by Nikki Rose
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to go back to being distant with you when we get home. I just don’t know how to act around you when we can’t be like this. When we are at the house, I miss you even when we’re in the same room. The distance between us... It’s just—”
“We’ll figure it out.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her to me as we started back down the sidewalk.
We were just rounding a turn in the path that would bring us back out to the street where my car was parked when a familiar female voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Chris? Chris. Hey, I thought that was you.”
I turned around, half in shock to be face to face with the woman I hadn’t seen in nearly five years.
“Aleaha.” I couldn’t believe it. I could barely recognize the girl she used to be with the woman she had become. Aleaha, with her long dark flowing hair no longer tucked away, hidden under her hijab. She stood proud and tall, in a dark gray pencil skirt and blouse. “I barely even recognized you.”
“I’ve changed a lot.” She laughed. “But, you on the other hand, haven’t changed a bit.” She hugged me tight around the neck and I returned the familiar gesture all the while very aware of Caroline’s presence.
I stepped back and Aleaha looked between myself and Caroline. “Are you going to introduce us?”
“Oh sorry. Aleaha, this is Caroline. Caroline, this is Aleaha.”
Caroline stepped up and Aleaha shook her outstretched hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
“Is this your girlfriend?” Aleaha studied me curiously, knowing I’d never been one to simply stroll in the park with a woman.
“Uh—” I glanced over at Caroline. We couldn’t put labels on what we were. Not when we didn’t even know what we were ourselves. “It’s complicated. I’m in the middle of an assignment right now.”
“Oh, I see.” Aleaha smiled at us but I saw the knowing glimmer in her eye.
“So, how do you two know each other?” Caroline looked to me for answers. I suppose it was as good a time as any to get to it.
“It's a long story but, Aleaha is my wife.”
CHAPTER 12
Caroline
Wife. The word struck me like a fist to the stomach, knocking the air from my lungs. I couldn’t speak. I didn’t want to be there, standing in the park with Chris and his wife. I wanted to shrivel up and disappear.
I finally managed to force words past my lips. “I—I have to go.”
I walked past them in a haze. My only thought was getting away.
“Caroline.” Chris’s muffled voice came through from behind me. “Caroline, wait.”
I couldn’t stop. I needed to get away. My walking turned to a jog. He finally caught up to me at his car when I realized there was nowhere else to go.
“What the hell were you thinking? You know better than to take off when there could be someone out there trying to get you.”
“Oh, get over it, Chris. There haven’t been any threats in weeks. Don’t worry. Pretty soon this assignment will be over and you can go back to your wife.”
“This is not the place to talk. Get in the car and we’ll talk back at the house.”
I didn’t want to get in the car with him but what other choice did I really have? I plopped down in the seat and stared out the window as he turned onto the street. We rode in silence as my anger boiled just under the surface. Chris wanted to talk when we got home but all I wanted to do was claw his eyes out. I couldn’t see what there would possibly be to talk about. Chris pulled into the driveway and put the car in park before turning to look at me.
“You took off before I could even explain.”
“What’s there to explain? You’re married, you have a wife. Unless I got that wrong?” I looked into his eyes, praying that I’d somehow imagined the whole thing. That he’d open his mouth and deny everything.
“Technically, she is my wife but—”
That was all I needed to hear. I jumped out of the car and stormed inside, slamming the door before Chris could follow me in. I stormed up the steps, heading for my room. In there I could simply lock my door and keep him away. I didn’t want to see him much less hear his voice. And, I most definitely did not want him seeing the pain filled tears pouring down my cheeks.
“Caroline.” Chris barked as I slammed my door in his face and turned the lock. “Caroline, damn it. Let me in.” He banged on my door so hard that it made me jump.
“Just go away.” I leaned my back against the wall and slid down as my vision blurred from the tears barely getting the words out through my sobs.
Chris
I pulled out my army knife and found the pick. Within seconds, I had her door unlocked. I swung it open before she’d have time to slam it back in my face and found her crumpled on the floor, knees up, sobbing with her face hidden.
Her sobs were like a vice, squeezing my heart. “Caroline. We need to talk about this.”
“There’s nothing more to say. Just go.”
“Caroline—”
“I said get out.” She screamed, looking up at me with hate in her bloodshot eyes but I wasn’t going to give up that easily.
“No.” I grabbed hold of her shoulders and pulled her to her feet. I’d finally had it. I wasn’t going to let her go back to the spoiled brat routine. Caroline needed to understand that Aleaha and I were not involved. I cared about her as one human being cares for another but there was nothing going on between us—there never had.
The moment I let go of her she pushed passed me toward the door. I grabbed hold of her biceps and swung her around so that her back was against the wall. Grasping her wrists with one hand above her head, my other hand cupped her throat, giving just enough pressure to let her know I was in control.
Her eyes turned as big as saucers and a flash of fear crossed her face. I pushed my body against hers, effectively pinning her to the wall. Her expression quickly melted into something different. Her body softened, yielding to my control and her chest rose and fell heavy with her quickening breath.
