Chapter Text
Caleb’s pupils flare. His hand clamps on your hips, pulling you tightly against him. Instinctively, you try to squeeze your thighs together, but Caleb doesn’t let you. His grip is iron as he pries your knees apart.
"Don’t hide from me," he says, and you flush.
"I'm not—" You break off, embarrassed. "You’re just staring."
"I know," he says. "I want to see everything. Please." He tugs at your legs again, and you force yourself to open up, your thighs falling apart.
Caleb doesn’t hesitate. He moves between your thighs, his broad shoulders boxing you in. His tongue finds you without warning, sending a bolt of pleasure straight through you. You arch, helpless, as he kisses the inside of your thigh, then bites down, making you shudder.
Your hands twitch above your head.
"Ah, ah," he says, noticing instantly. His hand presses against your ribs and holds you in place. "I said, don’t move."
"Caleb— it’s a lot," you gasp. "You’re—You've been holding back, huh?"
"Of course," he replies, as if it’s obvious. "Look at you. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this. How many nights I’ve thought about tasting you. I want every moan you make tonight burned into my memory."
He dives back in, his tongue relentless now as you gasp and writhe beneath him. His fingers slide through your slickness, teasing you before easing one inside, his mouth never leaving you. The combination makes your back arch off the couch, your control slipping with every lick and pump.
Then Caleb pulls back, and the abrupt loss of his mouth jolts you. Looking up, you find fire blazing in his eyes. He searches your face, checking if he pushed too far. As soon as he sees he hasn’t, the tension in his shoulders eases, and that fire burns even hotter.
"Mmm," he says with amusement. "You do want more, don’t you? You do want me to ruin you."
You flush again, unable to give him an answer, even though your mind is screaming yes.
Still holding your gaze, Caleb slips his fingers between your thighs, gathers your slickness, and brings them to his lips, sucking them clean. You feel a throb so hard at the sight of his lips shining, a strand of spit connecting his mouth to his hand, that it’s almost painful.
Before you can muster a response, Caleb settles between your legs again.
"Caleb—" you start. "Fuck—"
"Yeah?" he says, his finger working you open. "You like that? You like how I taste you? I knew you would. I know everything you like."
By now, you’ve accepted that you’re too lost in sensation for words. Through the haze of pleasure, you can hear the desperation in Caleb’s voice, how much he needs to know you want this as badly as he does. The fact that he’s still so focused on your pleasure only makes you ache for him more, in ways you never imagined his possessiveness could.
"My love," Caleb says, and your heart flips. "I want you to know I’d never hurt you. I never want you to feel suffocated unless it’s because of me inside you. You mean so much to me, and all I want to do is prove that to you."
His honesty makes your laugh come out shaky, but you still manage the words: "You’re not hurting me at all."
"I hope not," he says. "I’d do anything for you. Anything that makes you feel this good." He adds a second finger, his thumb circling your clit as he presses deeper. "Please... Let me fuck you."
A shiver runs down your spine at that.
If you’re being honest, you never thought your situationship would come to this. Maybe, deep down, you convinced yourself it never could. That you could keep things casual, your heart barricaded behind jokes and late-night texts.
But now, Caleb’s request for sex hovers over you, impossible to ignore.
You start thinking about the yearning that’s always been disguised as jealousy, about how Caleb has managed to take up so much space in your life. You used to believe he wanted to control you, to own you.
Yet in this moment, the truth is undeniable: Caleb wants you because he can’t help himself.
He wants you because losing you would break him.
Still, wanting him is dangerous. It means tearing down the walls you’ve spent so long building, letting him see the messy, terrified parts of yourself you’ve never shown anyone.
There’s a voice in the back of your mind cataloging every reason this could end badly: the rumors swirling after tonight’s reception, the way admirals watched you at Caleb’s side, the drinks you accepted from strangers, and the uncomfortable truth that your place in the Fleet isn’t guaranteed, especially if people start to question whether you deserve to stand at Caleb’s side.
But there’s another voice, more persistent, that wonders what might happen if you let yourself be seen. What if you admit you want him too, even the parts that scare you? You realize you’re not just afraid of what might happen between your bodies; you’re afraid of what it will mean for both of you when there’s nothing left to hide behind.
Because saying yes means you’re his, and he’s yours.
And right now, you’re ready to let that happen.
