Unhinge Me (12 page)

“The lawyer put the house up for sale. I packed a few things, put the rest in storage, and drove here. The only other thing I brought from home was Bear. Four years later and here I am. I think I’m doing pretty good considering. But I still have a hard time with birthdays. Somehow it feels unfair I should have them when everyone I loved won’t ever have another.” She closed her eyes and shook her head, deciding whether to admit the rest.

“And it’s why I am so afraid of our relationship. Eventually I lose everyone… If I love you… I might lose you too. I couldn’t bear that…” A tear dropped from her eye and landed on her hand, which she realized was being held by Caleb’s.
When had he done that?

For a moment, Caleb sat there frozen, trying to decide what to do. He wanted to take away her pain, but he felt so helpless. Struggling for words, he finally just took her head in his hands and kissed her, hard. Her tears smeared on both of them as they kissed. Caleb put everything he had into it, trying to ease her heart, even just a little.

“Please don’t say that,” he begged when the kiss broke. “Please don’t be afraid to love me.”

Alex squeezed her eyes shut tight and more tears splashed out. How could she possibly explain to him what it felt like to lose everyone you loved? To be that alone? How it felt to fear love like it was a curse to be avoided. She had convinced herself that she was doing so well, and then in comes this man who sweeps her off her feet and makes her feel things she never imagined possible. Now nothing made sense.

“Oh, my little doe, I think I am beginning to understand now…” sighed Caleb sadly.

“I’m sorry,” she sniffed, her eyes still squeezed shut.

“Don’t apologize. Please. You have nothing to apologize for. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to lose all those people and when you were so young. You must be very strong, having been given such trials. I’m so sorry. I understand you need time. You’re still healing. I get that… completely actually. I say we just take this one day at a time,” he offered.

Once again, Caleb managed to be absolutely understanding and completely take away any pressure. The man really was such a gentleman. It centered her.
He
centered her.

She wiped away her tears and looked up into his gorgeous blue eyes. They seemed so deep, like if she looked closely enough she would be able to see his very soul in them.
My God, what am I going to do about him…?

Switching positions, Caleb leaned back while Alex laid in his lap. It wasn’t long before he noticed she’d fallen asleep. She needed it.

What a revelation that had just been, seeing her talk about her family like that. It was like watching another one of the onion layers peel off, only it was such a sad and painful layer.

He knew it didn’t change the way he felt about her. In fact, it only made him love her more. And now he felt a fierce need to protect her too. He felt like he owed her so much already. The breath of life she had given him was making him happier than he had ever been. He wanted more than anything to make her just as happy.

It also meant he absolutely had to tell her about his life back home as soon as possible. The last thing he wanted to do was wait too long and have it manage to hurt her again, especially now that the note had shown up. At the thought of the note, he got chills again. He needed time to study it more. Maybe there was a clue in the way it was written that could help him figure out who wrote it. More than just his title, his family’s company was large enough that it had some enemies. But having someone fly all the way over to a little known college town in Georgia just to blackmail him was pretty intense. He was going to have to figure this out before it went too far. As if it hadn’t already.

Caleb looked up to see some clouds rolling in. Nothing serious, but he wasn’t going to rule out rain. He decided to ignore it and let Alex rest.

Alex woke up slowly and, without opening her eyes, laid there remembering where she was and how she felt. She had just spewed out her deepest, and darkest fears and memories to Caleb and the exertion had definitely exhausted her. She felt better now that she’d slept though, and could smell the fresh grass and cool lake air. Still keeping her eyes closed, she took a deep breath and smiled.

“Did you know that swans mate for life?” Caleb asked casually, obviously having been watching her and noticing she was awake.

Her smile got wider as she opened her eyes and looked right at the cute pair of birds swimming in the lake not too far off from where she laid.

“I thought that was penguins,” she remarked. Sitting up slowly, she stretched like a cat and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. That may have been the best nap she had ever had.

“Actually, I think it’s both,” he answered thoughtfully.

“Smart birds,” she decided and snuggled up close to him. For a brief second, she almost hesitated, wondering if her earlier confession was going to change the way he felt about her. But he opened his arm easily and nonchalantly, so she nuzzled into her spot on his chest.

“So now that I am so over talking about me, can we finally talk about how the hell you are an Earl?”

Caleb grunted.

“It’s really not that hard actually. All I had to do was be born. The title has been in my family for generations. It gets passed down to the oldest son in the event of the patriarch’s death.”

“The patriarch’s death?” She sat up.

“Did you lose your father too, Caleb?” She looked upset.

He sighed and nodded.

“Yes, I did. But my father wasn’t like yours, Alex. He wasn’t patient or really all that kind and he
did
have a temper. He was a businessman first and foremost. He treated all of us more like employees than his family. I loved him, of course, as much as you can love a man who keeps his children at arm’s length on purpose,” he said with an undercurrent of hurt and anger in his voice. “He could be very old fashioned and was pretty hard on me when I tried to express myself and go out on my own. I swear the royal princes had more freedom than he ever gave me and my younger brother.” He shook his head. “When he realized I had found ways around him and was… enjoying my life, and the women in it-”

Alex’s eyebrows went up.

