Eye of the storm

Ruth's POV

As Caleb walked backwards and over the threshold, his eyes stayed locked on mine and I bend down again to kiss him.

Right before my lips could touch his though, a light flickered on automatically behind him and my eyes snapped towards the distraction.

"Woah. Is that what I think it is?"

My voice echoed too loudly in the mammoth sized living room as I stared transfixed at the sight before me until I felt a gentle tug against waist where Caleb's arm was still hoisting me up.

The position had me looking over the top of Caleb's head but at his tug, I looked down to find him looking up at me with a sardonic expression on his face.

"And here I thought I could finally hold your attention more than the furniture. Is it a fetish or something?"

I narrowed my eyes at him for his reference to the Canopy incident, but he missed my look as he was focused on turning around to take a look at what was holding my attention this time.

Funny how that moment had managed to pop up second time in last 5 minutes.

With my back to the view, I waited for the sight to register with him as well. And sure enough, Caleb's reaction didn't disappoint.

"Woah. Is that for real?"

I smirked in satisfaction and felt myself slide down the length of his body until my feet touched the ground.

As soon as they did, my heels sunk into the luxuriously plush gold and bronze carpet that lay beneath our feet.

I looked around the pent-house, whose decor had to be at par with that of a royal palace. Every piece of furniture held a glaze of luxury and was in a rich shade of gold, peach and alabaster including walls. Teak wood doors and furnitures were set off by copper and brass knobs.

As we walked inside, the lights turned on automatically with every one of our step for every corner of the long, rectangular room that had richly polished teak wood stair on one of its side and a sitting area at the front.

The opposite side of the stairs was a wall of glass beyond which the panoramic view of Seattle skyline was visible. Only, that wasn't the end of it.

I could see the stairs led to a line of doors, the first one of which was was dark mahogany double doors that stood out from the rest of them with its rich texture and ornate carvings, no doubt the master bedroom.

But at the moment nothing else held my interest more than the wall of glass to our right.

Because beyond them was a beautiful swing bed big enough to hold two people as large as Leo himself.

The three sides of swing was piled up with gray throw pillows, with a white quilt neatly folded at one end of some very high thread count, no doubt.

It seemed like a beautiful place to just lay down and watch the sun sink behind the mountain ranges that seemed as far as at the edge of the world on a clear summer evening.

But on a cold, stormy night like this, it looked like a paradise. Caleb must have felt the same way because he didn't even glance at anything else around us.

Instead, his sole focus was held by the beautiful view of the storm raging beyond the see-through glass.

I could never have imagined that storms could be beautiful, but with us so high up and close to the clouds, we had a clear view of the skies beyond the cover of dark clouds.

Amd beyond those clouds, all of Seattle seemed to lay at our feet, glittering like a blanket of stars beneath our feet.

It felt like we were far removed from the world, somewhere between the heavens and the earth, our personal bubble no longer a fantasy.

His fingers entwined with mine again and he led me out there through the sliding doors until we stepped out onto the rooftop/patio like area that was tiled instead of carpeted and into the storm.

Only, there was no rain, no cold. Just warm air cocooning us through the insulation, and a glass ceiling shielding us from the storm raging outside.

it looked like a glass box that allowed us to be in the eye of the storm, but still let us feel safe and removed from it.

I anticipated him to lead me straight to the swing bed, but instead he walked up to the glass at the very edge of the rooftop that seemed like a wall keeping the bone chilling cold away and paused, before turning to me.

A thunder struck outside, lighting up his face for a moment and I realised that this place did not have any human sensor lights.

We were shrouded in the dark, and the combination of the view of storm outside and the intensity in Caleb's eyes made my breath speed up.

My heart was going in an override, making my palms break out a cold sweat in nerves.

He let go of my hand, and stroked my arm, gliding his hands up until he could cup my face in both of his hands.

He bent down and I closed my eyes, waiting for his lips to touch mine, but when they didn't, I opened them and looked up at him.

He was quietly staring at me, his eyes moving over all of my face as if determined to take in every single spot and freckle.

"Thank you for putting your trust in me, love."

It might not have been the most romantic thing to say in that moment, but it still made me melt.

I covered his hands with mine, letting his warmth seep into my cool hands.

My voice was barely above the whisper, even though I knew noone else would hear us.

I could imagine all of my insecurities shining bright as the thunder-strike in the night sky but for once, I didn't try to hide it as I asked, "Keep it safe?"

A ghost of a smile passed onto his lips as he looked me straight in the eyes and promised, "Always."

With that he pressed his lips to mine, silencing every insecure thought in my brain.

