A melodious knock on our connecting door startles me out of my head trash and I run toward it on aching feet. “Who’s there?” I tease, clearing my throat.
“Pyramus,” replies Cal. “Can I come in?”
Eager to see him again, I want to scream yes, but I pause remembering. “But … but Roland locked the door.”
“Or did he?” Cal responds, and I’m totally confused when I see the doorknob twist and ease open to reveal a grinning Cal filling the open doorway.
“But how?” I sputter.
“I simply explained our star-crossed-lovers situation to Roland and he sympathized.”
“Hmm,” I mutter suspiciously. “For some reason, the salty handyman I met the other week didn’t strike me as the romantic type.”
“He was after I slipped him a hundy,” Cal says, laughing. “Plus, I reasoned that there was never an official work order or anything showing that this door was ever unlocked in the first place just your front lock was replaced, so no one would ever have to know if it should stay open. He fixed it, though, so you can press the lock on your side whenever you want to.”
Cal demonstrates the new system, clearly proud of himself. “Feel free to barge in on me anytime, preferably when I’m in bed or just out of the shower.” He waggles his brows at me and I stare at him, determined not to smile, but I feel my resistance waning. “Oh, and Roland wished me luck, by the way.”
“With what?”
Cal playfully lunges forward and grabs me. He’s so quick that I don’t have time to react or even see it coming. He turns us so my back is up against the connecting door, effectively closing it and pinning me to it with his body. “Luck with getting my infuriating, smart, and sexy neighbor to finally give me a break and let me in.”
I push away a fraction of an inch so I can look up at him. “Congratulations! Is Van or Coop the lucky neighbor?”
Cal gives a warning growl and I bite my lip to keep from laughing, but when he smacks the side of my ass in reprimand, I can’t hold it in anymore. “Hey, love is love, you have my support,” I add between my muffled laughter.
“Did I mention this neighbor has a smart mouth, too? Speaking of mouths …”
Cal dips his head and captures my lips, delivering the sweetest kiss yet. I can’t control the moan that escapes from deep inside me. His kiss is what I want, and I meet him with all the feeling that is bubbling up from within me. Deepening my assault on his sexy mouth, I dig my hand into his bicep, pulling him closer. A sensual “mmm” releases from his throat and I tremble in response. He brushes his lips to my ear and down the side of my neck, as if following the path of my shiver, all the while causing more in waves.
“You’re so freakin’ beautiful, do you know that?” he murmurs against my throat. “My jaw fell to the floor the first time I saw you charging into the hallway, ready to chew my head off, all pissed and pretty.”
“Mmm,” I mutter, running my hands up and down his back. I’m practically clawing at him for more. “I remember stopping in my tracks, too, when I got a glimpse of whom I was about to go head-to-head with.”
“Really?” His face leaves the crook of my neck so he can look at me. His dark eyes are blazing with a hunger aimed at me, and it’s thrilling.
I nod. “Although, you were right about the pissed part. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to jump you or hit you with your own speakers.”
Cal chuckles under his breath. “I prefer the jumping me option,” he says, leaning in to delve back into my mouth with an intensity that has me gyrating my hips in time with his probing tongue.
Not missing a beat, he reaches down to grasp one of my legs, pulling it around his waist, giving me just what I need—closer, more intimate contact. Between my gasps, he cups my breast, discovering it with his thumb, circling my raised nipple through my layer of clothing. He gives the same teasing attention to my other breast, which sends a fire coursing through my veins with every touch, every stroke.
I feel bold and confident with him, and it’s an aphrodisiac high that I’ve never experienced before. Wiggling, I slip the spaghetti straps off my shoulders and peel the fabric down, reveling my bared breasts. Heat flares in his eyes when he sees that I’m not wearing a bra, and my nipples grow painfully harder as his gaze rakes over me.
His hand slowly cups my breast, and I mold myself even closer as he tests the weight and feel in his palm. He squeezes gently before capturing the tip, circling it with his tongue before pulling it into his mouth. The heat of his mouth, combined with the soft, suckling action, has wet need pooling at my core. I have to suppress the impulse to squirm from the sensations he is causing. Instead, I grip a wad of his hair as he moves on to my other breast, leaving my abandoned nipple to bud even tighter now without his touch and from the cool air fanning the heat he left behind.
Automatically, I arch my back, giving him better access, and let the back of my head rest against the door.
“You’re so passionate,” Cal mutters as he kisses and licks at the valley of my cleavage. “I want to explore all of you, yet can’t even seem to get past your torso. I told you, you’re a siren.”
“Then why am I the one under your spell?” I ask in wonder.
He squeezes me tight, plants a hard kiss on my lips, and shudders. “Probably because I’ve willed it so, wishing for you in my arms like this more times than I can count.”
I can’t decide if I want to weep, squeal, or sigh from his beautiful admission. “And now that you’ve got me?” I ask boldly, shocked at how provocative I sound, but Cal seems to bring it out in me. He makes me feel like I might just be a siren, or at least a latent sex kitten.
“Let me show you,” Cal says huskily. When he slides his hand under the hem of my dress, caressing the inner side of my thighs and moving into my panties for an even more intimate touch, I gasp with nervous need.
“Too soon?” he questions, out of breath.
