Everything about the room, from its earthy colors to the piles of pillows on her bed, screamed comfort.
“I had a wall knocked out in what was originally another bedroom,” she said, as if she’d felt his initial surprise. The detached echo in her voice tore at his gut. “I like the space. Guess we have that in common.”
Her head remained bowed as she played with the bristles of the brush in her hand. Her hair was wet from the shower, her body covered by a thin robe that gaped open enough for him to see the curves of her breasts. “Why’re you here?”
Her question gave him pause. “Where else would I be?”
When she didn’t answer, he dropped to his knees in front of her and took the brush from her hand. Curls hung in abandon around her face, teasing him to shove his fingers into their silky depths.
He didn’t know what to do. Angry Samantha, feisty, snippety Samantha, those he could deal with. This quiet, somber version scared the hell out of him. He didn’t want her to give up. Not on him. Not on anything.
He eased to her side. The mattress dipped as he sat and she went with it, leaning toward him. He sensed her need to talk, so he applied the brush to her hair, taking his time, enjoying the fact she gave him this small allowance while he waited for her to begin. With slow, easy strokes, he worked the tangles from her hair. The bristles were soft, so he added extra pressure with each tiny moan that escaped her lips.
“Alec told me what happened at his house,” she said finally.
He blew out a breath, not realizing how shallow he’d been breathing as he’d waited for her to break the ice. “I’m sorry, Samantha. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“No.” She turned to him, her gaze intense. “I’m sorry. None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t run off. You were right to be angry that I left. Alec told me you were fierce in protecting my sleep, not that you were trying to keep anything from me. He said you were ready to take them all on. The funny thing is, I wasn’t sleeping.” Her breath hitched. “I couldn’t sleep without you next to me.”
A single tear escaped the corner of her eye and Caleb reached for it like a lifeline, wiping it from her face as he cupped her cheek. “I wouldn’t hide anything from you, sweetheart,” he said gently. “None of this was your fault. I’m to blame for what’s happened and I’m so sorry.”
“No,” she shook her head hard.
“Let me finish. Mark was after me, and that’s something I’ll have to deal with. I’ll always feel a responsibility for how things turned out, but there’s no way I could’ve known what had happened to him. I made my peace when I pulled the trigger.”
He lifted her chin so she’d look at him. “I wish I could take away the fear and pain he’s caused you, but I don’t wish I could take back what’s happened between us. If we’re going to do this—and believe me, I want to—we have to communicate. Talk first. Run later.”
His tease awarded him a slight curve of her lips. He’d take it. At this point, he’d take whatever she’d be willing to give him.
“You’ll try to control me.”
His dominant personality had always been a point of contention for them, but there were aspects of it she loved. He looked forward to exploring those aspects later. Maybe on the couch.
“Yeah. I probably will. Call it instinct or nature or whatever you want to call it. I’ll always want to keep you safe, protected. And then, you’ll put me in my place. You’ll call me horseman like it’s a curse word, yet I’ll hear it for the endearment it is. It’s what we do, Samantha. Trust me, trust in us enough to know we’ll find common ground.”
“And if we can’t? It’ll be your way or the highway, right? Like last night?”
Last night felt like months ago. “You think that’s what I want?”
“Isn’t it?”
“Hell, no, that’s not what I want.” He cradled her face, knowing this was the most important moment of his life and he had to get this right. “Look at me. I meant it when I said I love you, Samantha, and that means I love everything about you. No parameters, no limitations. I love the fire that lives inside you. I love that you’re independent, strong, and smart. I don’t want a woman who needs me because she can’t do things for herself. I want a woman to need me because I’m as essential to her as she is to me. As you are to me,” he amended.
He took a deep breath, needing her to understand his next words.
“Last night wasn’t about me trying to control your life. It was about you, trusting me to provide your pleasure. That’s something I enjoy, and I think you do too. Admit it, you welcome the idea of not being in charge in the bedroom, don’t you? To have the freedom to let go, to experience the pleasure I can give you?”
“Caleb.”
He pressed his lips to hers in the kiss he’d been dying for since he’d walked in the room. A kiss he broke off all too quickly in his need to feel her against him.
“Come here, sweetheart.” He stood and scooped her into his arms. “I need to hold you for a few minutes.”
He carried her to the chair and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms tight around her. She hadn’t told him she loved him, and that was all right. He sensed that she did, but he didn’t want the words unless she was ready to give them. Not because he’d told her first, but because she felt as he did.
“I almost lost you.” The realization hit him so hard he shook.
“But, you didn’t.” He liked the way she snuggled deeper into his chest, as if she wanted to crawl inside him. “You came for me.”
He ran a hand over her hair, her shoulder, her side, her hip. Touching her soothed him, gave him purpose, gave him a home. “I’ll always come for you. Always. No one will ever hurt you again, Samantha. I swear it.”
No longer able to resist the sweet smell of her skin, he nuzzled her neck.
She laughed—the most wonderful sound in the world—and tried to squirm away, but he held tight. “You need a shave. That stubble you’re sporting is going to mark my delicate skin.”
He chuckled at her joke, but in truth, he liked the idea of marking her. More than liked it. Not with bruises or anything that would cause her pain, but a stubble-induced blush on the creamy skin between her thighs was a definite turn-on.
