Rough and Rugged: A Meet Me In Milwaukee Charity Anthology

Chapter Nine

Caleb

“Incoming. Gemma just pulled up.”

I nodded my thanks at Lloyd and headed toward the front, pulling my mud-caked gloves off as I walked. Only a few hours earlier I’d left the house while she was still sleeping, propping a note against a coffee mug letting her know her car was fixed, then headed to the workshop so I wouldn’t have to face her.

I should have known that wouldn’t work for long. My Gem was too persistent.

And thinking of her as ‘my’ anything would make whatever was coming worse, not better.

I stepped around the corner of the building as she climbed out of her SUV. I made myself stop, not needing the temptation of having her within touching distance. I ran my eyes over her, unable to help myself, and saw that she’d caught me when I finally looked her in the eyes.

“What do you need, Gem?”

I expected her to say a few things in return. That she wanted me to take her money, or maybe wanted an apology for being an ass to her. Or maybe – my stomach twisted – now that she’d thought about it, she wanted a divorce.

What I didn’t expect was for her to walk toward me slowly, eyes intent on mine. She stopped a mere breath away, so close I could feel the brush of her body against me. She looked up at me with her pretty green eyes and stopped my world with her words.

“You, Caleb. I need you.”

I shook my head, wordless, stunned.

“You…” Her words echoed in my head. I need you. It sounded…she couldn’t mean…

She laid her hand over my heart and my breath froze in my lungs. She’d never touched me this way. Not even close. We’d hugged, brushed past each other, but this…

“I need you to truly be my husband. And I need to truly be your wife. Most of all, I need you to let me love you. Because I do, Caleb. I love you. I have for a long time.”

I was in a parallel universe. Or still sleeping. That was it – I was asleep, dreaming Gemma was saying these words. And I never wanted to wake up.

In my dream, Gemma pressed closer. “I think you love me, too.”

“I do,” I rasped out, my throat tight with emotion. “More than anything.” I gave into temptation, reaching out and running my hand over her hair like I’d wanted to so many times, jolting back to reality at its softness.

This wasn’t a dream. Gemma was really standing in front of me, telling me she loved me.

And I’d told her I’d loved her, too. There was no more hiding it.

I tipped my head forward, resting it against hers, our lips a whisper apart.

“This can’t be real. I’ve wanted you for so long.”

“Show me, Caleb.” I felt her breath on my face and dropped my head closer, dragging my lips across her soft cheek, feeling my body stir at her tiny gasp. “I need you to show me.”

“I can’t let you go, Gem.” I rested my hands on her hips, nearly groaning at the feel of her. I was hanging on by a thread, but I had to make sure she understood. “If we do this, I can never let you go.” I wasn’t sure I could even now. It would be like tearing my heart out.

She skimmed her hands up my sides and I felt myself grow harder. “I won’t ask you to. I won’t ever, ever ask you to.”

The thread snapped.

I pulled Gemma tight against me and took her mouth with mine. When she opened for me, I took the kiss deeper, reveling in her sweet taste as she clung to me, her tongue tangling with mine. I kissed her again and again, running my hands over her body like I’d dreamed, loving the feel of her hands on me in return.

I finally pulled back a fraction, just enough to sweep her up in my arms. She held onto me, pressing kisses against my jaw, driving me crazy as I pushed through the front door and down the short hallway to my room. I laid her on my bed and followed her down, covering her body with mine, unable to hold back my groan of satisfaction at the feel of her under me. I braced my weight on my forearms to avoid crushing her and captured her mouth again, loving the way she arched up into me as if she couldn’t get close enough.

I skimmed my lips down Gemma’s neck and across her exposed collarbone, inhaling her scent as she tilted her head, silently asking me for more. She pushed her hands under my shirt and dragged her nails lightly across my back, sending any remaining blood flow south. I pressed my hips into hers, letting her feel what she did to me, capturing her mouth again in a hard kiss as her little moan pushed me closer to the edge.

Nearly desperate for her, I sat up, reaching back and pulling my shirt off over my head. Tugging Gemma up along with me, I slipped off her sweater, revealing the pretty light blue bra she wore. My breath clogged in my lungs as she reached back to unfasten it, then slipped it off. I laid her back down, braced myself above her again, and took in the beauty before me.

She was stunning, her blond curls spread across my pillow, her green eyes full of fire, and her gorgeous body bared – all for me. I had to remind myself yet again that this wasn’t a dream. I swallowed hard as Gemma ran her hands over my chest, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. Her nipples pulled tight under my gaze, and I couldn’t resist. I dipped my head, taking one between my lips, rolling the other between my fingertips, reveling in her little sounds of desperation as she arched up into me again, holding my head to her and rocking her hips against mine.

When her hands slipped down to my waist, tugging at the button on my jeans, I levered myself up to sit on the edge of the bed. I pulled off my boots and socks, then stood, pushing my jeans and briefs down and stepping free of them before I turned back to Gemma. Her gaze was like a heated touch as she ran her eyes over me, nearly pushing me to my limit. Watching me, she kicked off her shoes, then I reached for the waistband of her leggings, stripping them off her along with her panties. Then I joined her on the bed again, reveling in the feel of her body, skin-on-skin against mine.

