Laughing warmly, he pulled himself up enough to rid himself of his underwear. Then he allowed her to pull him back down over her, and he slid his hands under her hips to massage the firm flesh of her ass.

Still trying to kiss him, Kelly closed her hands over his cock in a way that made him choke on a curse. Then she was trying to guide his erection toward her entrance, and he hissed when she rubbed the head against the wet, swollen flesh of her arousal.

Looking in her eyes, he found her mouth again. Kissed her long and deep. He tried to show her how much he loved her, although he was having some trouble focusing on the kiss, since her insistent hands were still trying to get him into position.

Finally she gasped, “Caleb! I want you inside me right now. Why are you taking your time?”

“Sorry,” he murmured, chuckling again. “I didn’t realize there was such a big hurry.” His fingers joined hers, brushing along his cock until he was able to slip a finger into her entrance. She was very hot and soaking wet, and her muscles clung deliciously to the intrusion of his finger. “Eager, are we?”

She scowled up at him, despite her hum of pleasure as he used his finger to do a little exploring. “Don’t be smug. It seems like you’re kind of eager too.”

To prove her point, she rubbed her palm in tight circles over the head of his cock, and Caleb jerked dramatically and burst out, “Fuck, yeah!”

Having effectively made her case, Kelly smiled up at him sweetly. “That’s what I thought. Now, can you fuck me, please?”

Returning her smile, Caleb positioned himself more comfortably between her widely parted legs. Used his erection to nudge and tease her until she was groaning and quivering with impatience. But then he finally pushed inside of her.

They both released their breath as he fit himself into the tight sheath of her body. Caleb closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, feeling unexpectedly drained after all the events of the day and therefore nervous about the extent of his control. Fortunately, Kelly’s muscles were wet and clasping him in erratic flutters, so he was pretty sure it wouldn’t take her very long to come.

Pulling up her legs so that he’d sink into her even more deeply, Kelly twined her arms around his neck, holding him in a close embrace. She pumped her hips a couple of times. “Caleb,” she prompted breathlessly. “Any time now.”

He adjusted his weight onto one arm so that he wouldn’t crush Kelly, and then he reached down to guide her thigh up to where he wanted it.

Responding to his silent request, she wrapped both legs around his waist. Closing her eyes and whining in pleasure, she still managed to ask drily, “Better?”

“Yes,” he gasped, shaking a little at the sensations of sinking deeper inside her. He loved having her legs around him. Loved feeling like she wanted him deep, like she didn’t want to let him pull out. Her body was the most luscious home he’d ever known, and he clung to any evidence that she felt the same way about his.

He moved his forearms until they were crossed under her neck, and he kissed her again as he started to thrust.

He had great plans for keeping their lovemaking slow and leisurely tonight, but as soon as he began to move inside her, Kelly started bucking her hips up urgently and whimpering with pretty little sounds of pleasure and impatience.

Her obvious need for him broke the lingering threads of his control. With a rough groan, he pumped his pelvis more rapidly, and his kiss became hungry and clumsy. He could feel his climax building with dangerous speed, and he tore his mouth away from hers so he could try to regain his focus.

It didn’t help. Because now he could see Kelly’s lovely face. It was flushed and twisted with the sensations washing over her, and her eyes were hot and wild, never looking away from his face. She was already panting and was still making those erotic little sounds every time he drove his cock into her.

“Kelly,” he moaned, the one word almost a plea, squeezing his eyes shut and burrowing his face into the space beside her neck in a vain attempt to hold back his release. It was almost embarrassing. He was usually so much better than this—he usually lasted so much longer.

She was gasping against the side of his head, and her breath was warm and moist. “God, Caleb,” she choked. “Faster. And harder. I’m almost there.” Her body was writhing frantically beneath him, her legs tightening around him with each of his thrusts and her fingers digging painfully into the skin of his back.

He tried to kiss her again, but they just moaned and panted against each other’s mouths. He accelerated their motion, trying to please her, making his strokes shorter, faster, and more powerful. Her inner muscles had contracted around his throbbing cock, and the tighter feeling made him want to howl.

Then Caleb felt his balls tightening, and—in a panic—he reared up, clinging to the last of his control. “Come, blossom,” he demanded roughly, clenching his jaw until it ached. “Come. I can’t…”

Her whimpers were louder and more desperate now, and her face was contorted with effort and rising pleasure. “Yeah,” she gasped, jerking her hips wildly as she tried to claim her orgasm. “Caleb…Yeah…I’m…God, Caleb!”

The last word was a sob as her body shattered beneath him. She shuddered through her orgasm, but Caleb could see that she was trying to keep her eyes open. On the first spasm of her channel around him, he let himself go, thrusting hard a few more times before he let his pleasure erupt.

He choked on her name as her muscles contracted steadily around him, and then the white rush of sensation overwhelmed him. He forced himself to keep watching her, and their eyes met in a vague, hot blur as he released himself in spurts into her quivering body.

He was weak and gasping when the pleasure finally faded, and he had to force himself not to collapse with his whole weight on top of her. Her arms and legs were still clinging to him, as if she couldn’t bear to let him go.

Caleb never wanted her to.

“Caleb,” she said at last, her voice just as breathless as he felt.

“Yeah,” he panted, nuzzling her neck and not finding the strength yet to pull away from her.

“Are we really all right?” she asked softly, her hands now stroking the little scratches she’d made in his skin. “After everything that happened? Do you think we’re going to really be all right?”

Her words weren’t entirely coherent, but he knew exactly what she was asking. And for the first time in so long, the answer didn’t scare him. “Yeah. It doesn’t have to be perfect for it to be…to be good. I love you. You love me. That’s never going to change. If we can survive this, then I’m sure we’re going to make it.”

He paused. Added, because this was still so new to him, “You think so too, right?”

She pressed a damp kiss just over his ear. “Oh, yes.”

They hugged and lay together in silence until he wondered if she was starting to go to sleep.

But finally she asked out of the blue, “So, seriously, what do you think you’ll do for a job?”

“I really have no idea.”

“I guess you’ll probably get a bunch of offers. With your résumé, I mean. You’ll be asked to sit on boards or do all kinds of things.”

“Yeah.” He was sure he would get offers like that. He wasn’t planning to accept them.

“You won’t take them, will you?” she asked, as if she’d read his mind. “Because it will still be a result of what…”

“What I did. Yes. I won’t take them.”

“So what do you want to do?”

He smiled and shook his head, nestling her closer to him. “I have no idea what I want to do. I’ll figure it out. It’s a strange feeling—being jobless like this, without any direction at all.”

“Well,” she said, a teasing note in her tone that warmed his heart, “at least you have plenty of money to tide you over in the meantime.”