Caleb smirked at her. “…he found the quickest good match for our family he could find and threw me an engagement party before he even told me the news,” he said with sarcastic excitement.

“Wow…” Alex shook her head. She couldn’t imagine how that must have felt. It made her feel even more blessed to have the father she did. Even for that short time.

“Anyway, not long after the wedding, he had a heart attack and died. I swear he waited until he knew he had me where he wanted me and then he was gone. The title went to me, and all the expectations that come with it. It wasn’t easy, but I tried to assimilate. But after the fire and Lilith’s death, I just fell apart. I stopped caring about the business, my relationships, even myself. My brother came to me and told me I had to get away from it all. I hesitated, but it didn’t take long for him to talk me into it. I left all the business responsibilities to him and I left. I wanted - no needed, a fresh start.”

“Do you ever miss it?” she asked

“All the time at first,” he admitted. “Mostly my family and friends. But it got easier,” he said thoughtfully. “And then you came into my life and everything changed.” He smiled at her.

Alex sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I’m so sorry for your loss too,” she said quietly. “I guess we are both strong to be given such trials.” Then, before he could answer, she kissed him fully. The kiss quickly became more intense and she slid to sit on his lap.

Immediately aroused to have her there, Caleb groaned and leaned into the kiss.

Suddenly, the sky opened up completely and it started pouring rain down on them. Alex shrieked in surprise and they both sprang up off the ground. Shocked that the rain had snuck up on them, they quickly started cleaning up the picnic. They got soaked as they packed and, by the time they were done, there was no way to get any wetter unless they jumped in the lake. Instead of making a run for it to the car, Caleb pointed to the willow tree to suggest running there. Just wanting to get out of the rain, Alex didn’t even answer and just ran in that direction. Caleb grabbed whatever remained on the ground and followed her. They found a small opening between two branches and dashed into the small space.

Even though it was downpouring the sun was already starting to peek out around the clouds.

Under the protection of the big tree, it was much drier. They could easily stand under the branches, which were long enough that they almost hit the ground. It made a little canopy that was the perfect spot to wait off the rain storm. The rain hit the branches on the way down and splattered into a fine mist as it filtered down around them almost like dew.

Alex listened to the muffled rain in their little cocoon and looked around. It was surprisingly light in there considering, and the ground was a nice, soft grass, not the dirt she would have imagined. She heard Caleb speaking quietly, almost under his breath. To her pleasure, she realized he was quoting poetry again.

“Dripping rain like golden honey,”
she said the next line with him. He looked over at her and smiled, realizing she was listening.

“Jean Toomer,” she pointed out, though he already knew that.

For a moment, they just stared at each other. The rain had soaked them so bad they were both dripping wet. They started laughing at how they looked and at the turn the afternoon had taken.

As they looked over each other in merriment, they again met each other’s eyes. Instantly, as if snapped together like a rubber band, they closed the space between them and were in each other’s arms. They kissed hungrily, grasping any part of one another’s bodies they could reach. Caleb slammed Alex against the trunk of the big tree, but she didn’t even flinch. The rough bark in her back as Caleb’s rough hands groped at her from the front felt raw and carnal. He pulled her back toward him so he could start taking her clothes off. She tried to help, at the same time taking his off too. They accomplished it as quickly as they could, peeling the clothes off their wet skin until they were standing bare naked under the tree, their drenched clothes in a messy heap at their feet.

Caleb slowed down and took a look at the woman standing in front of him. Her wet, dark hair hung down to her waist. Her lips were dark pink from his kisses and her cheeks were flushed from the excitement. Her eyelashes dripped with rain into her green eyes, which stood out with the backdrop of green leaves surrounding them.

Alex noticed he was looking her over and covered her breasts with one arm and her waist with her other. Caleb lifted an eyebrow and shook his head at her. Slowly, he pulled her arms down to make her stand there uncovered.

“Don’t ever be ashamed of your body with me, Alex,” he commanded softly.

She tried to straighten her back to appear confident, faking it like he said she did so well, and tried not to think about the fact that she stood there so vulnerable in front of him.

Caleb smiled at the change and went back to carefully studying his muse. Even covered in goose bumps, her skin was creamy and alive. Her body had the most delicious curve to it and her breasts stood proudly, so full and plump. Her nipples hardened of their own volition in anticipation as he stared at them. Caleb himself stiffened to rock hard proportions and he groaned.

Alex noticed what was happening and her body flushed pink, the effect making him even harder.

She held her breath as he walked slowly up to her and laid just one hand on her breast. Alex gasped. The instant warmth on her cold and wet body made her moan in pleasure and bite her lip.

Caleb pulled her to him, holding her close, wrapping his arms around her to share his body heat. He slowly licked her wet lips and then parted them with his tongue as he plunged into her mouth. Alex moaned and seized him in her hand. It was easy to slide up and down the shaft with the wetness from the rain. Caleb jolted at her touch and he looked around for a spot to lay her down. Finding nothing suitable, he instead sat down on his knees and pulled her down to him. She straddled him and he eased himself inside her carefully. Alex bit her lip so hard she almost tasted blood. She cried out and moaned. Her sounds of pleasure still sent him over the edge and he cried out in response.