24. Marnie
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Marnie
The drive home from the bar is excruciating.
Every nerve in my body is on fire from anticipation. Caleb’s hand has a firm grip on my leg, a stark contrast to the way his fingers gently massage my inner thigh. Slow, teasing. The heat from his hand feels like it’s burning a hole through my leather pants.
With each passing street, we get closer and closer to his house. Somehow, we managed to get a small moment of clarity between kisses to decide on going to his place instead of mine so that we could check on Berry.
As soon as the truck is in park, we both exit and our lips are on each other’s again. He pushes me against the passenger door roughly, closing in on me to plant fervent kisses across my jaw and down my neck.
The metal is cool against my bare back, and the sensation sends a shudder through me.
I grasp his shoulders to steady myself, and his hands move to cup my ass, lifting me. I wrap my legs around his waist eagerly. In this position, I feel the growing bulge in his pants as it presses against my center.
Caleb carries me into the house, and I laugh into his mouth when he takes the corner too hastily and crashes us into the banister.
We reach his bedroom and waste no time undressing. I grab the hem of his shirt and his hands move to unbutton my pants. It’s sloppy and hasty and clothes are flying onto the floor until he’s standing in nothing but a pair of black boxers and I’m left in my bra and panties.
I marvel at the expanse of muscles stretching over his body, running my hands across his abdomen. He walks us backward and guides me down gently on the bed, stepping back to admire me. But there’s nothing gentle about the way his eyes are roaming over my body.
In that moment, something snaps, and he pounces, pinning me beneath him.
He kisses his way from my mouth to my neck to my chest before ending at the inside of my thighs.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers against my skin. His breath is cool and it sends another shiver throughout my body.
“You told me that already.”
“And I’m going to tell you every single day. I mean it.”
Caleb adjusts his position to kneel at the end of the bed, gripping my hips and pulling me to him. I’m almost at the edge of the mattress when he exhales a sharp breath—it’s quiet, but clear as day. I sit up immediately and see him massaging a hand over his injured thigh.
Concern laces my features. “Your leg . . .”
“Don’t worry about me,” he says, pushing me back down against the bed and continuing his movements. I begin to protest, but I’m silenced when he hooks two fingers into the waistband of my panties, slowly dragging them down my hips to my knees and finally off my body.
I watch as he tosses them into the pile on the floor and then settles between my legs, trading off between tracing small circles into my inner thigh and leaving feather-light kisses along my hip bones.
His mouth works closer and closer to my center, and then he pauses and locks eyes with me. “Is this okay?”
“Yes.” My voice comes out breathy.
Caleb’s face becomes downright devilish, turning his attention back to part my legs, laying me bare to him. He slowly works a finger into me, and I throw my head back against the comforter.
He does that for a while, gradually building me up before slipping in a second finger, and then a third. They pump in and out of me with deliberate movements, curling each time to drag along my walls as he pulls them out again.
The stretch is almost enough to be uncomfortable, but when he moves his thumb to rub my clit, all I feel is pleasure.
Without warning, he removes all his fingers, and my muscles clench around nothing. I let out an involuntary whimper, only for him to replace his fingers with his mouth.
I reach for the top of his hair for something to hold on to as my breath picks up, and I can feel myself getting close.
A small, whiny moan escapes my lips, and he smiles against me as he continues his motions.
Every swipe of his tongue breaks me apart and puts me back together again in a delightfully torturous, never-ending cycle.
The pressure builds and my knees instinctively try to close, locking against the side of his head.
He stops his movements to bring his hands to the inside of my knees and gently pries them open, letting them fall back down to the bed.
He resumes his work, but keeps my legs spread with a firm grip on my upper thighs.
When his mouth reaches my clit again, I come undone.
My legs begin to shake, and a wave of pleasure crashes over me. He continues to lick and suck and kiss, pulling every ounce of gratification from me as I ride it out, coming down from the most intense orgasm of my life.
I close my eyes, panting, trying to steady my breathing.
The bed dips near my feet, and then Caleb comes into view, standing beside me.
He kisses my forehead softly before walking into the bathroom.
Water trickles from the faucet, and then he returns with a washcloth, gently parting my legs to clean me.
I lie there, still unable to move, too at peace with sinking slowly into the bed and further into oblivion.
