Fighting the Inevitable (10 page)

The clawing need was
back, assaulting all his of senses. Rhianna Armand had some kind of
hold over him that he couldn’t understand. It was exciting but it
was also throwing up warning signals. He’d seen the look in
Demetri’s eyes before he’d left. It was cold, calculating, and
utterly feral. His friend was concerned about his reaction to the
girl. He was under no illusions that Demetri would make Rhianna
disappear if he felt she was a danger to them.

He could understand his
friend’s concern because he felt it too; his reaction to her could
prove lethal for their kind. Demetri would kill her if he felt it
was justified. The question was…would Caleb let him.

~~~~~

Rhianna was sitting on
her sofa trying to work out what she was going to do with her life.
She’d already quit her job, figuring she now had the financial
backing to allow her to do something she really wanted to do,
rather than be forced into doing a job to meet the
bills.

The last week had been so
surreal. Jared Hanlon had left not long after Millie had come home.
Her friend had automatically taken a dislike to the man and had all
but chased him from the apartment. For some strange reason, Jared
had been disinclined to leave, but Millie had been persistent about
it. He’d called three times since then, always asking for Millie,
but her friend had either been out or refused to take his calls.
When Rhianna quizzed her about her reaction to the man, she just
smiled and brushed it off as if it was nothing.

That left Rhianna sitting
alone, wondering what she was going to do now that she was a
millionaire. She was still stunned about Rafe having the policy,
but the paperwork Jared had shown her looked above board so she had
signed it and deposited the cheque. Now she just needed to think
about what she would do with the money.

The ringing of the
doorbell brought her out of her reverie, and surprised her. She
wasn’t expecting anyone, and though she often forgot her keys, it
couldn’t be Millie because she wasn’t due back from work for
another couple of hours. She opened the door and stared in complete
shock. “Caleb.”

Caleb looked down at
Rhianna and instantly saw the sadness in her expression. She was as
stunning as he remembered, but her lavender eyes were sad and he
could see tiny lines of grief in the corner of her eyes and the
tight pinch of her lips. She appeared completely shocked to see
him, but not necessarily annoyed about him being there.

“
May I come
in?” he asked quietly, fighting the urge to reach out and touch
her. Her scent was washing over him, her fragility making him want
to reach out and take her in his arms. He held himself rigid and
watched as she shivered slightly.

Lord, the man’s voice
still had the same effect as it had the night they’d met in
Karpathia’s. Rhianna couldn’t believe he was here and that she was
actually pleased that he was. She stepped back wordlessly and let
him into the apartment.

“
How did you
find me?” she asked, more curious than annoyed. They hadn’t shared
any personal information with each other. Sure, he’d taken her home
so she at least knew where he stayed, but he had only known her
first name.

She watched him look
around the great room slowly before he moved to sit on the sofa. He
was dressed in an Armani business suit and his luscious golden
brown locks were tied back by a leather thong at the nape of his
neck. He looked just as gorgeous as he had in Karpathia’s and she
felt a stab of desire course through her body.

“
It was
difficult,” he answered, a small smile tugging at his lips as his
eyes roamed over her face. There was a slightly predatory look in
his amber gaze as he watched her walk over to one of the armchairs
and sit down across from him. “That’s why it’s taken me so long to
stop by. I only managed to track you down this
afternoon.”

Rhianna was surprised
he’d been looking for her. He hadn’t struck her as the type of man
who was looking for anything other than one night of passion with a
woman.

“
You look
tired, Rhianna,” he said, his gaze intent on her face. “Tired and
so very sad. I remembered you looking sad in Karpathia’s that
night. That’s how I tracked you down. I’m sorry about your
brother.”

She blinked at him slowly
a few times, trying not to let the tears come again. He sounded so
genuine, as if he truly was sorry about Rafe, and she had to fight
the urge to throw herself into his arms and cry like a baby. She
stood up abruptly. “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked,
unconsciously clutching a hand to her stomach. “Coffee, tea, a
glass of wine?” She turned and hurried into the kitchen area,
needing a moment to try to get herself under control.

Caleb felt his gut wrench
at the abject misery that crossed her face when he mentioned her
brother. He had said the words by rote because that was what humans
expected someone to say. He hadn’t actually meant them, but her
reaction to it was so profound he found himself feeling angry that
she was hurting. He could see she was fighting to hold back tears
and it was plain to see her wound was still raw. She retreated from
him and he couldn’t stop himself from following her.

The need to touch her, to
comfort her was almost an ache within him. Long dead emotions
clawed at him viciously, incited him to react. He wanted to take
her pain away like he’d never wanted anything before in his life.
He caught her shoulders and pulled her back against his chest,
sliding his arms around her.

“
No, I don’t
want anything to drink,” he breathed into her hair as she trembled
against him. “I want to help you, Rhianna. I want to offer you
comfort.” His reaction to her pain stunned him. He meant every word
he was saying. He had come here wanting to know why he
couldn’t get her out of his mind, wanting to know why she was
different from all the other women he’d been with, and instead of
answers he was only creating more questions. Why did it matter to
him that this tiny, fragile woman was hurting so badly?

The damned tears came
again. She tried hard not to cry but his gentleness, the genuine
tone in his voice broke through her battered defences and she
twisted in his arms, buried her head against his silk shirt, and
started to sob quietly. Rhianna was vaguely aware of him picking
her up effortlessly and carrying her back to the sofa. His strong
arms enfolded her tightly as he sat her in his lap and held her
while she sobbed out her grief and misery. He didn’t speak; he just
held her and stroked her hair as she cried.

Rhianna was unaware of
how long she’d cried. All she knew was she felt safe in Caleb’s
arms, safe and protected. It was as if he was silently lending her
his strength. After a while the tears stopped, and she just rested
against his chest absent-mindedly toying with one of the buttons on
his shirt.

