Forgive Me (Callaway Book 2) (18 page)

Filled with lust and desire, you'd swear they were two horny teenagers, especially after how hard and heavy they'd gone at it the night before. "Good morning, beautiful." 

"Good morning." He loved hearing her voice hoarse from pleasure. There was something primal about knowing the woman you loved had spent the night screaming your name, begging you for more.

Kissing the top of her hair, his hand on her ass, he'd asked her the question that had been weighing on his mind. "How are you feeling?" At one point during the night before, he'd been so scared he had pushed her too far. He had been lost in the emotion, how good it felt to finally take their relationship to that level, that he'd all but forgotten she had been a virgin.

She'd looked up at him and gave him the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. In that moment, he'd promised himself to do whatever it took to make her smile like that every day for the rest of their lives. "I'm perfect. You?"

He laughed at her question because he couldn't remember a time when he'd ever been happier than right there and then. "I spent the whole night making love to the woman I love. I woke up with her pressed against me, and now, I'm about to start my morning showing her much I love her sassy ass, so I'd say I'm better than perfect." He'd flipped her on her back, positioning himself between her spread thighs, his body weighing down on top of her. His woman loved him on top, one of the many things he'd learned the night before which he planned on using to his advantage, every chance he got.

"She's a lucky lady then." She'd ran her hands down his back, down to his ass, squeezing him lightly.

"Nah, I'm the lucky one." And he had meant that with every fiber in his body. He'd kissed her passionately and urgently until he had her squirming under him, begging for more, and God, had he given her more. One of the best things about Amanda was that no matter how much he gave, she was right there with him, letting her body take over, meeting him thrust for thrust. They'd spent the rest of the morning in bed, making love and ordering room service until it was time for them to leave.

"What's up with you?" He turned around abruptly at the sound of Cole's voice. Shit, he had been so damn lost in the memory of Amanda he hadn't heard him come out.
Talk about being caught red-handed.

"What do you mean?" he asked, hoping his brother couldn't read his mind. One look at the man, who had been there for him through thick and thin, seeing how happy his brother was, made him emotional. It was still hard for Drew to wrap his head around the fact that his brother was getting married, yet he could not have imagined a better woman for him than Jamie. They had the kind of love people dreamed of, the kind he dreamed he and Amanda would build over a lifetime together.

Cole sat down on the bench in front of him, the same one where they'd shared more than one heavy conversation over the years. "You're smiling and acting like you're on top of the world."

Drew ran his fingers through his hair, trying to figure out where his brother was going with this. "That's a bad thing because?" he asked him honestly. Cole had been one of the first to criticize his way of life, and he had also been the first one to make him see he could be the man Amanda needed, the man who could make her happy.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing. What were you thinking about?" The grin on Cole's face told him his brother knew exactly what he had been thinking.

He smiled and put his hands in the pockets of his black jeans. "Do you believe in second chances?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do. Is this about Amanda?" Damn, the man didn't mess around; he always went straight for the heart.

"Yeah, I guess it is." There was a time in Drew's life when he honestly thought he would never see Amanda again, that he would never get over her and have the chance to move on with his life.

But looking back, he was quickly coming to the conclusion that the past had been meant to be. The pain, the heartache, the emptiness inside of him had made him into a better man, the type of man who could give Amanda the love and devotion she truly deserved.

"You guys getting pretty serious?" If Cole would have asked him that question a few months back, he wouldn't have known how to answer it. However, all that had changed, and he was holding on to it.

"I feel like we've been given a second chance to get it right, you know. I've never felt like this with anybody else, like if I don't hold her or kiss her, I can't breathe." The thought of being that dependent on a woman should've scared him, but it didn't. This wasn't just a woman, she was Amanda—the love of his life. If he was being honest with himself, he would say it felt like destiny.

"You love her." The way Cole spoke, Drew knew he wasn't asking; he was stating a fact.

"More than I thought possible. How did you know Jamie was it for you?"

His brother's smile grew bigger at the mention of his soon-to-be wife. That was what Drew wanted in his own life, what he wanted with Amanda. "Shit, I knew the second I saw her when she pulled up in the driveway. It hit me like a freight train. I couldn't have stopped it even if I'd wanted to. When it happens, it just happens."

"I can't believe you're getting married. Dad would be so damn proud of you." As much as it pained Drew to think that all of this was happening without him, he knew their dad had a front-row seat to their lives.

Cole walked over to stand beside him. "I never believed Dad when he used to say that when he met Mom, he just knew she was it for him. But now, with Jamie, I know what he was talking about. I know we've all given you a hard time about some of the choices you made in the past, Drew, but I fucking love you, and I am damn proud of the man you have become. Dad would be proud of you, too."

Drew battled his emotions as he listened to his brother talk. The urge to hug him, to cry, to laugh, everything was coming together like a wave he couldn't get away from. "Do you think he would have liked this new Amanda?"

It was one of the hardest things for Drew, to wonder what his dad would have thought. Cole was the one who had the most time with him before their dad passed away, and no matter how much Cole was there for them, it was still hard to not have their dad to talk to.

"She's beautiful, smart and compassionate, and she loves you. God knows why, but that girl loves you. That would be enough for Dad. He loved her dad like a brother, so I think he would be happy to see you with her. You guys were always together when you were kids, and Dad always loved her."

"I'm thinking about asking her to marry me." The words spilled out of Drew's mouth before he could stop them.

