Fighting the Inevitable

by J C Gordon

  When Rafe pleaded tiredness again, she didn’t argue with him, only nodded her head. He had sworn he wouldn’t attempt to take his life again and she believed him. He didn’t appear to be as depressed as he had been earlier but then his moods changed in a blink of an eye. Caleb’s too. It was hard dealing with two strong alpha males with volatile moods, so she was actually relieved when Caleb took Rafe to show him where he could sleep.

  She sat alone in the quiet kitchen and closed her eyes. The peace was blissful and she sighed deeply.

  “You looked exhausted, love,” Caleb said quietly from her right side and she started in surprise. She must have nodded off because she hadn’t heard him return.

  Caleb could see the fatigue on Rhianna’s face and he smiled ruefully as he plucked her from the chair and cradled her against his chest. It wasn’t quite how he had planned his night but he wasn’t too upset about it. She was here in his arms when she needed his strength and he was content to be here for her.

  “I’m sorry, Caleb,” she said quietly. “You didn’t exactly sign up for this when you asked me to spend the night.”

  He strode from the kitchen taking the stairs three at a time. “Hush.” He smiled down at her. “You’re here with me and that’s all that matters, Annie. I don’t just want your body, sweet one, though your body is incredibly delightful.” He shot her a lusty glance and she laughed as he carried her into his bedroom. Her overnight bag was already on the floor beside the bed as he dropped her onto the thick mattress.

  She laughed as she bounced and he smiled as he stared at her. She looked so perfect lying on his bed, her radiant curls fanning across his black pillows. He wanted to follow her down onto the bed and slowly strip her clothes from her beautiful body so he could lose himself deep inside her. He dampened down his erotic thoughts, picked her bag up and put it on the bed beside her.

  “I assume my lady requires something from her bag to prepare herself for bed?” he asked, his golden brown eyes twinkling as he raked them over her body.

  “You presumed correctly, kind sir,” she giggled sitting up and pulling out her toiletry bag. It felt sinfully wicked to have actually packed her bag with the sole intent of spending the night with him. It would be her first time ever sleeping with a man and she was excited and nervous at the same time.

  Caleb scrutinized her face for a moment and then sat down on the side of the bed. “If it’s any consolation, it’s my first time too. I’m just as out of my depth as you are.”

  She smiled and moved over to him. “Am I that transparent, Caleb? I thought I was acting pretty blasé about it.”

  He ran a finger lightly over her cheekbone and felt his body stir at the contact. Her skin was so soft and delicate. Every part of her was perfection and he was finding it impossible not to touch her in some manner.

  “You’ve had a very emotional day, Annie. I want to make love to you again.” He gave her a crooked smile. “I want to make love to you constantly,” he admitted, “but you’re exhausted, so why don’t you just do whatever little human rituals you need to do to prepare for bed and then climb into bed with me so I can hold you close while you rest. I just want to feel you in my arms tonight. Nothing more.”

  She sighed softly and smiled at him, reaching up to tuck his hair behind his ear. “That sounds like heaven, Caleb.” Rhianna smiled again and gave him a quick kiss before she slid off the bed and headed into the bathroom.

  Fifteen minutes later, she came back into the bedroom to find Caleb already in bed, lying in the middle waiting for her. Her breath caught as she took in his naked chest, the light dusting of golden brown hair so tempting to look at. Her fingers itched to curl in that hair, and gently run through it as she felt his hard muscles contract beneath her fingers.

  She knew he was naked beneath the covers. She had been wondering what to do about sleepwear and had packed a nightie just in case. She smiled as she imagined his face if she put the little nightie on. She didn’t think he’d be too impressed with that so she quickly stripped off her clothes and threw them on the chair closest to the bed.

  Caleb feasted his eyes on her naked body as he pulled back the covers so she could slide in beside him. His body hardened and he stifled down a groan. She was just too beautiful for words. It was no wonder he walked around with almost a permanent erection when she was close to him. Her sweet scent filled the room and he pulled her close to him as he reached across her to turn out the bedside lamp.

