Part 13 (1/2)

I moved in closer to him. His hands came around me and I felt him pressed firmly against my mid-stomach. ”Giovanni, I can't be without you for a week.”

He let out a laugh. ”I will still be staying here and we have gone centuries away from one another. A few days will not hurt.”

”Easy for you to say! I guess this means I'm more in love with you than you are me. I can't imagine not waking up next to you. The thought of you not holding me for an entire week is killing me. I...”

He leaned down to me and kissed me. ”I love you, too, and we still have tonight.”

I dropped to my knees and let the hot water beat down on my back. Soap suds pooled around my legs as I reached up the length of his thigh. I closed my eyes to prevent any more flecks of soapy water from going in them. I didn't need to see to do what I was planning on doing. I ran my hand over the length of his glistening shaft that was so near my chin. I put my mouth over him and wanted to make our last night together a memorable one. As he slid his hands in to my hair and moaned, I knew it would be.

Chapter Twenty-Three.

I woke to someone knocking softly on my bedroom door. I glanced at the clock. It was only five a.m. Giovanni had gone to the bedroom down the hall only an hour ago. We'd spent the night making love and promising to be there for each other still in one week's time. He'd told me to give myself over completely to Caleb. He didn't just mean emotionally. He thought it would be wise to see how I felt about him after Caleb, and I had s.e.x again. I didn't agree with his thinking and planned on avoiding s.e.x at all costs.

”Gwen?”

I poked my head out from under the covers. Caleb was standing by me dressed and ready for the day. His hair was pulled back in a rubber band and he was wearing a white t-s.h.i.+rt, jean jacket and jeans. I leaned over and glanced at his feet, yep, he had on his black boots. I yanked the covers back over my head and moaned. ”Come back in an hour.”

He ripped the covers off of me and bent down next to my head. ”Nope, it's morning and a promise is a promise.”

Growling, I rolled over. He stared down at me and smiled. ”You've got fifteen minutes to get cleaned up, then we're leaving.”

”Where the h.e.l.l are we going now? Normal people aren't up yet.”

He chuckled. ”I'm taking you out for the day and first we'll start with going out for breakfast. See ya in fourteen minutes now ....”

I tried to yank the blanket out his hand. He held it tight and laughed harder. I closed my eyes and wished him away. I peeked out and found him grinning like a fool.

”Argh, you're still here ... go away! Where's a genie when you need one? I need an annoying faerie wished into another realm for a few hours.”

His hands moved under my legs and back. Caleb picked me up before I had a chance to protest and carried me straight into the bathroom. He plopped me into the tub and yanked the cold water on. Screaming, I tried to climb back out. He blocked my path. The look on his face said he was happy. I hadn't seen him this way in almost six months.

My teeth were chattering and I glanced down to see that the t-s.h.i.+rt I had slept in had become a second skin. Caleb looked down, too. His gaze stopped when he noticed my nipples. He leaned in and turned the hot water on.

”Not that I don't like the show, but I feel bad for you,” he said laughing all the way.

I pushed his head out and closed the curtain. I adjusted the water temperature and did a small dance to warm myself up. Peeling off soaking wet clothes always looks so easy in daytime soaps-it's a pain in the b.u.t.t in real life. My hair got twisted up in the s.h.i.+rt and I was left bending forward in the tub trying to detangle myself.

”Need some help?”

I lifted my arm and saw Caleb poking his head in. I rolled my eyes at him. There was no point in being modest. He'd seen what I had to offer so many times I'd lost count. I gave up and turned towards him.

”Help!”

He laughed and reached in to free me from my cotton capture. He accidentally pulled some of my hair out. I could sense that he felt bad, but I had more than enough hair to spare. I stood and let the water run over my head.

”Are you going to stand there the whole time?” I asked caught between being amused with him and annoyed all at the same time.

”Maybe, unless you'd rather I get in, too.”

I turned and washed my face. ”No, I wouldn't want to mess up your schedule. What am I down to now? Ten minutes and counting?”

”You're funny in the morning, aren't you?”

”I do try. Now, about that genie who can wish you away?”

Caleb waited down in the car while I tossed on a long jean skirt. It was low cut and showed off my belly b.u.t.ton nicely. Every so often I had it pierced but it tended to close the minute I took it out. I didn't bother with earrings anymore. What was the point? My healing power didn't seem to care much for poking holes in my body. Can't say I blamed it.

