11. Stella
Chapter Eleven
STELLA
Gemini
Your body might be in need of rest and relaxation.
Indulge in a personal day. You deserve it.
We fucked two more times before falling asleep in a tangle of limbs and sweat.
When I woke up, it was to the scent of strong coffee and scrambled eggs.
Bleary eyed, I sat up looking around to find Callahan holding a tray full of my favorite breakfast food.
My body was wrapped up in my sheets, completely naked underneath.
“I hope you don’t mind? I ordered Sal’s and got your regular.”
I groaned, sitting up while grabbing the tray full of food. Callahan sat next to me, making the bed dip with his weight. “You told Sal this was for me?” I asked.
“He seemed excited about it over the phone.”
“Oh, I’ll bet. He’ll be telling the whole diner about it all day. You just gave him his favorite thing in the world—gossip.”
Callahan chuckled, then turned on his side, head leaning down onto his propped-up hand. “Did you know that you snore?”
I paused my fork full of hash browns halfway to my mouth. “What? I do not.”
“You do, and it’s fucking adorable. It sounds like the dwarves from Snow White.”
“If this is your way of flirting with me to get me to sleep with you again, you’re doing a terrible job.” I bit into the still warm hash browns, reveling in their salty starch taste.
“What would it take then, to get you to agree to see me again?”
“I mean, the breakfast and coffee doesn’t hurt, but I don’t know…comparing me to an animated dwarf that snores—”
“I can’t help it if you turn into one while you sleep. I’m an innocent observer.”
“Innocent is a stretch,” I said, taking a sip of the coffee, feeling that hit of caffeine pulling the tiredness away from my limbs. My body was sore in all the right places. It was a new feeling, waking up with Callahan here. I didn’t hate it.
He made me feel all warm on the inside, and it wasn’t just from the coffee. I liked how he made me feel seen.
“You’re right. I was picturing all the dirty things I want to do to you.”
“You didn’t get enough last night?” I asked, looking over at him from my cup.
His hand found my thigh and squeezed. “I don’t think I could ever get enough of you, Stella.”
My heart flipped and I looked down into my cup of coffee, avoiding the intensity of his green eyes.
This was all happening so fast and while my feelings for him were palpable, my situation was complicated.
There wasn’t a manual on how to get revenge on an evil crime family and learn how to date at the same time.
Maybe I needed a therapist. No. Scratch that.
They were obligated to report crimes, and I’m pretty sure one meeting with me would have then running to lock me up.
After I finished my food, brushed my teeth, and pulled on some comfortable clothes, I ambled out back into my room, seeing Callahan shirtless with his arm tucked behind his head.
His eyes were closed and his chest was rising and falling steadily.
From here in the morning light, I could make out an array of scars and tattoos that lined his body.
As I stared, he turned, tucking himself onto his side so I could see his back.
Holy shit. That was a lot of x’s. His back was full of them.
And while they were small, I wondered what it meant.
My search results on my phone weren’t of any help suggesting it was for religious purposes or a design aesthetic.
I mean maybe the last one, but they seemed so random.
Especially since some of them were larger in size than others.
The ones near his shoulder seemed older and faded.
While the ones above his ass were darker, like they were new.
A loud ring broke through my thoughts, and I realized it was coming from Callahan’s pants. He startled awake and jumped out of bed, rushing to grab the phone. “Yeah?” he answered. His eyes found mine as he listened intently to whoever was on the other line.
My top teeth bit into my bottom lip as I waited patiently, studying his reaction to whatever was being said. His shoulders seemed tight, and his brow was pulled into a deep frown.
“I’ll be there,” he said with a grimace on his face before hanging up and picking up his pants.
“You gotta go?” I asked, feeling my good mood plummet. Since Andi had gone missing, this was the closest to normal that I’d felt in a long fucking time. I didn’t want it to end.
“Unfortunately. But what are you doing later?”
“Today?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m off. Why?”
He pulled his pants on and then found where he’d tossed his shirt. “Why don’t I swing by here later and take you out to dinner?”
“An actual meal? Wow. Would it be at one of your restaurants?”
He paused, buttoning his shirt and then smiled, but it didn’t seem to meet his eyes. “No, but I know a place. Do you like tacos?”
