Ice In His Veins

by Tressie Lockwood

  Brand swore. “She loves Reinhart’s money, not Arik.”

  Chevelle wondered if that were true, but she refused to comment.

  Cael slammed down the empty popcorn bowl with excitement in his expression. “I know. This is good. Really good. You’re going to love it, Chevelle.”

  Brand grumbled. “Shut up and say what’s on your mind.”

  “How can I shut up and speak at the same time?”

  Brand swung away from him and paced to the balcony doors. He pushed both hands into his hair, tussling it. If possible, he looked even more handsome. He turned a burning gaze toward Cael. “Speak!”

  Cael grinned bigger. “Okay, we’ll tell him her boyfriend beat her.”

  The room went silent.

  Chevelle found her voice first. “Are you crazy? Any man who thinks he can put his hands on me will draw back nubs, and even if I were so daft as to let it happen, my sister would castrate him. Arik’s not going to believe any crazy mess like that.”

  “He will,” Cael insisted. “He’s so tired, he’s not thinking straight. Come on, sis. You don’t want him to marry somebody else, do you?”

  “What I want is for you to stop wasting my time.”

  Brand strode over next to her. “What? You have to get back to your junk food?”

  She tensed, embarrassed he noticed and that he was jerk enough to call her out on it. “Whatever I’m doing is none of your business.”

  His expression said he knew he had her number. “I agree with you. Stirring up Arik’s anger is dangerous and stupid.”

  She wondered for a minute about Brand and wished she knew more about him. He was super close-lipped about himself. Not like Cael who happily shared everything that was on his fool mind. Like right then.

  “We’re not telling Arik her boyfriend beat her,” Brand said.

  “Would everyone stop talking about my ‘boyfriend?’” If she had any sense, she would let them think what they wanted and shuffle them out the door. Unfortunately, a small spark of something came to life at their suggestion about how to get Arik to her house.

  This is ridiculous, Chevelle. If he doesn’t want to come without being manipulated, you don’t need him here.

  Her heart refused to listen. It kept hoping, if only to see him once more. Plus some dark side to her personality wanted to get in the way of him getting married. Some deep dark part she didn’t want to admit existed. Shame washed over her at the thought, and she stood straighter.

  “I won’t be a party to trying to ruin a man’s life.” There. She would do the right thing.

  “I’ll think of some other reason to get him here,” Brand said, “if you agree to talk to him when he comes.”

  “I still don’t get why you’re doing this. There are countless siblings who don’t like their brother’s spouse. It’s not that uncommon or hard to deal with.”

  “We don’t dislike Karina.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  Cael snatched her up in a bear hug, sweeping her off her feet. She tried to get her arms free to smack him upside his head, but he held her too tightly.

  “Put me down, idiot!” She struggled, feeling stupid.

  He laughed and swung her around.

  “When I get free I’m going to kill you.”

  At last he saw reason and set her on her feet. When he tried brushing hair from her face, she smacked his hand. The fool wiggled his eyebrows at her.

  “We don’t hate her,” Cael said. “We just like you better, sis.”

  “Stop calling me sis.”

  “Will you talk to him?” Brand asked.

  “About what?”

  He shrugged, and she grumbled.

  “Is that your answer for everything? A shrug? I don’t know what that means!” Stress was getting to her, the hope of seeing Arik and the dread of the same. “Fine. I’ll talk to him. I don’t know what you want me to say, but if he comes, I’ll say… Get some sleep.”

  Cael laughed. “Good enough for me.”

  Brand looked at her like she was worse than useless and strode to the door. “Come on, Cael.”

  When they were gone, she checked on her lunch. At some point Cael had polished off her cake and drank her soda. The man pushed her to the limits in a different way than his oldest brother, but she liked him. She liked Brand too for all his mystery.

  “Ugh, stop avoiding thinking about him, Chevelle.”

  She tugged at her ugly tee. There was no way she was going to let Arik see her the way she was now. Time to jump into the shower, find something decent to wear, and put on some makeup.

