“Fuck,” I murmur. I need my hands on her. I need to be inside her.
I reach for her, intending to do just that, but she steps just out of reach. With a shimmy of her hips, she works her leggings and panties over her thighs. I watch with rapt attention as she sits on the edge of the bed to finish taking them off.
“Nightstand,” she says, and I rush to open the drawer, finding a box of condoms.
Anger that I know isn’t warranted takes over as I think about her being here in her room with another man. The thought of someone else seeing her like this, touching her smooth skin, tasting her, feeling her warmth, it’s more than I can handle. “I bought them today,” she says, her voice husky with desire. “I ran out to pick up a few things, and I was hopeful….” Her voice trails off.
I stand here naked as the day I was born, gripping the box of condoms. “Callista.” My voice is thick. “Be sure this is what you want. Once I’m inside you, you’re mine. I’m never letting you go. I won’t be able to let you go. Tell me now if that’s not what you want.” I know myself, and I’ve longed for her for way too long. I won’t be able to walk away. Hell, I don’t want to walk away.
“There’s only you.”
That’s all I need to know.
Ripping open the box, I grab a few of the foil packs and toss them on the bed. Callista moves back, resting her head against the pillow as I climb over her like a predator. I want to devour every single fucking inch of her. “I don’t know where to start,” I say, bending my head and letting my lips trace over the swell of her breasts.
“The main event. Definitely the main event,” she says, locking her fingers in my hair, holding my mouth to her as I suck and nip at her skin.
“I want to take my time with you. I want to learn what drives you crazy. I want to trace every inch of you with my tongue and savor the feeling of my hands against your skin.”
“Is this a one-time thing?” she asks.
I freeze and lift my head to look at her. I can’t make out her eyes, but I know she’s looking at me. I can feel her gaze. “No.” My tone is harsher than I intended it to be. “I told you. You’re mine now.” I’m ready to pull back until she understands. I thought she understood where I was coming from.
“Then we have all the time in the world for that. Right now, I need you, Silas. I feel like we’ve had years of foreplay, and ever since the moment you and your dimples smiled down at me at the airport, it’s been heightened. Please, don’t make me wait.”
Relief rushes through me. “I should spank you for thinking that,” I say, leaning in to kiss the corner of her mouth.
“Yes, please,” she mumbles as she presses her lips to mine.
My hand slaps around on the bed until I find a condom. Kneeling back, I tear the wrapper open and cover my length in record time, before nestling between her thighs. Careful not to crush her, I bring my body close to hers and kiss her. I put everything I’ve been feeling since the day we met into this kiss. The longing, the hope, all of it. I kiss her as I’ve always wished that I could. Her nails dig into my back as I push inside her for the first time.
My body stills as her warmth wraps around me. Lifting my weight onto my arms, I bow my head and just… feel. I can’t explain what’s happening to me right now. My heart is thundering in my chest, my breathing is labored, and my head is screaming mine, my heart too, for that matter. I’ve never had this reaction to a woman, and I know without a doubt that Callista is it for me.
“What’s wrong?” Her worried voice reaches my ears in the darkness of her room.
“Nothing is wrong. Everything is perfect. You’re perfect.”
“Why did you stop?”
“I’m just memorizing this moment. I never want to forget what it feels like to be inside you for the first time.” Her walls clamp around me at my words.
“You won’t forget if you get to relive it every day.” Her words are the fuel to my desire for her.
Slowly, I pull out and push back in. Over and over and over again, until we’re at a steady rhythm. Her nails pierce the skin of my back, and I push harder, pull faster, as we chase our release.
“Silas.” She moans my name, and I’m ready to lose control.
Gritting my teeth, I lift her legs and push forward, which slides me even deeper. She clamps down on me as my name on her lips echoes throughout the room. My spine tingles, and I’m there, but I refuse to let myself have the release I’m yearning for until I know I’ve drawn every ounce of pleasure from her body.
Her nails dig deeper.
Her back arches off the bed.
Her head thrashes from side to side.
Her mouth screams my name.
I can’t stop it, no matter how hard I try, as I release years of want, years of need inside her. Pulse after pulse, I hold myself deep inside until the final spasm of pleasure has left my body.
Reluctantly, I pull out of her to take care of the condom. When I make it back to the bed, I slide under the covers and tug her into my arms. My lips press to the top of her head. I can’t ever remember a time I’ve ever been this sated, this happy.
“Happy Birthday, baby.”
“It’s not my birthday.”
“Remind me next year that I need to have my wicked way with you before our midnight kiss.”
Epilogue
CALLISTA
ONE YEAR LATER
“What a difference a year makes,” Charity says from her seat next to me.
“We’ve had an exciting year,” I say, nodding. We’re sitting at her house in the living room. It’s New Year’s Eve, and this year looks a little different. My niece wasn’t born on my birthday, but she was born on her momma’s. Baby Sadie was born on January tenth just two hours before her momma twenty-seven years before. She’s the cutest little girl you’ve ever seen, and she’s spoiled rotten.
“She’s got them both wrapped around her little finger.” Charity laughs.
“I think she’s the only other female who can pull my husband’s attention from me,” I tell her.
Yeah, you heard that right. Husband. Silas and I got engaged in March and were married in June. It’s been a whirlwind, but when you know, you know. We decided we had wasted so much time worrying about what would happen if things didn’t work out, that we didn’t want to waste another second not being together.
“I can’t believe she’s still awake,” Charity comments. “Her schedule is going to be all messed up.”
“It’s New Year’s Eve.”
“You’re not the one who will be up for the party for the next week while we get her back on her routine.”
“But look at them.” I point to our husbands, who are making silly faces at Sadie.
“Yeah,” she agrees. I’m not looking at her, but I can hear the smile in her voice. “How’s married life?” Charity asks me.
“Blissful,” I reply wistfully.
“Ah, the honeymoon phase.”
That makes me laugh. “You’ve been married for a while now and have a baby, and you’re still in the honeymoon phase,” I point out.