Читать книгу Romantic Getaways Collection - Liz Fielding, Christy McKellen - Страница 17

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE CAR PICKED them up a couple of streets away from the restaurant and took them straight home to Caleb’s apartment, the two of them sitting in a buzzing, tension-filled silence as they looked out at the wide city streets flashing by.

‘You were great tonight,’ Caleb said after his driver had pulled up outside his building and he’d helped Elena out of the car, feeling her cool, small hand in his and marvelling at how good it felt to have it there. ‘Carter’s wife really seemed to like you.’

She flashed him an equable smile as she straightened up. ‘I liked her; she was a really lovely woman, very focused on her family.’

‘Well, I owe you big for what you did for me tonight.’

There was a loaded moment where they stood and looked at each other, the gentle, far-off sounds of the city at night making him feel as though they were trapped in a bubble together. Caleb broke the strange energy by smiling and saying, ‘Anyway, thanks, Elena. I really appreciate your help.’

She shuffled a little on the spot and nodded, her bright eyes gleaming in the light thrown out from the streetlight above them.

‘It was my pleasure. Anything for a friend.’

The emphasis she put on the word ‘friend’ made him bristle.

It suddenly struck him that by tomorrow her forty-eight hours of observation of him would be up and she might well leave and return to England.

And he found he really didn’t want her to go.

He wondered where this intense need to keep her here longer had sprung from. Okay, he found her really attractive and was impressed with her business acumen and how smart and savvy she was, but he never normally felt this sort of draw to a woman.

There was something different about her, something compulsive.

He had to explore what this thing was between them, or it would haunt him for ever.

Turning back to look into her hooded eyes, he was intrigued to see she seemed to be having her own non-verbal debate with herself. Was she only holding back because she thought he was still incapacitated? Weak? Frustration surged through him. Well, he wasn’t. He was completely in his right mind and he knew damn well what he wanted—her, and now.

Pulling his key card out of his pocket, he let them into his building and they stepped into the lift that would take them up to his apartment, Elena swaying gently in her heels beside him.

Being around her felt right, dammit—as if she were a missing link in his life.

And he was going to do whatever it took to have her back in it.

‘Elena?’ he said, turning to face her once the lift had begun its smooth ascent.

‘I know what happened between us at university. I know we were more than just friends. And I know we didn’t act on it because of Jimmy.’

* * *

Elena swallowed hard as blood rushed to her head and her stomach did a backflip.

His memory had finally returned.

‘You remember?’ she whispered through lips that would barely form the words.

He nodded, his beautiful mouth curving into another of its wolfish, dangerous smiles.

The lift came to an abrupt stop, making her stomach do an extra flip for good measure. She could barely breathe with worry about what he was going to say now he remembered what had happened all those years ago. Would he be angry with her? Shout and swear at her, or just be coldly dismissive again?

Her pulse throbbed in her head. She really hoped he wouldn’t go ballistic and chuck her out on the street now, not after what they’d just been through together. Not now she’d finally met the real Caleb again. She couldn’t bear it.

The door of the lift swished open and he strode out and straight over to his door without another word, slipping the key into the lock then holding the door open for her to walk through it.

She strode into his apartment with her head held resolutely high, determined to keep her cool, to restate her case and hopefully prove to him once and for all that she was sorry about how their relationship had ended.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she watched him shrug off his jacket and hang it up before finally turning back to face her.

His expression was impassive as his dark gaze bored into hers.

‘We’ve wasted a lot of time leading our separate lives and I think it’s time to remedy that.’

She stared at him in shock. Had she misheard? It sounded as though he was talking about pursuing more than friendship with her. ‘I’m sorry?’ she stuttered, aware that her hands had begun to shake at her sides.

‘What happened was a long time ago, and we’re both free and single now,’ he continued, apparently oblivious to her befuddlement. ‘Without anything standing in our way. No partners, no memory loss—’

‘Do you remember everything that happened between us?’ she asked, her voice sounding shaky with anticipation and hope.

There was a flash of something in his eyes, remembered pain perhaps, but it quickly disappeared. ‘Yes.’

‘And you forgive me for it?’

