“Are you fucking joking?” I respond, totally unprofessionally.
Thankfully, it makes her laugh before she says, “No Mr—”
“It’s Taylor.”
“Okay, well, no, Taylor, I’m not joking. They loved you and your work and would love for you to join the team.”
“Fuck me!”
“I’m okay,” she says, again with a laugh. “Do you need a moment? I can ring back with details when it’s settled in,” she offers.
“No, I’m fine. It was just a bit of a shock. Go on,” I prompt, wanting to know all the details.
“I know it’s short notice but Paul and Nancy would like you to start in two weeks. We know you’re not in the area so they have said they will help with accommodation in the short term if you need it. Is that going to be possible?”
“YES!” I shout, because I’d make it work if they wanted me there tomorrow. “Can I let you know about the accommodation?”
“Of course. I will put everything in writing and send it out this afternoon. Please have a good read through and if you’re happy, sign and send back.”
“Yes. I can’t believe it,” I say, still shocked.
“Well, believe it. And if I didn’t say it before, congratulations. I think you’ll fit in very well around here.”
I thank her before hanging up. I fall back against my pillow, still grinning like an idiot. I flip over, shove my face into my pillow and scream. I have no idea if Lilly’s here or not but I don’t want to wake her if she is. I can’t fucking believe this. It’s happening…it’s really happening.
I have no idea what the pay is and I really don’t care. I’ll get a second job if need be. All I know is that I’ve landed myself a job working alongside some seriously talented photographers.
When I researched the company after getting back from Caleb’s, I learnt that they’re a relatively small company started by a husband and wife team a few years ago. They’ve since grown and have landed some incredible contracts in the fashion industry. When I saw they were advertising, I couldn’t believe my luck. I didn’t think I stood a chance alongside all the other experienced photographers sure to apply, but I went for it anyway. When I got the call to go to an interview, I thought they were joking—a little like a few minutes ago. I didn’t tell anyone about it. If no one knew about, no one would know when I didn’t get it.
Once I’m a little calmer, I get myself dressed and head to the kitchen to make a coffee. I’ve got stuff to organise if I’m going to move my life to London in two weeks.
“Taylor, it’s been a while,” Caleb greets when he answers my call.
“I know, sorry. It’s been crazy finishing up uni.” And shagging my way around Cheltenham trying to forget about you, I think.
“No worries. Everything go okay?”
“Yes, just waiting for my final grade. Listen, I need a favour,” I say, getting straight down to business.
“Go on.”
“I’ve landed myself a job in London. Any chance of crashing on your sofa for a few weeks until I find my own place? They want me to start in two weeks and I’m not going to be able to get anywhere sorted that quickly.”
“Uh…” Caleb answers hesitantly.
“You’d be doing me a massive favour. I promise to be out of your hair as soon as possible,” I say, almost begging. I’ve no idea if this is a good move or not, but I’d much rather stay with Caleb than wherever my new bosses have in mind.
“A couple of weeks?”
“Yes. Just until I sort something out for myself.”
“Okay. You won’t need to sleep on the couch, though. I’ve moved.”
“What? I was looking forward to walking through the piss-scented stairwell every day. Where are you now?”
* * *
“Wow, how much are they paying you for that body?” I ask as Caleb opens his new front door for me. From the second I exited the tube station, I could tell I was in a much nicer area than when I first visited him.
“Enough,” he answers as he takes one of my bags from me. “Is this all you’ve got?”
“Yeah, I don’t own much shit.” When I moved out of my childhood home, I took only what I needed, and I’ve never had the money to add to my small collection of stuff.
“This is your room,” Caleb says as he drops the bag he’s carrying onto the bed.
“Thank you, Caleb. I really appreciate this.”
“You’re welcome, I think.” He still looks and sounds very unsure about letting me stay here.
“What’re you worried about?”
He looks down at his bare feet before letting out a breath. “That I’ll come home to find you with a different man every night.”
“Caleb,” I say on a sigh. “I know how I’ve acted before, but this is your flat. I wouldn’t.” I don’t say what I really want to say in fear he changes his mind about me staying, but the only person I want to be shagging in this flat is him. I hoped maybe some time apart would’ve helped change his mind, but as he stands in the doorway to the room I’m going to be sleeping in for the next few weeks, he looks as closed off as ever.
“I’ve got a shoot down south all week so you’ve got the place to yourself.”
“Oh, okay.” My heart drops at the thought of spending my first few days in London alone.
“Get up to whatever you want to in this room, but nothing anywhere else.”
“Caleb,” I say as he turns to leave. “That warning isn’t necessary. I know what you think of me, but I’m going to show you you’re wrong.”
“We’ll see.”
* * *
Present…
“Pull over in the next services,” I demand.
“Sure,” Caleb mutters quietly.
We left Lilly’s a few hours ago and the journey has been pretty much silent. My memories of what Caleb thinks of me along with what I heard him say to Lilly earlier have my anger simmering on the surface. I thought he could see through all that now.
“Go on then,” he says when he pulls the car to a stop. He looks up at me when I don’t go to leave the car. “What? Don’t you want a piss or something?”
