25. Lex
Chapter twenty-five
“Ya look great, kid,” Claire says as she pushes my hair over my shoulder so it hangs down my back.
I smooth out the bright blue skirt with pretty white flowers dotted all over. All week, I’ve been flipping back and forth about what to do. How to approach the Caleb situation , as Claire and I have come to call it.
Lee’s been a big help. He told me communication is everything.
We can never move forward if we don’t address what’s holding us back.
He said it with a self-satisfied smirk that died the moment he saw Claire’s arched eyebrow.
She whispered something in his ear that had his cheeks blushing, and I decided that was my cue to leave for work early that night.
I stare up at the high-rise of Heart Assets. Claire offered to join me this morning while I went to see Caleb, mostly for moral support, but she said while she waited for me, she’d go visit her Mum at work, who’s just up the street at the Callahan Hotel.
My stomach is whirling with nerves. I have so many questions, I don’t know where to start. Why did he show up at my house last weekend? Why did he pay for the repairs at Claire’s salon? How are we meant to act like nothing’s happened between us when it’s all I can think about ?
“I’ll come find you at the hotel when I’m done,” I say, chewing on my lip.
“You got this,” Claire says, placing both hands on my shoulders. “Act confident, even if you don’t feel it. That’s what the shoes are for.”
I look down at my feet and the white strappy wedges I’m wearing. I guess the shoes do make me feel a little better. I nod and kiss Claire’s cheek before I step up to the glass doors and into the building.
An older gentleman is seated behind a desk, looking up with a smile. “Good morning, miss.”
I rest my fingertips against the counter, leaning forward slightly, and catch the nametag pinned to his jacket.
“Good morning, Desmond. I was hoping to see Caleb Heart.” My pulse spikes chaotically just from saying his name. “He isn’t expecting me, though.”
“Not a problem. I’ll call up to his assistant and see if he’s available.” He smiles and reaches for his phone. “May I ask who’s enquiring?”
“Lex Morgan.”
He nods his head once, then pushes a few buttons. I worry my lip, the anticipation nearly choking me.
“Hi, Riley. I have a Miss Lex Morgan to see Mr Heart, if he’s available.”
After a few seconds, Desmond puts the phone back in its holder. “You can head straight up to the twelfth floor. Riley will greet you up there.”
His words are encouraging, prompting me to move, but I still hesitate for a second.
“The elevators are just to your right.” Okay, maybe I hesitate for longer than a second.
I force a smile—grimace may be a more accurate description, judging by the concern on Desmond’s face—and somehow put one foot in front of the other .
The elevator opens as soon as I push the call button. I can see my finger trembling as I reach out and press number twelve.
I shake out my hand and my head, banishing the unease. The ride up is both too short and too long. The doors open, and I’m immediately greeted by the sight of a young guy leaning his chin on upturned palms, a manic grin on his tanned face.
I look at the overhead numbers in the lift, making sure I’ve stopped at the twelfth floor and not an alternate dimension.
“You must be Lex.” He looks far too excited by that prospect.
My feet move forward on autopilot. “I-I don’t have an appointment.”
The guy’s black hair falls in thick locks over the side of his face.
He chuckles. “I get the feeling that even if Mr Heart was busy, your name would have cleared his schedule, anyway.”
As if the words summon him, a door in front of me opens with a clawing force and there stands Caleb Heart.
Tailored black slacks mould to his strong thighs. His white button-up shirt is rolled up his forearms, which should be illegal as far as I’m concerned. Thick, veiny forearms are far too provocative for ten in the morning.
A deep red vest and matching tie highlight his broad chest and tapered waist. I’m drooling and I haven’t even gotten to his face yet.
“Lex.” At the adored sigh of my name, my eyes are called upward.
Caleb’s chestnut waves are perfectly styled off his face, as per usual. I can just imagine him stepping out of the shower in the morning and running his fingers through the tendrils. And there they would stay, meticulously put together and effortlessly unthought of, all the same.
