Stay With Me (28 page)

This shuts him up.

I rake my fingers down his chest, scraping lightly. His muscles leap, and his abs tense when I touch him there. I kiss his other nipple, then kiss a pathway along his chest, down his abs, loving the taste of him.

I press my hand against him. “Lay down.”

“Let me get these off first,” he says, unzipping his pants. Soon he’s naked. His cock is hard, pointing toward his stomach. Unopened condoms are on the mattress next to us. But I don’t put those on him yet.

He gasps my name when I take his cock in my grasp. I lower my head, letting the ends of my hair trail over his stomach.

Caleb tenses.

So I do it again, and bring my lips to the tip of him.

“Hailey,” he breathes out.

I blow lightly against him. “Shh. Let me love you this way.”

And then I suck him into my mouth, taking him deep. I squeeze the base of him, and tug on him.

“Hailey. Not going to last.”

I keep my mouth on him, feeling him pulse in me.

He leans up on his elbows, his green eyes dark with passion.

“Not without you,” he grits out. “I want to be in you.”

I let go of him, because I want that, too. I unwrap a condom and cover him. We’re both breathing rapidly by the time I’m done, and my legs are shaky when I straddle him. I don’t lower onto him yet.

His hands go to my hips, gripping me tight. “Hailey.”

Then Caleb leans up, capturing a nipple in his mouth.

I moan, then look into his eyes.

“Hold onto me,” he says, lifting my hands to his shoulders.

I do, and then his hands are back at my hips, and I sink slowly down onto him. I gasp as his hard cock stretches me wide, stroking me deep inside, filling me so completely.

And then he thrusts upward.

My body goes haywire, and I moan with pleasure. He thrusts into me, then lays back on the bed, and I move up and down on him, riding him. I run my hands down his chest, pressing there, as our bodies rise and fall against each other.

I can’t get enough of him. Every glide of skin against skin causes new pleasure—pleasure I didn’t know could exist—to light a fire in me that sparks every nerve and muscle.

I lean forward, my hair tickling his abs, and capture his mouth with mine. Our kiss is wet, wild, and he fists a hand in my hair, holding me still, as his tongue thrusts deep with the same rhythm of his cock. Every kiss reaches into me, fills me with his love, and I pour my love into each touch, each time I lower my body onto his. Everything we share in this bed is a fervent expression of love.

“I love you,” he says, thrusting into me.

“I love you,” I say back. My body goes tight, my mind wild with desire, and I keep saying I love him as he pulls me over the edge.

I scream his name when he thrusts deep, his finger hard on my clit. Release races through me, washing over me, and I’m trembling because it was just so good, so mind-blowingly good. I never knew making love could be like this, that love could make a difference.

But it does.

It so does.

I love you
may be only three words . . . three syllables, but those three words are the most powerful, precious ones in the world.

And the most freeing.

“I love you,” I say, resting against his chest where his heart thumps against me. “Always.”

Chapter 35

“A
BOUT DAMN TIME!” DAPHNE SAYS
a week later, as we’re all gathered at the guys’ house for dinner. “And I can’t believe you held out on that news for that long!”

“We had finals,” I say. “And, plus, we just wanted to—”

“Fuck like bunnies,” Daphne says.

I swat her butt with a dish towel. “Watch your mouth.”

“Yes, Mom,” Daphne says, grinning at me. “But I’m so glad. Seriously.”

“Me too.”

“What’s going on here?” Caleb asks, as the guys file into the kitchen.

“Hailey’s just telling me things.”

“Like I love her type of things?”

“Yeah. That.” Daphne looks at her brother and his friends, her eyes landing briefly on Nick. “You guys knew, too?”

“Yeah,” Jamie says. “You know how Fox is. Talking about Hailey and how much he loves her, and on and on and—”

“Again, I wonder why you’re single,” Caleb says.

“I’m holding out for someone special.” Jamie comes to me, kissing me on my cheek. “If he gives you any trouble, you know I’ll kick his ass for you.”

Caleb rolls his eyes. “You could try.”

“Black belt. Karate.” Jamie does a karate pose. “Be scared.”

