by Amelia Jade
“What? What’s wrong?”
Annalise sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. I don’t think I can do this.”
Chapter Three
Caine
He stared at the raven-haired beauty, his excellent vision allowing him to see her with ease, despite the shadows and darkness. Her entire body, draped as it was in thick layers of dark cloth, was still readable. A stiffness that had nothing to do with muscle soreness had entered her movements, and now this close to the church she seemed ready to turn to stone, so rigid had she become.
“I understand.” He turned his back on the building, walking past her, slowly meandering out among the gravestones, though he tried to stick to the path between rows. After a moment she came along with him.
“You do?”
“Yeah. I can’t do weddings either. Even rehearsals of weddings.” He shrugged. “It’s just not my thing.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
Caine nodded, secretly happy she was accompanying him on his walk without needing to be encouraged. He wanted her to feel comfortable around him, to know that while he was near, she would never need to fear. After all, that was how it would be if she was who he thought she was. His dragon was clamoring out to him, trying to tell him things, but Caine had long ago learned that he couldn’t necessarily trust the beast within him. It sometimes acted on its own without his input. This was not going to be one of those times. He couldn’t afford to screw it up.
“I was outside when you came around,” he reminded her.
“Yeah, I just figured you were security or something.”
“For a church?” he chuckled. “I don’t think the dead need my protection.”
“No, but I meant…” her voice trailed off. “Yeah, I guess it was kind of silly to assume that, wasn’t it?”
Caine shrugged. “No matter. So, what’s your issue with weddings?”
There was a long pause, and he thought he’d lost her. Turning back though, she was still there, trailing behind him. Caine waited and eventually the woman came alongside. Looking up she too shrugged, the same casual non-caring manner as he. “Bad memories.”
“Ah.” That could mean a million things, but none of them were good.
“What about you?”
Caine wasn’t sure why he responded. He didn’t even know the woman’s name, and though he suspected who she was, to him at least that didn’t mean he was willing to open up and just share his life with her. Whether she was interested or not, it wasn’t a burden she needed to bear. There was such a thing as oversharing.
“Sometimes I think that those inside would be better off without me in their lives.” He held up a hand. “I’m not talking about offing myself or anything. I just mean moving on, starting fresh, and letting them do the same without me.” He licked his lips. “It would be better for them that way.”
“I understand. Who is it in there you know?”
“My brother. He’s getting married.” Something occurred to him. “How did you know to find Violet out here?”
“The internet. It told me this was the venue for the wedding and that she was part of the bridal party.”
Caine couldn’t find fault in that answer. The whole sequence of everything still didn’t sit right however, and he needed to know more. “Why not go to see her at her house? Surely that would be a bit better way to say hello?”
Brown eyes tinged with yellow-gold flashed, and heat blossomed in her cheeks as she looked away from him at nothing in particular. “It’s more than just hello. You’re out here avoiding your brother’s wedding?”
Interesting. He’d phrased his question specifically to try and figure out what she wanted to say, but whoever the mysterious beauty was, she was quick. “It’s a rehearsal,” he repeated. “Besides, I’m not the one getting married. He can do that without me.”
“Yeah, family isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
Caine disliked the way she spoke about that. He loved his brothers and would defend them rigorously. The problem didn’t lie with them. It lay with him, and the trouble that always seemed to follow him around.
“Maybe,” he agreed, then stuck out his hand. “I’m Caine.”
“Uh, Annalise.” She refrained from taking his hand, looking at it suspiciously, as if he were going to latch on and never let go.
“I’m not out here to hurt you,” he repeated, giving his hand a shake before dropping it, so she knew what he was talking about. “If I wanted to do that, I would have already. You’re free to go at any time. Though that probably won’t get you in to see Violet.”
Annalise shoved her hands in her pockets in response, but she didn’t go anywhere. She in fact seemed to be thinking about something.
“Do you want me to tell Violet you’re out here? She’s the maid of honor, so she’s really busy. But if it’s a good enough reason, she’ll make time.”
“Okay, fine.”
He watched her with extreme interest, part of him wondering what she would look like if he peeled back some of the many layers she was wearing that hid her figure from him. Her face spoke of soft, creamy skin, covered in freckles. He wanted to explore more, to see if she had the adorable little dots everywhere or not.
“I was adopted as a child.” Annalise kicked at the ground as she spoke. “I don’t know anything about my birth family. But I think we might be sisters.”
Caine’s jaw dropped open. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, I’ve done some research. I know that the last name is Walker. That’s all I know. But I mean, we look somewhat alike based on her social media pictures. I just…I had to know, okay?”
Caine understood. He knew what it was like to wonder if you had family out there. He’d thought several times of trying to see if any of the brothers’ extended family was still out there, if any of the other dragons had slept through the ages like they had. But so far he’d refrained. Even if they were out there, they wouldn’t want to see the brothers. There was a reason they’d grown up alone.
