Fighting the Inevitable (28 page)

“
I would
never hurt her,” Rafe said fiercely, his expression turning
horrified at the very thought of hurting his beautiful
sister.

“
Maybe you
wouldn’t,” Caleb conceded, “but you must understand, Rafe. She is
my life now, the most precious thing in the world to me. I wish to
avoid any possible harm coming to her and I wish to avoid any
possibility of me harming you because you accidentally hurt her. I
would be unable to stop myself from it and then she would hate me
forever. If we do things my way, then a large element of risk is
removed.”

“
Caleb,”
Rhianna groaned rolling her eyes. At least he wasn’t threatening to
beat Rafe up but still, his over protectiveness was grating just a
little.

“
No, Annie,
he’s right,” Rafe interrupted her. “Why choose unnecessary risk
when there is a safer way to do things? You are precious to both of
us. Let us protect you from your overgenerous need to fix
this.”

She would have argued
with them but she caught a spark of hope in Rafe’s eyes, and it was
the first unforced emotion from him since he had arrived. His
shoulders were not so slumped in defeat either.

“
Okay, I will
bow to both of your superior wisdom on the matter,” she sighed
softly. “Caleb will help you with Wolfie and I’ll help my big
brother.”

Rafe smiled slowly and
nodded his head before he picked up his coffee and took a
sip.

Caleb smiled his
satisfaction and brushed her hair away from the side of her neck so
he could place a soft kiss there. “Did we just compromise?” he
asked with a soft laugh and she rolled her eyes and drank her
coffee without replying.

Rafe did look tired the
more she stared at him. Rhianna knew how he felt. Emotional
weariness was just as exhausting as physical weariness. She felt
emotionally drained as she sipped at her mocha, the wonderful
chocolaty coffee not giving her the adrenaline rush she had
expected. It had been a very long day. She’d found out her
boyfriend, lover, whatever Caleb was, was a vampire and her dead
brother really wasn’t dead but was a werewolf instead. It was hard
to take it all in.

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.