Chapter 14: The Hearing

When we were back in our room, getting ready for our respective dinners, Evan asked me about Caleb. I didn't see any reason to lie.

"I've known him for a while now. We met online, playing a video game. Eventually, we became friends. I was going to be in his part of the country on business, so I asked him if he'd like to go to dinner and he said yes."

"We dated for a few months, did the long distance thing, but neither one of us was happy. I was downright miserable, in fact. Turns out he felt the same way, but we were such good friends that we were both more upset about losing the friendship. We made a vow to make it work as friends."

"It took some time and it wasn't easy. We had a couple of really nasty fights, but we worked through it. He's been my best friend for a long time now. We used to see each other three or four times a year, talked every day on the phone. When my mom died, well, Caleb got me through it. He's my family, not by blood, but in the heart."

Evan nodded, but I could tell from his face he wasn't really happy. "I don't mean to pry, but given that we're together, were you and Caleb friends with benefits?"

I was taking a sip of water when he asked and I almost choked on it. I was about to make a smart ass remark, but when I looked at his face I could tell Evan was worried about where we stood. I put my bottle of water down and wrapped my arms around him, "No, Evan. After Caleb and I broke up, we never crossed that line again. That part has been over for Caleb and me for many years now. You're the only one I'm with, the only one I want."

His body, which had been tense and stiff, relaxed in my arms. He tipped my chin up and claimed my lips, kissing me with so much intensity that he had me moaning. I reached down to rub my hand over the length of him through his jeans and he was rock hard. He growled softly as my hand moved over him, "Don't you start. We don't have time. Caleb will be here for you in five minutes."

I nibbled his earlobe as I slid the zipper of his jeans down, "Caleb," I whispered, "is always late." I sank to my knees and opened his jeans. I didn't bother to slide them off. He was wearing boxers today and it was oh so easy to slip his cock out through the fly.

"Kimber," Evan groaned my name as I cupped his balls in my hand.

The smell of him had my mouth watering as I slipped his cock into my mouth and held it there. He twitched once as his hands moved into my hair. I used my tongue as I slid up his shaft, wrapping it around the underside. When I reached the crown, I took my time running my tongue and lips around the hard ridge. His hands gently urged me on as I began to suck on him, moving up and down. I used my hands to stroke him as my tongue rubbed against him. It wasn't long before he stiffened, his back arched as his shaft pulsed, and he moaned my name. The hot liquid spilled onto my tongue and I worked to catch every drop. I lapped it up, gave him one last gentle suck and tucked him back in.

I could feel the happy, satisfied grin on my face as I stood and tugged his zipper back up. Evan jerked me against him and kissed me until I was quivering. "I owe you one, Ms. Sparks, and I assure you, you will enjoy it."

The happy giggle bubbled out of me, "I'll hold you to that, Sir."

As I turned to go brush my teeth, Evan gave my rump an affectionate swat. When I came out of the bathroom, Noelle and Sid were there. Their knowing grins told me that werewolf hearing had betrayed me. I rolled my eyes at them just as a soft knock sounded on the door.

Caleb had changed into jeans like the rest of us. Disappointment showed briefly on his face when I told him Noelle and Sid would be joining us, but he put a smile on and shook hands as I introduced them. There was a definite spark of interest in Caleb's eyes when I introduced Noelle. But he took one look at Sid's glare and it was gone. Evan hadn't left for dinner with his grandfather yet, so I introduced him too.

As they shook hands, Caleb spoke, "I'm sorry about this morning. Tackling you wasn't cool. I just heard her name and I was on the stage, going for you before I stopped to think."

"Don't worry about it. Kimber told me about you this afternoon and if I had been in your shoes, I would have done the same thing. No harm, no foul."

Caleb nodded, "I appreciate that. I'll take good care of her tonight, I promise."

Evan excused himself a few moments later and the four of us headed out. "Any ideas about where to eat?" Sid asked.

"How about Nero's? It's a nice steakhouse over in Caesar's Palace," Caleb suggested. It really sucked sometimes how well he knew me. Steaks had always been one of our favorite meals.

"Damn it," I stamped my foot, "I really wanted lobster tails and scallops. Can't we go somewhere else?"

Caleb whipped around to look at me with an expression of shock. I worked so hard to keep the slightly pissy, irritated expression on my face when he asked, "Since when do you eat seafood?"

"Psych!"

I started giggling as I poked him in the ribs. With a mock growl, he threw an arm around my neck and pulled me down for a noogie on the top of my head.

"Hey, watch the hair!" I tried a fake pout and couldn't hold that either. I was having too much fun with Caleb.

"Lobster tails and scallops, my ass."

He slung his arm around my shoulders and we all headed outside. Caesar's was about halfway up the strip, not too long a walk. Since the weather was fabulous, we all decided it would be nice to stretch our legs.

By unspoken agreement, the conversation remained light and fun as we all got to know each other. Caleb and Sid discovered a mutual love for college basketball that had Noelle and me rolling our eyes. Fortunately, Caleb had called ahead so our table was waiting. The food was wonderful, but it didn't compare to having Caleb sitting next to me. Several times while we ate, he leaned over and kissed my temple. I reached for his hand under the table and held it when he wasn't using it. I was so damn happy. I knew with Caleb back in my life, there wouldn't be a single problem with starting over.

After dinner, Noelle pulled us all into the Forum Shops. I couldn't believe the FAO Schwarz with the huge Trojan horse was gone, but Noelle didn't let me mourn the loss. Store after store with amazing clothes, jewelry, and bags. I moaned quietly as I stroked a fabulous alligator tote in Jimmy Choo. After gulping at the price tag, I set it back on the shelf. No way would I ever spend that much on a bag.

