“Red, come home with me tonight?” Caleb asked. “I miss waking up with you close to me.”
I was no match against the power of his adorable dimples and insistent green eyes.
So I told Caleb to wait for me in his car while I packed a change of clothes and some books for my class tomorrow. I moved as fast as I could, taking care to be quiet so as not to wake Kara.
I was just placing a note for her on the fridge when my eyes landed on the engagement ring on my finger.
God. I’m engaged to Caleb Lockhart.
I pressed my hand to my stomach, feeling a flutter there.
We hadn’t known each other long, but it felt like we had been through so much already. It felt like I had known him for a long time.
It felt…so right.
I grabbed my bag and stepped outside.
“Hi,” he whispered.
The sight of Caleb leaning against the car caught my breath. The light from the lamppost illuminated him: the way his eyes flickered with pleasure at the sight of me, the way his lips stretched into a gorgeous smile, and the way his long and lean body moved as he grabbed me by the waist and kissed me long and hard.
It didn’t matter if everyone was against us. Caleb mattered. He was all that mattered.
“Hi, yourself,” I said breathlessly, my lips tingling from his kiss.
“Ready?” He released me, opening the car door for me like the gentleman that he was.
I watched as he walked around the car, admiring the confident way he moved, the way his eyes flicked to me through the windshield. He opened the door and slid into the car, a huge grin on his face as he turned to face me.
“Hi again, my Red.”
We just sat there for a moment, looking at each other with goofy smiles on our faces.
“Finally,” he murmured.
I knew what he meant. We were together—finally. We had just gotten back together, and everything around us seemed to be trying to pull us apart. But when Caleb was beside me and his eyes looked at me like I was his everything, nothing else mattered. It was overwhelming to feel this way about someone. But it felt really good.
He reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers before he stepped on the gas. The roads were empty as we drove to Caleb’s apartment. I pushed the button to open the window, closing my eyes as the air teased my hair and skin. It felt good.
“Red, about this dinner with my mom…”
I tensed. His hand tightened against mine as he threw me a worried look.
“It’s actually a dinner party. It’s my birthday.”
His birthday?
I groaned, covering my face with my hands.
How did I not even know his birthday?
I’d never asked, and he’d never told me. Birthdays just didn’t hold good memories for me.
“She throws a party for me now and then at our house. My mom still lives there. You’ll be able to see where I grew up. There’s a lake in the backyard,” he continued excitedly. “I can take you to see my cottage on the property. It’s a small one. Ben, my…dad, and I built it.”
Now I was the one who squeezed his hand to offer comfort.
“When is your birthday?” I asked quietly, ashamed.
His face fell. “You don’t know when my birthday is?” He pouted.
I worried my bottom lip, but then I saw his lips twitch from trying to suppress his laughter.
“Caleb!”
He laughed. “I was born June 25. A big, healthy, handsome baby boy. I know when your birthday is. It’s September 15, isn’t it?”
I felt my shoulders tense.
“I asked Kar,” he clarified. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t ask about your birthday before. I’ll remember it from now on.”
He threw me a quick look, his eyes searching my face, checking if something was wrong.
“It’s okay, Red,” he said after a moment.
“When is the party?”
“I don’t know the exact date yet, but it’s after finals. So it’s perfect. You have time to get me a gift.”
I pursed my lips to keep from grinning again. “Who’s going to be there?”
“Vampires and werewolves,” he teased. “Just people, Red. I’ll be there beside you as long as you want me to.”
“Will you chew my food and spoon-feed me too?” I fluttered my lashes at him.
He looked blank for a few seconds before he threw his head back and laughed.
Caleb parked his car in the underground garage of his building, got out, and opened my door for me. He reached for my bag before he grabbed my hand and led me to the elevators.
When we entered his apartment, his hand tightened around mine, and I looked up at him.
He was grinning.
I knew how he felt. I was home. We were home.
“I’m just going to get something to drink.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you in the kitchen—be right back.”
“Okay.”
