by Zoe Chant
“Hey.” He stopped kissing her, which was awful. “That tickles.”
“Sorry,” she murmured before he claimed her mouth again, settling her hands on his waist. They kissed, broke for breath, and kissed again like they’d never stop. Each kiss made her more and more aware of her nipples rubbing the inside of her bra, and the seam of her jeans felt like it was riding obscenely between her legs. She wanted to look at see if he was feeling the same— no, tell the truth, Michaela— she wanted to run her hand down the front of his fly to feel him, to see if he was hard, and if so, how big he was, so she could fantasize about him later.
She was shocked at herself. This was nothing like her. She’d had boyfriends before, and the sex had been pretty good, but she’d never felt this intense craving before, never felt this bold.
As if he were reading her mind, he moved his hands to her hips and pulled her into his lap, making her grab his shoulder for balance. He set her down facing him, straddling him, and she got the answer to her question in way she wouldn’t have dreamed. Caleb didn’t grind against her, or pull her hips to his or anything like that. He left it up to her, how close she got. He just set about taking her mind and body apart with his mouth. Michaela couldn’t resist. She settled against him, and gasped at the hot, hard bulge in his jeans, shamelessly letting it press between her legs. She wickedly wished she’d worn a dress after all, just so she could feel it press against the thin, damp fabric of her panties instead of through a thick layer of denim. Oh, she was going to fantasize about this later, all right. Probably as soon as she got home, and with the biggest vibrator she owned.
Or, that wicked part of her mind suggested, she could do more than fantasize about it. Caleb stopped kissing her mouth to press hot, breathless kisses along her jawline, moving to nibble on her ear. She couldn’t help it, she rocked against his hips, needing to feel him press against her harder. Her movements unleashed something in both of them. He slid his big hands down to cup her ass while he licked and bit at her neck. Michaela rocked her hips against him while he squeezed her and arched back, until their movements were an unmistakable imitation of what they were both hungry for. It was so much and yet not quite enough, the pressure of his erection almost reaching the sweet little swollen nub of her clit.
Their breathing was fast and hard as if they really were already joined. Caleb lifted one hand to cup her breast, brushing his thumb over the erect nipple. Michaela dropped her head back to the sky and groaned at the pleasure spiraling through her. “’Chaela,” he said hoarsely, “I want to see you. Can I take off your shirt?”
This was so far beyond proper first date behavior for her, and Michaela didn’t care. She stripped out of her cardigan and pulled the tank with the spaghetti straps over her head, tossing them both to the blankets covering the truck bed. For once, she wasn’t self-conscious about her round arms, or the little curve of her belly. Caleb wanted to see her, and she wanted to be seen.
He groaned and cupped her breasts in both hands, lowering his face between them to lick and kiss at her cleavage. She leaned back to give him more access, holding on to his shoulders. “They’re so perfect,” he murmured against her skin. “So warm and soft.” He slid his right hand around to the clasp holding her bra closed. “Can I?”
“Yes, god please yes,” Michaela said, cradling his head against her breasts, running her fingers over his short hair. He deftly unfastened the bra and it joined her other clothes on the truck bed. He zeroed in on one nipple with his mouth, lightly pinching the other with his thumb and forefinger. Was it possible to die from pleasure? She stared up at the starry sky overhead, lost in the wet heat of his tongue circling her nipple. She didn’t want to stop. If he didn’t respect her in the morning that would be his problem, not hers. If he wanted her tonight, she’d let him have her. Right now she felt like she’d do anything he wanted.
He brought her mouth back to his, his big hands stroking up and down her spine. Her nipples teased against the fabric of his shirt. “Hey,” she said, pulling away a little.
“You okay?” He looked instantly concerned.
Michaela laughed and looked at him from beneath her eyelashes. “I want to see you too.”
