Page 85 of A Taste of Grace

He repositioned his body and made himself comfortable on the plush pillows with his knee raised and foot flat.

“You sure about that?” He pulled me to him and grinded his lower body into me slowly.

Like the needy woman I was, I held his back and scratched it as he repeatedly rubbed against my soaking core with his erection.

“Caleb Stallings.” I called out his name as if that somehow explained what my problem was.

“Grace Stallings.” He said my name in the same tone as mine.

“You hurt me.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” He slowly entered my soaking core.

I adored and disliked Caleb in the same breath, but his penis was my truth serum. He withdrew from me and kissed my stomach then my breasts and my lips again.

“Madeline means nothing to me, sweetheart. I got in my feelings. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

“I need space away from you.”

“But I need you to be all up in my space. If I have to make love to you all night for you to hear me out, I will.”

I reached for Caleb’s butt and pushed him closer to me. With each thrust, my willpower weakened along with my pride.

“How do I know it won’t happen again?” I whimpered as his pace increased.

He paused mid-stroke and stayed inside me. I willed myself to concentrate on his words and not the heat between my legs.

“I’m just a man, Grace. Don’t put me on a pedestal. We’re on the same team, although I forgot that today.” He began to thrust inside me again.

I held him tight and savored our intimacy. Caleb’s admission humbled me as I thought about all the people who didn’t give me grace over the years. Unlike them, Caleb wanted me to be whole. He came to me and showed me how precious I was to him.

My stomach growled as I started to leak on the sheets. Caleb paused and lifted his body above mine.

“Are you hungry, love?”

“Kind of, but my appetite is off. I’ll drink some ginger ale when we’re done so I can settle my stomach.”

To my surprise, he withdrew from me and placed his hand on my belly.

“Oh, yes. The Black folks’ remedy for everything. Ginger ale? Have you taken a pregnancy test?”

I laughed. My voice filled the darkness of the room as I held his erection and continued to stroke it. He hissed and lay back on the pillows again.

“I’m not pregnant.”

“We haven’t used protection. You might be carrying our child.”

I removed my hand and raised it to my lips as I processed how moody and finicky I was about everything. Caleb was right. We loved each other raw and didn’t think twice about it.

“That would kind of be a mess.” I climbed on Caleb and rocked with him until we both climaxed.

When we finished, Caleb walked to his overnight bag. He turned on the light and pulled out a pregnancy test.

“I’m serious, Grace. I picked up a two-pack pregnancy test from CVS. I’ll help you test if you want.”

“I’ll do it on my own time, okay?”

He lifted his hands in surrender.

---