I opened the fridge, looking for something to nibble on. Had he eaten yet? Maybe I could prepare something for him.
Suddenly, I heard “Storm” by Lifehouse playing through the speakers. Caleb only played Lifehouse when he was in a sentimental mood. I smiled and hummed to myself.
Not even a minute had passed when I heard him enter the kitchen. I was bent over, looking in the fridge, searching for the eggs and ham so I could make him an omelet.
“I guess you haven’t gotten groceries yet,” I commented absently, frowning at the contents—or lack thereof—in the fridge.
“Caleb?” I asked when there was no response.
“Yeah?” The huskiness in his tone made me straighten and turn to look at him.
My breath caught. Caleb was leaning against the kitchen island, facing me, his hands resting on the counter, watching me with hooded eyes. That lingering, intense, and measuring look caused my pulse to quicken.
He raised an eyebrow.
“Um…” I had to search my brain for my thoughts. Oh right. Dinner. “Did you have dinner yet?”
His pink tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip. “Yeah.” He paused, then said, “But I feel like eating.”
I held on to the fridge door for support. My knees suddenly felt weak. “I-I’ll make you something to eat. What would you like?”
He shook his head no, but his eyes told me everything he wanted. And then…
“I would really like,” he said, his voice low, “to eat you.”
My eyes widened, breaths coming in pants as my heart thudded against my chest. He made a mesmerizing picture, standing there watching my every move.
“Did you wear those for me?” he asked.
What?
His eyes swept from my face down to my legs, lingering there before moving back up to meet my gaze. “Sexy.”
Oh. The shorts.
“Come here, Red.”
Mesmerized, I walked to him, letting the fridge door slap shut behind me. I stopped a few feet away, close but not too close.
He angled his head as he watched me. Then he grinned.
There was something powerfully irresistible about him when he was in this mood. Playful, teasing…in charge.
As if he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
As if he would just take what he wanted, whenever he wanted. It was magnetic.
I felt the charge in the air, felt something momentous was about to happen. My steps faltered, and I averted my gaze. I knew if I took another step toward him now, it would change everything.
A million thoughts crossed my mind. Doubts, insecurities, hesitations, paralyzing me for a moment.
“Red.”
I looked up. The look of love and tenderness in his green eyes was all the answer I needed. This was Caleb. The boy who had taught me how to trust.
The same boy—the only one—who had shown me what it was to desire. To want to be touched, be kissed, be savored, and to make him feel the same.
The same boy who had shown me how it was to love and be loved in return.
It was like having a secret I’d held in my fist for so long, but now I wanted to let it go. I wanted to reveal it, but only to him. Only to him.
All of the things that I had gone through—all the suffering and heartbreak—had led me here. To him. To my Caleb. To this moment.
I stepped forward.
I felt the heat of his gaze on my skin as he watched me close the distance between us. I stopped a few inches from him.
“Close enough?” I croaked.
A triumphant smile spread on his full lips before his hands banded around my waist, dragging down to cup my ass as he turned us around and lifted me onto the counter.
“Yeah, and you know what?” he purred, spreading my legs.
I parted them willingly, and he stepped in between them. My head fell back, and I flattened my palms against the counter to keep my balance—and give him better access.
Caleb pressed his lips to that sensitive part below my ear, licking and sucking, sending goose bumps dancing along my arms and legs. His hands slid down my thighs, up and down, up and down, fingers digging into my skin. He pulled me closer, fitting snugly between my legs.
“I’m really, really hungry. In fact,” he growled, “I’m starving.”
I swallowed a moan and unconsciously arched my hips up against him. The tone of his voice, so low and deep, made me feel a hot longing in my stomach.
“There are so many things I want to do to you.” He hooked my legs around his waist and ground his hips against me, pressing his arousal against that part of my body where every sensation seemed to be magnified a hundredfold.
This time, a moan of pleasure escaped my lips. Feeling bold, I asked, “Like what?”
