Caleb

by Cindy Stark

“No. Wait.” He closed the distance between them and cradled her lovely face between his palms. He’d meant to give her a more sincere apology, but temptation won the battle.

  “Rachel,” he whispered and then claimed her lips, using his kiss to search for a deeper connection with her.

  She remained stiff at first, but he refused to give up. He’d hurt her. This might take time. He pulled back, searched her face, and wiped the tears from beneath her eyes. “You’re so beautiful.”

  He kissed her again, tilting her head to the side so he could claim more of her. When she relaxed and placed a hand on his back, immense relief flooded him.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered between kisses. “I’m so sorry.”

  He reveled in the feel of her satin skin as he slid hands behind her back and crushed her against him. Even if he’d wanted to, he couldn’t keep his fingers from tracing her spine or exploring the curve of her hip.

  When he thought he might explode, he lifted her into his arms and headed for the big, luxurious bed only a few feet away.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, her face only inches from his.

  “I’m your husband, and this is our honeymoon. What the hell do you think I’m doing?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Rachel’s insides constricted into a tight bud of desire as Caleb carried her to the bed. “You can’t do this.”

  “I can, and I will.” He deposited her on the soft velvet quilt and followed her down. When he had her pinned beneath him, he captured her gaze. “Are you saying you want me to stop?”

  Her breaths came hard and heavy as she stared into his fiery gaze. He had her, and he knew it. “Yes. I want you to stop.”

  He stared at her for a hard second and then moved to get off her.

  “Wait.” She wrapped her legs around one of his thighs and dug her fingers into the back of his firm biceps.

  “Yes or no?”

  She held his gaze, willing her breathing to slow. “I want you to stay. But only if you want to.”

  His expression softened. “Rachel, I’ve wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you. You had to know.”

  She slowly shook her head.

  He searched her gaze, pushing her hair back from her face. “Those eyes.” He lifted a curl and twisted it around his finger before he let it fall to her shoulder. “That hair. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to bury my fingers in your gorgeous hair and love you until you begged me to stop.”

  “Do it,” she whispered, excitement running wild through her.

  He claimed her mouth without hesitating as he slid a hand behind her head and into her hair. The act was so sensual, she thought she might explode right then.

  She wrapped her legs tighter around him as his tongue teased her lips. She opened, wanting him, needing him inside her. The feel of his mouth on hers shifted her to a new dimension, one full of lust and beauty and pleasure.

  She drew her fingers across his back, reveling in the contours and strength. “How did I get so lucky?”

  He chuckled and kissed her again. “You mean, how did I?” He shifted his attention to her neck, tugging her hair, forcing her to expose more skin. She tightened her legs around him, pressing her heated core against his thigh. She needed more contact, more of him touching her everywhere.

  His lips burned a trail down her neck, setting off sensation after sensation, filling her with anticipation. Her breaths became more erratic the closer he came to her breast.

  “Oh, God.” She squirmed beneath him, eager to have his mouth on her nipple. Arching her back, she encouraged him to taste her.

  He chuckled and palmed her breast. “Was there something you wanted?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  The sound of his deep voice scratchy with desire left her aching. “Maybe something here.” He lifted her finger to his mouth and sucked on it, tickling the pad with his tongue. When he removed it, he guided her finger to her nipple. She inhaled sharply as he forced her to trace circles around one hard bud.

  “Oh, God, yes,” she hissed.

  “Damn, girl.” He pushed her hand out of the way and claimed her for himself.

  She moaned as pleasure swirled through her. “Caleb. This is…so…” Her words were breathy and wanting, and oh, God, did she want.

  As he made love to her breasts, she tried to slip her fingers beneath the collar of his shirt. When she made little progress, she focused on holding his head, while he worked on blowing her mind.

  A delicious shiver rolled through her body, tightening her muscles, making her gasp.

  He grinned. “Liked that, did you?”