  All the way to the bedroom, guilt weighed on her, but it wouldn’t stop her from doing everything she needed to do to look nice.

  “Just in case,” she muttered.

  She wouldn’t try to stop him from getting married. The conversation would center on calming his mind enough to sleep. That was all. As a deliberate move, she selected a pair of jeans that weren’t too tight on her hips and thighs but still decent. A cute blouse topped them that wasn’t too sexy or revealing in any way. She tamed her hair and kept the makeup at just enough. Afterward, she dropped onto the sofa to wait. Now either the brothers would succeed in getting Arik to her house, or she would sit there hopeful for nothing and probably be worse off than she was earlier.

  “Well, there’s more cake and popcorn where the last ones came from.”

  Chapter 17

  Arik jerked both Brand and Cael to him the second they stepped into the foyer. He leaned in close to both men’s faces and demanded, “Where the hell were you? I’ve been calling your cell phones, and neither of you answered. Are you trying to ruin this day for me?”

  Brand’s eyes narrowed, and he spoke very slowly. “Take your hands off me, now.”

  Cael patted Arik’s forehead. “Whoa, calm down, big bro. There’s a vein that looks like it’s about to explode. Can’t be good for your blood pressure, dude.”

  Arik released them both. He pressed fingers against both temples, but it did nothing to ease the pain. He had downed more headache meds than was wise, but they weren’t working. His head felt like it would pop, but there was nothing he could do about it.

  ““I’m sorry,” he said with regret. “I won’t take out my frustrations on you two. One of the members of the band is ill, and I have no idea where Reinhart is.”

  “Probably hiding from you,” Brand muttered.

  Arik glared at him.

  “I’ll look for him,” he said with sufferance. “Wait here until I get back, Cael.”

  Arik wondered what was with the significant look his brothers exchanged, but he didn’t feel like questioning them. Ignoring Cael, he turned to head toward the back of the mansion where the ceremony would be held. Before he could take more than a couple steps, Cael’s words stopped him cold.

  “Her boyfriend hit her,” Cael blurted.

  Arik pivoted and narrowed his gaze on Cael. “What…did you say? Whose… boyfriend…hit…her…?” He tried to speak normally, but the words were coming from a long way off like a glass bowl had descended onto his head, muffling his hearing.

  Cael seemed to rethink his words but then spouted them again. “Chevelle. Her boyfriend hit her. She’s over there—”

  Arik hardly heard the door smash against the wall as he stormed out of the house. Somewhere behind him, he heard Cael call his name, but he ignored it. All he needed was to get to his car and then get to Chevelle’s place. First he would find the fool that had just pissed his life away by raising a hand to Chevelle, and then he would rip the guy’s arm off to beat him with it.

  He mashed the gas pedal to the floor once he got off Reinhart’s property. The turn at the end of the road almost caused him to flip the car, but he welcomed the challenge to work out his aggression.

  The drive to Chevelle’s took an eternity, but when he made it to the steps leading to her place, he took them two at a time. Pounding on the door, he rattled the lock. When that wasn’t enough, he shout
ed. “Chevelle, open the door!”

  He heard shuffling around inside, and the door swung wide. She stood there small and beautiful with one hand up to her face, head lowered. Rage nearly consumed him, and he saw red.

  “Arik, what in the world—”

  He shoved past her and barged into the apartment. “Where is he? Hiding like a coward? I swear when I find him I’ll kill him!”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She followed him as he searched her apartment. He lifted her to move her aside several times as he wrenched open closet doors and dragged clothes aside so he could check every hiding spot.

  “Arik, stop!”

  He swung around to face her. “Did he leave? Where’s the asshole that thinks he can put his hands on you and get away with it? Give me his address!”

  She gasped and pressed the heel of her hand her head. “I can’t believe those idiots. It’s not true. I—”

  He spotted her purse on the table and upended it. She screeched and leaped to snatch it from his hands. He jerked it out of reach. “You’re not going to stop me from ripping his arm off!”