He pulled back a little, and I could tell he hadn’t expected me to ask that. But he recovered quickly, smiling in a way that said Challenge accepted.
He touched the tip of his tongue to his top lip before he leaned closer and murmured in my ear, “I want to bury my face between your legs.”
I gasped loudly.
Hot. I felt hot. All over.
“Does that scare you?” he asked.
I swallowed. Hard. Suddenly, I wanted to close my legs, wanting to rub them together. The way his green eyes lit up made me think he knew exactly what I was feeling.
Something very warm was sliding through my veins, making my skin feel tight. I had this unexplainable urge to be closer to him—closer than this. I wanted to feel him skin on skin. I shook my head.
He chuckled, low and deep. “I’ve been without you for so long. So long. I barely sleep without you, Red. So I think about you instead. I think about you all the time.”
His lips grazed my ear, and an involuntary shiver raced up my spine. “Do you know what I think about?” he asked.
His big, warm hands moved down to caress my thighs, squeezing them possessively.
“Tell me,” I gasped, unable to stop myself from arching into his touch.
“I think of your taste…in my mouth,” he rasped. “I think about what you’ll look like when I suck you. Lick you. Eat you up.”
His words drove me wild. If this was madness, I would blindly jump into it if it meant I could keep listening to his words, feeling his touch, tasting his kiss.
“Would you let me?” His eyes searched my face. “Red?”
Instead of answering, I looked into his green eyes and flattened my palms on his chest, startled by the static between us. The warmth of him under his shirt made me yearn to touch his bare skin. Gingerly, I reached for the hem of his shirt and slowly lifted it, revealing his defined stomach. His eyes widened a fraction as he understood what I wanted.
He was quiet as he watched me lift his shirt up and off him, letting it fall to the floor.
He was beautiful, his tan skin looking smooth and healthy in the dim light. My fingertips softly brushed the light trail of hair below his navel, and I heard him suck in a breath. I stopped, unsure, and looked up at him.
The skin around his mouth was tight, his eyes a darker shade of green. “It’s okay,” he said hoarsely. “You can keep going.”
He closed his eyes, a deep groan escaping his lips as I slowly traced a line over the planes of his torso. His skin was hot to the touch, his muscles hardened like iron.
“Red,” he said softly, opening his eyes and lightly brushing my inner thighs with his thumbs as he pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “Let me worship you.”
“Yes,” I murmured against his lips. “Yes, Caleb.”
His tongue traced the seam of my lips, coaxing me to open them. He pulled my bottom lip between his, tugging and sucking gently.
Everything felt so intense: the burning touch of his skin, the warmth and peppermint scent of his breath, the hungry sounds he made at the back of his throat.
I opened for his kiss, and his tongue dipped inside to taste, exploring my mouth. His lips slid against mine eagerly, impatiently, as if he couldn’t get enough.
When I touched my tongue to his, a low growl erupted from his chest. He buried his hands in my hair, gripping tightly as he angled my head to deepen the kiss. For one staggering moment, the kiss became hot, hungry, and wild.
I felt on fire. There was something building inside me that I had no name for. I was in this cocoon of pleasure that Caleb had built around us, and I wanted more.
“I’ve never wanted anyone this desperately,” he rasped. “Never.” He pulled back to frame my face in his hands.
He held my gaze as his hands slid down to caress the exposed skin underneath my top. He tugged on the hem, raising his eyebrows in question. I reached down and helped him pull my top off. He reached behind me to unhook my bra with an expert flick of his fingers. With trembling hands, I pulled the straps down my arms, discarding my bra on the counter.
His lips parted as his eyes drank me in. My arms itched to cover myself, but the look of hunger and appreciation in his green eyes made me feel wanted. Craved.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said, his voice rough. His fingertip traced a line down my throat, his eyes lighting up when he saw the necklace he’d given me. He continued until he lightly brushed my nipple, sending a bolt of electricity traveling down my spine and between my legs. I moaned, arching into his touch. He bit his bottom lip as he watched my face.
