Page 30 of Drive Me Wild (Owl Creek #2)

T ommy came in third, with only a few scrapes on the car.

We weave our way through the bleachers and the small crowd lingering near the side.

I see the group of women who gave me dirty looks earlier, all flirting with guys.

All except Laura. She’s watching us walk away, and I feel a lump form in my throat again.

I believe Caleb is telling me the truth about the note, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m not cut out for this. I don’t want to doubt the person I’m with, and I don’t want to feel the need to drink alcohol when I get insecure. It feels like a recipe for some bad life decisions.

Even so, as he walks me to his truck with his arm around my shoulders, I feel warmed by his presence. He’s not hiding his affection as Laura glares at us. He’s not hedging his bets in front of her in case we don’t work out. I have to trust in this if I want us to work, and damn, I want us to work.

He unlocks the passenger door for me and guides me in, but before I can swing my legs around, he grabs hold of them and presses himself between my thighs.

“I’m going to have fun peeling off all these layers when we get home.”

Caleb kisses me tenderly, then pulls away so I can buckle in for the ride home. Once we’re on the road heading back to Owl Creek, I tell him I’m too tired to do anything because of working last night and drinking those beers.

And as soon as the words are out of my mouth, I regret saying them. He’s used to women throwing themselves at him. How can I hope to compete with them when I’m already telling him I’m too tired to fool around? My body flushes with shame as the words hang in between us.

“Okay. No problem. I’ll drive you home.”

“Caleb, wait. Maybe if I take a nap first.”

“No. That’s not— Zoe, you worked your ass off last night to build your dream. I understand that you’re tired.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“You’re not disappointed?”

“Anytime I can’t touch you, I’m disappointed, but not with you. I’m disappointed that we have to have jobs and lives outside of being together. Naked. In bed.”

I smile at him as he grabs my hand and squeezes it, but I don’t feel any better. I feel like I’m already failing at this relationship. I’m already failing at being who he needs.

“Want to have dinner with me tonight? I’ll cook my mom’s lasagna recipe. It’s delicious.”

He squeezes my hand again. “I’d love to.”

Some of the pressure in my chest releases.

I pull out my phone to create a checklist of all the things I’ll need to grab at the store.

I add a nap and a full body scrub to the list. I want to be fresh and smooth when he comes over tonight so I can remind him that I’m still the sex kitten he taught me to be.

I check my email on my phone, and my eyes bug out when I see my inbox.

“Holy crap, that was fast!”

“What happened?”

“I already got two letters back. My business plan is ready to submit to the bank for the application.”

“That’s amazing! I guess we have something to celebrate tonight, then.”

“Thanks to you, Caleb. You’re the one who got me those books. I’m as prepared as I’m ever going to be. And I’m going to the bank tomorrow to start the process.”

The long shadows of the sun through trees couldn’t mask the apples in his cheeks as he drove us through the stretch of road that leads to Owl Creek. We were almost at my apartment when he spoke again.

“This is nice—celebrating this with you. Being a part of this. I hope I can continue to be a part of it.”

“You’re my boyfriend, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. I mean, I hope I can be a bigger part of it. That’s a big house you’ll be moving into when you get the loan. There are gutters to clean and a lawn to mow, and the pergola could use a coat of paint.”

“Caleb Barone, are you asking if you can nest with me?”

“I’m not sure what that means, but maybe?”

We pull into my driveway, and he parks next to my car, turning off the engine but not making a move to get out.

“Let’s wait until I get the loan. But suffice it to say I’m not going to turn down gutter cleaning on a three-story house.”

“So I’ll be your sexy maintenance man boyfriend?”

I unbuckle my seatbelt and lean in to give him a kiss. “You have to promise to wear your shop coveralls. Those are yummy.”

He unbuckles his seatbelt and leans into me, cupping my face in his hands. His kiss is tender but evolves quickly into something more needy and primal. My head starts to spin, and my center starts to warm as his tongue explores my mouth, his teeth scrape my lips, and then my neck.

“Um. I’d like to amend my earlier statement about being too tired.”

A groan erupts from his chest.

“Upstairs?” He growls.

“Upstairs.” I whimper.

