Chapter Ten

 

 

 

He was staring at the long, smooth legs that peeked out from beneath Syd’s robe and had to work to tear his eyes away from her.

Snap out of it, CJ.

Mentally slapping himself upside the head, he carefully plated omelets and toast and brought his bounty to the table.

“Yum,” she said, immediately picking up a piece of toast and biting into it. Mouth full, she looked up at him with wide eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said, chewing, “that was rude.” She swallowed her bite and grinned sheepishly, her gray-green gaze following him as he sat opposite her. “I’m kinda hungry.”

He chuckled. “It’s okay, darlin’. Eat up.”

After she took a couple of bites, Caleb asked, “So, how’s the omelet?”

She winked at him. “Meh, I’ve had better.”

His raised his eyebrows, delighted at her candidness. He wasn’t in the slightest bit offended, and he sat there quietly smiling at her.

Evidently taking his expression and silence as a bad sign, she quickly corrected. “I mean, not that it’s bad. It’s very good.”

He continued staring and smiling, now fully amused.

“It’s exceptionally good, in fact. There’s nothing wrong with it at all.”

“Syd, you can stop now.”

She stared blankly. “Stop what?”

“Stop trying to make me feel better. You didn’t bruise my ego, baby.”

“I didn’t? Really? You’re sure?” she asked, worried. “Because, see, I have this really bad habit of forgetting I work for a restaurant. I’m constantly sampling foods that are created by these amazing chefs, and I compare what the chefs give me versus what friends and such make. I can be a bit of a food snob, and I would hate to ever make anyone think that—”

“You’re babbling again, Syd.”

Her cheeks went crimson. “Shit, sorry.”

He laughed. “It’s kind of cute when you babble.”

She shrugged, and her eyes twinkled. “Well then let me add that my omelets kick ass. So it’s hard for anything to compare, really.” She popped the last piece into her mouth and smirked at him.

“They do, huh?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Sydney nodded. “Mmm-hmm. Secret ingredient.”

“And what would that be?”

She snorted softly. “Pfft, please. If I told you it wouldn’t be a secret anymore, now would it, stud?”

“Oh, come on. You can tell CJ.”

“Not telling. Nope, no way, no how.”

He laughed. “Fine. Then it’s your turn to make breakfast next time.”

She nearly choked on her coffee.

He grinned. “You okay there, Syd?”

She nodded and blushed furiously, wiping at the dribble of coffee that escaped her lips. “Yup, I’m a slob, that’s all,” she fibbed, not about to verbalize the effect he had on her. “Do you have any napkins?”

He nodded and tried not to chuckle at how his words affected her. “Right behind you, there’s a stack.”

She twisted around and reached for one, but suddenly froze in place, grimacing. “Oh, ow. Shit.”

“Hey, you okay?”

She slowly turned to face him and nodded with obvious difficulty. “I slept all fucked up. My neck’s been killing since you woke me. It’s no biggie. It’ll go away eventually.”

He stood and moved behind her, taking his empty plate with him. “Maybe it was the pillow?”

“Naw, I think I slept in a funky position.”

Caleb put his dishes on the counter and glanced at Syd. She was tilting her head from side to side, trying to stretch and loosen the muscles. I shouldn’t do this, he thought, as he swept her hair off to the side. She gasped when he placed his hands on her neck.

“Here, let me see if I can help,” he said, his voice gentle.

She stiffened for a brief moment before relaxing and going limp beneath his touch.

“Can we move this to the side a little bit so I can get in there? Pretty sure your neck needs this massage more than your robe does.”

“Sure.” She took hold of the lapels and pulled them apart slightly, exposing the tender curvature where neck meets shoulder, as well as the swell of her breasts and a fair bit of cleavage. She sighed and stretched her legs out in front of her, crossing them at the ankle.

Caleb took a deep breath and willed himself to behave.

Fat chance.

He kneaded the soft skin gingerly at first, not wanting to hurt her even more. There was tension beneath the surface, and he gently began working out the knot. He continued his tender manipulation for several minutes before asking if it felt all right.

“Yeah,” she answered. “It’s amazing.”

Aw, fuck it.

