The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden

in high school.”
     
    His eyebrows knit and his swollen eye closes. “Wasn’t that like twenty years ago?”
     
    “She’s crazy,” I say, starting to climb off his lap. “Maybe that’s why she’s happy all the time.”
     
    His fingertips press into my hips, securing me in place and there is panic in his eyes. “I don’t want to let you go.”
     
    I know that look; the one that begs for someone to help them.
     
    “Please help me, Mommy,” I whisper as I feel him shift above me and every single part of my body feels like it’s ripping in two. He covers my mouth with his hand roughly, and tears slip from my eyes. Where is she? Why doesn’t she come get me? Because she thinks I’m hiding, like the rest of the kids are. That’s what I’m supposed to be doing, instead of dying on the inside, although part of me wishes I were dying on the outside too.
     
    Please Mommy….
     
    I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him as he burrows his face into my neck, resting his lips against my racing pulse. Shutting my eyes, I breathe through the moment; scared to death, but overwhelmingly wanting it. He kisses my neck slowly, relishing each touch, and my head drifts to the side.
     
    “I’m going to go wash the blood off my hands,” he whispers and I lean away. “Just stay right here, okay?”
     
    Gathering the bottom of the towel, I nod, and slide my legs off his lap. He gets up and heads to the bathroom while I lay down on the bed, knowing something’s about to happen. I can feel it in the air, in the warm sensation on my neck where he kissed me, and everywhere his hands touched me.
     
    When he walks out of the bathroom, his shirt is off and he has a towel pressed to his broad chest. When he climbs on the bed, I sit up and lower his hand holding the towel so I can look at the cut. It’s deep and just across his upper rib; another scar to add to his already torn body. I run my finger up his forearms, noticing the fresh wounds on his skin.
     
    “What happened with these?” I stop on a cut near his bicep and study it. “It looks like someone was cutting your skin.”
     
    His fingers enclose around mine and he shakes his head, looking at the wall. “I’m fine. I promise, Callie. This is the stuff I can handle.”
     
    I rise to my knees, feeling the towel open at the bottom, but don’t bother to close it. I graze my lips to his chest, inching up his neck along a jagged scar. I suck on his skin, run my tongue gently along it, and then engulf the softness of his lips. His head slants to the side and our mouths connect as his fingers envelop around my waist. He lures me closer to him, parting his lips and sucking my tongue into his mouth. I let out a groan as the overpowering emotions burst through me and possess me, erasing away the internal pain.
     
    His fingers find the bottom of the towel, and he touches the bare skin of my waist. I can’t think straight as he feels my body, tastes my lips, and steals my torturous thoughts away momentarily. I sit up, pressing my chest against him and he shifts his weight, lying down on the bed. Our legs entwine and his knee slides between my thighs. The feel of the fabric of his jeans sends heat through my body that coils into my stomach.
     
    “Kayden,” I moan against his lips as I dig my nails into his shoulder blades.
     
    He inches his mouth away, breathing fitfully, his eyes assessing mine. “Do you want me to stop?"
     
    I tighten my hold on him as I shake my head, my hair falling into my eyes. “No.”
     
    Sucking in a breath, he crashes his lips against mine and the soft savoring kisses turn desperate as the towel unwraps from my body and I lie naked underneath him. My nipples stroke his chest with every breath and my legs fall open. My hands are on his cheeks and his warmth gives me reassurance as he reaches toward my arms and his fingers encircle my wrists. Leading my hands away from his face, he puts one on each side of my head as his tongue consumes my mouth.
     
    Abruptly, he releases one of my arms and my body shivers beneath him. “Callie, let me know if I need to stop,” he breathes against my lips.
     
    “Don’t stop,” I whisper, my heart restless, but sure. “I don’t ever want you to stop.”
     
    His eyes open, wide and glossy, and he bites my bottom lip as his hand glides down my stomach. Seconds later, his fingers are inside me like they were yesterday. I feel high and lost but in the most amazing way. Like my mind finally