Once Upon a Love Story

by Beth D. Carter

  “I think it’s important to me.”

  Mentally, he gave a huge sigh. “For a year after Claire died, I wanted to die. And I knew that I had to do something, had to have something, that would keep me going. Otherwise, I might as well put a gun to my head and pull the trigger.”

  Her eyes flared wide at the revelation.

  “Caleb-”

  “I told you about ordering a mail-order bride. And Thea helped me put everything in perspective. After that meeting with her, I began to heal emotionally. Not fully, but enough to save my life. And then I went on a date with her but by then, she’d already met her future husband Paden. I decided that to meet women I had to go to a larger city and took a few trips to Anchorage.”

  “You had to go to a new city to meet women?” she asked with a touch of disbelief in her voice.

  He shrugged in a what-are-you-going-to-do type of way. “In any case, I went on a few dates, met a few lovely women, but never felt a connection to any of them.”

  “So where does Malibu fit in?”

  “I just wanted a vacation and Thea offered her house. She was going to sell it but uses it instead as a rental home. Lucky for me, the person who was supposed to rent it this month couldn’t make it.”

  “I’d say. July in Southern California at the beach is quite nice.”

  “I meant, lucky for me because I got to meet you.”

  Her mouth dropped a little. “Oh.”

  “For the first time in a really long time, I feel as if I found someone I could talk to. I think we’d have enough conversation in us to last us years and years, until our teeth fall out from talking so much.”

  “That just paints such a lovely picture.”

  “Why? Are your teeth getting ready to fall out?” He cupped her face and tilted her head up as if he were trying to inspect her teeth. She laughed and tried to move away but he only scooted closer. A second later, his thigh touched hers and suddenly all laughter ceased. They stared at one another for the briefest moment before Caleb bent his head. He leaned in slowly, giving her time to pull away, but she didn’t. As soon as his lips touched hers, he was gone. His eyes fluttered shut and he moaned just a little as she opened for him.

  Holy fuck, she was mouthwatering. Her tongue ran along his bottom lip, licking and setting his body on fire. He met her kiss. Deepened it. His fingers tangled in her hair to pull her more firmly against his body and her curves melted into his hard angles. He ground his hips into the juncture of her thighs, parting them until she threw a leg over his and allowing him to fit more snugly against her hot center. Shit, he needed to get closer to her. He needed to taste her. He rolled her until she was under him, and he broke off the kiss to stare down into her now shadowed eyes.

  “I want to pleasure you, Delilah,” he whispered.

  She whimpered and her hips surged upward in wordless agreement. Excitement surged through him, making his hands slightly shake. He bent his head and kissed her cheek, over her jaw and down her neck.

  “God, you’re sweet,” he crooned. “Like warm honey. I love how soft your skin is.”

  His hand slipped under her t-shirt, tracing over her ribs until he found the curve of her breast. He cupped the shape, molding her to his palm as he gently squeezed. Her nipple pebbled under the thin nylon of her bra and he traced over the turgid peak with his fingertip. She arched and gasped. He pushed her shirt and bra up, revealing her perfect breasts, the tips pointed in invitation. He bent his head and closed his mouth over one, lavishing it with his tongue and teeth, tugging tenderly until she lay beneath him writhing.

  He sat back for a moment to sweep her shirt over her head, his fingers making quick work of her bra. She lay bathed in moonlight, the goddess of beauty. Her nipples were a darker shade than her skin. He unbuckled her jeans and pushed them down, and she lifted her hip to help him.

  He kissed his way down her flat tummy, bypassing the apex of her thighs. God, he wanted nothing more than to sink his steel-hard cock into her wet cunt and pump her until they both splintered apart. But whatever sanity he had left raised a red flag. While he thought she would welcome him with open arms now, the fact that she was a little tipsy and the timing a little too soon, overrode his animal instinct. Instinctively he knew that she would have regrets in the morning if they went too far so tonight was all about giving her a mind-blowing orgasm with his tongue.

  He was going to make damn sure she would turn all gooey at the thought of him.