She sat back while he hauled the polo shirt over his head. Even in the starlight, his body took her breath away. His chest was broad and just a little furry and tapered down to a narrower waist, but not too narrow. He was a big guy. His biceps looked almost as big as her thighs, and the thought of comparing them up close made her want to swoon. The left side of his body was marked with scattered scars from shrapnel, and she thought she recognized a healed bullet scar in his right arm. He’d been through hell, and here he was, living and thriving.
“Well?” His eyes were dark with hunger, and she suddenly felt like they were still both wearing too many clothes.
“Told you.” Her voice was breathless. “Most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen.”
“Michaela— if we’re going to stop, we should probably stop now.”
She couldn’t imagine the willpower it took for him to say that, as hard as he was, and if he felt half the burning need she did. “I don’t— I don’t want to stop,” she said, suddenly a little shy. “I, um— I have to take the pill anyway, so...”
He pulled her close into his arms again, and this time the bit of hair on his chest teased her swollen nipples. “I want to hear you say it.” The way he was looking at her, she knew he’d never give in unless she said the words.
“I want you,” she breathed. “I want you to take me.” Then, seized by a devil, she added, “I want you to fuck me.” Just saying the word sent a shudder through her that zeroed in right between her legs and made her ache.
Caleb groaned wordlessly and pulled her to him, kissing her with a fierceness that verged on painful— and she loved every second of it. Now that she’d said it out loud, she could be as bold as she wanted. While Caleb went back to making her nipples burn with pleasure with his mouth, Michaela let herself slide her hand down his massive chest, to the waist of his jeans, and down over the bulge that strained the fabric. He was so big it scared her a little, but it was a good kind of scared, a sitting-at-the-top-of-the-roller-coaster kind of scared. She stroked him and he twitched, making her feel an answering twitch between her legs.
“Wait,” he gasped, catching her hand in his. “You’ve got me set with a hair trigger.” He met her eyes and grinned a little. “Don’t want to go off too soon.”
The idea that he wanted her that much made her bite her lip. He eased her to her feet, and after looking at her for permission, undid her jeans and slid them off her, barely paying attention to the pretty blue panties she’d worn just in case— too eager to get them out of his way. Then she stood in front of him stark naked in the starlight, the slight breeze caressing her skin and making her feel wicked, deliciously wicked. Most of the time, it was hard not to worry about her lumps and bumps and soft places, but with Caleb looking at her, each flaw felt polished until it was a perfection. He held her hands as she stood there, and he feasted his eyes on her body.
Rather than pulling her back down to him, he pulled her forward and braced her hands on the truck cab. When she realized what he meant to do, she gasped. “Caleb, you don’t have to.”
“What if I want to?” His breath warmed the skin of her thighs and his hands skimmed up the backs of her calves, slowly inching higher. “Don’t you want me to?”
Oh god, she was embarrassingly wet by now, she had to be. She whimpered as his hands cupped her butt again and pulled her closer to his face. “I do,” she said. Her face was flaming hot as she tilted it up to the night sky. “Anything.”
He wasn’t timid or reluctant about it. He was telling the truth when he said he wanted to. He pulled her in close and nuzzled his face between her thighs, holding her up with his massive arms so he could taste her. He teased her to start, and the pleasure was enough to make her cry out. Michaela had to hold on to the truck cab for dear life when he parted her lips with
his tongue, slowly easing his way up and down her wet, wet folds, like he was memorizing the terrain.
After a few minutes of that, she was starting to forget her own name, floating on the sweet, slippery friction of his tongue and lips as he nibbled at all of the most sensitive places he could find. She couldn’t stop rocking against him, needing to be part of the rhythm of his mouth. The only time she stumbled was when he shifted her weight to one arm, and slid his free hand to meet his mouth. The pressure of one big finger inching into her just about made the top of her head come off.
“Oh yes,” she whimpered, and off they went again. His finger curled and thrust inside her while his tongue traced a fluttering pattern over her clit. Her legs were going weak, heat and shivers spiraling out from her center through her fingers and toes. All she could do was cry out into the sky and let him show her the stars. The slow, creeping build to orgasm left her breathless and trembling. The intense pleasure kept building until she was certain it had to fall at any moment. Finally it tipped over the edge and she was flying in his arms, aware of her body spasming around and against him, weightless and floating while he eased her back to earth.
