From Temptation to Twins(51)

“It’s okay,” he whispered, kissing her hair.

“It’s not.” She hated the quaver in her voice. “It’s not okay.”

“You can take a break from fighting.”

“I can’t.”

“Just for a minute. Relax.” His hands rubbed over her back.

She felt her body soften. Her limbs grew suddenly heavy, and the flutter in her stomach turned to a dull ache.

He must have sensed her weakness because he scooped her into his arms.

She didn’t have the strength to protest. She kept her eyes shut and focused on the security of his arms. There would be plenty of time to fight with him later.

He moved to the sofa and sat down, settling her on his lap.

The storm was full-blown now, rain clattering against the big windows, nearly drowning out the soft music in the background.

She sat still, feeling the beat of his heart, letting the thunder and the rhythm of the rain roll over her. He didn’t say a word. His chest rose and fell, and the heat of him seeped into her damp clothes.

After a long time, she tipped her head back to look at him. He gazed directly into her eyes. His expression was compassionate, and his gray eyes were opaque.

He brushed his thumb across her cheek.

Then he smoothed back her hair.

He dipped his lips forward, slowly and steadily moving toward hers.

Her heart rate increased, deepening, steadying. She could taste his lips before they even touched hers. They were amazing, fantastic, breathtaking.

Then he kissed her, and the world seemed to convulse around her heart. Her body strained against him. Her arms went around him. And she opened to his kiss as sound roared in her ears.

He eased slightly back. “Is this okay?”

“No. It’s not. It can’t be.” She felt his arm tighten around her. “But don’t stop,” she whispered.

“We’ll work it out.”

“We won’t. But that’s someplace else. It’s something else. This is just this.”

He kissed her again.

It suddenly felt as if her damp clothes were cloying. She impatiently clawed at the laces of her work boots, until he took over and stripped them off. He broke their kiss to peel off her T-shirt. Then he stripped off his own shirt and drew her close, skin to skin, heat to heat.

Now that she’d made up her mind, she simply let it happen. The last time had been hurried, but this was to be savored. She kissed Caleb deeply, letting her hands and lips wander over his body.

He seemed to sense her mood, and he worked his way slowly from her neck to her navel, bringing gasps from her lips, and ramping up the passion that heated her to her very core. He slowly removed her clothes, and he removed his own, laying her gently back on the sofa, where he made leisurely love to her.

The rain pounded harder, the room heated up, her damp hair all but steamed in reaction to his lovemaking. The leather was smooth against her skin, and his hands were firm then gentle then firm again.

Their bodies joined, and his scent surrounded her. The taste and feel of him filled her senses. His breathing was a rasp in her ear, deeper, louder, faster. Her body kept up with the pace, until she was floating from the earth, hovering in pure bliss for thrust after thrust before imploding in a cascade of pleasure that had her crying his name.

The room slowly righted itself, and she could tell which way was up.

Neither of them spoke. He turned, balanced her gently on top of him, covering her with his shirt. She wasn’t cold. But she liked the cocoon. For the first time in days, she felt at peace.

* * *

Caleb would have happily held Jules sleeping on top of him forever. But sooner or later, somebody would come looking. Even as the thought crossed his mind, her phone buzzed. The ring was soft, and it didn’t disturb her sleep.

He smiled, smoothing her hair and giving her a kiss on the temple. When he eased out from under her, she simply settled into the heat of the soft cushions. His smile widened. She was serenely beautiful, and his shoulders felt lighter.

He retrieved a blanket from the linen closet and tucked it over her, feathering her mussed hair off her face. Then he took a few more sips from his brandy snifter. Brandy had never tasted so good.

He guessed it was probably Melissa trying to call Jules. He took his own phone and scrolled through the history to find the call Jules had made from it in San Francisco. He put Melissa’s saved number in his contacts and called her.

“Hello?” Melissa answered.

“Hi, Melissa. It’s Caleb.”

“Caleb?” Melissa sounded surprised and a little distracted.

“I wanted to let you know that Jules is here.”

There was a pause. “Where’s here?”

“My place. She came by.”

There was another moment of silence on the line before Melissa spoke. “I don’t understand. She said she was going to walk. Caleb, what’s going on?”