Page 18 of The Blacksmith's Heart
"It'll feel good soon," I hum against her lips. "I promise." I kiss her slowly, tasting her tongue and twisting it with mine as one hand roams her supple body, the other holding me caged above her, unwilling to let go. Finally, I have her.
My patience severs with that thought and my hips begin to move in a slow, tantalizing rhythm once her grip relaxes at my shoulders and her hips follow my lead. I grasp one of her calves and wrap it around my waist, anxious to feel her all over my body. I need her naked and against me, all of me, now.
With both of her legs wrapped around my waist, her ankles locked above my bare ass as I hold her head in my hands and move slowly, trying to contain the raging beast that wants to unleash hell on her sweet body.
I groan. "You feel so damn good. I can't go slow for much longer."
"Please, more." She pushes her hands into my wayward hair and catches my eyes. "I want all of you, Liam."
My heart speeds up with her words and my mind fritzes.
"Callie-Callie." I repeat her name as my hips take on a more sporadic rhythm and I feel her body relaxing into me, allowing me to push farther, deeper, longer. "Jesus." I choke on the word as I bottom out inside of her, holding myself still as I lose myself in her. My heart pumps and my breathing racks. I hold still, feeling the quakes in my thighs down to the tips of my fingers, buried in her soft waves. My release shuttles through me like a rocket, all sense of reality evaporating in favor of only us, the complete fucking perfection of us.
I slowly pull out of her, my eyes devouring the soft curves of her body as I tuck her under my arm, all rosy flesh and creamy skin. She is decadent, the sudden urge to shelter her from harm for every moment after this one is powerful.
My thoughts vault back to a time long ago, remembering what it feels like to hold a dying man in my arms on the battlefield. I flinch, and Callie's hands are immediately running across my scalp and down my inked muscles, bringing me back to the present and soothing me back into focus.
“Are you okay?” Her soft lilt sends my heart stumbling a few beats. I'm not used to a woman's concern, or anyone's for that matter. It makes me feel special for the first time in too long.
"Better now." She looks up at me, wide-eyed with innocent doe eyes, and my mind eases a little. The anxiety of the past falls away and I’m suddenly focused on the beautiful woman in front of me. Keeping her happy, that is my only focus now.
Happy. It's a novel idea. I feel it in her warm eyes and her soft smile. She’s mine, and on some level, maybe I hope she’s here to thaw my cold heart. I just have to be the man she deserves.
"Will you tell me about these scars?” She catches me off guard as her fingertips whisper across the angry slashes on my knuckles.
Her dainty fingertips run over my tattoos. “Tell me about them.”
My eyes flicker away as my thoughts are pulled back into the past, to a time I spent years trying to forget. "I'd rather think about only you tonight."
"I'd rather get to know you," she replies easily, like someone without a secret to hide.
Strangely, her touch is the only thing that calms my restless body and quiets my racing mind. It's a peaceful feeling. Being near her is like taking in fresh air after being suffocated for so long. She keeps my anger at bay.
"I usually don’t do people. I'm better off alone. Can't be taken advantage of by a dog," I mutter, trying to explain without revealing too much and scaring her away.
"Right, Rocky." She runs a finger along my eyebrow.
“Rocky was my favorite movie as a kid. I watched it over and over,” I admit.
“Hm, that makes sense. Who’s your favorite female heroine in a movie?"
I pause, caught off guard by the question. I trace a finger around her bare breast as I think. "Mm, I don’t know. Who needs fictional heroines when there are real-life ones walking among us every day?"
She smiles thoughtfully and snuggles into my side before sighing softly. "I haven't seen any heroes around Devil’s Peak lately."
I run my fingers through her hair and press a kiss to her forehead as she yawns. "Well, I have one in mind. Now go to sleep and dream about how sweet it will be when I wake you up with a kiss tomorrow morning, precious."
Chapter Eleven
Liam
The sun dips low over Devil’s Peak, washing the horizon in hues of gold and pink. The stillness of the evening wraps around us like a warm blanket, and the hum of crickets fills the air. Callie sits next to me on the porch swing, her legs curled up under her, the tips of her fingers absently tracing the edge of her glass of iced tea. She’s quiet tonight, but it’s not the kind of quiet that makes me uneasy. It’s the kind that feels... settled.
I glance at her out of the corner of my eye. She’s beautiful in a way that catches me off guard every damn time. Hair loose and wild, a soft smile teasing the corners of her lips. She doesn’t know I’ve been thinking about this moment all day. Hell, maybe I’ve been thinking about it for years.
“You’ve gone quiet,” she says, tilting her head toward me. Her voice is soft, teasing, but there’s an edge of curiosity there too. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Liam Grayson?”
I smirk, stretching my legs out and crossing them at the ankles. “Just wondering how I got roped into sitting on a porch swing like some lovesick fool.”