Caleb lingers for a second, then pulls back. His hands slide up your thighs as he rises above you, his eyes never leaving yours.
"Please," he pleads. "Let me have you. I want to be inside you. I promise I’ll make it good and everything you want. Let me show you how much I need you."
You could lie. You almost do.
"Yes," you say at last.
Caleb doesn’t waste a second. He fumbles with his belt and pants, and you reach for him, desperate for his skin against yours. When he finally frees himself and lines up at your entrance, you hook your legs around his waist and pull him in.
"You can have me, Caleb," you whisper, wrecked with need. "All of me."
Caleb’s pupils are blown wide as he thrusts into you hard, the force of it knocking a yelp out of you. He stretches you open, filling you completely, and the sensation is everything you’ve been aching for.
"F-fuck—yes," Caleb groans, his head dropping to your shoulder. "This is all I’ve wanted. You—just like this. S-so tight around me." He sets a brutal pace, his hips snapping against yours, his grip on your waist so firm you know you’ll feel it tomorrow. "Fu-uck, I’m never letting you go. I could lose my mind."
Your thoughts scatter, replaced by the slap of skin. Moans spill from your lips between gasps, his name tumbling out again and again.
"That’s it," he pants, sweat coating his skin. "That’s my girl. Let me hear you—let everyone know who’s fucking you right now."
He lets out a frustrated growl when the couch cushions slide beneath you.
"Turn around," he croaks, hands tightening on your waist as he suddenly urges you up.
You hardly have time to react before he pulls you onto your hands and knees, and slides back inside with a single, hard thrust, making you cry out.
"God, look at you," Caleb moans, one hand fisting in your hair, the other splayed across your back, holding you down. "You’re perfect. You’re so fucking perfect."
You sob his name, lost to euphoria, your fingers digging into the couch cushions for purchase. His hand goes up your spine, fingers looping around the back of your neck.
"Look at me," he says through gritted teeth, tugging you up and pressing your back flush against his chest, one arm banding around your waist to keep you steady. With his other hand, he tilts your chin, forcing you to meet his eyes over your shoulder.
You see yourself in his gaze. He looks stunned, unable to believe how good this feels for both of you. The intensity is almost too much, and you have to look away, overwhelmed by how badly you don’t want him to stop.
"Keep looking at me," Caleb says, his breath hot against your ear. "I need you to see how much I want you. How fucking weak I am for you."
His hips snap forward, and you cry out again, unable to hold back. "God—Caleb… feels so good…"
"Mmm." He bites your shoulder, and you wince. "Think he’d know how to do this? Chen, or whatever his name was? He looked at you like you were someone he could just… pick up. Like you’d give him those polite little smiles and he’d actually have a chance."
You try to argue but end up choking on your own voice.
"Newsflash," he says, voice rough, "he doesn’t get to see you like this. Only I do."
"Caleb—" you try.
"He doesn’t know how you sound when you’re actually honest about your feelings. He saw you for minutes and thought he had you figured out."
You let your head fall back, eyes squeezed shut, letting the rapture build and build until it’s all you can register.
"You know what was running through my head," he says, "listening to him talk to you like he had a chance?"
You make a garbled sound that might be a no.
"This," he says. "You, like this. The way you’re shaking. The way you squirm when it gets too intense, but don’t actually want me to stop."
Then, as if on cue, he shifts his angle, and suddenly it’s worse in the best possible way. Your whole body tightens, every nerve lighting up. Whatever you were about to say dies in your throat.
"There?" he asks, instantly picking up on it. "That’s the spot?"
You can only nod, frantic.
"Tell me," he reminds you.
"Yes," you gasp. "There, right there—don’t stop—please don’t—"
"You sound so good when you beg," he says. "You have any idea what that does to me?"
You whine, past caring about dignity.
"Let Chen think you’re polite," Caleb goes on, pace never wavering. "Let everyone else think you’re disciplined. You’re mine like this."
Your stomach twists, heat coiling tighter and tighter, your whole body inching higher without your permission.
"Caleb," you say again, and you don’t even know if you’re warning him or begging him.
"Yeah," he answers. "I know. You’re close, aren’t you?"
You nod again, almost violently.
"Then stop fighting it." His grip tightens; he pulls you impossibly closer. "Let me have it."
