Sadness fills his eyes. “I know it doesn’t.” He takes my hand in his, rubbing his thumb across the back of mine. “But I like to think it’s enough.”
“It’s not.”
He looks at me with softened eyes. He lifts his hand to my cheek, tucking a wet lock of hair behind my ear. “What if I want to keep it all to myself? What if I were selfish like that? Would it be enough then?”
I cup his cheek. “Your love for it is why it thrives. If no one else knows it’s here, then you’re the only one who will ever make it feel seen. If you can’t fight for it in public, are you really defending anything?”
His face drops to the mineral floor.
“I mean without you, it’s . . .”
“Alone?”
His hardened stare glints with a pleading desire to be understood.
With a quivering voice, I say, “Exactly.” I swallow our tension and let it settle in my gut.
Silence passes between us as we gaze at each other.
He licks his lips, effectively stealing every nerve I’ve tried to hold on to.
“Well, I wouldn’t want you to feel alone.” In one swift motion, Caleb’s lips crash into mine as he rolls on top of me. His passion ripples through my body as his tongue sweeps inside my mouth.
In every kiss, I taste his surrender. My hands roam his expansive muscular back. Our palms caress each other’s every swell and curve, committing each other to memory by touch alone.
The ache between my legs demands more. I bow my hips, seeking the stimulation I desperately need. I grind against him.
Caleb’s hand delves between my thighs to massage my throbbing clit.
A soft sigh escapes me, and I roll into his touch, inviting him to give me more.
“Does that feel good, baby girl?” He lowers his head into my neck, purring into my skin.
“Uh-huh,” I breathe.
He delves a finger . . . No, two . . . into my center, and I groan.
“Mmm, yes.” I bite my bottom lip and close my eyes as he strokes my walls.
“Shit. You’re gripping me so tight, you’re pushing me out.”
With his come-hither strokes coaxing me, I know it won’t be long.
His fingers slide slowly out of me and rub circles over my clit, hitting just the right spot.
My body has always responded to him this way. Something about the forbidden, about what felt all wrong, is so hot. But now? Now there was no holding back, no moral dilemmas to occupy my mind from feeling him. The only things left were the sheer depths and endless possibility of raw and sinful pleasure poised to drag us to hell where we belong.
“Keep doing that. Oh,” I cry. “That feels so good.” My body spasms, and my legs shake as an orgasm climbs and threatens to roll through me. “I’m gonna—”
“Go ahead. I’ve got you.”
I explode and shatter beneath him. My sweet release is followed by pins and needles as I come down.
The world falls away, and everything between us—hatred, harsh words, a borrowed fight, uncertainty, disdain—dissolves into nothing.
Caleb lowers his head, and his breath fans across my sensitive skin. “I’ve fantasized about this for so long.” He kisses my neck. “You.” A kiss above my breast. “Us.”
My heart melts at his use of the word.
