Wait For Me (A Military Romance Book 1)

by Phoebe Winters

  A surge of heat poured over Erin’s skin and her complete nervous system responded from his compliment. Her body buzzed with a sensual awareness and it made Erin pause before responding.

  “How was your day?” Caleb continued.

  Erin let out a slow breath. “It was good. How was yours?”

  Caleb nodded as he thought over the conversation with Staff Sergeant Hopkins.

  “Interesting, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

  Erin’s cheeks flushed and turned a deeper shade of pink.

  “Why is that,” she asked trying to get a grip.

  Erin was well aware that her responses were on exhibition and regardless to how hard she tried, her reflexes had a mind of their own.

  “I’ve missed you for a long time. I knew the day I made that call it was a mistake.”

  Caleb held her with a intoxicating stare and Erin’s eyes skipped from his face to the floor then up again.

  “Let’s not talk about that tonight,” she said.

  “Will you forgive me?”

  His voice was mellow and profound.

  Erin exhaled. “Caleb, please.”

  “If you’re going to help me move past my,” he paused, “PTSD, then I need to know that you forgive me.”

  His hands found hers and he moved to her as she took a step towards him. When Erin responded, her voice was low and throaty.

  “Are you saying you’ll stay?”

  Caleb stared at her beautiful face. “I’m willing to give this Wounded Warrior’s program a try, with you by my side. But, only if you’ll forgive me.”

  Erin didn’t respond immediately; not because she didn’t want to oblige, but because she hadn’t expected this turn of events.

  “What changed,” she asked.

  Caleb’s hands sailed over her shoulders and wrapped her, pulling Erin into his chest. His scent was even stronger now, and it consumed Erin with each breath she took.

  “I don’t want to miss any more time with you. It doesn’t mean I’ve completely given up on going back.”

  Erin pushed away from him.

  “But,” Caleb continued, “If this program works, then,” he paused, and Erin waited for him to finish. “You have to understand, although I know it’s hard for you too. I regret leaving you the first time, but I can’t remove everything that’s happened. And my dedication to seeing this thing through feels like an obligation. If you’re saying I’m mistaken and you believe this program can help me see that, I’m willing to give it a try.”

  The room became quiet except for the bass coming from the surround sound speakers downstairs.

  “Erin—”

  “I forgive you,” she said.

  They stared at each other, knowing what the measure of that statement held. Caleb pulled her back into him and Erin returned his embrace, tying her arms around his neck. They held, still breathing each other in as they contemplated their own thoughts. Caleb wishing on a star that Erin’s idea could work; knowing taking the steps to find out would be good for their friendship and any relationship they could have going forward.

  Erin, on the other hand, knew when those words left her lips she would have to leave their past in the past. It wouldn’t be easy since it was still a sore wound, but together, possibly, they could heal and make it work.

  They parted, but Caleb held to her waist as they eyed one another.

  “I had a question,” she said.

  “Past tense?” He asked.

  Erin crossed her eyes and Caleb chuckled.

  “What’s your question, sweetheart?”

  “During your retelling earlier, you stated you met Timothy's grandma and wife. But I never met Timothy.” Erin pouted. Caleb tugged her ear.

  “That's because I was selfish when it came to you. I wanted to spend every second of our phone or video calls together. But trust me when I tell you, Timothy knew of you.”

  Erin blushed and rolled her eyes. “That was so childish of me, right?”

  “Not at all. You wanted to know how special you are to me, and I’m saddened by the fact that you didn’t already know. All of my comrades knew about you. Even some I’d left during basic training graduation. I’m sorry I didn’t let you in more. I was young and didn’t know all the rules when it came to relationships.”

  “And you do now?”

  Caleb grinned. “I’m not saying I know all the rules but I’m certainly more knowledgeable.”

  Erin smirked. “Let me be the judge of that.”

  The beat of the song changed, and it seeped through the walls of Erin’s office. She glanced out at the crowd and Caleb tugged her hand.

