by Quinn, Taryn
At least until a bevy of beefcakes had landed on our rooftop. And more than a few of the firemen had been giving her some attention. I seemed to remember she’d been very chatty with a certain new deputy in town as well. Their auras had been full on glow so she couldn’t have been too into Caleb. More like a lonely soul open for any and all opportunities.
Something I wish I’d still had. It had been a damn long time since any man had made me interested in doing more than flirting. But this one…
Mostly naked in my bed at the moment which should be more annoying than it was—but he’d been very hard to ignore.
And those very tanned shoulders with a smattering of freckles as the only ink on him were very nice and change up for the guys I usually went for. As were the tapered muscles that led to a very nice butt.
I collapsed the baton then slipped it in my bag before I tossed it onto my chair covered in laundry I’d yet to put away. At least it was clean.
I eased around the bed to find him hugging my favorite pillow. The one that always helped to cool me down since I was a hot sleeper.
Looked like he was of a similar sort.
Or he was just an overheated drunk.
One of his knees was hiked up so he was frog splashed across my entire bed. It wasn’t exactly a small bed, but Caleb Beck was a pretty sizable guy—and a fit one.
I can’t say I minded that one little bit.
Was the Universe giving me a little present today? Ahh, Luna you’ve been working extra hard and you haven’t taken time to have any fun.
I frowned. Was something was under his cheek?
I covered my mouth against a laugh. My purple bra cup was cradling his cheek like a lover.
I shook my head. The not-so-little pervert even had a sweet smile on his face.
And just showed that the Universe had a sense of humor. Have a little gift, but it comes with a bit of a clown package.
Figured.
He’d been in a bad way last night. Surprisingly since he’d only had a few shots of rum—and a fairly lame alcohol content at that. Nothing that should have put him on his face. Unless he’d kept on drinking after I’d been called away.
His hair metal friend had been the life of the party. I caught a few cases of beer coming in as I was going down the stairs. And to be honest, I hadn’t minded. Summer was for rooftop get togethers and I was pretty sure Ryan would have enjoyed a few of the firemen that had shown up.
But the moment the car thing happened that had been it. All we wanted was her projector, which made any wall in her place fair game, and some popcorn and wine fueled goodness to decompress. And waiting for a tow just sucked the party out of a girl.
Leaving just enough time for a certain intruder to enjoy my bed.
I crouched in front of his face and lightly tapped his arm peeking from the pillow—my pillow. Now it was going to smell like him. It remained to be seen if his bergamot scent would annoy me or not. “Excuse me, Goldilocks. I think you got lost.”
Nothing.
I tapped his nose. “Hello.”
He groaned and his ridiculously long lashes fluttered. Why was it that guys got all the good lashes?
But then those celadon colored eyes met mine. Instead of looking startled, he gave me a slow smile. “Hello, beautiful.”
I couldn’t help but smile back, damn him. “Did you get lost?”
He sighed and his eyes started to drift closed again. “No, I’m in the most perfect bed. It smells like the ocean and Luna.” He sighed. “Perfect.”
I pressed my lips together against a laugh and an audible aww. He really was far too adorable for his own good. I should probably be running for the hills.
“You know, getting an invitation to my bed is preferable, right?”
His eyes opened again, this time alert and shocked. “Oh, shit.” He hopped off my bed and crashed to his knees since his shirt had clamped his arms into a weird position. Like one of those TikTok videos where you saw just how much a man’s center of gravity could land him on his face.
I laughed again.
He popped up on his feet and looked around my room. “Oh, shit.”
“Articulate, too.”
He flushed. It was pretty impressive too. From his deliciously sculpted chest all the way up his neck and then it bloomed across his cheeks in scarlet slashes. “Shit. I’m so sorry. I, uh…” He glanced down at himself, his shirt dangling from his wrist. He tried to put it on, but failed miserably.
I took pity on him and came around the bed once more. I held up my hand for him to stop flailing with his shirt. Instead of helping him dress, I snapped it off his wrist.
He started down at me, his chest heaving a little in panic. A guy’s worst nightmare, I imagined. His aura went from a roiling dark chaos to a softly glowing orange. I laid my hand on his chest and dropped my shields.
The ones that I kept up to keep people out. To protect myself and my energy. Being a healer meant that I needed those boundaries so people wouldn’t siphon it all away from me. It also meant that I could block out those little tingles that showed attraction and want.
I realized that gave mixed signals to a guy sometimes.
Right now I didn’t really want to be mystical.
I just wanted to let the sweet and sexy teacher in a little.
His chest expanded with a deep breath and he turned to face me fully. He was almost a foot taller than me—most people were taller than me to be honest, but I liked the breadth of him. Big enough to get me excited, but not too big to make me nervous for my safety.
He’d been off center with me since we met, but now he seemed to know just how to approach me. I was pretty sure some of my boundaries were to blame. I went on my toes to kiss him and he leaned his head back.
I blinked.
Had I read him wrong?
I glanced down at his very happy boxer shorts.
He gently put his hands on my shoulders. “I want to kiss you more than anything, but I cannot make our first kiss full of foul dragon hangover breath.”
