Page 70 of Inseverable (Carolina Beach)

How did this little ball of energy come to be the most important thing in my life? More to the point, how does she sit beside me knowing all I’ve done?

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. This time when I say it, she knows I’m apologizing for a lot more than walking out without saying goodbye.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks gently.

I tighten my jaw and shake my head. That shit in the kitchen. Lord, she has no clue how close I came to losing it. But I don’t mention it, even though I think she may know a lot more than she lets on.

I lift her hand and kiss it, then slowly edge out of my truck. This time she waits for me to open the door because maybe she knows I need to make up for how I treated her.

She leans against me when I wrap my arm around her. It’s a warm night. Beautiful, perfect, just like most nights here on Kiawah.

All the stars sparkling brightly above us, and the ocean’s gentle purr, beckon us to walk along the shore. On another night, I’d surrender to its call. But tonight’s not like all the other nights with Trin. Tonight she learned that the same man who gave her his heart, and who’s holding her now, is a killer. And regardless of her smile, and the way she wraps her arms around my waist, it’s a truth I can no longer spare her from.

We walk in the house and straight to my bedroom. I slip off my shirt and sit on the edge of the bed. This time, I don’t touch or tempt. I lean back on my hands and wait. Now that she knows what I am, I have to be sure she’ll still want the man before her.

I don’t wait long.

Trin kicks out of her flip-flops and pulls off her tank in one smooth move. Her tiny denim shorts?the ones that drive me wild?are next, followed by her bra and panties. With her knees, she pries my legs open and stands before me. But it’s not until she unbuttons my jeans and reaches for the erection her naked body stirred that I act.

When I take her, it isn’t gentle. Not once I flip her onto her back and join her body with mine. My thrusts are hard, driving her up the bed. I don’t know how many times she orgasms. All I know is that by the time I finish, she’s thrashing, her nails raking my unmade sheets, and her hot body dripping with sweat.

She trembles, whimpering, her breaths more pronounced than mine. I look down at her, taking her in before seizing her mouth, my lips hungry for hers. She wraps her arms around my neck. But I can’t stop the rock of my hips. Again, I’m hard.

I break our kiss and dip down to suck on her stiff nipple. She screams, jolting hard enough to break my suction.

“Don’t stop,” she begs me when I hesitate. “Please, don’t stop . . .”

Chapter Twenty-three

Trinity

I don’t know how long we make love, but the birds are beginning to sing as we settle down to sleep. Callahan’s head lowers to his favorite spot between my breasts while I drape an arm along his back.

As glimpses of sunlight trickle through the sheer curtains, I remember our plans with my folks. I cradle his head against me as I reach for the cell phone he left charging on the nightstand following round two, or three?I don’t remember which. I only know we both had this overwhelming desire to feel close to each other.

Using pure skill, and one hand, I send Landon a text, letting him know we’ll meet him and our parents for dinner instead. I don’t manage much more than that. Instead I surrender to that blissful exhaustion sex with Callahan always brings.

Sometime around one in the afternoon, he stirs against me. I awoke only a few minutes before, but use this moment to stretch my arms over my head. The motion causes my breast to glide along his cheek and in an instant later, something hardens along my leg.

An anticipatory grin spreads along my face as his body drags along mine and my lady parts rejoice. He stirs again, tilting his hips. I’m not sure if he’s completely awake, but I like what he’s doing, so I don’t dare interrupt.

What I do is moan, a lot, when his dense tip presses against my center and slides along my folds. Sweet mercy, he feels so good rubbing against me. I involuntarily squirm, my body ready to receive his. But it’s not until his hand slides between us and he slips two fingers in, that I’m sure he’s not going back to sleep.

He lifts his head, his lids heavy with sleep and lust.

My expression splits with agony and pleasure as his fingers circle. Agony because I want more than his fingers inside me, and pleasure because he knows how to work me into a frenzy.

He licks his lips, accelerating the movements of his fingers, wanting to watch me peak and lose control. Knowing so, and how hot it makes him, surges the spasms claiming and electrifying me. My orgasm hits me hard enough to buck my body, I’m still reeling from it when he hauls me to him and joins his body with mine.

He hooks my knees under his elbows, his face scrunching as he rams me, going deep. I’m no longer grunting, or whimpering, or even trying to be quiet, the lust Callahan invokes rattling me down to my core.

Callahan roars with his release, falling forward and folding my body. His hands splay on either side of me, his chest heaving with each breath. I meet his gaze, smiling softly as the fervor in his eyes dims, replaced by an adoration that flutters my heart.

“Hi, there,” I say.

“Hey, beautiful,” he whispers back, his warm smile lighting his blue eyes.

“Is now a good time to tell you I love you?” I ask.

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