Chapter 25
Caleb’s lips are warm against mine and so damn soft. A hint of the wine he was drinking lingers on his lips and mixes with his taste, and it is *intoxicating*. His large hands are wrapped around my thighs, holding me tightly to him, as if I could get any closer than I already am. I am not complaining though. His hard, muscled body feels amazing against mine, and the way his lips move against mine, as if he can anticipate every move I am going to make… I had no idea that kissing could feel like this. *God, I have been missing out.*
Caleb moves us, walking a few steps so he can set me up onto the counter. The chill of the counter seeps through my clothing, and it contrasts deliciously with the heat rushing through my body. Once he is no longer holding the weight of my body, Caleb’s hands begin roaming all over me, brushing up my back, then down my arms, then tracing their way back up into my hair. He fists a handful of my hair, and pulls, causing me to lean my head further back and part my lips.
When my lips are open to him, he wastes no time in sliding his tongue in. His tongue dances with my own, and thanks to the skillful way that he moves it, I can’t help but imagine the way that it would feel to have his tongue other places on my body. The thought coaxes a throaty moan out of me, which breaks something open in Caleb.
He makes a sound that is somewhere between a moan and a growl, and it sends molten heat straight through me, which pools in my lower belly. I swear it is the sexiest thing I have ever heard. He kisses me harder, his lips bruising, and I know that they will be swollen after this. I can’t bring myself to care though. He presses his hips against mine, and I can feel his hard length pressed against my core, showing me just how desperately he wants me right now. I want him just as badly, apparently. I grind against him, feeling the tension coil and build inside of me. I think I could come just from moving against him like this.
I turn my head to the side and break the kiss, needing a second to get my wild breathing under control, and he moves to trail kisses down my neck, sucking lightly on the sensitive skin where my shoulder meets my neck. His hand moves to slip under the hem of my shirt, and despite the frenzied way he is kissing me, his fingers are gentle as he caresses the flesh of my side. His hand moves around to my stomach, and his fingers draw slow circles across my abdomen as he makes his way higher, higher, higher until his fingers circle my breast. He moves his mouth back to mine, and kisses me languidly as his fingers slow until their movements are slow, sensuous, and *driving me fucking crazy*.
*Can you die from this? It feels like you can die from this.*
He slowly brushes his hand across my chest, and takes his time drawing exploring circles around my other breast, making sure it gets equal attention as his tongue moves sensually against mine in a way that feels like a promise of more things to come.
He moves back to kiss down my neck again, and his lips caress that sensitive spot right at the same moment that his fingers brush across my nipple, which is pebbled and aching for him.
“*Fuck*,” I moan in a voice that I barely recognize as my own.
He must like the dirty word on my lips, because he presses his hardened cock against my center again, and bites down on my neck. The pain is delicious, and I hope he won’t leave any bruises that I’ll have to explain away at work.
*Work. Bruises. On my neck.*
All at once reality slaps me in the face, and I realize that I am kissing Caleb *fucking* Reed. The man who is basically my boss, the one who has already left bruises on my neck in a very different way. I cannot be kissing this man. Or any other man, since I have sworn off all relationships forever. *Shit*. It’s even worse that I don’t *want* to stop.
I pull back from him, breathing wildly, and I place my hands on his chest, pressing him gently away from me. His eyes are glazed over, and it takes him a moment to focus on me, and the change in our… situation.
“We need to stop,” I whisper to him. We are still so close together that I might as well have shouted it.
“Are you okay?” He asks, and genuine concern lights his eyes.
“Yes. No. I just… You’re practically my boss, and with everything going on, I feel like I am not in the right headspace to be taking a step like this.” It is as honest as I am willing to get with him. I don’t want to bring up our tumultuous past, especially since I was being sincere when I told him that I have forgiven him.
He takes a deep breath in, and blows it out. “Okay,” he says, taking a step back from the counter where I am still sitting, my legs still spread in a way that is almost vulgar, but also kind of makes me wish I hadn’t stopped us, “Just let me calm down for a moment.” I feel a bit better knowing that he is just as turned on as me, and that I’m not just some pathetic girl falling into the arms of the first man that has ever shown me a little kindness.
My hands drop awkwardly once he is out of reach, and I brush them over my shirt, smoothing it just for something to do with them. That’s when I remember that I am still soaked from the spoon fountain that I unintentionally created a few minutes ago.
*Boy, did things get out of hand real fast.*
“Shit,” I say, “I didn’t bring any other pajamas. I only have my dirty scrubs and jeans.”
A little spark of panic flares through me at the idea of going back to my apartment, knowing that Andrew could be nearby. I can’t even imagine facing him. I hate it, but I am honestly *terrified* of him and what he will do to me if he is able to get his hands on me. A little shiver rolls down my spine at the thought, and I wrap my arms around myself in an unconscious attempt to make myself as small as possible. As if that would protect me from the monster that is stalking me.
As if he can see the thoughts written across my face, Caleb takes another step towards me, and gently grabs my hands, a crease appearing on his brow. “Hey,” he says softly, “You are safe here. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, and to keep this asshole far away from you. I swear it to you.”
My throat tightens at the kindness he is showing me, despite the fact that I basically just rejected him. Andrew once punched a hole in the wall when I tried to turn him down for sex, so this is a very different experience for me. I give him a nod, wanting to believe him with everything in me.
“Come on, let’s go get some dry clothes. You can borrow something of mine for the night. You have got to be exhausted.”
“Thank you,” I tell him, “and I really am. It has been a hell of a day.”
He adjusts himself in his pants before he helps me down from the counter and gently presses his hand to my lower back to guide me in front of him and up the stairs. When we reach his bedroom door, he ducks inside and emerges a few moments later with one of his T-shirts and a pair of sweatpants that will probably drown me, but it’s better than sleeping in wet clothes, or naked in a strange place.
His hand brushes mine as he hands me his clothes, and the space between us feels heavy with unspoken words and sexual tension. I quickly thank him, then cross the hall to my room and shut the door behind me before I can lose control of my sensibilities. Again.
I groan, then strip out of my wet clothing and put on Caleb’s clothes that somehow smell like him, despite being obviously clean and unworn. Honestly, if he didn’t smell so damn good it would be a lot easier to keep my damn hands to myself.
I cross the stupidly soft rug and climb into the bed. It has been so long since I have slept in a real bed, rather than my little mattress on the floor. I settle in under the thick covers, and attempt to quiet my mind until I eventually drift off to sleep.