Saving Rain

by Karen-Anne Stewart

  Kas sees the glimmer of a spark in her blazing jade eyes before she slams the fortress gates down again. Hope springs to life in him, like a sliver of light in the darkest corner of a dungeon, and his lips curve into a small smile, “You ready?”

  “Where are we going?” The suspense is driving her crazy.

  Kas smiles slyly. “Huh uh, no questions,” he reminds her.

  Despite her best efforts, a tiny bud starts a slow, sputtering bloom in her heart when she holds on to Kas’ hand as he leads her to his jeep, holding the door open for her. He sends her a wickedly teasing smile, realizing that she can’t stand not knowing, not being in control, and he barely suppresses his exuberance at another small triumph she has granted him.

  The place is packed, people have come out in droves to see the various artisans who sell their skillfully crafted goods. Kas parks the jeep as close as possible to minimize how far they have to walk, not wanting to cause Raina any further discomfort. She turns to him, her obvious annoyance of not knowing where they are, or what they are doing, written all over her face, and he can’t help but laugh.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’m not leading you into a devious trap,” he teases.

  Raina shoots him an exasperated look before playfully sticking her tongue out at him.

  They spend the afternoon slowly meandering through the large tents admiring the talent of the many crafters. Kas insists on taking breaks every so often so she can rest, even though she’s too excited to sit for a second longer than he kindly demands. When they come to a tent where a glass blower is demonstrating how he makes glass ornaments out of the most beautifully transfused hues of Italian glass, Kas can’t tear his eyes off of her. He watches as she delicately runs her fingers across the exquisite bobbles, stopping to pick up a few for closer examination.

  He pays attention to the ones she spends extra time admiring. A sharp sensation jolts his heart as he is mesmerized watching her face light up with excitement when she sees something she finds particularly beautiful. He is confounded by the sheer complexity of the contradictions that make her who she is. She is the most stunning woman he has ever seen, and she is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, but the emotions he glimpses in her eyes when she doesn’t know he’s watching confuses him. He struggles to understand how her interchanging sweet innocence can so quickly transpose into melancholy before diving to utter despair from untold trepidation.

  It’s moments like this when he would give years off of his own life to freeze time so she can enjoy the temporary state of tranquility where she is basked in carefree happiness. He notices how she is admiring a fragile vase blended with vibrant colors of glass that loops whimsically on the ends. He knows that this is the perfect gift to give her. Patiently waiting until she puts it down, he watches how she walks away after giving it one last adoring glance.

  Kas slides Raina’s hand in his as he leads her to a covered table, telling her that he is going for refreshments. Slipping back into the tent, he buys her the vase, smiling triumphantly as he holds something that he knows will make her happy. With her birthday gift carefully wrapped, he purchases a couple of sodas and popcorn before heading back to their table. He finds her leaning back in her chair, a soft smile on her face as she peacefully people watches.

  “Daydreaming?” he teases as he hands her drink to her.

  “Thank you for bringing me here, it’s the best birthday I’ve ever had,” she tells him truthfully.

  “It’s not over yet,” he winks at her, taking her gift out from behind his back.

  The surprise in her eyes makes him feel like it’s his birthday and that he just received the best gift in the world. She opens her present, and when she sees the vase she had admired, it’s all she can do to keep the tears at bay. Looking up into his joy filled eyes, she is struck by the realization that she has already lost the battle. Her heart is no longer hers, it belongs him, in all its brokenness and vulnerability. She prays that he protects it and doesn’t finish the job, completely destroying it. Jumping up, she throws her arms around his neck. “I love it!”

  It only takes a second for him to recover from her unexpected show of emotion. He wraps his arms around her, drawing her soft body into him. The overwhelming surge of his love for her slams into him with such force, he nearly stumbles backwards. Taking her chin, he tilts it up with his finger, so he can look into her beautiful eyes. “Happy birthday, darlin’,” he half-whispers before pressing his lips to her forehead.

  Raina stays in Kas’ arms for as long as she can reasonably rationalize before she reluctantly unwraps her hands from around his neck and slides them down his strong, broad shoulders. “Thank you for today, for everything.”

