Fight or Flight

Tears pricked my eyes as my heart filled with too much emotion, too much need and love. And guilt. “And I mentioned Leo the first night we were together again.”

“You didn’t know. Hell, I didn’t even know really. I just knew I wanted tae tear off his head and I didn’t even know him.” He lifted a hand from beside my head and followed it with his eyes as he trailed his fingertips down my collarbone, across my naked breast, and down my ribs. I sucked in a breath as desire flushed through me. “All I knew was that the thought of any other man touching you drove me crazy. Still does.” His eyes came back to mine. “You’re the first person I’ve ever wanted tae belong tae, Ava. The first person I ever wanted tae belong tae me.”

“I never thought I’d ever want that,” I admitted on a hitched breath. “But you have a habit of changing my perspective.”

He stared down into my eyes, his fierce with love and mine reflecting the intense emotion back at him.

I’d never felt more cherished, more loved, more wanted or needed as Caleb made gentle, sweet love to me that morning.

We kissed, sweet, luscious kisses that made me feel drowsy and satisfied, and then Caleb lifted his head from my lips and said, voice hoarse with vehemence, “I love you, Ava Breevort.”

I tightened my hold on him, anchored to him.

Safe with him.

Home with him.

“I love you too, Caleb Scott.”

This time his kiss was more savage, needful, and when he eventually broke it, he nuzzled his lips against my neck, rolling so I was lying sprawled across the top of him. We lay in sweet silence for a while. A silence he ended when he whispered, “You’re right.”

“About what?”

“You make it easier tae feel it every day.”

I held on to him tighter and was just dozing off when his body jerked beneath me. “What is it?” I raised my head to stare at him in concern.

He was frowning. “What time is it?”

“I don’t know. Why?” I clambered off him to reach over to the nightstand where my phone was charging. I flipped it open. “Just past ten fifteen.” I glanced back at him, watching curiously as he relaxed against the pillows.

He reached out to me. “That’s fine. Come back.”

I did, but as I crawled over him, I asked, “Why?”

“I forgot, I have a Skype call with the family at two o’clock.”

“Oh, you’ve got plenty of time,” I assured him.

“They’re looking forward tae meeting you.”

I tensed, my voice involuntarily high-pitched as I replied, “Today?”

His arms tightened around me. “That a problem?”

Glaring at him incredulously, I didn’t see any concern etched between his brows. “You could give a girl some warning.”

“You dinnae want tae meet them?”

“Of course I do!” I slapped his chest. “But meeting your family is a big deal and I haven’t even—Look at my hair!”

Relief flooded his features and he began to shake with laughter. “You have plenty of time tae do your hair, wee yin.”

A thought occurred to me and I sat up, still straddling him. “Maybe I shouldn’t. I don’t want them to think I’m like your ex the way Jamie did. He said we both had that shiny, polished look. Maybe I should leave off the makeup and not style my hair so they don’t think—” The rest of my sentence was muffled against his big hand clamped over my mouth.

He didn’t look amused anymore. “You’ll wear what you want. You’ll be Ava and no one else for them. I’ve already told them loads about you and they’re happy you make me happy. That’s all they care about.”

I slumped against his hold and he released my mouth. “You’re sure? I want them to like me.”

He gripped my waist and gave it a squeeze. “I love that you care so much about them liking you, but I dinnae want you working yourself into a worry about it. My family will love you but all that matters is that I love you and you love me. Right?”

And just like that I melted and my anxiety momentarily fled. “Right.”

“And you already know Jamie likes you. That’s one down.”

I did know that. Jamie had made it clear over the last few weeks that he was grateful to me for making Caleb happy again. For giving him back hope for the future. Funnily enough, however, now that Caleb’s simmering anger had abated, I saw clearly for the first time that the similarity I’d noted between the two brothers had nothing to do with physical appearance really.

They both had this underlying bitterness in their ice blue eyes.

“He doesn’t seem happy,” I whispered all of a sudden.

Caleb’s grip on me tightened in response. “Quinn,” he replied, his voice like sandpaper against the name. “He was Jamie’s twin. Jamie was in the car with him when Quinn lost control of the car.”

His words pierced my heart and suddenly that bitterness in Jamie’s eyes made so much sense.

Although Caleb would never truly get over what Carissa did—and it hurt that I couldn’t repair that damage—the bitterness in his eyes had dissipated. Every day it got chipped away at by our love. Sound cheesy? Maybe. But it was beautiful and it was true.

Jamie’s bitterness, however, was still there and now I knew why. “I wish there was something we could do for him,” I said, heart aching for his brother.

“Well … we can only hope one day he meets his Ava.”

Love broke through the empathetic ache in my chest. I was no longer astonished by Caleb’s romantic side. He showed me it more and more each day—the man he had been before Carissa. The man he was becoming again. “We’re staying in this bed until one o’clock.” I kissed him, pressing my lower body to his.

“Again?”

I kissed along his jaw, his stubble prickling and tickling my lips. “I’m going to wring you dry, Caleb Scott,” I purred, biting his earlobe.

“Do with me what you will, wee yin.” He wrapped his arms tight around me, binding me to him as he whispered in my ear, “Every inch of me is yours.”