CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Hot sun burned the top of Callie’s scalp, and perspiration dotted her forehead.
As she pedaled along the flat trail leading to the mountain, she ran through her to-do list for the opening. Fortunately, most everything was done. She still had to get the food and drink tables set up, but that just meant spreading a tablecloth and setting out platters. Her parents would bring the ice just before it started at six.
Her tire dipped into a rut, jarring her. You’re in Wyoming. Yeah, she was, so pay attention.
Tightening her grip on the handlebars, she maneuvered onto the shadowed path at the base of Buck Mountain. Up ahead, the guys shouted to each other, pulling wheelies and turning off the trail to race around a tree and then crash back onto the path. Their laughter made her smile.
Not that long ago she’d kept up with them. She remembered the burn in her muscles when she’d push harder to overtake them. The freedom in sailing over a creek, and the adrenaline rush of trying to make the landing.
When had she stopped taking chances? The forest passed by in a blur as her world went quiet and the truth rose tall and clear inside her. It hadn’t been just about Fin hurting her. It had been about moving away from home for the first time. Going from the safety of her small town to the big, overwhelming city. She’d expected to do it with Fin. It wouldn’t have been so scary if he’d made the transition with her.
It would’ve been supremely selfish. He would have hated every minute there.
You know why you stopped taking chances? Because the stakes went up. If she didn’t have great grades, she wouldn’t get the top internships. If her bosses didn’t like her, she wouldn’t get optimal shifts. The risk of failure, poverty, suspension from school—real world stakes—had grown too high. So she’d chosen a lane—art history, on the track to become a curator—and once she had, she’d gripped the steering wheel and floored it.
She’d chosen Julian because he’d been in her lane.
Up ahead the guys had stopped, their feet on the ground, as they waited for her to catch up. Shafts of golden light splintered the shadows of the lodgepole pine forest. She breathed in the fresh mountain air, let it fill her lungs.
She slowed as she reached them, too aware of the way Fin watched her. Because it struck her that Julian’s gaze expressed his pleasure with her. In it, she saw his approval of what she was wearing or his pride in the way she’d behaved in front of his parents or friends.
But Fin just saw her. She didn’t have to talk a certain way or bring a perfect cheesecake to a dinner party to win his sexy smile. She just…she made him happy.
That was a heady feeling.
When she caught up with them, she braked and dropped her foot to the ground. She couldn’t keep the grin off her face. He made her happy. And she knew he felt it, too, because color flooded his features.
“Ah, Christ,” Brodie said.
“What is it with you two?” Will said.
She laughed, because this was how it had always been between them. This intense affection for each other.
“Which way?” Brodie gestured first to the trail that wound up the mountain at a steep incline, and then to the flat path that led to the lake and circled around it.
“Up.” Her response was automatic. Because she felt giddy and free.
“Hell, yeah.” The guys shot up the trail.
She pedaled all of a few yards before the burn in her legs reminded her she was completely out of shape. Not gonna happen. For a moment she watched them, their hard, round asses bobbing in the air, their powerful thighs pedaling. They needed to train, and she wouldn’t slow them down.
She turned her bike around.
“Hey.” Fin held up a hand and his brothers came to a stop. All three turned to her.
She waved them on. “Go. Have fun.”
Their resolved expressions reminded her of another of Mack Bowie’s rules: leave no one behind. Uh oh.
Will gave a chin nod to his brothers. “Lake?”
And with that the guys came hurtling back down, kicking up dirt on the path around her.
“Guys, you don’t have to do this.”
But they didn’t listen. They took off toward the lake, happy to just be together, out in the sunshine, and using their bodies.
Their enthusiasm was contagious. With the wind in her hair, Callie pedaled as fast as her legs could go. She hadn’t felt this free in ages.
