Page 40 of Fragile Heart

“Caleb,” I whisper.

He pulls away from me until our eyes lock. His pace doesn’t falter, though, and he’s hardly even winded. Like he could fuck me all day and not grow tired at all. Slick rushes down my thighs at the thought, soaking us both, and I groan. He drives into me again, and my toes curl. It steals my thoughts until I feel his knot again.

“I haven’t been knotted in a decade.” The confession falls between pants.

He grabs my hand and laces our fingers together before guiding it above my head.

“A decade? Not even a toy?” he asks. When I nod, he groans. “Damn, Brielle.”

He drops his head, letting his lips trace along my jaw. I tilt my head back to give him better access as he pulls my skinbetween his teeth hard enough that I know it’ll leave a bruise. And his voice? It sends a shiver down my spine.

“I’m so close,” I admit. He grins against my throat.

“Good,” he mutters. “Because so am I.”

He lowers to his elbows, keeping his weight off my hand that’s still gripped in his. And then he runs a thumb over my clit, hard, sure swipes that have no business being so incredibly perfect.

My mind empties as the orgasm rushes through me, just as strong as the last one. My voice breaks as I whimper at the overload of sensation. Caleb kisses the hollow of my throat as his pace falters. He palms my hip, keeping me still, as he drives into me one last time.

“Shit,” he grunts into my skin as his knot swells, locking us together. “Brielle.”

My back bows off the blanket. There’s nothing but the pleasure of his knot and the weightless sensation rushing through my body. I can’t help the shriek that rips up my throat and echoes through the trees. It’s not from pain, though. It’s from the undeniable pleasure that being with him has coursing through me. His teeth bite down on my shoulder without piercing the skin, and it just creates another wave of sensation.

“Caleb,” I gasp. “Oh God. It’s never…” He rocks his hips against mine, and I moan. “Caleb.”

He pulls away from me, rising above me without moving his knot. He kisses the palm of the hand he still holds and then guides it down my body to where we’re joined. I can just barely feel the base of his knot. He shudders as I trace it, muttering something I don’t quite hear.

“Feel this, sweetheart?” he whispers, his eyes locked on me, the blue of them as piercing as anything I’ve ever known. He runs his hand down my thigh. “This is what being made for you feels like.”

A lump lodges in my throat, a nervous energy stirring in my belly even as my body melts beneath him. Caleb doesn’t flinch, doesn’t falter. His hand covers mine and his thumb strokes my knuckles. He palms my hip.

“Is that good with you?” he asks.

I force a swallow.

“I think so,” I whisper.

The corner of his mouth tips up as his eyes brighten.

Chapter Nineteen

BRIELLE

Olivia’s house is tucked into a small neighborhood on the outskirts of Creek Falls. The house is as unassuming as Hudson’s restaurant, the same small design touches that give both a warm and welcoming feel. As I pull up to the curb and get out of my car, Olivia opens the front door and stands in the middle of the front porch, her arms crossed and a large smile warming her face. Her hair is pulled back, leaving the silver bond scar just under her left ear visible in the midmorning sunshine.

Something uncomfortably close to jealousy twists in my stomach.

She waves as I cross the space toward her.

“How are you feeling?” I ask as she pulls me into a hug.

“Better,” she breathes. “Thank goodness. I was getting pretty desperate.”

She wordlessly ushers me into her home and toward the kitchen.

Melissa glances up from where she sits at the large island, a mug in her hands. Her eyes skate over me, catching on my throat, before her lips curl into a knowing grin. I’d spent ten minutes this morning trying to get the damn hickeys Caleb left covered. Are they perfect? No. But at least the average person I run into in town today won’t realize I was fucked within an inch of my life a few days ago.

I raise a single eyebrow and purse my lips, trying to keep her questions from starting. Not yet, at least.

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