Page 78 of Hit the Ground
My lips curved with satisfaction. It was a good bra. White and lacy, pushing my small breasts up like an offering. “Caleb…touch me, honey.”
He moved slowly, giving me every chance to change my mind. With a low sound in his chest, he shifted, rolling us so I was flat on my back, and braced himself on one elbow beside me. His free hand skimmed over the curve of my waist, calloused fingertips stroking my belly, a frown of concentration tugging at the corners of his mouth.
I carved my fingers through his hair, tugging gently until he bent for a kiss. The scrape of his jaw against my cheek made my toes curl. I hooked my feet along his long legs, restless for more of him pressed against me.
Caleb was in no hurry. After kissing me until I was breathless, he left my mouth to trail lower, brushing slow, open kisses over my collarbone and the slope of my shoulder. I arched into him as his lips grazed the swell of my chest, heat pooling low in my core.
His hand came up and covered my ribs before sliding to my breast. With excruciating patience, he eased down one cup of mybra then the other, watching me the whole time, making sure I was with him. My breath caught. When I nodded, his thumb swept across my bare skin.
“You’re so damn beautiful,” he murmured. “I could look at you all night and not get enough.”
I tugged on his hair again, whispering against his temple, “Look at me, but don’t stop touching me.”
He dragged his thumb over my pebbled nipple then dipped to follow the same path with his mouth, wetting the sensitive flesh. I gasped and arched, my body asking for more.
“Like that?” he asked roughly.
“I really do.”
“See if you like this too.”
Lips closing around my nipple, he sucked. I clung to his silky hair and moaned, so distracted by what he was doing to my breasts, I didn’t notice him opening my jeans until his hand slipped inside. His thick fingers stroked along my lower belly then slid down, through my tuft of hair, until he found my cleft.
To my disappointment, he lifted his head from my chest to peer down at me. “There’s a lot more I’d like to do with you, but I need more room to do it. What do you think about moving to my bed?”
My heart climbed up my throat, my answer barely squeezing out past it. “I think that’s a really good idea.” I was nervous, but I meant every word. Not because this was unexplored territory. This wasCaleb. Everything with him felt important.
Caleb stole my nerves by kissing me so deeply I lost my thoughts as well as my breath. Once I was limp and clinging to him, he climbed to his feet, lifted me into his arms, and carried me down the hall into his room, setting me on his king-size bed. Standing over me, he dragged his eyes along my body like we had all the time in the world—like looking at me this way was as mandatory as touching me.
I reached for him, needing his hands on me again. “Cay, come here.”
His eyes slid up to mine. “Can I take your jeans off?”
Biting down on my bottom lip to stop it from quivering, I nodded. “You can.”
He peeled my jeans down my legs, his knuckles grazing my calves, my ankles, my inner thighs, until the denim was gone, leaving me in nothing but lace and goose bumps. His gaze swept over me again. There was hunger there, but also something so tender, I felt it deep in my chest.
Maybe this was just as important to him.
He lay beside me, his palm tracing the line of my panties, following the delicate waistband across my hip, down the dip of my stomach, and back again, teasing but never rushing.
“You’re so sexy. I can’t get enough of you,” he whispered. “Can I take these off too?”
“Please.” I lifted my hips to make it easier.
He slipped off the satin and lace in one slow, smooth motion. Heat flared in my cheeks, but the look in his eyes rid me of any thoughts to hide. Propping himself on one elbow, his other hand splayed on my thigh, he bent low until his lips brushed the inside of my knee.
“Allie,” he murmured, his voice husky with restraint, “I need to taste you. Can I put my mouth on you?”
Oh god did I want that. But I couldn’t have lain there for another second without feeling him too. He was still wearing all his clothes, and my fingers twitched to touch him.
I tugged on his shirt. “Take this off first. I want your skin on mine.”
He cocked his head. “Yeah?”
“Yes.” I gave his shirt another tug, lifting it upward. “Take this off, Cay.”
His mouth hitched at my demand. “Sexy and bossy. You’re showing me all sides of yourself tonight. I like it.”
