Page 44 of When the Angel Falls First

His eyes were a study in emotions, flickering between earnest determination, frustration, and a gentleness that tugged at my heart. A heart that needed to remember boundaries. He had set those boundaries, clear as day.

But no matter how much I tried to convince myself, even the air around us seemed to change. Like being here now wasn’t real life—it was the life we’d always wanted. The one we’d talked about seven years ago. It was a dream, sure, but I wasn’t about to pinch myself.

“I need you, Josie.” He meant with the couples. Probably.Or did he? He stepped even closer, my breasts brushing his chest. “I need you.”

Fire. That was the only way to describe what happened when his fingertips touched my cheek. As if all of the Bookish Cat had gone alight and I was burning from the inside out. Everything around us was fine, but I wasn’t. I was anything but fine. I needed him, needed him that second, and I couldn’t bear it anymore. Everything in me screamed that this was right, that it had to happen, that we needed each other, and I was incapable of thinking anything else.

I pressed my body against his and he knew. He felt it, too. He had to. The question didn’t linger long in my mind because I was overcome by the warmth emanating off him as he leaned in, leaned closer, and took my lips with his.

Perfection.

My body knew it. My soul knew it. Even if my brain was calling me crazy, there was no other choice at that moment. I didn’t even care that the door to the shop was unlocked.

“I want you, Caleb,” the words were a husky admission. “Don’t stop.”

His mouth crashed against mine again, harder this time. He pressed me against the row of high fantasy novels, his hands gripping my waist, pulling me closer to him as his tongue swept my lips, eager to taste. The heat from his body burned through my thin shirt as the ridges of book spines pressed into my back.

Our kisses deepened with each one, tongues tangled as our hands explored, desperate, as if this couldn’t last. His fingers traced the line of my jaw before caressing my side and lifting the edge of my shirt. He reverently palmed my cleavage, grazing the lace of my bra. He pulled back to look at me, eyes filled with desire. His breath, still like the sea breeze, sent shiversdown my spine. I let every fear of him leaving again melt away as his cock grew harder against my hip.

“I need you,” he replied and his lips crashed against mine with more urgency, his hand gripping my jaw as he pulled me closer. His tongue demanded entrance to my mouth, and I eagerly obliged, letting him plunder every word I couldn’t say. My heart raced as his body heat sank into mine, our chests pressing together tightly. The soft rustling sounds of the street faded away, and I felt free even though the walls held us close.

I lifted my shirt off, wanting to drink in the sight of him watching me.

He slipped my bra strap off my shoulder with a gentle tug, exposing a bare inch of skin. My nipples hardened immediately at his touch. “So beautiful,” he said. His smile was hungry as he softly bit my shoulder before trailing more kisses down my collarbone.

He kissed my lips, his fingers entwined in my hair, pulling me closer to deepen the kiss while his free hand roamed up to cup my breast through my bra. He gently squeezed it before reaching around to open the clasp, freeing me in multiple ways.

“Like no time has passed,” I whispered with my eyes closed, reliving the moments from before but with a body that now knew exactly what it wanted.

He slowly tugged on the elastic band of my skirt and panties before slipping his hand inside and skimming one finger lightly over my wetness. It felt so good, so divinely right, having him touch me this way. “Like no time has passed,” he repeated, tenderly pressing against me, his strong fingers restraining themselves. Firm but gentle.

He froze there for a moment, his touch sending shockwaves through me as I instinctually arched into him.

And I couldn’t hold myself back any longer.

“More, Caleb,” I whispered against his shoulder urging him onward with every fiber of my being.

With a growl, he roughly yanked off my skirt and panties in one swift movement, leaving me completely bare to him. He lifted me as if I weighed nothing and carried me down the row, setting my ass on top of a box of dictionaries that reached waist height. His eyes darkened further at the sight of my pussy as he leaned in to taste me, his tongue swirling around my sensitive core before plunging inside, causing a wave of pleasure to wash over me.

The smell of books mixed with our sweat and lust, creating an intoxicating aroma that blinded me to every other thought except him. He held me against his face while his free hand roamed up to cup one breast, pinching one nipple, and then the other. “So beautiful,” he murmured again before rising up to take one hardened nipple into his mouth, sucking enough to make me squirm, my pussy clenching with need to be filled.

I could feel his cock pressing against my thigh, straining against his jeans. With trembling fingers, I reached down to undo his belt and zipper. He groaned against my breast as I wrapped my hand around his length, stroking him slowly.

I whispered in his ear. “I want you.”

“I know you do.” He pressed my clit with his finger.

“No,” I took his head in my hands, tugging on his hair so he had to pull back, see the intent in my eyes. “I wantall of you. Now.”

He moaned, closing his eyes. “Josie, if you only knew…”

“Caleb, shut up andfuck me.”

Caleb pulled away slightly, his eyes darkening with desire at my dirty words that sent a fresh thrill thrumming through my core. “You don’t know what you’re asking for,” he said, his words a raspy whisper that only drove me higher.

But as I stared up at him with challenge and invitation, he groaned softly. He reached behind his head and yanked his shirt off in one fluid movement, kicking his pants off a second later. Then he pulled me closer, notching the head of his cock against me as he lifted me effortlessly. “I have to,” he murmured, whether to me or himself, I couldn’t tell.

My heart raced in my chest as we made eye contact for one last moment before his lips crashed down on mine once more—hungrily devouring me.

---