by Gina Leuci
As though he could read my thoughts, he stopped long enough to say those two words again. “Trust me.” Then he buried his face at my center.
I sucked in my breath as his tongue darted inside. My entire body reacted, every nerve jumped to attention. Tension coiled in my stomach as he continued. My hands gripped at the cool cotton bedsheets, as his tongue swirled and plundered.
“Caleb,” I gasped his name. One word. I couldn’t think enough to put more than that together. My body pulsed where his lips touched.
While I continued to pant, his mouth worked its way up my body, but he wasn’t done with me. His fingers took over where his tongue had been moments ago. “Let it happen, sweetheart,” he murmured before his lips captured mine.
I groaned into his mouth that tasted of sex. Yes, I needed this. I needed the rest of the world to disappear. I needed to feel nothing more than what he was doing to my body. I closed my eyes and forgot about everything except the here and now. My fingers pressed into his shoulders. His lips left mine to trail a fiery path along my neck.
My hips lifted to meet the rhythm his fingers made inside me, tantalizing me, pushing me, until the orgasm hit me hard and I cried out.
It took a moment before my heart rate slowed enough for me to open my eyes and become aware of my surroundings again. We were in the bedroom, not on some higher universe that Caleb had sent me to. My body was still shaky as was the smile I sent his way.
“Hi, there.” Those two words he uttered came with a satisfied grin, as though he knew I’d traveled to another world at his behest, and had just returned.
“Mmm. I’m back.” That had him chuckling as he shifted, moving to my side, and I felt the scrape of denim against my bare legs and I realized I’d been the only one on the trip around the world. I reached between us to work at the zipper, to free him, to touch him.
“No, Grace.”
“But…”
His hand closed over mine. “This was for you.”
Trust me, he’d said. Now I understood. He’d made a promise to get me home, and this was not part of the agreement. Part of me though, the part still basking in an afterglow, felt I should reciprocate. I moved my hand from the waistband of his clothes, up his bare chest, taking a moment to explore. My finger brushed across his nipple and he gulped. While he said no, for my sake, he was not immune. My hand drifted downward, cupping at the hardness behind his zipper.
“Grace.” It was a warning. A plea. But instead of pushing me away, his hand went to the back of my head to pull me closer. He spoke to me with his mouth, telling me how much he wanted me. How much he needed me. But as he pulled away, he was also telling me he wasn’t going to take it any further.
I didn’t want to think anymore, didn’t want to discuss anything. I wanted to spend the night in this man’s arms, doing the very thing he’d promised not to do. I pressed my lips to his corded neck.
He didn’t push me away, and I continued my exploration down his collarbone as Caleb’s tone remained tight as he spoke. “Let’s face it, Grace, once we cross this line, I won’t want to stop. It won’t, it can’t be, a one and done between us.”
His words dove into my heart. A part of me knew he was right, but what he’d done to my body with his mouth and fingers had left me wanting more, not only for me. I wanted to give, too. I moved down to pull his nipple into my mouth.
“You aren’t making this easy.” I heard his words, but he didn’t stop me.
“But am I making it hard?” I ran my hand down past his stomach and pressed it to the bulge. “Yep.”
He growled and again took charge. He swung me around to my back, pressing my hands against the bed. His voice was husky, but stern. “Don’t you get it? There is no birth control here, Grace. That’s why we had to throw away your pills when you arrived. I made you a promise to get you home to Vermont, but if we don’t stop now—and God Almighty knows I am struggling to not sink myself inside you and forget that I’m a man of my word—there is always a possibility of getting you pregnant.”
I sucked in a breath. He was right. Roger had made it clear that a child would tie me to Wellington. There would be no going home after that. It was the whole point of this summer internship and then our shot-gun wedding. The town council was betting on the natural course of events of our forced cohabitation.
