Page 28 of Never Let Go (Forbidden #1)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

CALEB

E very muscle in my body protested at leaving Lauren with Dean Williams. Call it intuition or whatever but something ain’t right.

The unnerving look he had on his face when he asked—no, told me to leave just made it that much worse.

I wanted to stay, to protect what’s mine, but if I’d put up a fight, questions would have been asked.

I didn’t go far though, I made my way to the front of the building and waited for her, hiding under the shade of the nearest tree like a stalker.

What I didn’t expect was Lauren to come flying out the doors not long after, bending over to catch her breath.

I wanted to run over there, to comfort her but with the amount of students walking around, it was too risky, so I had to bide my time and walk over slowly making it look more like I was a concerned teacher and less like a man running after a woman he’s half in love with.

The anxiety at witnessing her having a meltdown was tearing at me.

Lauren shut down completely, this wasn’t anything like Illusion.

Yeah, she was shook up but she brushed it off—or what looked like it.

This Lauren is close to having a panic attack, so I wasn’t thinking clearly when I told her to walk to my car.

I wasn’t thinking clearly when I used my nickname for her.

And I sure as shit wasn’t thinking clearly once I’d gotten her into my car and had driven her to my house.

Which leads us to now—Lauren sat on my couch.

Fuck.

I push my hair back from my face and take a breath before asking her if she wants some water.

She declines but I grab one anyway, just to give me something to do.

I place it on the coffee table in front of her and sit down next to it.

Lauren’s reclined back, head against the sofa with her eyes closed.

I rest my forearms on my knees and put my head in my hands, waiting for her to say something… anything.

I hear a sigh, followed by a shuffle and then a hand threading through my hair. “Caleb?”

I glance up and gaze into her beautiful eyes, getting lost in them for a moment before I reach for her, hauling her towards me.

Lauren comes willingly and straddles my lap, placing her head in the crook of my neck.

I wrap my arms around her and just breathe her in, that familiar vanilla scent soothing me in a way nothing ever has before.

“Uh, Caleb? Are you… sniffing me?” Lauren asks.

“Shhhh, baby girl, let me enjoy this for a minute,” I groan and hold her tighter. She chuckles softly but snuggles into me more, relaxing in my hold.

I don’t know how long we sit here for before she starts talking. “He’s so weird, Caleb. Dean Williams, I mean.”

“What happened, Lauren? I need to know,” I grit out, anger fueling my response at the thought of her being alone with that asshole.

“I don’t know, he was just being… disturbing… about stuff. Like he wanted to know if I had a boyfriend and to ‘engage in activities that would enhance my education’… whatever that means. ”

Oh, I know exactly what he means. Motherfucker.

“The way he was staring at me, Caleb, it wasn’t right. He tried to touch me… so, I don’t know. I just freaked out and ran,” she says with a shrug. “He gives me such bad vibes, it just threw me off for a minute. I’m okay now though… I feel safe with you,” she breathes out.

My eyebrow raises incredulously at her. “Sweetheart, don’t bullshit me. You completely shut down in the car on the way back. You were trembling. You are clearly not okay.” My voice is thick with emotion as I brush a strand of hair away from her face.

Lauren sighs, her shoulders drooping against my chest as she mumbles, “Would you believe me if I said I’ve forgotten about it?”

“Not a fucking chance.” I exhale harshly, the breath blowing a hair into my face.

Drawing away from me, she sits up, playing with the button on my shirt, not looking at me.

“You know things were… somewhat difficult at home. I learned from an early age to compartmentalize, to make a list of pros and cons and quickly work through them. The guidance counsellor said it was my way of ‘dealing with the trauma of my childhood.’” She scoffs.

“Personally, I think it’s a load of shit.

This isn’t like with Illusion, someone grabbing my arm is…

I guess… normal? For me. But Dean Williams?

That shit was scary. I’m sorry I worried you.

” She finally looks up at me, stroking my face lightly, like she’s tracing the lines of my face.

Sadness pulls at her lips, her eyes a dark whirlpool threatening to suck me in.

I kiss her forehead and pull her closer, at this rate she won’t be able to breath with how tightly I’m holding her. The protective instinct taking over, the urge to go back to Dean Williams and scare the shit out of him , growing more by the minute .

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” I say against her head, tenderly tracing circles on her back, whether it’s to comfort her or myself is yet to be seen.