  “My pleasure,” he tells her, knowing that she has no idea just how much those words ring true. Wrapping her small hand in his, they walk back to the jeep, his hand never leaving hers, as the sun spreads its magnificent colors across the beautiful evening sky.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The next few days are clouded with rain, mirroring the gray foreboding bleakness permeating Raina’s temperament this afternoon. Neither of them is looking forward to her facing Chris at his sentencing tomorrow. Last night, Kas had all but put his foot down and ordered her to not attend when she stubbornly crossed her arms in defiance and met his fierce glare with her fiery jade eyes. In the end, he had relented, his back teeth grinding painfully from the force of making himself keep his mouth shut, so he didn’t forbid her from going.

  Part of him understands why she needs to go, Chase’s reasoning explaining the importance for closure, but a much larger part of him wants to toss closure straight into the trash and shield her from ever having to again see the man who savagely hurt her. They had been getting along so well lately, and much to Kas’ gratification, she has been smiling, her eyes shining brighter with each passing day. She has been slowly opening up to him, letting her emotional guard slip just by a fraction. Her serenity has consoled Kas’ heart like salve, until today.

  Seeing her eyes gloomy and pensive again pangs him to no avail. He decides a distraction is what is needed to alleviate the stress. With the weather, he feels a movie is just what the doctor ordered. “Hey, beautiful, grab your coat, we’re going out.”

  Raina’s eyes liven at his endearment and his offer of an outing. She’s had her nose stuck in her text books working on her thesis for so long they are blurry and strained. She eagerly grabs her jacket and purse as they head out the door.

  Kas holds his jacket over their heads as they head towards the jeep. Her senses are on overload as she huddles closer to him. The heat of his body radiates off of him, warming her to the core, despite the cold dampness of the rain. The clean, woodsy scent of him drives Raina wild, and she has to restrain herself from leaning into him and inhaling his heavenly, masculine scent.

  She drags her thoughts away from wanting to wrap her hands around the back of his neck, burying her fingers into his dark, damp curls and pulling his lips to hers when he helps her inside the vehicle. She wants to taste him, plunge her soft, needy tongue into his mouth and explore until their lips are chapped and swollen. She admonishes herself for her wanton, wayward thoughts. Temptation has threatened her morals since the moment she laid eyes on him. Silently chastising herself, she struggles to rein in her desire so she can regain control of herself before she blows her beliefs into smithereens.

  As she reminds herself of her heartfelt aspirations to save herself until her wedding night, darkness engulfs her, taunting her with the fact that it’s too late, that her innocence is already long gone. Forcefully banishing the scornful thoughts, she reminds herself that she still has the innocence in her heart, and she holds onto that like a lifeline. Fierce determination sets her jaw as she promises herself that she will at least save that for her husband, and she hopes and prays Kas will volunteer for that position. She spends the rest of the drive trying not to daydream about Kas’ moist lips leaving a hot, sensual trail down her neck. />
  They talk and laugh all through dinner, so wrapped up in learning more about each other they lose track of time, barely arriving at the theater in time to see the movie Kas lets Raina choose. She had tried to pay for dinner, but Kas refused, so she offers to pay for the movie, and when that doesn’t work, for the drinks and popcorn, but he refuses again, informing her of his old-fashioned ways. She gracefully retreats, thanking him for the wonderful night.

  Back at home, Raina undresses and slips underneath the covers. Fitful dreams engulf her subconscious almost as soon as she closes her eyes. She bounces from beautiful, delicious dreams of Kas to sickening nightmares of hard, unforgiving hands and scouring words.

  The next morning leaves her feeling more exhausted than when her head hit the pillow the night before. She numbly showers and dresses, stoically preparing herself to face Chris for the first time since the night he sent her to the hospital.