Noelle didn't have the same reservations. She had no less than four pairs of shoes stacked next to her on a bench while she tried on a fifth. Caleb was standing there offering opinions, but I suspected he was looking more at her legs than her shoes. Sid looked bored so I dragged him with me down to the Apple store. I knew I shouldn't go in, it would just make me want what I couldn't have. But a girl could dream, right?

Caleb and Noelle found us in there. I didn't buy anything, even though I wanted to so bad it hurt. "I knew we'd find you in here. Some things never change," Caleb laughed.

I sighed, "Yeah, but I can't buy anything for a while. Maybe in a few months." I grabbed his arm and walked out of the store before I could screw up and buy the shiny new iPad that was screaming my name. We waited on a bench while Sid and Noelle continued to browse. Caleb put his arm around me and I rested my head on his shoulder, just happy to be sitting with him.

"So tell me. Was it bad?" He asked quietly.

I nodded my head against his shoulder, "Yeah, about as bad as it gets. I still have nightmares about it." I took a deep shuddering breath and told him about it, without saying any words that would alarm a casual eavesdropper. I was proud of myself for getting through it without crying.

He squeezed me tighter against him, "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you."

I poked him in the ribs, "Don't be silly. It's not your job to protect me. I'm an adult, a reasonably competent one. It was my own fault. I made several stupid mistakes, like going to an empty building at night. Ignoring the unlocked back door. By the time I saw the broken padlock, it was too late. Then again, I thought those things were just some horror story. Who knew they really existed?"

"So what are you going to do now?"

I didn't understand his question, so I sat up and looked at him. "What do you mean, what am I going to do now?"

"Well ... you know you don't have to stay in Oregon, right? You have the right to settle wherever you want. You could come stay with me, join my pack."

"Caleb, I can't do that. You know I love you, but I can't join your pack."

His face got that icy, closed off look that I absolutely hated. It generally meant he was about to say something to piss me off.

"It's Evan, isn't it? You don't want to leave him."

"No, I don't. I'm sorry, Caleb, but Evan and I, well, we're together now."

His nostrils flared and something like anger moved over his face, "Yes, I'm aware. I can smell him all over you."

This was not like him. I'd dated a lot, Caleb knew that. He dated too, for that matter. It didn't make sense that he was pulling the jealous act on me.

"What's with you, Caleb? This type of thing hasn't bothered you before."

He stood up and began to pace in front of the bench. "Yeah, well, that was before I thought you were dead and I was never going to see you again. I want you with me, where I can protect you so shit like this never happens again."

"Well I can guarantee I'm not going into a spooky basement alone ever again, so problem solved." He didn't appreciate my attempt at humor and glared at me.

"It's not funny."

What could I do?

I sighed, "No, it's not. But Caleb, you can't lock me away so nothing bad ever happens. I want to be with Evan. He protects me and he's doing everything he can to keep me safe. For that matter, I'm pretty good at taking care of myself. You can't prevent things like what happened. It's impossible. We could walk out of here and have some idiot with a gun take shots at us. One shot to the spinal column and I'd still be just as dead, regardless of if you being next to me or not."

"I don't ever want to get another phone call like that again. Ever."

I pulled him down next to me on the bench and threaded my fingers through his. "No one lives forever, Caleb. Not even people like us. All we can do is enjoy the time we have together. I love you, you know that. But I'm not going to move in with you. We'd drive each other nuts and you know it."

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Alright fine, but if you get yourself killed, I'm going to kick your ass. You hear me?"

"It's a deal," I grinned at him and he grinned back.

"This thing with you and Evan, is it serious?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. We haven't been together all that long. Just a few days. It's kind of early for that."

Caleb snorted, "Not with our kind, it isn't. Wolves mate for life, Kim. If you and Evan are sleeping together, I can guarantee he's thinking long term."

"How can you say that? We slept together once upon a time, were you thinking long term at that point?"

"At first, yeah. But it was obvious pretty quickly that it wouldn't work for us. Besides, we weren't the same at that point. It's harder to form a permanent bond with someone you know you will most likely outlive."

I mulled that over and had to admit he had a point. He tipped my chin up so he could see my eyes.

"Look, this is none of my business but I'm going to ask anyway. Are you in love with him?"

My belly jumped and my heart skipped a beat. Did I love Evan? Really love him, or was it just hormones and gratitude? I remembered how Evan looked holding me, stroking the hair out of my eyes with that tender smile on his face that he always wore after we made love, and my heart flipped over in my chest.

"Yes, Caleb, I am. It scares me to death to admit it, but yes."

He smiled at me and dropped a light kiss on my temple. "That's what I thought. When you talk about him, you get this glow like you're all lit up inside. I hope you don't mind me telling you there's just a tiny bit of me that's jealous."

"No, I don't mind. You're always going to have part of my heart, too. But now most of it belongs to someone else."

"You know if he hurts you I'm going to kick his ass, right?"

I had to laugh. He would never stop being my protector. "I'll take care of that myself. But you can help if you ask nicely."

"It's a deal. Now, let's talk about the lovely Noelle. Is she single?"

I punched him on the shoulder, "You suck."

"Yeah, I know. But, really, is she single?"

The hearing was scheduled for eleven a.m. Evan had been waiting for me when Caleb dropped me off at the room the night before. He'd been distracted and tried to hide it. When I asked him about it, he said it was nothing to worry about. I began to wonder if his grandfather was upset about the hearing and that maybe it wasn't going to go well. To distract myself, I climbed into bed and tried to enjoy my book. That didn't work very well, at all. My mind continued to spin in circles until Evan climbed into bed with me.