He steps forward with a hand outstretched, beckoning me closer. I meet him halfway, letting my hand reach for his .
The second our skin makes contact, it’s like bubbles erupt under the surface, spreading swiftly through my body. Like little fireworks going off, every pop is an exciting and unexpected burst of beauty.
Caleb uses his hold to pull me closer to him. A hand lands on my lower back, and I fight to stop the shiver.
“We’re not to be disturbed, Riley.” Caleb’s gruff voice travels over my head. “And wipe that smirk off your face.”
As I’m ushered into Caleb’s office, I catch Riley, still wearing the look of amusement that first greeted me.
What does that look mean? He surely can’t suspect anything between us. Caleb said we had to keep it a secret. Unless… Oh no, is he mistaking the heels for something else? Damn, I knew I should have just worn sneakers. It totally looks like I’m trying too hard.
When we make it into Caleb’s office, I turn around so quickly, having worked myself up with nerves, that I end up crashing straight into him.
My hands land against his firm stomach, reminding me of the first time we met.
And just like then, he puts a finger under my chin, lifting until my eyes meet his.
The way his mouth hooks on the corner, smiling as he stuffs his hands in his pockets, flusters me further. “This is a nice surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“C-Claire’s salon. What—um, you paid for it?”
His face is blank as he nods. “Do you want to sit down?”
“Umm, okay.”
I follow him to the couches set up in the corner of his office. There’s a huge floor-to-ceiling window that looks straight down to Callahan Terrace. I bypass the couch and stand at the window, looking down at people as they pass. They look like ants from up here as they go about their days.
“What did you want to know about Claire’s salon? ”
I take a breath before I turn back around to face him. “Why did you pay for the damage? She has insurance, her building owner has insurance.”
He rests his elbows on his knees, rubbing his hands together and blowing out a breath. “It takes time to go through insurance claims. I could see the stress on her face, the worry on yours. I was in a position to help, and I wanted to.”
“But we’re not anything to each other. That was a lot of money to help the friend of someone you hooked up with.”
The fire that consumes his eyes as he stalks towards me has me backing up until I’m pressed against the window behind me.
“We’re nothing to each other?” His voice quakes.
“I-isn’t that what we said? What we agreed to?”
“We agreed no one should know about our prior connection. That doesn’t mean we’re nothing to each other.”
“I think I’m a little confused,” I whisper.
A warm palm rests against my cheek, sweeping against the skin there. “So am I.”
“Are we meant to just forget what happened?”
“Do you think it’s remotely possible to forget a woman like you, Siren?” His whispered words are treasure and punishment. “If you know how, then I beg you, don’t tell me.”
He pulls his hand away, stuffing them in his pockets where they should be.
“I’m trying to protect us both. I know your business is important to you.
As is mine. I would hate to see the press making assumptions about us and suggesting you slept your way to the top.
So many of my business relationships would be called into question. ”
That’s exactly what I was afraid of.
“Not that any of those would be true either,” he says, bringing his hands up to my shoulders. “I’ve always been very careful not to mix business and pleasure.”
His palms run soothing circles over my skin, and I feel the worries start to melt away. I look down to where his skin meets mine, making him jump back, as if he wasn’t aware he’d made the move.
“Sorry,” he whispers. “I almost can’t help myself around you. No, I definitely can’t help myself around you.”
“What does that mean, Caleb? How are we going to do this? Work together, but no one can know we slept together when both of us clearly can’t stop thinking about the other?”
He smirks, tilting his head to one side. “You can’t stop thinking about me?”
I fold my arms over my chest. “Do you deny it?”
“Absolutely not.” He smiles, then walks over to his desk, stepping behind to sit down. “Please take a seat, Miss Morgan.”
The words are playful and light. It’s a new side of him I haven’t seen before, so I find myself following his instructions and taking a seat opposite him. My mouth drops open when he puts a pair of black, square-framed glasses on his face.
