by JB Salsbury
“You sound tired.” I kiss the top of her head.
“I am. I knew Jonah was counting on me, so I cleaned as fast as I could.”
“That’s what you were doing? Cleaning one of Roy’s houses?”
“Mm-hm.”
There’s no shame in hard work, but that dickhead knows Honor can cook. He knows she’s smart and beautiful and could do a million other things, but he gets off on keeping her down. He loves to squander her potential, and she doesn’t believe in herself enough to fight for more.
I ready myself for a speech about how badly she needs a different job, about how she deserves to work for someone who respects her talents and treats her well, but I don’t think any of that will make her feel better.
“So, uh . . .” I nuzzle her hair. “Do you have any idea why Jonah wants you to help with training?”
She chuckles into my chest, and the combination of the sound and the vibration against my pec sends a rush of blood between my legs. “I have an idea, yeah.”
“You’re not going to fill me in, are you?”
She tilts her head back and smiles. “Nope.” She kisses me and backs off, shooing me away with a flick of her wrist. “Go on. I’ll be there in a few. There’s something I need to do first.”
What in the hell is she up to?
~*~
Honor
I should’ve put a flannel over my shirt before I left the house.
Caleb’s garage is no more than fifty yards from my front door, and yet it feels like miles. Even speed walking! I cross my arms over my chest and jog as quickly as I can without it hurting my boobs.
Jonah said he needed my help.
He said it was imperative to Caleb’s training.
Then he asked me to show up at the garage wearing something Caleb would find . . . distracting.
I knew immediately what I had to do. Although Roy screwed up most of my day, I won’t let Caleb down. I’m also stupidly giddy about how he’ll respond when he sees me.
I breathe a sigh of relief when the soles of my shoes hit the paved driveway that leads to the garage. With the tree cover, I feel comfortable enough to drop my arms.
The rough murmuring of male voices filters out from behind the garage walls, so I take a deep breath and knock. Jonah is the one who answers, and he gives me a polite once-over then smiles enough to flash those beard-dimples. “Not what I expected, but it works.”
I look down, tug at the hem of my tee, and smile. “It’ll work. Trust me.”
He steps aside for me to pass, and as soon as I’m in, I’m knocked back by the thick drench of humid air and masculine sweat. Not the super-stinky kind, but the spicy-mixed-with-wet-bodies kind. “Gentlemen, our secret weapon has arrived.”
Blake and Caleb stand from a near squat position and turn toward me. I hear Blake bark with laughter but watch in awe as Caleb takes me in from my sneakers to my hair, which is pulled up in a messy bun, and then settles on my Tweety Bird shirt.
“Holy fuck.” He catches himself and covers his mouth, his teeth sinking into his fingers as his gaze devours me. His hair is wet, his eyelashes dark with sweat, and his eyes are like hot caramel as they drip over every curve on my body. He drops his hands, and his fists flex and release at his sides as if he’s trying to get the blood to circulate back through them. Our gazes meet hot and hungry with a promise of unimaginable pleasure to come, and my pulse speeds in response.
“You asked if I still had it.” My voice cracks under the weight of his stare.
He moves forward and rips the Velcro of his gloves. His gaze is predatory as he gets closer. My breath quickens. He licks his lips, and it’s as if we’re the only two people in the room. I want his hands on me, and he can’t get here soon enough.
His bare feet touch the mat. He’s so close, and I’d jump to meet him if he wasn’t keeping me in place with his glare. His jaw ticks. Hands reach and—he’s hit from the side and knocked to the ground.
“Oh my God!” I scurry backwards.
“See what happens when you lose focus!” Jonah flips Caleb to his back, straddling his hips. “Stay alert.” He hops off, and Caleb curses then pounds the mats with his fists before he gets to his feet.
“You’re a fucking genius,” Blake says to Jonah while laughing in the corner. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this.”
“Honor,” Jonah calls me from my stunned freeze. “Why don’t you have a look around? Check out the equipment. Feel free to mess around with things.”
