Chapter 4 – Without You
Seth was in a very sour and foul mood over the next couple days, trying to wrap his mind around what happened with Khloe. They had a great time together, the date went spectacular and then she just up and left! What the hell had he done wrong? Seth couldn't figure it out to save his life. He had been a gentleman and hadn't taken advantage of her. Things had gone way too fast and went too far.
Seth wasn't raised to hop into bed with a woman after the first date. His mother would kill him if he ever did something like that and Khloe was too important to do that with. He was protecting both of them. And she just left without a word, no explanation. Seth couldn't go to her brother Bryan because he'd end up beating the living shit out of him for violating his rule of 'no dating his sister'. Pumping iron, Seth knew Khloe would return tonight and planned on cornering her after the show, wanting to know what the fuck her problem was and why she ran off like a coward.
"So what the hell happened between you and Khloe?" Chris asked, looking down at Seth while he continued pumping iron. "You look like a pissed off bull."
"I don't want to talk about it." Seth grunted, not looking at his tag partner as he stared straight up at the ceiling, gritting his teeth.
"Tough shit." Chris took the bar from Seth and racked it, forcing the man to stop working out. "You're pushing past your max weight because you're pissed off and something tells me it has to do with Khloe."
"I said I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!" Seth exploded, shoving Chris to hard he landed flat on his ass and squared his shoulders, glaring spitefully at his friend. "I'm only saying this once, so pay the fuck attention. If you EVER get involved in my personal life again, I'll make sure we're no longer friends or tag team partners. I don't need any help and I damn sure don't need you setting me up on a blind date either. Stay out of my personal life, Chris or ELSE." He stalked out of the workout room and toward their dressing room to get ready for the show that night.
Khloe was so embarrassed; embarrassment just flooded through her body from head to toe. She still felt very nauseas. She'd spent her days off cursing herself. She was a whore plain and simple. How in the world was she supposed to face Seth? She was dreading it. She just really hoped she didn't throw up on his shoes or anything. Nope she'd pretty much gotten most of her puking out and as a result from her throat being so raw God was officially punishing her because she now had laryngitis.
Her voice was all kinds of fucked up and she couldn't concentrate for shit. She deserved everything she got. She was just waiting for the whore rumors to circle and it could complete this shitty day. She wasn't leaving her office as she was sucking on a throat lozenge trying to get the pain in her throat and heart to stop. Neither one was letting up either.
Bryan walked into his sister office and looked down at her. "So you want to tell me why I'm hearing rumors that you went out with Seth Rollins the same time I got that fucked up voicemail from you?" Khloe cleared her throat awkwardly. And Bryan's eyebrows shot up to his hair hairline. "What the fuck is wrong with your voice Khloe Marie?"
Khloe shook her head. "I've got laryngitis. I got sick over the few days off. It's no big deal it should be gone in a few days. My throat is just really raw and my larynx is swollen." Her voice kept breaking so she knew he only got a third of what she was saying. "I'm fine." She grabbed Bryan's arm. "Just do me a favor and leave Seth alone. Yes we went on a date and I'm the one who fucked it up. I was stupid. So just leave him alone. Please, if you ever loved me, just leave him alone." She watched as he left the room and could feel the tears sliding down her cheeks again.
Had Khloe completely lost her mind? There was no way in HELL he was letting this go. But Bryan would do it on HIS terms.
Seth looked up when Bryan Danielson walked into his dressing room, not bothering to knock and immediately stood up, seeing the ice in the man's eyes. "What can I do for you?" He asked trying to keep a polite tone since this was Khloe's brother.
"Heard you got some aggression and need to let it out. Come on, I'll spar with you." He wasn't giving Seth a choice, already opening the door.
Seth raised a brow, wondering if Bryan was serious and reluctantly walked out the door following him to the ring. What if Khloe told him what happened? Lord – Bryan was going to kill him with this 'sparring'. Seth could feel it, but he'd take whatever beating Bryan gave him if it meant making things right with Khloe. That's if she even wanted him anymore.
Khloe had already heard about Bryan trying to pretend he was sparing with Seth as she shook her head and walked down her his dressing room. She pushed the door open and stood leaning against the door frame as she crossed her arms over her chest as she fixed him with a look. "You just couldn't help yourself could you?" Her raspy voice brought him out of his personal thoughts as he looked up at her. She shook her head at him. "I told you to leave him alone and I meant it Bryan. Just because you don't want them dating me because I'm your sister, doesn't mean I don't want to find a nice guy to have a damn relationship with. And he was a nice guy; he was a great guy. I told you I'm the one who fucked up. Now just LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Her voice growled out; it was getting worse the more she used it. If she wasn't careful by the end of the night she was going to lose it all together.
The show was well underway and she'd already checked the posters and advertising around the arena and everyone had come to get their muscles warmed up and massaged except for Seth. Yea she was trying to avoid Seth, but knew she could only avoid him for so long.
When Khloe got back to her office, Seth was waiting for her. He sat in her chair behind the desk, his feet propped up with his hands folded behind his head. He didn't look too worse for wear, Seth could definitely hold his own against Bryan Danielson or anyone he stepped in the ring with. Everyone called him one tough customer. "So, how long were you going to avoid me?" Seth asked, keeping his voice low and neutral, his guard completely up.
"Because, last I checked we had a really nice date that ended with me walking out to get some air and the beautiful woman in my bed leaving without so much as a fuck you, have a nice life." He stood up, folding his arms in front of his chest. "So now it's time for you to tell me what the hell happened and what did I do to scare you off?"
