Shadows in Me (7 page)

After what felt like forever, we both came down from heaven.  He lifted me slowly off him but kept me pressed against his body.  I rested my head on his shoulder.

“I love you Caitlin.”

Caitlin

There were still a few scattered stars in the sky, but the horizon was lit up with the morning rays. 

Vincent was fast asleep, I could hear his breathing, and it was steady.  I propped myself up on my elbows, we were a tangled mess.  He was lying on his tummy, the sheet draped very low over his body, exposing the dimples above his ass.  Holy shit he looked so sexy. 

I wanted to touch him, to run my fingers all-over his rippled body, but he looked so peaceful. 

“What’s that look in your eyes?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin; I hadn’t realised he was awake.  I was so focused on his body that I hadn’t noticed. 

“Mmmm….nothing much.”  I grinned at him, and ran my finger across his lower back, circling his dimples.  His body reacted quickly to my touch; Goose bumps ran the length of his body. 

Before I knew what was happening he had me rolled over and pinned under him, his lips close to mine, but not touching. 

“You have no idea what you do to me, you are so beautiful.”  He leaned down and kissed me.

We made love, gently, moving slowly but with purpose. Every movement, every push, it was like our bodies were craving each other, knowing it was true love, a love that lasted a lifetime.  The space between us was filled with our love, we knew nothing and no one would come between us. 

I woke up some time later, alone in bed. The sun was already up, my body warmed by the morning rays.  The table on the deck was set up with a fresh fruit and juice, but no sign of Vincent. 

I was starving; it had been a long, passionate night.  I slipped my feet out of bed onto the cool deck.  I grabbed the sheet off the bed wrapping it around my body.  I couldn’t see Vincent anywhere. 

Walking over to the table I spotted my bag hanging over the back of the chair. I fished out my phone before down.  There were ten messages, mostly from Heather, but the one that caught my eye was from him. 

“Happy Thanksgiving.” Was all it said. 

I sat staring at the screen, I knew I should’ve responded but it just felt wrong.  We hadn’t spoken since I walked out of Duke’s. Brent needed to sort out his issues with Cassy, and I needed to focus on Vincent.  My fingers lingered over the buttons, deciding whether or not to reply. 

“You’re finally up, Gorgeous.” Vincent surprised me by kissing me on my neck. 

I nearly shat myself. I fumbled with the phone dropping it to the ground.  My hands were shaking, I reached out to pick it up but he beat me to it.  He handed it to me without looking at it. 

“Did I frighten you?”  He came around the table and sat across from me. 

“Think fast girl”
“I was just daydreaming about you, and texting Heather.”

“Oh god no, I really hope you haven’t told her about our sex life again, that woman is killing me.  I have to listen to her and Cole all the time sucking face.” 

“Umm, well I might have sent her a text last night already.”  I smiled at him.  Ok, so that was a little white lie, but what was I supposed to do? He didn’t know about Brent.  If he had to find out I had been lying to him for the past few months, he would’ve flipped out. 

Heather knew, and the shit I was already getting from her was more than I could handle. 

“You ready for some food? I’ve had the chef whip us up something special.”  He poured us both a glass of champagne and orange juice, and out of nowhere a young lady appeared with plates of mouth-watering food. 

“Do you realise that it’s less than a month before you come home?  Do you think that maybe then we could start planning our wedding?” 

There was nothing I wanted to do more.  “Yes, I am so ready to start planning.  Do you think we could do a spring wedding, I’m tired of waiting?” 

“I’m so glad to hear you say that.”  He lifted his glass for a toast.  “To finally setting a date for our wedding.” 

“To our wedding.”  I lifted my glass and finished it in one go.  This was a big step, I was only twenty-one and I was getting married. I was so excited at the thought of finally becoming Mrs Vincent Pierce. 

Heather and my mother had been bugging me for weeks to start planning the wedding, but with my internship I just hadn’t had the time. They would eventually be getting their way.  To be honest I thought that my mom had been planning it since the day I was born.  I remember back in school, Heather and I would often talk about our wedding days.  I even started a memory book, with pictures of cakes, flowers, and my DRESS. 