What bothered him the most about this, however, was the knowledge that someone had purposefully abandoned Annalise. He couldn’t believe someone would do that to such a beautiful person, but the world was a cruel place sometimes, and it worked in mysterious ways. He didn’t know the mother’s reasoning, but he could feel for Annalise and understand her pain. No one should ever have to feel like they weren’t good enough for a parent’s love.
“Caine!”
Ivore was at the side door calling his name, motioning for him to come in. He lifted a hand to acknowledge his brother, holding up a solitary finger to let him know he’d be just a moment longer.
“I have to go in now, I guess. Duty calls.”
Annalise nodded, shifting her weight from side to side.
“Sure you don’t want to come inside?”
“Yeah,” she said heavily. “I’m sure. I’m not ready just yet.”
Caine nodded. He’d suspected as much. “Wait for me?” he asked suddenly. “We can talk some more in a bit.”
“Wait for you. Out here. In the graveyard?”
He winced. Clearly not his best thought-out plan. “You could always wait in the dark, creepy woods over there?” Humor would be his best bet at salvaging things.
“So much better,” she said dryly.
Caine laughed.
A light flicked on and off nearby, briefly illuminating them as Ivore signaled for his attention once more. Caine was able to get a better picture of her face, imprinting it upon his brain. The beautiful curve of her eyebrows and the blossoming redness on her face as she stared at him in surprise.
“You’re young,” she gasped, then slammed her mouth shut in embarrassment.
“What, did you think I was old?”
“I don’t know. Your hair is so white, so I just figured…”
Caine chuckled. “You assumed I was a senior citizen.”
Annalise looked away. “I can’t see very well in the dark, okay? Go easy on me. I’m sorry.”
He smiled. “Well now I think you have to wait for me.”
“Go on,” she said, shooing him off as the light flicked some more and Ivore shouted again. “It looks like they need you.”
“I hope you wait,” he said quietly, then left.
Ivore was waiting for him, looking frustrated. “Who the hell was that?” he asked, holding the door open until Caine had come inside.
He considered his answer. “I’m not entirely sure yet.”
But he was. There were no doubts in his mind, the cold of his powers long since frozen them away. If they hadn’t, the memories of twin golden-brown orbs, black hair, and freckles beyond counting surely would have. He smiled to himself.
Annalise was his mate.
Chapter Four
Annalise
It was cold. It was dark. It was also quite creepy.
Yet for some reason Annalise couldn’t force herself to leave. None of the arguments she used on herself seemed to hold any real power. Not when compared to the knowledge that if she waited, Caine would eventually return.
Caine, who was not senior-citizen Caine, like she’d initially assumed. No, he was young, handsome, and with that mane of white hair, oddly unique. It hung down to his ears, classic and messy, as she’d finally seen in the light. It was a good look when draped over his god-given features, a bone structure carved by one of the heavenly beings themselves.
The light had acted like the flash of a camera, his face burned into her retinas so that she could see it even as the darkness returned. He had a beard, something she’d not noticed in the dark either. Close-cropped and thick, it had darker brown in it. How did that work with his white hair? She couldn’t remember his eyebrows, because her attention had been drawn away by the icy circles of blue underneath them. Pools of frozen water that had locked in a hurt she wondered if she’d ever understand.
Despite all her awe, there was one unsettling thought that she couldn’t seem to shake. Caine didn’t scare her. She wasn’t terrified at being in his presence. Yes, she’d run at first, but now she was waiting outside for him to return from a wedding he didn’t want a part of. What was it about this mysterious man that made her feel like it was okay to stay close, to tell him truths she’d spoken to almost nobody? That scared her, and she resolved to keep her distance.
“Come on.”
The words startled her and she let out a little cry, spinning around to see a towering giant who could only be Caine striding toward her.
“All done?”
He nodded. “All done. Apparently they’ve had enough practice in getting married that they’re ready to do it for real.” Caine snorted. “I still don’t understand that silly custom, but things are different now I suppose.”
Annalise carefully didn’t say anything or let her face react. Things are different? From when? Although she had no actual experience, she was fairly positive rehearsal dinners were not something new. Where was he from that this was a new experience to him?
“Marriage is for suckers anyway,” she muttered bitterly.
Caine looked at her strangely. “Now why would you say something like that?”
She shrugged. It didn’t matter. Although she felt eerily at peace around Caine, it didn’t mean he knew her or was allowed to be privy to her life.
“Right.” He jerked his head toward the front of the church. “Let’s go, shall we?”
Annalise stood rooted to the spot. “Where are we going?” She wasn’t about to blindly follow anyone, even Caine.
“Food. I’m hungry. I’m sure you are too, though who knows what you have hidden in that outfit.”
“This outfit is all I own,” she snapped. “Well, almost all I own. Besides, I’m not hungry.” She didn’t have the money to go get food, though she didn’t want him to know that.
Caine’s eyebrows rose slowly, taking just as long to come back down to a resting position as he looked her over yet again, a habit he seemed to be forming. She hated the scrutiny, feeling that he saw much more than the darkness revealed.
“The food is on me,” he said, as if reading her mind.
“Excuse me?”
Frustrated, he squared up to face her. “If that’s all you own, it means you’re having a rough go of it. Which means you have no money for food. But you’re still hungry.”
