C.A.K.E

Chapter 15: 4 A.M.

“Karma, what the hell is your problem?” he asks, in a harsh whisper. “Do you have any idea what time it

is?”

Karma glances over at Casper in the driver's seat. “I uh . . . I need to talk to you.”

“Can't this wait 'til morning?” There's a pause on his end. “I'm at home . . . with my wife.”

“This can't wait.” She sighs, skimming her hand over the simple black portfolio that's about to forever

alter another four lives. “We're outside.”

“We?”

Casper takes the phone from her. “Open the door, little brother.”

“Casper?”

He hands the phone back to Karma.

“Cain . . .” She takes a deep breath. “He knows. Everything.”

“Now, did I ask you to share that bit of information with him?” Casper shoots her a look laced with

enough venom to take down an elephant. “Hang up the damn phone.”

Casper exits the car, then walks around to the passenger side and helps Karma from the front seat.

She stands beside his Bentley, unmoving. Her feet have become one with the paved driveway.

Seeing that she might need a little incentive to move her ass, Casper reminds her that he could have

copies of these home videos on the desks of her boss and every last one of her colleagues. Her feet

seem to recover their ability to walk in a matter of seconds. He follows her slow stride up the front steps

of Cain's home.

Casper stands just behind Karma on the front porch of his little brother's house. The gaslight lanterns

that decorate the garden flicker on, giving everything within a three-foot radius an eerie glow. A

shudder runs through Karma when she hears voices on the other side of the double doors of the front

entrance to Cain's home.

Seconds later, Cain's wife, Manali answers the door.

Her deep umber hair is brushed up into a messy bun. Dressed in a thin satin robe, lavender bra, and

matching silk shorts, her fuller figure is a silken work of art. The caramel skin covering her petite frame

sings against the delicate, pastel material. She pulls the garment closed over her more than adequate

assets, as she greets her brother and sister-in-law.

“Casper, Karma . . . What are you doing here? Is something wrong?” Manali searches their faces.

Casper remains stone-faced, while Karma only has eyes for her feet.

Cain appears behind Manali and tries to usher her back into the house. He tugs on her arm, but she

shrugs off his grip.

“Go back to bed, baby.” He kisses her forehead, which makes Casper's skin want to crawl off his body.

“I can handle this.”

“What is there to handle?” she asks Cain. Then she directs her focus to Casper. “Did something

happen to Mom and Dad?”

Manali's mind shoots to the one logical reason that would have anyone making an unannounced visit at

this hour. Something must have happened to Charles and Leonora Callaghan.

She's close to her in-laws. Even refers to them as Mom and Dad. With her parents living across the

country in California, the Callaghans are her surrogate mother and father. If any unfortunate event were

to befall them, she'd be just as broken up about it as Casper and Cain would be.

Casper steps forward into the house. He shoots daggers at his brother, before placing his hands on

Manali's arms. He smiles at her and gives her shoulders a reassuring caress.

He looks into her dark amber eyes and the concern dancing in their depths. Her lids are still heavy with

the slumber that was interrupted by his and Karma's arrival. Casper almost reconsiders the pain he's

about to lay at her feet.

“Everyone is fine. Mum and Dad are fine. How are my nieces?”

“They're good, Cash.” An uneasy smile accompanies her furrowed brow.

He ignores the question on her face and continues to inquire about the lives of his nieces. “Has Sophie

started ballet yet?”

“Yeah, she and Jillie will both be in the Dance Premiere competition in two weeks.”

“Really?” Casper takes Manali's hands in his. “Let me know what time and place. Their uncle will be in

the front row.”

“Of course, we will.” She nudges his side. “I know you didn't drive all the way over here, just to make

small talk.”

“You're right. I didn't.” He glances back at Cain. “I just needed to have a word with my little brother. He

and I have something very important to discuss.”

Cain taps his foot on the gleaming wood floor. “What do you want, Casper?”

Casper flashes one more smile at Manali, then pulls a sniffling Karma into the house by her arm. She's

been standing frozen just outside the threshold, playing with the leather case that contains the

evidence of her and Cain's infidelity.

Her lover's wife inquires into her welfare, but she pretends to be hard of hearing. Karma refuses to

even meet Manali's stare.

“Karma, are you okay?” Manali asks, touching Karma's shoulder.

