Fated for Love (19 page)

CALLIE DIDN’T WANT to breathe, or think, and she definitely didn’t want to move from beneath Wes. He exhaled heavily against her neck, his heart thundering against hers. His body shuddered with aftershocks as he came down from their earth-shattering lovemaking. The tent was quiet, save for their breathing and something else. Quieter breathing. Her eyes followed the sound to where Sweets lay sleeping by the tent flaps. She smiled and despite herself let out a soft laugh, causing Wes to lift his head. She pressed it back down to her shoulder, and he nuzzled against her.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “I just noticed Sweets sleeping over there. I didn’t even know she followed us in.”

“She goes where I go.” He kissed her neck and lifted his head again. Callie wrapped an arm around his middle, as if she were strong enough to hold him there.

“I’m not going anywhere, Cal. I just want to see you.”

Thank goodness
. “’Kay. Sorry.”

He kissed her, and it sent a tingling sensation down to her toes.

“I don’t want this night to end either.” He stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I don’t want us to end.”

She heard a little mewing sound and realized it had come from her. She’d done that a few times now, and she had no idea how to keep from doing it. The things Wes said, the way he looked at her, like she meant something special to him, tugged at her heart in ways that made her want to crawl inside his world and have him crawl inside hers.

“Me either,” she managed.

“Sleep with me tonight. Stay with me, right here, or we can sleep in your tent and I’ll get up before sunrise and come back here if you don’t want your friends to know. I just want to be with you.”

She loved that he would do that for her. “I think they probably already know.”

“I kind of got that idea when they all magically got tired at the same time.”

Callie smiled. “They’re the best friends I could ever have. They’re like the sisters my parents never gave me.”

“Are you sure you’re okay staying? You might feel differently in the morning. Or when you see them.” His voice was serious and compassionate.

“It’s not like the walk of shame in college. I’m twenty-six, and you’re…How old are you?” Gosh, she felt like she knew him so well, and she didn’t even know his age. Heroes and heroines fell in love fast in all of the books she read, and she never fully believed it could happen in real life. Boy, was she wrong.

His brows drew together. “Thirty-two. Old enough to have sown my oats and know what I want in life.” He looked at her for a long time, then whispered, “I want
you
, Callie. Just you.”

She closed her eyes as the words sank in.

You have me. All of me.

WAKING TO BIRDS singing and sun warming the tent didn’t begin to compare to the safe, loving feeling of waking up in Wes’s arms. Wes came awake slowly, and when their eyes met, Callie’s body warmed. Sweets licked their faces, and without a word, Wes let Sweets out of the tent and they made love again, slower and quieter this time, savoring every second of intimacy, before washing up and greeting the day. They hadn’t heard a peep from the others, and Callie assumed they were still asleep. While Wes started a small fire and heated water for coffee, she tiptoed over to her tent, still wearing Wes’s T-shirt and her panties. She drew the flaps open and found all three of her friends sitting on her cot, grinning like fools.

“Yay!” Kathie pretended to clap, then shot a fist into the air.

Bonnie clicked a photo—or twelve—and Christine blew her a kiss.

“Oh my God, you guys.” She whipped around and pulled the flaps of her tent closed. “How long have you been waiting for us?”

“Long enough.” Kathie wiggled her eyebrows. “Damn girl, you look…freshly fucked and something else.”

Callie dug through her bag and changed her clothes, ignoring their banter.

“She looks like she’s in that honeymoon stage,” Bonnie said, still taking pictures.

“Do you have to take pictures of my butt?” Callie asked as she tugged on clean underwear.

“It’s for the morning-after collage.” Bonnie took a picture of Callie scowling.

“Honeymoon stage,” Callie mumbled under her breath.

“You’re right, Cal. It’s not the honeymoon stage. It’s too new even for that.” Christine wore shorts and a pink T-shirt with
JUST LAUGH ALREADY
written across her chest. She already had her visor firmly in place, even though they were inside the tent.

Callie pulled on her shorts and a short-sleeved sweater.

“It’s the lust stage.” Kathie lay back on the cot. Her ponytail hung off the other side, and she crossed one leg over the other with a sigh. “I love that stage.”

