Sweet Caroline

by Lissa Matthews

“Yeah. I need you on your knees sucking it.”

  Chapter Nine

  “I can’t believe it’s my last night in the house.” They’d spent most of the morning loading the rest of her belongings into the trailer. In the afternoon, Caroline had cleaned the house from top to bottom, mainly to keep herself from thinking too much about the big change ahead, and Buck had done some last bits of work outside. She didn’t know what he’d been doing and hadn’t asked. Even though she was incredibly excited about the cabin and getting on with her life, the day was a melancholy one for her, mainly because she was leaving Buck and the fantastic sex.

  And, the two did go hand in hand. Buck and sex. He cared for her, talked with her, shared with her, but sex with him, submission to him in sex was more than she’d ever thought it could be. It was so damn good. She was often left exhausted, tested, sore, and primed for more.

  After their shower last night and a quick dinner of grilled turkey and cheese, Buck had stripped her robe off her body and fucked her on every available surface in the house. She’d swear their juices left tracks back to her bed where he slid inside her on last time before falling asleep and she’d awakened this morning with him inside her still, slowly thrusting.

  “Do you want to be alone?”

  Caroline put her fork down and pushed her plate away. The steak and potatoes Buck grilled had been perfect. She hadn’t had something so good in a long long time. The steak melted on her tongue, and the potatoes were seasoned to perfection with salt and pepper and a sprinkling of herbes de Provence. She couldn’t eat anymore of it though, not if she wanted to have dessert. And her grandmother had always told her to save room for dessert. “No, of course not.”

  “Just checking. I’d go and leave you to your thoughts if you wanted.”

  “I’ve done enough thinking today. I don’t want you to go.” Not ever, but morning would be there soon enough, and she needed to keep her composure until she was on the road, away from him before she broke down. Not for the first time, she thought of what she would be leaving behind. “Besides I made dessert. You want some?”

  “Cherry cheesecake? Are you kidding me? Not on your life.”

  She jumped up from the table and made a beeline to the fridge. “Good. I’ve been waiting all day.” The cheesecake had been made in the early morning hours so her KitchenAid could be boxed securely. It, her Cuisineart food processor, and a few baking pans that were her grandmother’s were the only kitchen items going with her. Brande could do whatever she wanted with everything else.

  Basically, Caroline was leaving Derek and his wife a furnished home. Oh she knew they would replace most of it, but she didn’t care. She was starting over and didn’t need any of it. She already had a bed being delivered to her new place tomorrow afternoon so she’d have a place to sleep that wasn’t the floor when she arrived, though she was taking her pillow from the bed she’d been sharing with Buck. She wanted his scent with her. The realtor was going to let the guys from the bedding store in so the frame and all could be set up. Living room furniture and new kitchen dishes were things she would shop for the moment Derek’s check cleared.

  Buck got up from the table and brought the plates over to the sink. “Cheesecake is my favorite, you know.”

  “No, I didn’t know, but I did know it was my favorite.”

  “I love cherries too.”

  Caroline laughed. “I bet you do. When was yours popped?”

  “What?”

  The look of surprise on his face was priceless, with his slack jaw and wide eyes. It obviously had been the question he’d been expecting from her. “When was your cherry popped? I’ll tell you if you tell me.”

  “I know when you lost yours or roughly when you lost yours. I lost mine when I was fifteen. She was an older woman.”

  Caroline turned toward him holding the knife she was going to use to cut the cake in her hand. He smirked at her, not a bit afraid, not thinking at all that his manhood was in danger. “How much older?”

  “About like us, five years or so. She was my nemesis’s older sister.”

  She turned back to the business of cutting the cheesecake. “Usually it’s the best friend’s older sister. Not the enemy.”

  “I know, but she was hot and I knew it would piss him off. We kept seeing each other for about six months or so after the first time.”

  “Here,” she said, handing him a small dessert plate. The cheesecake had a thick graham cracker crust and a thick layer of cherries on top. “I hope you like it.”