The forest gave way abruptly to the valley, all bright sunshine and soft green sage. Up ahead, on this perfect July day, sun lovers dotted the shores of the dark green lake with their beach chairs and umbrellas, and the water rippled with swimmers. The beach season was so short in Calamity that the residents and tourists took full advantage of—
Her wheel hit a root and sent her airborne. Adrenaline shocked her system, as the world spun like a kaleidoscope of bright blue sky, the brown and green of towering trees, and the spots of colorful umbrellas and swimsuits around the lake. And then her back slammed down on the hard dirt.
“Callie.” Fin was at her side.
Three large bodies blocked the sunlight, Fin crouching beside her. No one said anything, as they gave her lungs a moment to resume pumping oxygen.
When she drew a breath, Fin squeezed her hand. “You okay?”
She took stock of her body, her back, arms, and legs. “Yep.” Planting a hand in the dirt, she pushed herself up. A breeze blew the hair off her face, and the lake smelled as clean as the snow it’d been only weeks ago. She smiled. “I’m good.”
Fin held her gaze like he was giving his heart a minute to settle back in his chest. He brushed the hair out of her eyes and ran the back of his hand down her cheek, softly, slowly, looking at her like she was the most precious thing he’d ever seen.
Her heart pounded, the floodgates opening, letting in all the desire, want, and affection she’d held for this man since she was a girl. “I want to get nekkid.”
His features hardened; his body tensed. “What’re you saying?”
She understood right then that she’d never had a choice. Fin was right.
They were two halves of the same whole.
“Say it,” he said. “Say it out loud.”
“I want to be with you, Fin Bowie. I want everything.”
******
Fin barely paid attention to the laughter in the garage or the clatter of bikes as his brothers lifted them onto the wall racks. All he could think about was Callie. Getting her alone.
Now.
“All right, I’m out of here.” She pointed a finger at Fin. “Get those platters to me in two hours.” Her smile faded when she caught the look in his eyes.
Yeah, that’s right. I’m coming for you. He stalked across the garage, grabbed her hand, and towed her around the side of the house. Pressing her back against the wood-shingled wall, he cupped one ass cheek and let her know with his mouth how fucking happy he was that she’d come back to him.
Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her hips, capturing his cock between their bodies. Oh, hell, yeah. He caught her up in a full-body embrace and licked into her mouth, wanting every single thing she had to give. Wanting it right the fuck now.
His hands slid under the elastic waistband of the leggings, but she laughed and smacked his hand away.
“I didn’t mean now. Five feet from your brothers.” She cupped his cheeks. “But we’re definitely doing it after the opening.”
She’s back. My Callie’s back. He kissed her, hands gripping her hips. “I want you.”
“I want you more.” Her fingers sifted through his hair, tugging when they got to his scalp. “But right now I have to go.”
Reluctantly, he stepped back and watched her leave. Right before turning the corner and moving out of his sight, she paused to give him the hottest smile he’d ever seen. A mix of shyness, hopefulness, and a heaping promise of naughty.
Once she was gone, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. It had been vibrating for the past several hours. He needed to get his ass showered and dressed so he could help her set up the food tables, so he read his messages while climbing the porch stairs. When he saw several missed calls from his manager, he hit Aaron’s speed dial.
He answered on the second ring. “Fin. Finally. Got some good news.”
“Yeah? What’s up?” He headed inside, the cool of the air conditioning a welcome relief.
“I heard from my contact at the magazine. He said when he came back from lunch he heard shouting in the conference room, and he opened the door to find them on your website. They were going nuts over the footage from Austria. He said, and I quote, ‘That was some seriously crazy shit he pulled.’”
“Yeah, we had a good time.”
“Sure, sure. It’s just another day at the office for you, right? Jetting down a spine you’ve never been on, flipping off the edge of a boulder and spinning…what was that? Three full rotations? Yeah, no big deal.” He chuckled.
Marcella called to him from the foot of the stairs and mouthed, Everything’s all set. She pointed to the kitchen.
He gave her a thumbs-up and a silent, Thank you.
“Anyhow, the guy thinks you might be back in the running for the cover.”