His lips caressed lovingly at first, making me melt into him before letting his hands comb themselves into my hair to hold my face up in a gentle, but firm grip.

My moan got lost behind the crack of the thunder and I realised that I was holding onto the sides of his t-shirt in both of my fists.

So I relaxed my hold and let my hands slide over his hips, enjoying the warmth that was wafting off him even beyond his layers of clothes.

My head spun, and I trembled where I stood before suddenly realising how lightheaded I was.

And this was what it took for me to remind me that I had been holding my breath ever since Caleb's lips had touched mine, and now I stood weak in the knees because of lack of oxygen, but still unable to make myself pull away from his exhilarating kiss.

But somehow he seemed to guess that I was about to pass out from the lack of oxygen because he lifted his head, letting me take a huge gulp of oxygen.

His lips moved onto my neck and throat instead, and I felt a smile stretch on his lips.

I realised that this evil torpedo knew exactly what he was doing to me and moreover, he was enjoying every second of making me suffer.

Well, two could play the game.

Even though it was nearly impossible to focus, I decided to let him have a taste of his own medicine, and slowly let my hands drift down to the edge of his t-shirt until I was able to feel its hem.

Just as I felt his lips nibble and lick the length of my shoulder, murmuring something that was incomprehensible to me while pulling the neck of my dress away to make room for his lips, I let my hands slide up his body and inside his t-shirt.

I felt his breath stutter when my hand made contact with his skin and the warm muscles beneath my touch jumped in surprise.

He brought his lips back to mine, kissing me more deeply, more passionately this time, but I didn't let his tongue stroking into my mouth hinder me from my mission.

I let my hands glide over his waist and back, scraping my nails gently over the ridges of his spine.

A low growl built in the back of his throat, sending a wave of vibrations from his chest to mine and I smiled, letting him feel it on his lips as well.

He pulled back and gazed at me with narrow, lust-filled eyes and I took the opportunity to bunch his t-shirt up and pull it so that more and more of his skin was exposed for my viewing and touching pleasures.

He let me take the lead and obeyed without any resistance when I gently pressed my hands against his chest, gesturing him to stand with his back pressed up against the glass wall.

With the faint lights shining through from the living room, his dark eyes glittered dangerously and in one swoop, he pulled his bunched up t-shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor beside him.

I could clearly see the challenge and anticipation shining in his eyes as he threw the gauntlet, as if he wanted to see how far I can lead him, and I smiled seductively, letting my hands stroke his exposed torso up until I reached his neck.

With a gentle tug, I commanded him to bend and surprise flashed on his face a moment before he bent down to let me kiss him.

As tempting as it was, I didn't linger. I just gave him a deep kiss, but moved my mouth away in the next moment, nibbling his chin and down his neck and throat.

As I licked one of his collar bone, his adam's apple bobbed cluing me in that he wasn't as calm as he was pretending to be.

So I continued down my path licking, kissing and nibbling my way down covering every inch of his exposed skin until I reached his abs, where I left an open-mouthed kiss making his breath come out in a hiss.

My hand went to the top button of his jeans, but before I could pluck up the courage to unbutton it, I felt his fingers entwined in my hair, pulling me up with a gentle, but firm tug.

This time when he kissed me, it was neither sweet, nor patient. It was desperate, as if he was struggling to hold onto his sanity.

I felt something cold and unyielding press against my back and realised it was my turn to stand against the glass now.

One of his hands stayed buried in my hairs while his other hand glided down the length of my body, feeling and stroking until it reached my leg.

He bent for a moment, and hooked his hand beneath one of my knee and pulled it up while pressing himself into me.

I could feel every muscle, every contour of his body as he kissed me into oblivion. We were pressed so close that I felt his chest move with each breath, felt his heart thumping with a wild rhythm on my skin.

My heart beats synchronised with his on its own as I felt his grip on my hair tighten and tilt my head back to let him have the access of my neck and throat.

My hands clutched his broad shoulders, pushing myself closer and closer to him even though there was not a breath of space between us.

His hand left my hairs and travelled down the length of my body in desperate strokes until it reached the knot that was holding both ends of my wrap dress together.

Even though it probably took a couple of seconds, I felt every slip and sither of the belt getting tugged and loosen until they were finally undone.

Suddenly he let go of me completely, and stepped back without a warning, making me moan in protest loudly.

But instead of acknowledging my protest, he looked down at me, taking in every inch of my skin that was exposed when both ends of my dress fell open and hung uselessly from my shoulders.

I took the support of the glass behind me to hold myself upright. The fervour with which he was looking at me made me gasp for air as my body seemed to be on fire.

Never had anyone ever looked at me like that. As if I was the only thing worth looking at in the world.