He took a deliberate pace towards her and raised his hand to touch her face, smoothing the backs of his long fingers gently over her cheek.

‘I’m not going to let some stupid argument from the past get in the way of what we have here—right now. We’re good together, you and I. We fit.’

‘Caleb—are you sure?’ Her voice came out as a low breath of air as sensation rushed over her skin at his touch. Had she really done it? Made up for the hurt she’d caused him in the past? Her spirits soared as the heavy weight of guilt began to lift and she finally felt as though she could breathe properly again.

‘Yes, I’m sure,’ he said with a conviction she felt deep in her chest.

Letting out a breathy laugh, she said, ‘This is all happening so quickly. I don’t know what to think—’

‘I understand why you might be unsure about restarting something between us,’ he murmured, cutting her off. ‘We live in different cities, live different lives, but we can work around that.’

She swallowed hard, her thoughts spinning wildly. Could she finally be about to get her Caleb back?

‘This would make me happy and I think it would make you happy too—you and me, here together, tonight.’ His mouth curved into a seductive smile, making her insides quiver and her heart leap about in her chest.

Heat rose to her face as a strange sort of panic settled in her stomach. Was she ready for this? After all this time, regretting what had happened between them and hoping, wishing she could do something to make it better—that she could go back in time and do it all differently—now that she was actually here in the moment, a moment where her whole life could change, she was afraid. Terrified.

What if it all went wrong again?

‘It seems too soon to be jumping into something, especially after your accident—’ she hedged.

He shrugged away her concern. ‘I’m fine now. You don’t need to worry about me any more.’ He moved even closer, making the air crackle around her. ‘And I thought you were the one who liked to take every positive out of a situation.’

There was no comeback for that.

‘I know you, Elena.’

‘You do?’ she asked breathlessly.

‘Yes. And I know we still want the same thing.’

The look of desire in his eyes made her whole body shiver with longing.

‘And what’s that?’ she said, knowing exactly what he was going to say, but hoping he wouldn’t because then she’d have to make a really difficult decision.

‘That you still want me as much as I want you.’

He was so close now, the feel of his soft breath on her skin making her lips tingle with the craving to feel his mouth on hers again. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was aware that she should stop this, draw away and be the sensible one, insist they talk about all that had happened between them first, point out that it was too soon for them to fall into bed together. That she didn’t think it was a good idea.

But that would have been a lie. And she wasn’t going to lie to him any more.

So instead she said, ‘Yes, I want you.’

Before she could qualify that with ‘but I still don’t know if it’s a good idea right now’ he’d closed the tiny gap between them and pressed his mouth hard to hers.

Her body responded without conscious thought, her lips opening against his to allow his tongue to dip into her mouth, tasting her, possessing her.

Being careful not to crush his broken rib, she pressed herself against him and felt his arms slip tightly around her back, holding her close to him. His strength enveloped her, making her senses reel with pleasure, and she stumbled backwards as he moved forwards, guiding her gently but purposefully towards the corridor where his empty bedroom waited for them.

They reached the bed in a tangle of limbs, with her grabbing at his clothes with a frenzy and a need that took her by surprise.

Elena had never felt so wanted, so worshipped, as Caleb tugged his shirt over his head, not seeming to care that he was ripping buttons off in his haste. She almost stopped when she heard him grunt as his broken rib must have twanged with pain but, before she could say a word, he shook his head and said, ‘I’m fine,’ grasping the straps tied behind her head to release the halter neck of her dress then tug at the zip so the silky material fell open and glided down to pool at her feet.

‘So beautiful,’ he muttered as he bent to kiss her again, sliding his hands down her back, tracing the lines of her body with his fingertips and sending her into raptures of ecstasy. Just the feel of his hands on her was enough to make her shudder with joy.

‘There’s nothing like making up for lost time,’ he murmured against her mouth and all she could do was smile and nod in agreement, her brain too fuzzy with lust to help her form anything like intelligible words.

He guided her gently backwards until her legs hit the side of the bed, but she knew she’d have to be the one to lead this because of his injury, so she wrapped her hands around his arms and steered him round so the bed was behind him instead and used the momentum of him being slightly off balance to make him first sit, then lie down.