“Oh, um . . .” I scan the room, wondering what half these things are. Punching bag . . . that might be fun. I’ve always wanted to learn how to hit. “Okay.”
“You.” Jonah slaps Caleb lightly on the side of his head. “Grab head protection and gloves. Let’s work on your stand-up.”
Caleb’s eyes dart to mine, and I swear he looks like he’d quit right now for the chance to get his hands on me, but with the strength of a seasoned fighter, he shakes that off and nods to Jonah.
I take my time moving around the room while Jonah barks orders at Blake and Caleb. The air grows heavier with each passing minute, the sounds of heavy breathing and the dull thud of punches filling the space. My Tweety Bird shirt that was already a size too small sticks to my skin. Because of its size, I wore a bra without padding and the moisture in the air combined with the blowing fans has my nipples pebbled to the point of pain. Poor Tweety Bird looks like he has horns poking from his bulbous yellow head.
“Fuck!”
I turn just in time to see Blake with Caleb in a headlock. “Pay attention, then!” He shoves Caleb away and they turn to face off again.
After making a few circles around the room, making sure to stay clear of the mats where they’re training, I exhaust my curiosity and search for a place to sit.
Jonah grabs a long, padded weight bench and then hits a lever that kicks one side up, turning it into more of a chair with a slanted back. “Honor, have a seat.”
The actual seat part is so small and at a slight angle. I suppose this is what they use to lift weights from a seated position. I sit on it, and the position of it forces my head back and my legs slightly apart. Not uncomfortable at all, it’s quite relaxing—
“Bam! Got you again, bitch!” Blake has Caleb on the ground.
He growls and bucks hard, tossing Blake off.
“Someone’s getting a little pissy.” Blake puts his fists up and circles Caleb around the mat.
It must be another half hour before Jonah finally calls it a day. My shoulders are sore from tension after watching Caleb and Blake go at it. They’re both flat on their backs, desperately trying to catch their breath.
“I hate you.” Caleb tosses his sweaty towel at Jonah, but it has zero steam to it and falls about five feet short of Jonah’s feet.
“Hey . . . it had to be done.” Jonah scoops up the towel and brings Caleb a water. “Great job today.”
Blake points at me. “She is our secret weapon.”
“Me?” I look around. “But all I did was sit here.”
“You in that shirt are the perfect distraction.” Blake’s gaze darts to my boobs, but they don’t linger or make me feel dirty. “Tweety Bird.” He shakes his head and mumbles, “Who knew.”
“No shit,” Jonah agrees under his breath.
Caleb raises his hand, his chest still rising and falling rapidly. “I fucking knew!”
They all burst out laughing, including me. “You guys must be starving. I’ll go throw something together for dinner while you rest and get cleaned up.”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Caleb hops up with more energy than I thought he’d be capable of. He moves toward me, grips my hips, presses me back to the wall, and dives for my mouth.
I open to him instantly. Even knowing we’re not alone, I’m helpless to deny him as he pins my hips with his. His clothes are soaking wet and seep through my own. His thumbs brush lightly against the bare skin of my belly, and I arch into his touch. I swallow his answering growl a
nd know, if one of us doesn’t get us out of here soon, Jonah and Blake are going to see more than they bargained for. The door slams, and then I hear the deep mumbled voices and laughter of Jonah and Blake outside. They left us alone. Thank goodness.
I reach to pull off Caleb’s shirt, and he breaks the kiss just long enough to pull it off. I do the same with mine only to have him stop me.
“No, keep it on.” He nips at the corners of my mouth. “I want you in nothing . . . nothing at all, but this shirt.”
“Here?” I’m panting breathlessly as he runs his nose up my neck to my ear.
“You . . . like this. There’s no way I’d make it to the bedroom.”
I pop the button of my shorts and toe off my shoes before sliding the denim down my legs along with my panties. Caleb does the same, stripping his shorts off but leaving on his jock-strap. I want to take time to linger on his body, to study the tattoo on his chest and memorize every dip and swell of his muscular form, but all too quickly he presses himself to me.
