Meant To Be (The Callahans Book 4)

by Monica Murphy

  “Good. I am too. Let’s grab a pizza.”

  “A pizza?” She wrinkles her nose. “Too many carbs.”

  “Trust me. You’ll need the carbs to keep up your strength. What I have planned tonight, we’ll be burning them off long after dinner.” My voice is full of promise.

  “You are so bad.” She exits the coffeeshop, pushing through the door and heading straight for my car. “What sort of plans do you have?”

  I unlock the doors and she slides in, a little windblown despite the brief seconds she was outside. I end the call and smile at her. “Naked plans.”

  She sets her phone into the cup holder in my center console, nestled right next to mine. “I love naked plans.”

  “Me too.” Leaning over, I kiss her, taking it deep right away. I’m not holding back tonight. I feel like I’ve been full of pent up energy since what happened between us Saturday, and I’m impatient with wanting her. Plus, I’m still pissed and frustrated over my brother’s relaxed attitude when he called.

  And when I’m pissed, I need to let off some steam. Getting aggressive on the field only helped a little bit. I need something more.

  “Where do you want to get pizza?” she murmurs against my lips. “I have to be home by ten-thirty.”

  “That sucks.”

  “Better than last night’s curfew,” she says as she pulls away and settles into the passenger seat. “She’s worried about ice on the roads.”

  “Your mom?”

  Ava nods.

  “Let’s get a pizza from Round Table,” I suggest.

  Ava’s already busy looking up the number on her phone. She really must be starving. “I’ll call it in.”

  “Maybe we should go grab it, eat it real quick, and then we’ll come back by here to get your car. You can follow me up,” I say.

  She frowns. “Follow you up where?”

  “I can’t tell you, remember? It’s a surprise.”

  “If you want to take me to that cabin again, I’m going to pass. It’s cold and drafty in there.” She mock shivers for emphasis.

  “There goes my surprise.” My girl is too damn smart. “And really, it’s not that bad. Besides, you should see my trunk. It’s full of blankets and pillows for us. And I can make a fire.” Reaching out, I lift her hair away from her neck, tracing the soft skin there.

  Ava leans into my hand, her eyes falling at half-mast as I continue touching her. “With what firewood?”

  “Jackson assured me there’s firewood inside the cabin. Plus some old newspapers to help light it.” I don’t remember seeing anything like that the last time I was there, but maybe this abandoned cabin has turned into the hookup place for Jackson and his friends.

  Which, honestly, is kind of gross, but I will take advantage of it when I have to, and tonight, I have to.

  More like I need to.

  “I don’t know,” she says, eyeing me warily. “Are you just using me for sex?”

  “Fuck yeah,” I tell her without hesitation, making her laugh. “You know it’s more than that, babe. Come on.”

  She studies me with a solemn expression, her eyes downright luminous thanks to the lights from the businesses I’m parked in front of casting across her gorgeous face. “Did you have a good day?”

  I shrug then look away from her so I can stare out the driver’s side window. Most of the time, I like it when she’s perceptive. Makes me feel like we’re completely attuned to each other.

  Other times, like now, I don’t want her to know what I’m hiding. What I’m thinking. How annoyed I still am at Ryan. I don’t want to burden her with my problems. Besides, the only one who has a problem with this is me. If I was normal, I would be fuckin’ excited to finally see my brother after all these years.

  Instead, I feel nothing but dread. Resentment. Worry over how this is all going to turn out. Cautious.

  Yeah. Cautious as fuck. I’m balls to the wall with everything else in my life, but not when it comes to my family.

  “I’ll tell you about my day over pizza,” I finally say to her with a quick nod. “Call it in. And make it an extra-large. I’m fucking dying of hunger.”

  Laughing, she leans over the center console, her phone still clutched in her hand. “I love you,” she murmurs before she kisses me.

  I savor the sweet sound of those words falling from her perfect lips far more than she’ll ever know.

