Playing for Keeps (Heartbreaker Bay #7)(72)

Sadie bit her lower lip while her eyes, those beautiful eyes, finally danced with genuine amusement. “You didn’t.”

“Hey, I was thirteen and on a roll.”

“What happened?” she asked. “Did she beat the crap out of you?”

Hoping that wasn’t what had happened to her in her youth, he rolled to his back and pulled her over the top of him, running his hands up and down her spine, forcing a light smile on his face. “My mom told me if I wanted to be a grown-up, she was all for it. She typed up a bill for my rent and food and said I could have my room back soon as I paid up.” He kissed her softly. “For a week, I slept on the couch with her six crazy cats. Then one morning, I got up early and cooked everyone breakfast and begged for forgiveness.”

Sadie went brows up. “You don’t cook.”

“I didn’t say it was a good breakfast.”

She smiled. “And you aren’t allergic to cats, but you believed you were allergic to dogs?”

“Hey, a kid tends to believe what the people who love him tell him, you know?”

She nodded slowly. “I do know.”

And she’d believed herself a fuck-up because that’s what she’d been told. He hated that for her.

“Did you ever figure out why your sisters lied to you about the dog thing?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He stroked a loose strand of hair from her face, running his finger along the shell of her ear, smiling when she shivered. She loved being touched by him.

And he loved touching her.

“They lied because we couldn’t afford a dog,” he said quietly. “They were already all working themselves half to death just to keep us fed and clothed and in an apartment that was already way too small for us.”

Her expression softened. “Why didn’t they just tell you?”

“They didn’t want me to know we were poor.”

She stared at him. “You’ve got a pretty great family, Caleb.”

“I know.”

“They supported you, and now you support them.”

He cocked his head. “Who told you that?”

“You.” She lowered her mouth to his. “Just now. Caleb . . . does this ever scare you?”

“You mean us?”

“Yeah.”

He wondered what the right answer was. He had no idea so he went with honesty. “Yes.”

She inhaled deeply. “Me too. Sometimes I like you so much I can’t stand it. My heart beats crazy fast when I know I’m going to see you, and then when you look at me, I feel . . .”

“What?” he whispered. “You feel what?”

“Lucky.” She hesitated. “I like you so much that I don’t know what to do with it. And then when something happens, like what your sisters did, it’s an excuse to back off. But I don’t want to do that anymore. I don’t want to back off, Caleb.”

Her words were a balm to wounds on his soul that he didn’t even know existed. “I don’t want you to back off,” he said. “You’re not alone in this. I feel the same.” He gave a rough laugh. “Just the memory of how you look at me and smile . . . it can make me forget whatever I’m doing. And when I know I’m going to see you, I put off so much energy that even Lollipop gets all wound up.”

She laughed and he rolled again, tucking her beneath him, making himself at home between her legs. He wanted her again, still, and he was suspecting also always . What the two of them shared in this bed was so much more intimate than anything he’d ever had in his life. A few weeks ago he’d have said his family were the only people who really mattered. His friends too, of course, but with his family he was the baby and always would be, and with his friends, he was the guy with the party trick of being able to spin dirt into gold.

But with Sadie, he felt like . . . a partner, an equal one.

She smiled at him and slid out of the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“My hair’s a frizzy mess from the rain. I need to shower and wash it before going to sleep. I’ll be right back.”

A minute later, he heard his shower running. With a smile, he entered the bathroom to find the sexiest woman he’d ever met standing in the middle of his rainforest shower, steam rising off her mouthwatering body, head lolled back in sheer pleasure.

“I think I’m jealous,” he said.

She moaned. “You should be. I’m in love. I hope your showerhead is single.”

He watched her hands run over her wet, soapy body and made an executive decision. “Move over, clearly you need some help in here . . .”

A long time later, back in his room, Sadie dropped her towel and began to gather up her clothes. She hit her knees and went ass up to fish under his bed for something, and every single thought flew out of his head.

She came up with her panties.

“You don’t have to go,” he said. “It’s late. Just stay.”

She stood and slipped into her undies.

He crooked a finger at her.

She arched a brow and reached for the rest of her clothes. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but it’s not really PC to crook your finger sexily at a woman and expect her to come to you.”

“Noted.” With a grin, he rose from where he’d been sprawled out on the bed and headed to her instead. “But for future reference, you can crook your finger at me anytime and I’ll come running.”