“You too, Camilla. Hope to see you soon!”
Getting into my car, I’m a shaking, shivering mess. I start the car and ease out of the parking lot, barely able to see as the rain is coming down so hard.
We should’ve closed an hour ago but with the onslaught of people we didn’t make it out before the storm hit us, even though we were told to close the store early, we’re barely making it out at midnight.
I can go about fifteen miles an hour and even that seems too fast. The road is covered with water. The windshield wipers are doing nothing to help me see. I’m most likely going to end up in a damn ditch.
Am I doomed to spend this hurricane in a ditch with nothing between me and the storm but my car…?
Chapter 3
CYPRIAN
The rain is pouring and the thunder is rumbling so loudly, I can hear it before I open the garage door. I’m going out to get Cami. She hasn’t answered her cell phone for me at all. But I saw the hordes of people at her store and her car there, so I know she was merely swamped and not ignoring my calls. It’s midnight and I’d assume she’s made it home but I can’t let her stay there.
Taking the four-wheel-drive truck, I make my way out of the garage and am met with a torrential downpour. I knew it was bad out here but not this bad!
I have to go slowly down the driveway that has water flowing down it as if it’s a stream instead of a paved road. I have to roll my window down to punch in the code to open the gate and get soaked doing it.
As I pull out of the gate, I see a set of headlights to the left and turn toward them to see if that’s her. The car is barely moving as I go toward it. The rain’s so hard, I can’t tell if it’s her until I get right on it.
Rolling my window down as I see it is her, I wave at her to follow me and turn around and drive around to get in front of her. My large truck will shield some of the rain and make it easier for her to drive, I hope.
Going at a snail’s pace, I pick up my cell and call her. “Cyprian,” she answers the call.
“Follow me to my place,” I say in as a commanding tone as I dare to with the tenacious woman.
“I’m not about to argue with you. I’m freaking out right now. I was thinking I’d have to spend the storm in a ditch or worse. Your place sounds like Heaven to me. I also left the soup I got myself to eat, while I ride out the storm, at the store. So, I was going to be starving too. Thank you.”
Relieved to hear she’s grateful and won’t be a pain in the ass about my help, I say, “Good, and I have tons of food, just follow me, Cami.” I end the call as I want her full attention on driving and find myself smiling like an idiot as I look at her headlights in my rearview mirror.
I’m going to have her home with me and she cannot leave anytime soon as the hurricane will keep her ass trapped with me. I realize that sounds a little creepy but I’ll take her any way I can get her.
Finally, we get to the gate again and I’m soaked once more as I roll the window down to put the code in. The gate opens and in we go, all the way to the garage. I open two of the doors, so she can pull into a place I made for her, just in case I did manage to get her here.
Once I have the garage doors shut behind us, I feel so much better. Getting out of the truck, I realize just how wet I am and when I see her, I find she’s completely drenched. “My Lord, look at you!”
She gives me a frown. “I’m freezing, Cyprian. Do you think I could borrow some of your cozy pajamas?”
I nod and take her hand, leading her inside the warm house. “Of course. A nice hot shower is what you should take first. I’ll warm us up something to eat while you do that. You can sleep in the bedroom across the hall from mine.”
I catch her smiling. “That’s very nice of you. Thank you. Were you looking for me, or on your way out?”
“Looking for you. I tried to call you several times but I saw you were busy at work. I was going to ask you to come here, anyway. That little apartment of yours isn’t sturdy enough, in my opinion.” I lead her up the stairs and to the room across the hall from mine.
When I open the door, she looks around and whistles. “Man, this is a hell of a lot nicer than where I was going to spend this hurricane. I had planned on making the tub my bed for the duration of the storm. You know, in case parts of my house blew away.”
I shudder at the thought then say, “The bathroom is fully stocked and I’ve already taken the privilege of putting some things for you to wear in the closet and the drawers. I had bought you some things if you’ll recall.” I gesture for her to go inside. “I’ll be in the kitchen when you’re done. I’ll be waiting to eat with you.”