  “You’re so wet, babe,” he murmured, his lips giving her a kiss right on her panties.

  She moaned and her hips jerked up, bumping against him. “Caleb,” she breathed. “Oh, Caleb.”

  “You’re so beautiful. Do you want me to pleasure you?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  He pressed his tongue through the material, as far as it would stretch. She moaned again and the little sound took him over the edge. He had to taste her now. He pulled the edge of her panties to one side, baring her to his gaze, and he noticed that her pussy lips were bare.

  “That’s hot as hell.”

  He’d never tasted a hairless female before. He seen them in porn videos and in magazines, but he’d only ever slept with one woman and Claire had never shaved. Seeing Delilah’s glistening wet lips drove him a little crazy. Using two fingers, he spread her until he found her clitoris, and then proceeded to drive her out of her mind.

  As soon as his tongue rasped against her sensitive nub, her body arched like it had touched a live wire. Her hands buried in his hair, pulling it almost too aggressively. But he loved it. It gave everything an edge that pumped through his blood, lighting him on fire. He licked and sucked her in, sliding one finger into her heat. She bucked against his hand.

  “Caleb!” she cried.

  “You taste like candy,” he moaned, blowing against her and causing her to shiver.

  He pushed another finger inside and took her little clit between his teeth, sucking hard.

  “Caleb, please!” she begged. “I need…”

  “I know what you need, baby. I want to give it to you. Let go, Delilah. I’ll catch you.”

  He licked, up and down, driving his tongue in and over her nub. He worked her, until her little cries echoed all around. Her body tightened beneath him, and she quivered around his fingers. He blew against her again and immediately she broke apart.

  He had never seen anything more sensual, more desirable, than Delilah in the throes of bliss. When her body finally relaxed and she sagged back onto the blanket, he eased from between her thighs and sat back on his knees.

  He was so fucking hard that it was actually painful to sit in such a position, so he eased on the side and tried to adjust himself. She cracked her eyes opened and smiled at him.

  “Oh my god,” she finally said a bit breathlessly. She reached over and ran one finger down the buttons of his shirt. “Seems to me you might be a little over dressed.”

  He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips, lingering on their softness. “Tonight was for you, babe. Giving you pleasure was so damn erotic. I loved seeing you come apart in my arms.”

  “I bet you say that to all the girls,” she murmured flirtatiously.

  He pulled back, looking her in the eye. “You’re not some girl, Delilah. I don’t do that.”

  She looked slightly perplexed. “Do what exactly?”

  “I don’t find girls and hook up with them. I’m not like that.”

  “You found me. You hooked up with me.”

  “You’re different. I care about you.”

  “So you what? Only fuck girls you care about?”

  He winced. This was coming out all wrong. “I don’t fuck random girls, Delilah. I would never do what we just did with someone I didn’t care about.”

  She grabbed her clothes. “You’re telling me you’ve had feelings for all the women you’ve slept with?”

  “Of course. Delilah—“

  He reached out to halt her jerky movements. She sidestepped his reac
h and stood up to slip her jeans back on.

  “Delilah, listen to me,” he ordered, getting to his knees. She smoothed her t-shirt over her hips, took a deep breath, and met his eyes. “I’ve only slept with one woman in my life, and she was my wife.”

  Delilah’s eyes widened in shock. “What? How is that possible?”

  “Very easily.”

  “But you said she’s been gone for three years. Surely you had…urges?”

  He nodded. “Nothing I couldn’t take care of myself.”

  He saw that she didn’t quite know what to make of him. He supposed he was an anomaly of the male species, but he just couldn’t rid himself of the notion that he needed something more than hormones to connect with the person he was with. But he wasn’t sure how to voice that, so he didn’t elaborate.

  The mood had been shattered anyway. He pushed to his feet and repacked the picnic basket. “I’ll drive you back to your car.”

  She watched him silently and then walked back next to him to the car. After he stored the basket, he brushed the sand off his feet and slipped his shoes back on. She was already sitting in the passenger seat when he slid behind the wheel.