  “Would you calm down?” She shouted louder than he had ever heard her raise her voice, and he winced at the pain it caused in his head. She noticed. “Look at me, Arik. There’s not a scratch or bruise on me. You know I would never let a man hit me without me breaking his head open for him. Calm down, please.”

  He took a breath but studied her face. What she said seemed to be true. There were no bruises or swellings, but her eyes were red as if she had been crying. He was about to demand more of an explanation, but she was suddenly in his arms, pressing her soft body against his. The anger that drove him mad a moment ago dissipated. He tangled his fingers in her hair and dipped his head to breathe in her scent.

  “It’s all right,” she said softly. “Come to the couch.”

  Dazed, he followed as she led him, holding his hand as if he were a child. When she sat down, Arik sank slowly after her, staring and taking in every inch of the mocha beauty before him.

  “Promise me no one has hurt you,” he demanded.

  She hesitated and looked away. A sad smile touched her lips. “I’m fine. I promise. But what you need to do is relax. I’ve never seen you like this. You’re always in control. Arik, you look awful. Please, just sit still a minute, okay?”

  Inside he was wound tight, but sitting next to her loosened him up at bit. He held himself erect a little longer, but she patted her chest. How could he resist the invitation? Every fiber of his being was aware of her. Not just sexually but as a woman, as Chevelle. It was as if he needed to be near her on some deep level of his soul.

  He leaned against her and sighed. Her arms encircled him, and she began to rub his back. A deep breath brought in her essence, and he was lost. Chevelle. How he had missed her. He had no idea how much until he lay there in her arms. If he couldn’t lie there, if he couldn’t be here with her ever again, he really might snap.

  I’m being dramatic. I can’t need her—can I?

  His mind grew dull. Sleep descended. Maybe if he shut his eyes for a few seconds, he could figure things out. Time slowed, and he drifted off.

  “Hello, Brand?”

  The gruff reply over the phone lines couldn’t be anyone else, and Chevelle frowned. He had a nerve to be annoyed when he was the one that lied.

  “I thought you weren’t going to tell Arik that fake story about me being hit. Do you know how crazy he was when he flew in here?”

  Brand swore. “I left Cael for one second, and he decided to go with his plan. Did my brother hurt you?”

  “Of course not! Arik’s not like that. He ripped through my place looking for some phantom boyfriend. Anyway, that’s not the point right now. I can’t get him to wake up. He’s been sleeping the last two hours. What time is his wedding?”

  The line was silent.

  “Brand? Are you still there?”

  “An hour ago.”

  She gasped. “Why didn’t you call?”

  “Our goal was accomplished.”

  “Jeez, remind me not to get on your bad side.”

  Once again he said nothing.

  “This is wrong, Brand. It should have been Arik’s choice to call off the wedding not you and your brother’s to sabotage it. I’m sure a lot of expense went into everything. His fiancée must be crazy right now.”

  “Is that how you really feel?”

  Like she was going to admit to him that she was glad the wedding was interrupted. But it didn’t make her feel good. It wasn’t like Arik had come running to her house to tell her how much he adored her. The man was half out of his head with exhaustion. Just because he was asleep on her chest and clutching her as if he wouldn’t let go meant nothing.

  “He’s probably going to be pissed when he wakes up. Maybe you two can come back and try to get him up.”

  “All right. We’ll be there.” He disconnected the call, but something in his voice didn’t ring honest. She tried calling back, but no matter how many times she phoned him, he wouldn’t answer. Cael’s line went straight to voicemail when she tried him.

  “They’re doing this crap on purpose!”

  She threw her phone down and gazed at Arik as he slept. His silky hair called to her fingers, and she ran them through the strands. Her heartbeat quickened, and love swelled inside her until she felt like she was going to suffocate. Why did she have to love him so much and he not give a damn about her? She was just a body to him. Maybe he preferred her body to a lot of women, but it wasn’t enough. She longed for his heart.

