Nodding my head, I look down to where my hands are holding her in place. I know it’s time for me to tell her the rest of the story, seeing the questions in her eyes. Pulling her back against me, I begin.
“Madison and I started dating our sophomore year of high school. She was beautiful, outgoing, and full of life. It’s what drew me into her. She and Kinsley hung out quite a bit so it was only natural we would run into each other. Not to mention, it’s not like Arbor Creek is big to begin with. They were both in cheerleading together, and with us playing football, we were often at the same places, running in the same crowds, that sort of thing.”
Letting out a deep breath, I don’t even realize how much this has been weighing on me.
“Jeff and I were buddies, I mean we played football together and ran around with the same group of people. There was a party one night, out on some land down by the woods. I didn’t end up going. I messed up my back during a game so I was laid up, resting at home with muscle relaxers. Madison was there though, with her friends, and she hooked up with Jeff. The bigger problem was it didn’t stop after the first night. Apparently, it happened a couple times and I had no idea. Kinsley heard about it from their other mutual friends and ended up breaking it to me.”
“Oh, God, I’m so sorry, Callum.” She sobs, pulling me into a hug. “I’m sorry,” she whispers, laying her head on my shoulder.
“Madison and I were over after that. We saw each other over the years, but as far as a relationship goes we have been over for a long time. She just doesn’t seem to get it through her head. She knew if I thought you were talking to him, I would cut you off. It’s what she wanted.”
Ellie moves to lean back, and for the first time since the day at the bus station, I see a glimpse of the broken woman she works to keep hidden away from me.
“That’s what she wanted, she wanted you to believe that I was like her. That I would betray you, try to hurt you.” Tears stream down her face but she doesn’t move to wipe them away as she continues. “I wouldn’t, Callum. I don’t want to do anything to hurt you. Not ever.” Hiccupping, she lets out a sigh.
Rubbing my thumbs underneath her eyes, I wipe away the moisture on her face.
“How can you be this beautiful even when you’re crying?” I whisper, bringing her face closer, pressing her lips against mine. Running my tongue along the seam of her mouth, she opens for me.
Groaning against her mouth, I lean back and whisper, “Take your hair down.”
Letting one of her hands go from the side of my neck, she untwists the hair tie, letting her soft hair fall down her back in waves. Wrapping my fingers in her hair, I draw her mouth against mine again and take her in another life altering kiss.
Her lips against mine is like a direct line to my cock. Need pulsating through me, I slide one of my hands down her shoulder over her arm to her hip and press her against me. Feeling how much my body needs her, Ellie begins to grind her hips against me. Her heat pressed against mine, creating a friction in my pants, has me fighting against my own arousal.
Keeping my forehead pressed against hers, I lean my mouth away from hers as I let out a moan. “Fuck, baby, you feel so good pressed against me.”
This woman is a mixture of so many things. She is soft spoken, kind, and caring. Yet other times she is fiercely passionate, determined, and so stubborn. She is so many things I never knew I wanted yet, everything I’ve always needed. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without her in it.
Taking my right hand, I frame it along the side of her face, pressing it against my palm. The light from the lamp on the end table casts a muted glow against the softness of her face. I search her gaze for any hesitation but there is none there. Instead, what I find is desire, pure and raw.
“Ellie, I have to tell you it’s taking everything in me not to take you right here.”
Before I know it, she leans back and all contact is gone. Standing before me, Ellie slides the soft cotton of her lounge pants down her slender legs until they are pooling at her feet. Crossing her arms over her chest, she grabs the hem of her shirt and whips it over her head adding her shirt to the pile. Standing in front of me, she looks like an angel in her bra and panties. Her long hair falls down her back with pieces framing her face, laying over the swell of her breasts.
“Fuuuuuck!” I groan.
“I want you to touch me,” she commands.
Holding my hand out to her, Ellie resumes her position on my lap. Wrapping my arms around her lower back, I pull her until she is flush against my chest and her knees are pressed against my hip.
“Come here, baby,” I say, using my right hand to frame her face, bringing her mouth back to mine.
As soon as our lips connect, it’s like a match was lit in my bloodstream and everything is heading south to my cock. Letting out a deep moan, I hold her mouth to me, continuing the assault. Her tongue continues to duel with mine, giving to me as much as I give it back to her.
Ellie wraps her arms around my neck, pressing herself to me. Her body molded to mine, not knowing where I end and she begins. Looking for relief, she continues to grind herself against me, rubbing her pussy back and forth over my aching cock.
“Ellie, sweetheart, you can’t do that or this is over before we’ve even had a chance to get started,” I say, mumbling on a groan.
“Callum, I need you to touch me,” she says, begging as I run my finger over the soft swell of her breast down her stomach. Her body trembles beneath my touch.
“You want me to rub this sweet pussy for you?” I groan. I’m so fucking hard right now that my cock is two seconds away from busting through my pants.
Jesus fuck!
“Yes! Yes, please!” she says, continuing to rub her pussy against me.