The tension finally snaps. You go over hard, back arching, vision going white as the world narrows to the beat of your own pulse and Caleb’s name on your tongue. Caleb keeps you pinned up, easing only when your muscles start to tremble from overstimulation.
By the time he’s collapsed over you, your chest is still heaving, your brain swimming in the aftermath.
You blink, dazed. "You’re… insane."
Caleb quickly rolls off you, awkward and a little frantic, like it only now occurs to him he might have crushed you into the couch.
"Shit," he mutters. "Did I crush you? Be honest. I feel like I crushed you."
You manage a laugh, still relearning how to move your limbs. "You’re… not light, but I’m fine."
He searches your face, checking for lies, then lets out a relieved huff. "Okay. Good. I just realized I was lying on you like a sandbag and had a minor heart attack."
He glances around, then reaches over the side of the couch to snag the blanket draped over the armchair. With a quick shake, he settles beside you again, tugging you into his chest before pulling the blanket over both of you.
You nestle against him, your head pressed to his shoulder, his heartbeat pulsating beneath your ear. His hand traces absentminded circles on your back, like he can’t not touch you now that he’s started.
"Hey," he says. "Seriously. Are you okay? Not just, like, physically." He grimaces. "Though also physically. But… you know what I mean."
You swallow, staring at a wrinkle in the blanket. "Yeah. I’m… processing. But I’m okay."
"If I did anything you didn’t like, you can tell me," he says quickly. "I won’t—like, I’m not gonna be upset about it. I just… I need to know I didn’t screw this up."
Your chest tightens. You wet your lips, suddenly more nervous than you were five minutes ago.
"Caleb?" you say.
"Yeah?" His answer is immediate.
"Did you… mean it?" you ask. "When you said you loved me. Was that just—" You gesture between you, heat creeping up your neck. "In the moment, or…?"
He freezes. For a second, you think you’ve upset him. Then he exhales, eyes dropping to where your fingers are bunched in the blanket.
"You really picked the post-orgasm cuddle pile for this conversation, huh?"
"That’s not an answer," you say.
He turns his head to look at you properly and nods.
"Yes," he says. "I meant it. All of it. I didn’t plan on saying it like that, but I’ve been… holding onto that for a while." His thumb brushes your side. "I’ve been in love with you, and trying really hard to pretend I wasn’t."
Your chest feels full. "How long is ‘a while’?"
He scoffs. "Why do you want me to sound pathetic?"
"Because I like you pathetic," you joke. "Answer the question."
He narrows his eyes at you, then sighs, resigned. "Fine. I don’t know. Before the lieutenant, obviously. Before tonight. The night you fell asleep on my shoulder and drooled on my hoodie? Definitely then. Maybe earlier. Definitely when you called me at three a.m. to rant, and I realized there was no universe where I’d ignore your calls."
You stare at him, a laugh bubbling up. "You’re an idiot."
"I know," he says, grinning. "But I’m your idiot... well, if you want me."
Suddenly, you see hope and fear flicker across his face, all of his bravado gone, and yours falling down too. The fight seems to drain out of you. There’s no more hiding, no more pretending you don’t want him. You want all of Caleb, openly and honestly, as yours.
At last, you’re done running from him.
"I do," you say.
Caleb’s whole face changes. His shoulders drop, his eyes go soft.
"Yeah?" he whispers.
"Yeah," you say. "You’re… a pain in the ass and overprotective, and you leave your coffee cups everywhere. But I wouldn’t know what to do without you."
Caleb’s mouth quirks. "You’d have a much easier life, pipsqueak. No one to drive you crazy. Or keep you up all night."
You shoot him a look, cheeks hot. "Why would you say that? Especially after you just—" The words tangle in your mouth, and you bury your face in his shoulder.
"After I what?" He leans in against your ear. "After I just fucked your brains out? That’s the part you’re shy about?"
You swat his arm. "You’re annoying."
He catches your wrist and pins it against his chest. "You like it when I’m annoying."
You try to glare, but your resolve is slipping fast. "Yeah? Is that how you’ll always fuck me, then?"
He flashes you a wicked smile. "You bring out the worst in me. Or maybe the best."
You roll your eyes. "Guess I should make you jealous more often."
Caleb’s grip tightens. "Careful. Jealousy makes me reckless. And you’re the only one I dare for."
Anticipation curls deep inside you. The night is far from over, and you know exactly where jealousy leads, now that Caleb dares.