On The Rebound (Steinbeck U #1) - L.A. Cotton Page 0,92
was empty when the doors pinged open. Until I realized my rookie error. Her key card. How the fuck was I going to find her key card?
“Calli?” I whispered, shaking her gently as we came to stop outside her door. “Calli.”
“Hmm-mmm.” She murmured, cuddling up closer to my body.
Shit, I was going to have to put her down.
Holding her weight with one arm, I gently lowered her legs to the ground, keeping her close to my body as I fumbled in her pockets to search for the key card. Eventually, it grazed my fingers and I plucked it out, reaching around her to open the door.
“Let’s get you to bed,” I mumbled to myself since Calli was still out of it.
I picked her up again and carried her straight into the bedroom, laying her on the bed. “Z- Zach?” Her eyes flickered open, and I froze. “What are you—”
“Ssh, sweet pea,” I said, brushing the flyaway hairs out of her face. “Sleep.”
“Stay...” she whispered, her fingers twisting into my t-shirt. “Please.”
“Calli, I’m not sure—”
“Please.” Her glassy eyes pleaded with me. “Things always felt better when you were next to me.”
Fuck.
Calli began trying to strip out of her clothes, her clumsy uncoordinated movements making me smile.
“A little help?” I asked.
“I can do it,” she slurred, her head rolling as she tried to pull the hoodie off her body.
“Calli, stop.” Swatting her hands away, I gathered the material in my fingers and gently eased it over her head.
She dropped onto the pillows with a gentle thud. “That’s better.” I couldn’t help but look at her as she shifted and wriggled to get comfortable.
In fact. I couldn’t take my fucking eyes off her.
Calli let out a little sigh, her eyes closed and her chest rose and fell with every breath. I waited, certain she’d fallen back to sleep, then I went to leave.
But her hand shot out, grabbing me. “Stay,” her voice was a pleading whisper, “Please”.
“Yeah.” I swallowed over the ball of emotion in my throat. “Okay.”
Toeing off my sneakers, I pulled off my t-shirt and crawled into bed beside her. It was only a single, with barely room for the two of us. But Calli snuggled close, our bodies pressed together. “I’ve missed this,” she said quietly, the liquor still coating her words. “I’ve missed you, Zach.”
She lifted her head, her lips grazing my throat. My body stirred to life, anticipation and need vibrating beneath my skin. It would be so easy to roll Calli underneath me and take her. She wanted me. Even in her inebriated state, she still wanted me, as if her body sensed I was close. But I wasn’t about to fuck her while she was wasted. Because the next time I was inside her, I wanted her to remember every single detail.
Her hands started exploring my skin, setting me on fire.
“Sweet pea,” I warned. “What are you doing?”
“I- I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I don’t want to stop.”
Fuck. She wasn’t making this easy. I cupped her face and tilted her to me. “Sleep.”
“Don’t even go there,” I said. “You’re drunk. I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret in the morning.”
“Asshole Zach would.”
“Yeah, well asshole Zach would do a lot of things, so it’s probably a good thing asshole Zach isn’t here right now.” I tucked her back against my chest, hoping she would drop it. Now wasn’t the time for a heart to heart.
Relief spread through me, but then she pressed a single kiss to my throat and my entire body froze, waiting.
A beat passed.
And another.
My skin burning for her.
But eventually her breathing evened out and I knew she was asleep.
Calliope James was asleep in my arms and I hadn’t felt such peace in a long time.
Something brushed my nose, rousing me from a deep sleep. I cracked my eyes open to find Calli’s hair fanned over my face. At some point in the night, she’d rolled away from me, her ass brushing dangerously close to my morning wood.
Jesus, she felt good.
My arm hung possessively over her waist as I spooned her, and our legs were tangled together with easy familiarity, as if we did this all the time. But despite our precarious position, I still had the almighty need to drag her closer, to erase every molecule of space between us.
“Zach?” My name was a sleepy sigh.
“Yeah?”
“Just checking.” Her soft laughter was like music to my ears.
My fingers tickled her ribs. “Nice, Calli. Real nice.”