As he continued to watch Leah throughout dinner, there was no doubt that there was a wistfulness in her words that hadn’t been there before.
After they were done, he and Leah returned to the cabin. She was first to take her shower. He went in after her, taking longer than usual. He needed the extra time to mull over all the thoughts going through his head.
There was still so much up in the air. He no longer questioned whether Leah was over her ex-fiancé. She was through with Derrick. But was she ready to move forward with him? She’d allowed things to go further than Caleb had expected earlier at the waterfall, but that didn’t mean she was ready to take that next step.
But she would be ready eventually. He felt it in his bones.
This might be their last night at Camp Firefly Falls, but Caleb was determined that it wouldn’t be their last night together.
Yet, a part of him was still unsure of what awaited them when they returned to their everyday lives. Leah said one of the things that scared her was how easily she could see herself falling for him, but after being hurt in the past, she was afraid to fall in love again. Convincing her that it was okay to take that leap would be Caleb’s main goal once they returned home.
He exited the bathroom and found Leah sitting up in bed with her head leaning against the rustic headboard. The covers were folded at her waist, leaving her upper half bared to him. Her slinky camisole with its thin, spaghetti straps revealed so much of her enticing skin. Her eyes were closed but Caleb knew she wasn’t sleeping.
“You okay?” Caleb asked.
“Umm-hmm,” she murmured, her eyes still closed.
He debated whether or not to bring this up, but it had nagged him since dinner. He walked over to the couch, sat down, and clasped his hands between his spread out legs.
“Be straight with me, Leah. Are you really okay?” Caleb asked.
Her eyes popped opened. “Yes,” she said. “What makes you think I’m not?”
“You just seemed a bit, I don’t know, off at dinner.” He glanced over at her. “I couldn’t help but notice that it happened after Abigail shared their news.”
She studied his face for several moments.
“It’s one of my issues.”
“You want kids,” Caleb stated.
She nodded. “Always have.” A smile drew across her face. “That’s why I never complained all that much when my mom showered me with baby dolls for Christmas and on birthdays. I was a tomboy at heart, but I loved my dolls too.”
That wistfulness colored her voice again. Hearing it caused an ache to settle in Caleb’s chest. “There’s still plenty of time for you to have kids, Leah.”
“Oh, I know,” she said. “Don’t mistake this for jealousy or anything like that. I’m happy for Abigail and Joel. I became upset when I realized that I’d already put the notion of having kids out of my head. I actually told Derrick months ago that I didn’t want kids. I lied to him because I didn’t want to have any with him. Can you believe that? I was willing to give up the dream of starting a family because, on some level, I subconsciously knew better than to subject a child to Derrick’s selfishness.”
Caleb splayed his fingers over his thighs and rubbed up and down. “What about now?” he asked. “Are kids back on the table for you?”
She nodded. “I hope so.”
“Good,” he said, his mouth lifting in a small smile. “I like kids.”
He picked up his blanket and spread it on the couch.
“Caleb?”
He looked over at Leah, and was caught off guard by the seriousness in her gaze.
“I don’t want you sleeping on the couch tonight,” she said.
Caleb’s breath lodged in his chest. He cleared his throat. “Are you sure about this?”
She nodded. “I’ve never been surer about anything else in my life.” She held a hand out. “Please, Caleb. Come to bed with me.”
That was all the invitation he needed. Caleb quickly made his way to her side of the room, stopping to grab the condoms from his duffle bag before joining Leah on the bed. He slid in beside her and cradled her head with his arm as he covered her mouth with his.
Caleb palmed her stomach, luxuriating in the feel of the satiny fabric against his hand. He slipped his fingers underneath her camisole and glided them along her smooth skin. She was so warm and soft and everything he knew she would be.
Not wanting to rush this moment he’d fantasized about for so damn long, Caleb ordered himself to slow down. He slowly inched Leah’s top up her torso until he’d uncovered her breasts.
For a moment he simply stared at the perfection of her body. Her hard, dark nipples. Her smooth, unblemished skin. That spot on her neck that he could nibble on for the rest of his life.
Unable to stand another second of not touching her, Caleb cupped her right breast in his palm and bent his head, sucking her tight nipple into his mouth. His cock instantly hardened at the sound of Leah’s throaty moan. He swirled his tongue around the peak, laving it with tender strokes. He flicked the tip of his tongue in rapid succession on the very top of her nipple, wrenching a scream from her.
“You may want to get comfortable,” Caleb whispered against her breast. “I’m just getting started.”
He turned them around, kissing her tattoo before positioning Leah flat on her back. Then he climbed on all fours, kneeling on either side of her hips and bracing his hands next to her shoulders. She still wore her pajamas, but Caleb had no interest in removing any more of her clothing at the moment. He was content to work with what he had right in front of him.
He diligently focused on her breasts, nipping and sucking and licking, applying pressure and then taking it away, feasting until her skin bore the signs of his feverish attention. Leah’s desperate mewls only urged him to go further, to do whatever he could to bring her the most pleasure.
