Chapter 21 #3
“I love you,” Cal sobbed, lifting his hips to meet me, desperate for more. “I never stopped. I-I-tried to hate you but I couldn’t.”
“I love you,” I swore, driving into him, claiming him, burying myself in the only place I ever belonged. “I love you.”
“Fuck—Si—”
I felt him tighten around me. I knew he was close. I knew if I went faster, if I stroked him at the same time, he’d cum in seconds. And that’s exactly what I did. I reached down, wrapping my hand around him, matching the rhythm of my thrusts.
“Cum for me,” I growled.
“Fuck—finish inside me—please,” Cal pleaded.
When he came, he fell apart completely, shaking and sobbing in my arms. I followed him seconds later, filling him up just like he begged me to do, collapsing on top of him, my face buried in the crook of his neck, breathing in the scent of him.
The room was quiet, save for our ragged breathing and the hum of the air conditioner.
Cal held me. His arms were locked around my ribcage in a vice grip. His legs were still wrapped around me, refusing to let go.
“Don’t go,” he whispered into my hair. “Don’t go back to your room.”
I lifted my head and kissed his jaw. “You’re never getting rid of me now, baby.”
The morning sun was already high, cutting through the gap in the heavy hotel curtains, but neither of us cared.
We weren’t asleep. We hadn’t been asleep for a while.
Cal was hovering over me, his weight familiar and grounding, his knees bracketing my hips. His hair was a disaster, his lips swollen, and he looked… he looked like he owned the world.
“My turn,” Cal murmured, his voice rough with sleep and need. He pressed a kiss to my jaw, his hand sliding down my chest, fingers tracing the muscles. “I missed this. I missed being inside you.”
I let my head fall back against the pillow, my breath hitching as his hand moved lower. “I missed it too,” I whispered, the confession tearing out of me. “God, Cal… I missed you.”
Cal paused, looking down at me, his eyes searching mine. “How much?” he asked, his voice dropping. “Tell me the truth, Si. In seven years… how many times did you look for this in someone else?”
I swallowed hard. I could lie. I could protect my pride. But I was done lying to him.
“None,” I breathed.
Cal froze. “None?”
“I saw people,” I admitted quickly, feeling exposed. “I tried to date. I tried to be normal. But… not men. I couldn’t.” I looked up at him, my eyes burning. “I haven’t been with a man since you. I haven’t done… this. I couldn’t let anyone else touch me like this. It felt wrong.”
The air in the room shifted instantly. The tenderness evaporated, replaced by something darker, heavier. Possessiveness flared in Cal’s eyes, dilating his pupils until they were almost entirely black.
“Seven years?” Cal growled, his grip on my waist tightening until I knew it would leave a mark. “You waited seven years for me?”
“I didn’t have a choice,” I whispered, reaching up to touch his face. “It was always you.”
“Fucking hell,” Cal groaned. He leaned down, his mouth hovering inches from mine. “Tell me. Tell me no other man has had you like this. Tell me I’m the only one.”
“You’re the only one,” I gasped, arching up into his touch. “No one else, Cal. Just you. It’s always been—”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The noise was like a gunshot in the quiet room.
“Kincaid! I know you’re in there! Open up before I go get housekeeping!”
The mood shattered into a million pieces.
Cal froze, his forehead resting against mine, his breathing ragged. “I am going to kill him,” he whispered with deadly seriousness. “I am actually going to murder Evan fucking Wilder.”
“He’s not leaving,” I hissed, panic replacing the passion instantly. “He’s actually going to get a maid.”
“Let him,” Cal mumbled, trying to kiss me again. “I don’t care.”
“Kincaid! We have a lobby call in twenty minutes! And Silas isn’t answering his phone, which means he’s either dead or he’s the little spoon!”
“Oh my god,” I groaned, scrambling out from under Cal. “I’m hiding.”
Cal sat back on his heels, frustrated and disheveled, a lazy, wicked grin spreading across his face as he watched me panic. “You’re what?”
“I’m hiding! I can’t deal with him right now.” I grabbed my jeans from the floor, hopping on one leg to get them on. “I can’t face him after—after that!”
I bolted for the bathroom.
“Si, you are a grown ass man!” Cal called after me, laughing. “You can’t hide in a bathroom!”
“Watch me!” I slammed the door and locked it, pressing my back against the wood, breathing hard, my heart still racing from the confession and the interruption.
I heard Cal groaning as he got off the bed. “I’m coming, I’m coming! Stop trying to break the damn door down, Wilder!”
I heard the latch click, and the door swung open.
“Well, good morning, sunshine,” Evan’s voice chimed. “You look… well rested. And partially nude.”