“I am—” Her stomach betrayed her, rumbling loudly in the quiet night.
Caine looked pointedly at her belly. “You were saying? Come on, it’s just some food. Don’t let your pride get in the way. I’m not going to judge you one way or another. I just want to make sure you’re properly fed.”
“I guess…”
She was hungry.
“It’s settled then. Food today, and then tomorrow we’ll go get you a dress.”
Annalise, whose feet had slowly been leading her in the same direction as Caine, came to a sudden halt. “A what?”
“A dress. You know, you put it on in summer or for fancy occasions, and then all you girls compliment each other about them like it’s some sort of revelation, even though it’s the same thing but in different cuts and patterns?”
“Ah, a real fashion connoisseur are you?” She rolled her eyes, the lids flaring slightly. He was just a typical male; he wouldn’t understand.
Caine looked her up and down. “Are you sure you’re qualified to be so snarky about what’s fashionable?”
Annalise’s jaw dropped open hard enough she had to scoop it off the ground.
“Anyway,” he continued, not giving her a chance to respond. “Yes, a dress. Think about it. Neither of us can do weddings. So we should just do it together. I’ll say you’re my date, that gives you a reason to be there, and if you feel comfortable, you talk to Violet.”
“Won’t you be busy, though? Your brother is getting married.”
Caine waved that off. “I have a middle brother too. He thinks he’s hot shit and knows how to do everything best. It’ll be easy to give him all the responsibility and make him think he’s manipulating me. After all, I got the brains of the trio.”
She giggled at his casual explanation of how he’d make it work. She suspected his brothers might not agree about who had gotten the brains.
“Does that mean it’s a deal?”
It was time she made a decision. “I’ll come for food,” she said. “And I’ll consider going dress shopping.”
She had no intention of doing that, but it would stop him from asking. Annalise wasn’t about to owe anyone anything.
“Good enough for me. Come on, there’s a diner I went to for lunch maybe ten minutes down the street.”
They fell in step together, Annalise taking two steps for every one of his long strides. She felt tiny next to him, barely coming up to his broad chest. His very toned chest, easily visible thanks to the T-shirt he wore.
“Aren’t you cold?” she asked, wondering why he wasn’t wearing a jacket. She had multiple layers on to ward off the cold, and still she wished to be somewhere heated.
“Always.” A smile teased at his lips.
Was it an inside joke she didn’t get? How was him always being cold funny? They didn’t speak much during the walk, but there was a companionable silence about it that didn’t leave her feeling awkward and out of place. Caine was someone who didn’t do a lot of talking, she surmised. He was someone comfortable in his own mind, in simply being, and didn’t need noise to fill the silence because of it.
It probably came with being the oldest brother as well. He learned that sharing the spotlight was fine, and then he slowly pulled away from it as his third brother came into the picture. That was something they may have in common. Annalise disliked being the focus of anything, and avoided it like the plague.
“Let’s eat,” he said gruffly, pulling open the door and holding it for her. “You look hungry.”
Annalise frowned as she walked through the door, nodding politely to the middle-aged man visible through a hole in the wall. She looked hungry? “What the hell is that
supposed to mean?” She picked a table and sat at it, not waiting to see where Caine went. “Are you calling me fat? I know you aren’t calling me skinny. You aren’t that blind.”
“Blinded by your beauty, perhaps.” He eased himself into a chair across from her, the table rocking on its uneven legs as he rested his arms on it. “I would never call you fat. You’re the most stunning woman I’ve ever laid my eyes upon, if I am to be honest. Not that I expect you to believe me.”
“You’re right, I don’t.”
“I know. But sometimes these things have to be said.”
Secretly Annalise was flattered by his words. Her denial was borne out of a distinct lack of belief in herself and not knowing how to react. How could Caine be serious about it when he looked the way he did? Supermodels probably flocked to his side when he went out in public. How could he think that she was beautiful compared to them?
They were tall, skinny, and all leg. She was short, round, and all stomach. Not to mention pasty-skinned and covered in freckles. There wasn’t a whole lot about her that would appeal to someone like him. This made her all the more wary about his compliments, trying to decipher the real meaning behind them. What exactly was he getting at with his nice-guy attitude? People didn’t treat others like that unless they wanted something from them.
“You know what, I can’t take your money,” she said, moving to stand. “I should go. I’ve overstayed my welcome already.”
“Sit down.”
His voice was calm and commanding, velvet draped over iron. It spoke of someone used to being obeyed and followed. Annalise fought it, but too many years of being expected to follow made it tough. She sat unhappily, figuring that to be better than pissing off Caine. He seemed nice, but she could easily envision him turning mean. Everyone had it in them, and she just wanted to avoid it.
“Sorry about that,” he apologized. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”
“Then why did you?”
“Because I didn’t want you to leave, and I reacted before I’d had time to think it through.”
Who was he? Apologizing? Annalise was more concerned than anything. There were two sides to Caine, but he seemed determined to use the polite and proper side with her at all times. Curious as to his motives, she relaxed into her seat.
