It’s Like That (14 page)

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Callie floated on a cloud, gentle hums escaping her throat. Chris’ fingers were thrusting slowly and gently, though he’d stilled the thumb that stroked her clit. The thrusting fingers and constant pressure didn’t keep her orgasm from dying, but they gave her a softer, more bearable pleasure that reminded her of how easily he could bring her to orgasm again.

She still gripped him in one hand, aware of the warm semen coating her fingers. She gave a single, hard stroke upward, and was pleased when he groaned and another, gentler spurt escaped.

He pulled away and looked down at her, never stopping the gentle thrusting.

“Baby, you have got to be the sexiest woman alive.” He lowered his lips to hers and ran his tongue over her lips.

Callie tried to accept the compliment, she really did, but old insecurities apparently die hard, and she looked away. “You don’t have to say that, Chris. I know—”

“You don’t know shit.” He jerked her chin around to force her to look at him. His fingers continued thrusting but he increased the speed and force. “Look.” He looked down at where his fingers disappeared into her body. When she didn’t immediately follow his gaze, he gripped her chin and said, “Look, dammit!”

She looked down. Her pants were around her thighs, and his big hand moved up and down between her thighs as he thrust his fingers deep.

“Look at this,” he said, pulling his fingers almost all the way out. “See how perfect your pussy is?” He pushed his fingers back in and continued, “How it hugs my fingers?” Then he did pull his fingers all the way out and held them up in front of her. “See how you cream my fingers every time I have them inside you?” He licked his fingers one at a time, closing his eyes as though savoring her.

Callie couldn’t take her eyes off him, couldn’t wrap her mind around what he was telling her. She wasn’t stupid; she understood he was showing her why he thought she was sexy. But it was simply not sinking in.

His eyes opened, and she almost jumped at the intensity there. He plunged his fingers back inside her and then looked at her hand still wrapped around his erect penis. “See what you do to me? My cock is always hard around you.
Always.
” He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers. “And I swear, Callie, when I finally get my cock in you…” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m gonna fuck you until neither one of us can walk for a week.”

Before she could respond, the doorknob rattled for several seconds before a knock sounded.

“Chris?” His mother’s voice came through the door. “Is everything all right?

“Shit,” he swore softly. He pulled his fingers from her and licked them clean while she struggled to find her clothes.

Callie scrambled to straighten herself, embarrassed to have essentially been caught. She tripped trying to pull her pants up and look around for her discarded bra at the same time.

“Here,” Chris said, tossing her bra at her. “Get in the shower.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed and swore again. “Hang on, Ma!” he shouted. “Callie’s in the shower. She’s gonna unlock the door real quick!” He used the blanket to clean himself up and said, “Turn on the shower. There’s a robe in there. Put it on and unlock the door. Then shower.”

She grinned at him and said, “You were a horrible teenager, weren’t you?”

He laughed and settled himself back into the bed. “Yeah. I think I was.”

Callie jerked her jeans off and snatched the robe off the hook in the bathroom before turning on the shower. She wet her hair for a few seconds for good measure then went to unlock the door. She laughed to herself, unable to believe that she was an adult, still trying to hide from parents.

She opened the door and saw that Chris’ mother wasn’t alone. His entire family stood at the door. Mr. Paulson scowled at his son, Mrs. Paulson simply blinked worriedly, but Tom, Sabrina, and Katie had shit-eating grins on their faces. She blushed from the top of her head to the bottoms of her feet and ran to the bathroom without a word. She didn’t care how rude she was being. Though they’d given an acceptable excuse, his family didn’t believe it and she didn’t think she would have either. Before she escaped into the shower, though, she was sure Tom winked at her, and as the door closed she heard a tinkling laugh that belonged to Katie.

“You should go home.” The words were spoken softly and unexpectedly. They were cuddled together on the bed watching Letterman, their hands clutched together. Callie jerked her head up quickly.

“What?” She frowned, her mind racing. It had been a week since she’d arrived, and she’d stayed with him every night. He’d finally relented and let her sleep in the bed with him, but only after she agreed to press the call button immediately if he had a nightmare that spilled over into consciousness. He’d finally had enough, though, and he wanted her to leave. Panic seized her as she realized this was it. It only took a week.