“Cool.” Anticipation had him racing down the hall. He wanted to shout out to his brothers, but he’d learned his lesson. He wouldn’t say a word until it was a sure thing. Except for Callie. He’d tell her.
“So, as long as you don’t get into any more trouble between now and September, I think this might happen.”
“Not even possible, man. I’m trouble-free. Listen, I’ve got to go.”
“Training?”
“No, tonight’s the opening.” The sooner he got to Callie, the better. “Gotta get ready.”
“The opening? I just told you to lay low.”
“And I will.” He stepped out of his athletic shorts. Setting the phone on his bed, he yanked off his T-shirt. When he picked it up, his manager was still talking.
“—where the central installation is your meme.”
He slowed on his way into the bathroom. Aaron made a good point.
“Not to mention the fact that you only work there because a judge ordered you to. Can you imagine the headlines on that one? Judge orders Fin Bowie to make a museum about the World’s Worst Boyfriend. In his hometown.”
He laughed. “That would suck.” He’d looked forward to seeing Callie in her element, leading art patrons around her exhibition. The project had lit her up, and he’d liked helping her realize all her ideas. “Yeah, okay. You’re right. I’ll skip it.” He’d have her to himself the rest of the night.
And the rest of his fucking life. Amen.
Right after he disconnected the call, he texted Callie.
Can’t come tonight. Mgr doesn’t want me stirring up the meme.
His finger froze before hitting send. That made it sound like he wasn’t dependable. Better reword it.
Can’t come tonight. Aaron thinks press would have a field day with me assigned by court to help set up the WWBF installation.
He hit send, not knowing how she’d react. What if the only thing she got out of that was that he wasn’t showing up again for something that mattered to her? He sent another text.
Let me know when press leaves, and I’ll come over and help clean up.
Better. At least she’d know he’d be there. He wasn’t bailing on her. He was about to toss the phone on the chair, when it vibrated. Callie.
Does that mean cover back on?
She got it. She totally got it. Yup. And she trusted him. Damn, that meant a lot.
:) :) :)
He smiled at her emojis. Mostly relieved he hadn’t let her down.
He texted again. Let me know when the coast is clear. I’ll come after it ends and help clean up.
You sure you want to come into town?
I want to be where you are.
When he came downstairs, he found Marcella on the house phone in the kitchen.
“I don’t mind at all.” The phone rested between her shoulder and ear. “I live with a pack of wolves. Let me come see how fancy people live for a minute.”
“Is that Callie?”
Marcella nodded and got off the phone. “She asked me to bring the platters over, since you’ve been banned from the premises.”
“Hey, man. Go big or go home. Wasn’t that my dad’s motto?”
“Oh, yes, World’s Worst Boyfriend. You’re a real legacy to your father’s teachings.” Her eyebrows shot up in a comical expression of, Yeah, I went there.
He burst out laughing. Keeping his eye on her, he stealthily reached for one of the perfectly aligned cannolis.
She smacked his hand away but, fortunately, his reflexes were quicker and he shoved it into his mouth, leaving a glaring space in the center of her design.
“Oh, heavens.” She feigned alarm. “You ingested sugar. Should I call nine-one-one?”
He smiled. “I’ll survive it this one time.”
“Just curious…if you defile the temple, does it mean you lose your superpowers?” Lifting a tray, she tipped her chin toward Fin. “Help me get these in the van.”
“I’ll do one better than that.” If he left now, he’d get there a full hour and a half before the opening. “I’ll take it there myself.”
“Callie said you’re supposed to stay away.”
“Yeah, at six. It’s only four-thirty.”
No one would be around.
Fin texted before he got out of the van. Here. Open the back door.
Shoving the phone in his pocket, he pulled out a platter. Just as he turned around, he saw Callie striding toward him.
Holy fuck. A silky white dress cinched at her waist and flared around her hips. The voluminous skirt fluttered around her legs in a sage-scented breeze, and her long dark hair looked like something out of a shampoo commercial.
“I thought you didn’t want to be here.” The moment she reached him she took the tray.
