* * *
"I love you," he said again as he kissed his way down her body and she moaned in pleasure, more at the words than his touch. She'd worn down his defenses, shown him that she wouldn't be pushed away, that she loved him too much to let him go, and he'd finally accepted that love.
Her heart felt ready to explode with the joy she felt. This rugged man, so tall and handsome, so strong and protective, this wonderful man loved her, and he was finally able to allow himself to feel loved and give love in return. It was a miracle and one that she would thank God for every damn day.
Her breath caught as she felt him slide her panties down her legs and cup her mound. She unfastened her bra and sat naked before him, the firelight coloring her body in oranges and yellows.
"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he told her, his voice ragged with longing. Suddenly he was tearing his own clothes off and pushing her down to the soft rug to cover her with his body.
She kissed him, sucking his tongue into her mouth and hearing him groan in passion. She tore her lips from his and worked her way down to nibble his jaw.
Caleb took hold of her breasts and squeezed them together, attempting to lick both nipples at the same time with thick swipes of his hot tongue. Dani held him tight, clutching him to her like she couldn't get enough of him. He gently pulled away, seemingly afraid of crushing her small form, and moved to the side of her.
Caleb pulled her back against him, half turning her so that he could continue to fondle her breasts. He positioned her left leg so that it was bent at the knee and above the right one. She then felt him rubbing his engorged cock against her most intimate parts. She was so wet, so willing, that he easily slid inside of her, pulling her tight against him as he plunged all the way to her core.
"Oh Caleb!" she cried, and he rejoiced at his name on her lips.
"Say it again," he growled into her ear as he picked up the pace. "Say my name again."
"Caleb." She moaned, tightening her inner muscles to squeeze his shaft mercilessly.
"Oh God!" he groaned. "You feel so good around my cock. Don't stop."
She smiled, squeezing him as he entered her, making them both moan with passion.
"I'll never leave you again," he promised as he thrust into her. "This is home. You're my home."
She wanted to weep at his words, and at the sensations he was causing inside of her. It had always been good between them, spectacular, in fact, but never like this. It was as if they were no longer two separate people, but they were one unit, one soul.
He was buried so deeply inside her that he felt like a part of her. She wished the feeling could last forever, but already she felt her climax barreling toward her.
"I love you!" she whispered fiercely as he licked and sucked her ear. Her words drove him to a more frantic pace and he began thrusting madly inside of her. Harder. Deeper. Faster. It was insanity to resist the orgasm that was seconds away from overtaking her. She surrendered to it, and intense pleasure washed over her in wave after wave.
Caleb felt her muscles quivering around him and plunged deeper than ever before, burying himself to the hilt and finding his release right after she found hers. Together they rode the riptide of rapture.
Caleb held her tight as they came back to earth. The fire threw strange shapes across their bodies as Dani realized she had never felt this content. She was no longer alone, and she never would be again. Caleb was a part of her now. They were one soul.
"Thank you," he whispered in her ear, his breath warm and sending a shiver down her spine.
"For what?" she asked, puzzled.
"For coming after me. Thank you for saving me from a life of self-imposed solitude. For being you."
"I had no choice, you know. You're just too damned good looking to get out of my system."
Caleb laughed. "I knew you just wanted me for my body."
"Yup," she said. "After all, your body is where your heart is."
"No," he countered. "Here is where my heart is." He touched her chest, putting his palm over her heart. "And here's where it's gonna stay."
"It better," she said threateningly. "Remember, I got a mean right hook."
"Don't I know it." He grinned and covered his face with his hands.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Protecting my nose!"
They both laughed, and she punched him lightly in the arm.
"Oh, wanna play rough, huh?" he asked, starting to tickle her all over her body. His hands were quick, and before long she dissolved in giggles. All that touching heated their blood and before long they were making love again, thrusting and groaning and reaching for the heavens. At last they lay sated in each other's arms and stared off into the distance.
"Caleb?" she asked softly after a while.
"Yes, darlin'?"
"What's that?" She was pointing to a familiar-looking white shape that lay on a nearby leather sofa.
"Uh, that?" he asked, and she thought his face became flushed and not because of the heat of the fire.
"Is that my body pillow? What is it doing here?"
"Keeping me company," he admitted, sheepishly. "I figured if I couldn't have the real thing, at least I could hold something that had been in your arms."
"Such a remarkable turnaround," she said, barely able to hold back her laughter. "It seems like only yesterday you were telling me that I didn't need that thing."
"And you still don't."
"Why not?"
"Because you got me. And I'm a heck of a lot better than some contoured pillow."
"I'll be the judge of that," she said with a sly smile.
"Oh baby," he moaned, "please feel free to test the merchandise any time." She took him at his word, and it resulted in yet another intense coupling.
And he was right. He was so much better than any damned pillow. Caleb took her to incredible heights, again and again. Their love for each other made each time he entered her even sweeter, even more moving. And it wasn't until the wee hours before dawn that they both dropped off into an exhausted sleep.