  “Dance with me,” he said.

  Erin turned back to him with a smirk.

  “What, you, dance?”

  A smile lit up his handsome face. “Come on now girl, you know I can move.”

  He backpedaled with her hand in his grasp. Erin followed him to the door where he rotated easing her in front of him.

  “After you.”

  Erin couldn’t help smiling. She sauntered along the staircase, and with Caleb right behind her descended to the first floor. The atmosphere in the club was mellow as patrons milled about in conversation, drinking, or dancing. As Caleb and Erin passed through, Erin skimmed the room. She meant to skip right over the bar, but her eyes looked anyway and caught a huge grin on Amy’s face. Erin smirked just as Amy turned on her earpiece.

  “And where do you think you’re going?” Amy’s teasing voice said.

  “Get out of my ear, Amy. Tell Dex I’m not in the station so watch the stairs.”

  “Gotcha.”

  Erin disconnected her earpiece where Amy couldn’t interrupt her again. They rounded through the crowd and came upon the circle dance floor. Erin took the two steps down and together she and Caleb cruised to a groove. His arm settled around her waist, pulling her in softly, causing their bodies to graze against each other.

  Their steps were easy and only they were hidden behind the orbs of their compelling stares. Erin didn’t want to keep blushing like an adolescent. She hadn’t been a teenager for seven years. But that didn’t make a bit of difference. Being with Caleb reopened her heart and she could only hope it wasn’t a mistake. She stepped into it aware that if he broke her again, it was on Erin.

  Caleb twirled her around and pulled Erin’s back into his front. His palms slipped down her arms, shoulders, waist and over the roundness of her hips. They settled there as the duo slow danced reveling in the feeling of being together again. The last time Caleb danced with Erin like this was prom night. He wanted to love her for life then and nothing about that had changed. They grooved to the music and Erin closed her eyes and carried her fingers through her hair. She felt alive again, and though it was a bit terrifying, she decided to just go with the flow.

  As their bodies waved, a ripple of warmth sailed with them, wrapping Caleb and Erin in a comfortable cocoon. The vibe between the two was charged, skipping among them like a magnetic field. Their flesh suffused with each graze of Erin’s ass to Caleb’s pelvis. His grip tightened on her and everyone around them faded out as the music changed to an even slower rhythm. Caleb twirled her back around and quickly his arms cruised around her waist, as Erin’s found their way over his shoulders. Resting his hands against the small of her back, Caleb committed each detail of her flourishing features to memory. Her youthfulness had been transformed into a stellar divineness that turned her into what he considered an angel.

  How he could’ve ever let her go was beyond him.

  “What are you thinking?” She asked.

  Caleb grinned. “It’s funny you would ask me that now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because my answer will come out sounding cliché even though it’s the truth.”

  “I’m still intrigued. What’s your corny answer, Mr. Malone,” she teased. He loved the way her face brightened when she was playful.

  “In all honesty, I was just thinking about you, and how ins
ane I must have been to let you go.” They continued to sway to the music. “You know, I always knew you had it in you to run your own business. I always saw that drive in you when we were younger.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How so?”

  “You used to be like the boss from Hell’s kitchen when it was time for the annual bake sale.”

  Erin tossed her head back and laughed.

  “What was his name, um, Gordon Ramsey,” he continued to joke, making Erin laugh even harder.

  He loved the melodic enchantment of her voice, enjoying her widespread grin, and the serenade she gave when laughing out loud.

  “Come home with me,” he said.

  It made Erin’s laugh die down immediately. Slowly her face began to fall into a surprised yet yearning stare.

  “I don’t want to sleep without you tonight,” he said. “It’s been too long since I’ve had you in my arms like this, and I want more of you.”

  A ripple of heat saturated Erin’s skin. She pressed her lips together and swallowed a lump in her throat.