“Since I brushed your hair, maybe you should offer me a shave.”
She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “You’d trust me with a razor at your throat?”
He raised her hand to his mouth and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. “Sweetheart, I trust you with my life.”
Tenderness like he’d never seen shone on her face. She crawled from his lap and stood before him as she eased her robe from her shoulders and let it flutter to the floor at her feet.
“My god, how is it that you get more beautiful every time I look at you?” He twirled a finger in the air. “Turn around, sweetheart. Let me see you.”
“So bossy,” she quipped and turned as he’d asked.
“You like it.” The glittering lips of her pussy were evidence enough.
“In here, I do,” she admitted.
Caleb stood and reached back, grabbing his shirt between his shoulder blades and jerking it over his head. “See to my boots, will you, sweetheart?”
He almost swallowed his tongue when she went to her knees. Her nipples peaked and darkened, her skin flushed with arousal, she was a fucking goddess.
And she was his.
She unlaced his boots and he kicked them off. He quickly stripped out of his jeans.
She gave him a lazy smile. “You’re not so bad to look at, yourself,” she breathed as she wrapped her hand around his swollen cock and squeezed gently.
“I need to be inside you.” He couldn’t keep the desperation from his voice. He’d been eager for her for hours. He was always eager for her.
“Yes.”
He pushed her back on the bed, his body covering hers. He hissed as her nails scored lightly down his back, the sensation going straight to his dick. “I love you so fucking muc
h.”
“I love you, Caleb.” She shivered and arched against him, teasing her nipples against his chest. “I think I’ve always loved you.”
He smiled against her throat, reveling in the sweet smell of her skin. “I’ll never make you sorry for it, baby.”
Easing her thighs apart, they both groaned as he slid the head of his cock against her. “Always ready for me,” he murmured and bent to capture a nipple between his teeth and tugged slightly.
She arched, taking him in. “That’s because you’re so good at this.”
He gripped her ass and buried himself inside her. The heat of her body enveloped him, drove him crazy with the need to take her, hard and fast.
He withdrew, nearly sliding from her grip before shoving back with a forceful thrust.
“Do that again,” she moaned. “Keep doing that.”
“My pleasure, sweetheart,” he said and withdrew again, his breath catching as he pulled completely out, the head of his cock resting at her entrance a moment before he plunged back into her.
She stared up at him; just a sliver of blue shone in her darkened, pleasure-soaked gaze. Over and over, Caleb kept the pace, letting her feel every bit of his love for her.
Sweat trickled down his spine as he shifted positions, freeing his hands to wander her gorgeous body. He touched her everywhere. He stroked her skin, teased her nipples, until she writhed beneath him.
“Caleb, please,” she cried out as he slid a finger inside her, stroking alongside his cock.
She felt amazing. So slick and warm around him. He leaned over and nipped at her lips. “Please, what?”
She dug her nails into his shoulders. “Make me come, or I’ll kick your ass.”
“Now, who’s being bossy?” He would’ve laughed had her words not shot straight to his balls. Damn woman and her smart mouth. He knew several things he’d like to do with that mouth, but since his cock was occupied … he groaned against her lips as she opened for him, immediately tangling her tongue with his with a passion that rocked him.
He thrust faster, pressing his thumb against her clit, loving the sounds she made as she came apart around him. Once her climax hit, he buried himself deep and let his own release take him in a hot rush of pleasure. His body jerked with the force of it as he came deep inside her, his mind blank of anything except the all-consuming ecstasy of being with her.
His arms shook as he gasped for air and struggled not to collapse on her. Samantha caressed her hands from his shoulders down his arms. He’d bet he’d have nail marks for days, and he didn’t give a shit. He’d wear them proudly.
“Want another shower?” he asked and fell to her side.
Her smile was drowsy and her eyes fluttered shut as she snuggled against him. “No. Later. Sleep with me.”
Who was he to argue with that?
He readjusted until she was cradled in his arms, her cheek resting against his chest, feeling like he was the luckiest man in the world. His family was safe. He had the woman he loved in his arms. He felt a peace he’d not known for years settle over him as he closed his eyes.
And finally, after what felt like a lifetime of nightmares and endless nights, he slept.
Parker Kincade is the award-winning erotic romance author of The Martin Family Series. Her first novel, One Night Stand, won the 2013 Reader’s Crown Award for Best First Book, the category of Best Erotic Romance in the Celtic Hearts Romance Writers Golden Claddagh contest and was named finalist in the Romance Writers of America/Passionate Ink Stroke of Midnight contest.
Parker lives in the southern United States with her husband, children and beloved boxer sidekick. She loves reading, playing golf, spending time with her family and friends, ice cream from the ice cream truck, taking her dog to the park and watching old musicals.
Find Parker Kincade Online:
http://www.parkerkincade.com
http://www.parkerkincade.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/parkerkincade
http://www.twitter.com/parkerkincade
Also by Parker Kincade
The Martin Family Series:
One Night Stand
Shadow of Sin
Anthologies:
Lucky’s Charms
Love in the Cards
Game On Series:
Spring Training
Shadow of Sin (The Martin Family) Page 23