  She inhaled, trying to catch her breath, and shook her head. “You are so bad.”

  “Just wait.” He lifted to his knees, grasped her panties and pulled them from her with a quick swipe. “Oh, hell yeah.” He visually feasted on her naked body, generating tiny vibrations throughout her. Want was written all over his features, bringing forth shivers of excitement.

  “Let me take off your shirt,” she pleaded. She wanted his bare skin next to hers.

  “Not yet.” In a quick move, he spread her thighs and lowered himself between her legs, his face close to her heated center.

  She stiffened when she realized his intent. Elle had long praised the virtues of oral sex, but Rachel had never trusted anyone enough to let them that close to her. “Caleb…”

  His gaze was firm and demanding. “You’re all mine for the night, and I intend to play. You might as well enjoy it, too.”

  She sucked in a sharp breath when his tongue connected with her. “Oh, God.” She’d never had anyone be so personal with her.

  Then he licked. She would have come off the bed if he hadn’t been holding her down. All thoughts of modesty abandoned her, and her eyes rolled back in her head. Sweet heavens above.

  He stroked her and teased her bud until she trembled. Something powerful rumbled beneath the surface like a volcano ready to blow. She sensed it, but could do nothing but let it come.

  When it peaked, she gripped the velvet beneath her and squeezed her eyes as her body convulsed of its own accord.

  By slow degrees, reality crept in. The softly lit room. Crackles coming from the fireplace. The amazingly hot man hovering over her with a huge smile on his face.

  “I love watching you come.”

  She exhaled a laugh as the heat of a blush stole over her. She’d been so lost in the experience and hoped she hadn’t looked ridiculous. “That was beyond amazing.”

  “You’re beyond amazing.”

  Yet, he still wore all his clothes. She shifted beneath him, squirming higher on the bed. When he tried to stop her, she persisted until she’d escaped his grasp. She rolled to her knees, meeting him face to face on the bed.

  “My turn.” She pushed him until he fell back with a laugh, his head landing on a pillow next to them.

  “Oh, damn,” he said as she straddled him.

  His black pants were rough against her sensitized inner thighs, but she didn’t care. In a moment, she’d have him naked beneath her.

  She leaned forward, her hair falling around her shoulders as she began to open the buttons on his shirt. He snuck beneath her arms and traced a nipple. A violent shiver spread through her, and she slapped his hand away. “Behave.”

  His grin grew cocky, but he remained silent.

  When she had the last button undone, she spread his shirt open, exposing his chest. She murmured her approval as she traced the contours and then circled her finger around one of his nipples. “Nice,” she whispered.

  His eyes glittered with seduction, and she sensed he fought to remain still. “I’m glad you approve.”

  “Very much so.” She shimmied backward until she sat on his thighs, revealing his zipper and the large bulge beneath. She popped open the button at his waistband and then checked his gaze.

  He stared at her for a long moment and then glanced downward as though to urge her on.

  It was her
turn to grin. “Was there something you wanted?” she mimicked his earlier tease. “Maybe this?”

  She ran her palm over his zipper, tracing the length of him beneath.

  Without notice, he tugged her forward, capturing a nipple in his mouth. She gasped. Hot darts of desire pierced her core.

  “No.” She pulled away even though she didn’t want to and pinned both of his hands to the bed. “Don’t move.”

  She took her time unzipping his pants and pushing them down his hips a little, widening the opening. He lifted, and she slid off him to help remove them completely.

  Black boxer briefs were the only thing standing between her and what she wanted. She slid closer to him and tucked her fingers beneath the band, pulling them down to reveal his hardened cock.

  He inhaled a sharp warning.

  He jutted out, ready and waiting for her. She removed his briefs before she encircled him, running the length of him several times. His skin was soft, concealing the virulent power lying beneath. She opened her mouth and covered the head, swirling her tongue over the ridges.

  “Oh, fuck,” he hissed as he stiffened.