“No. I want you to tell me what the fuck’s going on in your head. This morning you made me think something was changing, and now you’re all cold and acting like you don’t even want to be breathing the same air as me.”
“It’s nothing. Nothing’s changed.”
“But it has. You can’t tell me there wasn’t something this morning. I may have had the shit kicked out of me but I’m not fucking stupid, Caleb. I know what I saw, what I felt.”
“Well, I’m sorry I gave you the impression it had. Because nothing’s changed. You’re still—” He stops mid-sentence but I finish it for him.
“A whore.”
“I knew you were listening to our conversation this morning. How dare you? That was private.”
“So private you had it at the dining room table for me to hear. I can’t believe after all this time you still think that of me.”
Caleb opens his mouth to answer but no sound comes out.
“Lilly was right. You’re a hypocrite. So I’ve had sex a handful of times since moving to London, and once you caught me in the act? That doesn’t make me a FUCKNG WHORE,” I shout before swinging the door open and getting out of the car for some air. I’m so fucking angry.
When I moved to London, I knew a new lifestyle was needed. But I didn’t stop my bed hopping ways because of Caleb and what he thought of me—I stopped it for me. I wanted to focus on my career and, if I’m honest, spending night after night in other people’s beds wasn’t making me happy.
I pace back and forth in front of the car for a few minutes. I can feel Caleb’s stare on me but I don’t meet his eyes. Eventually, I come to rest with my arse perched on the bonnet.
I feel the car move beneath me as Caleb gets out, but I don’t look up.
“I’m sorry, Taylor. I didn’t mean it.”
“Yes, you did. That�
�s all you’ve ever seen me as: a whore who bed hops whenever he wants to. I thought I’d shown you that isn’t true. Clearly, I was wrong.” I stand up and go to move back toward the passenger side of the car. “I think it’s time I found myself somewhere else to live,” I say over my shoulder.
Suddenly, my wrist is grasped and I’m turned and pushed back against the car. I don’t get a chance to do anything before I feel his lips against mine. I want to push him away. I should, but I don’t, because the second I feel his tongue open my lips to allow him entry, I sag back against the car and let the feelings Caleb ignites in my body take over.
Without any instruction from my brain, my tongue tangles with his and I tilt my head to deepen the kiss. One of his hands comes up to rest at the back of my head and the other slides under the fabric of my t-shirt and stops on my waist. The feel of his hand against my skin leaves a tingling trail behind it.
He steps towards me, pressing my body between his and the car. I suck in a breath as pain shoots out from my ribs but he thankfully doesn’t notice. I feel him as hard against me as I am. Fuck, I’ve waited too fucking long to kiss him again.
Someone wolf whistling in the distance brings us to our senses, making him pull back and step away from me. I look at him but he keeps his eyes down on the floor.
“We should get going,” he says before marching back around to the driver’s side.
I continue to lean against the side of his car for a few more seconds to try and recover from his kiss.
It’s not until I’m buckled in and ready to go that Caleb finally looks over at me.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“No, you’re right, you probably shouldn’t,” I agree, because he’s started something now. He’s lowered his walls and allowed me to see what he really wants.
Caleb
I kissed him.
I fucking kissed him.
I’ve held myself back all this time and it’s his pathetic bruised face and a threat of moving out that has me caving to what I really want.
The tension in the car was awful before but now, after that kiss, it’s unbearable.
Why the fuck did I kiss him?
I don’t even know why I’m questioning myself. I’ve wanted to feel his lips against mine for a long fucking time, but I never allowed it. I convinced myself about not wanting him with his whoreish ways but I knew it was all a bullshit excuse. It wasn’t until Lilly called me out on it earlier that I realised what shit I was telling myself. I knew he’d slept with at least one guy since living with me because I came home from a shoot and caught them at it when I went to his room to ask if he wanted to go for a drink. The image of him deep inside another guy still haunts me. I hated my reaction, the jealousy that bubbled up inside me, so I continued with my Taylor is a whore and I don’t want him mentality. Lilly was right, though. I’m a total hypocrite because I’ve been with a couple of guys. Only when I’ve been away, mind you. If I hadn’t, I certainly would have ended up in Taylor’s room. I got close a few nights. I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve found myself stood in the hallway between our rooms arguing with myself more than once.
I’m totally lost in my own head and, before I know it, we’re pulling up outside our apartment. The only words spoken on the rest of the journey were my apology and Taylor’s warning. I’m not sure if it was meant as a warning, but the way he said it, his voice even deeper than usual, gave me the impression I’d started something I’m pretty sure I’m going to be incapable of stopping.
The second the car comes to a stop, Taylor is out and gathering the bags from the boot. It doesn’t escape my attention that he doesn’t move quite as smoothly as he usually would. It’s impossible to forget what he went through on Friday with the bruises and cuts on his face, but I keep underestimating how much the rest of him must hurt.
I lock the car and jog up the stairs to catch up with him. He doesn’t look back but he knows I’m there because I hear him say, “I didn’t think you were coming.”
I know it’s not what he means, but my brain takes that simple statement and runs with it. Fuck, how badly do I want to be coming?
