Capri's Fate (21 page)

"Oh." Capri yawned.

In a moment, the slow rhythmic pattern of her breathing told him she was asleep. He ran the back of his hand along her cheek. "I asked and she said no."

Damn.

Ch
apter Nineteen

Capri
opened her eyes and moaned. She pushed herself up off the couch and tilted her head left then right, trying to relieve the kink in her neck. It might have been romantic to fall asleep on Thall's lap, but the stabbing pain whenever she moved her head suggested it wasn't a great idea.

She shifted and glanced at Thall. He was still asleep, his head at an odd angle against the back of the couch,
Capri cringed at the crick he must have in his neck. She rubbed his leg. "Thall. Wake up."

"Hmm?"

She stood, yawned and twisted her body trying to relieve some of the aches. "I'm going to take a shower. Stretch out."

"Uh hmm." He sniffed and shifted
, but didn't stretch out on the couch.

"It's your neck." She padded off to the bathroom.

As the steamy water sprayed down over Capri's body, she closed her eyes and let the heat relax the aching muscles in her neck. She remembered yesterday evening and sighed. What was she going to do about Thall? She was angry and ecstatic at his return. Part of her wanted to throw him out of the apartment, preferably off her thirty-eighth level balcony. The other side suggested she rip his clothes off and make wild jungle love to him. Obviously, neither side had won, forcing her to have to make a calm, rational, mature decision.

"And I suck at making decisions like that." She opened the bottle of shampoo, poured some into her hand and heaved another big sigh. "Shower. Dress. Go to work. You think better at work."

With a plan in mind, Capri finished showering, dressed, stuck a note for Thall on the refrigerator and left for the office.

She bolted out of her apartment entrance, whistled and waved. A taxi pulled alongside the curb.
Capri entered, stated her destination and dug her chirping cell out of her purse. The message from Kat read,
Am I disturbing anything?? Wink. Wink.

She keyed in her reply.
Only my cab ride to work.

You didn't kick out that gorgeous hunk of maleness, did you?

No.
Asleep on couch.

Couch?

While Capri pondered her answer to Kat's short, but pointed question, another message chimed
. So what are you going to do? Did I mention he's hawt! OMG Hawt!

Capri
chuckled
. Going to work. Think better there. Will let you know as soon as I know anything.

She turned the volume to vibrate, stuffed her cell back into her purse, then stared out the window at the never-ending stream of traffic lights, people and office buildings. The cab slipped next to the curb in front of a very familiar business tower.
Capri shook herself out of her reverie, paid the driver, scurried into the building and over to the executive elevators. While she waited for it to descend, she smiled at Gabino, the front lobby security officer.

"Looking fantastic today, Ms. Gray. I missed your morning smile while you were away."

"Such a sweet thing to say. How are your little ones?"

He shook his head. "The youngest is teething."

The elevator doors swooshed open. Capri stepped inside and pressed the button for the forty-eighth floor. "I so sorry to hear that. Have a great day."

"You, too, Ms. Gray."

The doors closed. Capri settled back against the back wall, listening to the music as the elevator ascended to her floor. A soft ding announced its arrival, and Capri stepped through the open doors, turned to the right and walked to her office.

Terrence, her assistant, greeted her with a smile. "Morning, Ms. Gray. Ooh, I love the way that skirt set works on you. Wait. What is this?" He waggled his finger at
Capri. "Is that color on your cheeks? Did you get a tan?"

"I was on a business trip. Not a vacation. The tan is accidental."

Terrence grinned at Capri as she stepped into her inner office and closed the door. Settling into her chair, she clicked the power button and waited for her computer to boot.

She tapped her fingernails on her desk. "If there's less than five hundred emails screaming at me for missing the business meeting, I'll buy myself a diamond bracelet."

Typing in her password, sexkitten2, Capri held her breath, waiting for her email to finish loading. The first email in the list was from Neil Felkins, president of the company and the subject line read URGENT.

Capri
released her breath, blinked and clicked on the email. As she read it, she drew her eyebrows closer together. It was a corporate memo with the headline:
Mineral rights contract secured with Indonesia Mining Corporation.

"But I never made it to the meeting?"
Capri mumbled to herself. She pressed her left index finger on the wrinkles between her brows and eased them back to smooth. Pressing her call button, she waited for Terrence's reply.

"Yes, Ms. Gray?"

"Can you get me Mr. Felkins' assistant on the phone?"

"Certainly."

A moment later, a button lit on her phone. She clicked it. "Capricious Gray."

"Cynthia Hixson, Ms. Gray. How may I help you?"

"Can we talk?"

"He's on the golf course. Won't be back the rest of the day."

"So what's up with the mining contract?"

"All I know is, Adjie Massaid, the president of the company, arrived here yesterday to sign it. Felkins was so happy he gave me the afternoon off. "

Capri chuckled. "Yes, he is generous to a fault. Well, thanks for the info."

"Anytime."

I suspect the Fates are behind this, but I forgive them for interfering this time
. With a lower blood pressure, Capri skimmed through her emails and stopped at the one marked, Massage 3 pm.

She raised her hand to buzz Terrence, when he knocked on the door and peeked around the corner. "Flower delivery." Pushing the door open, he led a massive vase of flowers into the room. The delivery person placed them on the corner of
Capri's desk, nodded at her and exited.

Under stroking one of the white daisy blossoms,
Capri muttered, "He's crazy."

Terrence popped his eyebrows up. "Who's crazy? There's a he? He who? Did you meet someone while you were accidently getting a tan?"

A tingle centered in her belly. "Possibly." She settled back into her chair. The message on her monitor caught her eye. "Terrence, I have a massage this afternoon?"

