“I don’t see the connection.” There wasn’t one, of course. She was speaking gibberish. What obligation did she feel toward Cain? Who gave a flying f**k what he thought about their marriage?
“Cain was my student, John.”
“The truth, Karen,” he chided. “We still haven’t reached the truth.”
“John, please. I don’t want to tell you!” she blurted. “Just trust me. Can you? Can you trust me, John?”
“No,” he said simply. Not when it was about Cain. He couldn’t trust anyone.
Shaking from her sobs, she put her arms around his neck, but he couldn’t respond. “Tell me.”
“You won’t understand. You… It’ll ruin what we have. Please, I’m begging you. Let it go! Let’s move away from Whiterock. Then you won’t have to see Cain. Neither of us will ever have to see him again.”
John had ice in his veins. Cold, sludgelike blood that was freezing up his heart, which seemed to be beating very, very slowly…. “You slept with him,” he said. “You slept with my stepson.”
She froze, as if shocked by his statement.
“That’s it, isn’t it? You probably stood in line behind all the other women he’s been with to have your turn.” He got up because he couldn’t sit any more. “Was it tonight? How long has this been going on?”
“Nothing’s going on!” she cried.
Grabbing the thin fabric of her nightgown, he hauled her up onto her knees. “Don’t lie to me! Whatever you do, don’t you dare lie! I know you slept with him. I can see the guilt on your face!”
“But n-not tonight. N-not now.”
“When?” He dug his fingers into the flesh of her arms, demanding a response.
“A long time ago! It happened once, John. We—we haven’t been together in twelve years. It was a mistake. That’s all. I didn’t realize what I was doing. I was confused and Cain came in every day and sat at the back of my class—”
John grasped at fleeting hope. “Are you telling me it wasn’t your fault? That he forced you?”
As she stared up at him, the shine of her tears reflected the moonlight streaming in through the window. Please say yes. That was all he needed. Then he could blame Cain and Cain alone. Then he could take Karen and her testimony to the police and finally destroy the one person who’d been destroying him, inch by inch, for years.
But she wasn’t answering. “Did he rape you?” he shouted, shaking her hard.
Rattled by his rough treatment, she could barely talk. “N-no. It—it was my fault. I…I wanted him. I was confused—”
“You wanted him.” John let her go, and she fell back on the bed.
“It was a long time ago, John. It has no bearing on our current relationship. None at all. I’ve been over Cain for years.”
“You wanted him,” he said again. “He was sleeping with you while I was going crazy trying to get you just to go out with me.”
“It only happened once. That was before I knew you like I know you now. That was before I fell in love with you.”
He gaped at her. “But…don’t you understand? I’ll never be able to believe it’s really me you want. You’re settling. You’re settling for me because you know he’d never want you for more than a quick piece of ass. Especially when he could have someone really beautiful. Someone like Sheridan.”
She gulped at his words. He’d shocked her with the truth. Well, it was his turn, wasn’t it?
“John, l-let’s calm down before we say things we’ll regret,” she said, attempting to gain control of the situation. “I know you’re hurt and you want to be cruel. But listen to me. It was a mistake, nothing more.”
“Because you refused him afterward?” he asked softly.
He could sense how badly she wanted to say yes. He could also sense the decency in her warring with a desire to blame it all on Cain. “No,” she admitted.
“If it was up to you it would’ve continued.”
She didn’t respond.
“Answer me!”
“Probably.” She’d spoken so low he had to strain to hear her.
“That’s rich, isn’t it?” John laughed without mirth. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever really wanted, and now I find out you’re Cain’s sloppy seconds. What am I supposed to do about that? I certainly can’t marry you.”
She clutched at his shirt. “Forgive me, John. Please. I—I’ve wanted to tell you the truth for a long time. I’ve thought about it again and again.”
“That’s why you called Cain over here in the middle of the night? Because you wanted to tell me?”
“I didn’t call him over here.”
“He came on his own?”
“No, I—I called him earlier. I needed to talk, to discuss what we should do. And we decided it would be best not to tell. We knew it would only cause you pain and doubt for nothing.”
“We.”
“Not we, necessarily. Me. I didn’t know what to do, okay? What happened between Cain and me that one time was just a stupid mistake. Can’t you see that? It’s over. I love you.”
“You don’t love me!” He slapped her before he even knew he was going to do it. Her head whipped back with the force of the blow; then her jaw dropped and she stared at him, fingering the mark he’d left on her cheek.
“I hope you feel better,” she whispered.
He didn’t. Not in the least. He kept seeing her taking off her clothes for Cain, welcoming him into her body, wrapping her legs around his hips and moaning, just as she did for him….
He had to get out of here. If he stayed, there was no telling what he might do.
The telephone woke Cain almost as soon as he fell asleep, but he immediately scrambled to get it. The shrill sound jangled his nerves, made him think immediately of Sheridan. He shouldn’t have left her. Had something happened?
“Hello?”
When he heard nothing, his heart jumped into his throat.
“Sheridan? Are you okay?”
There was some noise—like muffled crying—then a whispered, “It’s Karen.”
Cain glanced at his alarm clock. He’d only been home half an hour, just long enough to fall asleep. “What’s wrong?”
“He knows.”
John. The secret was out. Taking a deep breath, Cain dropped his head into his hand and massaged his temples. “How?”