“
Do you want
to talk about it?” Caleb asked quietly. Her distress was wrenching
at his gut. He could tell this was a common occurrence for her. The
thought of her doing this night after night since they had been
apart made him want to hit something. Hard.

His feral nature was on
the rise and it was difficult to tamp it down, to remain gentle
with her. He was overcome with the need to protect this fragile
human, to ensure no harm ever came to her again. It was confusing
but it was there. He couldn’t stop himself from reacting as he was.
He decided not to fight the instinct, and tightened his hold,
letting her know she was safe.

“
Nothing
really to talk about,” she mumbled against his chest. “Rafe is gone
and I just have to try and find a way to get on with life.” Her
voice sounded so defeated.

“
You were
very close?” His fingers had a mind of their own, lightly stroking
against her curls. The thick, heavy weight of the luxurious locks
soothed his beast so he repeated the caress, finding it was
soothing her too. She appeared to be very tactile, reacting
favourably to his touch.

“
Our parents
died when I was only three,” Rhianna said after a long pause and a
deep sigh. “Rafe was quite a bit older than me. He had just turned
eighteen when they died and was about to start university. He gave
up his studies and took a job as a building labourer so he could
look after me. He devoted his entire life to making sure I was
loved and cared for. He was everything to me and now he’s
gone.”

Caleb
breathed in deeply and tightened his hold. Her brother sounded like
a selfless kind of person. He could now understand the depth of
Rhianna’s grief. “He sounds like a pretty cool guy,” he said
softly. “I’m sorry I never got the opportunity to meet
him.”

Rhianna smiled slightly
and pulled her head back so she could look up at his face. “You
would have liked him, Caleb. Everyone liked Rafe. He was so easy
going, never had a bad word to say about anyone. Took each person
as he found them, warts and all. When I met Millie in grade school
and started hanging around with her, Rafe just adopted her as his
second little sister. Her parents didn’t give a crap about her and
she was hurting pretty badly at the time. Rafe just started looking
after her the same way he did me.”

Her eyes filled with
tears again and she dropped her gaze back down to the buttons on
his shirt. “It’s just so unfair that someone so good can be gone
like that, Caleb. Just when I was old enough to take care of myself
and Rafe could finally start living his own life, this has to
happen. It’s just not fair.”

Caleb hugged her tightly
and kissed the top of her head. “Life has a habit of doing the most
unfair things,” he said softly. “I really am truly sorry for your
pain, Rhianna, but you have to ask yourself if Rafe would want to
see you like this?”

She stiffened for a
moment, and then relaxed against him. “He’d sit me down and have a
‘talk’ with me,” she admitted with a wry smile. “He’d tell me not
to dwell on the bad things but to remember the good things. I do
try to, Caleb. Every day I think of one happy memory of being with
Rafe and it helps a little, but sometimes the grief just takes hold
and I can’t shake it.”

He kissed the top of her
head again. “Let me guess, you’ve cocooned yourself inside this
apartment since it happened, haven’t you?” he asked
gently.

She nodded against his
chest, closing her eyes and leaning on him as she took a deep
shuddering breath. She was vaguely aware that it should feel odd
sitting here with him like this. It wasn’t as if they were friends
or going out. They had only spent one night together and she had
been so sure at the time it had been a one-night stand.

“
Maybe it’s
time to be getting out and about again?” Caleb suggested. “Why
don’t you come out with me tonight? We can go to a movie or have
dinner; whatever you want to do. Just get out of the apartment for
a couple of hours.”

Rhianna sat up straight
and Caleb allowed his arms to drop so he could reach up and wipe
away her tears. She truly was beautiful, even with her eyes red
from crying.

“
You mean
like a date?” she asked breathlessly, her lavender eyes staring
intently into his.

“
Do you want
it to be a date, Rhianna?” he asked huskily, his thumb gently
tracing along her bottom lip as he kept her gaze locked with his.
“I’m willing to just be your friend for now, if that’s what you
need at the moment. I know our first meeting was rather intense. I
understand the reasons behind it, too. I’m willing to take this,
whatever it is we have together, as slowly as you want.”

Rhianna could feel her
face blushing scarlet as he mentioned their night together. She
tried to look away from him but was trapped within his golden brown
eyes. “I don’t usually do things like that,” she said
quietly.

“
I know,” he
smiled softly. “I don’t regret our night together, Rhianna. I don’t
want you to regret it either. You needed me. I was glad to be there
for you.”

She sighed and rested her
forehead against his. “I just feel so out of control right now,
Caleb,” she admitted quietly. “I feel as if I’ve lost direction. I
don’t know what to do anymore.”

“
Well, you
can come out with me tonight for starters,” he said with a small
smile tugging at his lips. “Getting out of the apartment will be
good for you.”

She managed a shaky laugh
and gave in to the sudden urge to touch the side of his face. She
pulled back slightly so she could watch her fingers stroke lightly
over his cheekbone and down to his strong jawline.

She heard his sharp
intake of breath and felt something stirring underneath her bottom.
She smiled and brought her eyes back to his, which had darkened.
“Okay, I’ll come out with you tonight,” she agreed. She slipped
from his lap before the sudden tension between them could get any
stronger.

She wanted to lean
forward and kiss him. She knew he wanted to kiss her too, but her
normal reticence was back. She wasn’t about to jump into bed with
him again, not when she knew nothing about him except he lived in a
fancy mansion on the outskirts of town.

Caleb smiled with
pleasure as he watched her scoot back to her armchair. Her
hesitancy really was quite endearing. He had surprised himself when
he’d offered her friendship. He was aching to throw her down on the
sofa and slide into her beautiful body once more, but her sadness
had touched him deeply and he was willing to wait until she was
ready.