Astrid in Love Ch. 10

Chapter 10: Love, Actually.

————

Caius had no choice but to return to work after his miserable discussion with Astrid. He didn't know what he'd been thinking when he'd shown up to the Magic Shop like that. It had been too fresh, too soon. He should have given Astrid some time before cornering her like that. But he had to let her know...had wanted to let her know how he felt about her.

But then, then she had gone and said what she had said. And pushed him out of the shop with her magic. So he had to simply return to work and regroup. Caius was exhausted from being pushed away by Astrid. He had thrown himself into work, and before long his day was coming to and end.

But not the drama.

Never the drama.

As he was rounding up with the guards for the evening he was frustrated to noticed their attention lacking. Actually, their attention was more than lacking, it was absolutely distracted. He could feel the men shifting in their spots, eyes lingering down the hall. Caius just about want to smash everything up and release his beast, he was so frustrated. He turned around to see what had the men all distracted. He was ready to shout at whoever it was who was causing such a spectacle down the hall, but the words died in his throat.

It was Her.

Astrid, impossibly beautiful, breath-taking and strutting down the hallway, her hips swaying in that seductive manner of hers.

So this was her game now, then? Temptation, distraction, throwing herself in his face, only to remind him that he couldn't have her. Only to remind him of the words she had hurled at him; when she had told him she'd go out and find another man. Caius felt white rage shoot through his soul.

Astrid was encased in what had to be the tightest dress ever known to man, which seemed to show every glorious curve on her exquisite figure and left absolutely nothing to the imagination. She was wearing heels which did everything to exaggerate her hips as they moved, and lengthened her already long, perfect legs.

Her hair was glossy and lightly curled, accentuating the beautiful contours of her face, her makeup - and she never wore makeup - it made her eyes all the more deeper, her face all the more bright and enchanting. Caius couldn't stop staring at her lips, painted in an alluring red clearly designed so that any man who saw her wearing it would instantly thing about her gorgeous lips kissing and sucking and-

She always looked beautiful, but right then and there, she was dressed as if she had every intention of catching herself a man. Which, Caius was devastated to realise, clearly wouldn't be hard for her.

She hadn't even gotten to a club and every single man in the hallway was diverted. He hadn't expected to see her back at the Underground after their feud this afternoon, but it was like she'd come back just to torment him. And Damn it, it was working.

He was so mad with himself and Astrid. Because even after everything she had said and he had done, he still found his heart hammering for her. Fuck, but she was his, damn it. When would she yield to him? What did he have to do to subdue her? To make her realise she belonged to him and that no other man living or dead had a right to see her this way.

"Wow", Lachlan laughed as Astrid passed them, heading towards the exit of the building, "Where are you going like that?"

"Out to the club," Astrid smiled, "just a night on the town."

"With anyone special?" Lachlan asked, and Caius wondered for a moment if the young pup was sweet on her. Caius just about wanted to smash to young wolf in his face.

"Just with some of the girls from the coven," Astrid replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder. The movement sent a whoosh of exotic scent into his face and Caius was almost brought to his knees.

"So it's a night on the prowl then," Lachlan sighed, "Wish I could come."

"Lola will be there," Caius saw Lachlan blush at the mention of the woman's name, and Caius decided he wouldn't beat up the wolf, as clearly he was diverted by this other woman. Although Caius couldn't understand why. Who could notice any other women with Astrid in the room?

"Why don't you come out when you finish your shift?" he watched Astrid ask the young wolf.

"Will you be out that late?" Lachlan asked, "I'll finish around 1." So would Caius, he decided.

"Oh yeah," Astrid laughed a deep throaty laugh, "I will be out all night. Come on down."

Was it possible to be so angry that he could have a brain aneurysm?

"Ok," Lachlan replied, "Great!"

"See ya," She smiled, completely ignoring Caius as she passed him down the hallway and towards the exit.

Caius felt like the vein in his head was going to explode. She hadn't even spared him a look, he was furious.

"Alright, enough chatting," he yelled out, capturing their attention, and in fact causing a few of the guards to jump, 'No distractions, you get sloppy when you get distracted."

Caius decided one thing then and there, if Astrid was going out, he was going out too.

She'd come to know the folly of her flaunting by the end of the night, he was certain.

