Back for You (11 page)

Slumped against him, he held up her limp body while he stood. “Stay with
me, darlin’. We’re not done yet.”

She gasped, and clung to him. “My legs won’t hold me up, they’re like
jelly.”

“Trust me.”

He rolled on the condom from his wallet, and hiked her up until her legs
clamped around his waist. Then he sank home in one blissful thrust. Their moans
filled the room, and he was relieved she was right there with him because he
couldn’t hold on for long. She felt so good, incredible, and he needed to move.
Now.

He plunged into her wet heat over and over, fast and hard, his balls
slapping against her, until they were both panting, grasping for completion.

She started keening. “Oh God, I’m almost there.”

Reaching down, she fingered her clit until she came again, her vaginal
walls squeezing him in a rhythmic fist as he kept pistoning into her. It wasn’t
long before the delicious tingling started up, warning him he was close too. So
close. He tried to hold off a little longer but it was no use. After a couple
of hours of being teased without mercy by this vixen, he had no reserves left.
He tumbled over the top, pumping into her furiously until they collapsed
against each other in an exhausted heap.

His forehead rested against hers. “There’s no one else on earth like you,
Thea. No one.”

He took a moment to catch his breath. Then, with shaking arms, he picked
her up and carried her to the bed, tossing back the covers and setting her
down.

Her satisfied smile was the only answer he got.

It wasn’t anywhere near enough, but it would have to do for now. At least
it was one step closer to winning her back.

*

The insistent ringing of a cell phone pulled Thea out of the mellow
half-asleep state she’d been floating in.

Pleasantly sated but ready for more, she’d been wondering if Cain would
be up for another round when the cell’s intrusive noise pushed its way into her
consciousness.

The ringing finally stopped but before relief could set in, it started up
again.

With a curse, Cain snatched up his phone. “Marshall.”

A pause. “What’s up?”

Cain sat up while he listened to the caller. “I see.”

Something in his voice caught her attention.
What was going on?
His glance touched on her, then darted away making her even more anxious. “Can’t
you find someone else to do it?”

Cain slid another quick glance her way, and her stomach clenched with tension.

“Yeah, I know I owe you, but now’s not a good time.”

The voice on the other end rose to where she could almost hear what was
being said. Cain sighed. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Something was wrong, she just knew it. Fisting the sheet in shaking
fingers, she pulled it up against her and sat up. For some odd reason, she
needed to cover herself which was just plain stupid considering what they’d
been doing.

“Right.” Cain punched the end button with his thumb and tossed his cell
on the nightstand.

She didn’t want to know. She really didn’t… “Tell me.”

Cain scrubbed his hands over his face before he met her eyes. “I have to
go overseas on assignment. It should only be for a few days. A week at the
most.”

Her stomach plummeted. Deep down, she’d known this moment would come but
had somehow convinced herself it wouldn’t be for a while yet. Not until after
she’d grown tired of him. “I thought you were back to stay.” She despised the
accusatory tone in her voice but she couldn’t help it. Nerves raked at her
insides, and dread ate at her.

He raked his fingers through his already messy hair. “I am. But I owe Joe
a favor and he needs my help so he’s calling it in.” He speared her with a
look, all but shooting sincerity straight into her brain. “Once I do this, I’m
done.”

Didn’t matter what he said, not for one second did she believe that was
true. She wanted to, but on a bone deep level she just couldn’t. “I guess I’d
better go so you can pack and do whatever else you need to do to get ready.”

She tried to get up, but he pulled her back, rolling her under his large
body, pinning her to the bed beneath him. He kissed her with something that
felt a lot like desperation, and she was surprised when she realized that same
desperation roared through her.

“I’m coming back. I’ll be back before you even miss me.”

Not possible since she missed him already.

She tried to push him off but he wouldn’t budge. “Don’t worry about me.
I’ll be fine. Go do your thing.”

She shoved against him again but he refused to let her up.

