Fighting the Inevitable (17 page)

Demetri gave his friend a
level look. “If you want the girl then go get her. I have no wish
to spend the next century watching you mope around because you were
too much of a coward to take a chance.”

With that Demetri melted
back into the room, and went hunting for his brunette. She was
waiting for him in the booth they’d been sitting in and he slid
gracefully onto the plush leather seat, gathering her back into his
arms.

Rhianna saw Demetri come
back from wherever he went to and looked around for Caleb but there
was no sign of him. She took Caleb’s lack of appearance as a sign
he wasn’t interested anymore.

Quickly finishing her
wine, she went to slide from her stool only to feel a strong arm
snake around her waist to prevent her. She gasped and looked up to
find herself staring into Caleb’s eyes.

“
Surely
you’re not leaving already, Annie?” he asked with a small smile
tugging at his lips. “Not after coming all this way to find
me.”

“
Caleb.” His
name came out breathlessly, and she flushed at how gauche she
sounded. “I didn’t think you were going to see me.” She flushed
again as she blurted the words out without thinking.

Caleb stared down at her,
his heart thumping wildly in his chest now that he was so close to
her. He read the uncertainty on her face, saw the flush of colour
creep across her cheeks and he smiled and leaned closer so he could
inhale her delicious scent.

“
As if I
could stay away,” he murmured against the shell of her ear, hearing
her heartbeat start to race as she sucked in a sharp breath. His
lips brushed against her ear before sliding slowly down the side of
her neck. “I didn’t think you’d come looking for me, Annie. Not
after our last conversation.”

“
I told you I
needed some time, Caleb, to decide what I wanted to do with my
life.” Her breath coming out sharply as his lips moved back up to
her ear and he nipped lightly at her earlobe.

“
I presume
you’ve decided what it is you wish to do?” His lips teased along
her jawline, his greedy gaze memorising every single feature on her
beautiful face. He was pleased to see the little lines of grief
looked less pronounced now, as if she’d begun to come to terms with
the death of her brother.

“
I’ve made a
start,” she smiled softly. She was so tempted to turn her face
slightly so their lips would meet, but she didn’t want to appear
too eager. He could probably already hear how hard her heart was
beating as his lips trailed across her skin.

He pulled back so he
could meet her gaze. He smiled at her, his golden brown eyes warm.
“And what have you decided, Annie?”

“
That if I
wanted to be happy I can’t sit around and wait for it to happen. I
have to make it happen,” she answered slowly. “As soon as I decided
that, I changed and came looking for you. It seemed like the next
logical step to take.”

Caleb closed his eyes and
inhaled her sweet scent again. He knew he should stop this before
it went any further but he couldn’t resist her any longer. Demetri
was right. He would be a complete pain if he didn’t explore
whatever this was between them. Despite all the unexpected
emotions, the inherent difficulties of being with her, he had to
have her in his life.

“
Do you think
I could make you happy?” he asked softly, his lips a hairsbreadth
away from hers, her hot breath fanning across his face and making
him ache with the need to kiss her.

“
I think you
could, Caleb.” Annie knew she was being bold but her reward was a
flash of joy that crossed his face a second before he leaned
forward and captured her lips with his. Her lips trembled as he
gently rubbed his mouth against hers in a kiss so tentative and yet
so full of promise.

The tiniest of moans
escaped her throat, and he deepened the kiss before he reluctantly
pulled away. He really didn’t want to stop kissing her but he knew
she was more inhibited than he was. Once she realised she was
sitting at the bar in full view of everyone, she would feel
uncomfortable about their kisses and he didn’t want that. He sat up
straight and signalled the bartender for two more glasses of red
wine.

“
So, I
believe we have a dinner date to reschedule?” Caleb asked, reaching
down to brush a finger over her cheek. He saw the surprise on her
face and knew she had expected him to drag her from the club back
to his place so he could ravish her. He was sorely tempted to, but
he wanted to do this slowly. He wanted to date her the human way.
It would help him to adjust from his normal way of doing things
too. He had to learn how to be with a woman and not just indulge in
the pleasures of a woman’s body.