“I was sleeping. What do you want, Evan?” Cal asked, sounding way too relaxed for a man standing in sweatpants and nothing else, especially considering what we were doing thirty seconds ago.
“I’m looking for the only thing we have in common and he’s MIA and not in his room,” Evan stated flatly.
“Maybe he went for a run,” Cal lied effortlessly.
“A run,” Evan repeated. “Without his phone? Which is currently lighting up on the coffee table right there?”
Damn it.
“We hit the gym last night,” Cal pivoted, his voice smooth. “And I found his phone when I got back, it just got mixed in with my stuff.”
“Ah. The gym,” Evan drawled. “Right.”
There was silence.
“Also,” Evan continued, the sound of cardboard cups hitting the table echoing in the room. “I brought three coffees. Don’t insult my intelligence, Cal. I know my friends.”
“So,” Evan continued. “Where is he? Actually, hold on…”
There was a pause. I could practically feel Evan’s eyes scanning Cal. Then, a low, impressed whistle.
“Damn, Kincaid. I didn’t know the ‘gym’ had claws. Because you look like a scratching post.”
“Shut up,” Cal said, but I could hear the smirk in his voice.
“No, seriously. Look at your hips. I assume this ‘gym session’ involved a lot of… grappling? Naked grappling?”
“It was a heavy lift,” Cal deadpanned.
“I bet,” Evan laughed. “Looks like your spotter topped you like a cheap whore.”
Evan raised his voice, pitching it directly at the bathroom door.
“And the cheap whore can come out now! Hiding in the bathroom isn’t cute, Silas!”
“Wow,” Cal said, his voice dropping into that playful, offended tone I knew so well. “You think the cheap whore was here to top?”
I pressed my forehead against the door, face burning.
“I mean…” Evan sounded confused. “Look at you, Cal. You’re covered in marks. Clearly, he… you know.”
“Uh huh,” Cal hummed, sounding amused. “Only on holidays, Ev. Don’t box us in.”
“I… I don’t need to know the schedule,” Evan stammered. “Just get him out here!”
I sighed, defeated. I unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Evan was leaning against the wall, looking smug. Cal was standing by the bed, shirtless, sweatpants hanging dangerously low on his hips, displaying the very obvious red nail marks I’d left there a few hours ago.
I stepped out, barefoot, jeans unbuttoned at the top, hair sticking up in every direction.
“There he is,” Evan grinned, looking me up and down, clearly taking Cal’s ‘holidays’ comment to heart. “The man, the myth, the… versatile legend.”
“I hate you,” I muttered, refusing to make eye contact as I walked past him to grab a coffee.
Evan chuckled, but as he looked between us, the disheveled bed, the marks on Cal, the sheer exhaustion on my face, the smirk faded into something more serious.
“Alright,” Evan said. He looked at me, then Cal. “Jokes aside.”
He took a sip of his coffee. “Just… don’t hurt each other. Okay? I’m serious. We can’t do the fallout again. I’m not sure either of you would survive it a second time.”
Old instincts kicked in. I felt exposed.
I took a half step away from Cal, creating distance, putting a safe buffer between us.
I didn’t know what the rules were now. I didn’t know what last night, or this morning meant, if we were pretending this didn’t happen the second we stepped out of this hotel room.
Suddenly, Cal moved. Ignoring Evan entirely. He stepped right into my space, closing the gap I’d just tried to make. He snaked his long arm around my waist, his hand splaying flat over my stomach, pulling me flush against his side.
I froze. My breath hitched.
“We’re good, Ev,” Cal said firmly, his voice leaving no room for argument.
He turned his head and pressed a kiss to the side of my neck, right over my pulse point, right in front of Evan. It wasn’t a quick peck. It was lingering. It was a claim.
I stood there, floored. My brain short circuited. We didn’t do this. We never did this. But he was holding me like I belonged there. Like he was daring Evan, or the world, to say a damn word about it.
I looked up and saw Evan’s eyes widen. He looked surprised, but then, a slow, genuine smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Alright then,” Evan said, shaking his head. “Get dressed. If you’re late, I’m telling Creative you two were busy… ‘training.’”
He turned to the door, pausing with his hand on the handle. He glanced back at Cal’s hips one last time.
“And Cal? Try to walk normally. It’s noticeable.”
Cal grabbed a pillow from the bed and chucked it at the door. “Get the fuck out, Evan!”
Evan ducked out, laughing as the door clicked shut.
I stayed frozen, Cal’s arm still wrapped tight around me. The room was quiet again, save for the echo of Evan’s laughter down the hall.
Cal looked down at me, shaking his head, a smile playing on his swollen lips.
“I fucking hate your friend,” he laughed.