“You can’t claim you have a black belt just by watching all the
Karate Kid
movies.”

Griff laughs at this, covering it with a cough.

Jamie glares at the both of them, then shrugs. “Well, it’s a black belt of sorts. Anyway, super glad for you two, but don’t use up all the hot water. We only have one full bathroom in this house, and I don’t want to walk in on anything. I don’t think I’d recover from seeing Caleb’s naked ass.”

“It’s a great ass,” I say.

“TMI!” Jamie yells, running from the kitchen. “TMI.”

“Well, that’s one way to shut him up,” Nick says, laughing. “Hailey, you’re awesome.”

“She totally is,” Caleb agrees. “And she’s mine.”

Nick shakes his head. “You’re sick with love. Don’t become one of those sickening couples.”

“Please.” Daphne snorts. “They always make googly googly eyes at each other. There’s no hope for any of us.”

Nick just looks at her, then nods his head at Caleb and Griff. “Let’s make sure Jamie isn’t totally traumatized. Hailey, see you in January. Have fun.”

“You, too. And bye, Griff.” Griff lives in Winooski with his older brother, so I’m sure I’ll run into Griff now and then over winter break.

Which starts tomorrow, and although Daphne and I haven’t yet declared our majors, there’s still a lot of time to decide. I am taking two arts classes next semester, along with two English courses and a computer science class. Daphne, Steph, Kate, and I are actually all in the same English class next semester—a creative writing class that Daphne roped me into. Daphne told me another secret this week—one that she’s kept hidden for a long time, and I really hope that she starts to talk about it. And that she doesn’t hide the fact that she wants to be an author anymore. She hasn’t let me read any of her stuff yet, but one of these days, I will. I have my ways.

“Daphne,” I say as we get dessert out from the fridge—a chocolate cake I bought from a bakery. I take out a knife, slicing it. The guys are back in the front room, so there’s no chance of anyone overhearing. “I think you should go for it.”

She gives me a confused look. “Go for what?”

I raise my eyes and nod my head to the other room. “For that.”

“No,” she says. “That’s over and done with. He doesn’t want me, as you just saw.”

With how his blue eyes kept looking at her, eating her up? I don’t think so. “What are you talking about?”

“He doesn’t want me,” she repeats through closed teeth. “It’s obvious. He’s been staying away. Not talking to me. Haven’t you noticed?”

I haven’t noticed anything of the sort. Every time I’ve walked into a room where those two are, they look at each other when the other isn’t looking. “I don’t think he’s—”

“No,” Daphne says. “I chased after my last boyfriend. I’m not chasing after any more guys. I want to be the one pursued for once.”

“I just think you should go for it.”

“Not going to happen.”

“Stubborn.”

“No, I’m smart.” Daphne places a huge slice of chocolate cake onto a plate. “And I’m not going to sit around and wait anymore. Next semester, I’m focusing on my studies. On me. And if a hot guy walks into the picture, so much the better.”

I clean the frosting off from the knife. “I like the hot guy aspect.”

“Me too.”

Daphne and I carry plates over to the kitchen table.

“So, what are you doing for Christmas break?” she asks.

Oh, I didn’t tell her that yet either. Oops.

“Well,” I say, “I’m actually spending it with you.”

Daphne smiles wide at me. “You are?”

“Yeah. Caleb asked me a few nights ago. And . . . I said yes.”

“Hailey!” Daphne squeals, then runs over to me, hugging me tight. “I’m so thrilled. It’s going to be so awesome. And my sisters! Oh my god, my sisters are going to
love
having you at the house. And my parents, too. God, they love you. And—and—this is the best news. Other than that you love my brother and he loves you, and you’re all super happy.”

“I am. So happy.” I smile over at her. “And I’m so excited about what’s to come.”

“So am I,” she says.

C
ALEB AND I ARE PUTTING
the last of my bags into his car. Daphne already got a ride home from Nick, saying she didn’t want to get stuck in the backseat with us two lovebirds.

But I think Daphne just wanted to spend a little time with Nick before he left for New York.

