How You Know It Won’t Work:
It could be the orgasm talking, but maybe it will work…
His movements were slow as he cupped my face in his large hands, his thumb brushing against my bottom lip. I watched the way he leaned into me, how his eyes locked on my lips like it was all he could focus on.
Then he was kissing me.
His lips pressed lightly against mine, his hands cradling my face, and all I could think was how my chest filled with something so strong and foreign. In that moment, I forgot how to breathe.
Slowly, he drew back, rolling his forehead against mine. His shallow breath tickled my nose.
“You kissed me,” I stated dumbly.
His dark chuckle vibrated throughout my tingling limbs. “Darling, that was nothing.”
His hands went to either side of my jaw as he dipped down to show me just how much he held back the first time. His lips parted mine, his tongue gaining entrance until I could taste the citrus from our drinks mingling. He pressed closer, one of his hands tangling into my wild hair as he angled his head to the side to deepen the kiss.
I made a startled noise when he hooked his arm around my middle and pulled me forward, somehow lifting me until I straddled his lap. My knees pressed on either side of his waist, my center pressing against a very, very hard part of his anatomy.
My arms had a mind their own, circling his neck until my breasts were squished against his solid chest. I took control of the kiss, rolling my hips forward to get friction I desperately needed.
He groaned into my mouth, letting me set the pace, his fingertips digging into my hips harder every time I moved them. I was the first one to pull away. His eyes were glassy and hooded in arousal, both of us wanting more.
Arching his hips up and pressing my shoulders down at the same time, he let out a low growl from the back of his throat when we connected.
“I need to touch you,” he pleaded, hands moving up my thigh until they stopped at the waistband of my jeans.
I choked on a breath, peering down at his hand. His finger hooked under the waistband, teasing the sensitive skin of my lower tummy.
“Caleb.” My voice cracked. “I’ve…”
“I just want to make you feel good,” he told me, not moving again until I gave him permission.
I forced air out of my lungs, trying to calm my screaming heart and my overactive brain. My body wanted him to touch every aching part of me, but I was overthinking. I had never let it get this far before, because I didn’t want to give too much away if it was only going to be a one-time thing.
“How long has it been, Paisley?”
My whole body ran hot over the question, and if I was honest I was afraid he’d leave if he knew the answer.
He waited, lust flaming his blue eyes until they were pools of granite. It was extremely hard to focus when he looked at me like I was his next meal.
“I’ve never…” I shook my head, trying to gather my thoughts. “Nobody has touched me like that before.”
He leaned forward, lips pressing against my cheek gently, then slowly trailed toward my ear.
“Good,” he whispered, nipping the lobe.
I sucked in a breath, surprised. His breath sent shivers down my spine as he peppered kisses across my cheek until landing on my lips. I kissed him back, sweeping my tongue against his, pressing down to feel the warmth of his palm.
I pulled back this time as doubt filled my subconscious. “You think it’s good that no one’s touched me?”
He shot me his cocky grin, only this time it set me on fire more than irritated me. “Sweetheart, they wouldn’t know what to do with you anyway.”
“And you do?”
The same finger that was hooked under my pants moved toward the button, flicking it open. “Why don’t we find out?”
My eyes widened. All function ceased. My silence may not have been an answer, but my hips arching into his hold was definitely the sign he needed.
His free hand slipped under my sweater, drawing it further down my shoulder. His eyes followed the movement until the black lettering of my hidden ink was revealed.
“You have a tattoo?” he whispered.
My eyes stayed locked on the mesmerized look dancing across his features. I shivered when his fingertip traced the script of the quote.
Love with a single look.
I bit down on my lip when his finger stopped just above my left breast where the last word ended. My chest rose faster and faster at the sensations. His fingertip pressing down like he was engraving his mark on my skin.
“Caleb?” I sighed, goosebumps covering every inch of exposed skin.
“Hmm?”
My hand wrapped around his, but I didn’t push it away. I just held it as he kept touching me. His orbs sent sparks of lust and need right into my soul. Could he hear my heart? Feel it?
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that I really want to kiss your tattoo,” he answered in a husky tone. Before I could say anything, his lips dipped down and grazed the quote. I let my lids fall closed as his lips trailed across the lettering, stopping and lingering on my heartbeat.
