Chapter 33-3

“This isn’t work-related.” Heath said in a gruff voice as he slipped his feet into the shoes. Then he walked past his brother and out the hospital room. “Make sure to come back afterwards!” Declan called after him, not even having to contemplate whether or not to let him leave, even though he wasn’t authorized to. He would probably be stopped along the way out of the hospital if he was recognized by any of the doctors or nurses, but they wouldn’t be able to do anything. It was the most angry he had seen Heath in a long time. Whatever, or whoever, he was going to Bishop Lodgings for had better be prepared. An angry Heath Bishop wasn’t easy to calm down. >>>>><<<<< It took Heath only ten minutes to get to Bishop Lodgings since the hospital and hotel were so close. The drive along the way did nothing to calm him down though, and neither did the walking. The longer it took for him to get to the hotel, the more irritated he became. His thoughts were completely filled with the image from the cellphone. It was of Claire and Wyatt…again. Except this time, there was actual physical contact between them that didn’t look accidental. Claire was hugging Wyatt and his hands were raised, as if to hug her back around the hips. The image burned into his eyes, straight to his mind. And Heath was furious. When he walked through the doors of Bishop Lodgings, everything looked normal. The hotel was functioning as usual. Immediately though, the employees recognized him and were shocked, but also welcomed him back at the same time. Heath made his way to the front desk and noticed that his breathing was ragged from the rage and walking. His body hadn’t yet recovered fully yet, but he refused to stay in the hospital any longer. He needed to see Claire at that moment. “Where is she?” he asked the receptionists. Of course, they knew exactly who he was talking about and answered him. Apparently, she had gone through the hallway leading to the lounge and party rooms…with Wyatt. Heath clenched his teeth and went in the general direction. He looked through the doors and saw that the rooms were empty, until he came across a door which was only opened a crack. Heath was about to slam it open right away, but he heard Claire and his rage slightly calmed from the sound of her voice. She was speaking with Wyatt, of course. But her words made Heath’s vision blur and a ringing to buzz through his ears. “Heath asked me what he was to me since I hadn’t broken off our relationship when he left. I didn’t finish my words, but I was about to say ‘There’s always a first for everything, but now I can see why long-distance relationships don’t work.’” All along, he had wondered why she didn’t finish her words. And now he knew. And it infuriated him. Heath was no different from the other men in Claire’s life. Just like her previous boyfriends, she had thought about breaking it off all along. So why didn’t she? Was it because she felt bad for him? Did she pity him? Did she see how much he wanted her, and that was why she stayed? But now that he was gone, was she going to move on? Wyatt Simpson. It seemed as if he was always involved. Was he targeting Claire? Did he want her as well? And did Claire see that? Was she going to give him a chance just as she had with Heath? The thought snapped Heath’s control and before he knew it, he had slammed the door open. It banged against the wall of the room and he saw that Claire and Wyatt had been sitting side by side on a table in the room. They looked so comfortable and at ease next to each other. Soon enough, Claire stood up from the table and stared at him with wide eyes. Of course, she would be surprised to see him. Heath stalked into the room and took hold of her wrist before he tugged her to his side. Then he glared at Wyatt. He was staring right back with eyes full of surprise, but he didn’t say anything. Neither did Heath. His only purpose was to show Wyatt exactly who Claire belonged to and his look achieved that. So after one more second of glaring down the boy, Heath turned around and dragged Claire with him out the room. It would take too long to go up all the way to the top floor, so instead, Heath just continued to walk down the hall, further away from Wyatt, further away from people, further away from everyone. Claire kept up with him as her heels clicked against the hard floor. “Heath!” she shouted, and it sounded as if she had been calling him for a while now, but he hadn’t heard. The sound of her voice made him stop, but he didn’t let go. He stared at the ground at his feet as his breath came out heavily. Again, his vision became blurry and there was a loud ringing in his ears, but he somehow remained standing still without falling over. “Heath.” Claire whispered his name again. After taking a quick breath, he said back, “You’re mine. I won’t let anyone else have you.” Then he turned around and pushed her against the wall before trapping her in between his arms as he stared her down. Everything in his vision was blurry…everything but Claire. For some reason, her face was completely clear to his eyes. He could see that there were tears in her eyes and her freckles were still there, dusted across her cheeks. He stared at them as he spoke. “Wyatt can’t have you. No other guy can have you. Do you hear me? You’re mine and I’m never letting you go.” Claire stared into his eyes frantically before she raised her trembling hands. She settled them on his cheeks and touched him. “Who am I?” Heath gazed into her eyes, knowing exactly why she was asking that question. “Say my name. Call me by my name.” “You’re mine, Claire.” He growled. “And I don’t want any other woman, but you.” To Heath’s surprise, Claire got an angry look in her face before she tugged him down and crushed her lips against his. He could feel their teeth scrape against each other and he flinched from the pain that throbbed in his lips. “Again.” She demanded. He raised his hand and placed it behind her neck. “Claire.” She buried her hand into his hair and tugged. “Again.” Every time her name left his lips, a tingling sensation would linger on his tongue. Heath would call out her name however many times it took to convince her. “Claire Sparks.” he repeated for her before he properly pressed their lips together in a kiss, silencing her. He swiped his tongue against her lips and she opened for him. Her warm breath flowed into his mouth and he tasted her specific flavor. She moaned against him and pressed her body against his as his hand against the wall clenched into a painful fist. It was difficult keeping his control intact, especially since Claire was completely melting in his embrace. Their time apart wasn’t that long, but it felt as if Heath hadn’t seen her in years. But they were in the hallway of his hotel. They couldn’t carelessly do something there of all places. When Claire began gasping for breath, he pulled back to stare at her face. Her eyes were still glistened with tears, but her face was now flushed and her lips were ripe and swollen from their rough kiss. “God.” Heath murmured as he took in the sight before he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You’ve gotten more beautiful while I was away.” Claire gulped and gazed into his eyes. But suddenly, she blinked and snapped out of her daze before she placed her hands on his chest. Then she shoved him away from her and he stared at her with wide, confused eyes. She looked up at him and he could see the fury in her eyes. And then, she slapped him. Right across the face. The force of it made his head turn to the side and Heath stood there in utter shock. Never would he have thought that he would actually get slapped by Claire. In fact, he didn’t even really fully know the reason as to why he got it. Sure, he might have deserved it, but what was the exact reason? The burning sensation on his cheek increased in pain and he finally lifted his head to look at Claire again. She was smiling. “That felt good.” Claire shook her hand for a few seconds while blowing at it before she let it hang at her side. “Alright. Now we can talk.”