“Lean back, baby,” I command, sliding my hand down her stomach, moving her underwear to the side. When my finger finds its way home in her wet heat, I let out a strangled growl.
“Holy shit, baby, you’re so fucking wet. Is this for me?” I ask, needing to hear her words.
“Yessss!” she says as I slowly slide my finger up, between her folds rubbing her clit. “Oh, God, don’t stop,” she moans.
“I couldn’t stop even if I tried. I’m going to give this sweet pussy exactly what it wants.” I groan, stroking her clit back and forth, moving lower entering one finger into her tight heat. Pulling back out, I add a second.
Dear God, what kind of sweet hell have I got myself into?
I continue to fuck her with my fingers while she rides my hand, rubbing her clit against my palm. It doesn’t take long until I feel her body tense up, and I know she is close. Leaning in, I continue to fuck her with my fingers as I kiss down her jaw to my favorite place where the base of her neck meets her shoulder.
Kissing back up her neck, I whisper in her ear. “You look so sexy like this, Ellie. Using my hand to find your pleasure. Come all over my hand, baby. I want to taste you.”
Just like that, she throws her head back and continues to grind against my hand, riding out her orgasm, taking every ounce of pleasure. The confidence she exudes is so fucking hot, it has me nearly turning her over and taking her on this couch.
Taking my hand out of her underwear, I move them back in place and immediately draw my fingers into my mouth to taste her sweet juices. She keeps her eyes fixed on mine as I do, letting out a moan. Pulling her closer, her lips meet with mine.
Leaning back, I whisper, “Baby, you taste better than anything I have ever dreamed of.”
With my legs draped across Callum’s lap, I rest my head on his shoulder as I struggle to regain my breath. Lost in thought, my mind replays every moment with Callum as I run my index finger across the collar of his shirt.
Just thinking about what Callum has come to mean to me over the past few weeks fills my heart. The emotions have consumed me. I don’t know if there are even words to express it. It’s something I’ve never experienced before, a feeling so deep in my soul.
He broke
down all the walls I had around my heart without me even noticing.
“Why so quiet, sweetheart?” Callum questions, turning his head toward mine, rubbing his lips against my forehead.
“I’m just thinking.”
“About what?” he asks. The words come out mumbled with his mouth still pressed against my temple.
“About you, about life, how I ended up here,” I say, absorbing the warm feeling flowing through me from his closeness.
Leaning away from me, Callum moves his hand beneath my chin and lifts my eyes to meet his, searching. I can see the questions in his gaze as he looks for the answers hidden on mine. I know he is concerned, especially when he looks down at my hand to see it wrapped around my necklace.
I’m not sure if I’m ready to share everything about my past with him yet. Callum has shared his secrets and trusted me with his heart. He deserves to hear mine, to know about the scars that I keep buried deep.
My heart rate picks up at the thought of how he will feel about me when I’m exposed to him. It’s more than just skin deep.
Could he ever love the person I am beneath it all?
“Whatever it is, you’re nervous or you wouldn’t be holding your necklace,” he whispers, wrapping his hand around mine. Silently asking me to open up to him, to trust him.
It’s the strength I need to tell him about my past.
“My dad was the greatest man I’ve ever known. He was brave, honorable, and kind. He would’ve really liked you. He taught me never to judge a book by its cover, rather to open the book and read it page by page. He believed you got to know people by what’s written in their heart,” I say, feeling his presence wrapped around me, just thinking about his memory.
“Growing up, we had an unspoken agreement every Sunday he would make us pancakes. He liked to make mine in the shape of Mickey Mouse topped with chocolate chips.” I can’t help the smile taking over my face. “We would dance around the kitchen with pancake batter splattered all over us, singing the lyrics to ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ as they cooked away.”
Remembering how happy my father was standing in the kitchen, the way his broad smile would light up the room.
“I knew something was wrong when I woke up that Sunday morning to find my dad wasn’t there. Waking up, I ran into my parents’ bedroom, only to find the blankets untouched.” My mind drifts back to the soft cries I heard in the living room as my feet quietly padded down the hallway toward the living room. “I searched all over for him only to find my mom laying on the couch, curled in a ball, crying.
“I tried talking to her, but the second the words escaped my lips, her shrill wails shook her entire body. The pain in her cry terrified me, as I took off running towards the hallway. With my body pressed against the wall, I didn’t know what to do, so I just stood there and watched her as tears streamed down my face.”
I could still hear the harsh sobs overtake her body, the way her hands wrapped around her stomach as if she was trying to hold herself together but could barely contain it.
“A little while later, my Grams showed up and took me to the park. Looking back on it, I could see the grief written all over her face. I remember wanting to fight her on it, to beg her to stay with me while we waited for my dad to get home. She put on a brave face though, just like my dad would’ve.”
I can feel the tears threatening to spill down my face as I quickly brush my finger under my eye. I know if I wasn’t wrapped in Callum’s arms, I wouldn’t be able to get through this. Taking a deep breath, I force the words out as I continue. They don’t even sound like me as I replay the day I found out my father had died.
They sound cold and detached.
