Silently, she guided him over to the bed and gently placed her hands on his shoulders to lower him onto the soft cotton top sheet, lifting his light blue shirt from his shoulders before tenderly removing the garment from him completely.
He looked into her beautiful green eyes and saw nothing but love and acceptance in them. He had forced himself upon her without a word of explanation, he needed to tell her how sorry he was for losing control like that.
"Calleigh," he began before she silenced him with a soft kiss on his lips.
"No talking remember?" she smiled at him as she stood back, wearing nothing but the unbuttoned blouse he had taken her in only minutes before. "Not tonight."
He could feel himself responding to her as she sauntered over to him and straddled herself across his lap, her hands stroking their way through his hair as she placed feather-light kisses on his creased brow. His hands moved up to caress her sides until she grasped both of them gently and lowered them back towards the bed.
"No, it's my turn now," she whispered in his ear as she kept a hold of his arms.
He could feel her hot breath on the side of his face as she nipped and licked her way from his ear all the way to his mouth. The stirring in his loins was becoming more painful by the minute as she continued her torturous assault of his body, her hands now running over his chest and shoulders as her mouth found his, her tongue begging for entrance.
He couldn't help it, his hands moved of their own free will once more as he felt himself consumed by the need to touch her, to feel her writhe beneath him. He was stopped this time by a firm nip on his lower lip as his stunning temptress once again commanded him to keep still.
"You are not to move unless I tell you to. Understood?"
Although her eyes were clouded with passion, her words were firm, she would brook no argument from him. Not now, not tonight.
With a deep gulp, he nodded his head and allowed her to continue with her passionate ministrations, once more allowing her tongue entry into his willing mouth as he groaned against her.
He closed his eyes and allowed himself to be lost in the moment. In all of his years, he had always been the giver in a sexual relationship, making sure that his partner was pleasured. His needs and wants became secondary to the woman in his arms, it was his job to make sure she was satisfied, most of his pleasure came from knowing that he had made his lover scream his name in the throes of ecstasy.
But this was different, for the first time, this woman before him was making it her mission to please him,and he found the whole thing tantalisingly erotic. The women he had been with before had been selfish in that respect, wanting to find their own release without really considering his needs. Not Calleigh though, this was a woman who understood him, body and soul. He knew he had made the right decision by pushing Lori away, Calleigh was the one, she had always been.
The load on his lap lightened, he opened his eyes and was disappointed to find that Calleigh had lifted herself up and now stood before him, breaking the physical contact. He was about to question her when a wolfish smile crossed her face. "Do not move unless I tell you to," she commanded once more as she divested herself of the silky blouse she had been wearing, the dark red material slinking to the floor and pooling at her feet.
He stared at her in all of her naked glory, his eyes transfixed by her beautifully curvaceous body, the way her hips swayed gently as she walked towards him. This was a woman who was confident about her body and comfortable in her own skin as she stopped in front of him, a small smile crossing her face.
He kept his eyes on her face as they maintained eye contact, noticing her arms moving towards his waist out of the corner of his vision. "Keep looking at me," she ordered as her hands reached their target.
Her hands were working on the button of his jeans and his fly as she kept her gaze on his face, enjoying the nervous gulps he was taking as her hands worked confidently. Horatio Caine had always been a strong and confident man, a man who was always in control and would take command of any situation. She found it an extremely arousing that she was the one who was now in control, and that he loved and trusted her enough to allow her to do so. After all he had been though, control had been the one thing that he had fought the hardest to regain and now here he was, placing his complete trust in her, allowing her to do as she wished with him.
"Lift your hips."
He did as she asked as they remained gazing at each other, his dazzling blue eyes boring into her as he commanded himself to keep as still as possible for her. She pulled his jeans and boxers slowly from his body so that he was as naked as she was. His expression was one of expectancy as he waited for her next instruction.
She straddled his hips again and he could feel her soft, warm body pressing against him as she made herself comfortable on his lap. He screwed his eyes shut and willed the small shudders wracking his body to cease.
"Open your eyes."
He did so, slowly. Her face mere inches from his as she moved closer, her lips reaching for his. Her hands roamed his scarred flesh, her fingers traced light circles over the marks that marred his skin, before placing moist kisses on his chest. He groaned as her tongue found his sensitized nipple, his head fell back as she continued to tease him, her mouth moving as far down his chest as her current position would allow her.
