Page 108 of Untouchable

She rolled her eyes. “I never wear my hair like this. You just want me to go to this party looking well and thoroughly fucked so people will think you’re a real stud.”

He didn’t object to the sentiment. Instead, he walked over to open a drawer of his nightstand and he pulled out a box.

“What’s that?” she asked as he carried it over to her.

She really had no idea, but it looked about the right size for a necklace or maybe a bracelet.

Caleb handed it to her. “This is for you.”

Drawing her brows together, she accepted the box and opened the top. Inside was an oval pendant on a platinum chain. The pendant was a polished stone, made of deep, compelling swirls of gray and silver.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed. “You got this for me? Why?”

He gave a half shrug. “Because I wanted to.” He lifted it out of the box and moved to place it around her neck, moving aside her hair so he could clasp the chain. “Do you like it?”

She raised one hand to the pendant, surprised and touched and confused. “I love it. Thank you so much.”

“I wanted you to have something that I gave you.”

“And now I do.” She stared at the pendant in the mirror, telling herself that Caleb was so rich that the cost of this necklace would be trivial to him. It was just a little thing. Not meaningful at all.

It felt meaningful to her though.

Caleb was watching her face closely, and she smiled at him. “You must still be feeling like a caveman, wanting to place your brand on me.”

He laughed and kissed her, and they fell back into their normal interaction as she went to clean up a little and pull her dress back on.

Kelly liked feeling this way. She liked being this person. A woman who might get fucked over a dresser on the way to a party. Simply because they wanted each other so much.

She stared at herself in the mirror and wondered if she could ever be that person for real.

Not long afterward, they were ready to leave. Kelly was wearing the red dress. Her face was still a little dewier than she preferred since she hadn’t redone her makeup. And her hair was loose, falling in tousled, messy waves, all the way down her back.

Caleb was looking very pleased with himself.

22

The cocktail partywas an engagement celebration for an acquaintance of Caleb’s. Evidently the man was big in the local business scene, so the guest list included quite a few important and influential people. It was being held in a nineteenth-century mansion that had been converted to an upscale event venue, and Kelly had a hard time even beginning to estimate the price tag for this evening’s festivities.

Only in the past couple of weeks had Kelly started going out in public with Caleb as his girlfriend, so she was slightly self-conscious as they circled the ornate ballroom. The Watsons had been wealthy by most people’s standards, but they hadn’t been anywhere close to this league.

Her dress wasn’t cheap, but it was off the rack, which wasn’t true of most of the evening gowns she saw. And her only piece of expensive jewelry was the pendant at her neck. She could feel the weight of it as she moved. As if it were Caleb pressing against her skin.

She stayed mostly quiet, drinking the excellent champagne and letting Caleb take the lead as they circled. He worked the room like it was a battlefield, a thing to be conquered. She triedto keep the perspective she needed by reminding herself how fake it all was—how fake Caleb was as he schmoozed all these important people—but he really was impressive, and it was hard not to recognize that. He charmed the women and created bonds with the men and generally made sure everyone he encountered had a favorable impression of him.

“What are you thinking?” he asked her in a low voice as they moved on from someone who was evidently a former UN ambassador.

Letting him guide her to a quiet corner of the room, Kelly smiled up at him. “I was trying to keep up with everyone’s names.”

“That might be true, but it’s not all you were thinking about.” He eased closer to her, his eyes holding hers with that magnetic gaze that was so hard to resist. “What are you thinking about me?”

“What makes you think I’m thinking about you?” She kept her smile flirtatious, but it was deeply troubling that he could read her so easily, that he’d been able to see the direction of her thoughts from the expression on her face. She was playing a dangerous game here, and it was so hard to beonall the time. She was so tired of always being careful, always leading conversations the way she wanted them to go so she could get the information she needed, always guarding every expression of her face and nuance of her voice. She was getting so tired of all of it.

She took another swallow of champagne, starting to feel the relaxing buzz from the alcohol. She was on her third glass, and she better stop with this one. Being relaxed was good—was necessary—but being too relaxed would be a mistake.

“You keep watching me.” His smile was intimate beneath the characteristic cool smugness. He reached to run a hand downher hair, which was still loose and tousled from before. “I think it’s because you can still feel me inside you.”

Shecouldstill feel him inside her, and she was very aware that she probably looked like she’d just been tumbled in the back room. Her pussy gave a little clench at his sexy tone, but she shook her head. “Maybe you should dial back the confidence a little.”