  “Um…”

  “Say yes,” he prodded. Never being one to beg, this was new ground for Caleb, but at this point he didn’t care. All he wanted was to be with her. Erin’s heartbeat sped up, and her brain scrambled as she looked for the right answer.

  11

  He begged her with his intensified gaze as if luring her through some type of sorcery.

  “Caleb, I don’t know. This is still all new and moving kind of fast. Maybe we should slow down.”

  “Why?”

  Erin released a haggard breath. “I don’t know. Maybe because I don’t even know if you’re staying for good or not. I can’t get too close to you again knowing you may not be here after the summer.” Erin shook her head.

  “We could still be together. I won’t be overseas forever.”

  “Caleb, you just don’t get it. This thing you’re doing, was never my life, never in our plans, and never something I wanted to get used to. I get that you can’t change the past, and now that it's happened, you may have to leave again. But you’ll have to leave me behind also.” She saw the strain in his gaze. “I’m sorry,” she finished.

  “What if I can’t.”

  The song changed again as they continued to peruse each other. Erin licked her lips needing to wet her mouth. Really, she needed a drink because this conversation couldn’t get better. Could it?

  “I need to get back to the station.” She pushed lightly off his chest and turned to walk away, but Caleb caught her by the arm. Erin tossed a glance back over her shoulder.

  “Dance with me through one more song, then I’ll let you get back to it.”

  He tugged at her fingers, not giving Erin a second to think longer about his request. She went back to him, settling into the warm of this towering frame. Caleb’s arms slipped around her, and his eyes covered her face before holding steady on her lips. When he glanced up, there was a slight nod to his head that Erin almost missed from the simplicity of it. When the song changed this time, it was Kelly Clarkson’s, “A Moment Like This” that drifted through the speakers.

  A gasp flew from Erin’s mouth as she stared into Caleb’s all-pervading gaze. It was the same song they’d dance to on prom night. The last song to be exact. What was he trying to do to her, she wondered? Caleb held her close and Erin’s breath tickled his neck. The warmth from her mouth sent a buzz crawling down his chest diving right to his manhood. As the memories from prom night crept through him, Caleb couldn’t help but wonder if Erin was still a virgin. To be fair, he wouldn’t be surprised if she weren’t. They hadn’t been a couple for three years, but if she wasn’t, it would kill him all the same. He let out a slow breath and tried to shift his thinking.

  It didn’t work. Now all he could think about was if someone else had been favored enough to have their hands on his Erin. The question was on his tongue, but Caleb held back not wanting to sound like a jealous, possessive ass. That didn’t mean he wasn’t. Minus the ass part. As they moved, Erin found herself placing her head on his shoulder. Her eyes closed, and her breath remained calm as she also attempted to quiet down her spirit. What are you doing Erin? Being with Caleb like this was dangerous for her heart; and still, she wanted to go home with him. When the song faded, it was as if the world resurfaced. Erin removed her head from his shoulder and pulled back taking a step.

  “I have to get going,” she said. “Monday morning I’ll call Wounded Warriors and find out what needs to be done to enroll you in the program.” She smiled tentatively.

  “Are you scared of me, Erin?”

  The question seemed to come out of nowhere.

  “What?”

  “You heard me,” he said closing the tiny gap she’d created in front of them. “Do I scare you?”

  Erin opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She closed her lips as if keeping herself from stammering like a stuttering buffoon.

  “You don’t have to be scared of me, baby. I’d much rather kill myself than hurt you again.”

  Erin’s brain tousled. Why was he saying this? She couldn’t listen to it. Runaway Erin. Without a word she turned and fled the dance floor. Her feet had never moved so fast without taking off into a sprint. But there she was, bolting like the devil was on her heels. Erin made it to the stairs and took the steps faster than she’d ever done before. If there was a fire in the building, she wouldn’t be able to trot that fast. But the fire was within. Building inside her like volcanic sulfur on the verge of erupting at any moment. Her heart sprang in her chest. She made it to the banister and disappeared into her office in record time. Caleb had never seen anything like it, neither had Amy. They both watched as Erin made her getaway. From the bar, Amy’s eyes traveled from the balcony to were Caleb stood in the crowd. The look on his face made Amy’s brows raise in suspicion. Something was definitely going on between the two, and whatever it was, Amy hoped for Caleb’s sake that it was a good thing.