Callie brushed her teeth using the basin and bottled water, washed her face again, having already practically taken a sponge bath with Wes, and sat beside Kathie.

“It’s more than that.”

Kathie bolted upright. “More?”

Callie nodded. “Remember how Bon knew she loved Mark after their first date? You said you met the man you were going to marry before you even slept with him.”

Bonnie turned the camera on herself and took a selfie. “Truth.”

“And, Christine, you knew Billy was the right one for you when—”

“It was when he first wrapped his arms around me. Before our lips even touched.” Christine met Callie’s gaze. “He set those baby blues on me, and I died and went to hell because of all the dirty things I wanted to do to him.”

Callie laughed. “And, Kath, you and Paul took a little longer, but when you knew, you knew, right?”

“We took eighty-four hours exactly. Two dates, third base, and one night when he sat and read his legal briefs while I wrote until three in the morning. I knew we were perfect for each other.” Kathie hugged her close. “More?”

Callie nodded. “More.”

She wasn’t sure exactly what happened next. There was a flurry of squeals, hugs, and
Oh my Gods!
Then Sweets’s nose poked through the flaps of her tent and she barked, and suddenly they were shouting over her barks.

“Did you tell him?” Kathie stood on the cot.

Still wrapped in Bonnie’s arms, Callie answered, “No. God, no.”

Sweets barked more, her head still sticking through the flaps.

“You have to,” Christine yelled. She snagged the camera from Bonnie’s hands.

The flaps of the tent flew open and Wes stood before them with worried eyes. “You guys okay?” He scanned the tent, and only then did Callie realize what they must look like.

Bonnie was hugging her beside the cot, atop which Kathie stood, bouncing up and down, and Christine was snapping pictures of Wes. He looked so serious, and she was so happy, that she burst out laughing, then tried to stifle it by covering her mouth, which made her snort.
Snort!
That set Sweets into another barking fit and sent Kathie to her knees with laughter. Bonnie crossed her arms, trying to refrain from cracking up, but she burst out laughing and grabbed hold of Christine, taking her down to the floor with her and catching the camera on the way.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Callie managed between laughs. She covered her mouth again.

“Tell him!” Kathie squealed, then fell back and tumbled off the cot.

Wes shook his head, but his smile told Callie that maybe he wouldn’t turn tail and run from the crazy females in the little tent after all.

“Shh,” she managed.

“Aw, go ahead.” Bonnie held her camera to her eye. “I can get it on film.”

Wes reached for Callie’s hand. “Tell me what?”

That sobered them all up. Even Sweets stopped barking. She wagged her tail and shoved her big head into Bonnie’s lap. Christine reached over and pulled Sweets toward her, freeing Bonnie to take pictures.

“Um.” With her heart in her throat she glanced at her friends. Telling Wes how she really felt would be a big risk, even after what he’d said to her last night. That was said in the heat of passion, and she knew sex could skew people’s feelings, even if it didn’t skew hers. She was as sure as she’d been since day one, when he’d walked into the library and turned her stomach inside out with nothing more than a smile and a voice that still cut right to her core. Four weeks she’d waited for Thursdays with bated breath, choosing her outfits more carefully based on the day he would appear. Since the first day they’d met, every time she filled her car with gas or went to the grocery store, she secretly hoped she’d run into him. But Wes Braden wasn’t everywhere. She never did run into him, except Thursdays, when he came to her.

He came to her.

You came to me
.

His words swirled in her head—and her heart—
I love the person you are
…
I want you, Callie. Just you
. She could blow it. Tell him how she felt and be jumping the gun. Or she could lay it all on the table and…

He reached for her other hand and gazed lovingly into her eyes.

She knew. Even if he didn’t.

It was now or never.

She shrugged. “Nothing, really. Just that I love you.” She said it in the same vein she might say
I like the color blue
or
Let’s take the bus.
And then her body betrayed her; her knees weakened and her limbs trembled.

She’d said it.

Aloud.

In front of everyone.

