Haunted (15 page)

“That’s because I know where it’s going,”
she said, gauging his reaction. “Or at least I know where I’d like it to go.”

“Oh yeah, where’s that?”

“Earlier tonight, you were brave enough to
tell Donny how you felt about me. When I could have done the same, I played it
safe. I’m sorry. I should have been willing to tell him the truth.”

“The truth?” he asked, looking wary.

She was tempted to pour another drink, but
she dug deep to find real courage instead of relying on the liquid variety.
“That I’m in love with you.” She inhaled, her laugh shaky when she attempted to
exhale. “Wow, I’ve never said that to a man before. This is a first for me.”

He took a step closer, then another. “You
mean it, or are you just saying that to placate me?”

“I mean it.” She couldn’t blame him for
doubting her. She hadn’t been very forthcoming about her feelings so far. “I
know I said I didn’t think I had room in my life for a relationship, but having
you here with me tonight to celebrate my victories made me realize something.”

“What’s that?” he asked, stopping when
their toes collided.

“I don’t want to celebrate those special
moments alone anymore.” She reached for his hands, hoping he wouldn’t pull
away. “When I heard my name called and turned to you, I realized how much I
needed you there.”

He closed his eyes before looking her in
the eye again. “I’m happy to hear you say that. There’s nowhere I would have
rather been tonight than by your side, watching you accept those awards.”

“Having Trey invite me out on tour with
them was the last thing I expected. It was like every teen fantasy I ever had
realized.”

He smiled at her enthusiasm. “I get that.”

He couldn’t possibly understand how much it
meant to her, but she appreciated his effort to see it from her perspective. “I
didn’t even think about the repercussions. I was just thinking, ‘Holy crap,
this is really happening. Trey Turner is inviting me out on tour with him and
three other artists I’ve idolized half my life.’”

“I can’t pretend to understand the way you
feel about your music, Elle. It’s obviously a part of you. My business is
something I loved and poured my heart into for years, but at the end of the
day, it’s a commodity I can sell. You can’t turn off the part of you that makes
you an artist.”

“That’s true,” she said, looking down. “And
I wouldn’t want to. I think it’s the best part of me. When I’m on stage or in
the studio writing a new song, it’s like I’m being true to the essence of who I
really am, and it feels so good.”

“It shows.” He touched her cheek, a wistful
smile twisting his lips. “That’s why millions of fans love you and your music.
You touch them, make them feel something—the same way you made me feel
something the first time I saw you.”

“There are parts of my career I don’t
love,” she admitted. “The public appearances, interviews, and paparazzi
hounding me, but the good outweighs the bad ten-fold. Without my music, I’m not
sure where I’d be. I don’t even like to think about it.” Elle needed him to
understand that she wasn’t putting her music before him, though it had come
first. He just had to share her heart with the music that fed her soul.

“I can’t imagine you without your music
either.” He brushed his lips across her cheek, inhaling her scent. “When I hop
in my car, I pop one of your CDs in, and your voice takes me someplace else. No
matter how bad my day was, your voice has the power to make me forget.”

She loved that he had been a fan before he
met her, that her music had touched him. She wrapped her arms around his neck,
molding her body to his. She loved the advantage the high heels gave her. “And
the way I feel about you inspires me in a way I never have been before.”

His hands glided down to the small of her
back and dipped lower, cupping her bottom as his lips found hers in a
passionate kiss.

“Having you in my life makes my music
better,” she whispered, touching her forehead to his. “You make everything
better, and I’m terrified of losing you.”
There
. She’d said it.

“It won’t be easy,” he reminded her. “Weeks
or months without seeing each other.”

She knew that would be the hardest part,
but talking to him, knowing he was at home waiting for her would make every day
sweeter. “I know it’ll be hard, but I’m willing to try if you are.” When he
didn’t respond, fear gripped her. “Please take a chance on me, Caleb. I know
it’s risky, but the reward could make it worth it.”

“I’m scared to.” He kissed her softly.
“Scared of losing you, scared of letting you go.”

He was strong enough to admit she made him
weak, and in her opinion, that was the sign of a real man. “You wouldn’t lose
me if you let me go. I’d come back to you… every time.” She reached for the
buttons running the length of his shirt.

“Promise me?”

“I promise.” Her heart expanded to the
point she felt it might burst through her chest. She’d never expected falling
in love, even with all the fear that accompanied it, to feel so incredible.
“Promise me something?”

“Anything,” he said, sliding her zipper
down her back as he kissed her neck.

“Promise me you’ll wait for me.” She knew
she was being selfish, asking him to wait months for her to return. But he was
hers,
and she wanted to make that clear before she set foot on that plane next week.

“As long as it takes,” he murmured, gliding
his lips over her collarbone.

“Caleb.” She framed his face with her
hands. “What happens if your ex comes back, or if you meet someone else while
I’m gone?” She hated to think of the possibility, but Caleb was a sexy,
successful, desirable man. She knew from the way women admired him tonight that
he couldn’t walk into a room without turning heads. “Will you at least tell me
before you…” She bit her lip. She couldn’t even think about it, much less say
it aloud.

He slipped her dress down and let it fall
to her feet. Standing back, he admired her red strapless bra, matching silk
panties, and spiked heels. “I’d have to be out of my mind to let another woman
turn my head. I love
you
.” He turned her in a half circle so he could
press his arousal against her back as he held her tight. His hand settled on
her abdomen as he whispered, “I may have said that to other women before, but
this is the first time I’ve really meant it, Elle. I thought I knew what love
was, but you shot that belief to hell.”

Elle’s eyes drifted closed when his hand
slipped into her panties. She allowed all of her fears to melt away as he
manipulated her sensitive flesh.

