3: Please play along

Someone was kissing Calvin. Not just anyone. The pretty stranger who yelled like a banshee from across the street. He only came out of the restaurant to call Diane. She was supposed to meet him here.

Who was this? Why did she call him baby? Wait, what if Diane had sent her to him? No, she wouldn’t. It didn’t make any sense.

The strange girl moaned against his lips. She was too loud, too eager. Her reactions felt scripted because he wasn’t kissing her back.

Was she okay?

Calvin knew he had to end this if he needed answers and also avoid possible issues with Diane, but the girl only wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into her embrace like they were lovers catching up. She was wet to the bones, but she smelt nice, and he almost forgot that he should be putting an end to this.

Thinking of Diane gave him the courage to peel her off him. His lips were poised to reprimand her, but she shook her head. “Please, play along.”

Damn. She sounded like an angel. And Calvin wanted to make her his. Diane would kill him.

Calvin’s arm locked around her waist, and he drew her closer to him. He shouldn’t be doing this, but the angel looked like she needed help, and Calvin couldn’t turn down a blue-eyed angel. He didn’t like how easily she melted into his arms and how his body reacted to her presence.

“Are you in trouble?” he whispered. The rain had reduced, but a few drops coated his suit jacket. He wanted to offer it to her, but she was holding on too tightly to him.

“Yes,” she said, a little too quietly. “Behind me.”

Calvin’s gaze raked the place. Since it was late and the rain had completely subsided, the street wasn’t as busy as it would have been during the day. It was easy to spot the people that might have scared his angel. His arm tightened around the beautiful stranger when he saw the three dirty-looking men watching from afar.

They didn’t hide their annoyance but made no move to come closer. Good for them. He might not walk around with guards, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t end them with a phone call.

“Three of them,” she whispered.

Her body trembled so bad he was worried for her health. He needed to get her a new outfit if she had been out in the rain for as long as he thought she was. Something warm to wear and steaming hot food to eat. His phone was yet to ring. So it could only mean one of two things. Diane hadn’t seen his calls. Or, she had and was ignoring him.

He wouldn’t let her off easily if the latter were the case. Why bring him out all this way to stand him up? Maybe to meet this pretty angel? Shit. He needed to get his head back in the game.

“I see them,” he whispered. The lady opened her mouth to say more, but he kissed her. Yes, he was kissing a stranger, but he liked it. He really liked her lips. Breaking off the kiss was the most challenging thing he had done all day, but he managed to. “Where do you live?”

“Are they gone?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Calvin spun her around with his arm on her lower back so she could confirm it for herself. She nodded more to herself and let out a deep breath. He waited for an explanation, but none came. She must have realised something was off in her dress because she tore the jacket off her and stomped on it. That singular move drew his attention to her body. Her delectable shape in the fitted blue knee-length dress. She was so fucking sexy.

When she noticed him staring, she managed a smile that made him straighten up. He couldn’t scare her off. “It belonged to one of them,” she explained.

Calvin liked hearing her voice. “Did they touch you?” he asked. She lifted blue eyes to his grey ones, and his heart clenched. Her silence spoke more than a lot, and an unexplainable urge to protect her swept over him. He hugged her. “I’m so sorry. I should have shown up earlier.”

“They didn’t rape me,” she whispered against his chest. “They just…” She stopped herself from speaking and stepped out of his grasp. A skinny hand ran through her wet hair that was flat against her scalp. “Thank you. I owe you.”

She looked around, and her gaze lingered on the spot the men had been standing. If he could give anything at this point, it would be to read or hear her thoughts. He didn’t want this angel to leave. Diane might accuse him of cheating, but he couldn’t consider it cheating when he had not done anything unusual yet.

“You should get new clothes,” Calvin said when she shivered for the third time. “Or you will freeze to death. I can take you home. Please.”

“They took my bag,” she murmured. Her lips quivered, and she stared into the distance. He moved closer to draw her into his embrace so they could share his body warmth. “My books. They took my books. They were in my bag.”

“What books?” he asked in a small voice.

“I was writing a story,” she answered. He didn’t say more because he had never met a writer, but she must have misunderstood his silence. “You probably think it’s a stupid passion, right?”

“I don’t think that. No passion is stupid.”

A long second passed with both of them staring at each other. She was the first one to snap out of the trance. Calvin’s arms felt empty when she backed away. He didn’t know if it would be appropriate to offer his jacket, but he shrugged it off and placed it over her shoulders. She stared at it, and he pulled his hands away to tuck them into his pockets. When she slipped her hands into the sleeves, he relaxed. It was big on her.

“Thanks,” she whispered, buttoning the jacket. She needed something better, warmer.

“What was your book about?”

“A man. A woman. Life,” she muttered without looking at him. He took that as a sign to avoid the conversation. She hugged herself again, a little lost as she walked a few feet away from him to create more distance. “You have been so helpful, sir.”

Calvin laughed. Calling him sir made him feel a bit old when he couldn’t have been older than her by a few years. He covered the short gap and paused a foot beside her, his hands buried deep into his pockets as they watched different cars dash past them.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” she said after minutes had passed. “But thank you.”

Calvin walked around to stand in front of her, and she took a step back. He chose not to dwell on her reaction and placed a finger under her jaw so her blue eyes were looking into his grey ones. “Let me take care of you. We’ll get you a change of clothes, and you can leave. Okay?”

“How am I sure you’re not like them?”

His lips quirked in an arrogant smile. He was many things but a predator. Ladies might have unsavoury names for him due to his playboy ways, but none would call him forceful.

“If you thought I was one or anything like them, you wouldn’t have rushed to me for help, would you?” he whispered. His voice went lower. His thumb brushed her cheek, trailed to her sweet, tempting lips, and she gulped. He wouldn’t mind another kiss from her. “And you wouldn’t have kissed me.”

“Right.”

“But if it would make you feel better,” he continued, keeping his hands to himself. “I’m nothing like those men. And if I want you in my bed, you’ll be there willingly.”

She gasped, stunned by his words to reply immediately. “I don’t want to be in your bed,” she gritted. His words might have upset her, but he couldn’t deny how cute she looked in his jacket. But he wouldn’t hurt her. “I just want to go home. Please.”

“What’s your name?” She shrugged, and Calvin took her silence as a challenge. This beautiful lady would be tough, and he would have fun getting to know her. He looked her up from bottom to top, eyes lingering on his chest. He shouldn’t be imagining her under him after what she had just been through, but his mind was torturing him. “Angel. I’ll call you Angel, my darling.”

She sneered. “I’m not your darling.”

“Then tell me your name,” he said. She gritted her teeth. She was stubborn too. Double the challenge. His phone rang at that moment. He pulled out his phone. Diane’s name flashed on his screen. He ended the call. This would teach her better than to play with him like that. “What is your name?” No answer. “Fine. Angel it is.”

“Suit yourself.”