He turned around. His eyes landed on her, and without missing a beat, he crossed to her, slid a hand behind her head and drew her mouth to his.
The kiss was soul shattering. It rained through her in droplets of color so vivid, it was like living in the heart of a rainbow. He destroyed all her senses and rebuilt them, filled with only pieces him. She never honestly believed a kiss could steal and give so much all at the same time.
She broke it, gasping for breath.
His chest rose and fell in unsteady beats that flared his nostrils. He peered down at her with eyes that reminded her of an early afternoon thunderstorm. His mouth, moist and swollen from hers, swooped down for another kiss, fast and hard, stealing what little air she had drawn into her lungs.
A groan left her and it seemed to be the thing he was waiting for; he deepened his attacks. His tongue slid deep into the crevice of her mouth and skimmed along the roof and over the length of hers. His fingers fisted in her hair, dragging her head back until she was fully at his mercy. The tightening in her chest intensified until it was a ring of bells screaming in her ear.
He pulled away and she slumped in his arms, gasping and whimpering. His heart pounded against hers.
“Have breakfast with me.”
Calla laughed weakly into the front of his chest. “Was the kiss an incentive?”
He shook his head, his fingers gliding along the length of her spine. “The kiss was purely for pleasure.”
Marginally more steady, she lifted her head and peered up into his face. “I’d love breakfast.”
They bundled up. He took her hand and together, they left her apartment. The Sunday morning traffic followed them through town. It was just warm enough to make the stroll comfortable. But the wind still nipped at their cheeks and at the ends of their noses. Somewhere between Maple Way and Shamrock Road, he released her hand and slid his arm around her waist instead. She was tucked firmly into his side and she couldn’t bring herself to mind, because for the first time in over a year, she wasn’t pretending to be happy. She actually felt it. It was there, a warm, bright ball in the center of her chest. Whether the thing between them lasted, or not, and whether he ever learned about her past, or not, she had that moment and for once, she clung to it with sheer desperation. Even if the guilt was tearing her in two.
She just couldn’t win.
“Stop.” Jared’s lips skimmed her temple.
“What?” She didn’t dare look at him.
“Thinking.”
Calla laughed. “It’s not humanly possible not to think.”
He stopped walking and turned to her. “I could kiss you again.”
Just the thought of that kiss, or any kiss that involved his mouth on hers sent a wave of heat washing through her.
“I don’t think another kiss like that will go over well with the parents.”
“Mm,” he mused evenly. “But imagine how much the parents could learn.”
Shaking her head in amusement, Calla chuckled. “Come on. I’m hungry.”
Ma’s Diner was packed with the early morning rush. They just managed to snag the last booth when more people came in after them and had to turn away. Calla shrugged out of her coat and scarf and folded both into the leather bench next to her. Jared did the same.
“Maybe we should have eaten at home,” Calla said as they waited for their waitress.
Jared arched a brow. “I thought of that, until I opened your fridge and realized you didn’t eat there very often.”
Hot little fingers of embarrassment crept into her cheeks. “I usually grab something on my way to work,” she confessed. “Or I eat at my parents.”
“Yeah, I guessed as much.” He grinned lopsidedly at her. “You have one of the cleanest fridges I’ve ever seen.”
The flush deepened. “I’ve never used it,” she mumbled. “I mean, I think I did once … but I can’t remember what it was for.”
Jared laughed and the sound was beautiful, deep and rumbling. It sent shivers along her spine.
“Thank God I know how to cook then,” he said once he’d sobered. “Otherwise, we might starve to death.”
“Hey!” she protested with feigned outrage. “I know all the takeout numbers by heart, okay?”
Jared cocked an eyebrow. “Baby, Willow Creek doesn’t have takeout places.”
She pouted indignantly. “You’re missing the point entirely.”
Chuckling, he reached across the table and lightly brushed a lock of hair off her cheek. “And what exactly is your point?”
“That, uh…”
His amusement heightened when she could come up with nothing. He sat back and studied her, his unwavering focus daunting.
“Don’t judge me!” she mumbled. She folded her arms on the table and decided to change the topic. “Do you remember last night?” she asked.
He narrowed his eyes at her question. “I remember dancing. I remember kissing you. I remember…” He narrowed his eyes and squinted hard. “I remember parts of being inside you.”
“Jared!” Horrified, Calla glanced at the tables around them, praying to God none of them had heard him.
“What?” he retorted with a sort of innocence she didn’t buy for a minute. “It was mostly you moaning and gasping in my ear, begging me to go faster and—”
“Jesus!” She pitched her napkin at him. “Stop!”
Jared laughed. “Okay, okay!” he said when she glowered at him, struggling hard to restrain her grin. “I don’t remember much else.”
Calla shook her head. “How did we get to my place? Did we walk? How are my toes not frozen off?”
“Maybe I carried you?” he offered. “Or someone gave us a ride?”
“You don’t think we drove, do you?” she gasped.
It was his turn to rock his head from side to side. “My truck wasn’t in your parking area and I don’t have my keys.”
“Maybe you were robbed.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “And they were kind enough to take us home first?”
“Jared?”
“Hmm?”
