Page 29 of Black Widow's Bite

I hated to disturb them when they looked so peaceful, but my skin was starting to itch and I desperately wanted a shower. As carefully as I could, I untangled myself from the pile of bodies strewn over my bed, stepping over Wyatt to slip off the end. Somehow, I managed not to wake anyone, and I crept upstairs as quietly as I could, making my way to Cain’s room. I spent a long time in the shower, longer than I normally did. I scrubbed every inch of my body three times over, four if it was a place I knew Jake had touched me. I scrubbed so long the water started to cool off and my skin turned a raw shade of pink. My wrists were swollen and bruised, but the skin wasn’t open anymore. In fact, all of my injuries looked like they’d been healing for weeksalready. I had a wicked scar on my stomach from the knife, and puffy pink lines were patterning my skin from where he’d cut me to ribbons, but they were all healing at least. I could still see Cain’s handprint on my neck, but it was starting to fade now. One of Jake’s first cuts had been directly across the burn, some unconscious spite on his part, I’m sure.

Feeling much cleaner now, I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, heading back out into the bedroom in search of a clean shirt. I jumped back, catching movement on the bed, but it was just Cain. I sighed with relief, my nerves still on edge. They probably would be for a long time now. “You should go back to sleep,” I murmured, noting the dark circles etched around his eyes.

“I woke up, and you were gone again. I just needed to know you were okay,” he sighed, rubbing his face. I walked over to his dresser and rummaged through it, pulling out a tee shirt that looked big enough to fit me like a short dress.

“I felt pretty grimy, so I wanted to shower,” I explained, dropping my towel on the floor. Cain looked away immediately, giving me privacy, and I smiled. I think we were well past the need for modesty at this point, especially considering I’d just been mostly naked for three days. I held onto the shirt, but left it off, walking over to Cain. He turned his face away, eyes downcast, until I grabbed his chin and pulled it back up so he was facing me. “It’s okay,” I told him gently. His eyes met mine, and they were so full of guilt and remorse that it made my heart ache. His hand reached up to brush against the burn he’d left on my neck, one finger tracing the line the knife had scored across it.

“I’m sorry,” he said again and dropped to his knees in front of me, pressing his face into my stomach. I ran my hands through his hair, soothing him as he took a few shuddering breaths.

“It wasn’t your fault,” I told him, stroking his hair. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” He looked up at me, his face clouded in pain.

“He came here because of me,” he replied hoarsely. “He hurt you because of me.” I held his gaze as he stood, craning my neck up as he loomed over me. I touched his face gently, and he leaned against my hand, closing his eyes.

“Your brother hurt me because he was deranged,” I countered. “And I’m okay now. I’m home and I’m safe.” He sighed heavily, his hand moving to the scar on my neck once more.

“I don’t think anyone is safe here,” he replied quietly. I craned my neck and brushed my lips against his softly.

“Then we move,” I replied, deliberately ignoring the true meaning of his words. “I would like a room with actual walls. And I’ll need a bigger bed, like a king size at least.” I smiled, trailing my fingers down his arm. He smiled despite himself, leaning down to rest his forehead against mine.

“If you really want to stay, I’ll get you whatever you want,” he told me softly. “A bigger house, a bigger bed, even a room you can fill with spiders if you want.” He lifted his fingers up to my chin, brushing my skin so lightly that he was just the barest flicker of warmth.

“I don’t know, my spiders might start a turf war with Austin’s snakes, and then we’d have a real war zone on our hands,” I laughed, angling my face toward his. Cain pressed his lips to mine. So gentle and sweet I wasn’t sure this was the same man I’d been living with for weeks now. I deepened the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck so I could press my naked body against his. His hands moved to my waist, but he felt hesitant to touch me, like he was worried I would shatter if he pressed too hard.

I huffed and shoved Cain lightly in the chest, pushing him back onto the bed. I swallowed his protest, capturing his mouth with mine again as I moved to straddle him on the bed. His hands roamed up my thighs, moving to grab my hips as I ground against him, a low growl escaping his throat. “Take off your shirt,” I ordered. He looked at me like he might object for a moment before his hands moved and he slid his shirt up over his head. His torso was a battleground, scars of different shapes and sizes scattered across his chest and stomach. I traced a couple with my fingers as he watched me, eyes smouldering.

I undid the button of his jeans, shifting down so I could pull them off his hips. Cain started to sit up, and I pushed him back down, climbing back on top of him. I could feel him through his boxers, and I rocked my hips in a teasing motion, rubbing my pussy against his length. His jaw clenched and heard the hiss of air as he exhaled through his teeth. I leaned down until my nipples brushed against his chest, kissing along his jaw. Cain’s hands moved back to my hips, his fingers digging in as his self-control started to slip. I shifted down his legs and tugged off his boxers, freeing his dick, which was already hard and leaking. He groaned when I grabbed the shaft, teasing him again with a few gentle strokes.

