Intimate (16 page)

His hand stroked
through her hair, and he hadn’t yet pulled his forehead away. “A very nice
kiss. So do you want to tell me why you’re laughing?”

She pulled her
face away and gave him a hug. “Because you’re Caleb. My best friend. And I was
just kissing you, and it was really, really good. It just struck me as funny.”

He returned her
hug, laughing as well now. Gave her one more brief kiss on the lips. Then said,
“And now I really better go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay. See you
later.” She let herself into her apartment.

Squealed out of
pure giddiness.

As he walks down the hall toward
the elevator, Caleb hears Marissa shut the door to her apartment, signaling
that their first date is over.

Just as well.
He’s too turned on from the sight of her in her wet clothes and their kiss
anyway. Not throbbing or painful yet—just uncomfortably hard.

Had their date
stretched on any longer, his arousal would only have gotten worse.

He’s waiting
for the elevator to arrive when he hears a door open. Then a voice. “Caleb!
Please come back.”

His heart
starts to pound furiously, and he walks back to find Marissa standing in her
doorway. He looks at her questioningly, his body tensing at the unfamiliar, hot
look in her eyes.

“I don’t want
you to leave,” she whispers, taking a step back into her apartment.

Caleb follows
her.

He shuts the
door behind him and turns to see her backed up against a wall of her entryway.
She’s breathing heavily and deeply flushed. He steps over and cups her warm
face in his hands. “We’re taking it slow, right?” he asks, holding himself back
until he knows.

She shakes her
head, her damp hair curling in messy tendrils around her face. “I don’t want to
take it slow anymore. I want you now.”

With a low
groan, he sinks into her lips, using his tongue to tease gently until she opens
for him. His hands trace over her damp, clinging clothes, feeling the soft
curves beneath them.

She arches
against the wall as his hands close over her breasts. Then she clutches at his
shoulders, her eyes closing as she loses herself in the sensations.

Caleb moves his
mouth to her ear, tugging on the lobe with this teeth before he murmurs, “Should
I take you to bed then?”

“Not to bed,”
she gasps, rocking rhythmically into his erection. “Here. Now. Caleb, take me.
I need you
now
.”

But he doesn’t
want to take her yet. It’s been so long since she's done this, and this is such
a big step. Although his body aches for her, his heart aches too. He wants to
make sure that it’s good for her. That she’s ready.

So he caresses
his way down her body until he’s kneeling on the hard floor in front of her.

She sucks in a
breath as he pushes up her damp skirt and then reaches to pull down her underwear—they’re
cool and damp from the rain. But as he slides them down her bare legs, he can
smell that she's deeply aroused.

Just as aroused
as he is.

“Caleb,” she
breathes, her fingers curling around his head. “Caleb, please.”

He’s been
expecting for this to be difficult. Expecting this to take a long time. But
he’s here—now—and Marissa needs him. Is asking for him.

She doesn’t
want to wait anymore.

Overwhelmed at
the power of it, he nuzzles between her legs, provoking a low moan from her
throat. She’s wetter than he expects—after so little foreplay—so, with a
thrill, he pushes at her inner thighs, encouraging her to widen her stance.

She shifts
obediently, and he watches her face closely, pleased she doesn’t look even a
little self-conscious. He darts his tongue out to taste her.

“Good,” she
groans, her fingers tightening in his hair. Her head and shoulders press back
against the wall, and her pelvis tilts eagerly toward him. “Caleb, more. It’s
so good.”

He flutters his
tongue around her entrance, and her breathing accelerates. When he finds her
clit, she cries out sharply and thrusts her hips toward his face. One of her
arms flies up and out, her fingers clawing at the smooth wall.

She’s
whimpering now—almost like she's in pain—and both his chest and his erection swell
as he realizes she’s already close to climax.

“Caleb,” she gasps,
the fingernails of one hand breaking into the skin at the nape of his neck.
“God, Caleb, more, don’t stop. You’re so good. So good.”

Her skirt has
fallen down against his eyes, so he reaches to bunch it up further. He wants to
see her face. He needs to know she wants this—that he’s pleasing her.

Her eyes are
tightly squeezed shut now, and she’s biting her lower lip. He sucks hard on her
clit, and she shamelessly grinds her pelvis into his face. He holds her as
still as he can with both hands. Knows she’s close. Wants so much for her to
come. Applies skillful suction into the thrashing of her hips.

