“Yes, you! What the hell did you think you were doing out there? Was packing your bags for New York really so urgent that you had to trek through a storm?”
Wait, packing my bags for what?!
“Caleb—”
“Do you have any idea what it’s like to nearly lose two people you love to the same damn thing?”
Two people you love… People you love…
My heart starts to hammer in my chest.
“Your brother—”
“My brother died saving some idiot couple who thought they’d take an adventure in the rain! He drowned saving their stupid hides. He didn’t even have to be there. He volunteered. He wanted to help and put the safety of strangers over his own.”
Oh my…
“Caleb, I—”
“I’m not as good as my brother.”
This brings me up short. I try to digest that while watching Caleb pace the room. He drills his fingers into his hair, water running down his back and splattering the floor. He’s shaking his head, like he can’t bring himself to swallow something painful, his towel slipping down his arms.
“I’m not. I can’t do it. I know the right thing is to let you go back to New York. To be with… with David. To have the life you want in the city you love.”
“Er, wait a sec—”
“But I can’t, Lizzie.”
Before I can stop him, Caleb is down on his knees. His hands are on my thighs, his face is an inch from mine. His eyes are intense and sincere.
“I love you,” he vows. “I swear it. I love you. Not as a friend. Not as family. Not as a platonic working relationship that includes fantastic sex. I just love you.
“And I know that love means putting the feelings of the other person first. So, if I was a better person I would let you go back to that guy. Plus, I hurt you, I said stupid crap that I didn’t mean. I know you’re not like that. I think I was just pushing you away because I was jealous and scared that if I admitted loving you, then this would all go away. But I’m done.”
I swallow, unable to stop the flow of words streaming from him. It’s like a wall has broken in Caleb somewhere and everything he’s tried to keep behind it is escaping, rushing to make its truth known.
“I’m done pretending this is some casual thing I can walk away from, or that I can watch you walk away from. I want you, I love you, and I’m not letting you go without a fight. In fact, forget the fight. I’m not letting you go, period. I’m claiming you as mine.”
As if his words aren’t enough to completely break and rebuild my heart here and now, Caleb rushes to me. His hands find my face and dive into my hair, and his mouth meets mine. He kisses me with a tenderness so intense and so desperate that I can’t hold back the tears.
Every piece of me, every nerve, every heartstring, is crying a song of joy so loud it’s like a scream in my head.
This is mine. This man. This kiss. This place.
I know there are things to be said. Mistakes to be corrected and misunderstandings to be cleared up. But right now, with my body and my heart aching, all I want is to feel Caleb. All I want is to be taken by him, to be claimed by him, and to leave my mark in return.
Moving from the armchair to Caleb’s bed is a journey lost in passion. All of my senses are so focused on him, I barely notice the change in location.
All I know is, one moment we’re in the living room and the next I have the softness of a mattress beneath me.
When Caleb pauses our kiss long enough to brace my ankle on a pillow, my love for him sings all the louder.
“It’s not that bad…” I tell him, rotating my foot again. Now that it was free from that root and significantly warmer, the pain had subsided a lot.
“Don’t care,” Caleb grunts as he gently falls into the cradle of my body. “I’m not taking chances.”
And then he’s kissing me again.