44. Callie
forty-four
Callie
Epilogue
The crowd roars as the band behind me plays the intro riff for my song Burn for You . I meet my dancers in the middle of the stage as the purple spotlights fade from indigo to violet, to lavender, illuminating us as we move in sync to the beat. I’m unsteady, shaky, Then your hand lands on my hip My heart stalls in my chest the fire from your tight grip Mismatched eyes struck by a black abyss Drop your hold, leave me cold. What is this? Did you feel it spread, or is this all in my head? I don’t know, here we go
I never thought a song I wrote to express how I feel about Eli would become my biggest hit to date. But he has been my muse since I’ve known him, so it’s not surprising.
The last couple of months have been a whirlwind, but even injured, Eli has been by my side through it all.
Word about Silla quickly spread after her arrest, and I had to do a few interviews to quell the public’s curiosity, but they weren’t too bad. The best part of being free from my evil half-sister is that everyone now knows me as Callie Cartwright, Andrew Cartwright’s daughter.
Thankfully, Silla won’t go to trial. Capturing her confession on video was a genius play. She pleaded guilty and received a fifty-year prison sentence for her crimes. Novak received a life sentence for his part in my father’s murder and for other various other crimes he committed. With them behind bars, I never have to think about them again.
But Silla? I hope that bitch remembers me every day for the rest of her life.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch the man I love standing stage side, watching me with a proud smile. He looks extra hot tonight, wearing a navy suit and matching tie with a white dress shirt. Hmm, maybe we can put that tie to use later. Your touch is a fire burning, scorching, flooding desire Do you want my body? it’s yours to keep, if you dare
Dropping onto my knees, I open them in time to the music, glance over at Eli, and blow him a flirty kiss. He sends me a smoldering grin as I stand and start singing the chorus.
A while back, he mentioned this move got his blood flowing south during all the rehearsals he sat through, watching me in my sparkly leotards. It’s why I kept the costumes. I enjoy turning my man on. Besides, they aren’t so bad as long as I’m on the ground. Just make me yours Take me in your arms, you can pull me closer to your heart My body’s calling for you Your sacred touch, your undying love, you got me in your web Don’t let me go
Seeing as Eli is a healthy guy, he recovered somewhat quickly after the accident. I refused to leave his side the first two weeks, playing the roles of sweet, dedicated nurse by day and his dirty, slutty nurse by night. My man can’t keep his hands to himself. He’s insatiable.
My chest physically aches thinking about how much I love him. I don’t know how it’s possible for my heart to hold such affection without bursting. Eli is my everything. It may have taken him years to catch up, but he’s making up for lost time. He never goes an hour without telling me how he feels. We haven’t spent a night apart since the car accident, and we don’t plan on changing that anytime soon. I yearn for you, I yearn for you, I yearn for you (Don’t ever let me go) I burn for you, I burn for you, I burn for you
The crowd sings along with me, and it’s almost unreal. The sound of the audience’s voices hits me right in the chest, warming me from my heart to the top of my head, and the tips of my fingers and toes.
I bend over, hands on my feet, and shimmy my ass before standing up and finishing my dance routine.
When I finally sang Eli this song—broken ribs be damned—he was so turned on he made me ride his face before riding his dick. He won’t admit it, but he was in pain afterwards. During my post-orgasmic haze, Eli suggested talking to Hudson about making music and concert changes.
So, I did. With my newfound voice, I told Hudson about the changes I wanted to make. Hudson, being the amazing agent and friend he is, helped me make it happen. Within a week, I was working with DJ Reigns—who loved my songs—on my new album. I love the finished product, and it’s all mine. My words. My music. My voice.
I also love the changes to the tour. The set list now contains a mix of acoustic and pop songs. There are no more stupid stunts, just me dancing or playing my guitar, and I couldn’t be happier about it. While being a performer wasn’t my dream, I’ve learned to love it. Singing my music makes all the difference. I don’t know what’s next for my career, but with Eli by my side, I can do anything.