“
Okay, dinner
it is,” Rhianna laughed, and leaned her head on his shoulder. If
Caleb wanted to do this right then she wasn’t going to stand in his
way. She was actually very touched he was being so considerate. It
gave her hope they could build something worthwhile together and
that they wouldn’t just have a few months of wild passion before it
fizzled out into nothing.

“
How about
tomorrow night?” Caleb reached for his glass of wine and took a
sip. He watched her face trying to gauge her reaction. “Or we could
meet for lunch and then maybe do something afterwards? It is
Saturday tomorrow and I don’t have any other plans.”

Rhianna grinned broadly,
as she sat straighter and reached for her glass of wine. “That
sounds perfect, Caleb. I do have something I need to do in the
afternoon but you can help me with it.”

Her lavender eyes were
bright with excitement and Caleb couldn’t stop the smile which
tugged at his lips. Whatever she needed to do it was something that
truly excited her.

“
Okay, you’ve
piqued my interest. What do you have planned for the afternoon?” He
blinked in surprise when she told him.

“
Property
viewing?” he repeated. “Are you moving?”

“
No, silly.
Can we go sit somewhere else, Caleb? I feel kind of on show here at
the bar. I wouldn’t normally sit at a bar if I was going out with
friends.”

Caleb slid gracefully
from his stool, wrapping an arm around her waist to help her down.
He nodded imperceptively to one of his kind in the booth across
from them and the man moved from the booth as Caleb escorted
Rhianna across the room.

Her lavender eyes
sparkled with mischief as she slid into the booth. “I hope you’re
not as naughty as Demetri is in these booths, Caleb.”

Caleb chuckled and slid
in beside her, dropping a quick kiss on the side of her neck. “I’ll
only be as naughty as you allow me to be.” He laughed against her
soft skin, and she shivered and let out a throaty laugh which went
straight down his spine and made him suck in a deep breath before
he straightened up.

“
Behave,
woman.” He laughed, shaking his head. “I’m trying to be on my best
behaviour here.” His body was hard and aching with need and he
wouldn’t have minded a little discreet fun in the booth, but he
really didn’t think she would be up for it.

“
This slow
dating thing, Caleb, you’re not going to do the whole ‘friends’
thing like you suggested the last time?” Rhianna asked, her hand
moving to his silk shirt to rest against the hard muscles of his
chest.

Caleb swallowed and
stifled a groan at her touch. “I don’t honestly think I’d be able
to keep my hands off you to just be friends, Annie.” His voice came
out sounding hoarse. “I won’t lie to you and say I don’t want you
in my bed because you know I do, but I want to do this right.
Normal couples do a lot of kissing when they’re dating though so
we’ll have enough fun together while we get to know each other
better.”

Rhianna smiled up at him
and reached up to brush her fingers through his hair as it fell
forward as he looked down at her. “I’m glad to hear that.” She
smiled impishly and raised her face for his kiss.

Caleb groaned and bent
down as his arms wrapped around her and pulled her onto her knees
so she was closer to him. His mouth was hard and demanding against
hers, his teeth nipping at her bottom lip until she opened her
mouth to him and their tongues met in a feverish duel. Her sweet
taste overpowered his senses, his hands sliding down her back to
her hips as he twisted her body until she was sitting in his lap.
He devoured her sweet lips.

“
You taste so
amazing,” he whispered. “You feel amazing, and you smell
amazing.”

Rhianna laughed, and
leaned her head against his chest. “I think I’m getting the
message, you think I’m amazing.”

Caleb’s laughter joined
hers and he leaned back against the leather seat and cradled her in
his arms. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever felt this
almost blissful feeling of happiness. This petite woman in his arms
had somehow wormed her way through every one of his defences and
now he was open and exposed to her in a way no one had ever been
able to manage before. It felt liberating and terrifying at the
same time.