My silence makes him turn around when we get to our front door. The look on my face must tell him exactly what I’m thinking because he leans in and whispers in my ear, “All in good time.”
Before I know what’s happening, the bags have been dropped, the front door has been slammed, and I’m backed up against it.
“Don’t even think about trying to stop this. You started it, so I’m going to finish it,” he warns before his lips descend on mine.
All the fight and bullshit I’ve been telling myself about why this is a bad idea fall away when I feel his skin on mine.
His fingers start working on the buttons on my shirt as our tongues duel. It’s only seconds before I feel his hands on my shoulders pushing my shirt away. The feeling of them running down my chest and over my stomach has tingles shooting around my body. When he gets to my waist, he grips tight and starts to pull me towards his room.
We are still connected at the lips, neither of us quite yet willing to end the kiss that’s been building up for years.
I hear a thud as he kicks open the door before I’m forcefully pushed away from him. The backs of my knees hit his mattress and I fall down on his bed.
Taylor reaches behind him and pulls his t-shirt over his head gently, revealing his stunning muscular torso—the one he’s been taunting me with by walking around practically naked since he moved in. I’ve dreamt about how all those muscles will feel under my hands more than once.
“Are you sure about this?” I ask in a husky voice when I see the purple and yellow bruising covering his tanned skin.
“More than you can ever imagine,” he answers as he unties his jogging bottoms and drops them to the floor. He is gorgeously naked underneath; his cock is hard and begging for me.
As much as I want to drop to my knees in front of him, I’m frozen to the spot as I take in the sheer perfection in front of me.
Taylor is stacked. I’ve always known this, but seeing him totally naked, he seems even bigger—even more intimidating. I get a sudden bolt of nerves. What if I’m not good enough for him? I’ve had my fair share of experience when I was in America but it’s nowhere near the amount Taylor’s had. This thing between us has been building for a long time; what if it’s not as good as I’ve been imagining—hoping—for?
Shit.
I feel my shoulders sag a little and I’m just about to back out when Taylor speaks.
“Well? What are you waiting for?” he asks as he grasps his cock in his palm.
“Fuck,” I say as I let out a huge breath. I suddenly have a huge desire to go and find his camera.
“Caleb?”
“Sorry,” I mutter and I see his eyes widen in panic. My apology isn’t because I’m about to back out, though. It’s for how long I’ve kept him waiting—kept myself waiting.
I drop from the bed down onto my knees so I’m eye level with his cock. It’s fucking huge like the rest of him, yet fucking perfect.
I rip my gaze away from it and slowly make my way up his body until I’m staring up into his dark eyes, looking down on me with a mixture of hunger, lust and danger. I don’t see his cut eyebrows or the bruising covering his gorgeous face. All I see is him. Taylor. A man who has been driving me fucking crazy since I first saw him across the room that New Year’s Eve.
Taylor blinks and breaks our stare. I use the opportunity to take him in my hand. I pump him up and down a couple of times before leaning forward and licking around the tip of his cock.
He lets out a hiss at my contact. His hand threads into my hair and his fingers grip painfully hard. He forces my head forward so I have no choice but to part my lips and take him in my mouth. He’s hot and as smooth as silk against my tongue. I suck and lick at him like my life depends on it while he chants my name above me. Bringing him almost to his knees with this one simple act makes me fee
l more powerful and important than I ever have in my life.
I’m completely lost to what I’m doing when my head gets pulled back from him. I open my mouth to ask what’s wrong but he beats me to it.
“It’s not ending that way. Not this time, anyway.” The insinuation that this isn’t a one time only thing has a weird mix of excitement and anxiety bubbling up in my stomach. I can’t help the fear I have that this isn’t what he’s looking for. Fear that when the time came and I caved to my need for him that it would be the beginning of the end for us; for whatever relationship it is we have here.
I feel his fingers brush the skin just above my waistband and I realise he’s pulled me so I’m standing right in front of him.
“I should warn you, I don’t do soft and I certainly don’t do gentle,” he says in my ear. His words make my breathing falter and goosebumps prick my skin.
I try to swallow but my throat is suddenly very dry. “O…Okay.”
He tugs my jeans open before shoving them down my legs along with my boxers. He lowers so he can pull my shoes off and slide the fabric down and away from my legs. He’s just about to stand back to full height when I feel him grasp the back of my thighs and lift me. He lifts me so my legs could go around his waist, but I don’t get a chance to do that because he throws me back on to the bed.
As I bounce on the mattress a couple of times, his previous words repeat in my head. “I don’t do soft, and I certainly don’t do gentle.” He wasn’t lying.
I prop myself up on my elbows just as he pulls something from his bedside cabinet and begins crawling up the bed between my legs.
“Perfect,” I mutter, but I don’t mean to say it aloud.
“Really?” Taylor asks with a very smug fucking smile on his face. My cheeks heat instantly with embarrassment. “Too late for that. You’re already lying naked on my bed with your cock out,” he comments as he settles himself on his knees between my open legs.
He reaches out and takes hold of my cock. I throw my head back as my entire body melts into the bed. “Too long,” I whimper, thinking about how long it’s been since I saw some action.
Falling For Caleb (Falling Book 7) Page 4