“Love is an irresistible desire
to be irresistibly desired…”
-Robert Frost
~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 26
Bella’s POV:-
It’s a beautiful day..
It’s a beautiful and an extremely hot day..
“Are you sure you’re okay in that?” Gabrielle expressed her concern in her French accent.
“Of course, I’m fine..” I smiled at her. Inside I was literally crying.
“You don’t look okay” She glanced again as she hit the ball, “The sun’s affecting you too much?”
“No, no, I’m fine, Gabrielle..” I nodded.
Of course, the god damn sun was affecting! It was affecting me too much! Otherwise, why the hell would I sweat like a pig?!!
We were all playing volleyball on the beach. And everyone was, well, in their beach wears.. whereas I was once again wearing a high neck halter top over my bikini.
And I was literally dying inside that thing…
“Yes, Bella.. You don’t look so fine…” The annoyingly mocking voice came from the distant.
“I’m fine, Caleb..” I pursed my lips as I looked towards him..
“If you say so..” He shrugged and just before turning around, he winked. Oh, that jerk!
I saw him walk over to where the drinks were kept. My breath caught inside me when I saw him take off his t-shirt and throw it over.. God! He was hot…
My gaze followed as he took a bottle of water and instead of drinking from it he poured the entire amount over his head. It flowed down his face, his neck, his chest..
My eyes roamed around his body like it was seeking for more.. seeking for him to be near me.. for me to feel him…
“Liking what you see?” His smirking voice surprised me. Crap! I was ogling at him and he knew that..
I just turned myself around, not intending to talk to him. I was angry at him.
He was standing there half naked, with all his sexiness.. And here I was.. I looked like I had run a marathon and was starved for fifteen days straight..
I hate that man..!!!
“Why don’t you just open that top, darling?” Caleb’s voice hissed beside me as he strolled forward.
“No...” I glared at him again.
“Why?” He strode towards me, “Are you ashamed of what everyone will see under that top?”
“I am not ashamed..” I glowered as I saw his gray eyes staring at me intensely, “I am embarrassed.. And you know that very well…”
His face lit up in a sly smirk.. “No, I don’t.. Why don’t you show me..” He whispered behind my ears as he came closer. My body tingled with his breath that fell teasingly over my neck.
I need air.. I need air ASAP!!!
I can’t handle any more heat.. specially not the heat his body is radiating..
I stepped aside fanning myself.. too hot..!!
“Gabrielle..” I called out her name after looking away from my husband, “I’m going inside now. I think you were right, the heat’s too much here..”
Gabrielle nodded at my direction before I gave a warning glare to Caleb and walked off inside the House. I was in my room when I finally decided to get rid of that top. I took it off and went inside the bathroom. I stood infront of the mirror as I watched my reflection on it. An instant frown appeared on my face.
My red bikini hung perfectly well over my body, but that wasn’t what I was frowning about. It was the marks that irritated me. There were marks on my shoulders, my waist and even one on my belly..
“Waiting for me..??” His voice made me jump. I wasn’t expecting him to be leaning against the door and assessing my mood.
“Why are you here?” I asked with a frown.
“To take a shower with my wife..” He strode forward. My cheeks automatically heated up with a blush.
“I am not going to….” I was about to protest but he was swift as he quickly grabbed me and pushed me to the ceramic wall behind.
“What?” He stared intensely at me, more like my body. It was hard to concentrate when he was standing so close to me, half naked, with all his glory and sexiness…
“It’s all your fault..” I tried to glare at the handsome man infront of me, but my heart was beating too loudly, “You did these on purpose, didn’t you?”
“I have no idea what you are talking about..” He nodded his head with all innocence. A slight smirk lingered around his lips. He gave me hickeys last night, deliberately, and now he was acting innocent?!!
“I hate you..” I tried to push him away. But my hands just froze over his perfect abs for the umpteenth time and ogled… again..
He lifted my right hand from where it was resting quite happily over his perfect abs. With a frown I looked up to him. He smirked and placed the back of my palm to his lips and kissed it gently.
“I have something to ask you…” He whispered sweetly near my ear as he tucked the hair behind it.
“What?” My question was more distracted than I had hoped. I was concentrating more on where his hand was traversing through my bare skin. His touch was like some electricity that passed through my body, lighting each cell on its way…
“Bella…” His hand found the string on my back, as he undid it.. He pulled out the top of my bikini and very gently let it slip off as his finger roamed around my breast, touching and arousing me in the process.
