Page 79 of Fight for You

"Hey," he mutters to us.

"Hey," I mumble back to him, reaching for Cade's hand.

Titan glances between the two of us before his eyes land on the ring on my finger.

I think about yanking my hand back to hide it from him but decide I'm not going to do that. He doesn't have to like that I'm wearing Cade's ring, but he's just going to have to get used to it. I'm going to marry Cade whether Titan likes it or not.

"You gave her a ring?" he asks, looking at Cade.

Cade clenches his jaw and then nods, not speaking.

Something flickers through Titan's green eyes. For a second, he appears lost, like he's completely alone in the world. The sight makes my heart ache for him. But before I can say anything to ease his pain, that lost look vanishes, and determination fills his gaze.

"Can we talk?" he asks Cade, running a hand down his face.

Cade stands there silently for a second and then sighs. "Fine." He turns to me and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. "Go get ready for your party, baby girl. I'm going to go outside and talk to Titan for a minute."

I frown up at him and then over at Titan. "You two better not get into a fight on my birthday," I warn them, though I'm speaking more to Titan than Cade because I know Cade would never take a swing at Titan first. I'm not so sure about my brother though. I barely know him anymore. "If you fight, I'll never speak to you again."

"I'm not trying to fight with him, January," Titan promises me, holding up his hands. He actually seems hurt that I think he'd do something like that. "I may be an asshole, but I'd never ruin your birthday."

"You better not," I mutter, releasing my grip on Cade's hand to step around him.

Titan stops me with a hand on my arm.

"What?" I ask him.

He opens his mouth and then closes it, pulling me in for a hug. He holds me to his chest for a long moment, tucking my head beneath his chin. I'm so surprised by his display of affection that it takes me a second to hug him back.

"I hope you know I love you, and I'm proud of you," he whispers, his voice gruff. "And I'm sorry I've been such an asshole. Happy birthday, sis."

"I…. Thank you," I mumble.

He hugs me for another second and then lets me go before turning on his heels and heading for the front door. I watch him go, not sure what's going on with him.

"Go get ready, baby girl," Cade says, stepping up beside me to kiss me on the cheek.

"Okay," I mumble, watching as he follows my brother outside and shuts the door behind him. A big part of me wants to run over to the front door and press my ear to the heavy wood to listen to what they're saying. It's been so long since they've had an actual conversation. I'm dying to know what Titan has to say to him now. But I don't do that.

Instead, I send up a little prayer that they're finally going to start being friends again…and then I go get ready for my birthday party like the adult I finally am.

Chapter Fifteen

January

Spending the night in Cade's arms is perfection. He keeps me close, not letting me separate from him for even an instant. We spend most of the night lost in one another, making love again and again. I don't know what time I finally fall into an exhausted, sated sleep, but I wake a few minutes before six, still wrapped up in his arms.

Even sleeping, he looks lethal, like the warrior I know he is. I'm not afraid of him. Despite what he told me last night, I feel safe with him. It hurts to know what he's been through. Hearing him talk about how he received each of his scars broke a little piece of me. To think I almost lost him so many times without even knowing is unbearable.

So is the fact that he's still afraid I'll learn to hate him. I wasn't lying when I told him I knew about what he did before he left Los Angeles. The truth wasn't hard to uncover if you knew where to look.

When the news hit the papers back then, it didn't take me long to put the pieces together. If he's a monster for killing them, then I'm a monster for wanting them dead. I hope they're burning in hell for what they did, unable to find even a moment of peace.

"Where you goin'?" Cade asks, snaking an arm around my waist when I try to sneak out of the bed to get ready for work. He rolls me underneath him, covering me with his hard body. He gazes down at me with sleepy eyes, looking so rumpled and handsome.

I brush his hair away from his forehead. His eyes fall closed, and he rumbles like a big cat purring. I think that might be my favorite sound in the world. It's sweet and sexy at the same time.

"Fuck, I missed that," he whispers, dropping his head to take my mouth in a deep kiss. He's soft and gentle, and then he growls, and his control slips. He attacks my mouth, thrusting one hand into my hair to hold my head still as he takes what he wants from me, kissing me until I'm wiggling and moaning beneath him.