  Twenty-Four

  Ava

  We go to Round Table and eat inside, instead of taking the pizza to go. Hardly anyone is in there anyway, and we both know a few of the people working tonight. One guy is someone who was on Eli’s football team last year, and he takes one look at me, swings his gaze back to Eli and starts hooting like some sort of demented owl.

  “Oooh, damn so it’s actually true? You’re going out with Ava Callahan?” he asks, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head.

  Eli leans over the counter, his voice lowering, his expression sincere. “I’m only using her for sex.”

  The guy keeps hooting and laughing, sending me wary glances. I glare at him but cozy up next to Eli. Go ahead. Let him say he’s only using me for sex. We know the truth. We love each other.

  Oh, and we’re using each other for sex.

  The pizza is delicious. Piping hot and cheesy, with crisp pepperoni and yummy olives and mushrooms. I’d wanted onions, but Eli was totally against it.

  “No onion breath when I kiss you,” he said when I was trying to order, and I went along with him.

  I suppose I can’t blame him.

  Once we’re done eating, Eli drives us back over to the Starbucks parking lot so I can get my car. I’m supposed to follow him to the cabin—he was a little disappointed I figured out his surprise, but he quickly got over it—and while I’m reluctant to go there, I guess I should take my opportunities when they arrive. As in, there’s nowhere else Eli and I can go to be completely alone tonight, so the cabin will have to do.

  As we get closer to the lake, the rain becomes heavier. To the point that my windshield wipers are working extra hard and it’s still hard for me to see. Plus it’s so dark out here. I live on the opposite side of the lake, where the majority of the homes are filled with people who live here year-round. The cabin and the old resort are on the more touristy side of the lake, where a bunch of other resorts and summer residences are located.

  By the time we finally make it to the cabin, it’s close to eight and the rain isn’t letting up. I run out of my car and go to Eli, who’s opened up his car’s trunk. He shoves a bunch of blankets in my arms. “Wait for me on the porch.”

  I do as he says, trying to avoid the puddles forming on the ground before I run up the porch steps and stand just beneath the narrow overhang. At least the rain isn’t falling on me any longer. I watch as Eli grabs a couple more blankets and two pillows, then shuts the trunk, pretty much jumping over all the puddles like a showoff and bounding up the porch steps, making the entire thing rattle with the force.

  “Hold on.” He’s got a key in his hand and he sticks it in the deadbolt above the handle, turns it and the door swings open with an eerie creak. “Ladies first.”

  I slowly walk inside, stumbling forward a little when Eli pushes himself in behind me and slams the door, turning the lock with a low click. It’s dark inside until Eli hits the light switch, illuminating the cabin in an almost sickly, yellow glow. The light fixture is so old, I swear I can hear it buzzing. I watch as Eli drops what he’s carrying on the old couch before he shrugs out of his soaked sweatshirt, leaving him standing there in a T-shirt and his damp jeans. He scrubs his hand over his head, sending raindrops scattering everywhere.

  “I’m going to start the fire so we can warm this place up,” he says, glancing around the room until he spots a bundle of firewood sitting near the fireplace, a stack of old newspapers right next to it.

  “Sounds good,” I say, as I shrug out of my hoodie as well, grabbing his off the floor and taking them both over to the small kitchen table. I
drape each sweatshirt over a chair so they can dry before reentering the living room, where Eli already has a fire started.

  “That was easy,” I tell him, impressed when he grabs an old fireplace poker sitting in a stand on the brick hearth and prods at the burning paper.

  “Of course, the paper will burn. The real trick is if I can get the wood to start up.” He pokes at it a few more times, resting on his haunches as he watches the flames rise. They cast an orangish glow on his face and I watch him, wondering how I got so lucky to get such a gorgeous boy to fall in love with me.

  Because he is. Gorgeous. Every time I see him, I swear he gets better looking, and I find myself falling onto the edge of the couch, just sitting there watching him as he keeps his eye on the fire.

  “I think we’re good,” he says, glancing over at me and doing a double take. “You okay? You look like you’re about to drool.”

  I’m tempted to grab the closest pillow and toss it at his smug face. “Can’t I look at you without you making a rude comment?”

