Caylee's Confessions (Caylee's Confessions Series) (10 page)

“Well,
fuck being right then,” I coldly said, as I walked away without another word,
and tried to convince myself that if the situation did come up again, I would
leave him stranded.  I knew, deep down, that I wouldn’t be able to do that though.

“But
you don’t have to do this anymore,” he yelled after me.  “I told you already,
we have more people and…”  I left the alley before he could finish.  He just
would never get it.

The
next week at work was not a pleasant one.  The only thing that brought me a
slim amount of joy was the fact that it was finally Friday.  I avoided everyone
and just sulked in my office until we had our ‘end of the day’ meeting.  I
couldn’t even find room in my mind to contemplate what my boss was saying
because I was too busy and pissed off going over the events of the other night. 
I couldn’t believe that, what had started off as such a good day, had turned
into the crap day that it had been.  Braxton still hadn’t called after he’d
ditched me, and I still couldn’t get over the fact that Shad still believed I
shouldn’t be out fighting—after I’d saved his life.  And last, but not least, I’d
ruined a dress that I’d practically spent my whole paycheck on.  The only thing
I had heard my boss said was, ‘Alright.  See you guys on Monday,’ and everyone
started to walk out. 

“That
was the most boring and pointless meeting I’ve ever been to,” Lori complained
as the whole staff started walking out of work.  “We should go out for a drink,”
she said as her lips curled up in a smile.  So, drinks were what she needed
after that pointless meeting?  What a joke.  I wondered if I was the only one
who knew what her underlying reason was as she stared at Steve, waiting for his
response.

“Definitely,”
he said with a smile, probably knowing her motive too.  The rest of the staff
followed with, “Hell, yes.  Def!” and “Let’s get wasted,” from the intern. 
They turned to me for a brief second, but surely they knew the answer from me would
be a ‘no.’  I didn’t feel the need, or have the time, to socialize after work
and, quite frankly, found it annoying, and I didn’t want to watch Lori’s
pathetic attempt to pick up Steve, who really wanted Laura, but would screw Lori
as a second option.  Such messy affairs.

“How
about you, Caylee?” the intern called as I turned away.  Surely, she hadn’t
caught on that I was a loner, yet.  “You look like you’ve had a rough day.  I’m
sure it’ll cheer you up!”  She smiled innocently.  She was a good kid—young and
naïve but, overall, a good person.  Also was much more observant than I gave
her credit for too.  She was right though.  I was still particularly annoyed
about being lectured by idiot Shad once again, about what I ‘should’ be doing
with my life.  And I hadn’t made any plans with Claire to hunt tonight.  And I
didn’t think Braxton would call.  It had been a week since our date, and after
spending three days back-to-back together, I took his not calling as a sure
sign that I’d scared him away by talking about how comfortable I already felt,
blah, blah.  What had gotten into me?  I have never let my emotions show like
that in the beginning of dating a guy.  With Kevin, I had to play ‘hard to get,’
just to peak his interest at first.  Why had I been so stupid?  Surely a drink
would make me forget how I’d been both ditched and lectured all in one week. 
Why I was letting it bother me, I didn’t know, because I shouldn’t care about
either situation. 

“You
know what?” I said as I turned to face her.  “That actually sounds like a good
idea.”  I watched as everyone’s eyes lit up in shock. 

We
walked down the street to a small Irish pub.  Our whole group basically filled
up the place.  I glanced around and there were only five other people there,
and none of them were an undead, so I relaxed a little.  The surprised—but
happy to finally get some business—waitress pushed two long tables together and
we sat down.  I chose the end farthest from Lori.  The waitress started taking orders
around the table.  Steve, being the first she asked, said, “You know what?  Put
the first round on me and bring everyone top shelf long islands.”  So this was
what he wanted to spend his bonus on—buying enough booze to, hopefully, help
his co-workers make bad decisions with him?  Whatever.  I would go along.

We
were finally on my turn to buy a round, since everyone had already bought
theirs.  The round had ranged from tequila shots to mudslides, daiquiris, and
other random stuff.  It was quite ridiculous but, of course, stupid Steve had started
this, and it would have been rude if I didn’t follow suit but, damn, these
people had me feeling a little—well, hell…a lot—buzzed. 

“How
about Washington Apples, and then my bill, for as exciting as it has been, I do
believe my co-workers have gotten me drunk,” I said with a laugh to the
waitress. 

“You
are so funny!” shouted Lori from the back.  “You should come out more often!”