The second verse begins as I break away from my dancers and skip around the stage, greeting fans as they reach out to me.
I catch another glimpse of Eli, who watches me with heat in his eyes. My body shivers as images of Eli eating me for dessert last night at the hotel flash in my head. I can’t help but turn to him and sing the words he inspired. Your wild eyes keep catching mine and pull me down under Ocean blue, forest green, you’re more than any lover The flame you lit, there is no cover Heat grows between my thighs Let us cross the line, beautiful surrender We could blaze forever
My thighs clench, and my core throbs as the words bring memories of me and Eli to the surface. I find him watching me again and shoot him a wink.
He places a hand over his heart and mouths, I love you .
I flick my necklace, signaling I love him too, as I finish out the last part of my choreography.
The chorus hits, and my gaze lands on the rest of my family sitting in the front row. That’s right, my family. The Millers.
Mark, Karen, Jace, Rylann, Mason, Emery, Cameron, and Talia—even Scarlett and Levi—are all here tonight for my last concert in Seattle. The Millers are amazing. They are what I have always imagined a family to be like: loud, crazy, funny, loving, and loyal to the bone. They would do anything for each other, and that includes me.
I’m finally over the rainbow, and my life has never felt so complete.
Even though my mom isn’t here tonight, she is getting better. She’s just not ready to travel yet. I hope that by next year, she will join us for all these events. Mom still lives at the Malibu group home, but now that Silla is behind bars, she’s been doing the work to get better. Turns out, Silla paid orderlies to deliver threatening letters to my mom for years. I don’t like that Mom didn’t tell me, and hid her grief and fear, but I understand because I did the same thing.
Until Eli.
He helped me find my voice. It was always there, but his love and support allowed me to grab hold of it and wield it like a sword in my battle for freedom. I’m so grateful to have him in my life and for the way he loves me.
A waving Rhys catches my attention. He’s excitedly jumping up and down, and my heart melts. We still do guitar lessons over video chat, and he is such a quick learner. He can already play four songs all by himself.
Walking towards Rhys, and Scarlett’s girls, I crouch down and give them all high-fives. I wave at the rest of the Miller crew again before returning to the center of the stage. I yearn for you, I yearn for you, I yearn for you (Don’t ever let me go) I burn for you, I burn for you, I burn for you I yearn for you Take me in your arms, you can pull me closer to your heart I burn for you Your sacred touch, your undying love, you got me in your web Don’t let me go I yearn for you, I yearn for you, I yearn for you (Don’t ever let me go) I burn for you, I burn for you, I burn for you
The song ends, and I place the microphone in the stand before taking a bow. A stagehand delivers my mom’s guitar to me, and I slip the strap over my shoulder.
“Thank you all so much for coming tonight. It has been my honor to perform for you. But before we go, I have a new song I want to try out.” I strum the guitar with my pick. “Anyone interested in hearing it?”
Holding a hand to my ear, I listen to the crowd cheer.
I glance over at Eli, who looks at me in surprise. I grin at him and flick my necklace again. It’s been hard keeping this from him, especially since we hardly spend any time away from each other these days, but the last few nights, I haven’t been able to sleep and this is why. The music needed to get out of my head.
I bring my mouth to the microphone, my lips grazing the cool metal. “I wrote this song to let the man in my life know how much I love him. Eli, this one’s for you.”
Elijiah Miller is my hero and my biggest fan. Seriously. He’s is the best boyfriend, and I plan on writing a thousand more songs to let him know just how much he means to me. How much I love him.
Our life isn’t all peachy. There are nights when I have difficulty sleeping. I wake up terrified from dreams of falling, the car accident, and even the shooting, where the bullets in the gun are real and Silla wins. Eli always wakes up with me and helps me work through my dreams, holding me until my terror passes.
I don’t know what I’d do without him, and I doubt I ever will.
He has changed his entire life to be with me every night. I never asked him to do any of that, but he refused to listen. While he was recovering, he and Hudson took a step back and hired more help at Blaze. Eli didn’t want to return to work and keep the same hours he did before. He said he was finished being married to his job and looked forward to being married to something else. My deepest hope is that something is me.