Hot tears begin to streak Karma's cheeks again. “I'm so sorry, Manali. I never intended for things to go

this far.”

“Sorry for what?” Manali takes Karma's hand and wipes a tear from her cheek. Karma just shakes her

head and lets her hand slip out of Ali's grasp. “Could somebody please tell me what's going on?”

“Cain, I am sure you know why we're here. So I'm going to let you explain the situation to your wife.” He

takes a seat in one of the baroque chairs near the door, then props his right leg on his left. “And tell her

the truth.”

Manali approaches her husband, with one of her thick brows raised. She folds her arms across her

chest. “Cain?”

“There's nothing to tell, baby.” He gestures to Casper. “This motherfucker is drunk. And I don't know

why Karma is letting him run wild.”

Cain shoots Karma a look, but she avoids his eyes. She's not prepared to make direct eye contact with

either of them right now.

“Actually, brother.” The disdain in Casper's voice permeates the air, making it as toxic as a landfill. “I'm

not drunk enough.” He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. His dark eyes zero in on Cain.

“Tell Manali why I'm here . . . or I will.”

“Then spin your tale, goddammit,” Cain shouts at him. “I don't have shit to say.”

“Well . . .” Casper clasps his hands together and chuckles. “Sex, Lies, and videotape it is.”

Then he signals Karma to set up the laptop and cue the presentation. Karma does as he requests,

though she's taking her sweet time doing so.

“Sometime tonight, Karma.” Casper gives her an exasperated sigh.

Karma glances back at the smirk that's become a permanent fixture on Casper's face. There's no

sense in her delaying the inevitable.

The ultrabook powers up. And within seconds, the footage of her and Cain's tryst this afternoon

appears. Karma leaves the laptop on the foyer table and backs as far into a corner as possible.

"What is this," Manali asks.

Casper nods to the screen. "Just watch."

Cain sees a captured version of himself approach Karma onscreen. His mouth hits the floor, as he

watches his and Karma's usual greeting traveling further and further outside of the PG-13 ballpark.

Realizing the severity of the shit storm Casper just dropped in his lap, he rushes over and slams the

computer shut.

"Get the fuck out of my house, Casper," Cain demands.

Casper leaves his seat and steps into his brother's personal space.

"I will . . . Right after you answer one simple question for me." He stares down at him. His six-foot-three

stature towers over Cain's much shorter build. "How long have you been fucking my wife?"

Casper's words send shockwaves through the room, causing a sudden state of paralysis to overtake

everyone in their path. The weight of his question settles on their shoulders like a fine layer of grime on

porcelain figurines.

"What?" Manali shakes her head, rattling the disheveled bun at her crown. It feels like the entire

Atlantic ocean is swimming in her ears.

"I said get your drunk ass out of my house." Cain is shouting loud enough to wake the neighbors. He

points Casper toward the door.

"Casper, what the hell are you talking about?" Manali touches Casper's arm.

"Manali, I'm sorry to do this in your home." Casper glances at Ali, before turning back to Cain. "But if he

has the balls to sleep with my wife, in my bed. Then he should have the decency to admit it to my

face."

Three pairs of eyes settle on Cain.

One pair is begging him for some way out of this nightmare. Pleading for a solution that will save them

both from the consequences of their actions. Another is full of a mixture of rage and disappointment.

And the last is still in disbelief, ready to release stinging tears down her cheeks.

Cain breaks. Every foul emotion within him comes to a head.

"A year." He looks at his flesh and blood in the eye. "I've been blowing your woman's back out for over

a year now."

The room gets quiet enough to hear a cricket sneeze on the other side of the world.

Manali's pupils dilate. The tears that have been waiting for their curtain call make their debut, streaking

her pretty face with the pain pooling from her heart. She covers her mouth with the hand that bears the

gleaming symbol of the eight-year commitment she's shared with Cain. The same commitment which

Cain has just violated.

Karma adopts a deer-in-headlights stare. She clasps her arms around herself, trying to combat the

rawness brought on by the exposure of their lies. It leaves her feeling like she just fell off a bike and hit

the pavement traveling ninety miles per hour, with nothing between her and the rough asphalt but her

cocoa skin.

Casper just nods.

Then his right hook connects with his little brother's left cheek. Followed by a one-two combination to

his gut and left flank. Cain doubles over, trying to shield his midsection from Casper's unyielding fists.