  “No,” he says with a quick grin. “You’re the one who called me creepy when I was watching you.”

  “Fine.” I lift my chin. “I guess we’re even.”

  Shaking his head, he laughs. “Grab some of those blankets. Let’s lay them out on the floor. Hold on, I think there’s something we can use in the closet.”

  He leaps to his feet and heads for the hall closet, opening the door and uttering, “a ha” when he finds whatever it is he’s looking for. He returns to the living room with two sleeping bags under each arm.

  “We’ll lay these out on the floor first, to give us some cushion.”

  I help him undo and unzip the sleeping bags before we spread them both out on the floor right in front of the fireplace, making sure they overlap each other at least halfway. Then we grab the slightly damp blankets and lay them all out too. I toss the pillows right next to each other, then step back and admire our work.

  “It looks cozy,” I murmur, touched that he would want to do this for me.

  For us.

  Eli walks over to the wall and hits the light switch again, the room going dark save for the growing flames in the fireplace. He stops directly behind me, resting his hands on my shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze. “That was the plan.”

  Who knew the loud, brash, crude Eli Bennett could be romantic?

  “We have two hours,” I tell him, sucking in a breath when his arms slip around my waist, pulling me closer to him. “It’s around eight right now, and it’ll take me at least a half hour to get home, especially with the weather.”

  “Shh.” He pushes my hair away from my neck and presses his mouth right at the spot where my pulse beats. And it is now jumping, thanks to that first touch of his warm, damp lips. “Don’t worry about anything else,” he murmurs against my skin, making me tremble. “I’ve got you.”

  I go quiet, wanting only to concentrate on what Eli is doing to me. I can hear the crackle of the fire, the steady rhythm of the rain pounding on the roof. The glide of his fingers across my stomach when he slips his hand beneath my shirt. The sound of his lips on my skin when he kisses my neck once again. My knees go weak and I lean into him, closing my eyes when he rests both of his hands on my stomach, his fingers splayed, as if he wants to touch every little piece of me that he can.

  “You are so fucking beautiful,” he whispers, right before he gently sinks his teeth into my earlobe. A shiver steals over me and I suck in a breath when his tongue licks at the sensitive spot just behind my ear.

  He’s trying to drive me crazy. And it’s working.

  I concentrate on the sound of my breathing. It becomes more accelerated when his hands skim upwards, his fingers brushing against my bra, his palms coming up to cover my breasts. My bra is lace and thin. I wore it in hopes of Eli discovering it, and the low growl of approval that he makes when he strums his thumbs back and forth across my nipples fills me with satisfaction.

  He definitely likes it.

  His touch leaves me needy. I try to turn so I can face him, but he won’t let me. Instead, he continues to touch me, driving me out of my mind. I lean my head back on his shoulder, cracking my eyes open so I can watch his hands shift and move beneath my shirt. An impatient noise leaves him and within seconds, the shirt is gone, and I’m standing there in my jeans and shoes and black lace bra.

  “So pretty.” He cups my breasts once more, my nipples poking the fabric. “You wear this kind of stuff just for me?”

  I part my lips to speak, but no sound comes out, so I nod furiously instead.

  “I definitely like it, but let’s take it off.” He reaches behind me, and with a flick of his fingers, the snap comes free, and he slowly tugs the bra off, the backs of his knuckles rubbing my nipples. No doubt on purpose.

  He’s a tease. He knows how to drive me out of my mind with lust. I watch his big hands touch me. His long fingers drift across my skin. A whimper leaves me when he presses his damp mouth to the side of my neck, his hands still moving. Wandering.

  “I want to make this last,” he whispers. “But I don’t know if I can.”

  I move against him, restless with need. “Take your shirt off. I want to feel you.”

  He pulls away from me and shrugs out of his shirt before he returns to his position, his hot, hard chest pressing against me. Reaching up, I wind my arms around the back of his neck, my fingers playing with the soft hair at his nape as I slowly arch my back. A choked sound comes from the back of his throat and I know he’s watching me. He likes what he sees. I already understand what he enjoys. What arouses him. He wants me to touch him. He wants me to put on a show.

