Captivation

Captivation Part 36

Jared tipped his head to one side. He wanted to know a bit more about her guests. But he figured trying to get her to tell him anything about them would just be a waste of time at the moment. In any case, now that he knew that Joe was with Leah, some of his jealousy had waned.

"You owe me an apology." Jared stated bluntly as he returned to his original plan. This was his strategy. To keep her on the back foot. Go for the unexpected approach. She was probably expecting him to come round and plead his case.

Caitlin blinked in confusion. "Sorry?" That was the last thing she was expecting to hear. She jammed her hands in the pockets of her dressing gown and frowned at him with open annoyance.

"Not good enough." He kept the smile out of his voice. He'd spent several hours trying to figure out how he needed to work this. She was not his usual type and as a result he was still learning how best to engage with her! What he did know was that she needed a whole different strategy. Not that his strategies, any of them, appeared to work with her.

She glared at him "I owe you an apology?" What did he think he was doing, coming to her house and demanding an apology. And for what? She felt her blood begin to heat. Her breathing gave away the fact she was not at all pleased.

"You owe me an apology." Jared repeated calmly. Clearly the strategy was working. She was flustered. And flustered would mean that she was more likely to give honest rather than practiced responses. For a moment he thought he might actually have hit on the perfect strategy to manage Caitlin. But he also knew that where she was concerned he should not count his blessings too early! She was mercurial.

"For what? Not falling at your feet?" She sneered with disdain, somewhat bemused by this turn of events. She was expecting him to apologise at the very least. Oh the man was insufferable.

"For accusing me of staging that event with Lisa at the treasure hunt." Jared said frankly.

"By event, I gather you mean that kiss?" She grumbled and felt the flush of heat suffuse her neck and cheeks. It wasn't embarrassment that brought about that stain of colour to her cheeks. It was remembrance of how it felt to be kissed by him. "Next you'll be telling me that Douglas stumbled upon us kissing." She was still embarrassed by the fact that while she had been practically melting, Jared had been waiting eagerly for Douglas to arrive on the scene.

"No, I asked him to do that." He replied coolly. He was not going to apologise for attempting to fix a difficult situation. He just hadn't anticipated it being this difficult to set things straight.

"Unbelievable. You are unbelievable!" And she should not be listening to him. The man was a charmer. He would no doubt be able to convince her that it really was her fault from start to finish. Caitlin wanted to stamp her foot in annoyance, but that no doubt would lead him to think he was winning. So instead she let her irritation only show in her voice.

But he surprised her by saying, "I made a mistake. I was trying to fix it." And I intend to ensure that you and I have a future together. One mistake is not going to put paid to that.

"By making a bigger one?" She shook her head. "Well, I'm sorry, but I am not going to apologise for accusing you of being a jerk." She opened the door, and gestured to him. "So if that's all you came round here for...." She waited expectantly. He didn't move. She glared. He quirked a brow. They were both obstinate. That much was clear from their body language.

Jared was starting to wonder when he had discovered that he found stubborn women attractive. He could have practically any woman, albeit only for the short term. So why was he going after this woman, and why was he thinking long term?