————

"So you're coming with me, why?" Lachlan asked, a frown of annoyance apparent across the young werewolf's face. And really, Caius mused, it was completely understandable given the fact that he'd just been informed that he was giving a ride to his boss to a club on a Friday night.

"Because I have some business at the club," Caius snapped back, refusing to give the young man his real reason.

Lachlan didn't need to know that he was stalking his friend, in the hope of...well Caius wasn't sure what. In the hopes of ensuring she didn't hook up with some other guy? Did he have a right after what he'd done? Was it fair that it boiled his blood to think of Astrid with some man after he'd gone and fucked Vanessa?

But then, it wasn't that simple was it? because he was the one in love with Astrid, she'd pretty much told him she couldn't stand him. Fucking Vanessa hadn't made him forget Astrid, just made him disgusted with himself, and his wolf so furious with him he had barely heard from the beast since the event. That had never happened, and actually Caius was certain it was unnatural.

"Right," Lachlan replied as they pulled up in the car, "well, don't get in the way. I wouldn't want to deprive Astrid the chance to hook up with someone who may actually commit to her," he said pointedly at Caius. The mention of the witch's name made Caius jump.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Lachlan replied, pining him with a hard look. Caius opened his mouth to object but Lachlan cut him off, "and don't get all sanctimonious on me, ok? I know there's something going on with you two. Or at least there was."

Caius wasn't sure how best to approach the subject.

"Who else knows?"

"Pretty much everyone but Vanessa," Lachlan replied matter-of-factly. "I mean she was probably suspicious but then you went and fucked her, so I'd say that's gotten her off the scent of things. Although it pissed Astrid right off and I can't blame her."

Caius knew his eyes were horrified.

"Oh, don't give me that look," Lachlan rolled his eyes, "You can't expect Astrid to want to be with you anymore after fucking another woman. You broke her heart. You're lucky she hasn't hexed you."

"Broke her heart? She loathes me, there was never anything there, no heart to break."

"That's cruel, Caius. She has a heart, and it beats for you."

Caius bit back the urge to tell the younger man how ridiculous that sounded but decided against it. Astrid's heart didn't beat for him. Maybe he got her hot and wet, but that was about it.

Caius nodded, "So knowing how I've hurt your friend, knowing what I've done, you allowed me to come here."

"You mean, why did I allow you to come, knowing full well that you definitely won't let her hook up with anyone which is really unfair, and that you don't actually have business at the club tonight?" Caius looked stunned and Lachlan nodded, "Yeah, I guess I'm just a sucker for romance. Who knew?" he shrugged, "in any event, if you're going to be a pain tonight, you better make it up to her. Because she is going to give me hell about it. So, I don't know, at least fuck her, right?"

"I can't." Caius felt incredulous, felt like he was seeing the young pup for the first time.

"Why?"

"It goes against my agreement between out packs. I cannot compromise it."

"I thought the agreement was that you'd only get with Vanessa if you actually wanted to." Lachlan sighed, "and you don't want to fuck Vanessa. Its apparent to everyone, of course, except her. So Ergo, your deal is over and go take your woman."

"It's not that simple. I've made too many mistakes and Astrid has made it apparent that she has no interest in me."

"What Astrid says and what she thinks are two very different things. You think she'd be this spiteful and angry with you if she didn't care?"

"Lachlan-"

"Your excuses are annoying. It's a wonder she hasn't cursed you yet," Lachlan rolled his eyes again, "Aren't you supposed to be some big macho Alpha werewolf from a big, macho, alpha werewolf pack?"

Caius gave him a look of annoyance

"Don't start with me, pup." he found himself growling.

"All I'm saying is that you clearly like each other, do something about it. She isn't going to stay around and wait for you forever." Lachlan put his hands up as if to say 'don't shoot the messenger', "Anyway, I'm getting out and going in there and having a good old drink. You should do the same."

With that Lachlan left the car. Caius took a few minutes to think on it, reflecting with annoyance that he was probably right. If only he could talk to his master and get some advice, but there was no way he could do that without feeling like he'd betrayed his clan.

————

Astrid was dancing and trying to have a good time with the other witches, but something had changed in her.

She didn't feel much like partying as it turned out - even if it had been amazing to see how angry her going out had made Caius, it just kind of felt...bitter.

