The Athena Effect (24 page)

Calvin rushed over to take her by the arms and look her up and down in a panic, “What the hell happened to you? Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you!” He crushed her in a tight relieved embrace, and she tried to push him back to no avail.

“It’s okay! I’m fine!” she gasped, finally pulling away and looking down. A large red stain appeared, spreading across the front of her sweatshirt.

His heart nearly stopped, “Oh my God! Are you hurt?”

She looked down and started laughing, overcome with relief that she had made it back to him. “I’m fine… It’s just berry juice… I picked some berries… back in the creek over there… I wanted to make you guys a pie.”

He looked at her like she was crazy, making her laugh even harder.

“What were you thinking?” he said in horror. “There’s bums living back in there!”

“I was hiding,” she explained, trying to catch her breath. “Some men came to my aunt’s house to take me... to take me to him.”

They both knew who she meant, and the look on his face made her stop laughing.

“What happened?”

“There were three of them– Phil called them right after I got there. I had to climb out the window onto the roof to get away. I’m sorry I took so long, but they looked for a long time. They were really
very
persistent.”

“How did you get down?” he asked.

“I jumped to the side over by the creek and climbed down from there,” she explained.

“You jumped between the buildings?” Calvin asked, aghast.

She cocked her head at him, “I didn’t really have any choice, did I?”

He embraced her again, heedless of the smashed berries between them. “I was so worried. I went over there and that jerk told me that you ran away… I was afraid. I– I thought–”

He took her face in his hands and crushed his mouth to hers, needing to convince himself that she was really there. She kissed him back, as much in need of reassurance as he was.

When their lips parted she looked down at her muddy, berry-stained clothes, “Is it alright with you if I take a shower?”

He smiled, awash with relief, “Of course.”

“I didn’t get my books… or my clothes,” she complained.

“We’ll get you some new ones.
And
a phone.”

She panicked, reaching into her pocket and sighing with relief to find the key was still there. Then she looked so sad and dejected that he held his breath, “What?”

“I lost my keychain,” she said with a pout.

Now it was his turn to laugh out his relief, “I’ll get you all the key-chains you want.” He slipped his arm around her waist and walked her to the front door.

She paused in the threshold, anxious, “Do you have lots of hot water? Phil says I use too much.”

“Use all you want… I want you to feel at home.” He kissed her again, opening the door for her and standing back.

She had the power to take him from fear and despair to joyful bliss in an instant, and he realized that she held his heart in the palm of her hand. It was a fearsome and awesome thing, and he watched her go inside, surprised at how fast his whole life had changed.

He had the overwhelming feeling that something big was about to happen, but he wasn’t sure if it was something wonderful or terrible. All he could do was follow her inside, and take his chances on love.

~

Chapter Eighteen – HUNTED

~

Calvin waited for her in his room, stretched out on the bed with his arms behind his neck. He looked up to see Caledonia framed in the doorway, clad only in his oversized shirt. She was flushed pink, soft and warm from the shower, damp hair coiling around her face. His breath hitched in his throat.

“Do you have a washing machine?” she asked. “I really need to clean my clothes.”

He nodded, his mouth suddenly dry.

She held up her raw elbows, “Do you still have those bandages?”

“I thought you said you were okay!” he cried, sitting up in dismay.

She smiled, “It’s no big deal.”

Caledonia sat on the edge of the bed, waiting as he left and returned with the bandages. He carefully applied them, his handsome face serious, black coffee eyes filled with tenderness and concern. She watched him, overcome by his expression.

“I love you,” she finally said, with absolute certainty.

He put the box down and leaned in, kissing her softly on the lips. She responded, surprising him by threading her arms around his neck and melting into his lean, hard frame. He couldn’t resist taking her in his arms and laying her back on the bed, his hand behind her head. He lowered himself down onto her carefully, kissing her again as she let her palms glide slowly over his back. She could feel his muscles knotted with restraint as he hovered over her.

“I love you… I love you… I love you,” he groaned, pouring out his feelings into her ears between kisses. He couldn’t believe how good it felt to say it out loud, and she could see the colors of his aura strengthen and deepen each time he spoke.

“I love your eyes,” he said, kissing each one of her lids. She writhed underneath him, getting to know the way his hard muscled body felt pressed against hers.

“I love your hair,” he brushed it back from her face to kiss her again, making her sigh into his mouth. Their passionate colors rose and blended, and she matched him kiss for kiss, never wanting him to stop.

She felt suspended, tension coiling in her belly as he stroked her body with a self-confident touch that made her tremble. She kissed his neck, brushing her smooth cheek against his rasping stubble, discovering a sensitive spot at the base of his throat that made him shudder.

Despite her inexperience, she was pleased that her touch could get such a strong reaction, and she wanted more. She gripped the bunched muscles in his back, her body rising to meet his, pushing him past the limits of his restraint. He sat up and removed his shirt in one sweeping motion, taking hers off next and descending upon her again, his chest brushing against hers.

A surprised gasp escaped her lips at the skin to skin contact and he froze, “Are you okay?”

She answered him with a kiss, and soon they were both completely swept away, bodies entwined. He was overwhelmed by the sensation, the scent of her hair, and the silken softness of her skin.

He lifted a shaking hand to smooth back her tousled curls, “Are you sure?”

She nodded, catching her breath, “Completely.”

~

They spent the afternoon in bed, holding each other close until the sky began to darken. Calvin was unable to get his fill of her, overjoyed at the reality of finally having her curled up in his arms; all pink and gold, peaches and cream.