  An hour passed while she watched him rest, and there was no sign of his brothers returning. She knew they wouldn’t be coming. They were scheming men, but at the same time it showed that in the short time Brand and Cael had known Arik, they came to care about him and his happiness. Knowing that warmed her. Not to mention the fact that Cael preferred her to be his sister-in-law.

  “From your lips, Cael,” she muttered.

  “What about my brother?”

  She jumped, hearing Arik’s voice all of a sudden. It was thick with sleep and slow as if the dream world sought to reclaim him. Beautiful blue eyes blinked open. They would have stolen her heart if he didn’t own it already.

  She cleared her throat and looked away. “Mind getting off me?”

  “I do.” The arrogant thing resettled himself so that his head rested in her lap, and he folded muscular arms over his chest.

  “Arik, did you forget your wedding? You’ve been asleep for three hours. I tried everything to wake you up.”

  Amusement brightened his eyes. “Did you?”

  “You act like you don’t believe me.”

  He seemed to think about it. “Tell him you won’t see him anymore.”

  “Wha—?”

  “Your boyfriend.”

  She groaned. “I told you what Cael told you was a lie.”

  “Now that I’ve slept a bit I can think better.”

  “So you believe me? No one has hit me.”

  “But you were seeing someone else. You didn’t deny it.”

  She shoved him hard and managed to get free to stand. “You’re in no position to question me about seeing someone. You’re supposed to be getting married, something you said you would never do.”

  He grinned, resembling Cael. She didn’t get it, but he looked the happiest she had ever seen him. “You said yourself, I’m late.”

  “She’ll forgive you.”

  “I won’t be marrying her.” There was that chilly attitude she knew so well. He sat up and snaked a hand out to jerk her forward. She landed on his lap, and his arms encircled her waist. Shoving at his chest didn’t make him budge an inch.

  “Let me go, Arik.”

  He nuzzled her neck. “Do you love me, Chevelle?”

  She squeaked in alarm. “What’s gotten into you? You must still be tired.”

  “I said…” He raised his head to look into her eyes. She tried to turn away, but
he held her chin. “…do you love me?”

  “I…uh…” She couldn’t admit it. That would be giving him ammunition to use against her. If this was about convincing her to be his lover again, she would be vulnerable if he knew her feelings.

  He kissed her gently, stealing what little self-control she had available. “Let me make it easier on you, my love.”

  She trembled. Arik Johansson had never as long as she had known him used any endearments with her. Well, other than calling her beautiful as if it were her name. This was different, and she knew it.

  “A-Arik.”

  “My love,” he repeated in a low whisper. “The only woman who has convinced me to give her whatever she wants.”

  “Not everything.”

  “Everything.”

  Her gaze flew to his. “What are you saying?”

  For the first time since he woke up, he seemed a bit awkward. It passed quickly, and he was his usual confident self. “I’m saying the only woman I’m going to marry is you. The only woman who will have my child is you.”

  She blinked at him.

  “I’ve known for a long time that you love me.”

  She choked and couldn’t help the sob that slipped out. He stopped her when she tried to cover her mouth, and he kissed her palm. Chills of delight raced up and down her spine. This wasn’t the Arik she knew.

  “A-are you sleep-walking?”

  He chuckled. “I’m sitting down.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “No, beautiful. I love you, and I’m awake enough to know what I’m saying. I realized it before I fell asleep and when I got here. Chevelle, I’ve loved you for a long time, but I never saw it.”

  “This is so unbelievable. I feel like you must be joking, but you don’t joke like that. You never lead a woman on. If anything you make sure a woman knows where she stands from the second anything starts.”

  He cupped her face with both hands and kissed her again. “I’m sorry for all the times I hurt you, but I need you to tell me you won’t see him anymore.”

  She shook her head, one side of her mouth lifting in a half smile. “I was never seeing Eli.”