Crashing into Love by Flora Ferrari

Chapter Thirteen

Conrad

I ride the elevator up to my apartment with the spare keycard clutched in my hand, stifling the yawn that tries to escape me. It’s a curious combination of emotions I feel. My mind is completely alert, alive to the prospect of seeing Callie again after what feels like weeks. But my body is dog-tired from the double shift at the hospital, kept awake only by caffeine and adrenaline and training.

Walking down the hallway, I silently tell myself she’s going to be there. She hasn’t left me while I’ve been at the hospital. She hasn’t spirited herself away.

Fucking Alexis.

Why did she have to show up and ruin everything?

I swipe the keycard and walk into the apartment, a cloud coming over me when I hear – or don’t hear – how silent the place is. My footsteps seem far too loud as I walk deeper, into the living room, looking around to see if she’s relaxing on the couch.

Panic stabs at me and I rush down the hallway, to her bedroom, pushing it open before knocking. I can’t wait.

The idea that she’s left me, that my perfect woman is gone, is too damn much to take.

She turns at the sound of the door opening.

She’s sat at the desk on the far side of the room, a textbook open. I’m too far away to tell what the book is about. But I’d bet my life savings it’s one of her interior design college ones.

I let out a growl as our meet eyes, as my gaze slips over her tank top, showing her pink bra beneath. She’s tied her hair up, giving me a better view of her full flushed cheeks, a blush spreading from her face down her neck, creeping over her gorgeous skin.

“I thought you were gone,” I say, closing the door behind me.

“It’s late,” she murmurs. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to come home.”

Home.

The word hangs between us for a moment. I can tell she realizes what’s just happened, the importance of the word when an answering shiver dances across her features. I can tell she feels the same.

Home.

It sounds right, true.

She stands quickly, a jolt moving through her, as though she’s getting ready to do something drastic, like slapping me or kissing me or something else. At the last second, she hesitates.

“It’s time to explain,” she says, coming to a stop bare inches from me.

Does she really think I’ll be able to resist her now, when the scent of her is so close, calling to me?

I grab her shoulders and squeeze her against me, driving forward with my manhood, letting her feel how much withheld lust is scorching my insides. I’m solid, rock-fucking-solid, and she whimpers as our lips part and our tongues clash together.

She shivers and her hands tighten on my arms. I can tell it takes a large effort to push herself away, the same effort it takes me every second not to maul her.

Tilting her head, she stares up at me with a note of sassiness in her eyes. “No more kissing until you explain, Conrad. I’m serious.”

“Are you the boss now, eh?” I tease.

She takes a step back. “I mean it.”

I sigh and walk over to the bed, dropping down and rubbing the back of my neck.

Something in her softens as she takes a seat at the desk, wheeling herself over so we’re sitting close. Her expression loses some of its spark, just a tiny bit. “Long day?”

I huff out a sigh. “Yeah, you could say that. I’m starting to forget what sleep feels like.”

“Should we wait until tomorrow—”

“No,” I say, with more force than I intended. “I’m working from early morning until late afternoon tomorrow, and then it’s two days off. I was thinking…”

“What?” she quips when I let the sentence drift away.

“I should probably explain about Alexis before I make any assumptions. But I was going to say I’m taking you out tomorrow, on a proper date, like you deserve. I want the whole damn world to see me with my Callie on my arm. I could even buy you a dress… as long as I get to pick it.”

A primal passion raises up inside me when I think about the sort of outfit I’d choose for my woman, a drumbeat pounding through me, telling me to forget the outfit and grab her now. Throw her on the bed and collapse on top of her, grinding my groin against hers so she can feel just how hungry she makes me.

“That would be nice,” she whimpers. “But first…”

“I know. You deserve some answers.”

She sits up a little straighter, causing her top to shift, her bra strap visible. I have to look away or I won’t be able to stop myself from diving forward and yanking off her clothes and revealing those plump juicy tits of hers.

“Alexis is… I guess you could call her my stalker,” I say.

Callie gasps. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, I swear. Callie, I’d never lie to you. I’d never even think about lying to you. We’re going to be together forever. Everything I’m going to tell you is the truth. Okay?”

She bites her lip, and releases it a second later, as though ramping herself up to believing me. “Yeah, yeah, okay.”

“She came in with her older sister, to see one of the doctors. She wasn’t even there to see me. But I guess I walked by outside the consultation room. Or maybe she saw me in the parking lot. Wherever it was, apparently she…”

“What?” Callie urges.