Wes held her gaze. He didn’t say a word, and every second sucked a little more air from her lungs. Wes stepped closer, until they were thigh to thigh, his hands pressed against her lower back, and in an equally blasé voice, he said, “Yeah? Heck, I love you, too. Want some coffee?”

What?
She couldn’t have heard him right. She shot a look at Kathie, whose hands were clasped together in front of her. She lifted her chin toward Wes, and Callie turned back to him.

“You...”

“Yup.” The left side of his mouth lifted into a smile. “Now that we have that out of the way…”

She jumped into his strong arms and kissed his entire face, eyelids and all. “You love me?”

He laughed, loud, deep, and filled with warmth. “You snagged my heart, Cal. I never had a chance in hell of not loving you.”

“I think I just fell into one of Callie’s fairy tales.” Christine patted her hand over her heart; then she bent over Sweets. “What do you think, Sweets? Can you share your man with this incredible friend of mine?”

Sweets let out one loud
woof,
and everyone laughed.

Bonnie grabbed Christine and Kathie’s hands. “Come on, girls. I think these kids need a little privacy.”

“Aw, Mom,” Christine teased as she followed her out.

Wes’s eyes never left Callie’s as he lowered his mouth to hers and took her in a long, soulful kiss. He held her so easily, one hand under her butt, the other on her back, as if he’d been carrying her around for years. He looked into her eyes with a serious, narrow stare that nearly stopped her heart.

“Hear me when I say this, Cal. I’ve never said it to anyone other than my family before. It means something to me, and I hope it means something to you.”

Her throat thickened.

“I love you, Calliope Barnes. I love the way you care about your friends and the way you nibble on that luscious lip of yours. I love your voice and the way you steal looks at me when you think I’m not looking. I love being close to you, and…” He glanced at her friends. “And more.”

He rested his head against her forehead.

If he hadn’t been holding her, she’d have slithered to the ground like melted butter. Callie wrapped her arms around Wes’s neck and pressed her cheek to his.

“I love you, too, Wes. So much.” Warm tears slid between their cheeks. She swallowed against the happiness that threatened to render her mute, and in an effort to lighten her thoughts so she was capable of standing on her own again, she added, “Now we can have coffee.”

WES’S BROTHER LUKE had told him that falling in love with his girlfriend, Daisy, had changed his entire life, and at the time, Wes thought his brother had lost his mind. How can anything change a person’s entire life? The way Luke painted it, he awoke feeling happier, and every task he did throughout the day seemed easier. He looked forward to Daisy’s texts and phone calls, but nothing, he claimed, could compare to knowing he’d be with her every night and wake up beside her every morning. For a guy like his brother Luke, who was restless to start with, that was a tall order, and Wes was happy for Luke, even if he didn’t quite believe his claims. After loving Callie last night—
loving
, he repeated to himself—not fucking, not banging, not using her as stress relief, but full-on, no-two-ways-about-it
loving
her, he believed the things Luke had said. Because this morning, and for the last several hours, his world had brightened, cheered, and simply become better.

Better
. It seemed like a silly thought. One word was much too simple for such intense feelings. Surely there was a more accurate—more magnanimous—description for all that he felt. He glanced at Callie, sitting in the grass, reading, up the hill from the river where he and the others were fishing. She stroked Sweets’s head as the pup slept across her lap. He swallowed against the fullness he felt for her. He realized that it didn’t matter what words he chose to describe what he felt. His world had evolved into something more, and there wasn’t a chance in hell his feelings for her would change.

Callie glanced up, and their eyes met. She smiled and lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers in a wave. He remembered those fingers touching herself and stroking him last night, how sweet they’d tasted, and this morning when she had them wrapped around his…He pushed the thought away to keep from getting hard while he was supposed to be teaching her friends how to fish.

“I got one!” Christine stood on an outcropping of rocks above the river. She leveraged the bottom of the rod against her stomach and leaned back as she reeled it in.

“Set the hook,” Wes directed.

“I did. This baby isn’t going anywhere.”

“Yay, Christine!” Callie yelled from her safe perch away from the fast-moving water.

“Get your butt down here and cheer me on,” Christine yelled.