“Yes.”
“My name is Kaleb.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
He smiled at her politeness while standing in the middle of a storm.
“Where’s my box?” she asked and looked around frantically.
He bent and picked up her box and his briefcase. “I’ve got it. Where are you headed?”
“Home.”
“Did you drive?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t have a driver’s license.”
“How did you plan on getting home?”
“The bus.”
Something in his stomach knotted at the thought of her on her own in one of the city buses. He was afraid a lot of bad people rode them, and he didn’t like the idea of her around them.
“How about I take you home?”
She bit her lip and looked around at the mostly deserted street.
“I’m safe, baby. I really am a good friend of Gregory and Lana. They’ve known me for many years. If you’d like, we could go inside, and you could call them.”
She relaxed and looked up at him. “No, it’s okay.”
Kaleb clutched her box under his arm and held on to his briefcase with that hand. Then he reached out with his other one and was pleased she took it right away.
He got them to his Lincoln Escalade within a minute, threw the things in the back seat, and boosted her up in the front.
After starting the car, he looked over at her and scowled when he noticed how white her complexion was and the shivers that racked her body. He flipped on the heat on high, reached into the back of his vehicle, and grabbed the suit jacket he’d left in the car.
“Lean forward, baby.” He draped the jacket over her shoulders and then buttoned it. Then he slowly moved over toward her and wrapped his arms around her.
Kaleb didn’t like how cold she felt and how much she shivered. “I just want to get you warm. Let me hold you for a minute until you feel warmer.”
Aleena nodded and burrowed into his arms.
He rubbed a hand over her back and arm, hoping to warm her quicker. “How are you doing?” he asked when her shivers subsided.
“Better, thank you.”
He cupped her cheek and tilted her head up. The blue tinge around her lips was gone, and now there was a healthy rose color. “Are you sure I didn’t hurt you when I ran into you?”
“I don’t think so. Nothing hurts. I was just startled.”
He chuckled. “I can imagine being hit by a tank would startle anyone.”
She laughed.
He cleared his throat. He reached over her and grabbed the seatbelt, drew it over her lap, and secured it. “Let’s get you home.”
****
Aleena gave him the address and settled back against the seat. Her body hummed with the feeling of warmth, both from the heat coming out of the car vents and Kaleb. And something else she couldn’t identify at the moment. What made it worse was that every breath she took in, she smelled his intoxicating cologne that remained on his jacket, and it made her body soften even more.
She kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes. He was a handsome man, with rugged looks and a strong profile. He really did resemble a young John Wayne. The fact that he was one of her favorite actors made Kaleb seem even more attractive.
She looked at his hands and bit her lips. He gripped the steering wheel loosely, but she could tell he knew what he was doing, so she didn’t get nervous. His hands were large and tan, and his fingers were long and broad. The veins and tendons on the back stood out, making them look even more powerful.
She pulled her gaze from him and looked out her window. She was wet and cold and just wanted to be at home where she felt safe.
Within thirty minutes, Kaleb pulled up outside an expensive-looking condo building. “You own a place here?”
“No, I just rent.” Aleena looked at the building. It was fifteen levels of shiny metal and glass, and she didn’t like it at all. Her boss had found it for her because it had tight security, and to make him and his wife feel better, she stayed for the moment.
Eventually, she’d have enough saved to buy her own condo. One that was older and had some character in it. Old woodwork and floors. Maybe little nooks and crannies. No more steel and glass for her.
She couldn’t hide the edge of sadness in her tone but was glad when he left it alone for the moment. She could tell he wanted to ask a question but thankfully didn’t. She’d felt his stare more than once during the drive and knew he was curious about her. Maybe as curious as she was about him.
He pulled up close to the building, turned off the car, and got out. It was still sprinkling, but nothing like it had earlier. He came around, grabbed her box out of the back seat, helped her out of his vehicle, and walked with her into her building.
The doorman had opened the door by the time Kaleb got them close.
“I’ll take her up to her place.”
The doorman looked worried and looked back and forth between them. “I can get her there, sir.”
“It’s okay, Stan, he’s a friend of Gregory and Lana’s.”
The doorman relaxed and smiled. “All right. Have a nice evening, Miss Aleena.”
“You, too.”
She gritted her teeth as Kaleb followed her onto the elevator. He stood beside her on the way up and noticed her shivering again.
“We should have kept the coat on you,” he said and wrapped an arm around her waist.
She glanced up at him. “It will be fine. I’ll change when we get to my place.”
Neither talked until the door to the condo closed behind them.
Aleena
