Page 84 of Untouchable

She could feel the understanding as it eased through Caleb’s body, relaxing some of the unbearable tension. “Kelly.”

Burying her face in his shirt, she mumbled, “I can’t do it again.”

After a moment, he seemed to have controlled whatever he was feeling, and he loosened his arms slightly and lifted her head so he could see her face. “I’m not like him, Kelly. I’m not like that bastard.”

The bastard might be fictional, but everything about this conversation was real. Because Calebwaslike him, at least in some ways. He could be a dangerous, ruthless bastard too.

“I know,” she said hoarsely, trying to pull herself together. “I know you’re not.”

“But you really think I am. You think I’m that kind of a monster.” It sounded like the idea really bothered him.

“Are you saying you didn’t ask your security to report on my activities? Are you saying you don’t try to control everyone around you? Are you saying you haven’t crossed lines, taken certain shortcuts, even when it meant hurting other people? Are you saying you didn’t extort some poor father by threatening his daughter’s scholarship, just to get a signature on a contract? Are you saying you haven’t done other things you can never admit to, that you hide away in the dark?” Her words got more and more passionate as the questions got increasingly closer to the deepest truth.

Caleb’s face twisted. “Yes. I’ve done all those things. I’m not a good man. You must have known that from the beginning. But I’m not like him. I’m not. There’s more in me than that. I can change the things you need me to change.” He reached to take her head in both his hands, holding it like it was precious. “I’m not like him, Blossom. I promise I’m not. I want to be with you for real. I want to be with you completely. I’m falling for you too.”

Her heart came alive at the words. She wanted so much to hear them said. She swayed toward him.

He leaned down, like he would kiss her, his face full of feeling and passion and a genuine need she’d never seen there before.

But then he pulled back, a question reflected in his eyes. “So who was the guy you met this afternoon, and why were you sneaking around to meet him?”

This was Caleb Marshall, and even if he had real feelings, he would never be anyone’s fool.

She cleared her throat and stepped back, wiping a stray tear from her eyes. “He’s a private investigator.”

She didn’t have much time to think it through, but it would be better to tell him the truth. If he somehow found out Jack’s identity on his own, she didn’t want to be caught in such a small lie.

“Why are you working with an investigator?”

“He was helping me with… with my problem.”

Caleb’s face relaxed.

“Did he have any information for you?”

“Not enough to act on.”

“If you wanted a professional investigator, then why didn’t you just ask me? I could have?—”

For some reason, his characteristic tone—intelligent, impatient, slightly arrogant—made her so mad her teeth almost snapped. She forgot about strategy and interrupted. “It doesn’t matter what you could have done. This is my thing, and I was dealing with it on my own.”

He frowned in surprise and annoyance. “I don’t care if it’s your thing. You know perfectly well why I want to help, and it’s silly not to let me?—”

“I don’t care if it’s silly or not. If I want your help, I’ll ask for it.”

“Okay then,” he said in a cool, clipped tone. “So why did you have to sneak off to meet with the guy.”

“Because I know how you are. Because I knew you’d do exactly this.”

“Do what exactly?” He was walking toward her as she was backing away, until her back connected to the wall next to the dresser.

“Dothis! Be all Caleb Marshall, the boss of everyone. Act like you deserve answers. I don’t care if there are some feelings between us. We’re not in a committed relationship here, and I don’t owe you anything.”

He was angry again now, but coolly so, totally in control. His eyes narrowed as he leaned into her. “What you do or don’t owe me is irrelevant. You’ve got to be crazy if you think I’m just going to let you walk out of here, especially if you’re in danger.”

“Well, you’re going to have to. Because I’m not willing to surrender everything to you yet.”

He leaned even closer, his eyes hot and cool at the same time, utterly mesmerizing. “What if I want you to surrender everything to me?”