by Nina Levine
His kiss practically sweeps me off my feet. It’s long and delicious and searching and anything but demanding. This kiss is different to every other kiss we’ve shared. It’s as if Luke is making a statement—I’m his now, and he has all the time in the world to explore me.
By the time his lips leave mine, my arms are completely wrapped around him, and I’m not ready to let him go. He smiles. “You want me to clean the mask off?”
I nod. “You’re going to have to because I’m not letting you go.”
“You might have to loosen your hold a little,” he says as he reaches for the washcloth.
I pout, but I give him an inch.
He lifts the cloth to my face and presses lightly, trying to remove the mask. I try not to laugh, and his eyes narrow. “Why are you laughing?”
“I’m not,” I argue.
“You are, on the inside,” he says, still not pressing the cloth hard enough.
I place my hand over his and apply some pressure. “You need to press harder.”
He nods and removes my mask. His expression is full of care as he completes his task and my heart swells. This moment is nothing like I imagined. Instead of the horror I felt at the thought of him seeing me in this state, I now feel cherished. In this moment, Luke has shown me more care than any guy I’ve ever been with.
After he finishes, he eyes my hair. “Turn around and I’ll rinse the dye out.”
“Mmmm, I like it when bossy Luke comes out to play,” I say as I turn around.
I expect him to remove the cling wrap from my hair. Instead, his arm circles my waist, and he pulls me back so our bodies press together. Pressing his erection against me, he growls into my ear, “Do you really think you’ve already met bossy Luke?”
I shudder.
Oh, God, I need bossy Luke in my life.
Before I can reply, he reaches up and takes the cling wrap off my hair. He then slides a hand over my shoulder and down my front to rest against my chest. His other hand glides along my collarbone to grip my throat. He then moves it up my neck so he can tilt my head back into the water.
“Close your eyes,” he orders.
I do as I’m told and he proceeds to wash the dye from my hair. I never thought the act of hair washing could be so sensual, but Luke creates his own sexual art. His hand resting against my chest slides down to cup my breast, and he massages me the whole time he rinses my hair. Every now and then, he circles his hips and grinds his erection against me. And with my head resting against his shoulder, he takes the opportunity to kiss my neck as often as he can.
I decide to dye my hair every week. At least once a week, if not more. And I’ll invite Luke over to wash it out. The man has skills.
When he’s finished, he spins me around. His hands cup my face, and he kisses me as if he can’t get enough from me. I feel the same way.
“You need to condition my hair now,” I say after his lips leave mine.
“Would that be before or after I spend some time on your body?” He’s asking this question as if there’s even a choice.
I grip his biceps to steady myself because at the rate he’s going, my legs may give way. “I’ll let you decide.”
His hands move down to hold my throat. His thumbs circle the skin where they meet in the middle. I listen as his breaths come faster, matching mine.
Time stretches out; a long, desperate moment where two people begin to shed their skin and come together.
Finally.
Completely.
Absolutely.
His eyes hold mine for that moment until eventually he looks down to watch as he traces both my breasts. His gaze then trails his hands as they slowly make their way down my body. Every inch of my skin is memorised on his journey. By the time he’s kneeling in front of me, every nerve ending has been lit with a scorching want that I need him to take care of.
His hands glide up my legs and push them apart. He looks up and finds my eyes, holding them as he leans forward to run his tongue over my clit. My hand shoots out to lean against the tiled wall. The intense shot of pleasure he delivers almost causes me to lose my balance.
His eyes never leave mine.
Always watching.
Seeing.
Focused.
His tongue runs circles over my clit.
Over and over.
And over.
My head rolls back, and I bite my lip as the waves of pleasure crash over me.
I’m so close.
Luke’s tongue is unrelenting in his chase of my orgasm. When both his hands grip my ass, and he presses his face against my pussy, I shudder. A moan escapes my lips as he begins to expertly move me towards that place I crave.
So close.
Oh, God, so damn close.
He grips me harder.
His lips and tongue suck and lick, and then he pushes a finger inside me, and brilliant light bursts right in front of me.
I come apart.
I hold my breath as I bask in the bliss.
I’m drowning.
Going under.
The pleasure is too much.
Too intense.
My legs can’t hold me up.
My body can’t hold my heart.
It’s bursting.
I’m falling.
Falling for Luke.
“I’ve got you, baby,” he says as his arms envelope me.
I’m floating.
Luke’s caught me.
He’ll never let me drown.
He’s got me.
I open my eyes and find myself looking into his green eyes. Water drips down his face as his tongue sweeps across his lips and all I can do is stare at his masculine beauty.
His warm breath floats across my skin when he asks, “Can we skip the conditioner tonight?”
“I take it you’ve got a better option.”
His arms tighten around me, and his hands move down to hold my ass. Leaning his face closer to mine, he growls, “Baby, I’ve always got better ideas than washing hair.”
I smile and bite my lip. “I’m pretty sure you’ve given a whole new meaning to washing hair tonight, Luke. Anytime you wanna come over and wash hair, I’m up for it.”
