Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-one
Caleb
I woke with Alice draped over me like a blanket.
I never slept naked, but I couldn’t say I regretted being able to feel all her smooth skin on mine.
Her cheek was pressed against my chest, her hand balled in a fist beside my neck.
Every few breaths, she made these humming noises—sleepy, content sounds that went straight to my ribs, cracking them wide open.
I should’ve been thinking about chores, Jesse, the day ahead. Instead, I lay there, greedy as hell, soaking up every second of her weight on me, every rise and fall of her body against mine. We’d never have another first morning together, and I wanted to memorize every detail of this one.
The trouble was, I was missing her, even though she was on top of me. It loathed me to disturb her, but I was tempted to wake her up anyway. Her smile when she was wide awake knocked me to my knees. I had a feeling her sleepy smile would flatten me.
“Mmm.” She shifted on my chest, her fist opening and splaying on my shoulder. “Are you looking at me?”
“Yeah. Can’t deny it.” I stuck my nose in her hair and took a deep whiff. She'd be on my sheets and pillow when she was gone, but it wouldn’t be the same as having her in my arms. “Wanna give me your eyes?”
Slowly, she pushed up on my chest, and her eyes fluttered open. It took a long beat for her to focus on me, but when she did, I was rewarded with a smile that held sunshine. “It wasn’t a dream.”
I took a piece of her hair between my fingers and tucked it behind her ear. “As real as it gets, darlin’.”
“Oh good.” She slid all the way up, bringing us nose to nose. “How do you feel about morning kisses?”
I threaded my fingers through her hair, holding the back. “With you? I feel good about any kind of kiss I can get.”
“All right. I’ve heard some people are afraid of morning breath—”
My fingers tightened in her hair. “Allie,” I laughed, “that means I want your mouth on mine.”
“Oh.” Her brows popped. “Okay then.”
She dove in, first with a brush of her lips, then more, her tongue teasing the seam of my mouth, making me groan. Whatever air I’d been holding in my lungs slipped right out of me.
The kiss went from sweet to hungry in no time, her tongue sliding against mine, her hands clutching at my shoulders like she couldn’t get close enough.
I rolled, taking her with me, until she was flat on her back and I was braced over her, careful not to crush her.
Gasping, she reached for me, her legs hiked around my hips, arms winding tight around my neck.
I lost myself in her. In the taste of her lips. In the little sounds she made when my mouth trailed down her jaw, her throat, her collarbone. She arched into me, offering more, and I couldn’t help but take—kissing, nipping, memorizing the feel of her bare skin under my palms.
Her hand slid lower, her fingers brushing over my hip then slipping between us to wrap around my erection. My whole body went hot and tight with a need so powerful, it was a punch to the chest, but I caught her wrist and lifted my head so I could see her.
“I didn’t mean to start this.”
Her legs tightened around me. “Why not?”
I exhaled, my control teetering. She felt so good beneath me, and the way she stared up at me, her green eyes almost glowing with desire, made it nearly impossible to stop.
“I don’t know. I want to make sure I do right by you.” My brow furrowed. “Tell me how far you want to take this.”
“I told you, Cay.” Her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip. “I want you. If you’re worried about me being a virgin, don’t. I have toys…they’re not as big as you, but I don’t have a sacred hymen you need to protect or anything.”
I slammed my eyes closed, unable to stop a laugh from shaking my shoulders. “Sacred hymen? You’re too damn much. Christ…”
She wiggled free from my loose hold and slowly pumped my length. “I know I want you. But…are you ready?”
My eyes opened. “My virginity ship sailed almost two decades ago.”
She grinned. “I figured, since you have a kid and all. I mean, are you ready to take this step with me?”
She might as well have reached into my chest and cradled my heart in her palm. She wasn’t just asking if I wanted sex—she was asking if I was ready for her. For us.
