ve known her since I was a teenager. Tessa Styles. She’s the only one I trusted to make a dress pretty enough for my girl,” Caine said, pressing a kiss to Mel’s forehead.

Portia’s lips pursed in a mix between a pout and a sneer. “It must be nice for you to have such generous friends, Melanie. I understand that doctors can’t afford much when they’re first starting off.”

“Yes, the Carrs have never had much,” Olivia added. “Gage was always driving you around during high school, wasn’t he, Melody?”

Charming. It took Mel a minute to adjust. She’d forgotten how euphemistically insulting Caine’s mother could be. She took a deep breath, remembering not to feed the trolls. “He did for a while, but that’s because I was too young to drive. I skipped a few grades.”

“Still, Caine’s such a sweetheart for getting you an expensive designer dress like that.” Portia’s lips curled up in what Mel thought was meant to be a smile. “He was always spoiling me when we first started going out. I think I still have that Harry Winston necklace he gave me for our three-month anniversary. It’s so nice to have a man who can pick out jewelry.”

Caine gave Mel a reassuring squeeze before speaking. “If memory serves, you picked that necklace out and insisted I buy it for you, Portia. Gaudy diamonds are not something I’d pick out. Elegant, but understated has always been more my taste.”

Thankfully, a man in a chef’s coat came into the living room and announced that dinner was served. Keeping a firm grip on her hand, Caine led Mel into dinner, seating her as far from his mother as possible. Unfortunately, that left poor Gage sitting between Portia and Olivia.

Mel tried to recall a more awkward family dinner, but she came up blank. They were only through the salad course and already she was praying for it to end. A steak knife couldn’t cut through the tension in Caine’s dining room. Her mind drifted back to the last meal they’d shared in here, searching for a happy thought. Yeah, that was a good memory. Good food, conversation that led to great sex. So different from the awkwardness and years of resentment festering between the Maddoxes tonight. Caine and Gage sat stoic and silent. Joe Maddox ate without much concern, although she saw him shift back and forth uncomfortably on occasion. Portia picked at her plate, but Mel was pretty sure she never saw a morsel of food enter her siren red lips.

“So, Melody. My sources tell me that you’re having a bit of trouble settling in as the town doctor,” Olivia said.

How did she do that? Mel wondered. Keep her tone so cool and neutral as she went on the offensive? That took some serious talent. It certainly explained why every other rich matron in town feared her. Unless you looked past the cool smile and the measured words, you’d never know the woman had the heart of a snake.

“It was a bit of a rough start, but I think I’ve found my feet. Just took a little patience and hard work.” A concept the Maddox queen knew very little about. From what Mel knew of local lore, Olivia’s parents were wealthy socialites from Houston. Olivia had ensnared Joe Maddox while he visited the family brokering a business deal. Apparently, they’d found it easier to reach an agreement at the altar rather than in the boardroom.

“Work. Yes. Does your family still own that charming little bakery in town?” Olivia’s smile could have turned the lobster bisque in her bowl to an ice cube. Mel bit her tongue, fighting not to remind Olivia that her family had been in the town just as long as the Maddox clan and a hell of a lot longer than she’d ever been in town.

“They do,” Caine interjected. “In fact, Mel’s brother’s in charge of it. He trained up in New York under some of the best pastry chefs in the world.”

That shut his mother up. But only for a minute. “It’s so nice to see local children coming back and contributing to the community. We were so proud when Caine graduated first in his class from Harvard Law.”

“Well, when we were at Brown together, he always did his best.” She smiled at Caine, who took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

Joe Maddox looked at least a little impressed. "I didn't realize you and Caine were at Brown together. You were there for pre-med?"

“Yes, sir,” she said.

“I didn't realize your family could afford to send you to an Ivy League school. I didn’t know there was such a fortune in carbohydrates."

Portia pretended to sip her soup, a vapid smile dimpling her cheeks. “I’m sure you must have met so many eligible men there. I’m surprised you didn’t snap one of them up.”

Mel didn't miss a beat. She'd handled worse from the hypercompetitive girls at med school and the socialites at Brown. She was proud of her family and of her accomplishments. Olivia and Portia might try to disparage many parts of her life, but they couldn’t succeed in this. "I went there on a full academic scholarship. I was really too busy to meet too many guys while I was at Brown, except for Caine’s friends. He dragged me to so many parties, but I always thought he was the best of the bunch."

