29. Halle
CHAPTER 29
HALLE
T he abandoned drive-in on the edge of town may not seem like the kind of place one brings her boyfriend for quality time, but this is where I always ran when things got tough.
“How’d you find this place?” He reclines the passenger seat a couple of inches now that my brothers aren’t squished in the back.
We dropped them off with friends, so we’ve got a little time to ourselves.
“When I was little and the place was still open, Mom would bring me for two-dollar Mondays. It’s… it’s another good memory. When I was older, I came here, I guess, to remind myself of the good times.”
He probably thinks it’s strange to come here after how the visitation went. I’m still reeling from her downright threat. That’s all it was. She’s not going anywhere for years. Even so, it shook me.
Caleb leans back against the headrest, his hair rustling against the fabric as he turns to face me. I can feel his scrutiny, but I keep my focus fixed on the giant, tattered screen beyond the windshield. I don’t want to look at him right now. I can’t bear to see the sympathy in his eyes. It’ll only cause more tears. For now, I just want to be here with him. I want to exist in this quiet place where it’s just us.
“Do you want to talk about what she said?”
I scoot my seat all the way back and recline it as far as it will go. “No.”
“All right.”
Surprise flutters through me. I was sure he’d push the subject.
We’re quiet for a long moment. Eventually I break the silence by saying, “I hate it here.”
“Why?” he probes.
“This town is the kind of place where dreams go to die. Most people never get out.” I rub at my tired eyes. The mascara I put on this morning is long gone after my crying sesh. Most of it is on Caleb’s shirt. I cringe at the thought.
“You got out. And you got your brothers out too.”
I slowly turn my head. “I did, but did I really take a step up by purchasing that money pit of a house? It was falling apart before it flooded. ”
“You’re doing the best you can with what you have. You’re a fighter. It’s how we persist through the hard shit that defines who we are, and from where I’m sitting, you’re pretty fucking tough.”
My heart splits wide open and pure affection oozes out. How is it possible that this man always knows just what to say?
I lay my hand on his smooth cheek, brushing my thumb back and forth.
“Where did you come from, Caleb Thorne?”
Grinning, he puts his hand over mine and drags my palm to his lips, where he places a soft kiss. “The Hawthorne Mills hospital after a fifteen-hour labor and one failed epidural.”
I laugh, surprised at how quickly the weight has eased from my shoulders.
Leaning in, I press my mouth to his.
In return, he palms the back of my neck, pulling me closer and working his mouth against mine. Surprised but suddenly needy for more, I open my mouth and lick into his, savoring the taste of him.
Just as enthusiastic as I am, he tangles his tongue with mine, his chest vibrating as a moan works its way out of him.
The sound alone sends my heart galloping and my core tightening.
“Come here.” He clutches my hips and lifts me from the driver’s seat with ease. When he settles me in his lap, there’s no missing the ridge of his cock at my apex. Gasping, I rock my hips against him, helpless to stop. My hair forms a dark curtain around us, making it feel as though we’re the only people left in this world.
Caleb slows the kiss, like we have all the time in the world and not like we’re making out like teenagers in the abandoned drive-in parking lot.
My body aches for his. We haven’t had a chance to fool around, let alone have sex, since last weekend. Between work and my brothers, it’s been next to impossible to find time for anything more than a kiss every now and then.
I’ve got him all to myself for the next while, so why not take advantage?
“Have you ever had sex in a car?” I ask, tugging at his shirt.
Eyes hooded, he breaks into a lazy smile, not even bothering to help me divest him of his t-shirt.
“Yes,” he says, finally lifting his arms so I can yank the fabric over his head. Humming, he brushes my hair out of my face and tenderly tucks it behind my ear. “But I’ve never had sex in a car with you.”
“Smooth recovery,” I quip.
He chuckles, lips ghosting over my cheek. “Is this your way of telling me you want me to fuck you in your car?”
An electric current sparks to life inside me. “God. Yes. Please.”
He wets his lips, his eyes dark with amusement. “So fucking eager. I like that.”
“You bring it out in me.” Sex has always been a release, nothing more. Last weekend, Caleb opened my eyes to how much deeper the connection can go .
He cups my jaw, kissing the underside of my neck. “Is that so?”
