Fated for Love (32 page)

Hearing that he’d have had the same reaction helped her feel less like a confused, lovesick psycho and more like a normal person in love.

He kissed her and ran his hands up her back, then unhooked her bra and dropped it to the floor. She closed her eyes as he kissed her again.

“Oops,” he said with a mischievous grin before pulling off his shirt.

They were hip to hip, his hard length pressing against her as he lowered his mouth to her breast and teased her nipple with his tongue, sending a thrum of desire right to her center. He lowered her to the bed and positioned himself above her, so they were eye to eye.

“I love you, Cal.”

The honesty in his eyes was all the assurance she needed to push away the worry until it felt like a distant memory and let her love for Wes take over. She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and met him halfway for a deep, passionate kiss.

WES’S HEART WAS so full of love for Callie that knowing she’d worried about what she’d heard made him ache. He never wanted her to go to bed worried or upset again. In that moment, lying on top of her, in the bedroom where she laid her pretty head down to sleep every night, he never wanted to leave. He knew that he’d spend the rest of his life doing everything he could to show her he could be trusted.

“I don’t want to just love you.” He slid his lips to the edge of her mouth and kissed her there. “I want you to feel secure
and
loved.” He brought her hand to his mouth and unfurled her delicate fingers, then pressed his lips to her palm. “Promise me you’ll never hold anything back. I don’t want you to worry. Ever. Talk to me. Let me in on all levels, Callie.”

Her beautiful eyes darkened. “I promise.”

It was only a whisper, but it rocked him to his core. There was so much more he wanted to say, to assure her, to assure himself of her, but he was powerless to force words from his lungs. He needed to love her. To claim her. He captured her mouth in a greedy kiss, and she pressed her hips to his, spurring him on. Still gripping her hand, he brought it to his mouth again and dragged his tongue down the center of her palm, to her delicate wrist, then traced the tendon down her forearm, feeling her shiver beneath him. He wanted more. So much more. He held her arm above her head as he took her in another sensuous kiss, as he took possession of her other hand, holding them both there together. Callie’s eyes opened, dark and laden with desire.

“Yes,” she said in one hot breath.

Holy hell
.

He looked down at the goddamn jeans that had him trapped and bound. In three seconds, he freed himself of his boots and clothing. Callie hadn’t moved. Her arms remained above her head, her panties, damp at the center, rode low on her hips, and it just about did him in.

“Hurry,” she urged.

Hurrying was the last thing on his mind as he drew her legs apart and her knees fell open. He licked her through the silky material, tasting her sweet juices as she arched to meet his tongue. She reached down and pushed at her panties. Wes grasped her wrist and held tight. He knew what she wanted, and it was all he could do to draw it out, but hell if he would be rushed through experiencing every inch of her.

Wes took his cues from Callie, and he quickly learned that with him, she was uninhibited, and he knew, somehow just knew, that she had never been like this with anyone else. He sucked her fingers into his mouth and pulled them out slowly, and when she used her slick fingers to caress her breasts, he wanted desperately to bury himself inside her while she did it. But he repressed the urge, moved her panties to the side, and slid his fingers in instead. Callie gasped, and he used his tongue to soothe her as she tightened around his fingers. He circled her sensitive nub with his tongue, and she moaned for more, clutching at her breasts, rocking her head from side to side. She was so wet. He had to get rid of those damn panties. When he withdrew his fingers to tear them off, she groaned in frustration. He buried his fingers deep again, bringing her quickly up to the edge. She clutched the sheets, panting in fast spurts of sexy, breathy need as he quickened his pace. Her thighs flexed, and her back and neck arched as she hit the peak. Every little pulse landed against his tongue.

“More,” she said in a raspy voice. “Touch me more.”

He lifted his eyes and met her hungry gaze. She reached for her center, begging for more. He rolled her onto her side, placed her leg over his shoulder, and brought his mouth to her again. She was completely open to him and so deliciously sweet he groaned with need. She shifted, pushing him onto his back with her knee, and in the next breath, her sweet center was above him for the taking, and boy was he going to take. Callie groped at her breasts as he gripped her ass, holding her above his mouth. When he licked the tender skin around her sensitive folds, she arched back and he took her right over the edge again. It was too much for him. He
needed
her like he needed oxygen. She must have read his mind because she slithered down his body, settling between his legs, and licked and stroked him into a goddamn frenzy until he was about to come.