He kissed her eyelids, cheeks, nose, chin, nibbling his way along every
inch of her face as if memorizing it with his lips. “I know you’ll be fine. You
always are. You’re the strongest woman I know.”

“You know it.” The reality was she’d always been strong because she’d
always
had
to be strong, and as proud as she was of that, it shocked her
to realize that a part of her was tired of always having to be the strong one.
Sometimes—not often, but every once in a while—it would be nice to be able to
lean on someone else for a change.

And the only someone else she’d ever wanted to rely on was Cain.

And wasn’t that a scary thought.

Something nebulous teased her consciousness, but she shoved it away as the
urge to be with him one more time overwhelmed her. She needed to feel his hard
strength deep inside, his cock pounding into her body making her feel like they
were one. Making her feel alive as only Cain could.

Frantic with unnamable need, she speared her fingers into his hair and
pulled him closer, kissing him for all she was worth, memorizing every texture,
taste and nuance. The feel of his skin beneath her seeking fingers, the weight
of his body above hers, the rough, silky heat of his tongue against hers.

She broke the kiss, reached down and grasped his already hard, throbbing
cock. “Make love to me one more time before you go.”

He surged into her hand. “You read my mind, darlin’. I need something to
keep me going until I get back.”

She didn’t bother telling him she suspected it would have to last a lot
longer than that. More like the rest of her life. He would just deny it and she
didn’t want to hear any lies.

Their gazes locked, and the unspoken knowledge settled between them that
they didn’t have time for more than this once.

This time when she pushed him, Cain let her have her way and rolled onto
his back, the momentum pulling her with him until she was splayed on top of
him.

She didn’t languish there, but nabbed a condom from the box still sitting
on the bedside table and straddled his legs. With deft fingers she rolled the
latex on the impressive girth of his cock and positioned herself over him. Spearing
herself on his hard-as-steel cock, she filled herself with the only part of him
she’d ever really felt was hers, feeling him deeper inside than ever before.
She ground her clitoris into him, increasing the delicious pressure, building
the blazing flames of desperation and passion inside of her until she thought
she might catch fire from it.

Cain blasted out a groan and clamped his hands down on her hips making it
impossible for her to move. “Shit, I’m not going to be able to hold it
together.”

“Don’t bother trying.”

She worked his hard flesh with a deep, steady rhythm, glorying in the
fact she excited him so much, riding him hard, grinding her clit on each down
stroke, building the hot tension in them both until she felt like he was part
of her and she was part of him. Until there was nothing individual about them
anymore. They were together, united, in sync, truly one unit.

One flesh. One soul.

A flash of volcanic heat washed over her, followed by a bone deep
shudder. Her muscles clenched, and she gasped at the intensity of emotion and sensation
as it washed over her like a tsunami. Destroying her defenses. It was almost
too much and yet it wasn’t enough. And she knew, deep down, nothing would ever
be enough again, no matter how much time they had together, no matter what else
happened in her life, she would always feel this way. Always want more from
Cain than he could give her.

With a jarring halt, Cain grabbed her hips, stopping her movements.

“What are you doing?”

“Trust me.”

She nodded, but it was the one thing it was hardest for her to do.

He flipped her over onto all fours, positioned her, and then plunged into
her from behind with a hard groan. Sliding in and out through her slick folds, he
drilled her, pounding into her like a mad man. She swore his cock grew even
larger, reached deeper inside, his heavy balls slapping her with each frantic
thrust.

She was so close to the edge now, teetering on the very precipice she
sought, desperate to come. Desperate to be a part of him in this way.

He tweaked her breast and then reached down and fingered her clit. She
flew into a kaleidoscope of bliss as she screamed her release, wave after wave
spasming through her, her vaginal walls clutching, grasping, milking Cain’s
cock as if never wanting to let him go.

