Fighting the Inevitable (42 page)

“
Fine,”
Rhianna spat jumping down from the counter. “If you won’t do it,
then I’ll ask Demetri to do it instead.” She didn’t really mean it
but she wanted to lash out at him because he was disappointing her
so much with his unreasonable behaviour.

The expression which came
over his beautiful face chilled her to the very bone. For one brief
heartbeat she thought he was truly going to hurt her, his face
turned so vicious and she realised she was looking at the vampire
Caleb truly was, with no hint of the man she loved anywhere in
sight.

Caleb quivered with rage,
seethed with fury, as his woman blithely turned around and
announced she was going to have his best friend turn her into a
vampire. It didn’t matter that Demetri would refuse her request. It
was the fact she was willing to allow some other vampire to sire
her that burned his heart to shreds. She couldn’t hurt him anymore
than she was doing right at this very moment.

He stared down at his
beautiful woman and saw her lavender eyes wide with fear and
brimming with tears and he could only imagine what she must be
seeing in his face. She was seeing him at his true vampiric best,
the monster he really was and he was frightening her. A part of him
was glad he was frightening her. She really should be reminded what
he truly was, what she would become if he gave in to her and
granted her request.

“
So you want
to be a vampire, Rhianna?” he asked dangerously quietly. “You want
to be this?” He pointed at his face, baring his fangs at her, not
one trace of human compassion or love anywhere in his
expression.

Her face paled even more,
her eyes silently beseeching him not to scare her this way and
suddenly the breath hissed out of him in a long tortured gasp and
he spun on his heel and raced from the kitchen, slamming out the
front door and disappearing into the night.

Rhianna bit her lip.
She’d pushed Caleb too far and now he was gone, running away from
her. He was probably scared he would hurt her. For a moment she had
thought he was going to and she felt guilty for having that moment
of fear. She knew he would never hurt her, not deliberately so. She
just wished he believed it of himself too.

She stared down at the
burning eggs in the pan and sighed softly. She threw the entire pan
into the sink, eggs and all. She wasn’t feeling very hungry anyway.
She took a few deep breaths and headed out of the kitchen, seeing
the front door lying wide open and shivering slightly as the cool
breeze wafted inside.

She knew Caleb was close
by somewhere. He would never leave her alone and vulnerable in his
home with his door wide open for anyone to walk in. She considered
calling him and then decided not to. She was still annoyed with him
and he probably wasn’t too impressed with her either at the moment.
Some time to let tempers cool was most definitely the best
thing.

~~~~~

Caleb watched her hover
at the open door, a deep scowl on his face. He was riddled with
feelings of guilt but he was still angry at her too. She was being
so unreasonable, so stubborn and single-minded, and downright
bloody annoying.

So why was he the one
skulking outside like a four year old in a temper tantrum? Why did
he ache to go to her and promise her anything she wanted if only
she would smile her beautiful smile at him and welcome him into her
arms? Being in love was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to
do in his very long life.

His scowl softened as he
watched Rhianna peer into the darkness and then turn and start to
walk up the stairs, leaving the door open for him to come home to
her. He sighed deeply and raked his hand through his long hair. It
was pointless fighting against his woman. She was always going to
win, no matter how much of a fight he put up. She had enough faith
for both of them and he had no option but to trust her judgement.
Making up his mind, he headed back towards the house just as his
cell phone rang.

~~~~~

Caleb slammed open the
bedroom door and stormed into the room. “I’m going to fucking kill
him,” he roared furiously. “When I get my hands on him, I’m going
to rip his fucking head off.”

Rhianna looked up from
where she was lounging on the bed, her book falling from her hands
as she blinked at him in surprise. “Who are you killing now?” she
asked quietly, trying to fight down the small smile tugging at her
lips. He was prowling around the bed, their disagreement clearly
forgotten by whatever had upset him.

She sucked in a deep
breath as she watched him. God, he was glorious when he was angry,
especially when he was angry with someone other than her. His amber
eyes blazed with fury, his hair flowing wildly round his head as he
moved. She felt a little shiver run down her spine and a deep
warmth begin in the very pit of her stomach.

“
Bloody
Demetri!” he growled. “Beth just called to tell me Demetri has
decided to take a few days off to attend to some personal business.
I’ll bloody give him personal business! He knew damned well I
wanted to spend this week with you. He knew he was already skating
on thin ice after his last little dig at you. You would think he’d
have the bloody sense to try and get back in my good books, but no,
not Demetri. He pisses off, so I’ll have to go into the office this
week, when I really wanted to spend it with you
instead.”

She watched him stomp
around the bed, his fury at his friend reaching almost fever pitch.
She couldn’t stop her smile growing wider, as he started telling
her just what he intended to do to Demetri when he got back from
wherever he was. The more he ranted, the hotter she became and all
traces of their earlier disagreement flew from her mind. She
finally gave into the urge to unbutton her jeans and slip them off
when his fangs came out. She was lost the moment she saw those
wickedly sharp teeth.

Her scent hit Caleb like
a ton of bricks, and he blinked slowly, turning his head towards
the bed. His mouth dropped open, as Rhianna crawled into the middle
of the huge bed and wiggled her thong-covered backside at
him.

“
You going to
do something with those teeth, love, or are they just for show?”
She laughed as he growled and dived onto the bed, trapping her body
underneath his and scraping his fangs lightly against the side of
her neck.

She was supposed to be
mad at him. Didn’t woman withhold their sexual favours when they
were mad at a man? He didn’t take long to ponder it. She was
aroused and wanting him, and he wasn’t about to let such a blatant
invitation slip past because he didn’t understand the subtle
nuances of being part of a couple.