I get giddy thinking about him proposing. Hence, the song. My answer still stands. It’s a giant yes.
Singing the last notes, I look over to find Eli’s eyes filled with every emotion: love, shock, pride, lust.
As quickly as I can, I thank the crowd again, and my band and dancers. I rip out my headphones and my wireless microphone, and hand them to my lead guitarist before rushing off stage and leaping into Eli’s waiting arms.
He catches me with ease as I wrap myself around him, peppering his face with kisses. “Nice catch, handsome.”
Eli leans back, boring his eyes into mine. “I’ll always catch you, princess.”
“And I’ll only fall for you.”
Eli grins as I thread my fingers in his hair and tug his face to mine.
Our lips meld together in a steamy kiss. Waves of electricity roll through me as his lips caress mine. The hair on my arms stands on end, and my nipples harden as he deepens the kiss. Heat gathers between my legs as he seductively sucks on and tangles my tongue with his. I roll my hips as his grip on my ass increases. His cock grows hard between us as I rub my pussy against him.
Eli pulls back, breaking our kiss. “Calliope,” he warns, trying to tone down the lust licking around us like a live wire.
But my name on his lips douses the flames between my thighs with gasoline. “Elijiah,” I purr, looking into his hooded blue-green eyes. “Take me to my dressing room.”
“Fuck, you’re going to get me in trouble, aren’t you?” he asks.
“I would never.” I bite back a smile and innocently shake my head. “Besides, is it really trouble to help your girlfriend out of her costume?”
His cock twitches between us as he grunts. “No.”
“But”—I brush my index finger over his lips—“it would be trouble if said girlfriend asked her boyfriend to fuck her in the dressing room because she can’t wait to get to the hotel, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, it would.” Eli’s eyes burn with lust as he swipes his tongue across his bottom lip.
I pout, batting my lashes. “But her wonderful boyfriend is going to do it anyway, isn’t he?”
“I should say no, but I’m no fucking liar. You want to get fucked, princess?”
My pussy throbs. “Hell yes.”
“Then let’s go. My big dick and I would be more than happy to take care of that ache between your legs.”
My pussy drips with arousal as Eli carries me to the dressing room and locks the door behind him. He places me in front of the mirrors, facing forward, as he stares at my face and drags his fingers over the sequined leotard covering my stomach.
“We don’t have a lot of time, so this is going to be relatively quick. Do you think you can handle being quiet for me?”
My heart skips because I know exactly what he’s going to do, and I can’t wait. But I also have other ideas. “No.”
He raises a brow at my answer. “No?”
I shake my head, my eyes dropping to his groin, where his thick, hard length presses against his slacks.
“You know what this means, don’t you?”
“Yes.” I nod, clenching my thighs to ease my throbbing clit.
He runs the pads of his fingers down my arms, and sparks snap as his skin meets mine, making my body feel electric and sensitive to the touch.
“Whatever my girl wants, she gets. But first, on your knees.”
I oblige, slowly falling onto the plush carpet beneath me.
He runs his thumb over my bottom lip and shoves it into my mouth. “Suck.”
I swirl my tongue around his thumb.
Eli groans, pulling it from my mouth with a pop. “Take my cock out, Callie.”
I undo his belt and the button at his tapered waist, and drag the zipper down before pushing his pants and boxer briefs over his perfect ass and down his muscular thighs. His thick cock bobs, a bead of precum pooling at his tip.
Eyes on his, I slowly lean forward and take his cock into my mouth. Like I did with his thumb, I swirl my tongue around his head and suck. With every pull, I push him deeper past my lips until his cockhead hits the back of my throat.
“Fuck, I love the way you work my cock into your mouth.” His hips jerk as he cups my cheeks and presses his thumbs to the corners of my lips, so he can feel his cock slide in and out of my warm, wet mouth. “So fucking good.”
Gripping his ass in the palms of my hand, I pull him closer, pushing his dick down my throat before swallowing. It’s not a vast movement, but it’s enough for him to feel me choke on his cock.
