Chapter 9
The next few weeks were rough on Leon. Everywhere he turned, Caleb Vargunin was there. Or that’s how it seemed to him, anyway. Work was the only place that he could go to escape those black eyes, because even when he’d gone out to his favorite club with his friends again, he’d been horrified to see Caleb leaning casually against the bar not far away from where his party was sitting. What an idiot he’d been to bring the man here in the first place! Not that he’d known what Caleb was back then, or why bringing him to this club was a bad idea. But he still cursed himself silently for doing so, as he squirmed under the weight of that dark stare all evening, then finally bolted with a lame excuse for bailing on his friends, just so he could get away.
And, of course, at the apartment complex Caleb was everywhere. At the pool, or sitting at the table in the middle of the courtyard sipping a cool drink, or leaning in his open doorway staring at Leon from across the way. He couldn’t do something as simple as watering his flowers without having to endure Caleb’s presence. The man never said anything to him; he simply watched Caleb.
Why did that surprise him? The man had originally been assigned to watch him, so why would it be shocking that he was still watching Leon? Except for the fact that the government hadn’t told him to watch Leon this time; no, this time it was all him. And his hot stare was definitely getting to Leon big time. It made him feel like his clothes were being stripped off by Caleb’s black eyes, leaving him naked and vulnerable(and totally aroused!) out in public for all to see. It was driving him nuts.
What was worse, his lovely cat had turned traitor on him. When he’d gone outside to water his potted flowers on the third day after Caleb had moved back in, Felina darted out the door between his legs and scurried off across the courtyard, with Leon in hot pursuit. She made straight for the open door of Caleb’s apartment, meowing loudly. When Caleb came to the door, the cat twined around his ankles happily, purring at the top of her lungs. He’d leaned down and picked her up, putting the cat in ecstasies as he stroked her pure white fur. “Hey, lovely lady,” he crooned, and his gesture and words made Leon feel too hot in his clothes.
Caleb had looked up at him then, those his long fingers continued to stroke the cat’s glossy hair. “I believe this belongs to you,” he said teasingly to Leon, smiling as he lifted the cat a little. Felina merely gave her slave a smug look. Wretched cat. Traitorous feline!
“Yes,” he’d replied stiffly. ‘May I please have her back?”
“Sure,” Caleb handed a disgruntled Felina over, and his fingers brushed Leon’s. His breath came short at even this simple touch. He jerked back, and Felina yowled at him for being too rough with her.
“Sorry, baby,” he muttered, carrying his pet away without a backward glance. He seemed to feel the weight of Caleb’s stare all the way back to his apartment. He’d slammed the door closed after him, then leaned back against it as he cursed under his breath and agitatedly petted Felina until she forgave him for his earlier roughness.
Now he had to watch his cat carefully to make sure she made no more dashes out of the apartment, since she seemed intent on seeing her friend Caleb again. As if he didn’t have enough stress in his life! His cat turning traitor on him made him want to whimper. It wasn’t fair. Couldn’t he just have some peace and quiet in his own home?!
He knew he was pouting like a little kid, but he couldn’t help it. All he wanted to do was hole up in his apartment and nurse his broken heart, but the person who’d helped to break it wouldn’t let him be. Caleb insisted that Leon should let him back into his life, that he should somehow trust him, that they belonged together. And boy, did he want to believe that! He yearned to believe it with all of his heart. But how could he? Caleb had lied to him, had used him, had broken his trust. Sure, he’d done that for his job, and to catch a dangerous criminal; but it still affected Leon personally. He’d been hurt by what Caleb had done. Really hurt. How was he just supposed to forget that and put it in the past?
But…if he could, he’d have Caleb. They’d be together. He longed for that; yearned for it. Wanted it desperately. Maybe he wanted it too much, so much that he’d be willing to overlook pain and betrayal and broken trust. Was that it? Was he that desperate and sad? That would just be pathetic.
Or maybe…maybe it was simply the fact that his heart told him he could trust Caleb Vargunin, no matter what the man had done. It might be stupid to listen to his heart, but Leon couldn’t seem to help himself. That organ was telling him insistently that he should listen to what Caleb had to say, should give him another chance. And if he ever did anything else to break Leon’s trust or hurt him, he could simply kick Caleb to the curb forever. But if he did prove himself to Leon, they might have something amazing. Wasn’t that worth taking a chance?