Before he pulled her back into his lap, he used one hand to shove off his own pants. Michaela was so awed by the sight of him springing out erect and glistening and huge that she forgot anything else. “Is that for me?” she asked weakly.
Caleb looked delighted with himself, and leaned in to kiss her. Part of her protested that she ought to find it gross, but finding her taste mingled with his on his tongue was so deliciously dirty she deepened the kiss for more. “It is for you,” he said, “as much of it as you want.”
“Yes, please,” she said. He guided her hips over him— she was never going to get over the ease with which he moved her body— and waited. The tip of his penis just pressed against the slick folds around her entrance. “Don’t tease me,” she whimpered.
“Take it,” he whispered.
Michaela settled on her knees and pressed her hips down until she felt the tip of him breach her body. Oh, he felt even bigger than he looked, and for a split second she worried that he was too big. She took a deep breath and kept working her hips against him until the head was fully inside.
“Look at me?” His voice was soft and a little strained, as if he were holding himself back. Michaela met his eyes and saw the glow in them, the small smile curving his lips. “There you are,” he said. “You okay?”
She was, and she told him so, finally taking him in as deep as she could. “You feel so good.”
“Mm, so do you.” Caleb tightened his arms and brought her in for another kiss, slow and sweet, and while he had her there, he stole a little bit of the control, starting a new rhythm that had him sliding up and down with her. Just teasing, shallow thrusts, enough to tantalize her with the friction but not enough to satisfy. Michaela added her movements to his and it was like dancing. She never wanted to stop.
His size stopped being overwhelming and instead made her feel deliciously full and a little stretched, new friction with each thrust, and each thrust rubbing against her clit. Caleb growled and moaned beneath her, and the sounds alone were almost enough to make her come a second time. His pleasure was deep and obvious and made Michaela feel like the sexiest woman on the planet. “Michaela—” She’d be hearing him moan her name in her fantasies for years. “God, you’re so good, I can’t—” He stiffened with a cry, and squeezed her tight in his arms. He shuddered and trembled while she kissed him, feeling her own passion rising in response. Just as he started to relax, she tumbled over the edge a second time, softer this time, but no less intoxicating.
She slumped against his broad shoulder and he kept his arms tight around her while they both caught their breath. “Sorry,” he said. “I couldn’t hold on any more, you just felt too good.”
Michaela laughed weakly, feeling him still inside her. “Lucky for me you couldn’t or the top of my head might have come off.”
“Yeah?” He tilted his head so he could see her, a grin on his face.
“Oh yeah.” She grinned back, then leaned up to kiss him. In truth, she was gobsmacked by it all, that he’d asked her out at all, much less brought her to such a beautiful spot— a beautiful spot where she was currently naked in his lap and had just had the best sex of her life. Shyness overtook her, and she giggled.
“What are you laughing at?” His hands roamed up her sides, looking for ticklish spots.
Michaela squirmed, a little sad that her movements dislodged his softening penis from her. “Nothing, I just— I’ve never done anything like this before. Especially not on a first date.”
“You know what?” He stopped teasing and got serious for a minute, looking her in the eye. “Me neither. I come up here all the time, you know, to think. Especially since I came back home. Never occurred to me to bring a girl up here before now.”
“Oh, and I suppose now you’re going to bring all your women up here,” she teased.
“Don’t have ‘women.’“ Caleb nuzzled against her chin, placing a soft kiss on her throat. “Just have one, if she says she counts. Do you?”
Michaela’s heart thudded loudly in her chest. Was he saying he didn’t think this was just an impetuous, one-time thing? “Well.” She bit her lower lip. “I don’t think there’s any argument that you just had me— pretty thoroughly.”
He grinned, looking a little pleased with himself.
