At Peace (The 'Burg #2)(145)

Cal felt a twinge pierce the left side of his chest and he lifted his hand to her neck too, sliding it back and up into her hair, he bent his neck in order to kiss hers and she turned her head and kissed the hinge of his jaw.

He’d never had a sweeter kiss. Not in his life.

His hand fisted in her hair and he lifted his head, positioning hers so he could kiss her.

“Burger!” Elaine announced, a plate crashed to the table and Vi jumped as Cal lifted his head. “Reuben!” she went on as Cal twisted his neck to look up at her, leaving his hand in Vi’s hair. “You got cheddar. Surprise,” she told Cal, smiled huge and walked away.

Vi giggled.

Cal let his woman go and turned to his food.

Vi squirted ketchup in a pile by her fries and noted, “One good thing about you movin’ in…”

Cal left his burger suspended halfway to his mouth and looked at Violet, brows raised when she didn’t finish.

“Don’t think Dane’ll have any ideas, you’re in the house.”

“He gets ‘em, I break his neck,” Cal muttered and took a bite of his burger then looked back at Vi to see now she had a fry loaded with ketchup suspended halfway to her mouth, her eyes wide, her face back to pale. He chewed, swallowed then assured her, “Relax, baby, I wouldn’t actually do it.”

“Don’t threaten it either. You’ll scare the shit out of him.”

“Scare him enough not to get ideas?”

“Joe!” she snapped.

He grinned at her and repeated, “Relax.”

“You can’t go around threatening everyone.”

“Sure I can.”

“Joe!”

He put his burger down, turned to her and said seriously, “Baby, relax.”

“Telling me to relax doesn’t actually mean I’ll relax, Joe.”

“It should.”

“Why?”

He turned and hooked a hand around her neck, pulled her to him and up to his face.

“Because the time when your head is filled with shit and you gotta worry about everything and everyone is over. The time when you can relax is now. So, I’ll say it one last time, buddy, relax.”

Her eyes moved over his face then he saw them change. In fact, her whole face changed. That look settled on her features that he’d seen once before when she was on his couch talking to Sam. Affection, plain as day, love shining in her eyes, all of it focused on him and he felt his left chest contract so powerfully, the feeling radiated throughout his frame and his hand tightened on her neck.

Before he could process this, she leaned up, touched her mouth to his, moved slightly back and whispered, “Eat, Joe.”

Then she pulled away and turned to her plate.

Cal took his hand from her neck and turned to his.

He’d been ambivalent about the concept of God his young life, something that sent Aunt Theresa into a tizzy. But you lose your Mom at a young age that shit’s bound to happen.

He lost his ambivalence when he lost his Dad who was a shit Dad but Cal knew he’d once been a good one, a great husband and a decent man and he lost his son the same day.

Now he reckoned, Vi moving in next door, maybe finally someone was looking out for him.

Or his luck had changed.

Whatever, he was grateful.

Sitting next to Violet in a booth in a damn fine greasy spoon, Joe Callahan lifted Frank’s Indiana-wide famous burger to his mouth and took a bite.

* * * * *

“Joe,” I breathed, my head arched back.

“In my mouth, buddy.”

My head tipped forward, my hands went to his jaws, I rode him harder because I couldn’t help it. His strong fingers were digging into my hips, pulling me up and pounding me down.

“Joe,” I whispered into his mouth as I felt it coming.

His hand lifted to my hair, fisting, twisting and he growled, “Say it.”

“I’m coming, baby,” I whispered.

“Say it,” he demanded.

My fingers went back and clenched in his hair. “I belong to you.”

Then I came, slamming down, my back bowing, my moan escaping my mouth to be absorbed by his.

I was astride Joe but he was sitting up which made it easier for him, mid-orgasm, to flip me to my back and drive in harder which he did until he came right in the middle of giving me a deep, brutal kiss.

When he was done, his mouth left mine and slid to my neck and, as his c**k glided in and out of me, my fingers moved through his hair.

We kept doing this awhile before his tongue ran the length of my jaw and then he pulled out, rolled off, leaned down, yanked the covers over us and settled me into his side.

Joe was silent, as usual.

I couldn’t be silent, as usual.

“School starts soon,” I whispered.

Joe didn’t respond.

“Back to school clothes,” I went on.

The tips of Joe’s fingers slid randomly around my hip and ass but he didn’t speak.

“You goin’ to the mall with us when we go shoppin’?”

Finally, Joe spoke.

“Hell no.”

I smiled into his shoulder then my smile died.

“What should we tell them?” I whispered.

“The truth,” he answered, knowing I meant the girls.