“You wear glasses?”
A shred of his confidence drops for a second. “They’re just reading glasses. Why? Do they make me look old?”
“No, not old. Mmm. No, definitely not that.” But my ovaries have been put to rest because, shit, it’s a really good look for him.
“Miss Morgan,” he says playfully, crossing one arm on his desk and resting his chin on top of his other hand. It makes the veins of his forearms pop, and I try hopelessly not to drool. “Do you find my glasses attractive?”
“I don’t think co-workers should find each other attractive, Mr Heart.”
“Probably not. Doesn’t change the fact that you’re the most beautiful person I have ever seen in my entire life. Both inside and out.”
My heart thuds at his candid admission. “Wow.” I try to shake off the feelings his words provoke, but it’s near impossible.
“You know, I’m trying really hard to convince myself that keeping things professional is the right thing to do.
It might be possible if it weren’t for the fact that you paid for my friend’s repairs, and you say things like that.
And then you show up to my house in the middle of the night?
You looked after me. Was that a dream, or were you really there? ”
I know he was, but how much of the memories that have resurfaced are my head talking, or my heart wishing?
“Should I admit that, or would it make it easier to lie?”
I groan. “Why are you so perfect, yet so off limits?”
“You think I’m perfect?” He smiles, it’s smug and teasing, and I kinda love it. “Fuck, Lex, I am struggling. I am struggling to not give in to all the things I want when it comes to you. I’m trying to do this right, because I’ve done it wrong before and it almost cost me my family.”
My back snaps up. “What does that mean?”
His hand squeezes the back of his neck, and he blows out a breath. “Ah, I dated someone I worked with before, and it was all a setup. She was just trying to get my money.”
“And that’s the reason you told me no one could know about us?” Does he think I would do something like that? I didn’t even know it was his business we were meeting with. Dylan did all that.
I stand up, suddenly too overwhelmed with this new information. God, I’m making a mess of this. I should be focusing on our business.
“Lex,” he says, matching my stance.
“I think I need some air.” I turn and head back to the door, but just as my hand reaches for the handle, a warm palm closes around my other wrist.
My body is caught in the same place as my head. One leads the way out, and the other leads to Caleb.
He pulls gently on my wrist, and I look over my shoulder. His eyes flick down to my lips and then back to my eyes.
“Fuck it.”
His body crowds mine, pushing my back against the door as his mouth descends. The familiarity of his lips on mine is kismet. Excitement and desire ripple through me, travelling from my toes, up my sternum and taking root in my chest.
My knees almost collapse when Caleb’s hands frame my face, and his tongue meets mine.
Tangling together as if this was something we’d been doing for years.
He knows how to command my body and answer the pleasure I call for.
The need my body craves and the connection my heart recognises, more than my head understands.
As the buzzing in my head clears, I manage to make my hands move, guiding them over Caleb’s hips and running up his back.
He groans when my nails rake down his spine, and he pushes me further against the door, pinning his hips against mine so I can feel what this kiss does to him.
I shiver at the memory of his hard cock buried deep inside me, of his hands caressing my bare skin.
A light and whimsical voice on the other side of the door shatters the bubble we’ve created. I startle as the voice closes in, the flames that lit me up quickly burning out.
Caleb looks drunk from the kiss, his eyes unfocused and his lips swollen. It’s a sight I’d love to indulge in, knowing I brought him there. Instead, I turn and pull on the door handle, forcing him out of the way as I yank it open.
I don’t look back at him as I hurry past a curious Isabelle and Riley and rush over to the elevators.
I don’t turn at the sound of my name while I wait for the doors to open.
I keep my eyes locked on my feet as I step into the carriage and push the button.
But as the doors start to close, I falter. I give in to temptation. Before I’m sealed inside and trapped with my thoughts, I look up. For just a second, I hold his green gaze in mine, filled with the same questions I have.
What the fuck do we do?