Page 82 of For One Night Only

“Later,” he says. “Now, I just want to feel you.”

Slowly, I roll the condom onto his length, and his hips buck under my touch.

“I want to be on top,” I say.

“You want to be in charge? Get over here,” he says, eyes blazing as he pulls me on top of him. I raise my hips above his, positioning his cock at my entrance but not going further.

“Are you going to makemebeg this time?” he gasps.

It feels incredible, being here with him, seeing how much he wants me. I feel powerful, but also completely at his mercy. I think I’d let this man do anything to me.

“Not tonight,” I say. Slowly, carefully, I sink onto his cock, angling my hips so he’s pressing against that sweet spot again.

“Valerie, fucking hell, your pussy feels incredible. God, you’re so wet.”

“That’s how much I want you,” I say, lifting my hips up and sinking down again. He hisses, and I ride him like this: slow, languid, pressing my clit into his pelvis with every thrust. When I find the perfect angle, I wrap one arm around his shoulders for leverage, using the other to hold myself steady. I dip down and kiss him again, and our tongues collide, desperate, unable to get enough of each other.

I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of him. Even together like this, every part of him pressing into me, I’m just craving more. I never stopped loving Caleb Sloane. He might have been the brave one to say it, but with every kiss, every caress, I hope he understands the way I feel about him.

If I spent every night like this, with this man I adore worshipping my body and peering into my soul, I’d be the luckiest girl in the world. The fear of losing him is overwhelming, and I push it away and focus on us. This. Right now.

Leaning down for another kiss, I adjust the angle of where our bodies meet. I ride him slow and sweet until I feel that spiral at the base of my spine. My palms go slick with need as I get closer to the edge.

“That’s it, Val. Take what you need.”

I don’t need him to say it twice. I work myself into a frenzy, fucking him faster, grinding my clit against him with a hunger I didn’t know I possessed. It’s not long before I’m digging my nails into his skin, coming apart with a trembling cry until I see nothing but stars.

“Caleb,” I gasp.

He rocks his hips into mine, faster, urging me on until he’slocking us together and shuddering through his own heaving release. Once we’re both sated, we collapse onto the mattress, panting. The sheets are damp with sweat, but neither of us seems to care enough to move. Once the room has stopped spinning, he goes to dispose of the condom, and then I take my turn in the bathroom cleaning myself up.

We fall back into bed together, limbs entwined, like neither of us can bear to let go. I’m worried that if I lose this contact, I won’t find my way back to him again. I nestle closer, finding that perfect spot on his chest to rest my head, and he shifts, resting his palm softly on my hip as his breathing deepens.

“You should always wake me up in the middle of the night,” he murmurs into my hair, just when I think he’s already asleep.

“Noted,” I say, even though there’s a distant piece of my brain warning me that this night is all we have left. As I drift off to sleep in his arms, I think about what our life together might be like if I’d said yes after that last show in Vegas.

I wonder if this could be real.

25

Valerie

Morning comes too soon.

After a long, lingering good-morning kiss, Caleb escapes to his own room to shower and prep. I’m sweetly sore from the sex and groggy from sleep deprivation—but I chug coffee from room service like my life depends on it as I start to get ready for the day.

I ran down to a beauty supply store after thePunk!magazine shoot and bought a fresh jar of vegan dye to cover up my blond. My first instinct was to grab my signature Pink Crush, but then my eyes fell on the Lavender Daze.

All that talk from Rowan telling Caleb to do something familiar but fresh rushed into my head. I bought the Lavender Daze without another thought, and now I’m stuck with it. Maybe it wasn’t the right call, but this is a change I can control, and it’ll definitely keep the fans talking.

And I need them to keep talking.

Sure, I could have a professional dye my hair, but that didn’t feel right going into today. I’ve always done this part on my own, knowing it’ll get me the results I want. Rowan agreed to let mehave this one thing, as if they sensed somehow how much I needed to have something under my control.

Becoming this version of Valerie Quinn one more time.

So I pour the conditioning dye into a bowl, slip on some gloves, and begin working it into my freshly platinum strands. My hair is short enough that it doesn’t take long, and soon the entire bathroom looks like a violet ink explosion. While the color sets, I clean off the sink and countertops, then run a bath to exfoliate and shave my legs.

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