Chapter Six
Caleb
“We need to talk.” It’s about twenty minutes until we’re due down for the rehearsal dinner.
I’m not looking forward to lying to Vivien when I want to tell the truth, but there’s just too much at stake at the moment.
After tomorrow night, I’ll tell her that I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and if she refuses me, then I’ll just fucking die a miserable old bastard alone on a boat somewhere while she finds someone who will never be mean to his mermaid.
“That doesn’t sound good. I hope no one has guessed the truth about us.” She tilts her head. The truth is that I’m madly in love, and that she hates me.
“No, but they can sense the tension between us. Look, we need to talk about the other night. I shouldn’t have kissed you in the first place, and I should have slept on the sofa when you were too drunk.
I swear I didn’t do anything to touch you improperly.
I thought I was trying to look like a boyfriend that cared, but then I got a bit carried away with the act. ”
“No, it worked. All the girls around thought you were. I’m embarrassed that I dared you to spank me and then stripped in front of you. You’re my boss, of sorts.”
“Don’t be. I shouldn’t have been drinking in the first place and then to add the whole macho attitude. I was dared by some of the other guys who said I didn’t give a fuck about you, and I had to play the part.” That’s another lie.
“I understand. Those guys are in love with their women. You know, you could have just treated us as dating but not in love. It would have made things easier.”
I shake my head. I ran into my mother this morning. She hasn’t been out much because she’s supposed to be resting after her surgery. “No. My mother will be at the rehearsal dinner tonight.”
“Oh. Okay. I thought she wasn’t coming down until the wedding?” she asks, looking as if this is too much to bear. I hate that I’ve put her in this position at all. It’s bad enough to meet parents when you’re in love, not that I’d know, but it’s worse when we’re lying to them.
“She actually came down a few days early and has been resting while my father and uncle have been having some brother bonding time.”
“That’s fine. I’ll be on my best behavior. I’ll act like the loving girlfriend I’m supposed to be.”
“Thanks.”
I finish getting ready first because I have to meet the wedding party before the rehearsal.
“It’ll be okay, Vivien. I’ll see you down in a little while.
Please don’t be late.” I kiss her cheek and walk out the door.
It’s only a friendly gesture, but it was a stolen memory that I want etched in my soul for all my days.
I miss her mouth on mine. Fuck, I miss that stolen night and the way she tried to give herself to me.
Maybe if I was like some of the other guys, I would have taken her offer and tossed her ass on the bed, fucked her until we were both a sweaty mess and she had my son growing in her, but I couldn’t do it when I knew she’d been drinking.
“Oh, Son, you made it down here. Where is your lovely woman?” my mother asks suspiciously.
“I have to meet with the wedding party. Vivien will be down here shortly. She’s still getting ready.
Excuse me.” I dodge her questions that I know are coming.
We need to answer them as a united front, or we might get tripped up.
Our wedding party gathering takes a whole six minutes, and then we wait for everyone else to join us for dinner.
Anxiously, I wait for Vivien’s arrival, which seems like a lifetime, but in truth it’s only fifteen minutes after I left.
I meet her at the entrance to the room and take her hand, which feels incredible to hold.
It’s been so long since I touched her in front of others so freely, like we’re together.
Bringing her hand to my lips, I kiss her knuckles and then turn to kiss her wrist. A slight gasp escapes her parted red lips, sending a jolt of pleasure down my spine. “You look stunning tonight, Vivien.”
“You look handsome yourself, Caleb.” She gives me a smile that hits me deep in the chest. Still, she’s only playing a part, and none of this is real. Fuck, the charade is killing me. If it was real, I’d have her naked and on our bed, spread out while I take her repeatedly.
“Caleb, there you are.” Damn it. I love my mother to pieces, but she’s like a vulture and can’t wait to strike.
“Mom, I’m so glad you could make it,” I grit out even though we’ve already seen each other minutes ago.
“And who is this beautiful woman?” she asks, leaving my father in the dust who’s still talking to my uncle, uninterested in meeting his future daughter-in-law.
“Mother, let me introduce you to my girlfriend, Vivien Williams.” My mother’s face twists for a second before she straightens it. I wonder what the hell that’s about, but we’re interrupted when dinner is called.
“You two are at the same table.”
