Delilah awoke to the sensation of a male arm tucked around her waist, holding her securely against a hard, male body. That was a new sensation for her. Not unpleasant just…surprising. She’d never woken up in the arms of a man, a lover. She’d never wanted to wake up with someone, period.
She had to admit, she liked Caleb’s arm around her. She looked down and absently noted the contrast between their skin color and marveled that it didn’t bother her in the least how different they were. Caleb Tasker was a man unlike any man. Kind, loyal, honest. She’d tried to warn him away last night, but he’d just waved away her concern like he was swatting away a pesky mosquito.
She would miss him when he left and that terrified her slightly. She harbored no delusion that whatever existed between them, the pull that kept drawing her toward him, could survive three thousand miles. Yet, even thinking about him leaving was like a sure kick in the gut. It made her wonder what she would do when he wasn’t around to create all these dates.
She was going to dance, that’s what she was going to do. To continue with her life and her carefully laid plans until she had the life she wanted, away from The Pony and every other fucking job like it. On Friday she took the test to get her GED, and once she had that little certificate her life would change. It’s what had fueled her for years and damned if she was going to give up on her plans for anything.
Her internal musings were cut short as Caleb’s hand around her waist tightened. He stretched behind her, and she used the moment to turn onto her side so she lay face to face.
“Good morning,” he murmured and bent to kiss her lingeringly on the mouth.
“Good morning to you,” she replied. When she’d finally gotten to his place, they’d both been exhausted. They’d snuggled in bed under the blankets, leaving on their underwear.
“It’s fantastic to wake up with you in my arms, Birthday Girl.”
Her eyes widened. “Right. I need to go now and buy a tombstone. I’ll have it say Here lies Delilah Rose, coming while she goes.”
“Oh, that’s awful!” he said with a chuckle.
“Stick your fingers in my panties and I’ll be a happy goner. Speaking of hands in naughty places,” she murmured as her hand began trailing down his rock-hard abs to the band on his boxer briefs.
He halted her progress and she pouted at him, as if he’d just denied her a tasty treat.
“Can’t I play?” she asked.
“Babe, I would love nothing more than to have you play with me,” he murmured.
“Okay,” she said and reached for his erection that strained the fabric on his boxer briefs.
Once again, he halted her hand. “But--”
She blinked up at him. “What? I can go brush my teeth real quick if that’s turning you off.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want a hand job. Not anymore.”
Her heart stuttered in her chest as excitement cranked up her arousal. She knew what he wanted and she wanted it too.
“Yes, Caleb,” she murmured, staring into his eyes. “I want you, too.”
He grabbed her hips and maneuvered her until she was flush against his body. His big, hard cock nudged against her panties, and she wiggled a little to shed them before throwing her leg over his thigh to open herself up more. His fingers gripped her thigh and he thrust, his boxer briefs now the only barrier separating them. His head swooped down, his mouth claimed her lips, and she opened for him, deepening the kiss.
All coherent thought had fled. They had touched each other, teased each other, but now, finally, she was going to have all of him. He drove her crazy with need, touching her, worshiping her, his hands quickly divesting her of her t-shirt so he could tug her nipples into hard pebbles.
He broke the kiss to nibble his way to her ear. “Are you sure?” he asked in a near breathless tone. “Are you sure you want me? Because Jesus Christ, Delilah, I want you.”
“You want to fuck my pussy, Caleb?” she said on the tail end of a moan. “You want to pound your big dick into my little box?”
“Fuck, yeah,” he answered back, biting her ear lobe. “I want you in every fucking way possible. I want you so much I may never get my fill of you.”
“Then take me,” she told him.
He flipped her onto her back, looming over her and staring at her with eyes hot and hungry. She grabbed the waistband of his underwear and yanked them down and immediately took hold of his shaft, using the precum that leaked from the slit to coat the velvet skin. His forearms held him up, his muscles rippling as he undulated against her while she pumped his cock.
“I love how big, how hard your cock is,” she moaned.
He kissed his way down her body. Over her nipples, down her belly, circling her navel before burying his face between her thighs. He breathed hotly against her before his tongue licked her clit. Teasing her until her orgasm approached, then backed off to leave her hanging, driving her out of her mind.
“Please,” she begged, panting. “I need you in me.”
He moved off her so swiftly that her head swam. She cracked her eyes open and saw him reach toward the nightstand to grab a condom. With a wicked little grin, she took the foil packet, and holding his hip, bent her head to engulf him down in one gulp, relaxing the muscles in the back of her throat to swallow him all the way.
