Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Callum
Holding Quinn against me while the cicadas sang and fireflies danced across the front yard brought serenity I hadn’t experienced since I’d left Brighton Creek all those years ago.
When she confessed that she thought I’d leave her again, it had taken everything in me not to profess my love right there.
I hated that she linked my need to find something meaningful outside of our town with her not being good enough.
As if she could have said or done something that would have changed my mind.
“I’ve missed you, missed this,” I said quietly while inhaling the smell of her, vanilla and some sort of warm musk.
We had cooked together, cleaned up and everything had felt incredibly domestic in a way I hadn’t experienced in a relationship.
Maybe not ever if I was being honest with myself.
“I’m sorry I didn’t keep in touch more.”
“We used to ride out to the far side of the creek and sit on a log and talk about nothing… those long summer nights when the moon was bright and the stars would shoot across the sky…”
“I know, I remember. Those nights never lasted long enough.”
“Did you ever think about kissing me?” She tilted her chin up, staring at me.
Had I thought about kissing her? All the time. But I already knew that I was leaving for college. I’d told myself that things would be different once I was settled. That I’d come back home. Things hadn’t played out the way I’d wanted. Instead of talking to her, I kept my distance. “Yes, babygirl.”
“Yes, you wanted to kiss me or yes you wanted me the way I wanted you?”
“There are lots of things I regret. Leaving isn’t one of them. Not coming home? Absolutely. But as I told you before, I’m here now. I’ll keep showing up until it’s drilled into your brain, spitfire.” I stroked her cheekbone with my fingers.
“Mmm. I could have reached out too, but I didn’t. It was easier to place the blame solely on you instead of taking my share. But there was a lot going on.”
Understatement of the year. Her father passed away unexpectedly just before high school.
Nana and Tuts were given custody. She’d lost her only living parent and her home in the span of a week.
Grief wasn’t linear and facing everything after that had taken a toll on her.
“We can talk about ifs and ands until the sun comes up, but it won’t change the past. Let’s focus on the now, Quinn.
You don’t have to shoulder it all alone. ”
Sliding her off my lap, I got to my feet and helped her to stand. “Tonight is about us.” I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her.
“You taste like garlic knots,” she said giggling.
“I’ll brush my teeth. Come on, I’m not done with our plans.”
We walked inside and I stopped to lock the door behind us.
She’d given me glimpses of her inner thoughts, agreed to be with me, but we hadn’t had sex.
I wanted her melting underneath me, breath ragged from the pleasure coursing through her body.
My fingers buried in her hair, against her scalp, pressing her against me while she floated away from the stress.
Something tangible for her to feel to ease her abandonment wounds.
“Callum?” She paused on the stairs.
“Sorry, baby. I was thinking about shutting off your brain and drowning you in pleasure.”
“It’s only fair since you ignored me.” Quinn shook her ass as she climbed the steps.
Her denim short-shorts teased me with a glimpse of her skin. I swatted her ass. “You better be careful, spitfire. We’re almost to the bedroom.”
Instead of a smart comeback she increased her speed, reaching the platform first. She braced a hand against the wall, practically daring me to respond. Her mouth curled up into a smile. “We aren’t in the bedroom yet.”
“Oh, yeah? Do you really think teasing Daddy is a good idea right now?” I joined her, grabbing one of her belt loops and tugging her to me.
“I think it’s the best idea.”
“Mmhmm.” I squeezed one of her asscheeks hard enough that she groaned. Leaning into her, I licked a long line from her earlobe to her collarbone. “Go get undressed and sit on the bed. I’ll be right there.”
“I’m impatient,” she whined.
“My girl told me I had stinky breath, so I can't seduce her properly until I fix that.”
“Pretty sure you’ve already accomplished it. Spanking. Dinner. Cuddles.” Quinn traced a finger along my chest and down to my hip. She kept her head down.
“Don’t get in your head, I can see those wheels turning,” I warned, lifting her chin with my index finger. Her ass couldn’t handle any more corrections tonight.
“Don’t take too long, Sir,” she said quietly before spinning on her heels and striding up the hallway.
“I won’t baby. I’ll be right there.” I wanted to reassure her over and over again verbally as much as with my actions that I wasn’t leaving.
Quinn
Callum had taken care of everything, like he’d promised.
All that was left was me. Sex had been moved to my back burner.