The languid movements ceased, he looked at her in confusion, unsure as to why she had stopped. "Lie back," she told him as she applied firm pressure to his chest as he allowed himself to be lowered to the bed, his back making contact quickly.
"Close your eyes."
He did as he was asked, he could deny her nothing as he allowed her sensuous exploration of his body continue, his breath coming in short gasps as he felt her mouth move further south. He gasped at the sensation as she took him in her mouth, feeling her lips curl into a smile as he bucked beneath her, his breath coming even faster now as he felt himself coming undone.
He thought he would explode right there and then, just as he was about to let go, he realised that she had moved away once more. He opened his eyes, his body aching for her as he felt his need building painfully within him. She leaned over him once more, feeling the heat from her body matching his, her mouth achingly close to his as he felt her breath tickle his face.
"You're mine. No one else's," she told him as her hands wandered over his chest again. "Say it," she commanded as she repositioned herself on top of him, her eyes closing in ecstasy as she felt him fill her completely.
He groaned deeply as he felt their bodies connect once more. "Calleigh….I…."
She ground her hips against him. "Say it." Her voice was firm, even though her body was beginning to betray her with its need to be at one with him.
"I'm yours. No one else's," he repeated as her mouth descended onto his. Their hands clawing at each other in fevered passion as he bent forwards, bringing himself closer to her as much as he physically could.
There were no words, she made him feel alive as they lost themselves in the pleasure and the feel of their bodies meeting in the most intimate of ways. Being with a woman had never felt so right as it did at this moment. How had he come to fall so deeply in love with this woman, what had he ever done to deserve someone as special as her?
Lori had never made him feel this way, with Calleigh in his arms, he felt invincible, as if he could take on the world and win. When he found his strength wavering she gave him her own, when his confidence was knocked, she was there to help him rebuild it, never once asking for anything in return.
He would never have made it this far without her, she had been his rock when he'd felt cut adrift and lost in the deep murky waters of his own pity, she had clung to him and refused to let him go, even though he had been cruel and ungrateful towards her many times when his bitterness at his own human weaknesses made him lash out at her.
As they moved together in unison, he knew what it was that he had to do. He was regaining his physical strength and emotional fortitude with each day that passed, and he would continue to do so knowing that Calleigh was by his side. Having her in his life made him want to be a better man, to be the man that she so clearly deserved.
Today had been a test of his strength, and even though he had wavered at times, he had remained strong and refused to give into the temptation of falling back into Lori's arms once more. The urge to throw everything away had been strong, a small part of his being had yearned for the feeling of his ex-wife beneath him, taking him back to a time when things seemed so much less complicated than they did now.
He had no doubt that his dalliance with Lori today would come back to haunt him in the near future. Lori was not a woman who took rejection well, she would likely do everything in her power to make sure that Calleigh knew what had happened between them. He would not give her that chance though, tomorrow he would tell Calleigh exactly what had happened between them and make sure that she understood who his heart belonged to.
Tomorrow he would tell her, but first he needed to be with her tonight.
The soothing rays of the morning Miami sun filtered gently through the blinds and caressed her face softly as she felt the first tendrils of consciousness returning. Sensations returned to her slowly as she felt his strong arms wrapped around her own naked flesh, their heads so close to each other on the pillows that they were almost touching.
She watched his eyelashes flutter as the muscles in his face moved in time with whatever dream he was having, still deeply asleep after their night of passion. In the harsh light of day, she wondered if perhaps she had gone a little too far last night, commanding that he tell her that he was hers completely. What right did she have to claim any kind of ownership over him?
Horatio was his own man, his pride and his will had been severely tested recently, who was she to try to take that away from him again?
Yet something clawed at her, she needed him to understand that she simply would not share him with anyone else. She found herself falling so deeply in love with this complicated, and at times difficult man, that it made her unreasonably possessive over him. Perhaps it was still the protective urges in her that caused her to want to hide him away from the rest of the world, to keep him somewhere where only she alone could have him.
The return of his ex-wife had turned her into something of a jealous lover, the kind of woman she would frown upon in her role as a police officer. How many times had women killed for the man they loved? Did loving Horatio as she did create the same level of feelings in her that it would drive her to kill for him?