A few weeks after Caleb moved in, Leon was puttering around in his kitchen. He was sort of listening to the radio, but most of his mind was occupied with thoughts of Caleb. Just as it had been since he’d first seen Caleb standing in the doorway of his apartment, when he’d thought he’d never see the man again. He wished he could think about something else, but his mind kept stubbornly returning to the same topic. It really did seem to have only one track right now. The Caleb Vargunin track.
He heard a knock at his front door. Thinking it might be the UPS guy with some stuff he’d ordered off of Amazon, he called: “Coming!” And shut off the water in the sink. He hurried to the front door, but when he opened it there was nobody out there. Frowning, he wondered if one of the kids in the complex was playing a joke on him. Then, his eyes latched onto something in the courtyard, and he gaped at the sight in front of him.
The table with the umbrella over it had been transformed. Lovely white fairy lights had been draped over the umbrella, and a white tablecloth had been set over the plastic tabletop. Candles in glass holders glowed on the white cloth, and the table was set for two. Bone china plates held some tasty looking food, and a bottle of wine in an ice bucket took up space near the plates. Wine glasses stood nest to the plates. It was gorgeous, and he gasped a little as he looked at it.
“Do you like it?” A voice said softly next to him, and he jumped out of his skin as he whirled around to find Caleb leaning against the front wall of his apartment, watching him. The black eyes were steady but wary as they gazed at his face.
“What…?” he choked out.
A wave of the hand at the table. “I’m inviting you to dinner. We’ll eat out here so you don’t have to be trapped in my apartment. I just want to talk, Leon. That’s all. Can we do that? Just eat a good meal and talk?”
He hesitated, his heart racing. He wanted to melt into a puddle over the romantic gesture, but he also knew that he had to keep himself in check here. Caleb had still hurt him, and he still didn’t know if he could trust the man. “I…” he trailed off, biting at his lower lip a little.
“I swear we’ll just talk. I won’t put any pressure on you,” Caleb told him softly. “I just want to spend some time with you, maybe hash some things out. Clear the air. This isn’t a date, I promise.”
Leon cast a skeptical glance at the table, and lifted an eyebrow. “Really?”
Caleb’s lips turned up a little. “Well, a man can hope,” he said with a shrug as he straightened up. “But I know better than to expect anything. Please, can we just eat together and talk a bit?”
Leon couldn’t resist. He was too weak. He wanted to whimper as he looked from Caleb to the lovely spread set out just for him, and finally his shoulders slumped and he nodded. “Yes,” he said unhappily. “We can eat and talk.”
“Thank you,” Caleb said gratefully. “let’s eat it before it gets cold.”
Leon trailed after him over to the table. Caleb pulled out his plastic chair for him, which gesture touched him and made him curse himself yet again inside his head as he sat down. The food did indeed look very good, and smelled even better. “It’s Veal Piccata,” Caleb remarked. “I remember how much you said you liked it.”
Oh, God. The man remembered something he’d said in passing weeks ago. Caleb wanted to cry. This was bad. It was so, so bad. Caleb was getting to him. He couldn’t allow that, but he also couldn’t seem to help himself. He picked up his fork and dove into the food, so he wouldn’t have to talk. And after the first bite, all he cared about was how delicious the food was, anyway. He moaned in pleasure, and heard a low sound from across the table. Glancing up, he saw a burning hunger in the black eyes that made his stomach do swoops and his groin tighten treacherously. Oh, Lord, he was so screwed!
He finally managed to tear his eyes away from Caleb’s and look down at his plate instead. Caleb said nothing to him, but he still seemed to feel the weight of that hungry stare as he finished his dinner. He was grateful to gulp down an entire glass of wine in one go. It warmed his belly and helped him to relax a little bit. He reached for a refill, splashing the wine into the glass recklessly. He still didn’t look at Caleb as he did so. This time he sipped the wine a bit more slowly, and finished clearing his plate. The food had, indeed, been delicious.
“I’m glad you liked it,” Caleb remarked, making him jump a bit. “But I think it’s time for us to talk now, Leon. Don’t you agree?”
He did, though he wasn’t particularly happy about it. He would have happily put off this discussion forever if he could have. Because he was afraid that Caleb would use persuasive words and his sexy charm, and that he’d overwhelm Leon’s objections to them having a relationship. That his weakness would do him in, and then he’d get hurt even more. He ignored a small voice in his head that pointed out that he might not get hurt at all, that Caleb really could be trusted.
“Sure, let’s talk,” he said, trying to sound casual. But he was so tense it felt like he was going to break in two, as he finally lifted his head to meet Caleb’s black eyes across the tabletop. He had the strong feeling that the next hour was going to change his life forever, and he definitely wasn’t sure that he was ready for that.
