He stopped her in the hall on the way to Jason's room, and Cali could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't happy with her. She had seen him coming, and even though every part of her screamed run, she knew better than to try. He grabbed her shoulder, his large hand engulfing her flesh, his fingers digging into her skin as he pushed her up against the wall and leaned in close. She had to fight with her body to keep from going into panic mode, struggling to stay relaxed as the adrenaline surged through her.
"Who is he?" Caleb demanded in a harsh whisper, his face so close to hers that she could feel his breath on her lips. She took a deep breath and avoided looking into his eyes, about to play innocent even though she knew exactly who he was talking about:
"who-" But he interrupted her with another push against the wall.
"Don't play games Cali, you know who I mean." The expression he wore was so like her father's in that moment that it send a shudder through her, chilling her to the core. She knew that Caleb was no stranger to violence, and that, just like daddy, he had a bad temper and no qualms over hitting a woman.
"Jason. He's an empath," she said, then quickly added, "but he doesn't know about you Caleb, I promise." in hopes of soothing his rage before things turned nasty. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at her and she could tell that he didn't know whether to believe her or not. "He doesn't know," she whispered again, her voice pleading. Something in her face must have convinced him she was telling him the truth because he pulled away slowly, taking a step back, and was visibly more relaxed
"Good." Cali watched his gaze travel up and down her body appraisingly, as if he had just noticed what she was wearing, which, admittedly, wasn't much. She had just left the pool and had yet to change out of her bikini, a decision she was now regretting, with only a towel wrapped around her waist. She flinched when he reached out and placed his hand along the side of her right breast, his fingers finding the massive scar along her side and tracing it down to her hip bone causing an uncomfortable flush of heat to her face and groin. He licked his lips, and she knew what was he was going to say before he even said it, but his words still caused her stomach to drop. "Come to my room at twelve tonight, don't be late." He left without waiting for a response, he didn't need one after all, and for a moment she stood against the wall and closed her eyes, keeping the tears at bay. There was no way she would let Jason know that something was wrong.
It was ten to twelve and Cali found herself at Caleb's door already, trying not to think about what was to come. She stood there for a moment, not ready to go in, but not wanting to be seen there if somebody happened to pass by. Taking a deep breath, she knocked once before entering, shutting the door quickly behind her. Caleb stood as she came in, shirtless and clearly impatient, hitting pause on the movie he'd been watching before approaching her. He wasted no time, as he pulled her close and claimed her mouth with his, while his hands eagerly yanked the shorts she was wearing down her hips until they dropped to the floor. Under them she wore nothing. Her tank top he dealt with in a similar fashion, breaking their kiss only to pull it over her head and then resuming with the same intensity until her mouth was red from the force of his passion.
He encircled her waist with one arm, she felt him reach behind her with the other and heard the tell-tale click of the door being locked, and for some reason it caused her chest to tighten and tears to spring in her eyes, as if a locked door was the only thing preventing her escape. That taken care of, his free hand moved to her exposed breast, roughly grabbing and squeezing as he pushed his tongue between her lips and explored her mouth. A calloused finger brushed over her nipple, sending a shock of pleasure throughout and pulling a gasp from her. Cali could feel his smirk against her lips and heard a low chuckle in his throat. He repeated the motion, encircling the sensitive tip and flicking it gently, trying to elicit another response from his unwilling partner, but she refused to give him the satisfaction.
It wasn't long before he'd backed her into his bed and had her laying on it, her legs dangling off the side as he leaned over her. She had expected to him to go for it then, as he normally would, and was caught off guard when he instead brought his mouth to her chest and pressed a knee between her legs, spreading her so that her sex was tight against his pant leg. She almost made a noise when he ground it in, biting her tongue to stop the cry short. It hurt, and she could tell by the way his eyes flicked upward to watch her reaction that he wanted to see it on her face. Since she didn't give him what he wanted the first time he bit her, just hard enough, and this time she relented with a soft whimper.
He pulled his mouth from her breast and loomed above her with an expression on his face that she had a hard time labeling. She again avoided looking directly into his eyes as he occasionally enjoyed using his ability to terrify her, then hold her down and take her as she thrashed in a blind panic. she found herself staring at his muscular chest instead and realized how easy it had become for her to forget just how attractive the bastard was, and how drawn to him she had been so many years ago when they were both still in high school. Cali hadn't been the only girl with a crush on Caleb O 'Daugherty, and she was certain that she wasn't the only one to discover the hard way just what kind of man he was.