“Warwick.” Katiya slid her hands down and clenched her fingers on his ass.
She pulled him into her. Warwick stroked urgently, his harsh breaths feathering her face. Undulating her hips, she moaned as he took her, demanding all she had to give. Katiya’s pulse raced and her heart pounded in time with his taking.
“Come for me.” Warwick’s decadent whisper filled the air.
Katiya moaned and quivered as she came. Warwick followed her, grunting harshly. He rolled, taking her with him and holding her close. Katiya listened to his racing heart as sleep claimed her once again.
The ringing phone jerked her out of her sleep. Blearily, Katiya reached for it. Pushing her hair out of her face she said, “Hello.”
“Kat, sorry. I wanted to catch you before you went to work. I didn’t mean to wake you,” Sarah said.
Katiya sat up, glancing at the time. It was almost seven. She had overslept. She heard the shower running.
“Umm…that’s okay. I need to be up anyway.”
“Since I know you’ve been waiting to find out. I’m not going to beat around the bush. We’ve figured out what is wrong with your leg,” Sarah said.
Katiya heart raced and she tightened her fingers over the phone.
“From what you’ve told Lasing and myself, you get this weakness and pain at night. With that and the last set of tests, it is not as you feared. The muscles are not deteriorating. They are basically locking up due to not enough exercise and too much sitting. The reason it is bothering you so much more now than before is, basically, that you need to increase the exercises you do for the leg. Lansing is setting up an appointment with a physical therapist for you. And before you protest about the time, the therapist will come to you at The Oasis to work with you. Lansing mentioned the man knew of The Oasis and said the facilities you have there are actually perfect for what you need.”
Katiya wasn’t sure if she heard her right. “My leg is fine.”
“Yes it is. Follow what the therapist says and the pain will get better and the weakness will dissipate. Lansing will go into more details about everything,” Sarah said.
“Thank you, Sarah,” Katiya said.
“No problem. Take care of your leg. I’ll speak with you soon. Bye.”
“Bye,” Katiya said and hung up.
“Who was that so early?” Warwick asked coming out from the bathroom.
Katiya stood and rushed to him. “My leg is fine. That was Sarah—Arissa’s friend from Minnesota. I was so worried when I was in pain, I went to see her. Then the incident at the auto show scared the heck out of me. She and Lansing have been trying to find out what was wrong. I thought it was my muscles deteriorating but come to find out, it is not. I’m fine. Oh, Warwick. I’m fine.” She hugged him.
“Good for you.” His voice was cold.
Katiya stepped back, frowning. He was fully dressed already for work. His face was aloof and eyes cold.
“Warwick—”
He cut her off. “You knew before your trip something was wrong. And when you came back and collapsed. Yet you said nothing to me.”
“I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t want you all to worry,” she cried.
“No. You didn’t want your family to worry. Me, you wanted to keep out. I’ve been accepting the crumbs you’ve deemed to give me. Why won’t you let me in?” Warwick questioned in a clipped tone.
Katiya heart pounded. “I have—”
He interrupted again. “You have not. I’m not the Sharps, Katiya. Money and supposed social classes don’t concern me. I want you. Katiya, Want you to see me as just Warwick the man. Not Warwick, a man with money who could hurt you.”
“I haven’t been seeing you as that,” Katiya defended.
“You have. You’ve kept me at a distance. Hiding that you were worried about your legs clearly shows that,” he said.
“Like you share with me. You haven’t once told me what is bothering you about your business,” she lashed out.
“Have you asked?” he countered.
“No, bu—”
He overrode her words. “I asked you numerous times about your leg because I care to know. You never once asked about what was going on with me and my business. Never cared to know more than you deemed appropriate to the boundaries you set. Do you even care about me?”
“I do,” she whispered.
“You have a strange way of showing it, Katiya.” He closed his eyes then opened them.
She gasped at the pain in them.
