Page 48 of Captivating Nights

Chapter 34

XAVIER TURNED OVER CALISTA’S note for what seemed like the hundredth time. It’d only been a few days since either of the men had last seen her, yet it felt like an eternity. Cali’s words didn’t make a lot of sense to him or to Zane, but it didn’t mean they didn’t sting like hell anyway. He looked down at the paper, his eyes scanning the feminine handwriting once more. He’d read the words so many times, he had the fucking thing memorized.

Sirs, I’ve decided to make this goodbye a lot easier on the three of us. Since you’re reading this note, you now know that I’m on my way back home. While you trusted me to show up at breakfast this morning, it sucks being played for a fool, doesn’t it? After talking about the importance of trust and communication, those two things were never returned to me by either of you. You’ve both deceived me. All’s well that ends well, though! I just hope the next woman you seduce is smart enough to cut through the bullshit. Have a nice life! ~ Calista

Turning toward Zane, Xavier watched his friend staring off into space with a bottle of vodka, lodged firmly in his hand. The man was completely devastated and this time it was even worse than the period following Elena’s death. He’d never forget the look on the other man’s face when he’d read Cali’s note. Rage, grief, despair, and most of all, loss. How much could one human being possibly endure?

Zane must have finally reached his limit because after searching the entire resort and realizing that Cali was indeed gone, he’d shut down and retreated back within himself. In fact, Xavier had not even heard the man speak in two days, except for a growl here and there.

“Have you ever considered that maybe this was for the best, man?”

Zane turned in his direction, leveling Xavier with a glare. He watched the muscle in the side of the man’s jaw tick as he processed Xavier’s words. “Fuck you, Rivera.”

“I’m serious,” Xavier replied carefully. ”What did we honestly expect to happen? Did you actually think that she’d just drop everything in her life to stay with us? She has a career and friends outside of whatever the fuck this was. There’s the off chance she would’ve left anyway.”

Zane continued to shoot daggers at him until a myriad of emotions crossed the man’s face, and Xavier knew he was finally considering what he’d said.

“We could’ve…I mean, we…I don’t fucking know. There! Is that what the hell you wanted to hear? All I wanted was to tell her how I felt. I would’ve worked everything else out with her. No decisions had to be made that day or even the next. You might be fine with pretending she didn’t exist, but I…”

Xavier knew Zane thought he was relieved with her disappearance because it meant he didn’t need to deal with what his feelings for her actually meant. What his friend failed to realize was that because of his past, this was even more difficult to deal with. Only the second woman he’d ever cared about in his godforsaken life had walked out on him, just as the first one did. It was déjà vu, but this time it hurt even more.

“No one is pretending anything, Rhodes. You know damn well what she meant to me,” Xavier said before he growled. Maybe it was better for Zane to give him the silent treatment after all.

Both Dominants had beaten themselves up in the hours and days since Calista had left. Even now, as he looked out over the Washington DC skyline, he couldn’t erase the image of her standing on the beach, hair blowing in the breeze, wearing a smile that could light up an entire city block. Even more torturous were the visions of his girl straddling him between her toned thighs, with a look of completion and pure joy on her face as she orgasmed for him.

“I miss her too,” he said evenly. “Sometimes the damage cannot be so easily undone, though. All I’m trying to say is that we’re here torturing ourselves with a bunch of what-ifs. There was no guarantee that we would’ve gotten our desired outcome regardless of whether she knew the truth about how we felt or not.”

Zane raked a hand through his long hair.” I would’ve convinced her somehow, Xavier. All I needed was a fucking chance. She was ours.”

He was right. Cali had been so fucking perfect for them. Besides the happiness they’d brought her, she’d done even more for them, especially for Zane. Xavier felt as if he’d finally got his best friend back. After Elena’s death, the man’s heart had turned so cold. Zane needed Cali more than she even needed him. Both men had shared dozens of women over the last few years. As Dominants, they cared about their submissives, but neither had ever fallen in love with one until her. Without even trying, the naïve beauty had eased her way inside their hearts with her innocence and charm. And now, her desertion left them empty and broken.

It was very reminiscent of how his own father had been when Raquel had left them. The one thing that Xavier had vowed to never become was happening. He needed to either devise a way to find Calista or move on with his life. Either way, he had too much on the line to self-destruct. Zane might’ve wanted to go down that path, but he refused to.

“We should’ve told her everything before waiting until the last minute to do so. We did what we thought was right and it backfired,” Xavier continued, bridging the silence. “I’m not saying that we forget about her and move on. I’m just saying that we can’t self-destruct.”

Zane growled before taking another swig of liquor from the bottle. “Speak for yourself. This,” he said as he waved the bottle in the air, “is exactly what I need right now. Well, that and for you to fuck off.”

Xavier knew there was no reasoning with Zane when he was in this state. Were he being completely honest, they might not have been able to reason with Calista, either. Sooner or later, his friend would need to face reality. Their little submissive would need to as well. She was back home where she could control every aspect of her life. Somewhere down the line, though, she’d crave the sense of fulfillment that could only be found through submission.

One day, she’d realize that no matter how many books she wrote about it, she couldn’t hide or deny her inner nature. He and Zane had recognized the potential in her right away, and he just hoped that some wannabe Dominant didn’t see the same things they had and take advantage of her trusting nature.

Just the thought of Calista presenting herself at the feet of another man had rage building inside of him. Tightening the grip on his own glass, Xavier heard it crack moments before he pitched it across the room. Zane didn’t even flinch as it hit the floor, breaking into a dozen pieces.

The fact of the matter was that Zane was already too far gone to give a damn about anything right now, and Xavier had to admit that he was starting to feel the same way himself. Grabbing his coat and wallet, he walked to the front door of the penthouse. “I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”

The only response he’d gotten was a blank stare. Shrugging his shoulders, he exited the apartment and headed to the elevator. Misery loved company and the lobby bar would provide him with all that he needed. Xavier smacked the call button and when the doors opened, stepped inside. It was only when they closed that an idea struck him. Smirking, he opened the door once more and went back to the penthouse.

Zane was in the exact same spot he’d been in when he left minutes earlier. Xavier ignored him and walked over to his computer instead. He logged onto the guest registry for the Paradise Resort and started to scroll down the names of all the recent guests. When he found her name, he clicked on the hyperlink and saw her address. If anything would help his friend, this would be it.

“I have an idea, Zane,” he said cautiously, waiting for the man to tell him to fuck off once again. “I say we pay Calista Grant a visit.”

That got the blond’s attention and when he turned around, Xavier motioned him over. “I have her address and I think we should figure out what the hell sent her running away and finally get to tell her how we feel.”

“I’m in,” Zane said, finally tossing the bottle of vodka in the trash.

“This is what I’m thinking,” Xavier said and spent the next half hour devising a plan with his friend. They’d leave tomorrow after both had sobered up. For now, they’d allow her to think she’d gotten away from them. Tomorrow, she’d see there was no escaping the truth of what they felt, and what they knew she felt in return.

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