I rolled to cover her again, my hardness pressed against her. She spread her legs a little and I couldn’t hold back a groan as my hard length slipped between them and notched against her hot, wet center.

My control shredded, I knew I wouldn’t last. Tangling my hands in her hair, I leaned down to kiss her.

“This won’t be what you deserve, Gem. It’s been too long for me. I swear I’ll make you feel good, and I’ll make it up to you.”

I swelled even harder as Gemma skimmed her hands down my chest and across my abs.

“It’s been a long time for me, too. I just need to feel you inside me.”

Her words spurring me on, I pushed into her slowly, clamping down on my need for her, heart hammering as her hot, tight walls closed around me. It was the sweetest form of torture – the feel of this woman under me, around me, her scent filling the air, and her sweet little moans and gasps echoing in my ears. She was everything I’d ever wanted and finally, after all these years of denying myself, she was mine.

When I was all the way in, I began to move, dragging myself out slowly, tormenting us both, then thrusting back in as Gemma’s inner walls gripped my hard length. She spread her legs wider, and I slid deeper, ringing a groan from both of us. When she began moving with me, swiveling her hips up to mine to meet every thrust, I knew I couldn’t hold on. I pushed to my knees and gripped her hips, thrusting into her again and again. Her eyes wild, Gemma dug her nails into my forearms, the little spark of pain edging me closer. I reached between us, stroking her hard little bundle of nerves. Her eyes slammed shut, her breath hitched, then seconds later I watched my Gem fly. I gritted my teeth, fighting against the pulse of her walls around me as long as I could, before finally giving in and following her over the edge.

Slowly, I drifted back to earth. I rolled to my back, settling Gemma against me with her head on my chest.

“Your heart’s still pounding,” she said quietly, running her hand softly back and forth across my torso.

“Your fault. You worked me hard.” I pulled her closer and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “I’m out of shape these days.”

She gave a cute snort-laugh as she poked my hard abs. “Yes, you’ve really let yourself go. Tragic, is what it is.”

“Shameful,” I agreed. “Guess you’ll need to keep working me until I improve.”

She grabbed my hand and held it against her chest, nestled dangerously close to one perfect breast, letting me feel the hammering of her heart.

“If you improve any, I’ll probably pass out.”

“Wouldn’t want that.” Needing to look at her, I shifted positions, pulling her under me and propping myself up on one elbow. “Thanks for being the brave one.”

Her forehead wrinkled as she looked back at me.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

I skimmed my fingertips across her cheek, loving the freedom to touch her, making up for way too damn much lost time.

“For coming up here and telling me you love me and need me. And for making me admit it, too.”

“Oh, that.” She stroked her nails across my beard lightly and just like that, I found yet another thing about this woman that had the power to bring me to my knees. “It wasn’t so much brave as it was desperate.”

Desperation, I understood. Still…

“How did you know, Gem? That I love you? I worked hard to hide it, but you still knew.”

Gemma shook her head slowly. “I didn’t. I’ve loved you for years, but I didn’t think you’d ever…” She paused, tilting her head, giving me access as I leaned in, kissing the soft spot just behind her ear, making her shiver. I was listening – I swore I was – but that spot…

Gemma’s breath left her in a rush. “It was Carson. He told me.”

I stopped, my lips still brushing Gemma’s silky skin as I took in her words.

“Are you mad?”

I pressed another kiss to that sweet little spot, then leaned back to look her in the eyes.

“I don’t love his methods, but in this case, I can’t argue with the outcome.”

The woman of my dreams was in my bed, in my arms. If it had taken more meddling by my older brother to get her there, so be it.

“I can’t, either.”

Her words were right, but I could tell there was still something bothering her.

“What’s on your mind, Gem? I think we’ve proven that I’m pretty damn bad at guessing. I need you to tell me.”

“You said it yourself last night. This isn’t what we signed up for. Are you sure this is what you want?”

I cupped her cheek in my hand.

“I signed up for the bare minimum, which was the best I thought I’d ever have. I didn’t just sign up, I jumped at the chance. Now you’re telling me instead of the minimum I’ve won the jackpot? The grand prize? Only a crazy man would turn that down. I took a good knock to the head, no question, but it didn’t make me crazy. I know it’s not what you signed up for, either, but I promise you, I’ll make it everything you could ever dream of and more.” I brushed a soft kiss across her lips. “I might even let you talk me into spending some of your money on more staff so I can take my beautiful, sexy wife to bed in the middle of the day whenever I want to.”

Gemma’s eyes flew open wide. “Lloyd! Oh no! He’ll be so mad at me. You should probably go.”

Not likely.

I dipped my head, loving how she tipped her face up to meet me, capturing her mouth.

“I’m not going anywhere. Lloyd can handle it and believe me, he’ll understand. Besides, I haven’t heard you scream my name yet.”

I leaned in, deepening the kiss, wondering, not for the last time I was sure, how this could possibly be my life.

“Maybe just this once,” Gemma whispered, her breath catching as I rumbled in satisfaction, knowing if I had my way, once would never be enough.

THE END