Chapter Twenty-One
Caleb awoke with a hard-on, which wasn’t unusual. After all, he was a healthy man of a certain age.
What was unusual was his erection lay trapped between his stomach and the silky cleft of Gia’s ass—a reminder of where he’d been last night.
Deep inside her.
A faint glow of pale light lit the closed blinds in their rental bedroom of white, letting him know sunrise was on the horizon. Cool air clung to the room, tinged with the faint acrid scent of the electric heat kicking on.
He eased from beneath the covers, careful not to disturb her, grabbed his jeans, a fresh pair of underwear, and one of his new t-shirts—navy blue—and headed for the shower.
When he checked on her, Gia was still asleep, so he made his way to the kitchen to start the coffee.
The kitchen was as white as the rest of the home—cabinets, counter, table and chairs—the only color found on the adobe tile floor and the framed print of Monument Valley on the wall. Even so, this rental had more flair than his apartment in Northern Virginia.
What did that say about him?
Then there was Gia’s home. A real home—not just a place to sleep. The homey touches she’d added in such a short time—the worn brown sofa, colorful throw rugs, succulents in pots with brightly colored blossoms, and the lingering aroma of a home-cooked meal.
Coffee dripped into the glass carafe as he stared at it, unseeing. Gia wanted to stay on the rez. Five days ago, the thought would have been a nonstarter. Now his carefully ordered life felt like a tangled mess of loose ends and conflicting truths.
Zach was growing on him—he could admit that much, even with the asshole’s obvious infatuation with Gia. The man was a solid cop. A decent human being.
As for his grandfather? Caleb’s sigh merged with the last hiss of steam from the coffeemaker. He still needed more answers about his mother’s estrangement from her family.
Soft arms slipped around his waist.
Gia pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades. “I wondered where you went.”
Turning to face her, he took in the sight of her wearing his white t-shirt from last night—nothing else visible but long, bare legs.
He dropped a kiss to her mouth, slow and lingering. “How’d you sleep?”
Her smile reminded him of the Mona Lisa. Full of feminine mystery. “Better than I have in a long time.”
“Good. You needed it.” He couldn’t help arching his brow. “Must’ve been all the great sex.”
Her cheeks pinkened. “Might have been.”
She peered at him through her lashes and gave him a sly smile. “We may need to do it again to test that hypothesis.”
Count him in as an enthusiastic participant. “Anything I can do to assist. After all, a hypothesis should be tested multiple times to account for different variables.”
“Imagine all the variables we could try,” she purred .
Purred.
There was no other way to describe the velvet brush of her voice across his skin.
The carnal look in her eyes made his dick stand at attention.
Breakfast could wait.
Gripping her waist, he lifted her onto the counter. Her shirt bunched in his hands, exposing her hips.
No panties.
Caleb forgot to breathe.
Lust rolled over him in a tidal wave and short-circuited any rational thought. His fingers curled around her thighs. Held them open.
“Look at you, sweetheart. So beautiful.”
His voice came out a guttural rasp. Which was fitting because his instincts were all animal at the moment.
He swiped a finger down her slit. Gathered up her honey and brought it to his lips.
So sweet. His desert rose.
“ Caleb .” Gia arched beneath his touch, exposing the smooth, pale column of her neck.
It was an offering he was powerless to resist. His mouth latched onto the soft skin. He nipped, then licked, branding her with his mark.
She shuddered. Pulled him closer.
Not enough room on the counter.
Not for what he wanted to do. He lifted his head long enough to scan his surroundings.
Table. Round with a pedestal base. Sturdy enough.
Scooping Gia in his arms, he carried her to the breakfast nook, beneath a window that looked out at open grassland and a grazing donkey .
He laid her out like a sacrifice. Dropped to his knees and hauled her to his mouth.
And feasted.
The sexy sounds she made, the way her hips moved, pressing herself against him. He was drunk with lust.
He thrust two fingers into her . So tight. So hot. Reveled in her gasp. Mimicked what he intended to do with his cock as he used his lips and tongue on her and in her.
Her hands fisted in his hair, sending pinpricks of pleasure pain over his scalp that he welcomed.
“Harder. Oh, God, Caleb. I need it harder.”
Hell yes.
He’d give her the world right now.
She was so damn beautiful, splayed out like a goddess for him. And she was close. He could feel it. Hear it in her voice.
His fingers pumped faster. Stretched her. His lips suckled harder.
She came with a breathless scream, her inner walls tightening around him in pulsating waves that almost ripped his own orgasm from him.