I nod, my breaths coming faster. We may be new at this, but he’s already discovered several sensitive spots like this one.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news.” His tone turns serious as he pulls away. “But I didn’t bring a condom.”
I bite my lip, but there’s no hiding my smirk. “I guess that makes me the bearer of good news. I picked some up when we stopped for gas this morning.”
He laughs, his body shaking beneath mine and causing the seam of my jeans to rub against me in just the right way, creating a mix of pleasure edged with the tiniest bit of hurt.
“You planned this,” he accuses, pressing his thumb into my bottom lip.
Without my permission, my pelvis rolls over his, sending arcs of desire through me. “No, but I?—”
He cocks a brow and forces my hips to still.
With a sigh, I mutter, “I hoped.”
“Naughty girl.” He nips at my neck. “Where are they?”
I scramble back to the driver’s side and pull the plastic bag from beneath the seat, then dig out the small package and hand it to him.
He looks them over, his entire face lit up in a combination of need and amusement.
“You make me horny,” I whine. “Stop judging me.”
With a groan, he adjusts himself in his pants. “I’m not judging, sweetheart.”
I pout, head lowered. “It feels like you are. ”
His eyes narrow and his nostrils flare. “Get back over here so I can show you just how nonjudgmental I can be.”
I don’t have to be told twice. Quickly, and a little awkwardly, I maneuver my way back over and settle into his lap.
He opens the box and sticks a condom wrapper in the empty drink holder, then tears my shirt off over my head. With nimble fingers, he pops the button on my jeans and lowers the zipper. When he slips his hand past the waistband of my panties and finds my pussy already wet for him, he groans.
“All this for me, baby?” he asks, stroking his fingers through my folds.
My hips rock against the friction, desperate for more.
He slaps my ass with his other hand, and I cry out, bracing my hands on the seat on either side of him, cheeks burning from the combination of pleasure and pain.
“I asked you a question, Halle.”
“I…” My brain spirals. What did he ask me?
All this for me, baby?
As his words replay in my head, the warmth in my belly turns up a notch. “Yes. All for you. Only you.”
“Mmm,” he hums. “Such a good girl. You look so pretty riding my fingers, but you want my cock, don’t you?”
“Y-Yes,” I whimper, head thrown back. “Please.”
He sucks at the sensitive skin of my neck. “I really like it when you beg.” With a thumb, he presses against my clit.
Eager, desperate, so turned on, I rock against his hand once, twice, a third time, and then I come .
He silences my cries with a kiss, working his fingers into me until the orgasm fades.
“You’re so pretty when you come, Halle. You have no idea.”
He grasps my hips, urging me up onto my knees, then works my pants and underwear down, steadying me while I lift one leg, then the other, to get them off entirely.
With both hands, he grasps my bare ass cheeks and puts me right where he wants me, so my core is lined up with the thick length still encased in his jeans.
Reaching behind me, I unclasp my bra, and when I slip it down my arms, he drops his head back against the seat, groaning, and takes in my bare breasts.
“It should be against the law to be this perfect,” he rasps, throat thick with desire.
I’d argue that they’re too small, too pointy rather than gently rounded. But when he looks at me like this, it’s hard not to believe every word he says. He cups my breasts, fitting them easily in his big hands.
“Caleb,” I whimper.
He rubs his thumbs against my pebbled nipples. “What do you need, baby?”
“You.” I drag my hands down his bare torso to his belt. “That’s all.”
“You have me, Halle.” He kisses me, his hands cupping my jaw. “You’ve had me far longer than you realize.”
“Fuck me,” I beg, yanking on his belt. “Please.”
He grins, kissing me again. “Whatever my girl wants.”
I add the belt to the pile of clothes on the driver’s seat and pop the button on his jeans, then slowly slide down the zipper. I’m taking my time the way he always does. Like I did as a kid, opening the few presents I received. I always cherished every part of the process.
Impatient, Caleb lifts his hips, sending me wobbling, and shoves his jeans and boxer briefs down to his knees, freeing his cock.
God, it’s beautiful. I never thought this part of the male body was all that great to look at, but Caleb has changed my mind, and he doesn’t even know it.
I trace my finger along a vein in his shaft, and he bucks his hips in response.
“Baby,” he warns. “It’d be awfully embarrassing if you made me come that easily, and believe me, I’m dangerously close.”