I laughed and nodded toward the bathroom. “There’s an extra toothbrush in the medicine cabinet.”
He pointed at me. “Stay right there.”
I couldn’t stop smiling. “I’ll be right here.”
He zipped off into the hallway to the bathroom and I immediately rushed around my bedroom. Luckily I was the kind of girl to have girl junk all over and not just in the bathroom. I’d used my backup toothbrush at Ryan’s house, but not much else.
I quickly shoved a comb through my crazy curls and spritzed some of my own concoctions of essential oils and floral scent in my hair and down the front of me. I had one of those ridiculously unflattering but super comfortable shelf tank tops on that did nothing to lift the girls, but I didn’t exactly have time to swap out clothing.
While the water was running, I decided to check my face instead.
Yikes.
Pale and colorless, my lashes were practically non existent without makeup, but I didn’t want to look like a raccoon post fucking either. You know, if things went beyond a kiss.
Because the way the air was humming and…well, how I was humming—definitely more than a kiss was happening.
Probably.
I was pretty sure.
“You’re perfect.”
I looked up and caught him in the mirror. His face was freshly scrubbed and his curls were slicked back as if he’d ducked his head under the sink. I dropped my makeup brush. “I don’t know about that.”
He stalked across the small space and looped his arm around my waist to turn me around to face him, then drew me up on my toes and covered my mouth.
Startled, I couldn’t do anything else but hang on. I’d started out giving him the high sign and of course he took it to the next level. His mouth was firm, the tickle of his beard was just right, and his arms made me feel amazingly safe.
I pressed myself to him and opened to his swipe of tongue.
Then he took that
little opening and flattened me up against the wall next to my bedside table. The macrame wall hanging dug into the back of my head and something else fell to the floor, but I didn’t care.
I just wanted more.
I lifted my knee up on his hip and he took the initiative to hoist me up, wrapping my other leg around him before he pinned me to the wall. His boxers were even happier and I’d been impressed on the first check-in. The kiss was wild as a tempest. I didn’t have time to breathe or pull back. And for once, I didn’t want to.
The sun slanted through the windows of my room turning him into a gilded warrior. Fanciful, but the way he looked at me between kisses fit the definition. I was the spoils of our little war. One he didn’t even know we’d been in.
I’d thought I could ignore this. Believed that it would be easier to keep him out, but then he’d been right here in my damn room and it felt so right. So freaking good. Like a gift.
He hiked me up a little higher and nudged down the low scooped tank I was wearing with his beardy chin. He watched me for a reaction and when I nodded, he swiped his tongue over the tip of my breast before drawing on the tip. It was just on the edge of pain, but then he released it and swirled around the tip lightly.
“Goddess,” I panted out and gripped his shoulder.
“Caleb.”
I gave him a throaty laugh that morphed into a groan as he ground the shaft of his definitely happy cock against my center then went for my other breast. He hummed around me and licked and flicked, bit and nibbled.
He didn’t leave anything untouched.
“I can’t get enough of your skin.” He dragged his beard up my neck to my ear. “You taste like the ocean.”
I tightened my legs around him. It wasn’t even ten in the morning and we were heading for ninety degrees outside. “Is that because I’m sweaty?”
“No.” He leaned back a little to lock his gaze with mine. “Everything about you and your apartment feels and smells like cool water. It’s why I ended up in here.”
“Not for me?” I teased.
“Everything is for you.”
My eyebrows headed for the ceiling.
He pressed a quick kiss against my mouth. “That was supposed to be way less creepy. I just mean something about you makes me think of cool, calm waters. Comfort.”
I wiggled my decidedly uncool self against his hot cock. “Comfort, hmm?”
“Last night I was hot and drunk—but not drunk if you know what I mean. I barely had anything to drink. But the antibiotics I’m on made me queasy.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know you can’t drink when you take those, right?”
“You can’t?”
I sighed. “No. It makes you loopy and sideways on alcohol.” I scraped my nails along his neck. “Even big strong men.”
He flushed again, but also leaned into the scrape of my nails. He nipped at my chin. “Yeah, well, I was feeling crappy and just bounced down the hallway like a pinball. Then I was here. I must have locked my door.”
He tucked one arm under my ass and backed up to swing around so he could sit down on the edge of my bed. But instead of letting me off of him, he gripped my hips so I’d stay straddled over him.
Now I was the one with the upper hand. I straightened and lightly rolled my hips against his. “So, you decided my apartment was the best place for you to lay your weary head?”
He hissed out a breath, lifting his hips as if to fit us together. His puzzle piece was definitely looking to lock us in place. “Not bright, I know. I was just going to lay there for a moment.”
“Quite a few moments, Goldilocks.”
He grinned up at me and flicked his tongue under my chin before he tasted his way along my jawline to my ear. “But your bed was just right.” He bit down on my lobe, his teeth clicking over the tiny star earrings that climbed up the shell of my ear.
Then he flipped me onto my back on the bed.
I let out a yelp and bowed up in a fit of giggles as he pushed up my shirt to get to my belly. His beard was just long enough to tickle. He nibbled his way over my ribs to my belly button and tucked his tongue under the navel ring I’d gotten as a rebellious teen.