He pulled away. “If you don’t believe in love, why get this permanently etched on your body?”
“I guess it wasn’t that I didn’t believe in it, but…”
He brushed a stray hair behind my ear, waiting for me to finish my thought.
“I didn’t believe in myself.”
His forehead rested against mine. “And you do now?”
I hesitated. “It’s getting little easier.”
His breath caressed my nose. “Glad to hear.”
My heart thrummed.
He leaned in again, his lips tracing every line and curve of my shoulders, collarbone, and cheeks.
His lips moved strategically slow, driving me crazy until they covered mine. They were soft yet commanding as his hands curled into my hair and around my neck. He pulled my head closer to his, getting as deep as gravity would allow.
Angling his head to the side, he tasted me at every angle. I shifted on the couch and spread my legs wider to feel him beneath me. One of his hands slipped from the back of my neck to my lower back, my shirt slipping up a little at the new position.
A quiet moan bubbled from my throat when I felt him harden as he moved against me. I wasn’t an expert on how to pleasure a man, but based on the way Caleb twitched, I knew that something was working on my side.
He squeezed my thigh, creating heat between my legs. The finger that had popped the button open on my jeans was now lowering the zipper, the sound of metal scraping metal a dark melody to my ears. Anticipation built as he lowered the jeans enough to slip his hand inside.
“Caleb,” I breathed as his lips grazed mine again.
His focus was drawn solely to the way his hand caressed every centimeter of my body.
“Caleb,” I tried again. His lips had found their way down my neck, nipping and biting. His nose nuzzled into the nook of my neck, causing my spine to shake.
I squeezed my thighs against his hips, demanding he do something before I spontaneously combusted right there on the couch.
Tilting my head further back to give him access to my throat, I blurted, “Maybe we should stop.”
The realness of the moment had my body crashing into a sea of nervousness. Caleb almost touching my sex was a new feeling—if I crossed that invisible line I would lose another piece of myself. I didn’t want to drown in his seduction. And I would drown.
I would have no one to blame but myself.
Caleb’s response was to shift his hips against my aching core, my eyes rolling back in my head from the feeling. I was having a battle between mind and body.
Finally, he pulled back, eyes lost as they took me in. “I’ll stop if you want me to, Paisley. But I’ve got to be honest, I really need to make you come.”
My eyes widened. “You what?”
“Let me make you feel good, baby.”
He was thinking about me?
That alone had my mind shutting down, my body clearly winning the war of morals and ethics. Caleb wasn’t after his own release, but mine. That alone was…that was everything.
“O-okay.”
His eyes flashed as he crushed our lips together. His free hand slid up my thigh until it cupped my front.
I cursed under my breath, which made him chuckle. “I can feel how warm you are,” he said into my neck.
His kisses were light but maddening as they moved over my sensitive skin. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, Paisley. Nearly tortured myself knowing that I couldn’t have you. Not until you were ready.”
He breathed in my natural scent, nose brushing my jaw right before his tongue demanded entrance back in my mouth. At the same time, he put more pressure against my sex.
I whined into his mouth, needing more. He took the hint and cupped me over my panties. I was suddenly glad I’d worn lace instead of my boring cotton ones. Or, God forbid, rainbow kittens.
“Please,” I begged into his mouth, moving my hips at an unruly pace.
“You don’t have to beg,” he promised, moving the lace aside and finally touching me.
The sensation was uncomfortable at first. I almost stopped his perfectly timed ministrations. But the second he coated my obvious arousal on his thumb and glided upwards to that little ball of nerves, fireworks burst at every nerve ending. He moved his fingers in circular motions until I was fighting back noises that I was embarrassed to make.
That was when he entered me. One finger at first. He let my body get used to the intrusion before adding a second finger and curling them.
“Holy shit.”
Immeasurable pleasure soared through my legs. He was worshipping me. In the time-stopping moment, I felt like I was the only person in the world who mattered. Like it was just us, and nobody else mattered.
Caleb took his time with me, groaning in response to the way I panted his name. The way he moved his fingers, hooking them inside of me, heightened the feeling until I was clinging onto him like he was my savior.