I sunk back onto the bed and closed my eyes. What did that make me? Damn, I was a fool, letting my emotions get the best of me. The past eight weeks had been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Hating this place. Accepting I had to work out my contract. Watching my college roommate marry the man of her dreams. Lusting after the man who’d been sworn to protect me, but also under orders to make sure I didn’t leave. Getting a promise that I could go home, and then forced to marry so I’d have to stay.
“Damn it, Grace,” Caleb’s voice softened as did his grip on my wrists. “This isn’t how I pictured tonight. Come here.” He gathered me to him so that my head rested on his shoulder while he wrapped the sheet over us. “Under other circumstances—” He kissed my forehead. “Ahh, forget it. It doesn’t matter. Go to sleep.”
I lay against him. What the hell had happened? First, I’d made it clear that I made my own decisions and he wasn’t to touch me, but then, with one simple please, and an innocent touch to my bruise, I’d agreed to let him kiss me.
One kiss—albeit it was one hell of a kiss—and I’d forgotten my entire reason for staying strong. That one kiss had broken down my protective walls and opened me up like a cracked egg.
He’d asked me to trust him, then he’d proven, in no uncertain terms, that he was a man of his word.
Did he have to be so freaking caring and protective and moralistic? If he hadn’t been so determined to keep his promise, where would that have put us? Because, obviously I wasn’t thinking clearly anymore.
Chapter Eight
I woke wrapped in Caleb’s arms, my head nestled in the crook of his shoulder. I took my time opening my eyes, wanting to prolong the inevitable start of the day. Everything had changed, and I wasn’t sure what lay before us.
When he shifted, I knew he was awake, waiting for me. The time had come. I lifted my gaze to meet his and saw one of his rare smiles. My heart did a flip flop.
“Good morning.”
I brushed my hair away from my cheek, trying not to think about what the deep timbre of his voice did to my insides. “Morning.”
My hand was on his chest, and in a moment of shyness, I fought the urge to run a finger across the sculpted work of art. Instead I remained still, noticing how pale my hand was against the rich tan of his skin. “Did you sleep well?”
Loaded question. I wasn’t about to tell him the truth. It had taken me forever to fall asleep, wondering what this latest turn of events would mean for our relationship. However, sleeping beside him had felt wonderful. I’d go with that as my answer. “Um, yeah. And you?”
He scrunched his nose. “It was difficult over your very unladylike snoring.”
Shy no more, I thudded his chest. “I don’t snore. What a horrible thing to say.”
Caleb grinned, and my heart did a quick pitter patter at his carefree manner. This was definitely a new side to this man, and I kinda liked it. “Okay, you don’t snore, but you do talk in your sleep.”
I froze for a moment and twisted up to lay more on his chest trying to ignore how my nipples puckered as they brushed against his skin. “What did I say?”
He let out a rumbling chuckle and this time, I couldn’t ignore how my pulse quickened. “Ah, that she doesn’t deny. I will have to pay close attention in the future.”
“Oh, you…” I went to swat him again, but he grabbed my wrist and brought it to his mouth to kiss it, and my mouth went completely dry. Things could go from fun to serious in a nano-second, and I was already naked; already half way to wanting to pick up where things left off. The dark flecks in Caleb’s blue eyes echoed my own wayward thoughts.
He’d made it clear last nigh
t we couldn’t go down this road, so I did the only thing I could think of to change the course of direction. “If you want to shower first, I’ll make us breakfast.”
With a blink of an eye, he was back to the casual, fun man of a few moments ago. “Deal.”
As I rolled off him and sat, holding the sheet to my chest, He swung his denim clad legs to the edge and stood. He opened his bureau drawer, retrieved clothes, and gave me a heated look before exiting. He knew I’d been watching, and he didn’t care.
I pressed my hands to my flushed cheeks. What the hell had I done? Had we done?
Gave in to attraction? Sure. Had a mind-blowing orgasm? Absolutely, and it was worth it. Oh, my, it was worth it.
If I didn’t get up this moment, I would never get out of bed. I moved quickly, donning a tee and shorts and headed to the kitchen. It was a pancakes and sausage type of morning, and I had the batter mixed and ready by the time he joined me.