She turns to look at me with a quizzical expression. “You were planning on me staying, huh?”
“I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Your safety is more important to me than almost anything. I was prepared to throw you over my shoulder and bring you, kicking and screaming, if I had to.” Then I close the door and leave her alone.
I’m trying so hard to keep my hopes at a moderate level that she will see fit to forgive me. I know there can be nothing physical right now, anyway. That does take the pressure, to get her into my bed, off.
After changing into dry clothes, a dark brown set of pajamas, I go to the kitchen and open a bottle of expensive red wine and take a tray of lobster rolls, my chef left for me, out and pop them into the oven I already had heating up. I see a casserole dish of homemade mac and cheese and pop that into the oven as well. A salad is in another bowl and I take it out and place it into a nice crystal bowl and decide to set the table in the small dining area that has large windows, so we can watch the storm while we eat by the fire’s light of the fireplace that’s in that room.
I find long white candles in the cutlery cabinet in the room and find the set of dishes I want to use too. I smile all the while as I place a deep red table cloth over the small, round table.
White dishes accent it perfectly and I find the scene gorgeous and more romantic than any meal we’ve consumed together thus far. And I pray many more will come.
The sound of the oven timer beeping has me going back to the kitchen and finding the food is nearly ready. Our salads and wine, I take back to place on the table and then go back to get the dishes out of the oven.
When I walk back in, I see her, standing at the island in the middle of the large kitchen. Her feet are bare and she has on the deep blue, silk pajama set I bought for her on our day long date.
Her hair is wet and hanging in loose spiral curls around her freshly washed face. “You look gorgeous.”
She smiles and looks down. “I look like a drowned rat but thank you.”
Picking up the hot dishes with some pot holders, I nod in the direction of the drawer with the trivets in it. “Can you grab two of the trivets and bring them?”
She grabs a couple and follows me to the dining area. I hear her gasp as she sees how I’ve set it all up. “Cyprian, this is beautiful!”
“Thank you. Can you place those on the table, so I can put these down?”
She hurries to do that and I set the things down and pull her chair out. She looks up at me as she sits. “Thank you. This is really nice. I was going to eat cold soup out of a can if the electricity went off. This is so much better.”
I take a seat and pour us each a glass of wine. “Being that we’re trapped here, together, all alone, I’d like to initiate a truce. No talking about anything we might argue over. I don’t want either of us to feel upset at all during this storm. Agreed?”
She nods as she sips her wine. “Agreed. We’re just a couple of people who are forced by nature to be together right now. We can talk about all kinds of things. Just not anything about us, as a couple, or anything that’s in our past, as a couple. Deal, Cyprian. So, tell me about your appendix bursting. Was it the worst pain you’ve ever felt before?”
No, losing her was.
In the vein of staying away from fights, I don’t utter the thought. “I have never been in more physical pain
in my life. I thought I was dying.”
Her hand touches mine as her blue eyes find mine. “Cyprian, I did come to see you in the hospital. When I heard about you, the next night, I tried to leave work and get to you. But things went crazy for me. An all-night audit nearly did me in and I wanted you to know I was worried about you.”
“You were?” I ask as her hand moves back and forth over mine. “So, why didn’t you come and see me, Cami?”
“This may sound stupid but I got to your door and heard everyone talking and laughing. Nurses were mentioned. Pretty nurses. Pretty nurses who’d be taking care of you. It sent a bad taste to my mouth and I left.” She looks sheepish about her actions.
I want to bring up her date with my doctor but that will certainly be an argument, so I leave it out that I know that tidbit of information. “As you can see, I didn’t follow my parents’ advice. All on my own, might I add. I had to put up a fight about it but I won.”
She blinks at me a few times then points at one of the dishes. “Would you pass me that? It looks delicious.”
