She buries her face in my neck. “I like this side of you.”
“What side is that?”
“This, open, honest, not mean Chase. The way you tell me how you’re feeling without hesitation.”
“Only you,” I tell her. She’s the only woman to ever make me feel this way, and the only one who gets this side of me. What I thought I had with Melissa doesn’t even come close to comparing to how I feel about Gabby.
“Chase?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Can I ask you a favor?”
“Anything.”
She lifts her head and her eyes find mine. “Will you make love to me?”
Out of all the things she could ask for running through my mind, that wasn’t on the list. “That’s an honor that I will gladly accept. Can I ask you a favor in return?”
She nods shyly.
“Stay.”
“Stay?”
I nod. “Here, with me. Don’t keep looking for a place. Don’t leave. Stay here with me.”
“This thing between us, it’s so new.”
“Please,” I ask, running my hand gently up and down her spine. “Stay.”
“That’s an honor that I will gladly accept.” She gives me a watery smile as she tosses my words back at me.
“Let’s get you inside.” I open the door, and she climbs off my lap and is out of the truck. I trail along behind her. She waits for me to unlock the door, and once we’re both inside, I lock it back up. Standing in the middle of the foyer, we stare at one another. The reality of tonight crashes in around us. The clarity of what’s about to happen and what it means is thick between us.
One step. Two steps. Three steps. I’m in front of her. Placing my hands under her arms, I lift her, and she wraps her legs around my waist. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but if you want to wait….” My voice trails off.
“Are you backing out on me, Callahan?” she sasses.
I squeeze her ass in my hands. “No. I’m telling you that regardless of your decision, you will be in my bed tonight, and every night moving forward. I’m telling you that tonight sealed your fate, and you’re mine. I don’t care if you want to wait for sex, that doesn’t change the outcome of who you are to me.”
“Who am I?”
“My future.”
Her hands tangle in my hair as she pulls me into a kiss. This one is different. I can’t explain it, but I feel it everywhere. Maybe it’s the realization that we’re not fighting. I don’t have to fight with her to get her attention; instead, I can focus my energy on loving her. It’s with that thought my feet start to move. Blindly, I carry her through the house, mindful of my steps, not wanting to injure either one of us as we make our way up the steps. When we make it to my room, I sit on the bed with her in my lap.
My hands roam over her, touching her everywhere as I lazily kiss her. I was in a hurry to get her here, to be in this moment with her, but now that it’s here, it’s time to slow things down. It’s time to savor and cherish.
“More,” she mumbles as she rocks her hips.
“You’re not rushing me,” I murmur, pulling away to trail my lips down her neck.
“This is not a one-time thing, Chase,” she says, tightening her grip on my shoulders when I nip at her ear before soothing it with my tongue.
“I know that, but it’s the first time I get to feel you,” I say, tilting my hips and making her moan. “We’re not rushing this.”
“Torture. This is pure torture.”
“I’ll make it worth it, sweetheart. I promise. Stand for me,” I request. It takes her a minute to register what I’ve said, but slowly, she unhooks her legs from around my waist and I help her stand, making sure she’s steady on her feet. “Arms up,” I instruct, and without a word, she raises her arms in the air and allows me to remove her shirt. My hands run up and down her sides, relishing the feel of her soft skin under my fingers.
“You have me at an unfair advantage.” She grins.
“This what you want?” I ask, raising my arms in the air. I make no move to pull my T-shirt over my head. I leave that to her. Grabbing the hem of my shirt, she pulls it up over my chest, over my head, and tosses it on the floor.
“Do you know how many times I’ve thought about this?” she asks, licking her lips and running her hands over the rigid plain of my abs.
“About what?” I’m fucking with her and we both know it. It’s wrong, but hearing her say she was into me, her confession—although I already assumed as much—it’s a heady feeling.
“About this.” She takes her time letting her hands roam. “I’d watch you in the gym or when we took the boat out on the lake. There are so many instances when I wished that you were mine so I could touch you like this.”