“
Witch!” he
groaned thickly, quickly shredding her little tank top and then
snapping the sides of her thong and throwing the ruined items to
the floor. Her deep musky scent flowed over him, and he groaned
again, all thoughts of Demetri gone from his head.

Her sudden arousal had
come out of nowhere, and he was reacting to it instinctively, and
more wildly than normal, because of their recent argument. His
usual self-control appeared to shatter somewhere between her
wiggling her ass at him and uttering those words about his
fangs.

All that mattered was
being with her, his precious Annie, the other half of his soul. For
however long they had he always wanted to be with her like this,
kissing, touching, loving one another. Caleb dampened his wilder
side and set about showing her how much he loved her, licking and
kissing her body in slow, languorous strokes until she purred for
him, surrendering to his touch.

Their lovemaking was slow
and sensual, a meeting of spirits as if both wanted to show the
other how sorry they were for their part in the earlier argument.
Kissing Rhianna deeply, Caleb worshipped her body with his until
she cried out her pleasure, tumbling him along with her, their
bodies dancing together in the ancient language of love that
required no words.

Rhianna smiled, snuggling
close to Caleb as her heart continued to race and she sought to
bring her breathing under control. He had told her without words
just how sorry he was and how much he loved her. There would be
many times they would argue over the years, but the making up would
soothe any pain. Rubbing her cheek against his skin, she kissed his
chest, as his arms wrapped tightly around her.

“
Are you
okay, love?” he asked softly.

She purred deeply and
rubbed her softness against him. “That was delicious,” she sighed,
and he chuckled, his hand stroking through her tangled curls as she
lay across his chest.

She smiled and kissed his
chest. “You just look so incredibly sexy when you’re angry,” she
giggled. “The moment your fangs came out, I just couldn’t help
myself.”

Caleb laughed with her
and kissed the top of her head. “I wasn’t complaining,” he
admitted, contentedly holding her tightly against him. He closed
his eyes and savoured the feel of her body in his arms. Lying with
her like this gave him a feeling of true peace. His beautiful woman
tamed the monster inside him with a whispered word, a slight touch
of her hand, her lips twitching in a secret little smile. She was
his redemption and he would be lost without her.

“
I’m sorry
about earlier, Annie,” he whispered, and he felt her still against
him for a moment and then she raised her head and looked intently
into his face.

Her lavender eyes met his
and he sucked in a deep breath as he stared into perfection. She
was so beautiful with her lips swollen from his kisses, the slight
flush of her passion still in the smoky depths of her eyes, and the
faint flush of red in her cheeks.

“
I’m sorry
too, Caleb,” Rhianna sighed. “I didn’t mean what I said...about
asking Demetri.” He quietened her by placing a finger on her lips,
his golden brown eyes intent on hers as he slowly stroked her soft
mouth until he was sure she had gotten the message and wouldn’t
continue with that line of conversation any further.

She smiled and raised
herself higher so she could press her lips gently against his. The
sheet fell away from her and his eyes travelled slowly down her
slender neck to the swell of her beautiful breasts, his marks
colouring her creamy skin so erotically he felt himself start to
harden again.

“
Annie,” he
groaned, cupping her face gently in his hands. “I find I can refuse
you nothing, sweet one. I’ll give you what you want, baby. I’ll
make you mine forever, I promise you I will, but we need time
together so I can guide you through the changes. Can you wait until
Demetri returns?”

He knew he was being so
incredibly selfish, but he also knew he would never survive without
her by his side. Her beautiful face lit up with such joy that he
forgot to breathe for a moment as he stared at her in
wonder.

“
I love you,
Caleb. I can wait for Demetri to return, as long as I know that it
will only be a little while longer.” Rhianna kissed him again, and
then slid her body completely on top of his, causing him to stifle
down a deep groan as she pressed her heat against his already
hardened cock.

“
I should
refuse you,” he whispered softly. “I should tell you no and be
satisfied with just one life time with you, my Annie, but I can’t
bear the thought of never seeing you like this again, of never
holding you and loving you and hearing your sweet cries as you
shatter so beautifully in my arms.”

She smiled her beautiful
smile at him, and his breath caught once more before he groaned and
ground her mouth hard against his as he crushed her tightly to him.
“I love you, my Annie,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
He sighed and settled her along the length of his body, her face
buried in the side of his neck as she slowly stroked his
chest.

He wanted to lie like
this forever with her, to forget about the outside world and the
trials of daily life, but thoughts of Demetri were plaguing his
tired mind and he inwardly cursed his friend.

He had a good idea of
what his friend was up to right now. They had called him first and
he had refused. He knew they would call Demetri next. The fact he
was now gone was a clear indicator Demetri had agreed to their
request. If his actions upset Annie in any way he would seriously
kick the shit out of him, friend or no friend.

Rhianna stirred in his
arms, lifting her head to peer at him sleepily. She stroked his
face lightly and settled back down against his chest. “Sleep,
Caleb,” she murmured softly. “Whatever you’re fighting with Demetri
about will resolve itself eventually. Stop thinking about him and
rest with me, love.”

He chuckled and trailed
his fingers through her riot of curls. She always seemed to know
what he was thinking. Kissing her head gently, Caleb snuggled
Rhianna closer, once more wrapped in her loving spell. He’d deal
with Demetri tomorrow. Tonight there was only his Annie in his
heart and in his mind. He closed his eyes and drifted slowly into
sleep.

Coming
Soon

The
Assignment

Book Two in
the Fighting the Inevitable Saga

ABOUT THE
AUTHOR

I have been married to
George for almost 15 years, and he has been my love, my support,
and my best friend for even longer. We weren't blessed with any
children, though I am incredibly close to my beautiful nieces and
nephews, and my gorgeous great niece Maddison.