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He made a skeptical sound. “I’ll elaborate at a later date, I promise. Right now, I don’t want to think about it anymore.”
Wynter felt her shoulders lower as her frustration leached out of her. “Can’t say I blame you.” She looped her arms around his neck. “So how did the reunion between you and Eve go?”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “I felt nothing when I saw her. Not one thing. Other than distrust, that is.”
“And this surprises you? Because it shouldn’t. Not even a little.”
He righted his head, frowning. “She’s my mother, Wynter.”
“But she wasn’t a mother to you. I’m not saying that’s her fault. I’m simply making the point that you don’t have a parent-child connection with her. Your relationship with Eve has always been complicated. You were only allowed to see her on certain occasions while Abel and your sisters were free to see and touch and hug and love her all the time. You were always the outsider. You never belonged.” Which seriously made Wynter want to weep for him. “And it’s okay if some part of you is angry with her.”
“I don’t feel angry with her. I don’t feel much of anything when it comes to her. I haven’t for a very long time. I was pissed when she chose to Rest. She was all I really had. And then she was gone. My anger faded, and then there was nothing other than pity.”
Wynter lifted her shoulders. “Then maybe some part of you switched off from her to spare you pain. Or something. Whatever the case, you can’t expect yourself to react normally to being reunited with Eve. It’s not a normal situation. She wasn’t a mom. She wasn’t allowed to openly love you, and vice versa. Plus, you have lived a very long life and she’s been absent for most of it. Sad as it is, you two don’t have a familial bond.” Wynter paused. “How long did she Rest for?”
He pursed his lips. “About thirty decades.”
“So Seth never had a mom growing up either.”
“No.” Cain dropped his hands to her waist and gathered the ends of her tee. “By the time she woke, he’d moved out of the family home. He didn’t make much of an effort to build a real relationship with her because he hated going back there and being around Adam.” Cain peeled off her tee and let it fall to the floor. “It’s just as strange for Seth to have Eve here as it is for me.”
“Do you think she and her grandkids truly could be here on behalf of Adam or Abel?”
“Think?” Cain echoed, his gaze following the path of his hands as they skimmed down her body and caught the waistband of her jeans. “No, I don’t think they are. But I also don’t trust that they aren’t. You?”
“After all you told me about the dynamics between you and Abel, I agree with what you said earlier, he’d never send his kids here. But that’s not to say that Adam wouldn’t do it—he doesn’t seem to have the kind of scruples that would stop him.”
“Which is why I don’t want you anywhere near Eve or her grandchildren.” Cain pinned her gaze with his. “Adam is cruel enough to send them on what would potentially be a suicide mission if it meant getting what he needs to stop Aeon from falling. That is you.”
“Hey, I wasn’t planning to seek them out or anything,” Wynter assured him. She would have liked to talk to them and get a feel for whether they were lying their asses off, but it wasn’t as if she couldn’t have faith in Cain’s judgement on that score.
“If there comes a time when I can trust them around you, I’ll be more than happy to introduce you to them. But for now—”
“I get it. I’m not offended; I don’t feel like you simply don’t want to introduce me to your mother.”
“Good.” He lowered the zipper of her fly. “Lose the jeans and panties.”
She happily shimmied out of them while he took care of whipping off her bra. As she stood naked before him, he dragged his eyes over her body, so intensely focused on her that it made a delightful shiver run through her.
His gaze returned to hers, and something decadently predatory flared there for a moment. He stalked forward, herding her toward the bed. “Lie back. Good. Now spread your legs, give me something pretty to look at while I undress.”
Wynter parted her thighs, watching as he fisted the back of his shirt and then tugged it off. Well, damn. His upper body was just . . . gah, so much to scratch and lick and bite.
Her thigh muscles clenched as the rest of his clothes disappeared. Adonis had nothing on this dude. Seriously, Cain had the most spectacular body. Hard. Toned. Sleek. Tattooed.
“There’s something I need from you,” he said.
Right back atcha. She swallowed, her eyes fixed on the long, thick cock that was currently standing loud and proud. “I do hope it’s sexual, because I’m getting all hot and tingly already.” Her toes almost curled at the low, deep chuckle that rumbled out of him. The man was just a delight to her senses.
“Not sexual.” He knelt between her thighs on the mattress. “You agreed to be my consort. I want you to wear something that signifies that.”
She felt her brows dip. “And what would that be? If it’s jewelry, you’d be better off skipping it. I have a habit of losing jewelry, and I couldn’t trust that Delilah wouldn’t steal it—she likes pretty, shiny stuff.”
“It’s not jewelry.” He palmed her knees. “It’s a seal.”
“A seal?”
“Shifters leave bites. Demons leave brands. Vampires have Binding knots. My kind mark what is ours just the same. We call that mark a seal.” He smoothed his hands up her inner thighs. “I want mine imprinted on your skin.”