“Yes?” I breathed out, unable to look anywhere else rather than his gray misty eyes. I was aroused just by hearing him call out my name, and I had no intention of standing there anymore.
I lifted my hand to touch him, but he quickly pinned it on the wall. “No, first let me ask..”
“What?” I whispered as I couldn’t take his torture anymore. His touch was doing something inside my stomach and the need to be his was increasing.
“Will you…” He hesitated for some second. A hint of fear appeared on his eyes as he spoke the rest of the words, “Will you come back to our penthouse again?”
“Caleb…” I was out of words. I had no idea he would ask me this.
He stepped a foot behind to produce a little space between us, “Bella..” He fidgeted. He was so nervous that it made me wonder what he was thinking, “Before you say anything, I want you to know that I’m really sorry for my past mistakes, I really am.. I will change, Bella.. I will change as much as you want me to.. If you still hate that penthouse, I’ll buy you a house.. any number of houses you want.. I’ll buy you anything.. I’ll do anything for you.. Just tell me you will come back with me.. please…”
Is it weird that we were both half naked in our bathroom and he was saying the sweetest things to me as if he was proposing? I had never had a formal proposal from his side for anything.. So it was quite surprising to see him like this…
“What if I say no…?” I tried to fake my angry face at him, just to see to what extent he goes.
And oh my! The way his face bore the hurt, it made my heart clench. His torn face told that he was disappointed and shattered at my answer.
“So, you haven’t yet forgiven me, isn’t it?” He stepped away from me, his eyes looking down to avoid the hurt, “I knew it…”
Before he could finish the sentence, I quickly wrapped my arms around him, “I’m sorry… yes.. yes, I will go back with you.. I will go back to the penthouse”
He tightened his grip around my body, “You will?” His voice was full of relief and it made me smile..
“Yes.. it’s our home.. And I love that place..” I whispered as he released me to look at me.
“You do?” He cupped my face and asked me sweetly.
I nodded, smiling at his beautiful face. A while ago, he was so tensed when he was asking me to go back with him, and now he seemed to be so happy.. Can I really affect him so much?
“Now that you have agreed..” My old cocky lover was back, “Let’s get to the shower..”
And before I could protest, he hoisted me up in his arms and carried me over to the shower. I squealed as the cold water drizzled down our intermingled bodies. He pulled me closer as I laced my legs around his waist and kissed him under the shower… It was like heaven…
----
The dinner was a quiet one for the family, but others were enjoying as they always did. Nobody seemed to have noticed the uncomfortable silence this family was having tonight. Grandma was still smiling and taking part in the conversation, but it was much less than usual. Celine; she was totally quiet and sometimes glancing up at Mark and Caleb from time to time. Mark was his usual self, aloof of everyone else, but Caleb’s same reaction was making me weary…
I had tried to nudge him and ask him silently if anything was wrong, but he just smiled and denied.
After dinner, I went out into the beach as I had earlier seen Caleb do the same. I saw him sitting on the sand, near the sea, looking into the horizon ahead.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as I came closer.
He looked up to me with a thoughtful face. It was weary and he shrugged it off with a smile. He extended his hand towards me and I took it, “Nothing, just thinking about tomorrow..”
“What is tomorrow?” I asked as he pulled me down to sit infront of him.
“Just a very bad day…” He spoke as I leaned my back against his chest and he wrapped his arms around me to hold me tight.
“Why?” I asked looking into the beautiful ocean ahead.
“Bella…” He stopped, and I understood it was something do to with his past.. Something that I was still unaware of… He tightened his hold around my waist and sighed.
“It’s okay… tell me another time, maybe…” I whispered turning slightly to look at him.
His gray eyes glistened in the moonlight and he kept looking at me. His expression was hard to decipher as he looked like he was thinking about it very hard yet it was hurting him to keep it away from me. He finally closed his eyes and nodded..
“Yeah.. Another time..” He whispered.
I smiled and again turned to face the sea. It was a beautiful night and the starry sky was doing justice to our silent conversation.
“So..” He finally spoke, and his voice looked more relaxed now, “About Cecile…”
“Cecile?” I asked as I got alarmed at the mention of her name.
“Cecile and Sean, to be exact…” He clarified, while he kissed my hair that lay over my shoulders, “Should I be concerned?”
“You know about them? How did you know?” I asked in surprise. I had no idea that Caleb would notice what was going on between them.