“So I’d say yeah, I count.” A night breeze brushed over her skin, and she told herself that was the only reason she shivered. This had all happened so fast— it was happening so fast— but it felt right, and Michaela didn’t think that was just the hormones talking.
“You’re cold,” he said. “Come here, let’s get you dressed again.” He hauled up his jeans, and she noticed for the first time that he hadn’t taken them all the way off. She could see where the prosthetic met his leg, and it was a near thing that he’d been able to keep the knee. She wanted to ask him more about the injury, just from a professional point of view, but knew better. If they were going to have a relationship, being a professional with him was off-limits.
Too late, he saw her looking. “You can ask.”
She pulled her clothes back on to hide her embarrassment. “Sorry, I don’t want to be rude.”
“Nah. It’s a short story anyway. We were on a normal patrol, and I just wasn’t paying close enough attention to the road. Everybody makes a big deal about it, but truth is, it was just a dumb mistake. I’m no hero, just a klutzy country boy.”
Michaela finished dressing and put her arms around him. “Real heroes never know that they are.” Then she kissed him before he could argue.
Chapter Five
Caleb would have floated home, except that would’ve meant leaving his truck behind. He’d had dates that had ended with sex before, but sex with Michaela hadn’t been the end of anything. They’d spent another couple hours cuddled up, finally wrapping up in the blankets when it got too cold, looking at the sky and just talking. She wasn’t just pretty, she was smart, really smart. Smart enough that he wasn’t sure she belonged with a broke-down one-legged grocery cashier in a place like Salem’s Creek, but he wasn’t about to argue.
His bear was not only awake, it was strutting back and forth and letting out the occasional triumphant roar. Caleb was grateful he was the only one aware of it, because it was a little embarrassing. Sure, he’d been celibate a long time until tonight, but he didn’t think that was the reason for the ostentatious celebration. Maybe his bear was just happy. Caleb sure as hell was.
The lights were still in the house as he turned in the driveway. Caleb hoped like hell Dalton had just gone to bed with the lights on, because Dalt needed to be awake in a few hours for work.
“How’d it go?” Nope, Dalton was sitting up in the living room watching TV like a dad waiting for his daughter to get home.
“What are you still doing up?” Caleb was equal parts exasperated and touched. “You’re nev
er gonna get up in time for work in the morning.”
“Couldn’t sleep,” Dalton said, and Caleb knew he was lying. “Musta gone okay, since you’re just getting home. Hope your girl didn’t have a curfew.”
“She’s not gonna get grounded by her folks.” Caleb tried to walk past so he could go to bed, lie down and bask in the memory of a perfect evening. Dalton stopped him.
“Come on, Cal. You like her? You can’t just stay out ‘til two and not give me something here.”
“I like her,” Caleb admitted. “We’re gonna go out again, for sure.” He wouldn’t dream of telling Dalton any details, and if he mentioned the jig his bear was doing, Dalton would just make a big deal out of it. “Now go to bed, ya dummy. Your baby’s home safe.”
“You’re growing up so fast.” Dalton hauled himself off the couch and ruffled Caleb’s hair before ducking the swat Caleb aimed at him.
Caleb went to bed, but he couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t just that he was thinking about Michaela and her soft, sweet body (although he was), his blasted bear would not settle down. It was making him out of sorts and restless, finally driving him to pace the floor of his small bedroom.
Desperation found him outside in the back yard, pacing where there was more room. The bear spirit within him wanted something, and damned if he could figure out what it was.
He wants to come out and play, a helpful voice in his head suggested. It might be true. Caleb felt the restlessness within. That bear had been hibernating for so long, and then kept in the cage of Caleb’s human form. He couldn’t blame it for wanting out. The question was: could Caleb let him out?
That was the million dollar question, and Caleb didn’t have but twenty-five bucks on him. Sooner or later, though, Caleb was going to have to stop being a coward and find out what kind of bear he was now. Ah, what the hell. The yard was quiet, and they were miles from the nearest neighbors.