“Caleb…please.” I strained toward him, wanting more.
I closed my eyes and moaned as he bent his head and took my breast in his mouth, sucking lightly, then sucking hard, then lightly again. The contrast in pressure from his mouth drove me wild with longing.
I plunged my hands into his hair, gripping firmly as his mouth continued to torture me with pleasure.
He straightened to kiss me with wet, openmouthed kisses that robbed me of breath. “Lie back for me, love,” he whispered.
I leaned back and let his warm hands help lower me onto my back. My hands gripped the sides of the counter as I watched him continue kissing me, working his way down my body, drinking and nipping my skin until he reached the edge of my shorts. His eyes flicked up to look at me, full of heat and promise.
“Red, do you want this?”
The look in his eyes—the hunger, the need, but most especially the love—took my breath away. What I saw mirrored my own feelings—my hunger, my need, and my love for him. In this moment, I realized I really wanted this with him. He was everything to me, and I would give everything to him.
“Yes,” I choked out. “Yes.”
His eyes filled with fervent satisfaction before he pulled my shorts and panties down my legs. He grabbed my hips and jerked me closer to him so that I was on the edge of the counter, and he was flush between my legs. Grinding his hardness against me, he leaned forward and firmly held my wrists to my sides so I couldn’t move them to touch him.
“I want you. I want you so bad, it hurts,” he growled and buried his face between my legs.
“Caleb!” I cried out, shocked at the feel of his hot, wet lips there—against the most intimate part of my body. I almost jumped off the counter, but his strong hands released my wrists to caress my thighs soothingly. He kissed me there like he would my lips—small, openmouthed hungry kisses that made me strain against him.
“I knew it,” he whispered. “You’re intoxicating here too.” His nose nuzzled me there.
I thought I couldn’t have been more scandalized than I already was, but when I felt his nose nuzzle me there and heard him inhale—
“Caleb, no!” I covered my face with my hands. I wanted to hide in embarrassment.
“Red,” he murmured softly. “It’s okay, baby. I love your taste. I love your smell. I love everything about you. Look at me,” he coaxed.
I couldn’t. How could he expect me to? I was beyond embarrassed. No one had ever…
I heard him straighten. I let out a sharp breath when I felt his hands close around my wrists gently.
“Baby,” he cajoled, pulling my hands away to expose my face to him. But I couldn’t look…
His lips drifted to my shoulders, my neck, my cheeks, all the while murmuring sweet things to me.
“You’re so damned beautiful. You taste like a dream, like a drug.”
I was panting. I was lost, so lost in him.
Slowly, I opened my eyes. He was gazing at me, leaning forward, his hands flat on the counter on either side of my hips. He had a small smile on his lips.
“Hi, beautiful.”
“Caleb.” I hitched up on my elbows, feeling hot, needy, and scared. “I’ve never done something like this before,” I admitted shakily.
“It’s okay.” He ran his hands up and down my thighs, soothing. “Do you want to stop?”
He stared at me with eyes filled with such tenderness and longing that my breath caught in my throat. Caleb’s hair was mussed from my hands, his lips red and swollen and wet from kissing me. He was so beautiful. I swallowed my anxiety—and felt a jolt of heat and need all the way to my core.
“No. Don’t stop,” I whispered, meaning it.
A wolfish grin lit up his face. “I’m going to take care of you, baby,” he promised. Then he started all over again—greedy kisses and slow licks and bites that started on my lips and moved down my body. He took his time, caressing, savoring, and worshipping my body until I was feverish with need.
“Caleb, please…”
He hooked my legs over his shoulders as he once again pleasured me in the most intimate part of my body.
“So fucking good,” he groaned.
The sight of his broad shoulders and his dark head between my legs and the feel of his warm tongue eagerly pleasuring me sent bolts of electricity through my body.
A series of moans escaped my throat as I gripped his hair. I couldn’t seem to decide whether I wanted to pull him closer or push him away. I wanted him to stop. I wanted him to keep going. I wanted more. I wanted to find relief from this agonizing pleasure that was building in me.