“I’ve already barely made it through one loss of a woman I gave my whole heart to. I’m not willing to go through that again with someone who isn’t in it with me with their whole heart…their very souls. Can you give me that, Katiya?”
She opened her mouth then closed it. Warwick took a shallow breath then he slipped on what she thought of as ‘the cold stranger’. The businessman she had seen when she visited his office stared back at her dispassionately. He turned on his heel and left. Katiya stood rooted to where he had left her. The sound of the front door closing was very final. Her legs gave out. She rocked back and forth. Tears burned her eyes.
“I can’t be hurt like that again. If I give my heart to him he will rip out my soul. I can’t,” she rationalised.
She let the silence surround her.
“Why couldn’t you say the words to him? You lost him. He already has all that I am. Oh God, I’ve lost him. Oh God. Noooo…” Her voice echoed in the silent room.
Hugging herself, she lowered her head, weeping at her loss.
Chapter Seven
Warwick held the steering wheel in a death grip. Mechanically he drove home. Once there, he got out, moving stiffly to his front door and with a steady hand he opened it and stepped inside. Closing it with a thud he started to shake then dropped to his knees, shifting and pressing his back against the door. Resting his head against the wood, his eyes burned.
“Stupid, stupid. You let yourself care too much again.” He pounded his head back on the door in time with each word.
He braced his elbows on his raised knees and gripped his hair. His heart was ripped out again. He, better than most, knew one could survive without. It would not be living but he could survive. First he had to rebuild the walls around him. The ones that he had opened up to Katiya.
Why are you giving up so easy?
He laughed bitterly. Easy? Nothing between them had been easy. Yes, they were so compatible sexually, but never once did she let it get emotional. He had felt it after their first date, but done nothing, thinking she would come to trust him eventually. All the times together when he had thought they had been getting close, she’d became shuttered, trying to distance herself from him. There was only so much he could give. Katiya had made her choice. Now he had to accept it and find a way to move on. He sat in the silence, not moving. After some time he stood. He couldn’t deal with this here.
He moved purposefully through the house and to his bedroom. Quickly he packed a duffel and changed his clothing. Heading out, he bypassed his classic cars and went to his black Avalanche. Once he was on his way he pressed the Bluetooth. As it rang he took a breath, drawing up the business persona.
“Hey, Warwick. You’re late. Drag yourself away from Katiya and get to work, slacker,” Calix said.
He heard the work going on around Calix, which meant he was on the speakerphone.
“Going out of town for a few,” he said.
“What? Now that we’ve gotten all the paperwork completed and have the go-ahead, you’re going out of town? We’re swamped with the new project.”
“You can handle it… I need some time.” Warwick hoped he didn’t hear the pain in his voice.
It was harder than he’d thought to keep it bottled, especially with Calix, who knew him so well.
“Are you okay, Warwick?” Calix’s tone was sharp.
“I’m fine, just a little burnt. Been burning the candle on both ends.” He forced a chuckle.
“You sound off,�
� Calix said suspiciously.
“I’m—”
“Calix, we need you now,” a voice said from Calix’s end of the call.
“I’m coming… Gotta go.”
“I’m turning off my cell. I’ll check my messages daily so if any problems, leave me a message,” Warwick said.
“Okay. Where are you going and for how long?” Calix sounded distracted.
He didn’t want to tell him but knew that in case of an emergency, either on his side or Calix’s, someone should know where he was. At least with Calix busy he wouldn’t come looking for him.
“To the cabin. Maybe two weeks. If longer I’ll let you know,” he said.
“Okay. I can’t believe you got Katiya to go away from the centre for two weeks,” Calix commented.
Pain filled him. The sounds over the phone continued.
“Warwick?” Calix was back to sounding suspicious.
He cursed himself for not saying anything.
“Calix,” the voice called again.
“Christ, I’m coming. Gotta go. Give Katiya a kiss for me.” Calix hung up.
Warwick disconnected. He was grateful for the interruption. He hadn’t thought he would be able to form the lie. Calix would find out soon enough that he was alone. He focused on driving.
