Page 73 of A Temporary Forever

Fuck. Have they fucked all night?

She walks across the large room gingerly.

“What’s wrong?” Her voice trembles.

“Where the fuck have you been all night?” I bark before I can stop myself.

She flinches.

At the question.

Or at my tone.

I’m past caring. I’ve been up all night, waiting for her.

Why am I so caught up with this? It’s like the less I can have her, the more I want her. What the actual fuck? By now I should know the farther I am from Celeste Delacroix, the better.

And yet here we are, glaring at each other like it’s an athletic discipline.

“I texted you my whereabouts,” she says through her teeth.

“I didn’t expect you to stay over. What were you thinking? What if someone saw you leaving there in the morning?” I’m full of shit.

She frowns and then cocks her head, assessing me like I’m a wild animal. And frankly, I don’t blame her. Even I can see that my behavior is way out of line. Way beyond normal. Or reasonable.

And I’m the one who made it clear that we wouldn’t repeat Friday night.

Under any other circumstances, I would havemoved on already. Quickly and with no fuss. Maybe a bit of wining and dining, but often that’s not necessary.

So why don’t I do just that? Why is this woman like a high I’m chasing? Like making her mine is the only fucking thing on my mind. Like I’ll get some reward for breaking her will.

I won’t.

But it might make the next three years easier for both of us. But that’s water under the bridge, since she goes and fucks God knows who.

She keeps staring at me in that eerily still way. Her ability to control her body in this way, or any other way, is such a fucking turn-on.

Stop. This. Shit.

Finally, she takes one step closer, then another, placing her feet on the ground with caution like she isn’t sure it’s not quicksand.

“Why don’t you tell me what this is really about, Caleb?” She enunciates each word with the precision of a chainsaw, cutting right through me.

If I grind my molars harder, I might spit enamel soon. With another step, her scent hits me, and I hate that another man has…

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I don’t get jealous. Is this a case of me hating to lose? There wasn’t a competition, but the tauntinggame between us was enticing enough to keep me interested.

More than I’ve been interested in anything for a while. And then Friday night just seared her into my mind.

“I’m talking about you being reckless.” Now I take a step, because that perfume of hers pulls me in like she’s the only woman on earth. My temptress.

Only she isn’t mine.

She takes another step, invading my space completely. The fabric of her skirt brushes my knees. “What isthisreally about, Caleb?”

The daring tone in her voice, and that French r of hers cloud my judgment completely, and I grab her wrist and pivot her.

---