Fighting the Inevitable (14 page)

He was still dithering
over what to do when the wolf stopped of its own accord in front of
Rhianna and then the weirdness had really started. Caleb instantly
knew the wolf was a Were. He knew the animal had clear, rational
thoughts and was, therefore, less of a danger to Rhianna than a
normal wolf.

Still, the way the Were
had submitted to the girl enraged him even as he was relieved the
animal wasn’t going to hurt her. Male Weres only ever submitted to
their mates or children. The thought that this Dog was even
contemplating mating with Rhianna brought a deep rage bubbling up
from within. He had wanted to rip the wolf limb from limb at the
sheer audacity of it even deigning to think of mating with his
woman.

That thought had stunned
Caleb even more. First the fear for Rhianna, and then thinking of
her as his woman. The emotions of fear and jealously were
completely alien to him. He had never had this type of reaction to
a woman before and he didn’t like it one bit. In a matter of weeks,
she had turned his life upside down until he couldn’t think
straight and was feeling emotions he didn’t want to
feel.

He had to find some way
to break her hold over him. He should just take her home and stay
away from her. She was human and he was a vampire. She was
short-lived and fragile. He could never tell her what he was. She
was already mentally fragile enough because of the loss of her
brother. How the hell could he turn around and tell her he was a
vampire? He’d most likely send her completely over the edge and
she’d end up in some mental institution.

Caleb sighed, and put his
hands in his pockets. Still, she had adapted to the wolf quickly.
Granted, she had no idea she was stroking the belly and throat of a
man who was only an animal part time. Would she have adapted so
easily if she’d known the wolf was a Were? It was a moot point
anyway. The Weres had left and the night was ruined. She’d probably
never speak to him again either after the way he’d slammed the car
door on her.

Rhianna watched Caleb
covertly as he stood in front of the car with his hands in his
pocket. He seemed pissed at her. So pissed he didn’t even want to
be in the car with her. He’d called someone. Probably arranging a
car to pick them up.

She was pissed at him
too. He had no right to order her about as if she were a child. She
was a grown woman and able to make her own decisions. The lovely
warm feeling she had from meeting the large brown wolf had melted
away in the face of Caleb’s anger. It had been such a magical
moment for her. She had felt such a strong connection to the wolf
once she’d gotten over her initial fear. Now she just felt tired
and disappointed. She just wanted to go home and forget she’d ever
met Caleb Ryder. She closed her eyes and didn’t open them again
until the glare of headlights alerted her to an approaching
car.

Caleb met Demetri as he
stepped out of the car. His friend ran an experienced eye over him
and grinned broadly. “Trouble in paradise, Caleb?”

“
Fuck off,”
Caleb grunted, taking the keys from him as a second car pulled up.
“Just arrange to get the car towed and mind your own
business.”

He turned back to his car
and strode over to it, opening the passenger door. “Come on, get
your things.” He kept his gaze averted as she gathered her purse
and wrap, and got out the car.

He escorted her over to
the black Volvo and opened the passenger door. Once she was seated,
he made sure to close this one with a lot less force than before.
He ignored Demetri and didn’t bother making any introductions. His
friend just laughed and walked forward to inspect the damage to the
Porsche, his eyebrows rising as he took in the little
car.

Caleb climbed into the
Volvo, fighting down his irritation at Rhianna as best he could. At
least Demetri had come from the opposite direction they’d been
travelling in so he didn’t have to turn the car around to take
Rhianna home. That was one less minor irritation to deal
with.

The tension in the car
was almost tangible. Neither spoke as Caleb shifted through the
gears almost violently as the Volvo travelled at excess speed
through the night. He didn’t consciously decide to turn towards his
house, it just seemed to happen. Before he realised what he had
done, he was pulling up outside the mansion.

“
I thought
you were taking me home,” Rhianna said in a small voice, staring
out the windshield at the large white mansion before
her.

“
So did I.”
Caleb unclipped his seatbelt and stepped out of the car. He walked
around the bonnet and opened the passenger door, waiting patiently
as she hesitated before getting out.

He closed the door and
headed up the steps into the house, leaving her to follow behind at
her own pace. He was still furious and wanted some extra moments to
try to control his anger. He had no idea why he’d brought her home.
It would have been better to take her back to her place so he would
have more time to calm down.

Rhianna watched Caleb
warily as she stepped into the magnificent hallway. It had
astounded her the first time she’d come here, but this time she
barely registered the grandeur. She was too concerned about the
barely controlled anger rolling off Caleb in waves. Though she
didn’t think he would physically hurt her, she didn’t really know
that much about the man. That uncertainty sent a shiver of fear
coursing through her body.

Caleb noticed the motion
and the slender control he had on his temper broke. His eyes
narrowed dangerously. “You fear me? You insult me by fearing me?
You, who all but rolled in the road with a fucking animal who could
have ripped your throat out in a blink of an eye?” His anger was
palpable, his tone harsh as his golden brown eyes flashed
dangerously.

“
Wolfie would
never have hurt me,” Rhianna said defensively and realised
instantly it was probably the worst thing she could have said to
him at that moment.

His hand snaked out so
quickly she barely saw it move. One moment he was a few feet from
her and the next his big hand was circling her neck and he was
right before her, looming threateningly as a loud hiss escaped his
throat.

She froze in panic; a
little whimper of fear bubbling out of her throat as he leaned down
until his face was barely an inch from hers.

“
You did not
know that,” he hissed quietly. “When I tell you to do something you
will obey me instantly, Rhianna, or suffer the
consequences.”

His hand wasn’t squeezing
her neck; it was simply holding her in place and making sure she
could not back away from him. His golden brown eyes burned into her
and she whimpered again as she tried to look away but found she
couldn’t.

