She followed him when he turned from her and went into the office. Kaleb flipped on the light and tossed the clipboard onto the already overflowing desk. Papers slid across the metal.
“I can’t entertain you,” he said as he turned toward her. His body was huge in the small space. Any other person would've found him physically intimidating but she didn't. Not in the slightest. She didn’t believe he’d ever hurt her and that thought made her braver.
She threw her hands up into the air. “I’m not looking for you to put on a costume and dance around but staring at the wall for three weeks is completely out of the question. At least tomorrow I’ll be at work—”
The small growl caught her by surprise. “You're not going to work tomorrow.”
“I don’t have a choice. Besides, what harm is going to come to me when I'm surrounded by people every second I'm there? No one is going to try anything in front of witnesses.”
“You’d be exposing yourself. Who knows who or what you’d run into—”
“I can't stare at the wall all day!”
“You're not going,” he said, his voice hard and unwavering.
A small pool of heat started in her belly. Lord, he was hot when he was irritated but she knew better than to keep pushing the issue. As annoyed as she may be, there were other ways to get her way. This wasn’t an argument she was going to win. She'd only ruffle his feathers.
“Well since you're busy doing your job, let me leave you to it and go back to my prison.”
Beth turned on her heel and stalked out of the office and up the stairs. Kaleb snarled behind her, but she ignored him. Let him be pissed off, she didn't care.
Why did she let him get under her skin?
She plopped down on the sofa and grabbed the TV remote before absently going through the channels.
Her situation was completely ridiculous. She was stuck inside for the foreseeable future with minimal interaction with other people. It had barely been a single day and she already had cabin fever.
Lord help them both if she had to go through another week like this. She needed to channel her energy somehow. Feeling caged wasn't going to be good for either of them and as much as she enjoying messing with him, she didn’t want to overdo it.
She understood the need to stay secluded and to have protection but she highly doubted something would happen to her at work. There were far too many people around and if the warlocks were as secretive as Kaleb made out, they wouldn't grab her in public. On top of that, she’d been to work five days between when they’d originally cast the spell and when she'd been at Lila's, and nothing had happened to her.
She could risk it.
Right now, however, she had to find something else to do. She'd bought a cheap paperback at the grocery store, so she started there.
Three hours later, the mystery in the novel was solved. She closed the book. The music from the jukebox in the bar bounced the floor under her feet. It wasn't ungodly loud but it served as a reminder that she was just a prisoner. She couldn't go outside, couldn't leave.
When her stomach grumbled, she decided to make something to eat. She turned on the television, excited to see there was going to be a chick flick marathon on. It would give her something to do for the rest of the night at least.
She listened to Terms of Endearment while throwing together a big pot of beef stew. Kaleb would be hungry after work, and maybe she could sweet talk him with food. It was worth a shot. Once she had the stew simmering, she took a long, hot bath. She shaved her legs, painted her toenails and even made a face mask with kitchen ingredients.
All the grooming in the world wasn’t making her feel better although it did help minimize her pores. She sighed, not enjoying the pampering but going through the motions to give herself something to do.
She debated calling her parents but decided against it. She didn’t have much to update them on and there were a lot of questions she didn't want to answer on the off chance they picked up that she wasn't home. On Sunday night, they were probably going out to eat at their favorite little shrimp shack anyway.
She snagged her cellphone and sent a text to Carey but received no reply. She followed that up with a text to Natalie. Nothing. Another text was written and sent to Lila. No response.
The world had abandoned her.
She checked on the stew which smelled heavenly in the small apartment and glanced at the clock. It wasn't even eight o’clock. The bar wouldn't close until twelve and then he'd have to clean up. Maybe he’d at least let her help clean up.
Beth began cleaning the kitchen. At first, she only wanted to clean up the mess she'd made preparing the stew but then she noticed the dust in the corner, so she took care of that. The floors probably hadn't been thoroughly washed in a long while either.
One project turned into another. Maybe she was overstepping her bounds, but at least she was doing something. She unleashed her irritation and frustration out on baseboards and countertops.
It felt good.
The apartment wasn't huge. Unless she wanted to clean the inside of the cabinets next, which she didn't, she quickly ran out of things to do.
She centered the couch in the room, tugging and pushing it around with little effort. It was then that she noticed the door to Kaleb's bedroom was cracked.
She shouldn't go in there. This was Kaleb's apartment, and that was his personal area.
It was a better idea to stick to the living area and Gabriel's bedroom.
Screw it.
5
Kaleb wanted to go upstairs to check on her but he restrained himself.
He felt like an asshole leaving her to her own devices but he didn’t have much choice. He couldn’t entertain her the entire time she was there and he wouldn’t jeopardize her safety by allowing her to wander around where he wasn't.
After she’d stormed off, his eyes glued to her ass as she walked away, he dove into what he had to complete that day before they opened.