“Yeah,
I’ll make sure I do that,” I lied.  Whoever said ‘drunk people couldn’t lie’
was an idiot, for I would not be coming out with these people again.  They were
all a wasted mess, falling all over each other, and telling their life
stories.  I should have just been rude and stopped after round one, but, for
some reason, I had let Shad stress me out so much that I kept drinking with
them.  The waitress brought over our Washington Apples, and I raised mine as
they all shouted…

“Toast!
Toast! Toast!”  Alright, I would give them what they wanted.

“To
all of those people that we let piss us off.  Fuck ‘em!” I said, surprised at
my end comment.  Oh well—it was the reason I had come out, so the toast was appropriate. 
I slammed it back, and handed the waitress my money. “I really have to leave
now.  It was fun,” I said.

“Oh,
come on, stay…”

“I
really can’t.  See you guys on Monday.”  I waved ‘goodbye’ as I went out the
door.

“Wait
up, Caylee,” the intern called as I started my walk home.  “I’m leaving too,
and I think we live close to each other.”  Jeez, I couldn’t get away from these
people.  We were almost at her building, when I heard them coming from behind
us. 

“Are
you fucking serious…” I said out loud.

“What?
 What is it, Caylee?” the intern asked. 

“Run!”
I screamed as I threw her away from me as the vampire landed on top of me.  I
quickly threw him off and prepared for him to charge again.  I tried to focus,
but I was either seeing identical twin vampires, or I was seeing double.  Why had
I drank so much?  I waited for him to charge, picked the wrong twin, and felt
my head hit the cement. 

I
woke up, and felt the throbbing beating on my brain.  It felt like someone had
put my brain into a blender and just left it on high.  I hadn’t been in this
position since my first kill. 

“Hey,
idiot man,” I said as my eyes cleared and I saw who was inches from my face. 

“Are
you okay?”  He actually looked concerned.  How sweet.

“Yes,
sir-ee.”  I laughed, not sure why—probably at the irony of the situation.  One
of the men who had made me upset, of course, had to be the one that rescued me. 

“Are
you drunk?” Shad asked as his eyebrows rose.

“Certainly
not…” I stuttered.  “Now, leave me alone.  I hate you!” I tried to yell as I
attempted to get up, but fell back on my ass.

“You’re
a mess.  What were you thinking?  I already knew you were insane, but going out
hunting while you’re intoxicated is suicide,” he yelled at me as I lay still on
the ground.

“You
know nothing about my insanity!  I wasn’t out hunting…I was drinking with
co-workers and, on my attempt to walk home, that stupid intern girl wanted to
walk with me.  We were a minute from her apartment when I heard them coming.  I
pushed her aside and tried to, I guess, take them—however many there were—down. 
I wasn’t going to just run away and let her die,” I told him as my face must
have filled with horror, at the thought of whether she’d made it home or not.  He
seemed to catch this.

“She’s
at her house, safe—don’t worry.  But if I hadn’t shown up, you both would have
been dead!” Shad scolded.

“Yeah,
yeah.  Whatever, idiot man.  Oh
so
lucky me to have been rescued by the
ultimate, brave, good-looking, fighter man…almost sounds like a fairy tale,” I
mocked him, for my amusement.  I, then again, with what I thought was more
focus, lifted my legs to stand.  “See, I’m fine,” I said proudly, feeling my
body sway.  Hopefully he wouldn’t notice.  “I will now be leaving your company…”
 I went to shove his shoulder with my hand—to move him from standing in front
of me—but apparently missed, because I felt my body falling to the ground, once
again.  Before my face hit the cement, I was in his arms, and he threw me over
his shoulder. “Let me go!” I whined as I tried to kick myself free.  “There is
no way I’m letting
you
take me anywhere.  I’m going home!” I demanded.

“Home,
you are correct,” he said in a serious tone, “but I’m taking you there.  You
might be strong sober, but in this state, I would say a baby has a better
chance of getting free.”  He laughed at his own joke.

“Whatever…”
I grumbled, knowing he was right, and I stopped struggling for a minute.  I
took a deep breath, accidently taking in whatever cologne he was wearing.  “You
smell amazing,” left my lips, before my mind processed the thought.  He smelled
like cognac, cedar, and rosewood, with a twist of butterscotch.  “So, since we’re
having this long walk—”  I laughed. “—well, I’m not actually walking, but since
you won’t let me, you have to at least listen to me now.” 

“Not
necessarily,” he said under his breath.  I ignored it.

“Why
are you always so mean to me?” I asked.

