Page 31 of Until We Break

Caleb slowed the engine, and we glided against the pier. I was quick to hop up and grab the rope. He didn’t have to tell me to wrap it against the piling. He cut the engine and joined me.

Our fingers twined. He turned to me. My heart raced and I wanted to take a thousand breaths or none at all when he was this close. A jet ski sped past, reminding us we weren’t alone. We were visible to boaters on the creek and the sound where people could see the sphere around us. I wondered from what distance it was noticeable, this swirling bubble of need and want rushing through our bodies.

We jogged together, hands grasping, reaching. We crossed from the pier to the gravel lot then up the stairs and into the screened porch.

Caleb’s hands were in my hair. Our lips collided. And I knew I was going to drown in him. I wanted to drown. I wanted to capsize and have him take me under, bring me up again, breathe life into my mouth, and then push me below the surface all over again.

“Breakfast. Do you want breakfast?” I gulped between kisses.

He shook his head. “Later. New plan.”

We needed to get off the porch. Why was everything at the Blue Heron in sight of someone else? I pushed the wobbly door open, trying to hide the embarrassment of the cottage from him. We were both too distracted to talk about décor or the shabby couch.

His arms lifted in the air as I threaded the T-shirt over his head. It landed near the couch. His mouth was hot. His tongue played inside my mouth, twining and dancing against mine. He shoved the beach shop board shorts down my hips. I stepped out of them as I our eyes locked. I wanted to memorize his beautiful skin. The connection of muscle along his torso. How gorgeous his arms were.

“You’re beautiful, Margot.” He leaned down, taking my mouth again. I believed him. I believed he thought I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. I clung to his neck and his hand slid from my waist along my backside. I winced when he coasted over the bruise.

“You okay?” He paused all movement.

“Just a marina accident. I’m fine. Don’t stop,” I purred.

His hand continued to explore, slipping my underwear down my thighs so he had access between my legs. I shuddered at the first scalding touch. I wanted to moan and scream when histhumb expertly pressed into my clit. Caleb strummed my clit with certainty. When he touched me, I knew he wanted to unlock my secrets. To remember how I sounded with his name on my tongue. To know how it felt again when I came in his hand. He was good at figuring it out. I panted, wanting the first release. I wanted to come. The strokes alternated with his fingers and thumb, creating a rhythm I’d never known. He dipped to kiss me. My mouth opened for him, just as my legs widened. The way he massaged my clit created electric tension. I held on tighter, moaning while he built the pleasure one touch at a time, slowing and quickening then slowing again. I thought I might beg. My knees could barely hold me upright any longer. Then he pushed his fingers inside me, and I cried out, shattering with an instant burst of fire, roaring in my veins.

Caleb’s forehead pressed into mine. “Fuck, Margot. Still so fucking sexy.” He nipped at my neck, grazing my throat with his teeth while I rode out the waves cresting from the orgasm.

I couldn’t wait any longer. I led him to the staircase. I didn’t want to take a step without him. His arms circled my body and I whimpered into another kiss. This kind of need consumed me. It consumed us.

He lifted me, dragging me to his body. He took one giant step and then another until we reached the top of the landing. Caleb staggered into my bedroom. He spotted the boxes shredded and mauled.

“I’m afraid to ask. What happened in here?” His eyes traveled from the shreds of cardboard on the floor to the ripped window screen.

I wanted to run around and tidy everything up. Hide my outburst. Conceal the shame and embarrassment a little longer.

“It’s umm…it’s?—”

Rain began to pelt the panes against the window. “I guess that low-pressure system moved in after all.”

Grateful the weather distracted him, I nuzzled against his neck. I inhaled his scent. The hints of yesterday’s aftershave. Salt. Sweat. All of him. Caleb was intoxicating.

“But really…what is all this shit? It looks like a bomb went off in here.”

I sighed. “It’s what’s left over from my book tour,” I admitted. I wondered if telling someone would make me feel better. It didn’t.

“Book tour?”

I wanted to stay in this bubble with him. I had no interest in inviting reality into the bed or the room.

“Can we talk about it later?” I asked, sliding my hand over his chest. His skin was beautiful. Tan.

“Just tell me you’re okay,” he urged.

“I am. I promise I’ll explain later,” I whispered. I didn’t want that damn book to ruin anything else in my life. Not this moment.

“Okay.” I didn’t think he cared right now either.

I had never seen desire like this in a man before. It excited and frightened me as if we could be engulfed in a blaze the instant I let him inside me. I wasn’t scared of Caleb. I was scared of how I felt when I was with him. How being this close to him made me feel alive. That somehow, he had fanned a flame inside me I thought had been extinguished.

He lowered me to the bed and climbed on, crawling toward me.

---