I stand there like a wallflower, watching him closely as he continues his personal tour, lingering on my breasts before heading south. His eyes darken when they land on my legs, made even longer by my stilettos.
The room suddenly falls quiet, heads turning on a dime to see what the man in charge is staring at. Hushed whispers start to echo from the onlookers.
“It’s her, isn’t it?” several women ask.
No one answers. Cain moves toward me and the group splits apart as if he was a damned god, leaving the two of us openly scrutinizing each other as he stalks my way, anger and disapproval pouring off of him.
Under normal circumstances, the vibes radiating off of him might make a person uncomfortable, but I’m not moved in any way, shape, or form by the displeasure seeping out of him. He’s used to making people feel that way. I can sense it. He’s no longer a boy, but when I look at him, really look, I can see traces of his younger self behind those cold eyes.
He approaches me, coming to a stop within my reach. My instincts kick in. I’m here for one reason only, and I won’t kowtow to him. What I want to do is reach out and slap his pretty-boy face.
No words are spoken for several long, drawn-out minutes until the high-pitched voice of his Goldilocks bitch sounds out from behind him.
“What are you doing here?” she hisses snidely.
“Shut the fuck up, Emerald.”
The sound of Cain’s voice startles me, so deep and masculine, very different from the young man I knew before.
“Everyone clear the hell out of here!” he orders.
Like devoted cult members, they do exactly what they are told by their leader. Each man passing him slaps him on his shoulder, while each woman looks at me with malevolence as if I have come here to stake a claim on what they all believe is theirs. I roll my eyes at a few of them, telling them silently to go fuck themselves.
“That means you, too,” he barks at Emerald.
“Hell, no! I’m not leaving you alone with her.”
Her honeyed words have me spitting out a low laugh.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” I say condescendingly. “He’s all yours. I just need a few minutes of his time and you can carry on with whatever it is your slutty little self normally does.”
I gesture with my hands for her to leave. She scrunches up her nose, aiming her pointer finger at my chest.
“You bitch! How dare you come in here with your fancy clothes and expensive shoes and call me names? You know nothing about me or what it is I do!”
I’m a little too quick for her. Taking hold of her by the wrist, I twist her around, pulling her arm up behind her.
“Listen here, babe... I know all I want to know about you. I could smell your nasty, used up snatch from over there. Now I need a few minutes with your fuck buddy here and then the two of you can go back to doing whatever the fuck you want, but until then, you will give me the time.”
I release her arm and give her a little extra shove.
“Just go, Emerald. I’m curious as to what my wife has to say.”
“Fine!”
She storms past us, slamming the door behind herself. All of a sudden I am freaking the hell out on the inside now that Cain and I are entirely alone. One of us has to break the silence in this eerily quiet room. Cain’s cold, narrowed eyes have me sucking in a sharp breath. He’s looking at me as if he can’t decide whether he wants to kiss me or hurt me.
Fuck him and his death glare. I’m not about to back down. He’s the one who turned me into the cold-hearted bitch I am today. The one who will never fully trust another man for the rest of my life.
“I want a divorce. I have the papers right here for you to sign, and then I will be gone.”
Reaching inside my purse, I retrieve the papers, shoving them in his direction. He doesn’t move a muscle to try and take them. He doesn’t even blink.
“Goddamnit, Cain. Just take them and sign.”
I shove them at him again. This time he rips them out of my hand and flips them over his shoulder, scattering them all over the floor.