“That’s enough. You want to be treated like a grown woman and be allowed to make your own decisions? You say you can take care of yourself and that you don’t need your dad to take care of you? Then start acting like it. Quit being so impulsive and reckless. Think of other people besides just yourself and think before you act. You get upset and storm off and it could be a fatal mistake. When you’re messing with dangerous criminals who are threatening your life, one wrong move is all it takes to get yourself or someone else killed.”
“I’m sorry. I wouldn’t want to mess up your job.” She bit out. That little fire reignited in her eyes.
“Think before you act and don’t go jumping to conclusions when you don’t know all the facts.”
“I know enough. I know you fucked me up against this very same wall and now I find out you have a wife.” Caroline was no angel but I’d never heard her talk like that. She’d called me an asshole more times than I could count but this was different. She was belittling what had happened between us and she was doing it on purpose. She didn’t even know the whole story—just jumped to the conclusion that I was a cheating bastard without so much as a moment to explain which pissed me off more than anything.
“I married her so she could come into this country to escape her abusive family overseas, you impulsive brat.”
“What?” She froze. I finally had her attention.
“I met Aleaha when I was on a mission overseas eight years ago. I married her so she could come to the U.S. after her request for asylum was denied because of her father’s history with the Taliban which ironically was the reason she wanted to escape.”
“But that was eight years ago. Why haven’t you two gotten a divorce by now?”
“After the three years was up, Aleaha filed for citizenship and got it. We went our separate ways so she could live her life the way she wanted and I went on with my regular bachelor
life. Neither of us was really worried about what the legal marital status was since it had never been anything more than an agreement out of survival.”
“So, there’s never been anything between you two?”
“Never. And you would have known that if you hadn’t have jumped to your conclusions and stormed off.”
“I’m sorry.” Her lip quivered again. When she pulled her plump lower lip between her teeth and let the soft flesh slip free, I couldn’t take it anymore. My lips crashed against hers as I took her mouth. It wasn’t a kiss, it was a claiming. We couldn’t be together. It would never work long term but in that moment, I had to have her, to claim her. My hand left her throat and roamed down her body while my other hand kept her pinned to the wall.
She may have never listened to an order I’d given while trying to keep her safe but damn it, I was in control now and I was going to make this frustrating, stubborn, incredible woman mine if only for a little while.
Caroline
He released my wrists and hooked his hands under my knees, lifting me and I wrapped my legs around his waist without breaking the kiss. I needed to be close to him, as close as possible. Chris carried me to the bed. I gasped as I flew through the air, crashing onto the mattress and he was on me again. He ripped my shirt up over my head and tossed it on the floor, revealing the little black lace bra I was glad I’d chosen for the day.
He let his gaze drag down my body hungrily for a moment but he didn’t take long before he moved on to the rest of my clothes, yanking my jeans and panties down at once.
“You have tortured me for way too long. I’ve had you once but I need you again. I want you naked under me as fast as humanly possible.” He was like a starving animal, grabbing and pawing at me until every shred of clothing was gone and I laid bare and exposed before him.
Chris stood at the foot of the bed and quickly stripped. I leaned up on my elbows to watch him tearing his own clothes from his body. Panting and looking up at him only made my need burn even deeper.
He barely took the time to pull a condom from his wallet. He ripped it open and slipped it over his thickness before he was on top of me again. He kissed me hard and long, making my body respond by thrusting my hips against him. He managed to pull himself away from me and I feared he was changing his mind. The thought of stopping now made me desperate to keep going.
He lifted up onto his knees. I silently looked up at him, panting heavily with ragged breaths and a pounding heart as I prayed, he wouldn’t stop. He took a long moment to just stare down at me. His gaze raked down my body with such intensity that it was like I could feel his touch following his gaze. Finally, he aligned himself with my hot, wet, entrance and delved inside without another hesitation. My slick walls stretched and quivered, welcoming him inside and it was the single most wonderful feeling I’d ever experienced.
I cried out, my nails dug into his shoulders, pulling him closer so that our chests pressed together with room for nothing between us. He pulled out and thrusted back in so hard that my body rocked from the force. I closed my eyes and threw my head back. Each thrust forced a small cry from my lips that seemed to encourage him to keep going.
He grabbed hold of my hips hard and flipped onto his back so that I sat on top of him. With my hands on his chest, I rolled my body and ground on him, moving my hips like pistons as I chased the coming orgasm. I could feel it coming, like waves rippling inside me. My insides clenched and relaxed in pulses.
I moved faster. I was so close and just couldn’t get enough. I desperately chased my pleasure toward the edge and he was more than willing to help. Chris gripped my hips harder and lifted me up, slamming me back down onto him again and again until every muscle in my body went rigid. My insides clenched around him and he swelled inside me. One last thrust and an explosion lit my body on fire and for that pleasure, I was willing to burn. He let out a loud cry, pushing himself deeper inside me. I threw my head back and let out a loud cry from the ecstasy coursing through me.
