"Thank you."
She blinks, clearly not having expected that.
"What?"
"Thank you. Seriously. Because I actually will enjoy the time I have left—however long that is.I'm going to enjoy it with Callum."
His arm around me tightens, grounding me, silent support saying that I'm here, I'm not going anywhere.
"And, well..." I shrug. "You can have Paul. He's all yours."
Okay, that one was a bit of a dig—but I think it was well deserved.
She opens her mouth to retort, then seems to think better of it before she snaps it closed. She looks at me and then looks at Callum, who's still glaring at her, and then turns and walks right out of the bookstore, slamming the door closed hard enough for the bell to crash to the floor.
The silence after she leaves is deafening, thick with lingering tension. The only sound is Callum's breathing, sounding like he's just run a mile, and a low growling sound coming from him. Tilting my chin back, I look up at his stormy face and lay a hand on his chest, which snaps him out of it. He leans down to kiss my forehead, murmuring against it. "Are you okay, baby?"
"Y-Yes," I nod my head, feeling a bit shaky like I normally doafter confrontations.
I lift my hands to his cheeks, holding him and breathing through it as he coaches me, "That's it, just breathe. You were so brave, so strong. Just breathe, sweet girl. My sweet girl. I'm so proud of you."
I can't take it anymore.
Shaky, I lift up on my tiptoes and crush my lips to his, feral and starving for him. Callum, of course, responds in kind and wraps his arms around me. He lifts me up off the ground, easily holding me as he deepens the kiss. He slides one hand under my ass and lifts, hiking me up higher, and I wrap my legs around his waist. He groans at that and slides his tongue against mine.
Time ceases to exist, and I totally forget that we're in his store in the middle of the day. All that matters is Callum's lips moving against mine, me wrapped in his arms, and the pulsing in my pussy. He sets me down on the cash register counter, and I keep my legs around him.
"Callum..." I moan against his lips, his groan vibrating against my chest pressed to his, my arms winding around his neck. "Thank you."
"For what, baby?"
"For choosing me."
"Always, my otter. Always," he promises, his voice so sincere it causes my eyes to sting. I squeeze my legs, pulling him in tighter to me, and his hands press me tighter to him. Neither of us can get close enough.
"Oh!"
At the exclamation, Callum and I break apart and glance over to see Maeve standing in the doorway of the store. There are flowers in one arm and a bag from her favorite local metaphysical supply store.
Mortification floods me.God, what is with us getting caught making out?I unhook my legs from Callum's waist and move toscoot off the register. Callum catches me and guides me down, his face flushing red.
"Sorry, mom, we—"
She's not even looking at us; she’s walking further into the store and searching for something. "The energy in this store is..." she scrunches her face up in disgust, her nose crinkling like she smells something awful.
"I need to cleanse. You guys get out of here. I'll close up early.This... this is an emergency," Maeve says, walking over to the front and grabbing some incense. My lips twitch, and my eyes meet an equally amused Callum's as we watch his mom flit around the room, burning a smudge stick of lavender and mugwort.
"Whoever was in here wasfoul," she shakes her head, her voice low and severe.
"Got that right," Callum mutters, before grabbing his keys and wallet from the register and grabbing my hand. We head toward the door before her voice stops us, calling out my name. When I turn, I find her looking at me with a soft smile.
"You look beautiful, my dove."
"Thank you," I smile at her and touch the moonstone, always around my neck.
Callum lifts up our joined hands to kiss mine before guiding us out of the store and to his truck.
???