“So nice that you had a friend,” Olivia said. “I’m sure it made things so much easier for you.”

“Yes. It must have been a different lifestyle than you’re used to. So nice of Caine to take you under his wing,” Portia chimed in.

Mel shot a side glance at Caine and he gave her a nod of encouragement. “Actually, it was bit more than him just being a good friend. Didn’t he ever tell you, Portia? We dated back in college.”

That got a jaw drop out of both Portia and Olivia. Joe even looked mildly interested.

“Is this true, Caine?” Olivia bit out.

Caine laced his fingers through Mel’s as the waiters removed one course and replaced it with another. “We were pretty serious. I was ready to propose, but Mel wanted to take some time apart so she could finish school and make sure she wanted to come back to Unknown.”

Mel liked the glossed over version of their past Caine presented, but Portia swelled up like a blowfish.

“Then what was I, Caine? Some brief affair?” she demanded.

“What else did you think you were?” Gage said dryly. “He and Mel have been friends for years. Anyone who’s known them has known they’d end up together. Love from friendship will always trump a marriage made from money.”

Bless him. He'd defended her and her brain every day through high school. Good to see that hadn't stopped now. Living in Unknown, everyone knew Olivia Maddox's only friends were the women who fell into line and followed her every whim without question. Portia was obviously cut from the same bolt of cloth.

Having a brain of her own and no family fortune supposedly meant Mel was unworthy. Olivia treated her mother the same way. Every time they’d bring the boys home, Emma would do her best to be polite, like the good Southern lady that she was, and Olivia would always look at her like she was dirt on a pair of white Louboutins. A teacher was too low to be tolerated in the hallowed halls of Fortune Hill.

“I must say, Melody, you’re quite a change of pace for our son.” Olivia’s smile took on a venomous edge, ignoring her younger son as usual. “Why, I never expected him to date someone so bookish. All of his other girlfriends preferred to help with charities or work in their family businesses. I believe there was a model or two tossed into the mix. I always expected him to marry Portia. She was born to be a politician's wife."

Mel almost winced at that. Trust Olivia to home in on one of Mel’s main doubts about their relationship. She darted glance at Caine, to see how he was reacting. His expression didn’t change, just the same steady resolve and fiercely protective light that had been there before. Right now, he was at her side, ready to defend her no matter what. Still, Olivia managed to land a glancing blow.

Caine’s words came out hard, his knuckles white on his fork. “Luckily, I came to my senses before any real wedding planning could happen. Mel understands better than anyone what it means to be a part of a town like Unknown. She’s happy living here rather than in Houston or Austin.”

“Being part of the town isn't the only requirement you should have for a wife," Portia purred. "Remember, you won't be mayor of Unknown forever. There's state Senate, Congress, maybe even the White House."

“You make a very good point,” Joe said, not looking up from his plate. “We expect you to do more with your life than just be a part of this backwater town, Caine.”

Mel watched a look of complete, bleak frustration cross the face of the man beside her before he shut it down. She hated that look. She'd only ever seen it a few times, but it always emerged after a phone call from his parents. Damn them. Why did they never think his choices were good enough? It was becoming more and more obvious that his relationship with Portia must have been a nightmare if she bought into the Maddox party line.

“That's what y'all want for me, Dad. I don't know how many times we have to go over this, but I'm staying right where I am. I like my job. I like being mayor and I enjoy being a part of this town. It's the town our family built and I'm damn proud of it."

“Right, sure. I get it," Joe said. His smile turned into a leer as he raked his eyes over Mel. She fought the bit of bile that rose in her throat. Hearing someone was a sleaze and actually being a victim of his behavior were two very different things. Thank God Gage and Caine took after their grandfather instead of their father. "If I had a girl like this waiting for me, I might want to stay in this town, too."

Gage scowled at his father, shutting down any further comments. Olivia and Portia continued to make pointed remarks here and there, but the rest of the meal was silent except for the silverware on their plates. Mel had always known that Caine’s parents were awful, but James Maddox had to be rolling in his grave at how horrid his son and his wife were. Before Joe and Olivia, the Maddox men and their wives had ben respected and beloved members of the community. What the hell had happened to turn Joe into this? To induce him to marry someone like her? That question remained one of the great mysteries of Unknown.

