A Natural Act (Contradictions) (37 page)

She breathes out a sigh of relief. “Don’t think I’ll ever get used to telling him what to do.”

“He’s pretty intimidating,” I agree because I found it hard enough saying no to him. He seems to ooze an atmosphere of control which makes it very hard to disobey him.

“Do you want me to come with you?” She offers.

“I think I’d be appalling company,” I apologise. “I’m probably going to have a soak in the bath and figure out what to do.”

“I’m only a phone call away,” she nods in understanding.

“When this is all over, you and I will have to have a girl’s day. Elise too,” I tell her because I don’t want her to think I don’t want to spend time with her. She’s wonderful.

“I’d like that,” she nods, giving me a hug which I happily return trying hard no to shed a tear or two.

I know that, no matter what happens between Craig and I, I will always be able to come to the Carter family. That’s just what they do.

I just don’t want to consider the option that I’m unable to convince Craig to talk to me, to convince him that I love him more than my next breath, to convince him to accept what’s right in front of him.

“In the car,” Karl surprises me, jangling his keys.

“I thought Ian…” I start, trailing off when he glares at me. “Yes, sir,” I mumble sarcastically. “Bye, Jamie. Save me a cookie?”

“I’ll try,” she cringes. “But they’ll probably fight over the last one.”

I manage a small chuckle. “Well
, make sure you get a few.”

I hug her again before climbing into th
e passenger seat of Karl’s car.

“You’re annoyed with me,” I point out when he slams the driver’s door and belts in.

“Fucking pissed with you,” he bites back, eyes on the road in front of us.

“Why?” I swallow because nobody would want to be on the bad side of this gargantuan man.

“You’re giving up on him,” Karl grunts, gripping the steering wheel with an iron grip.

“No,” I answer automatically.

“Then why are you leaving?” He glances over to me with fury in his eyes.

“Because…” I start but then I trail off because I’m not sure the reason I gave Jamie is the completely true. “Because I said I would leave if he went for a run,” I admit, realising how childish it must sound.

“You gave him an ultimatum and he ignored it,” Karl summarises.

I nod glumly.

“So you’re carrying through.”

Another nod.

“Showing him he can’t walk all over you because you’re stubborn?” Karl smirks.

“Is that bad?” I cringe.

“I fucking love it,” Karl chuckles. “Make him work for it.”

“So I’m forgiven?” I ask hopefully.

“Maybe,” he smirks. “You figured him out yet?”

“No,” I groan. “Every time I think I know who he is and how he ticks, he does something to throw me and refuses to explain it.”

“Like refusing to accept that you’re head over heels in love with him?”

“Exactly like that,” I pout.

“How long had you to known each other before you got together?” Karl asks.

“A few months,” I answer wondering where he’s going with this.

“You think that’s enough to fall in love.”

“Don’t you?” I frown because I’ve seen the way he is with Elise. I know he understands true love.

“Not important. You think Craig does?”

“I thought he did,” I frown. “You think that’s what is holding him back.”

“I think you should think about it,” he replies as he pulls up at the house.

It’s all I can think about now that it’s on my mind. It’s a good point but it doesn’t make any sense. I suspect Karl was
trying to point me in a direction without betraying any confidences.

Why would Craig admit his love for me after such a short time but be adamant my
love for him wasn’t genuine? What was so different about my situation and his that made him so unsure?

The answer is simple because it’s the answer to all the complications in my life thus far.

Nigel.

I’m in the bathtub contemplating my muscular, silent conundrum when I hear the front door open.

I instantly still because the warnings about Nigel having nothing left to lose and a debt to settle are fresh in my mind.

I slide as silently as can from the tub, grabbing the first heavy object I can find to defend myself from the intruder. It just happens to be a heavy glass bowel we had potpourris in.

I’m cursing myself for leaving my phone in the bedroom. I have to go through the lounge to get to it and I’d definitely be seen.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly edge the bathroom door open to see if I can figure a way out of the flat without being seen.

A shadow crosses in front of the fame and I draw back, holding my breath and clutching the glass bowl to my rapidly beating heart.

I figure the shadow was going towards the kitchen and I can just about make a run for the main door in the opposite direction but the decision has to be quick because they might be coming back this way at any second.

Unwilling to find myself back in Nigel’s reach, I take a deep breath and bolt through the door as fast as my bare feet will carry me.

I can see the door in front of me and, for a second, I’m hopeful that I can get there. That is until a large hand grabs my upper arm and yanks me back.

I figure the stupid glass bowl weighed me down and deserves punishing so I twist around and move to bring the huge chunk of glass
down over the attacker’s head.

“Woah,” the sweaty hulk of a man grabs my wrist with his other hand. “Trying to kill me, lady
?”