Then she climbed carefully on top of him, kissing him hard and covetously, the sense of finally being allowed to have him back after all these years of yearning for it making her frantic and greedy.

And some time shortly after that her brain shut down completely and all that was left was the feel of their two bodies moving together and sweet, sweet fulfilment.

* * *

The next morning Elena woke to find sun pouring in through the large warehouse-sized windows of Caleb’s bedroom.

Blinking blearily, it took her a moment for the events of the night before to rush back to her—and remember exactly what had happened between them.

She’d slept with Caleb.

And it had been amazing.

In the heat of the moment, with his mouth on hers and his body pressed so close they’d almost become one, she’d completely lost herself in him, hazily justifying her easy capitulation by telling herself she owed him some happiness, though in truth she knew deep down she’d done it for her own purely selfish reasons. She’d wanted him so much it had caused her physical pain to imagine tearing herself away from him and stopping it.

And it had been such an incredible night, so full of passion and pleasure.

But it all felt like a surreal dream now.

Turning to look at Caleb lying next to her, she felt her insides flutter and heat with pleasure.

In truth, she was still confused about his sudden change in attitude towards her, especially after he’d been so vociferous at their first meeting about not wanting to have anything to do with her again, but she guessed that after helping him turn Carter’s opinion of him around he must have felt she’d paid her dues.

Not that she’d done it for that reason alone. She’d wanted him to be successful with the meeting; she could sense how much it meant to him to win the partnership deal and keep his business thriving—the company he’d worked so hard to build from nothing, just like she had with hers. She wanted him to be happy. To be the man she remembered again.

Trying not to think about how precarious the future of her own company still was, she watched him for a while, his eyelids flickering gently in REM sleep and his wide brow smooth now without his regulation frown creasing it.

She’d been happy too last night, happier than she could remember being in a very long time. Because of him. The guilt and regret that had followed her around for so long that it had felt like an intrinsic part of her seemed to have vanished, leaving a strange, yearning ache in its wake. One she hoped to satisfy with something new and positive and exciting.

A relationship with Caleb, perhaps.

Pushing away a strange nervous sensation in her chest, she slid out of bed and went into his en suite bathroom to take a quick shower, lathering herself all over with his zesty-smelling body wash.

The way he’d looked at her last night when they’d arrived back in his apartment had shaken her to her core. There had been such heat in his eyes, a little like the carnal ferocity she’d seen during their first meeting, although this time it had been driven by desire rather than anger.

He’d looked at her like that before—the night she’d told him how she really felt about him at university—and the impression it had left on her had stayed with her for the rest of her life.

That feeling of being so coveted, so wanted was a hard one to forget. She’d craved it over the years, desperately trying to find a way to feel like that again, but she’d not been successful.

Until now.

She knew she was being reckless here, jumping into something so intense with him so quickly, but she was sick and tired of being sensible. It had brought her nothing but pain and stress in the past and it was high time she started being brave and taking some risks with her heart. Otherwise her life would only ever be half lived and what a waste that would be.

After drying herself, she pulled on an oversized towelling robe that she found on the back of the door and padded quietly back over to the bed.

He was lying on his side facing away from her, towards the wall, apparently still asleep if his regular breathing pattern was anything to go by. Moving to stand by his side of the bed, she looked down at him, at his strong, arresting face, with his usually neatly swept back dark hair mussed and falling over his forehead, making him look younger and less fierce.

She jumped in shock as his eyes sprang open and he grabbed for her, wrapping his arm around her legs and pulling her roughly towards him so she lost her balance and toppled onto him with a squeal of surprise. He kissed her hard before rolling her over, so he was on top now, his brow momentarily pinched as he remembered his damaged rib.

‘What are you doing, you maniac?’ she spluttered, laughing at his self-reproachful grimace.

‘Just saying good morning,’ he replied, flashing her a grin before he kissed her again so thoroughly it made her toes curl.

‘Well, okay then,’ she purred, cupping his jaw in her hands, her whole body buzzing with the joy of finding herself in his arms again. ‘I’m so glad we’re friends again.’

