Chapter 22 #4
As Daniela stared out the window, her mind replayed the crazy events of the past hour.
The close call with Philbin had left her completely rattled.
She hoped Caleb didn’t suspect anything, that he hadn’t caught the subtle undercurrents between her and the mayor.
She didn’t know the full extent of his rage, or why he openly detested the man.
But if he ever found out she was colluding with him, God help her.
Suddenly Caleb swerved off the main street, taking a sharp turn onto a narrow, bumpy road. The low car bounced roughly as they drove deeper into the darkness, heading down a lonely, tree-lined lane that took them further away from the bright lights of the city.
Daniela frowned, nervously looking around. This wasn’t the way to her house, and it definitely didn’t seem like a shortcut.
Am I about to land a starring role in my own true crime story?
After two miles or so, the Lambo roared to a stop in a secluded clearing, moonlight filtering through the trees and casting long shadows across the lane. The smooth dark expanse of a lake shimmered under the moon.
Caleb cut the ignition and then sat still, letting the silence stretch between them.
When Daniela’s nerves were strained to the breaking point, he turned to look at her with those bottomless dark eyes.
“What are we doing here, Caleb?” The words were barely above a whisper.
“We’re talking.” His voice was soft but carried a dangerous edge. “No one will interrupt us here.”
“And where, exactly, is here?”
He ignored her question. “Tell me what that was about back at the restaurant.”
“What was what about?” she asked, though she knew exactly what he meant.
“That boy. Kolter.” His eyes bored into hers. “Are you attracted to him?”
“No,” she said vehemently. “I told you, he tricked me—”
“—into a date. Right. That’s what you said.”
She bristled at his cynical tone. “It’s the truth, Caleb.”
“How the fuck did he expect to get away with that?”
“Hell if I know!” Her simmering anger began to boil over. “Do you really think I’d sleep with you and then go out with someone else just two nights later? Is that what you really think of me?”
“I don’t know what the hell to think, Daniela,” he growled roughly, his fingers clenched around the steering wheel. “One minute I’m having dinner with my boss, the next minute I look up and see you walking hand in hand with some other guy.”
“I know it looked bad at first, but why would you assume the worst?” she countered, hurt and anger mingling in her chest. “Why would you just assume that I’d disrespect you after everything that’s happened between us?”
“What did happen between us, Daniela?” He leaned closer, his eyes burning into hers, all raw emotion and untamed need.
“Tell me. Because all I know is that I can’t stop thinking about you, can’t stop wanting you, and then I see you with that little asshole, and all I want to do is rip his fucking throat out. ”
A heady mix of fear and exhilaration sizzled through her veins. His fierce possessiveness was intoxicating. It was dangerous, absolutely, but it ignited a scorching fire deep within her, and she couldn’t pretend otherwise.
“So I’ll ask one more time, Daniela,” he said, his voice barely level. “Was it a date or not?”
“You’re not listening to me!” she accused just as his phone buzzed with an incoming call. She’d read enough Car and Driver reviews to learn how to unlock a Lambo door. So while Caleb was temporarily distracted, she put her knowledge to use and shoved the vertical door open.
“Shit,” she heard him swear. “Daniela—”
“I don’t need this right now! I’m getting an Uber!” She scrambled out of the car, her feet hitting damp grass. The cool night air swirled around her, but her skin felt oppressively hot and flushed. She stormed away from the Lambo, realizing, too late, that she’d left her phone and purse behind.
“Get back in the car, Daniela,” Caleb barked, his voice snapping with authority.
She ignored him and kept going. She was fully prepared to ditch her heels and take off running if he suddenly turned into a werewolf.
She hoped it wouldn’t come to that—she adored her Giuseppe Zanotti slingback pumps, and they went perfectly with her pink dress.
But a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
Her sacrifice would have been in vain, of course, because Caleb was out of the car and upon her in a flash, his long strides easily overtaking hers.
She gasped as he grabbed her arm, his fingers firm as he hauled her back against the immovable wall of his body.
The scent of him, that intoxicating mix of sandalwood and something richer, overwhelmed her senses, making her weak in the knees.
“Don’t you dare.” The words were a low snarl, his breath warm against her ear. “Don’t you dare walk away from me. We’re not finished yet.”
Her legs wobbled. “I’m sick of arguing with you, Caleb. And what the hell is this place, anyway? Is this where the literal bodies are buried?”