“What kind of question is that? That’s like asking someone if they like puppies, or rainbows.”
“So, that’s a, yes?”
I nodded. “Yes. I love tacos.”
He padded over to me and gripped me tightly around the hips. “Is it weird that I don’t want to go?”
“Only if it’s weird that I also don’t want you to go either.”
He smiled, pulling me closer so that our mouths brushed up against each other lightly.
“I’ll see you later,” he promised, kissing me with a desperation that left me breathless.
It was messy and hot. His hand was cupping the back of my head while the other pressed our bodies flush together.
Our tongues danced together to a melody only our bodies knew and when he pulled away, we were both breathing heavily.
“Fuck,” he said, rearranging his cock in his pants. “I really do have to go.”
He placed his forehead on mine for a moment. I had so much I wanted to ask him, but I guess it could wait for tonight. “Fine. I’ll see you later?”
“Tonight. Seven work for you?”
“Seven is great.”
He kissed me again, and then peeled himself away, shoving his feet into his shoes and leaving me to sit with my giddy feelings. Once he was gone though, the reality of my life came rushing back. Shit. The nightstand.
I ran over to it, checking the drawer to make sure the flash drive was still there.
I’d completely forgotten about it until I saw him digging around in there for the condom.
Such a dumb move. My libido had taken over my body again, making me far too focused on the handsome muscled man that was rock hard and ready to fuck me.
Thankfully, my fingers brushed against the slim device and I sighed in relief.
Fuck. That would have been so fucking bad.
My phone buzzed on top of my nightstand.
“Miss you already.” Callahan wrote.
My stomach flipped. Fuck, I really liked this guy. “Can’t wait for tonight,” I wrote back with a goofy ass grin plastered to my face.
A knock came from my front door and then I heard the key slide into the lock. That could be only one person— Helena.
“Hello? Knock, knock. Oh my God. Why does it smell like sex in here?”
“Maybe because I had sex last night?”
“Ah! You dirty little slut! Tell me everything.” She ran over and sat on my gray couch, folding her long legs beneath her. I came over and sat next to her, crisscross applesauce style. I tracked her face, trying to assess if she was okay.
“First, you tell me about Killian. Were you able to stay with your mom? The offer to stay here with me still stands.”
“On your freshly sexed sheets? Ew. No. My mom’s will have to do for now. I left when he was sleeping and already informed Burt that if he shows up at the club, to kick him out immediately.”
“Good.”
“Okay, I told you mine, so spill. How was it?”
I groaned. “You told me hardly anything. Seriously, are you okay?”
“No. Not really. But I’m taking the steps to become better. Besides, now I have these awesome new muscles from Jules.” She flexed her biceps and I laughed. “Thank you for that, by the way. They’ve been enlightening. I didn’t know there were so many ways you could kill a man.”
“Yeah, the human body is surprisingly vulnerable on even the most muscular of men.”
“You say that like you’ve had to implement it.”
“I plead the fifth.” I put up my hands in surrender. If only she knew how accurate that statement actually was.
“Fine but at least tell me about the guy. Give me something juicy to cling to while I wallow in my break-up.”
“Using your pain to get info out of me is a cheap shot, Hel. But I guess I could tell you that I am definitely sore from being folded like a pretzel.”
She squealed.
“He took me to Artemis, which by the way, the girls at the club were right. You’d love it. And then, things got heated. I couldn’t stop myself from wanting him.”
“Aw, honey. You shouldn’t be stopping yourself from the things you want.”
“I know that. But it’s hard. I don’t know how to stop feeling so guilty about any ounce of enjoyment I have when I don’t even know how Andi is. Or where she is. Or if she’s okay. It feels wrong.”
“It’s not though. You know that, but your feelings are valid. I can’t tell you how to feel, but I can tell you as your friend, it’s nice seeing you smile again. A real smile not the fake ones you were putting on for me and Sal.”
She had a point.
“It’s the weirdest thing. I do feel happy. And when he had to leave this morning, I didn’t want him to go.”
Helena placed her chin in the palm of her hand, her jet-black bob swinging as she moved. “That’s adorable.”
“Shut up,” I said, covering my face in my hands.
“It is. And you know it.”
“Fine. Now, what do you say we go to Jules and learn how to kick some ass?”
“Deal.”