As they walked out of Fortune Hill, Caine’s hand wrapped around hers, Mel’s admiration of Caine grew. Despite his parents, he was a good man. He loved his home, his town. She knew that if he lost all of his family's money tomorrow, it wouldn't matter to him as long as he still had Unknown. His parents didn't understand that legacy. They thought their roots were planted in the upper crust of society. But their boys knew the truth. Their roots belonged in the ground of the town where they’d worked so hard all of their lives.

#

Mel rested her forehead against the cool glass of the Martin’s window. Over the course of her career, she’d worked forty-eight hour shifts and studied for three days straight. None of that compared to the exhaustion she felt after spending three hours with Olivia Maddox.

“Do you always feel like you’ve run a marathon after your family dinners?” she asked. “Every bone in my body feels like I was hit by a mack truck.”

Caine’s wry chuckle eased a little of the ache that permeated her body. “You build up a tolerance over time. Although I’m a bit worn out myself. The Wicked Witch was in fine form tonight. Didn’t help that she brought her flying monkey along to join in the fun.”

She didn’t reply, just squeezed his hand and closed her eyes. Not long after, he pulled to a stop in front of the bakery. As usual, he helped her out of the car and walked her to her door. At the top of the stairs, he framed her hips with his hands and pulled her close. He leaned down and rested his forehead against hers.

“Beautiful Melody. Would you—“ He paused dramatically. “—Be my savior and please, please let me stay with you tonight?”

With his mouth this close to hers, she found it a little hard to come up with a protest, not that she tried too hard. Sending him back to spend the night under the same roof as Portia sounded like possibly the worst idea ever. “Someone scared to go home to his mommy and her flying monkey?”

“If I said no, I’d be lying. But the whole answer is that I’ve missed you like crazy and I don’t want to put myself through the misery of breakfast with my mother and the others when I have the chance to wake up with you in my arms.”

Biting her lip, she hesitated. There had been a lot of things said tonight that she needed to think about. Most of it was just venom and bitterness on Olivia’s part. And then there was the whole ex-fiancée thing he’d never mentioned. On the other hand, if she wanted to make things work with Caine, she didn't need to sit and stew over the past. They were making a new start. A new start in which they were trying to forget baggage from the past. All that mattered tonight was that he picked her and he was asking to spend the night with her.

“Come on, Mr. Mayor. I think an ordeal like that calls for a bubble bath and cuddling with a big strong man." She patted his cheek. "Since Henry Cavill isn't around, you'll have to do."

Digging through her purse, she found her key and let them in.

“Bubble bath? That sounds a little…girly for me. You can take one and I’ll warm the bed up for you.”

Shaking off the dregs of the awful dinner, Mel tossed her head from side to side and smirked at him. "I could tell you all about how fabulous a long, steamy bubble bath is. The feeling of the hot, wet water sluicing over your body. Steam rising up, filling the air. All of the tension just melting away... But if you don't think you'll enjoy it..."

With a saucy shrug, she backed away from him. Reaching behind her, she slowly tugged down the zipper of her dress. Each movement sent the thin shoulder straps sliding down her arms, but she held the bodice up just before her bra came into view.

“Did you put on the lingerie I packed with the dress?" Caine stayed where he was, his body taut, every ligament poised to spring into action.

Mel pretended to consider the matter, lifting the bodice away just enough so she could look down. "Let's see, would that be the strapless all black lace bra or the matching thong?"

HIs throat moved as he swallowed. Heat blazed in his blue eyes, leaving a hot trail along every inch of her exposed skin. His jaw clenched. He was caving.

“Nope.” He crossed his arms. “Still not enough to get me to take a bubble bath.”

Shrugging, Mel let the dress float down in a silken puddle and walked away from him. Three...two... She barely made it to the bathroom before big hands slid onto her hips just above the top of the thong. "Why don't you let me run that bath for you, sunshine?"

She bit back a smile as she watched him bend over the tub to start running the water. Black pants pulled tight over his butt and muscles rippled under his expensive blue shirt.

“Gotta say, I love the view from back here." He was ridiculously handsome. With a razor sharp intellect. All of that went a long way to making her forget the whole pain-in-the-ass parents.