I had always wanted a Vintage themed wedding.  THE DRESS was a champagne colour, sheath lace gown, with custom beading, it had a sweetheart neckline, was floor length, and backless.  I even knew the dress I wanted for Heather.  I couldn’t believe I had been putting the planning off for so long.  I wondered if Vincent would allow Brent to come to our wedding. 

“You’re day dreaming again?”  Vincent placed his hand over mine, squeezing it. 

“Yes, I was thinking about what I was planning to do to you on our wedding night.” 

“You’re a vixen, you know that.” He grinned, blushing.

“And you love it.” I winked.

Vincent got up from the table very slowly but with determination, and made his way towards me.  “I think it’s time for us to go cool off, things are getting a little hot here.” 

“I didn’t pack my swimming costume!”  I started getting up ready to make a run for it; I knew that costume or not, he planned to take me into the ocean. 

“Who said we needed costumes.  Skinny dipping is much better.” He said, with a naughty twinkle in his eyes.

“People will see us.” I started to protest, but to no avail.  There was no room for moving slowly, I turned and sprinted for the house.  Before I could even reach the end of the wooden deck, he had me scooped up in his arms.  I squealed like a little girl as he started walking towards the beach.  The sheet I had draped around my body had fallen away and I was totally exposed.  I wrapped my arms around his neck, the hair on his chest touched my nipples making them harden. I pressed my thighs together tightly as the combination of lust and the soft breeze was arousing me. 

“It’s a private beach, you don’t need to worry about that, even if some lost soul decided to wonder this way, I’ll and protect you, you know that.”  I didn’t even realise that he was already naked until we were fully submerged in the ocean.  He lowered me in front of him shielding me from the beach. 

I still had my arms wrapped around his neck.  He lowered his head and kissed me softly on the lips, then lifted his head to look at me. 

“Do you even realise how beautiful you are?” He lifted his hand and cupped my face.

I could feel a warm glow spreading all over my body and the throbbing between my legs.   We were not that deep, I could feel the sand under my toes, I let go of his neck and stood in front of him.  The water was just under my breasts, and with each wave it splashed up over my nipples.  We stood there looking at each other not saying a word.  I ran my fingers down his body, over his pecs circling his nipples, tracing the tattoo on his chest.  He was so receptive to my touch, goose bumps forming all over his body.  I trailed my fingers down over his abs and even further.   I cupped him with one hand and the other hand rested on his behind. I squeeze just enough to get a groan out of him and to feel him harden in my hand.   

He placed his hand under my ass and lifted me so I could wrap my legs around his hips.  I placed my hand on his shoulders and leaned in to kiss his neck, I could taste the saltiness of the sea on his skin. I ran my tongue up the curve of his neck towards his ear, and nibbled and bit down. He growled at me.  He shifted me just a little, to position his cock at my entrance, then he entered, moving so slowly inside of me.  A big wave splashed over my back, pushing me forward and him deeper inside me. I gasped in delight at the intrusion, pressing my breasts hard against him. 

“Look at me, I want to see your face, I want to see the lust in your eyes. You are so warm around my cock, I’m in heaven.”  He started moving faster, pushing me closer to my climax. 

“Slow down, I want us to cum together, I want to feel you come undone inside of me.”  I lifted my body to slow him down a little.  I needed him to feel it with me. 

“You don’t need to worry about that my baby, I’m right here with you, I can feel you tighten around me and I don’t think I’m going to last much longer. I need you Caitlin, I need to be deep inside of you, I need my balls buried in your pussy.” Vincent moved two, three more times inside me before I collapsed against his body, my climax ripping through my body, I could feel him pulsating inside of me at the same time.

“Oh my god, oh fuck, you feel so good inside of me” I bit down on his neck, tasting a little blood in my mouth.  It took me a few seconds to come back down.  I could feel his hand against my lower back, pulling me even closer to him. 

“I never want to let you go, I wish I could be with you like this all the time.”  He gently kissed my neck. 

I lifted my head and looked over his shoulder, in the far distance I could see people walking towards the house. 

“As much as I want that too, I think it’s time for us to head home, we could finish this there, someone’s coming.”  I pointed with my head towards the beach. 

He scooped me into his arms again and quickly made his way towards the house; we got to it just in time. 