“Holy fuck!” he groaned.
She made sure to tease his slit, sucking on him like he was a straw. After bringing him to full mast, she opened the condom and formed a circle with her lips to place the rubber against her mouth. Using her deep throat talent once again suckled him, pushing the condom onto his rock-hard dick.
“You’ve got a beautifully talented mouth,” he murmured. Then he flipped the tables on her and pushed her back onto the bed, stalking her like he was lion and she his prey. He grabbed her ankles and pulled, sliding her down until her ass touched the edge. He pushed her thighs wide, and she waited with breathless anticipation.
“Wrap those sexy legs around me,” he ordered.
He angled his hips, rubbed the tip of his covered cock against her slit, and then pushed. He breached her with one thrust, and she arched her back in bliss. Caleb locked her legs around his hips and that drove her pelvis upward, off the bed, allowing his penetration to go even deeper.
“Oh yes!” she moaned.
His hips pumped into her with long, steady strokes.
“Harder, Caleb. I want it harder!”
Her plea seemed to drive him wild, and he gave her exactly what she wanted, pounding into her with controlled force. She bucked as much as her position would allow but mostly, she just took his thrusts, loving how he worked her body even tighter.
“Oh god, Delilah,” he grunted.
“Yes!” she cried. “Come with me!”
The frenzied need for release wiped out all coherent thought. She flew over the edge and a second later, he came with a shout.
Bodies slick with sweat, he let go of her thighs and collapsed. Her legs fell from him, but she still cradled him with her thighs. They both panted. Delilah was unable to form any coherent words as she floated back down to earth.
He kissed her cheek and then nuzzled her neck for a moment before pushing himself off her sweaty body. He slipped off the condom and tied it off before tossing it into the small waste basket near the bed. He held out his hand for her.
“Come take a shower with me?”
With a lazy grin she slipped her hand into his and he pulled her up and into his arms. He threaded his fingers together against her lower back and pressed his forehead to hers.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“For?”
“You.” He pulled back and smiled at her. “Want to go to the beach, birthday girl? Afterwards we can head into town and find you a cake and some candles. I can attempt to sing you happy birthday but if your eardrums start to bleed let me know.”
“Deal,” she said with a laugh.
****
After showering and eating a late lunch, they made their way down to the beach. She wore a pair of Daisy Dukes and a tank top while he sported colorful long shorts depicting some type of Hawaiian pattern. He held her hand and she carried a large straw purse that held water, towels, and sunscreen.
“That’s Jake’s house,” he told her as they walked past.
Above the top of a solid fence, she noticed a garage being built. “Ah, is that your car benefactor?”
“Yeah, he’s been a good sport about it.”
When they got to the sand, he waved at a couple of people playing beach volleyball. Delilah realized the man was Jake Coolidge and turned surprised eyes on Caleb.
“Your friend is the actor Jake Coolidge?” she asked.
“Yeah, but I’ve never seen his movies.”
“You haven’t?”
“Is he any good?”
She gave a strangulated chuckle. “You could say that. He was in last year’s highest grossing movie.”
“Really? He told me that most of his stuff is a direct-to-video type of thing.”
“Before last year, yeah. In fact, he surprised everyone by joining a tv show instead of pursuing bigger leading roles.”
“You seem to know a lot about him.”
She shrugged. “It is L.A. You can’t really escape Hollywood gossip around here.”
Jake waved them over.
“Wanna go meet him?” he asked her.
“Um, okay, sure.”
As they approached, Jake left his two volleyball playing girls and jogged over to them. Delilah couldn’t help but compare Jake’s sleek physique to Caleb’s muscular brawn and realized there wasn’t any competition between the two men. She shot a quick look at Caleb, realizing that she never thought she’d be so fascinated by a white man before, but Caleb stole her breath with every look.
The men hugged and then Jake introduced his two women friends as Bunny and Trella. They reminded Delilah of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends, long blonde hair and blue eyes with identical fake, simpering smiles. They both sidled up next to Jake as he held out his hand to Delilah.
“So nice to meet you,” he said to Delilah. As he held her hand, he gave her a measured, narrowed up and down glance. She pulled her hand away and had to restrain herself from wiping the feel of him off on her shorts.
Jake gave her a knowing smile that had Delilah looking away toward the ocean.
“Want to join us for a round of volleyball?” Jake asked.
“Sounds good,” Caleb replied.
He squeezed her hand. When Delilah looked at him, he raised his eyebrows in a silent question of acquiescence. Caleb looked so excited that she didn’t know how to say she didn’t want to, so she nodded.
