36. Melanie #2
I haven’t seen it since the night I had dinner with Harrison, and I’d kind of assumed we were done with it now.
It was something that had started out in anger, but that had been lost along the way until it had turned into something fun, especially when I was able to wrangle other people into the game, like his mother.
“That better not be filled with glitter,” I warn him teasingly. “That shit is impossible to clean up.”
He gives me a disbelieving look. “I’m aware, Mel. I’m still finding it in my office and my house.” He throws his hands up, envelope still in his fingers. “How did it even get in my house?”
I bite my lip to stop the grin that wants to escape. His narrowed eyes tell me I don’t do a good job. “Okay, so if you’re not planning a glittery revenge, what’s the envelope doing in my bathroom?”
He looks almost unsure as he wets his lips, focusing on the envelope.
“I just…It feels unfinished, darlin’. Unresolved.
” His voice is filled with self-recrimination, and he doesn’t hide it as he lifts his eyes to mine.
“I want to have a fresh start going forward. I don’t want anything getting in the way of us. ”
I step toward him, pushing the proffered envelope down before reaching out to cup his face, his facial hair scratching against my palms.
“It is finished,” I tell him softly. “It is behind us. We both made mistakes, even if yours were way bigger than mine.” He rolls his eyes, and I laugh. “I don’t want you to keep apologizing when you’ve already been forgiven.”
His fingers tighten on the envelope, adding even more creases.
“It’s not when this is hanging over us,” he counters.
“This money…I should never have told you to pay for the window. If I accept it, it feels like I’ll be taking it for the wrong reasons.
” He takes my hand, pressing the envelope into it.
“So, I need you to take this money and not give it back. I don’t want it to be between us anymore.
I want Oakley to know that this was never on him. You aren’t paying for the window—”
“That was fixed months ago.”
He ignores me. “And this way, our relationship is completely fresh.”
“Cale.”
“This money is yours, darlin’, and I’m telling you that if you don’t take it, I’m going to keep finding ways to give it back to you, glitter included.”
“Cale.”
“You’re not telling me no,” he says sternly. “The window being broken was my fault. And everything that happened after—”
I go up on my tiptoes and press my mouth to his, stealing the rest of his words. He goes still under my touch, but then the envelope is fluttering to the ground, and his arms are banding around me, lifting me until my feet are barely touching the floor.
“Baby,” he mutters, lifting one hand to cup the back of my head, holding me right where he wants me as he takes control of the kiss, his tongue thrusting into my mouth and stroking sensually along mine. “You can’t distract me.”
“Challenge accepted.”
Cale walks us backward until my ass hits the bathroom counter, and then he puts some space between us as he shoves my sleep pants and panties down, yanking them away.
As he straightens, he hooks his hands under my thighs, hefting me onto the vanity, ignoring my yelp when the cold marble presses into the bare skin of my ass.
He steps between my spread legs, sliding one finger under the thin strap of my camisole.
“I want you,” he says, voice rough with want. “I thought it would go away at first. Now I know it never will.”
My breath hitches in my throat, eyes widening as I stare up at him.
Everything he says, everything he makes me feel…
It changes everything, giving me a new perspective on my entire life.
I was living a diluted version, dull and colorless, and I didn’t even realize until Cale opened my eyes and showed me how it was supposed to be.
“You ready for me?”
“Always,” I breathe, already going for his pants, unbuckling them with deft fingers.
As I lower his zipper, my knuckles brush against his erection.
He jerks at the touch, a low groan leaving him.
I shove at his waistband until his jeans and briefs are caught around his thighs, and wrap my fingers around him, stroking him with a teasingly light touch.
His brown eyes met mine, molten and fiery. “Gonna be quick,” he warns. “I need you too badly.”
“You had me this morning,” I say, amused.
He shakes his head. “That was a lifetime ago, darlin’.”
He shoves my hand away, gripping my ass and pulling me closer as he notches the blunt head of his dick at my entrance. There’s no chance to prepare before he’s jabbing his hips forward, punching the air out of me on a gasp.
Cale lets out a low curse, staring down at where our bodies are joined, his mouth dropping open as he pulls out, his cock shiny with my arousal. He pushes forward, impossibly slow.
“Fuck me,” he grunts. “You’re so goddamn pretty.
Take your shirt off.” I do as he orders, yanking the camisole off and throwing it away.
His breath hitches as my breasts come into view, and he ducks his head, pulling a nipple into his mouth.
Each hard pull of his mouth sends a throbbing pulse through my body, and I moan, my hand sliding into his hair and tugging hard.
“That’s it, baby,” he says, grazing his teeth against me.
“Harder,” I demand huskily, my other hand finding his back and digging my nails in. “Fuck me until I can’t feel anything but you.”
My nipple slides from his mouth with a pop, and he gives me a wicked grin as he pulls all the way out until just the tip of his dick is inside me, and then he’s surging forward, setting up a pounding rhythm that has a desperate moan catching in my throat.
Each thrust shifts my body backward, and I lift my legs, pressing my heels to the edge of the counter, trying to find purchase. Cale helps by gripping my ass cheeks, holding me in place as the sound of our skin slapping together echoes through the bathroom.
My body goes tight, my toes curling, as my orgasm rushes toward me, but just as I’m about to fall over the edge, Cale pulls back.
I let out a groan of frustration, pinning a dark glare on him as he leans forward, pressing his forehead to mine, one of his hands sliding up my back and under my hair to grip my neck.
Our eyes meet, his golden brown and intense, not hiding a single thing, and filled with everything he feels for me.
“I fucking love you,” he says hoarsely. “You hear me? I. love. you. And we’re done with the money. Okay? Because you’re mine, and I take care of what’s mine.”
He kisses me again, his teeth nipping sharply at my bottom lip, his fingers squeezing the back of my neck. I press myself against him until there’s not even air between us, sucking his tongue into my mouth as I writhe against him, trying to force him into movement.
He doesn’t give in, pulling back just enough to order, “Tell me you get me, Melanie.” His lips brush against mine with every word, his eyes unblinking as he watches me. “Tell me you get that.”
“Fine,” I rasp out, yanking at his hair. “Just fuck me.”
He laughs, triumph blazing through his eyes, making them seem almost golden. “Your wish is my command.”