I stand there, deflated, until I hear the sound of his truck engine starting. Then I slowly take the stairs up to my bedroom. Once inside, I pause, then lock the deadbolt behind me. Stillwearing my dress, I lie down in bed and close my eyes, replaying everything that happened since I left with Mara.
I remember Tony, but Caleb eclipses everything. You’d think something so horrible would just stick in your mind, but all my thoughts are onhim.The spot on my wrist where he touched me is tingling more than anywhere else. If I close my eyes and take a breath, I can still smell him. If he left his scent on me, I won’t shower tomorrow. Who knows when I’ll see him again? I can’t get rid of it.
Talk about an emotional roller coaster. It takes me hours to come down and even feel remotely tired. But when I think back to that first encounter outside the club, and the way he looked at me, I realize he wasn’t looking at me like a sister…
And I desperately want him to look at me that way again.
4
CALEB
ThankGod I have a concrete pour today. It’s the only thing that canalmostkeep my mind off Eliza. You gotta be careful when you work with this stuff. Not only can someone get hurt, but you can botch the whole thing and end up out on your ass and looking for a new job.
I’m normally calm at work, but today I’m antsy. I’m slamming tools, barking at my co-workers. I just want to get this finished so I can get the hell out of here. It’s hard enough to do this work when you’re thinking about your step-sister and fighting half a hard-on.
Benjy, one of the oldest guys on the crew, comes over to me, and I can already tell by the look in his eyes what he’s gonna say. “So I heard you knocked out Tony last night.” Yeah, talk spreads fast in a small town.
“Shit happens,” I reply, pulling my rake across the pour.
“Yeah, well they say Tony’s running his mouth. I’d watch out if I were you.”
“Thank, Benjy.” He walks back to his position, leaving me to stew in the anger that’s been surrounding me all day. Justkeeping my hands off Eliza last night was hard enough. Now I’ve got to deal with this shit?
My phone vibrates in my pocket. Cursing, I wipe my hand on my jeans and pull it out. “Hey, Daniel. I’m at work—”
“The cops came by the house,” he says, his voice sharp as he cuts me off. “You want to tell me why that is? Something about a fight?”
Sighing, I bite my lower lip. I can just my step-dad back at the house now, pissed off because his only son has got himself in trouble yet again.
“A guy downtown tried to assault Eliza,” I tell him. “So I laid him out.”
There’s a long pause. Clearly this wasn’t the answer he was expecting, but I’m sure he’s still pissed. “You laid him out?”
“That’s right.”
“You couldn’t have just…talked to him?” he asks. “Maybe settled it in a non-violent fashion?”
I can’t help but laugh. “Listen, Daniel, if you’d have been there, you’d know that despite what he’s probably told the cops, I went easy on him.” The foreman waves at me from across the site. It’s time to get back to work. “I gotta go. We can talk about this later.”
Without waiting, I hang up and stuff my phone back in my pocket and get back to work. I do my best to just focus on the job at hand, but it’s like trying to push a round boulder up a mountain. My mind just keeps slipping back to her dress, her legs, the neckline that barely held her cleavage…
But most of all, I just can’t stop thinking of those words she spoke and the way she looked when she spoke them.
“You left.”
Just replaying the moment in my mind crushes me. I thought leaving was the right thing. Distance was supposed to protect her—protect her from me.
I can see her now, clear as day, prancing down the street in that dress and those heels—all those men’s eyes feasting upon her beauty. I wanted to break all their faces, and they didn’t even touch her.
I tried staying away, but I can’t. Not anymore. Someone has to look out for her. And that someone has to be me.
I manage to finish the pour with the crew, and we get let off early. Immediately, I drive back to the house—ourhouse—not even bothering to go back to my apartment to shower. I’m just checking in on her. It’s my duty as her step-brother to see how she’s doing. To make sure she’s safe.
There’s only one car outside when I pull into the driveway. Hers. Mom’s probably out having coffee with friends, and Daniel is probably checking out a new car to restore.
The house is quiet when I enter, but Eliza’s scent immediately hits me, nearly knocking me to my knees. I wasn’t expecting to be alone with her, but it’s too late to turn back. I just have to make sure she’s safe—that Tony or one of his bastard friends hasn’t come to hassle her—and then I’m gone.
“Eliza,” I call out, but there’s no response. I know where she is. Up in her room drawing like she always is. So I take the stairs, my heart pounding against my ribs as I reach her door. It’s slightly cracked, and I peer through to see her sitting on the floor with her back to me.