We race out of the truck and climb the stairs to my studio. Caleb tears at my clothes before I’ve even locked the door and gets me down to my underwear in a matter of seconds.

I think he should be in Guinness for that feat.

His mouth is on mine again as he walks me backward until my legs hit the bed. Then he hoists me up to a sitting position, and I open my legs to receive him.

His touch is rough and needy, grunts erupting from him as he unsnaps my bra, taking my already pebbled nipple into his mouth. Electricity pulses through my hips, thighs, and belly.

I reach down and unbutton his jeans, his shirt already on the floor, somehow magically appearing there during the frenzy of stripping me down.

I unzip his jeans and reach my hand into his boxers to stroke him.

He’s throbbing with need, and it jolts my vag into high gear.

I want him buried deep inside me, but I also want to taste him like he’s done to me.

I tug at his pants with some effort. His muscles are taut with desire, and he moans as I get them down and refocus my efforts on his massive cock.

I don’t know how I will fit that thing in my mouth, but I’m going to try.

If the Lauras of the world can do it, I can too.

I have to if I’m going to prove to him that I can be what he needs.

I shimmy off the bed against his protests, but when I spin him around and kneel in front of him, he lets out a sigh of contentment.

Caleb weaves his fingers into my hair, then gently pulls so I’m looking up at him.

“I know you’re nervous about this. I’ll guide you through it, okay?”

I nod as I pull his boxers down to his ankles. He’s fully erect, the skin of his cock smooth over the giant head. The tip is glistening, and I wrap my hand around him.

The more I look at him, the more I want him. The more I want to taste him in what feels like the most intimate act I’ve done. The thought of his trust, desire, and need within my control is intoxicating.

With my hand wrapped around him, I pull upward once as he moans. And then he starts to instruct me.

“Take your hand and rub it on yourself so it’s nice and wet.”

I let go of him and do what I’m told.

“Now, when you grip me, it’s lubricated.”

I reach back up to stroke him again, and his moan is much deeper but also punctuated like he can’t catch his breath.

“You can twist your hand a little too, as you—mmf— damn. Yes.”

I swipe my thumb over the glistening tip as I stroke him, and he leans against the bed to hold himself up. I take this sign of weak knees as a good thing.

“The tip is the most sensitive part, especially the underside of the rim.”

“This part?” I run my tongue along the edge of the head of his cock.

He erupts in a moan and again grips me by the hair.

I take the whole thing in my mouth and slide my tongue around the rim again. His grip tightens in my hair. When I pull my mouth away, he looks down at me with hooded eyes.

“Only take me in as much as you can.”

“How far do women usually go?”

“It doesn’t matter, Zoe. You feel amazing.”

He caresses my cheek with his thumb, and I open my mouth to take him in while stroking him. I feel him hit the back of my throat, and my eyes water, but when I see how much he likes it, I swallow and then pull him out to do it again.

I find a rhythm as his groans grow louder and more desperate. Each time he reaches the back of my throat, I try to open it up like I used to in choir practice. I start to lose myself when I hear him whisper.

“Touch yourself, Zoe.”

I reach down between my legs and feel the wetness that has pooled in my panties. My clit is hard and throbbing, aching for the release that I’m trying to bring to Caleb.

“That’s it. Spread your legs wide while you take me.”

I push my knees outward on the wooden floor and catch a peek of myself in the mirror of the cupboard as I adjust. It’s thrilling to see myself kneeling in front of him, pleasing him, pulling desire out of him, making me erupt with even more want.

My pace quickens as I feel myself grow closer to climax. He’s leaning further into the bed to hold himself up, and his moans are in rhythm with my movements.

“Fuck. I’m close, Zoe. You feel so good. Like that. Yes.”

He’s panting and gripping my hair so tight that it feels like my scalp is growing, and it’s shocking how much it turns me on.

I reach my hand up to massage his balls, and he barks out my name in pleasure before I feel hot fluid fill my mouth. I swallow it back so I can breathe, but it only makes him moan even louder.

He slumps on the floor in front of me, his legs wide to encompass me.

“You are perfect.” He mumbles before he guides me down to the floor and buries his face in my folds.