He couldn’t stop thinking about her. Her snarky attitude, the way her brows had crinkled when she was considering everything he’d told her about Carey. It was apparent that she loved her friends. She was loyal and caring. She’d even seemed concerned about him when he’d told her about how it felt to change.
He should go upstairs and check on her. He should apologize.
Hell, he didn't know what to do with her.
Grunting his frustration, he threw his hands up. Maybe she’d relax if he paid some attention to her. Show her that he understood her frustration and could empathize with everything she was currently experiencing. He had felt her anxiety creeping up gradually since they’d gotten there. She was becoming more tightly wound with each passing hour. He was waiting for her to pop.
Combine her being on edge with his increasing, unrelenting want, it probably wasn’t prudent to spend alone time with her but he’d throw caution to the wind if it meant she’d chill out. Maybe then it would be easier to live with her.
It wasn’t too difficult now, honestly.
Who was he kidding? He didn’t need to get used to the woman being in his apartment either. In three weeks, she’d be gone, and he wanted to believe his life would go on as if she’d never been there. She’d buy her house, happy to be free of him.
He’d miss the way she did things just to goad his nerves, prodding him for a reaction. He’d undoubtedly miss the eye candy. Kaleb had never met a woman with whom he’d had an instant attraction like he had with Beth. It grew worse the longer they spent together.
Sleeping with her was out of the question.
Or was it?
He would already be in deep shit if the council found out he was keeping a human there to begin with. What would they care if he bedded her too? They wouldn’t. They’d kill him for other discretions. Picturing her beneath him, her face contorted in ecstasy as he filled her, elicited a rumble from his chest.
She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. He didn’t miss her stolen glances. Her scent
of arousal alone infiltrated his senses whenever he was close to her. Those pheromones didn’t roll off her when anyone else was around. No, her cheeks pinkened and her eyes dilated for him alone.
His cock and his chest swelled at the thought.
Fucking her wasn’t a good idea.
He’d sworn to Gabriel that he wouldn’t cross that line years ago. He respected his brother enough not to go back on his word. Although Gabriel was most likely going after Lila at this point. He didn’t trust his brother not to mate the human. He had always been too stuck on her.
Although, if memory served him correctly, their actual agreement had to do with not bringing shame to the Azarov name. If the council found out, they were hiding humans and had revealed their true natures...
Shaking his head, Kaleb strode from the office. It would do him no good trying to talk himself into it. Beth was hands-off. He had the same issues two years ago. She was hands-off then, as well. The risk was too high.
His teeth had come out the first time when they’d been in his truck and he hadn’t even been inside her. They hadn’t even been naked. They’d just been making out in his truck. Just imagining touching her made him salivate. What if he couldn’t control it? What if, in the throes of passion, he sunk his teeth into her shoulder and forced a mating?
They’d have some real issues then. He’d be stuck with her ornery hind-end for the rest of their lives.
Why didn’t that sound like a bad idea to him?
He fished out his cell phone and found the name he was looking for.
“What’s up?” Alex asked when he answered. He would’ve known instantly who was calling.
“Want to work tonight?”
“I thought you told the man-eater you were working tonight?” Alex never hid the fact that he hated both Lacey and her brother. His tolerance of them was just enough so he could serve them and even that was tense most of the time.
Kaleb groaned. He'd forgotten what he’d told Lacey.
“I’m going to risk it,” he said with finality. He would deal with Lacey’s wrath another day with excuses and apologies.
“I have to run some errands for my father but I can be there at eight.”
“Perfect.”
When Kaleb disconnected the call, he breathed a sigh of relief. He wouldn’t risk leaving the apartment but he’d try to at least spend some time with her so she wasn't cooped up alone. He’d keep his hands to himself and just try to help her through the next few days.
A few hours later, as he served the few patrons in the bar, he heard the groaning sound of furniture scraping the floor upstairs.
She wasn’t going to make anything easy for him.
There.
Beth wiped her hands on her yoga pants. Kaleb’s bedroom looked different but it was clean and now had a more cohesive flow. Very Zen.
It was still a bachelor’s room - she wasn't a miracle worker - but it was clean and the bed now sat under the window instead of shoved into the corner. She’d attacked cobwebs and found old socks under his bed which promptly went into the washer with the linens.
Who knew the last time he’d changed his sheets and if she ever wanted to be in his bed, by God his sheets would be clean.
Her face caught fire at that last thought. She had no reason to believe she’d ever be in his bed, but she couldn’t stop herself for holding out the teeniest bit of hope. Ugh, that man. He made her think of all sorts of things that should be highly illegal. Or he could just…do them. There was that option, too.
He’d probably flip his lid when he realized she’d taken it upon herself to clean up after him and had gone through his things. Well, she hadn’t been too nosy. Just slightly. She couldn’t help but find the handcuffs in his bedside drawer, still in the packaging.
They weren’t fluffy either. They were the real damn thing. No emergency releases there and no flimsy plastic chain linking the cuffs together either.