Caleb watches
as her mouth falls open in a helpless whine, and her neck twitches, causing her
head to bang against the wall a couple of times.

Then she comes
around his mouth, her thighs tightening, threatening to squeeze his head
between them.

He strokes her
hips gently, feeling her body relax against him.

His erection now
pulses painfully in the restriction of his wet pants. He wants to make her come
again, but this time he wants to be inside her. He wants her to take everything
he gives her—and realize how much she needs it.

Caleb is still
kneeling before her, gazing up at her sated face. One damp curl sticks to her
glowing cheek. He’s overwhelmed with the compulsion to rise from his knees,
grab her hips, and drive himself into her sweet body. But he doesn’t. He makes
himself wait until he’s invited.

It doesn’t take
long.

“Caleb.” She
pulls on his shoulders. The contentment from her first orgasm has faded, and
her face once again is passionate and needy. “Now. I need you inside me. Now, Caleb.
Now
.”

Hesitating no
longer, he stands up and unfastens his pants to free his erection. It bounces
slightly, hard and hot in the cool air of the apartment, and Marissa gazes down
at it in awe. “Yeah,” she breathes. “Yeah, Caleb. Inside me.”

She flattens
her back against the wall, and Caleb adjusts her hips, angling them until her
legs are parted and ready for him. As he maneuvers her body into position, her
eyes close and her hands pull at him blindly. “Hurry.” She rolls her hips,
anticipating their rhythm.

Caleb has to
bend his knees to get lined up at her entrance. Then he pushes inside her,
straightening his legs as he thrusts. She cries out in low pleasure, as his
force pushes her backward and up against the wall.

She’s
incredibly tight from years of going without—but she’s so wet and hot and
clinging. She feels perfect—perfect for him—and he doesn’t even have to fight
his body for control.

Just closes his
eyes as he feels Marissa around him. Enjoys the lush, initial homecoming before
he starts to move inside her.

“Caleb,” she
whispers, her arms twined around his neck. “So good. You feel so good. I’ve
needed you like this for so long.”

He makes a
throaty sound of approval and then carefully eases back, bending his knees, and
pushes into her with another slow lateral thrust. Her intimate muscles relax
and tighten again around him intuitively.

“Yeah,” she
moans, deep in her throat. “Good, Caleb. You’re so hard. Need more of you.” She
can’t move much—trapped between the wall and his body—but she starts to squirm.

At her urgent
insistence, he reaches down and hooks the back of her knee around his elbow,
lifting her leg up higher, opening her up to him even further. At this move, he
sinks into her more deeply, and they both groan at the intensifying sensations.

He pulls out
and thrusts again, and her face twists in pleasure. Her arms fall away from his
neck so that she can push against the wall behind her hips. She shifts and
wriggles restlessly against him. Tries to get higher. Tries to get leverage
against the wall. “More, Caleb. More. You’re incredible.”

Caleb can’t
straighten up his body, but it isn’t uncomfortable. He has her leg hooked over
his arm and her ass in his hands, and he’s squeezing the soft flesh in time
with his steady thrusts. He feels strong and powerful, and her moans of
pleasure and the wanton undulation of her hips make his heart swell up in his
chest.

She needs this.
She needs him. She knows that only he can please her.

“Marissa,” he
murmurs, lowering his face to her neck. He smells her damp skin. Can still
smell her arousal. “Marissa.”

She’s his. He
wants to claim her.

So Caleb pulls
her leg up even higher and thrusts into her hard and deep. The momentum of his
motion slams her against the wall and pushes her momentarily up off the floor.

“Caleb,” she
cries, one arm reaching back around his neck, and the other fumbling against
the smooth surface of the wall. “Yeah, like that. Harder. Faster. Caleb,
please.”

At her frantic
pleas, he drives into her more rapidly, and she starts grunting softly each
time her body is forced against the wall. He would be afraid of hurting her,
but she’s urging him on. She wants this just as much as he does.

“Yeah, Caleb,”
she rasps, tossing her head as her urgency mounts. “So good. So hard. Caleb,
more.”

He adjusts his
position and moves his hands lower on her ass. “Marissa, baby, arms around me,”
he mutters, pushing her firmly against the wall and lifting her body up as he
straightens his legs.