  She worshipped him for another minute, and then he forced her to stop. Before she could question him, he’d rolled them over and pinned her beneath him. Her breaths came fast as she marked in her memory the delicious feel of his body on hers.

  “Why did you stop me?”

  “Because I’d rather have this.” He slipped his fingers between them, stroking her heat. He groaned, moved his hand, and then buried himself inside her.

  “Oh, sweet God.” He filled her, stretching her until she gasped.

  When he was fully inside, he stopped and lifted on his elbows, capturing her gaze. She couldn’t move, could barely breathe as he pierced her with intense green eyes. He stared at her as though searching for something.

  She lifted her hand to his cheek, and a slow smile curved his lips.

  “We need a condom, my love,” he said.

  She widened her eyes, surprised she hadn’t considered protection. “I completely forgot.”

  “I did, too.” He pulled from her, gave her a long, lengthy kiss, before he left her long enough to take care of business.

  When he returned, he rekindled her fire within seconds with a scorching kiss. She closed her eyes as he slipped inside, and suddenly she was lost, running through the hazy labyrinth of sensuous desire, thirsty for another taste of oblivion.

  He made love to her until she was a ragdoll, satiated beyond belief. When at last he allowed his own pleasure, she thrilled at the look of surrender on his face before he collapsed next to her.

  “God, that was good,” he said, breathless.

  “So good.” She lifted a hand and placed it on his belly, immediately stroking his skin, still wanting and needing his touch.

  They lay that way for several minutes with nothing but the sounds of their breaths filling the quiet room. Then he rolled to his side and pulled her to him, her back against his chest, and gave her his arm as a pillow.

  He wrapped his free arm around her stomach and cupped one breast in his hand. Slowly, he stroked the side of her breast. His thumb and forefinger eventually moved to her nipple where he rolled her bud between them. Embers caught fire, seducing her again. She arched her back, pressing her ass against him only to discover he was halfway to hard once again.

  “Really?” she asked with a soft laugh.

  “I have no guarantees beyond one night, so I’m going to gorge myself on you.”

  She shivered at the thought.

  “One more time on this bed,” he whispered against her ear. “Then I’m carrying you to that big, beautiful tub, and I’ll make love to you all over again. After that, in front of the fireplace, and who knows where we’ll go from there.”

  She shifted until she faced him and threw a leg over his hip to draw them closer together. In answer to his statement, she slipped her hands behind his neck and kissed him like there was no tomorrow because, for them, tomorrow would only come a limited number of times before their relationship would have to die.

  Chapter Twenty

  Rachel woke with a heavy arm curved around her waist. The sound of Caleb’s even breathing invaded her thoughts and brought comforting peace to her soul. The room had been hot all night because of the fire, but the morning brought a chill that had them curled together.

  She closed her eyes, knowing their time was nearly at its end, and she relished the last few moments of her private time with him. Then they’d be back to the ranch, back to normal life. Each day that passed would be one less day for them.

  Their so-called wedding night had been more than she could have believed. Caleb had been extremely attentive, making sure she’d had her fill of pleasure before he took any for himself. Then they’d cuddled, and then made love all over again.

  A soft caress over her nipple brought her eyes wide open. She found Caleb staring at her with a grin while his fingers teased her breast. “Thank you for last night.”

  Some of her anxiety for the coming day eased. “No, thank you.” She smiled, discovering flecks of dark brown in his green eyes that she hadn’t noticed before.

  He rolled his thumb across her nipple, sending an exquisite sensation racing through her. His grin grew bigger, and he shifted, cupping her breast.

  “What are you—” She gasped as he licked her nipple and then sucked her inside his mouth. “Oh, God.”

  She squirmed beneath him as he stole her from the present moment and whisked her into a white-hot delirium where nothing mattered but the feel and taste of him.

  Needing him closer, she captured his head and pulled him toward her, never wanting to let go. She hadn’t expected a repeat of the previous night, but she sure as hell wasn’t complaining.

