Craig nodded and moved back down the gangway.
Trevor closed the door, grin still in place. “Good date?”
“Craft beer guy out there didn’t talk about anything but beer. He really wanted to convince me that craft beer is where it’s at.”
“Maybe it is.”
“Please. I manage to be here with you all the time without drinking anything, much less some brew a guy concocted in his closet. We also don’t need to discuss drinking.”
“Well, I am an alcoholic, so that might be an inappropriate conversation.” He walked toward her, and she backed up until she bumped the counter. He huffed and reached past her into the freezer. He pulled out a pint of ice cream. “Should’ve chosen dinner with me.”
He’d bought her ice cream. Even after she’d blown him off for a date with Craig. Even after she wanted to ignore the chemistry they shared. He’d even gotten her favorite flavor. She addressed the unspoken issue. “This is weird because you’re Lisa’s husband.”
He held out the pint, and she shook her head. He put it back in the freezer.
“I was her husband. I haven’t been in almost a decade. And she’s gone. We’re not hurting her. Lisa and I led our own lives. This isn’t weird for me at all. If it’s too weird for you, I understand. Sorry I pushed.”
He was such a good guy. She knew that if she told him to back away, he would honor her decision. He’d move on and date other women, bring them home to meet his kids. That thought burned in her gut. She didn’t want some other woman in his life. She swallowed hard and stared into his eyes. “Here’s the thing. My mind keeps telling me that it should be weird. That you’re off-limits. But while we were kissing? Weird was the last thing on my mind.”
He shifted closer still, pushing his hand into her hair. The rough denim of his work jeans scraped against her bare thighs, causing licks of pleasure to race north.
His thumb stroked her jaw. “Maybe I just need to keep kissing you until your mind agrees with me.”
Her heart thundered. She didn’t want to have to decide. If he kissed her, the decision would be made.
Then he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was slow but insistent. And she was not backing away.
Chapter Nine
Trevor tasted Callie until his entire body thrummed with anticipation. Her silky hair tickled his arm as he held her head. The scent of her perfume was warm on her skin. He nudged her legs apart to press closer to her body. His free hand trailed up her bare thigh as he kissed her jaw and then her neck. He sucked on her pulse point and sank his teeth into the tendon at the juncture of her shoulder and neck.
She placed her palms against his chest, but she didn’t push. She gripped his T-shirt as if to anchor herself. When his teeth scraped the sensitive skin of her neck, she moaned. His hand on her thigh inched upward until he had a firm handful of ass cheek. He squeezed, and she arched forward, rubbing herself against his leg. His dick became a rod in his jeans.
Still stroking her soft skin, he pulled back a fraction. She followed with her mouth.
“Callie.”
Her eyes fluttered open, and lazy lust stared up at him.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded.
“I need to hear it, Callie. I don’t want to fuck things up between us. But I want you. Right here. Right now. If you’re not on board, say something.”
She reached up and stroked his jaw. “I have just one thing to say.”
His heart and his dick throbbed in unison, hoping for one answer, dreading the other. Another lonely night with his hand didn’t appeal to him in the least after having a taste of her in his arms.
She smirked. “The bedroom’s that way.” She tapped his shoulder and pointed to the stairs leading to the loft.
He walked backward, pulling her with him. Although the new air conditioner was running, it was working hard to balance the temperature in the house. The air was still warm, but he didn’t want to let go of her. He feared if they lost contact she might reconsider.
As they fumbled up the staircase, she tugged his shirt out of his jeans. Her cool fingers coasted across his stomach and up to his chest. He walked blindly toward her bed. Because it was at the back of the house, it was dark; little light filtered in from the alley.
As if reading his mind, Callie left him and flicked on the bedside lamp. The soft glow illuminated the room. He looked around, expecting to be surrounded by Callie’s sunny personality, but the room was pretty utilitarian, almost as empty as a hotel room. Like maybe she hadn’t planned to stay.