“Callie. Sweet Jesus. Please. Stop.”

She was relentless, sucking and stroking until he couldn’t take it anymore, and he lifted her onto his hard length with a groan of satisfaction. She rode him fast, lifting and gyrating her hips until it did him in, and he wrapped his arms around her, buried between her breasts, and grunted through his own fervent release.

CALLIE AWOKE TO a wet lick on her cheek and a furry body pressed against her right side, and one masculine—and gloriously naked—body to her left. She’d worried that she might feel an inkling of leftover worry this morning, but all she felt was love for the man beside her and the pup who had wiggled and snarfed her way into her heart. She closed her eyes for a minute to soak in the comfort of them and relish in the memory of the evening before. After they made love, they’d looked at the pictures that Bonnie sent and ordered a pizza, because apparently sex made them both so hungry they thought they might die. Wes had set up a bed of blankets on the floor beside the bed for Sweets, but she wanted no part of it, and within minutes she was lying across the bottom of the bed fast asleep.

Wes shifted beside her.

“That won’t work, you know,” he said quietly.

Sweets crawled over Callie’s stomach and covered Wes’s face with puppy kisses.

“See? She knows we’re awake, and she has no snooze button.” He shifted onto his side and pulled Sweets against his belly, then moved closer to Callie and kissed her.

“That’s okay. I have to get up for work anyway. She’s a good alarm clock.”

Sweets wiggled free from Wes’s arms and licked Callie’s cheek.

“Oh, I’ve got a great alarm clock. I keep it below my waist.” He rolled on top of her, inching Sweets out of his way.

Did she really have to go to work today? Oh, how she’d love to laze around all morning, making love with Wes, maybe take Sweets for a walk. She didn’t care what they did as long as they were together. Coming home had been like culture shock after being close for so many days.

She felt the tip of his arousal between her legs, and heat coiled down low in her belly. She pressed on the back of his butt, hoping he’d take the hint. He was good at taking hints, she’d learned—and loved.

His eyes darkened. “Good morning, beautiful. No nooky for you until I hear you promise again that if you’re worried about something, you’ll talk to me right away. I don’t care if I’m on the phone or out on the trail. Find a way. Call the lodge. Have them track me down. Use a skywriter if you have to. Just promise me you won’t let things stew and cause a valley of doubt between us.”

“I promise.”

On her words, he filled her.
Completely
. Heart, body, and soul.

WES AND CALLIE had spent every free minute together since Tuesday evening. It was Saturday, and Wes could hardly believe that they’d been together only a little over a week. He loved living in Callie’s world, staying at her apartment and watching her get ready for work in the mornings, and the feeling that came over him when Callie stayed at his house was overwhelming. Sweets had settled right in, too, enjoying their evening walks and curling up with them when they snuggled together on the couch, reading or talking, or sometimes doing nothing at all but being together. Wes had known from their first night together that he wanted more with Callie. He wanted her to move in with him, and today, before they went to Luke and Daisy’s for the barbecue, he was going to ask her to do just that.

Wes paced Callie’s living room floor while she spoke to Bonnie on the phone in the bedroom. Every once in a while she’d laugh and draw his attention. He caught snippets of their conversation, breathy sighs, and comments about how happy Callie was. He didn’t need confirmation of her love. He saw it in Callie’s eyes and felt it in her touch. She didn’t worry when he went to the ranch to work, and for that he was thankful. He loved her too much for her to worry about nonsense.

“Sorry I took so long.” Callie came into the living room and crouched to pet Sweets. Her love of Sweets got to him every time.

“Don’t be. We have plenty of time.” He reached for her hand and drew her to her feet. In her flat, strappy sandals, she barely came to his chest. Just another thing he loved about her. She wore her femininity like a veil, so sweet and graceful in her mannerisms and what she let the world see, but with Wes, whether they were behind closed doors or catching a moment of seclusion in a grocery store aisle, she was seductive and surprising. The combination was intoxicating.

