It’s Like That (16 page)

She lifted her lips, and when he pulled scant inches away, she tugged his head back down to hers. Just before her lips met his she whispered, “It can’t.”

She kissed him, urging him with her lips and tongue to be more than a passive participant. He responded slowly, his tongue stroking over hers as though he was afraid she would pull away.

She finally did pull away to whisper against his lips, “I wore the heels for you.”

He groaned and took over, bruising her lips with his before saying, “I noticed. Trust me, baby, I noticed.”

She tugged his shirt up, trying to pull it over his head and he let go of his cane to help her. It clattered to the carpeted floor with a dull thud. She spared it a quick glance before using the waistband of his jeans to tug him back toward the bedroom.

He followed, limping slightly on his left leg.

“Does it hurt?” She looked pointedly at his knee.

“Yeah,” he said. “But there’s something else that hurts more.”

She smiled and felt the backs of her knees hit the mattress. “Oh yeah? What is it? Maybe I can kiss it and make it better.” She ran a finger along the waistband of his jeans, tugging slightly when she came to the button just above the tented material.

“Maybe you can,” he responded, grinning back at her and pushing gently until she was sitting on the mattress.

She fought to keep her expression serious as she said, “Well, let me take a look.” She struggled with the button for a moment before he ripped it open for her and pulled down his zipper. She ran her finger over the bulge still hidden by his boxers. “There seems to be some swelling.”

“Yeah, it’s swollen.”

She grinned up at him, elated that she’d managed to coax him out of his despair.

He smiled back at her, but it was strained. “Lie back, baby. Let me look at you.”

She complied, arranging the filmy lace around her until she was satisfied and then waited while he sat beside her and looked over every inch of her body.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered fervently. “I know I’m a dirty talker, and I know I use a lot of profanity, but…” He took a deep breath and trailed a hand up her thigh. “But you are the most beautiful woman I have ever had the privilege of loving. And I am so grateful…” His voice broke on the last word and when Callie noticed the fine tremor in his hand, tears gathered in her eyes. He took a shaky breath. “I am so grateful,” he continued, “that you honor me with your body.” He jerked his eyes to hers and whispered, “Never forget that.”

She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck as he lowered himself to the bed.

“I want to do something a little different this time,” he said between kisses. “Mainly because I can’t put much weight on my knee.”

Callie nipped his earlobe before soothing it with her tongue and murmured, “Okay. What?”

He nuzzled her neck and covered her breast with his hand before plucking her nipple. She arched her back, trying to get closer to him.

He kissed his way up her neck before dipping his tongue in her ear and whispering, “I want you to sit on my face. Let me eat you out that way.”

Callie’s eyes flew open and her head jerked up so quickly she almost banged Chris in the forehead. If not for his lightning-fast reflexes, they both would have been suffering from headaches.

She couldn’t do that. She was too heavy and it was too embarrassing. “No, Chris. I’m too—”

He clapped a hand over her mouth, halting her protest. He glared down at her. “Were you about to say something about your weight? Because I believe I told you before that I would take you over my knee, and it won’t be in any way sexual.”

Her eyes grew wide as she stared at him over his hand. Would he actually
spank
her? She didn’t want to test it, so she shook her head and when he removed his hand she squeaked out, “Shy? I’m too shy.”

He grunted and said, “That’s better. But I don’t care if you’re shy. He rolled over onto his back and pulled his jeans and boxers the rest of the way off. His erection sprung free, thick and long, and arching nearly to his navel. “Come here.” His voice was soft, barely audible, but commanding nonetheless.

Callie closed her eyes and crawled toward the head of the bed until he stopped her with a hand on her thigh.

“No,” he said. “Sixty-nine.”

Her cheeks grew warm and she was so,
so
grateful for the darkness that kept him from seeing her embarrassment. She complied, though, straddling his head and propping herself on her elbows by his hips. His hands pressed against her back, urging her to lie down. She resisted a little, not wanting to lower her weight completely onto him.

“Relax,” he murmured, just before moving the slinky underwear to the side and settling his mouth warmly against her.

