Page 49 of Love on the Run

Jake didn’t try to hide his amazement as he gazed at the woman above him. Part of him doubted this was even happening, except the heat was so intense, and the feelings so real. He continued to stroke Callie’s skin, moving upward to her breasts, the nipples already staining against the silky fabric of her top. As he’d suspected, she wore nothing beneath the top, her figure just slight enough to go without. His ran his thumbs along the underside of her breasts, the skin smoother than silk under his touch. Callie closed her eyes and a tiny moan escaped her lips when he touched her there. He lingered, taking his time before moving on, relishing her reaction and the sight of her stomach, exposed inch by inch as he lifted the top while he explored her.

When his steady progress exposed her nipples, rosy and hard with desire, he leaned forward to take one in his mouth. Callie threw her head back then, wrapping her arms around him to pull him to her. “Yes,” she murmured. “Eat me up, please.”

He lapped her with his tongue then, sending her temperature soaring. “Be careful what you ask for, honey,” he warned, even as he lost himself in touching her. She felt her nerve endings come alive, and she begged him for more. Callie, eager to give him fuller access, let him go so she could discard the top, letting it fall unregarded on the ground beside them. Jake pulled back so he could take her in, naked to the waist, her hair falling down her back. Seeing her like that, he wondered, again, how he could ever keep her, even for one night. “You have to be a dream,” he muttered, against his will.

Callie smiled. “I’m exactly as real as you.” She moved then, rolling off him and tucking herself beside him, her head next to his own. She reached over and put her hand on his hip, pulling so he rolled on his side to meet her. Her face was only inches from his own. “And I’m very serious when I say you are making me crazy right now.” She moved to kiss him again, and pressed herself to him, skin to skin. “Please,” she whispered, pulling away only long enough to inhale as if she were drowning. “Please.”

He ran his hand down her side, over the bare skin and then to her still-covered leg. She felt him hesitate when he touched her thigh. “I’m afraid I could hurt you.” Despite their fevered states, he still remembered exactly where her injury was.

“You couldn’t,” she promised. “I know you.”

He didn’t know how he understood what she meant, or why that promise should be the key that truly unlocked his heart, but with those words, he knew there’d be no going back.

He moved to stand, surprised he still could, considering the state of need he was in. He offered a hand to help Callie up. She came willingly, though with a question in her eyes. “Inside, honey. You may be making me insane, but I’m not completely out of control.”

Under his joking tone, however, his voice was raw. He guided her into the house, into his bedroom, never taking his eyes off her glorious body, half naked and perfect.

Callie sank down onto the edge of the bed. He knelt on the floor in front of her, parting her thighs so she could wrap her legs around him and pull his head to her chest. He took the invitation and again kissed one breast, then the other, until she was gasping and all but sinking her nails into his back. Jake then moved his hands to the waistband of her jeans, carefully unbuttoning them. Callie lay back on the bed, and he scrambled up, putting his knee on the edge of the bed to hold himself steady. Callie helped him slip her clothes off, and he didn’t waste time following her lead.

Seeing her like that, in his room, beautiful and eager, nearly did make him lose control. She reached for him, but he caught her arms and laid her back firmly against the covers. They had no need of a blanket, both too hot to even think.

Jake took his time, running his hands up and down her body, making good on his threat to taste every inch of her. Callie was lost in the pure pleasure of it, stroking him every chance she got, knowing he wanted her.

She might have initiated their union, but he quickly took control, his nature becoming just as fierce as he was fiercely protective of her, even from himself. He moved slowly, asking her at every stage if she wanted more, and was always rewarded with a trusting, coy smile. He touched her gently, carefully, as if she were precious. When he finally slipped a finger inside her, she moaned so sweetly, it took his breath away. He felt how wet she was, for him, and nearly lost control.

Callie didn’t let him ask the final time, right before he entered her. She put her finger on his lips to forestall it. “The answer is yes. And I want to you keep your eyes open the whole time.”

So he did, entering her with exquisite slowness, watching her face grow astonished and flushed as they moved together, like they had been made for each other. Callie’s breath quickened as she felt him fill her so completely, and she had no idea when or how she came, only that it was a long and perfect release, and all his doing. Feeling her shudder around him, he finally let himself lose control completely, shocked by the intensity of his coming. Callie wrapped herself around him, murmuring words he couldn’t quite make out at first.

“What, honey?” he asked softly, reaching to brush her lovely hair away from her face, her cheeks pink with satisfaction.

“See? I was right,” she said again, holding him tight against her body. “I knew I was right.”

“Of course you were right, sweetheart. What were you right about?” Jake saw she was so relaxed now, she was drifting off to sleep.

“You make me so, so happy,” she whispered, eyes closed.

He smiled, sleepy himself and unwilling to break the spell. “I want you to be happy, love.” No matter what happens, he added silently. Still lost, like a man in a dream, he moved to lay beside her, cradling her body with his own. He twined one lock of her hair in his hand. For one night, she was his.

* * * *

The room was dark. Jake woke up without knowing why, and then he couldn’t get back to sleep. He lay stretched out on his bed, Callie half across him, deeply asleep, her bad leg resting over his own. Except for that bandage, she was as naked as he was. He ran a hand down her back, and she made a contented little sound in her sleep. He could get used to this.

And that was the problem. Sleeping with Callie had been a mistake. Not that he hadn’t loved it, loved her, but it made everything more complicated. Now he didn’t know how to deal with her. He should have told her no, pushed her away,liedto her. But he couldn’t.

So here they were, in bed together, in violation of pretty much every rule and probability he could think of. And part of him wanted it to stay that way. He turned the situation over in his mind, but couldn’t come up with any answers. Eventually, exhaustion took over, and he finally closed his eyes, his arms still wrapped around the sweet, soft woman he was dreaming about.

Callie woke up slowly. She looked over at the man sleeping next to her, biting her lip when she remembered last night. He’d been so careful of her, not just her leg, but all of her. He’d made sure she felt nothing but pleasure. She’d never had a night like it before. She didn’t want to open her eyes, but she squeezed his shoulder, where her hand was resting. He felt so good, she couldn’t imagine letting him go.

“You awake, honey?” he asked quietly.

“No,” she whispered, a smile in her voice, eyes still closed. She could hear his heartbeat. “Five more minutes.”

He laughed softly. “We have plenty of time,” he said, even though it wasn’t true. He could count the time in hours now, until Callie would have to leave. Tomorrow, most likely. He held her a little tighter, as if that could do anything.

“Jake?” she whispered.

“Yes, honey.”

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