Sugar on Top (Sugar, Georgia Book 2) Page 25

  “You’re right. That was our deal,” Mason said, taking a step back, but Payton nudged him forward. “But since it’s tradition for the Miss Peach court to get ice cream in town after Cotillion and since Payton is part of the court, we were wondering if you’d consider renegotiating the deal.”

  Payton hadn’t been crowned Miss Peach, but she been named third runner-up, which was a pretty big accomplishment for a sophomore. It not only made her an honorary Sugar Peach—Cal wasn’t sure how he felt about that—but also increased her college fund by a thousand dollars.

  And he was proud of her. She’d worked hard, been herself, and come out on top, so he wanted to give Payton the freedom to enjoy her success with her friends, but letting a boy drive her was a big step for him.

  Cal looked over at Payton, who was a foot away in her strapless blue dress, surrounded by the rest of the Peach Court and looking for all the world like this one moment would forever cement her future.

  He looked at Glory, who was doing her best to stay neutral. “This is where I’m supposed to say yes, isn’t it?”

  “Not if it doesn’t feel right,” she said and he gave her a look that he hoped conveyed that none of this felt right. “Right. Okay, what if Mason drove her to the Creamery and you picked her up at ten thirty and drove her to Kendra’s?”

  Glory emphasized you since no one else needed to know that with Payton sleeping at Kendra’s, Cal would be sleeping at Glory’s.

  “That’s fair.” Payton nodded vigorously, her blond up-do bobbing with every excited nod.

  Cal looked at the ceiling and let out a big breath. This was it. One of those times Glory told him about where Payton could explore freedom in a safe, controlled environment.

  “Actually, Mason.” Cal clapped him on the shoulder—a little too hard, but he was trying. “Why don’t you take Payton to Kendra’s after the Creamery?”

  “Ohmigod! Thank you, Daddy.” Payton threw herself into his arms and sank into him. He took every second of appreciation she offered, then took one more when she tried to pull back, tightening his arms around her and reminding her of the rules.

  “You made me proud tonight,” he whispered at the end and her arms tightened even more.

  “I made me proud tonight,” she said so softly Cal felt his chest do one of those painful jabs that he’d become so familiar with as of late. Then with a final squeeze, he let go.

  Damn, that was hard. His hands were sweating and stomach felt like he was riding shotgun in one of Jace’s race cars doing well over a hundred with no seat belt.

  “Just call me the second you get in,” he added in case he hadn’t said that before. Payton’s face said that he had. Payton turned to leave and he grabbed her by the shoulder. “I mean it, Payton. If I don’t hear from you by ten thirty, I will drive over to Kendra’s myself and check on you.”

  Glory cleared her throat. Right. He let go. “And have fun.”

  “Promise.” She kissed him on the cheek and reached for Mason’s hand.

  Mason froze, looked at Cal, and held his arm out. Payton glanced back at her dad, rolled her eyes, but took the proffered arm. And the two of them slowly made their way toward the exit. Cal watched in silence until he couldn’t see his daughter anymore.

  “You did good, Mr. McGraw,” Glory assured him, placing her hand on his arm. “Mason is a respectful kid, and Payton doesn’t want to lose her newfound freedom.”

  “I hope so.”

  Glory smiled. “How much trouble can they get into in an hour?”

  “You say that like I can’t come up with a dozen or more things we could do in an hour.” He looked at her dress, her shoes, and then to the deck where they’d had dinner a few weeks ago. It was a first date, really, and they both knew it. He had just been too stubborn to admit it. “I already have one. It involves you, your headboard, and my tie.”

  “Would you like to come inside for a cold beverage?” Glory asked, standing by her front door, keys in hand, and looking up at Cal, who was a model of male perfection in his dark suit, missing tie, top two buttons already undone.

  With a smile he closed the distance, his hands skimming down her dress as he walked her back a few inches. The door was at her back, and he was pressed impressively against her front. “You say the sexiest things.”