“Not as much as I love the view of you from behind." Caine winked over his shoulder, pouring more bubble bath than strictly necessary into the steaming water.

The minute he stood up, she was there waiting for him. Taking her time, she released each button of his shirt, then moved on to the one on his pants. Smooth cloth and warm skin, all stretched over hard muscle. Delicious. Lingering on the zipper, she gave him her best pout. "Are you sure you want to make me take a bath all by my lonesome?"

“You play dirty, Dr. Carr." Deft fingers flicked open the front clasp of her bra before sliding down to the thong. "I like it."

All remaining clothing quickly found a place on the cool tile of the bathroom floor. Mel climbed in first, leaving space behind her for Caine to slide in. The hot water did a lot to soothe her tense muscles, but the strong, wonderfully male arms wrapped around her were the best cure. Staying right here forever appealed to her a great deal, even if her annoying doctor side told her that dehydration would eventually become an issue.

“We should find someone to bottle this power of yours," she said, head against his shoulder.

He nipped at the curve of her neck, then soothed it with a kiss. "What power is that?"

“You have some strange ability to make me forget all about stress." She wrapped her arms around his, linking their fingers together. "I’ve spent the last twenty-three years of my life pressuring myself to excel, and all that pressure came with a lot of anxiety and worry. When I'm with you, I can't seem to remember what I'm worried about."

Mel laughed. "Okay, maybe not forget about stress. I still know that I should be worrying about who went after the clinic and my car. And that you didn't tell me you were engaged to a woman your mother felt the need to drag along to that awful dinner. But when you put all of this around me? Nothing else seems to matter."

“I'm sorry I didn't mention Portia." He sighed, his cheek rubbing across her hair. "She was more Mother's choice than mine. We kept getting pushed together at different functions. Before long, we were dating. I never intended to propose, but somewhere along the way it just sort of became an accepted fact that we were engaged. Portia and Mother even dragged me to pick out the ring.

“By the time I realized I was a part of Olivia and Joseph 2.0, we'd been officially engaged for two months. And I hated myself."

She tilted her head back to look at his face. His harsh expression told her he was miles away. Time to step up to the plate. He’d supported her when she told him about the Andrew mess. She couldn't do any less with him and Portia. Cupping his face, she brought him back to her. "Why would you hate yourself? Have you met your mother? Any woman Olivia picked out for you had to be just as bad as she is. Stepford wife on the outside, manipulative bitch to the core."

“I still shouldn't have let it get that far. I felt like such an a*shole." He smiled, a look of self-deprecation on his face. "She threw everything in her apartment at me except the ring. Portia insisted on keeping that. Said she'd earned it."

“Please." Mel scoffed. "While I might argue that she'd earned it if you'd been together forever and you broke her heart, she colluded with the Wicked Witch. So doesn't count as earning it."

Caine didn't seem like he believed her. His face spoke of calm, but every muscle was tensed and alert. Like he was waiting for her to run. "Buying a ring for someone I didn't love was a really shitty thing to do. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it earlier. And I’ll continue to make amends for you having to share a meal with her and my mother for as long as you deem necessary."

She kissed his shoulder, ignoring the sting of distrust as she turned back around. After the campaign he’d waged to get her to open up to him, mentioning something important like a fiancée would have been a good thing. Preferably before dragging her to dinner with his mother and said fiancée. But she was trying to be understanding. To look past the double standard. "You're a good man, Caine Maddox. Don't apologize for not telling me. We just started dating. Airing our dirty laundry this early in the relationship would normally be considered a bit much."

“I know as far as time goes it hasn't been that long," Caine said, arms tightening below her breasts. "But my feelings for you never went away, sunshine. Sharing everything with you is what I want to do and I need to be better at it. It's the only way to make this work."

Mel stood, loving the look of pure lust in his eyes as water and soap bubbles cascaded down her body. She held a hand out to him. In one swift motion he was on his feet, towering over her. Stepping out of the tub, rivulets of water sliding down and around every defined muscle, he grabbed a towel for himself, then wrapped another around her. Eyes intent on her, he lifted her out of the tub and carried her through to the bedroom.

When he pulled back the sheets and positioned her in the middle of the bed, she shook her head. Leaving the towel behind, she got up.