I release my jaw, realizing I’m clenching it so hard it’s like I’m trying to shatter my teeth. “She said she fell in love with me the second she saw me.”

Squeezing my fists, I try to beat back the rage barreling through my chest, singeing every part of me. Alexis shouldn’t be allowed to corrupt this moment, this pure and starry brightness Callie and I are sharing. She shouldn’t need to be pulled it this madness.

“It’s okay,” Callie whispers. “What happened next?”

“She ambushed me in the parking lot one day,” I go on, barely suppressing a snarl as I think about being with any other woman than Callie. She’s the only one. Forever. “She tried to kiss me. I wasn’t receptive. I tried to be polite, moved away from her, but she wouldn’t stop. It’s like she couldn’t believe I wasn’t interested. In the end, she ended up creating a total scene, climbing onto the hood of my car, jumping up and down, screaming. You can ask anyone at the hospital who was there that day. They’ll tell you how nuts she is.”

“It’s okay.” She leans forward, grabbing my hand. “I believe you.”

I squeeze onto her hand, returning the warmth, the reassurance, and then nod. “After that – this was a few months ago – she’s popped up every now and then. She started leaving handwritten messages for me at work. Waiting for me outside, all dressed up like I was going to take her out. I had to get a restraining order, but she doesn’t seem to care.”

A growling sigh escapes me and I close my eyes for a moment, staring into the blackness of my eyelids. “How can she think she can fall for someone after…”

I chuckle, opening my eyes to find Callie smiling at me. It’s a radiant smile, full and blooming, spreading warmly across her face and making me think of all the good times to come, all the laughter and joy we’re going to share when we start our family together.

But I can’t let myself think about that for long, because then I’ll start fantasizing about how we’re going to start a family, about pushing those thick virginal thighs apart and plunging deep inside of her.

“I know it’s hypocritical,” I say, nodding. “I knew I needed to have you the second I saw you – the second you crashed into me. Oh, by the way, I’ve had your car towed and it’s waiting for you to claim. Or I can go ahead and wreck it and get you a new one. I also had somebody go by your apartment and repair the door.”

“When did you arrange all that?” she asks.

“In between surgeries,” I reply.

“Jeez, Conrad, you must be really exhausted.”

I nod. “Yeah, maybe I am. But being near you wakes me up.”

She tilts her head. “Why don’t you try and say that without slurring, huh? Come on, you need to get some sleep.”

I lie back and let a smirk touch my lips. “I’ll sleep right here. Unless you’re going to move me?”

She climbs onto the bed, into my arms. Pulling her into the embrace feels like the most perfect thing I’ve ever done. She fits there, feels right, correct. It’s like pieces of the universe are slotting into place, all tumbling together into the exact right configuration.

“What are you thinking about?” she murmurs.

“You’ll laugh if I tell you.”

I sift my fingers through her hair, making patterns and enjoying the way she moans with each one.

“I won’t. As long as it’s not about her.”

“You’re the only woman I ever want to think about, to be with, to be near. I swear.”

“So…”

“I was thinking that I’ve felt like a puzzle my whole life, with a bunch of pieces missing. Maybe the pieces didn’t ever exist. Maybe they were just a silly dream. But then I met you and, finally, I feel like I fit together. I know, I know, it’s cheesy as fuck. But I can’t help it. That’s how you make me feel.”

“It’s not cheesy,” she whispers, kissing my chest so I can feel her lips through the fabric of my shirt. “It’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me. I feel it too. It’s crazy. It should be impossible.”

I squeeze her closer, my eyes closing, heavy exhaustion weighing me down. I’ve never been able to fall asleep easily, too lost in the past or in thoughts of work, but with Callie, it’s like I don’t have to worry about anything anymore. She’s right here – safe in my arms, the most important person in my life.

“Are you going to sleep?” she whispers, with a quirk in her voice.

“Are you teasing me?” I tickle her side softly, eliciting the sweetest giggle. “Gonna call me an old man because I’m drifting off before ten PM?”

“You’ve been working for almost two days straight. You have to work tomorrow. I think you’ve earned a little sleep, Conrad.”

“Lie here with me,” I growl, with a thrum of command making my words almost feral. “Until I drift off. And then tomorrow, I’m taking you out. And after that…”

My words fade as sleep drags me down, as I sink into it more freely than I have in years, probably since I was a kid.

And after that, I’m going to claim you. I try to say. I’m going to own every inch of you, make you mine. I’m going to plunge into your virgin hole until your young fertile body has no choice but to swell with my seed.

But then sleep grabs ahold of me, whisking me away on a cloud of dreams about Callie and our future.