Chapter 21 Callum
TWENTY-ONE
Callum
“Callum, why did you call me Sunflower?”
“What, baby?”
She gave me a patented grouchy Zandra look. “You’ve called me Sunflower a few times now. Why? What is that, something you call women when you’re getting frisky?”
“Aw, you jealous? Thinking about me with other girls?”
I could see the shape of the “no” on her lips. But her scowl said everything she was really thinking.
So fucking cute.
After the hottest sex of my life this morning, both of our stomachs had been growling.
About an hour ago, I’d made myself just presentable enough to venture out to the kitchen.
Darius, Connor, and Niko had all been up, eating breakfast on the back patio.
They’d whistled and smirked at me through the screen door as I made a plate of bacon and eggs for us to share.
Darius had helpfully left extras on the stovetop.
No, they didn’t hear us at all, I’d told Zandra when I got back.
They’d totally heard us.
Now, we were cuddled up beneath a pile of blankets with our bellies full. Zandra had been lying on top of me, naked of course, while I drew pictures on her back with my fingertips. A bluesy playlist from my phone added to the atmosphere.
I hummed, pretending to think about her question. “Sunflower. Let me see… No, don’t think I’ve ever called anyone else that before. Just you.”
She crawled up my body so she could cross her arms on my chest. “Are you going to tell me what it means? Or do I have to guess?”
“I do love your guessing games.”
“Come on, Callum.”
I’d gotten enough of her adorably grumpy reactions to satisfy me for the moment. “It’s because sunflowers remind me of you. The wild, small ones that grow everywhere around here. They’re beautiful, but they’re tough. Nobody can keep them down.”
For several long seconds, she stared at me. Then she dropped her head, hiding it against her arms on my chest.
“You don’t like it?” I asked softly.
“I do. Just don’t know if I deserve it.”
“Sure you do.” Zandra had to know how amazing she was. Even with her setbacks in Chicago, she’d charged back into Silver Ridge with that same old fire. She didn’t put up with bullshit. Including mine, and I liked her all the more for it.
I felt her fingers on my arm, tracing the patterns of my tattoos. “I didn’t feel resilient after Jessa died. It was so hard, Callum. Every day, going to that school and feeling so alone.”
My heart clenched painfully at the reminder that she’d been struggling back then, and I hadn’t done anything to stop it.
“But there was more,” she went on. “Things happened that I haven’t told you.”
“I’m listening.” I rubbed her back.
“There was…” She swallowed. “Someone was harassing me.”
My hand went still. “What do you mean?”
“I told you about the rumors going around that it was my fault Jessa died. That we were arguing and I pushed her.”
“You thought I had something to do with spreading that around.” Because of Pickering.
She nodded. “Jessa’s vigil was just a few days after she died.
But then weeks later, I started getting copies of the leaflet.
Stuck in my locker, in my backpack when I wasn’t looking.
Under my car’s windshield wiper. I didn’t get it.
Why someone would do that. Like, were they trying to make me feel bad?
Make some other point? But then the person started writing words in red marker on the leaflets. ‘Liar.’ ‘Murderer.’”
“Shit,” I murmured. “That’s horrible.”
“I didn’t think you did it. Not exactly. I thought…I guess I figured people believed the rumors, and somebody decided to punish me for what they thought I did to Jessa. Then there was the time I went out to my car after school and found the driver’s side window broken.”
I gently tipped her to the side so she was lying on the mattress, and I could see her face. “Z, why didn’t you tell me about that? After the broken window at Hearthstone a couple weeks ago?”
Her eyes shone. “I thought it was random. Nothing to do with me. But after the note last night…”
“You think it’s the same person doing these things. Tommy?”
I was trying to stay cool and calm because I didn’t want to upset her even more. But if Pickering was behind this, they weren’t going to find his fucking body when I was done with him.
“I don’t know. I don’t see why he would do it. He didn’t care about Jessa.”
I didn’t understand it either, but the whole thing had me on edge. “You shouldn’t be going anywhere alone.”
“A little harassment isn’t going to kill me.”
“I really don’t like that choice of words.”
She twisted a strand of her dark hair around her finger. “Whoever was doing it in high school never said anything to my face or threatened me. They just wanted to make me miserable. Clearly they want the same thing now. When I was at the motel…”
I sat up. “The serial killer motel?” I asked incredulously. “Something happened there?”
That strand of hair kept winding tighter and tighter around her finger. “I might’ve thought someone was watching me a couple times at night.”
“Fucking hell, Z. You should’ve shared all this before.”
“I didn’t connect it all until last night. And I didn’t want to talk about it when you got here. You’d had a long day, and I just wanted…”
“To be cozy with me?”
“Yeah,” she whispered.
My arm hooked around her, tugging her into my side. Where she belonged.
If Teller Landry had still been chief of police, I would’ve called him up right now. We had to find out who was harassing her and vandalizing Hearthstone.
Now that Chief Susan Nichols was in charge, I was sure she’d do a good job as well. But I just didn’t know the new chief as well as my friend. I wasn’t entirely confident in Chief Nichols keeping this quiet, and I had the feeling Z didn’t want to be a renewed subject of Silver Ridge gossip.
