Frozen in place, I let him kiss me until my senses came back. When I regained my equilibrium, I jerked my head away and pushed him as hard as I could until he stumbled back a step.
He was panting as he reached up to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand. “If you only knew.” He shook his head and took a step closer. “I’ve tried to walk away, but I can’t. I’ve tried so hard to let you go, but you’re in every minute of every one of my days.”
My chest was heaving just as hard as his as my mind spun around and around, trying to catch up to what my heart already knew.
Wyatt was mine.
I took a shaky step toward him as his eyes widened slightly. With a deep breath, I closed the distance between us, wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and dragged his lips to mine.
Chapter 26
Callie
This kiss was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. It was crude and hurried, but so delicious my toes curled into the rug beneath them.
I’d caught Wyatt off guard by kissing him, but he more than made up for it when he got his bearings. His mouth moved against mine, kissing, and licking, and sucking, and nibbling my lips as I just tried to keep up with him. His hands rested on my biceps, fingers digging into my skin as he pulled me closer.
Finally, he pulled his lips from mine, only to drag them along my jawline and down my neck. I kept my eyes squeezed closed as his warm breath blew along my collarbone, followed by his soft lips.
“Callie,” he said, voice raspy and deep. “Please. Let me touch you.” His mouth skimmed up the other side of my neck and settled beneath my ear. “I’m going to lose my fucking mind if I don’t touch you,” he breathed against my skin.
I dug my fingers into his muscled back. “Yes,” I croaked. “Touch me.”
He moaned softly before his hands slid from my biceps to my ribcage. They skated up my chest until he had both of my breasts in his large palms. His rough thumbs scraped across my sensitive nipples, making me gasp and throw my head back.
His lips found mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck to ensure he didn’t leave again for a while. I explored his mouth while his hands explored my body. They traced my hard nipples before pinching them and pulling gently. The tiny amount of pain mixed with the pleasure was enough to have me writhing in his arms.
His big hands circled my body and slid down my back, where he grasped my butt and squeezed. He groaned loudly into my mouth before pulling away to kiss my face again.
“Do you know how many times I’ve dreamed about this ass?” His voice was all grit. I shook my head quickly and he chuckled, his breath tickling my ear. “Fuck, Callie. You have no idea what you do to me.”
The feeling was completely mutual.
His fingers dug into my backside almost painfully before he lifted me and set me down on the cold marble counter. I shivered in his arms as he traced his fingers down my legs, spreading them wide open for him. He stepped closer, his coarse jeans scratching the sensitive skin of my inner thighs.
With his hands still on my legs, Wyatt dropped to his knees and looked up at me. Our eyes met and that thing that had always been between us roared to life. I watched as his eyes widened in wonder and a slow smile spread across his face.
“I wanna taste you,”
My heart froze in my chest before taking off at twice the speed. I gripped the edge of the counter with my clammy hands as my head spun with lust.
“Please,” he rasped. “Say yes.”
“Yes,” I whispered.
He closed his eyes for a moment, leaning closer to my center and breathing deeply. When his eyes opened again, there was a hunger in them I’d never seen before. It hollowed out my stomach and sent my heart into my throat.
His calloused hands glided up my legs, spreading them farther apart as he went. I watched him watch me, his lids heavy with arousal. When his lips met my inner thigh, my head fell back again. His mouth skimmed up one side and down another as I ached for the release I knew he could give me.
He paused for a long time as I sat there, panting and clutching the counter beneath me. Finally, his mouth met my heated center and an explosion of sensations rocked my body. I gasped loudly, which only seemed to spur him on. He pressed his tongue harder against me, licking and sucking as I fought to stay upright.
I dug my fingers into his short, prickly hair, scratching his scalp while he sucked my clit into his mouth. He released it with a pop and grinned up at me. “You liked that?”
I nodded my head fast. “Yes,” I said, my voice cracking and barely audible.
He smiled wider before pressing his mouth against me again and pulling my clit back between his lips. I pushed harder against him, so close to release I could taste it. Just as I felt my body climbing that arduous hill, my climax in sight, he pulled away from me and stood up.
Just as I opened my mouth to complain, he replaced his mouth with his fingers, spreading me wide before plunging inside. My whole body jolted with the bolt of electricity that shot through my veins. Wyatt’s other hand reached around to pull me closer to him as his lips dipped to my nipple.
“You taste better than I imagined,” he breathed against my pebbled flesh.
“Wyatt,” I moaned as he chased me back up that hill.
“Yes, love.”
“Please. I need you.”
“Okay,” he whispered as he kissed my nipples. “Okay.”
He pulled his arm from around my waist and I heard his zipper sliding down its track, but it was so hard to focus on that when his fingers were still pumping in and out of me and his teeth were raking across my breasts.
“Condom,” I gasped as he pulled my nipple into his mouth and bit down hard.
The sound of a foil wrapper being ripped open just barely made it through the haze in my brain. Moments later, Wyatt had both hands wrapped around my hips. He grasped my chin and tipped my face toward his. Our eyes met again, and I felt the rightness all the way to my bones.
“You ready?” he asked softly.