I gasp breathlessly as my own pulse and adrenaline make a concerted effort to murder me. “Craig!”

“Who else?” He gently lets me go. He seems to realise the answer to his own question and cringes apologetically. “Didn’t mean to scare you,” he mumbles softly.

“Bloody useless job you did then,” I fume at him.

“Bella,” he winces. “You’re-”

“Furious at you!” I interrupt him. “Infuriated beyond belief! About ready to pull my hair out!”

“Well,” he frowns, a small, irritating smirk on his lips. “Was going to say naked, but those are probably equally valid.”

I look down. Of course I’m naked, I just got out of the bath. I was so petrified by the potential intruder that I didn’t notice. Would I really have run out of the flat naked? To avoid Nigel – of course I would.

“So?” I counter petulantly. “Am I not allowed to be naked?” I plant my hands on my hips and pretend I’m happy with what the world gave me.

“Really rather you weren’t,” he grumbles, looking past me to the hallway.

I open my mouth to call him horrible names until I realise that his cock is straining against his zipper in what must be a painful fashion.

“Not really your choice now is it,” I grin because he needs to be punished for his lack of communication and this way – although mortifying – is fun to watch.

“Stubborn woman,” he sighs, looking upwards as if begging the powers that be for strength. He turns and walks to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and knocking it back in one long gulp.

He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and looks at me with dark eyes as he leans against the fridge.

He’s wearing the exact same clothes he was wearing when he left the Carter house to go for a run.

“You didn’t get changed?” I ask, watching the sweat bead down from his neck and over his abs with far too much perverted interest considering I’m still mad at him.

“Ran here,” he shrugs.

“From the house?” I frown. “You left hours ago.”

“Took the scenic route,” he answers. “Need a shower. You done with your bath?”

“I guess so,” I mumble
.

“You okay now?” He comes close, the h
eat of his body warming my own naked flesh.

I nod, nibbling my lower lip because I’m sure he can see the way my nipples have pebbled as my breasts heave with need.

“We'll talk when I smell less like a locker room,” he tells me.

I disagree, he smells good enough to lick but I push that to one side because I think he just agreed to communicate with me.

He avoids looking at me as he disappears into the bathroom. I suspect he’s also trying to avoid the fact that he just promised to communicate with me.

Whilst he takes one of his typically speedy showers, I throw on some hot pant pyjamas and a vest top before making him a protein smoothie and an egg white omelette. He may not be training for competition any more but I know he still eats quite strictly to keep his form.

When he joins me in the lounge, he’s towelled off and changed into a pair of grey lounge shorts. I’m fairly sure there’s nothing under them because I can see the lines of his V, pointing along the line of his treasure trail.

“You left,” he sits down on the sofa, reaching for the smoothie I made him and taking a swig. He moans contentedly as the fruity liquid coats his tongue and grins at me gratefully.

“You ran,” I glare in accusation.

“No, went for a run there’s a difference,” he argues.

“Semantics!” I castigate him. “We needed to talk and you left. So I left.”

“Needed to clear my head, lady. Needed to figure out what to do,” he murmurs, taking my hand in his.

“You need to talk to me,” I squeeze back because as irritated as I am with him, I crave his touch.

“You needed me to talk,” he answers bluntly. “Couldn’t have given you t
he answers you needed until I got my head straight.”

“Can you now?” I ask cautiously.

“I don’t know,” he admits with a tired sigh, using his other hand to rub his close shaven scalp. “I’ve run more kilometres than I care to think about and I still don’t know what to tell you.”

I purse my lips because it feels like we’re going to go around in circles again.

“I love you,” he looks up at me, his eyes so wide and earnest that it melts my heart.

“I love
you
,” I answer, clambering onto his lap because – if he’s going to reject me – I need to be held.

“I know,” Craig sighs. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” I recoil. Why is he sorry? Is he sorry that it took him so long to acknowledge my feelings, to give them some validity? Is he sorry that rejected the only gift I had to give? Is he sorry for refusing to talk to me about it until now? I want to kiss and kick my frustrating, multi-layered doctor.

“Sorry you fell in love with me,” he nods.

“What?” I recoil, placing my hands on his bare chest to get some distance. “Why?”

“Because you didn’t ever want to belong to anybody and now your heart, body
, and mind are mine. I promised to keep you from that.”

“Craig,” I sigh, shaking my head in despair. “I may have said that but it was because I didn’t know any better. Belonging to Nigel left me as property, an object with no rights.

Belonging to you leaves me cherished and cared for. It brings colour to my cheeks and tingles to my core. Best of all, I may belong to you, but you belong to me in exchange.”

In an instant, his hands are tangled in my hair, my face pulled into his as our lips meld together in a breathless, fiery embrace.

He kisses me as though he’s starved and my kiss is his nourishment. His lips are an apology and a promise. A promise that he is indeed and always will be mine.