“Only if it involves my mouth on your pussy.”
I loop my hands behind his neck and kiss him. He tastes like me, and I love that. I also love that he wants more of my taste. When I draw apart, I say, “I’m open to that pretty much every day.”
He kisses my neck, sucking hard in one spot, before saying, “We need to move this to the bedroom. I wanna spread you out and start all over again.”
Yes.
All. The. Yeses.
Luke Hardy can spread me out and start all over again anytime he wants.
19
Luke
I kneel on the bed between Callie’s legs and run my gaze over her body. I’ve heard her complain about it before, but I have no idea why because the body I’m looking at right now is perfection. I love how she’s toned but not muscular and that her curves have just enough softness that I can grip onto. I’d take her however she comes, but in my opinion, she shouldn’t change a thing.
Her long, blonde hair fans across the bed under her and those beautiful blue-grey eyes look up at me with the kind of look a man craves from his woman. It’s a mix of hunger, longing and hope. I’d do anything to have her always watch me this way.
Taking hold of her hips, I bend and kiss her stomach. When her fingers thread through my hair, I shift my eyes so I can hold her gaze. I continue to hold it while I kiss a line up her body to her collarbone. Her legs wrap around me, and I move my hips so I can run my dick through her wetness. Thank fuck I’ve already got a condom on—I’m not sure how long I’ll last before the need to sink into her overwhelms me.
She claws at my back as she moans. “Luke, you’re driving me wild. How much longer are you going to take?”
I suck her neck. Her neck could hold my attention for days. “Baby, I could take hours yet. I’ve be
en waiting too long for you.” It’s been months of holding myself back while I tried to sort my life out and weeks of waiting for this night to happen. I laid her out on this bed an hour ago and as far as I’m concerned, an hour is nowhere near enough. I need my fill of Callie. The taste I had of her in the shower only fuelled my greed.
Her hands grasp my face, and she positions my mouth so she can catch it in a kiss. Her lips occupy a special place in my heart. Soft, delicious and addictive, they never fail to dishevel my thoughts. Some days they’re downright dangerous.
I groan into her mouth. “You make it hard, though,” I rasp when I come up for air.
“Hard to do what?” She seems as dazed as I feel.
I nip at her lips. “You make it hard for a man to hold out.”
A slow, sexy smile takes over her face. “Good,” she whispers as she tightens her legs around me. “Maybe you could stop holding out and then we could go again later.”
“You’re not about delaying gratification, are you?”
“Nope. Why wait for something you know is going to be so good?”
I suck her bottom lip into my mouth before taking over both her lips. They’re swollen from the kisses I’ve stolen tonight. “Because when you finally get it, it’ll be fucking amazing.”
Her eyes glaze over. “Kinda like you?”
“Huh?”
Her hands slide up my back to my neck, and she tangles her fingers in my hair. “I’ve waited all year for you, and now I have you, you’re fucking amazing. So I guess you could say I am into this delayed gratification. But, I don’t agree that waiting was such a good thing. I would rather have spent all that time with you rather than trudging through the guys I had—”
I cut her off. “I hated watching you go through those guys. That dating site needs to be shut down.”
Her lips twitch with amusement. “Thinking back now, you were pretty shitty about it. At the time, I just thought you were being a bastard putting down my dating habits, but now I can see th—”
“That I was jealous as fuck,” I growl.
She lifts her head off the bed so she can kiss me. “For the love of God, will you just put me out of my misery? All I’m asking for is one orgasm and then you can do whatever you want to my body for however long you want.”
Callie has this way of snaking herself into the deepest corner in my heart—the corner I thought I’d closed off. I’ve spent a good part of the last year trying to keep her out, but I’m slowly grasping that she’s not a woman who can be kept out. Not when it’s my heart in question. She just bulldozes her way through.
I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to say no to her.
I glide my dick along her pussy again, not taking my eyes off hers for a second. When I push inside her, I take in the flare of need in those eyes. And when I’m buried as far as I can be, I watch the slow-motion movement of her lashes hitting her skin as her eyes close. Her bottom lip being drawn into her mouth follows. The sequence ends with her teeth biting down on that lip.
I pull out and push back in with a little more force. Her legs clench around me and hold on for what’s next. I’m still warming up, though, and I slow for a moment so I can indulge in her lips again.
Her eyes flutter open when our mouths meet.
“You have no idea…” I say between kisses. “How much I want you.”
I pull out and slowly enter her again.
Fuck.
If tonight never ended, I’d die a happy man.
We move together in perfect rhythm. The pleasure intoxicates me, gradually taking complete control until I can’t slow this down anymore. As much as I want to delay and savour the intense bliss pulsing through my body, I’m now focused on one thing only.
I thrust in.
Callie moans as her fingers claw my back.
My senses are flooded, and my need intensifies.
We move closer.
Even closer.
So damn close.
“Luke!” she cries out as she comes. She stills as her head pushes back against the pillow and her back arches up off the bed.