“It’s hard not to..” He whispered while he nuzzled his nose at the back of my ear making me ticklish, “Especially when I caught them kissing…”
He chuckled and I joined in, “Kissing? Oh my god..!!”
“I heard from Sean that you have set them up two-three times…” His face momentarily bored a blank expression and my laugh disappeared.
I turned around completely to face him.”You are angry with me, aren’t you?” I asked in anticipation, “I should have told you first..” I said again as he was just sitting there, assessing me, without any emotion and it was making me feel so nervous..
“Come here…” He pulled and turned me around like the way we were sitting a few minutes earlier, “I am not angry.. I can never be angry with you, Bella..”
I relaxed a bit.. “Then? Caleb, Cecile really likes Sean and Sean likes her too…” I started justifying.
“I know.. Sean’s a great guy.. If Cecile likes him, why would I object..?” Caleb kissed the back of my head and sighed, “It’s good that Cecile can trust you so much..”
And then I asked something stupid just to ruin the moment.. Kill me..!
“Caleb, why do you hate Cecile?” I asked without even thinking. His grip loosened around my waist and I turned to look at him.
“Do you think I hate her?” He looked hurt.
“You don’t? But you two look like you do…” I pointed out.
“I don’t hate my sister, Bella…” He looked away from me, “I just stay away from her life… It’s what she had always wanted.. It’s Cecile who hates me, but I don’t blame her…”
It was silence once again, as I sat there, staring at his wounded expression.
“What about Mark?” I asked, and I saw his expression stiffen as he looked at me.
“What about him?” He asked a little too sternly.
“Why do you hate him?” I waited for him to reply. But when he didn’t, I continued, “I know for a fact that it’s you hates him and not the other way around.. I have seen how much Mark cares for you and how concerned he is about you.. I just don’t know why you don’t like him.. “
“I don’t hate him..” Caleb said after a long pause. He was now playing with the sand, his face was wounded and one could very well understand that he was having a conflict within, “I have known Mark all my life. At one time, I really liked him.. But…shit happened, and things were never the same.. I don’t hate him, Bella.. I know the long lists of things he has done for me.. and I may never be able to repay him for those.. But.. when I see him, I see what I don’t have any more.. and it shatters me, Bella.. It angers me, and all these come out as hatred for him… I can’t help it..”
He looked at me with teary eyes and my heart scrunched into a tiny ball inside my chest.. He was so broken and sad, and yet he was unable to express it..
I quickly scurried to his side and sat over his lap, facing him. I hugged him tightly and a few seconds later he buried his face on the crook of my neck, “I’m so sorry, Caleb.. I won’t ask you any more questions.. Forget about the past…”
He just nodded while still quite buried inside my wraps as I kissed the side of his head, “I really don’t know what happened to you, Caleb.. But I know one thing for sure.. You really have a great family..” I smiled while remembering all the moments I have spent with them, and each one was a memorable one.
“I don’t know your issues.. But I know whatever happens, they will always be by your side like always.. They love you, Caleb.. They love you and care for you so much… And thanks to you, they have even started liking me… Much more than my real parents did in the past six years…” I stopped, my voice choking..
Caleb looked up to see me, “You miss them, don’t you?”
“Not really..” I kissed his cheek and continued, “I have gotten used to this.. But I surely as hell will miss your family, when this holiday gets over…”
“Our family…“ Caleb rectified while kissing me softly, “They are ours, not mine alone.. Now, let’s get inside.. I have a whole night to spend with you before the sun shines again..”
I giggled as he passionately kissed me before pulling me towards the house.
The next day was equally beautiful as any other day would be. Until a car drove and parked itself infront of the house. The person who got out of it was suited with perfect elegance and had a sly smirk to match his character.
“Hi, Bella..” David smirked with all his glory.
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Okay..
…………….Guessing time…………….
Let’s see how many of you can guess the answer..
Q: What is Caleb’s past? What is he hiding? What are his issues with Mark?
It will be revealed in the next chapter.. But before that I want to know how many of you could guess it correctly…
And I love everyone for voting so much.. You really are making my day J :*
I want 330 votes in this chapter..(rising the bar a bit :P) and then I’ll post the next chap..
From now onwards, no dedications.. Since, I can’t find the button.. Like, What the actual hell?!!
Wattpad has upgraded and I can’t find the button.. So, sorry everyone.. No more dedications. L
Still, you know I love you all very much..
Vote and Comment..
Toodles <3