“I’m
not mean; I’m truthful. You have no right to fight the undead.  You’re risking
your life for no reason, and I’m trying to let you see that.”  He answered in
the way I’d expected but didn’t want to hear. 

“Blah,
blah, blah…” I mocked, and said, “For your information, I’ve been doing this a while
now, so I know what I’m doing!  What is it to you what I do?  I don’t even know
why you even care,” I said, actually wondering why it was something I hadn’t
figured out yet.  Maybe it would help me figure out why I even cared what he
thought…

“To
be honest, I don’t know why…” he said, but seemed to cut it short, like it had
slipped out.

“That
was not the answer I’d expected,” I said, shocked.  “But I don’t really care,
and it’s your fault I even went out drinking tonight, because you bother me so
much.  Why I even listen to you, I have no idea, because I let no one affect me!” 
I paused in my rant, because my new plan to get away had just come to mind.  “Now,
please let me down so I can, uh, fix my pants, because they’re falling down,” I
lied.  This would be my getaway.  I was sick of the small talk we were having. 
He stopped, and carefully set me down.  The second my feet hit the ground, I
bolted, making it only a few steps before he grabbed me from behind.  I kicked
my leg back awkwardly, but somehow managed to make his legs buckle.  It didn’t
loosen the hold he had on me, but we both went tumbling to the ground.  Once we
stopped rolling, he was on top of me in seconds, straddling me with his legs,
while his hands had my shoulders pinned to the ground, and his furious, navy-blue
eyes were staring at me. 
Damn it
, I yelled to myself in my head.  I
really didn’t want this burden that he had ‘rescued me’ and had to carry me
home.  I needed to think of a better plan, but being intoxicated, only one plan
came to mind.

“You’re
so sexy, straddling me like that,” I said in my most flirty voice.

“Excuse
me?” he asked as his eyes shifted from furious to ‘I’m looking at a crazy
person.’  Maybe it wouldn’t work.

“I,
uh, got a secret for you.  Come closer,” I tried to say seductively as I batted
my eyes.

“You
better not head-butt me or, I swear, I’ll lock you in a closet so you’ll never
be able to hunt again,” Shad said, which was not good.  He was smarter than I
thought.

“I
would never.  Really, it’s just a secret…”  I would try once more.  He was
inches from my face when I quickly tilted up my head to meet his and made his
lips crush onto mine.  I had used this trick once on ‘a boyfriend turned
vampire,’ so it would surely work here.  He tried to pull away at first, but
with all the drunk strength I had, I held his face onto mine and forced my
tongue into his mouth.  After a moment of resistance, to my surprise, his
tongue responded back—aggressively but passionately—and it began to dance with
mine. 

This,
surprisingly, was becoming more intense and satisfying as it went on.  I found
my hands tangling in his hair, and felt one of his hands in mine as the other
held my face.  What was happening, I had no idea, because the plan had been to
tease him with a kiss.  I, surely, had seen how he had looked at me while I was
in my dress the other night, but the kiss I gave him was supposed to be for
shock value, and then I was to get up and run away as he stayed confused. 

But
I was the one who was losing control.  I couldn’t get my body to move.  He
tasted too amazing and, damn, who would have thought he could kiss like this? 
While still holding me, our mouths never leaving each other, he picked me up
and carried me until we made it to my apartment—well, actually, slammed into
the door and flew onto the couch. 

The
second we hit the couch, he was tearing at my shirt as I tore off his pants. 
Neither of us were moving quickly enough for our satisfaction.  Once we finally
had everything off, his mouth moved down my neck to lick and tease my right
breast as his hand cupped my left.  I could feel his bare body on mine.  His
skin was such a beautiful, bronze color, and the lines and curves of his arms
and torso had my body pulsing in anticipation.  I never would have guessed his
body looked this good under all the dark clothes he always wore.  Surely, I
knew he was stocky, but this was near perfection. 

His
mouth left my breast, and his eyes caught mine goggling his body.  He opened
his mouth slightly, seemed to try and say something, but I put one finger onto
it, and pulled his body back onto mine.  He then lifted his pelvis and thrusted
into me, making my body come up and mold into his.  I threw my arms around his
shoulders and aggressively teased his neck with my lips as his body rode mine. 
Each thrust sent a sensational shiver from my center, out through my body,
making even my toes curl. 

As
time went on, I could feel and hear our breathing deepen and quicken, in
anticipation for what was about to come.  He quickened his pace and I felt my
pelvis tilt up as we both let out a moan.  I could feel his body tense and then
him release, as my body twitched and leaned against his, as the last wave flew through
me.  He then collapsed beside me, and I could hear his breathing slow as he
tried to calm his breath. 

