Beyond Broken (The Bay Boys #3) (17 page)

She followed him up the stairs to his office, her heels clicking on the metal, every step tightening his body, putting him even more on edge.
 
Caleb held the door open for her and she brushed past him inside, setting her purse down next to her workstation.

For the first time, Caleb noticed a change in the office.
 
It was the smell.
 
Instead of old cigarette smoke and the constantly diminishing smell of his uncle’s aftershave, there was an underlying scent that was undeniably
Maddie
.
 
For some reason, the knowledge rocked him, like she was slowly weaving herself into his life, like little seeds sprouting roots.

Dumbstruck, he let the door close behind him with a loud bang and Maddie eyed him, facing him fully.

“Look,” she started, taking a deep breath, “I already know what you’re going to say, so I’ll just save you the trouble.
 
I’m just going to completely forget about last night.”

Caleb stilled.
 
Whatever he thought she’d say,
that
hadn’t been it.

“It never happened, as far as I’m concerned and it was such a…an odd mistake.
 
I can assure you that it won’t happen again.
 
So no need to yell at me, or tell me that I shouldn’t expect anything from you, because quite frankly, I don’t.
 
So, now that we’ve gotten that taken care of, I can handle things from here.
 
You can go back downstairs if you’re busy.”

What the fuck?
 
Was
she
excusing
him
?

As Caleb’s mind scrambled to play catch up, he had the strongest notion that he should be offended.
 
What she said was, most likely, exactly what Caleb would’ve said, but she thought that what happened last night was an
odd
fucking
mistake
?
 
And was he really that predictable to her?

His hands clenched at his sides but he didn’t move a single inch.

And why did it irritate the hell out of him that she
didn’t
expect anything from him?
 
Because he was completely fucked in the head, that’s why.
 
She’d said everything that he’d thought he wanted her to understand.
 
So why did he feel defeated instead of relieved?

It was like a slap across the face.
 
And, he realized with dawning dismay that, once again, Maddie had gotten a leg up on him.
 
It was a power play.
 
She knew what he’d say so she threw the words back in his face before he could even open his mouth.

There was one thing that Caleb wouldn’t allow and that was feeling powerless when it came to women.
 
He knew of one way to immediately remedy it, a crazy idea, but one that his mind latched onto before he could think of another alternative.

Before Maddie could say another word, Caleb took a few steps towards her, ignoring the way her eyes widened in confusion, grabbed her behind the neck, and kissed her.

A surprised, muffled sound came from Maddie right before Caleb’s tongue swept inside, stroking her, almost groaning at how good she felt.
 
She stood stiff with shock against him, but after Caleb nibbled on her bottom lip, she softened.
 
Caleb would’ve grinned, if he wasn’t too busy exploring every inch of her mouth, savoring it.

She didn’t clutch at him, like he half expected her to, and a small part of him was glad.
 
As though she remembered the night before, when he’d placed her hands against the cold wall of the building, Maddie kept her hands firmly clasped at her sides.
 
A thought entered his mind and shook him.
 
What would it be like to feel her hands in his hair, running down his chest, raking down his back?
 
Caleb almost shuddered at the image, his cock pulsing in his jeans.

When Caleb pulled away, their breaths were labored.
 
Maddie’s cheeks were flushed, her lips red, whisker burn on her face since Caleb hadn’t shaved in a couple days.
 
The look of her did things to him, made him want things he couldn’t have.

He had to remind himself why he’d kissed her in the first place, but the excuse felt so hollow in his chest now, especially since all he wanted was to drag her against his body again and stay in the office all night.

Distance
, his mind screamed.
 
Too close, too close
.

His voice was gravelly and rough when he spoke.
 
“You do like to be kissed, don’t you, princess?”

Maddie blinked, trying to make sense of his words.
 
A masculine smugness filled him.
 
The knowledge that he’d kissed her senseless made him feel high.

“Damn, I could kiss you all day long,” he whispered, staring down at her lips.
 
When she leaned in towards him, he pulled his head back an inch, his eyes snapping up to hers.
 
“But let’s not forget who’s in charge here.”

With that, he stepped away.
 
She had a smudge of grease on the delicate flesh of her neck, where he’d grabbed her.
 
The sight of it equally disturbed and enthralled him.
 
It was primitive, the thought that he’d marked her in some way.
 
But it was also something that didn’t belong on her skin.
 
It was too dark, too filthy.
 
It belonged in Caleb’s world, not hers.

He saw the moment when she realized she’d been played.
 
An understanding made her blush, but what fascinated him even more was the stubbornness that rose right along with it.

“You’re playing games,” she accused him, her lips still reddened from his kiss.

“Yes,” he said.
 
“And I play them very well.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” she said, placing her hands on her hips.
 
It made him want to kiss all the feistiness out of her.
 
“But you underestimate me, like always.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” he said, repeating her words with a smirk.
 
She made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat, almost like a growl.
 
“Claws coming out, princess?”

“Maybe.”

“Good,” he said, turning from her and opening the door.
 
He still had to finish up Brian’s work.
 
“On occasion, I may even let you get a scratch in.”

A sudden, strange calmness settled over her face, making it impossible to read her yet again.
 
Caleb frowned.

“No need,” she said, almost nonchalantly, turning towards her workstation and booting up the laptop.
 
“I think I already did.”

Her words sunk in.
 
And on his way out, Caleb slammed the door with more force than necessary.

But when he resumed his work in the garage, he couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of his kiss-stung lips.