He discards the washcloth and sits down beside me, pulling me into his lap and wrapping an arm around my body. My head falls against his chest and I focus on the steady sounds of his heart.
Peering down at me, he asks, “How are you feeling?”
“Amazing,” I hum.
He chuckles, the sound a deep rumble against my ear as I rest on his chest. His fingers trail up and down the bare skin of my arm absentmindedly.
I roll further into him, my free hand finding the top of his boxers to return the favor, when Berry barks from the other room.
Caleb sighs into my hair. “As much as I would love to finish that, I need to go let her out. I’m sorry.”
“I can help if you’d like,” I offer, already sitting up in bed.
Caleb smiles and leans in to press a soft kiss to my lips. “No, you stay and rest. If I did my job well enough, you should be thoroughly exhausted,” he says with a wink and climbs out of bed, tugging on a pair of sweatpants before walking out the door.
A few minutes pass before I roll over and out of bed, slipping into the bathroom to freshen up. I rummage around in Caleb’s dresser and pull out an old Def Leppard concert tee, slipping it over my head and heading to the kitchen for a glass of water.
The hallway is dark, save for the slightest illumination coming from downstairs.
My hands fumble around for the light switch. When I am unable to find it, I decide to just head down the stairs. I take each step slowly, careful not to lose my footing.
When I am a few steps from the bottom, my eyes begin to adjust to the lack of light, just in time to spot a dark mass scurry across the floor. I rub my eyes and shake my head, but it’s gone.
Maybe I am just sleep deprived and am imagining things. Or maybe my brain was turned to mush after Caleb’s mind-altering orgasm.
I decide to continue down the stairs when it runs directly in front of me, and I realize my mind is not playing tricks on me.
“What the fuck is that?!” I shriek, running halfway back up the stairs.
Within seconds, Caleb’s footsteps come running in my direction. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
My voice comes out high-pitched and panicked. “There’s something in the house. I saw something run across the floor. I don’t know where it went.”
The light switch flicks on, followed by immediate laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“You’re not going to believe this,” he says, still laughing.
The bar is pretty low for what I’ll believe at this point. It could be anything. My mind races with different possibilities ranging from a rat to an alien.
“The skunk got in through the dog door again. She’ll find her way out.”
He says it so calmly, like it’s a regular occurrence.
Normally I would care—overreact, even—but I’m still floating from having his head between my legs, and his cool, unfazed demeanor settles my panic.
“You hungry?” he asks, heading for the kitchen.
“I’m starving.”
“What are you in the mood for?”
“Something sweet.”
He heads for the pantry and pulls out a box of brownie mix. “This is all I have.”
“Perfect,” I grin.
Caleb fetches a mixing bowl and measuring cups while I search for the eggs, oil, and vanilla extract.
We spread everything out on the counter and follow the instructions on the back of the box.
I finish adding the water, and he moves behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, holding the bowl in place while I whip all the ingredients together.
As I pour the batter into the tray, a small sliver drips onto his index finger.
Without saying a word, he steps out from behind me and offers his finger, hovering inches from my mouth.
I close the distance and stick out my tongue, gently wrapping my mouth around his finger and sucking the batter off it. Hunger grows behind his eyes the longer I hold his stare.
After I slide the tray into the oven and set the timer, he hoists me up onto the counter and steps between my legs, mouth finding my neck. “I like the sight of you in my clothes,” he whispers against my skin.
My head falls to the side to give him more access. “I like this shirt. I might not give it back.”
Caleb takes a small step back. “I have no objections to that.”
I peek behind him to check the clock. “I bet we could finish what we started upstairs before the timer goes off.”
He gives me a knowing look. “Is that a challenge?”
I slide slowly off the counter and sink to my knees. “Let’s find out.”
Twenty minutes later, the smell of chocolate fudge brownies fills the kitchen and slowly wafts throughout the rest of the downstairs. Caleb cuts us each an oversized wedge of brownie from the baking pan and carries it outside to the hammock anchored across the back porch.
I sit down, careful not to tip backwards, then hold the hammock steady for Caleb to join me.
We eat our dessert, lightly rocking back and forth to look up at the clear night sky illuminated with stars, taking turns pointing out constellations and seeing who can spot the brightest star.
A wave of exhaustion comes over me, and the last thing I remember is being gently lifted out of the hammock and carried inside.