Khloe stepped around him as she frowned. She could already feel the tears pricking the back of her eyes as she sat on her desk. "I told Bryan to leave you alone." Her voice raspy as it broke. "It was my fuck up Seth; mine and mine alone." She shook her head as she cough lightly.
"It wasn't anything you did. You didn't scare me off." She licked her dry lips. "I left because I was embarrassed and ashamed of myself. Don't think I didn't have a good time; because I did. I've never had so much fun and smiled so much during just a simple dinner and dancing date. I was going to let you have sex with me because I've been attracted to you for a very long time."
Khloe shook her head. "If you think the first time I ever heard of you was in ROH then you're wrong. Bryan was doing the recruiting for ROH when he came across the great Tyler Black. When you first left the room I felt completely rejected and then I felt completely embarrassed because I behaved like a whore. I'm sorry I left. I didn't know what to do and I sort of freaked out." Tears were sliding down her cheeks and her voice was definitely getting worse as her eyes dropped to the floor. She was ready for him to yell at her for leaving him; expecting the worst.
The second the word whore popped out of her raspy mouth, Seth closed the distance between them and cupped her face in his strong hands, staring deep into her dark neon red-rimmed eyes. "Don't ever call yourself that again. Now you listen to me and you listen good; I stopped myself because I refused to make love to you so quickly. I rushed it because I was afraid I'd lose you. I realized what an idiot I was being by rushing things because clearly you're interested in me and clearly I'm interested in you. I don't know how deep the feelings go yet for you, but I know they're strong. They're stronger than anything I've ever felt for a woman. So don't ever call yourself that again because you couldn't be more wrong."
Seth sighed heavily as his eyes locked with her ocean blue eyes. "You're not a whore. You're a beautiful, intelligent woman who deserves to be treated like a lady. And I nearly ruined that on our first date by not courting you. Half the fun of getting to the lovemaking is exploration. And I want to know everything about you and you to know everything about me before we even THINK about sleeping together. I want to do this right and not jump the gun. You didn't do anything wrong, Khloe. I walked away from you because I needed some air so I didn't ravage you like I wanted too…like my body BEGGED me too."
Khloe frowned as she shook her head. "You didn't ruin it Seth. I just shouldn't have left." She swallowed hard. Her throat was killing her as she stared into his dark chocolate pools. "Can we just pretend everything after the wonderful date never happened? Because up until then; it really was a great date. One of the best and most enjoyable I've ever had. Next time we watch movies and keep ourselves occupied." Her hands fisted his t-shirt as she held him in front of her.
Relief flooded every part of Seth's body as he nodded, cupping her face as his mouth found hers in a soft passionate kiss. He didn't care if he got sick; it was worth it to feel her lips against his again for the first time in days. "Sounds fantastic to me." He murmured once the kiss broke, pressing a finger to her lips. "Don't worry, if I get sick it's worth it. And as far as I'm concerned, we ended the date after some heavy making out and I showed you to your door. At least, that's the lie I'm sticking with." He winked, her hoarse laugh breaking his heart. "Sweetheart, you shouldn't be here. You're really pale."
Khloe smiled softly. "I was sick over the few days off and I've got laryngitis. It's not contagious; it should be gone in a few days to a week. If I don't lose my voice beforehand; I've been screaming at the printers all night. They royally fucked up your guys posters for the next Pay Per-View. It's just all bad everyone on it look like miniature horse jockeys." She couldn't help as she laughed again.
She pulled him close and settled him between her thighs as she stayed on the desk and wrapped her arms around his neck as she nuzzled his beard covered jaw. "But if you'd like; you're done with your match and I'm done arguing for the night. You could always escort me back to the hotel and we could watch a couple of movies. And definitely do some more of that making out your so fond of. Clothing stays on; I've got actual pajamas with me tonight." She kissed his lips softly.
"Awww man and here I thought I'd get lucky enough to see you in my t-shirt again." Seth grumbled good-naturedly, smiling when her cheeks flushed and kissed her. "Sounds like a plan, beautiful. I already have my bag. I wasn't leaving this place without you."
He wanted to make it clear that she belonged to him and he belonged to her. He didn't want any other woman. Khloe was it. Case closed – end of story. "Come on girl, get moving so we can get back to the hotel and I can ravage that body a little more." Seth laughed, squeezing her ass gently but firmly and nuzzled her neck. "Clothing stays on I agree with, but that doesn't mean we can't…explore, does it?"
"Exploring is half the fun." Khloe couldn't help as she giggled when he took her hand into his and led her out of the building and to his rental. They drove back to the hotel and on the elevator ride up to her room she was wrapped in Seth's arms once again and it felt like home. It was familiar and comfortable and she never wanted to be out of his arms ever again. "I won't mind wearing your shirt. I'll just be wearing shorts and a tank top under it. No room for temptation." She felt him turn her and press her back against the wall of the elevator as he captured her lips softly as she was glad he pressed her to the wall so she wouldn't melt into a puddle at his feet.
"No need for the extra clothing, just as long as we keep one layer on at all times, we'll be fine." As much as Seth hated wearing a t-shirt to bed, he'd have to with Khloe until they got to know each other better. Breaking the kiss, Seth pulled her out of the elevator and guided her toward his suite, opening the door for her.
They both changed and Seth told her to pick out a movie while he ordered them something to eat. Of course he asked what she wanted; he didn't want to make any decisions for her. That would take away her independence and Seth didn't want that. He loved a woman that had a brain of her own. Once the food was ordered, Seth crawled into bed with Khloe and pulled her into his arms, spooning against her as they both sighed with sheer contentment.
If Seth had his way, this woman would never leave his arms until he departed from this world.