  “Is that a yes?” she whispered, her hands doing some skimming of their own, up his glorious chest, around his broad shoulders, and into his hair.

  “No to the cold beverage, but yes to the coming inside.” He flashed her a wicked smile that had her pulse skyrocketing, her mouth going dry, and everything else going wet. Just like that, a single look, and she was vibrating with want. “Yes, to coming period.”

  Something that Glory could get on board with immediately. He leaned down and she knew he was going to kiss her. It would start soft and warm and take only a matter of seconds to explode into inferno and then she’d be plastered against the door, naked with her legs wrapped around him, and her dress would end up armadillo bedding. And she loved this dress.

  Almost as much as she loved the feeling of him.

  Inside her.

  All she had to do was unlock the door. Glory fumbled with the keys, somehow managed to locate her house key while Cal’s hands were roaming everywhere all at once.

  “I need to know,” he said against her throat as she found the key hole. “Thong, G-string, or those little cheeky ones that drive me fucking nuts?”

  “I do love driving you fucking nuts,” she confessed.

  He swore roughly and captured her mouth with his. There was no sweet or warm; it was inferno from the word go.

  A quick twist of the wrist and they were stumbling into her apartment. The kisses got deeper and hotter, and Glory’s hands somehow found their way into the front of his pants, which seemed fine with Cal since he was back to swearing again. Then he was moaning and his eyes rolled all the way back in his head.

  “Jesus, Glory,” he moaned, stepping back out of her reach. “Not yet.” He kicked the door shut and straightened, his eyes hungry as he undid the rest of his buttons. “Off. Now.” He scanned her body. “All of it but the panties.”

  Glory wasn’t big on taking orders, but she was big on Cal, so she reached behind her, grabbed the little zipper, and gave a slow, long tug all the way down to her lower back.

  “I thought about getting you a boutonniere, but I figured this was more your style.” A single roll of the shoulder had her dress sliding to the floor in one swoop. “It matches.” She fingered the petal of her corsage.

  Glory watched breathlessly as his gaze slid ever-so-slowly from her bra to her stomach. By the time he reached her red cheeky panties, she was trembling with need.

  “Don’t move.” He shucked his shoes, tore his shirt off over his head, and went for his pants. She reached out to help. “I mean it, Glory.” He pinned her with an authoritarian stare that had her shivering in the best way possible. “Not one inch.”

  Not a problem, since Glory couldn’t remember how to breathe let alone move with him looking at her like she was his cold beverage and he was going to drink her down. Who knew taking orders from Cal would be a total turn-on? Then again, everything about Cal was a total turn-on.

  Completely and magnificently naked, he stepped closer, running his hands down her back, molding her new undies to her butt and pressing so far into her space she could feel him hard against her stomach.

  He smelled good, felt even better when he leaned down and placed a devastating kiss on her mouth. But Glory didn’t move.

  Cal’s eyes opened and he tried it again but she held strong. Not amused, he pulled back. “What are you doing?”

  “You said not to move.” She smiled. “Not even an inch, you specified.”

  “You decide to listen to me now? When you’re wearing this.” He tugged the leg band of her panties and let them go with a gentle snap.

  “You seemed pretty serious,” she confessed.

  “Oh, I was serious all right.
” He scooped her up in his arms and placed a kiss on the lace edge of her bra before walking her down the hallway. “And you’re about to see just how serious I can get.”

  “Does that mean I can move now?” She lay limp in his arms.

  With a challenging arch of the brow, he tossed her on the bed. And then a six-pack of condoms. “Try not to.”

  And before Glory could come back with some smart-ass remark, her butt met the edge of the mattress, her panties the floor, and Cal’s mouth met swollen, sensitive skin.

  She jerked, just a fraction of an inch, but he noticed and she felt him smile against her. “Was that you moving?”

  “Nope.”

  He lifted his head and grinned, so she closed her eyes. “You sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “Because it felt like…” He trailed off as his tongue trailed right up her center, lingering until she had to grit her teeth not to move. “There. Did you feel that?”