Except for the world map on one wall, different cities marked with bright colors, he wouldn’t have guessed the room belonged to her. He bent and untied his work boots, loosening the laces enough to kick them off. She watched him as she stepped out of her sandals.
He yanked his shirt over his head, and she stepped close again, tracing her fingers up his stomach and across his chest. His muscles twitched under her touch. He reached around her and tugged the zipper down on her dress. The skinny straps stuck where her arms were still raised, stroking his chest hair, but the material gapped, and he glimpsed the bright blue satin underneath.
Pulling her arms away, he stripped the dress off. Her bra and underwear matched, and he was insanely jealous that she’d worn this for some other man. That she wanted to look good for that guy, maybe get naked for him, made Trevor want to rip the scraps of material away. But he held tight to his control, knowing the reaction was ridiculous.
Instead, he led her to the bed and gently pushed her to lie back. With her head on the pillow, she raised a hand and beckoned him to join her. He dropped his jeans and socks where he stood and crawled over her body. He kissed his way up her torso, causing her to giggle in response. Trevor made a mental note about her being ticklish.
He sucked her nipples through the bra before continuing his trail of kisses up her neck until he reached her mouth again. She spread her thighs and he settled between them, feeling her heat on his cock through the clothes they still had on. He pressed against her while kissing her, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, tangling with hers.
Callie bucked her hips up, circling them, making them both hotter. And wetter. But he had no reason to hurry. While he always wanted the woman he was with to have a good a time as he did, with Callie, he wanted to know everything. He wanted to know what drove her crazy, what made her scream, what would make her beg for more.
“Condom’s in the drawer,” she whispered.
“We’ll get there.” He reached under her and undid the clasp of the bra and pulled it away. Then he went back to playing with her tits and her nipples.
She slid her hand between them and stroked him, giving the head a little squeeze. His breath caught, and he pinched her nipple lightly.
“Stop trying to rush me,” he said against her mouth.
“Not rushing. Just moving along. We have all night. We can go slow later. I want you inside me now.” She pushed past the elastic on his underwear and rubbed her thumb along the slit on his dick. “I’m ready.”
Her words had him thrusting into her hand twice, but then he pulled away to remove her panties. Evidence of her arousal was plain. He stared for a moment, her scent calling to him. “I want to taste you. That okay?”
“So polite, Trevor. I never took you for a guy who would ask permission.”
He lowered again so they were nose to nose. “This is our first time. Like I said downstairs, I don’t want to screw this up. I want to know what you like so that I can take care of you. I won’t always ask.”
“Yes, you can go down on me. I love when a man can make me come with his mouth.”
“Any specific directions? Fast? Slow? Hard? Soft?”
“Yes,” she answered with a bright smile, and then she shoved his shoulder to get him moving. She threw her arms above her head and widened her legs even more.
Trevor’s shoulders pressed into her thighs as he lowered his mouth. He nuzzled her mound and then swiped his tong
ue along her slit. When the tip of his tongue flicked against her clit, her hips jumped, so he anchored his hands around them to hold her still.
Then he did everything she asked, listening to her body as he did so. As she rose up, she called to God and to him and when she came it was on a high-pitched moan, then utter stillness, except for her thighs trembling around his head. His cock ached, and he was dying to be inside her, but he waited for her to come back to him.
He wanted her to feel everything that he did. He slowly backed away and grabbed a condom from her drawer and put it on. Settling between her legs again, he watched as she reopened her eyes and a smile crept across her face. Bracing a forearm near her head, he rubbed his dick on her, the head bumping her clit, making her jump again.
Then he slid in and never wanted to move again. Wet heat surrounded his dick, the aftershocks of her orgasm pulsating around him. He rested his forehead against her shoulder. Then he began a long, slow slide in and out.
But Callie wasn’t having it. She began to thrust up to meet him, grinding against him. She dragged her nails sharply up and down his back, squeezing his ass to pull him close again.
