Double Standards, page 32
Once naked, I positioned myself between her thighs again and wasted no time delving in. I wanted to taste her so badly. I had missed the sweet, salty taste of her pussy in the weeks it had been since I last had her.
For the first time in too long, I was in the mood for sex. Finally. After the emotional torture the women in my life had been putting me through, I wasn’t sure the next time I would be in the mood for it.
But Callie was the one true exception for just about everything.
I found her clit and sucked on it, hard. She cried out, arching her back and grasping handfuls of my hair.
Fuck.
I held her hips down to prevent her from writhing too much, and continued to suck. I was hitting her spot just right, and I knew it would take mere seconds to give her the pleasure she deserved.
Her moans rose to a crescendo, and I suddenly stopped, causing her to look down at me in confusion.
No, I want to feel her come around me.
I sat up, traced my finger around her naval ring, and then reached over to my bedside to grab a condom. I slid it on, watching her watch my hands, before plunging inside her.
Dear God.
I hissed through my teeth. She was so wet and warm, familiar and perfect, tight and ready.
No man would ever be deserving of her, and I was honored to be able to take care of her in this way. In any way she’d let me.
I thrust inside her, filling every inch of her. She grabbed my shoulders, digging her nails into my back with a primal instinct. When I felt her insides quicken, I pulled out again, and this time she did cry out in disappointment. I flashed her a wicked grin before I grasped her hips and flipped her around, pulling her to her knees.
This way, I could see every feminine curve of hers, grab a handful of her hair, and make her come harder.
I buried myself in her, sliding my hand over her hip and up the smooth skin of her back, until I reached her hair. I tugged gently, just enough to tilt her head back. She whimpered in pleasure, her hands clutching fistfuls of my blanket as she came hard around me. Her walls pulsed over and over, and I could feel her toes curling against my thighs. From this angle, I could see her whole body contract.
Suddenly she wiggled away from me, turning toward me to tackle me backwards. I was taken by surprise as she clambered on top of me. She settled on top of my dick right away, easing herself onto me. I pressed my hips up into hers, and she threw her head back, her back arching. I reached up and took her breasts into my hands, flicking my thumbs over her erect nipples, eliciting an erotic moan from her pouty mouth.
With just the moonlight shining through my window, her bruises looked like faint shadows. She was a classic kind of beauty, and she had no idea just how incredible she was.
She pressed her palms against my chest as leverage as she bounced up and down, and before I knew it, I felt electricity shoot through my body as I finished, weeks of sexual tension finally releasing itself. Callie came around me once more, bending over to burrow herself into my neck as she called out my name.
I rolled her to her side so we were facing each other in our post-coital afterglow. Her eyes looked at me in amazement, and my heart throbbed in my chest.
As we floated back down to Earth, I realized I never wanted her to leave.
Chapter 22

Callie
I lay with my head on Liam’s chest, breathing in his scent as if it were the last thing I would ever do. Even naked in the middle of winter, he was warm beside me. The sweat had dried, our breathing had returned to normal, and neither of us said anything. It was comfortable silence. Bliss. Peace at last.
I was so beyond grateful that he’d taken me in, listened, and made me feel important. He didn’t have to—actually, he had every reason to not to. The sex was an added bonus. It was definitely not what I expected to happen when I showed up at his door. In fact, I was expecting to profess my love for him, but I needed to play catch-up with my other emotions first.
Liam cleared his throat. “Are you doing alright?” His thumb made circles on my arm.
I nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I will be. I feel better already.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I was finally in my happy place, and I didn’t want any outside distractions.
He squeezed me and chuckled. “I have to admit, I didn’t anticipate this.”
I smiled, finally propping myself up to look at him, the moonlight painting him in pale colors. I winced slightly as my tender elbows supported me. “I was just thinking that,” I agreed, then frowned. “I’m sorry that I’ve made you unfaithful, though.”
Shit. It was hard to think that I was suddenly the woman who had knowingly let this man cheat.
Liam’s eyes looked almost black in the dim light as he reached up to tuck my hair behind my ear. “Don’t be. I made my own decision, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
I bit my lip. “Thanks,” I said. “For taking me in.”
He snickered. “You’re not a lost puppy, Callie.” I giggled and ducked my head, suddenly feeling shy. He tipped my chin up and sat up to be at eye level. “I’m serious. I said it earlier and I’ll say it again. You. Are. Not. A. Burden.” He stared into my eyes intently, as if to express the severity of his statement.
Without a second thought, I leaned in and pressed my lips to his gently. It felt natural, normal. Fuck the fact that we said, “just sex.” It was never “just sex” with the two of us.
As I pulled back, I couldn’t help but admire his features this close, like the soft stubble on his face, the small freckles sprinkled across his nose, how he his eyelashes curled up at the end, and the small scar above his eyebrow.
I hadn’t realized it, but I had begun stroking his cheek. He caught my wrist and dusted feather-light kisses down my forearm.