  The first forkful was already in his mouth and he was smiling. “Oh my God, Caroline. You should have gone into the cheesecake business instead of gift baskets. I’ve never tasted anything like it.”

  She laughed. If the state of Georgia allowed home based food business’ she would have considered it. “Thank you. I’ve been eating this since the first time my grandmother made it at Christmas one year. She always made it for me when I spent the summers with her and my grandpa after that. Eventually, she taught me to make it. It’s my favorite.”

  “It’s the real deal?”

  “If, by real deal you mean being full fat cream cheese, full fat sour cream, real butter, real eggs and real vanilla, yeah, it’s the real deal. There’s fresh squeezed lemon juice in it too. And the cherry sauce is homemade. I couldn’t buy store bought cherry pie filling for this.”

  “You amaze me.”

  He presented a forkful to her, and she opened wide, closing her lips slowly around the tines. He pulled the utensil back, then leaned in and licked at the drop of cherry syrup on her lip. The lick became a full-blown kiss, and the kiss ended with her body in full-blown arousal. Good God what the man did to her.

  “It’s only a cheesecake,” she whispered when he lifted his head and took another bite from his plate.

  “No it’s not, Caroline. The love that went into it over the years your grandmother made it for you and the care that went into you making it for us tonight… No, it’s not just a cheesecake. You know better.”

  She felt the heat suffuse her cheeks at the compliments. “Thank you.”

  “Welcome. Now, eat that slice on your plate. I have some plans for the rest of the cherry sauce.”

  It was her turn to be surprised. “How do you know there’s any left?”

  “If there isn’t, I’ll scrape it off the top of the cake.”

  “Oh.”

  She took a bite and let it melt in her mouth. It never got old, the flavor of this recipe. She never tired of it. It was a labor of love and reminded her of some of the happiest times in her childhood and now, well, she wouldn’t be able to fix it again without thinking of Buck and this last night with him.

  Damn. She wanted him so much. Then why aren’t you asking him to go with you? Or at least asking him if you could work something out to keep seeing each other? She had no answer for her inside voice. She didn’t know. It could be fear, more than likely was fear. Fear he’d say no. Fear he’d say yes. Though the yes shouldn’t bother her. He wouldn’t demand anything from her she didn’t want to willingly give him. He wouldn’t crowd her or demand any change of her. She didn’t know how she knew that, but she did. The last weeks weren’t a normal situation, and she couldn’t possibly be certain a long term relationship would work between them, but…

  Buck jolted her from her thoughts by putting the cheesecake back in the fridge and taking out the bowl of left over cherries.

  “Come on, baby. Let’s go play. You’ve got a way too serious look on your pretty face. No maudlin thoughts tonight.” He took the plate from her, but not before she got the last bite off her fork. He put both in the dishwasher along with the dinner dishes, then took her hand, pulling her behind him.

  “Off with the clothes and get on the bed.”

  “What are you planning?”

  “You’ll see. Get naked, Caroline. Now.”

  He started stripping, and she followed suit. She climbed on the bed and spread her legs when he inserted his hand between
her knees. He turned and reached for the bowl and it was then she noticed the mark on his hip. “What is that?” she asked, pointing.

  “A tattoo.”

  “Yes, I see that.” Her heart started thumping. “A little ‘s’ and a big ‘C’?”

  “Uh huh. Little ‘s’ for sweet, big ‘C’ for Caroline.”

  “Why? Why would you do that?” She was going to cry. The tears were behind her eyes, and she was going to cry. He wasn’t supposed to do something so… It was then she realized he loved her. As much as she loved him. And all the plans she made and everything that had been set in motion, sucked. Right then, leaving tomorrow morning sucked more than it had an hour ago.

  “Because. I want some small part of you to keep with me.”

  With that statement, certain her tears were going to fall, Buck dipped his finger into the bowl and let the sauce drip onto her belly. She jumped from the cold. “Holy shit,” she gasped, all sweet sentiment forgotten.