He pulls out quickly and tuts. “Naughty princess, trying to make me come down your throat.”
“You’re no fun,” I whine.
“Oh, I’m fun and you know it, baby.” Eli chuckles darkly. “Up.”
I obey, my knees wobbling as I stand before him. Eli wraps his arms around me and kisses me hard, fucking my mouth with his tongue. His wet cock twitches against my belly. When he breaks away, my body is vibrating with desire.
My eyes follow Eli’s hands as he lifts his pants, unties his tie, and slides it through his fingers. “Is this what you want?”
The temperature in the dressing room rises with the burning desire for Eli to fuck me.
“Yes.”
He places the thinnest part of the tie’s fabric between my lips and wraps it around my head, tying it into a knot at the back of my head. It’s just tight enough to gag me but not tight enough that I can’t easily remove it.
“Too tight?”
“Nuh-uh,” I mumble around the silky material.
He kisses my shoulders, reaches behind me, and grips the tab between my shoulder blades with his fingers then slides it down. My leotard falls open. He pushes the stretchy material down my body, taking my thick nude leggings with it, then lifts me up and sits my naked ass on the vanity, my back pressed against the cool glass mirrors.
Eli pulls my purple boots off and tugs my costume off next, leaving me in nothing but his tie as I sit before him, legs wide open. Grabbing the vanity chair, he slides it between my legs and takes a seat, bringing his face almost level with my dripping pussy.
“So fucking pretty.” He scoots himself and the chair forward before placing my feet on his shoulders. “Let’s see how fast I can make you come tonight.” Eli covers my pussy with his mouth and moans.
The vibrations rush through me, making me shiver and my pussy pulse in his mouth. The adrenaline from the night, and my constant need for Eli, has me coasting to an orgasm faster than a speeding bullet.
My man is the master of oral, and I’m convinced his tongue is magical. He swirls it around my clit, flicking it hard and fast. The sensitive nerves pulse, and my muscles contract as the tension between my legs grows tight. When Eli slides two fingers into me and curls them forward, I come undone.
Before I finish coming down from my orgasm, Eli is between my legs, pushing his broad head through my slit to gather my arousal along his cock before filling me up. He groans low in his chest, and my pussy gushes. I love the noises he makes when he’s inside me.
“Fuck, princess. You’re so tight I can still feel your pussy quivering around my cock.” He grabs onto the fleshy part of my hips.
My spit soaks the tie in my mouth like my pussy soaks his cock. I want to beg Eli to fuck me harder but can’t, so I hum, lifting my hips higher and faster, encouraging him to do just that.
Eli has the instruction manual to my body, knowing exactly what to do and when to do it. His hips thrust at a grueling pace as he grinds his pelvis into my needy clit. My orgasm builds again as my head smacks against the mirrors, making it all hurt so good.
He looks down. “This pussy was made for me. Watch as I pound into your tight little cunt.”
I moan and stare at our connection, watching his thick cock spread me open and fill me up as my arousal drips down my ass.
“Do you like watching your pussy swallow my cock, princess?”
Nodding, I clench my muscles around him for emphasis.
“I fucking love it when you choke my dick with your cunt. Put those fingers on your clit and make yourself come.”
I do as he asks, circling the hard bundle of nerves. My breath catches as his gaze finds mine. The heat in his eyes sets me off and I come like a shot. I fly over the edge as Eli claims my body and my heart every time.
His thrusts become erratic as he chases his own orgasm. Burying his face in my neck, Eli comes with a low feral growl. “Fuck.” His hot breath fans across my skin, making me shiver. Leaning back, he tugs the tie down my chin and claims my mouth in a passionate kiss that is love personified. “I love you, Callie,” he murmurs between kisses.
“I love you more, Eli.”
“Not possible, baby. You might have loved me first, but I will always love you more,” he says, bringing tears to my eyes.
“Okay,” I agree. It would be useless to fight him, so I don’t.
Besides, I’ll always win.