  “Can I see you tomorrow?” he asked, hating that he felt unsure of the situation.

  She was quiet for a long time. In fact, he was fairly certain her silence meant she wanted nothing more to do with him and the thought depressed him.

  “I have an exercise class tomorrow,” she finally said. “You…want to go with me?”

  “What type of class is it?”

  “Kickboxing. It’s a local gym near my apartment, small class,” she said with a shrug.

  “That sounds cool,” he replied, trying to sound casual.

  “Followed by a spin class,” she added.

  He had no idea what a spin class was but hey, if she invited, he was game. “All right.”

  “Followed by yoga.”

  He turned to face her and raised one eyebrow. “Any other classes tomorrow?”

  “Nope. Just those three.”

  “Awesome,” he said, although on the inside he was asking himself how masochistic he was. Yoga?

  Chapter Seven

  When Delilah finally got home, she flopped onto her bed as thoughts about Caleb exploded through her head. She’d deliberately held back on trying to analyze what had happened this evening and Caleb’s revelation. She’d never met a man who thought like him. In her opinion, men were slaves to their passions. They thought with their dicks and rarely gave a fuck about the pussy they were sticking it in. Her mama had always told her that a way to a man’s heart was how well she could suck cock.

  Thoughts of her mother depressed her, and she steered away from that self-destructive path. And even though she tried hard to banish the memories of her past, she couldn’t help but compare Caleb to the blackness that had once held her soul.

  He was light and goodness, a man who not only believed in love but abided by moral vows. What the hell was she doing with him? He was too good for the likes of her. She came from a life so fucked up and broken that one touch from her would taint him forever. She couldn’t let him fall so far.

  Tears spiked her eyes, but she took a deep breath and pulled them back. It was utter ridiculousness that she would shed a tear over a man she’d just met. He was a man who would be leaving in a week, so clearly, there’s not enough time for any feelings to develop.

  So why did her heart ache?

  If she was smart, she’d call Caleb and cancel their exercising date. If she was smart, she’d tell him to fuck off. It’d be for his own good.

  But then again, she wasn’t really that smart and Caleb was going home in a few days. A battle waged between her conscience and her desires, between what’s good for Caleb and her want of him. Her hand hovered over her phone as she debated whether or not to text him and cancel tomorrow. Or later today, actually, since it was close to four in the morning.

  Whatever.

  Almost without thought she pulled her hand back, turned over and closed her eyes. Yes, Caleb might be better off without her but she wasn’t so sure she wasn’t better without him. He was going to be gone and she just wanted, for once in her life, to be with someone who didn’t treat her as if she were a piece of meat, or as if she were garbage under their feet.

  Was that so terrible to want?

  ****

  The exercise classes started at eleven, which wouldn’t have been so bad if he’d gotten to bed at a decent time. But after he’d dropped Delilah home and then returned Jake’s car, he’d had to walk home. Even the cool air blowing over his skin hadn’t been enough to stomp down his libido and he’d ended up jacking off again in the shower. He’d fisted himself and recalled Delilah’s taste, her scent and the little noises she made as he’d pleasured her. It hadn’t taken him long at all to climax.

  When he’d finally fallen asleep his clock told him it was close to six. The sun was playing peak-a-boo through the clouds on the horizon. And he had to do a three-hour exercise marathon five hours later.

  But he’d dragged his tired ass out of bed at ten and then scrambled to get ready. The Uber he’d called pulled up right on time and he got in, his sunglasses perched firmly on his nose and travel mug of coffee clutched in his hand.

  He made it to the gym with five minutes to spare. Delilah waited for him at the entrance with her hands planted on her hips. Even as tired as he was, his heart jumped with joy at seeing her.

  “You’re late,” she told him needlessly.

  “’S okay,” he replied. “Setting eyes on you just woke me up.”

  She raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond. Instead, she turned to walk back inside and to the girl at the front desk.

  “This is my guest, Lacy.”

  Lacy, wearing skimpy shorts and sports bra, smiled and eyed him up and down. “Oh yum,” she said. “If you need any help with this one, Del, let me know.”

