Olivia
The minute the police cruiser pulls away, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
Derek is going to have some explaining to do and I'm going to have to go in and fill out a police report.
But I think my worries about his taking my child from me are over. And I have Caleb to thank for that.
"Hey, shh," he says, cupping my cheek and brushing a tear from my cheekbone.
The moment of panic has passed, but the emotion is still rippling through me, having a butterfly effect on my overtaxed nervous system.
Never in a million years did I think Derek would break into my house.
And my God, I didn't realize he still had a key.
"I can't believe that…" I don't know how to put into words what I'm thinking or feeling.
"Yeah, it's okay… me either. But he's gone now and I really don't think we'll have to deal with him again. Not after what he put you through and the stuff he's going to be charged with."
Caleb's arms around me are comforting and strong.
I lean into them as I lock my hands behind his neck and rise up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
"Thank you." My days of worrying about whether Derek got hurt in all of this are over.
He deserves what's coming to him, and I hope that the punishment teaches him to not commit crimes anymore.
"Mom!" I hear and turn to see Ethan standing with his arm around Marcus's shoulders, grinning. They've been buddies for life and it appears they're cooking up a scheme right now.
"Yeah, bud," I say, then swipe at my eyes hastily so he doesn't see that I've been crying. That entire incident could be traumatic for him, and I don't want to make it worse by not being here to support him if he needs me.
"Mom, Marcus wants me to sleep over after the fireworks.
Can I sit in his yard and then sleep over?
" I stop and stare at him blankly for a second, wondering if I should bring up what just happened right in front of him with his father, but he doesn't seem fazed by it. Kids can surprise you at times.
"Buddy, do you want to talk?" I ask, turning to crouch in front of him, but he shrugs.
"No, I want to sleep over with Marcus." I'm sure the fallout will happen when he realizes his dad isn't coming to pick him up for visits for a while. But I don't want to be the mom who forces him to face this situation when he wants to go enjoy his holiday.
"Sure, bud… You can sleep over." I rise, tousling his hair, and he cheers a few times with his friend, high-fiving and pumping his fist in the air, and then they're gone, just as the first boom of the fireworks show at the end of the block goes off.
I watch him run off, and then a line of light shoots skyward, illuminating the entire block as a bright flash of fire in the sky erupts. It's beautiful, bright golds and yellows blistering against the clouds, and it feels fitting—a celebration to end the nightmare that was Derek Bennett.
"Beautiful," I mumble as Caleb walks up beside me, looping an arm around my waist. His cologne takes me in, and I turn to look up in his face.
He's mesmerized by the fireworks, though he must feel the pull of me staring.
He looks down at me, and when I expect him to say something, he shocks me by leaning down to kiss me instead.
The kiss isn't a polite, chaste, public-worthy kiss.
It's passionate and hungry, and his hand slides down over the curve of my ass and squeezes.
No one is around now. They've all wandered away from my front yard back toward the block party, though a few stragglers stand half a block away staring up at the sky.
"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" he asks as he pulls away.
"A time or two," I respond, smiling.
"And have I told you that I really like you a lot?" His lips seal over mine before I get a chance to respond. This kiss is more feral, almost desperate. I feel the warmth of arousal building in my gut, and I smile against his mouth.
"Mr. Ward, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to seduce me." He's backing me up now, guiding me toward my side door. The house is probably as big of a mess as Derek left it, and who knows who else has gone in there since Derek left it open.
"I'm trying to communicate with you," he growls against my lips, gripping my hips and continuing to back me until we're on my front porch, taking the steps. It's awkward moving backward, but I manage with his help.
"And what are you communicating?" I ask softly, feeling how his hands slide up my sides inside my shirt.
"That I am in love with you and I want my life with you." Again, he gives me no time to respond as he opens my door with a key he lifted from my pocket and then leads me through the door, keeping my mouth covered with his.
I pull Caleb inside the house and close the door behind us.
He turns the lock and his mouth returns to mine instantly.
