Page 27 of Untouchable

It was a very good bath, and Kelly soaked for a long time, closing her eyes and doing her best to release the tension in her body.

She wasn’t able to relax mentally, but to do what had to be done, she needed to at least take the physical edge off. So the bath was a good idea for more reasons than one.

Eventually she started draining the water. Caleb would be home soon, and she didn’t want to be here when he returned.

That might look too obvious, like she was throwing herself at him. With a man like Caleb, subtlety would be important.

After toweling off, however, she slathered some scented lotion on her skin. Hopefully Caleb would get home soon enough for the fragrance to still be lingering.

She pulled on the thick, white bathrobe and gathered up her clothes. On the spur of the moment, she dropped the tennis bracelet she’d been wearing between the tub and the potted plant.

There was nothing blatantly sexual about the bracelet. It was simply intimate, and hopefully Caleb would find it in his bathroom sometime this evening.

She returned to her room and kept her bathrobe on so she could wait until Caleb returned from work. She’d timed out the trip from his office, estimating how long it would take for him to get through rush hour traffic. Surely he’d be home soon.

She waited. And waited. And waited even more.

The housekeeper came in to offer her dinner, which she ate in her room, brewing with a growing resentment.

Thoughtless ass. Working all evening when he must know she was expecting him to return.

Some gallant host he was.

Finally she was so annoyed by his nonappearance that she changed into her clothes, grabbed her phone, and called a cab to come pick her up.

If she were really here, under the circumstances she was feigning, she might do the same thing. After all, she was better now, and there was no reason for her to hang around here all evening when Caleb failed to contact her or make an appearance.

She’d reached the entrance and was about to demand the guard let her out when the gates opened and Caleb’s car drove through.

He stopped when he saw her and got out.

“What are you doing?” He looked faintly annoyed, like she was an underling who wasn’t cooperating. He was still wearing his suit—he hadn’t even taken off the jacket—but he looked less sleek now. Slightly rumpled. A little tired.

The attitude immediately roused her anger. “I’m leaving. What does it look like?”

“Why?”

“Because there’s no reason for me to stay here.”

“And it didn’t occur to you to at least wait and let me know you were leaving?”

“I didn’t know when you’d be back. For all I know, you work all night long.”

His face changed slightly as he stepped over closer to her. “I got caught in a meeting that went longer than expected.” He gave her a faint smile. “I should have called to let you know I was running late, shouldn’t I?”

Her throat tightened as she realized he thought she was offended or hurt by his lateness. He thought it was funny. Cute.

Like she was some predictablefemale.

Smothering the resentment, she said coolly, “Excuse me. My taxi is here.”

It was. The cab had pulled up as they talked and was waiting beyond the gate. She started to walk toward it but stopped when Caleb reached out to take her arm.

“At least have dinner with me first.”

“I’ve already eaten dinner. Two hours ago.”

He glanced at his watch, evidently just realizing how late it was. He gave her a sheepish, flirtatious smile. “Well, have dessert with me.”