She only hoped that her rational thinking would overcome any murderous intentions she might feel against another woman who tried to capture his heart, yet she knew that if it came down to it, she would fight to the death for the man in her arms.
A soft mewing noise caught her attention, her eyes travelled to the end of the bed as Moses began winding his way up to her face, rubbing his lithe body against her chest and neck, purring contentedly as he dropped heavily to rest between his owners.
The cat looked at her quizzically. "He's still asleep," she whispered conspiratorially, and was rewarded with another soft mew as she raised a finger to her lips. "We don't want to wake him, do we?"
Gently disengaging herself from his arms, she froze when a small groan emanated from his lips. She let out a sigh of relief as he let out a deep groan, readjusted his position and continued to sleep, blissfully unaware of what was going on around him. Pulling herself from the bed, she walked around to Horatio's side and picked up the light blue shirt she had taken off of him yesterday. She closed her eyes at the sensation of the soft silk touching her skin as she wrapped the garment around her naked body, breathing deeply, her nose caught the essence of the material. An aroma of spicy aftershave mingled with Horatio's own scent caused her mind to flit back to the way they had come together as one last night.
Fastening a couple of buttons, she leaned over his slumbering form and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, tucking the few errant strands of hair off his forehead, a grin crossed her face as she felt him unconsciously lean into her touch. "Calleigh," he murmured softly, seeming to know she was there even though he was still deeply asleep.
"Keep an eye on him, Moses," she instructed the cat quietly. The feline creature mewed and cocked its head to one side before burrowing under the cotton sheet that covered his master. The cat was only small, yet she had no doubt that Moses would defend his beloved owner to the hilt as his head poked out and kept a protective guard over the human that had stolen his heart. Horatio's hand instinctively moved towards the cat as he stroked Moses, not even aware that he was doing so.
Her eyes widened in alarm when she looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. How had they both slept so late?
Perhaps it was a testament to the draining day they had both had, last night's activities had also taken a great deal out of them too. Horatio's behaviour had shocked her at first, his primal need to be with her was at odds with the gentle and kind man that she knew. He had torn at her clothes with animalistic passion, his touch forceful as he pushed her against the hallway wall. She could feel the tenderness in her back as she gingerly sat herself down in one of the kitchen chairs, waiting for the pot of coffee to brew.
There had been times recently when Horatio had been so quiet, to the point of being meek, and it had shocked her to see such a strong and vital man be reduced to almost nothing. She had no doubt that his actions last night were his unconscious mind's way of reasserting his dominance as not only a man, but as a force to be reckoned with.
His firm and assured movements had also been highly arousing, she herself had been swept away by his need to physically convey how much he wanted and needed her. She would take forceful Horatio over the weak and pitiful shell that had been left behind by those Malucci monsters.
He'd looked dismayed as the passion in his eyes was doused by the realisation that he had all but forced himself on the woman he was supposed to love and care for. He immediately began to apologise for what he had done, yet she would hear none of it. It had been what he needed, what he had to do in order to convince himself that the real Horatio was returning. He had spent a lifetime more concerned about what others wanted or needed that he had spent little time considering his own needs. After all the giving he had done, he deserved to be the one doing the taking for once.
But she had sat and fretted about him all day, even though Alexx had offered her some sage advice and imbued her with a little of that Dr Woods confidence, she still felt unsure of herself and where she fitted into Horatio's life. The man was trying valiantly to piece two shattered lives together into some kind of whole. When all was said and done, where would she fit in, would there be a place for her at all?
Just as he had needed to show her, she needed to let him know in no uncertain terms that she was in this relationship for the long haul. Yes, she had been possessive of him as she stripped him of control in the bedroom, but he needed to learn that she could be just as strong and powerful as he was trying to convince himself that he still was. She would not be weak and bow to his wishes, he needed to know that the only way their relationship would work would be as equals.
She would not back down from a fight or allow herself to be cowed into making concessions towards him. They were both strong and independent individuals, she needed to make it clear to him that would not change. Just in the way that she had not tried to change him, he would not be allowed to try to change her either. Would a relationship between two stubborn and headstrong people actually work, or would their need for freedom and control eventually rip them apart?
She hoped not. Individually, they were strong. Together they had the potential to be unstoppable.