Page 73 of Untouchable

Kelly sucked in an angry breath. “You’re the one acting like a sulky little boy who got caught hiding his best toy. I don’t givea fuck what’s behind that bookcase, and how the hell would I be able to access it even if I did? And the next time you speak to me in that condescending way, I’ll be out the door and you’ll never see me again. I don’t put up with that—from anyone.”

She was panting now and boiling with resentment and annoyance. She wanted to claw the cold arrogance off Caleb’s face for good. Sometimes it was like he was two separate men—the lover and the bastard—and it was far too easy to forget that the bastard existed, when the lover was so much of what she wanted.

His mouth opened as if he would say something, but Kelly decided she didn’t even want to hear it.

She whirled around and walked away from the office, not even remembering what she’d come there for.

Several hours later, Kelly was lying in the dark in bed.

She wondered if Caleb was going to come to her, the way he’d gotten into the habit of doing.

Their argument had been stupid—the kind of thing that normal couples fell into all the time. But it worried Kelly a lot. She was on very thin ice here, and any misstep could lead Caleb to give up on her completely. They had no commitment. Nothing even close to a commitment. She was here only because Caleb wanted her to be, and as soon as that changed, any hope she had of getting more information to prove his guilt would be gone. There were still things she wanted to try—gaining access to his office at work, catching him in a weak moment and gently encouraging him to drop some clues. She needed more time to really make this work.

They’d eaten dinner together, but conversation had been minimal and stilted, both of them still bad-tempered. Afterward, Kelly had taken a bath and gone to bed early.

She wasn’t asleep yet though. Her mind was whirring and she couldn’t settle down.

The sex was getting harder and harder.

And better and better.

She reminded herself for the thousandth time that the better the sex was for her, for them, the more he would be deceived.

As long as his investigations into her past didn’t turn up anything about her biological parents, which was unlikely because her mother had buried the records so well, then Kelly still had time to succeed. She just needed to move faster. Take more risks. Find out the truth. Make Caleb pay.And be done with this for good.

She couldn’t even imagine a life after it was over.

She’d been lying in the dark for a couple of hours when Caleb finally came into the room. Her back was toward the door, but she could feel him staring at her anyway.

He must have realized she was still awake because he asked, “Are you still mad at me?”

She turned over and frowned in his direction. “You haven’t given me any reason not to be.”

Caleb’s figure was looming and shaded in the dark room. “I’m sorry I was rude to you. You took me by surprise, and I never react well to that.”

“That’s for sure,” she muttered under her breath.

Evidently Caleb heard her. He huffed out a breathy laugh as he started to get undressed. “Does that mean I’m forgiven?”

“I suppose.” While she’d been genuinely annoyed with his behavior, she also knew it wouldn’t be strategic to hold on to her indignation for too long. After all, she had certain things sheneeded to accomplish. “I really wasn’t trying to sneak around or anything.”

“I know.” When he’d taken off his clothes, he got under the covers with her and propped his head up on one arm and gazed down at her. “As you said, if you were really trying to spy on me, you’d be a lot more subtle than that.”

That was coming very close to the truth, sending flickers of anxiety through Kelly’s gut, but she managed to laugh in response. “Damn right, I would. I’m glad you have an appropriate appreciation for my competence in covert activities.”

Caleb leaned down until his lips were brushing over hers. “I have an appropriate appreciation for your competence in all kinds of activities.”

Kelly smiled against his lips. “Hmm. I think that was an attempt to seduce me.”

Moving over her, he kissed her full on the mouth, which caused Kelly to reflexively dig her fingers into his shoulders. “Did it work,” he murmured.

“It wasn’t the best attempt at seduction I’ve ever had,” she replied huskily, able to think clearer now that he’d pulled out of the kiss. She brushed her fingers through his hair. “But I’m willing to give you extra points for effort.”

He chuckled and kissed her again, then he slowly caressed her body, teasing and fondling her until she was squirming and aroused. After reaching for a condom from the nightstand and rolling it on, he positioned himself between her legs, pushed up her nightgown until it was bunched around her waist, and took her in one leisurely, fluid stroke.

They moved together rhythmically. Then urgently. Until she was coming with a thick exhale and helpless shudders of her body.

He came soon after she did, breathing out “Blossom” as he did.