Croc's Return (18 page)

“What are you doing outside?”

“Waiting for you.”

At his growled “baby,” she stepped closer and put a finger on his lips. “Don’t get mad. I didn’t do anything stupid. I watched from the window until I was sure it was you.”

“Just because you see a croc doesn’t mean it’s me.”

“Princess didn’t bark.”

“But I might.”

She slid closer, getting wet in the lukewarm water jetting from the wide rain showerhead. “While I appreciate the intent behind the bark, I think I prefer”—she leaned up on tiptoe to rub her lips against his—“the bite.”

He met her partway and was rewarded with the edge of her teeth grasping his lower lip and tugging.

Because he was apparently an idiot, he had to ask, “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” she whispered with a soft laugh against his lips.

“It looks like you’re seducing me.”

“Only looks like?” she teased with another nibble of his mouth.

“Feels like, too.” He slid his arms around her, drawing her tight to him and deepening the kiss.

For a moment, their hot breaths mingled, their bodies pressed.

Then he groaned and pulled away. He grasped her hands and held them away from him, ignoring her sounds of protest.

“Stop, baby.”

“Stop? Why? I want this. Heck, you want this.” She punctuated her words with a grind of her hips against him.

His resolved wavered, and he forced himself to breathe as he looked her in the face.

Her perfect face.

How did I get so lucky to have a chance to start over?
A chance to have a new life, a true life, with the woman he loved. But, if he ever had any hope of making it work, he needed to start it with honesty.

“You need to know the truth. About why I left.”

And that quickly, the soft smile on her lips faded and her body tensed. “What happened to you can’t tell?”

“I can’t. At least I’m not supposed to. But…” Caleb sighed as he leaned back against the post that held the plumbing for the shower. He shrugged and smiled. “I never claimed I was a good boy. Sometimes, rules need to be broken.”

“Will you get in trouble?” She touched his cheek. “You don’t have to tell me if it might harm you.”

“The people I swore to, they’re not around anymore. And even if they were, they already did their worst when they took me from you. Fucking bastards, using me and lying to me, they never gave a damn about me, only what I could do for them.” He caught her gaze. “But you gave a damn. You loved me, and instead of respecting that, I chose to keep a promise to some asshats who probably wouldn’t piss on me if I was on fire.” On the contrary, after the embarrassment of their mission overseas, most would have preferred he died, keeping their secrets intact.

She traced a finger down the scar until the tip of her digit ran across his lower lip. He nipped it. As if he could resist. “You don’t have to tell anymore. I know you, Caleb. I might have been angry, but deep down, a part of me knew you wouldn’t have left unless you had a damned good reason.”

“I did. I murdered someone. Or thought I had.”

He waited for it. The recoil, the horror, the quizzical…

“And?”

And? He blinked at her. “And I said I killed someone. Or at least I thought my croc had.”

“Thought? Is there doubt about what happened?”

“More like a revelation.” He explained quickly what he thought had happened and then Wes’s version. All the while he got them out of the shower. He procured two towels from the weather-proof chest beside it.

Wrapping Renny first, he carried her to the picnic table and seated her on its top. He didn’t move far away, but rather paced in short strides in front of her.

He couldn’t explain the relief that she was listening instead of running. He’d expected several reactions from her, hell, he’d experienced many himself as he lived the past few years, but Renny took his tale without flinching.

When he finished, she tilted her head to look at him. “Sounds like it was a rough time.”

“Very.”

“But I have a question for you. How could you have thought you killed a man for no cause? I know you, Caleb. You would have never done something like that.”

“Wouldn’t I? Every time I let the croc out, it feeds. On live things. From the moment I met you, I was afraid I’d scare you off, that the beast would repulse you.”

“It’s part of who you are.”

“A part I always struggled with.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

He shrugged. “Tell who? My mom? She already had enough stress without me whining about being weirded out by my croc’s antics.”

“What about your friends? Their fathers?”

“In case you’ve forgotten, I’m a guy. Asking for help is like asking for directions. We just don’t do it. Especially back then. I was an arrogant little fucker. I didn’t want to ask anyone because I didn’t want to look weak.”

