Chapter 33 : The Perfect Storm

**Cat POV Luke shot up from the table, lighting more candles. The room filled with a soft, orange glow. I stayed put, my body feeling cold when the windows started rattling the house. "Are there shutters on the windows?" I asked when I looked over and saw the glass visibly wiggling in the frame. "Not yet. I haven't storm-proofed this property," Luke reminded me. The window at the end of the table blew open. The wind whipped around the room, shaking the paintings on the wall and making the tablecloth flutter. Luke ran over to the window and forced it closed. He shoved a nearby bookcase in front of it. The other windows started rattling just as violently. I stood up from the table and went to Luke. "We can't block off all the windows," I said. Another clap of thunder shook the entire house. Boom! Crash! I felt a tremor through the floor. "What was that?" I asked in a hushed voice. I was holding tightly to Luke's arm, looking around like I expected the roof to cave in. "It must have been a tree falling. Hopefully, none will fall right on us," Luke said, grinning. I froze. My mouth went dry. I swallowed several times. "Uhh… is that likely to happen?" "Probably not. We should be safe in here," Luke assured. His voice didn't sound very confident. He was probably just saying it to make me feel better. Plink. Plink. Plink. The sound of rain striking the glass started. At first, it was just a few drops here and there, but quickly, it turned into a dull roar. We were trapped in a non-storm proofed house in the middle of a torrential downpour. Two more windows blew open, and I yelped. "Help me get these closed!" Luke shouted over the whipping wind. Rain poured inside, covering the floor in a slippery film. I went to the nearest window, pushing at the glass and trying to force it close. Luke was at the second window, doing the same thing. While we struggled, another window across the room blew open. Cold rain pelted me in the face like little BBs. "We need to get away from the windows!" I shouted. My arms ached as I pushed on the door. My clothes were soaked through, and even though we were in the tropics, I was shivering. My fingers were already pruning. The entire room was destroyed. All the food and table settings were on the floor. Some of the glass and China shattered. "It isn't safe to go upstairs," Luke shouted. "There has to be somewhere we can go," I screamed over the wind and rain. I released my window and ran over to Luke. My teeth chattered, and I hugged myself, trying to warm myself up. "At least, is there a blanket or something?" I asked. "Probably nothing that is still dry," Luke shouted. "Most of the house is empty except for a couple of rooms." He released his window and tried to warm me up by rubbing my arms. It didn't work. My clothing was still soaked. The candles had long ago been blown out and were too wet to relight. "Luke, we can't stay here like this," I said. "Come here," he said. He took my hand and pulled me into the kitchen. In every room, there were windows that had blown open. Some of them even had broken glass. The floor had puddles on it now. Luke pulled me through the kitchen and to what seemed like a closet. He opened it up and shoved me inside. He came in after me, shutting the door and latching it. "That lock should hold. We're not too near any windows, so the wind isn't as bad here," Luke muttered. I couldn't see anything. The room was pitch black. My nose tingled with the scent of spices, like chili powder, cinnamon, and basil. We were in the kitchen pantry. In the darkness, I heard Luke turn toward me. We were standing so close together that I could feel his thighs against mine. I tried stepping back from Luke. "Ahh!" I cried when I lost my footing. Reaching out, I grabbed whatever I could before I fell over. My fingers curled around wet fabric. Luke's hands came around my arms. "I've got you," he said as he pulled me upright. Now, we were standing even closer together! My palms pressed flat to his chest, and we stood there in silence for a moment. Outside the pantry, I could still hear the wind and rain. It sounded like the storm was still at full strength. It would probably go on for a while. "We just need to wait it out," Luke muttered. "And how long could that take?" I asked in a shaky whisper. I was so cold! "Hopefully, just a few hours," Luke said, chuckling. "Hours?" I gasped. Groaning, I slumped down a little. How could I survive this storm? Ever since I'd arrived in the city, my life had been nothing but a raging storm. Now, I was literally caught in a raging storm. I wasn't even sure how I'd survived as long as I had. I'd lost so much, and struggled through so much. Every time I thought things couldn't get worse… they had. My mind wandered to the possibility that this storm was the literal representation of my life. Did that mean things would start getting