He grabs my waist, and his hand is so large, he can practically encompass the whole of it. He leans down and kisses my forehead.
I keep my eyes cast down to the floor because I can’t look at him while I say what I’ve got to share.
“Asa, I saved myself. I mean, I’m still a virgin.” I look up only with my eyes to gauge his reaction, inwardly cringing that my confession might prove to be a turn-off.
He grabs my hand and slams it into his chest. Under the perfectly sculpted pectoral, I can feel his thundering heart. He pulls me to him and lowers his mouth to my ear.
“I knew there was something I was spared for. If nothing else, it was to lose my virginity to the most beautiful girl in the world. You, Callie. I waited for you.”
I smile into his chest and snake my arms around his neck, finally holding the man I’ve been crazy about since I was just a kid.
“It’s been a long time,” I say into his neck. Once again, the embarrassment heats my sensitive skin. I’ve been waiting so long, it’s like living in a state of perpetual frustration, bottling up my emotions, and hiding all the sexual tension.
“It has, and I’m going to need you to pay up on that debt as soon as possible.”
8
Asa
Callie. Callie. She’s all I think about, and now that I’ve tasted her mouth, I doubt it’s going to get any better. I stroked my dick twice in the shower before I came as hard as I’ve ever come. Imagining her spread beneath me, wrapped around my cock, milking it, sucking me off.
I towel off in the locker room, still semihard. I’ve got a feeling that nothing but the real thing is going to tame the beast that was unleashed with that kiss.
Callie waits for me in the lobby. She’s changed back into jeans and a sweater. Her legs are crossed as she balances a magazine in her lap. I feel so crazed with emotion and desire for her that I’ve got half a mind to get down on one knee in the entry of the gym. But when you return from war injured, people already think you’re crazy enough. I want to take things slowly and do them right, give Callie nothing but the best because that’s what she deserves.
When she pops up to help an elderly woman with the door, my heart surges in my chest. I’m not sure how I got so lucky. Callie is exactly everything I could ever want in a partner. Smart, outgoing, sexy as fuck, compassionate, driven, altruistic, and it all shows in her work. For the first time since I came home, my head feels truly clear about something. Callie is special, and I’ll do everything in my power to make her mine.
“You ready?”
She nods, and we walk to my car. My three biggest milestones in my recovery so far have been getting medically cleared for driving, then drinking, and most recently, boxing. I’d like to believe I’m one hundred percent back to normal.
After pulling out of the parking lot, I reach over and take her hand. Running my thumb over her knuckles, I contemplate the right way to ask her to be mine exclusively—to move forward as a couple.
“I want to ask you to be my girlfriend, Callie. I want to keep seeing you like we have been but without the pretense of recovery. Hopefully, you think I’ve come far enough in my journey. I believe I can continue on my own, but I still want you in my life. I wake up every day excited at the prospect of seeing you.”
The idea works in my head, but it comes out as babble. It’s impossible to express exactly how much this is weighing on me.
A lone tear drips down Callie’s cheek, and she smiles as she wipes it away. When she turns and makes eye contact with me, her devastating green eyes are bright. Her sexy, plump lips are flushed with color, and my dick goes hard again when I remember the soft give of her flesh under mine.
“Will you? Be my girlfriend?”
Callie laughs and nods her head. She covers her mouth and keeps nodding as more tears slip down her gorgeous face.
“I’m serious. That’s a yes?”
“Yes, Asa! I’ll be your girlfriend. I have to terminate our contract, but I think I’ll like my new position better anyway.”
I grab the back of her head and yank her to me as soon as we come to a red light. I push my tongue through the seam of her lips and invade her mouth. Callie is mine, and I’m never letting her go. When I tug on her long blond hair, her head falls back, and I devour her neck and décolleté, her delicate collarbone, her vulnerable throat. I lick the divot at the bottom of her neck, and she trembles and groans. My lips brush against her pale skin until I reach the top of her shoulder. My mouth returns to her neck and nibbles until someone is honking at us with the turn of the light.