Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Sabrina

It was just like a happy little family that morning.

I'd never had the pleasure of seeing a man first thing in the morning. Let alone one in my kitchen making breakfast for me and my daughter.

Maybe it wasn't smart to be playing house like that, giving Daphne hopes of a future that might not be in the cards for us.

But, I reminded myself, she was mostly grown now. She would roll with the punches if things didn't work out with me and Callow.

Though, God, a part of me was dying for things to keep going as well as they had been.

Even if it was weird as hell to have him just being at work. Reading the newspaper or magazines in the lobby. Lingering in the hallways when I was moving around. Hanging out by the coffee station.

But he went uncomfortably missing around lunch, making me itch to find my phone and text him, ask him where he was, if everything was okay.

"Sabrina, the guest in 6D needs to speak to you," Maria said, rolling her eyes at me.

It wasn't uncommon for someone to complain that their towels were too stiff or the sheets hadn't been changed or whatever the hell thing they got into their heads wasn't right.

It was my least favorite part of the job.

Because you just had to kiss ass and usually comp something for the guest.

Sucking in a deep breath, I walked down the hall to 6D's door, raised my hand, and knocked.

The door flew open.

And there was one heartbeat of terror, thinking I'd made an epic mistake going to a guest room alone.

Before I realized that the hands that rushed out to grab me didn't belong to some random, unknown guest. But to Callow.

Before I could even gasp, I was inside the room, the door was slammed, and I was pushed back against it as Callow's lips claimed mine.

In the split second before desire completely overwhelmed my system, I managed to realize that he'd planned then went through with it.

To surprise me.

All the tension slipped from my body as Callow's lips slanted over mine again and again.

My arms went around his neck, using his strong body as leverage as I lifted myself up to slip my legs around his hips.

A rumble moved through Callow as I tightened all around him.

He turned away from the door, walking me backward until he lowered me onto the bed, his body coming over mine, a delicious pressure I couldn't have known I'd been craving for so long until I had it.

Callow's lips ripped from mine, slipping down my cheek, my neck, then toward the center of my throat, where he met my top button.

Frustrated at the barrier, I threw my weight. Callow rolled under me so I could sit up, reaching for my buttons myself.

Callow brushed my hands away as he pulled my shirt out of my pants, then started undoing them from the bottom up.

His fingertips grazed my heated skin, making little shivers course through me as he exposed me inch by inch until I was sitting there in my ugly workday bra—nude with no embellishments so it couldn't be seen through my white button-up shirt.

Still, a little rumbling sound moved through him as his hands drifted down my sides to my hips. They shifted across to work my belt free, then my button and zipper.

"Come here," he said, hands going to my ribs and pulling until I came down over him.

He reached up, removing the clip from my hair, letting it fall around us like a curtain as I pressed little kisses to his lips.

His hands roamed me then, teasing over my skin, making desire overwhelm each nerve ending.

They moved back up, working the clasps of my bra free, then sliding the straps off of my shoulders.

I sat back, letting the bra fall away.

The sound that moved through Callow then would star in my steamy dreams until the end of time.

His hands slid up my belly, cupping my breasts. Squeezing, rolling, teasing until the tension in my core was too strong to ignore, making me rock my hips down on the hard length of him.

My head fell back on a moan, making Callow's fingers grip my hips.

"That's a good fucking look," he said as I started to grind down on him harder and faster.

Callow knifed up, grabbing me, and rolling me under him again. His lips went to my neck, then blazed a trail downward between my breasts. His warm breath teased my skin as he shifted to the side, sucking my nipple into his mouth.

Heat flushed my body as I arched off of the mattress and into his mouth. My fingers went into his hair, holding him against me as his tongue teased around the peak, as his teeth grazed.

He shifted, moving across my chest to keep stoking my desire.

I wanted it to last forever even as the ache in my core intensified.

Seeming to sense it, Callow moved between my breasts again, moving downward, kissing over my belly, my hips, then lower as he started to draw down my pants and panties.

He had to move off the bed to free my legs. Standing above me, I got to watch the hunger in his eyes as he gazed down at me.

He sucked in a deep breath, making his shirt stretch across his chest before he reached back to pull it off.

It was my turn to soak him in.

That wide chest, those indents to his abdominals. The V that disappeared into the waistband of his jeans.

Seeing my gaze go there, Callow's lips curved up as his hands went for his button and zipper, working them free, then pushing his pants to his feet.

What I figured was just a nighttime preference turned out to be his usual. Callow didn't have anything on under his jeans.

His cock sprang free, hard and thick, making me press my thighs together to ease the aching need to feel him filling me.

I folded up, scooting to the foot of the bed, and pressing my lips to the center of his stomach.

My hands slid up the sides of his thighs then moved to grab his ass, pulling him closer as my head dipped, letting me run my tongue around the head of his cock.

His groan vibrated through him, urging me on.

My mouth closed around him, taking him in deep, then started to work him in slow twisting motions that had his hand slapping on the back of my neck, then curling in, almost crushing.