I debated on wearing a light, acrylic, red top or my navy, thin three-quarter length sweater. I went with the sweater and grabbed my black leather, ankle high boots. I had to run back into the bathroom quickly and brush my hair again. I had given up trying to blow dry it years ago, but if I didn't run a brush through it at least twice while it was drying it tended to develop a serious case of the tangles.

I turned to head out and walked past Giovanni's suitcase. I missed him already and we'd only been apart hours. I wasn't going to make it a whole week. I knew he'd be in to grab some clothes later today and I wanted him to know that I was thinking about him. I ran back into my bathroom and rummaged through my medicine cabinet. I found a pack of honey scented bath crystals and I set them on the top of his suitcase.

I was pleased with myself for coming up with a clever way to let him know that I was thinking of him. I headed downstairs to find Caleb. I opened the front door and found him sitting in his red truck waiting for me. He climbed out and walked around to get the door for me.

I wasn't one of those women who liked having doors opened for me, but I didn't see the point in pitching a fit about it. We had bigger problems. I got in and buckled up. He climbed back in and looked over at me.

”You look nice.”

”Thanks and that's definitely better than telling me I look hot.”

He put the truck in drive and headed down the long driveway. ”That's odd. I thought most women liked to be told they were hot.”

I gave him a sideways glance. I'm sure most women did like that, but I wasn't one of them. It wasn't even so much that he told me I looked hot. It was the fact that the comment was so very unlike him. I stared out the side window and decided it was best to just ignore him. Saying nothing at all was better than saying something I'd regret later.

”Come on, Gwen. I was joking. I don't know what came over me the other night. You just caught me at a bad time.”

I let out a small snort.

”What the h.e.l.l is that supposed to mean?”

Turning, I stared at him. ”Caleb, from what I hear, h.e.l.l, from what I've seen, your bad time has been going on for four months and what was it Justin told me about you? Hmm ... I know, that you liked the ladies.” I should have felt bad about tossing things I'd heard about him from a co-worker of mine in his face, but I didn't. Justin, a friend of mine, had known Caleb for ten years or so. I, if you count the life I could remember, had known Caleb for less than a year. Justin had told me all about his buddy, Balec, which was Caleb's name jumbled around. He told me that Balec had a real thing for dark haired women. If I hadn't seen Caleb making out with another woman I'd have never believed him.

Caleb pulled the truck over to the side of the road. He put his hand on my knee. ”Defending myself is pointless. I was an a.s.s and I know it. But can we please try and get past all this c.r.a.p? We're supposed to get married soon and I'd like to be on speaking terms when it takes place.” He didn't sound pleased about the prospect of marrying me and I almost opened my mouth to ask him more about the mysterious woman he had mentioned. I should have been jealous. The me of six months ago would have been, but a little piece of me wanted to know more about the mystery woman if for no other reason than to know Caleb was okay without me.

f.u.c.ked up way of thinking. I know. Story of my life, really.

Caleb looked a little uncomfortable, and I realized I hadn't answered his question yet.

I moved his hand off my knee. ”I'll get past this c.r.a.p when you tell me what you've been doing for the past four months.”

His shoulders dropped down. Reaching up, he gripped the steering wheel tightly. ”I left, shortly after you did, on a job in California.” He glanced over at me to see if I was interested in hearing this. I was, so I nodded. I knew that his bounty hunting took him out of town. I hadn't realized it took him states away.

”Well, I found my target there and brought him in. Since I had no one to come home to I decided to stay and ... play for awhile.” He continued to tell me about his trip as I sat with my hands clutched into a tight ball. He'd gotten himself involved with a pack of Paranormal Regulators out there. They were supernatural law enforcement officers. They were good people, or so he thought. Turns out, the lot he fell in with were rogue-killing for sport and killing indiscriminately. The Caleb of old might have gone along with their ways. One dead vampire or lycan was as good as the next-or at least that had been close to his way of thinking before I had come back into his life.

He didn't agree with what they were doing and when he threatened to go to other Paranormal Regulators, or, Para-regs, who were on the level, all h.e.l.l broke loose. He ended up getting into a showdown with several of them. He came home, only to find out that they had ties in our area, as well. He had ended up getting jumped again and dumped off in front of Necro's World.

I tried to make sense of what he was saying. ”So what does this have to do with you and other women?”