My doctor.

“Thought it was too soon for you,” he mumbles apologetically.

“Yet you thought
you
had plenty of time for you to fall in love with me?”

“You’re right. I’m an idiot,” he grins sheepishly.

“My idiot,” I tell him, gently massaging his neck with my fingers.

“Yours,” he nods. “Am I forgiven?”

“No,” I giggle.

“No?” He looks surprised.

“It took you months to get to this point, Craig. It’s going to take you months to make it up to me.”

“Seriously,
woman?”

“Very seriously,” I nod, pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose and enjoying the way he pouts like a little boy. “Cups of tea, foot rubs…” I start counting things off on my fingers.

“I do all that for you anyway,” he grumbles, locking his hands onto my waist.

“True,” I pretend to be thinking hard. “There is one thing,” I grin.

“Oh?” His eyes light up hopefully.

“Orgasms,” I answer defiantly.

“Orgasms?” He raises an eyebrow, his boyish smile spreading over his face.

I nod. “And lots of them.”

“That I can do,” his eyes light up, his hands already working their way up to my breasts.

“All night long.”

“Not tonight though,” I pull away, putting my hands over his to stop their gentle teasing.

I hate having to stop him but I don’t have a choice this time.

“Woman,” he growls in warning. “Need to feel you.”

“Me too,” I reassure him with a pout. “But I called Carla.”

“You did what?” He narrows his eyes, giving my nipples a playful tweak which I suspect was meant to reflect his irritation but actually just made me want to mount him and drive myself onto him.

“Stop looking at me like that,” he warns, putting his hand over my eyes. “Why did you call Carla?”

“Because I was mad at you,” I accuse. “Because I needed to talk to someone about it and I didn’t want to bad mouth you to your own sister.”

“So you picked Carla?” He groans.
“She already hates me.”

“She doesn’t hate you,” I chuckle. “She’s mad at you. You seem to do that to most of the women in your life.”

“She’ll kill me,” he laughs, cupping his package with his hands.

“You’re a big bad fighter, you can handle her,” I press
a kiss to his nose.

“Barely,” he grumbles. “She’s coming over?”

I nod. “We said we’d eat ice cream and mock the fact that your abs aren’t even.”

“Not even?” He glances down, poking his stomach. “These things are a pinnacle of human perfection.”

I shake my head teasingly. “These ones are higher than those ones.”

“
Are you crazy?” He eyes me like I’ve grown a second head. “These are perfect.”

“If you say so, dear,” I coo with a hint of condescension.

He grabs my hand and presses it to his abs, tensing his stomach full force. “Telling me you don’t like this?” He growls, his face close enough to mine that I can feel his warm breath against my face.

Of course, I can also feel the solid lumps of heat which form his admittedly lickable abs. He doesn’t need to know about the need for me to run my tongue along their grooves though.

I’m saved by the bell quite literally as the doorbell sounds.

“I’ll get it,” he winks.

I grin and watch as he goes to the door, cupping his package protectively in apprehension of the pixie-like powerful explosion on the other side of that door.

“Cordi,” Craig greets as he opens the door.

I instantly see a tiny fist hit him in the stomach.

“Carla!”
I yell out, cringing because she’s hitting my boyfriend.

“Sorry, doll,” she pokes her head through the door. “But this asshole deserves it.”

“I do,” Craig nods, non-too phased by the blow.

“I don’t like it,” I tell her meaningfully.

“Noted,” Carla apologises. “I’ll kick his ass on the mats next time.” She knows the idea of them sparring at the gym is much less repulsive to me than the idea of violence between them in this fashion.

Carla moves Craig out the way and comes over to hug me. “What’s he doing here?” She whispers.

“He ran here,” I explain. “What’s
he
doing here?” I pass the question back to her as I see Tucker follow her in, eyeing Craig in that slightly cautious way many men outside his family seem to do.

“He insisted we came along after we close up the bar,” Carla grins. “Figured if Carter was being an asshole, you could at least give Tucker a chance.”

She knows I have no feelings towards Tucker other than friendship. More importantly, she knows how I feel about Craig, which is why I know she’s just trying to push his buttons.

“He can try,” Craig mumbled, heading into the kitchen to make us all a cup of tea.

“Cocky bastard, isn’t he?” Tucker wraps his arm around my shoulder as we head into the lounge.

“You could say that,” I chuckle.

“It’s not being cocky if you actually are amazing,” Craig shouts in, following in the family eavesdropping footsteps.

“I’m going to kill him,” Carla mumbles, smashing her tiny fist into her palm.

“You can try,” he calls out.

“Let’s just pretend he’s not there,” I suggest upon seeing Carla turn slightly red.

“What are you wearing for our date?” Tucker accosts me.