better for me once this storm passed? "Cat, are you okay?" Luke asked through the darkness. I was still holding onto his shirt. My hands actually felt warm, and I realized that he was radiating body heat. "I'm pretty cold," I admitted. "Me too," he said. He wrapped his arms around me. Gasping, I struggled instinctively. "Just for warmth," Luke assured. I wanted to argue, but I was actually starting to feel warmer. His body was large, strong, and so, so warm! Despite myself, I snuggled a little closer. "I know things have been confusing for you, especially with what happened between us," Luke said. "You want to talk about this now?" I asked, narrowing my eyes into the darkness. "What else are we supposed to talk about?" he asked dryly. Groaning, I shrugged. "Okay, we'll talk about this." "The things I said at the hotel, the night we met, I wasn't making any of that up. I did want to talk to you and help you because I thought you were beautiful," he said. He moved his hand and his fingertips brushed my wet, matted hair. "That's… thank you," I said, my cheeks hot enough to warm us both up now. "And I do think Aaron is a jerk. I'd never treat anyone like that. Honestly, I think you're better off without him. He is Fiona's problem now," he said, amusement clinging to his words. I sighed and shook my head. "They do seem well suited for each other." "I've been unprofessional, haven't I? Inviting you on 'secret trips' and taking you on fancy dinners while claiming they're for work," he said. I was a little surprised he was admitting to it. "Just a little." "My apologies for pushing you too much. I greatly respect you and the work you do. I trust your eye and abilities. If you'd like, I can back off and let you handle the projects on your own," he offered. "I… you are the CEO of the company. Don't you have to oversee the projects?" I asked, confused by his sudden desire to give me space. "Usually, I do like to oversee them. Given our history and your abilities, I would be comfortable backing off if that's what you want," he said again. I sighed heavily and unconsciously leaned closer to Luke and his warm body. "And if you'd like, I'll stop taking you on spontaneous getaways like this," he offered. I giggled. "Like what? Being locked in a dark closet together?" Luke chuckled. "Actually, this part was planned, not spontaneous." "Oh, you are so bad," I said, shaking my head. "What can I say, getting a pretty girl alone in a closet has always been a fantasy of mine," Luke said, laughing. "And I'm sure the raging hurricane outside was all part of the plan?" I asked. "Oh yeah. I had to call in a few favors just to get the wind and rain right," he told me. I smiled into the darkness. The mood was lifting quickly, and I wasn't shivering as much. Either his body heat was warming me up, or he was distracting me enough that I wasn't thinking about it. Outside the closet, the storm was still going on. I couldn't be sure, but it almost sounded like it was slowing down. "I admit, taking me to a traditional Spanish Colonial house was a very good move," I said. "You did seem to like the architecture more than the meal," he said, laughing a low, rumbling laugh that I felt through my own bones. "What can I say, I appreciate good, authentic architecture. I'd probably have appreciated it more if it was properly storm-proofed," I teased. "True. But then my plan of getting you into the closet wouldn't have worked," he reminded me. I rolled my eyes in the darkness. "Right, how could I forget?" I said, shaking my head. "It sounds like the storm is calming down. Maybe we should check." I reached for the knob, but in the darkness, Luke grabbed my wrist. He could see a lot better than I could in the dark because he brought his other hand to my face. I gasped at how hot his touch was. "Wh-what are you doing?" I asked. "I told you, I wanted to get you alone in a small, dark closet," he purred. "L-Luke," I whispered his name. "I like you, Cat. I really like you. My goal was to tell you and show you tonight, but the storm got in the way. Turns out, it kind of helped me out," he said. I looked up where I thought his face was. I could barely see his outline in the darkness. Without power outside, there wasn't even a sliver of light coming through the cracks in the door. "I…" Something warm and soft brushed my lips. Luke's mouth pressed against mine and his lips started to move slowly. For a moment, I didn't know what to do. I just stood there dumbly. Then, I threw my arms around Luke's neck and kissed him back. Weeks of hot and cold, mixed signals. I hadn't known what to think or feel, but now Luke was making it so, so easy. I started unbuttoning the buttons on his shirt. Luke grunted and pulled at my dress, pulling it up my legs, over my thighs, and over my butt. His lips moved hungrily against mine and my skin heated up. I was still wet, but I was no longer cold.