#caleb inked

It’s been two months since the accident. And two weeks since the surgery. When you found him you weren’t sure he was even alive. Your hands were raw and bloody from digging through the rubble of the warehouse. When you finally heard a mangled groan your heart nearly stopped. His body was covered in burns, his right arm pinned down by a metal pillar. You’ll be haunted by his screams and the look in his eyes when you told him his arm couldn’t be saved. 

If you hadn’t dragged him out when you did, he’d be dead or locked in a cell until his brain could be washed clean. A brand new Caleb for the Fleet and Ever to manipulate. Not again. 

You tip the bottle to drop two small pills into your palm and grab a glass of water as you pass the kitchen. You crack open the door to his room to peek inside. The curtains billow in the breeze from the open window. You sigh and step inside, thankful for the cool air, the room is significantly less stuffy than last night. 

You set the glass and pills on his side table before tapping the panel on the wall above to turn the lights on low, just enough to see him. He hates sleeping on his back, but with the scar tissue around his prosthetic, it’s the best way to avoid further damage. You’ve been telling him he can try to lay on his side for the past 3 days, but he’s decided to stay miserable. Or maybe he’s just punishing himself. He should have been able to move the prosthetic, a high-end prototype, a week ago, but it still lies limp next to him.

As you’re dabbing his forehead with a towel his hand flies up to grab your wrist. He stares up at you with wide eyes, his chest heaving like he’s been underwater and he’s finally getting air. You sit next to him and switch the towel to your other hand, letting him hold onto your wrist. His breathing slows as you continue to dry his face. You push his damp hair out of the way and bring the towel down the sides of his neck to his chest. 

“Did you sleep?”

His hand spasms, gripping your wrist tighter. 

“Take that as a no.” 

He lets you go and rests his hand on his stomach. You stand and circle around the bed, your hands working carefully to remove his bedding. His burns had mostly healed, just a few scars remain. His arm was the only complication. If he doesn’t learn to use the prototype there’s no way he’ll survive. Being on the run meant you… needed to run and, well, protect yourself. You’ve done well enough for the time being, but you’re quickly losing steam. 

“How long?”

It’s like he read your mind. 

“I’d say, maybe another two days, three at max.”

You know exactly what he’s about to say, still, you close your eyes and pray he won’t. You turn your back to him, folding the sheet and grabbing a fresh t-shirt. 

“You need to leave me behind.”

Why did you think praying would work? There’s no one listening. You grit your teeth as you return to his bedside to help him sit up. When he doesn’t move, you feel the first layer of your defenses crumbling. You toss the shirt on the bed and cross your arms.

“We’re not doing this.”

Those eyes, the iridescent purple twined with gold. They used to be what grounded you, but now… they’re dark and lackluster. You spent the past few weeks damn near depressed over how lifeless they’ve become.

“You’re smarter than this. Leave.”

The second layer shatters like glass, shards ripping through your skin. He turns his eyes to stare out the window, the city lights blinking off as the sun rises. Your gaze travels, taking in his pale skin, the rough edges of his muscles now less defined than before, the bandages still covering lacerations that haven’t completely closed. You’ve never seen him so broken.

“You’re right, I am smart. That’s why I’m not leaving.”

Caleb lifts himself enough to turn and hurl the glass of water across the room.

“Fuck off! You’re wasting your goddamn time on me. You wanted to get away from the Fleet, congratulations, you did it, now leave. I’m dead weight and, honestly, better off –”

Your third layer was already too weak to put up much of a fight against the rage festering under the surface. You were going to snap at some point and you’re surprised you lasted this long. 

“Better off dead, Caleb? Is that what you’re about to fucking say to me? After everything? All these years, saving your ass, staying by your side and you are going to say that shit? You know what, you’re a coward. The one thing you never wanted to become, guess what, that’s you.”

