“Stop with the box. Stop trying to break her. If you succeed, it would break me too.”
“So. Ask,” he repeats once again, waiting for me to find the right question.
“Love me more than you hate her. Please,” I plead.
A small smile creeps across his face and he uses the pads of his thumbs to wipe under my eyes. “I can do that.”
He suddenly stands with me in his arms and strides across the room to the bed. Gently laying me down, he positions himself on top of me, careful to avoid resting his weight on my stomach.
As he trails kisses up my neck, he stops at my ear and whispers, “I tossed the box the day you mailed back the ring.”
“What?” I breathe in disbelief.
“I’ve been trying to get my shit together so that when I came for you, you couldn’t say no. You had no idea, but I never planned to let you go despite your little ‘move on’ text.”
“What text?” I scratch my nails down the back of his neck.
“The text you sent that night.”
“Ah, that was Hunter. I didn’t trust myself with my phone. I knew you would text when you got the package.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, I really hate that guy.”
“He did tell me you regretted trying.”
“I’d apologize, but I think you know I’m a dick by now.” He slides a hand teasingly under the edge of my shirt. “And apparently you missed it.” He gives me a wink.
“You threw it away?” I ask again, running my fingers through his hair.
He doesn’t say anything, just nods against my chest as he pulls down the neckline of my T-shirt to gain access to my cleavage.
“Come home with me in the morning. Move in with me, Emmy. I refuse to sleep another night away from you.” He sits up to allow me more room to pull his shirt off.
“I can’t. Sarah will need someone when she gets to come home. In a few months, they are going to start letting her do two weekends a month at home.”
“Then stay at her place on those weekends, but you’re living with me the rest of the time.” It’s not a question. It’s a command. “You and that baby are mine. I want you under my roof permanently.”
My chest warms at the idea of us as a family. I sit up and he drags my shirt over my head.
“If I say okay, will you stop talking and make love to me?”
“Absolutely.”
He scoops a finger down into my bra to brush against my tender nipples. My back arches up off the bed when he makes contact. Fire spreads across my body and down to my core, drenching me.
“I’ll do anything you want. Just don’t stop touching me,” I whisper as my hips begin to rock, searching for some type of friction.
Caleb drops his mouth to my nipple, sucking it and swirling his tongue in a relentless pattern. He settles on his side, pulls down the other side of my bra, and begins a different rhythm with his hand on my other breast. He’s always been good with his hands, but this is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
“Oh God, Caleb,” I moan as he continues. Every stroke sends a wave directly between my legs. “I want you inside me.” I reach down, quickly trying to pull away my jeans.
“Not yet. Come for me, Emmy. Show me you missed me.” He quickly switches his mouth to my other breast, sending me into a complete spiral.
“Fuck, Caleb!” I come, calling his name.
He slowly drags his tongue across my nipple one last time before releasing. He looks up at me with his signature smirk that almost has me coming all over again.
“That. Was.” He stops and stands up to unbutton his pants. As soon as he pushes them to the ground, he crawls back up the bed. Wrapping an arm under my back, he drags me up the bed. “Unbelievable,” he finishes just before crashing his mouth into mine.
I CAN’T get close enough or deep enough. As my tongue rolls in Emma’s mouth, the emotions threaten to overtake me. I need to be inside her, but I’m honestly not even sure that will be enough. I can’t hold her tight enough to show her how I truly feel, and the words won’t do this moment any justice.
I slide her jeans down her perfectly toned legs and sit in awe as I look over her body and into her eyes. I knew it months ago, but here and now, I am not only ready to admit that my life will never be the same again, but I’m willing to embrace it. I watch for a minute as she moves under my hand. Very slowly, I slide my fingers over her, teasing the way up.
I can’t lose this woman again.
“You scare me,” I admit. “I’m thirty-three years old, and I’ve never in my life felt like this before. Never. And it makes me doubt every single moment of my past. In some ways, you make me feel more lost than ever.”