I had this feeling, deep in the pit of my stomach, that what we were about to do would change everything. Not just the dynamic of our relationship, but also him and me. On the deepest level of my understanding, I knew nothing would ever be the same once I agreed to this, but there was no way I could turn back now.
“Yes,” I whispered.
His fingers dug into me as he surged forward, filling and stretching me in a way I’d never felt before. He pushed and pushed as my head fell to his chest. My shoulders heaved as he connected us in the most primitive way. When his hips finally met mine, a violent shudder ran through my whole body, squeezing and bearing down where we were connected.
“Callie,” he groaned.
And then everything changed.
Like a switched had been flipped or a rubber band finally pulled too tight, the small amount of control we’d been clinging to evaporated. My nails dug deep into Wyatt’s neck as he rapidly thrust into me. Gone were the almost tender moments we shared.
This was primal.
This was unfiltered.
This was raw.
His hips slammed into mine in an almost punishing pattern that I did my best to meet. When it seemed to not be enough for him, he lifted me into his arms and slammed my back against the door. I wrapped my legs around him and held on as he picked up the pace, driving me higher than I thought possible.
Just when I didn’t think I’d be able to take any more, just when the pleasure was too intense, I shattered around him, gasping and calling his name. He somehow moved even faster and harder inside of me as I rode out my own climax.
Finally, with one last hard thrust, Wyatt pulled me tight to his toned body and moaned against my skin, my name falling from his lips like a prayer.
We stayed like that for a while, our bodies connected, our chests heaving as we fought to catch our breath. I’d never felt this kind of high before. This floating feeling. This weightlessness. It made me dizzy with the possibilit
ies.
It lowered my inhibitions so far, words spilled from my lips before I could stop them.
“Wyatt, I…”
Love you.
Just as those last two words perched on the edge of my tongue, waiting to be breathed into existence, my brain fired back up and brought me to my senses.
This was the man who’d given me the runaround from the beginning of our relationship.
This was the man who couldn’t figure out what it was he really wanted.
This was the man who’d sent me away, breaking something inside of me I didn’t think could be fixed.
And I’d just given him something I couldn’t take back.
My insides shriveled up as the last tendrils of the high I’d been on evaporated, leaving nothing but coldness behind.
I shouldn’t be here.
I shouldn’t have opened up like this.
I shouldn’t have let myself be so vulnerable.
Wyatt was a flight risk at best. I could only imagine the kind of reaction he was going to have when he finally realized what we’d done.
Or maybe he did know.
Maybe this wouldn’t send him into a tailspin because he’d been prepared for this.
Maybe he was perfectly happy sharing his body with me as long as he got to keep his independence safe and his heart out of reach.
I was an idiot.
I unwrapped my legs from around his hips and slid to the cold tiled floor beneath me. I pushed against his chest until he stepped back and gave me the room I needed to breathe.
“This was a mistake,” I said, my voice shaking with the tears I was just barely holding back.
“Wait, what?”
I shook my head, eyes glued to my bare feet. “I’ve gotta go.”
He tried grabbing my hand as I turned to leave, but I snatched it back. I didn’t know what story was written in his light brown eyes at that moment, and I didn’t wait around to find out. I needed to leave. To get somewhere safe where I could release the anguish threatening to burst from my seams.
I didn’t care who might be around to see when I wrenched the door open and took off running. Wyatt called for me, but I ignored him as I sprinted up the stairs to the third floor. I made it to my bedroom with only seconds to spare before the tears I’d kept bottled inside for weeks poured out of my eyes and down my face.
I wrapped my arms around myself, and when I couldn’t stand anymore, I fell to my knees on the plush carpet. The warm tears dripped down my cheeks and off my face as I worked to get myself under control. But every time I thought I’d gotten past the worst of it, another thought would enter my head and send me right back to where I’d started.
And I couldn’t blame anyone but myself.
Wyatt hadn’t done anything I hadn’t asked for. Hadn’t pushed any boundary I hadn’t moved aside for him. I just hadn’t imagined giving myself to him would hurt this bad.
I’d only been with a few men in my life, and each one of them had earned my complete trust until today. Until Wyatt.
He’d jerked me around so much in the past few months, I didn’t know which way was up anymore, and I’d still slept with him. Still let him have me in the most intimate way. I’d never felt so stupid in my entire life.
When I finally cried all I could cry, I picked myself up off the floor and stumbled into the bathroom. I purposely avoided the mirror and stepped right into my shower, turning the water to the hottest setting in the hopes it could burn away all the mistakes I’d made.
The problem was, I didn’t think the water could ever run hot enough to do that.
Chapter 27
Wyatt
Me: Hey, can we talk?
Me: I’m heading to Raleigh for a week. I’d like to talk to you before I go.
Me: Callie, please.
Me: Can you at least let me know you’re okay?
Me: I missed you while I was gone. Even though you’ve been dodging me for two weeks, at least when I was in Asheville, I knew you were close. Being so far away made it harder somehow.
Me: We figured out the killer must be an enforcer so I’m on guard duty for the foreseeable future. I’ll be going to Raleigh every week, but I’ll be back on the weekends. I’d like to talk to you when I get back.