  He leaned down and breathed hot air over the cold red drop and the contrast made her shiver. Another drop joined the first, then another until there was a line leading from her navel to her clit.

  Propping herself on her elbows, her gaze followed his tongue as he licked at every speck of the syrupy concoction. This was something she’d never done. Food play. More cherry sauce, more licks over her clit. She gave up and lay back, spreading her thighs wider, bending her knees and fisting the blanket in her hands.

  “No moving, Caroline,” he said, placing a cherry in her belly button. “If you move, it might roll off and create a big mess.

  To punctuate his words, Buck tilted the bowl and drizzled her belly with its contents. Oh. God. It was cold, thick, sticky from the very second it touched her skin. He pressed on her stomach and a line of it rolled down…down…down.

  “Gorgeous.”

  It was the last thing he said before burying his face in her sex. His tongue licked through folds and dipped inside. His lips sucked. His teeth grabbed her clit and…

  “Oh damn, Buck.” She was fighting every muscle in her body not to move. If she did, more than the cherry would make a mess. But to stay still, to not writhe and wriggle, to not fuck his face drove her mad. The only thing she could do was turn her head back and forth in frustration, rip the blanket from the bed and toy with her nipples.

  Held tight between her thumb and first finger, Caroline pulled and tugged, twisted and twirled them.

  “That’s it. Find a way to give it to me by staying still.”

  Buck slammed two fingers inside her and it took more will power than she knew she had not to buck against his hand, but when his thumb slid into her ass and his mouth once again settled on her clit, she didn’t care anymore about being still, about being good.

  She lifted with her feet, fixed her eyes on the cherry in her navel and humped his fingers, his mouth. She rode the wave beginning to crash, pushing her pussy into his face until she cried his name and cursed like a sailor, until the tide let her go and she could sink down on the bed again.

  She pulsed against the impalements and hated the empty feeling when they were taken away.

  “You moved.”

  His breath caressed her bruised clit and with one final lick, one final soft lick, he began moving up her body, licking at the cherry sauce. When the only thing left was the cherry itself, he picked it up in his teeth and presented it to her. With her tongue, she curled it into her mouth and chewed, swallowed, then kissed him, wrapping her arms and legs around his body.

  She poured every ounce of emotion she could into that meeting of lips. It wasn’t a deep kiss. It wasn’t a frenzied kiss. It was just lips—her top one between both of his, her bottom one under his. It was the sweetest kiss they’d shared. It was the best kiss she’d ever had.

  And she couldn’t keep her tears from falling that time.

  …

  “Come on, Caroline, you’ll like this, I promise.” He had no idea if she would or not. Hell, he didn’t know if he would either, but damn being inside her would be enough to love it. She was tired. She was worn out. She was wet and aching. Her eyes were red from the crying, and he’d tried everything he knew to help her stop. It wasn’t making this any easier on her or him, and he didn’t want their last night to be him holding her while she cried herself to sleep.

  So, his plan was for her to fall asleep physically exhausted from sex. Other than the play with the cherries, there’d been no kink tonight. It was him and her, fucking, having sex, making love. He needed to imprint himself on her heart and soul. He felt things for her he’d never felt for another woman and he needed her to remember him, to ache without him. Because he sure as hell was going to ache without her.

  “I know what you’re up to, Buck. Don’t think you’re getting away with pulling the wool over my eyes.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just trying to get you to fuck me.” He put on his most innocent face and smiled. She arched a brow and huffed at him, clearly not fooled.

  “Thank you.” Her voice was soft and sincere.

  “You’re welcome.” His was too.

  “How do you want me?”

  He bent his knees until he was low enough for her to straddle him. “Turn your back to me, step over my legs, and back up until you feel my cock on your ass.”

  “Okay.”

  As unsure as she was about this, she put her trust in him. She turned away, lifted her leg over his outstretched ones, and positioned herself on his thighs. “You’re sure this is going to work?”