Not a priority. Managing the ranch capitalized so much of my time that I barely found room for my friends.
Dating, intimacy and sex didn’t hold as much importance as everything else.
Stripping my clothes off, I laid on the bed on my stomach, legs in the air, my ankles crossed. Facing the doorway, I appreciated the long glance Callum gave me as he entered, drinking me in.
“Aren’t you the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen?”
“I’m pretty sure I heard you say that to Glimmer.”
“No, babygirl. You’re absolutely breathtaking.
I didn’t allow myself to have any hope that we’d be able to work through our differences so quickly.
I certainly didn’t think we’d end up in the bedroom.
” He waggled his eyebrows, peeling one piece of clothing off at a time as he moved to the edge of the mattress. “But I’m so happy we did.”
“Me too,” I agreed. His muscles flexed and released as he removed his navy boxer-briefs and my brain filled with white noise.
I’d seen attractive men before, especially on the ranch.
But Callum climbing onto the bed, those forearms of his looking biteable and sexy as he came closer was in a league of its own.
He had a six-pack, something I’d spied under his t-shirts but hadn’t appreciated enough.
I wiped a long line of drool away with the back of my hand.
“Where’s all your sass gone, baby?”
I shifted around so I could take him all in. “Quiet for the moment. Don’t worry it will return shortly.”
“Lie on your back, Quinn. Spread your legs.” He directed me with one finger.
I was so turned on that I obeyed immediately, propping myself up on my elbows. Callum adjusted himself in between my legs, dipping his mouth to my inner thigh. It wasn’t quite where I wanted him. “You missed the mark,” I managed.
“Hush, babygirl,” he said while stroking a finger along my folds. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you?” One deliciously placed smack with his palm reverberated off my mound. I clamped my thighs together, but trapping his hand did nothing helpful.
“Open your legs for me so I can make your eyes roll back in bliss.”
So much for my snarky question. I couldn’t argue with him, not after such a yummy promise. Slowly complying, I glanced down at his warm brown eyes as he stared at me.
“Good girl.”
Callum captured my clit, his tongue working on the bundle of nerves while I writhed.
Two fingers pushed inside my pussy, stroking nerves that had been neglected for too long.
He brought me to climax quickly, licking and nibbling my thighs as I came.
“Oh! Oh, you…mmmm,” I couldn’t form words after the intensity of one orgasm.
It had been far too long since I’d prioritized my own pleasure.
“Verdict? Does Daddy know what he’s doing or do I need to prove it another way?”
I held up my thumb. He stretched his body to reach my hand, kissing my knuckles.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Yes, yes, absolutely yes!”
He grinned as he laid next to me on the mattress. Callum cupped my cheek, rolling me to face him. “You’re glowing, but I’m not done with you yet.”
I hummed into his neck. He reached behind us into the nightstand, grabbing a condom.
Callum rubbed himself hard while I licked my lips.
I couldn’t resist the urge to wrap them around the head of his cock, and took him into my mouth.
He gasped in surprise before letting out a low moan, a sound that would live rent-free in my thoughts forever.
“Quinn,” he said while moving his hand to my head. “Babygirl, you don’t have to–”
Whatever he’d been poised to say died on his lips. I deep-throated his cock while working my hand along his shaft. I continued worshipping him while his fingers tightened in my hair.
“Enough. I need to be inside you,” he said growling.
I ignored his command and hummed. He let out a long string of curses. I loved the way his eyes rolled back into his head, and I took a mental snapshot of the moment.
“Release Daddy so he can fuck you.”
That was the hottest, most delicious order I’d ever heard. Obeying, I slowly opened my mouth and let him slip out. I reached for the condom but he held it out of my reach like a naughty game of keep-away. “Give it to me,” I whined.
“Ask nicely.”
“Please let me do it, Daddy?”
“Much better,” he praised and held the condom packet in between his index and middle finger.
I opened it, rolling it on with practiced ease as if I did that sort of thing all the time. He was thick, and I admired him as I finished. “You’re so sexy.”
“I’m sexy? Baby, you’re a goddess. Swing yourself this way so I can show you exactly what you’ve been doing to me.”
I shifted around, staring at him long enough to appreciate every muscle and dip in his body before laying on my back.
Callum straddled my legs, moving them where he wanted and settling between them.
Raising my eyes to his, I saw absolute devotion there.
