Page 64 of Up in Flames

And volatile.

So right now, I know the timing isn’t perfect.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

MAKAYLIE

Two Weeks Later

Even though I still get lost in Cain every chance I get, I’m wary. Phone conversations, his middle-of-the-night antics, and some of the things Rodberg says, plus the amount of time he spends behind closed doors where prying ears can’t hear him, all concern me. I’m not sure what he’s doing, but I know I don’t want to be involved in whatever it is.

Even though I’ve given myself to him completely, I don’t ask about his work, and he doesn’t tell.

I’m too scared to ask the questions I’m thinking because…

What would happen to us if I did know the truth?

Or am I making something out of nothing?

I don’t know.

But I do know that Cain is incredibly secretive when it comes to his family and me. He never talks about his parents, and every time I bring them up, he talks his way around to another topic. And as for me, he never says he’s out with me when we’re interrupted by one of the many phone calls he receives.

He’s always extremely vague about where he is. Answers like “Oh yeah, I’m just out,” or “Nah, I’m not doing anything right now.” I’m starting to have a phobia that he’s ashamed of me or something because he never mentions me to anyone. It’s like the only person in his life who knows about me is Rodberg.

And we all know how adorable he is,I think, and internally laugh.

I’m lost in my thoughts when Cain and I walk into his apartment.

“Hey, cutie pie. Are you ready for my Iron Rod?” Rodberg asks from the sofa.

Cain’s arm stiffens around my shoulders. I tighten my grip on his hand when he grunts, and I giggle, shaking my head. I have gotten used to Rodberg’s greeting style whenever I visit Cain’s place.

Rodberg grows on you after a while. He reminds me a lot of that guy, Spike, fromNotting Hill, the masturbating Welshman and his scene-stealing antics. I know it’s strange, but Rodberg is funny, and I know he wouldn’t try anything, especially now he knows I’m Cain’s property.

God, listen to me!

But really, Rodberg is harmless. He’s all talk. I just had to figure that out, and now that I see the funny side of him, he’s no longer a complete douchebag.

“Shut the fuck up, Rodberg. How many times do I have to tell you? Leave what belongs to me alone,” Cain says.

I roll my eyes. I just can’t help it.

This wholebelonging to mecrap is driving me insane.

“Baby, it’s fine,” I whisper into Cain’s ear, then gently nip at his earlobe.

He looks down at me with a salacious smirk, and I lean in to kiss him.

“Get a room! No, wait. Actually, scratch that and do it right here, in front of me. I’ve heard the show. Now I wanna see it in action,” Rodberg says, grabbing his cock.

Scratch that, Spike wasn’t that bad!Just when I think Rodberg’s starting to grow on me, he says shit like that.

Cain grunts, his body stiffening, seeming to puff out and grow larger. Almost like he’s hulking out as he lets me go and storms over to Rodberg. “That’s it! Get the fuck out. Don’t you have some hooker on standby you can go harass or something?” Cain yells, glaring at Rodberg as he stands chest-to-chest with Cain.

Rodberg stares Cain straight in the eyes for the first time like he’s defying him. Friends and coworkers stand off with the weight of the world on their shoulders, turning on each other like a pack of hungry wolves ready to slaughter their prey. The prey, in this case, is each other. Both of them grit their teeth and turn their lips up in obvious anger that’s rising between the pair. The tension rippling off the two men has the air so thick you could carve it with a knife.

My heartbeat races frantically, so hard I hear the thumping in my ears. Chewing on my bottom lip, I swallow hard, knowing Cain’s anger overtakes him when Rodberg talks about me like that.

---