“Is this okay to wear to meet your family?” She took a step back and twirled in a circle, looking cute as hell in a salmon-colored halter dress that stopped midthigh.

“I don’t know. You might look too sexy. I do have brothers, you know.” He pulled her in close and kissed the pink blooms on her cheeks. “You look gorgeous.”

Half an hour later, they parked Wes’s truck and walked across the grassy knoll of Trusty Town Park. There were a handful of picnic tables and covered pavilions scattered throughout the park. Families picnicked on the grass, and couples walked hand in hand down mulched paths that ran like veins through the lawn. Edged on the far side by a burgeoning forest, with a spectacular view of the mountains on the opposite side, the park had a welcoming feel.

“Is this anything like the park where you grew up?” Wes asked as they followed a path between a grove of trees.

“Yeah, sort of, but the park where I read had a man-made lake, too. This is nice, though. There was always goose poop around the lake.”

She crinkled her nose, and Wes had to lean down to kiss the tip of it.

“We’ll try to avoid goose poop.” It had been a while since he’d been in the park, and he didn’t remember it feeling quite so good. He pulled Callie close. Everything felt better with her.

Her eyes danced over the verdant foliage, and when the path turned and a marble sculpture came into view, Callie’s eyes widened.

“What is that?”

Wes had spent so much time by the sculpture that he knew every crevice by heart. “It’s an abstract piece. What does it look like to you?” The white marble sculpture stood about ten feet tall and five feet around. It was carved into thick, ropy strands that wrapped around an indiscernible shape in the center. The top was rounded, and just below was another curved shape seemingly engulfed in more ropy strands.

Callie walked closer and touched it with her fingertips.

Sweets put her front paws on the base of the sculpture and looked up at Callie.

“These things are like tentacles, or arms, or something. It makes me think of being bound together, I guess.” She walked around it with a thoughtful, assessing gaze and stopped to read the information plaque. “It says it’s called
Behold
.”

She was so beautiful when she was deep in thought, as she was now, with her thin brows knitted together.

“What do you feel when you look at it? Anything or nothing?” he asked.

She hooked her finger in the waist of his jeans. “What do
you
feel?”

“You’re a clever one, aren’t you?” He pulled her close and drew in a deep breath. He was always bringing her in closer, like she was a part of him, and without her, he didn’t feel whole. He’d never told anyone how the sculpture made him feel, but it felt natural to share this piece of himself with Callie.

“It makes me feel like I’m looking at a warm embrace.” He shifted his eyes to hers. “Before you say anything, I know that sounds…girlie. But ever since I was a kid, it felt like I was looking at someone enveloped by another person.” He shrugged. “This was always one of my favorite spots. I’d hang out over there and read, or cool down over whatever happened to piss me off as a kid.” He pointed to a small patch of grass between two tall, full trees.

Callie took his hand and led him to the spot on the grass where he’d pointed. “Let’s sit. I like it here. I like knowing
you
like it here.”

Sweets plopped down beside them.

“I could see myself coming here to read,” Callie said.

Wes had the feeling that this was the perfect time to ask Callie to move in with him, even though he still had no idea how to ask her. It was an impulsive request, but in his heart, nothing had ever felt more right.

“Coming here from where?” he finally managed.

“Home. Work. Wherever.”

His pulse quickened as he withdrew a small black velvet bag from his pocket.

“What’s that?” Callie asked.

He opened her hand and placed it in her palm, then closed her fingers over it.

“If you’ll have me and Sweets as part of your future, it’s a key to my house.”

She blinked several times, as if he’d spoken a foreign language, but he knew Callie well enough to understand that she was letting the words sink in.

“Wes?”

“I know you love your apartment, but I’d love it if you would move in with me.” He glanced at Sweets. “With us.”

She ran her thumb over the velvet. “Move in with you?”

He nodded. “That’s when two people live together, you know? They come home from work and know the other one is there. They fall into each other’s arms at the end of the day and wake up with their bodies tangled together, and in our case, with a furry girl between us.”