“Dude, where’s your car?”
He flung her napkin back at her.
They were still laughing when a figure stepped up alongside their table. They sobered enough to glance up. Then Calla was really sober.
Denise smiled hesitantly down at them. “Hey!” She tapped her pen nervously on her notepad. “You two look … happy.”
“Hey Denise,” Jared said without missing a beat. “How are you today?”
Denise shrugged. “I’m all right. How about you two? I heard the good news this morning. It’s all over town. I guess congratulations are in order?”
Calla glanced at Jared and was relieved to see he was just as confused as she was.
“Congratulations on what?” he asked.
“What news?” Calla asked at the same time.
Thin eyebrows twitched in confusion. “Well, about you two getting married.”
There was a full second, a full heartbeat of silence where Calla wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly, or how to respond.
“What?” she finally got out.
“We’re not married,” Jared said simply. “Ali and Dan got married. I think you got the wrong couple, hon.”
Of course, Calla thought, her stomach settling down once more. Denise was confused. She probably had as much to drink as Calla and Jared had. That was what happened when a bunch of single folk were given free, unlimited drinks.
Denise continued to frown at them, visibly baffled. “Maybe…” She shrugged. “I guess I might have heard wrong.”
They gave their order and watched the brunette hurry away.
Neither spoke for several minutes. They watched the steady flow of people hurrying past the windows. Across the street, more people were on their way to church. Calla watched them and remembered being younger and being forced to attend. Her mom still made them go occasionally, but since they started spending the day together as a family, she was les
s forcible about it. But she still made them say grace before eating.
“Are you coming tonight?” She turned her attention to the man across from her and started to find him already watching her.
“I could be persuaded.”
Calla rolled her eyes, chuckling. “I meant to dinner.”
“Would you like me to?”
She hadn’t thought about it. Everything was happening so fast, yet at the same time, it all felt like an inevitable force she’d been waiting years to finally come around. She wasn’t sure what they would tell her parents, or Damon. They would have questions and she had no idea how to answer any of them. But Sunday dinners weren’t the same without him there.
“Yes.”
Jared nodded. “Then I’ll be there.”
The leather beneath him squeaked as he leaned forward and stretched one arm across the table. His fingers unfurled in offering. Gently, she settled her hand into his palm and watched as it was roped towards him and lifted to his mouth. The fine bristles shadowing his jaw tickled her skin. Over the ridges of her knuckles, he held her gaze.
“I have to find my truck keys,” he murmured against her skin, making her laugh a little breathlessly.
“And your truck, I hope.”
He lowered their joined hands and shrugged. “Yes, that would help. It’s probably still in the town hall parking lot.”
“We can go check after we eat,” she offered.
They didn’t have long to wait. Denise brought out their steaming plates of scrambled egg, sausages, and toast. She set them down next to two mugs of coffee. They ate in a comfortable silence, paid their check, and ventured back out into the brisk cold. Jared kept a firm grip on Calla’s hand as they picked their way over snow and ice towards the large, red building near the edge of town. It was one of the perks of living in such a small community, everything was within walking distance. Sure enough, Jared’s truck sat half buried beneath a mountain of snow. Calla was mainly relieved that they hadn’t driven in their intoxicated state. But it did raise the question of how they got to her apartment. Maybe they really did walk, which didn’t explain what happened to his keys, or how she hadn’t frozen her toes off.
Jared ambled to the driver’s side and entered the keyless entry code on the buttons built into the door. A click sounded through the air and he yanked the door open. Snow slid off the roof and nearly landed on his head as he ducked inside.
“No keys,” he said, peering around the steering wheel at the ignition.
“Do you have a spare?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, at home.”
Calla frowned. “Do you have a spare for your apartment?”
His face bunched in a grimace. “My mom does.” He peered out at her as he climbed out and slammed the car door shut, his eyes pleading. “Come with me? If we’re quick, she might still be at church.”
Laughing, Calla took the hand he held out to her.
Janet Dumont wasn’t home. The neatly kempt two story colonial sat quiet amongst its surrounding neighbors. Jared led her around the side towards the backdoor where he unearthed a small key from beneath the mat. He eased it into the keyhole and let them inside.
“That key saved my hide a time or two when I was a teen sneaking out with you and Damon,” he said as they crept into a small mudroom. “Mom has no idea I know where it is.”
“Where’s your key?” she hissed in barely a whisper. “I feel like a criminal sneaking around in here.”
“Hey, I still have a room upstairs, so I kind of still live here.”
Nevertheless, he edged deeper through a set of French doors into a gleaming kitchen. Calla stayed by the door as he wandered his way to the very end, near an opening that she knew from memory led into the sitting area. He rifled through a few sets hanging off a wood plaque with a series of hooks drilled into the finish.
“Garage … boat … cabin…” His mumbles were interrupted by the jingle of metal as he flipped through them. “Ha!”
He plucked up a ring with only one key hanging off it and hurried back to her. Together, they left the Dumont residence and made their way to his apartment.
“You have an hour,” she told him as he let them in.
