Chapter 25 Emma
Emma
At the water, I faltered as moonbeams danced on the river’s surface, casting shimmering reflections on the banks. Was I really going to do this? I couldn’t believe how much I wanted to do this.
Tonight had been the best first date I’d ever been on, and an impromptu one at that. No one had ever done something so romantic and special for me, especially on the fly. I felt…discombobulated.
And attracted to him. So damn attracted. Somehow, when I hadn’t been paying attention, the wall I kept between me and my emotions had come down, brick by brick.
Footsteps, steady and even, sounded behind me, and then Caleb’s lips ghosted over the sensitive spot just beneath my ear when he whispered, “You know you don’t have to.”
“I do know.” I heard rustling and turned to face him as he pulled off his shirt, baring his well-built tattooed torso, all those muscles shifting while he kicked off his work boots and socks. When his hands went to the buttons on his Levi’s, I squeaked. “But you won.”
“You’re not going into that water alone.” He shoved down his jeans, and my mouth fell open, even though navy-blue boxer briefs covered all his goodies. And he had some seriously ample goodies… When I managed to meet his eyes again, they were smiling.
“Nothing you haven’t seen before,” he murmured.
He dropped his glasses onto the pile of clothing before losing the boxer briefs too. Then, flashing a world-class ass, he strode right into the river.
For several beats, I imitated a fish out of water as Caleb, the water up to his thighs now, dove the rest of the way in and vanished. He surfaced farther away, only the back of his head visible as he tipped it up to look at the sky.
My heart thundered in my ears as I kicked off my shoes, then captured my hair into a messy bun on top of my head.
I stripped and walked into the river, sucking in a breath as it lapped at my shins and then, as I kept moving, my thighs.
Caleb turned my way, so I did what he’d done.
I dove in and swam toward him, not stopping until I got close enough to touch.
Which I didn’t do because I nearly drowned myself when I opened my mouth in a soundless gasp at the sight of his delectable lower body in all its glory. I was still choking when I was suddenly hauled up until my head broke the surface.
“Are you trying to drown?”
Sputtering and coughing, I took a moment before I could talk. “I was just thirsty.”
A knowing smirk crossed his face. He held me upright, hands on my arms, but respectfully not letting our bodies touch. When I realized I was pretty much forcing him to keep me above water, I set my feet down and stood on my own, but didn’t move back.
Didn’t want to.
We stared at each other for a few long beats, him blinking more than usual. He was trying to see me clearly without his glasses, and honestly it was the cutest, sexiest thing. I cupped his face, our noses nearly touching. “This doesn’t feel like I lost a bet,” I admitted.
His eyes were dark. Hungry. Heated. “What does it feel like?”
Like I’d won the lotto. He’d held back that night in the storm. For me. This time, I didn’t want him to hold anything back. “Is this going to be another of those agreements? Like what happens at the river stays at the river?”
His lips curved. “Entirely your call.”
I bit my lower lip.
“Come here,” he breathed, sliding a hand to the nape of my neck, his other arm wrapping tight around my hips, grinding himself against me, letting me feel the proof of his need.
I was starting to understand that when Caleb opened up, he gave himself over to passion without an ounce of insecurity. No barriers, no pretense. Only us.
It evaporated my ability to think as his hands plunged into my wet hair. He used his grip to tug me closer, then closer still as he slowly drew my mouth to his. “Exquisite, Enchanting Emma,” he breathed out just before he kissed me.
And, God, the man could kiss. I moaned at the first taste of him, greedily pressing every inch of my chilled body against his, skin to skin. And when even that wasn’t enough, I wrapped my legs around his waist, moaning when he gripped my ass tightly, holding us both upright.
Caleb liked to kiss, a lot. Liked taking his time tasting, sucking, gently nibbling, and sometimes doing it not so gently.
His thoroughness drove me out of my mind in the very best of ways, but more than anything, I wanted to drive him out of his mind.
Pulling my mouth free, I flashed him a smile, then kissed my way along his jaw to his ear.
Then I sank my teeth into his earlobe, thrilling at his quick intake of breath, then his rough guttural groan when I sucked, soothing the ache with my tongue.
“You’re teasing me.”
With a smile, I slowly worked my way down along his throat, until Mr. Always Aware of His Surroundings missed a rogue swell that lapped over us.
We came up sputtering, laughing.
