Family quibbles notwithstanding, I wouldn’t change a thing about our relationship. I’ve never felt this way about anyone in my entire life. Calder’s seen parts of my soul that I’ve never shown anyone else, and I know the same is true for him.
I open my eyes, looking up into a face so full of adoration and vulnerability that it makes me want to cry.
“I love you,” I say, reaching up to touch him on the cheek.
He leans down and presses his forehead against mine.
“I love you, too,” he says. He continues to stroke me between the legs, but he’s taking his time now—as if he’d rather savor the task than rush on to the main event. His nose brushes against mine, and his warm breath washes across my cheek. I could stay like this forever, tangled up with him. The way things are going, I doubt we’ll get around to setting up our bed tonight, and it doesn’t even matter. Wherever he is will be the sweetest bed I’ll ever know.
I kiss him again, and he meets my mouth with equal feeling. His hand stills as our lips mingle, and for a moment there’s nothing but shared breath and dancing tongues and the delicious taste of him. Our bodies know each other so well at this point that I swear our hearts beat in time without even trying.
After a few moments, though, things turn heated again. I feel Calder’s muscles start to flex once more beneath my hands, and his limbs go rigid with restraint. I shift slightly, rubbing myself against the hand still between my legs, and he smiles against my mouth and resumes his explorations. One flick of his finger, then another—he knows exactly which touch makes me squirm and which one makes me moan, which one brings me to the edge and which one draws out my pleasure.
I know him, too. And before this is over I’m going to drive him as wild as he’s driving me.
I arch my back, pressing against his hand, and he flicks his fingers, drawing a whimper from my throat. I tug at the waistband of his pants, determined to put him at an equal disadvantage, but I only manage to move it an inch before the buzzing starts.
I jump, startled by the sudden vibrations oscillating dangerously close to my exposed flesh. Calder’s cell phone is ringing, and it’s in his pocket, wedged between our bodies.
And he takes all too much pleasure in my reaction to the interruption.
“This is an opportune little surprise,” he says wickedly, shifting his hips so that his phone is right against me. I gasp as the next set of vibrations pulses right against my bare skin, and my core clenches in response to this new source of stimulation.
“Be… careful…” I manage. “It might… accidentally… pick up…”
His grin deepens as he thrusts his hips again. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
The next time the cell vibrates, I moan and grip him harder. I’m not sure how much more of this I can take. I was already worked up, but this makeshift sex toy is drawing me to the edge very quickly. My entire body quivers with the phone, and my clit is so sensitive now that there are tears forming in my eyes.
When the call finally goes to voicemail, I nearly sob in relief.
“Bastard,” I rasp. “That was unnecessarily cruel.”
He chuckles. “If you think that was cruel, then I have a few surprises for you later.”
I tug his face back down before he has the chance to taunt me further. Every nerve in my body is super-charged. I need him in me. Now.
This time he doesn’t resist my efforts, but I only manage to get his pants to his hips before his phone goes off again.
“Dammit!” The source of the vibrations is lower now, but the pulse is still close enough to the delicate area between my legs to make my muscles quiver and contract. I whimper and writhe beneath Calder. Every pulse is a jolt straight to my core, so intense that the sensations ripple up my belly and down my legs as well.
“Do you really want to escape?” he asks, his voice thick and low in my ear. “Or do you want me to let you come?”
“I… I want…” I can’t even form coherent thoughts anymore. The phone buzzes again, and my nails press deeper into his flesh. “Please… please…”
“Please what? Maybe I should make you wait. I think I’d prefer to feel you come around my cock.”
“Please… ah, fuck!”
The phone vibrates again, and I almost climax… but Calder shifts away at the last minute, denying me my pleasure.
“Fuck you,” I say. “Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you…” One tear manages to spill down over my cheek, but I can’t do anything but shake my head and mutter.
“What do you want?” Calder prompts. “Do you want me to give you release right now? Or would you like me to fuck it out of you?”
I try to respond, but I’m not sure I’m forming real words. He must take pity on me, though, because the next time the phone buzzes he grinds against me. And I completely lose it. Like screaming-and-crying-and-tearing-into-him lose it. I throw my head back against the carpet and let the orgasm overtake me, and I clutch him so hard that I’m sure I draw blood.
I’m not sure how long I lie there afterward, just struggling to see straight again.
“How’s that for a welcome?” Calder says, more than a little amused.
I try to look pissed, but I imagine that the best I’m managing is somewhere between “deliciously satisfied” and “still incredibly aroused.”
“If you think I’m going to let you get away with that,” I say when I can speak once more, “then you don’t know me very well.”
He laughs, but he doesn’t resist when I push him off me and onto his back. He knocks over a garbage bag full of sheets, but that only makes him laugh harder.
“So you think this is funny?” I tease, straddling him. “Just wait until I’m done with you.”
I lean down to attack his mouth, but the minute our tongues meet, his phone goes off again.
“Who the hell…” he says, tearing his mouth away from mine. He slides his hand between us and pulls the buzzing electronic from his pocket. His brow creases slightly when he reads the name, and I sit back.
“What is it?” I ask.
He’s frowning. “Unknown number. But they’ve called me three times.”
That’s weird. “Could it be a client?”
“Perhaps. But I usually keep those numbers on my contacts list.” His frown deepens. “Unless I forgot one. Or maybe Hafford passed my number along to someone.”