“But you said you’d be a terrible father and that you didn’t want children for a long time.”
I wanted to punch myself in the face for having said those things to her.
How had I not put it together before? I’d replayed our conversation in my head so many times, yet I’d completely missed that her demeanor had changed immediately as soon as I started spewing that crap Elizabeth planted in my head about how I would never be able to be the father she wanted for her kids.
I pressed a kiss to Kelly’s forehead. Everything was so clear in retrospect. “This is different, Kelly. I’m going to be a father with the woman I’ve fallen in love with. This is different, so different.”
“What did you just say?” She held her breath. Wide eyes burned into mine, tiny clouds of hope drifting in to them.
“This is different?” I repeated, narrowing my eyes as my brows pinched together.
Kelly smiled, a ghost of her usual wide and happy smile, but it was there all the same. She punched my shoulder lightly. “Not that.”
“Oh.” I allowed the full-scale grin that wanted out to break free. “You mean the part where I’m in love with you?”
“That’s the one.” Her answering smile was wider and more radiant than any I’d ever seen. “I love you too.”
For the second time that night, everything in me stilled. My world, so out of whack for such a long time, seemed to click into place. This girl, this amazing woman, loved me. And she was carrying my child.
I couldn’t believe my luck. Kelly bent her head closer to me, bumping her nose to mine. Lifting my lips, I wrapped one hand around her neck and the other arm around her waist to pull her as close to me as she could get, never breaking eye contact with her. “I love you, Kelly Diamond.”
Without waiting for an answer, I slammed my lips to hers.
Chapter 28
Kelly
Caleb’s kisses were hungry and insistent, almost animalistic in their need. I responded as fiercely, relishing every swipe of his tongue and nip of his teeth. He kissed me until I was panting and aching, and he was so hard against me that I briefly wondered if he’d shoved a book or a rock or something in there.
Any thoughts I was having didn’t last long. He kissed them all away, holding me close to him and tightening his hold almost possessively the longer we kept going. He laid back on the bed and brought me down with him so that my body was covering his.
I ground into him, my hips rolling against his as we kissed. He drove me mad with desire for him, his hands skimming my sides, but not touching me until I was ready to beg for it. Sitting up so I was straddling him, I tugged my own shirt over my head and stared down into his eyes, wondering why he hadn’t made the move.
As if he could read my mind, he kept his gaze on mine, even though I could tell he was struggling to keep his eyes from dipping to my chest. I hadn’t been wearing a bra when he’d arrived since I’d been lounging around by myself in my room.
The last person I’d expected to arrive at my door was Caleb. When he did, I’d scrambled to get rid of the pregnancy magazines Alicia had brought up, and since I hadn’t been wearing pants either, those seemed more important to put on while he waited outside the door than my bra.
It hurt my breasts anyway. Apparently, the tenderness would dissipate a little with time, then come back even worse when my milk started coming in.
Oh, the things I had to look forward to.
“You okay?” Caleb asked. I flushed. I couldn’t believe I was straddling him thinking about how sore my boobs were supposed to become when my milk came in.
All I needed was the reminder though, and my arousal came crashing into me with the force of at least two tsunamis. I was aching for him, desperate to feel him slide inside me and hopefully have him stay there for a while.
“I’m fine. Sorry. I was just wondering why I’m taking my own clothes off?”
Caleb looked taken aback for a split second and then recovered with a smirk and low groan. Before I knew what was happening, he’d flipped us over and was rolling my stretchy pants down my legs. My panties followed, and when they were both at my ankles, he yanked them over my bare feet and dropped them to the floor.
“Better?” he asked, heat spreading through me as his eyes drank in every inch of me. He was sitting between my legs. Spread open so there would be space for him, I was completely on display. I was self-conscious until I saw the raw lust on his face.
“Much better,” I breathed, reaching for his shirt. He beat me to it, grinning as he grabbed the back of it in a fist and pulled it off in a smooth motion.
“I just didn’t want to rush into anything you didn’t want to do. Figured I had a lot of making up to do after what I did.”
As his body came into view, I wished I could clench my thighs together to quell some of the need there. But he was still sitting there. He saw me squirm, and his hands went for my bare legs, running up and down my thighs.
“You can start making it up to me right now.”
“I intend to.” He kept his eyes on me, alternating between searing glances into my eyes that seemed to reach right into my soul and lustful looks at my naked body. Every stroke of his hands on my thighs went higher, and I was throbbing for him.
I couldn’t see how wet I was, but I was pretty sure I’d be embarrassed if I could. Caleb didn’t seem bothered by it. If anything, his eyes seemed to grow even more hungry whenever he caught sight of me.
“Caleb, I need you. Please.”
Seemingly torn between teasing me and giving me what I was asking for, hell begging for, his hands disappeared from my legs, and I nearly cried. Until I saw that they were reaching for his jeans, making quick work of his button.
I trembled in anticipation of feeling his hard body on mine, of having him inside me. Caleb toed off his shoes, kicked his jeans off, and crawled up over me. He kept most of his weight propped up on one arm, while he used the other hand to draw circles on my hips, my stomach, around my nipples.
A low groan ripped from my chest as he flicked a sensitive nipple with his thumb. He kept going, the touch of his fingertips light and burning into me as he teased his way back down to cup my mound.
“What do you need?” he asked me, his lips so close that they brushed against mine when he spoke. “This.” He dipped his fingers into me, spreading me wide and dragging them back up my slit. “Or this.” His tongue darted out between his lips, licking a line from my collarbone to my ear before he planted a kiss on my lips.
Then he shifted slightly, lifting his hips so I could feel his cock straining at my entrance. I bucked my hips against him, but he held steady. “Tell me. Tell me what you want first.”
“Just you.” I panted.
“You got me,” he told me, completely serious and sincere. “All of me, you have it. Whatever you want.”
Pushing my hips up to urge his tip into me, I looked deep into his eyes and cupped his cheeks. “Then let me feel it.”
Caleb groaned, sinking into me slowly like he was savoring every inch. “I was hoping you were going to go for something else first. I don’t know how long I’m gonna last.”
“But you’re a rock star.” I surprised myself by teasing him. I needed him more than I needed air, but I also needed to be sure that he really was okay with what I’d told him, with admitting that we loved each other.