Her fear infuriated him.
It shamed him too. She was terrified of him and he had no one to
blame but himself. The admission tore through him and his hand
moved slowly, lightly stroking over the curve of her fragile neck
as he took a deep breath and dampened down his rage, his expression
softening.

He moved that last inch
closer to her and his mouth found hers. Her startled gasp opened
her soft lips so he could stroke his tongue inside her moist heat
and taste her amazing sweetness again. He groaned and gathered her
into his arms, his mouth becoming more demanding as he opted to
kiss her senseless rather than choke the life out of her. He could
never hurt this human no matter how much she infuriated
him.

Caleb’s kiss stunned her
for a second and then she was responding to him, her tongue
searching for his, stroking him lightly over and over again as he
pressed his hardness against her. Her fear melted into deep, heady
pleasure as his kiss deepened further. She clutched at the lapels
of his jacket to keep herself from falling.

Not that he would have
allowed it. Caleb’s strong arms were so securely around her he
would have caught her if her knees buckled as they were threatening
to do.

Her memories of their
night together seemed to pale in comparison to this hot, wet,
luscious meeting of lips. She swooned under the assault of his
mouth even though she knew she should be fighting him. She should
be giving him a piece of her mind at the chauvinistic way he was
behaving. However, to do that would mean taking her lips away from
his and she didn’t want this wonderful feeling to end.

Caleb reluctantly pulled
his lips from hers to allow her the opportunity to breathe. He
rested his forehead against hers and took a deep ragged breath as
he fought for a new kind of control--the control needed not to
throw her down on the floor and ravish her beautiful body the way
he so badly wanted to.

“
I’m sorry,”
he whispered quietly. “For a moment I thought that wolf was going
to hurt you and I felt a fear I’ve never experienced in my life
before. I reacted badly to that fear. I know that doesn’t excuse my
subsequent behaviour, Annie. I’m not trying to justify myself. I’m
just explaining why I acted the way I did.”

Rhianna let out a long,
shaky breath and swallowed hard. Caleb sounded oddly vulnerable in
his admission and that tugged at something inside her. He was
always so confident, whether he was making love to her or pissed at
her. Never before had he ever seemed so hesitant, so unsure of
himself as he did right now.

“
Caleb, I’m a
grown woman,” she said softly. “All my life I’ve had my brother at
my side, helping me make my decisions. He’s gone now and I’m left
in the position where I have to learn how to stand on my own two
feet. I don’t need another man to come into my life and start
making my decisions for me. Yes, it probably would have been wiser
if I stayed in the car tonight but I chose not to. Meeting Wolfie
was a wondrous experience and you spoiled it for me with your
caveman behaviour.”

Caleb sighed and
straightened up, moving away from her and putting his hands in his
pockets to stop himself from dragging her back into his arms. “I’m
sorry, Annie.” There really wasn’t anything more he could say. Her
disappointment was palpable and he was the cause of it.

She watched him silently
for a moment, warring with the need to give in to him, to grant him
forgiveness, but she knew if she did then she would be silently
giving him permission to behave like that again. “I’d like to go
home now, Caleb,” she finally said quietly.

Caleb wanted to refuse,
wanted to demand she stay with him, but her set expression told him
it was the wrong thing to do. “I’ll take you home,” he sighed,
running a hand through his long hair. “Will you let me make this up
to you, Annie? Can we try again to go out for dinner or a movie or
something?”

Rhianna frowned slightly
as she looked up into his face. He seemed sincere in his request
but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to see him again. She didn’t need
another man to come into her life and take over. She loved Rafe and
missed him terribly, but he had sheltered her far longer than he
had needed to and that was why she had taken his death so hard. She
had been at a loss at how to go on without him. It was time she
learned to take care of herself.

“
I’m not
sure, Caleb,” she said with a deep sigh. “I’ll have to think about
it. I need some time to decide what I’m going to do with my life.
I’m not sure if you’re someone who fits in with what I want my life
to be from now on.”

She watched him digest
what she said and saw displeasure cross his face before an
expression of resignation took its place. “I understand,” he said
quietly before turning towards the door to take her
home.

~~~~~

There was a feeling of
jubilation among the pack as the rogue was finally brought to heel.
They didn’t even seem concerned by the fact that it had been
stopped by a vampire mowing it down with his car rather than the
pack putting it down. The men and women of the pack were just happy
it was finally dead and there would be no more forced
turnings.

Jared was also relieved
but angry. He had to deal with Rafe and he wasn’t looking forward
to it. He had felt the man’s deep pain at having to walk away from
his sister. He nodded to Aaron and headed inside his house to put
on a pair of jeans and a shirt.

Ten minutes later Aaron
and Rafe entered having changed into clothes too. Jared’s intent
gaze took in Rafe’s misery and he struggled not to empathise with
him. He had endangered the entire pack tonight and he had to be
punished.

“
Leave us,
Aaron,” he said tersely and waited for his beta to depart before he
ordered Rafe to sit down in the chair in front of his desk. He sat
down behind the desk and glared at the man.

“
You
endangered the pack tonight, Rafe.”

The other man’s head shot
up and he met his eyes defiantly. “How did I do that, Jared? I
remained in wolf form. I did not reveal myself to Annie. I came
back to the pack as ordered.” Rafe’s tone was terse, fury in his
eyes. He was still reeling from having been so close to his sister
and being forced to leave her.

“
You came
back to the pack when your sister told you to!” Jared barked out.
“You ignored my direct order to return to the pack. I am the Alpha!
You obey me at all times, not when it’s convenient!” He slammed his
hand down hard on the desk to emphasise his words.