Cain's Darkness by Jenika Snow

him, but it didn’t matter because he had left, and it was like she was chasing him.
    Maybe she should have just backed off like he said? But Violet had done that for too many years. Yes, he had been locked up, so staying away and not going to the prison hadn’t been too hard, but when he wouldn’t even respond to her letters or calls, she had backed off fully. But he had never been far from her mind, and now that he was out, she was not going to let him get away with just blowing her off again because he thought that was what she needed in her life. Violet knew about his life, and how rough and brutal it was. It wasn’t a secret, and she had been in the thick of it when he had gone in and the club had helped her and Fallina out.
    She called Cain’s number, not knowing if he would even answer, but knowing that she had to try.
    “Yeah?” he said over the line, the music loud on the other end and his voice hard and annoyed sounding. “Who the fuck is this?” he asked again, harsher this time. She heard the sound of someone shouting “cheeky” over and over again, and she knew he was at one of the bars in town.
    “Cain,” she said his name softly. “I got your number from Fallina.”
    “Fuck, Violet.” He didn’t sound annoyed, just defeated. “Is everything okay?” Although they had seen each other just a short time ago, she felt this tightening in her gut at the sound of her name coming from him.
    “I’m okay.”
    He exhaled loudly. “I meant to give you my new number. I guess the conversation and me hauling ass out of there had it escaping me. It’s just it wasn’t good for me to be there, especially not with where the conversation had been going.”
    They didn’t speak for a few seconds.
    “Violet, I know I left, and it’s for the best. Talking about it right now isn’t the right thing, sweetheart.”
    She closed her eyes at the endearment.
    “I will always look after you, protect you, but you and I both know we could never be together like that.” The sounds of talking and music faded away as he clearly moved to a quiet location.
    She felt like an asshole, like some kind of scorned or psycho woman that was going after a man that didn’t want her. But you know he wants you. His emotions are on his face when he looks at you, no matter how much he tries to hide it.
    That might be true, but Cain wasn’t the type of male to fold over when someone came after him. Cain was the type of guy that when he said something he meant it. He might love her—if he even had emotions that ran that deep—but that didn’t mean he’d allow himself to express them. She knew that from seeing him all those years, watching him with the few women he’d allowed in his life.
    “I just want to talk, more than what we did because you ran off. You looked like I scared you, Cain, like what I said frightened you so that you couldn’t even stand to be in the same room with me.”
    He sighed heavily. “I can’t do this with you, Violet. Not only are you Fallina’s friend, but you’re so much younger than me. I’d be taking advantage of you, taking something from you that might not be true because of the life you led and what had happened.”
    She curled her hands into fists. When he spoke again she’d heard the emotion in his voice. It wasn’t often she heard Cain speak softly, sincerely, but this was one of those times. She was pissed at the fact he wouldn’t even attempt to sit down and talk about this. “Tell me you don’t feel something for me more than just a man wanting to protect a woman. Tell me you don’t care about me, Cain, and I mean really care about me.”
    He didn’t respond.
    “Tell me you don’t love me,” Violet said so softly she didn’t even know if he had heard her.
    “Violet, baby.” He sounded so pained right then.
    “Just say the words and I will back off. I’ll try and put how I feel behind me, try and forget about you in that way.” She wouldn’t cry.
    “Nothing can happen