But that reaction only spurred me on, making me go faster and deeper. Until, suddenly, Callow's fingers sifted into my hair, curling, and pulling until the pain across my scalp had me moving back, had his cock sliding out from between my lips with a small pop.

"Would love to come down your throat again," he said, voice rough. "But not now," he told me as he pulled upward on my hair until I got to my feet to ease the sting.

His fingers released me, sliding down my spine to land at the center of my back, pulling me against him.

A long, low moan escaped me as our bodies touched, his hard lines meeting my soft curves, the brush of his chest hair on my oversensitive breasts, his cock just a few inches from where I so desperately needed him.

Callow's hand massaged the back of my neck as his lips claimed mine.

It was a soft and sweet kiss, long and lingering.

But it wasn't long before the tension in our bodies grew, until I felt like I was vibrating with the need for release.

Callow turned suddenly, sitting down on the edge of the bed, and pulling me closer.

He grabbed me behind my knee, lifting it up, placing it wide on the bed, opening me up to him as his head dipped.

Then his tongue was tracing up my cleft, finding my clit, and working it in slow circles until my thighs were shaking, until I wasn't sure I could hold myself up anymore.

Callow's hands sank into my hips, pulling me as he moved flat on the mattress.

"Come here," he demanded, pulling harder when I resisted. "Ride my face."

And, well, when a man said something like that in that voice, you had no choice but to give them what they wanted.

Positioning over his face, I lowered down to hover over him.

"You gotta sit," Callow grumbled, yanking me down to do just that.

Then, well, then he was working me and I was riding him.

His fingers slipped inside of me, thrusting, then turning and tracing across my top wall, engaging my G-spot as he kept devouring me.

My thighs were shaking. The moans that escaped me filled the room, were likely heard halfway down the hall.

But I didn't care.

It didn't matter.

All that mattered was here, was this, was him.

Callow groaned against me as my walls tightened around his fingers as he drove me to the edge.

That vibration was the last final push I needed, sending me crashing down into an orgasm that stole my breath, that had my thighs crushing his skull.

"Fuck," Callow said when I finally fell to the side of him, letting him suck in a breath.

A little giggle escaped me before he rolled over me again, his lips crushing mine, kissing me hard and deep until the satisfaction once again turned to need.

My legs went around his hips and I shifted until I felt his hard length pressing against my cleft.

Callow's lips swallowed my moan as the ache intensified.

"Callow, please," I begged, knowing the only thing that was going to help the desire that was rapidly becoming a painful need was to feel him buried inside of me, to feel him making me his.

That rumble vibrated through him and into me as his weight shifted when he balanced on one arm to reach out to the nightstand.

Again, he rolled us, moving me on top as he reached between us to slide on the condom.

"Babe," he said, his eyes at half-mast as he held his cock at the base. "I need to be inside of you," he said, his words making my belly wobble. "Now."

On a whimper, I rose up, positioning over him, then lowering down, feeling the delicious stretch of him as he slid inside of me.

I paused halfway, exhaling hard.

"You're too big," I whimpered, even as my hips did a little roll.

"Come ‘ere," he said, pulling me down to press his lips to mine. "You can take your time," he said as his hips started to gently rock up into me. "You feel so fucking good," he added, making a little whimper escape me.

The slight ache thanks to my dry spell aside, he felt so good too. And with each passing second, the tension coiled inside eased, allowing me to slip down more, take more of him in. Until my hips were settled on his lap, his cock claiming me completely.

"Fuck, baby," he groaned as I sat back to look down at him.

My hips did a little involuntary circle, making him buck up into me.

My moan was embarrassingly loud.

But neither of us seemed to care as the need overtook us.

My hips rocked in circles, making him rub exactly where I needed him as his hips rocked up into me.

It was minutes, just a few short minutes, before I felt the orgasm start at the base of my spine.

Then, with one more rock, one more thrust, the pleasure screamed through my system, making my whole body shudder hard as Callow hissed out his breath, his hands digging into my hips as he kept thrusting up into me, dragging it out.

I collapsed down into him after, my whole body feeling spent.

But Callow was still rock-hard inside of me.

And before I could even catch my breath, he was rolling me under him and starting to rock into me again.

It was slow and sweet, undemanding, as his lips sealed over mine, kissing me long and deep until I swear my toes started to tingle even as need started to grow again.

When my sex clenched around him, Callow started to move faster, thrust deeper.

It wasn't long before my nails were raking down his back and my fingers were digging into his ass, urging him to fuck me harder, faster.

Minutes passed before we were both mindless in our need, hurtling toward the orgasms that threatened to overtake us completely.

Then, in unison, they did, making me cry into his shoulder as my whole body tensed and shuddered, as Callow groaned as he slammed deep, his body jerking hard as he came.

His body crushed me afterward, but I found myself wrapping him up with arms and legs, needing him close. Even if it was hard to breathe.

Eventually, Callow rolled, reversing our positions, but keeping the same closeness.

His hands drifted up and down my spine, sifted through my hair. Like he couldn't get enough of touching me.