Caleb began to make his way down her body, spanning her waist with his palms as he peppered her torso with light kisses. He inched down the bed, nuzzling her skin as he descended. When he arrived at the waistband of her silky pajama bottoms, he hooked his thumbs at the sides, capturing her panties as well. He pulled them down her legs, then smooth his hands over her thighs, parting them and settling his head between her legs.
The first taste of her was heaven on earth.
Caleb took his time, trailing his tongue along her sensitive skin, wrapping it around her clit, and then sucking the thick nub into his mouth. Leah’s hands clamped around his head, holding him in place.
As if I plan to leave anytime soon.
His fingers joined in the action. He stuck them in his mouth, coating them before slipping them inside her. As his fingers plunged in and out, Caleb continued the assault with his tongue, licking his way around every tender inch of her flesh. He picked up the pace, quickening his thrusts, feeling her body contract around his fingers, until her hips lifted off the bed with her piercing scream.
Leah collapsed onto the mattress in a boneless heap, but Caleb wasn’t about to let her get any rest. Now that he finally had her here, he planned to spend the rest of the night showing her what they could do every night for the rest of their lives.
Leah tried to control her breathing, but she was having a hard time getting air to enter her lungs. She’d never felt so treasured, so adored, so desired in her entire life. Never, not once, had a man ever spent so much effort focusing on her pleasure.
She slipped from underneath Caleb and twisted their bodies around, pinning him to the mattress. When she pressed her lips to the center of his chest, she felt his body shudder.
“I gather you like that,” she said.
“Yes,” he groaned.
Leah kissed her way around his torso, tracing her tongue down the trail of dark, curly hair, until she reached the waistband of his pajama bottoms. When she tugged them down his hips, his erection sprang free.
She sucked in a swift, excited breath.
“I gather you like that,” Caleb said.
/> She peered up at him, a smile tilting up the corner of her lip. “Very much so,” Leah said.
She wrapped her hand around his stiff shaft, eliciting a low moan that seemed to come from deep within Caleb’s chest. He reached down and slid his hand in her hair as her mouth descended on him. Leah closed her eyes and relished his musky taste and velvety texture, loving the way he filled her mouth. She licked up the underside of his rock-hard flesh, then closed her lips over the tip, sucking hard, swirling her tongue around the head.
Her desire to please him grew with every desperate gasp of breath she heard pulling from Caleb’s chest. Whenever she’d done this in the past, the act had never been about her, but with Caleb she derived just as much satisfaction from witnessing how much pleasure she could bring him.
“Stop,” Caleb pleaded, the single word hoarse with desire. He tugged slightly on her hair. “Leah…stop. I don’t want to finish like this,” he said. “I need to…to be inside you.”
She couldn’t argue with that. With one final sweep of her tongue, Leah released him and clawed her way up his body.
Caleb captured her lips in an eager kiss, hungrily pushing his tongue inside as he twisted around on the bed again and covered her body with his. His mouth never left hers as he reached over for something on the bedside table.
Moments later, Leah heard the crinkling of foil. Caleb pulled away just long enough to open the condom packet and roll the latex over his erection, then he returned to her lips, plundering her mouth with his erotic kisses, teasing her breasts with his knowledgeable hands, making her body crave him to the point that Leah thought she would explode if he wasn’t inside her in the next five seconds.
She didn’t have to wait that long. Wedging her thighs open with his hips, Caleb fisted his thick length and guided it home.
Mindless pleasure crashed through her as he began to move with deliberate slowness. The exquisite torture of his sure, steady strokes sent a flood of emotions coursing through Leah’s bloodstream.
This is what it felt like to be loved. To be worshipped by someone intent on making her feel pleasure, instead of only being concerned with their own. Every caress of his hands, every warm press of his lips, every powerful thrust of his rigid hardness sent her careening into another realm of pleasure she had never experienced before.
Caleb settled his hands on her knees and pushed her legs up, angling her body in a way that allowed him to plunge even deeper. She luxuriated in the delicious feel of his hardness filling every inch of her, the weight of his body pressed against hers. It touched every part of her, deep within her soul. How had she survived for so long without feeling this way? Without the mind-numbing satisfaction of having all of Caleb Scott’s attention focused solely on bringing her to the edge and over.
He increased his pace, his hips rocking back and forth with frantic, insistent thrusts, until a feeling so strong, so amazing that she couldn’t begin to define it, spiraled through her. Her body tensed seconds before the wave of sensation crashed over her.
Leah found heaven in the moments following what had to be the most incredible orgasm in the history of the world. Her entire body hummed with uncontrollable pleasure. Intoxicating. Heart-stopping. Unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.
An abundance of sensations wove their way around her, leaving her replete with satisfaction.
Several minutes passed before Leah could speak, and even then, her voice was still breathy with sated desire. “This is going to sound pathetic coming from a thirty-three-year-old woman,” she said. “But that was, by far, the best sex I’ve ever had in my life.”
“Pathetic?” Caleb’s head popped up. “You just told me that I gave you the best sex of your life. How could I ever think that’s pathetic?” He pushed up on one elbow and stared down at her. “By the way, I’m taking that to mean that I was just that good, not that the others were that bad. Although I’m sure they were.”