I lean in, mouth against his ear. “I think you mean hot . It would be insanely hot if you came that easily.”
He zeroes in on my face, the intensity in his expression causing my skin to pebble with goose flesh.
“Grab the condom,” he commands.
Without hesitation, I snap it up and tear open the wrapper.
He takes it, and I watch with eager fascination as he fits it onto his thick cock.
“Halle?” he whispers, encouraging me to lift my hips.
“Yea—”
He wraps his arms around me and drives up into me in one smooth, hard thrust.
I scream, grasping the head rest to steady myself. “Holy fuck!”
He rolls his hips, grazing my clit with every upward thrust, the deliciously violent moves causing colors to dance behind my closed lids.
“Fuck, baby. You’re squeezing my cock so tight. Keep that up and I won’t last long.”
“Can’t help it,” I pant, barely holding on.
He grasps my throat, holding just tight enough to disrupt the flow of oxygen as he drags my mouth to his.
Never did I think that the straitlaced man in the suit, with the tidy home and responsible car, would be this intense.
“You ride me so good,” he praises, eyes hooded. “Such a good girl.”
I whimper at the praise and gasp for air. “Caleb.”
“Tell me how good it feels.” He loosens his hold on my neck for a moment, then tightens it again. “Tell me how much you love the way I fuck you.”
“It’s so good,” I cry out. “You have no idea. You fuck me so good.”
“That’s right,” he growls. He slips his hand from my neck to my chest, his palm flat on my sternum, and guides me until my back rests against the dashboard. “No one can fuck you as good as I can.”
He finds my clit with a thumb and rubs it in time with his thrusts.
“Caleb. Oh, God.” I rake my nails down his chest, only coming to a stop when they land on his abdominals. How is he so ripped? I swear he must live at the gym when he’s in Boston. That or he works out so damn early I’ve never caught him doing it .
The hand on my hip tightens, his thumb digging in hard enough to leave a bruise. “Tell me what you need, baby.”
“To come. I need to come again.”
It’s right there . I’m teetering on the edge. All I need is?—
He presses his thumb firmly into my clit, and I detonate, an intense orgasm taking over, making my vision go black and my body lose all control. I crash into his chest, biting into his shoulder to quiet my scream.
Caleb doesn’t slow, his frenzied movements dragging out my orgasm far longer than seems humanly possible.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” I lean back, bracing my hands on his knees, watching the way he fills me, whimpering at the sight of his length disappearing with each roll of his hips.
“That’s it, baby.” With his hands firm on my waist, he guides me. “Ride my cock.”
He swells inside me, his length dragging perfectly against my inner walls, ratcheting up my need again. If I keep this up, I’ll be rewarded with yet another orgasm.
I’ve never been this responsive to a man. It’s about so much more than just attraction. With Caleb, I have a connection unlike anything I knew existed.
A fourth orgasm sweeps me away, pulling a long, low cry from my throat. His low moans echo in my ears as his hips stutter and he pulses inside me, filling the condom.
Our breaths are out of control, our bodies sweaty. I don’t make a move to get off him, and he doesn’t encourage me to move. In fact, he wraps his arms around me like that’s the last thing he wants.
Gradually, our breaths even out and sync up. I rest my ear over his chest, letting his heartbeat settle me .
Eventually, he releases me, but I cling to him like a baby monkey, not ready to let go. He chuckles and maneuvers around me to pick up our garments from the driver’s seat.
He holds my bra up first. “Time to get dressed, baby.”
With a sigh, I lean back and reach for the bra, but he yanks it away and shakes his head, insisting on dressing me again.
I let him clasp it behind my back and slide my shirt on, but there’s no way I’ll get back into my underwear and jeans while I’m on his lap, so I slide back into the driver’s seat to finish dressing.
Caleb finally removes the condom, tying it off and shoving it into his pocket as he yanks his jeans and boxer briefs back into place.
Once we’ve mostly righted ourselves, I start the car, ready to pick my brothers up and get home. Before I can put it in gear, though, Caleb grabs the side of my face, pulling me in for a long kiss. When he pulls back, he gives me a long, steady look.
He doesn’t have to say anything.
I don’t either.
But it’s there between us, those three words I’m not ready to speak or hear. The words that just might ruin me.