I dug my fingertips into his shoulders as he picked up speed, his lips biting down on my collarbone harder than before. His hips thrusted forward, mimicking the speed of his fingers. His length brushed against my inner thigh and every pass I felt him grow harder. Not once did he ask me to touch him, to make him feel the same pleasure he was giving.
His name slipped off my lips as I felt my orgasm build. My eyelids fluttered closed as I grew closer to detonation.
“Say my name again,” he pleaded, his voice low.
“Caleb,” I cried out as he pressed his thumb harder against my clit.
Light burst inside my eyelids as I rode the wave, my body shaking as my orgasm died down. He kept his fingers inside me until my breathing evened back out. When I was just a puddle he slowly withdrew his fingers.
“That was fucking beautiful,” he whispered, landing a soft kiss against my lips.
I was too shy to meet his eyes, my cheeks warmed under his lasting gaze.
“Come on,” he murmured softly, motioning for me to hook my legs around him. My legs felt like Jell-O, but I managed to lock my ankles around him and hold onto his neck.
Carrying me into my bedroom, he gently laid me down, sliding in next to me on his side.
Hesitantly, I turned to face him.
He watched me with a sedated look on his face, ease warming his cerulean eyes. Reaching for my hand, he wove our fingers together, leaning in and kissing my cheek.
“Thank you,” he told me, squeezing my hand.
My brows furrowed in. “Shouldn’t I be the one saying that? You weren’t the one who…you know.”
His expression softened. “A beautiful woman let me have her first orgasm. So, no, Paisley. I need to thank you for that.”
Now my whole body burned bright red. I was glad we were laying in the dark so he couldn’t see me turn into a tomato. After all, he’d just had his fingers inside of me. Looking at him shouldn’t feel so intimate.
Nibbling on the inside of my cheek, I tried collecting my nerves. “Do you want to stay the night?”
Once the words were out, I regretted them. Was it too soon to ask him to stay? The last time somebody spent the night was also the last time I had been graced with their presence. I hadn’t initiated that little slumber party, not like now. I wanted Caleb to stay. Maybe even needed him to.
I wasn’t sure what scared me more—the idea of needing Caleb or the idea of losing him.
Quickly, I added, “You don’t have to, of course. I mean, you can go. I won’t…I’ll understand.”
The bed dipped from his sudden loss of weight, causing my heart to deflate.
He was leaving.
The lights suddenly flicked on, making me blink until my eyes adjusted. I sat up, grabbing one of the pillows from the bed and using it to cover my body.
I could see his eyes darken in disapproval.
“Paisley, I like you. I like you a whole hell of a lot.”
My lips parted, but nothing came out.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “You get that, right? I didn’t ask to come in here to use you. I didn’t ask to make you come so you’d return the favor. I made those choices because I want to be with you. So, yeah. I’d like to stay the night. I’d really fucking love that, actually.”
He stalked over to me, kneeling on the bed and taking my face in his hands. “And you know what I want even more than that? For you to trust me. Believe in me. Can you do that? Can you let me in? Maybe not tonight. Maybe not tomorrow. But someday. Give me the chance to prove to you that I won’t let you down—won’t hurt you. I’m not like the others.”
My jaw quivered in his hands, and tears blurred my vision.
“Baby…” he whispered, pulling me into his arms. I buried my face into his chest, letting his shirt absorb my silent tears. He held me while I let it all out, the hurt, the pain, the desperation to feel wanted. He stroked my hair and told me he was here. That he always would be.
And he was.
He was here in my bed, in my apartment, and in my heart. He was everywhere. Filling every crack that others had left in their wake. Suddenly, the little pieces of me that had nearly shattered were no longer at risk of destroying me.
My arms found their way around his torso, hugging him close. Slowly, he guided us to a prone position, combing his fingers through my hair.
“I know it isn’t easy letting people in after believing no one was ever going to fight for you,” he told me, lips brushing my temple as he spoke. “But I’ve fought a lot of battles in my lifetime, Paisley. And this one would be my proudest win.”
And in that very instance, Caleb Winters had claimed the only piece of my heart I had left.
“Can I stay the night?” he asked.
“Yes.”