He took over with the sausage, and we moved through the kitchen like a well-practiced duo. Before we sat, the phone rang and Caleb answered it. “It’s Aaron. He wants to know if we’re up for baseball later today.”
Up for it? Hell, yeah. I needed something active to occupy my mind and whacking a ball across the field was just the right distraction. “Sounds good.”
He put a hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. “Are you sure? What about your ribs?”
I didn’t know whether to be mad or just completely frustrated with the man’s obsession with my bruised side, so my tone may have been a bit on the curt side. “Tell Aaron we’re playing the damn game.” I’m pretty sure I made my point when I noticed Caleb’s lip curl up in his amused smile.
Once breakfast was over and dishes washed and put in the strainer to dry, I headed to take my own shower while Caleb made calls to get his side of the team together, but when I returned the call he was on sounded serious.
I hovered by the table, not sure if I should be eavesdropping or not. He turned to me when he hung up the phone. “That,” he motioned with his head, “was Frank. We have been summoned to choose our wedding bands by Monday morning.”
I looked at him. “Or what?”
“Or he puts in the order on our behalf.”
I wrung my hands and nodded before turning to the kitchen, looking for something, anything to change my focus. I found the bottle of cleaning chemical under the sink and sprayed the already spotless stove top, and got to work scrubbing at non-existent grease.
“This doesn’t change anything.”
What did he mean by ‘this?’ Putting a ring on my finger? That doesn’t change our plan to pretend to get along. No, that’s pretty much in line. ‘This,’ meaning what we did last night? That actually changed a lot. At least for me. I played along. “No. You’re right.”
Caleb took a few steps in the tiny apartment and was at my side in a flash. “Grace, last night…”
I continued at my task, avoiding him, not wanting to see him if he was going to say it was a mistake. With a gentle touch, he stopped my useless fiddling. Once I put down the sponge, he turned me so he could lift my chin and I looked up into his amazing, confident eyes. “I don’t regret a moment of what we did last night, and I hope you don’t either.”
Oh, thank God. Hoping he couldn’t see or feel the trembling of doubts that had started. I pushed my nails brutally into my palm and instead shook my head.
“No? Good.” He leaned down and tore my breath away with his mouth. “Good,” he said again when he finally released me.
The man confused the hell out of me. I didn’t know what to say. What to do. What I wanted to do was return the kiss and explore the emotions he’d surged inside me the night before. But he’d made it clear we couldn’t walk that path. Instead I ducked around him and walked to the living room, getting the space I needed to breathe, but his next question stopped me. “So, now that we are technically married, you are planning on playing on my team today, right?”
Back to the game. The topic change had my head spinning, but I threw him a grin over my shoulder. “If you think a little ceremony changes anything, you’re mistaken. You, sir, are going down.”
****
Baseball, my passion. My solace. The activity focused my brain and kept me from over thinking this past week. Both teams played well, and we were an even four to four going into the seventh inning.
I was first at bat, and I ran from the field to the dugout to grab my helmet and bat as the teams changed positions. I was focused and didn’t see Caleb come up behind me.
“Whoa.” I nearly lost my balance as he spun me around, took my face in his hands and planted a long, deep kiss, curling my toes and rocking me back on my heels.
“That’s for luck,” he murmured before bending to grab his mitt he’d dropped on the ground and headed out to first base.
“Oh.” I walked to home plate, head reeling from the unexpected, totally hot kiss, and swung at the first throw. When the third strike was called, I glanced and spotted Caleb with a shit-eating grin. I got it. The ‘for luck’ was for his benefit. Game on.
I headed toward the ice buckets of water. No amount cold liquid would quench the thirst that man had started in me, but he’d started a game, and I wasn’t about to back down. I turned my attention to my team captain, watching me with a raised eyebrow.
“That kiss?” I mentioned as I lifted my cup. “Was a distraction. It won’t work again.”