The next few weeks were rough on Leon. Everywhere he turned, Caleb Vargunin was there. Or that’s how it seemed to him, anyway. Work was the only place that he could go to escape those black eyes, because even when he’d gone out to his favorite club with his friends again, he’d been horrified to see Caleb leaning casually against the bar not far away from where his party was sitting. What an idiot he’d been to bring the man here in the first place! Not that he’d known what Caleb was back then, or why bringing him to this club was a bad idea. But he still cursed himself silently for doing so, as he squirmed under the weight of that dark stare all evening, then finally bolted with a lame excuse for bailing on his friends, just so he could get away.
And, of course, at the apartment complex Caleb was everywhere. At the pool, or sitting at the table in the middle of the courtyard sipping a cool drink, or leaning in his open doorway staring at Leon from across the way. He couldn’t do something as simple as watering his flowers without having to endure Caleb’s presence. The man never said anything to him; he simply watched Caleb.
Why did that surprise him? The man had originally been assigned to watch him, so why would it be shocking that he was still watching Leon? Except for the fact that the government hadn’t told him to watch Leon this time; no, this time it was all him. And his hot stare was definitely getting to Leon big time. It made him feel like his clothes were being stripped off by Caleb’s black eyes, leaving him naked and vulnerable(and totally aroused!) out in public for all to see. It was driving him nuts.
What was worse, his lovely cat had turned traitor on him. When he’d gone outside to water his potted flowers on the third day after Caleb had moved back in, Felina darted out the door between his legs and scurried off across the courtyard, with Leon in hot pursuit. She made straight for the open door of Caleb’s apartment, meowing loudly. When Caleb came to the door, the cat twined around his ankles happily, purring at the top of her lungs. He’d leaned down and picked her up, putting the cat in ecstasies as he stroked her pure white fur. “Hey, lovely lady,” he crooned, and his gesture and words made Leon feel too hot in his clothes.
Caleb had looked up at him then, those his long fingers continued to stroke the cat’s glossy hair. “I believe this belongs to you,” he said teasingly to Leon, smiling as he lifted the cat a little. Felina merely gave her slave a smug look. Wretched cat. Traitorous feline!
“Yes,” he’d replied stiffly. ‘May I please have her back?”
“Sure,” Caleb handed a disgruntled Felina over, and his fingers brushed Leon’s. His breath came short at even this simple touch. He jerked back, and Felina yowled at him for being too rough with her.
“Sorry, baby,” he muttered, carrying his pet away without a backward glance. He seemed to feel the weight of Caleb’s stare all the way back to his apartment. He’d slammed the door closed after him, then leaned back against it as he cursed under his breath and agitatedly petted Felina until she forgave him for his earlier roughness.
Now he had to watch his cat carefully to make sure she made no more dashes out of the apartment, since she seemed intent on seeing her friend Caleb again. As if he didn’t have enough stress in his life! His cat turning traitor on him made him want to whimper. It wasn’t fair. Couldn’t he just have some peace and quiet in his own home?!
He knew he was pouting like a little kid, but he couldn’t help it. All he wanted to do was hole up in his apartment and nurse his broken heart, but the person who’d helped to break it wouldn’t let him be. Caleb insisted that Leon should let him back into his life, that he should somehow trust him, that they belonged together. And boy, did he want to believe that! He yearned to believe it with all of his heart. But how could he? Caleb had lied to him, had used him, had broken his trust. Sure, he’d done that for his job, and to catch a dangerous criminal; but it still affected Leon personally. He’d been hurt by what Caleb had done. Really hurt. How was he just supposed to forget that and put it in the past?
But…if he could, he’d have Caleb. They’d be together. He longed for that; yearned for it. Wanted it desperately. Maybe he wanted it too much, so much that he’d be willing to overlook pain and betrayal and broken trust. Was that it? Was he that desperate and sad? That would just be pathetic.
Or maybe…maybe it was simply the fact that his heart told him he could trust Caleb Vargunin, no matter what the man had done. It might be stupid to listen to his heart, but Leon couldn’t seem to help himself. That organ was telling him insistently that he should listen to what Caleb had to say, should give him another chance. And if he ever did anything else to break Leon’s trust or hurt him, he could simply kick Caleb to the curb forever. But if he did prove himself to Leon, they might have something amazing. Wasn’t that worth taking a chance?