My ear rested over his heart, listening to the beat as it slowed to a steady thump. I swear I could feel mine starting to beat in time with his.

"Can I stay like this forever?" I asked, feeling dreamy and safe and so, so freaking happy. I never wanted to move.

"As much as I want that, your lunch break will be over eventually."

"Ugh. Don't remind me," I grumbled .

Getting up at all didn't sound like a good time. Getting up to get back to work sounded downright miserable.

I wondered how long I could be missing before my boss noticed. I mean, I could usually manage to hide out in the closet for half an hour or longer with no issues. I figured I could at least spend another twenty minutes in this bliss before I had to get dressed and head back out.

"You got me ‘round the clock for the time being," he reminded me as I felt the brush of his lips on top of my head.

"This is true."

"I might just have to keep this room for a week or two, though. Maybe I can even bring lunch sometimes."

"Nah. This is much better than food."

"That, I kind of agree with. Though, I hear your cookies are pretty amazing."

"I guess I can make you some when we get home."

God, that felt both weird and wonderful to say.

When we got home.

The only we I'd been a part of for sixteen years had been just me and Daphne. It was strange, in a very cool way, to involve someone else in that.

Especially when that someone was a man like Callow.

There was a knock somewhere down the hall, making me stiffen.

"Housekeeping!"

I popped up, looking down at Callow.

"Did you put the sign on the door?" I asked, seeing the answer on his face before he even said it. "Shit," I said, rolling off of him and the bed as a whole, landing on my knees beside the bed, quickly gathering my clothes and rushing toward the bathroom.

Callow was a lot more casual.

By the time I got fully back into my uniform, he'd just barely pulled on his pants and was making his way to the door to slip the sign on.

"Little late now," I whispered with a smile as I moved toward the door with him. "Let them clean it," I added, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips. "Do I look presentable?"

"You look happily fucked," he told me, chuckling. "But put together," he added, then leaned out the door to check to see if the coast was clear. "I'll see you down there in five," he said. "Now… run."

I didn't need to be told twice.

I booked it down the hallway as quietly as possible.

I was just inside the elevator car when the door two down from Callow opened and Maria came out, humming softly to herself.

Feeling like I'd just gotten away with something incredibly naughty, I smiled the whole way back down to the lobby.

Hell, I was pretty sure I smiled through the rest of my shift.

We got confirmation that Daphne was safely at the gym with the twins being replaced by Sully and Nave as well as the women at the gym, so we took a quick segue to the grocery store before we picked her up, getting the ingredients for dinner and the cookies I still owed Callow.

When we pulled up out front of the gym, Daphne made her way out and climbed into the backseat, leaning between the two of us like we were going to engage in some light gossip.

"Sooo… how was work?" she asked.

I swear all the blood in my body rushed to my cheeks, making me have to turn to look out the window to hide my predicament as Callow tried to keep his lips from curving into a smile.

"Good," I said.

"Just good?" she asked, sounding disappointed. Though I had no idea what she'd been expecting.

"Yeah. It was, ah, normal," I added. "How was school and the gym?"

"Well, you can say that some of the girls are really jealous that two guys as hot as Rune and Croft are hanging out with me."

"And I'm assuming you did nothing to squash those rumors?"

"What was I supposed to say? That they're my bodyguards?" she shot back.

"Touché," I agreed. "We're making tacos for dinner."

"Oh, we are, are we ?"

I knew, objectively, it was way too soon to hope for things like a future with Callow. But, God, some part of me was really starting to pray that was possible. For me, who could use some fun as well as someone to be a support system, to help shoulder some of the burden life threw my way. But also for Daphne, who was clearly interested in having a stable father figure in her life.

As Daphne sat back, rapidly texting on her phone, Callow pulled away from the curb.

"I'm starting to really enjoy being a passenger princess," I said, watching Callow's profile.

He reached out, grabbing my thigh with his big hand and holding it there the whole way home.

And once we were out of the car, that same hand went to my lower back on the way in the building.

Daphne made a quiet little squealing sound before starting to text again, likely telling Allie that their plan was finally working.

"Are we still going to the bookstore tomorrow?" Daphne asked as we got in the elevator together.

"Do you want to?" Callow asked as his hand absentmindedly rubbed my lower back. I just barely resisted the urge to arch and purr like a damn cat.

"Could we do it Sunday instead?" she asked, surprising the both of us.

"Sure," Callow said automatically.

"Why?" I asked, hating that suspicion was my initial reaction.

"Allie is still compiling a list of must-read books for me. And… a map of where to find them," she admitted a little sheepishly.

"Sunday it is," Callow agreed. "We could do breakfast."

"It's a Sunday," Daphne said, brows scrunched.

"By that, she means we don't rise before ten. So… brunch?"

"It's a date," Callow said, making my heart squeeze as the elevator doors slid open.

I hate to say it, but my suspicion wasn't exactly unfounded.

Because my daughter wasn't quite over her rebellious streak.

But the stakes were much higher with some unknown threat lurking in the shadows, just waiting for the chance to pounce.