  Oh, she felt it all right, racing through her body and short-circuiting her brain. And no matter how stubborn she was, she was no match for Cal and his masterful mouth.

  “I’m not sure,” she said. “Try it again and let’s see.”

  Cal, never one to turn down a challenge, gave a smile that had her body quivering—on the inside, since there was no way she’d lose this battle—and got down to business.

  And, Lord have mercy, Glory understood firsthand why Cal was such a successful businessman. His mission statement must be Try, try, and try again, she thought, because he teased and kissed her as though he couldn’t get enough, as though he was content to spend the rest of the night right there, in the Holy Land, driving her over the edge, again and again, until he got the job done.

  Being kissed by Cal was a religious experience, one that had her panting and weeping and, yes, moving—in every direction all at the same time. It also had her begging him for release.

  Which he did, immediately, putting his fingers into action, masterfully working her until she couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t hold back. Her orgasm took her by surprise, everything inside her coiling higher and higher, and then suddenly shattering.

  Crying out, she arched up and then slowly melted back to the mattress, her body reduced to a big limp puddle of Oh my.

  She was pretty sure she had her legs vised around Cal’s head, most likely suffocating the poor man. But he had ordered her not to move, so she held her position, allowing wave after wave of pleasure to pour over her.

  A long moment later, Glory was still struggling to open her eyes when Cal tisked. “I’m pretty sure you moved.”

  “You have no proof,” she mumbled, still half-conscious. “It’s my word against your—oh God,” was all she could get out as Cal gripped her hips and drove into her in one long, fluid stroke, filling her entirely, only to pull back completely.

  She whimpered.

  “I’m flattered, really I am. But you can just call me Cal,” he whispered and then drove back into her. “And, Boots, there was so much movement they felt it in Atlanta. Now you want to change your earlier statement?”

  No, she did not, and she was about to tell him when she opened her eyes and something shifted between them. She felt it resonate in the way he looked at her, as though really looking at who she was deep down inside. Being at the center of his focus was like being lost and found all at the same time. She didn’t know how else to explain it, other than a feeling of being treasured.

  His.

  Her heart skipped a beat. She felt like his. And she wanted desperately for him to be hers.

  Suddenly, all she cared about was seeing this moment through, seeing where it led. Seeing if what he had in his eyes was what he also felt in his heart. Because it’s what Glory felt.

  “Move me, Cal,” she whispered.

  With an intensity that shook her to her core, Cal pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek, her jaw, the corners of her mouth. His palm moved over her breasts, up her throat, to gently cup her face. And he kissed her again, on the lips, languid and unrushed, as his other hand slipped lower, gripping her bottom and pulling her to him, until she felt so full, so complete.

  Connected.

  “Move me,” she repeated.

  And move her he did. She lost herself in every slow stroke, and even slower kisses, which moved her farther and farther away from the soul-deep loneliness that had become her life until it melted completely and all she could feel was him and their connection.

  And love. She was pretty sure she felt love, too.

  “Cal,” she whispered, afraid she was going to cry.

  “I’ve got you,” he said and pulled her tighter, pulled her until she had no choice but to give in to him. She buried her face in the curve of his neck and they moved together, climbing toward something that was going to change everything.

  Then he whispered her name, not Boots, not Glory, but Glo, the name her grandmother called her, and that combined with the weight of his body took her to a place that was impossible to hold back. Her body exploded and his name tore from her lips. Cal gave a final thrust and joined her.

  Long moments later, he finally rose up on his arms, his body still shaking slightly, and looked down at her and smiled. “I’m pretty sure you moved. But if you give me a minute, we can try it again, just to be sure.”

  Glory laughed, which was a whole lot better than crying. “I am pretty sure that I moved. I have sheet burns on my back to prove it.”

  “Those would be rug burns, honey.” Glory turned her head and found herself staring at the leg of her nightstand. When she looked back, Cal laughed. “Don’t look at me. You’re the one who wrestled me to the floor with those legs of yours.”