  Court is crowded and as crazy as a circus, making Raina feel hopelessly lost as to what is going on around her. Chris had pleaded guilty at his earlier arraignment, due to his lawyer’s advice and promise of getting a lesser term. Apparently, the lawyer feared a jury’s decision once he had seen the pictures of her broken and bruised body from Chris’ hands. Besides the slap from the prior night, this is Chris’ first offense. His lawyer assured him that he will fare much better with a guilty plea and his cooperation of showing his remorse for what he had done. The only problem is that, when his gaze meets Raina’s as she steps into the court room with Kas, his punishing glare is anything but remorseful.

  The proceedings pass quickly, and Raina is relieved that it’s almost over. She can tell by the grip loosening a bit from Kas’ grasp that he is relieved as well. The judge gives Chris a two year prison sentence with a chance for parole after eighteen months, if he completes the required anger management courses.

  Kas swears under his breath, and his grip tightens around her fingers again, in obvious objection from the lax term. The bailiff cuffs Chris as he shoots a murderous glare in Raina’s direction when he is led away. Kas pulls her against him protectively, matching Chris’ stare with a chilling deathly one, silently warning Chris that he will have to go through him to get to her, and he has no plans on ever letting that happen.

  When they reach the lobby, Kas is briefly pulled away by one of the attorneys asking him some questions about a human trafficking case that will be going to court shortly. Raina starts to take a seat on one of the benches to wait for Kas when she sees Chris’ father coming straight towards her. She straightens and braces herself for what she is sure will not be a pleasant exchange.

  “You little slut!” Mr. Sutton spits out as he storms towards her, his face a furious shade of red.

  Her pulse quickens, and her stomach flutters nervously, but she firmly stands her ground. She will not allow him to bully her.

  “You did this to Chris, he had a prosperous future, his pick of positions in his field, but you...you ruined all of that!” Mr. Sutton venomously accuses her, his threatening finger mere centimeters from her nose.

  Raina feels the color drain from her face, but she musters up all the courage she has left and takes a deep breath, so her voice doesn’t betray her. “I see Chris gets his charm from you,” she manages by some miracle to say the words calmly, despite that she is literally shaking from fear and anger. She grabs the anger and holds onto it like a life raft helplessly adrift in a very angry ocean.

  How dare he blame this on me! Her mind reels, fuming over Mr. Sutton’s misplaced anger. She glares at him as she recalls Chris’ accusations of her having sex with Kas. Her temper boils to dangerous levels as her thoughts run rampant in her mind, Even if I had slept with Kas, or any man for that matter, it doesn’t give Chris the right to hurt me.

  She wants to tell Mr. Sutton that his son is a liar, a megalomaniac, narcissistic jerk who beat her because he was pissed off that she wouldn’t have sex with him. She wants to tell him that she hasn’t had sex with anyone, at least not consensually, but rationally, she knows that it won’t matter. He’s angry, and no matter what she tells him he is going to blame her for Chris being behind bars.

  She looks Mr. Sutton squarely in the eye. “Chris did this to himself,” she states as firmly and calmly as she can manage before she turns to go, but just like his son he has to have the last word.

  He grabs her arm, but before Raina has a chance to see what he is going to do next Kas is beside them, his hand reaching out, expertly wrenching Chris’ father’s hand free of her arm. Mr. Sutton cries out in pain from Kas’ excruciating grip.

  “Stay away from her!” Kas warns him, his words dripping with pure venom.

  The quarrel catches the attention of a few of the guards, and they descend on them in seconds, separating the two men and pulling Raina safely to the side as the chaos is eventually sorted by a flash of Kas’ badge and his authoritative command for them to remove Mr. Sutton from the building.

  “Are you okay?” Kas turns his attention back to Raina, worry apparent in his eyes.

  “I’m fine,” she mumbles, not wanting to admit just how much the encounter has rattled her.

  “You should press charges against that lunatic.”

  “He’s just upset about what happened today,” she explains, trying to calm Kas’ impending tirade.

  “You’re defending him?” Kas asks her incredulously, his eyes wide from shock.

  “I’m not defending his actions, just the basic emotion behind them,” she explains.

  “He is the kind of father that has overindulged his son and has never made Chris accountable for his actions, and now, he has done something that he can’t fix,” Kas spouts, still unbelieving Raina’s benign reaction to the episode he just witnessed.