He could feel his brother's eyes on him, and after what seemed like an eternity of silence, Cole asked the one question no one else in the world, except his mom, would ask him. "Why haven't you asked her yet?"

Drew was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"I know you, Drew. There's a reason you haven't asked her yet, so what's holding you back?" As much as he loved how they were moving forward in their relationship, there was still a part of him that was holding on to the past.

He took a deep breath before voicing his fear for the first time. "What if she wakes up one morning and decides she wants more than owning a small-town diner, catering small-town events? What if she wakes up and realizes she can do better than all of this?"

"Then she's a damn fool. Love isn't all about romance. It's fucking hard, and God knows Jamie can drive me crazy but I love her, and I know I would hate myself every day for the rest of my life if I let fear dictate how I love her. You can't love someone with one foot out the door, Drew. You need to be all-in, and that includes the chance of getting hurt."

"Fuck me, you've turned into Yoda." They both started laughing.

"Shut up. Hey, speaking of Amanda, you should go help her. And I need to give some love to my bride-to-be." His brother pointed to the driveway where Amanda's truck was pulling up, and Drew's heart was doing cartwheels already. Fuck, he was a lovesick fool, and he didn't care.

He took the front porch steps two at a time. When he reached Amanda's truck, he was greeted by the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, with just the right amount of makeup so she didn't cover up her natural beauty. The navy blue dress she wore showed off her curves, yet was subtle enough to make her look professional.

When she saw him, she looked over every inch of his body. The appreciation he saw in her eyes made him want to forget all about the rehearsal dinner and just have her for his meal.

"Hey, you look handsome." Her voice was like a balm, soothing every doubt he'd been having about not being enough for her. She pressed her body against his to kiss him and he dropped a hand on her lower back, keeping her like that for a little while.

"You look beautiful. How am I supposed to keep my hands off you tonight?" And that was the God's honest truth. It was as if sleeping together had unleashed something in him. Since then, not being inside of her for more than a couple of hours at a time made him uneasy.

She licked his ear and bit the lobe playfully as she whispered, "I promise I'll make it worth your while when we get home." Her palms were flat down on his chest, he loved how much she enjoyed touching him. Drew was a physical man. He loved a woman's touch and he worshipped Amanda's.

He let go of the hold on her slowly, kissing her hard and fast before pulling away "Let me help you unload before I decide to cash in on that promise right now."

She smiled at him, reminding him of how playful their relationship was. "How's everyone doing?" she asked as he helped her lower the tailgate to unload the trays of foods.

He looked at her sideways and remembered how calm his brother had been, which meant the man was anxious as could be. Not that he blamed him, of course; he would be feeling the same thing if he was about to marry the love of his life. "I think Cole is about ready to lose his shit. He just wants to get married. All of this extra stuff is driving him insane."

She covered his hand with hers. "Your mom really wanted to do this. He's the first one of her children to get married, so it's a big deal."

To say his mom was happy about her oldest son getting married was an understatement. "Is Abby meeting you here?" he asked, desperate to change the topic of conversation. He needed to get as far away from marriage talk as possible before he dropped to one knee and popped the question himself.

"Yeah, John offered to pick her up with in the truck since she had the cake and a bunch of other stuff. Whatever their hiccup was about, it doesn't seem to be affecting their relationship." She was laughing as she told him about his brother's plan to pick up Abby, and he couldn't help but join her.

Whatever was in the air in Montana, the Callaway men sure seemed to be falling one after the other. "That one will use any excuse to spend time with Abby."

"I think it's cute. Abby really likes him." She looked over her shoulder as she talked, and he couldn't help himself.

He closed the distance between the two of them and kissed her nose. "I think
you're
cute." Her laughter in the wind was something he could get used to, something he would never stop chasing.

It took them more than half an hour to unload the truck and by then, Drew was ready to blow. Watching Amanda sway her hips from side to side every time they did another trip or the way her sweet perfume filled the air around him was more than he could handle. He needed her, and he needed her right then.

When Amanda dropped the last container on the counter, he grabbed her hand and spun her around so her back was to the counter. "You know what, I fucking lied. I can't wait until tonight."

He leaned in and kissed her jaw, dropping his hands to her ass. Pressing her into him, he made her feel exactly how much he couldn't wait. "There are people who could walk in at any time." She probably wanted to sound convincing, but the way her voice shook let him know she wanted this just as much as he did.

"Come with me. I have an idea." He grabbed her hand and walked them toward the pantry, needing to be alone.

"Drew, you can't be serious right now," she said laughing.

He walked them inside the pantry and closed the door behind him before pushing her back against it "Oh, I'm fucking serious all right. I need to be inside of you so bad. I need something to last me until tonight." His hand travelled up her thighs, teasing her clit over her panties.

"Oh, God, don't stop," she begged, and he knew he had her right where he wanted her: crazy with need.

"Never. I'm never going to stop," he said before claiming her mouth with his, reminding her they were permanent.

Amanda could not believe she was about to have sex with Drew in his mother's house, where anyone could walk in and catch them. As he kissed his way down her neck, licking and nibbling, she couldn't find the strength to stop him. It felt so good to be in his arms, to have his lips on her skin that the only thing she cared about was moving this along. Her emotions were still all over the place from their night at the hotel. For all the times she'd imagined her first time, nothing had come close to how amazing it had been to make love with Drew. He had made her feel so comfortable and at ease. It had been perfect, just like the stolen moment in the pantry.