When his tongue pushed between the folds to burrow inside of her, she relaxed onto him. Her bones turned to liquid and she forgot about her insecurities. Her hips ground into his face, seeking more, begging for more. When he pulled away, she moaned in disappointment.

“Suck my cock, baby, while I eat this beautiful pussy.” He latched back onto her, sliding his tongue down to worry her clit.

Barely able to focus, she grasped the base of his penis and licked the head and then the shaft to make it easier to take more of him. He groaned against her, and she finally understood the appeal of a “hummer blowjob.”

Desperate to give him the same pleasure he was giving her, she wrapped her lips around his cock and sucked him deep. His hips jerked and his arms wound around her hips, holding her still.

His beard was rough and chafed against her sensitive skin, but she didn’t care. It was a stark contrast to the sweet, intense pleasure of his tongue. Her hips moved restlessly against him, a movement she was powerless to control.

But then, he was just as powerless, his hips jerking roughly, shoving himself deeper and faster. She could feel his breath blowing harshly against her as he got closer and closer to his orgasm. His tongue worked her clit furiously, racing to make her come.

She replied in kind, increasing the suction and wrapping her fingers around the base of his cock to work him fully from root to tip.

His breath came out in sharp, desperate pants, and his cock swelled in her mouth seconds before he gave a shout of release and buried his face against her thigh, biting the flesh there.

She didn’t feel the fleeting pain, though, too caught up in his orgasm to notice. His hips arched and his hands squeezed the cheeks of her ass as she rubbed out the last of his orgasm with her lips and tongue.

Before the last spasm left him, he resumed his ministrations, and she followed him into orgasm scant seconds later.

Callie woke when it was still dark; Chris’ lips were warm against hers. She smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. When she realized he was standing by the bed instead of lying in it with her, she opened her eyes and pulled away. He was fully dressed and ready to leave, his cane leaning against the night stand.

“Where are you going?” She glanced at the bedside clock. Four a.m. “Come back to bed. It’s indecent to get up before God in the morning.”

He chuckled and kissed her again. “Unlike you, I don’t get to laze away my summer. I have to get to formation. I’m getting into the storage unit today to pull out my uniforms and clothes.” He kissed her again, his lips lingering for a few moments before he straightened and reached for his cane. “I’ve got some debriefings to go to and a couple of doctor appointments. I should be done by about 1830 or so.”

Callie frowned, her forehead furrowing. “1830…what time is that?”

“Six thirty p.m. Add twelve for p.m.; a.m. stays the same.” He limped toward the door, and Callie didn’t miss the grimace that he tried very hard to hide. “Go back to sleep, sweetheart. I’ll see you tonight.”

She heard the jingle of his keys as he picked them up, and then the door closed. His truck revved to life a minute or so later, and Callie closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep with a smile on her face.

The next time she awoke, she was jolted out of a very pleasant dream by the high-pitched ring of her phone. She sat up, blinking, and looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. She finally spotted the phone vibrating its way across her bathroom counter. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes, wondering when she’d put it there.

She trudged to the bathroom, making a mental note to change the God-awful ring tone, and answered.

“Hello?” She tried to suppress a yawn.

“Are you still in bed?” Chris asked, laughing.

“Mmm.” Callie stretched. “I was.”

“Hmm. Did I wear you out last night?” His voice was low, husky, and sent tingles down her spine and to other regions.

“Maybe,” she responded. “Why do you ask?”

“It’s ten thirty. Lunch starts at eleven thirty. I have an hour and a half, and then I’m going to look for an apartment. Want to have lunch and help me look?”

“Sure,” she said. “Where do you want to go?”

“Anywhere that has pizza,” he said firmly.

She laughed and said, “Fine with me. Want me to meet you?”

“Nah, I’ll pick you up.” His voice lowered and he said “What are my chances that I could convince you to wear the shoes?”

“Ha, slim to none, buddy. Those are nighttime shoes only.” She rolled her eyes. There was no way she was going to wear those shoes on a lunch date.