  “You smell wonderful,” he breathed into her hair as she pillowed her head across his chest.

  “You smell pretty good yourself,” she smiled and allowed her hand to lightly run through the soft hair on his chest as she’d been imagining doing.

  “Rhianna,” he groaned, catching her hand and halting her movement. “Sleep, love, before you drive me insane with need.” He tilted her chin up so he could kiss her gently, deliberately keeping the kiss light. If she responded with too much passion, he would lose the tenuous hold he had on his self-control and he didn’t want to do that.

  She smiled against his lips and closed her eyes. “I love you, Caleb,” she whispered softly, as he kissed her on the top of her head and settled down into a comfortable position. “I love you too, Annie,” he whispered back as he closed his eyes contentedly

  CHAPTER thirteen

  Caleb woke slowly and stiffened for a moment before opening his eyes as he felt the soft breath wash across his face. His surprise lasted a fraction of a second before he remembered Rhianna was lying at his side. She was sleeping deeply, lying on her side facing him, their faces mere inches apart. Her hand was clutching his tightly on the pillow between them.

  His breath whispered out as he stared at her in wonder. She was simply breath taking. Her beautiful face was relaxed in sleep, her lips slightly parted, her luscious curls half obscuring her face as they tumbled around her. He reached out and brushed the curls away so he could get an unobstructed view of her face. She murmured quietly and shifted closer to him. Her hand tightened on his before slowly relaxing again. His name passed her lips on a quiet breathy sigh and he felt his heart skip a beat.

  She was dreaming of him in her sleep. His lips curled in a soft smile as he watched her. He marvelled at just how much she had changed him in the last couple of months. She brought out all his better qualities. Whilst he exalted in the wonderful new feelings she inspired in him, he was also aware of just how much she weakened him too. She was just too important to him. She was his Achilles heel now and he would have to guard against others of his kind trying to take advantage of him, of them possibly trying to use her to get to him.

  He carefully disentangled himself so he could get up. He would let her sleep. It was Sunday and they didn’t have any plans. He showered, shaved and dressed in a clean pair of Levis and a black T-shirt. He could hear Rafe stirring and he wanted to be there when the wolf came downstairs.

  Caleb was making breakfast when Rafe entered the kitchen. The big man had dressed in the clothes Caleb had left out for him. The jeans were a bit too long but apart from that everything else pretty much fit okay. His hair was still wet from his shower and he watched the vampire cook the huge fry-up as if it was a common occurrence for him.

  “Have a seat, Rafe. I don’t know how much you eat so I just put everything on. I figured whatever you didn’t eat Annie would when she gets up. If it’s still warm enough.” He frowned and looked at the other man. “How do you keep food warm after it’s been cooked?”

  The big man burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it, the expression on the vampire’s face was just so comical. “Put one of your ovens on at the lowest setting to heat up.” He hunted in a couple of cupboards before he found a clear casserole dish with matching lid. He passed it to Caleb. “Annie likes two sausages, a couple of bits of bacon and an egg,” he told him. “The egg takes no time to cook so that can be done when she gets up.”

  Caleb smiled, nodding his head. “That’s the second favour you’ve done me today.”


  Rafe was surprised and raised an eyebrow at him. “What was the first?” He was curious about his comment.

  “Being here,” the vampire replied instantly. “With you here, I don’t have to eat human food to keep Annie company when she eats.”

  The healthy dose of relief in his voice made Rafe laugh again. He watched the vampire apportion out food and sat down at the dining table. “I didn’t know vampires could eat human food.” His curiosity was piqued even more. He didn’t know a lot about vampires and he supposed he should find out as much as he could about the man his sister had chosen.

  Caleb grimaced. “We can when we must but it’s not a very pleasurable experience for us. Everything tastes pretty bland and unappealing. Drinking though, that’s a different matter. For some reason our taste buds work perfectly when it comes to beverages. We can drink anything humans do.” He handed Rafe his breakfast and put Rhianna’s in the oven as per the big man’s instructions. He quickly made a couple of cups of coffee and sat down at the table to watch Rafe eat. “You seem slightly more balanced this morning.”