“Yeah, just like that. Just like that,” he coaxed, working me with his lips and tongue until I was thrashing against him.
My mind went blank as pleasure tore through me, shooting throughout my body and finally sliding silvery over my limbs until I collapsed, crying out his name.
So that’s how it felt…
I was floating, my mind completely detached from everything else. It took a moment for me to realize he had carried me to his room and gently placed me on his bed. When he reclined beside me, he placed his arm underneath my head and I curled up into him, burying my face against his neck. He pulled my leg between his as he caressed my back soothingly with his other arm. I was still trembling.
“Red? Was that your first orgasm?” he asked softly.
I nodded, burying my face in his neck. Vaguely, I became aware that Lifehouse was now crooning “Everything” through the speakers.
“You don’t know how that makes me feel,” he whispered hoarsely. “I…”
The tone of his voice alerted my senses. He sounded like he was in pain. Suddenly, I grew aware of the hardness between his thighs, the uncomfortable tightness of his legs and shoulders.
“Caleb?”
“It’s okay, love.”
But it wasn’t. He had shown me what it was like to come apart, but why did I still feel incomplete?
I wanted—needed to make him feel what he’d made me feel. I wanted to give that to him.
My heart belonged to him, but I wanted us to belong to each other completely.
I kissed his neck, inhaling his scent. So addicting, so male.
“Make love to me,” I said.
He pulled me back, gazing down at me with a question in his eyes.
I placed a gentle kiss on his neck, reassuring him. “Please.”
His nostrils flared, his eyes turning a darker green. “God. You’re going to fucking ruin me,” he groaned.
I framed his face with my palms, marveling at the beauty of his features before pressing my lips to his. Tentatively, I caressed his lips with my tongue, and a groan escaped his mouth as he positioned himself on top of me, taking control.
He was in charge, and we both knew it.
His hands palmed my breasts, stroking and caressing while his mouth feasted on my lips, my neck, the skin above my breasts. His hand slid down my ribs, my stomach, my hips, and between my legs, but he never stopped kissing me.
And then his finger was there, petting and making circles. I pulled my mouth away from his as I let out a loud moan, my head falling back against the pillow.
“So beautiful. Come for me, baby. Come all over my hand.”
My fingers dug into his skin as I bowed off the bed, pleading with him to give me relief. His mouth swallowed my cries as I came apart.
Dimly, I was aware of him getting up. I heard the snap of a drawer, the rustle of clothes, and the crinkling of plastic before he was back.
I blinked up at him, still floating in the haze of pleasure he had put me in. I noticed the tight skin around his mouth, the way he gritted his teeth, the lust and love in his eyes as he gazed down at me, and his arousal that pressed against my thigh.
“Caleb?”
“Yeah, baby?”
I heard his sharp intake of breath as I reached to unbutton his pants. He stopped my movements with his hand.
“Are you sure?” he asked hoarsely.
I nodded. “I want to belong to you completely, Caleb.”
He kissed me hungrily, his arousal pressing between my legs. He took off his pants and boxers, and I felt heat flood my cheeks as I noticed how big he was, how aroused as he rolled the condom on. Suddenly, he was back on top of me, his arms on either side of my head as he gazed down at me with hunger. I felt him press himself between my legs, rubbing himself against my center. He was hot, hard, and unyielding. I closed my eyes, preparing myself.
Then nothing. When I opened them, I found him smiling at me tenderly.
“Here. Stay with me. Right here. Just right here, my Red.”
His hand trembled as he stroked my face. He bent his head and drank from my lips, all the while murmuring about the love he felt for me.
“I’m scared. I’ve never done this before and”—I drew in a shaky breath—“and I don’t want to disappoint you. I know you have a lot of experience and you have expectations, and I’m scared that I won’t be able to—”
“Red.” His voice was low and rough. “Nothing could even come close to how you make me feel just by being here. How could you even think you’d disappoint me?” He smiled, lovingly stroking my cheek. “What you’ve given me is more than I could hope for, and if you decide you don’t want to continue, we’ll stop. I want to make this perfect for you. This night is all about you.”