“You should go home,” he repeated. “They’re transferring me in four days. I’ll be back home.” He rolled his eyes and amended, “Well, not home. I’m sure they haven’t kept my apartment for me. But you know what I mean. I’ll probably live in temporary housing on base until I get another apartment. I won’t even get my household goods out of storage.” He looked down at her and smiled. “Silly woman. You thought I wanted you to leave, didn’t you?”

Callie’s relief was profound and she tried to laugh it off. “Of course not. I knew that.” She laid her head on his chest, enjoying the rumble when he laughed.

“Liar.” He stroked her hair gently and said, “You’ve been here a week. Go home and sleep in your own bed. I’ll be there in a few days.” He stilled suddenly and asked, “You don’t happen to know where my truck is, do you?”

Callie laughed and rolled her eyes. “Typical,” she said, lifting her head. “You’re worried about your truck.”

“Actually,” he corrected her, “I want to know where it’s at so I have a way to get to your apartment to pick you up.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and continued, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.”

Her heart pounded hard in her chest and her mind raced. “Okay,” she said hesitantly. She frowned in concern, glad he couldn’t see the rising panic in her eyes while her cheek rested against his chest.

“We’ve been moving fast,” he began. “And we moved fast last August.” He took a deep breath and sifted his fingers through her hair. “We need to slow down. Go on a few dates, learn everything there is to know about each other.” He lifted his head and looked at her. “I’m not saying we’re going to follow my dad’s timeline. But we do need to take things slower than we have.”

Callie turned her head to meet his eyes. Was he actually saying what she thought he was? She frowned in confusion and then asked, “What, exactly, did you have in mind? For slowing down, I mean.”

His head lowered and he met her lips, brushing his across them lightly before saying, “I had my tongue in you within twelve hours of meeting you. Then, within an hour of seeing you here, you had your lips around my cock. I’m not saying we’re going to stop.” He smiled, one corner of his lips lifting slightly. “We let that cat out of the bag already, and frankly, I
really
don’t want to put it back in. But we can…” He paused and looked up thoughtfully before continuing. “Refrain from taking it any further for a while.” His fingers drifted down her cheek, leaving a tingling in their wake. “I know you’re not ready to make love yet. I don’t know why…” He pressed a finger against her lips when she opened them to speak and said, “Let me finish. I think I know why, but I’m not sure. When you’re ready, let me know. I’ve been ready. But I’m not going to pressure you, and we’re not going to stress about it. I want to learn everything about you. I want you to learn to trust me. When we’ve got that, and when we’re ready, the rest will follow.” He tugged her gently until she was lying on top of him and framed her face with both hands.

“I want to learn to love you, and I want you to love me. We have to do this right because it’s going to be the last time either of us does it.”

Her heart thrummed and moisture pooled in her eyes. She knew what he was saying, but she had to be certain. She licked her lips, swallowed, and said, “So, you’re saying…”

“That I’m going to ask you a question one day. But before I ask you, I need to know I’m going to get the right answer, and that’s going to take time.”

Hot tears streaked down Callie’s cheek. He hadn’t said it outright, but he’d said enough. Disbelief squeezed at her chest, and a profound thankfulness rushed through her. He seemed to be waiting for a response, so she nodded and kissed him lightly. “I’ll go home tomorrow afternoon.” She laid her head back on his chest and when his arms wrapped tightly around her, she laughed suddenly, remembering. “Your truck is in Alan’s garage.”

The drive home was long, but Callie barely noticed the miles flying by. Her mind raced over the past week, focusing primarily on Chris’ whispered words the night before.

He wanted to ask her to marry him, and even though she knew her heart would sing, he was right; if he asked now, she would have to say no. It was much, much too soon and too fast. The fact he was aware of that and wanted to avoid it spoke volumes to her.

It told her that he was as vested as she was in a relationship. And despite their very short but intense relationship thus far, she was completely vested. But, and it was a
huge
but, she still couldn’t convince her mind she was ready to have sex with him.
Why is that?