With a shout, he came too, pounding into her with a tangible fierce
possession until she didn’t know where he ended and she began. Not slowing
until they were both completely drained. As if he’d poured everything he had
into her and she’d given everything she had back to him.

Losing a part of herself she was certain she’d never get back.

And the most frightening thing of all. In that moment, she didn’t even
care.

True to his word, Cain called Thea everyday. At least, at first. It had
gone a long way in helping as far as reassuring her went.

But then his calls got shorter, and he missed the odd day. And his one
week assignment turned into two, and no matter how much he told her there were
very good reasons for it all, deep down she didn’t believe it. Because the
longer Cain was away, the faster her distrust toward him came roaring back like
a runaway steam engine, plowing through all reason in the process.

But there was more to it than just the lack of contact. She just couldn’t
fight the feeling he was never coming back. That the lure and thrill of his old
globe-trotting, excitement-filled job had pulled him under its spell. Just like
it had when he’d left ten years ago.

Didn’t matter whether it was logical, or made sense. In fact, she
knew
it was unreasonable and stupid. It didn’t change how she felt.

In the middle of the night, when she lay wide awake, unable to sleep, that
was when her doubts hit her hardest. That was when she felt most alone, and
missed him so much she physically ached. The whole situation made her feel
pathetic and needy, and she hated it with a passion.

She now realized she’d been a complete idiot to think she could keep her
heart out of the equation when it came to Cain.

The bottom line was, she loved him, and she now realized she’d never
stopped. For God’s sake, she’d said it right out loud and not even realized it.
She’d begged him to make
love
to her, not have sex, or fuck her brains
out. Her subconscious had already known it wasn’t about fun and games anymore.
Not for her. Too bad she only consciously realized it now.

Could she live without him? Of course. She’d done it once, she could do
it again. Did she
want
to live without him? The answer to that was a
resounding no.

She looked around at Lexi, Asia, and her Gram. They were sitting in
Astrid’s Antiques, Asia’s grandmother’s antique shop, trying to reason Thea out
of her current mood. She loved them to bits for trying, but it wasn’t going all
that well.

“Would you stop assuming the worst? There are a lot of good reasons why
Cain can’t call you or talk for long when he does. Like, for instance, because he’s
working.
”

Asia’s firm voice cut through Thea’s non-stop broken record of internal
thoughts. A pure relief because she couldn’t seem to stop or ignore them.

Lexi piped in. “Yeah, he went there to work, not for a holiday so I’m
sure he’s very busy. And don’t forget, he told you before he left he didn’t
know how reliable phone reception would be where he was going.”

How she’d been blessed with such dear friends, she didn’t know, but she
appreciated their efforts to talk her down and bolster her mood. Not that it
altered anything. This whole situation with Cain had turned her into a raging
inferno of conflicting thoughts and emotions. She was a wreck, and more than a
little pissed with herself for being this way at all.

She was stronger than this.

As a child she’d dealt with a lot when her mother had died. She’d felt
abandoned and lost, lonely and all alone in the world. Just as she had when her
father had passed away eight years ago. She’d never really gotten over those
losses. When Cain had left ten years ago, it had underscored her belief that
everyone eventually left her. His leaving now brought all of those feelings
raging back to the surface, made them paramount in her mind, haunting
everything she thought and did. She couldn’t seem to control it.

“I know. Believe me, I know. I’m not being rational here but I can’t help
it. No matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise, I just can’t beat
back the feeling that he’s stayed longer because he can’t tear himself away.”

Lexi jumped in. “That’s a big assumption to make. One not based on any
facts.”

“Maybe, but he was only supposed to be gone for a couple of days and he’s
been gone for three weeks now. Maybe once he got over there he realized just
how much he missed his job and now he doesn’t know how to break it to me that
he wants to go back. There’s nothing tying him down to Forsythia Falls.”

Asia disagreed. “What about you?”

Thea slapped the notion away with a negative hand motion. “It never held
him back before. No reason it should now.”