He bent and ran his lips along the curve of her neck. Syd audibly sucked in a sharp breath and tipped her head back to allow better access. He accepted her unspoken invitation and parted his lips, lightly tracing along her skin with his tongue, tasting her.

“Caleb,” she whispered.

It was as if his whole body had coiled at the sound of his name on her lips. He growled and slid his hands along her shoulders as he continued sampling with his tongue and lips. Syd arched her back and moaned the moment his hands made contact with hers. He bit her just below the ear and she purred, threading her fingers into his, gripping tightly.

Don’t rush it, he thought suddenly. She’s special—don’t ruin whatever this might be.

He quickly righted himself and looked at Syd. She opened her eyes to gaze up at him, her head still tilted back. Her lips were slightly parted, her breathing was visibly heavier and her eyes shone with desire.

“Well, that escalated quickly,” he joked.

“You could say that.”

“Um, so I guess you should get dressed,” he stated, backing away. “We’ve got to get you back in time for your meetings.”

Her shoulders sank for a moment, then she abruptly sat up rod-straight. “Yeah, the meetings.” She turned to face him, clearing her throat. “Thanks for the, uh, massage. My neck feels a bit better.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

She stood, awkwardly staring at her feet for a moment, until finally she glanced at the staircase. “Yeah, um, so I should get going,” she muttered, hurrying off.

“God damn it,” Caleb whispered, combing his fingers through his hair. “Fuck, I screwed this up but good, didn’t I?”

He had cleared the dishes and was getting his shoes on when Syd bounded down the stairs and into the foyer. She smiled brightly, but he swore there was sadness in her eyes again and prayed that what had happened earlier wasn’t the cause of it.

“Ready?” she asked all too cheerily, sitting and pulling her boots on over her leggings.

“Yeah, ready.”

He helped her with her coat and followed her out of the chalet to the Cadillac.

The drive to the hotel was deafeningly silent. Too silent, Caleb thought, considering how much they had chattered away the previous evening. Something was bugging Syd and he wished he could figure out what it was. She stared out the window, silently watching the scenery fly by.

He quickly glanced at her again before directing his attention back to the road, and sighed. She was definitely a looker, he mused, but there was so much more to her than that. Her personality, attitude, style, confidence, even her story…the combination of everything made her beautiful. And something told him that was the just the tip of the iceberg with Syd.

Which was why he liked her so damn much. To think he’d only known her for less than two days—there was still so much more he wanted to discover about her.

He pulled in front of the hotel and shifted into park, fiddling with the heating controls and procrastinating getting out of the car. He didn’t want her to leave. After a couple of moments of silence, he relented and stepped out, moving around to the passenger side. He opened the door with a flourish and she chuckled.

“You don’t have to do that for me, you know?”

He shrugged. “I know. I wanted to be a gentleman.”

“Well,” she said, stepping out and grabbing her purse, “you’ve been a perfect one. Thanks for everything, CJ. The ride back here, the food, the skiing, the company—everything.”

“Sorry again about your car, Syd.”

“You’re kidding me. Caleb, stop—it wasn’t your fault. You were kind enough to cover the cost of the repairs. You certainly didn’t have to do anything else.”

He nodded. “Well, I’m certainly glad I did. You’ve made the last couple days exceptionally enjoyable.”

They stood there for a moment, Syd’s gaze to the ground, Caleb shifting from foot to foot. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t say goodbye. Not without knowing if she felt something too.

He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face up to his. Caleb leaned in and kissed her lightly, the same way he had on the trail and in front of his chalet. She responded to him, her body tilting toward his. He let his lips linger on hers, hoping that his kiss told her he wasn’t ready to part ways.

But when he pulled away from her, Syd’s only response was a frown. A cold stone formed in the pit of his stomach.

“Stay,” he said softly. “Just one more day.”

“I… I can’t.”

“I’d like to see you again,” he whispered.

Her lower lip trembled.

“Will I ever see you again, Syd?” he asked quietly, his stomach in knots.

Her green eyes flooded with tears. She drew in a shuddery breath and shook her head. “Goodbye, Caleb,” she whispered, her voice hitching, as she turned from him and ran into the hotel and out of his life.