Before grabbing another one, he leaned in to brush a quick kiss to her cheek so he wouldn’t mess up the pale pink lipstick, but he caught a whiff of her expensive perfume and a hint of herbal shampoo and couldn’t resist cupping the back of her head and kissing that delectable mouth.
She could always reapply lipstick, but he’d never again miss a chance to let his woman know what she meant to him. She stepped closer, her whole body softening, and it made him want to knock the platter to the ground and sweep her into his arms. Every kiss—Jesus—it gave him a hit of adrenaline that had his pulse pounding.
But this was her night, so he reluctantly pulled away. “What time do the Cooters get here?”
“Everyone went home to shower and get dressed.” With finger and thumb, she wiped the corners of her mouth. “They’ll be back at five-thirty, and my parents will bring the ice at six.”
“I’ve got plenty of time. Let’s get these in there.”
“Okay, but then you’d better skedaddle.”
He smiled at her word choice. “I’m gonna skedaddle all over your ass as soon as this event’s over.”
“Keep it in your pants, champion. I have enough people helping me clean up. You just stay away. I’ll come straight to your house when it’s over.” With a platter in her hands, she headed for the building.
The breeze lifted her hair, fanning it over her shoulders, and the silky fabric of the dress clung to her ass just like his hands wanted to do. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Vibrant, elegant, and insanely sexy.
A wave of emotion rose up and crashed over him. “Callie.”
She glanced back. When she saw his expression, her brow furrowed and she turned fully.
“I’ve loved you as far back as my memory goes. My wild thing, she was my best friend, my heart, my everything.” He shrugged. “But the woman you’ve become?” He cast his gaze down to the ground and cleared his throat before swinging it back up. “I didn’t think it was possible to love you more, but I do.” He swallowed past the painful knot. “You impress the hell out of me.”
Her features tightened, and tears glistened. “Don’t make me cry.”
That was the last thing he wanted to do. “I never want to make you cry again, but you need to know…I love you, Callie. I fucking love you.”
She blinked a few times, pulling in a sharp breath, before opening her mouth to say words that never came. She hurried back to him, grasped his shoulder, and got up on her toes. With her face buried in his neck, she exhaled. “I have missed every single thing about you, Fin Bowie, but knowing you still love me like this? It’s everything.”
Oh, fuck, he loved this woman. Wanted her so badly. His hand caressed down her back till it reached her ass. He couldn’t resist grabbing a handful and squeezing.
Laughing, she swatted him away. “You’re not copping a feel in the parking lot. Come on.” She turned back around and headed into the building.
Grabbing a pewter tray, he followed her inside. Stacks of boxes filled the hallway. “What’s all this?”
“More donations.”
“Holy shit.”
“There’re a lot of broken-hearted people out there.”
He kicked the door closed behind him and made his way down the narrow hallway. Just before they entered the exhibition room, Fin said, “You sure no one’s around?”
“Positive. It’s just us, and the doors are locked.”
Surveying the room as he entered, he watched her set the platter on a folding table set up for food and drinks. “Looks great.”
“I love it. I love it more than anything I’ve ever done.”
“Including your own art?”
“Believe it or not, yes. Art was how I expressed all the crazy emotions I didn’t know what to do with. This…” She made a sweeping motion across the space. “I feel like it makes a difference. Every time I mention this place to someone, they either have a story of their own to share or ask if they can get involved. And the donations keep pouring in. What we’re doing here matters.” She smiled—a mix of his mischievous Callie and the accomplished Calliope—and she’d never looked more fully herself. “And it’s fun. Everything I’ve done in the art world so far—interning at galleries and museums—has been so pretentious. So cutthroat and competitive. But this…I love the concept, coming up with ideas for it…all the people I’ve worked with.” She slid both hands up his chest, resting them over his heart. “And best of all has been doing it with you. I feel like my best self is right here.”
“Then stay. Stay here where you’re happy.” Stay with me.
Her smile flagged, and then happiness turned to worry. “I can’t. This is a pop-up exhibition.”
“Make more of them.”