Lauren looks at me, confusion etched on her face. “What are you sorry for? You didn’t do anything wrong, Caleb,” she says incredulously.

Not looking at her, I confess, “I wasn’t there to protect you from him.”

Gently tugging at my face, she says, “Caleb, look at me.” I peer up at her, her bright green eyes shining with resolve.

Lauren cups my face in her hands as she says, “You’re always saving me.

I feel like a damsel in distress at this point,” she chuckles, trying to lighten the mood and I chuckle with her.

“This wasn’t either of our fault.” Lauren lowers her gaze and it’s now my turn to cup her face and make her look at me .

“I know, sweetheart.” I brush a hair out of her face and behind her ear. “Still doesn’t make me feel any better, though,” I reiterate, my lips brushing against hers in a tender kiss

This is a bad idea. Abort. Abort.

Drawing back, I start apologizing, “Fuck, Lauren. I’m so—” I begin. I’ve just fucking kissed her when she’s vulnerable. What a fucking asshole. Pushing at her gently, I move to stand up but Lauren stops me.

“Please don’t,” she whispers. “Please don’t pull away from me.”

“Lauren—”

She cuts me off again. “No Caleb, please. I need this. I need you .”

My eyes search hers for any indication that she’s lying, that I should stop but all I find is the truth and god help me, I’m done for. I block out every reason why this is a bad idea and just follow my instinct. The one that’s screaming at me that this is right… that she is right .

Lauren wraps her arms around my neck and presses herself in closer, rubbing her pussy against my growing cock, as she continues straddling me on the coffee table.

I grab her ass and move her faster, getting her off through our clothes.

Lauren’s breathing gets faster and she breaks the kiss, allowing me to kiss down her neck, where I find a particularly sensitive spot that has her whimpering.

Her moans get louder, but I stop—I need to move this somewhere that’s more comfortable than on a coffee table.

“Wh-what! Caleb, I swear to fuc?—”

Grinning at her, my voice drops to a growl laced with desire. “Don’t worry, baby girl, I got you.” I grab Lauren’s ass and push up, and she automatically wraps her legs around my waist.

“Now this, I can get behind,” she chuckles as she holds onto the back of my neck and kisses me.

Stumbling to my bedroom, I have to pause halfway up the stairs as Lauren reaches down and palms my dick. I growl at her in warning, ready to fuck her there and then.

Shoving the door open, I stride across to the bed and throw her on it, she squeals and bounces a couple of times before coming to a stop. Sitting up on her elbows, her gaze lands on me, the heat and the desire radiating off her and matching my own.

Lauren comes up onto all fours and starts crawling to the edge of the bed as I take my shirt off, stopping when she sees my naked torso.

I’m not a guy with a six pack but I’m also not a guy with a dad bod either, I like to think I’m somewhere in between, both hard and soft.

My arms are covered in full sleeve tattoos which finish at my shoulder and go down to my wrists—another reason why I wear long sleeves at work, to hide them.

I slowly undo my belt buckle and slacks as Lauren watches me, biting her lip, before running her tongue along it. I follow the movement with my eyes, wishing it was my teeth biting and running along her bottom lip.

Just as I’m about to undress, Lauren suddenly shouts, “Wait.” I pause, raising an eyebrow. “Let me,” she purrs.

Fuck. Me.

I cross my arms over my chest and wait for her next move.

Lauren gets up off the bed and comes to a halt in front of me, trailing her fingers down my arms and taking in my tattoos before leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on my chest. I breathe out a sigh at the contact and tangle my hand in her hair.

I don’t force her, it’s just there, feeling the smooth, silkiness of it.

She gazes up at me as she trails kisses down my chest before getting onto her knees and palming me through my slacks. I tip my head back and groan, my cock painfully hard.

Lauren places her fingertips inside the waistband of my trousers and pulls them down in one movement.

My cock springs forward, almost taking out her eye.

She places a tender kiss to the head before licking the pre-cum that’s gathered there.

I groan louder and tug her hair harder. Lauren must take that as an invitation as she fully engulfs my cock with her mouth.

“Damn, you’re too good at this,” I gasp, the feeling of her warm, wet mouth overwhelming me. She whimpers in response and I swear I see stars.

Lauren starts to work my cock with her mouth, back and forth, faster and faster, before bringing her hand up to jerk off what she can’t fit in.

