Page 32 of A Courage of the Chosen

“All alone. Finally.”

Chapter 10

Elsie

Callahan presses himself into my back, his weight pushing me against the door as the heat radiating off him burns through my shirt.

A hand moves from where it’s fisted on the wood to cup my jaw in his large palm. He angles my head so he can run his nose along the length of my neck, and my skin puckers in his wake.

“You smell fucking insane. You always have. You taste even better, though.” He bites into my flesh, sinking his teeth into the connection between my neck and shoulder. His stubble adds to the sensation, and the friction of it scrapes over me perfectly.

I moan, my hips moving of their own accord, seeking him out. Callahan’s hardness nestles against the top of my ass, so close to where I need him, but there are far too many clothes between us.

My hand reaches back and weaves through his hair so I can hold him against me. His tongue swipes at the sting of his bite, and I can’t say which sensation I prefer. Maybe it’s both. Maybe I love the specific brand of pain that only comes at his hands, and the way he always soothes it.

“I’m assuming there’s a bathroom somewhere?” His mouth slides up to my ear while his need writhes along our bond. Bolts of pleasure shoot through me as he tugs on my earlobe with a gentle nip.

“Yes,” I pant aloud.

“Always so responsive for me, baby. I fucking love it. Bathroom. Now. I want you wet and naked.”

“We can do that right here, Cal.”

His chuckle ruffles the strands of my hair and he pushes himself harder against me.

“We’ll get to that.” He curls an arm around my waist and, in an impressive move, he flips and lifts me at the same time. He takes my ass in his hands as I wrap myself around him.

“Where is it?” he asks, gray orbs bouncing between my eyes and lips.

“Off the bedroom,” is what I manage to get out before his mouth hungrily seeks mine.

I don’t even register Callahan moving, completely lost to just how right he feels under my touch.

The marble of the counter next to the sink is a shock when he deposits me there. He untangles himself and reluctantly pulls away, but not before he tells me to stay exactly as I am.

I brace my hands behind me, legs spread wide, panting heavily as he nears the massive white tub and begins filling it. He pours a jasmine-scented soap in, and the smell rises higher with the steam that quickly fills the room.

“I didn’t take you for a bath guy.” I’m more breathless than I’d like to admit. A fact that pleases Callahan, judging by the look on his face.

“I’m partial to them. And it’s been a while since I had one.”

Something we have in common, it seems.

“How do you know I like them?” I tease, biting my lip, and loving the way his pupils contract with the motion.

He’s on me in the next minute, body resting between my open legs and hands braced either side of my hips. “Because I know you better than you think I do.”

“Is that so?” I wrap a hand around his wrist and slide it up over his arm. He’d rolled his sleeves up during dinner, exposing his thick forearms, tan skin, and the tattoo inked onto his left arm, the Celtic runes and whirls disappearing beneath his shirt. My fingers trace the pattern, and a small shiver works its way through him at my touch.

“Mmhmm, I saw the way you eyed the bath in my rooms at Morven.”

The room I shared with Reyne only had a shower, and his impressive tub was seriously tempting, but it didn’t seem right to take the time for myself when we were on the verge of war. And my thoughts didn’t like it when I was still for more than a few minutes, except to sleep. Even more so after I escaped being Tavish’s captive.

As my hand caresses up his bicep, he murmurs his next confession a millimeter away from my mouth. “I thought about that a lot.”

“Thought about what?” I reply, my tongue darting out to wet my lower lip, ready for him.

“You. In my bath. I fisted my cock too many times to the thought of how the bubbles would barely cover your perfect body. How it would tease me with glimpses of you. How you’d look with a flush in your cheeks as I take what’s mine.”