Bunny and Trella didn’t say a word as they moved back to their side of the net. Jake joined them, allowing her and Caleb on the other side.
“You know, I’ve never played beach volleyball before,” Caleb called out, grinning.
“Then prepare to be stomped!” Jake yelled back.
“But I’m very proficient in snow volleyball!”
Jake doubled over laughing. “Dude, you’re hilarious!”
For the next hour, they played until Delilah lost some of her initial trepidation. She and Caleb were a good team and managed to win a few games. As the sun began to set and twilight covered the ground, they all mutually called a halt to the game and walked over to the blue cooler to grab cold water bottles.
“Great game, my man,” Jake said to Caleb, holding his fist out.
Caleb bumped it with his. “Sand is a little different than snow, but I think I held my own.”
“Hey,” Jake said. “You two want to have dinner with us?”
Caleb glanced over at Delilah. “You know, it’s Delilah’s birthday so I’m going to treat her to a very nice romantic dinner.”
Delilah smiled, feeling relieved. She didn’t know why but she felt very uneasy around Jake Coolidge, and it had nothing to do with his celebrity status. As Jake packed up his cooler and his two girls slipped some skimpy clothes over their bikinis while she folded their towels, Caleb spotted a child who had fallen in the sand and started to cry. He rushed over to help the little tyke clean the sand out of his mouth. Delilah watched him talk to the mother and sooth the crying child, realizing he would make a wonderful father.
It broke her heart a little because she wouldn’t be the woman sharing a life with him. Caleb deserved a good woman, a virtuous partner in life, and that was something she was definitely not.
“Hey, Delilah,” Jake said as he walked over to her. She tensed and gave him a cautious look. “Look, Caleb is a great guy.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “He is.”
“I’ve never met a man quite like him,” Jake continued. “Trustworthiness is a rare commodity now-a-days but especially here in L.A.”
Delilah was sure where this conversation was going.
Jake looked at Caleb, who began to walk back toward them.
“Listen,” he said. “He borrows my car every night to see you so I can guess what your profession is and I want you to make him happy the rest of the time that he’s here.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”
“Money is not an option,” he told her. “You name your price and I’ll write you a check.”
“A check?” she questioned stupidly as she tried to process what he was saying. It didn’t take her brain long to put the pieces together.
“I’m good for it,” he defended.
“You think I’m a hooker?”
He held up a hand. “I don’t mean to insult you--”
“You just offered me money to ‘make Caleb happy’?” she asked, using her fingers as quotation marks. “How is that not insulting?”
He blinked, looking confused. “But he says you work at night.”
“I’m a dancer, not a prostitute!” she snapped.
“There’s a difference?” he asked.
The sad thing was he honestly believed both were one and the same. She had no words to argue back, she was beyond angry. Without another word she turned and stomped across the sand, heading away from Jake Coolidge toward the parking lot that led to the street that wound up to Caleb’s vacation house.
Stupid! She was so stupid! Of course Caleb’s friend would think that of her because what, she looked like a whore? Was there a huge dollar sign tattoo across her forehead? Did everyone look at her and immediately think she was for sale? Oh god, what if Jake said something to Caleb? What if Caleb starts putting two and two together?
What if he figures out…Jake was partially right?
A sob tore through her as it all came crashing down on her head. She’d never be able to hold Caleb long term, they were from two different worlds. But she didn’t want him to remember her as something other than a woman who had loved him.
“Delilah!” Caleb called out.
She stopped walking as the realization hit her between the eyes like a sledgehammer. She loved him. Holy hell, how did that happen? When did it happen? It’s only been a week. People can’t fall in love in a week! They were completely different, more than just the color of their skin. Ideas, values, morals. Caleb needed a woman who was Claire 2.0.
Caleb grabbed her arm, his smiling face immediately turning into concern. “What’s wrong, Delilah?”
“I…I have a migraine,” she managed to say, trying hard to contain the shock running rampant through her body.
“Oh. Okay,” he said, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her into a tight hug. “Let me get you to the house. I’ve got ibuprofen and you can lie down.”
She nodded. “That sounds exactly what I need right now.”
He waved at Jake over her shoulder but didn’t look back. She couldn’t. She couldn’t face his friend again.
He kept his arm around her as they walked back to his place. She wanted to pull away for self-preservation, but there was a deeper sense of selfishness that made her snuggle closer and hold onto him more tightly.
Because soon, she would have to shred her heart into pieces.