Page 41 of Another Last Call
I hadn’t been especially kind to him about this whole thing, after all.
“Caleb, it’s fantastic.”
He blew air past his lips, finally smiling. “You like it?”
Emotional catch-up was hard, and as the numbness of my shock faded away, I felt my heart clenching. With a start, I realized I was about to cry, and I turned away from him hurriedly.
“Is it just out here, or is the kitchen new too?”
He’d redone a few things in the kitchen. New hood fan, updated electrical, and the countertops he’d intended for his own cabin. The office was the same, aside from a fresh coat of paint and the absence of the old security TV.
“I put a new system in. It’s all computerized. The cameras aren’t hooked up yet, but that can wait until the last minute,” he explained as we wandered back into the front of the bar. “I added a few more, too. There’s one in the office now, since that’s where the cash is kept.”
“That’s smart,” I replied.
It was warm inside, and I’d taken my jacket off and laid it on one of the barstools while he showed me all the renovations and repairs. I picked it up as Caleb grinned.
“Shit, Mags. I’m so glad you like it. I was really worried.”
He shouldn’t have had to be worried, and a sense of guilt crept through me. Caleb was putting up with far more than he needed to, considering everything he was doing for me, my mom, and the town in general.
“I owe you an apology,” I said. “I’ve been an asshole this entire time.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No, I need to worry about it.” I turned to him, heart racing. “It’s not your fault my mom decided to throw this at me. You bought into the bar to help us, and even though you’ve never given me a reason not to trust you, I haven’t trusted you. I’m sorry, Caleb. I’ll try to do better.”
He touched my arm, calloused hands warming my skin. “I know you’re doing your best. It’s okay.”
When we looked back on the next moment, I always insisted that Caleb had kissed me first, and he insisted I had kissed him. Truth be told, it was more likely a mutual action. However it happened, moments after I apologized, Caleb’s lips were on my mouth and his hands were around my waist.
And I was lost to him.
Nothing about it was soft, or innocent, or romantic. Our kisses were electric, urgent, firm and deep and needy. My body responded to him instantly, my pussy dampening and my nipples hardening as our bodies pressed together. His lips tasted sweet and fresh and familiar all at once and I reached up, tangling my fingers in his thick hair as if he’d float away unless I held him to me.
Our lips spoke another language, one that didn't involve words. One that couldn't involve words. Urgency and brazen desire bounced between us as Caleb touched me, his hands moving up and down my body, grabbing me through the thin fabric of the T-shirt dress. The scent of dust and sweat and musk filled my senses, and I struggled to hold back a moan.
Thiswas Caleb. The man groping me through my dress, the man with eyes full of pride in his exhaustion. I’d created some other version of him in my head, some spoiled rich kid who thought only of himself, and I’d been sowrong.
I was so wrong.
Caleb had never been a spoiled rich kid. He’d never been too good to hang out with us locals or to get covered in dirt as we rode bikes around town. He wasn’t too good to work with his hands or fix the bar himself.
The version of Caleb with the rough hands and the demanding tongue probing my mouth was the reality, and I liked it.
Untangling my hands from his hair, I brushed them down his body, feeling his muscles through his shirt. Caleb let go of me only to yank the hem of my dress up and slide his hands underneath it, caressing my stomach as the skirt bunched around my waist.
My body was on fire as he continued to touch me, his hands moving up to cup my breasts through my bra. My nipples were hard, and he pinched them through the fabric of my bra as he bit down on my bottom lip.
I gasped and he released my lip from his teeth, sucking it as he continued to dig his fingers into my breasts.
“Tell me to stop,” he growled. His voice was masked with yearning, asking permission as much as he was trying to communicate that he’d stop if I wanted him to.
I wanted him—neededhim—inside me. My pussy was dripping, a hollow ache in my stomach begging to be filled.
“Don’t you dare,” I breathed.
Caleb groaned at my words, and he pushed me towards a bar stool. It tilted slightly as my ass bumped against it, and Caleb nudged me until I was sitting on the edge of the stool. The dress was pooled around my hips and he tore it out of the way so he could yank my panties down. The edge of the bar dug into my spine as I leaned back against it so he had full access to my pussy. He shoved his hand between my legs and I cried out as he plunged two fingers inside me.