She made her way to the bar to order another drink and hopefully make the evening more bearable, when she saw Lachlan come in. She waved towards the werewolf who spotted her and came right over.

"Hey Lachie, you made it!" Astrid said happily, as the bar tender came back to her with a martini, "Hey, can I get another one of these?" she asked the bartender, passing the drink to Lachlan

"Oh thanks!" Lachlan smiled enthusiastically, grabbing the cocktail and taking a sip, "Of course, I wouldn't miss it." The bartender came back with another drink and the two gravitated towards a table at the back of the club.

"So, fair warning," Lachlan started, and looked at Astrid seriously, "Caius is here."

Astrid looked terrified and then tried to hide it behind a veil of non-challance, which she hoped Lachlan wouldn't notice, "and?"

"And you guys have some weird thing going, and I wasn't so sure you wanted him here annoying you while you're trying to hook up."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, so we're playing this game are we?" Lachlan sighed exasperated, "Ok, well listen closely cause I'm only doing this one more time this evening," he took a deep breath, "Whatever is going on between you two, you need to sort it out. He's a good man -- he's stubborn and annoying, but it's pretty clear he cares about you."

"You think?" She looked hopeful and then frowned, "No, I doubt it." She then turned to face Lachlan as they drank their cocktails, "Can I tell you something?"

Lachlan nodded as he took a big gulp from the beverage.

"You're right," Astrid whispered, "Something has been going on with us. We, um, have been hooking up. Doing everything but sex," Astrid sighed in frustration, "He won't fuck me. And it's so frustrating. And it's not just about the fucking, it's the lack of knowing what the hell is going on between us. I mean, are we friends? are we more than that? is he just using me? When things are good, it's amazing, but then we're fighting... and I just don't know. And I did something bad. Really bad. I think he hates me now and he slept with Vanessa and I-"

Lachlan gave her a kind look, "I know."

He knew? How the hell did he know?

"You know?"

"Yeah it's kind of obvious, Astrid," Lachlan smiled and shrugged.

"What do you think I should do?"

He seemed to give it some thought, "Get drunk and go dance with that guy over there," he said pointing to an attractive man staring at them both, "he looks pretty interested in you,"

The guy saw Lachlan pointing and started walking over.

"Really?"

"What? I think you should just have some fun tonight," he shrugged, "if Caius wants to talk to you he can make the effort. I'm going to go and give you and Mr-business-suit some space. Besides, I'm going to go find Lola," with that he winked and left, as the man in the business suit stood at her table.

"Hi," he said,

"Hi," Astrid smiled, trying to push the smile to her eyes. She really didn't feel like talking to this guy, but maybe it would be a good distraction.

"My name is Sam,"

"Astrid," she nodded, "Do you want to sit down?"

"Absolutely, can I get you a drink first though?"

Astrid looked down at her empty glass. Might as well get drunk.

"Sure, I'll have a martini." Astrid replied.

Yes, might as well get drunk.

————

Astrid and Mr-Business-suit, AKA Sam were spinning around on the dance floor having a pretty fun time. Which was a nice change of face. Sam was surprisingly nice and a fun dancer. Lachlan had been right, it was a good distraction. At some point in the evening she had seen Caius briefly enter the club, but he seemed to pay her no mind and had disappeared.

Lachlan was wrong, Astrid thought as her and Sam danced, bodies close together on the dance floor. Caius didn't give a shit about her.

"This is great, Astrid," Sam smiled, hands on her hips, pulling her close to his body. They swayed together to the rhythm.

Astrid nodded, and maybe it was the alcohol, but she pressed her lips to his, kissing Sam softly on the lips. He returned the kiss eagerly, holding her close, their bodies still swaying to the rhythm of the music.

Astrid felt a small contentment for the moment, simply enjoying the sensation of being actually desired by another man, no complications, no nothing.

That was until, of course, she wasn't suddenly kissing Sam, because Sam had literally been ripped off her.

"What the hell, man?" Sam yelped, and Astrid was...was relieved to see it was Caius, holding him by the scruff of the jacket, "let me go,"

She tried to ignore the relief pulsing through her. She was confusing even herself now.

"You're touching my woman," Caius spat through gritted teeth, "I should kill you up for that."

