Kade passed his own bedroom regrettably, leading her to the room across from his and opening the door. It was only room he’d skipped on their tour. He smiled as he entered, knowing immediately that Mia and Maddie had been here. It was the only room in his entire house liberally splashed with color. “Your room,” he told Asha, completely certain he was going to be hard every single night knowing she was sleeping across the hall from him. He was used to her draping her sweet body over his, seeking him out in her sleep. Fuck! He was going to miss that. But he needed to stop pushing her, needed to let her get used to him and his world. Stubbornly, he wanted her to come to him, want him. Having her here would be both heaven and hell, but after finding out about her abuse, he needed to stifle his caveman instincts.
Her mouth dropped open as she moved slowly forward, her eyes darting around the room. “It’s beautiful,” she said reverently as her hand smoothed over the colorful quilt on the king-sized bed.
Mia and Maddie had outdone themselves. Bright pictures and wall-hangings decorated the walls, and the quilt she was stroking had every color of the rainbow bursting from the material. Kade opened the closet, already knowing what he would find. He’d asked Mia and Maddie to fix up his guest room and make it as happy and colorful as possible. Giving them Asha’s size from her spare clothing, he’d also requested that they stock her some clothes. Judging by the full closet, they’d taken his request seriously. “Mia and Maddie got you some clothes.”
Asha turned and looked at the closet, coming up beside him to finger the materials. “Which ones?” she asked cautiously.
“All of them are yours. I let my sister and Maddie pick them out. I just told them you like colorful things.”
“Why would they do this?” Asha said uncomfortably, holding her buttonless shirt closed with her hand.
“I’ve seen them. I’ve played with them. I’ve had my mouth on them, which was one of the most amazing moments of my life. You don’t have to hide your breasts from me,” he told her, amused.
Asha’s face flushed from his comment, but she didn’t acknowledge it. “I can’t accept these. Every one of these is designer labeled. My whole wardrobe has never been worth what one single shirt in this collection costs,” Asha told him adamantly, looking up at him with a frown. “Why would someone I don’t know buy me clothes?”
Her brow crinkled when she was upset, making Kade want to smooth it out with his fingers and lips. “Because I asked them to do it and they wanted to do it. You don’t like the outfits?”
“They’re beautiful, but I can’t accept. You’ve done far too much for me, and you already gave me gifts.”
“Yeah, you can. They were a gift from your sister. And there isn’t a limit on giving gifts.” The stubborn woman needed clothes, and she was taking them.
“I don’t have a sister,” Asha answered warily.
“You do have a sister and a brother. And these are just clothes. It’s not a big deal. If it makes you feel any better, Maddie married one of the richest men in the world, Sam Hudson. She wanted to do this for you.” Kade knew Asha already knew the details about her probable siblings, but she obviously wasn’t ready to accept the reality. He didn’t have a doubt in his mind that she was related to Max and Maddie. Her mother had the same maiden name, and Asha had showed him a photo of her mother with her natural father, a picture that showed an older, but very similar, version of the photo that Max had of his natural mother, Alice. “Why is it so hard to accept that Max and Maddie are your sister and brother? I know it’s a shock. Maddie was surprised to find Max. But she was happy.”
Asha’s eyes started to water, and she turned her back on him and sat gingerly on the bed. “I’ve never had family. My foster parents fed me and clothed me, but I was never really one of them. They took me in before they had two children of their own. I never really belonged, and I felt the distance. It’s hard to explain without sounding like I’m feeling sorry for myself. I’m grateful to them. But I was never really part of the family.” Tears flowed down her cheeks, her eyes guarded. “I’m afraid, scared to believe in something that might not be true. What if I love them and they don’t love me back? What if I’m not really their sister?”
Kade’s chest tightened as he looked at Asha, small and vulnerable, yet strong enough to walk away from a relationship with nothing in order to save herself and her sanity. Had anyone ever cared about her unconditionally, just because she was an incredible woman? “You are their sister. And they’ll love you back.” How could they not? “Trust me,” he asked her huskily, knowing trust probably wouldn’t come easy for her, but he wanted it pretty damn desperately. In fact, he was beginning to covet it more than anything else he’d ever wanted.