“I can’t have a career based on hit-or-miss temporary exhibitions. I have to use my degree, build my reputation.”
“And what about us? You got room for me on that career track of yours?”
“Yes.” She said it firmly. “I don’t know how we’ll do it, but I do know that I was born to love you. That you’re the rest of me. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like, no matter what good stuff I’m doing, what great people I’m hanging out with, there’s always something missing. It’s only when I’m with you that I feel whole. Complete. Does that make sense?” She looked a little helpless. “I love you, Fin.”
Love. He swooped down and kissed that word right out of her mouth. She loves me. And when she clasped a hand around his neck and angled him right where she wanted him, he lost it. Scooping her into his arms, he carried her over to the library table in the middle of the room and perched her right on the edge.
Breathing in her scent awakened every cell in his body. He tumbled into the soft, wet heat of her mouth. And, damn, it felt so good. His heart swelled with desire and hope, rousing a want so deep and intense he could barely contain it.
“Fuck, wild thing.” He nuzzled her ear, licked the shell. “I need you.”
“I need you, too.” Her hands gripped his biceps. “So much.”
His hands caressed down her slender back, pausing at the swell of her ass, and when her fingernails scraped across his scalp, he shoved up the skirt of her dress and palmed her smooth thighs.
Her legs banded around his hips, pulling him tightly up against him.
“Goddammit, Callie.” He slid a hand into the V of her dress and cupped the plump swell of her breast. “So fucking hot.”
She moaned. “Fin.” Her hand pushed between them, grasping his erection through his jeans.
His breath hitched, as desire streamed like liquid fire through his veins. His hips rocked into her touch, and she tightened her grip.
A shock of light behind his eyelids had him jerking away. Someone rapped on the door. He heard voices outside.
“Oh, no.” Callie dropped off the table and shoved him. “Go.”
But it was too late. At the window a television camera was aimed right at them. Anger cracked through him. “Who the hell is that?”
“Callie?” Stan called. “You want to let us in?”
“I’m sorry. He said he was coming at five-thirty. Is this…what does this mean for your cover?”
“Don’t worry about that right now. It’s show-time.” He tipped his chin. Go. When she hesitated, he forced a smile. “They don’t know it’s me. Go on and let them in.” He pressed a kiss to her mouth and took off for the back exit.
Voices flooded the room, and he heard Stan say, “Thought I’d let them in before the crowds come. Give you a chance to give them a private tour.”
“That sounds great.” Calliope was back, but this time it made Fin smile because she was so damn good at what she did. “Come on in.”
“Where’d Fin go? We ought to interview him, too. Pretty funny, right? Fin Bowie, the World’s Worst Boyfriend, helping set up the exhibition?”
Laughter filled the room.
At the back door, Fin closed his eyes.
He’d just lost the cover. For good this time.
Fin’s headlight illuminated the bright yellow post reflectors on the old bunk house. A mix of elk and bear crossings and stolen street signs glowed in the darkness. He cut the engine and waited for Callie to get off his bike.
What’s done is done. Besides, he wouldn’t know the fall-out—if it came—until morning. Maybe he’d get lucky and National Adventurer wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about the meme anymore.
The important thing was that Callie’s opening had gone well. And they were together.
He’d waited a long damn time to be with her again.
She propped her chin on his shoulder. “You brought me to your lair?”
It hadn’t occurred to him she’d want to celebrate. “You want to do something? Get a drink at the Cellar?” He’d just wanted to be alone with her. Didn’t want to go near social media or get calls from his manager.
“Oh, God, no. All that socializing sucked the energy out of me.” With her hands on his waist, she slid off and set the helmet on the seat. “This is perfect. I have you all to myself.”
Fuck, yeah.
Taking her hand, he led her to the door, sucking in the fresh pine-scented mountain air. The porch had a row of rocking chairs. Usually when he hid out here, he sat outside, listening to the coyotes howl and the owls hoot. But not tonight. Tonight, he wanted to be alone with his woman. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Flicking the light switch, he went straight for the kitchen. At the refrigerator, he said, “Water? OJ? Lemonade?”
