“More. Yes. More,” she whispered.
He pressed his toes to the bottom of the tub for leverage and drove in hard, his shaft nearly numb with pleasure.
“More,” she pleaded.
Her voice, her words, the erotic look of her parted lips and the feel of her velvety flesh swallowing him over and over sent him into a frenzy of thrusts as he took her over the edge and she cried out, filling the bathroom with an indiscernible cry. Her legs fell from his waist. Her hips bucked and thrust.
“Oh. Ye—” She opened her eyes into narrow, dark slits. “More,” she demanded.
Holy hell. He felt her press her feet to the bottom of the tub and draw her knees up.
“Bed.” One word was all he could manage. He stepped from the tub and picked Callie up in his arms. In a few determined steps, they were in the bedroom. With one hand, he drew the covers back, then laid her gorgeous, wet, naked body on the bed. His bed. Christ, she was beautiful. He’d dreamed about seeing her in his bed, and this was so much better than his dreams.
THE SIGHT OF Wes standing naked before her, all those glorious planes of muscle and power trapped beneath his tanned skin, made Callie’s body vibrate with need. She was eager for his hard length to scratch her every sexual itch—and boy did she itch. As he came down between her knees, she pressed her palm to his chest, gathering the courage to tell him what she wanted.
“Wait,” she whispered.
He froze. He was the perfect combination of sexual dominance and compassionate lover. He cared, and it was evident in every move, every stroke, and every time he stilled. She pressed his chest, urging him down on the bed beside her, flat on his back. Oh, good Lord. She could barely breathe at the sight of him. He had been the object of her bedroom fantasies for so many weeks, and none of them—not one—could hold a candle to having him here for her taking. Callie crawled over him and settled her knees between his massive thighs. She pressed her palms to his ribs, running her thumbs over the impossibly perfect ripples of his abs and feeling the heat radiating from his body—directly to the sweet spot between her legs. Callie brought her lips to the center of his stomach and kissed her way down those magnificent abs, dragging her tongue along the indentations between the muscles. She had to stop every inch or so to take a little suck of his skin and lave his shuddering body. Delicious. She wanted to love him, to give him the pleasures he’d given her—and to give herself the okay to be the person she had conjured up in her dreams—If I ever had a man like that. If I ever had Wes…Oh yes, she deserved to cast the hesitation aside. This was their last night at the ranch, and she wanted to remember it forever.
She ran her tongue along the curve of his abs as they drove south toward the heat of his desire. Wes drew in an uneven breath. Callie felt his hands tangle in her hair as she moved lower and dragged her tongue from base to tip, lingering there. She ran her tongue around the swollen edge where it met the shaft. His hands fisted, and his hips rocked forward. Oh yeah. She knew what he wanted, but he’d have to wait. She licked every inch of him until he was wet, then wrapped her slender fingers around his hard length and slid her hand up and down slowly, drawing a low groan from him as she took the tip in her mouth, teasing him as she pumped his desire to the edge.
“Callie.” He panted.
She smiled around his shaft, feeling his body shiver with need, his thighs flex. Every muscle in his arms bulged, and she knew he was holding back from pushing her to take him in deeper. She drew her mouth away, pulling a needful groan from deep within him. Still working him with her hand, she licked his balls, feeling them tighten against her tongue. She’d never been so bold with any other man, and Wes’s jaw clenched. He held her hair so tight she feared it might rip out—a pretty good indication that she was doing something right.
When she felt him swell within her hand, she finally took him in her mouth again, all of him.
“Oh, sweet Jesus,” he said through clenched teeth.
She sucked, and stroked, until he was holding her back—literally. His fists tangled in her hair, holding her mouth away from his cock.
“Stop. I’ll come, and I want to make love to you.”
Before she could decide which she wanted more—teasing him until he lost control, or riding him like a bull—his hands gripped her hips and he shifted her onto her back. She lifted her hips, eager to take him in, and he shoved a pillow under them. Then another. She knew this would allow him to penetrate deeper. Her girlfriends had shared all their naughty tips with her over the years, and when he hesitated, she reached for the back of his neck.