We kiss until we’re both dizzy and tumble to the mats. He pushes up to his knees between my legs and stares down at me. “You’re so fucking pretty.” He pushes one big hand up under my shirt, taking a fist-full of my breast. His hand is huge, but as a double-D, my flesh still pours out from between his fingers. “I’ll never get used to touching you like this.”
“I still can’t believe you want me.”
“I’ll always want you, Honor.” He pulls one hand out and drops to his elbow at my side; his forehead goes to my neck where he groans. “Fuck. I don’t have a condom.”
I’m about to say I’ll go grab one when his hand moves down my belly to between my legs and the words die in my throat.
“Watching you walk around this room, knowing if I took even a second to look at you my boys would throw me down, even still I couldn’t help it.” His fingers slide up and down in slow, deliberate passes. “I needed to look, baby. I fucking crave you.” He sinks one finger inside, making me gasp and arch my back. He dips his head to my breast, sucking on my nipple through my shirt. “I want to make you feel good.”
“You are, Caleb. Don’t stop.” I shift my fingers through his hair and pull his lips down to mine. The scent of his sweat, the salty flavor of his skin, and his thick fingers bending inside me have my mind spinning.
His movements become more frantic as I roll my hips to meet each thrust of his hand, wanting him to go deeper, loving the pleasure-pain of him stretching me as he whispers all the things he wants to do to me in my ear.
“Yes, more.”
He keeps on; his teeth rake along my breast, biting on my nipples so hard I cry out. I’m overwhelmed in sensations. I tense. Everything between my hips coils so tight it feels like it’ll snap.
“So fucking sexy. Yeah, ride my fingers, baby.” His voice is nothing but a throaty growl. “Ride ’em hard.”
“Caleb, I—” My words are cut off by his mouth as he slides his slick tongue between my lips.
The tension explodes. Stars burst behind my eyelids as I’m wracked with an orgasm that shakes my insides. My legs clamp down on his wrist, and my fingers dig into his back as the euphoria washes over me.
His fingers become as gentle as his lips as he kisses my jaw, coaxing me back down.
My heart pounds, and I release the death lock on his forearm. “That, uh . . . that was intense.”
“No shit.” He’s breathing heavily too as he slides his hand up my belly with quaking fingers. “I made a mess.”
I peer over at him through foggy vision. His cheeks are pink, and I peer down at the still very swollen bulge of his black jock-strap. “Did you . . .?”
He tucks away an embarrassed smile.
A wave of pride fills my chest. “It’s the shirt, huh?”
“It’s you in the shirt, yeah.” He reaches for his shorts and slips them on. “I finally got my hands on you in that, and I’m eighteen again.” He readjusts his junk. “In more ways than one.”
I push up to my elbows and look down at my naked body on the mats. “Is this sanitary?”
He laughs and squats at my feet, slipping my panties up to my calves and then my shorts, leaving me to do the rest. “I’ll wipe down the mats if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Probably a good idea.” I stand on wobbly legs and finish getting dressed while Caleb wipes down the mats. “How am I going to face Jonah and Blake after what we just did? They’re going to know when they see our faces.”
Caleb tosses the wipe and grabs my hand. “They won’t make it uncomfortable. I had to live through this shit when they found their women.”
Their women.
So, I’m . . . Caleb’s woman?
He opens the door, and the burst of fresh air and cooler sunset temps refreshes me. “As immature as they are, they do not fuck around when it comes to this.”
I watch him lock up the garage and palm the key. “This?”
“Yeah, babe. This. Us. The real deal.” He winks.
“How do you know we’re the real deal?” I’m grateful for the lack of sun as we trudge through the trees to the main house so he can’t see the doubt on my face.
“I know because it’s easy.” He says it like it’s no biggie. Like it’s the key to something profound.
Not like he just jammed a knife in my chest.
I stumble on a rock and he catches my weight, righting me to continue walking.
“With you, Honor, everything is easy.”
~*~
Caleb
I don’t know what happened, but after Honor and I made out like teenagers in the garage, things got weird between us.
