Hot-Bites, Volume Two by Jenika Snow

Chapter Twelve

Michael

Cassie has been quiet since we left the motel. I’ve tried to draw her out of her shell, but she’s built this wall. She smiles when I touch her. She lets me hold her hand and she’s sweet—but I know there’s something on her mind, something she’s not telling me.

I should man-up and ask her, but I find I don’t want to. If she tells me she’s having second thoughts, I’m not sure I can hold it together. She’s mine and she’s not getting away. Telling her that, however, makes me sound like a lunatic. There’s no way to keep her with me if she wants to go—short of tying her to my bed and not letting her leave. I’d like to say I’m not that crazy—but when it comes to Cassie, it’s just not true. I’ll keep her until she sees what I do; we’re made for each other.

I glance over at Cassie. She’s staring out the window, completely lost in thought. I can’t help but wonder what she’s thinking about. Is it me? Us?

Does she regret last night?

I made it pretty clear that I want her pregnant. I held nothing back. Is she wishing she could go back and change things now? Seems to me I have all these questions and zero answers, and I find it frustrating as hell.

“You hungry?” I finally ask. My voice is abrupt and abrasive. It comes out much more confrontational than I intended and she jumps.

“I… No, not really.” She shrugs, and then turns to look back out the truck window again.

“If you’re regretting last night, Cassie, it’s too damn late now,” I growl, releasing a pent-up breath as I pull over to the first restaurant I see.

“I don’t regret last night, Michael.”

“I gave you a chance to change your mind. You don’t get to pout now just because you’re—”

“Michael, I said I don’t regret last night,” she says, finally getting through to me.

“You’ve barely spoken since we left the motel, Cassie,” I respond, deciding not to let her run away from this.

“I’m nervous,” she says with a sigh, not really looking at me.

I come to a stop in a graveled parking lot and shift the truck into park. Then I turn halfway in the seat so I can see her.

“After what we shared last night, I’m not seeing how you feel like—”

“It’s not you, Michael.”

“Come again?”

“I’m not quiet or nervous because of you or us…or anything like that.”

“Then what the hell is going on, Cassie? You’ve given me the cold shoulder since we left.”

“I didn’t mean to. I didn’t actually realize I was. It’s just…”

“Just?” I prompt when she doesn’t finish. She shrugs and waves her hands kind of helplessly.

“It’s my brother. I’m dreading meeting him. It’s not going to go well. I mean, the minute I bring up rehab it will go bad, but even before that… I know this sounds horrible, Michael, but I’m just dreading seeing him again.”

“Then why are you?” I ask, more than a little curious.

“He’s my brother,” she whispers. “And I love him,” she adds, and with those words she sounds more than a little lost. It’s clear that her brother has hurt her over the years. I flex my hand against the steering wheel, wishing I had her brother here to knock some sense into.

What kind of fuck-head would take for granted something like the presence of Cassie in his life? How could he not appreciate her love and friendship? I may never have met her brother, but I seriously doubt he has a brain in his head. Everything about Cassie demands you protect her, keep her safe… appreciate her. I recognize that and I’m still getting to know her.

“Cassie—”

“And I think I hate him,” she whispers guiltily.

“Cassie—”

“See what kind of person you got messed up with, Michael?”

“Cassie—”

“I can’t even take care of my brother… without resenting him.”

“Sweetheart. Listen to me?”

Her face colors at my question.

“Yeah,” she mumbles, clearly embarrassed—which was not my intention. Cassie is going to have to learn me better. Then again, I guess I am her too, because I thought the fact that she was so quiet and withdrawn had to do with me. It is to be expected I suppose, if you go by the fact that we met and got together so quickly. That’s fine by me though. I’ll take my time getting to know all the facets of her. I want to know her completely. She’s the first person I could ever say that I want to know me—all of me.

“You’re going all the way to Boise to help your brother—”

“Well, yeah. But, I don’t want to do it and—”

“You said you’d let me talk, so do that and listen to me, Cassie,” I respond, my reprimand a little sharper than normal, but only because I can’t stand to hear her put herself down again.

“Okay,” she answers, and her gaze is filled with annoyance.

It’s clear my Cassie has a temper hidden just underneath. It’s going to be fun uncovering that and more.

“Most people get burned, Cassie. They don’t keep coming back. Your brother should get down on his knees and thank his lucky stars that he has a woman—a good woman—willing to show up at a moment’s notice and try to save him.”

“Addiction is a sickness, Michael. It’s a disease that you have to fight. I shouldn’t resent him because of his illness,” she says, her face contorted with a mixture of pain, sorrow and shame.

I don’t give Cassie time to think about things. Instead, I haul her over the seat and onto my lap. I cradle her there and kiss the top of her head, brushing my fingers through her locks, trying to soothe her. In truth, I’m almost afraid to see what happens when I meet her brother. It’s clear he’s taken advantage of Cassie, and obviously he weighs on her mind and in her heart enough that she feels guilt. I can’t say until I see him around Cassie, but I venture to say he uses that to his advantage and those kind of games are over now.

No one is going to hurt my Cassie.

Not even her own brother.