Teller was still a part-time member of Silver Ridge PD, though. I could ask for his advice. Earlier this year, when Ayla had a stalker, Teller had used some less official means of investigation.
I’d have to look into that later.
“Even better reason for me to keep you here,” I said. “We have cameras and an alarm system. Installed them when my sister lived here and there was a break-in. It’s perfect.”
“I am not moving in with you.”
“You’re supposed to be saying yes to everything today.”
“Not if it’s unreasonable.”
“You know I’d treat you right. It would be like a sexy B&B. Meals included. Booty calls on demand.”
She laughed. “And I know you’re not serious.”
“I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” I pulled her on top of me, nudging her to straddle me high enough that I could kiss her breasts. They overflowed my hands when I cupped them. So sexy. I could feast on these all day.
“Because we’re—I don’t know what we are.”
“Do we need a label?” I licked her nipple and then sucked it into my mouth. She moaned before batting me away.
“We have another month of working together, and then one of us will be the boss.”
“So, we have a month of enjoying this. That’s what I’m hearing.”
“You’d…really want that? To keep hooking up until we have to stop?”
“Sure. Coworkers with benefits.” I’d never had an ongoing benefits arrangement with anyone before, but it sounded ideal for me and Zandra.
“And an extra benefit,” I added, hands roving down to squeeze the fullness of her hips, “is that you and Chloe can stay in the spare room here, with a security system and four firefighters standing guard for you. Making sure you get to work and back okay and keeping an eye out for this fucker who’s harassing you to make a mistake. ”
Once that happened, we would nail him.
She tilted her head, hair spilling around her shoulders. “Four firefighters is a plus.”
“But there’s only one you share special benefits with,” I growled.
“I dunno,” she teased. “Your roommates seem pretty nice too.”
She’d better have been teasing.
Possessiveness ran hot through my bloodstream and down to my cock. Another new experience, because I normally wasn’t remotely a possessive guy. No woman had ever made me want to lock her down. Until now.
Her gaze dipped, eyelashes splaying. “Callum, I don’t want anyone but you.”
“Good. Same here.” And it made my blood run all the hotter that she admitted she wanted me. Only me. My shaft swelled against my thigh. “C’mere, Sunflower. Give me what’s mine.”
Zandra leaned forward to kiss me, hair falling all around me in a sweet-smelling curtain. She started rocking back and forth on top of me.
When I brought my hand between her legs, I felt how wet she was. “You want to ride me this time, baby? You look so pretty sitting on me.”
She nodded, biting the corner of her lower lip.
I loved that she was already naked. We both knew what to do.
After being inside her once already, I had a sense of what Zandra liked.
How to touch her and how to hold back in the exact ways to drive her wild.
And now that I thought about it, wasn’t that a big benefit to repeats?
Hooking up with the same person meant my knowledge could be put to ideal use.
I’d just never felt the urge before her. I’d actually wondered if something was connected differently in my brain, because I’d never wanted more with anyone. Not like my siblings had with their partners.
After growing up watching my father’s shitty treatment of my mom, I’d thought I was the lucky one. No love, no marriage, no chance of making a heartbreaking mistake.
But with Zandra, I could imagine more. The strangest thing was, it didn’t feel strange at all.
Just felt damn good.
I scooted Zandra down until I felt that wetness sliding over my cock. “Rub yourself on me, Sunflower. Just like that.” A groan rumbled in my throat from the sensations on my sensitive tip.
Nngh. I wanted her mouth all over me, mine all over her. So many different filthy images were floating through my head already. And we had a month to try everything I dreamed up.
Zandra reached over to my nightstand to grab a condom from the drawer. Alright, I liked my girl impatient. Ready to take matters into her own hands.
Less than a minute later, I was deep inside her with Zandra bouncing on top of me, and this was a sight I intended never to forget. So many lush curves I didn’t know where to look. Finally, I settled on her gorgeous face.
Her eyes were hooded. Pink lips parted. A vision made of sex.
Z’s palms rested on my pecs as she braced herself, me holding on to her hips. I bucked into her, loving every slick slide of my cock in and out of her. “You’re tight, Z. Hell. Even my fist doesn’t grip me like you do.”
She made a needy sound, blinking those long lashes at me. “I love how you feel in me.”
“Yeah? Tell me more.” I bit back a smile as she hesitated. “What? That smart mouth of yours can give me a tongue-lashing when you’re mad, but you can’t talk dirty to me?”
“Your…cock is so…big.”
My grin went wide. “What else?”
“You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever been with.” Her mouth opened on a moan. “I’ve never come as hard as I do with you.”
“Mmm.” I’d heard filthier things, but nothing had ever been as satisfying. “Love making you come. Just me. This sweet body isn’t for anyone else.”
“Just you,” she moaned.
Yet while she was riding me and we were taking pleasure from each other, there was something beautiful about the way we were connecting too. The way Zandra had already become someone important to me, trusting me with so much.
With the rhythmic way our bodies kept meeting, I felt my orgasm already barreling toward me. But I didn’t want to slow her down. Watching Z like this, just letting go, was hypnotic.
The moment her channel tightened and she cried out, I was coming too. I held her hips, fingers digging in, as we rocked together and drew out every last pulse of pleasure. But even then, I didn’t want to stop.
Just a few tastes, and I was addicted to her.
My Sunflower.