Then Cain gathers his wits and returns some of the heat being thrown at him. He lands a right to

Casper's jaw, which staggers him. But not for long. Casper regains his stance and is ready to deliver

another flurry of knuckles to Cain's face and body.

Seeing that Casper came to put in work, Cain resorts to a rather punk-ass move. He bends and angles

his shoulder toward Casper. Cain propels himself forward and charges Casper. Cain pushes his

brother's towering frame back into the foyer table with enough force to lift Casper off his feet.

The crystal vase of perennials that sat on the tabletop is displaced. The priceless heirloom hits the floor

and shatters into an infinite number of pieces. Flowers litter the mahogany wood, creating a wilted

mess of petals and stems, intermingled with the glittering shards of glass.

Casper grunts as his back meets the beveled edge of the wooden frame. A sharp pain radiates the

length of his spine. It's like someone has shoved a dozen needles into each vertebra, striking the

sensitive spinal cord underneath. He sucks in a breath of air through gritted teeth, trying to ride out the

stimulus that's accosting his nerves.

Cain is still attached to Casper's torso, firing off blow after blow to his side. He's focusing his hits on

one spot. The tactic is very effective. Casper's muscles are taking a beating.

Conscious of the damage Cain is causing, Casper musters the strength to lean up and bring his elbow

down on Cain's neck. This halts Cain's lightning attack, allowing Casper to pull himself upright using

the table's edge as leverage.

After a full sixty seconds of effort, Casper's feet touch the floor again. The stabs of pain in his side

make the motion seem to last much longer.

His dress oxfords struggle to gain traction on the shards of broken crystal scattered across the polished

hardwoods. Cain seizes this moment of unsteadiness to land another left to Casper's weakened flank.

Fueled by his growing rage, a surge of energy courses through Casper. He deflects Cain's successive

attempts to strike him and wages a counter-attack. Cash locks his arm around Cain's neck and exerts

as much pressure as he can summon on the coward's throat. With Cain's head lodged in the crook of

his arm, Casper lands several devastating blows to his midsection. Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Casper is laying waste to Cain's abdominals, when he feels a searing pain in his side, near his lower

back.

Two rows of enamel-clad dentin sink into Casper's flesh, penetrating the fabric of his button-down like

it's a flimsy sheet of paper. Cain's teeth tattoo their emblem on Casper's skin.

Thank God, Cain had his wisdom teeth pulled years ago. Otherwise, Casper would have four more

teeth gnawing on him. It takes several seconds for Cash to realize that Cain is indeed biting him like a

middle school girl in a playground fight. What grown man does that?

Casper chokes down the audible acknowledgment of the pain and strengthens his hold on Cain's neck.

Cash feels the energy draining out of his brother, as his air supply is cut short. Cain slams his fist into

Casper's stomach as hard as he can, trying to get him to break the hold on his vocal cords. But Casper

doesn't flinch or loosen his grip. His abdominals just absorb the shock of the hit without complaint.

Sensing that he might be on the verge of losing consciousness, Cash lets go and shoves Cain away

from him. Cash stands clutching his afflicted torso and keeps his eyes trained on the bitter man idling a

few feet away from him. Cain glares back at him, still struggling to catch his breath.

Manali and Karma observe the standoff without objection to its impending escalation. They know that

any sort of interference from either one of them would be ignored. This is the way disputes are settled

when an overdose of testosterone is present. Even if the brothers killed each other, the two women

would just have to stand back and admire their chalk outlines.

Cain makes yet another misguided decision and tries to take one more swing at Casper. His hit misses

the mark, leaving him wide open for Casper to put an end to their altercation.

Cash's right fist lights up Cain's chin like a match to gasoline fumes. The blow sends Cain crashing to

the floor. He lands in a crumpled heap at Casper's feet.

He kneels beside Cain and yanks him up by the collar of his white t-shirt. "You're my brother. My

brother."

"No, Casper. I'm your cousin. I am an only child." Cain dabs at the blood seeping from his lip. "And until

you showed up, I was my parents' pride and joy. But then the great and magnificent Casper pops over

from merry old London. And you're all anyone can talk about . . . How smart Casper is . . . How funny

Casper is . . . I just disappeared."

Casper releases Cain and allows himself to fall back onto his bottom. He sits with his elbows propped

on his knees and hangs his head.