  Rafe tensed for a moment and then relaxed slowly. “Being around Annie seems to have that effect on me,” he answered before eating some more of his food.

  Caleb nodded. “She does the same for me. Most of the time. Sometimes my nature gets the better of me, like last night when I became so angry with you.”

  Rafe stopped eating again, eyed the vampire for a long moment and then suddenly laughed. “We have the same problem, don’t we, Caleb?” he chuckled, “And Annie is our cure.”

  Caleb hadn’t quite thought about it like that before but, as he considered Rafe’s words, he realised what he said made sense. Annie was teaching him how to come to terms with his finer feelings and she was trying to teach her brother how to come to terms with his more violent feelings. They were opposites and yet they were the same.

  The two men looked at each other for a long moment and then Caleb smiled with genuine warmth. “It would appear we have a lot more in common than I first thought, Rafe.”

  Rafe returned his smile and nodded his head. Maybe he wasn’t so bad. He appeared to genuinely care about Annie.

  Caleb headed back upstairs, content to leave Rafe to his own devices for now. He was anxious to be with Rhianna. Knowing she was so close, lying in his bed sleeping, made his heart thump loudly and he found he couldn’t stay away from her any longer.

  She was still sleeping when he entered his bedroom. She looked so tiny in his enormous bed, and he simply watched her for a moment before he stripped off his clothes and climbed back in beside her. She stirred and reached for him, and he groaned as he pulled her body against his. He was hard and aching for her instantly and he couldn’t deny himself any longer.

  He teased her lips gently with his, feather light kisses across her soft mouth until she moaned and threaded her hands into his hair to press his mouth harder to hers. Her eyes were still closed but he could sense she was wakening up and his excitement grew as he deepened the kiss. His tongue dipped into her sleepy mouth to taste her wonderful sweetness before he trailed his mouth across her neck and along her collarbone as her hands tightened in his hair and her body arched against him.

  “Caleb,” she murmured and he raised his head to look into her exquisite face. Lavender eyes smiled sleepily at him and his breath caught in his throat. He didn’t think he had ever seen her look more beautiful as she did right at that moment.

  “Good morning, my love,” he sighed against her lips, lightly stroking her mouth with his as his fingertips trailed down her side, sliding around her back to cup her bottom and press her into his hardness.

  “You’ve showered already,” she said with a small smile, feeling the dampness of his hair, “and you’ve had coffee.”

  He chuckled and kissed her cheek. “I let you sleep a little longer. You needed it.”

  Rhianna stretched languidly and smiled back at him, “And now you’ve decided I don’t need any more sleep?” There was an impish expression on her face that caused him to groan and his pulse to race faster.

  “Now I’ve decided I can’t wait any longer to make love to you again.” Caleb let out a sigh, rolling her onto her back and sliding between her thighs, so he could press against her more intimately. His breath rushed out when their bodies touched and he had to kiss her again.

  Rhianna was breathless when he finally let her up for some air, desire sending her blood pressure sky high. “What a fabulous way to wake up,” she thought, and then flushed scarlet when Caleb laughed and she realised she’d actually said it out aloud.

  “I can make it so much more fabulous,” he promised her, his golden brown eyes glinting with desire as his hungry mouth latched onto one of her breasts and he began to caress her tender flesh.

  She cried out and arched up against him as he teased her aching body, liquid heat firing through her body and going straight to the juncture between her legs. She watched Caleb’s head rise briefly as he inhaled deeply and smiled, and she knew he was scenting her arousal and was pleased with what he scented. His head lowered again and he returned to his teasing, his mouth hot and demanding, building her desire to fever pitch in an instant.

  Rhianna wanted to touch him too but he was intent on giving her pleasure and held her body pinned beneath his. She wanted to give him the same pleasure he was giving her and he laughed when she tried to tell him.

