I can see her wanting to argue, but she’s no good to anyone in her current state, and what kind of people would we be if we allowed her to do that? She’s our guest and under our protection.
Caleb leads her away and back upstairs as I quickly load the dishwasher and wipe down the table and countertops.
My phone vibrates, gaining my attention. Unfortunately, it’s just an automated message from the phone company, not her brother, as I had hoped.
“Anything?” Caleb asks, coming up behind me, resting his chin on my shoulder as he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me against his chest.
“No, and if I’m being honest, it’s a bit disconcerting. But I don’t want Jessica to worry.”
Caleb sighs into my ear. “Yeah, she needs to focus on healing and feeling safe.”
I turn in his arms. “Did she say anything to you?”
He shakes his head. “Nope, just kept apologising. I want to skin the mother fucker alive.”
Clenching my jaw, I take a deep breath. When we saw the bruising covering her torso, it was too much. One minute we were waiting for our takeaway; the next thing, we had Jessica lying beaten and bloody in our guest room.
“Same, and she has nothing to apologise for, but it’s not hard to notice apologising is a trauma response. I don’t even want to think about what she’s been enduring at the hands of that arsehole.”
If I think about it too much, it takes me to a dark place. Somewhere I don’t want to be, because if I lose my shit, I’ll want to hunt the cunt down. There’s a deep thrum, just under the surface, begging to come out to play, but I’ll taper it down and concentrate on Jessica.
Because if I need to worry about anyone being volatile right now, it’s Caleb.
“What’s your schedule like for today?” he asks, his hand moving to palm the back of my neck. “I have a meeting, but if I need to get Matt on it or postpone, I can. After what we just witnessed, I think at least one of us should stay home with her for now.”
He’s the CEO of Knight Risk Management Solutions and is sought out by some of the largest corporate companies in the world. The fact that he’s considering delegating or postponing says a lot about his concern for Jessica, and this man doesn’t like to reschedule or relinquish control. Even with his trusted employees, he wants to be the centre of all major risk management, and to him, every meeting is important regardless of the scale or size of the client's business.
“No, I know how much you hate setbacks. I’m good to work from home. There’s nothing I can’t do from here for the next few days.” I’m the co-founder of a software development company and have a fantastic team of developers who work for me. I can always set up Zoom meetings.
“Okay, but only if you’re sure?”
I nod. “I’m sure.”
I thread my fingers through his hair, pulling his head closer to mine as I close the gap. I tease his lips, and he opens for me, taking control of the kiss. A guttural moan escapes me. This man never ceases to evoke a physical reaction from me in the best possible way, but it can wait, and I know how much he enjoys delayed gratification. I rub up against him, his arousal evident.
He slows down the kiss, pulling a breath away as he speaks against my lips, his voice deep, dark and delicious. “You’re insatiable,” he says, nipping at my chin, his grip on the back of my neck tightening just a fraction.
“As are you,” I reply.
He thrusts into me once and then gives me a chaste kiss before dropping his hand and stepping away with a smirk. But it’s not hard to sense the tension. It’s so taut.
“I’m going to reach out to Elliot,” I say. The last thing I want to do is piss him off, but I’ve exhausted all other options. So, the sooner Elliot is on the case, the better, and we can hopefully get a trace on Mason.
He gives a curt nod in acknowledgement, his jaw tensing.
Elliot has always been a sore subject between us, even though he has nothing to worry about. I mean, I get it to an extent. When I met Caleb, my relationship with Elliot was complicated. Hell, we weren’t even together. So, I guess you could say I was on the rebound, but everything worked out the way it should. And even though Caleb acts like a hard bastard, he has insecurities. Up until me, he’d never been in a relationship. But he tolerates Elliot for me as best he knows how, anyway. Don’t get me wrong, it does flatter my ego that he gets possessive over me, jealous even, but he has no reason to worry.
He’s the one I love.
“Okay, keep me posted.” He glances at his watch, his eyebrows drawn in before he looks back at me. “I need to get my arse into gear and get dressed if I’m going to make it in time.”
I have no doubt he will. After all, he’s never been one for tardiness.
He turns away, but I call after him, “Caleb?”
Peering over his shoulder, he cocks a brow.
“No detours afterwards, okay? We’ll decide what to do about her ex once we have everything else figured out with Jessica.”