He held his breath as he gently pulled the tie undone and let his fingers part the lapels. She was beautiful, pale and exquisitely made.
"You're gorgeous," he told her.
Leah shrugged from the robe, letting it pool at her feet. With a teasing look over her shoulder she turned and sauntered toward the bed. Caleb's gaze was glued to the sway of her butt, but his hands were busy unbuttoning and unzipping his own clothes. There was no finesse in what he did, stripping as fast as possible so he could join her on his wide, king-size bed.
What he needed most was to get her back in his arms, arouse her to the point she couldn't take any more before he joined his body to hers. It had been so long—too long.
LEAH WATCHED HIS APPROACH, her breath catching in wonder and anxiety. She had been with no one since that night with Caleb, and her body had changed. She had the marks of childbirth, nearly unavoidable with skin as pale as hers. Would it make a difference?
She dared a look at his expression and forgot her momentary lapse in confidence. The fact her stomach wasn't quite as tight or her breasts as high didn't matter to Caleb. His gaze glowed with admiration as his glance traveled the length of her. So Leah resisted the urge to hide from him.
Then she no longer had to worry because he was there with her, his arms braced on either side of her as he leaned down to kiss her yet again. The tenderness in his touch made tears well.
"What's wrong?" His brow furrowed. "Have I hurt you?"
She shook her head. "It's so much more than I anticipated."
"Too much?"
"No. Please don't stop. I need this. I need you." She couldn't say love. She wasn't sure yet what that was except as it concerned Jonah. "I don't think I can stand for this first time to be slow, Caleb. I'm sorry."
"It's all right. We're both tense."
That was precisely it. They had this history getting in the way, and they needed to move past it. Leah twined her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. Caleb stretched out into the welcome opening of her, pressing his hips into the cradle of her thighs. He was hard and ready for her, but he wasn't going there just yet. He eased back from kissing her to cup her breasts in his hands before he pressed soft kisses there and teased her with his tongue.
"Please," she begged, needing to feel him again.
"I need a condom. Hang on."
He drew her along with him to the nightstand next to his bed. In the next instant, he was tearing open the foil packet and covering himself. Heat pooled deep inside her. Leah didn't want to wait any longer. She sat on the bed and tugged him down.
He chuckled softly as he nimbly avoided falling on top of her. Flat on his back he pulled her toward him. "You seem eager to run this show. You want to be on top?"
Leah's breath caught. Her gaze ran over him greedily, taking in his muscular body, the hard thrust of his cock. She didn't need another invitation. As soon as she straddled him, Caleb's fingers found her, rubbing and stroking.
"Put me inside you," he growled, his green eyes as dark and mysterious as the forest. "I need to feel you around me."
Leah grasped him in one hand, holding him steady as she slowly lowered herself and took him inside her body. "You feel so good."
Caleb's expression was intent. "Damn. It's all I can do not to come right this instant."
As if his words were a warning, he swelled even more inside her. She increased her pace, her own climax roaring closer as Caleb's fingers teased her. Then they were both there, pleasure overtaking them, temporarily blotting out every other concern, every other thought, and leaving them with what they had found that first time. In this one thing, at least, they were matched, and Leah was going to enjoy every moment of it.
Chapter 19
"Make sure you've got plenty of wings," Caleb cautioned his cook as he grabbed the peanuts from the pantry stock. He knew his family. They would munch their way through the dry-roasteds like nobody's business. He had lined up an entire menu of bar food for everyone to sample, but if they ran out of wings and peanuts, his ass was grass.
It was Friday afternoon. The soft opening for Last Call was an hour away, but he'd been at the bar since right after dropping Jonah off at his parents' house. As he scrolled through his final checklist almost on autopilot because he'd mentally rehearsed it so often, Caleb smiled at everything currently going right in his life.
His dream of owning his own sports bar was about to be realized. Sure Pipe Dream had been the start, but Last Call would be all his. Then there was his personal life. The last couple days with Leah and Jonah had been like a dream come true. He would never have pictured it. Hadn't thought he was the type who would take to having a kid around. And Leah? She had spent the rest of the night in his bed and stayed there every night since.