“Believe me, you were just that good. You were amazing.”
Caleb swooped down to her neck and gently nipped at her skin. “Ditto.”
Leah stretched her neck to give him better access. “I thought I had some say over this, but now I realize I don’t. I can’t help falling for you.”
Caleb’s lips stilled. He looked up at her. “I meant what I said, Leah. Don’t feel you have to rush into anything.”
“I don’t feel rushed,” she said. “I feel as if it’s taken me longer than it should have to recognize that there’s something special going on here.”
He levered up on his forearm. His gaze held a solemnness that seemed out of place after what they’d just experienced together. When he spoke, his voice came out with a noticeable rasp. “What if that feeling is no longer there once we leave?”
Leah frowned. “What do you mean?”
He slipped his fingers into her hair, and softly caressed her scalp. “This is a unique situation, being here in this cabin, playing all of Katherine and Geoff’s games, pretending we were really engaged.”
“You said you weren’t pretending.”
“But you were,” he said. “Are you sure you’re going to feel this same way once we get back home? Are you sure you won’t feel pressured from all those outside forces that made you think Derrick was the right guy for you?” He brushed his thumb over her cheek. “What do you think your family will say about you being with a guy who works crazy hours at a dangerous job, doesn’t make the best salary in the world, and drives a seven-year-old pickup truck?”
“I don’t care what anyone else thinks anymore, Caleb. I’ve spent the past thirty-three years making choices based on what others think. I’m ready to start doing what I think is best for me.” She captured his hand and brought it to her chest. “And there’s something in here that’s telling me that you’re what’s best for me.”
He looked at her with such love in his eyes. “Listen to that something,” Caleb said.
“I plan to.”
“I’m holding you to that,” Caleb whispered just before he leaned over and captured her mouth with his.
Caleb wrapped his arms more securely around Leah’s middle as she snuggled against his chest. They sat on one of a dozen blankets that had been spread out on the ground surrounding the fire pit. This morning’s coffee and doughnuts with Katherine, Geoff and the rest of the couples that had participated in Relationship Excavation 101 was the final session of this weekend’s retreat.
After sitting through a shameless, but understandable plug for an upcoming retreat in the Poconos, couples were invited to share their most surprising insights from their time here at Camp Firefly Falls. Abigail and Joel announced their big news to the rest of the campers, garnering congratulatory hugs and applause. Another couple, Felicia and Dustin, who Caleb remembered from the puzzle activity Saturday morning, shared that they had been on the verge of separating before this weekend, but were now going to seek counseling to save their marriage.
When it came around to their turn, Caleb found himself more nervous than he thought he would be.
“Caleb, why don’t you start,” Geoff Mumford invited.
He released a deep breath. “I guess the most surprising thing about this weekend was learning just how much Leah and I have in common,” he said. He gently caressed her bare arm. “We’re even better suited for each other than I first thought.”
“That goes without saying,” Katherine remarked. “In all our years of doing this, I’ve never seen such an ideal couple. The two of you were made for each other. What about you, Leah? What have you learned here at Camp Firefly Falls?”
Caleb felt her relax against his chest. Apparently, she wasn’t feeling nervous at all.
“I can honestly say that this has been one of the most enlightening times of my adult life,” Leah began. “It would take the rest of the day to recount all that I’ve learned. But the most surprising insight, by far, was discovering that I actually can trust my instincts.” She looked up over her shoulder and smiled.
Several awwws floated around the room from the other participants, but Caleb hardly registered them. All of his focus centered on the woman in his arms.
He wasn’t naive enough to think that one weekend together would spell magic for the rest of their lives, but he was willing to put in the work to make Leah his. Truly his. He wanted this woman forever.
Katherine announced that there would be one final goodbye toast in the private dining room in Birch House, but the kitchen had just informed her that it would be another hour or so before everything was ready.
“We should probably start packing up our things,” Leah suggested. “We’ll have to head back home as soon as the Mumfords wrap up everything.”
Caleb knew she was right, but a tremor of unease still rumbled within his chest at the thought of leaving. Despite Leah’s claim as she lay in his arms last night, a small part of him still feared that once they left the magic of these campgrounds, reality would set in and things would go back to the way they were before they came here.
Back in their cabin, they began to pack up their belongings. Caleb folded his pajama pants and stuffed them in his bag. He picked up a T-shirt, but then tossed it on the couch and stalked over to the bed where Leah stood packing her carry-on bag.
“Was that just for show back there?” Caleb asked her. “That stuff about you knowing there was something special about me from the first moment you met me?”
Her eyes brightened with her gentle smile. “No, it wasn’t for show,” she said. “That was the truth.”
She set her toiletry bag on the mattress and turned more fully toward him. Taking both his hands in hers, she brought them to her lips and pressed a quick kiss on the crest of his fingers.
“It started out as pure animal attraction,” she said. “From the moment you walked up to me in your garden, dressed in those torn jeans and that faded Bob Marley T-shirt, I was completely enthralled.”
Mr. Right Next Door (Camp Firefly Falls Book 6) Page 12
