Page 141 of Untouchable

Wes snorted. “Nice. She’s good at deflection. I’ll give her that. But there’s something weird about her past. It’s too well hidden.”

Caleb’s whole body tightened like a fist. “Have you been investigating her?”

There was a moment of silence. Then, “Why would I bother investigating some random chick you happen to be screwing?”

Caleb took a breath. Controlled the surge of resentment at this reference to Kelly. “I don’t know why. But you’ve been overly curious about her. And you’ve been asking too many questions.”

“Of course I’ve been asking questions about her. She’s like this gorgeous, unsolved puzzle. Any man would be curious about her.”

“What the hell are you thinking?”

“You know me, Caleb. I have many, many thoughts. And no man in his right mind wouldn’t have X-rated thoughts about Kelly. Just her hair alone makes me want to?—”

“Do not finish that sentence.” Caleb’s hand was clenched, and he stared down at his whitening knuckles. He knew Wes was doing it on purpose. Trying to rile him up so he would reveal something.

“Why should you get all the best girls?”

Caleb knew Wes wasn’t being serious. Until the past couple of months, they hadn’t spoken in more than a year, but they would always be friends, and Wes would never poach on his territory. “Well, you’re welcome to make a play for her if you’d like,” Caleb said drily, feeling more like himself when the primal instincts had settled back down. “But I don’t know why you would since you’re convinced she’s up to no good.”

There was a slow exhale on the line. “It’s not that I assume she’s up to no good. But she’s hiding something, and it’s not just the normal kinds of things that women hide. My instincts tell me there’s a secret here, and I’m still half-convinced I’ve seen hersomewhere before. So, yes, it has occurred to me that she might be after something other than the obvious with you.”

Caleb didn’t like that clench in his gut as his friend’s words confirmed his own belief that Kelly was hiding something. “The obvious?”

“The obvious reason women go after you is that you’re rich and powerful.”

Caleb bristled again. Spoke without thinking. “Because no woman could ever actually want me for me.” He practically bit his tongue trying to hold the thoughtless words back, but they were spoken before he realized it.

What the hell was wrong with him? This kind of vulnerability wasn’t like him. It had never been like him before.

Before Kelly.

This time there was a very long stretch of silence on the other end of the call. Then a softly spoken “Damn!”

And Caleb knew he’d given something away. Something important. Something he couldn’t even admit to himself.

Covering his brief vulnerability, Caleb gritted out, “Is there something you wanted to say?”

“No.” The answer came quickly, the matter-of-fact tone shifting the tense, awkward mood. “But she’s hiding something. She puts on a good show of being innocent and sincere. But there’s something about her. The way she looks at you, the way she moves, it’s like…”

“Like what?” Caleb asked frigidly.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know how to explain it. I’m just sure there’s something off about her, about the situation. If you weren’t in so deep with her, you’d be able to see it too.”

“I’m not in too deep. I know what I’m doing.”

He didn’t really know what he was doing. He’d never been in love before, so everything with Kelly was brand-new.

He was like a boy fumbling around in the dark, trying desperately to figure out the next move.

He wanted it to be right. He needed it to be right. Because if he did the wrong thing, he might risk losing what he had with Kelly.

And that was something he couldn’t allow.

That evening Caleb was buried in Kelly, as deep as he could get.

It wasn’t deep enough.

He couldn’t seem to get enough of her. They’d moved into his bedroom more than an hour ago. The kissing and foreplay had gone on a long time—much longer than he was used to. And now his cock was sliding inside her, surrounded by her tight, wet heat. Her legs were wrapped around his middle, her heels digging almost painfully into the small of his back. And it felt like he was drowning in her, felt like he’d never pull out.