Page 39 of Shattered

Callum grimaced. “That was not one of my finer moments. I’m sorry.” He paused and took a deep breath. “I got irrationally jealous and used her to get back at you. I regretted it as soon as I saw your face.Youare the only one I’ve drawn.Youare the only one who I just can’t seem to kick out of my thoughts.”

Sam still wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but would think more on it later. Right now, all she could focus on was how close they were. They were barely more than a foot apart. Their breath mingled and his fingertips grazed the side of her palm. He was so close she could make out the length of his eyelashes and the way his stubble was just slightly thicker across his chin than the rest of his face. There was an entire world going on upstairs that had no idea of what was transpiring down below.

“Do you want to?” Sam asked and he looked at her with a surprised and yet confused expression.

“Want to what?” His brow creased.

“Do you want to get me out of your head?” He visibly relaxed at the question. And then, without notice, a small burst of laughter erupted from him. She reveled in the sound.

“No. Not really. But it wouldn’t matter if I did. I’ve tried. You’re still there.”

They stood in silence, neither knowing quite what to say, or do, or think, or feel.

Finally, he closed the gap between them and slowly removed the drawing from her hand.

“I’m going to set this over here.” He placed it on a side table out of reach. “It’s one of my favorites and I don’t want to ruin it.”

She thought she might have smiled, but she wasn’t sure because, as soon as her lips started to tilt upward, he shifted his hands to graze the barely visible skin at her hips. Sam sucked in a breath with the touch. And there was the flood. That trickle that she thought was all she would ever feel from someone turned ravenous. The dam burst and with it her resolve. A soothing warmth spread through her body.

Without an ounce of effort, he lifted her onto his desk and stood between her legs.

She expected him to lean down and kiss her just like he had at the bar, but he didn’t move anything other than his eyes. They scoured over every inch of her face. It was as if he was memorizing every detail he could take in. It was agonizingly torturous in the most delicious way.

Unable to take the inspection further, Sam finally parted her lips. She wasn't sure what was going to come out of her mouth, but she wasn’t surprised when the one worded plea did.

“Please.”

It didn’t sound like her at all. It was all breathy and was definitely a plea for something. She just wasn’t sure yet what that something was.

He made eye contact one more time. His lips tilted upward and then that damn dimple popped back into place. Through no voluntary motion of her own, somehow her fingers found themselves tracing the small dot and then the curve of his lips.

He sucked in a ragged breath as his grip on her tightened.

“What do you want, Sam?” His voice was deep and commanding.

“You.”

He didn’t hesitate. His lips were on hers before she could finish the word.

This was what she wanted.

What she needed.

Him.

He felt so good, and kissed her so thoroughly she was sure her lips would be bruised by the time he finished. He threaded his hands into her hair and yanked back slightly, making a whimper escape her lips. She’d never been one to make noises, but he brought out a side of her she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen. With him she wanted to scream, and cry out, and let him know without a doubt all the ways he made her feel.

When he took her bottom lip between his teeth, the tension in her body coiled up. Her hands were frantic, running up to his face then back down across his torso then grabbing his hips to bring him closer. He had barely touched her, but she swore she was already primed to burst.

He ran a trail of kisses across her jaw and gently dragged his teeth down her neck. She couldn’t talk if she wanted to. Her mind had gone blank and she was selfishly enjoying everything he was doing to her. When he finally pulled away to catch his breath, she

unexpectedly whimpered at the loss of contact.

He laughed a little while picking her up, carrying her to the bed and deftly laying her down.

“Don’t worry, Sam. I’m nowhere near done with you.”

Chapter 20 - Sam

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