“Good. We have a lot to talk about.” She smiles sweetly at Vivien, but I get a sinking feeling that something’s wrong, terribly wrong, and there’s nothing I can do at the moment to handle it.
I take my seat and do my best to focus on the bridal party and the special toasts to Piper and Sam, but my eyes keep drifting over to the most important women in my life.
As dinner almost comes to an end, I see them speaking and then the tension grows; before I can react, Vivien takes off out of her seat. I’m out of my chair, needing to find her, but first I need to know what the fuck my mother said.
I take my mother by the arm and lead her off to the patio overlooking the ocean just outside the room.
People can see us, so I move a little out of the light.
“Mother, what did you say to her?” I bark out, feeling irrationally angry at my mom when I’m to blame for whatever happened—that, I’m sure of.
She cups my cheeks with both her hands. “I love you, Son, and I want the best for my boy.”
“What did you say to her?” My voice is shaking with anger and fear as I tug her hands away from my face.
“She’s going to leave you, Caleb. I just told her that if she already has one foot out the door, I’ll never think she’s good enough for my son, and that it will be better if she doesn’t stay for the wedding.”
“Fuck, Mother.” I spear my fingers through my hair, turning in a full circle, trying to figure out how to make it right. “I need to fucking fix this before it’s too late.”
She clings to the edge of my cuffs. “Language. It’s for the best. I can see how much you’re in love with her already.”
“Mother, listen. You have no idea what you’ve just done. Vivien’s not really my girlfriend. I asked her to be my fake girlfriend just to stop you from nagging me. I’ve got to go and make it right. Shit.”
I rush off the deck and head out toward the hotel entrance from the backside. I slide to the elevators, barely stopping without passing them up. I jab the damn button ten times, hoping that it will move faster.
It opens up and I hop inside, pressing our floor and the close door button right away. I finally get to our floor and dash to our room. It takes me twice to get it to unlock because I’m too fucking impatient to wait for the green light to come on. “Fucking shit.”
Once inside, I see her stuffing her bag. “Stop. Now,” I demand.
I cross the distance, closing the space between us. She wipes the tears from her face, and my heart tears in two. “Dr. Hall. Please, it’s not like it worked out. I’m going to go home and forget this ever happened.”
“I can’t let that happen, Vivien.” I fist the red hair that drives my pulse racing and pull her head up to look at me.
“I told you to call me Caleb. I swear, woman, you need a serious spanking and a thorough fucking so you’ll remember my name.
” I slam my mouth on hers, kissing her like I’ve thought about for days, weeks, months.
She slides her hands around my shoulders and up my neck. My other hand clutches her ass, dragging her hips to mine, letting her feel what she does to me. I don’t ask, wait, or say anything as I carry her to the bedroom.
Laying over her on the bed, I continue kissing her soft lips, sliding my tongue along hers, pulling back to get a taste of her neck. “Caleb,” she moans.
“That’s right, baby. You’ve got that right. I love hearing my name off your lips.”
“What are we doing?”
“What I should have done a long time ago. Make love to you.”
I tear off her dress and then work off my clothes, kissing down her body, licking her breasts that are covered by a light blue bra that’s in my way. “That color matches my eyes,” I say, wondering if it’s intentional.
“It’s my favorite color,” she confesses.
“I can’t decide if mine is red or green,” I grunt, gripping her hair hard.
“Fuck, Caleb. Tell me this is real.”
“Does this feel real, my little mermaid?” I grind my cock slowly back and forth against her mound.
“Yes,” she moans so prettily, lips parted as her tongue peeks out just a bit.
I growl at the damn contraption for hindering my view. With a violent yank, I bring it down, freeing her taut nipples and ample tits, sending them bouncing. It’s a fucking sexy sight that is now emblazoned in my brain—a memory I won’t ever forget.
“So beautiful.” I run my tongue over her nipple, wetting it before sucking it into my mouth. My dick jerks on the sheets, ready to explode. I nearly lose it when her fingers spear through my short hair, nails scratching softly down to my neck.
“Caleb.” She moans my name with so much hunger that it only amplifies my need.
My hands run up and down her sides, feeling her narrow waist to her perfectly wide hips, ready to have my babies.
I growl with lust to breed her and make sure she can’t fucking leave me when the wedding is over and the project ends.