‘Yes, I’m sure,’ he said with a conviction she felt deep in her chest.
Letting out a breathy laugh, she said, ‘This is all happening so quickly. I don’t know what to think—’
‘I understand why you might be unsure about restarting something between us,’ he murmured, cutting her off. ‘We live in different cities, live different lives, but we can work around that.’
She swallowed hard, her thoughts spinning wildly. Could she finally be about to get her Caleb back?
‘This would make me happy and I think it would make you happy too—you and me, here together, tonight.’ His mouth curved into a seductive smile, making her insides quiver and her heart leap about in her chest.
Heat rose to her face as a strange sort of panic settled in her stomach. Was she ready for this? After all this time, regretting what had happened between them and hoping, wishing she could do something to make it better—that she could go back in time and do it all differently—now that she was actually here in the moment, a moment where her whole life could change, she was afraid. Terrified.
What if it all went wrong again?
‘It seems too soon to be jumping into something, especially after your accident—’ she hedged.
He shrugged away her concern. ‘I’m fine now. You don’t need to worry about me any more.’ He moved even closer, making the air crackle around her. ‘And I thought you were the one who liked to take every positive out of a situation.’
There was no comeback for that.
‘I know you, Elena.’
‘You do?’ she asked breathlessly.
‘Yes. And I know we still want the same thing.’
The look of desire in his eyes made her whole body shiver with longing.
‘And what’s that?’ she said, knowing exactly what he was going to say, but hoping he wouldn’t because then she’d have to make a really difficult decision.
‘That you still want me as much as I want you.’
He was so close now, the feel of his soft breath on her skin making her lips tingle with the craving to feel his mouth on hers again. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was aware that she should stop this, draw away and be the sensible one, insist they talk about all that had happened between them first, point out that it was too soon for them to fall into bed together. That she didn’t think it was a good idea.
But that would have been a lie. And she wasn’t going to lie to him any more.
So instead she said, ‘Yes, I want you.’
Before she could qualify that with ‘but I still don’t know if it’s a good idea right now’ he’d closed the tiny gap between them and pressed his mouth hard to hers.
Her body responded without conscious thought, her lips opening against his to allow his tongue to dip into her mouth, tasting her, possessing her.
Being careful not to crush his broken rib, she pressed herself against him and felt his arms slip tightly around her back, holding her close to him. His strength enveloped her, making her senses reel with pleasure, and she stumbled backwards as he moved forwards, guiding her gently but purposefully towards the corridor where his empty bedroom waited for them.
They reached the bed in a tangle of limbs, with her grabbing at his clothes with a frenzy and a need that took her by surprise.
Elena had never felt so wanted, so worshipped, as Caleb tugged his shirt over his head, not seeming to care that he was ripping buttons off in his haste. She almost stopped when she heard him grunt as his broken rib must have twanged with pain but, before she could say a word, he shook his head and said, ‘I’m fine,’ grasping the straps tied behind her head to release the halter neck of her dress then tug at the zip so the silky material fell open and glided down to pool at her feet.
‘So beautiful,’ he muttered as he bent to kiss her again, sliding his hands down her back, tracing the lines of her body with his fingertips and sending her into raptures of ecstasy. Just the feel of his hands on her was enough to make her shudder with joy.
‘There’s nothing like making up for lost time,’ he murmured against her mouth and all she could do was smile and nod in agreement, her brain too fuzzy with lust to help her form anything like intelligible words.
He guided her gently backwards until her legs hit the side of the bed, but she knew she’d have to be the one to lead this because of his injury, so she wrapped her hands around his arms and steered him round so the bed was behind him instead and used the momentum of him being slightly off balance to make him first sit, then lie down.
Then she climbed carefully on top of him, kissing him hard and covetously, the sense of finally being allowed to have him back after all these years of yearning for it making her frantic and greedy.
And some time shortly after that her brain shut down completely and all that was left was the feel of their two bodies moving together and sweet, sweet fulfilment.
* * *
The next morning Elena woke to find sun pouring in through the large warehouse-sized windows of Caleb’s bedroom.
Blinking blearily, it took her a moment for the events of the night before to rush back to her—and remember exactly what had happened between them.
She’d slept with Caleb.
And it had been amazing.
In the heat of the moment, with his mouth on hers and his body pressed so close they’d almost become one, she’d completely lost herself in him, hazily justifying her easy capitulation by telling herself she owed him some happiness, though in truth she knew deep down she’d done it for her own purely selfish reasons. She’d wanted him so much it had caused her physical pain to imagine tearing herself away from him and stopping it.
And it had been such an incredible night, so full of passion and pleasure.
But it all felt like a surreal dream now.
Turning to look at Caleb lying next to her, she felt her insides flutter and heat with pleasure.
In truth, she was still confused about his sudden change in attitude towards her, especially after he’d been so vociferous at their first meeting about not wanting to have anything to do with her again, but she guessed that after helping him turn Carter’s opinion of him around he must have felt she’d paid her dues.
Not that she’d done it for that reason alone. She’d wanted him to be successful with the meeting; she could sense how much it meant to him to win the partnership deal and keep his business thriving—the company he’d worked so hard to build from nothing, just like she had with hers. She wanted him to be happy. To be the man she remembered again.
Trying not to think about how precarious the future of her own company still was, she watched him for a while, his eyelids flickering gently in REM sleep and his wide brow smooth now without his regulation frown creasing it.
She’d been happy too last night, happier than she could remember being in a very long time. Because of him. The guilt and regret that had followed her around for so long that it had felt like an intrinsic part of her seemed to have vanished, leaving a strange, yearning ache in its wake. One she hoped to satisfy with something new and positive and exciting.
A relationship with Caleb, perhaps.
Pushing away a strange nervous sensation in her chest, she slid out of bed and went into his en suite bathroom to take a quick shower, lathering herself all over with his zesty-smelling body wash.
The way he’d looked at her last night when they’d arrived back in his apartment had shaken her to her core. There had been such