  She places her hand on Kas’ arm, attempting to calm him, to make him understand, “He just wants to protect his son.” Raina believes every word she tells Kas, despite her anger at how he had verbally attacked her. After her initial shock wore off, she has enough compassion to be able to compartmentalize and understand that his rash actions stem from a father’s panic at a loss of control over not being able to save his son. Even though Raina knows how inappropriately twisted it is, she can’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy, wishing her father loved her enough to have her back.

  Kas stares at her, bewildered by her innocence, her compassion, her willingness to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, wanting to believe the best in everyone. Pulling her into his arms, he kisses the top of her head. “You are the most amazing person I’ve ever met, Raina Kapture,” he tells her in awe, pushing away his sense of dejection and frustration from the knowledge that ‘Kapture’ isn’t her real name. She’s been through enough today, and he will not question her about her past again, not today anyway.

  Chase circles his fingers, massaging his pounding temples. He throws his arms out and leans his head back, giving in to his frustration, “Enough!”

  Kas and Raina stop yelling at each other and stare at Chase, surprised that his usual annoying shrink calmness eroded.

  Chase turns to both of them, straightening his tie and rolling his neck, giving himself a moment to regain his slipping composure. “I realize you are both very upset at the moment, but shouting will not solve anything.”

  “Shut up, Chase,” Kas grumbles.

  Chase shoots Kas a pointed look. “Nice, very nice,” he replies sarcastically.

  Guilt seeps into Raina at her behavior, “I’m sorry.” Leaning against the wall, she drops her gaze to the floor, embarrassed. She silently reminds herself that she has no right to yell, no matter how justified it felt just seconds ago when Kas was acting like a butt.

  “Well, I’m not,” Kas spits out sourly, sounding like a surly teenager. “I meant every word I said. You are not going back to that cabin, Raina, not with Sutton’s temper flaring. I will not allow it!”

  Raina folds her arms and steps in front of Kas, giving him a glacier stare before she turns on her heel and storms
back to her room, slamming the door behind her.

  Kas places his hands against the wall and drops his head wearily.

  Chase runs his hand over his eyes, wanting to give Kas a good smack on the backside of his head. He knows Kas better than anyone, and he knows that his overbearing actions are coming from good intentions. He also knows that Kas thrives on control, it’s a hard necessity in his line of work where one false move will get you dead.

  Chase realizes that with Raina’s equal death grip to control her own world, Kas is floundering out of his element. He is fully aware that Kas’ men wouldn’t dare question his authority, knowing the utmost importance of following orders to stay alive. Kas is a born leader, excellent at his job, and his men trust him explicitly. Chase can only imagine the helplessness he must feel not knowing if Raina will stay or go, wondering if she leaves, how he is supposed to protect her. He decides to put his overbearing, control-freak, best friend at ease. “She’s not going anywhere,” he informs Kas as he gives him a reassuring smack on his slumped shoulder instead.

  Kas continues to lean against the wall but turns his head towards Chase hopefully. “And how do you know that?” he asks wearily.

  Chase shrugs his shoulders simply, “Because, she slammed the door to her room instead of slamming the front door.”

  Raina spends the next couple of hours fuming and pouting, hiding out in what Kas so eloquently appointed as her room. Flopping down on top of the bed, she looks around at where she will continue to sleep for the next undetermined amount of time. The ambivalence battling inside confuses her. She is furious at how Kas thinks he can just order her to stay. She swore to herself that she wouldn’t take orders from anyone ever again.

  She is increasingly annoyed at the relieved feeling that treacherously plays with her emotions, making her waver when she wants to stand her ground and prove she can make it on her own. Sighing resignedly, she throws her arm over her eyes as she begrudgingly admits to herself that it’s not entirely true that she wants to leave and stand on her own. It’s more like she needs to. The need for her to prove that she is independent and doesn’t need any man’s help has become perversely addicting, making her feel like the weak, pathetic loser her father has told her for years that she is if she falters. Lying on the bed, she sulks for another half-hour before deciding to put on her proverbial big girl panties and face Kas.