He frowned, looking a little perplexed. ‘Friends? Do you do this with all of your friends?’ he asked, nuzzling her neck and placing soft, sensuous kisses against her hyper-sensitised skin.

She laughed, then sighed, running her hands into his bedhead hair. ‘No, just you.’

Pulling back, he looked straight into her eyes, his gaze unflinching and determined.

‘I know you don’t need to be here with me any more, but I want you to stay for a bit longer. We should go to Gaudi’s Park Güell today. It’s an amazing place. I’d like to show it to you.’

‘I don’t know, Caleb; perhaps you should rest today—’

He held up a hand to cut her off. ‘You can’t come all the way to Barcelona and not visit all the places of interest.’

‘Places of interest? You sound like a tour guide,’ she said with a tease in her tone.

‘There’s no one better than a resident to show you all the best bits of a city,’ he said with a seductive lift of his eyebrow. ‘I know all its secrets,’ he murmured, lifting his hand to trace the line of her jaw and sending little currents of sensation down her throat, which joined with the ones already humming deep inside her body.

She gave him a dazed sort of smile, barely able to concentrate as he slid the backs of his fingers down her throat, then lower to skim over the swell of her breasts.

‘Well, that would be...really...amazing...’ she murmured, her voice coming out broken and husky as she struggled to concentrate on forming the words.

Lust twisted her insides as he leant forwards and kissed her hard again. She responded instinctively to his touch, sliding her arms around his back and wriggling closer to him.

Pulling her underneath his strong, hard body, he murmured, ‘Okay, but we’ll go later. Much, much later.’

* * *

They spent the rest of the morning in bed, only getting out of it for a minute to fetch some food from his fridge for lunch, which they ate right there, sitting naked on top of the covers.

‘This reminds me of all those meals we ate sitting on my bed whilst working on our project at uni—though of course we were fully clothed for those,’ Elena said, grinning at him with one eyebrow raised. ‘I found breadcrumbs in my sheets for days after that. Who knows where we’ll find them after this.’

She laughed and he smiled back at her, wishing he could remember the time she was reminiscing about. It was getting harder and harder to pretend he knew the stories she relayed without it seeming suspicious that he didn’t bring up some of his own recollections.

He felt a little guilty about lying to her last night, but he’d been so sick of her holding back and wasting time when it had been so clear they were destined to end up like this anyway.

Anyway, she seemed much happier now, and if she was happy then so was he.

After they’d finished eating she left the room and returned a few minutes later in a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting, soft pink T-shirt with her hair scraped back into a ponytail, her lips shiny with some kind of clear lipstick that he wanted to kiss off immediately. She didn’t need make-up; she was just as beautiful without it.

‘Come on, lazybones, get your carcass out of bed. I thought you were going to show me some of your secrets,’ she said, giving him a wide grin.

He rolled out of bed with a grunt and stood up. Pulling her towards him, he kissed her until she squealed with pleasure, but she pushed him away when he began to drag her back towards the bed.

‘No, no, you said we should go out and I think you’re right; we can’t spend all day in bed.’

‘Why not?’ he murmured, thinking it would be more than okay with him. He couldn’t get enough of her—the scent of her soft skin, the feel of her strong legs wrapped around him, the little breathy moans she made in his ear as they moved together...

‘Caleb, seriously, get dressed so we can go out.’

He shot her a grimace of annoyance. ‘Okay, okay, but it won’t be as much fun as staying here,’ he ground out. ‘I have plenty more secrets I could show you right here in the bedroom.’

‘Later,’ she said with laughter in her voice.

He loved it when she smiled like that—like she couldn’t have stopped herself even if she’d wanted to.

* * *

He took her to Palo Alto, an enclosed old manufacturing complex situated a few roads back from the beach, which was like a hidden island of industrial-style buildings festooned with brightly coloured creepers and greenery that had turned it into a wonderful garden oasis. The buildings had all been converted over the years into light, open workshops for businesses focused on regeneration and rehabilitation of the city and beyond.

‘No tourists know about it, only the residents of the city,’ Caleb told her as they walked through the alleyways between the buildings, soaking up the effervescent but peaceful air of the place. ‘I love wandering around here; I find it a really inspiring place to be. You know, Araya Industries started out in one of these workshops so it’ll always be a special place for me. It’s where I realised my dreams.’