“I’ve thought about this moment, even when I was mad…
after you left. Not that you had any idea that I missed you. ”
“I should have done a better job showing you how important you are to me, an oversight I’m remedying now.”
Callum kissed me deeply, passionately. Cupping his face, I leaned forward until I reached the shell of his ear. I nipped it once. “By fucking me senseless?”
“I’ll start there.”
He captured my ankle, wrapping his fingers around it and raised it up to rest on his shoulder.
Tilting my head to the side, I wished I’d had more adventures sexually because I felt wholly out of my league.
Callum planted kisses along the top of my foot.
He was going to spoil me for anyone else in the bedroom, a thought that dragged up those fears of abandonment along with an overwhelming sense of contentment.
I reminded myself that he wanted to be in a relationship, regardless of how we’d reconnected.
“Relax, babygirl. Drop whatever’s going through that pretty head of yours.” He tapped in between my brows. “Keep those eyes on me.”
“Yes, Sir,” I mumbled, doing my best to do as he commanded. Callum smirked, trailing the fingers of his free hand along my pussy lips. I arched, the sensations rippling through my body from barely a touch.
“Spread your legs a little wider, baby.”
Callum waited for me to obey then slid his cock inside of me, inserting himself slowly while my body stretched to accommodate him. I grabbed his shoulders, the pads of my fingers digging into his skin. He praised me, whispering how good I felt as he entered deeper.
“You feel so fucking good, Sir.”
“Hm? Right there is the spot?” he teased, moving in and out slowly and then increasing his pace while I writhed.
“There. Oh, god, please…” Throwing my head back, I moaned loudly.
Callum stroked spots inside my core that I couldn’t recall anyone else ever finding. He drew another moan from my mouth, hitting my g-spot as if he mapped it.
“Come on, Quinn. You’re almost there. I can feel you clenching around me. I want to see you come all over my cock.”
“Sir!”
“That’s right, babygirl. Come for me, pretty girl.” His voice rumbled against my chest.
Callum grabbed my other ankle, setting it on his shoulder so that I was raised off the mattress. He increased the speed of his hips and I was helpless to do anything but allow the orgasm to crash over me.
“Sir! Oh, Sir! Holy fuck.” I smacked my palms down at my sides, trying to find purchase on the blankets to give myself something solid to grab. Wave after wave of pleasure washed through my body until I was a whimpering mess of bliss.
Callum hit his own peak, the muscles in his abs contracting and releasing as he came. He paused long enough to slide my legs to the mattress before resting his body on top of mine. I rubbed every part of him that I could reach while our breathing evened out.
“You were amazing, Quinn. Don’t escape back into your head.”
“How did you know?” I groaned when he shifted around to dispose of the condom. He was right, but after so much time spent apart I was surprised that he read me so easily.
“I’ve been paying more attention than you give me credit for,” he said quietly.
“Shower? Bed? I’m not a night owl anymore.
Not when I have responsibilities.” I didn’t acknowledge what he said only because I wasn’t sure how to answer.
It wasn’t really anything about what he was doing, and more about my deep-seated fears.
I had to work through them and trust him.
At the end of the day it was me versus me when it came to feeling worthy and seen.
His guidelines and structure helped immensely, but I needed to allow myself room to bloom no matter what.
“Sure, spitfire. We have an early day. I’ll make you pancakes.”
“And spank me in the kitchen?” I waggled my eyebrows. “A spanking a day keeps the sass away or whatever?”
“While that’s an excellent motto, babygirl, your ass will still be sore tomorrow morning.” He leaned down and kissed my hip. “Don’t worry, we’ll reassess in the evening. Perhaps a bedtime session.”
“And the next day? And the next day?” I grabbed his hands in mine.
“Absolutely. Whatever I have to do to remind you that I’m not going anywhere.” Callum tugged me to the edge of the mattress, stood and swept me into his arms bridal-style.
“Yes, Daddy. I know you mean it. And I look forward to spending more time together.”
“Good girl. I’m going to keep showing up until you finally feel it in your heart, beautiful.”
“And if I don’t feel it there, you’ll make sure my ass feels it?”
“Don’t you start, spitfire,” he said, chuckling as he walked us to the bathroom.
I was kidding mostly, but his words held weight. Things had started off a bit rocky, but his handling of the situation and the improvements he’d already taken care of along with plans for bigger things around the ranch showed me that despite my initial resistance, we were better as a team.