At that, all my fears melted. I reached for him, pulling him down to me for a soul-searing kiss. His hands reverently touched my thighs, my hips, circling around my waist until he gently caressed my breasts, his thumbs flicking my nipples before he bent his head and sucked my nipple in his mouth. I moaned, wild with pleasure.
The love he spoke of was in his touch, in the hungry movement of his lips, his tongue, his teeth as he kissed me. I was soaked with it, drowning in it, and I wanted more.
He searched my eyes as if looking for some hesitation—but there was nothing. My mind and my heart were made up. It was scary and overwhelming, and there was no turning back for me after this. As I looked into his green eyes, I knew—I didn’t want to turn back. I was at the edge of the cliff, hanging by my fingertips. And I realized I was ready to fall forever. He was the one. He always had been. There would be no one else for me.
I loved him. It had always been him. I didn’t want to fight it anymore. “Caleb,” I murmured, sliding my fingers into his hair and pulling him to me for a kiss. “I love you. Make me yours.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing hard. When he opened them, I felt lost, so lost in him.
“I love you. I will love no one but you,” he whispered before he entered me.
My breath hitched as I felt unwelcome pain pierce my pleasure-hazed world. I closed my eyes tightly, fighting the urge to push him off me. I felt full, ripped apart. Above me, Caleb froze.
“Baby, are you okay? I’m so sorry, love. Do you want me to stop?”
The fear in his tone made me open my eyes. His hand caressed the side of my face as he gazed at me with worry, and I melted.
“Talk to me, love,” he murmured, kissing my lips, my cheeks, my nose.
He started licking my bottom lip, sucking it in his mouth. His hand slid between my legs, stroking small circles in my center and causing a now-familiar sensation. The feel of him inside me, so hard and full, and the slow motions of his fingers made my moan turn into a sob.
My fingers tightened in his hair, pulling him close for a demanding, almost desperate kiss. He groaned deep in his chest, turning demanding into carnal as his tongue plunged in my mouth, swallowing my moans.
I moved my hips experimentally and discovered that the pain was fading, replaced by an inexplicable pleasure that spread between my legs and shot up my spine. I bit my lip, closing my eyes tightly as I moaned. He abruptly pulled back from me, his face a mask of hunger and pain.
“Red, damn. I can’t… Please don’t move, baby.”
Caleb placed his hand on my hip when I tried to move, commanding me to stay still.
“It’s okay, Caleb. It feels…good.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded, sliding my hips against him. The pleasure was building, spreading to my spine, my legs, my arms, and between my legs.
“Caleb, please… I need…”
He kissed me roughly, his hands reaching for my wrists, then dragging them up over my head. “I got you, baby.”
And then he was moving—slowly, languorously, his green eyes watching my face. I was panting, my breath loud and fast as he plunged inside me, in and out, taking his time, driving me wild.
“Take everything—my body, my heart, my soul. Take them. They’re yours,” he rasped. He began to move faster, harder, wilder.
Everything felt tight, my body bowing as I pumped my hips in time with his thrusts. Pleasure was sharp and demanding as it built and spread inside my body. My whimpers turned into sobs, desperate to find relief.
“Let go, baby. Let go,” he said softly, kissing his words into my mouth.
All I could do was wrap my legs tighter around him, my fingernails digging into his back as his thrusts became wild and frenzied.
“Oh Jesus. Oh fuck.”
Caleb’s mouth latched onto my neck, sucking hard as he palmed my ass, grinding inside me so hard and so deep that I came apart with a scream.
“I love you. God, I love you so much. I love you so fucking much,” he said roughly. He groaned out his pleasure, mouth parted, eyes half closed, head thrown back in abandon. I felt him drive deep one last time before he cried out my name and released.