She wraps her
arms and legs around him, and he presses her into the wall for support, pumping
inside her now at a deeper, truer angle.

Marissa is out
of control, rocking against him desperately as he holds her up. “Yeah, Caleb.
Need you. Love this.” Her eyes are locked on his face. “So good, Caleb. So
strong. Love you. Love you.”

He makes a loud
burst of sound in response, her weight a burden he never wants to release.
She’s hot and shuddering and close to coming now. Her entire body grows tenser
each time he slams into her.

“Caleb!” She
claws at the back of his neck. “God, Caleb!” And with one more hard thrust, she
comes around him. Her inner muscles clench so violently they threaten to force
him out, but he keeps pushing against the contractions—pushing her against the
wall.

He can’t hold
back any longer, as her spasming muscles break down his restraint. The rising sensations
finally begin to crest. His balls tighten. His eyes squeeze shut involuntarily.
With a hoarse cry of release, he falls over the edge and…

*
* *

Caleb came, just as he woke up.

He made a strangled
sound as his body exploded in involuntary release. After the minute it took him
to orient himself, he realized what happened.

Trying to suck
in air, he rolled over to the other side of the bed. He was sweating profusely
and still half-bemused by the most erotic dream he’d ever had in his life.

But it had just
been a dream. When he’d left Marissa’s apartment last night, she hadn’t called
out after him. Hadn’t asked him to stay. They hadn’t made love wildly against a
wall in the entryway, too desperate for each other to even make it into the
bedroom.

They’d kissed
when their date was over, and then she’d sent him away.

The kiss had
been sweet and passionate, but it just hadn’t been enough. Caleb didn’t just
want sweet kisses from Marissa. He wanted everything. Wanted her body, her
desire, her need, her wild abandon.

Caleb wanted
her to want him.

Who was he
kidding? He wanted her love.

And while Marissa
had clearly enjoyed kissing him last night, he was quite sure she hadn’t been
aroused when they’d parted.

He’d been
aroused. Far more than was comfortable.

But Marissa had
been pleased and content as she'd said goodnight to him.

Which meant Caleb
had gone home and worked out for two hours. Taken a shower and fallen into bed
when he was finally too exhausted to stay awake. He’d dreamed of her—in
agonizing, exhilarating detail.

And then he’d
come in his bed, like some skinny boy who’d just hit puberty.

It was absolutely
humiliating.

Clenching his
jaw, he imagined Marissa's lovely, laughing face. And he almost resented her
for it. She had done this to him—turned him into this pitiful wreck. And now
she was merrily enjoying the sweet simplicity of their relationship, while he
was suffering the agony of wanting her so much.

Wanting her so
desperately, when he might not ever get her.

He felt an
irrational rage build inside him at the injustice of their respective,
emotional positions.

Then a ringing
phone broke into his righteous wrath, and he forgot about it completely. Lunged
over to pick the phone up.

Hoped to God it
was Marissa.

***

“Hello,” Caleb said, snatching
the phone up to his ear.

“Good morning.”

Caleb grunted
as if someone had struck him.

“You don’t
sound particularly pleased to hear from me.”

“Damn you.”

Baron James
chuckled on the other end of the line. “Charming as ever. I suppose this means
things are going swimmingly with your beautiful, bewildered girl.”

 “Don’t get too
comfortable with your smug, childish amusement at my expense.”

James laughed
again. “Should I ever find myself as hopelessly besotted as you, I’ll be the
first to acknowledge you have every right to jump in and have a little fun with
my feelings as payback.”

Caleb didn’t
respond, ignoring the jibe at the end. He’d never told James he was in love
with Marissa—he’d barely been able to admit it to himself. It was somehow
unnerving that his feelings were so obvious.

“Seriously,” James
went on. “How’s it going? Making any progress?”

“After the way
you meddled with such a delicate situation, for no other reason but your own
malicious enjoyment, did you actually expect things to be going well?”

“Sometimes
relationships have been built into such complex chaos that someone just needs
to step in and level them to the ground—so you can build them up again differently.
How’s it going? Any luck?”

Caleb was
silent again.

“You’re not
going to tell me? Is it that bad?” After a pause, James continued, something in
his voice changing. “If your silence is a way of conveying there’s been
irreparable damage, it might cause me to feel the slightest twinge of guilt.”