His eyes narrow and his nostrils flare, his anger was already boiling over. He looks over his shoulder at the side table for other things to throw at you. No, no more of this bullshit. If everything falls apart after this, so be it, but you are not giving up without a fight. You launch yourself onto the bed, grabbing his left hand and pulling it to his side. Straddling his stomach you lock his left arm in place under your thigh. You shove him backwards onto the bed and hold him down. He glares, his teeth bared, his chest turning red as he strains under you. You’re built for this, he trained you after all. He can thrash all he wants, but you are not leaving until you say what you need to say.

“You know what, I’m done. I’m done! You keep doing this and I keep my mouth shut no matter how much it hurts because that’s what I’ve always done. Right? I’ve always been your little bitch, right? Always at your side, through everything. University, Academy, Fleet training… And yet you still push me away like I’m some kind of inconvenience?”

He tries to throw you off using his hips, but you dig your fingernails into the soft skin of his chest and he grunts. 

“You know damn well I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love you. You know I’d die for you, kill for you, burn everything to the ground just to keep you. I dragged you out of that warehouse, your arm barely hanging on and I fought to keep you alive and you treat me like this?!”

His face twists, an emotion akin to despair, or maybe regret, taking hold. 

“I dyed my fucking hair for you so when you fucked me I’d look more like her! And I didn’t care because I needed you and… fuck me, I still do. I’m not the one who left you, she was! I’ve been here. Always here.”

You don’t realize you’re crying until a tear slips down your cheek and drops to Caleb’s chest. His own eyes misty with tears as he looks up at you in the dim morning light.

“So you don’t get to do this. You don’t get to retreat so far into the hollows of your own mind, leaving me alone. I’ve never asked you for anything. But if you don’t start fighting for yourself, goddamn it Caleb…”

Your chest feels like it’s on fire and every muscle aches from being so tense. You can’t catch your breath, all your confidence rapidly disappearing. Words you never thought you’d dare to say have spilled out of your mouth and now… You ball your hands into fists and slam them down on his chest. He gasps, the hint of a moan escaping from the back of his throat. You freeze, holding his gaze as you lean back, something hard presses against your ass. It takes you by surprise. It shouldn’t, given the kind of shit he’s done with you, but now? 

“Your life is worth living, even if it’s without her.” 

His tears finally spill over, streaming down his cheeks to the pillow beneath him. His jaw tenses and he sucks in a breath through gritted teeth.

“Caleb… please… I need you to believe that.”

His lip trembles, his eyes flick between yours and dip to your mouth. That familiar warmth spreads through your chest and coils downward to your core. 

“You believe that?” 

His voice is low, barely audible. You let your hands unfurl and flatten against him. A deep sense of satisfaction settles over you from the goosebumps rising just from your touch. You lean down, so your forehead rests against his. 

“I always have.”

In all the years you’ve known him, he’s always held himself back from truly enjoying the intimacy he craves. When he agreed to casual sex you were thrilled, knowing full well you’d be the one heartbroken at the end of the day. You’ve always taken the initiative, he’d respond accordingly. But for the first time, the look of longing you’d always seen when he’d talk about her, was directed at you. Just as you’re about to convince yourself it’s all in your head, he tilts his chin up, capturing your lips with his.

His kiss is soft and slow, like he’s testing the waters. You know he can feel your hands shaking against his chest, no matter how hard you try to hold them still. He sucks your bottom lip into his mouth and it’s at this moment you realize you had a fourth layer of defense against him, keyword had. Your muscles relax and your body melts on top of his. He moans into your mouth and you gasp as his hips twitch.

“I don’t deserve you…”

He mumbles against your lips. 

“No… you don’t…”

He chuckles at your cheekiness, immediately cut off by a moan as you slip your tongue into his mouth. Just like always, he fights with you, his tongue dancing with yours to take over and completely ravage you. But this time there’s a desperation you’re not used to. His hand slips free from under your thigh and trails up your side before gripping the back of your neck. His kiss becomes more forceful now, making your pussy throb. 

“You’re making… a horrible choice… standing by me…”

Your hands slide down his chest and brace against his abs, he shivers, his lips never leaving yours for longer than a moment. 