He searched her eyes and a simple nod, a silent acquiescence, sent him plunging into her. Holy cow. Nothing could have prepared her for the scorching flame that seared her body with every thrust as he gripped her knees and pulled them up by his chest.
“Harder,” she demanded.
His eyes bored into her soul, hypnotizing her into a world where only they existed, and she wanted to experience all of him, forever. She went a little wild, clawing, moaning loudly and hungrily, clutching his hips, pulling him deeper as he hit all the right places. Her body tingled and burned as the sensations rose in a seemingly endless crescendo of tantalizing pulses. On the verge of coming apart, he slowed and brought his teeth to her shoulder, sinking them into her flesh with a sinful mix of pain and pleasure. She sucked in a breath, and he tightened the bite and quickened his pace, taking her right over the edge in an explosion of cries, her body pulsating around him in a ceaseless rhythm.
“M-more,” she managed.
He sucked where he’d bitten, then licked the tender spot, sending another rampant thrill through her. She dug her nails into his shoulders, then gave him the same exquisite pain he’d given her, teeth to muscle. He groaned and thrust and followed her right over the edge in a carnal frenzy that rocked them both from the pillows to the mattress in a shuddering tangle of tremors.
They clung together, breathing unsteadily, eyes closed. Callie felt his hand slide from her skin. No. Come back. He collapsed beside her, eyes still closed, and pulled her against him.
“No way...” He breathed hard. “We’ve only been…together a few days. It feels like we’ve been making love for years, and we know every single one of each other’s hot spots.”
“Way.”
He shook his head. She loved that he felt as much for her as she felt for him. He drew the covers over them, and she wondered if her friends would miss her if they stayed right there in bed until it was time to go back home.
Chapter Twenty-One
MONDAY MORNING, SUN streamed across the front porch steps, illuminating Callie’s bare legs as she read. She wore a crinkly pastel blue miniskirt, a white blousy tank top, and her boots. She looked sexy as hell and sweet enough to eat. Wes was watching her from the front yard, where he tossed a ball for Sweets to retrieve. They’d woken up before six with Sweets sprawled across the bottom of the bed, and to Wes’s surprise, Callie reached down and pulled the pup between them, then showered her in kisses and love. There were no two ways about it. He was a lucky man. He’d stumbled across Sweets, and he’d stumbled across Callie. And he couldn’t imagine himself without them.
He joined Callie on the steps, and she leaned against him.
“It seems weird that you’re leaving tonight,” he said.
Sweets brought the ball to Wes and climbed up Callie’s legs with her front paws, craning her neck to lick her chin. Callie lowered her face so she could reach her. He loved that she didn’t mind puppy kisses.
“Don’t remind me. I’m pretending we’re just going to blink our eyes, and the day we have to be apart is going to be over before it starts.” She took the ball from Wes’s hands and tossed it into the woods. Sweets bolted after it. “I’m going to miss Sweets, too.”
“So, what’s our plan after I’m back in Trusty?” He knew what he wanted—to see Callie every second that he wasn’t working. But she had a life, too, and he also knew she’d pushed aside her morning rituals for him t
he last few days. He might not be organized with paperwork, but he had a memory like an elephant, and he knew she liked to do her Jillian Michaels DVD in the mornings. He was already thinking of her staying over at his house in Trusty. There was a television in the den that she could use for her exercise if he rearranged the furniture.
“Plan?” She set her book aside and tucked her hair behind her ear. Her face was makeup free and radiated with the warm glow of a fresh tan. He’d never seen anyone more beautiful.
“Should I call you and ask you on a date every night of the week? Because I want to see you whenever I’m not working. Or can I assume I’ll see you? How does this dating thing work?” He’d like to move her right into his place, but he knew the reality was, a few days was just that, a few days, even if it came on the heels of four weeks of wanting. He didn’t want to suffocate her. Well, he did, but he wouldn’t.
