Thunderstorm Rendevous Chapter 9

Okay, this chapter is dedicated to Jan who edited, thanks hon and to all of you who read the story. Thanks and Big Hugs. Now, the next chapter (chapter 10) will be the last chapter of TR. I'm working on Kaos' story. Kaos is Trace's brother. My wonderful friend, Shar, is working on Nora's story. Nora is one of Calla's best friends. I'm not sure when those stories will be post, got to work something out. And yes, I know no slap on the wrist for Trace for trying to make Calla jealous, but the thing is, he's in for a lot in the upcoming stories. So, you'll have to be patient and I may let Calla get some revenge for the jealousy thing. lol. Thanks for everything, I'll let you guys know what we've come up with and who's going to be posted (Nora or Kaos) first. On with the story.


Chapter 9

Calla brushed back a strand of wet hair. Her face had been scrubbed clean of all makeup. She took a deep breath and walked around him to the kitchen, passing the small dining room table. She put on some coffee and puttered around her kitchen, omitting the fact that there was a sexy, 6' 3 inch hunk that was looking at her for an explanation. She got out her favorite soft baked, white chocolate chunk, macadamia nut cookies and put them on a plate.

"Calla." His voice was soft, questioning and confused.

She gulped and took a deep breath. "I don’t honestly know what I feel right now. I’m so confused about everything. I know I said I wanted to be with you beyond that night in the B&B, but I hardly know you. I don’t normally go around sleeping with random strangers and . . ." Her voice trailed off.

"And?" He asked.

Trace was now in back of her. Calla could feel his heat and presence; it was overwhelming and arousing at the same time. How could she feel so safe and yet in freefall at the same time? "I . . . I think . . . I think I’m falling in love with you." There she had said it. It was now out in the open.
She waited and waited for him to respond.

"You think?" He asked. He had dropped his head down to her shoulder, his mouth just a breath away from her ear.

She shivered. His arms slid around her waist and he brought her closer to his body. She could feel his erection against her bottom. She had to be strong and not let him use his voice or body to distract her.

"We’ve only known each other for a few hours and yet . . . It’s just not possible."

She didn’t know how he felt. Why should she take Roar’s word that he loved her? Hearing it second hand, didn’t help clarify anything.

"I don’t want to get involved with someone, where it’s one sided." She said, proud that her voice hadn’t broken.

Seeing Bobby had reminded her about how naive she had been. It hadn’t been until toward the end that she realized just how one sided their relationship had been and how she truly felt about it. It hadn’t hurt that he had cheated; it had hurt at the realization that someone could be so careless with a person’s feelings.

"This is not one sided." He nipped her ear and inhaled her clean fresh scent. He wished he had joined her in the shower. "I have fallen for you. I’m in love with you. Even though it seems like it happened too quickly, it feels right. You’re in my arms, you’re sharing my life; it feels right when I’m with you. I don’t feel alone, like I need to shut myself off from the world. My mother use to tell me that as soon as she saw my father, she knew that he was the one. I feel that way with you. It seems so easy to just be with you, so right. I don’t want to be with anyone else, just you." He kissed the pulse point on her neck.

The timer for the coffee went off and she moved out of his arms to get out the mugs.

She hadn’t responded. Trace felt anger and was hurt by Calla’s reticence.

"When I saw Bobby today, it reminded me of so much. The only thing that had truly hurt me about that relationship was how unequal it was. I did all the giving and he did all the taking. I didn’t realize it until now, how much his actions had affected me. I don’t make it a habit of opening my heart up to anyone, except my friends."

Calla paused to pour the coffee and carry the mugs to the dining room. "Could you bring the plate of cookies, please?"

Trace came out of his haze of anger toward Bobby. He hadn’t liked hearing what the bastard had done to her the first time. He certainly didn’t like hearing more, but it did explain why she was so hesitant to give her heart to him. He placed the cookies on the table and sat down. She had placed one mug at one end of the table and the other mug at the opposite end. They were now sitting across from each other.

"So, this is why you don’t want to fall for me because of that prick Bobby?" He hadn’t meant for his words to sound so harsh, but it had and he would let it stand.
She didn’t answer immediately, but when she finally did, she said, "I want to take it slow, that’s all."

Relief washed over him. "Okay, I can live with that. So, what do you want to do right now, other than drink coffee and eat cookies?"

She looked up at him shyly and then smiled. Before she could answer a large crack of lightning sounded and thunder rumbled loudly. The lights flickered, but remained on. She smiled.

"How about we build a fire, turn off all the lights, cuddle and enjoy the storm?"

Trace smiled, "I’d like that."

Calla stared at Trace looking serious. "Don’t try anything. It’s just cuddling."

Trace tried to look innocent. "What? I wasn’t even thinking of trying anything."

She gave him a look that clearly said she didn’t believe him. She got up and got a large amount of pillows and blankets; where they came from he didn’t know, but she arranged them on the floor, in front of the fire place. She grabbed her mug of coffee with the plate of cookies and settled herself on the blankets and pillows. He followed her and settled himself behind her savoring the feel of her in his arms.

They drank their coffee and ate cookies and talked the whole night through, while savoring the storm. As morning dawned, Calla woke up in bed, with Trace lying next to her. Sunlight poured through her window. Trace was still asleep, his face so peaceful. He had taken off everything except his boxers; that much she could tell. She allowed her hand to gently wander over his body under the covers. She didn’t remember being carried to bed, but she did remember the laughter, talking and enjoying his company. Calla smiled; she could get use to this.