Once we got back to the house, she insisted on making dinner. I did everything in my power to coax her into the shower with me, but she refused. When I came down from the shower, Jonah and Blake were in the kitchen, helping her, and before anyone was aware of my presence, I just watched.
She was still wearing that damn Tweety Bird shirt, and my boys were polite enough not to stare, even though I know it must’ve taken serious effort. They joked around with her but were respectful; they treated her like they treat each other’s wives.
She laid out a feast of grilled pork tenderloin and roasted vegetables. When I finally showed myself, things got awkward. It wasn’t overt, but in the way she avoided my eyes. I’d reach for her and she’d skirt away. Dinner conversation was non-existent, but I blamed myself and the boys for that. We were starving, fucking exhausted, and not good company.
I put away the last clean dish, and although we tried to keep Honor from helping, she insisted we all looked like we were about to fall over, so she pitched in.
“I’m going to go watch Dexter on my phone and pass out before the opening credits.” Jonah yawns while filling a water jug he takes to his room every night.
“I’ll do the same.” Blake rubs his eyes. “But the only thing I’ll be watching is the backs of my eyelids.”
“I could hit the hay too.” I watch Honor as she shifts uncomfortably; it seems as if she’s not sure if she wants to stay or go.
“Let’s start a little later tomorrow. Give your muscles a chance to heal. You have telephone interviews and a couple appearances you need to make this week.” Jonah hands me a shaker cup. “Don’t forget protein before bed.”
“I know.” I take the cup.
“Honor, as always, thank you for the meal.” Blake puts his hand out for a fist bump, and she returns it.
“Shit,” Jonah mumbles and tugs on a lock of her hair. “Think I gained ten pounds already.” He turns to me. “You did good today. Graham’s going to wish he picked a different profession after stepping into the cage with you, my man.” Jonah claps me on the back and Blake does the same.
“Thanks for your help, guys.”
They both wave at me over their heads as they make the turn to the stairs.
Once I’m sure we’re alone, I turn to Honor. “Talk to me.”
Her wide blue eyes come to mine. �
��About what?”
“About George Washington’s wig, what do you think? About what happened between the garage and the front door.”
She folds and unfolds and refolds the dishtowel in her hand. “Actually . . . he didn’t wear a wig.”
“What?”
“George Washington. He, um . . . he never wore a wig.”
“His hair was white, how was that not a wig?”
“His hair was actually red. He wore it back in like a low ponytail.”
“Are you shittin’ me?”
She shakes her head. “His teeth weren’t wooden either. They were made from hippo ivory and cows’ teeth.”
“Well, fuck . . . what the hell are they teaching kids in school—” I blink rapidly. “Don’t change the subject.”
“Caleb, look. I don’t know what I’m doing. I know I said I’m in and I feel in, but I’m confused. Everything is happening so fast, and I’m a girl who has been on her own for a long time. I have trust issues, and I don’t want to hold myself back from you, but I can’t be anything other than this.”
She’s working herself into a tizzy, so I grab her by the front of her shirt and pull her to my chest. “I like who you are. A lot.”
Her muscles relax against me.
“But I know things are moving fast and that’s my fault. I saw you again, and all the things I felt fourteen years ago came back. Then I spent some time with you, and I liked it a lot. I shouldn’t have jumped in with both feet, expecting you to jump in too.”
“I want to, but then you’ll say something, some small something that’ll make me question everything, and I drive myself crazy wondering if this is real, ya know?”
“It’s real, Honor. As real as it’s ever been for me.”
“I’m sorry.” She steps away. “I’m screwing all this up.”
“No, you’re not.” I cross my arms at my chest, giving her some space, even though I hate it. “Don’t shut me out though. If you’re concerned about something, talk to me about it.” I tilt my head to get her eyes. “I don’t mind reassuring you of how I feel.”
Her cheeks grow pink.
“Stay with me tonight?”
She looks at the front door as she considers my question. “I don’t know.” Her eyes come back to mine. “You’re tired. I should probably—”