Me: You might not have anything to say to me, but I’ve got a lot to say to you and I’d rather do it face to face.
Me: I’m on my way back from Raleigh. And I’m done with the silent treatment. Don’t you think three weeks is long enough to punish me? Whether you like it or not, we’re talking this weekend.
I shoved my phone in my jeans pocket and loaded the rest of our bags into my Jeep. Thankfully, Elizabeth decided to leave work early so we got to get on the road to Asheville sooner than usual. Which was perfect. I didn’t know how much longer I could take this silence between Callie and me.
As I drove the long miles toward the mountains, my mind wandered to Callie as it usually did. I missed her so much, it physically hurt. Like someone had taken a life-sized hole punch and used it to carve out a spot in the middle of my chest. Except that someone was Callie and it wasn’t a round hole, it was a Callie-shaped crater.
“Do you think Charlie’s better yet?” Elizabeth asked.
Honestly, I’d almost forgotten she was in the passenger seat beside me.
She’d been having a rough time of it lately too. On top of being bitten and worrying about making it through her first moon, she also had this serial killer stalking women in the woods who looked like her and murdering them. Then, to pile onto that, someone in the lodge poisoned her cat, Charlie, last week. It was clear she wasn’t safe anywhere right now.
When we’d figured out the killer had to be an enforcer, Abraham assigned me to guard Elizabeth around the clock. Since Wes and I joined the pack well after the murders started, it was obvious we couldn’t be responsible and that was the only reason he trusted me to take care of her.
The thought that one of our enforcers was the serial killer made my stomach turn, but it made sense. Who else would know these woods well enough? Who else would be able to avoid the patrols we had running constantly? It had to be someone with insider information.
I was honored the alpha trusted me with Elizabeth’s safety, but it wasn’t great timing for me.
I couldn’t make Callie talk to me from hundreds of miles away, even though I’d been trying my damnedest. Which made for a frustrating week and a lot of sleepless nights.
“You know the alpha’s kept tabs on him. He’d tell you if something was wrong.”
She turned in her seat and pursed her lips. “Would he though?”
I kept my mouth closed because I didn’t think she’d like my answer. Abraham would do anything to protect her, even if that meant lying. So, with nothing good to say, I kept quiet and let the miles continue to pass us by.
When we finally reached the lodge, we found the alpha and all his sisters outside waiting for us. My heart picked up its pace as my eyes landed on Callie. She was in her typical tight jeans and baggy flannel, but to me, she’d never looked sexier.
Even now, my hands remembered exactly how her curves felt beneath them. My mouth remembered the way she tasted. Her whole body was imprinted on mine and I knew nothing could change that.
Before I’d had a chance to pull the Jeep to a stop, Elizabeth jumped out and ran toward Abraham. I cracked a smile at them and shook my head as I turned the engine off and climbed out myself.
My first instinct had been to hop out and run to Callie too, but I’d refrained. I knew I wouldn’t get the warm welcome Elizabeth was getting. She hadn’t answered any of my texts in weeks and hadn’t been in the lodge any time I’d been able to come by and check. I’d done just about everything I could think of to get her to talk to me and none of it was working.
I grabbed our bags from my trunk and headed toward the lodge. When I got around the front of the Jeep, I found the sisters surrounding Elizabeth, but I only had eyes for one in particular.
&n
bsp; Callie had her arms wrapped around Elizabeth as I walked up to them. Her eyes met mine and widened for a moment before she looked away and took a step back.
Elizabeth turned to me and frowned. “Wyatt, you don’t have to do that. I can get them.”
I shook my head. “I got it.”
I nodded hello to Abraham and the other sisters before my gaze locked on Callie. I came to a stop just a few feet away from her and took a minute to rake my eyes down her length. “Callista,” I said. Dozens more words flooded my mouth, but I held them back. Now wasn’t the time or place for any of them.
With her eyes still on the ground, she said, “Hello, Wyatt.”
Only two words.
Just four syllables, but it was more than I’d gotten from her in almost a month and it was enough to send my heart racing again. Before anyone could notice, I nodded one more time and took off for the lodge.
I heard Elizabeth comment on the strangeness of our encounter, and my ears strained to hear a reply from Callie, but none came. With a shake of my head, I carried Elizabeth’s bags up to their room before heading toward my house to greet Mom and Wes.
I’d only be home for a couple days before having to go back out to Raleigh with Elizabeth, so I had to make my time count. I needed to find a way to get Callie to talk to me before I left again, or I’d be stuck spending another week hundreds of miles away with zero communication from her.
Me: It was nice seeing you today. Are you free sometime this weekend? We could get lunch somewhere.
I waited hours, and when no response came, I wrote her one more text before I went to sleep.
Me: You can’t avoid me forever. You know we need to talk.
Right before I hit send, I added one more sentence, knowing it made me vulnerable, but also knowing it might be the only way to get through to her.
I miss you.
***
I looked down at my phone for the dozenth time in the last thirty minutes and frowned at the empty inbox. I’d been waiting all day to hear back from Callie, but so far, I’d had nothing but silence from her.
Chasing Callie (Southern Werewolf Sisters Book 1) Page 22