  She felt her face heat, as well as her other, happier parts.

  “Not that I’m complaining. It was sexy as hell.” He nipped her earlobe and whispered, “But since I am a gentleman, and I know how important it is for a lady to be right, how about I help with that not moving test you seem so set on winning.”

  “I think you helped me enough,” she said, smacking his bare butt and shoving him off. He didn’t budge, except to hold up her panties and send a wicked glance at her bedpost.

  “What happened to your tie?”

  “It’s in the truck. I’m improvising.” He ran the lace edging over her breasts and down her stomach. “What do you say?”

  She was about to say, hell yes, only she’d be tying him up when a phone rang from the front room. It was hers. Cal didn’t care; he was too busy tickling her, trying to distract her from answering.

  The phone rang again. “It could be Jelly Lou. Sometimes she needs help at night.”

  With a defeated huff, he rolled off. She gave him a peck on the lips and stood, grabbing her robe off the end of her bed. He yanked it back, refusing to let go.

  “Fine.” She walked naked out to the front room, sure to swish her hips the entire way. She heard him groan, and she smiled until she saw the name flashing on her screen.

  “Payton,” she said. The only response were some loud sniffles. “Are you okay?”

  Cal appeared in the doorway. Still naked and fully aroused. She put a finger to her lips, then picked up his shirt and threw it at him.

  “Payton, are you there?”

  Cal picked up on the situation right away, slipping his pants on and holding out his hand for the phone. Glory shook her head.

  Cal gestured for the phone again.

  “Glory, I messed up,” she whispered in a tone that had Glory slipping into her dress and searching for her keys. “Can you come get me?”

  “You bet, just tell me where you are.”

  “Only if you promise not to tell my dad.”

  Glory looked at Cal, chest puffed out, expresion as calm as the eye of a storm, Daddy-mode in full effect. “I don’t think that’s a possibility, honey. Now tell me where you are.”

  “Fine, but you have to make him promise he won’t yell at me.” Glory heard laughter—male laughter—in the background. �
��He’s so going to yell at me.”

  “I promise, he won’t yell at you,” Glory said, sending Cal a stern look. His look was sterner and scarier—and he still had his hand out for the phone. Glory turned her back on him, only to hear the laughter turn to chanting and she could have sworn they were saying, “Chug, chug, chug.”

  Oh boy.

  “I’ll try, but you have to tell me where you are. Now.”

  “At the country club, by the eighteenth hole.” The phone muffled and Payton yelled, “Brand, stop being stupid.” Then she was back. “Hurry.”

  Chapter 19

  Glory stared at Cal as he hopped out of the car, striding across the lawn like a man on a mission. To say he was on edge would be an understatement. All they knew was that Payton was not at Kendra’s house; she was at the country club with a boy.

  With let’s-take-it-all-the-way varsity superstar, and every dad’s nightmare, Brand Riggs.

  Cal wore his slacks and button-up from earlier, both of which looked as though they’d been used to tie her to the bed, and enough pissed-off-dad face to turn what could be a growing experience into a dividing line.

  The tone in Payton’s voice told Glory that she didn’t need a lecture right then. She needed her dad to tell her that everything would be okay. And in order for that to happen, Cal needed to take it down a few thousands notches.

  “I know you’re angry and disappointed,” Glory said, hopping out of the truck, her dress, she noted, equally wrinkled.

  He didn’t slow down, just kept walking, tension rolling off him. “Angry and disappointed aren’t the words I’d use. She played me, plain and simple.”

  Glory stepped in front of him, placing a hand on his chest and not speaking until he looked down at her. When he did, she almost wet her pants. “Part of growing up is making mistakes, and Payton made a huge one tonight and I know it will be hard, but try to give her a chance to explain before you go nuclear,” Glory said in her calmest voice, which had the opposite effect on Cal.

  Or maybe it was the red and blue flashing lights that cut through the night sky, alerting them that this was more than two kids kissing behind the eighteenth hole.