In that small amount of time, they had managed to make love in just about every room of the house, but the shower was turning into one of his personal favorites. That shower with the multiple heads was a sensory delight. And who knew how endlessly inventive Leah would turn out to be in bed? He was having the best sex of his life. Hands down.
Crap, thinking about their last round under those pulsing shower jets with Leah bent over and him behind her was making him hard again.
Caleb checked his watch. Leah should be one of the first ones here. His parents were picking her up from work on their way, and Caleb couldn't wait to give her and Jonah the grand tour. Rubbing a hand along the bar, he looked around him and felt a rush of pride that he would be able to pass along something lasting to his son. Last Call wasn't Mercer's, but he hoped it would become as much of a fixture in Mountain Meadow as Eli's family restaurant.
His glance drifted to the back room. Set up like an oversized family room, it featured four large wall-mounted flat screen TVs, two pool tables, and couches and chairs where customers could relax and order drinks and snacks while they watched the sporting event of their choice. The main dining room provided enough seating for food service so he could justify his mixed beverage license.
The sound of a vehicle pulling in out front drew his attention. Showtime. Caleb flipped the main switch that powered up the TVs and the gaming systems then strode over to unlock the front door. Leah and Jonah were on the other side of the glass, smiles on their faces. All of a sudden, his heart was near to bursting at the sight of the two of them standing there smiling at him, waiting for him. Afternoon sunlight glinted on her pale hair, turning it into a shimmering halo. She was so damn pretty and so unaware of it.
His hand shook slightly as he opened the door.
"Hey," he said at the same time Leah did, and still they smiled.
"Daddy!" Jonah tugged at his jeans, and Caleb bent down so he could lift his beaming son in his arms. It was a perfect moment.
"Come in. I want to give you the tour before everyone else gets here."
Leah looked down at her jeans and T-shirt. "I should probably change."
"You look beautiful." He meant it. It didn't matter to him what she wore, but he could see it did to her. "Use my office. I'll show you the way."
His parents had joined them by this time. "Have a seat, Mom and Dad. I'm going to take Leah back to my office so she can get freshened up. Afterward, I'll give you the tour."
Caleb was on such a high, nothing could bring him down. He carried Jonah as they toured the place. Leah didn't say much, her eyes wide as she studied the gleaming appliances in the kitchen and met his cook. When they got back out to the main dining area, his dad clapped him on the back.
"This is really first class, Caleb. I hope Mountain Meadow's ready for it."
Caleb nodded. "Me too."
Another hour later, he stood behind the polished, wooden bar, once again scanning the room. Leah was with Jonah at a large table that also had Holly and the twins along with Peter, Doc and Evan's son. The two adults were overseeing an elaborate assortment of cars and trucks. For once, Eli's kid, Bash, wasn't with them.
Maybe he should have opened a game room for kids. He shook hi
s head. Hell, the whole place was one big game room. Jared, his nephew, and Tyler, Jake's teenaged brother-in-law, were engaged in a hot game of Wii baseball against Evan and Jake. Eli and Becca argued over a game of online trivia with former senator Stoner Richardson and his wife, Catherine. The game finished up and the senator and his wife got up to join Caleb and Eli's parents at a table toward the back.
The food was plentiful, and his waiter and waitress, experienced people he'd managed to lure away from the bar at the hotel by the interstate, were winding their way through the tables to deliver drinks and additional food. Caleb checked the big screens. The TVs were tuned to a variety of sports. Baseball playoffs on one screen. College football on another. Some analysis of an upcoming NASCAR race. Everything a sports junkie could want.
Caleb smiled. His friends and family—with one exception—looked happy.
Since Leah and Holly were occupied with most of the young boys, Jen, Tabby, Erin and Rachel—the rest of the various Allred and Richardson wives—were all rounding up babies. Pastor Joe, Sam Barnes, the Castle County sheriff, and Luke, Caleb's older brother, were in some serious discussion at the other end of the bar.