“This dating thing?” She held her palms up toward the sky. “How am I supposed to know? I know I want to see you.”
“Okay, so…can I assume you’ll still come with me to the barbecue at Luke’s on Saturday?”
“Yes. I would love to meet your family.”
“And can I assume that when I’m back in town tomorrow afternoon, I can pick you up after work and take you home with me?”
She blushed, and he kissed her temple. “I’ll take that as a yes? Is it safe to assume that maybe you’ll take a drive with me Saturday before the barbecue and let me show you my favorite park, so you can see if it’s one you might like as much as you like the park in Denver?”
“You have a favorite park?” She narrowed her eyes like he was making it up.
“I do. I used to ride my dirt bike there when I was a kid. Unless you have a date?”
She squeezed his thigh. “I’ll check my little black book, and if I don’t have a date, I’d really like that.”
Sweets bounded back to them with a giant stick in her mouth. She flopped on her belly, trapped the stick between her paws, and gnawed on it.
“And then I guess it’s also safe for me to assume that after you check that little black book, I can burn it?” He was only half teasing. The thought of her with any other man made his gut burn.
“Now you’re pushing your luck.”
He grabbed her ribs, and she squealed, doubling over with laughter.
“How about…?” She jumped from the step, and Sweets popped up onto all fours. “How about I burn yours? It’s probably as thick as a phone book.”
He chased her around the yard with Sweets on their heels. Callie squealed with delight. When he caught her, she covered her ribs with her arms.
“Don’t tickle. Please!” She laughed, and it shot love right through him.
“Oh, I’ll tickle.” He grabbed her ribs and she shrieked again. Sweets bit the bottom of his jeans and tugged. “Oh, now you’re on her side?”
He pulled Callie into a kiss and cupped her butt, pressing his hips to hers. “I don’t have a little black book. I can barely remember my own schedule, remember?”
“You remember your schedule just fine.” She arched a brow.
“Okay, truth is…I was never a dater.” He shrugged. “I haven’t had a girlfriend in years. No need to keep a book, because I don’t call for dates.” He shook his head, knowing how that made him sound. He never thought he was a player, but now he wondered if that term was accurate, and it made him feel a little sick to his stomach. He hoped Callie didn’t think of him in those terms.
She narrowed her eyes again and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m sleeping with a guy who has never valued relationships. That should make me feel really bad.” She held his gaze, and he clenched his jaw. “Well, I might be naive, but it makes me feel the opposite. It means that no one had this place in your heart before I did.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him—while he recovered from a mini heart attack about her sleeping with a guy who never valued relationships.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“LET ME GET my sunglasses. That lovers’ glow is blinding.” Christine covered her eyes as she crossed the lawn in front of the cabin.
“Shut up.” Callie pushed her playfully.
Wes was waiting for them at the lodge. Callie had no idea what he had in store for them today.
Kathie carried a notebook under her arm, and in her red T-shirt, short white skirt, and boots, she looked like she was ready to sit on a haystack and write for the afternoon.
Bonnie sidled up to Callie’s other side and looped her arm into hers. “So? You look happy.”
Callie sighed. “Yeah. I owe you guys big-time. I am so in love with Wes. I never even imagined that love could feel like this.”
“I could have told you how it lifted you onto a cloud and held you there in disbelief.” Bonnie sighed. “Until real life steps in and kicks you in the ass. Then you spend your life scrambling to find a way back up to that elusive cloud.”
“Talk about a buzz kill.” Callie scrunched her face. “What the heck?”
“Oh, I’m just missing Mark. I called him from the lodge last night, and he has to go to Idaho for a meeting today, which means he won’t be home when I get home tonight.” Bonnie released Callie’s arm as they crossed the bridge.
“I’m so sorry, Bon. How long will he be gone?” Callie asked.