“Lemonade, please.” She stood in the entryway, taking in the foosball, ping pong, and air hockey tables that took up one side of the long rectangular building and the large, modern kitchen and custom-made dining table on the other. Couches, lounge chairs, and a few scattered tables filled out the room. “Nothing’s changed.”
“You were just here for the wedding.”
“Yeah, but it obviously didn’t look like this.” She smiled. “Like a giant man-cave.” Her smile faded. “It has so many memories.”
It struck him—that’s why I brought her here tonight. Here, they’d been their best selves. Away from family, friends, all the outside bullshit. Just them, real, whole, and true. “Good ones?”
“The best.” She let out a wistful sigh. “It’s just confusing. Two hours ago I was wearing a designer dress and acting like a museum curator. Now I’m in jeans and back in the place I lost my virginity.”
“You weren’t acting. You single-handedly curated that exhibition.”
A smile lit her features.
“What?”
“You called it an exhibition.”
He smiled. He’d just been giving her a hard time.
She headed into the kitchen. “I love that it went so well, but what will it cost you?”
“Don’t know, but I’m not going to waste time guessing. It’ll be what it’ll be.” He reached into the fridge and pulled out a lemonade.
“What if you lose the cover?” On her way, she picked up a basket of napkins that had been knocked over. “Stan made a big deal out of the fact that the actual World’s Worst Boyfriend helped put the exhibition together. At least he didn’t mention the community service part.”
“I’m not gonna make myself crazy over something that’s beyond my control.” He handed her the cold bottle and then headed for the air hockey table. He hit the switch, and the motor started humming. He raised his brow in challenge.
“Are you sure?” She gave a fake look of concern. “I don’t want to make your night any worse by kicking your ass.”
“Been playing a lot of air hockey in New York City?”
“I might not have had much playtime over the years…” Setting her bottle down, she rolled her shoulders, laced her fingers together, and cracked her knuckles. “But I’m pretty sure this country girl hasn’t lost her touch.” She dug a plastic disc out of the goal box and dropped it onto the table. Grabbing her striker, she cocked her elbow and took her first shot.
Within seconds, the sounds of clacking filled the room. They played fast and furiously, neither willing to accept defeat. Only when she unzipped her sweatshirt to reveal the plump cleavage bursting out of a low-cut black tank top did her puck slip past him and land in the box. Sirens went off in celebration.
He cut her happy dance short by immediately retrieving the puck and shooting it across the table. Even with her quick reflexes, it slid right in.
“It’s air hockey.” She straightened. “Not a blood sport.”
“I think you know I play to win.”
“It’s me.”
“Fuck, yeah, it’s you. And since you’re gonna resort to showing me your tits to win, then it’s game on.”
She burst out laughing. Damn, he felt good. Footage of him getting busy with Callie on a table might be going viral right then, blowing his shot at the cover, but he was back with his wild thing. So, when the puck came winging across the table, Fin lunged to block it. Crack. It soared back to her side, and she threw her body into the save, making her breasts jiggle. As soon as he whacked it, his gaze slid to the feminine slope of her shoulders and those hands that had always given him so much pleasure. He heard the smack about a second before the puck slid cleanly into the goal.
Callie pumped her arms and jumped up and down.
A love so strong it didn’t fit inside his body had him setting down the striker and stalking toward her. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I love every fucking thing about you.”
Excitement glittered in her eyes, and he cupped the back of her neck and drew her to him. His mouth sealed over hers, hot and wet, his tongue stroking inside and taking what he needed.
Leaning against the table, he pushed the hair off her face. He let her know with his kiss that she was essential to him. That, over a lifetime of knowing each other, his passion for her had never waned. Never would. Her palms pressed on his back, and her leg hitched, mashing their bodies tightly together.
His heart thundered when her hands pushed under the waistband of his jeans and squeezed his bare ass. “Fuck, Callie.” His voice was more a growl.