“
So, this
property viewing?” he queried.

Rhianna smiled as she
played with one of the buttons on his shirt. “I’m going to start my
own business. A little old-fashioned bookstore where people can buy
books, then sit down, and read them as they drink their coffee or
tea. It’ll have a combination of old and new books with the option
to trade second-hand books. Too many people have forgotten the joy
of reading, Caleb. I want to give people that joy back.”

“
Sounds
nice,” Caleb smiled, and it did sound nice. He was an avid reader
himself, always had been. If he’d ever found a bookstore like the
one Annie was describing, he’d have spent many an hour inside such
a place. “So, you’re going to look at property space to
rent?”

Rhianna sat up and
reached for her wine glass. She took a long sip and put it down
again. “I did consider renting but then I realised my landlord
could decide to not renew my lease, so I’m opting to buy
instead.”

Caleb blinked in
surprise. “You can afford to buy? The properties in town are quite
expensive.”

“
I know,”
Rhianna sighed. “I’ve already looked at a couple. They weren’t
right though, and were too expensive like you said. The ones I have
lined up for tomorrow are off the main drag and a bit
cheaper.”

Caleb’s mind was whirling
as he listened to her. He owned property in town. He knew just how
expensive they could be even off the main drag. “Annie, I hope you
don’t mind me asking but how can you afford to purchase property in
town?”

She slid off his lap and
turned to look up at him. “Why do you want to know, Caleb?” she
asked carefully. “Are you after my money?” She made it sound like a
joke but he could see wariness in her lavender eyes.

He sighed deeply. “Annie,
I have more money than I know what to do with. I can assure you, I
have no interest in yours. I was just curious as to how you had the
funds to purchase property in town.”

“
Rafe left a
life insurance policy with a solicitor. I knew nothing about it
until Jared showed up at the door a few weeks after Rafe died.” She
didn’t notice the expression that crossed Caleb’s face as she
cuddled back into him and rested her head against his
chest.

Caleb felt his blood run
cold and knew the expression on his face would be murderous. He
struggled hard to change it to a more neutral expression. He toyed
with Rhianna’s curls as a way to soothe his sudden rage. “Jared,”
he said carefully. “That wouldn’t be Jared Hanlon, would
it?”

Rhianna sat up and smiled
widely. “Oh, do you know Jared? He was very kind to me when he
dropped by. I was having a bit of a bad day and I screamed bloody
murder at him. Thankfully he forgave my appalling lack of manners,
which I thought was really kind of him.”

Caleb had carefully
schooled his features and he hoped Rhianna didn’t notice his smile
didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yes, I’ve known Jared for a very long
time. We go way back.”

“
He’s got a
thing for Millie but don’t let her know I told you about it,” she
said in a low voice. “He calls her every day insisting she go out
with him and she keeps refusing. I told her to at least go on one
date and see what happens, but I don’t know if she
will.”

He listened to her
prattle on about Jared’s pursuit of her friend and the icy feeling
inside him deepened with every word. He was glad Rhianna didn’t
notice his detachment. He was glad she didn’t notice his barely
controlled fury. If she had any inkling what was going through his
mind right at that very moment she would have run for the hills and
never looked back.

Caleb spent the next hour
with her fighting hard not to go over to the Hanlon Pack and rip
the dogs to shreds until he finally reached Hanlon and ‘Wolfie’. He
now completely understood the strange behaviour of the brown wolf.
He knew exactly who he was and he wanted to kill him for the pain
he’d put his woman through, the pain she was still suffering. Rafe
Armand had a lot to answer for, as did Jared Hanlon.

Not content with taking
Annie’s brother from her, Hanlon was now lining up to take her best
friend too. He would kill him before he allowed him to hurt his
Annie again.