Noah was sitting with them, but not taking part in the discussion as he simply sipped with alarming consistency at the bourbon in his glass and tapped it to indicate he needed a refill from Caleb's assistant manager. Still medicating with alcohol. Caleb had a lot on his plate, but he was going to have to make room for his twin, do something to get Noah out of his head and back into life.
Caleb sighed before he turned his attention to the end of the bar nearest to him. Eli's son, Bash, was helping Holly's daughter, Noelle, climb up onto a stool. Wow, not even in first grade and Bash was hitting on the girls.
He ambled their way, allowing himself a slight grin. He had to respect the attitude Bash brought to life. Caleb and Eli had been the same way in their younger days. Noah had joined them then, but he'd always been more serious-minded, just not the morose man he was now.
"Can I get you two anything?" Caleb inquired, wiping at an imaginary spot on the polished bar with his bright white bar towel.
Bash grinned, showing off dimples in his cherubic face. The big blue eyes and blond curls only added to the angelic look. "Two Shirley Temples, Uncle Caleb."
"He's my uncle, not yours," Noelle pointed out, not entirely correctly.
"Din't your mommy tell you you're s'posed to share?"
Noelle thought this over for a minute. "Okay. He can be your uncle too."
Caleb smothered a grin as he added grenadine to ginger ale and tucked maraschino cherries in both glasses.
"Hey, Noelle, watch this. Daddy showed me how to do it. He said girls weally like it."
Caleb's eyes widened and his head swiveled around just in time to see Bash sticking a cherry stem in his mouth. Oops!
"Yeah. Hey sport, why don't you wait a few years on that? Here, have some peanuts. Did you know Santa's head's on the inside of every one when you split them in half?" Caleb shoved a bowl in front of the two kids, smiling when they lost interest in the cherry stem and started splitting the peanuts in half so they could see Santa's head.
"That is so cool, Noelle!" Bash exclaimed and added thoughtfully. "You think that's one of the ways he watches to see if we're naughty or nice?"
Caleb ducked under the walkthrough and stepped over to where Eli was whispering in Becca's ear. Just back from their honeymoon, they were still pretty annoyingly wrapped up in each other. Plopping down across from the two of them, Caleb glared at his friend. "Eli, your son was over there getting ready to show my niece how he can tie cherry stems with his tongue. Said you showed him. What exactly were you thinking?"
Becca smiled lazily. "He's good at it."
Caleb clapped his hands over his ears. "Fuck! TMI. You're my baby sister, for God's sake! I do not need the intimate details of your relationship. Do you have any idea how much I have to restrain myself not to pound him every time I see the two of you together? How overloaded your courtship was with images and information I didn't need to share? You forget—he's my best friend. We know more about each other than two people should. I do not need to know all those details about you too."
Becca batted her eyelashes. "If you know him so well, you know why I'm always smiling."
Eli laughed wickedly and leaned over to kiss her.
Caleb hoped he was never that pukeworthy with Leah. "This is just wrong. I'm getting Noah. In the mood he's in, he would pound you for sure."
Eli arched a brow. "As I recall, the last time the two of you tried , we all ended up battered and bruised. Don't make me hurt you. She might be your little sister, but she's my wife."
Becca grinned at her brother. "So did you let Bash show her? He's been practicing, but since he doesn't really like the cherries, I've been throwing a lot of them away."
"Hell no, I didn't let him show her! I gave them a bowl of peanuts and told them Santa's face was inside every one. That diverted them, so they're both busy breaking them in half to see."
"Santa's in peanuts now?" Eli asked.
Caleb rolled his eyes. "It's the little root or whatever. You know. If you look real close, it looks a little like Santa Claus."
Eli pursed his lips. "Yeah. Right. I like the cherry stem better."
Caleb shook his head. "You won't be saying that when you're a grandfather before you're forty."
Sudden alarm crossed Eli's face. He turned his head to the two kids still perched on their bar stools. "Hey, Bash! You and Noelle come on over here. Bring the peanuts. I wanna see Santa too."