“More, Trevor.”
He pumped harder, faster. Her face was tight, her pussy clutching him, but she wasn’t quite there, and he wanted to take her there again. He reared up and back, missing the warmth of her skin. But he positioned her legs on his shoulders, giving him deeper penetration.
Watching where their bodies joined, seeing his dick slide into her made him move faster, seeking his own finish. Using his thumb, he pressed against her clit and then made circles like he had with his tongue.
Callie’s entire body bowed up, pulling him deep. His balls tightened and the base of his spine tingled and he followed her orgasm with his own, growling as he fell forward and drove into her to drain himself.
They were both spent. Hot and sticky, but he didn’t want to move.
She shoved his shoulder. “Move, you big lug. I can’t breathe.”
He rolled to the side. “Sure, use me and shove me aside.”
She huffed, and he thought it was supposed to be a laugh.
“Give me a few minutes to catch my breath and I’ll use you again.”
Now it was his turn to laugh. “I’m not twenty anymore. It’ll take me more than a few minutes.” He removed the condom and wrapped it in a tissue before dropping it in her wastebasket. Then he flopped back on the bed. He really hoped she wasn’t expecting him to go back home right now.
She turned and curled next to him. Toying with his chest hair, she asked, “Were you watching me earlier tonight when Craig came to pick me up?”
Busted. He weighed his options. He’d tried to be sneaky about it, but she obviously must’ve seen him. “Yeah. I wanted to see who you chose to spend your night with instead of having dinner with me.”
He didn’t need to admit that he’d been jealous.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” he asked.
“For acting like nothing was going on between us.” She levered up on an elbow and looked him in the eye. “I just thought that if I went on a date, found a spark with a guy, maybe I could forget about this.”
“And yet you’re in bed with me now.”
“I spent the evening with Craig. He was boring. But even if he didn’t spend the whole night talking about craft beer, there was no spark. You know that itch or chemistry when we’re together. It wasn’t there with him.”
Trevor was glad to hear it. While he’d dated some women after Lisa had told him that they had zero chance of reconciling, he hadn’t felt that spark Callie was talking about. Even when he’d slept with other women, the few that there had been, it was about getting off. He’d never considered a tomorrow with them.
He couldn’t imagine a tomorrow without Callie anymore. He didn’t know what to do with that. “I suppose it would be tacky for me to say that I’m happy about that.”
She laughed, her shoulders shaking against him. “It might be tacky, but I like hearing it.”
He rose and kissed the top of her head. “Then I’m epically happy that your date with Craig was a failure. I’m even happier that you’re here with me now.”
“I’m happy, too.”
…
Callie lay in Trevor’s arms and wanted to pinch herself. For all the times she’d fantasized about being here, getting naked with him, she’d never considered that it would really happen. And this…this postcoital joking and talking. When was the last time she’d shared this with a man? Even if a guy had spent the night, which was rare, it had been more out of exhaustion than a desire to be with her.
Neither of them made any move for him to leave. She didn’t want him to, so she wrapped her arm around him. At some point, they both dozed off. In the middle of the night, Callie woke shivering because the air conditioner had been on full blast and there was a chill in the air. She pulled a blanket over them and rolled to her side.
Trevor moved toward her, pulling her back to his front, saying nothing. She wasn’t sure he’d even woken up. She took a moment to enjoy the feel of his hairy chest against her back, his arm around her waist, just below her breasts. With a deep breath, she fell back to sleep.
Hours later, with the sun barely brightening the sky, Trevor moved behind her. The fuzzy, still-half-asleep part of her brain assumed he was leaving for work. But he began to stroke her skin softly. With her eyes closed, she simply enjoyed the sensation of him touching her.
He kissed her neck, played with her nipples until she was wiggling against the hard-on pressing into her backside. Trevor reached between her legs and stroked her, making her ready for him. Callie turned over to face him. His eyes were much more alert than she felt.