It seems she’s stifling something she wanted to say but I let it go and take her plate instead. “I’ll put it on the plate for you. It’s hot. Lobster rolls, mac and cheese, and salad is what I pulled out of the fridge my chef stocked for us, for the hurricane.”
“For us?” she asks as she looks at me with a surprised expression. “Just how long have you been making the plan for me to be here for this hurricane?”
“Since I saw the weather report that said it was coming our way. I had the staff working overtime to get everything taken care of so we’d be safe. I care about you, Cami.” I place the food on her plate and set it down in front of her, seeing a frown on her face. I don’t ask her why she has it, I think I know why.
There’re most likely things running through her head, she’d like to say to me but is thinking better of it. I pretend not to notice anything as I go about making my own plate. From the corner of my eye, I see her take a drink of the wine then she shakes her head as if shaking off her bad thoughts.
I hear her sigh then she says, “Well, I am glad you came to find me and I am glad to have your hospitality during this rough time. I am grateful for you and I want you to know, I care for you too, Cyprian. If things were different…”
I stop her. “No, no. No talking about anything like that. So, tell me how crazy people were acting at your store. I saw, on the news, some footage at various stores and it looked like a mob scene. Was yours that bad?”
She nods as she swallows a bite of food. “It was a nightmare. Gina was the only one with me. And just as we got the store closed, we had to nail a piece of plywood on the front door. That’s when we got drenched. People were acting insanely.”
“At least you made it out, unscathed, Cami. That’s what really matters. I saw one report where a cashier was pushed down when she was unable to make a gasoline sale to a small man who wanted to fill up milk jugs with gas. That was on the ten o’clock news.”
“A little man, with red hair?” she asks in surprise.
“I believe so,” I say as I watch her eyes go big.
“He was in my store. And boy did he have a fit when I told him I couldn’t sell him the gas. I guess I’m lucky he couldn’t get behind the counter to get to me.” She laughs then and smiles. “How funny, huh?”
“I suppose that’s one way to look at it. I’d have been one pissed off man if I’d seen him push you around.” I take a drink of the wine to calm my sudden onslaught of protectiveness.
I find her smiling as she takes a bite of the lobster roll. I smile too as I think how great it’s going so far. And wonder if we can both manage to keep our words and tempers under control for the entire hurricane. If we can manage that then maybe she’ll see fit to give me one more chance to prove I can be the man she deserves.
But what will I do if she doesn’t…?
Chapter 4
CAMILLA
As we walk up the stairs to go to bed, I notice Cyprian’s face go tight and his hand goes to just above his right hip. “Does it hurt?” I ask him as I put my hand on the small of his back.
“Up and down the stairs is the worst,” he tells me. “Other than that, it’s not really bothersome.”
I keep my hand on his back to steady him as much as I can until we get to the top of the stairs. The thought about telling him I went out on a date with his doctor, is banging at my brain. My conscience is telling me to speak up before he finds that out some other way.
We made the truce, though and that would be a fight for sure. So, I keep my mouth shut about that. Instead, I say, “Will you let me see to the wound, Cyprian?”
He nods as we get to his bedroom. “I have the stuff in here to take care of it.”
I follow him into his bedroom. The room where good times and bad times were had. His television on the wall is on and it reminds me of what I saw on it the last time I saw it on. My stomach goes tight and I have to shake off the bad feelings.
“Get into bed and I’ll take care of you,” I tell him as I help him into the bed.
After he lies down, I push his shirt up and see the small area where they made the incision to remove his appendix. Six stitches were used to close it up and it looks pretty good. “How’s it look to you, doc?” he asks with a grin.
“Excellent workmanship, but with Dr. Jenkins as your surgeon that’s to be expected.” I take an alcohol wipe out of the packet and find him frowning. “This burns, I know. It’s important to keep the area very sterile.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s nothing,” he says but I feel he does have something to say. “Go ahead.”