He tensed behind her. “What fucking bodies?”
“Just forget it!” She tried to pull away, but his grip was unyielding. “Let go of me, Caleb!”
“No, dammit.” He spun her around and pulled her against his hard chest, his flashing midnight eyes drilling into hers. “Tell me what you want, Daniela.”
“For starters, I want you to stop acting like a damn Neanderthal!”
“Is that what you want?” He grabbed her face, snarling against her lips, “Or do you want me to show you exactly what this Neanderthal can do?”
Lust slammed into her. Oh my God. “I—”
He didn’t wait for her answer. His mouth descended, hard and hungry, taking hers with a savagery that knocked the breath from her lungs.
She tried to resist at first, her hands shoving against his chest. But the fight quickly dissolved into a frantic clutching, her fingers fisting in his bespoke shirt, clawing his warm skin beneath.
His tongue drove into her mouth, stripping away her defenses in a siege that was both brutal and tender, a paradox that embodied the complexity of the man himself.
Yearning shuddered through her. “Caleb…”
He broke the kiss, his chest heaving, dark eyes blazing in the moon’s silver light.
In a sudden powerful move, he lifted her, sweeping her off her feet.
She gasped, instinctively wrapping her legs around his hips as he pivoted and stalked forward, the muscles of his arms and shoulders bunching, testosterone and aggression pouring off him like hot rain.
He carried her back to the car, not to the passenger door but to the gleaming hood of the Lamborghini.
He laid her down none too gently, her back flat against the sloped metal.
It was still warm from the engine, a welcome contrast to the cool lake air.
He braced his hands on either side of her head, his big body hovering above hers, his eyes pinning her to the spot like a trapped butterfly. Moonlight filtered through the trees, highlighting the masculine contours of his face, the sharp angles of his cheekbones, the fierce intensity of his gaze.
“Did you really think I’d let you go?” His guttural growl rumbled along the darkness. “You think you can just start a fucking inferno and then walk away?”
Her breath hitched. Her anger was gone, replaced by a searing, elemental ache that trickled down her spine and spread through her core.
The straps of her dress had fallen off her shoulders, the skirt bunched around her upper thighs as he stood between them.
She could feel the massive bulge of his erection through her panties, a scorching promise of what was to come.
“No, Caleb,” she answered breathlessly. “I know I can’t walk away from you. I couldn’t even if I tried.”
He came down on her then, kissing her forcefully as he rolled his hips between her legs, rubbing her clit with his cock and feeding her need with his own.
Arousal soaked her panties in seconds as he reached under her dress, his warm hand sliding over the sensitive skin of her inner thighs, pushing the material up, up, up until his fingers brushed her lace panties.
A gasp shivered from her throat as his thumb found her drenched slit through the wispy fabric, pressing and stroking until her hips lifted shamelessly, meeting his touch. His mouth broke from hers to trail hot kisses along her jaw, down her neck, to the hammering pulse in the hollow of her throat.
“You’re so fucking wet,” he murmured, his voice thick with approval as he rubbed her panties against her pussy. “My good girl, always dripping for me.”
She whimpered as his agile fingers slipped under the lace, finding her slick clit already swollen and throbbing. He began a slow caress, a sensuous circular motion that sent shocks of sizzling electricity through her core.
“Caleb,” she breathed out his name like a prayer. “Please.”
“Please what, Daniela?” he challenged, his voice a deliciously raspy growl against her hypersensitive skin. “Tell me exactly what you want.”
“You,” she whimpered, her whole body trembling. “All of you. Inside me. Please, Caleb.”
He let out an uncivilized groan, dragging his mouth from her throat and returning to her lips, kissing her with a ferocity that left her breathless, her head spinning wildly.
His hand moved to the waistband of her soaked bikini panties, ripping them off with a single decisive tear and swiftly pocketing the ruined scraps.
She shivered as the chill lake air hit her exposed flesh, a stark contrast to the molten puddle between her thighs.
He pulled her up from the car, those black-lashed eyes glowing with a dark, feral hunger. “I’m going to fuck you now.”
“Yes, please,” she panted as he reached for his belt, his movements quick and deadly efficient.
The rasp of the leather and the metallic hiss of his zipper echoed in her ears, followed by the soft rustle of fabric as he shoved his slacks down.
His cock sprang free, the thick length slapping his stomach.