  “You always give me pleasure, sweet one,” he chuckled against her stomach. “Every little moan, every sweet cry and lusty scream fills me with unimaginable pleasure.” His hot mouth was trailing slowly downwards and she ached for him to get there, even as she wanted to be the one exploring his body.

  “I want to touch you and kiss you the way you’re doing to me, Caleb,” she moaned and he halted his progress to look up at her with darkened eyes. He rose up above her and kissed her with a long, drugging kiss and then he moved away from her lying on his back and resting his head on his folded arms.

  “I don’t know how much I’ll be able to stand,” he admitted, his voice husky, his eyes glittering, “but I’ll do my best. You may have your wicked way with me, sweet Annie.”

  Rhianna giggled at his words and moved over his body sitting up on her knees to look down at him. “Is this the vampire’s equivalent of the submissive position?” She teased him with a wicked smile and a low growl emitted from his throat.

  “Vampires do not submit to anyone.” Caleb’s lips twitched as he tried to keep the smile from his face. He couldn’t deny his woman what she wanted. If she wanted his submission, he would give it to her, for a little while at least. He hadn’t been lying when he said he didn’t know how much he’d be able to stand. He wanted her so badly it was all he could do to lie there and let her look her fill.

  Rhianna slowly ran her hand over his wide chest, watching the muscles bunch under her touch and hearing the sharp hiss of breath from Caleb. She leaned down and kissed his chest slowly at first, a bit hesitantly, and then her confidence began to grow and her mouth was gliding effortlessly over his skin, her tongue flicked out to tease his hard nipples.

  He groaned under her touch and the sounds he made were so heady they emboldened her further and she kissed down his flat stomach, her hands stroking over his hips as his groans turned to soft growls the closer she got to her goal.

  “Annie,” he growled, her name a warning sound as her breath whispered over his impressive erection but she ignored him and tried to wrap one hand around his girth. His breath hissed out and his hips instinctively bucked upwards, giving her a heady sense of power as she took a deep breath and began to give him the most intimate of kisses, as he had pleasured her the night before.

  Caleb thought he was going to die when her mouth touched him. The image and feel of her lips and tongue on his body sucked the breath right out of him. She was a witch, a tempting, teasing little witch who was trying to drive him insane with need. His body trembled hard as he fought to maintain control, fought to give he
r what she wanted, but it was so hard to just lay there and let her do what she wanted.

  He growled again, his breathing became harsh and ragged as her confidence increased, brought on by his reaction to her ministrations. Her mouth engulfed him and he bucked up, trying to muffle a loud roar as pleasure suffused him. Caleb fisted his hand in her hair, pulling it away from her face so he could watch her take her pleasure and return it tenfold.

  It was too much for him to endure. With a muffled curse, Caleb flipped Rhianna onto her back, and pressed into her. Her startled expression quickly changed to one of need as she wrapped her arms around him.

  “Love me, Caleb.”

  Her whispered words brought tenderness to his touch as he began to move, sliding deep within her, his mouth and lips trying to touch every inch of her skin. “I do, my Annie,” he whispered back. “Now and forever.”

  CHAPTER fourteen

  Jared Hanlon took the steps three at a time as he made his way up to the apartment. His wolf was prowling close to the surface, and he was having a hard time keeping a tight leash on his beast. It was his own fault. He had stayed away from Millie for too long, because of the complicated circumstances involved, circumstances, which had now changed drastically.

  Rafe was safe with Annie for the moment, and Annie knew of their existence so claiming his mate would no longer be an issue. The only real problem remaining was his mate. She was being extremely difficult to say the least, and he was fast losing patience with her. Didn’t she feel the attraction between them? He had been so sure she had when they’d first met. Her beautiful cobalt blue eyes had widened when she’d looked at him; he’d smelt the first faint hint of arousal coming from her deliciously curvy body, and then, she’d gone and thrown him out. She had actually thrown him out of her apartment!