I watch as she completely abandons herself to the orgasm. It’s a fucking beautiful sight. But as much as I want to slow myself right down to focus all my attention on every intricate detail of her surrender, I can’t. I keep pumping in and out of her, chasing my own release.
When it hits a few moments later, the pleasure is so fucking intense and unlike any orgasm I’ve ever had. It’s so much more—powerful and all-consuming.
I lose myself.
Everything is left behind.
All the pain.
The hopelessness.
Every ounce of desperation.
Gone.
In this moment, everything burns brightly.
It’s a frenzy of light and ecstasy and hope.
So much hope.
As I move through it, all I see is Callie. And when I finally open my eyes, I find her staring up at me, those beautiful eyes completely focused on mine.
Her hands ghost along my skin to bring her fingers to my hair. As they tangle there, she whispers, “That was amazing.”
I drop a kiss on her lips and say, “You’re amazing.”
Silence surrounds us for the next few minutes while we simply watch each other. I commit her face to memory—every freckle, every line, every contour.
Finally, I loosen my hold on her and pull out. Pushing up off the bed, I say, “Don’t move. I’ll be back.”
I head into the bathroom to dispose of the condom. When I return, her eyes are closed. I slow my movements so I can take the time to appreciate her beauty. Our future stretches ahead of us. We have years to explore each other’s body, thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, faults and everything else that makes us who we each are. I realise that I’m an impatient bastard when it comes to Callie.
I want all of her now.
I want to know it all right now.
I don’t want to take my time anymore.
Her eyes blink open, and she hits me with a lazy smile. Beckoning me, she says, “Come here.”
When she has me next to her, on my side, she rolls and drapes a leg over my hip. Her hand traces patterns along the dip of my waist. “You are sexy as hell, Luke Hardy.”
“Not as sexy as you. Especially when you’ve got that black shit on your face and cling wrap in your hair.”
She pokes her tongue at me. “I might start wearing that black shit every day if you think it’s that sexy.”
I smirk. “Knock yourself out. I’m man enough to take one for the team every day and remove it.”
She wiggles so that her body is hard up against mine. Fuck, I could get used to this.
“What time do you have to go?” she asks softly, clearly not ready for me to leave anytime soon.
I smile and rub my thumb over her cheek. After I press a kiss to her lips, I say, “I don’t have to leave tonight if you don’t want me to.”
Her eyes widen a little. “What about Sean?”
“Paris,” I murmur as I move my mouth to her neck and begin getting lost there again.
The last thing I hear her say before I’m completely lost to her is, “I fucking love Paris.”
20
Callie
“So, you owe me for last night,” Avery says as she paints my toes.
“Because?”
“Well, how do you think Luke managed to leave work early to come over?”
“I had wondered that but forgot to ask him. Shall I pay you in Chupa Chups?”
She finishes with my toes and looks at me from across the couch. We’ve been sitting here for the last few hours discussing everything from her family to Luke to world news. I can’t remember the last time the two of us had a Saturday night girls' night.
“I got lucky the day I found you, babe.”
I grin, ignoring her sarcasm. “You really did.”
“So, when are you seeing Luke next?”
“Tomorrow. I’m going over for br
eakfast, and then he’s taking me out for the day.”
“I’m impressed with our Luke Hardy,” she says. “He’s a tough man to please at work, but I’d say you’ve got him wrapped around your little finger. I’m glad it’s him because he’s treating you right. And you deserve that.”
I know she’s comparing Luke to my previous boyfriend. Mark was a dick, but I was blind to it for a long time. Or perhaps just desperate to find someone to love me, that I ignored all the signs. It wasn’t that he always treated me badly, he was just too engrossed in himself to consider my thoughts and feelings very often. Plus, he had a temper, so we spent a lot of time arguing. That relationship lasted just over two years, and then I tackled online dating in my effort to find someone to cherish me.
“Right, now it’s time to talk about you and Tyler. When are you two going to get your shit together?”
“No… There’s nothing there,” she says, but it’s obvious she doesn’t quite believe it. The hesitation in her voice is a dead giveaway.
“Oh, there is definitely something there. You two have been flirting for months. I vote you sleep with him and see where it leads.”
“Tyler is a player, Callie. I’m not going there.”
My eyes widen as realisation hits me. “You like him too much to just sleep with him, don’t you?” Avery doesn’t give her heart easily, but when she does, she loves fiercely. She can do casual sex with guys that mean nothing to her, but not with someone she’s actually interested in. She did this once, and the outcome wasn’t pretty. It took her almost a year to get over that guy.
She takes a moment to respond. “I like him. Which means I can’t sleep with him because we all know what happens when Tyler sleeps with someone.”
Yes, we do. It never lasts very long, because he soon grows bored. He’s a good guy, but he has ADD when it comes to women.
I sigh. Motioning towards the bag of Doritos on the couch near her, I say, “Pass me the chips. I think we need all the chips tonight to deal with this development.”
She nods. “Yeah. That and alcohol.”