My chest was so tight, it was damn near bursting. That she cared about me so much she’d stopped to check on me made me want to hold her tighter—made me realize, all over again, how different she was.
I’d been in this position before, but it had never felt this important. Nothing between us was routine or casual. This was Alice, and I had to get this right—for us both.
But heaven help me, I wanted her so bad, my whole body ached.
I kissed her as my answer, pouring everything I couldn’t say into her mouth. My hand slid down, cupping between her thighs, finding her already slick with wanting. Her breath caught, her hips rising to meet me as I stroked her swollen little bud.
She mumbled my name, holding on to me with every fiber of her strength. I teased her entrance, and she spread her legs wider, trembling as I slipped a thick finger inside her, crying from pleasure, not pain, when I added another.
She began to shake, her insides clenching around me, and I pulled back to watch her fall. Rosy lips parted, she arched her neck, sighing. It was a beautiful sight, and I couldn’t remember ever being so utterly turned on in my life.
When her shudders eased and her eyes landed on mine, she reached for me, dragging me back to her lips, kissing me with a fierceness that stole my breath. Her feet slid up and down the outside of my hips, antsy, still needy, even moments after I’d made her come.
“Caleb, I want you,” she said against my mouth. “Are you ready?”
I had to laugh. I was harder than steel and dripping with need for her. “Yeah, I’m ready. Long as you’re sure.”
She lifted her legs higher, rubbing her wet heat against me. “If I have to keep trying to convince you, I might change my mind. Actually, let’s just be friends.”
Oh, she had jokes. Her little teasing grin as she continued to grind herself against me was almost too much.
But she’d made me laugh. My head fell forward as my shoulder shook. “We can be friends, all right—but that’s not all we’re going to be.” I pushed up on my knees and slid my palms along the backs of her thighs, holding them open.
She licked her lips, staring up at me with wide, bright eyes. “I’m on birth control. If you want…”
“I want,” I grunted, eyeing her glistening flesh.
She thought she was ready to take me, and maybe she was, but the fact remained, she was a hell of a lot smaller than me, and I had to get this right.
Rushing wasn’t the way. “You need to let me take my time. Can you be patient? If I hurt you, I’ll never forgive myself. ”
“I’m good at being patient.”
“You are.” Bending forward, I moved my hands to hold on to her hips, bringing her to me. Then I took myself in hand and angled the head of my cock toward her entrance. “Keep breathing, darlin’. If it’s uncomfortable, don’t hide it. We’re gonna go slow.”
Even if it killed me.
She wrapped her fingers around my forearm, her gaze unwavering. “Come inside, Cay.”
I pressed forward, barely breaching her, and she gasped, her nails digging into my arm. I froze instantly.
“Allie?” My voice was rough from the strain of not sinking all the way inside her. Because damn, did she feel amazing. “Talk to me. Too much?”
Her chest rose and fell fast, then she gave me that brave little grin that always got me. “You’re a lot. But not too much. Don’t you dare stop. I’ll be so mad if you do.”
“Can’t have you getting mad at me.” I pushed forward, watching her face as I did. “I need you to take some deep breaths for me.”
Nodding, she did as I told her. “You’re really big.”
I huffed a laugh, kissing the corner of her mouth. “You’re not surprised, are you?”
“Bigger than my vibrator,” she mumbled, rubbing her face against my arm. “I want more.”
Slow, steady, I fed myself into her, stopping when her breathing stuttered or her muscles fluttered too tight, giving her time to stretch around me. Every second was torture, but seeing her take me, feeling her body welcome me in, was almost better than any release I’d ever known.
“I need you to open up for me.” I nudged deeper. She was still so tight, I was afraid I’d hurt her unless she relaxed.
Tipping her head back, eyes shining up at me, she let out a long breath. “More, Cay.”
Her body gave way, inch by inch, as I reminded her to breathe and kissed her—not to distract her, but because kissing her was better than breathing. “You’re doing such a good job, darlin’,” I panted against her lips. “Taking me like you are. We’re almost there.”
