(Caid)
The leather duffel bag lay open on the bed in like a dark mouth swallowing practical, worn-out clothes.
Caid shoved a thick sweater inside, his movements efficient, devoid of emotion. The phone was wedged between his shoulder and ear.
It was James Kingsley.
"The inspection on Rig 7 can be handled by Foreman Higgs," James argued. "You don't need to fly out there yourself. It's a week-long trip, minimum. The board meeting is—"
"The board can wait," Caid cut him off "The rig can't. A loose valve isn't a suggestion, it's a countdown to an explosion. I started there. Being the boss doesn't mean I'm above getting my hands dirty."
"Actually, Caid, that's exactly what it means! Your job is to steer the ship, not swab the decks. What's the real reason you're running off to the middle of the freezing ocean for a week?"
Caid paused, rolling a pair of socks into a tight ball. "I need to work with my hands. Clear my head. It's simple."
A long sigh came through the phone. "It's about that girl, isn't it? The Avalon girl."
Caid's jaw tightened. He could feel the familiar heat of anger and possession stirring in his gut. He forced it down. "Arrange the transport for 0600 tomorrow. The helicopter."
"Caid, come on. Talk to me. Did she tell you to get lost?"
The question was a match to gasoline. She made her choice. The memory of her screaming "Stay away from me and my family!" flashed in his mind. He'd given her what she wanted. He was leaving. Wasn't that what a good man was supposed to do? Let her go?
"She made her choice," Caid said, the words coming out harder than he intended. "I'm not going to be an ass about it. She wanted me gone. I'm gone." It was the most he'd admit, even to James. The humiliation of it burned. He, Caid Essex, was being dismissed.
A sharp, insistent knock echoed through the penthouse.
Caid stilled. No one visited unannounced.
"Who's that?" James asked, curiosity piqued.
"I'll call you back," Caid said, and ended the call without waiting for a reply.
He strode to the door, his movements tense. He wasn't in the mood for visitors. He yanked the door open, ready to snap the head off of whoever was interrupting his retreat.
And there she was.
Nicolette. His woman.
Soaked to the bone. Rain plastered her dark hair to her head and streamed down her face. Her clothes were stuck to her skin, and she was shivering violently. She looked like a drowned kitten who had just lost a fight with a pond.
For a long second, they just stared at each other. The anger he'd been nursing died instantly at the sight of her replaced by the urge to pull her inside, to wrap her in something warm, to get that haunted look out of her eyes.
He crossed his arms instead, leaning against the doorframe, deliberately blocking the entrance. He forced his voice to stay cool, betraying none of the feelings inside him.
"Aren't you going to invite me inside?" She asked him.
"You're the one who told me to get lost," he said, his gaze sweeping over her drenched form. "Looks like you got lost instead."
***
Noah's POV
The rain soaked through my clothes. I must have looked like a drowned rat, but I didn't care. All I could see was him.
Caid stood in the doorway, not saying a word. Like a wall.
He just… watched me. His eyes did that thing, that dark, hungry thing that made me feel like I was the only thing in the world. It was a look that said he wanted to devour me right there in the hallway. It should have terrified me. A part of me was terrified. But a bigger, stupider part was thrilled.
How did I go from the plain looking loud mouth boys avoided like plague to someone openly lust after like that?
"Aren't you going to invite me inside?"
When it became clear he wasn't going to invite me in, I decided I'd invited myself. I pushed past him, my shoulder brushing his chest, and walked into his apartment.
"Jeez, Caid...let me in"
"You're the one who told me to get lost," he said. "Looks like you got lost instead princess. Showing up unannounced like this"
"S-shut up," I shot back, my teeth chattering. "This is all your f-fault! Everything is your fault!"
"My fault?" He barked a laugh, stepping closer. The door slammed shut behind him. "You're the one who can't make up her goddamn mind!"
"I thought you were him! You lied to me!"
"I never said I was That Kincade!You just started talking and I… found you interesting. A mistake, clearly!"
"Interesting? You ruined my life because I was interesting?" I was screaming now, my stutter vanishing under the force of my rage.
"What the fuck are you doing in my room, again, Nicolette?!"
"My father is selling me to your ugly-ass brother tonight!"
"Here is a thought. Say no!" he roared, his face inches from mine.
"It's not that simple" I told him.
"Of course, it is"
"No. It's not" I screamed at him.
He stared at me. Then he let out a bitter scoff. "Then why are you here? What do you want from me?"
"I want... I need…" I trailed off, horrified that I was about to say something pathetic.
"You need what?" he pressed, stepping even closer, crowding me against the wall. "What do you need, Noah? Another bang? Something to remember me by before you walk down the aisle?"
I shoved him, hard. It was like pushing a mountain. "I hate you!"
"Then why are you here?" He didn't even budge.
Iknow what you need. It's me, sweetheart. You need me. His hazelnut eyes said.
"I don't know!. You are a cocky son of a bitch"
"Yeah? You don't know what you need?"
It's you, Caid!
It was him. It was always him. The anger, the confusion, the sheer, unbearable attraction—it was all a tangled mess that only he could cause.
He suddenly turned and stalked away, returning a moment later to thrust a large towel and a dark grey shirt at me. "Here. Before you catch pneumonia and die on my rug. That would be a messy end to this… whatever this is."
I snatched them from him. "T-turn around."
"Sure. I've been inside you, but sure. Let's give the illusion of privacy." He didn't move.
Infuriated, I smacked his rock-hard arm. "Turn. Around!"
He chuckled, that deep, annoying sound that went straight to my bones, but he finally turned, giving me his back.
The room got quiet, the only sound our angry breaths and the rain.
I peeled off my soaking clothes and dried myself quickly, the towel smelling like him, which just made me angrier.
I pulled his shirt over my head. It was huge, swallowing me whole. And when I was done dressing, I watched him.
I don't know what came over me. Maybe it was the exhaustion from the fight. Maybe it was the relief of being dry. Maybe it was the stupid, hopeless realization that even when we were screaming, I felt more alive with him than I did anywhere else.
I walked up behind him. He was so tall, so solid. I hesitated, my heart trying to escape my chest. Then, before I could think, I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my cheek against his back.
"I'm scared, Caid"
I felt his entire body go rigid. He stopped breathing.
For one horrible second, I expected him to peel my arms off and tell me to get out.
But he didn't.
He turned around in my arms, so slowly. His eyes were dark, searching my face. Then, his arms came around me. Not roughly. But firmly.
He pulled me tight against his chest, one hand on my back, the other tangling in my damp hair, cradling my head.
"Who scared you? Tell me and I will cut them down"
"Just hold me, okay?"
And we just stood there.
My ear was pressed against his heart, and I could hear it beating. His chin rested on my head. All the anger, the blame, the fear… it just melted away, leaving nothing but this quiet, desperate need to be close to each other.
It wasn't about sex. It wasn't about winning an argument. It was just… a hug. The best, most terrifying, most perfect hug I'd ever had. It felt like coming home.
I closed my eyes and breathed him in, and for the first time in days, I felt whole.