Page 43 of Willow

Tears are streaming down my face and for the life of me I can’t swipe my damn key card. My hands are shaking so damn bad, and all I want to do is just get in the damn room. I scream! Out of frustration, I don’t fucking know! Out of anger? Fuck, it could be. One more try, and the light turns green. Thank fuck. It’s too late. It’s too late! Caleb’s hand comes out of nowhere and pushes the door open. I was so damn close.

“Get out! Do not step foot in this room or I will scream as loud—” Caleb’s hand clamps down over my mouth, pushing me inside the room. Slamming and locking the door behind him. What the fuck! Now I’m really angry. I try biting his hand, punching him, and everything I can for him to let me go. It’s like hitting a brick wall and he won’t loosen his hold.

“You’re going to sit on that bed so I can explain why I never mentioned the other girl in my life.” I shake my head like a damn child to no avail. Removing his hand, he pushes me down on the bed.

“I don’t do children, Caleb. Ever. This is a dealbreaker for me. I wish I had known about her before we became involved, but this has to stop. Now!”

* * *

CALEB

Children are a dealbreaker?

“This is the exact reason I never mentioned I had a daughter, Willow. If the two of you had met, she would have fallen in love with you just like I did. And, if things didn’t work out, it would have broken her heart, and mine. Cadence can’t be around people like most children because she has Cystic Fibrosis. It’s a genetic disorder that affects her breathing and digestion. She’s on different types of treatments and has to follow a special diet. I’m raising my daughter alone, since her birth mother couldn’t cope with her disease.” I don’t know if I should stop or continue. She’s already tuned me out. Shut me down. She’s staring at the corner of the room, and she looks like she did the night she told me about Brodie.

“Willow, it’s not really about my daughter, is it? Is there something you haven’t told me?” Her eyes are vacant as she sits down on the bed. Like she checked out or she’s in another world. I’m surprised when she speaks.

“When Brodie was killed, I didn’t know I was pregnant. I found out a few months later. I was so happy knowing I had a part of him living inside of me. It changed everything. You see, I had a full ride to The Manhattan School of Music. My dream of becoming a concert pianist changed into being the best mom I could possibly be. I was going to be a single mom.” I have a sense of where this is going.

Walking over to the bed, I sit down next to her. Waiting.

“Three weeks after I quit school, I lost the baby. The pain I felt after losing that child was too much for me to bear. I fell into a deep depression. Doctors said it was post-partum, but I knew it was the pain of losing the both of them in such a short time. I shut down. It’s the reason why my guys are so protective of me. They’ve seen me at rock bottom. It took me years to feel anything after that. Sometimes I still don’t feel anything. Until you came along.” She swipes at the silent tears that are now streaming down her cheeks. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry, Caleb.”

She’s too calm. It’s like the calm before the storm. This girl has been through so much heartache in her lifetime. “I’m so sorry for your loss, love. I can’t even fathom what you went through. All of those life-changing decisions that you had to make at such an early age.”

“It might be best if you stay in your room until your flight tomorrow. I don’t think I could survive another goodbye.”

I’m surprised when I reach for her hand and she lets me. “I’m here today, so don’t shut me out. You have three months left on the tour. If you feel the same when you return home, then I have no choice but to accept your decision. Today, you’re mine. I want you. Just you and me so I can show you how much I love you. Yes, Willow. I love you with all of my heart. My beautiful, resilient girl.” The flood gates open and that’s when I pick her up to straddle my lap, kissing away her tears.

“My child would have been four years old in another month. It hurts so much, Caleb. Not a day goes by that I don’t mourn the loss.” Thank god she hasThe Sinful Sevenand all the hustle and bustle that goes along with it. I can’t imagine her giving up her career for a child she’s never met. That’s unconditional love. And my baby mama just wants to suck out all of my money, but it’s so worth it to keep her far away from Cadence.

I kiss her cheeks, the tip of her nose and dive in to taste her lips. I’ll need to carve this moment into my memory so I can remember this on a lonely night when I’m missing her. With my mouth fastened to hers, I tug on the hem of my t-shirt she’s wearing and she lifts her arms. So in sync with my every demand. I toss it to the floor to discover she’s not wearing a bra. Standing up, I take her with me, and lay her across the mattress. Sliding my hand inside the waistband of her pants, she lifts her hips and I pull them off. When she’s naked before me, I undress, covering her body with mine.

Drinking her in.

I kiss away all of her tears and wish I could do the same with the pain she’s been carrying inside of her. I know when I walk out that door, all of her feelings will come crashing down on her.

“Make love to me, Caleb. Please.” I would cut off my right arm for this girl if she needed it. Making love to her is less painful and so much more fulfilling.

Sliding my arms under her knees, I impale her with my hard cock until I’m balls deep inside of her. We both lose our breath, and for a moment we just enjoy the carnal pleasure. With her thighs spread wide in this position, I slowly pull out, then slam back in. Until we find a rhythm and then I do what she asked.

I make love to the woman who owns my heart.

With our eyes locked on each other, I circle my hips, thrust, then circle again. Every thrust of my hips slams against her clit and I know she won’t last long. I want to make love to her all damn night to the point where I’m so deep inside her heart, she’ll never forget me.

“Oh, Caleb. I’m going to come.” One more thrust against her clit and her tight pussy convulses. She’s so fucking tight that I can’t control it any longer. I come with a growl as jet after jet of hot seed explodes inside of her. And her greedy pussy extracts every last drop.

27

WILLOW

Caleb leftanhour ago and I’ve been staring up at the ceiling ever since. There are so many doubts and insecurities running through my mind, and I can’t make sense of any of them. Caleb has a daughter. A sick daughter. I’ve heard of CF, but I don’t know a lot about it. I’ve reached for my phone several times to Google it and stopped myself. What good would it do? Besides making me crazy with worry about a little girl I’ve never met and have no intentions of meeting.

Caleb loves me.

And now I have even more questions than I had before. Where does he live? Obviously, the penthouse must be where he takes his women so he can have sex. I doubt if he’d take them to his home where he lives with his daughter. I’m driving myself mad and it’s none of my business. Caleb wants me to wait until I get home, but I already know we’re over.

Caleb loves me and I let him go.

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