“You’re so beautiful,” he told her over and over, making her blush every time.

There was a sharp rap on the door, and Calvin scrambled to pull the blankets up over them before Jarod could burst through the door.

“Hey, are you guys–” he poked his head in, averting his eyes when he saw them. “I, uh… just wanted to say I got some eggs and stuff.” He ducked his head back out and closed the door.

“I’ll have to talk to him about knocking,” Calvin said.

She sat up and reached for a shirt, but before she could slip it on he snagged her around the waist and pulled her back down, kissing her swollen lips, “I don’t want you to ever leave this bed.”

“You’re going to have to let me go sometime,” she laughed.

“Never,” he said, his dark eyes intense. “I’ll never let you go.”

He pulled her close and wrapped his body around hers to make his point. Caledonia closed her eyes and sighed in utter contentment, finally drifting off into a peaceful sleep. Calvin couldn’t remember a time when he ever felt happier, and he would have been perfectly content to stay in bed all day and all night if it wasn’t for his growling empty stomach. He got up slowly, careful not to disturb her, and slipped out of the room quietly.

He came back to find her lying across his bed, propped up onto her elbows reading a book. Her long legs were sticking out of the bottom of his shirt, her golden hair wildly cascading down her back. He had never seen anything so sexy in his entire life. She looked up and smiled at him.

“Hungry?” he asked, brandishing a brown paper sack.

She closed the book and sat up, “Shouldn’t we go eat in the kitchen?”

He shook his head no, “Jarod’s got a poker game going, and I wanna be alone. Besides,” he said, his lips twisting into a slow, devious smile. “I was serious about keeping you in bed.”

She put her book down, and he handed her a foil wrapped package and a stack of napkins. “I hope you like Mexican.” Together they sat on the edge of the bed, sharing a meal of burritos with a couple of bottles of orange soda to wash them down.

“So, what are you reading?” he asked her.

“One of your books,” she held it up to him, “Moby Dick.”

“Ugh,” he said, “I had to read that for English class.”

“
Had
to?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s about some dude trying to catch a whale.”

She looked shocked, “It’s really much more than that… It’s about good and evil, obsession and madness… the existence of God…”

“You’ve read it before?”

“Twice.”

“Then why read it again?”

“Because with a really good book you get something new every time you read it. Because… Well… because you’re a different person each time.”

He looked into her extraordinary eyes, “You make me a different person.”

She smiled, “Then you need to read it again.”

“Let’s eat first,” he laughed. The burritos were huge, and despite her prodigious ability to eat she still couldn’t finish hers.

“How was it?” he asked.

She rubbed her stomach. “It was great. It was a gut bomb,” she said seriously, making him laugh again.

“Have you ever had one before?”

“My father made burritos,” she said, remembering. “He made tortillas with beans and rice all the time, but we never had any cheese or meat inside.”

“Were your parents vegetarians?” Calvin asked.

She shook her head no, “We ate a chicken once in a while, but if we wanted meat I had to go hunting.”

“Wow,” he said, finding it hard to imagine. “What did you hunt?”

“Mostly just mushrooms,” she said, “But if I was lucky I might get a few birds or a squirrel.”

“You ate squirrels?” he looked shocked.

“You just ate a pig,” she pointed out, making him laugh again.

They cleaned up, discarding the wrappers and straightening out the rumpled bedding. He propped a stack of pillows against the wall and slipped his shoes off to kick back comfortably, patting the mattress next to him with a smile. “Why don’t you come over here and tell me all about Moby Dick?”

She looked at him with narrowed eyes, “Are you teasing me?”

“I might be.”

They spent the rest of that long night in bed, alternating between heated passion and languid, relaxed cuddling. There was a raucous party going on elsewhere in the house, but the two of them were oblivious to the outside world. They were wrapped up in the insulated cocoon of lovers, completely unaware of anything but each other.

Calvin kissed every scar on her body, watching her face as he made love to her slowly, his fingers entwined with hers. Neither one of them wanted to sleep, but they finally succumbed to exhaustion, curled up around each other in a woven tangle of arms and legs.

He woke up late the next morning to find Caledonia gone, and sprang out of bed in a panic. He raced out of his room to find her cleaning up the kitchen, elbow deep in a sink full of soapy water. She looked up at him and smiled shyly.

“Good morning,” he said, drinking in the sight of her in his baggy clothes. The ashtrays and beer cans on the counter had been replaced by a straggly bunch of wildflowers in a vase he hadn’t seen in years. He remembered how much his mother loved flowers, and had a sudden urge to go out and buy her some nicer ones.

He came up behind her and kissed her neck, “Can I give you a hand here?”

“I thought I’d make breakfast,” she said. “Do you like omelets?”

Jarod stumbled down the hall, looking like he’d had a rough night. He nodded his approval, “Bout time someone cleaned up around here.”

Crystal followed behind him, yawning. “There she goes again,” she said with good humored sarcasm. “No coffee yet? I’m gonna go take a shower.” She headed back down the hallway.

Caledonia pulled the plug to drain the sink, drying off her hands and turning around to meet Calvin’s laughing eyes.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“Nothing.” He took her in his arms, bending down to whisper in her ear, “You just make me happy.” He drew back after he kissed her, adding, “Without even trying.”

Caledonia saw something move over his shoulder, glancing through the window with a sharp intake of breath. The van from yesterday was pulling up in front of the house, and the same three big men with mirrored glasses piled out of it. They headed straight for the door, moving with serious intent. Calvin turned around and saw it too.