“Love makes you… do crazy things…”

His hand finally reaches around to your lower back and he pulls you down, his hard cock pressing against your clothed core. He swallows your whimpers as you let your hips relax. His fingers play with the hem of your shirt. You immediately sit up to yank it off. His hand glides up your stomach, over the center of your chest and takes hold of your face. His grip tightens slightly and he yanks you back down to his eager lips. 

“Stop saying that…”

His voice is hoarse, fuck… your panties are soaked.

“What?” You roll your hips. “That I’m in love with you?”

Another roll of your hips has him cursing under his breath. You continue to grind on him, drinking in his sweet sounds.

“I’ve been… in love with you since… the day we met…”

His fingers twist and your bra clasp unhooks, you let him slide the straps down your arms and toss it on the floor. He curls his arm around you, sliding his hand up your bare back until you lower yourself on top of him. He moans and you smile into his kiss. Under your right breast you feel his muscles twitch. You ignore the sensation at first, but as they become more frequent you have to hold onto his face so you can pry your lips away. 

The muscles in his chest jump and twitch, he leans up to try to reach you, but you press him down. That’s when you see it. 

“Caleb, your hand.”

He blinks, confused, but follows your gaze to his prosthetic. The stiff metal has shifted, the fingers curled. When his chest twitches again, the hand jumps, fingers curling even further. You both gasp, your enthused giggle echoes through the room. 

“How… shit –”

You press messy kisses to his jaw, sucking and licking down the center of his neck. When you suckle on his Adam's apple he groans so loudly you nearly come undone. Something cold grips your thigh and you yelp. The realization that both of his hands are on you makes you tense, your entire body buzzing with excitement. 

“Ride me.”

You don’t need him to ask twice. You awkwardly lift yourself off of him to pull off your jeans and panties. After slowly peeling his sweats down his legs, you return to your seat. He holds onto your thighs while you lower your bare pussy onto his stomach. He curses, your arousal smearing over his abs, your scent filling the room. You don’t wait long before hooking your fingers into the band of his boxers and tugging them down over his hips. 

While this isn’t your first time with him, it’s your first time feeling truly wanted by him. All the other times you were just a substitute. A stand in. Temporary. Now… Now you don’t know what you are, but the stretch is more intense, your eyes immediately rolling back in your head. 

“Can I… touch you…?”

You’re about to ask why he’s even asking, but then you realize. His metal hand strokes your thigh, inching closer to your weeping cunt. You take hold of his wrist and bring him closer. He twists his wrist slowly and presses his thumb against your sensitive bundle. When you jerk he stops and you shake your head, giving him an apologetic smile.

“Cold… it was cold, it was good… more… please…”

He continues, adding a bit more pressure as his other hand wanders upwards to take hold of your breast. Your thighs burn, his cold fingers tracing your clit, the way he pinches and tugs at your nipples, you can already see stars. 

“You’re right.”

He starts thrusting, forcing you to brace your hands against the headboard above him. Staring down you search his expression, confused by the sudden comment. 

“What –”

He brings his hands to your hips and lifts you, dropping you down onto his length with a force that knocks the air out of your lungs. You let out a scream as his swollen tip bullies your most sensitive spot. The room spins as your hips slam against his. You lean back and grab onto his thighs, letting your head fall back and eyes close. 

“You - you’re always there.”

With every damn near painful thrust you feel your tits bounce. Your hair sticks to your sweat slick skin, strands plastered to your back and forehead.

“You’ve al-always been th-there.”

You force yourself to look down at him. The intensity of his stare brings a string of curses from between your lips. An adorable blush stains his cheeks, traveling to his ears and down his chest. His lips, swollen and bruised, tremble as he gasps for air. 

“Takin’ my bullshit… all for what…?”

His hands squeeze your hips.

“Because you fell in love with my… ahh fuck… with my delusional ass?”

He growls, pressing the palm of his metal hand onto your lower stomach. His eyes close, his brows knit together to focus. 