“I’m in uniform,” he said smugly.

“Well, hell.” She clenched her thighs together and rethought her decision about the shoes. “Maybe. That’s all I’ll say.”

He huffed on the other end of the line, and she wondered what he looked like when he was pouting. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll be there around eleven forty-five.”

He arrived right on time, and even though his eyes were hot when he took in her calf-length black skirt, white peasant blouse, and pink heels, he didn’t push her back inside as she expected. He was in a stark white uniform—once again, she had no idea what it was called—and she was just as affected as she’d always been, but didn’t comment on it other than a slow perusal from head to toe.

He did issue a curt, if somewhat husky, “Let’s go,” before ushering her out the door and into his truck. If she’d been able to skip in the stupid heels, she would have. As it was, she walked with a confident sway to her hips she’d never had before.

Chris gorged himself at the pizza buffet, bypassing the salad and dessert bar and simply eating all the pizza he could stuff down his throat. Callie watched in fascination. He could eat a
lot
of pizza.

He found an apartment he liked on the third try, about halfway between Callie's duplex and the base. Her eyes widened when he wrote a check for the first and last month’s rent and deposit, her mind boggling at the fact he didn’t even blink at the expense. One month wasn’t so bad, but he’d paid the equivalent of three months without batting an eye. When he noticed her blinking disbelief, he shrugged, waggled his eyebrows and said, “I got paid. Finance was pretty quick with the back pay. They did the paperwork while I was in Bethesda.”

Once he’d paid the deposit, he made a few phone calls from which she surmised the Navy was going to move his things out of storage. Her mind reeled with the speed at which everything was accomplished, and she asked him about it.

“How did you manage to get everything done in one day?”

He grinned, glanced at her, and then back at the road. “This is the Navy, baby, not the Army. They hurry up and wait. We just hurry up.”

When she rolled her eyes he laughed and said, “Nah, Winslow and Admiral Gray had most of the paperwork done already. I just had to show up.”

Callie nodded, thankful that someone had been able to take care of him where she couldn’t. “I’m glad,” she said. “Glad someone was trying to make it a little easier on you.”

He shifted in his seat and frowned. “Speaking of that, I have an appointment with a shrink in…” He glanced at the clock before continuing. “About forty-five minutes. Then I have physical therapy at 1700.” He shifted again and sat up a little straighter before throwing her a nervous glance. “Listen,” he began in an even tone, “it’s okay for you to say no. Before I ask, I want you to know that if you say no, I won’t be disappointed, okay?”

“Okay,” she responded breathlessly, her heart pounding and her mind racing. This didn’t sound good.

He gave a nervous little laugh and said, “Can you fry chicken?”

She watched him with wide, disbelieving eyes for a full minute before bursting into laughter. He wanted to know if she could cook! “I guess you want me to cook for you, huh?”

“You don’t have to,” he said quickly. She smiled a little.

“I can cook, Chris. I’ve just never had time when you’re around.” She pushed the center console up and slid over to the now open middle seat and rested her hand on his thigh. She leaned up and whispered in his ear, “I’ll cook for you, poor, starving man.” She licked his ear and felt a sense of triumph when he swerved a little. She glanced down at his lap and saw with satisfaction that he was fully erect, the white pants bulging indecently. She considered teasing him with a few strokes and then decided against it. He’d probably pull over and they would get arrested for public indecency.

He put his arm around her and pulled her closer. Without taking his eyes from the road, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and whispered with laughter in his voice, “I like mashed potatoes and corn on the cob too.”

She laughed and said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

* * * *

Chris fidgeted on the leather sofa in the shrink’s office. The old gray-haired shrink with a bushy mustache watched him in silence. There was no pad and pen in his hands, and he sat back in his chair with his legs crossed and his hands folded in his lap.

Chris, however, had sat on the brown leather sofa and sunk uncomfortably into the cushion. He looked around the office, anywhere but at the patient old man. They’d made their introductions, and now he waited on the question, wishing he’d just get it over with.

After five minutes or so of complete silence, Chris couldn’t stand it anymore.