“I’ll take you there one day. At least you can probably speak the language,” he answered jokingly.
“Only if we go to Andhra Pradesh or an area that speaks Telugu,” she answered thoughtfully. “My foster parents and ex-husband were all from there and spoke Telugu. I never learned much Hindi.”
“It always amazes me that two Indians can’t necessarily speak to each other because there are so many languages in India,” Kade answered.
Asha laid her head back down on Kade’s chest and started to fiddle with the buttons on his red shirt that was decorated with dancing banana characters. “I know women get beaten there too,” she said hesitantly. “I’ve been reading a lot about India when I get the chance. The domestic violence there is pretty bad. It’s almost as if it’s acceptable. Are most women treated badly there?”
“Hitting a woman is never acceptable for any reason,” Kade grumbled. “Men who beat women, American or Indian, are fucking cowards, too afraid to pick a fight with someone who might actually win and mess them up.” He sighed as he continued, “I wish I could tell you that things are great, but the domestic violence rate in India is high. I was there on business, and I never was totally immersed in the culture, but it’s still a patriarchal society and there’s a large percentage of men there who don’t value their women the way they should. And equal opportunity is definitely not there, even though there are laws to protect women now. They’re just basically not enforced. The younger generation is trying to bring about change, but it’s an uphill battle.”
“And divorce is still taboo,” she added wistfully.
Kade couldn’t lie. “For the most part…yeah. It’s not widely acceptable. But you aren’t in India, Asha.” Trying to change the subject, he asked curiously, “You’ve never told me why you still use your father’s last name? If you were married, didn’t you take on his last name?”
“My married name was Kota, but I took my father’s name back when I divorced Ravi. I guess it was my way of taking control of my own identity again.”
Kade actually liked the fact that she had taken her father’s name back and no longer carried the name of an asshole. “Will the butterfly ever escape from the cocoon?” he asked distractedly, his hand toying with the silky strands of her hair.
Her head came up and she gave him a shy grin. “It’s a process. Every time I feel like I’m progressing, I’ll make the wings emerge a little further.”
Kade felt his heart lighten at the sight of her smile. He decided that he wanted to see that happy expression on her face constantly, every hour, every minute of every day. She’d seen enough pain and conflict in her twenty-seven years of life. Asha was born to shine, and Kade wanted to make everything easier for her after the fucked-up deal she’d had. “When do you think that might happen?”
She grinned broader. “After that experience on the kitchen counter, I think I at least need to poke another tiny bit of the wing from the cocoon.”
Kade groaned inwardly, his swollen cock twitching with the desire to do some poking of its own. Her smile made his heart swell, and the fact that she was comfortable enough with him to mention that earth-shattering, intimate experience now without hesitation made him feel like they were caught up in their own little world.
She belongs with me.
Kade couldn’t stop the possessive, animalistic need to conquer her, to hold her so close she’d never go away. If she did, the light that she’d turned on inside him would die. Something was happening to him, something incredible. And he didn’t want the exhilarating feeling to end. Bit by bit, the darkness inside him was being chased away by Asha’s glowing presence.
With a mock growl, he flipped her over, pinning her body beneath his, and it felt fucking fantastic. Holding her arms captive over her head, he felt carnal satisfaction at having her exactly where he wanted her. “I’d be more than happy to go for making the butterfly emerge completely.” In fact, he was fairly certain he was going to go insane if he didn’t get inside her very soon. He wanted the damned butterfly spreading its wings to hurry up and fly.
Kade felt her body tremble beneath him, her expression part longing and part trepidation. He knew he was pushing her too hard, too fast, but he couldn’t seem to control the urge to take her. Watching her, and feeling her climax beneath his fingers had been incredible, but he wanted to give her more, show her that a woman’s pleasure could be much more than tolerable. And selfishly, he just wanted her to want him.