The Calum (15 page)

The shadow moved toward
the door, and hope flared in his chest like a well-struck match.
One excruciatingly long minute passed and Duff couldn’t take it
anymore. He knocked twice.

A second later, the door
opened and his heart stopped.

She’d obviously been
crying. Her eyes were puffy, and her cheeks were drawn. The
knowledge that he was the reason sliced into his gut like a dull
knife.

Her hair was an untamed
mess of curls, spiraling out in all directions.

She wore a white tank top
and the most hideous pajama bottoms he’d ever laid eyes on –
SpongeBob yellow with bright pink dots that made his head hurt. He
wanted to kill them. With
fire
.

She looked ridiculous and
adorable and sad. And she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever
seen. He wanted to scoop her up and kiss her pain away.

“
You’ve got two minutes,
and then you’ve got to go.”

Okay, so she wasn’t in the
mood to forgive and forget.

“
Before I turn back into a
pumpkin?”

She crossed her arms,
closing herself off even further, but moved to let him
inside.

Not the time for jokes,
you idiot.

“
How did you find me?
Jo?”

He nodded. And thank God
she’d called him. He’d been ready to leave Inverness for his next
assignment, in Kabul. Who knew when he’d be back on the
grid?

“
I
wanted...clarification.”

She frowned.
“On?”

“
Where we
stand.”

“
I thought I made it
pretty clear.”

Duff followed her further
into the room, with its standard chain hotel decor. Beige carpet.
Colorful, abstract prints on the walls. As good a place as any to
get your hopes incinerated.

Lovie moved behind the
desk, putting it between them. His envelope lay there, unopened.
She crossed her arms again and stuck out her chin, but tears
shimmered in her eyes.

God, he couldn’t stand to
see her like that. A steel band tightened around his
heart.

“
Lovie-”

“
What did you think this
would accomplish?” She gestured to the envelope on the
desk.

“
Well, you havna read it,
so not so much.”

“
You wasted your time
coming here, Duff.” She swallowed hard. “Go home.”

“
No.”

In three days, Lovie had
broken down every single one of his defenses and zeroed in on his
fears and insecurities. She’d awakened a part of him that he
thought he’d lost forever. Duff hadn’t come this far for her not to
know how much she meant to him.

How much he missed
her.

Needed her.

“
No?” A flicker of panic
showed in her chocolate brown eyes. “What do you mean
no?”

“
I mean no.” This was it,
now or never. “Not until you read it. Aloud. To me.”

Lovie huffed out a
disbelieving laugh.

“
I mean it. I’m no goin’
‘til ye read it to me.”

She looked at him as if
he’d sprouted a second head, but Duff stood his ground.

“
Fine.” After a brief
stare-off, she snatched up the envelope, hesitating a moment before
she tore the end open. Her hands shook, and Duff wanted nothing
more than to take her into his arms.

Lovie gasped when she saw
the photo.

He couldn’t believe that
it had only been eight days since they shared that first sunset at
Fort George. He’d stared at the picture for hours, memorizing every
twist of her hair. Every freckle on her cheek. The way the colors
exploded behind her, framing her like the work of art she
was.

She cleared her throat,
flipped it over, and began to read.

“
To the One Who
Matters.”
Her eyes flickered up to his,
and she took a breath before continuing.

“
To the One Who
Matters,

I am sorry. I should have
told you everything in the beginning. Chalk it up to misguided
loyalty to someone I thought was my friend. And
stupidity
. Mostly that last
thing.”

A smile tugged at her
lips, and she covered it with the back of her hand.

“
I should have told you
before we...especially after, but I didn’t. And I can’t blame it on
my father or anyone else. I was just so scared - terrified - of
losing you when I’d only just found you. You deserve better, and I
can do better. Be better.”

The first tear fell, and
Duff took a step toward her. Just one, because she held up a shaky
hand.

“
You are infinitely braver
than I’ll ever be, and I’m a coward. I’m a coward because, now that
I’ve seen what life is with you in it, I don’t know if I can do it
without you. And that scares the hell out of me.”

“
God...Duff...” She
frowned, shaking her head.

“
Keep reading,” he
whispered, desperate for her to understand. He inched closer, every
cell in his body screaming for him to touch her. Show
her.

Lovie swallowed hard. When
she resumed, her voice trembled.
“I have
felt every single mile that you’ve put between us. The distance has
been slowly carving into me, and I can’t bear it.”

A sob broke from her
throat.

“
Go on. Finish
it.”

She shook her head, the
tears falling freely now. “I…I can’t…I-” She dropped the photo on
the desk.

“
It’s okay. I know what it
says.” Duff moved in front of her. He was so close now that he
could smell her shampoo. “It says…that…you unlocked a part of me
that I never knew existed. And when you left, you took it with
you.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “So, I’m here to
claim what’s mine.”