Just before I place the alcohol wipe on him, I find myself asking, “If you have something you want to say, you can say it, Cyprian. I promise not to get mad at you.”
“How’d you know my surgeon’s name?” he asks then grits his teeth as I press the wipe to his stitches.
Suddenly, I realize what I’ve said and panic. “Um, uh, I told you I went to the hospital. I saw him. I saw him come out of your room.”
“He doesn’t wear a nametag,” he says as he looks at me.
“No, I know he doesn’t. You see, he was one of my professors when I was a freshman in college. That’s how I know him,” I feel the guilt of withholding information to be too much as I put some of the antibiotic ointment on the area then place a bandage over it. “You should keep this covered. That way the stitches won’t catch on any material and it’ll stay much cleaner and actually heal faster.”
“Good to know,” he says then pulls his shirt down to cover himself. “Do you mind going into the bathroom and getting my antibiotic pills. I’m supposed to take one within this hour.”
I nod and go to get the medicine and find I’m mad at myself for feeling so torn about telling him about the date I had. The man has done much worse and we were not together, so there’s nothing to feel bad about.
So why do I then?
He’s sitting up in the bed when I come back in with the pill and a small cup of water. “Here you go,” I say as I hand him the things.
He takes them and swallows the pill with the water then places the empty cup on the nightstand. “Thank you, nurse.” He smiles and pats the place on the other side of him. “I don’t suppose you’d like to cuddle tonight. The storm is raging and we could lose power.”
As if he’s magic, a loud clap of thunder has us both looking surprised and the lights go out.
“Shit!” I say and have to put my hands on the bed to make my way to the other side of it. “We can keep our clothes on. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Climbing into the bed, I find his left arm wrapping around me. He pulls me close to him. “I could use the company too. That wind sounds a bit scary, doesn’t it?”
“It does. The lightning and thunder, the hard rain, and the winds combine to make chilling sounds.” I snuggle into his side, relishing how great it feels. “Cyprian, why can’t it always be just like this?�
�� Then I realize I’ve spoken about something our truce has banned. “Sorry, don’t answer that.”
His lips touch the side of my head. “The answer is that it can be. It can be just like this or any way you want it to be.”
My heart hurts with how badly it wants to believe him. “Let’s talk about something else. There’s been something weighing heavily on me and I want to get it out in the open. Mostly because it was a one-time thing that won’t be happening again.”
“What’s weighing on you?” he asks as he strokes my hair and I catch him taking in a whiff of it then sighing.
“I went out on a date with your doctor.” I thought the weight would vanish but it’s still there, so I go on. “We went to eat and then he took me back home and we kissed at my front door.”
“Oh,” he says but I can feel his heart rate increase. “You said it was a one-time thing. So, I suppose the kiss wasn’t great.”
“It was okay but when I kissed you, it was much better. Do you suppose you’ve ruined me for anyone else?” I ask with a laugh.
“God, I hope so,” he says then kisses the top of my head. “Thank you for telling me that. I have something I’d like to get off my chest too.”
Now, I’m scared!
With Cyprian, the things he wants to get off his chest just might make me crazy with jealousy or sick. “Okay,” I say with much hesitation.
“I knew you went out with him. He told me just before he released me today. He had no idea I knew you, though.”
Leaning up to look at him as much as the lightning outside will allow me to see him, I ask, “So, you knew that?”
He nods and kisses the tip of my nose. “I was jealous if you want to know how I felt when he told me the name of the woman he was interested in. And you have yet to let him know you won’t be going out anymore.”
Lying back on his chest, I say, “I know. I told him I was coming out of a relationship. But I suppose he’s going to keep calling if I don’t tell him I won’t be seeing him anymore. He’s a nice man. A great catch. But I can’t be with someone who doesn’t stimulate me. I mean, he does stimulate my mind. We have tons in common in that area.”
Dirty Little Virgin: A Submissives’ Secrets Novel Page 216