‘It’s wonderful. Thank you for trusting me—an outsider—’ she winked at him ‘—to see it. I’m honoured,’ she said, turning to kiss him next to a cascade of fuchsia flowers and russet-coloured leaves.

Then afterwards, at Elena’s request, they took a cab out to the spectacular multicoloured Park Güell, which had been designed by Gaudi. He watched her run her hand along the top of the wave-shaped benches that had been decorated with millions of pieces of brightly patterned broken tiles, enjoying her delight at the eccentricity of the design.

After sitting for a while, looking out over the picturesque views of the city and the fairy tale–style gatehouses that looked as if they could be made from gingerbread and icing, they went down the steps to see the forest of Greek Doric columns underneath, which had been designed to house an old marketplace beneath the plateau of the park.

He watched her as she wound her way through the pillars, tracing her fingers over the smooth stone and gazing up at the colourful cornices on the ceiling, and it hit him that for the first time since he’d seen her in that hospital room she looked truly relaxed.

The idea that he could be responsible for that made him feel heady with pleasure, as if he could deal with anything life threw at him right now, as long as Elena was here with him. She made him feel light and positive, buzzed and excited...and what was that other sensation...?

Happy.

His breath caught in his throat as the word pierced through him.

It was a feeling that had been missing from his life for far too long now. And Elena was the catalyst—because he knew without a doubt that she was his ideal woman—smart, sexy and so beautiful it made his chest ache to look at her.

And then, out of nowhere, something strange happened.

A memory flashed through his mind: of Elena’s face, cold and hard with indifference, just before she slammed a door in his face.

It left him winded, gasping to drag air into his lungs again, his head swimming and thick, as though too heavy for his body to hold up. A slow trickle of horror-tinged despair slid sickeningly through him and he had to lean against the nearest pillar to stop himself from sliding to the floor.

A moment later the real Elena was there next to him, her hands on his shoulders and a look of deep concern on her beautiful face.

‘Caleb! Are you okay?’

The face that looked into his now was so different from the one his mind had conjured up a moment ago he felt relief flood through him. Had it just been his subconscious warning him not to get too carried away with what was developing between them? Not to get too close in case it went wrong like all his other relationships had over the last few years?

Well, to hell with that. He wasn’t going to let her get away because he was afraid of this thing between them failing. He wouldn’t let it.

‘I’m fine,’ he said, forcing his mouth into a reassuring smile. ‘My rib’s just giving me a bit of pain, that’s all.’

She nodded, still frowning. ‘Okay, then let’s get out of here. You’re probably pushing yourself too hard.’

‘I’m fine, Elena,’ he growled, annoyed at her fussing around him, not wanting this one small blip to ruin the wonderful day they’d been having.

She seemed to sense the agitation with himself behind his snappiness because she gave him a knowing smile and said, ‘Okay, then let’s go and get something to eat. I don’t know about you but I could eat a horse right now.’

He nodded his agreement, grateful to her for not making a big scene. He didn’t want the remainder of their time together marred by his minor ailments.

Pulling her towards him, he placed a firm kiss on her mouth, wanting to prove to her how happy he was to have her here with him and that he hoped there would be much more of it to come.

She kissed him back with a fervour that rocked him to his soul, proving to him the connection he felt to her wasn’t one-sided.

They were going to need to have a serious conversation soon about how to make a relationship work when they were living so far away from each other. Because he knew now that was what he wanted.

He so wished he could remember the relationship they’d had when they were younger. Perhaps it would give him more insight into how to solidify their connection now.

That damn accident had been such bad timing—though it had at least prompted her to stay in Spain a bit longer, and in his apartment too, for which he knew he should be very grateful. It had brought them together after all.

It was disconcerting though, not having all that information about her available to him. Still, more things seemed to be coming back to him in dribs and drabs now so perhaps his brain was beginning to heal.

Pushing away his lingering unease, he kissed her once more before taking her hand to lead her out of the park.

It would all be fine once the rest of his memory came back.