His hands slide back under my T-shirt and push the fabric up along my skin, so I lift my arms, letting him pull the shirt off over my head.
I reach for his T-shirt and tug it upward, and he helps me remove it so both shirts are on the floor.
Then my hands slide over his chest and down his sides while he guides me backward through the living room.
His fingers hook into the waistband of my shorts and he pushes them down my legs along with my underwear. Stumbling, I step out of them as I push his shorts down his hips. He steps free gracefully, but his hands never leave my hips. He's greedy and hungry, backing me to the couch where he sits.
I feel a little shy suddenly as he pulls me onto his lap, and I straddle him, feeling how hard he is when my core slides up his length.
Every muscle in my body is poised to snap, my core pulsing and dripping, my back arched and taut.
"God, you're perfect," he growls, as his lips find a nipple and suck.
He toys with it as he gropes the other breast, kneading and twisting until I whimper.
"That feels good," I tell him. "God… How are you so fucking good at this?" I don't even want to think about it. My hips start rocking and grinding on him, and I can feel what a mess my pussy's making on his dick.
He switches to the other side and gives it the same attention, sucking and licking until the sensation travels straight down through my body.
I reach down between us and wrap my fingers around his dick, stroking him until I feel the moisture from his head slick my palm.
He's so fucking hard, and I want him in me so bad.
"Careful or you're gonna make me go too fast," he hisses, then nips my skin lightly. His teeth rake over my breast as his hand greedily palms my ass and pulls me up against his shaft. I continue gripping him but grind on his length, smearing our juices together on him.
"I need you inside me," I say. "God, please…" The way he growls against my skin is hypnotic, sucking me into a trance where all I can think about is feeling him gliding through my moisture.
I lift my hips and position him at my entrance, then lower myself onto him inch by inch until he slides all the way inside me. He feels warm and thick and I take a deep breath that shudders on the exhale.
I have never had any man make me feel so desperate to be one with him as this man does. Not ever. It's an animalistic urge to find release and unity, and I find myself rising and falling on his dick without being asked.
"Oh, my God," I groan, clenching as I slide up and down his length. The tightness is incredible, making every ridge and vein in his dick rub on my sensitive spots. And from this angle he goes so deep I gasp as he bottoms out.
"God, Liv," he growls, "you're so tight.
" His hands stay on my hips and help guide me as I ride him.
We kiss again while I keep grinding, and each time I come down, I rock my hips forward so I rub against him where it feels best. He pushes up to meet me with small thrusts that go deeper each time our bodies come together.
"You're so wet," he says between kisses. "God, I want to do this every night."
"Does this feel good?" I ask him.
"It feels amazing," he answers. "And you are amazing… God, these tits are so perfect." He sucks one into his mouth again, grabbing the other. The attention only heightens my pleasure, so I start bouncing faster.
He slides one hand between our bodies and touches me with his fingers right above where we connect. He circles my clit, making pleasure build higher and making me moan softly and lean into his touch.
"Right there," I say. "Oh, God, yes…"
"Good girl," he praises, and it almost makes me shatter right there.
I grind on him faster and he pushes up to meet every downward motion. The pace is frantic but I'm desperately chasing that high. My thighs are burning and I'm panting, but I'm not going to cave in and let him take over. I want this, and I want him. Every cell in my body is on fire.
"You're so deep," I tell him. "It's so fucking good…" My mouth crashes into his and he bites my lower lip as he now grabs both ass cheeks with his hands, forcing my hips to move faster. And before I know it' he's taking over the entire thing controlling every movement I make.
The feeling inside me grows stronger with every rise and fall.
I rock my hips forward each time I come down and feel the heat bubbling in my core until I can't take it anymore.
The pressure builds so intensely my thighs start to shake and Caleb keeps thrusting up into me, his dick hitting that perfect spot over and over.
"Oh, God, Caleb," I moan, my voice breaking. "I'm so close."
"God, you're sexy," he growls, gripping my ass tighter, pulling me down harder onto his dick. "Come on… let go."