“You make me crazy.” Her breath whispered over his skin. “When we’re not together, God, I just feel like I’m missing something.”
“Something?”
“My heart.”
He could see what it cost her to say it, and it made him smile. “Yeah, wild thing. That’s right. I’m your heart.” He lifted her off the ground. Her legs banded around his hips, and he carried her to the couch. “And you’re mine.” He didn’t give her a moment to think before he pressed down on her, his hands sliding under her back. He lowered his mouth until it hovered over hers. “Guess that means we’re stuck with each other.”
He got lost inside that kiss, just dove under, right into the wet heat, the restlessness of her hands and rocking of her hips. Her scent called to him at the most primal level. He slid a hand underneath her tank top, and his body went up in flames at the feel of her warm, smooth skin.
Her legs cinched around him, her hands skimming up his back under his T-shirt. Her touch—so possessive, so hungry—made him wild. Goddammit, I love this woman.
He grabbed a handful of fabric at the back of his neck and yanked his T-shirt over his head, giving her the space to peel off her jeans. Her pale skin against the coffee-colored leather couch made her seem vulnerable, soft, and unbearably feminine.
Overwhelmed, he buried his face in her neck. “Callie.” Tugging up her tank top, he rocked against her. “Get this off.”
She rose to pull it over her head and then reached for the bra clasp behind her back. When the straps slackened, she reached between them and rubbed him through his jeans.
And then her gaze flicked up, a mischievous grin spreading across her features. Her tongue peeked out, making a slow slide across her lips, as she popped the top button, then the second. Blood surged into his cock. He sucked in a sharp breath, hips straining. He wanted the slick heat of her mouth on him more than he wanted to breathe.
Tossing the bra aside, she placed a hand on his chest and pushed him back hard enough to topple him on his ass. Her fingers went back to his jeans and, as she hovered over him, those beautiful breasts bounced with each flick of her wrist. Once she got that last button undone, she grasped him. Her warm, sure fingers slid up his length. Lust swept through him so fast, he squeezed his eyes closed and thrust into her grip.
She gave him a firm squeeze, before flattening her hand and stroking his cock with the heel of her palm. Ass hiked in the air, her mouth closed over the tip and she sucked him in.
His hips shot off the cushion, and he palmed the back of her head, keeping her right there while that slick, hot tongue leisurely licked the sensitive head. “Fuck, wild thing.” His legs jerked, but the jeans restricted him.
Pushing her back, he jerked them down and kicked them off his feet. “Need to be inside you.” But as he loomed over her, gripping her thighs to spread her wide for him, she stretched out beneath him on the couch and grabbed his ass. A hiss of breath left his lips, as she brought his cock back to her mouth. He had to grab the armrest to keep from collapsing on top of her when she sucked him to the back of her throat.
Oh, fuck. “Yes.”
Her tongue zigzagged along his length, her hands holding him to her face. Glancing down, he got a glimpse of her hips shifting impatiently, her tits bouncing and swaying, and the beast in him roared. “Jesus, Callie.” So fucking good.
She gazed up, her slick, hot mouth full of his cock, as she licked lusty circles around the head and then lapped at the sensitive spot just under the ridge.
Electric heat burned and pulsed along his nerves. He rocked his hips, harder, faster, the quickening tension coiling so hard he knew he couldn’t last much longer. When she moaned, the vibration coursed up his cock, making his spine tingle. He pulled out. “Gotta have you.”
But just as he leaned back, his gaze snagged on her. He’d never seen anything sexier in his life than Callie’s mouth swollen and wet, her expression filled with raw, carnal need.
He pushed off the armrest and straddled her, reaching for her breasts. Cupping them, he plumped them together and dropped his face into her cleavage. When she slid a hand between them and grasped his hot, hard, erection, sensation burst across his skin.