Maddie - 1

Caleb - 0

Let the games begin
, he thought.

SIXTEEN

All Caleb did was grunt when she greeted him late Saturday afternoon.
 
Maddie hadn’t been quite sure what to expect but his mood didn’t surprise her.
 
The man had more mood swings than a woman going through menopause.

Then in the corner of the office, nearest his desk, she saw a wadded up jacket and an old grey blanket.
 
Maddie frowned.
 
Had he slept here again?
 
She didn’t know why the sight of his makeshift bed bothered her so much.

Before she realized it, she asked, “Did you stay here again last night?”

Caleb scowled.
 
And that was the only answer she needed.

“You should at least get a good pillow,” she found herself saying when all her mind was telling her was to
shut the hell up
.

Caleb leveled her with a dark look, like he couldn’t believe she actually had the nerve to lecture him on pillows of all things.

He might not appreciate her concern, but he caught her looking at him massage the back of his neck about an hour later.
 
The look he gave her
dared
her to say something, but Maddie wisely kept her big mouth shut.

Another hour after that, she leaned back in her chair with a contented sigh and stretched out her hands.
 
“That’s 2012 done,” she murmured.
 
Just two years and 11 months more to go until this office was officially organized.
 
She didn’t know how John Montgomery had survived tax season for as long as he did with no audit in sight, but Maddie was almost impressed.

“Good,” Caleb said.
 
“Get started on 2013.”

Maddie looked at the time.
 
It was a half hour to six and she needed to be on her way home.
 
She had a date to get ready for and she still wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

“Aren’t you going out with your friends tonight?”

“Yes.”

“Well, don’t you want to get ready?”

Caleb gave her a smirk from across the office and Maddie was torn between wanting to slap it off his face or kissing those surprisingly soft lips again.

“Why don’t you just ask me if you can leave, princess?”

Maddie almost rolled her eyes.
 
He’d remembered her plans for the night.
 
He knew she had somewhere to be and yet again he was dangling it over her head with an imaginary fishing pole.
 
“I could just walk out.”

“I could just magically lose one of your gift cards.”

Maddie forced a smile.
 
“Oh, I didn’t know you liked Sephora.
 
By all means, go ahead.
 
I’ll go to bed smiling tonight knowing I helped you buy a new shade of lipstick that really compliments your skin tone.”

His jaw ticked, but Maddie thought he looked almost amused, not irritated.
 
“Get started on 2013.”

Maddie stood up from her chair after she saved her work and shut down the laptop.
 
“I have somewhere I need to be.”

“Oh, like on your
date
?” Caleb sneered and if Maddie didn’t know any better she’d say he was jealous.
 
But this was Caleb Montgomery they were talking about and the thought of him getting jealous over her date was so ridiculous she didn’t even entertain it, no matter how much a part of her secretly wanted it to be true.

“Yes, actually.
 
Unlike you, I can’t just put on a new t-shirt and call it a day.
 
There’s a
process
.”

“Enlighten me.”

“Do you know how long it takes women to get ready for dates?” she asked, rounding her work station to grab her jacket sprawled out on one of the filing boxes.
 
She shrugged into it just as Caleb stood.
 
“
Hours
.”

“You look fine,” he replied, his voice verging on reluctance.

Maddie paused as she bent down to retrieve her purse.
 
“What?”
 
Did Caleb Montgomery just say she looked ‘fine’?
 
Was the world ending?

“Nothing,” he said, another scowl settling onto his features.
 
Not like it ever really left…

“If that’s your version of a compliment, I’ll take it.
 
Why, Caleb, I don’t think you’ve ever said anything nicer to me than saying I looked ‘fine,’” she teased.
 
“I better prick my ego to let some air out or my head won’t fit through the door.”

Caleb rolled his eyes.
 
“You can stay another hour before getting ready for your
date
.”

“Why do you keep saying it like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you just stepped in something gross and it won’t come off the bottom of your shoe.”

“He’s probably a prick,” he grumbled.
 
“You shouldn’t waste your time.”

“And now
you’re
giving
me
dating advice?
 
When was the last time you went out on a date?”

Caleb raised his brows in that arrogant way that told her something along the lines of
I don’t need to date because have you seen me
?

Maddie silently, begrudgingly agreed.
 
Besides, she couldn’t even picture Caleb out on a date.
 
The thought of him in a nice button-up, wining and dining some girl was simply ludicrous.
 
What she didn’t like was the sharp, unexpected stab of jealousy that went right along with that image.

She was going crazy.

“I’m leaving,” she declared, as if saying it out loud would make it true and propel her out the door.
 
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

But Caleb pushed the door closed, his body suddenly close and scalding hot against her own.
 
Maddie stared at the dull, cracked wood of the door and felt Caleb’s breaths on the back of her neck.

“What are you doing?” she asked quietly.

Caleb let out a frustrated grunt.
 
“I don’t know.”

His voice was rough.
 
And Maddie realized that that was probably the most honest thing she’d ever heard him say.
 
The thought softened her heart, just hearing how torn he sounded.

She turned to face him, his outstretched hand caging her in against the door.
 
She could smell his soap and that woodsy scent that was unmistakably Caleb.

Maybe it was his proximity or the rapid pounding of her treacherous heart, but she opened her mouth and asked, “Are you going to kiss me again?”

Caleb stared down at her, his eyes unreadable and dark.
 
Maddie watched them flick towards her lips and then back to her eyes.
 
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.
 
“No.
 
I only kissed you to teach you a lesson.”