“Nobody would have thought that. Actually, I take that back. Wes would have mocked you, probably Daryl, too, but they were your peers. They would have teased, but they would have helped.”

“Wes was never my peer.” Rival, yes, and one Caleb never admired, even if he bought the same studded leather coat within a day of hearing about the gator’s.

“Whatever you want to call those guys, they would have had your back.”

“I know that now.” Hindsight was more than twenty-twenty. It was a bitch that taunted.

Renny wasn’t done. Her brow knitted into lines as she thought aloud. “According to Wes, it was a setup, and I’ll be honest, a pretty obvious one, it seems. I mean, didn’t you think it was weird that those guys who stopped you knew so much about you and what happened?”

“Well, yeah, it seemed strange, but things went so fast.” He’d also still been reeling at the time, from the shock and, he now realized, lingering effects from drugs making his thought process murky. “They said they knew what I’d done. They threatened to arrest me. To expose me, as a matter of fact.”
You’re a monster that should pay for his crimes.
“Unless I would agree to a deal.”

“A deal that involved you fighting for them.”

“Obey. Fight. Kill. The choice was join the military and depart immediately for a mission or have not just myself exposed, but my family, too.”

Caleb had stopped to stand in front of her. It was simple for her to lean forward so she might cup his face with both hands. “Oh, Caleb.” Moisture brightened her gaze, and he could feel his throat tighten.

“I—” He swallowed. “I was a coward and agreed. Instead of being willing to face what I’d done, I agreed to their terms and left.”

He dropped his eyes to stare down, but she wouldn’t let him escape. She ducked under and forced him to see her expression.

“You had no choice.”

“I could have said no and taken what I deserved.”

“You protected your family. This town.”

“I deserted you.”

“To do the right thing. The hard thing.” She brushed her lips across his as she whispered, “I forgive you.”

Had someone shot him? Had an axe severed his legs? What else could explain the slump of his knees? The rough seating at the picnic table pressed against his joints. Head bowed, he leaned forward and pressed his face against Renny’s belly as he wrapped his arms around her legs.

His body shook. Not quite with tears, more like relief. His heart swelled with love. Hope blossomed in his soul. So many feelings assailed him. Emotions long pent up, thought dead, pressed him in all directions, and yet, in some respects, he felt lighter.

He’d told the truth, and the chains it bound him with no longer held him down.

“Caleb.” Softly spoken. She lifted his chin and let him see the love in her gaze. “Kiss me.”

He rose to his feet and, in a smooth motion, clasped her to him. Dipping his head, he claimed her lips, trying to show how he felt.

But the taste of her wasn’t enough… He wanted all of her.

He pulled away and groaned.

“Where are you going?”

“I need a cold shower.”

“Whatever for?”

He spun to face her. “Because if I don’t, then I’m going to strip that towel from you and lick every goddamned inch of your luscious body.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, we still don’t have a bloody room.” Who would have ever thought he’d pray for privacy?

“It’s almost one a.m. No one is awake but you and me.” She leaned back on her elbows and let her knees fall open, the motion undoing the simple tuck of the towel. As its edges peeled away, it revealed the swell of her breasts, the sharp tips of her nipples, and the shadowy cleft between her thighs.

He might have been punched to the head one too many times, but that didn’t make him stupid. Caleb didn’t wait for another invitation.

He dove on the offering, his hands spanning her waist, an hourglass indent made for holding. His mouth claimed hers, but it didn’t remain long, not with the luscious temptations waiting below.

The swirl of his tongue around a brazen peak drew forth a cry from her. And another when he let the flat edge of his teeth tug. He sucked her breasts into his mouth, enjoying the pull on her flesh, the scrabble of her nails on his shoulders and how her heels dug into the base of his spine as she tried to draw him nearer.

He held firm—and he meant
firm
—and kept his teasing play of her nipples, switching back and forth until she just moaned continuously.