He surged to his feet. Tore at the button on his jeans. Yanked down the zipper. His dick was in his hand and at her entrance—
“ Fuck. ” Even to his own ears, his voice was a snarl of pure sexual frustration.
Gia lifted onto her elbows and gazed at him with unfocused eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Condom.”
The bedroom felt like it was a mile away.
“I’m on birth control.” The desperation in her voice made his hips jerk. “And I’m clean. I got tested when I started my job at the clinic.”
“I’m clean, too. ”
He wanted her so badly he was ready to walk over fire if that’s what it took, but he wouldn’t take this choice from her.
“What do you want me to do? I’ve got some in the bedroom.”
Her eyes softened. “I want you. Inside me. Now. I trust you.”
Holy hell , how this woman gutted him.
He drove into her so hard the table shuddered.
Without the barrier of latex, her inner walls gripped him flesh to flesh, the sensation so hot it made his eyes roll to the back of his head.
Her body softened, adjusted to his invasion, taking him deeper.
He lifted her. Spread her wider. Deepened his angle of penetration.
“Caleb. That feels so good.”
Her moan of pleasure made him even harder. The prick of her nails on his biceps urged him on.
He took her mouth and let his control shatter, pistoning his hips in a frenzy of movement that shook the table and threatened a collapse.
Electrical impulses raced up and down his shaft. His muscles clenched.
Not yet. Not without Gia.
He reached between them. Rubbed her with quick, firm strokes.
“Come with me, baby.”
Her walls tightened around him.
He rubbed harder. “Now.”
Gia let out a keening cry as her orgasm took over, milking him.
Every molecule of his body converged to a singular point as he emptied himself into her in endless contractions that threatened to take him out of this world.
Mine.
Caleb’s forearms hit the table. Still lodged inside her, his breath still ragged against her skin, reality settled over him like a heavy cloak.
He had just taken her bare. Nothing between them. No excuses .
His body was still humming with pleasure, but his mind raced.
The word that thundered through him moments ago— mine —hadn’t faded. If anything, it felt more dangerous in the quiet aftermath.
He eased off her, pressing a lingering kiss to her collarbone before tucking himself back into his jeans.
“Gia?”
She stilled for a moment before answering. “I’m okay.”
He heard the slight tremor beneath the words.
Her lashes pressed to her cheeks, denying him a peek into her soul .
Dammit. She still kept secrets from him.
God help him, he wanted her anyway. She was already too deep under his skin.
Caleb clenched his jaw. He’d spent years avoiding attachments for this exact reason—because once you had something, you had something to lose.
Turned out he was no better than her bastard ex, because he had no intention of letting her go.
“Tell me about your friends.” Gia took a bite of the eggs Caleb scrambled while she showered and dressed.
She’d decided on her black jeans for a change, and topped them with a wool blend royal blue turtleneck. On her feet, she wore fuzzy socks to counteract the chill of the wood and tile flooring.
“Friends?”
He appeared confused at her question, and her heart broke a little .
From what she’d learned of him, he’d grown up in a troubled home, disconnected from his family and, like her, seemed to have shied away from cultivating deep friendships.
“There are a couple of guys I served with in the Army. My colleagues at Dìleas. My boss, Ryder Montague. I consider him a friend.”
He smiled. A genuine smile that warmed her soul. “He lives in London with his fiancée, Nathalie.”
“I’ve never had many friends.” Gia gave a shrug that felt too casual, even to her. “It’s hard to get close to people when you’re living a lie.”
Caleb’s fork paused midair. His gaze sharpened, and she had the sense he’d read her too well.
“You’re not living a lie anymore. Right?” His words were careful, measured.
Her breath caught. She forced a small smile.
“No. Not anymore.”
It was mostly true. She wasn’t pretending to be someone else. She wasn’t hiding under a new name in a new town.
But the one secret she still held had the power to destroy everything good she’d started to build here. With the Navajo. With Caleb.
His stare unnerved her. “What aren’t you telling me?”
She set down her mug. One day—soon—Caleb was going to discover it all.
Everything she’d done.
And hadn’t done.
She wasn’t ready for that.
The temperature in the room felt ten degrees warmer. She swiped at the perspiration dampening her hairline.
“You know I have reason to be afraid. Vincente is dangerous. Dangerous people answer to him. ”
“I do.” His voice was steady. “But I also know there’s something you haven’t told me yet.” Something in his eyes made her pulse hammer.
The sharp blast of a car horn jolted her.