Chapter Eleven
Keegan
Topping Rose House is famous for its food, but the only thing I want to feast on is Calliope. Normally, the thrill leaves as soon as I've blown my load. But not this time.
My only regret with our earlier encounter? That I didn't get to explore every inch of her.
But I will. No doubt about that. After this evening, there won't be any part of her body I don't know intimately.
Christ, she felt good. Tight and wet around me, driving me out of my mind with every thrust.
I gaze over at my date, offering her a soft smile. I pray Calli doesn't regret our earlier actions. After all, sex against the hotel wall wasn't on the itinerary. "How's your food?"
"Delicious."
I lean over, letting my lips graze the soft skin of her neck. "You're delicious." I grin at the blush coloring her cheeks before catching sight of my mother waving to me from an adjacent table. "Looks like I'm being paged."
"Groomsmen duties. Can't be a slacker."
I press a kiss to Calliope's hand. "Save me a dance?"
Those gray eyes perk with mischief as she bites her lip, considering my offer. "I'll have to see, Dr. Russo. My dance card is awfully full."
"Find some room."
My mother gestures toward me again, and I stroll over, laughing as she fixes my collar and bowtie. Once a mother, always a mother. "What in the world have you been doing?"
My eyes widen at her question, even if it is innocent. Trust me, Mom, you don't want to know. "Am I disheveled?"
"You're in love. That's what you are." Her eyes gauge me, awaiting my response. "I'm right, aren't I?"
I can deny it, claim Calli is nothing more than a passing fancy. But my mother has always seen through my facade. "You are. Do you like her?"
"She's wonderful, Keegan. Now, can you two please get married and have a few babies?"
I groan, pulling her into a hug. "You know my rule about marriage and children."
"It's a crap rule."
"Not to me." Yes, it's a dick response. But it's been my standard reply for the last decade.
She pulls back, squeezing my arms. "Keegan, what happens when Calliope wants a future? What if she gets pregnant?"
Her questions slam into me for numerous reasons. One is that I hadn't truly considered a future with anyone before Calli. The women I met were vapid, clingy, or some obnoxious combination of the two.
Another issue is that Calli already plans on having a baby—using her husband's sperm. I don't figure anywhere into that equation, and that concept is becoming increasingly difficult to stomach.
But the main realization? Our tryst just an hour earlier was completely lacking any sort of protection.
I should be ashamed of my impetuous actions. Mortified that I didn't take any precautions. Instead, knowing how warm and inviting Calli feels, all I want is to sink inside her again and again.
Time to talk myself down from the raging hard-on building in my pants. That's the last thing my mother needs to see. "I'm assuming there's a point to all this primping?"
"Of course. A plethora of photos, followed by the standard bridal party dances. Nadia has chattered on all evening about dancing with you. Apparently, you having a girlfriend is not a deterrent, in her eyes."
I smirk, my gaze sliding over to the blonde seated at an adjacent table. "I see your feelings for Nadia haven't warmed in the last few years."
My mother shrugs, a smile on her lips. "I have no issue with Nadia, but she's always behaved like a spoiled child. I'm just glad you found a woman worth your time and energy for once. Don't let Calliope go, Keegan. Women like that don't come along every day, and I see how she looks at you. She loves you, too."