She swallows me to the back of her throat—her cheeks hollow, and she sucks like she’s trying to draw the soul from my body.

My spine starts to tingle with my impending orgasm.

“I’m going to feed you my cum, Lauren, and you’re going to swallow every fucking drop,” I growl, as I cup the back of her head and thrust into her mouth, she doesn’t tap my thigh to stop so I keep going, chasing my own high.

Roaring out my release, I slowly ease in and out of Lauren’s mouth, before pulling out altogether, my chest heaving up and down, but my cock’s still hard— that’s new .

She looks so goddamn beautiful on her knees, wet lash line, and drool on her chin.

I reach down, pulling her gently to a stand before crashing my lips to hers, not caring about the taste of my cum in her mouth as the kiss deepens, and I pull her closer. Grabbing her ass cheeks, I lift her up again, moving to the bed before placing her down.

I point at her clothes. “Off.”

She begins removing her hoodie, T-shirt, and bra. I grab my cock, giving it a couple of tugs at the sight of her pebbled nipples, begging me to put my mouth on them. Lauren quickly removes her jeans and underwear, leaving her bare to my gaze.

I slowly get on the bed and crawl towards her, trailing kisses along her legs before getting to her glistening cunt. I run one finger up her slit, gathering her juices before rubbing her clit in circular motions.

Lauren’s breath hitches as she moans out, “More.”

I smirk at her. “I’m not sure what gave you the idea that you’re in control here, baby girl.” I tap her clit to emphasize my point.

“ Agggh ,” she cries and I do it again only for her back to bow off the bed, hands clutching at the sheets.

Hmmm, guess she likes that.

I slip one finger into her cunt and slowly bend down, licking a slow line from her entrance to her clit, thrusting a finger into her pussy before sucking her clit into my mouth.

Lauren’s moans fill the room and I know she’s close.

I add a second finger and she comes, screaming my name, her hips lifting off the bed and her hand clutching my head, pushing me into her further, almost suffocating me.

Not a bad way to die.

Lauren comes down from her orgasm but I keep going.

“Caleb, I-I can’t,” she pants out, pushing me away.

“You can and you will, sweetheart. Give me another one,” I demand. No sooner do I say this, that she comes again. “So responsive, baby girl.” My voice is low and strained as I speak.

I lean over and grab a condom from the nightstand. “Do I need this, baby girl?” I ask, because even though we’ve gone without a condom before, I really don’t want to wear one, but I will if she asks me to.

Lauren shakes her head. “I trust you.”

If I wasn’t already halfway in love with her before, I definitely am now.

Capturing her lips in a heated kiss, I line my cock up with her entrance and slowly ease in. A low growl leaves me at the feeling of her cunt clenching around me, sucking me further in. Tilting her hips, I rotate so I hit her clit at the same time.

“Fuck, that feels so good, Caleb,” she moans. My skin glistens with sweat as I drive my cock deeper into her soaked pussy, the headboard banging against the wall, but all I can hear are her breathy gasps, telling me to go harder.

Her eyes flutter closed as her fingers dig into my back. “Caleb… I’m gonna come again.”

“Come for me, sweetheart,” I order as I take one of her nipples into my mouth and bite down.

“Fuck—yes. Caleb.”

At the feel of Lauren coming, her walls tightening around me, I feel my own release hurtling its way through. “Lauren,” I roar .

Collapsing on top of her, careful not to crush her, my muscles twitch as I try to get my breathing under control.

“I think I just saw stars,” she laughs.

“Me too.”

I slowly pull out of her, watching in fascination as my cum drips out of her.

Fuck that’s hot.

I go to the bathroom, clean myself up, and grab a washcloth. Walking back into the bedroom I see Lauren still in the same place I left her. My lips curve into a small smile at the sight, and I think of how much of a lucky bastard I am. How right it feels her being here.

“That was—” Lauren begins but I cut her off.

“Incredible? Mind blowing? Out of this world?” I grin.

She laughs and I swear I could get addicted to the sound. “All of the above.”

I clean her up before throwing the cloth in the laundry basket. “Good girl.” I wink and she blushes.

Crawling into bed, I haul her to me, placing an arm around her as her head rests against my chest, her arm and leg thrown over my body.

My fingers trace patterns on her skin as Lauren yawns, and I squeeze her tightly, giving myself one minute to think of this being our future before reality sets back in.