“I don’t want to be broken anymore, Jace.” I hate that I feel this way.
“Who the fuck says you’re broken?” His body pulses with his anger as he lifts my chin.
“Me,” I respond honestly.
His face softens. “You’re not broken, Calla. You’re a survivor. You’re a fucking angel in a devil’s world, and pretty soon, I fucking hope you’ll be mine.”
Sitting up, I’m taken aback by his words, though I shouldn’t be. But it makes me wonder. “Why?” I ask.
“Don’t you know, Calla?” His meaty hands cup my face.
“Know what?”
“I love you, Callalily. There isn’t a damn thing that could ever change that.”
Jace
* * *
The sun has been setting for a few minutes when I pull back into the diner's parking lot to wait for Calla to finish her second shift. I’ve had all fucking evening to relive the way she came apart in my arms this afternoon, and I’m hot to do it again. I could watch Calla experience ecstasy over and over again and never tire of it. It’s the most relaxed and unguarded I’ve ever seen her.
Admitting my feelings to her so soon hadn’t been part of my plan to gain her love, but I don’t regret it because now she can be certain that I’m in this for the long haul. I always have been, but expressing to her the emotion she craves so intensely might help her understand that I’m her safe place.
Seeing the inside lights shutting off, Calla exits as Cali waves from the window inside. “She need a ride?” I ask. I could run back to the shop to get my truck if need be.
“No, she’s waiting for Roman and Silas.” The two emailed me the information I was looking for earlier today. I haven’t opened it yet because I don’t know if Calla wants to delve back into her past.
“You ready to go home then?” Disappointment flashes across her face before she masks it and nods. I know she thinks I mean her apartment, but the only place I intend on taking Calla is to my house.
If I had my way, it’s where she would go every night. Where she’d live. With me. I never gave much thought to living with someone else when I bought my house, but now that Calla is in my life, it’s all I think about.
As her arms wrap around me from behind, I nearly lose my head. There is no greater feeling than when she’s touching me. Typically, I enjoy a good, long bike ride, but anticipation has been rushing through my veins all day, and all I want is to get her into my bed.
The further we drive away from her place, the more I feel her relaxing into me. As I make the final turn onto my street, her fingers inch under my shirt until her hands are spread across my abs. The muscles ripple from the heat of her touch.
I pull into the driveway and shut off the bike, not hesitating to grab Calla around the waist as she climbs off behind me. Scooping her up in my arms, I swing my leg over the bike and carry her inside. Closing the door behind us, I pin her to it.
“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” I mumble into her throat as my hands explore her body. Touching under her shirt, experiencing her flesh for what feels like the first time as her hands latch onto the short strands of my hair.
“I know,” she breathlessly whispers. “I want to. I want you to be my first everything, Jace. I’m ready.” Her voice catches as my hands slip down the waist of her pants, gripping her bare ass in my hands.
“It feels like I’ve been waiting for you to say those words forever, Calla. I don’t know how gentle I can be.” My size has always been daunting for her, and while I think she’s over that, being intimate together may change her view again.
“Maybe I don’t want gentle, Jace.” Her offered words incite the beast in me. “Maybe I want you to take me exactly how you please.”
“Jesus fucking hell.” My head bangs into the heavy wood door. “You can’t say shit like that to a man like me, Calla.” I groan, my dick throbbing as it grows to painful lengths, pressing against the warmth between her legs.
“No?” The innocence in her tone is deceiving. “Can I tell you I dreamed of the way you would touch me last night? Felt the passion as you devoured me. Can I tell you that I wished you’d taken me then? That I dream of you between my thighs doing filthy things that I’ll never be able to say out loud?”
“Sounds like you’re saying them just fine right now,” I hiss as my hips begin moving, humping against her.
“But I can’t say the dirty things.” Her voice drifts off as she finishes. “Tell me what you want to do to me, Jace, please.”
Drawing back, I stare into her eyes and see her bravado dissipating. “The only damn thing I want is to come in you bareback. I don’t want a single layer between us. I need to feel your silky flesh as you come on my cock, the same way you did on my bike this afternoon.”
A dreamy look overtakes her features. Her eyes grow soft, and her cheeks turn a lovely rosy pink. She’s relaxed, anticipating the night to come.
Dropping her feet to the ground, I strip off my shirt, kick off my shoes, and throw her over my shoulder. Her squeak of surprise makes me grin. Taking the stairs two at a time, I flip her over onto the bed and remove the rest of my clothes.
Standing naked in front of her, she fully dressed, I enjoy the way her jaw drops. Years of hard-working and manual labor have kept my body in prime condition. The erection currently pointed towards her is where Calla’s gaze is glued, though.
“I have scars,” she blurts out as I begin taking off her shoes.
“I know, and I don’t care.” My honesty brings her gaze to mine, and in them, I recognize her vulnerability again.
“I know. But I do. And I need you prepared.”
Continuing to undress her, I work on her pants. “I am.” She shakes her head as she lifts her hips for me to pull the jeans down. As I uncover more flesh, I see what she’s talking about. Burn marks litter the tops of her thighs, matching her arms, and I struggle to control my rage. “This from him too?” I growl. The same fucking asshole who tossed her out like garbage.
Nodding, she climbs to her knees in front of me. “It only gets worse.” Her chin wobbles as I gently pull up her shirt.
Once all of her clothes are discarded, I help her off the bed and have her twirl slowly for me so I can see all the damage done to her. It’s far worse than I anticipated and that she warned about, but I don’t let her see it on my face. Right now is all about reassuring her that I don’t actually care because she’s mine.
Forcing her back onto the bed, I crowd her down until she’s flat on her back. “If I could kill that bastard, I would, but that wouldn’t help you. What would, is me showing you exactly how much I don’t fucking care about the scars. They don’t detract from your beauty, inside or out. You’re still the woman I love and the one I want to fuck until we’re both unconscious.”
Spreading her legs, I settle against her heated pussy, hissing as I touch her bare for the first time. “You want to know what I really want, Calla?” She nods vigorously. “For you to love me back.”
Hooking her legs in my arms, my thighs bracket her hips as I gradually begin pushing my cock into her tightness. The heat of her body may damn near kills me. It’s painful going slow but so much more pleasing.