Page 45 of Dante
The lipstick she was applying wobbled when her fingers shook. Closing her eyes, she brought back the image of what he had done to her in the shower enclosure.
The man not only had a clever mouth, but even nimbler fingers that had managed to touch her everywhere. And he had called her as soon as she stepped inside.
"I have a meeting, but you can come in late."
"I will not."
"Don't be stubborn." He had lowered his voice. "I wore you out."
"I could say the same about you."
His chuckle had warmed her heart. She had no idea where this was going but knew deep down she could not stop it.
Despite his orders, she was going in now. A glance at her watch showed that it was almost a quarter of nine. Grabbing her jacket and tote, she headed downstairs and had just pushed the door open when she saw the car first and then her brother lounging on the porch.
"Caleb." Guilt stabbed at her and had her rushing over to kiss his cheek. "What are you doing here?"
He rose and studied her closely. "I could say the same about you," he drawled.
"I live here."
"Do you?"
Shrugging on the jacket she had forgotten to put on, she slung the tote over her shoulder. "I don't have time for your cryptic comments right now. I'm running late."
"That's the thing," he snagged her arm as she turned to leave. "I swung by last night to see if you were okay. It was about, oh, half past eleven and your car wasn't here. Which I found to be very strange. So, I thought it had broken down and you had to Uber home. I tried calling and your phone went straight to voicemail."
"Now, being the concerned brother, I let myself inside and went upstairs. You were nowhere to be found, and the bed was still tidily spread. Which leaves me to draw the conclusion, good detective that I am, that you spent the night somewhere else."
"Since that bastard who knocked you up is no longer in the picture and I know you would never stoop so low as to take himback, I figured there's someone else. Which begs the question of who he is." His hand tightened on her arm when she shifted. "I'm not letting go until you spill, honey. And we both know how stubborn I can be."
In all her life she had never been dishonest with him. Growing up, they were very close and never had a problem telling each other anything. But this was different. She did not understand it herself and had no idea what to say.
"I... it's nothing."
"Nothing?"
She avoided his eyes and stared over his left shoulder. The leaves were spinning in the slight wind and the scent of rain on the grass was pleasant to the nostrils.
"I am late."
"You're going to be even later. What the hell is going on?" he demanded.
Wrenching away, she went to sit on the worn chair.
Concern touched his face as he stared at hers. He knew her more than he knew anyone else and loved her enough to realize she was struggling with something.
"What is it, honey?"
"Oh Caleb." She blew out a breath and gripped his hand as he sat next to her.
"You can tell me anything, you know that."
"Not this."
"Court..."
"I have done something stupid."