  Caleb frowned and grabbed Delilah’s hand, scooting closer to her.

  She looked first at their joined hands and then smiled at him. “Ready for me to kick your butt?”

  “You wish,” he joked back.

  “Oh? You’ve done kickboxing?”

  “Does kicking over dead trees count?”

  “And spin class?”

  “I’m a pro at spinning on the ice.”

  He could see she was trying not to laugh. “And yoga?”

  “Oh please. I’m a master at the game Twister.”

  Delilah pulled him toward the stairs. “Come on, class is ready to start. Thanks, Lacy!”

  Caleb didn’t look back, but he could feel Lacy’s gaze on his ass. “Wow,” he muttered. “Objectify much?”

  “Awe. Did little ‘ole Lacy scare you?” Delilah teased.

  “Didn’t you want to defend my honor?”

  She smiled at him and then reached around to slap his ass. Caleb’s eyebrows rose. “I’d been staring at it too.”

  He laughed and then followed her into the workout room. For the next hour he kept up but damned if his body wasn’t screaming at him by the end. He’d dipped, swayed and kicked in ways he never had before.

  Working in the forest and trampling through snow was enough of a workout to give his body a good burn, but on days when he was forced to stay inside, he had gym equipment to keep him in shape. But when he was halfway through the spinning class he knew two things very clearly. One, men were not made to sit long periods on a bicycle seat without proper padding. And two, no wonder Delilah had perfect legs and a mouthwatering ass.

  Caleb was sure he wasn’t going to make it, but he backed off the intensity and managed to finish the hour. As he got off the bike, he had to resist the urge to adjust his balls, which had flattened out during the vigorous ride.

  He smiled at Delilah, noticing how sexy she looked even all mussed and sweaty. What he wouldn’t give to drag her to the nearest shower, get her naked and get her bent over as he rammed his cock into her snug channel.

  God! He h
ad to get those thoughts out of his head, otherwise yoga was going to be very interesting indeed. Expecting to be a class of stretching, Caleb had vastly underestimated how much stamina yoga required. It wasn’t just about poses but about holding the poses. Some of his muscles were quivering as he did poses like downward dog, sunbird and camel. By the time the hour was up, he collapsed and thought he was never going to move again.

  Delilah stood over him, hands on hips, eyebrows raised in question. She didn’t even have to ask.

  “I’m done for,” he said. “Just turn off the light and let me expire in peace.”

  “I’m impressed,” she said. “I didn’t think you’d be able to last three hours.”

  “I didn’t think I was going to last the first,” he admitted. “How often do you do this?”

  “This workout? Once a week. On Wednesday and Thursday, I run.”

  “I have a whole new respect for yoga,” he admitted.

  “Come on,” she said, holding her hand down for him. “I’ll treat you to a healthy lunch.”

  “I can’t move,” he muttered.

  “It wasn’t that bad.”

  “No, honestly, I can’t move. My muscles are screaming curse words at me and they’re sounding like sailors.”

  She laughed, grabbed his hand, and helped him up. He hobbled beside her all the way to the locker rooms.

  “Go stand under a hot shower and I’ll meet you out front in half an hour. Sound good?”

  “If I don’t show up it’s probably because I collapsed in a heap and drowned in the shower drain.”

  “That’s gross. You know what’s in that shower drain? Hundreds of peoples soap, hair and germs.”

  He stuck his fist against his lips. “Ah, thanks for that visual. I think I just threw up in my mouth.”

  She smacked his ass again. “Get in there, Ranger.”

  She turned and sauntered over to the women’s locker room. He couldn’t help but stare at her curves and in the doorway, she turned her head and caught him staring. She gave a smirk and disappeared inside.

  Thirty minutes later he was feeling better. The hot water had revived his muscles although he knew tomorrow he was going to pay for his act of trying to impress Delilah. He wondered if he’d be able to move enough to jog with her and decided he was going to do a lot of stretching in order for that to happen. He only had a week left and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.