Thinking of the reason why he’d purchased them and why they were sitting in his bedside drawer made her sick to her stomach, but it was followed by a small flutter of excitement when she pictured herself being the one they were used on. She put them back into the drawer and shoved the thought from her mind. She had no claim to him, no matter how badly she wanted him.
Sighing, she padded back into the kitchen, checked on her stew and grabbed one of the beers from the fridge.
Steel Magnolias was set to come on television next so she took herself to the couch and plopped down, preparing herself for two hours of Southern charm and quick wit.
It made her miss Natalie.
Curling herself into a ball, she tried to focus on the movie instead of her friends and their situation. Julia Roberts was having a hypoglycemic episode when the door to the apartment opened.
Beth jumped.
Kaleb stood in the doorway, his nose twitching as he took in all the smells that seemed to hit him all at once. She could imagine what he was smelling. Beef stew, lemon floor cleaner, dryer sheets, and whatever else his nose was able to pick up.
“You’ve been busy,” he commented. He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. When he turned the lock, she sat up and placed her half-empty beer on the coffee table.
“Are you not working?”
He shook his head. “Alex came in. I thought I’d keep you company.”
She couldn’t help the smile that blossomed. Her heart quickened and she chastised herself, trying not to read too much into his decision to come upstairs.
“I'm going to take a quick shower,” he said before asking, “Are you watching a movie?”
She nodded. “Steel Magnolias.”
“I’ve never seen it. Is it good?”
“Yes.”
He disappeared into his bedroom.
“Beth!” he roared a second later and she chuckled.
He flew back into the living room. “You rearranged my bedroom!”
She nodded. “Yeah. It was dirty so I cleaned it and now it looks and smells better to boot.”
His thick brows furrowed and he shook his head in disbelief. “Why are you rearranging my room?”
She leaned against back on the couch and stretched her arms above her head. “I just told you. It was dirty.”
He looked around the rest of the apartment and she knew he realized then the extent to which she'd cleaned.
“You were bored.”
“Duh.”
He shook his head before going back into his bedroom. He headed toward the bathroom a minute later, his arms holding a change of clothes.
“I’m not going to say you guys are gross or anything,” she commented as he walked by, “but I will say that Gabriel is definitely cleaner than you are.”
She chuckled as the annoyed expression on his face. He didn’t say anything else, just shut himself in the bathroom. The shower turned on a minute later.
While he was bathing, she got up and checked on the stew. Tasting it, she shut her eyes, savoring the rich flavors. It was ready to eat. She was pulling down two bowls from the cabinet when something flashed out of the corner of her eye. Beth froze for half a second before looking at the window.
It was dark outside but the big parking lot light was still on, casting weird shadows on the ground. Beth padded over to the window, leaving the bowls on the counter behind her and stared out into the dark night. There were massive splotches of darkness where the light didn’t hit both in and around the lot. She squinted, trying to determine if something was lurking, but there was no obvious movement that she could see.
A few cars passed the parking lot on the main road in the time she stood there, but still she couldn’t shake that watched feeling. The hair was standing up on the back of her neck as she stared out. There were several cars parked in the lot, but no one moving around as far as she could see. All and all, it seemed like a relatively normal night outside.
But still…something felt off.
You’re paranoid, she told herself. Right?
> Forcing herself away from the window, she went back to the stove and filled up the two bowls with the beef stew. She made them a small picnic on the coffee table and was getting a beer for Kaleb when he emerged from the bathroom wearing nothing but a pair of black basketball shorts.
His hair was damp, strands hanging carelessly in his face. Drops of water clung to his smooth skin and she made a fist to keep herself from reaching toward him. Willing herself toward the couch, she took one heavy step in front of another.
Why did he have to be so damn delicious?
“You washed my sheets too?” he asked, but she knew he’d probably already seen his previous sheets folded and put in the linen closet.
“Yeah,” she said as she sat back down on the couch and turned up the volume slightly on the television before patting the spot on the couch next to her. “Come and eat.”
He sat down a few inches from her and picked up the bowl in front of him. “It smells really good.”
“It tastes good too,” she said after swallowing.
When they finished eating, she took their bowls and washed them during a commercial break before grabbing them both another beer and going back to the couch.
“This movie is sad as shit,” he said when Julia Roberts was admitted to the hospital. “How long before it cheers up?”
She laughed. “It doesn't.”
“What? She can’t die at the end.”
“Why can't she?” Beth asked, curious. Had he never seen a chick flick before?
“Because.” Kaleb frowned.
“That’s a stupid answer.”
He groaned. “It’s dumb.”
“It’s not dumb,” she argued. “It’s moving.”
“Moving?” He took a long swallow of the beer she’d handed him. “It’s depressing.”
She tilted her head, observing him. “It’s a movie.”
“I don't like depressing movies. The world sucks enough.”
“Too bad,” she told him. “We’re watching it. And after this PS. I Love You is coming on, and that's my all-time favorite.”
Wild and Untamed (Netherworld Series Book 4) Page 9