He called her 'his woman', Astrid felt her heart race. He wanted her, he really wanted her. Surely the man wouldn't go to all this trouble if..

"Woah," he wriggled out of Caius grasp, "she kissed me".

Caius turned his angry gaze to Astrid and for a moment she was bewildered. Was he really angry at her? After what he'd done with Vanessa? Astrid began to feel the anger wash through her veins.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Astrid sneered.

"I'm taking you home," he growled, "You're clearly drunk".

She turned on her heel and marched straight for the exit. Once outside she could hear herself think outside of the noise and heat of the club. Caius followed her, like she knew he would. She felt comfortable with her anger, this was a familiar place she could work from.

"You're coming back to The Underground,"

"Fuck off," Astrid spat out, wanting to provoke him.

He grabbed her, pinning her against him, just like, Astrid though, the first time they'd met. She could feel every centimetre of Caius' hard skin and muscle against her body and she felt her body utterly tingle. His face was angry and terrifying, but she could only feel lust spread between her thighs.

"Don't talk to me like that." His growled, "I won't tolerate it."

"You're hurting me," She gasped, his grip hurting her skin, the tension of his fingers began to send pain through her arms.

"Good," he grabbed her wrist and dragged her to his car.

"I'm not going," She tried pulling back, but it was no use he was too strong. This was a familiar dance of theirs and she felt her body respond eagerly.

"Shut up and get in," he pushed her harshly into the passenger seat and came around to drive the car. He hopped in and locked the doors.

"You have no right to do this," Astrid snapped as he sped off towards The Underground.

"I told you to shut up," He hissed, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. Was it wrong that his anger made her nipples taut?

"And I told you to go fuck off," Astrid replied smartly, wondering just how she could push him before he snapped.

He stopped the car in the middle of the road, luckily being 3am no one was behind him. He pulled the break and reached out and grabbed Astrid by her hair, bring her face close to his. He kissed her roughly on the mouth, teeth grazing her lips in a show of dominance.

"I know a good use for that smart mouth of yours if you're insistent on using it," his hand gripping her hair, he brought his other to grab one of her hands pressing it against the front of his jeans to press against the hardness growing against the front of his jeans.

Astrid couldn't control the body reaction, feeling a shiver of desire tumble through her as she felt the heat and hardness of his manhood. When was the last time...they'd...the thoughts sent her reeling.

She was furious though as well, as well as confused and very drunk which wasn't helping anything. Astrid pushed him away with all her strength, "don't touch me," she said coldly, "I don't want you."

But you don't really mean that, do you Astrid? Goddess you're a mess.

Caius cackled, "Don't want me? I can smell how wet you are, little witch, I can see those light little nipples of yours through that dress." He punctuated the sentence by reaching over to her breasts and pinching a nipple through the skintight fabric of the dress.

Astrid was outraged, she tried to hit him, but he quickly put the car back into gear, forcing her to slam back into the seat. He used her shock to his advantage, and shoved her dress up, sneaking his hand on top of her panties to stroke her maddeningly. She'd wished the silky fabric was not between them. He was stroking her through her underwear, driving like a maniac, no doubt so he could get to the Underground and punish her.

She gripped his hand, unsure of whether she wanted him to take it away or keep going.

She couldn't stop herself from moaning, "you disgust me," she panted as he continued to stroke her.

"You're not stopping me though, are you?" he bit back, a finger slipped passed her underwear and between her folds, and he growled "You're so wet for me, I know you want me."

"fuck you, you're a real piece of shit" she hissed, he looked at her severely, taking his eyes off the road momentarily, and suddenly pulled over the side of the road.

Caius took his hand away from under her dress and parked the car. Astrid was terrified, he looked furious, she'd pushed him too far, he looked like he was going to throttle her. Caius got out of the car, coming around to her side and jerked the car door open.

"Get out now," he barked, eyes practically glowing with white, hot rage.

Astrid was shaking, from fear or arousal she wasn't sure. She complied, smoothing her dress down to cover herself as she stepped out the car. She tried to stand tall, but couldn't because of the heels and alcohol.

"I didn't tell you to put down your dress," he said darkly, "You don't listen do you? I clearly need to teach you a lesson," he sounded angry but there was an unmistakable sexual look in his eyes that made her heart jump with excitement.