Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

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Callie

The next two weeks don’t go like I expect them to. One, Wyatt hasn’t been very sexual with me at all. Most of the time, whatever happens between us happens overnight or when we just wake up. Both of us waking up entwined around one another is the only time we really touch intimately.

Two, instead of all the stress I was anticipating during my stay I’ve actually really enjoyed the time. We’ve sat around the firepit some evenings, and taken walks close to the house, and Wyatt has made sure I’ve been well-stocked with all the books in my TBR pile.

My wounds are healing well, and I’ve even taken the dressing off a couple of times. I’m not even taking pain meds now. And my wrist is also better than it was, no more brace…most of the time. Now that I’m not as focused on healing, I’ve had time to really think about Wyatt and what he wants from me. If it is just sex, wouldn’t he be pushing me harder? Trying to seduce me or something? Has he already given up and moved on?

He hardly ever leaves me so I can’t figure out how he’s communicating with someone else if he has moved on. And why is he still so attentive to me? Why is he treating me like someone he’s been intimate with, like someone he’s dating?

I look over at him and watch as he types on a laptop. I would wonder if that’s how he’s meeting women, but he never tries to hide it and doesn’t act suspicious at all. I guess if he moved on, he wouldn’t care if I found out or not. I put my book down on the end table and watch him for a long moment before speaking.

“How much longer are we going to be here, Wyatt?”

He looks up from his computer and meets my eyes. “Why do you ask?”

“We can’t stay here forever. People must be missing you, losing their minds that you’ve fallen off the radar. Bruce must be running his butt off trying to make this all seem…okay.”

His eyes skate away from mine causing me to narrow my own.

“People had to know I got shot. My mom and dad? What do they think happened? Why haven’t they gotten in touch with us? What’s the story everyone is being told?”

“We’ve really put a tight lid on the shooting thing. No one actually saw you after you were rushed into the car, most of you was being hidden by me when I picked you up.”

That explains my mom and dad not being worried. “So why are we still here? Why isn’t Bruce calling and raising hell for you to go back to doing…what actors do?”

“Because he was told to put out a statement telling people why I’m currently unavailable.”

“Which is…?”

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath like he knows he’s about to have to do a lot of talking, a lot of explaining. When he opens his eyes, there’s a heat in them that I recognize from before. That heat was there the day he pulled me into his bed, the day he promised to fuck me after I got better.

“What did you tell them, Wyatt?”

“That the recent scare at the award show made me realize what I had and what I had to lose. And it led me to propose to you. We are technically on a trip to celebrate our engagement.”

“What?” His words are so outlandish that they don’t make sense at all, and it takes me a long time to fully comprehend what he just told me. “What did you say? You…we…?”

I jump up out of the chair I was sitting in. My heart is beating so hard I can feel it in my temples and my wound.

“You said we were engaged!? What is wrong with you? What made you think this is okay?”

He stands up too and sets his laptop to the side.

“You need to calm down, Peaches. Getting mad isn’t good for your…”

“Really?! Really?! You know what isn’t good for me…YOU! You aren’t good for me at all! Ever since I met you, I’ve been in one crazy scenario after another. First, you make me your fucking girlfriend and drag me around, somehow getting my brother to agree, then you all make some asshole plan to ‘keep me safe’ without me knowing about it -even going so far as coming into my room and watching me sleep for fuck’s sake. And now this! This is…it’s too far, Wyatt. I can’t believe you would come up with something like this stupid story when I’m shot and trying to recover. Why would you do that to me? Why not just say you needed time to escape because we broke up? Why not make up a hundred other excuses that wouldn’t include you changing the course of my life?”

He moves towards me, and I retreat from him. It’s a move that just increases the tension in the room.

“Why did I tell everyone you belong to me? Because you fucking do! Someone shot you. They need to understand, when they fucked with you, they got me - my ass coming for them, hunting them down. That there is no place on Earth they can go that I won’t run them to ground and destroy them for hurting what’s mine.”

He’s walked me back as far as the bed and I nearly go down as it hits the back of my legs but catch my balance before that can happen. It does me no good because he pushes me back so that I fall on the soft mattress. It’s not really a place I want to be, considering the topic of our conversation.

“You need to understand that too, Peaches. You need to understand I won’t stand for you getting hurt without destroying the person or people who do it. I meant what I said the first day we were here. You are mine and I always take care of what is mine.”

“Wyatt…”

Before I can sit up, he’s pulling my nightshirt up and over my head, leaving me in nothing but my panties.

“Wyatt! What are you doing?!”

“You’ve had time, time to process everything, time to make peace with being mine, time to heal. And Callie…you aren’t taking those damned pain pills anymore, baby. Your little ass is mine.”

“Wyatt...we…” His lips land on mine, taking all the words I was about to say away. Before I could stop myself, I moaned into his mouth and started playing with his tongue like he was playing with mine. He’s the one that pulls away first, but only long enough to kiss down the column of my throat. I take the opportunity to start talking again. “Damn it, Wyatt. You bastard. I can’t think when you start kissing me, you ass.”

His big body starts shaking telling me he finds this funny. His breath comes out to fan across my damp flesh and tickles me. I fight back the hysterical laugh that bubbles up and try to focus on my anger at all his lies. I must hold on to my indignation and anger. I must.

“Wyatt…” my voice ends in a shout as his lips find my hardened nipples and closes around first one and then the other. “Oh my God! What…Wyatt…”

He pops off my breasts, but his hand keeps plucking at my hardened peak. “Don’t you move around too much, baby. I don’t want you reinjuring that wound. If you do, I’ll have to tie you to the bed, sweetheart.”

“How are you going to do that when that will only hurt my arm more?” I’m not sure what makes the words fall out but they’re there. It’s like I can’t help goading him, seeing how far I can push him.

He rears up, looking down at me with a smirk on his face, “Oh baby!”

It’s a warning. One that goes right to my clit making it throb with something very similar to anticipation. And makes me want to find out just how far I can push him.