I thrust in.
Callie moans as her fingers claw my back.
My senses are flooded, and my need intensifies.
We move closer.
Even closer.
So damn close.
“Luke!” she cries out as she comes. She stills as her head pushes back against the pillow and her back arches up off the bed.
I watch as she completely abandons herself to the orgasm. It’s a fucking beautiful sight. But as much as I want to slow myself right down to focus all my attention on every intricate detail of her surrender, I can’t. I keep pumping in and out of her, chasing my own release.
When it hits a few moments later, the pleasure is so fucking intense and unlike any orgasm I’ve ever had. It’s so much more—powerful and all-consuming.
I lose myself.
Everything is left behind.
All the pain.
The hopelessness.
Every ounce of desperation.
Gone.
In this moment, everything burns brightly.
It’s a frenzy of light and ecstasy and hope.
So much hope.
As I move through it, all I see is Callie. And when I finally open my eyes, I find her staring up at me, those beautiful eyes completely focused on mine.
Her hands ghost along my skin to bring her fingers to my hair. As they tangle there, she whispers, “That was amazing.”
I drop a kiss on her lips and say, “You’re amazing.”
Silence surrounds us for the next few minutes while we simply watch each other. I commit her face to memory—every freckle, every line, every contour.
Finally, I loosen my hold on her and pull out. Pushing up off the bed, I say, “Don’t move. I’ll be back.”
I head into the bathroom to dispose of the condom. When I return, her eyes are closed. I slow my movements so I can take the time to appreciate her beauty. Our future stretches ahead of us. We have years to explore each other’s body, thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, faults and everything else that makes us who we each are. I realise that I’m an impatient bastard when it comes to Callie.
I want all of her now.
I want to know it all right now.
I don’t want to take my time anymore.
Her eyes blink open, and she hits me with a lazy smile. Beckoning me, she says, “Come here.”
When she has me next to her, on my side, she rolls and drapes a leg over my hip. Her hand traces patterns along the dip of my waist. “You are sexy as hell, Luke Hardy.”
“Not as sexy as you. Especially when you’ve got that black shit on your face and cling wrap in your hair.”
She pokes her tongue at me. “I might start wearing that black shit every day if you think it’s that sexy.”
I smirk. “Knock yourself out. I’m man enough to take one for the team every day and remove it.”
She wiggles so that her body is hard up against mine. Fuck, I could get used to this.
“What time do you have to go?” she asks softly, clearly not ready for me to leave anytime soon.
I smile and rub my thumb over her cheek. After I press a kiss to her lips, I say, “I don’t have to leave tonight if you don’t want me to.”
Her eyes widen a little. “What about Sean?”
“Paris,” I murmur as I move my mouth to her neck and begin getting lost there again.
The last thing I hear her say before I’m completely lost to her is, “I fucking love Paris.”
20
Callie
“So, you owe me for last night,” Avery says as she paints my toes.
“Because?”
“Well, how do you think Luke managed to leave work early to come over?”
“I had wondered that but forgot to ask him. Shall I pay you in Chupa Chups?”
She finishes with my toes and looks at me from across the couch. We’ve been sitting here for the last few hours discussing everything from her family to Luke to world news. I can’t remember the last time the two of us had a Saturday night girls' night.
“I got lucky the day I found you, babe.”
I grin, ignoring her sarcasm. “You really did.”
“So, when are you seeing Luke next?”
“Tomorrow. I’m going over for breakfast, and then he’s taking me out for the day.”
“I’m impressed with our Luke Hardy,” she says. “He’s a tough man to please at work, but I’d say you’ve got him wrapped around your little finger. I’m glad it’s him because he’s treating you right. And you deserve that.”
I know she’s comparing Luke to my previous boyfriend. Mark was a dick, but I was blind to it for a long time. Or perhaps just desperate to find someone to love me, that I ignored all the signs. It wasn’t that he always treated me badly, he was just too engrossed in himself to consider my thoughts and feelings very often. Plus, he had a temper, so we spent a lot of time arguing. That relationship lasted just over two years, and then I tackled online dating in my effort to find someone to cherish me.
“Right, now it’s time to talk about you and Tyler. When are you two going to get your shit together?”