"And a mani-pedi. I booked your hair dresser at eleven."

Capri scratched her forehead.

"Did I forget something?" Her assistant pulled his cell out of his pocket, touched the screen and read aloud. "I am a complete mess. Need a total overhaul. Please book a hair appt, massage and a most importantly a mani-pedi. C.G."

"No, you missed nothing. I guess I'm still jet-lagged. I don't remember sending you the message. No worries. Since I'll be gone for the rest of the day, why don't you take the afternoon off?"

Terrence smiled. "I work for a slave driver. Makes me take time off, when she knows I'd rather be at my desk. Oh, well. Must do what the boss orders." He closed the office door behind him.

Capri leaned back in her chair, stared at the bright white and yellow daisies and thought about Thall. She liked being with him. She loved the way he made her feel. A shudder passed through her. Closing her eyes, Capri remembered the internal heat he created in her on the yacht's deck.

Her brow darkened.
It can't be just about lust. There must be more
.

She opened her eyes, glanced at the flowers then focused on her monitor. Absentmindedly, she clicked through emails, deleting the unimportant ones or anything from Dickerman.

She paused.
He did say he asked Lachesis if he could give up his immortality. That's an incomprehensible sacrifice. To be willing to give up eternal life to be with someone. Just to be with me.

The light on her phone flashed. She ignored it.
But the alternative for him would be to live through eternity denied the chance to be loved.

The light persisted in its flashing. She clicked on it. "Ms. Gray, the cab will be here to take you to the spa in fifteen minutes."

"Thank you, Terrence."

"If there is nothing else, I'll be leaving now?"

"No, go ahead. And have a nice afternoon." Capri spun her chair around, stood and peered out her forty-eighth floor office window. She voiced the thoughts in her head. "There is no easy solution. He's obviously infatuated with me. I am…aroused by him."

She crossed her arms and shook her head. "It's too much of a risk." A twinge of sadness pinched her heart.

"Should I take the risk? Could we have a relationship? A life? Marriage? Children?" She glanced over her shoulder at the flowers. "Do I even want all those things?"

She clicked off her computer, picked up her purse and exited her office, heading for the elevator. Once inside, she leaned against the back wall, watching the numbers count down as the elevator descended.
I do. I want all those things. And I want to try with Thall. I have to take a risk once in a while. Live life on the edge, so to speak.

The elevator doors opened and
Capri crossed the lobby. "Leaving early, Ms. Gray?"

Hesitating before stepping into the revolving door,
Capri turned. "Yes, Gabino, I'm leaving a little early. I'm going to meet my future."

Three hours later, Capri lay stretched out of the massage table with hot rocks draining their heat into the tight muscles of her upper back. Eucalyptus scented the air and soft spa music floated in the background. She sighed with deep contentment.
Oh, to spend every day of my life like this. No worries. No decisions. Just pampering.

The door open
ed and closed and Capri listened to Felicity, her masseuse, pad about the room. She bit back a groan when Felicity lifted the rocks off her back and began with feather-light brushes against her back, shifting to deeper strokes as she worked out the tight knots in Capri's muscles. With a final finishing stroke, Felicity then placed a warm blanket over her back, and her soft voice pulled Capri out of her catnap. "Take your time, Ms. Gray. When you are ready, there is a glass of orange water, and I'll be waiting outside to escort you to your cab."

Capri
giggled.
She expects me to walk when I feel like melted Jell-O.

She wiggled her fingers
and toes to wake up her relaxed muscles, then dressed, and exited the spa. The cab ride home was rush hour slow, but soon Capri stood before her apartment door with her key in her hand. She inhaled a big breath.
Like I told Gabino, ready to meet my future.

Inserting the key in the lock, she open
ed her door. Capri stepped toward the foyer and glanced around. The sweet aroma of flowers tickled her nose. The room was exactly as it was supposed to be, except one thing. Thall was no longer asleep on the couch.

The bang of a pot drew her attention to her kitchen. Peering around the corner,
Capri stifled a giggle. Her first impression, Thall was attempting to cook dinner. Her second, it wasn't going well. Pasta, garlic, flour, a bottle of olive oil, an unopened package of chocolate chips, bottles of spices, sugar, two cake pans and several pots were scattered across the kitchen counter.

Thall glanced up from a book lying on the table. "There's no food in your kitchen. How the heck do you eat?" He rubbed his hand over his hair. "I was going to make supper. Spaghetti and chocolate cake. Your favorites."

He rose from the chair, crossed the kitchen, grabbed the package of pasta and waved it at her. "Spaghetti you got."

"Yay me."

"But for sauce you need—" He returned to the book he was reading and ran his finger down the page. "Olive oil. Got it. Garlic. Got it. And some spices. What you're missing is: onions, fresh basil, mushrooms and carrots."

Capri
pulled open the cupboard door on her left, reached inside and pulled out a jar. "Ahem."

He glanced up from the book. His eyes narrowed, glaring at the jar she was holding.

"If you remember, I was away. It's not a good idea to keep perishables while you're gone. Unless you want a biology project growing in your fridge when you return. Instead. Ta da." She waggled the bottled. "Sauce in a jar."

He took the bottle from her hand and matched the ingredients with what was in his cookbook. "Thyme. Uh huh. Peppers, onions. Good. What's natural flavoring? It's not listed in your cookbook."

"Better you not know."

Thall furrowed his brow and handed back the jar.

"Let me get dressed and we'll go get some groceries because I'm guessing this isn't going to impress you." She reached into another cupboard and pulled out a box. "Cake in a box."