In a little over three hours he spotted the beauty that was Kanderus Canyon. It was high in the Bernus Mountains, which was more towards the outskirts of McKingley. Various homes spotted throughout the mountain. Some people lived there all the time and others, like himself, used the mountains as a getaway place. Warwick didn’t turn into the lane that lead to his usual getaway. Instead, he continued on another twenty minutes before he made the tight turn into the smaller area of Kellita Peak.
It had been years since he’d felt the need to come here. He drove down the small road and when the cabin came into view, memories of the last time he was here filled him. He’d bought this place after his wife had died. Calix had thought he was crazy. It’d been rundown and overrun. He’d known what he wanted it for—to purge the pain. He’d rebuilt every piece of the cabin by himself. The manual labour had soothed him. Once it was done, the valley around his little cabin had given him space and time he needed to mourn. Parking in front of the porch, he then got out, grabbing his bag. He threw it on the porch, barely breaking stride.
Pushing his hands in the pockets of his light jacket, he strode around the house and to the pond. It was the main reason he had bought the place. There was something about sitting next to the pond—which he had dubbed Reflective—that made his thoughts clearer. His other cabin, which was larger, had a lake. That one he used at happier times. This place was more for reflection. He sat on the bank with his hands behind him. The feeling of not being alone came to him. Warwick didn’t look up—he already knew it was his neighbour and friend.
“Haven’t seen you come here in a few years. Hoped I wouldn’t again,” Hawk Blackthorn said in his deep timbre.
“Needed it.”
Hawk was silent then spoke again, “You could have called me as you usually do.”
Hawk was the one who he could speak to without filters. He’d been there when he’d first moved in to the cabin. Hawk, who at the time had been a stranger, had just come to see the crazy man who had bought the cabin next to his. Warwick hadn’t known what to make of him. There were a few miles between their places, no matter if you took the easy or hard way. Hawk had come every day and watched him almost work himself to death. He was the one who had forced him to eat in order to keep going. Had thrown him into the pond a few times to bring him to his senses. The one thing he’d appreciated and still did about Hawk was that he didn’t ask questions. The silence. He didn’t even wonder how Hawk had known he was here. Hawk seemed to have an innate sense that he was here when he arrived.
Over the years, these trips had become rarer and rarer. Hawk even seemed to sense when he needed to talk and had called him when he needed it most. For Hawk, who wasn’t much for talking and chatter, it said a lot about their friendship. Warwick did the same for Hawk. They seemed to sense things about each other.
“I’ll go get you some groceries. You need to eat.” Hawk stood.
He didn’t reply. Hawk left as silently as he had come. Warwick studied the pond, letting the stillness seep into him. The bright sun seemed to mock his pain. A harsh sound bubbled out of his throat. Tears flowed down his face and he shook. Staring at the pond, he let the mourning for what was not to be, begin.
* * * *
“Katiya, how was you and Warwick’s trip?” Calix asked.
What trip? Katiya faced Calix as he strode towards her.
“I thought Warwick said you all were staying for a few more weeks. Must have been mistaken. The cabin is beautiful, isn’t it?” Calix stopped in front of her.
Katiya opened her mouth to respond.
“Hold on a sec. I need to speak with someone.” Calix strode past her.
Katiya watched his progress. Even from where she stood, she saw Rhianna stiffen then turn and go around the corner. Calix followed her.
Katiya frowned. When she hadn’t seen Calix for two weeks, she’d assumed Warwick had mentioned what had happened between them. Others from Taylor Bytes still came to help out with the classes, but not Calix, as he had been prone to do. It seemed as if Warwick hadn’t told Calix and he was at some cabin.
Where is this cabin?
Katiya continued to her office. So far she’d been able to avoid direct questions about Warwick. She’d just let everyone draw the assumption that he was busy at work. Entering her office, Katiya paused, staring at the man who leaned against the wall just inside the door.