Goliath is sitting in the backseat, watching us.

“You have so much stuff,” Caleb says, lifting a particularly heavy bag into the trunk. “What’s in here?”

“Shoes, of course.” And maybe some clothes. And makeup. And other stuff.

“Of course.” Caleb closes the trunk, smiling. “I love you, you know.”

“I love you, too.”

He walks toward me. “Ready?”

I look at my apartment building, then back at him.

I don’t know what will happen, where I’ll end up . . . or what I’ll do with my life. Or how my life will turn out, career-wise.

But there is one thing I do know, something I’ve known from the moment I stepped out onto that dark deck and ended up finding the love of my life, Caleb . . .

Whatever life brings, whatever the future holds, whatever happens—good stuff or bad—I’ll be with Caleb every step of the way.

I smile at him.

“Ready.”

Thank you!

Thanks for reading
Stay With Me
. I hope you enjoyed it!

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Stay With Me
is the first full-length book in the With Me series. The books in the series are
Stay With Me
,
Christmas With Me
(a novella out December 2013),
Go With Me
(out Spring 2014), and
Dream With Me
(out Fall 2014). I hope you enjoy them all!

And if you’re interested in learning a little more about the With Me series, including a brief excerpt from
Christmas With Me
, please turn the page.

Christmas With Me: Excerpt

Christmas With Me

With Me #1.5

coming in December 2013

The official blurb and cover will be revealed at a later date, but for now, here’s a brief description:

Jamie McAlister is home for Christmas break, and he only wants two things: make some money for next semester and have a good time while doing it. When he gets a job at the local cinema, he figures it’ll be an easy way to earn cash. But he’s not expecting to run into Zelda Nichols—or have to work with her. Why is the smartest girl from his class still in town and not attending Harvard like she planned? And why is he suddenly noticing how attractive she is . . . and imagining all the ways he can seduce her?

Excerpt from Chapter 1:

M
Y LIFE HAS FINALLY SETTLED
into a routine.

A very manageable one that I don’t even need to set reminders for on my cell. It’s come to the point that I wake up, roll out of bed, and get ready for the day ahead. If it’s a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I take a left turn out of my apartment complex, and if it’s a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, I take a right and head toward the coffee shop I work at. Sundays are spent at St. Anne’s Hospital.

Sundays are the hardest day for me.

But today is Thursday, and I’m already two hours into my five-hour shift at Java Buzz. I get off at noon and have a few hours before I have to hit my other job at Cinema 18, the local movie theatre in Hunter’s Pond, Connecticut. And it’ll be super busy there since an anticipated movie releases tonight, and I also have to help train a new worker.

As usual, Java Buzz has a steady flow of customers since opening at seven. I’m making the drinks, and most regulars are ordering cappuccinos or lattes, so I can make them a little design, if they decide to sit down. Which some of them always do, opening up their laptops to get some work done on the plush leather chairs or at the small tables scattered throughout the café.

I’m putting the finishing touches of a smiley face in Mr. Valiant’s cappuccino when the door swings open, the bells tinkling above.

And in walks the McAlister twins.

I fight the urge to duck.

Hide.

Run away.

I tighten my grip on the fresh toothpick I’ve been using to make the smile in Mr. Valiant’s smiley face, and I look down.

Oh no.

The smiley face has become a frown. Perhaps I can still save it. Or . . . just turn the cup around so that the smile is back upright.

I keep one eye on the twins as I pass the steaming cup of cappuccino over to Mr. Valiant.

Mr. Valiant, with his shock of white hair and round face lined with wrinkles and laugh lines, reminds me of a grandfather . . . if I had a grandfather still alive, that is. He smiles at me as he takes the cup from me. “Thank you, Zelda.”

“Anytime, Mr. V.,” I say brightly, watching the McAlister twins take their place in line.

Jamie and Julie McAlister were in the same year as me during high school. I had classes with both twins and usually would sit in the same row with them, as my last name, Nichols, was typically a desk or three behind McAlister. But while Jamie and Julie were popular, easily liked, and just had the best time of high school, well . . .