“I’ll go run you a bath my angel, you relax.”  He placed me down on a wooden lounger and covered me with a towel.  He walked into the house leaving me on the deck. 

I was really lucky to have a man like him in my life, every time I looked into his eyes I could see the love he had for me, the way he worshipped me.  The way he looked at my body, the way he touched me, not just physically but also emotionally, he truly allowed me to just be me.  He loved all of me, not just my body but also my mind.

I was standing at the railing looking out over the ocean replaying the events of the day in my mind.  We’d made love so many times and it still didn’t feel like enough, I needed him more, I needed to feel him against me. 

The hairs on the back of my neck pricked and goose bumps popped up all over my body. I turned around to find him leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest, framing his pecs.  God, I just wanted to sink my teeth into him. My eyes made their way down his body, I grinned at the sight of him, he wanted me just as much as I wanted him, and he was not ashamed of showing me just how much.  Seeing my reaction, he lowered his hand and cupped his balls, making his cock stand up even more.  I let go of the sheet around my body, letting it drop to the ground.  I walked towards him, the wind swirling around my body, heightening all my senses, making my nipples harder and sending a shiver down my spine. 

The lust in his eyes, matched the lust in my body. 

Caitlin

That Monday was the day I had been waiting for for so long. This was my opportunity to prove to myself that the decision I had made to go to chef school was the right one.  Studying under Chef Nathaniel had been truly amazing, and I finally got to run his entire restaurant. 

It was only 4:30 in the morning, but there was no more sleeping for me, I needed to clear my head and get rid of the uneasy feeling in my tummy.  It must have been my nerves.  My mom had always said that ginger tea was the best thing for nausea.  I wanted to go for a run but didn’t think it would be a good idea. 

Vincent was coming to my big night, and I would be going home the next day. We had finally decided that it was the right time for us to make the big move. Heather and Cole were taking over my place and I was moving in with Vincent.  My parents weren’t too crazy with the idea, they would have liked us to be married first before moving in together, but hell, we were both grown-ups, so why should we have waited? 

I grabbed my bags and started packing; I wanted to have it all done by the time he got there.  It was going to be a long night and I wouldn’t have the time for packing afterwards.  Besides, it was Christmas, and I wanted to get home early. 

On my way to work, I decided to give Vincent a quick call. It didn’t take long for him to answer the phone. 

“Morning beautiful.”  I could almost hear the smile in his voice. 

“Morning sexy.  I thought I would give you a call before my day started, and to make sure you’ll be here tonight.”  To be honest after Vincent had let me down the last time I was a little worried. 

“Oh come on Caitlin, that’s not fair. I told you I was sorry for letting you down before. I thought I had more than made up for that.”  There was a hint of hurt in his voice. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I just wanted to check what time you’ll be here today.” I felt bad. 

“I have a meeting at three this afternoon, and I’ll be leaving straight after. I’ll meet you at the restaurant. I promise I won’t not let you down, I know how important this is for you.” 

“Ok, I need to go.  See you later, I love you.”  My nerves were killing me; I couldn’t wait for the day to be over. 

Just as I was about to walk through the door I heard someone call my name.  I turned to find Brent behind me, leaning against his truck. 

“Morning Princess.  Wow, you’re a hard person to get hold of. Are you that pissed at me?” I wished I could smack that cocky grin off his face.

“Hi Brent. No, I’m not pissed at you, I just think your girlfriend has issues and it would be better if I stayed out of your way.”  I walked toward him, and gave him a quick hug. 

“So you ready for today?” He asked.

“I hope so, what are you doing here?” I said.

“I came to wish you well; I assume Loverboy will be here tonight.”

“Yes, Vincent will be here tonight, I would have loved for you to join us too, but I don’t think it would go down well.” 

“You probably right, I think I should just say my goodbyes now.” 

I almost forgot, today would be my last day with Brent.  When I was back home, I couldn’t see us hanging out like we have been. Vincent wouldn’t like it, hell I hadn’t even told him that Brent had been in town.  Oh well, what were the chances they would find out at the last minute. 

“Yeah, I don’t know if I’m ready to say goodbye, it’s been great getting to know you again. When will we get to see each other?”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Remember Caitlin, above everything else, we’re friends, and I will always be here for you.  You are special to me, always and forever.” He pushed away from the truck and came to stand in front of me. 

