“I’m not sure I know how,” I admit.
“Let’s attack this logically.” His lips tug into a smile, and there’s a twinkle in his eye.
“Logically?” I almost laugh. There doesn’t seem to be anything logical about any of this—including the fact that he’s in my bed after all this time.
“Mmm….” He hums more than speaks, and I try to ignore the sparks of pleasure I feel shooting through me, but I fail. There’s something about that throaty noise that makes me want more—like when he’s tasting me. “Like what were you trying to seduce me to do?”
“I think maybe this is a bad idea. I should be getting ready to—”
“Tell me what you want me to do, Bluebird,” he instructs. His voice is calm, soft, and sweet. It seems completely at odds with the intensity burning in his eyes.
“I wanted you to make love to me. God, that sounds so stupid. I’m sorry—”
“What did I say about apologizing?”
I grimace. “Sorry,” I mutter, making him laugh. “My therapist says someone that has a lot of mental or even verbal abuse tends to apologize for everything. I do it without thinking.”
His hand comes up to cup the side of my face, and his thumb strokes against my cheekbone.
“Don’t you know how fucking much I want to make love to you, Callie? There is nothing in this world that I want more than that.”
“I want it, too,” I confess. “I am worried, though. I mean, as much I want it—”
“You want me,” he corrects.
“I want you,” I repeat, blushing.
“Now that,” he whispers. He leans in placing a kiss on my forehead. “Is what,” he breathes, this time grazing my cheek. “I needed to hear.” Finally, his mouth moves to my lips, and as his tongue slides inside, I give myself over to his kiss with a small cry that is filled with equal parts happiness and longing.
CHAPTER 33
Reed
I groan as I feel Callie giving in, her body relaxing against mine. I groan into her mouth as her arms go around me, her breasts crushing against my chest. For a second, I’m afraid I’m dreaming. Our kiss deepens, her tongue submitting to mine, but just as hungry. I turn so she’s under me. Her legs spread, making room, and I fit fucking perfect between them. God, it feels so good to be here with her—a dream that I had given up on ever having again. I break the kiss to drag air into my burning lungs, kissing down her neck, and nipping her soft skin with my teeth.
“Reed,” she moans.
How many times have I woken up from a dream, cold sweat dotting my body, and Callie’s voice saying my name just like that? Too fucking many to count. I flick my tongue against her beautiful, peaches and cream, skin. It tastes so fucking sweet, I tremble. I palm her breasts, squeezing them, while taking a nipple between my lips, sucking the pebbled peak deeper into my mouth. I feel Callie’s hands dive into my hair, tugging on it, signaling me without words that she wants more—and I want to give it to her.
I release her nipple and kiss my way down her stomach. My hand reaches her panties. The cotton material isn’t made to seduce a man, but fuck if they aren’t working on me. When my fingers move under the elastic of the material, I immediately sense her body tightening underneath me. I pull back to look at her eyes. I see the desire on her face, yet I can also see it’s warring with fear, and I hate the battle she has to fight through.
When this happened in the past, I’d pull back. I’d look in her eyes and sometimes get her off with my fingers while constantly watching her and reassuring her. I always held back. I’m not doing that this time. I’m going to push a little hard and do my fucking best to reassure her the whole time.
“You’re okay, Bluebird. You’re safe with me.”
“I know,” she says, and I can see her doing her best to relax.
I press a kiss against her stomach, teasing her navel with my tongue. Her hips rock up against me, and I look at her, smiling. “I’m going to take your panties off, sweetheart. I’m going to make you feel good, I promise.”
She gives me a smile. It betrays her nerves, but I can’t let that derail me. This is what we both want. If we’re ever going to make progress, I have to keep pressing.
I slide down her body, leaving a trail of small kisses as I go. I nibble on her skin, too, loving the way she lets out an excited breath each time I do. Her fingers are still in my hair encouraging me as I go. I peel off her panties slowly, maintaining eye contact at every opportunity. She helps me slide her legs out of them, and I pretend not to notice the way she trembles. I run my hand against her leg. I soothe her—gently petting and giving her praise.