“Just until tomorrow night. I know it’s silly, but it’s been several days, and I miss him. I assumed he’d be home waiting for me. Besides, watching you and Wes made me miss him even more.” Bonnie slung an arm over Callie’s shoulder.
“I know. I’m so sorry.” Callie leaned against the bridge, watching the horses grazing in the field. “This is where it all began. I just want to remember it.”
Bonnie took a picture of Callie, then turned the camera on the horses. “I have so many pictures that you’ll never forget.”
“I know. I love that about you.” Callie looked at her friends, and her heart swelled with gratitude. “Do you think I’m nuts for moving so fast with Wes?”
“We’d think you were nuts if you didn’t. He adores you and you obviously adore him.” Christine shoved her hip against Callie’s. “How was the railroad ride?”
Callie rolled her eyes, but inside, she warmed with the memory of their lovemaking. She never imagined she could be so open and aggressive, but everything she did with Wes felt natural and safe.
Kathie closed in on her other side. “Earth-shattering or sensuous and sweet?”
Bonnie took a picture of the three of them. “Or both?”
Callie thought about the mind-numbing sex they’d had last night and the way they’d made love tenderly this morning. “Both. Definitely both. Can I ask you guys a serious question?”
“Always.” Kathie climbed onto the bridge railing and sat facing Callie and the others.
“He asked me about dating or assuming we’d see each other.”
“Assume,” Kathie said.
“Date,” Christine offered.
“Both.” Bonnie paced the bridge. “You guys remember what it was like. Think back to when you first started seeing Billy and Paul. You assumed. Kathie, you slept at Paul’s place every night after you first did the deed, and, Christine, same with you and Billy. Heck, I’m not sure I ever left Mark’s after we did that either. It seems like it just happens. Your lives meld together, and suddenly you’re engaged and then married. So I think you should learn from us. Assume, because it’s too hard to do anything else when you’re in that ravenous I-must-have-you stage, but this next part is tricky, because you have to do it. Guys are clueless when it comes to these things. I think you should throw in a date now and again. A real date, where he picks you up at your place, so you can get that anticipatory shiver and worry about your hair and what you’re wearing.”
“Oh, I do like that,” Kathie said.
“What if we’re spending nights at his place? I just call one day from work and say, Pick me up at six?” That sounded sort of silly, although the whole anticipatory shiver thing sou
nded too good to pass up.
“Sure, or if you guys have an argument or something. It’s just an idea to keep in your back pocket. When you want to spice things up a little or add a reminder of what it was like to fall in love in the first place.” Bonnie put the lens cap on her camera and joined them leaning against the railing.
“Do you guys get bored now that you’re married?” She couldn’t imagine ever getting bored of Wes.
“Nope,” Christine said. “But then again, with the chaps and the whole Tex thing, it’s hard to get bored.” She bumped her hip into Callie’s again, and Callie smiled.
“Bored? Never. But I do love the idea of having Paul pick me up for a date. I think I’ll call him and have him meet me somewhere one night. That’s a great idea.” Kathie opened her notebook.
“You’re taking notes?” Callie asked.
Kathie tucked her hair behind her ear. “No. I’m putting it on the schedule I’m working on. My writing and pay-attention-to-Paul schedule.” She lifted her eyes to Callie’s. “Thanks to you.”
“I sent Mark a key to a hotel room a few weeks ago,” Bonnie admitted with wide eyes and a sinful grin.
“Really?” Christine turned to face her. “Do tell.”
“Yup. Sent it with a courier to his office with a note that said, Room 612, The Mayflower Hotel. Leave your briefs at home.”
“Oh my God. That is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.” Callie wondered what Wes would think if she ever did that.
“It was a great night,” Bonnie said. “Hey, look.” She pointed at Cutter riding a horse toward the lodge, wearing leather chaps and a dark cowboy hat. “I don’t think I could ever get bored of looking at handsome cowboys.”
Fated for Love Page 20