“You look really good for someone who is dead.”
“What are you doing in my office?” Katiya heart pounded and she backed up.
“Watching a dead woman walk. At least that’s what it seems like with Warwick at the cabin. I thought better of you, Katiya Wright.” The man’s tone was chastising.
Katiya stiffened. “Who the hell are you?”
“And to think I was thinking of coming down off my ridge to your wedding.” The stranger scowled at her.
Katiya edged towards the door, keeping an eye on what was obviously an unhinged person. The man was even bigger and taller than Warwick. From his sun-kissed skin along with his sharply defined cheeks, narrow nose and mouth capped off by his inky black braided hair, she knew he was Native American. An image tickled at the back of her memory. Katiya stopped moving.
“The man from the picture in Warwick’s house. You’re his friend, Hawk,” Katiya said.
“He has a picture of me? I’ll have to take care of that.” Hawk scowled.
“What are you doing here?” Katiya demanded.
“Something I never do. Interfering. Do you want Warwick?” Hawk demanded.
Very much. She wouldn’t say that to him, though. Instead she said, “Why is it your business?”
“It’s not. But you have five minutes once I find Calix to say ‘hi’ to decide. Then I’m out of here. I’ll take you to him. But if you decide whatever stupidly came between you is more important, then stay here. You can try to get back with him when he comes back but by then he’ll be stubborn and convinced he is better off without you.”
Katiya flinched at his words. Hawk raked her with a dispassionate look then strolled around her and out her office door. Katiya wrapped her arms around herself. A second later she ran to her desk and grabbed her bag. She flew out her office then slowed as she spotted Hawk a little ways away talking with Calix. She moved towards them at a more dignified pace.
“Did you come back with Warwick and Katiya? I’m shocked Warwick got you off the ridge and into town. Aren’t you under a deadline?” Calix asked.
“God, you always talk too much. Silence is a good thing.” Hawk grunted.
“You need to come off the ridge and be more sociable,” Calix retorted.
Hawk didn’t respond. He glanced at Katiya then nodded, walking
away. She went to follow him. Calix touched her arm stilling her.
“What is going on?” Calix looked sombre.
It was startling—she’d never seen him anyway but joking.
“Thirty seconds,” Hawk rumbled in his deep voice.
Katiya glared at Hawk as he continued on, not breaking stride.
“I’ve got to go.” Katiya pulled away.
She hurried behind Hawk as he went out the side door. Hawk paused by a forest green F-450 King Ranch with a crew cab.
“Before we leave you have to agree to my rule.”
“What rule?” Katiya gritted out.
“Golden Rule. No talking.”
She snorted. “That’s not going to be a problem since right now I don’t even want to go anywhere with you. I don’t know why Warwick is even friends with you. You r—”
Hawk cut her off. “You don’t need to go anywhere with me. Suit yourself.”
He walked to the driver’s side and got in then started the truck with a roar of the engine. Katiya stood, shocked he was leaving. She went to the door, trying the handle and found it locked, so she pounded on the window. Hawk didn’t spare her a glance but the locks clicked. Katiya climbed into the truck, putting her bag on the seat next to her. She glanced out the window and as Hawk drove she studied the passing landscape.
Be calm, Katiya. He is taking you to Warwick.
Nervousness filled Katiya at the thought of seeing him. She had no clue what she would say.
What happens if he refuses you?
She rubbed over her heart at the thought then Katiya pushed the idea away. In the over four-hour drive she didn’t say a word. When they bypassed the Bernus Mountains, she had an idea of where they were going. A few minutes later, the smaller area of Kellita Peak came into view. She was familiar with the area because her brother Leo had a cabin up there. Leo used it often when he could get time off and she’d been there with him once or twice. The area was a little too wild and remote for her tastes. Hawk made a turn into a bumpy access road. In a few more minutes, they parked in front of a small cabin.
She exited the vehicle and stood in front of it. Hawk came and stood next to her.
All the Wright Moves Page 10
