Chapter 233 Look, a bug!

Chapter 233 Look, a bug!
♤Cain♤

My lips parted slightly as my eyes followed Leila’s hand… and that smug, infuriating little look on her face.

Was this even real?

Was she really the same girl I had found sitting on the roadside, looking like she’d already given up on the world?

How did someone recover this fast?

It was crazy.

Completely insane and worst of all—

It was turning me on.

I shook her hand slowly, feeling my body betray me as my cock twitched in response.

Fuck.

I released her immediately and shut my eyes, dragging in a sharp breath.

This is bad, Cain.
This isn’t right.

I repeated it in my head like a prayer.

Over and over.

The same words I’d told myself earlier—right before I forced myself to stop her, right before I told her the truth when I realized she was slipping into some dreamlike, feral state while sucking on my cock.

It had been wrong.

So wrong.

She was grieving.

She was broken.

Hell she evwn thought I was Tobias.

She thought it was just a dream.

And I couldn’t—wouldn’t—take advantage of that. Even though I almost did.

But now here she was, acting all casual, all bold, like she hadn’t just crossed every possible line.

Like nothing had happened and she hadn’t nearly undone me.

Meanwhile, my body was still burning, reacting and betraying me.

And she has no idea.

This was torture, pure, merciless torture.

Plus the worst part?

She had been the first.

The first person to ever put her lips on my cock.

In all my years—growing up in this world, becoming a Don, drowning in women who threw themselves at me—I had never cared for that.

I’d let women do anything else.

Anything but put their lips on my dick.

It never interested me.

But I stayed, I wanted to stay for her.

It was a freaking revolution.

But with the wrong woman, at the wrong fucking time.

“I’m hungry. I want to eat something.”

Her voice snapped me out of my spiral.

I straightened so fast it was almost embarrassing.

“Yeah—yeah. Okay. I’ll… I’ll get you something.”

I was on my feet before she even finished speaking.

Good.
Focus, Cain.

No more drifting. No more stupid thoughts.

She was grieving.

She was hurting.

And I was standing here replaying things I had no business replaying.

Get it together.

The goal was simple: feed her, keep her calm, slowly get her to talk about what happened before she fell—without dragging her back into that pain.

Easy.

In theory.

“I’ll get you something to eat,” I said quickly, already opening the door for her.

We walked into the kitchen together.

The silence felt louder than gunshots.

I went straight to the fridge, desperate for distraction, and found the stir-fry rice Mia had made earlier. I shoved it into the microwave like my life depended on it.

Anything to keep my hands busy.

“Is your head okay?” I asked, staring very hard at the counter.

“Yes. I’m good now.”

Her voice was calm.

I glanced at her without thinking.

Big mistake.

Her dress was torn slightly at the thigh, probably from when she fell off the bed.

She hadn’t even noticed.

She was sitting there quietly, sipping water like nothing in the world was wrong.

I snapped my gaze back to the counter.

Don’t.

“This is wrong,” I muttered under my breath. “This isn’t right. She just lost her baby, you pervert.”

I turned away as if that would erase my thoughts.

It didn’t.

Because my stupid brain chose that exact moment to betray me.

Her voice.

Her warm tongue.

The way she had looked at me earlier.

“I’m memorizing your body…”

Just feel…

“Fuck…”

I shut my eyes, jaw clenched, heat flooding through me.

Not now.

Get a grip.

“Cain!”

Her voice—sharp, panicked—cut through my head.

I snapped my eyes open.

The microwave beeped.

Saved by technology.

“Oh—sorry. I wasn’t lis—”

I grabbed the plate and put it in front of her before she could finish.

“Here.”

“Thank you,” she said softly.

I kept my eyes down.

Didn’t trust myself.

“Oh shit.”

That made me look.

She was staring at her torn dress, thank God she finally noticed.

“I’m just going to change in my room and come back,” she said, standing.

“Sure,” I replied, forcing a smile while rubbing the back of my neck.

Torture.

Absolute torture.

I watched her walk away, then leaned both hands on the counter and exhaled slowly.

Get it together, Cain.

I stared at the plate of food like it had personally offended me.

Should I… go take care of this?

No.

What if she came back and didn’t find me?

What if she walked in and I was gone, locked in the bathroom like some horny teenager who couldn’t control himself?

Absolutely not.

I shook my head hard.

Get a grip.

Endure it.

This was my punishment for letting things get that far in the first place.

I could have stopped her.

I should have stopped her.

She had been right earlier.

I was stronger than her. Faster even. More than capable of pushing her away.

But I’d denied it because I was embarrassed.

Because admitting the truth meant admitting I hadn’t wanted to stop her.

And now look at me.

Miserable, frustrated, and completely fucked up.

I checked the time.

3:00 a.m.

Great.

The boys would be done with Dimitri by now.

After Leila fainted and I brought her to my room, I hadn’t even gone back to the dungeon. I hadn’t called anyone. Hadn’t checked in.

I’d just told them to keep digging into Dimitri and to find the bastard that pushed Leila.

And I’d given them an ultimatum.

If they didn’t—

“Ahhh!”

The scream cut through my head like a bullet.

Leila.

I was on my feet instantly. Heart in my throat, I rushed upstairs without thinking.

I barged in and froze.

She came rushing out of the bathroom, wrapped in nothing but a towel. Hair wet. Skin damp. Breath uneven.

She looked like she had just stepped out of the shower.

I blinked.

Once.

Twice.

What?

I thought she was just going to change.

Why was she showering?

Why was she screaming?

And why did she still look… like that?

No.

No.

Stop.

That is not what you’re supposed to be thinking, Cain.

“What is it?” I asked quickly, forcing my eyes away. “What’s wrong, Leila?”

She gasped and pointed.

“A bug. A bug. Look—up there!”

I followed her finger.

A tiny flying thing buzzed lazily near the ceiling.

I stared at it.

Then sighed.

Seriously?

She made me sprint upstairs and have a cock attack because of a bug?

Before I could say anything, she rushed toward me and grabbed my arm, hiding behind my body.

“It’s coming at me!”

“It’s just a bug,” I said automatically.

But my body still shifted in front of her without permission.

Instinct.

Stupid instinct.

I started counting in my head.

One. Two. Three.

Don’t think. Don’t feel. Don’t react.

Just be normal.

My phone rang.

Thank God.

I grabbed it immediately.

“Speak.”

“Boss,” Xavi said. “We found who pushed Miss Leila.”

My heart stopped.

“What?”

I turned slowly toward her.

She was still staring at the ceiling, tracking the bug like it was her mortal enemy.

Completely unaware.

My grip tightened on the phone.

I looked at Leila again.

She glanced at me, confused. “What?” she asked softly.

I shook my head.

“Nothing,” I muttered, biting my lip.

I ended the call.

My mind was racing.

We knew.

Finally.

We had the answer.

The person who had taken her baby.

The person who had nearly killed her.

And she was standing right in front of me, slowly starting to smile again.

Starting to breathe again.

Starting to heal.

Was it right to tell her now?

To drag her back into that darkness?

She was already breaking.

Already rebuilding herself from nothing.

Did I really want to be the one to shatter that again?