“You’re mine,” he breathed, nipping her
neck with his teeth. “And I’m yours.”

The sense of finally belonging to someone
and knowing someone belonged to her overwhelmed her. All her life, she’d been
looking for her place in the world, a family to call her own, and Caleb made
her believe the search ended here, with him. She lifted her hands over her head
as she circled his neck with her arms. “I want that. More than you know.”

He unfastened her bra and gently kneaded
her breasts with his free hand, circling her nipples as she arched her back,
filling his hand.

“I want you,” he said. “But I want so much
more than just your body, just tonight. I want the promise of a future. That’s
something you couldn’t give me a few days ago. Can you now?”

She had trouble thinking with his hands
playing her body like a musician played his prized instrument, but she knew he
needed the same thing she did: to leave all of their insecurities behind. “I
want a future with you.” Those may be the scariest words she’d ever uttered,
but they were also the most exhilarating. It gave her hope to think she could
have it all: a man who loved her, a career she loved, and a family to make her
feel she belonged.

“I feel like I’ve been waiting to hear you
say those words forever, like in my mind I knew I was waiting for you. That’s
why my heart wouldn’t allow me to settle for less.”

Knowing that she fulfilled him the same way
he fulfilled her made Elle wish she could capture this moment in a song. She
wanted to express her feelings so those who hadn’t been lucky enough to find
what she had with Caleb would know how it felt, would know why it was worth
waiting for your soul mate. When you found them, nothing else compared.

He turned her in his arms as he backed them
toward the king-sized bed. They’d made love dozens of times, but Elle knew this
would feel like a new beginning because, for the first time, they knew what
tomorrow would bring. They would still be together and ready to face the world
and all of its challenges. He laid her back on the mattress, resting his knee
between her open legs as he stared at her. His hunger for her was evident in
every ragged breath he took. His eyes were so intense, capturing the essence of
what she felt.

“Come here,” she whispered, reaching for
him. “You’re too far away. I want to touch you…”

“You’re stunning, Elle. I still can’t
believe you’re mine.”

Her heart twisted as tears burned her eyes.
She’d never imagined she would find a man who told her how much he loved her
every time their eyes locked, yet Caleb did. “I love you.” She felt as though
she had a lifetime of declarations trapped inside of her, wanting to pour out.

Even as a child, those words were never
uttered in her house. Friends were just friends; they weren’t family.
Boyfriends were passing through her life on the way to someone else, so she’d
never said or heard those words with them. Even Ricky had never told her he
loved her. Now she knew why.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, peeling
his shirt off before removing his pants.

She wondered if she could tell him the
truth without evoking sympathy or concern. He was a compassionate man, someone
who would hate to think of the years she’d suffered, shut off from real human
emotion because she was afraid to feel, afraid to get hurt. She watched the
play of muscles in his abdomen as he stripped off the rest of his clothes.
“I’ve never said that before. I hadn’t heard those words until you came into my
life.”

He frowned as he eased down on top of her,
brushing her hair off her face. “What are you talking about?”

“No one’s ever told me they loved me.” She
looked at his chest, ashamed to look him in the eye. “I think I always held
back because if my own parents, biological and adopted, couldn’t love me, no
one could.”

“Oh, baby.” He held her close. “Don’t you
know millions of people love you? Strangers reach out to you every day telling
you how much they love and admire you, how your music has helped them through a
dark time or changed them in some way.”

What he said was true and she loved her
fans, but it wasn’t the same as having an intimate connection with someone. “I
just…” She swallowed, trying to get the words out as she buried her face in his
neck. “Wanted this. What we have. I’m so glad Drake brought you into my life.”

A smile teased his lips as he pulled back
to look her in the eye. “He knew you needed me as much as I needed you. I’m
sure he knew we would connect if given the chance. That story he told me about
you needing extra protection was just a ruse, wasn’t it?” He grinned. “He knows
I’m not the kind of guy to refuse a damsel in distress.”

This was the moment of truth, her
opportunity to tell him why she was so afraid of Ricky. But she knew if she
told him, he wouldn’t be able to let her go out on the road, even with an army
of bodyguards.

“I’ll have to thank him later.” She tried
to smile through her fear. She hated lying to Caleb, even if she believed she
was protecting him.

“Enough about Drake,” he said, kissing a
trail down her neck and shoulders until he reached her breasts. “I’d much
rather focus on us.”

Caleb woke to the sound of a gasp followed
by a muffled cry. “Elle, baby, is that you?” He rolled over, reaching for her.
When he found the bed empty, he sat up quickly, trying to see through the
darkness.

“I’m here,” she said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean to wake you. Go back to sleep.”

His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, so
he saw her sitting in an armchair by the window, sliding her phone back into
her purse. “Is everything all right? Did you get a call that upset you?”

“No, everything’s fine,” she said, crossing
the room and crawling back into bed.

He pulled her into his arms. He felt her
heart racing as she settled in beside him, and he knew she wasn’t telling him
the whole story. “Honey, what’s really going on? You know you can tell me
anything.” Caleb knew the only way a long-distance relationship could work was
if they trusted each other implicitly. He hoped Elle’s emotional scars would
allow her to do that, because without trust, they had nothing to build on.

“I know.” She kissed his chest. “It’s
nothing for you to worry about.” She stifled a yawn behind her hand. “You wore
me out. Let’s get some sleep. I’m suddenly exhausted.”

He was tired too. They’d made love twice
before sleep claimed him, but apparently sleep had eluded Elle, and he wanted
to know why. “Who called you?” He couldn’t let go of the gnawing feeling
something was wrong.