The Redemption of Callie & Kayden

pulls away again. “I know you want me to talk about it with you—and I will—but right now this is what I want.” He sketches his finger down my cheekbone and my eyelids flutter shut. “You’re all I want for a minute.”
    His touch is driving my body crazy in ways I didn’t even know were possible. I nod my head, wanting him to have me for a minute. There’s a faint smile at his lips as he kisses my cheek and then he lifts his hips off me. He slips his jeans off and then his boxers before sliding my panties down my legs and pulling them off too. He grabs a condom from his wallet before tossing his jeans aside, and then he stills over me with his arms resting at the side of my head as he looks me in the eyes.
    “You know, if you ever need anything from me—whether it’s to stop or slow down or simply talk, I’m here,” he says, trying to calm my nerves, which are a mess, even though I’ve done this with him before.
    “I know.” I inhale and exhale and I almost tell him I love him right there and then, because holding it in is nearly excruciating.
    I don’t though and then he’s kissing me and sliding inside me. It doesn’t hurt as bad as the first time we had sex and my legs more willingly open up to him as he rocks inside me. I fasten my hands around his back and hold onto him as my body drifts to that place again, the one where I’m free, the one where he and I only belong together.
    I begin to sweat and the muscles of his arms and chest flex as he speeds up his movements. All thoughts leave my head. I wish I could grasp onto this moment, hold it in my hand and keep it with me forever, because then my life would be complete, breathless, real.
    It would be perfect.
Kayden
    I don’t have control when it comes to her. I’m quickly learning this. Whenever she looks at me, I swear she steals another piece of my soul. Unlike most people, she doesn’t care if it’s damaged. And once we kiss, I’m gone. The broken, soulless, empty Kayden who’s existed since the first time his father beat him no longer lives. She owns me and I want nothing more than to be with her.
    I pick her up and carry her into the bedroom, because what I want to do to her can’t be done on the beach without things getting messy. I kiss her for as long as I can, rubbing up against her and then watch in fascination as she breaks apart. I need more, so I stand up and bring her up with me, undressing her. Then she reaches to undress me and I can tell she’s looking at the scars and thinking about what put them there. When I take my shirt off, her gaze goes to the largest one right up the center of my chest.
    “I fell on a rake when my father hit me,” I tell her and I don’t even know why. I hate talking about it, but suddenly I want her to know because it’ll make me feel better and the weight on my shoulders will be a little less heavy.
    She looks like she’s about to say something that might ruin the moment, so I crash my lips against hers and steal both our breaths and voices. I fall onto her, holding my weight, noting how small and helpless she is underneath me.
    I finish taking off the rest of our clothes and then she’s lying underneath me, looking about as terrified as I feel, her eyes massive and I sense a small tremble of her body every time she breathes.
    “You know, if you ever need anything from me—whether it’s to stop or slow down or simply talk, I’m here,” I say, trying to calm her nerves. And it’s true. I’d stop if she asked me to. I’d do anything for her.
    She doesn’t say anything and I slide inside her, feeling her warmth and wishing I could just stay there and just feel her. It’s calming, terrifying, perfect—it’s so many God damn things I don’t let myself feel except when I’m with her, and when I’m with her, feeling things isn’t as hard.
    I rest my arms by the side of her head and rock inside her. Her legs fall open and her hands tighten around me as I press deeper into her, knowing that nothing else will ever compare to this. I thrust inside her, watching in awe as her eyes glaze over and her head tips back. Her body starts to arch against mine and we collide into each other as I drive her further. She bites down on her bottom lip and her neck bows forward as her fingernails pierce my skin. I hate how fucking much I like it, but I can’t help it. Even with her beneath me, it’s still there, hiding inside me, the desire for pain instead of feelings.
    “Kayden,” she