I looked up at him; I couldn’t find the words to tell him how much his friendship meant to me.  Without thinking, I flung my arms around his neck and hugged him.  His body jerked in shock, but relaxed soon enough.  He wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me back. 

“Thank you so much for everything.”  We stood like that for a few minutes, neither of us speaking. I heard someone behind me clearing their throat. I pushed away from Brent and turned around to find Chef Nathaniel standing behind me. 

“You think you’re going to join us today Miss Steward?”

“Yes sorry, I was just saying goodbye to my friend.”

Chef turned around and walked into the restaurant. 

“Sorry, I got you into trouble.” Brent took my hand in his and kissed it softly. 

“Shit, what a way to start the day.”  I felt a little uncomfortable with the gesture, and pulled my hand from his. 

“Good luck, Caitlin, don’t be a stranger.”  Brent turned and got into his truck, I watched as he drove away, out of my life.  Would I get to see him again? I really needed to chat to Vincent about this.  I was Brent’s friend, and he would just have to accept it. 

The rest of the day flew by so quickly.  I had thirty minutes to get home, shower, and get ready for my big night.  Walking up to the restaurant, I was looking for Vincent’s car, but it was nowhere to be seen, I texted him, but he didn’t reply.  I even tried to get hold of Heather but her phone went to voice mail.  Holy fuck, what the hell was happening?  Something in my gut was telling me that things weren’t right. 

“Ready for your big night Miss Steward?”  Chef Nathaniel was waiting for me outside the door. 

It was time for me to put my game face on. I couldn’t worry about what was happening back home. I needed to focus on the job in front of me.  I wanted Chef to be proud of me.  I needed this. 

The night went exactly as I had planned. There were a few moments where I nearly broke down, but Chef stepped in and pushed me harder.  For those few hours I forgot all my troubles.  After the last order had left the kitchen I went to stand by the door, looking out into the dining room.  I looked for Vincent’s face, but he wasn’t there.  I walked out the kitchen door and around the building to see if his car was parked in the street, but it wasn’t.  Where the hell was he? Fuck, what if something had happened to him?  I ran into the kitchen and fished my phone out of my bag. 

There were three text messages on my phone. 

Heather:  Sorry I missed your call, meetings all day.  Good luck for tonight, I believe in you. 

The second message was for an unknown number: 
Sorry babes, but your man is with me tonight.

The third message was from Vincent
:  I am so sorry Caitlin, I lost track of time.

“FUCKING BASTARD!!!” The tears streamed down my face, I was so angry.  That other message could only have been from Alexis.  Well fuck them both, she can have him! I am done with this shit.  Fool me once shame on you, fool my twice, shame on me! 

“Miss Steward, language!”  I turned around to find Chef standing behind me. 

“S O R R Y!”  I could hardly get the words out, I was crying so much. 

“Caitlin, are you ok?” He took a step closer to me, but I stepped back which made him stop.     

“I’m fine. Just an issue at home.”  I tried to compose myself; I didn’t want to look like a fool in front of my boss. 

“Ok then, I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you, what you did tonight was amazing.  If ever you decide to make San Diego your home, you will always have a place in my kitchen.”

“Thank you so much, that means the world to me.”  I could not believe what I was hearing, I needed to share it with someone, but that person let me down tonight. He had lost track of time.  He was with her, instead of being with me. 

I cleaned up the kitchen, said my goodbyes to my new friends, and walked out. 

I took my phone out my bag and saw that I had six missed calls from Vincent.  Too little too late.  I was done with him. This was the last time he would hurt me like that. 

I found myself standing outside Dukes and not at home.  I needed to share my great news with someone, and at least Brent had made the effort to come see me. At least he had cared enough about my big night.  It was already quite late, and most of the patrons were leaving. I stood in front of the big window, looking in. Brent was standing behind the bar pouring drinks. Cassy was sitting on one of the chairs not too far from him.  I knew that going in wasn’t a good idea, but I really needed to speak to him.  I knew I was being selfish, but I needed him. 

I pulled my phone out of my bag and sent him a text. 

Me:  What you doing?