Then he blazed a trail down her rib cage to the round softness of her belly. He rubbed his bristled jaw against her skin and felt the shiver that went through her.

He wasn’t done with his journey.

Farther his lips stroked, their feathery path leading to one plump thigh. He couldn’t help but nibble.

Yummy.

But something even tastier beckoned.

“Open for me,” he whispered against her mound. Her legs were parted, but he wanted more. He wanted to see the source of her musky honey.

She lay right back against the picnic tabletop, golden hair spread around her, chest rising and falling as she panted her arousal. She drew her legs farther apart, bringing her heels to rest and grip the edge of the table. She offered herself to him, and he trembled.

She is so damned beautiful. How could I possibly think I deserve her?

He didn’t. But he would do his damnedest to do right by her.

Caleb leaned forward and blew hotly on her cleft. The petals to her sex shivered. The heady scent of her arousal surrounded him. The taste of her burst upon his tongue with only one lap.

Sweet ambrosia. He licked her sex with a rumbling enjoyment, an enjoyment she shared and expressed with her moaned, “Caleb.”

He parted her nether lips, stabbing his tongue into her heat, feeling the erotic tension permeating her body. He wanted her to come.

Fingers replaced his tongue, a pair to stretch her tight channel while his tongue flicked at her hooded clitoris, causing it to swell so that each stroke made her gasp.

Her pussy tightened around his fingers.

He grabbed her clit with his lips.

Her hips arched off the table.

Pumping fingers and teasing lips followed. She drew in a sharp breath. Her body bowed, she could only gasp, no real sound escaping her.

The final, hard clamp of her channel made him gasp and then exult as her pussy convulsed in climactic waves for him. Yet still, he pushed his fingers in her, drawing it out and then rebuilding it as he found her sweet spot. And stroked it.

Stroked her sensitive G-spot until she was panting and squirming again. But this time, he wasn’t content with just fingers. His cock bobbed, hard and ready.

The tip of it butted against her plump lips, slid between them, and then he slammed into her as she wrapped her legs around his flanks and drew him in.

His turn to cry out. “Aah.” The sensation of molten heat engulfing him was too much for him to resist.

When she would have grabbed at him, he manacled her wrists in his hands and drew them over her head, stretching her on the table. He held her pinned as he stroked into her.

Long.

Hard.

Deep.

She shuddered even as he retreated.

Then slammed back in, making her cry out.

Pull back. Then in.

Caleb thrust into Renny, his body rigid as he controlled his pleasure. But he wouldn’t be able to hold it for long. She was just too exquisite.

Even though he held her hands prisoner, she still managed to drive him wild, arching her hips to take him deep, the walls of her sex squeezing so tight.

He kept moving firmly, trying to remain conscious of the fact that she lay on a table, not a bed. He had to be gentle with her.

But their passion wasn’t cooperating.

Without conscious volition, Caleb quickened his pace. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to a seated position with her ass still on the towel. His strokes got shorter but harder. They banged deep within her sheath.

She clenched around him. Her body pulsed with heat and energy. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and shoulder. The moment before she climaxed, she said the most incredible thing, “You’re mine,” and then she did the most mind-blowing thing.

She bit him and, for all intents and purposes, made him hers.

The picnic table wasn’t the most comfortable bed, but when they finished making love, neither was ready to separate. Problem was a light rain made it unpleasant to stay outside. So she’d entered the house and cuddled Caleb on the couch. Just for a little while.

Or so she’d thought until she heard the little voice saying, “Mommy, why are lying on top of Daddy?” On the list of awkward questions, that one ranked pretty high, along with “Why are you wearing Daddy’s shirt?”

Somehow, explaining that she’d lost hers because she’d gone out to seduce Caleb didn’t seem appropriate. She stammered out a white lie. “Mine got wet.”

“Very wet,” Caleb added, completely deadpan.

“Oh. Okay.” And with that, her son wandered away and was soon making truck noises.

She, on the other hand, was making embarrassed groaning ones.

Caleb rubbed her back. “Now, now, baby, it’s not that bad. At least we were wearing clothes.”