She nodded, squeezing her legs around me, tugging me closer. “Keep going.”
Wet heat eased the rest of the way inside her, until finally, finally, I was home. My hips nudged into hers, deep as I could get, and it was all I could do not to pull out and slide right back in again.
“There we go,” I gritted out. “That’s my girl.”
She whimpered, her head falling back, and I kissed her throat, murmuring what a good job she’d done and how beautiful she was against her skin.
“Caleb,” she whispered, her voice trembling but sure. “You feel…god, you feel perfect.”
I braced my forehead against hers, swallowing hard. “You’re killing me. You really are.” After a few seconds, I lifted my head, searching her face. “Are you okay?”
“Better than okay. But if you keep holding still like this, I am going to change my mind about being friends.”
A laugh burst out of me, ragged and desperate, and I kissed her again.
Hard this time, giving in to the pull of her body.
I moved inside her, each stroke dragging fire through my veins.
Her hands and mouth trailed over me, kissing and sucking every inch of flesh she could reach as she moved with me.
Every shift of her hips drew me deeper. Every sound she made burrowed under my skin.
It’d been a long time for me, but that had nothing to do with why it was so hard to keep hold of my control.
It was all Alice. Her cinnamon scent, how enthusiastic she was, the sounds she made, the way she did nothing to hide how much she was enjoying herself.
And Christ, was she gorgeous. Her little breasts bouncing under me.
Chestnut hair spread on my pillow. Shining, glazed eyes latching onto mine.
Swollen cherry lips seeking me out again and again.
Smooth legs squeezing my hips, urging me deeper.
“Alice,” I ground out, jaw tight. “If I don’t slow down, I’m not gonna last.”
She took my face in her hands, giving me a fierce, adorable, sexy frown. “Don’t hold back. Please, Caleb. I want to feel you when I’m not with you. I’m begging you to give me that.”
She lassoed my control right out of my hands, her words being all it had taken. Pulling out, I pushed back in harder, my hips finding a rhythm I couldn’t deny. She cried out, wrapping her legs higher around me, taking everything I gave.
“Yes,” she gasped, the word breaking on a moan. “Just like that. Don’t stop.”
Her hand slipped between us, fingers finding her clit. The sight alone—her working herself while I drove into her—nearly ended me. She was wild and beautiful beneath me, her body straining toward mine, her lips parted in desperate need.
“Come with me,” I panted, thrusting harder, deeper, until we were both shaking with the effort to hold on. “That’s it, darlin’. Let go for me.”
She cried out as her body tightened around me. The moment she came apart, I lost it too, burying myself deep as a bone-rattling release tore through me. We shook together, tangled and gasping, clinging to each other as the waves ebbed.
I rolled to my back, taking her with me. She was limp on my chest, sprawled in a boneless heap. We lay that way for a long time, coming back to ourselves.
When I managed to open my eyes, she’d propped herself on my chest and was staring right back. Her cheeks were flushed, hair a wild halo around her head, lips swollen from having the daylights kissed out of them.
Gorgeous.
Then, out of nowhere, she started giggling.
I blinked in surprise, then barked out a laugh of my own and wrapped her right in my arms. I couldn’t quite figure out why we were laughing, only that I was enjoying myself.
Eventually, our laughter petered out, leaving us grinning at each other like a pair of fools.
“I liked that,” she whispered, as sweet and sincere as could be.
Boom went my heart.
“Me too. Liking it would be an understatement.”
Her eyes pinched. “Well, I thought I’d undersell it a little so you wouldn’t know how desperately into you I am.”
Boom went the rest of me. I hit the ground all over again.
“I’m not hiding anything.” I took her chin between my fingers. “I’m all the way gone for you.”
She let loose one of her spring-breeze laughs. “Finally.”
Boom.
Boom.
I hit the ground so hard, I’m never getting up again.