“Liam,” I whispered, my eyes fluttering closed.
“Stay with me tonight,” he pleaded.
My eyes flew open. “You don’t have to—”
Liam’s brows furrowed. “I know, but I want you to. Please.”
I glanced down at his bare arms. I never got the opportunity to admire his tattoos since he always wore long sleeves. I traced one—two green eyes on his forearm near his elbow—with one finger.
“What does this one symbolize?” I wondered, not meeting his gaze. I could feel it burn into me.
“It’s my mother’s eyes,” he responded patiently. “It’s a reminder of who she raised. That’s the man I strive to be every day, and to only do things that she would approve of.”
I smirked but kept a low gaze. “Does that include our current situation?”
“She would want me to be happy.”
Oh. I wasn’t expecting that. I sucked in a breath and moved onto the next one. This one was on his inner bicep, but it was just a tree with long roots.
“And this one?”
“No symbolism. I just liked it.”
I pursed my lips as I moved to the other arm. There was a dark blue butterfly nestled right above the inside of his elbow. I didn’t have to ask him before he answered.
“My unborn child.” His voice was hoarse.
I finally raised my eyes, my breath catching as I watched raw emotions flit across his face. I continued tracing my fingers until I hovered over the last one. This was a bow and arrow that wrapped around his whole forearm. When I glanced at him next, he looked pained.
“The reason I became a cop,” he finished.
I pulled my fingers away slowly to trace his cheekbones. “What happened?”
Liam shook his head slightly. “Let’s save that for another time.”
I gave him a small smile. “Yeah,” I blurted without realizing at first what I was agreeing to.
He looked at me in confusion.
“I’ll stay with you tonight,” I breathed.
His face broke out into a wide grin and he tackled me backward on the bed.
Wow, a complete 180. It almost left me dizzy at how quickly his mood changed.
“Now, there’s something I’ve been wanting to do…” he started, trailing kisses down my jaw, skipping my tender neck and collarbone, and continuing down my sternum until he reached my navel. His tongue swirled my belly ring, and I threw my head back in pleasure.
Liam
“Damn it,” I heard Callie curse as I slowly stirred awake. When I was finally able to pry my eyes open, I saw her standing in front of my full-length mirror on the back of my bedroom door. She was leaning all her weight on one leg, pulling the collar of the t-shirt she was wearing down to reveal the dark bruises on her neck. “How am I supposed to cover these?”
Her deep blue eyes met mine in the mirror, and she smiled at me.
I sat up and rubbed my hands down my face, then peeked at her through my fingers. “At least it’s sweater weather?” I offered feebly, knowing there wasn’t much I could do to help.
She rolled her eyes. She was in a surprisingly good mood despite yesterday’s turn of events. “I think I’m going to run out of turtlenecks by Tuesday. I only have a few.”
“You could just tell everyone it was from your scuffle with Kelsey,” I suggested.
Callie turned around to face me. “And make her seem tougher than she is? That’s a no-go.”
I arched a brow at her. “We could just not go to work. We could take today and tomorrow off, and then have the weekend right after.”
She beamed and sat on the edge of the bed next to me. “I appreciate the tenacity, and I’d love to say yes, except you know Kelsey is going to show up at the office to check in on us. If neither of us are there, she’ll know something is up.”
I scowled at her. “I hate it when you’re right.”
She shrugged and gave me a quick peck. “I could say the same about you.”
I longed for her touch as she rose to her feet. I hadn’t felt this content in a long time, and I’d certainly never suggested playing hooky, not even with Victoria. It was all very new territory.
I yawned. I was exhausted from another late night of talking. It was surprisingly cathartic, but it made my next sentence difficult to choke out.
“Fine, we’ll go to the office.”
She pranced into the bathroom, and I couldn’t help but miss her touch already.
Callie paused in front of her apartment door, obviously nervous. Her jacket was zipped all the way up to conceal the bruises on her neck, but little could be done for the shiner on her face.
She needed to change her clothes after her shower at my apartment, and while we were going to be late for work, I knew she couldn’t show up to the office in day-old clothes. I could see the fear in her eyes at returning to the place where Owen had nearly killed her just the night before.
She pushed open the door, revealing her former fiancé putting on his jacket. Callie sucked in a nervous breath and jumped behind me. My stomach flopped at the trepidation coloring her face, and it took everything I had do to not kill Owen then and there.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” He seethed, not even bothering to acknowledge the woman cowering behind me.
I smirked at the asshole standing before me, grabbing Callie’s arm as we inched our way inside. She was rigid and clammy.
“Just here to help Callie get some things for work. I presume you’re using your remaining time to pack up your stuff?”
We made it far enough inside for Callie to scuttle through the kitchen toward her bedroom. Owen and I remained in the hallway.
“Tell me she didn’t drag you into this just to keep her company last night,” he said slowly, taking a threatening step in my direction.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Well, it was a little less dragging and a little more thrusting, if you know what I mean.” I winked at him, just to add a little more flare to the statement. Damn, it was fun to antagonize him. He was such a fucking asshole and he needed to know it.
