Sunshine didn’t move for a few minutes, and even though I watched her from under my eyelashes, I never pushed her, but a smirk pulled at the corner of my lip as she picked up the pad once more. We worked quietly and discussed a few more questions for hours until I made her dinner and brought fresh fruit and whipped cream for dessert. I was tempted to ask her if I could feed her, but I figured that might be too much.

After our meal, I got Sunshine to play a few hands of cards, and she broke into a smile and a laugh. She’d always catch herself and scold herself for having fun, but it was there, and she couldn’t take it back.

Finished with my drawing, I turned my piece around to show her, and Sunshine’s eyes lit up as she stared at the decorative piece. Her hands reached out, and she ran them over the softness of the wings.

“What did you use for this? It’s stunning.”

“I collect butterfly wings.” Her fingers stilled, her eyes going wide, but she didn’t seem disgusted. “To me, you’re as stunning as the most graceful butterfly. I enjoyed today,” I said and pushed myself off the floor. “I’ll leave the supplies here for you.”

Turning, I began to walk away and then glanced back at Kirby.

“The butterflies were already dead. I didn’t pick the wings off.” I held out the image I’d created of her. My face was shadowed in the darkness behind her while her face glowed in the sunlight.

“Goodnight, Sunshine.”

“Goodnight, Cain.”

Chapter 25

KIRBY

For the last three days, Cain had been oddly…normal, and the pull I’d been fighting was weakened to the point of snapping completely. He truly remembered everything. It didn’t matter what I told him. He would remember and do something sweeter than anyone had ever done except maybe my father. I knew that he hadn’t changed. He was still a killer, yet I’d seen so many new layers to the man. It was starting to feel odd that everyone thought he was just a mindless heathen.

But, like all cycles in life, I knew that he would cave at some point to the needs that flowed through his body. They called to him like a drug, and today was that day. The door swung open with a bang, and I thought it was Abel until I saw Cain’s face. He was carrying a woman like a bag of feed on his shoulder. He didn’t look over or even acknowledge that I was still in the room, which was strangely unsettling.

Cain bounced the woman off his shoulder and laid her out as a lover would. My eyebrow shot up, and my nostrils flared as the green-eyed monster rose inside of me.

“Why is she here?” I said, although I knew the answer.