He thrust into her hand—once, twice, a third time—the pleasure so fierce he had to shut his eyes to hold it all in—before turning his attention to her. He licked her nipple, then sucked it into his mouth. She arched into him, her other hand going to the back of his head to keep him right where she wanted him. The sounds she made as he caressed one breast and flicked his tongue on the other nipple only made him grow harder, heavier. He had to have her now.
Sitting back on his heels, he tore her panties off her hips. Just before diving in, he noticed her hesitation. “What?”
“Nothing.” She swallowed, looking at his collarbone.
“Callie…what…” Fuck, he was so hard he hurt. “What’s going on?”
Her gaze flicked up, a hint of vulnerability. “Do I look…different to you?”
“I don’t know.” But he could see his answer mattered, so he took in the body that turned him on like no other. “I guess a little. Rounder, fuller.” Lush. And then reality tore through the fog of lust. “You think you’re fat?”
“Not fat, but my body’s changed. I just…I don’t know what you see.”
Tamping down his body’s demands, he took her in and saw nothing but his beautiful, sexy woman. “When I look at you my heart beats so fast I think I’m having a heart attack. I see the woman who doesn’t take anyone’s shit, and the woman who turned a crappy breakup into one hell of a great life for herself. I see the woman who looks at me like she wants to ride my cock one minute and wring my neck the next. I see you, Callie. I see us. And there’s nothing I want more in this life. Now, can I fucking have you?” He knew he sounded desperate, almost angry. But he didn’t want her to waste one more second being self-conscious around him.
With a sexy smile, she shifted her thighs to welcome him. “Well, when you put it that way…”
He appreciated her teasing smile, but he was too far gone. “Let it all go, Callie. Just let everything go so we can put ourselves back together again.”
Passion softened her features. “I want that so much.”
He lowered his face between her legs, kissing her inner thighs, and then licking a path to her center. Joy flooded him, as her thighs opened for him. She let him into her body and heart. Both hands clamped on her hips, holding her in place, as he licked inside of her.
“God, Fin.” Her knees lifted, the soles of her feet planted on either side of his head, and she grabbed his hair. Her hips rocked against his face. “I’m not…I’m gonna…Oh.”
Her ass lifted off the couch, and she kept herself pressed to his mouth.
“Don’t stop. Don’t…Fin.” She cried out as she shattered beneath him.
When her body crashed back down and her hands fell from his hair, he loomed over her and kissed her mouth with everything he had. Gripping his painfully hard shaft, he guided himself into her.
The crown nudged at her opening, when she pushed him back. “We didn’t talk about it last time, but…condoms?”
“You said you were on the pill.” He dropped his head to her shoulder.
“I am. It’s not about me. Julian and I—”
“I don’t want to hear about you and Man-Bracelet.”
“I’m just saying I’ve always used a condom. And I haven’t been all that…active.”
Jesus, his cock ached for release. “Then we’re good?”
She pushed him off her. “It’s not about me. It’s you. Your sex life.”
He took himself in hand and squeezed against the pressure. “Wild thing, I don’t have a sex life.”
“Cut it out. It’s not like I haven’t seen you with other women.” She made a sound very close to a snort. “You’re a very sexual man.”
“Yeah, I’ve been with other women.” He couldn’t hold back the smile. “I’ve traveled with women, eaten dinner with women, boarded with women, hiked with women, gone shopping with women…but I haven’t had sex with any of them.”
She eyed him warily. “A blow job is still sex.”
“Callie. I haven’t been with anyone since you.”
“Oh, shut up. You’ve had sex.” But it sounded more like a question.
“I haven’t even kissed another woman.”
“In six years?”
“Since the night before you left for New York.” They’d had crazy sex on a mattress in his bedroom, under the skylight that August night. He’d been half out of his mind with love for her, fearful about what moving to New York would mean for his place within his family—meaning, would they stop needing him as a coach?—and dreading either decision he made, because both would have equally catastrophic consequences.
He smoothed the hair off her beautiful face. “Why would I settle for anything else when I know what it’s like with you?”
“Oh, Fin.” His name came out a whisper, as she drew him to her.
And then he slid home, and nothing had ever felt so good.