When he pulled lightly, it seemed to be attached to a gossamer string attached to my clit. It throbbed in reaction, making me reach for one of the scrolling bars of my iron headboard.
A wolfish flash of teeth made me gulp down another gasp. He dug his hands under my ass and flipped my shorts and panties off in one fell swoop, tossing them over his shoulder. When I thought he’d go right for my pussy, he stopped for a moment and kissed my ankle before whipping off each daisy sandal to follow my shorts.
Disoriented with the odd bits of sweetness in the seduction, I could only hold onto the headboard. He splayed his long fingers over my lower belly before he tunneled his thumb through my slit to expertly find my clit and pressed down in little fluttery pulses.
I blew out a calming breath, trying to get my bearings, then he lowered his mouth to drink from me.
His other hand slid up my body to push at my shirt. His green eyes flashed as he came up for air long enough to say, “Off.”
I struggled to get it over my head, shoving pillows out of the way. My dreamcatcher swayed above us, and the clink of bells and crystals were the only sounds beyond my ridiculously wet pussy. I should’ve been a touch embarrassed, but I was too busy enjoying his very talented tongue.
He hummed out a growl as he replaced his thumb with his lips and tongue. He dragged his damp thumb up my sweat-sheened skin to my breast. He pulled and pinched as I arched up against his mouth.
I held onto the headboard. It was really all I could do. The tempest was back and he was pitching me into the heart of the storm. I dug my heels into my mattress when the rasp of his tongue tossed me into a screaming free fall.
He clamped a hand over my middle and held me down, demanding more.
My eyes flew open and I dug my nails into his forearm as I came apart in a kaleidoscope of colors. We both glowed hot and I slammed my eyes shut against the pure white light of perfection.
His name was a litany. A prayer. A chant.
I didn’t even know at this point.
I just wanted to bask in it forever.
Then he was gone.
My brain went offline as I tried to recover. Suddenly, he was back, pulling me up from my starfished position on my bed. What was oxygen? I surely didn’t know right now. I was living in the land of orgasmic bliss, and I really wanted to buy some property on it.
He draped my legs over his thighs, then dragged me upright to straddle him.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “Hi there.”
He nibbled on my swollen lips and grinned. “Hi.”
“Wow.”
He laughed and kissed my neck. “I almost came just from listening to you say my name.” Pride tipped up the corner of his mouth. “Many times.”
Now it was me with the full body flush. “I wasn’t expecting all that.”
“Me neither, truthfully. But fuck, you’re so goddamn beautiful.” He pressed his dick against my belly, the length of it reaching up between us. “And I want inside you so bad.”
I crisscrossed my arms behind his neck. “What are you waiting for?”
He held up a condom.
I snatched it out of his hand. “Goldilocks came prepared.”
He winced. “Not really. I keep one in my wallet, but for a guy, it’s mostly a beacon of hope.”
I laughed and ripped it open. “Well, let’s get that beacon suited up for a little party of two.”
He gripped my thighs. “You are freaking incredible.”
I shimmied back enough to get my hand on his considerable length. “You’re just saying that because I’m naked and very willing.”
“No. I mean, yes, that’s a very good point. But that’s not all—”
I leaned forward and cut him off with a quick kiss. “Let’s just have fun with this. You’re single and I’m s
ingle. It’s the summer and—”
He cupped my face. “And we’re really good at this.”
My fingers stilled over the hot, silky tip of his cock. “We haven’t even had sex yet.”
“Well, get that condom on so I can show you what I already know.”
I rolled the latex down his length, then he laid me back on the bed. We detangled legs before he climbed over me and slowly lowered himself so he could slide inside of me. His stormy gray-green eyes flashed something akin to wonder before he met my mouth in a hot, hard kiss.
I lifted my legs up and around him and accepted him inside of me. The quick rush of energy buzzed through me as I took each thrust like an offering.
Heat and bliss.
Pleasure soaked connection.
A promise I wasn’t sure I was looking for, but stole anyway.
I raked my nails down his sweat-slicked back as we chased our way out of the storm and to the sun. Arching under him, I clamped down on him as he flung back his head and groaned out my name. I rode the edge of his strained release and found one more of my own.
He collapsed on me and I held him there when he murmured an apology.
The overwhelming mix of emotions that followed sex flattened me. I always took on a piece of my partner, no matter how good my shields were. But I’d opened myself to Caleb and couldn’t quite turn it off. Instead of running for the hills like most men, his quiet contentment poured into me.
He finally leaned back a bit. “I need to take care of this.”
I nodded and shifted to let him up. I pulled the sheet over me as I curled onto my side. Muscles I hadn’t used in a damn long time were deliciously stretched and abused.
He came back and sat on the edge of the bed, lightly tugging on my shoulder until I looked at him. He held up a washcloth.
I shook my head. “I’m just going to take a shower.”
“Okay.” He slid the cloth over my neck and skimmed along the edge of the tangle of short chains I wore. He nudged the sheet down to drag the cooling cloth over my breasts before dipping his head to taste the tip of one.