  I lower my arms and move my hands so they’re directly behind me, my fingers brushing over the snap of his jeans. I undo it. Lower the zipper, slip my fingers between the spread denim and touch the front of his boxer briefs. I’m sure they’ve got a wild print on them, and I can’t wait to see them.

  But right now, I want to feel him.

  “Jesus,” he whispers when I close my fingers around his erection. His hold on me loosens and when I realize it, I take advantage, turning so I can face him. I curl my hands around the waistband of his jeans and start yanking them down, smiling up at him when I see the flames printed on his boxers.

  “What are you doing?” he asks, though he must know what I’m doing. It’s pretty damn obvious.

  “Take off your jeans,” I tell him, and he does what I ask, kicking off his shoes and his jeans, so that he’s standing in front of me in those flame boxer briefs and nothing else.

  “This was supposed to be all about you,” he starts and I shake my head, sneaking my fingers beneath his boxers, encountering velvety hot, hard flesh. I keep my gaze trained on his face, savoring the pure pleasure taking over his features. “Oh fuck, Ava. What are you doing to me?”

  Laughing, I withdraw my fingers from his boxers and drop to my knees in front of him, raking my nails down the front of his thick thighs. He’s got the best thighs. They bulge with muscle, and I can’t help myself when I lean in and press my mouth to his warm, firm flesh, everything inside of me going liquid when I think of those times I pretty much got off while rubbing myself on his thigh.

  “Ava.” His voice is stern. His fingers tangle in my hair, yanking a little, and I glance up to find him scowling at me. “Are you trying to make me come in my shorts?”

  I burst out laughing. “No.”

  “Well, you’re about to. It’s not every night I’ve got a blonde princess on her knees in front of me, her tits shining like gold thanks to the firelight and her mouth on my fucking leg,” he says, his voice tight. Like it takes everything out of him to say that.

  “That wasn’t my plan,” I tell him with a smug smile, running my fingers lightly along his length. It jerks beneath my touch. “Actually, I wanted you to come in my mouth.”

  His mouth pops open, and his eyes go dark. “Fuck me, woman. Let’s make it happen.”

  Twenty-Five


  Eli

  Thank God I didn’t forget condoms.

  Or those blankets.

  The pillows came in handy too.

  Like when Ava gave me that fucking unbelievable blow job earlier. My beautiful girl on her knees in front of me, naked, save for her skimpy panties and her lips wrapped tight around my dick, her eyes never really leaving mine the entire time. She had her knees on top of that pillow, and I bet that made everything a lot more comfortable. And when she started to lick and suck my cock like I was her favorite ice cream treat? Fuck it, I shot off like an amateur, and she sucked me dry like a pro.

  Or when I had her stretched out across the blankets, completely naked and totally restless. Her head propped up by both pillows as I went down on her, so she was at the perfect angle to watch.

  Listen. I love to watch. Ava on her knees like that sucking my dick? Top tier fantasy material come to life right there. Ava lying on a pile of blankets while I go down on her wet pussy, my hands keeping her thighs spread wide while she whimpers and moans with every lick of my tongue?

  More fantasy material.

  Now, we’ve both got our heads on the pillows, our breaths fast, our skin sticky with sweat. That fireplace is raging like crazy and it’s making the tiny living room hot as hell. Or maybe it’s all the friction our bodies are creating as we continue to rub against each other.

  I don’t know. I’m not complaining.

  “What time is it?” Ava asks, a few minutes after she came all over my mouth, panting like she’s still so overwhelmed.

  Satisfaction washes over me as I reach across her and grab my phone from where I left it, on the end table by the couch.

  “A little before nine.” I set the phone down and resettle myself next to her, yanking her into my arms.

  She comes willingly, her hands running over my chest, sliding down until she’s got one hand curled around my hard dick. I think she’s grown attached to it. “We still have almost an hour.”