He took another step toward me, his face reddening in anger. “You motherfucker. You think you can just swoop in while she’s vulnerable and take advantage of her? Wow. And to think I thought you loved her.”
I froze. Of all the things he could have said or done to me, that one was most likely to get under my skin.
“Our feelings for each other are mutual, and she reciprocated those feelings last night.” I stood my ground, not stating how I felt.
Owen’s knuckles turned white from clenching his fists tightly at his sides. “You were just using her for sex.”
I tapped my chin. “Actually, I think her exact words last night were: ‘just sex’.” I paused for dramatic effect, relishing the rising anger in him. I added seriously, “We weren’t using each other. Everything between us is real.”
He laughed without humor, his eyes devoid of any emotion and nearly black. “So what happens when the next piece of ass comes around? Are you going to leave her?”
I hated that it was a valid question since I’d already done it to Callie.
“I don’t think you’re one to talk. You started cheating on her months ago.”
Owen lurched toward me, but I ducked out of the way.
“You just couldn’t respect that she was in a relationship. You hated the idea of not getting something you wanted. I bet everything was handed to you in life.”
I chuckled. “You’re wrong. I just didn’t respect that she was in a relationship with you. I didn’t like you from the start. You’ve always been less than deserving of her. She’s way too good for you, man. Now you have to deal with knowing you had the best and you royally fucked it up.”
He shook his head vigorously. “She’s not the best. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. You think you’re so clever, so perfect, and you think the world of her. But why do you think I never slept with her? She’s neurotic. Everything has to be her way. She’s a fiend.”
I glared at him. “First of all, you didn’t sleep with her because you thought you were too good to do that with someone who didn’t have the same religious beliefs that you do. Second of all, you’re describing literally every woman. Women know what they want, and that’s admirable. So don’t you dare say another bad thing about her. You’re treading on thin ice as it is.”
Owen rolled his eyes. “I wish you the best of luck with her. I’m not even sure why I kept that bitch around. I guess I felt bad because of everything she was going through at work. I should thank her, I suppose. Now I can be with Daria.”
I groaned. I really didn’t want to fight, but after those things…
“I warned you,” I growled, before bringing my fist up and clocking him in the face. He stumbled back, holding a hand over his nose—which immediately started bleeding. “If you lay a hand on me or her, I’ll have your ass arrested and I’ll gladly have the full force of NPD behind us to prosecute the shit out of you. I wish she took your ass to the precinct after you tried to strangle the life out of her last night. So get your shit out this weekend and leave your key,” I spat. “And if you try to pull anything out of your ass, I swear to God, I’m personally marching you down to the holding cells in the Third Precinct.”
I continued to glower at him until he caved and stormed out the door, slamming it behind him.
Callie rushed out of her bedroom with a duffel bag hanging on her shoulder. She glanced around, frowning.
“Where did he go?”
“I punched him, so he left,” I told her with a smug smile.
“You’re ridiculous.” She pushed past me to leave, and I smiled at her back. She had no idea why, but I kept that secret in my pocket for a later time.
We’d only been at the office for an hour and I thought I was going to explode. Every time I would look over at Callie, my heart would thump against my chest as if it were trying to break free. I’d look at her cuts and bruises and want to do everything in my power to take her pain, but then I’d undress her with my eyes.
I know, I know. It was disgusting.
It was difficult to focus on my work, to scour through phone records, bank statements, and CCTV footage for a lead on Vincent Leemore’s location. I had never let my personal life interfere with my work life, yet here I was pining over a woman when I couldn’t even tell her how I felt.
I closed my eyes and imagined spending all day with her in bed, our weekends spent eating takeout and talking about our future.
It was what I had always wanted but had never gotten. We were too pre-occupied building our careers to focus on each other, and we were much too different.
I sighed and forced myself to focus on the matter at hand: making progress on the damn case. Any piece of evidence to debunk Leemore’s alibis would help us. The police had only made contact with him once, when we had an undercover officer attempt to flirt with him, but he got spooked and bolted.
But how was I supposed to focus when—
“Liam,” Callie hissed.
I snapped out of my reverie and resisted the urge to moan. She was standing in front of my desk, resting on her palms as she leaned forward, revealing her glorious cleavage.
“Yes, Eden?” I quipped, my lips tilting up at the sight.
She grimaced at my tone. It was so much fun to tease her. “I asked Hailey to text me if Kelsey came in today. She just messaged and said Kelsey was on her way up here.”
I rubbed a hand over my face and grunted, effectively ruining my horny mood. “That’s exactly what I need right now.”
Callie casted her eyes heavenward—the way she usually did when she feigned annoyance at my dramatics—and went back to her desk. Seconds later, our office door swung wide open. Kelsey looked somewhere between angry and desperate. I immediately felt my heart drop out of my stomach. Is she pissed or pleading?