He went straight to the bathroom. A moment later, she heard the water run and wondered just how pervy it was of her to imagine him in there, soapy, wet and completely naked. Probably not a whole lot considering they’d practically devoured each other the night before. Plus, visions of him in the skin from earlier that morning hadn’t left her. She could still see that morning’s erection whenever she closed her eyes and a shiver of longing flowed through her. It had been a beautiful sight, one she almost regretted letting go to waste.
Nevertheless, she moved away from his minute foyer and shuffled deeper into the danger zone. His apartment was a place she had never visited before and it was oddly telling of the man he was; not overly fussy, casual, fun, and masculine. Everything was furnished in tan, or dark brown. There was only one sofa facing a flat screen TV mounted to the wall. There was an end table on one side with a lamp and a worn, leather armchair in the other. A scarred coffee table sat in the middle on a frayed area rug. The room didn’t give space for much more than that. Immediately behind the armchair and sofa were doors, one that led out onto a small terrace, the other led into the kitchen. Closer towards the main entryway was a short hallway in which Jared had disappeared down. She could just make out three doors and assumed one was his bedroom and the other a closet, while the third was the bathroom. On the walls were pictures of Jared with family, friends, and people she didn’t recognize doing everything from drinking on the sofa to fishing, hiking, and even partying. There were quite a few of Damon and Willa. The odd one of his parents. But they all had him grinning that lopsided grin of his. She liked that he was so open and carefree. Maybe that was why she was able to let herself go a little with him. While she hadn’t exactly agreed to go steady with him, it was nice to have someone else join her in the frozen tundra that had become her life. It wasn’t even certain things would ever progress between them. For all she knew, they could just wind up being friends. She would rather have him in her life in a small way, than in no way at all.
The bathroom door clicked in the silence. Calla turned in surprise; she hadn’t heard the water shut off. A moment later, Jared emerged, freshly showered and wearing nothing but a towel around lean hips. Beads of water glistened over the impressive width of his chest, the hard curves of his shoulders and trailed in rivulets of torture through the deep cuts of muscle stamped into his abdomen. Calla knew she was staring. She probably was even drooling. But that was twice in one day she’d seen him naked, or near naked, and she hadn’t had sex in over a year. The previous night, in her mind, partially didn’t count since she didn’t remember any of it.
While she wasn’t shy about taking what she wanted, that fine line she’d drawn into the sand was giving her a moment of pause. Having sex with him the night before while she’d been intoxicated was one thing, but that line was there for a reason, especially when she still wasn’t sure where they stood. True he wanted them to have a relationship, which sounded fine, but they hadn’t even gone on a date. What would it say about her if she marched over and tore the towel off him and begged him to take her?
“Have you decided?”
Calla blinked, momentarily panicked at the thought of having spoken her indecisions out loud. Her gaze flicked away from the rigid outline of his expanding erection tenting the front of the cloth to meet his focused and darkened eyes.
“What?”
The floorboards creaked beneath his large feet as he crossed the floor towards her. His progression was slow, almost taunting, like he was trying to give her the chance to flee before he took what he wanted. Calla didn’t move.
“Whether or not you want me inside you again.”
Well, fuck.
Despite the growing ache inside her, Calla chuckled. “If I said no?”
He stopped whe
n there was an inch of space between them. “I’d call you a liar.”
That close, there was no ignoring the steady thrum of desire that pulsed at her clit and tightened her nipples. His scent drove into her, wild, hot and musky and she was powerless to resist her own needs.
She reached for him, her mind and body no longer in sync, and cradled the mouthwatering weight of his cock against her palm. Jared sucked in a breath that ruffled the hairs at the top of her head. His body tensed. The muscle in her grasp twitched and lengthened.
“I want him,” she breathed into the sharp point of his Adam’s apple. His skin was hot and damp from his shower. She licked a droplet of water that dripped down the length of his tight jawline. “I want him inside me.”
“Christ…”
Without a warning, his hands had torn apart her coat. The heavy material was shoved down her arms and pitched aside. Her sweater followed. Then she was shoved forcibly onto the sofa.
For a moment, he simply stood over her, a fierce god about to unleash his mighty wrath. His gray eyes were pits of hunger devouring the exposed skin of her torso covered only by a white bra. He took in her breasts, rising and falling quickly against the lacy cups. She started to reach for the clasps in front, but he shook his head.
“Don’t.”
Her hands fell back to her sides and she watched as he shifted forward and knelt on the ground between her parted legs. His hands were steady removing her boots, then reaching under her and dragging down the tight material of her pants.
“Hurry,” she whispered, helping him kick them free.
He ignored her. Instead, his mouth found the insides of her thighs. His hot, open mouthed kisses burned her skin. She moaned a curse and widened her knees, urging him higher. He didn’t disappoint. His face found the heart of all her agony and nuzzled. Calla gasped. Her hands clamped through his short locks. Her hips lifted.
But rather than continue, he followed a path up her mound, along her stomach to bury his face into her breasts. He sucked and nibbled the spongy mounds, while dragging her writhing body lower on the cushion. The snap on her bra was undone and the fabric sprung apart. Her breasts bounced free and were quickly taken into his mouth with greedy gusto. The other one was cupped, the nipple assaulted by his thumb.
Be My Baby Page 10