She briefly considered the only sexual relationship she’d ever had. She’d dated Brian her freshman year of college. He was a junior, and they both had their sights set on teaching. He’d been the safe choice all around. He was calm, settled, unfailingly kind, and smart. There hadn’t been any sexual chemistry there, but she hadn’t considered that an obstacle. So she’d given him her virginity even though she’d spent her high school days vowing to wait for marriage. At the time, she’d thought they would get married someday and have a calm, stable life. Ha. Less than a month before his graduation, he’d dropped the bomb on her: he was gay. He’d been trying to hide it in fear of his parents’ response, but he didn’t want to hide any longer.

So she’d let him go, surprised at how little it hurt. She’d dated him for nearly two years, and hadn’t shed more than a few tears for him. She compared that with her short relationship with Chris, and realized that after a three-day relationship she’d cried for nine months for him. And the chemistry…well, suffice it to say she’d never experienced anything like it before.

She was inexperienced, not a prude, and she had a vibrator hidden in her nightstand, wrapped up in a nice little black bag and hidden in a box. She had been so embarrassed when she decided to buy one that she’d ordered it online, and hadn’t even taken it out of the package for six months. When she finally had used it, it had been so different, and so much better than sex with Brian that she’d considered not leaving her room for a few days. But even the vibrator paled in comparison to Chris, and he hadn’t even made love to her yet. But she wanted to take that step with him.

So what was holding her back? She considered it carefully and eventually came to the realization that it was trust. She didn’t completely trust him not to leave her yet. She needed to be able to trust him to stick around, and that kind of trust took time.

It was after seven o’clock when she pulled into her driveway, and still sunny outside. This time of year the sun didn’t set until around eight, and she longed for the cooler days of fall when the days would grow shorter.

She unlocked her door and, before she could close it behind her, a shrill ring sounded from her cell phone. She dropped her suitcase and fumbled in her purse for a few moments before hurriedly answering.

“Hello?” Her voice came out breathy and rushed.

“Did you make it home yet?” Chris asked from the other end.

“Yeah, I just walked in the door.” Callie smiled and hung her keys up before setting her purse on her entryway table.

“Good. Three more days and they’ll send me home. I’ll have doctor appointments out the ass for a few weeks, but I’ll at least be out of the hospital.” He sounded irritated, and she knew how much it chafed him to be locked in a tiny room. He’d been restless and on edge, even when they took him to physical therapy for exercise and knee therapy. He hadn’t complained, but she’d known anyway.

“Listen,” she began, “Instead of staying on base, why don’t you just stay with me? You’re probably going to be here anyway most of the time, and it’s not like it’s going to take more than a week or so to find an apartment.” She held her breath, waiting for his response.

He stayed silent for a while before finally saying, “I’ll let them assign me temporary housing, but you’re right. I’ll probably be there with you most of the time.”

She smiled and said, “Good, I’m glad. I can’t wait for you to get here.”

“Me neither. Hey, do me a favor, would you?” She could hear his grin through the phone. “Wear those pink heels when I get back.” His voice became husky and he said, “I can’t stop thinking about you in those. With the anklet. Wear the anklet too.”

“I think I can do that.” Callie smiled and made a mental note to ask Rebecca to borrow them again. “How are you getting home? Flying, riding?”

“Actually, the admiral is sending a van to pick me up. Alan said he’ll bring my truck over as soon as they drop me off. I’ll call you, but it might be late.”

“I don’t care,” Callie assured him quickly. “Call me to let me know you’re here. I’ll worry if you don’t.”

He chuckled, and said, “I’ll call you, baby. And if it’s not too late, maybe I can come over?”

“Of course you can. As long as your knee is all right.”

He grunted, obviously irritated with any reference to what he perceived as weakness. “It’s fine. I have a cane.”

“If you get a top hat and tails, you’ll be set.” She giggled picturing him in an old-fashioned white suit.

“You’re not serious, are you?” He laughed and said, “Because even though it’s not my style, if it does it for you, I’ll wear it.”