But I wasn’t done, not even close. I took a deep breath and dropped beneath the surface to wrap my hand around a mouthwateringly impressive erection. When I guided him into my mouth, we almost drowned a second time.
I was laughing when Caleb scooped me up and over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold, then strode to shore, before setting me down on the sleeping bag.
“I’m going to get it all wet!”
“Yes, you are.”
I choked out a laugh at the double entendre as he planted a hand next to my head to brace himself and lodged a thigh between mine. “I wasn’t done,” I complained.
“No, but I would’ve been in two more seconds,” he murmured in a deep, dark voice that nearly gave me an orgasm. “My turn.”
I thought we’d be freezing, but as his weight settled against me, his body heat enveloped and caressed my every inch.
Slowly, he took in the sight of me from head to toe, then groaned.
“I need to taste you again,” he breathed.
“It’s all I’ve been able to think about.
” He slid down my body, trailing hot, wet kisses in his wake, lulling me into a trance…
I squealed when he took a nibble at the side of my breast, flashing his white teeth when he said softly, “Payback,” and kept going.
I was a squirming, overheated, aroused-to-the-point-of-shaking hot mess by the time he rubbed his sexy stubble to first one inner thigh, then the other, all while having an up-front view of my body’s reaction.
“Do you know what it’s like,” he asked in a sex-on-a-stick voice, “to be in a meeting at the office, and all I can think about is this…” He kissed me half an inch from where I desperately needed him.
“Gah,” I managed to say, and he sent me a wicked, dirty smile—then continued to torture me with that stubble, his tongue, his fingers…all while avoiding my good spot. Thinking maybe he’d forgotten where it was, I gripped him by the ears and helpfully guided him.
His huff of laughter danced over my heated wet flesh. “In a hurry?” he asked huskily, his lips caressing me, making me shiver. My hands stilled in his hair, my breathing audible above the lapping of water, and the wind whistling through the trees, and the occasional hoot of an owl.
“No,” I said as calmly as I could. “No hurry. Just worried about you getting mosquito bites in…tender areas.”
He chuckled against me. “The hell you are. You wouldn’t mind if I got my ass all bitten up.”
I had to snort. “It would serve you right.”
“You want instant gratification.”
“Yes, please.”
His tongue had me gasping as he skimmed another kiss close but oh so far from where I needed him.
I arched up into his mouth, a demand for more.
He gave me one singularly glorious, perfect, precise, targeted swipe of his tongue, then gently sucked in a perfect rhythm that had me on the edge in about three seconds.
I was shaking, trembling with the force of my impending doomsday orgasm when…
He lifted his head and met my gaze, his own almost wholly glowing gold.
“I hate you.”
He smiled. “Trust me?”
“Not my strong suit,” I said.
“No shit. But maybe you could try.”
I took in the sexy, erotic sight of him and sighed. “Maybe.”
“Good girl.” One of his big, warm hands stroked up the inside of my thigh to join the torture.
I didn’t realize I was restlessly shifting my hips to follow his mouth until he gripped them tight, holding me still as he lowered his head and gave me a lick like I was his favorite flavor of lollipop.
My legs shifted, opening more for him, a not-so-silent plea. “Caleb, please—”
“Run out of trust already?”
I growled at him, and with a wicked smile, he lowered his head again, flicking his tongue with precision exactly where I needed it. Again, and then again. I writhed up into him, barely breathing as he effortlessly held me on the very edge. I glared at him murderously, and he smiled.
Then, saving his own life, he went back to his cause, using that mouth and those diabolical fingers to shove me into a free-falling orgasm. My back arched as I fell apart, murmuring his name over and over.
When my senses finally came back online, Caleb lay on his back, cradling me to his chest, stroking me in gentle, soft lines, even as his own body remained tense.
It took me a moment to regain access to muscle coordination, but I finally managed to lift my head and brush a kiss to his mouth before making my way down his body…
“That smile you’re wearing…it’s evil,” he murmured, a hand in my hair.
“Scared?”
He smiled. “Should I be?”
“Yes, because as you said, payback.”
I kissed, licked, and nipped my way south, and when I took him into my mouth, he moaned, a low and throaty sound that vibrated through me. I felt the tremor in his muscles and smiled.
He used the grip he had on my hair to raise my head. His expression was a dazed blur, his mouth slightly open as if he needed air. “I’m too close,” he said, voice low and raspy.
“Then mission accomplished.” I climbed up his body and straddled him.
“Emma.” His hands gripped my hips. “Are you—”