Who
would have guessed he would be such a great lover?  Maybe I should get drunk
more often, for what other excuse would I have?  I then had a debate in my head:
if it had been built up sexual tension between us that finally exploded, or if
it really had been just a drunken romp.  I turned my head to look at him as he
was staring at the ceiling, probably thinking the same thing.

“So
yeah,” I let out as I heard him chuckle. 

“You
seem to be more sober than you were an hour ago,” he said, now looking at me.

“Yeah,
that tends to happen when events like this happen.”  I still felt slightly
buzzed, but nothing like I was before.  How awkward was this going to get?  Might
as well get it over with…  “How did this come about?” I asked boldly. 

“You’re
the one who kissed me.”  He seemed to be trying to rationalize the situation as
well.

“So,
we’re going to play the blame game again, I see…” I said lightly, making him
laugh with me.

“Well,
I
am
a man, and I will admit that you are quite attractive…even though
you’re idiotic at the same time,” he said.

“So
you tend to sleep with beautiful idiots all the time then?” I asked.

“No,
I hate to admit, I usually don’t find the time.”  And I felt him roll over to
face me as his arm came around my stomach. 
Were we actually going to
cuddle?
I thought.  I couldn’t find the strength or the desire to pull his
arm away though.  It was so warm and comforting, until I felt his hand rest on
my scar, and his fingers lightly traced the pink lines the werewolf had left.

“From
a fight, I’m guessing?” he asked calmly, as I tried to decide if this was a way
for him to lecture me again.

“If
I said it was a birthmark, would you believe me?” I asked.

“Definitely
not.”  He chuckled, which was good.  Maybe he wasn’t heading for a lecture. 

“Well,
if you must know…it was from my first lone hunter werewolf encounter.”  I
paused, trying to read his face.  It seemed normal, so I continued.  “He went
for my throat, I jumped, and his claws found my stomach instead.  He began
ripping shreds of skin off, as you can see.”  I pointed.  “I’m just glad it
wasn’t his mouth, or you would be in trouble, for the moon looked pretty full
tonight.”  I waited for a laugh that didn’t come. 

“How
did you get away?” he asked in an unpleasant, serious tone.  Here we go.

“Well,
as soon as he grabbed my stomach, I grabbed a Swiss army blade from my belt and
stabbed him in the eye with it.  He released his hold and grabbed his eye, then
I took the opportunity to grab my stake that can turn into a silver sword…”  I
told him the end of my story, trying to leave out the fact that there had also
been vampires. 

“How
did you survive the injury?  These scars seem like the cuts would have been
deep.  Fatal cuts, actually,” he said, revealing that he was getting to know
too much about me.  Would it matter if he knew about Claire? 

“I’m
just a really good healer,” I lied.

“Or
you know someone who is…”  He pulled his fingers away from my stomach.  “Are
you ever going to stop?” he scolded.  “Or at least join a form of hunting party,
so you’re not alone?  Even though, you shouldn’t be doing it at all,” he said.

“I
don’t work well with others,” I hissed.  “And I don’t feel like training others,
for if they failed, it would be my fault,” I said honestly.  Were we really
going to have this argument again, especially after what had just transpired
between us?  But, of course we would—why not?  Why should anything ever be
simple?

“If
you came and met my brothers…”  I stopped him right there, before he uttered
something really stupid.

“Why?
 So I could join your little ‘cult’?  No thanks!” I snapped at him.

“I
wasn’t saying that…” he rebutted.  “A woman vitan wouldn’t be permitted, like I
said before.  They have too many liabilities,” he said, cutting out any good
thought I had of him as I felt my blood begin to boil. 

“You
are ridiculous!  You’ve seen me fight just as well as you—hell, I even saved
your
life
a few nights ago—and you still believe that I cannot fight? 
You are a damn fool!”  I got up, and quickly put on my clothes.

“I
didn’t say you couldn’t fight—just that you shouldn’t…” he said, while putting
his clothes on.  I hoped he was getting the vibe that he was no longer welcome
at my place.

“You’re
simply an ignorant fool, and I can’t believe I just shared a bed—well, a
freaking couch—with someone who could be so naïve.  But I guess booze had taken
away my better judgment,” I threw at him, hoping it would cut him deep.  It definitely
worked, because his eyes lit up in fury.

“So
you claim this as a drunken mistake then?” he yelled.

“I
can only call it what it is,” I said, which was all that flashed in my mind.