“
Duff-”

“
You knew I would follow
you, didn’t you.” He gently took her face into his hands, smoothed
away her tears. “You wanted me to follow.”

She met his eyes, and Duff
tried to show her everything. Everything that he was. Everything
that she was to him. Everything that they could be if she wanted
it.

He drew her against
him
and kissed
her deeply. She felt like home and tasted like salted caramel. A
little whimper escaped her throat before her hands came up between
them and she leaned away, breathing heavily. They both
were.

“
You knew?”

“
I…hoped.” He offered her
a small smile, she looked so desperately torn. It broke his heart.
“I had a little help, though.”

Lovie pinched the bridge
of her nose. “Dammit, Jo.”

“
It wasn’t Jo, it was
you.”

“
Me?” She was cute when
she was so clueless. “I didn’t even know myself.”

“
Let me see, what did ye
say?” Duff squinted as if trying to remember. In truth, her words
were carved onto his ribcage. He captured her eyes in his, so deep
and soulful. “There’s a spark that happens between two people that
you can’t explain. It just is. And then they’re in sync.” He
smiled. “Sound about right?”

Her mouth had dropped open
and she snapped it shut, the corner lifting slightly.

“
That’s rude, you
know.”

He stifled a laugh at her
expression.

“
What is?”

“
Using my words against
me.”

Duff pulled her close
again. God, it felt so damn good to hold her. When she didn’t move
away, that flame of hope in his chest became a bonfire.

“
Let me stay, Lovie. For
New Year’s.”

She pulled her bottom lip
between her teeth, chewing on what he knew what the softest thing
he would ever taste.

“
I’ll get a room here. Or
at another hotel nearby,” he added quickly. “Let me
stay.”

“
How can we-? After
everything-” She dropped her eyes away but her hands curled into
his jacket, pulling him in.

“
I have a feelin’...” He
placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “When ye wake up tomorrow, you’ll
realize that this is the beginning of
somethin’
amazing, and I’d like to
be here when that happens.” Her eyes closed.

“
Damn.” She took a deep
breath, fighting the smile on her lips. “That was
perfect.”

Duff let go of the breath
he’d been holding. “I rehearsed.”

His fingers discovered an
exposed patch of skin at the small of her back. She was even softer
than he’d remembered. How was that possible?

“
You’re crazy.” She shook
her head.

“
About you, yeah.”
Optimistic, he dipped his knees to meet her eyes. “Can I
stay?”

She laced her fingers
behind his neck, and Duff’s heart started beating again. She smiled
at him, and he just stared. Amazed. Relieved.

Her smile faltered. “No
more lies.”

“
Never again.” He held her
gaze. “Never. Can I stay?”

The shy smile returned to
her lips. “At least until morning, but it would be better if you
stayed here. Don’t you think?” Lovie placed a gentle kiss on his
grateful mouth. “I have to see if this prediction of yours comes
true.”

Duff touched his lips to
her forehead. “God, I missed you.” He ran a hand up into her hair.
Tilted her head and claimed her mouth with a slow, leisurely
kiss.

Lovie wrapped her arms
around his waist and buried her face in his chest.

Duff held her tight, her
curves molding to him. Perfect. He hoped to God he didn’t fuck this
up.

He smoothed a hand over
her hair. Ran his fingers up and down her back, over her shoulder.
Over and over.

She sighed and pressed
herself against him.

“
What’s your
name?”

“
Huh?” Duff was busy
discovering each one of the constellations on her skin. She had
freckles on her freckles.

“
Ginny called you
C.J.”

“
Oh, it’s
Calum.”

Lovie leaned back, her
eyes wide. “What?”

He traced the outline of
her lips with his fingertip. “Calum James MacDuff.”

Acknowledgements

A big thank you to my
husband, Mr. X, for not laughing (too much) when I said I wanted to
try my hand at writing romance.
Also,
thanks to Sarah Hegger for being
the other half of my brain, and to Kim Golden and Gene Doucette for
their support and advice. Finally, big thanks to the Xiomaniacs for
cheering me on.

By the way… Duff and
Lovie’s story will continue!

~Xio

About the Author

Xio Axelrod writes love
stories, sexy contemporary romance and what she likes to call
“strange, twisted tales.” Bitten by the literary bug in 2003, she
has self-published two volumes of poetry. Her short stories have
also appeared in e-magazines such as Oysters and Chocolate. After a
five-year hiatus from writing, Xio returned with the fiery web
serial, Starstruck; a story about finding the right person at the
wrong time.

Xio lives in Philadelphia
and is married to her own alpha hero, Mr. X. Her obsessions include
music, wine, languages, and way too many TV shows to
mention.

You can find Xio
on:

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website

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Ello