“Uh-uh. My way tonight.” She caressed the shallow valley between his pecs before giving him a little push. Knees meeting the edge of the bed, he fell back, catching himself on his elbows. The towel, low on his hips, stayed in place. Barely. All it took was a flick of her fingers for it to fall away. "Mmm. Want to know one of the best stress relievers known to man? Medically speaking, of course."

Arousal showed on every inch of his body, even in the taut muscles of his neck. "Bet it's not something you'd tell all your patients about."

“Nope." Mel winked at him, her own towel dropping as she knelt between his powerful thighs. "This treatment plan is for one special patient. He's the only one who gets house calls, too."

His sharp intake of breath as she licked along the dorsal vein of his penis sent a shot of arousal straight to her core. She'd never done this before, not even for him. In college, she hadn't been brave enough or confident enough. With Daniel, it never felt right. Andrew had always wanted her to, but she held back. Her one method of exerting control in that relationship, she supposed. Kissing her way from tip to root, she reached up to caress Caine’s sac, loving the feel of it tightening under the silken flesh. Eyes on him, she pulled back to wet her lips before fastening them around the head.

Slowly, she took him in, relaxing her jaw and her throat, wanting to taste as much of him as she could. Wrapping her hand at his base, she began to suck and lick, mimicking the lavish attention he always gave her breasts. If his rumbling groans were any indication, her stress relief technique was working perfectly. Thick fingers buried in her hair, urging her on. His hips bucked up to meet her mouth. She felt her thighs grow slick, aroused by her own power and the beauty of the man at her mercy.

Mel knew he had to be close. Caine’s tight features said all she needed to know. He was hold back. She pulled away. “Let go.”

“No.” His hand shifted from her head to her shoulders. “Not without you.”

He hauled her up, her body sliding up his length until her hips aligned with his. Blindly, she dug into her bedside table drawer for the small emergency supply of condoms she'd bought after their first date. She lifted her hips away from his only enough to slide the latex sheath over him, loving that he was so primed he twitched in her grip

Growling, he flipped her over. Caine gripped the back of her knees. "Wrap those gorgeous legs around me."

The moment her ankles locked at the base of his spine, he entered her. "My idea was good. Yours is better," she said.

“Two are better than one," he quipped, his voice a little raspy with restraint. Flexing his hips, he set them on a steady rhythm that rapidly increased, driving them both on and on. This time Mel didn't hold back the moans of frustration and pleasure that tore at her throat. Then Caine shifted his angle ever so slightly, grinding against her * with each stroke.

She almost sobbed with pleasure when she finally started to climax. He kept going, thrusting in as deep as he could until he yelled through his release. Someone must have removed ever bone from his body, because he collapsed on top of her, his body melting around hers. Normally, she hated when a guy did that, but with Caine, she didn't want to let him move.

“I always knew you were a genius, Doc, but damn." Obviously too tired to move yet, he kissed her at the tender spot where her pulse still pounded. "I'll let you prescribe my medicine any time."

“I'd have to hurt you if you went to anyone else." She kept her arms around him until he finally moved off her to clean up. Sliding to her pillow, she waited for him to crawl in beside her. The second his body heat left her, she felt her mind begin to kick back into gear, fighting its way through the haze of pleasure. Even when he curled around her, spooning her body with his, she couldn't stop it.

Soon, Caine snored softly behind her. Any other night, she would have drifted off to sleep too, glad to have him with her. Tonight, the doubts and worries she'd had before they started dating came back. She'd emerged from her last relationship with scars, sure. Scars that reminded her she needed to be strong and independent. Depending on a man, especially Caine, was dangerous.

She’d been burned by Caine’s lifestyle before. As an adult, he wasn’t involved in drinking and carousing with over-privileged trust fund babies. No, he was involved with something worse. Secrets. He’d given her the full court press for weeks, but never mentioned that he’d been engaged to a woman who was exactly like his mother. On some level, she’d always pictured him with a cool, sophisticated society wife, especially in the first few years after their break up. Still, finding out that he’d gotten as far as ring shopping with a woman like Portia was a big hit to the ego. It was entirely possible that he could wake up in a few months or even years and realize that he needed a wife like Portia, instead of one like her.

The years she’d spent building up a defense against Caine were all shot to hell. Whether she liked it or not, Mel was starting to develop deeper feelings for the man holding her in his arms. Feelings she couldn't fight. She just had to decide if she even wanted to fight them.