“How long have you been awake?” she asked, her voice scratchy from sleep.
“A while.” His hands continued to explore her body.
“Were you watching me sleep?”
“Depends. Is it creepy if I was?”
“Maybe.”
His palm pressed against her clit as his fingers thrust inside her. She sucked in a sharp breath.
“You looked beautiful lying there. But you’re naked, so it didn’t take long before I started thinking about being inside you again.” His fingers were moving in and out, the pressure of his palm constant.
Feeling breathless, she said, “Okay. Not too creepy.”
She wrapped her fingers around his dick and stroked him. He answered with a groan. They lay face-to-face, foreheads touching, sharing their breath, driving each other crazy with their hands until they couldn’t take it anymore.
Trevor rolled her over and reached for another condom. He put it on and inched into her. He made slow love to her as the sun rose in the sky.
It was the laziest morning sex she’d had in years. It was glorious to just enjoy another person’s body, learning what he wanted, what pushed him to the edge, what made him growl her name.
After they both came and he’d disposed of the condom, Trevor kissed her neck, her lips, and then her forehead.
“I have to get ready for work.”
“Okay.” She rolled over, pulling the blanket back over herself. “I think I’ll go back to sleep.”
But as he gathered his clothes and hastily put them on, she watched with her eyes half closed.
“Dinner tonight?” he asked.
“Sure. You want to order in or should I cook?”
“You pick. I don’t care.” He stepped into his boots and didn’t bother tying them. “I’ll come here when I’m off work.” He bent and kissed her again.
“Will you spend the night again?” She didn’t know where they were headed and didn’t want to presume anything, but she didn’t think either of them thought last night was a one-night-only thing.
“I’d like that.”
Then he left. She heard his heavy boots clomping down the stairs, and a moment later, her door opened and closed. Callie rolled over the other way and pulled the pillow
into her arms. It smelled of Trevor, and it was enough to coax her back to sleep.
When she woke up hours later, she took a shower and got dressed. Then she planned to check out some job prospects. She’d been thinking more and more of looking for something permanent that would keep her close to home. But her career had been built on her willingness to go anywhere to get the job done.
She’d never had anyone to answer to or worry about in her personal life, so it had always been an easy choice to make. Lately, the choice had gotten harder. Even before Lisa died, Callie had started to grow tired of constantly being on the go. But now, with Hannah, Evan, and Trevor, it felt right to stay in Chicago.
While she drank coffee sitting at her kitchen counter, she looked for photography jobs in the area. The prospects were slim, but she had time. There was no crushing urgency for her to find something now. The few local freelance gigs she had would tide her over. She also went through her contacts on social media and spread the word that if anyone heard about a job that would be good for her, to pass it on.
By the time afternoon hit, her legs were numb and sore from sitting on her ass for too long. After a long stretch, she looked out her back window into the yard. Lisa’s garden was torn up with nothing but a few weeds growing. Seeing that would break Lisa’s heart. She’d loved that garden.
Callie was struck with what her afternoon project could be. She grabbed her keys and went to the gardening center. She bought the brightest, prettiest flowers she could find. Although the kids had never worked on the garden with Lisa, it had always been filled with flowers. The only help Callie had ever offered was company since she knew nothing about gardening, but now, with Lisa gone, it just seemed wrong to let the garden sit untouched.
Plugging in her earbuds to listen to some classic ’80s music, Callie got to work. She turned over the soil like the guy at the garden center suggested, and she dug holes, putting the little plants in each spot. She spaced things according to the information on the tags, but as she worked, it didn’t look like she remembered it looking when Lisa did this.
She’d totally lost track of time and suddenly a pair of worn-out boots were in her field of vision. Looking up, she saw Trevor talking to her, but her music drowned out his voice. Yanking out an earbud in the middle of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” she said, “Huh?”
My Best Friend's Ex (Daring Divorcees) Page 13