My eyes fly open, as Tessa snatches her hand back from my arm, those big blue eyes now shadowed with hurt as she steps back, putting distance between us once again.
She quickly turns toward the faucet, filling her glass with water before she hurries past me, heading back toward the door.
Pausing for a second in the doorway, she glances back at me, the hurt now replaced by a coldness that I feel in my core. ‘I’m sorry for disturbing you Caleb’ she says flatly, her back ramrod straight as she stares me down, not an ounce of fear in her stance anymore. ‘I’ll not do it again; you can be sure of that.’ She nods at me curtly, ‘Goodnight Caleb, I hope you sleep well.’
Turning away from me again, her hair flying around her like a golden mist, she storms out, head held high as she returns to her room, leaving me alone again, equal parts mortified and turned on.
Rubbing my face with my hand in frustration, I growl angrily, why am I such an asshole? I can’t even have a damn conversation without hurting people, and why does this woman’s refusal to back down from me invoke something primal in me?
I shake my head, trying to clear it as I bend down to grab my beer, returning it to the refrigerator, no longer in the mood.
Stomping my way back up the stairs, I halt in front of Tessa’s closed bedroom door, pressing my palm to the paintwork as I close my eyes, slowing my breathing. I need to stay the hell away from Tessa, for her own safety, tonight has made one thing painfully clear, I’m too damn broken to be anything but a danger to her, next time she startles me I could hurt her so badly that it won’t heal with a couple of days.
Tessa’s POV
Seeing Caleb again the next morning is awkward, and he studiously ignores me, moving around the kitchen as I rock back and forth on my heels, waiting for him to finish making his coffee so I can grab something to eat.
After seeing the nasty bruise that has come up on my throat, I’ve carefully wound a light scarf around my neck to cover it, not wanting anyone to see and ask questions. I know Caleb didn’t mean to do it, he thought I was an intruder and went into defensive mode. I could see the horror and guilt in his eyes as he stared at me after he turned the lights on.
When he moves out of the way, shoulders tensed as though he’s waiting for me to lash out at him, I inch around him, reaching up into the cupboard for some cereal. My shirt rides up as I stretch, and I can feel Caleb’s gaze on me, heating my skin.
I glance over my shoulder but he’s staring down at his mug as if it contains all the secrets of the world.
Shaking some cereal into a bowl, I add some milk before sitting down at the breakfast table and starting to eat.
He’s watching me again, my skin prickles, acutely aware of his focus and I again glance over my shoulder to find him looking at anything but me.
‘Are you not going to eat?’ I ask, unable to cope with the suffocating silence anymore.
‘Don’t eat breakfast’ he grunts back, ‘too busy.’
I turn to stare at him openly now, growling low in my throat as he now pretends to study a picture of himself and his brother that is hung on the wall.
Pushing back my chair, I stomp back to the cupboards, grabbing a second bowl, and pouring in cereal and milk. Snatching a spoon out of the drawer, I place it next to my own and retake my seat.
I don’t say anything, just carry on eating as Caleb’s gaze rakes over me. An eternity of tense silence sits between us before, with a deep sigh, the grumpy man I live with pulls out the chair and drops heavily into the seat.
‘Thank you’ he mutters, picking up the spoon and shoveling in a mouthful.
I don’t reply, but the corners of my mouth twitch, it seems that Mr unapproachable might have a few tiny kinks in his armour after all.
Once finished, Caleb stands up, scraping back his chair as he picks up both mine and his own bowl, walking over to the sink and rinsing them before placing them in the rack of the built in dishwasher.
I hide my surprise at his helpfulness, not wanting to rock this shaky impasse we seem to have reached.
Heading out the front door, I stand to the side as Caleb carefully arms the security system and locks the door, double checking it’s secure before we walk toward his SUV.
I climb in the front immediately, reaching for my seatbelt as Caleb climbs in beside me.
He turns to me, reaching across me before realising that my seatbelt is already fastened. Stilling, he looks momentarily lost, his fingers clenching before he slowly retracts his hand and places it on the steering wheel.
I wait expectantly, watching him out of the corner of my eye but the complicated man beside me makes no move to start the engine.
‘Caleb?’ I call out quietly, resisting the urge to reach out and touch him.
He closes his eyes, his grip tightening on the wheel slightly before he mutters, ‘can you take it off?’
I frown, looking down at myself, ‘take it off?’ I repeat?
‘The seatbelt, can you take it off?’ he repeats, not looking at me.
I study him for a second before reaching down and unbuckling the belt, letting it trail over me and back into its housing.
Waiting a second, Caleb seems to be holding an internal debate before he leans over me again, grabs the seatbelt, and clips it into the holder for the second time.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.