"That's your problem? You fucked with all of our lives because your ass is jealous?" Casper sighs at

the man in front of him, who has become so small all of a sudden.

"A small price to pay to bring down the mighty Casper." Cain narrows his eyes at Casper.

"You used me?" Karma chimes in. "Just to get back at him?"

"Please, don't act so innocent." Cain glares at Karma. "You were more than happy to spread your legs

for me. You don't give a fuck about Casper. Never did."

"Fuck you, Cain." Karma leans over and puts her finger in Cain's face. "I . . . love Casper. And I never

would have cheated on him, if it weren't for you."

"Bullshit," the men mutter in unison.

They both know if it wasn't Cain, somewhere down the line it would have been someone else. Karma's

fake affection for Casper wore out a long time ago. Casper expected her to stray. But he never

imagined it would be with a man he used to refer to as brother with so much love in his heart.

Karma snakes back into the corner where she's been hiding. The attempt to take some of the blame for

this clusterfuck off herself unsuccessful, she makes the wise choice to keep her mouth shut.

Manali resumes playback on the laptop and examines her husband's technique from a whole new

perspective. She watches without making a peep as Karma and Cain go at it like a couple of pornstars.

A single tear hangs on her long lashes like an icicle on the edge of a tree limb, poised for demise.

Having seen enough, she closes the computer. The single drop of moisture severs its connection with

her eyelash. It crashes onto the laptop's slick surface, creating a tiny splintered lake.

She takes measured steps toward Casper and Cain. They both stare up at her, then back at each

other. Her expression is difficult to read. The tears would suggest sadness, but her eyes are harboring

a darker emotion.

"Casper?" Manali's soft voice breaks the tension between the two men. "Would you help your brother

from the floor, please?"

Casper gets to his feet. He stares down at Cain with malice still on his mind but offers his hand to him

anyway. Cain ignores the help and struggles to stand without assistance.

Cash shakes his head. This motherfucker has the nerve to act like he's the victim here. Unbelievable.

Once Cain is upright, he starts trying to cover up his lies with new ones. "Manali, this is all just one big

misunderstanding."

"What don't I understand, Cain?" Ali advances toward him with her hands tucked behind her back.

"Ali―."

Before Cain has a chance to utter another word, a freight train barrels into him. The force of Manali's

dainty body sends him reeling backward, throwing both of them to the floor.

Quicker than anyone in the room can realize what's happening, she shoves a letter opener into his

face. Casper and Karma are struck dumb. Neither of them even saw her pick it up.

Cain grabs Ali's wrist, halting her hand just in time. The thin blade comes within a hair's breadth of

impaling his eye. The unbridled rage on her face grips his heart, making his breath catch in his throat.

He struggles for the upper hand. But Ali, much like her namesake, is not going to make this fight an

easy one. Perspiration beads on his forehead, as he tries to wrestle the weapon away from her.

Tears continue to fall from her eyes, as she strains to drive the blade into his widened pupil. The drops

of saltwater draining from the cracked windows of his wife's tormented soul traverse the minute gap

that separates them, and land square between his eyes. The wounded beads of moisture graze his

skin, scorching it like pills of molten iron.

Cain rolls her onto her back and straddles her. He slams her wrist against the hardwood floor. The

letter opener flies from her grip and lands a few feet away. Ali knees him in the groin. While he nurses

his afflicted manhood, Manali has the opportunity to regain her position on top of him. She jabs her

thumbs into Cain's eye sockets. He screams like an infant experiencing his first needle prick.

Ali doesn't relent. Even with him digging his stubby nails into her arms and squirming beneath her like a

wild boar, she continues to dig for his optic nerve. She's determined to make him the next recipient of a

seeing-eye dog.

Casper puts his arms around Manali and tries to wrench her off Cain. He had decided that she

deserved to rough him up a bit. And he was going to allow her the space to do so. But it has become

apparent to Cash that Ali might be trying to kill him.

"Come on, Ali . . . Let him go." He strengthens his grip on her waist, but she won't release her prey.

Manali is a woman possessed. Casper's words, or his hands on her, don't register in her mind. She just

wants the motherfucker beneath her dead.

This motherfucker has stolen the last nine years of her life. This motherfucker who asked her to give up

her career as an agent for some of the best talents that Hollywood has seen in years. This

motherfucker convinced Ali to leave it all behind to move to this sleepy state, and become his picture of

a good southern wife. She birthed his kids, cut the crusts off his bread like his mother used to do, hand-

washed his funky underwear, clipped his crusty toenails.

