Page 30 of Loving Callie
From Jake’s arms, Sarah looked at Callie shyly, as she realized there was a new person in the house. “Who’s that pretty lady, Uncle Jakey?”
Jake chuckled at his niece’s straightforward question. “This is my girlfriend Callie, and I think you’re right kiddo, she is pretty.”
Smiling at the little girl peering at her, Callie replied, “Hi, Sarah, it’s nice to meet you. And I think you are pretty too.”
With that, Sarah grabbed Callie’s hand and said, “C’mon, you can play ponies with me and Uncle Jakey. He likes the rainbow one the best.”
Laughing, Callie followed Jake and Sarah down the hall to the open family room, where Sarah went straight for a bucket of toys in the corner. While she was occupied with choosing their ponies, Jake pulled Callie back against his chest to murmur in her ear.
“See? They adore you, just like I do.”
Before she could respond, Jake walked over and sat down with Sarah, and began to play with a rainbow-colored pony. Callie watched for a minute, enthralled by the sight of this sexy man doing something that could have looked ridiculous, but somehow only made him even more attractive. And when Sarah beckoned her over with a purple pony for Callie to use, her heart warmed at how quickly his family had embraced her into their home.
Dinner was an experience unlike anything Callie had ever had before. The table was full of delicious home cooked food, and laughter filled the air as easy conversation flowed between everyone. It was so unlike her experiences growing up, and so close to the dream she’d always held deep inside her heart. A dream of a family, and nights like this; full of love.
When dinner was over, and the pie Callie had brought was proclaimed “the best he’d ever tasted” by Jake’s father, Monica took Sarah upstairs to get ready for bed. The little girl had a bedroom at her grandparents house and was accustomed to falling asleep there before the drive home, allowing the adults more time to visit. As they moved from the dining room table to the couches in the living room, Callie let the conversations swirl around her, catching pieces of it, but mostly just absorbing the wonderful feel of tight knit love. Jake and his father were laughing about something that had happened at the pub, while Chris was telling his mother-in-law more about his new promotion. Every so often, Jake would glance at Callie, tenderness and warmth clear in his eyes. His arm was settled across her back, his fingers gently stroking her shoulder. She loved that he was comfortable showing affection in front of his family, another experience that was so different from what she was used to.
At the end of the evening, Jake and Callie hugged his family goodbye and his mother made Callie promise to stop by again for dinner soon. As Jake held open Callie’s door to his truck, he leaned in to steal a quick kiss.
“Seeing you in my home, with my family, it was all I could do to keep my hands off you. I hope you know how amazing tonight was for me.”
Callie felt herself drowning in the emotion she saw shining in Jake’s eyes. Emotion that was starting to feel an awful lot like love. Once they were in the car, with the engine turned on to take the chill out of the air, Callie turned to Jake and put her hand on his leg, a hand which he instantly covered with his own.
“I think your family is incredible. You are so lucky to have grown up in a home so full of love and warmth. Your mom is a wonderful cook, and little Sarah is just adorable. Thank you so much for bringing me tonight.” Callie hesitated before continuing, “I have to warn you though, my parents are nothing like yours. My family really doesn’t do ‘warmth’.”
Jake turned in his seat, and the intensely caring expression on his face hit Callie, right in her heart.
“It’s okay, I get what you’re saying. I know I’m lucky to get along so well with my family, and I also know that nothing you say, and nothing I might see tomorrow will change how I feel about you. I don’t care if your family are righteous assholes; hell, I’ve seen the stunts your mom can pull and I’m still here, aren’t I? You are a kind, warm, intelligent and damn sexy woman. That’s all that matters to me.”
With a smile to hide her inability to fully trust his heartfelt words, Callie sat back in her seat, lost in her thoughts. She only hoped that he still believed what he said after experiencing the full force of Laura and Phillip Scott’s judgemental attitudes.
* * *
Jake sensed that something was still not right with Callie the entire drive home. The silence between them was not as comfortable as it had been in the past. Instead a thread of tension was present, and it was driving him nuts. He knew she was worried about his reaction to her family and was desperate to reassure her that he was in this for the long haul – no matter what.
It was true, her parents sounded truly awful. How could the two people who should have loved her the most, look at someone like Callie and not see the same amazing woman that he did. He had to admit, some of his thoughts about them were harsh. He wasn’t a violent man, but Jake knew he would need an extra long session at the punching bags to take out the aggression he felt just thinking about Callie being beaten down mentally by the very people who were meant to build her up.
As the emotionally charged distance between them continued to grow with each passing mile, Jake vowed to himself that he would make it his mission to show Callie how special she was, and how important her happiness was to him. Deep in his heart, Jake already knew that she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life loving. The fierce need he felt to take away her fears and protect her was proof to him that she was meant to be his.
When they pulled into the parking space outside Callie’s building, Jake jumped down from his truck and hurried around to open her door before she had a chance to do so. He helped her out, then wrapped his arms around her and looked deeply into her eyes.
“Callie, I’m going to come inside and show you exactly how perfect I think you are. How perfect we are together. I don’t care if it takes me all night, I will get you to believe me when I say that this, whatever it is between us, is the most incredible, deep connection I’ve ever had with anyone.”
Callie stroked a piece of his hair away from his forehead, and he was gratified to see the tension lines ease from her face. She pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek before answering with two words.
“Me too.”
Not giving her a chance to say anything else, Jake swept her into his arms, pressed a passionate kiss to her lips and carried her up the stairs to her apartment.
Once inside, the fire between Jake and Callie roared into an inferno. Clothing was ripped off and thrown with abandon. Jake couldn’t keep his hands or lips off Callie, and she met him touch for touch, kiss for kiss. Somehow, they made it to her bedroom, where Jake stood in front of Callie and stared with open appreciation at her naked beauty. He bent forward, slowly running his hands down her side as he rained kisses down her neck eliciting a gasp from Callie. Stopping at her breasts, Jake took her nipple in his mouth and gently began to tease her with his tongue and his hands. Her fingers threaded in his hair to hold him in place as she moaned in response to this sweet torture. Moving back and forth between her breasts, he sucked and bit at her nipples until she writhed against his mouth and he knew she had to be feeling the pressure build inside.
Just when Jake could sense she was at the brink of falling into release, he stopped, stood up and swept her into his arms before sitting down on the bed, her legs on either side of his.
Callie gasped when his rigid cock stroked through her folds. “The things you make me feel, Jake, it’s heaven.”
He had to agree, being here with her was almost the closest to heaven he had ever been. He knew he could get even closer if he was inside her.
Jake lifted her hips and surged into her wet heat, stretching her in the most delicious way. Staring into each others’ eyes, saying with their bodies exactly how they felt, Callie and Jake moved together slowly. This time their lovemaking felt different. It was gentle, but no less passionate. The room was filled with an emotion so deep, the unspoken word of love hung in the air. Each stroke of Jake’s hips was met with a rise of Callie’s, and when they flew over the edge of blissful surrender together, their two souls entwined into one.