  She had already bet on him not breaking Erin’s heart again, so if he did, she’d kick his ass like the soldier she was. Caleb had a look of determination on his face. Without waiting another second, his legs moved across the floor with confidence in his stride. He grabbed hold of the banister and took the steps two by two.

  “Damn,” Amy caught herself saying. When Caleb disappeared into the station, Amy wished she was a fly on the wall.

  Caleb marched through the room, and Erin twirled quickly then took a step backward, but it only made her bump into the wall. The fortitude in his gaze held her captive. As if she’d been cornered like prey, Erin braced herself and unknowingly held her breath. He brought heat with him, and it coated them as he reached one hand around her neck and the other wrapped around her waist. Caleb hauled her to him, while simultaneously dragging her soft body up the rigid length of his own.

  There wasn’t a second between the moan that escaped Erin’s lips and the capture of her mouth. It was like Caleb had gone mad. Kissing her the first-time last night had awakened his entire being and seeing Erin in this sexy dress tantalized him from the moment he strolled through the door. He meant it in every way when he told her he didn’t want to spend another night without her in his arms. And if he had anything to do with it, tonight she would not escape him. Caleb prodded her mouth open with his tongue to get another taste of her sweet palate.

  She opened to him and Caleb devoured her while holding her firmly in his arms. A snowstorm of energy twirled around them, causing chills to drive across Erin’s skin making her nipples harden painfully.

  “Oh…” she panted. The second she’d open her mouth wider, Caleb inhaled her, cascading a swarm of passion right down to the hardest part of him.

  The hand he held around her waist dipped over the curve in her ass filling his palm with the softness of her derriere. He squeezed firmly, and her body torched and yearned for him altogether.

  Deciding to give her room to breathe, Caleb released her m
outh but kept his lips hovering inches from hers. “If you’re not coming home with me, then I’m going home with you,” he said.

  Erin’s nerves were all over the place, she could barely put together a proper sentence, never mind speak with coherent words.

  “I mean it. Unless you tell me straight out that you don’t want me to.”

  Their breath mingled as they stared each other down.

  “Tell me, baby,” his deep voice drummed.

  Erin’s throat felt clogged, but somehow, she managed to slip the words out of her mouth. “I… I want you there,” she said, completely astonished by her own admission.

  He reclaimed her lips. It was all the confirmation he needed. Erin met his hungry rapture head on as their lips danced in an exotic tango. She pulled her hands to meet up firmly on his chest stopping him. Caleb released her mouth albeit unhurriedly.

  “Slow down, baby,” she said.

  Caleb dropped his head. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I’m trying but…”

  Erin smiled softly and glanced around. “Okay, let me see if I can get Amy to close for me and then we can leave.”

  A slow grin spread across his face. Caleb lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her softly on each finger one by one.

  “You would do that for me?”

  “It seems, I would do a lot for you,” her eyes dropped, and weariness covered her face.

  Caleb lifted her chin. “I promise not to make you regret it this time.”

  Erin looked for any trace of deception, but he appeared genuinely sincere. It didn’t make it any less difficult to believe him.

  “Come on,” she said deciding not to reply to his promise. What would she say? Erin slipped her hand into his and walked them to the phone. She moved quickly, making arrangements for Amy to close the club. Of course, Amy didn’t let her off easy. But Erin promised to talk to Amy later in detail. Amy seemed satisfied with that and before Erin knew it, she was in her car driving across town with Caleb following her in his own. There was a frightening thrill that buzzed around her and Erin tried desperately to shake it off.