After all that, this piece of shit has the gall to make a fool out of her. And with her sister-in-law no less.

She wants him to bleed. Wants to watch every drop of life drain out of him, until the light fades from his

eyes.

Ali gives up on trying to gouge out his eyes and settles for a quicker injury. She thrusts the bottom of

her palm into his nose with every ounce of energy that she can summon. When she hears the

unmistakable sound of cracking bone and sees the red river flowing down his brown skin, she stops

fighting Casper's hold on her.

Cash pulls Manali away from a bloodied and broken Cain. Her chest is heaving up and down in rapid

succession like her lungs are about to collapse. Her eyes are darting back and forth, unable to focus.

Adrenaline courses through her, making her amped-up muscles spasm from inaction. Casper keeps his

arm around her, in case she decides to rush over and finish the job.

"The fuck's wrong with you, bitch?" Cain cradles his nose in his hand, trying to little avail to curtail the

bleeding.

"The fuck's wrong with me?" Manali's voice resembles a howling banshee's call.

She tries to dive for Cain again. And there's no doubt she's aiming for his jugular this time. Casper

grapples with her sudden superhuman strength, almost failing at containing the five-foot-four tornado.

"You broke my goddamned nose," Cain shouts back at her.

"Good." The response escapes Ali's lips as a low growl.

Karma seems to check back into the melee and rushes over to Cain to help him from the floor. She

pulls a scarf from her handbag, then kneels beside him.

"Leave that bastard right where he is," Manali demands.

Karma looks over at Ali, who shoots a stare cold enough to instigate the transformation of every ounce

of water on Earth to its solid form in her direction. The glance penetrates her bones, freezing the soft

marrow inside, before making its foray into the ossified matter that surrounds it.

She backs away from Cain. Karma doesn't need any more daggers being thrown her way. As a matter

of fact, this night seems to be going rather easy on her. No one has hit her . . . At least, not yet.

Cain manages to get to his feet without the aid of anyone else. He yanks off his soiled t-shirt and

presses the cotton to his nose. A crimson blemish spreads across the fabric, staining each thread

redder than the last like a hungry wildfire on arid terrain.

"You're going to take his word over mine?" Cain removes the shirt from his nose, letting his blood

decorate the floor. "I'm your husband. You know me."

"I don't know what you are." Ali frowns and shakes her head. "But you aren't my damn husband."

"Baby, this is bullshit." Cain approaches Manali and Casper.

"Get the fuck out of my house." The words leave her body like vomit. Ali chokes on each scrap of

verbal barbed wire as it comes up. The edges of every syllable catch in her throat, ripping its fragile

lining to shreds.

Manali feels her muscles protesting all of the activity that she just requested of them. The beginning

effects of lactic acid fermentation fester in the complex tissues, stealing their ability to support her

limbs. Casper places his arms around her, and she allows him to shoulder her weakened frame against

his chest.

"I'm not going anywhere. This is my house." Cain plants his bare feet, embedding tiny pieces of glass

in his soles. He grimaces but otherwise doesn't acknowledge the pain.

"Mommy?" A miniature voice disrupts their vile discourse.

The adults turn to find two little angels dressed in matching pink nightgowns standing on the spiral

staircase. Jillian and Sophia, Cain and Manali's eight and six-year-old daughters. Jillian clutches her

younger sister's hand in hers, as they walk down a couple more steps. They stare down at the chaotic

scene with eyes clouded by heavy fatigue and childhood naivete.

Manali swipes her hands across her cheeks and faces her kids. "Jillie, Sophie. Go back to bed babies."

"Uncle Casper, Aunt Karma. What are you doing here?" Jillian regards Casper and Karma.

Casper takes it upon himself to answer. "Just paying your mom and dad a visit."

The two girls' eyes find their father's bleeding face. Tiny wrinkles form on their foreheads, distorting

their still maturing features.

"Are you hurt, Daddy," Sophie asks.

Manali and Casper glance back at Cain.

"Daddy's fine. Do what your momma said." He gives them a weak smile, and waves for them to go

back upstairs.

"I'll be up in a minute to tuck you back in." Manali offers her children a smile. The corners of her mouth

twitch, fighting the genial gesture.