I watched as he pulled out his phone, there was that cocky grin again. 

Brent:  Why, what you doing?

Me:  Watching some cocky bartender texting instead of working.

His head snapped up looking for me, his eyes found mine in no time. 

Brent:  You spying on me now?  Come inside and have a drink with me.

Me: Don’t think that would be a good idea, why don’t you come and have a drink with me, I think I have some beers at home. 

Brent:  Deal.

I watched as he said goodbye to Cassy, grabbed his jacket and walked towards the door.  I saw Cassy watching him and then she spotted me.  If she could have spit fire, I swear she would have. 

“What are you doing here Princess? I thought Loverboy was going to pick you up from work?” 

“Well that was the plan, but here I am. If you’d like I’ll tell you all about it over drinks.” 

“Deal, where do you want to go?”

“My place, if that’s ok with you? I’m not really in the mood for crowds.” 

“Cool, my truck’s parked in the back.” 

I think Brent could sense all was not well, we drove home in silence.  I didn’t even realised we were home until he opened my door for me. 

“Caitlin, are you ok, you haven’t said a word since we left Dukes?”

“No I’m not.”  The tears started again, I was trying so hard to keep it together but I couldn’t take it anymore. 

He scooped me up in his arms and carried me up to my apartment.  He lowered me to my feet in front of my door; took the keys from my trembling hands and opened it.

I was a complete mess; I sat down on the couch and just cried.  Brent disappeared for a few minutes and then came back carrying two cups of coffee.  I took a sip, it helped to calm my heart and I was able to tell Brent what had happened.  He didn’t say a word, but I remembered seeing that look in his eyes before. It was the day he had knocked Hunter out back in school. 

“So now what Princess? What are you going to do? Have you spoken to him?” I could see he was angry, he was struggling to get the words out. 

“No, I haven’t spoken to him; right now I’m not interested. If spending time with Alexis is more important than my big night, well then I’m done.” 

“Ok, I respect that.  So enough of this shit.  Tell me how your night went. Did you fall on your face in the pudding or what?”  He tried to cheer me up.

“HA HA, it was great, Chef was impressed with me.  He even offered me a job at his restaurant, full time.” 

“That’s amazing; I’m proud of you.  You see, I knew you could do it.” 

“You’re the first person I’ve told.” 

“I’m glad you did.”  Brent leaned in and hugged me.  Just as he did there was a loud knock on my door.

“Who the hell could be at my door at this time of the night?”  I got up and walked to the door, peeping through the hole. I couldn’t believe my eyes. 

“It’s Vincent!!”  My heart was pounding in my chest. On the one hand from being angry at him for what he had done, and on the other for the fact that Brent was in my apartment.  I didn’t know what to do, I just stood there, frozen. 

“Princess, step out of the way let me handle this.”  Brent was standing right behind me. I turned to look at him and the anger I saw in his face scared me. 

“No wait, I need to deal with this.”  I put my hand on the door knob, took a deep breath, and opened the door. 

“CAITLIN, darling, I’m so …..” Vincent pushed his way into my apartment and was about to put his arms around me when he spotted Brent, standing behind me.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”  His eyes went wild; he pushed me out of the way to get to Brent.

Before I could even say a word, Vincent had swung his fist and hit Brent on the mouth.  Things happened so quickly after that, there was glass breaking, bodies on the floor, I tried by best to separate them but I was too small to pull them apart. 

“S T O P!!!!!!”  I screamed at the top of my lungs, I didn’t even see Heather and Cole running into my apartment.  Cole grabbed Vincent and was pulling him off Brent. Heather grabbed Brent’s arm before he threw another punch. 

“Brent, I think you need to go.”  Heather turned to Brent and tried to calm him.  I was staring at the mess in front of me.  How could the best night of my life turn into such chaos in such a short time? 

“I’m not leaving Caitlin alone with that dickhead; I warned him if he hurt her I would be back.”  Brent shrugged Heather’s hand off his shoulder and stared walking towards me. 

“Stay the fuck away from my woman; I’ll kick your ass!!” Vincent broke out of Coles’ hold and stormed towards Brent, I quickly jumped between them with my back towards Vincent.  I placed my hand on Brent’s chest, holding him back.