  Apparently, the honeymoon wasn’t over yet.

  She clung to him as he dominated her mouth, owned her lips and every other part of her. Shivers raced over her bare skin as he drew his hand downward, over her hip. He paused, capturing her gaze. She inhaled, but couldn’t look away as he traced his fingers ever closer to her heated center.

  He slipped a finger inside, setting off a mass of quivers that stole her breath.

  “Oh, yeah,” he whispered.

  Determination lit his eyes and suddenly the tenderness was gone, replaced by something feral and magnetic. He gripped her hands, pushing them onto the pillows above her head as he settled himself over her.

  He shoved into her with a quick thrust, and she gasped. Intense pleasure swept over her, but he kept his gaze focused on her. The sensuous look in his eyes left her shivering.

  Over and over, he buried himself inside her until she collapsed inward. Her cry of pleasure echoed through the silence, and she drifted into a state of delicious ecstasy. She gripped his biceps, needing to anchor herself to something so she wouldn’t get lost forever. He continued to pump into her, his breaths coming hard.

  Then he paused. The muscles in his face tensed as he rolled his beautiful eyes upward. His body quivered, and then he lowered onto her, wrapping his arms around her. His heart thundered against her chest, and she held him tightly to her, never wanting the moment to end.

  “Damn,” he whispered and kissed her ear. Then her cheek. Then her lips. “You are so damn beautiful.”

  She searched his face, unsure of what to say. She hadn’t expected a morning after. Couldn’t predict what might happen in the next few seconds, let alone minutes.

  He held her tight for a few moments as both of their heart rates slowed. Then he lifted and trapped her with his beautiful gaze. “I hope it’s not a problem if I like morning snuggles.”

  Snuggles? He’d given her a whole lot more than snuggles. “No problem at all.” His statement led her to wonder if he hinted at future mornings together.

  Could she hope he might consider staying? He had no home to go back to, and they were married after all.

  He kissed her hard. “I’m going to hit the shower. We have a ton o
f work waiting for us today.”

  “We do.”

  He stood, and she visually feasted on beautiful abs and powerful thighs. He was nothing short of magnificent. He held out a hand to her. “Aren’t you coming?”

  ****

  Rachel and Caleb chatted most of the way home, the atmosphere easy and relaxed until they reached the road that headed to the ranch. As they traveled the lane, she was forced to remind herself they weren’t the happy couple returning from their honeymoon. She’d hired him to do a job, and he’d done it well.

  When he’d made love to her the previous night, she’d promised no strings attached, and she needed to adhere to that. If their relationship was to take a different turn, he would have to state his interest. Otherwise, she needed to go about business as usual.

  It was only fair to him.

  Joe was in the yard as they pulled up. He grinned, his gaze switching between Caleb and Rachel. “You two are home early.”

  “The work doesn’t stop around here as you know.” The sight of her favorite ranch hand bolstered her spirits. When Caleb left, she would at least have Joe around to help her out.

  “Ain’t that the truth.” Joe held out a hand for Caleb to shake. “I just wanted to say I’m awfully glad the two of you are hitched. Everyone around here can rest easy now knowing our lives aren’t going to be dumped upside down.”

  Caleb gripped his hand and shook. “Agreed. This is a win-win for everyone.”

  “Except Franklin,” Joe reminded them. “Then again, he didn’t deserve it anyway.”

  Bittersweet happiness stole over her as Joe gave her a big hug. She’d wanted to protect her employees’ interests as well as her own. They were her family.

  Joe stepped back and looked at them both, a smile hovering in his eyes. “Since you’re home…”

  “Really, Joe?” she said with a laugh. “We haven’t even taken our bags inside.”

  He shrugged. “You know as well as I do, those cows don’t wait for anyone. I got two close to labor, with a few more in the coming days.”

  “Give us a few minutes to change,” Caleb said. “We’ll meet you in the barn.”