The two girls make a slow turn and head back up the stairs. Once they're out of sight, Manali speaks to

Casper.

"Make sure he leaves my house." She manages to get out the request before her delicate composure

dissolves.

"I will." Casper puts his arms around Ali. Then he places a gentle kiss on her cheek. "I'm sorry," he

whispers in her ear.

"I know." She nods, fighting back more stinging tears. "But I'm not."

Manali and Casper release each other. She directs her steps toward the bedrooms of her confused

children, without taking a second look at the man with whom she shared a bed not even an hour earlier.

Cash busies himself with packing up the laptop and portfolio. He zips up the carrying case and faces

Judas one and two.

Not saying a word, he grabs a pair of Cain's yard shoes and a jacket from the coat closet. He tosses

the items to his brother. Then he retrieves Cain's car keys from their designated hook by the front door.

Cash identifies the three house keys, one each for the front and back entrances, and the door to the

garage. Then he works them off the keychain, and tosses the rest of the keys to Cain.

Casper picks up his bag and holds the front door open for Karma and Cain. "Let's go."

Karma files out of the house without a word. Cain stays where he is, staring at Casper. They glare at

each other in silence. After a few moments of tense stares, Cain makes the wise decision to walk his

battered ass out the door.

Cash locks the door behind him and strolls to his car. He unlocks the driver side door of his Bentley and

places his things in the passenger seat before slipping into the cockpit.

Casper watches in the rearview mirror as Cain gets into his own vehicle. He takes his eyes off Cain to

look over at Karma, who is standing at his passenger side door. Her hand is poised on the door handle.

Cash lets down the window a sliver, just enough for her to hear him. "May I help you?"

"Open the door, Casper."

"Oh, no. He's your ride." He gestures back at Cain sitting in his Jaguar, struggling to slip on his shoes

and hold the shirt to his bloody nose. "You prefer Cain's ride over mine anyway."

She tugs on the door handle. "Casper, open the door."

"No. I'm going home." He shrugs. "You no longer live there."

"What?" Her bottom lip begins to tremble.

"I figured since you spent so little time there in the first place, you wouldn't miss it."Casper smiles with

every single one of his pristine white teeth. "I'm sure you two can find a nice hotel to spend the night.

Pleasant evening to you."

Casper taps a button, and the window slides closed again with a pop of finality. He pulls out his phone

and starts scrolling through a few new emails. As he relegates a slew of spam to his trash folder, he

feels her eyes on him. Cash allows an email boasting a product that will bring an end to erectile

dysfunction to borrow his attention. Karma stares at him another couple minutes, before slinking toward

Cain's Jag.

He waits until his new two favorite enemies make their exit. Cash glances back at the house and

catches a glimpse of Ali observing from the window. He waves to her. She waves back at him, then

disappears behind the heavy curtains.

Casper pulls out of the driveway with a heavy heart. He didn't have to bring this fight to Manali's

doorstep. But he couldn't sleep on it any longer. Couldn't ignore his wife coming home smelling fresher

than a field of daisies at three in the morning. His breaking point had been breached, and all that

frustration needed somewhere to go. Ali and his nieces were unavoidable collateral damage.

He drives back to his empty house, fighting the images of his wife's infidelity replaying in his head on a

constant loop. To see her giving his brother that same look of satisfaction that she's been denying him,

all but ripped out his battered and bruised heart.

His car is left to navigate itself. His mind is plodding its way through a private hell. It can't be bothered

with mundane tasks like maneuvering a vehicle. Having been left to its own devices by its owner, the

Bentley takes a detour that leads Casper past SoHo Sugar. The car comes to a stop outside the

bakery.

He stares up at the storefront with its pastel and cheery facade. The gravity of the isolation that awaits

him at home weighs down his lids. He rests his forehead against the steering wheel. A sigh escapes

his lips, releasing with it every indignity he has ever suffered at Karma's hands.

Then he feels a far more welcome presence run her hand over his hair. She's here. Of course, she is.

His mind's eye projects her likeness whenever his sanity is teetering on the edge.

He doesn't look up right away. He wants to relax in the comfort of her touch for a moment. When he's

ready to let go of her, he gazes into Arden's bewitching brown eyes.

"What now," she asks. A faint smile rests on her lips.

He takes a deep breath and returns her serene look.

"I stop dreaming."