  She sounded doubtful, and he couldn’t blame her. Looking at the position in the book, he’d doubted two real people with real bodies could do it, but… “Yeah, I’m sure. Up a little higher on your toes. Yes, like that, hold still until I tell you.” He grabbed his cock in his fist and positioned the head at the entrance to her pussy. “Feel me?”

  “Yeah,” she breathed.

  “Good. Now, slide down and take me.”

  And she did. Slow and easy. She slid down the shaft until she was deeply impaled on him. Then she tested the position, tested her power in it, and moaned long and low.

  “Now, lean forward and grip the other side of the door jamb. Hold on, and walk your legs back. Oh yeah, good girl, Caroline. Beautiful.”

  “You’re so deep inside me and when I move like this…your cock rubs against… Oh God, Buck.”

  “Told you you’d like it.” His own voice was tight and strained. She was tighter this way, and he wanted nothing more than to flood her cunt. He straightened his legs back out, and it pushed her forward toward the other side of the door opening. “Use your legs. Lift and lower yourself, fuck yourself on me. Fuck me, Caroline.”

  With one hand gripping the side of the doorjamb his back was against, he used the other hand to grasp her hair and tug. He pulled her head back while she rode him. Her knuckles were white she was holding on so fiercely.

  Her grunts, moans, groans and breathless sighs fueled his need. She’d come a handful of times since the episode on the bed, including twice in the shower and once again right after with the help and aid of her vibrating bullet.

  With the head of his dick rubbing against that one evil little place inside her, he had a feeling she was going to come again. She loved those G-spot orgasms, and they left her weak for hours. She would sleep like a baby, which is what he wanted.

  “More, Caroline. Harder. Fuck me. Fuck the livin’ hell out of me.” He twisted his hand in her hair, wrapping the already captive strands around his wrist. She hissed and clamped down on his shaft, lifting slowly, dropping down until he too hissed.

  The rough sex fit them both, the slight edge of pain, the razor edge of pleasure. She needed it as much as he did. She thrived on it, and he loved to see her revel in the use of her body.

  “That’s it. Give it to me, Caroline. Don’t hold back.”

  She bounced on her toes, short and shallow fucks meant to drive them both insane. The wet slick slide on his shaft broke
him. He couldn’t hold on any longer and ground out her name between clenched teeth, coming while she continued riding him. It was painful but it was the most delicious pain he’d ever felt.

  “Buck, I think I’m gonna…oh yeah, I’m gonna…” She screeched out her orgasm and rode it until he had to let go of her hair and still her with a hand on her hip.

  “Stop moving. My dick is screaming it’s so sensitive.”

  Her walls clutched at him and she leaned forward, resting her head against the wood of the doorjamb. “I’m not sure I can get off you,” she said a few minutes later. “Where did you learn about this position?”

  “Saw it in a book. Thought it might be fun to try. And it was, but I’m not sure I can stand, much less walk.”

  She laughed and straightened, pulling herself off his spent cock. He forced himself to straighten too. “We both might be crawling to the bed.”

  “No, I’ll help you, baby.”

  He cupped her face in his hands, in his rough workman’s hands she loved on her skin so much and kissed her with tenderness. “Let’s get into bed,” he whispered, collecting her against him and walking slowly, gingerly to the bed and depositing her on the side she always slept on.

  He crawled in behind her and wrapped her in his arms, curled around her body, and tried to forget the fucking fact he wouldn’t be holding her tomorrow night.

  “Goodnight, Buck,” she whispered, kissing his hand closest to her face.

  His name on her lips…shit. “Goodnight, my sweet, sweet Caroline.”

  Chapter Ten

  Caroline watched out the driver’s side mirror as Buck walked around the back of the trailer. He was checking the locks one more time to make sure they were secure. She was tired, and her eyes were gritty. She’d cried some before she went to sleep then cried again when he made love to her early this morning.

  She was a damn basket case, worse than she ever figured she’d be. But Buck was solid. His lip hadn’t even quivered. He didn’t tell her not to go. He didn’t ask to come with her. He didn’t even say he’d call, write or send up a flare.