As if the very world could end right then in that second, but Caleb wouldn't move his eyes away from me.

This absolute focus was both heady and scary. Old insecurities tried to slither their way back into my mind again, but I pushed them back fervently.

They had absolutely no place here at this moment, and I will not allow them to ruin what has to be one of the most remarkable moments in my life.

Still a tiny bit of those insecurities made itself known when he murmured, "you're more beautiful than I imagined you to be," in a low, husky voice.

As if out of force of habit, instead of accepting his compliment, I deflected it by replying, "you think so even when you are sober?"

It could have passed for a witty response, except for a tiny crack in my voice that made him look up and into my eyes.

He studied them for a moment, and I hoped to God he wouldn't pursue this thought any further. It could derail the whole evening and I did not want that.

As if he could read my thoughts, he opened his mouth to say something before pausing and changing his mind. Instead he narrowed his eyes at me and pulled me to him in one quick motion.

I gasped and looked up at him as one of his arms slithered around my waist while others held the back of my neck, tilting my head up with his thumb.

I could feel how much he wanted me, and the answering ache in my body lit up unbearably hot.

"You think this is funny, Ruth?" He tilted his waist, and pressed himself against me making me moan huskily.

"You think making me want you so bad that I can barely control myself right now is funny?"

His hand, that was holding my face upturned stroked my neck, and then down my body, stroking my bare skin and igniting fire on every part of my body that he touched.

"You feel like joking now, love?" His hand rubbed down my body, touching, fondling, burning all at once. His sure strokes paused at the bottom of my stomach, before stroking around my waist and reaching my back.

There he stroked more, letting his hands work its magic before following his hand's path back up until he could tilt my head back again to make me look up at him.

That was when I realised that my head had dropped to his chest as I absorbed the sensation of his hands on my body.

But now I was back to looking up at him again and he bent down and whispered a wicked command against my lips.

"Take everything off... Except your heels."

With that he stepped back and made me stand un-steadily, I leaned against the glass to help hold myself upright and not melt into the ground.

He walked backwards, keeping his eyes on me the entire time, until he reached the swing bed. He sat down at the edge of the bed keeping his feet on the ground to anchor it.

Then he waited patiently as I made my body move, following his command with precision. His gaze roamed hungrily all over me, and I felt more exposed than I had ever felt before.

This was not some random guy who was looking at me with that much ferocity after all. It was Caleb.

The guy to whom I had bared my soul to today. And now, the guy I was baring my body to. It was both daunting and exhilarating at the same time.

Especially when he gave me a one word command that I felt absolutely no desire to resist.

"Come."

I walked up to him on shaky legs and stopped in front of him. With him sitting and me wearing my heels, his head reached my eye level. He didn't touch me for a moment, but then rested his hands on my waist and tugged me closer.

"Flawless," he murmured against my skin, burying his face in the crook of my neck and making me moan and allow my fingers to drift into his hair.

"You're glorious, Ms. Brooke. Just glorious."

His words left like a healing balm on my soul, soothing years of hurt away that were caused by my loved ones in the name of 'constructive criticism.'

To Caleb, I was flawless. Glorious. He didn't say it like a compliment either. He spoke with a tone of wonder. Like admitting something that he had only guessed at so far.

And it worked better than any compliment could ever have. Because he made me feel beautiful. Accept that I was glorious, just the way I was.

And just like that, from that moment on every other words of censurel ceased to exist.

Caleb made me accept and admit that I was beautiful. And somehow all those opinions from others suddenly ceased to matter.

"Come here, love," he guided me until I was straddling his laps, with his arm wrapped firmly around me, his feet on the ground to keep the swing steady.

My heels helped, letting me balance as I settled on his lap, looking down at him with the same wonder that he was looking at me with.

Every touch, every kiss, every lick and nibble he bestowed on my body felt like worship. It was so unlike his desperate touches from a few minutes ago that I felt myself choking up.

Even with the rough denim of his jeans rubbing against my skin, I felt like I was on a feather bed. Cherished and cared for.

Every stroke felt like a reverential worship that left me breathless and moaning for more. His arms suddenly tightened around my waist, and he twisted and lowered his upper body so that my back was pressed against the soft mattress of the swing bed.

He kissed me once quickly, then un-tangled himself from my limbs and stood up.

I laid there silently as I watched him unbutton his jeans before stepping out of them, baring himself as completely to me as I had to him.

"Shall we?" He asked, standing at the edge of the swing with one hand holding one of its ropes, looking down at me with those unfathomable, dark eyes.

"We shall."

I replied without the slightest bit of hesitation and he gave me a soft smile before lowering himself to the bed and covering my body with his.