“Really?” Aaron was amused by the whole thing; must be because he was happily married and liked to see things for more than what they were.
I pulled my ball cap back on, pulling the rim down to lower the bright glare of the sun. “How can we turn the tables? Make him lose focus?”
He snorted. “Have you met Caleb? He’s a robot. It’s not going to happen.”
I pursed my lips and sat down to watch the game. Somehow, someway, I would get the better of him. I spotted the pad of paper and pen Aaron had been using to plan the batting order and began to scribble.
Caleb, I can’t stop thinking about last night. It was amazing. How about we up the ante on the game? If my team wins, we have a replay of last night. If your team wins, I get to do similar things to you. How ya gonna play it?
I folded the paper in half then half again, scribbled his name on it, then asked Pete to deliver the note at the inning change.
I was already at second base, glove in hand, when the note exchange took place. I watched as Caleb read it then his head slowly raised to stare at me across the field. Dry lightning could have flashed in the afternoon sky, and it wouldn’t have been as hot as that look. He slowly folded the paper and pocketed it. This time I was the one who grinned.
I had to wait for four players before Caleb came to bat. He waited two steps back from the plate as he did a practice swing and took another moment to glance my way. I blew him a kiss and even from my position I saw his eyes close.
The first pitch was called a strike. The second a foul, the third another foul. I couldn’t resist. “What’s going on, Caleb? Your mojo seems a little off.”
Instead of distracting him, he gripped the bat and the next was a solid hit into outfield, but the pop up was caught, and he sent me a salute before heading back to his dugout.
Eighth inning both teams earned another run, and Caleb made his way to me as he came off the field. “Hope you’re ready to keep your promise, sweetheart.”
I pretended his deep tone didn’t turn my insides to liquid—not an easy feat to do. Instead I patted his chest. “Game’s not over. Too soon to determine the winner.”
He leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Either outcome, I win.”
Well, hell in a hand basket. I was way out of my league with this man. It was the top of the ninth with an even score. I was still a bit off my game when I came up to bat next, but I was determined to show that he couldn’t put me off balance so easy.
I was ready. Focused as much as I could be. The ball left the pitcher’s hand and I swung—a
t the same moment that a little girl screamed from the bleachers. “Justin, you little turd. Look what you did.”
Like any good father who hears the shrieking of his child, Caleb looked away. The bat hit the ball and made a line drive to first base. Caleb never saw the ball coming.
It hit his shoulder, spinning him around and down to the ground.
I dropped the bat and sprinted down the base line to kneel beside him, taking his ball cap off so I could see his face. “Oh, my God. I am so sorry. Are you hurt? How bad?”
Other players surrounded us as Caleb rubbed his shoulder, grimacing in pain. “I think it’s dislocated.”
I put my hands over my mouth. “That sounds painful. Can you put it back in place? They do it all the time in the movies.”
With an unexpected move, he grabbed me by the shirt front with his good hand and swung me around to sit on his lap. “This is your fault. You planned this.”
I huffed at his sudden attack, not quite sure how to take him. “How am I to blame? It’s not my fault you were distracted.”
He looked up at Aaron, now standing beside us. “She planned this. I can prove it. I think the game should go to the blue team on a technicality.”
The pitcher shook his head, put his hands up in surrender. “I’m not touching this. It’s between you.”
“How did I plan this?” I asked, staring up into Caleb’s laughing eyes.
He cocked his head to his side as he spoke. “I specifically remember the words, ‘you are going down’ coming out of your mouth this morning.”
I giggled as I finally knew he wasn’t mad. “Uh, yeah. I do believe I did.”
Then his lips were on mine. His kiss would have knocked me off my feet with its lightning bolt intensity had I been standing. Perhaps the foreplay on the field, or the note, was the cause, but I grabbed his shirt and hung tight as my world spun out of control.
“Newlyweds. Jeez.”
“Get a room.”
“Player down.” One of the umps called out. “Time to call the game. Tied in the ninth.”