Climbing back onto his lap, I rolled my hips, sliding up and down his length before I positioned the tip along my slick entrance. His eyes were burning into me, and heat poured into my core as I sank down onto him slowly, taking him in inch by inch. He bucked his hips, going even deeper inside me until my hips were flush against his. I closed my eyes and rocked my hips, using him to hit just the right spot to send waves of pleasure through my body. I moaned, my hands dropping to his chest as I angled myself to get him even deeper, my pussy clamping down on his cock as the pleasure began to build with every thrust.

Cain rubbed my clit in slow circles, sending jolts of desire into the building pressure in my core. “Ride me, Addy, take what you need from me,” He murmured, his voice husky with need. He toyed with my clit, his other hand gripping my hip as I rode him, increasing my tempo as my pleasure crested. I came with a loud moan, clenching around him until he was coming as well. Cain sat up again, and this time, I didn’t push him away. He kissed me, deep and full of longing, his hand coming to tangle in my damp hair as he devoured me. When I came up for air, he continued to kiss my jaw and down my neck, his lips hot as they pressed against my skin.

He held me for a long time like that, keeping me warm with his body, until we eventually heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Apparently, we’d been gone long enough to draw notice. I slid off Cain’s lap and pulled his shirt over my head while he pulled his pants back on. We were barely covered up when Austin burst in, Piper and Wyatt at his heels. Austin looked like he’d been mobbed by a hoard of feral cats, with deep scratches all over his face and neck and what I could see of his arms. Wyatt looked exhausted, even after nearly a day of sleep, and Piper resembled a ghost. I could tell he’d dropped a lot of weight in just the three days I’d been gone.

Austin’s pupils dilated when he caught sight of me in Cain’s shirt, which I realized a bit too late hardly covered what I needed it to. A little smile formed on his face, and I could almost see what he was thinking before he moved. I yelped out a laugh as he tackled me playfully onto the bed, kissing me and smiling as his hands travelled up my legs. Cain just laughed and grabbed his shirt before it got trapped under Austin, shrugging it over his head.

“Watch it Austin, I’ve seen what happens to guys who get fresh with her,” he warned, shooting me a wink. I laughed and swatted at Austin as his hands tickled along my stomach.

I think we were going to be okay.

Chapter 31

Cain

Ikept an eye on things for a few weeks after we had burned down the building at the docks. A police investigation was opened when human remains turned up after the fire had been put out. It was determined that a worker from one of the nearby buildings had gone inside for a discrete smoke break. Something had caught fire, and he’d gotten trapped and burned with the building. His body was found close to where the fire started, and no one else had witnessed anything different, so the case was closed. I could’ve rested easy after that, but then Addy revealed that there had been another man in the building with them. He’d died before we’d gotten there, just another victim of Jake’s twisted games. This didn’t add up, and I was beginning to feel uneasy.

I waited until the crime scene tape was removed from around the building, and one night after everyone had gone to bed, I headed out on my own. Parking a little ways away from the warehouse, I walked the rest of the way, just in case there was still surveillance around it. I used the same broken window to climb through, stepping over bits of debris as I made my way to where we’d left him.

The firefighters had made a bit of a mess of things while they were battling the blaze, so it was hard to pinpoint the exact spot where we’d been. I picked through the piles of burnt trash and broken pieces of furniture, scanning the ground. It felt like itwould have been pretty difficult for the police to miss a second body, even if it had gotten buried in the rubble. I found the spot where I was pretty sure he’d been lying when we ran out, but it was empty. I scanned around the room. Maybe he’d managed to crawl somewhere before he’d died. I widened my search, using my phone as a flashlight so I could see in the dark corners of the room. I walked towards the door we’d escaped from, and on the wall near the bottom of the door, level to where someone’s head might be if they were crawling on their stomach, was a small and sinister-looking drawing of a smiley face smeared on with blood.

Fuck. I walked out into the night, searching the darkness, but I doubted that he was still there, lying in wait for me. How had he survived? We’d beaten him. I’d left him dying in a burning building. How the fuck could he have walked away from that? I cursed, kicking at a rock in my path. I couldn’t sleep, knowing he was out there. None of us were safe. I thought about Addy, and how close she’d been to dying. He’d strung her up from the fucking ceiling and bled her like an animal, all because I cared about her. We needed to leave, move to a different city, and get the fuck away from this place. I’d be more careful this time. I would do everything under a different name, and he wouldn’t be able to find us.

I trudged back to my car and slammed the door, pulling out a cigarette. I drove home with the windows open, letting the smoke trail off into the night. When I got back in, I found Addy curled up in my bed, even though I distinctly remember seeing her head downstairs before I’d left. She’d snuck into my room a few times in the last couple of weeks, usually late at night when I was already asleep. I’d wake up to her arm wrapping around my chest, her hair tickling my face as she nuzzled against my neck. She never said why she did it, but I had a feeling that she was having nightmares and was seeking out someplace she felt safe when she woke up. I didn’t mind having her nearby,her presence calming the endless torment between my temples. Stripping off my clothes, I slid into the bed beside her, wrapping my arms around her until she snuggled up against me. I liked these moments where I got her all to myself. It made it easier to just sit back and watch the others play and flirt with her during the day. I held her while she slept, unable to calm my own mind enough to drift off. I would start looking for a new place tomorrow, and we would move and start over together.

I would keep my family safe, no matter what.

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