“Everything changed after my father’s death. I hardly even recognized the person my mother had become. She went from being someone who was nurturing and loving to someone who was angry and acted like I wasn’t even there. She blamed me for what happened to my father. She would get so drunk sometimes, she couldn’t even walk. She would try to crawl to her bedroom, only to pass out in the middle of the hallway. It got to the point where I practically lived in my bedroom just to escape her.
“As time went on, I started to forget who she was before my father died. In a way, I felt like the person she was before had died right along with him. When she wasn’t drowning in vodka, she had a new boyfriend coming in and out of the house. They weren’t all that bad. Honestly, most of them just ignored me and left me alone, which was fine because the older I got, the more I understood being left alone was a blessing.”
I can feel the words getting stuck in my throat as Callum’s entire body tenses, sensing where this conversation is going. I can’t hold it back anymore. The tears stream down my face, the emotions speaking all the words I can’t bring myself to say.
“I don’t know how it was possible, but her drinking only got worse when Royal started to come around. There were times they would leave me home by myself until late at night, only to come home stumbling through the door. With my mom passed out, it gave him the opportunity to be alone with me.”
Callum moves to wrap his hands around the side of my face, pushing my hair back with it as he tips my head up to look at him. I wasn’t expecting to find what I see staring back at me as more tears fill my eyes, threatening to fall from his eyes.
“Please tell me you are not about to say what I think you’re going to. Please, Ellie.” The words coming out of his mouth sound like a plea, my heart breaking with his.
“It first started out as little things, like touching me over the top of my clothes or making me sit on his lap. When he moved in though, it changed,” I whisper, nearly choking on the words. “There was one night my mom had passed out early into the evening. They had been drinking heavily for most of the day. I was young, around twelve or so, when he played a trick on me mixing my glass of water with his vodka. I had never drank alcohol so I didn’t know what to expect. It must not have taken much though. I remember waking up in the middle of the night feeling sick to my stomach, only to find him there.
“I don’t remember anything, I don’t know what happened. I just know that next morning when I woke up my underwear had been on inside out. I know he had touched me and I feel disgusting when I even think about it.
“After that night, I had a hard time sleeping. I would spend all night laying in my bed, watching the door as if I was waiting for him to walk through the door.”
My breath is coming out in pants so strong, struggling to break through the rise and fall of my chest. Callum leans forward with his forehead against mine, as I feel his tears fall, mixing with mine.
I thought telling Callum had the possibility to break me, but what I didn’t think of was how much this would break him in the process.
“I’m sorry,” I say, the weight of these words settling on my chest. “I know what you must be thinking and I’m sorry.”
Callum quickly pulls back, his eyes wide and wild. “You have nothing to be sorry for, do you hear me? Nothing!” The words come out of his mouth so quick, but firm. “I swear to God, Ellie. I will kill the motherfucker, I’ll kill him.” The words roll off his lips. Leaning back with his head against the couch cushion, Callum rubs his hands over his face wiping away his tears.
“He… he’s in prison,” I say, hoping to reassure him.
Moving to slide off his lap, Callum wraps his hand around my legs draped across his lap, halting me from moving. “Please don’t move, I need to feel you next to me. I can’t help but picture, I can’t help-” he says, cutting himself off as he runs his hand back over his face, trying to stay calm.
“I feel like I’m picturing what happened to you, him hurting you and it’s making me go out of my mind right now. I just need to feel you with me right now. I need to know you’re here in my arms, that you’re safe.”
Callum is always so strong, especially for me, but I can’t help but feel like he’s getting lost in his head.
Moving my legs, I resume my position with my
knees on either side of his hips. I need and want more than anything to feel him closer to me. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I lay my head against his shoulder, feathering kisses down his neck.
“Callum, I’m here. I know you’ll always keep me safe,” I whisper. “It’s because of you that my heart is starting to feel whole once again.”
“I wish I didn’t have to leave so soon,” he groans, wrapping his arms around me, holding me closer to him. “It’s only four days, but I know it’s going to feel like forever.”
I haven’t felt as close to someone as I do to Callum in a very long time. When I came to Arbor Creek, I was broken and lost. I can’t help but feel like I’ve found all I had been looking for right here in Callum’s arms and in his heart.
“Are you fucking shitting me?” I grunt, leaning over the bed of the pick-up truck. Reading through the order of materials, I scan the invoice for the information I’m looking for but come up empty.
“Elliott, can you come here?” I shout over the sound of the guys unloading the materials while one of the trucks beep as it backs up. “I need you to get on the phone with Randy and find out how this could’ve gotten messed up. The order is correct so we need to figure out why we are missing half of the materials.”
The stress of the day is weighing down on my shoulders as the sunshine hanging overhead beats down on me. We have been working on this job, remodeling one of our hospitals up north. It’s a huge job for Whitt’s. The time it would take to get an order in for the missing materials would likely push the plan back a week, extending my time.
“Sure thing, boss,” Elliott says as I hand the invoice over to him.
Where I Found You (Heart's Compass Book 1) Page 15