I fell against his chest, panting and gasping for air. Chris wrapped his arms around me and held me close. Eventually our breathing slowed but he didn’t let me go. He ran his hands softly up and down my back while I listened to the beating of his heart until we both dozed off to sleep.
CHAPTER 13
Chris
The bright morning sun through Caroline’s bedroom window slowly pulled me from my sleep. Caroline slept on her side facing away from me, tangled in the white bedsheet that draped low over her hip, barely covering the curve of her ass. Her head rested on my arm, strands of her deep chestnut hair fell over her face and I brushed them away.
I kissed her temple and whispered softly to wake her, “Caroline? Caroline?”
I ran my hand gently along her exposed back, down her spine. She nuzzled against the crook of my arm and began to stir.
“Caroline.” I whispered softly and she muttered something incoherent. “Wake up, sleepy head.”
Her eyes finally fluttered open and she gazed up at me with a sexy, sleepy grin. “morning.”
“Good morning.”
I heard a car door shut from outside the window and jumped out of bed. “Shit, your dad.”
She leaned up on her elbow, holding her head in her hand and laughed at me as I hopped on one foot trying to keep my balance while slipping on my pants. “My dad’s not supposed to be back until later.”
“You can’t count on that.”
“It’s probably just Ms.—” She was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and shutting. Ms. James always used the side door. “Shit. My dad's home.”
I slipped my shirt over my head and hurried to Caroline’s door. I quietly turned the doorknob and pulled the door open just enough to see through the small crack. I had a clear view of the front door as the Director went into his study.
“It's clear. I gotta get to my room.” I glanced back at Caroline who was rushing to get dressed the same way as I was a few moments ago. I ran out of her room and down the hall toward the guest room where I slept but before I could make it all the way, the study door opened.
“Caroline?” Director Applegate called from downstairs and I darted into the hall bathroom before he turned around.
I quickly turned on the shower and hopped in, hoping a workout and shower would offer me an alibi but I could still hear him calling for her up the stairs.
“Caroline, you aren't still sleeping, are you? It's almost eight thirty.”
There was a knock on her bedroom door just one door down from the bathroom and I jumped like a scared child. I hurried through my shower, leaving the water running a few minutes longer to listen in.
“Caroline?”
“Just a minute, dad. I'm getting dressed.”
“Hey, sorry. You caught me mid-dressing. What's up?
There was muffled talking from her room but nothing that sounded like we’d been caught. I turned off the shower and dried off but I didn’t have any clothes with me other than what I had been wearing the night before. I couldn’t exactly put those back on so I had to wrap the towel around my waist and wait for the Director to leave.
I listened for the sound of his heavy boots going down the stairs, then gave it a few minutes before walking out into the hall.
As I was sneaking to my room, Caroline came out of her room dressed in white capris and a flowy baby blue shirt that matched her eyes. “Everything go okay?”
“Yeah. Meeting him downstairs for breakfast. Your shoes are under my bed though.”
“Shit. I’ll go grab them and toss them in my room before joining you two for breakfast. You don’t think he saw them, do you?”
“My dad isn’t exactly the type to keep something like that to himself. If he thought anything was going on, he’d have said so.”
“That was way too close.”
“We’ll have to be more careful, next time.”
I raised my eyebrows, intrigued by the choice of words. “So, there will be a next time?”
“I sure hope so.” She smirked at me and I leaned in close to her ear.
“Me too.” She shivered as my lips brushed her ear. I stepped back, leaving her knees so weak that she had to lean against the wall. “You better get downstairs before your dad comes looking for you again.”
She nodded and smiled back at me before starting down the stairs. I swallowed hard, admiring the sexy little sway of her hips as she descended the stairs before realizing I was still standing in the hall with just a towel around my waist. I ran to her room, found my shoes and ran back to my room to get dressed.
I made my way downstairs where Caroline and Director Applegate sat at the breakfast table. Our eyes met and she smiled. I smiled back and snuck a small wink when the Director wasn’t looking that made Caroline’s cheeks flush. I walked with confidence past them to the fridge.
Applegate looked over his cup of coffee and nodded my way. “Morning, Chris.”
“Good morning, Sir. Good morning, Caroline. I trust you slept well.” I had to fight the urge to look at her for longer than I should.
“I did. Thank you.” Her cheeks flushed even brighter making her look even sexier with that pink blush over her cheeks. She recovered well, taking a sip of her orange juice to hide her response from her dad.
I poured myself a glass of juice and fixed a plate of the breakfast Ms. James had made. I casually joined them at the table, spearing a piece of cantaloupe with my fork, before shoving the large bight in my mouth.
“So, do you two have plans today?” The Director looked between us.
“I thought we could go or a little walk in the park. It’s a nice, public place, and I know that Caroline’s been getting some cabin fever. That is if you’d like to.”
I directed the last part of my statement to her, letting her know she had a choice of what we did. She flashed me a big grin and I knew she liked the idea of being alone together as much as I did. After the last few days, we really needed time to talk.