A few weeks after Caleb moved in, Leon was puttering around in his kitchen. He was sort of listening to the radio, but most of his mind was occupied with thoughts of Caleb. Just as it had been since he’d first seen Caleb standing in the doorway of his apartment, when he’d thought he’d never see the man again. He wished he could think about something else, but his mind kept stubbornly returning to the same topic. It really did seem to have only one track right now. The Caleb Vargunin track.
He heard a knock at his front door. Thinking it might be the UPS guy with some stuff he’d ordered off of Amazon, he called: “Coming!” And shut off the water in the sink. He hurried to the front door, but when he opened it there was nobody out there. Frowning, he wondered if one of the kids in the complex was playing a joke on him. Then, his eyes latched onto something in the courtyard, and he gaped at the sight in front of him.
The table with the umbrella over it had been transformed. Lovely white fairy lights had been draped over the umbrella, and a white tablecloth had been set over the plastic tabletop. Candles in glass holders glowed on the white cloth, and the table was set for two. Bone china plates held some tasty looking food, and a bottle of wine in an ice bucket took up space near the plates. Wine glasses stood nest to the plates. It was gorgeous, and he gasped a little as he looked at it.
“Do you like it?” A voice said softly next to him, and he jumped out of his skin as he whirled around to find Caleb leaning against the front wall of his apartment, watching him. The black eyes were steady but wary as they gazed at his face.
“What…?” he choked out.
A wave of the hand at the table. “I’m inviting you to dinner. We’ll eat out here so you don’t have to be trapped in my apartment. I just want to talk, Leon. That’s all. Can we do that? Just eat a good meal and talk?”
He hesitated, his heart racing. He wanted to melt into a puddle over the romantic gesture, but he also knew that he had to keep himself in check here. Caleb had still hurt him, and he still didn’t know if he could trust the man. “I…” he trailed off, biting at his lower lip a little.
“I swear we’ll just talk. I won’t put any pressure on you,” Caleb told him softly. “I just want to spend some time with you, maybe hash some things out. Clear the air. This isn’t a date, I promise.”
Leon cast a skeptical glance at the table, and lifted an eyebrow. “Really?”
Caleb’s lips turned up a little. “Well, a man can hope,” he said with a shrug as he straightened up. “But I know better than to expect anything. Please, can we just eat together and talk a bit?”
Leon couldn’t resist. He was too weak. He wanted to whimper as he looked from Caleb to the lovely spread set out just for him, and finally his shoulders slumped and he nodded. “Yes,” he said unhappily. “We can eat and talk.”
“Thank you,” Caleb said gratefully. “let’s eat it before it gets cold.”
Leon trailed after him over to the table. Caleb pulled out his plastic chair for him, which gesture touched him and made him curse himself yet again inside his head as he sat down. The food did indeed look very good, and smelled even better. “It’s Veal Piccata,” Caleb remarked. “I remember how much you said you liked it.”
Oh, God. The man remembered something he’d said in passing weeks ago. Caleb wanted to cry. This was bad. It was so, so bad. Caleb was getting to him. He couldn’t allow that, but he also couldn’t seem to help himself. He picked up his fork and dove into the food, so he wouldn’t have to talk. And after the first bite, all he cared about was how delicious the food was, anyway. He moaned in pleasure, and heard a low sound from across the table. Glancing up, he saw a burning hunger in the black eyes that made his stomach do swoops and his groin tighten treacherously. Oh, Lord, he was so screwed!
He finally managed to tear his eyes away from Caleb’s and look down at his plate instead. Caleb said nothing to him, but he still seemed to feel the weight of that hungry stare as he finished his dinner. He was grateful to gulp down an entire glass of wine in one go. It warmed his belly and helped him to relax a little bit. He reached for a refill, splashing the wine into the glass recklessly. He still didn’t look at Caleb as he did so. This time he sipped the wine a bit more slowly, and finished clearing his plate. The food had, indeed, been delicious.
“I’m glad you liked it,” Caleb remarked, making him jump a bit. “But I think it’s time for us to talk now, Leon. Don’t you agree?”
He did, though he wasn’t particularly happy about it. He would have happily put off this discussion forever if he could have. Because he was afraid that Caleb would use persuasive words and his sexy charm, and that he’d overwhelm Leon’s objections to them having a relationship. That his weakness would do him in, and then he’d get hurt even more. He ignored a small voice in his head that pointed out that he might not get hurt at all, that Caleb really could be trusted.
“Sure, let’s talk,” he said, trying to sound casual. But he was so tense it felt like he was going to break in two, as he finally lifted his head to meet Caleb’s black eyes across the tabletop. He had the strong feeling that the next hour was going to change his life forever, and he definitely wasn’t sure that he was ready for that.