“Why y-you willingly choose me… Fuck, I can’t… You’re so goddamn tight… ”

You remove your hands from his thighs and brace them on either side of his head. As you move, he opens his eyes to stare at where you’re joined with him. A whine escapes his throat but instead of covering it up, he throws his head back and lets another rip free. If he keeps making sounds like that it’ll be over for you and you’re desperate for him to keep talking like this. Before you can stop yourself your hand wraps around his throat. You’ve barely applied any pressure, just the feeling of your fingers around his neck was all it took to tip him over the edge. 

“Shit Caleb!”

His release is explosive, the heat and strength of his spend overwhelms you. His hips continue to pulse and you can feel your own cunt suck him in further. When you finally come you’re screaming, shaking, clawing at anything your hands can latch onto. Caleb hisses as your nails dig into his chest, but it barely stops his movements. His hands remain steadfast against your hips, guiding you to ride out your orgasm. 

Your vision darkens around the edges and you feel yourself fall. Caleb lifts his body off the bed to catch you, slowly laying back with you cradled against his chest. The aftershocks of your climax barely subside as the minutes pass. You focus on every breath, savoring every soothing touch and steady heart beat.

“Why me?” 

His voice is timid, hesitant. You shift to look up at him.

“You know better than anyone…”

He instinctively lifts his right arm and tucks his hand behind his head. When he doesn’t flinch, you bite your lip to fight back a smile. You know it’s psychological, but the idea that fucking you helped him regain motor control is just too good. He tilts his head, waiting for you to continue. 

“Obsession can take you by surprise.” 

The way his eyes darken as he processes your admission has you blushing. His heartbeat quickens and his cock, still buried in your pussy, grows hard once more. Just the slightest shift of your hips makes him groan. He threads his fingers through your hair and cradles the back of your head. The suddenness of his movements take you by surprise, you squeal as he rolls you over, pinning you to the mattress. You shudder at the feeling of your hips stretching wider under his weight. The twitch of your muscles borders on painful, sending a shot of pleasure straight to your pulsing cunt. You wrap your legs around him and close your eyes as he dips his head to press messy kisses to your neck. You’ve only ever dreamed of moments like this, intimacy motivated by desire not desperation or convenience. 

“You’re saying… you’re obsessed… with me, yeah?”

You hum your approval, causing him to nip at your pulse point. Your hands make their way to his face, pulling him up so you can reclaim his lips. His intensity envelopes you, his kiss hot and almost violent. You can feel tears trickle down from his face onto yours, he gasps and sighs into your mouth. 

“I need you to… do one more thing for me…”

He finally leans back, his forehead pressed against yours. You play with the hair at the nape of his neck as you look up at him.

“Anything.”

He smiles and you hold your breath to suppress a sob, that’s a sight you’ve ached for. A sight you weren’t sure you’d ever see again.

“Dye your hair. Back to what it was. And never… compare yourself to anyone ever again.”

He leans down to kiss you again, but you turn your head just in time. He looks at you with a frown, raising a brow.

“That’s two things, genius.”

He quickly shuts you up by covering your mouth with his, sucking and biting on your bottom lip until you’re breathless. Your whimpers make his cock twitch and before you can make any more snarky comments, he’s driving his hips forward. 

The sun is setting by the time you finally convince him to rest after noticing the skin around his prosthetic was getting irritated from the exertion. You can barely stand to walk to the bathroom for a towel and when you return, he’s fast asleep. You clean him up before running a shower for yourself. As you wash you take inventory of the marks Caleb left, all at varying levels of development between a rosy pink to a dark indigo. You stare at the ceiling, the warm water soothing your scalp - you’d forgotten how much Caleb really loves to pull your hair. Is any of this real? Are your years of pining really over? Is he really… yours? 

Fuck it. He will be.  ⚙🐦‍🔥✈🐦‍🔥⚙

AN #2: I still have Sylus’s story (Vow) to finish. Then Zayne & then Xavier. Caleb’s is the final “book” in the series - which I am calling the “Under your Skin” series. Cause… ya know… they’ll all have tattoos & piercings… I haven’t been motivated to write much lately, so Xavier’s Bridgerton AU story is in the works & then my Vow is next priority. Thank you for reading!!