Caleb leaned back. His work was done. He let his gaze go back over to Leah again. As if she sensed his stare, she looked up, their eyes meeting across the room. Caleb wasn't at all certain where the two of them were headed, but he was beginning to realize he didn't want to let her or Jonah go. It was more than becoming a family. He wanted her in his house and by his side.
Maybe it was time for them to put things are a more permanent footing.
Becca elbowed him and laughed. "Oh my God, Caleb. Close your mouth. You're drooling."
"Am not."
"Are too."
Caleb felt his ears turning red. He did not need anyone speculating on his love life, such as it was. He and Leah were still feeling their way through their current living situation. "I am not drooling."
"You totally are, bro," Eli said. "She and Jonah are living with you. Why don't you go ahead and make it official?"
"Official?"
Becca laughed. "You know. Marriage?" She said it very slowly like he might be too stupid to understand. Come to think of it, he did feel like someone had slapped him upside of the head.
Caleb frowned down at the table. Marriage? The bar felt suddenly hot and airless.
Marriage to Leah? Why not?
Chapter 20
Cooler weather moved in, and Mountain Plants was busier than normal. It seemed to Leah everyone had decided on the same day it was time to winterize their flowerbeds and any other landscaping in their yards. She had been selling mulch like crazy, as well as entire flats of mums and pansies. Mack had purchased a variety of decorative pumpkins from a local grower, and those were beginning to move as well.
For once, Mack had been working his butt off, or as close as he came. That basically meant instead of disappearing, he'd been using the loader to dump mulch into the back of pickup trucks. In between loads, he spent most of his time talking to the locals, leaving Leah to actually assist everyone else.
Business slacked off after lunch, and she was able to take a break. When the door dinged once again, Leah blew out a tired puff of air and stepped into the front of the store. Noah stood at the counter, a frown on the face that looked so much like Caleb's, with one notable exception. Where Caleb's moss green gaze was sexy and intimate, Noah's was filled with hostility.
"Hi, Noah.” Leah tried to keep her sense of caution out of her voice.
"Yeah. Dad's getting a load of mulch for the pickup. He
sent me in to pay."
She stepped closer, noting the bloodshot eyes and the smell of alcohol still lingering around him. Leah's heart ached. He was so unhappy.
"That will be forty dollars."
He pushed a debit card toward her. Leah slid it along the register and returned it. She should say something to him but didn't know what. He stared at her as if he were inspecting a bug.
"How are you doing?" Her voice shook.
His eyes narrowed. "Not as good as you."
Leah handed him the receipt. "What do you mean?"
"You've managed to come out of this whole situation in pretty good shape. Caleb's giving you a place to live, footing the bill for you and your kid, and you get out from under your daddy's thumb." He leaned closer. "I remember how he knocked you around the summer we worked on the roof. You must have been desperate to get away. Desperate enough you got yourself knocked up? How's it working for you, Leah?"
Right now, her feelings were nearly the same as when her father had slapped her around. Some of that must have shown in her face. Something like remorse flashed across Noah's expression, then disappeared as the door opened to admit Amanda Brown, the reporter from the Castle County Messenger and one of their regular customers. Her dark blue gaze swiveled from Noah to Leah and her gaze narrowed.
"Hi, Mandy," Leah greeted. "I'll be with you in a moment."
Amanda focused on Noah again. "I'm in no hurry. Just need to pick up some straw. Everything okay?" She directed her question at Leah even though she was studying Noah.
His jaw hardened. "We were doing fine until a few seconds ago when the door opened and you walked in."
Leah couldn't help her sharp intake of breath. And she thought he'd been rude to her. Maybe he was this way with everyone.
"Noah!" she protested.
Amanda grinned. "It's all right, Leah. Noah's decided to use me as his punching bag, but it's all good. I'm used to the role. Comes with the reporter job. How's your little guy doing these days?"
Last Call (A Place to Call Home Book 3) Page 13
