Taming Fire (Braving the Heat #2)

by Leora Gonzales

  “Yep,” he replied easily, as if there were no argument.

  “Why?” she asked softly as he stalked toward her like some sort of caged animal waiting to pounce.

  Nix placed his hands on her waist, pulling her into his body before he answered, “Because, you want me to. And baby, one thing you should know from here on out is that I will always try to give you what you want. Especially if it’s me.”

  “Pffft.”

  Nix smiled. “No pressure, Lou. I promise.”

  “Well then why stay?” The words were out of her mouth before she was able to keep her trap shut.

  “Because I’m not ready for our date to be over yet.”

  Louise stared at him for a few minutes, unsure of what to say.

  “I promise. No pressure.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  Louise grinned against the front of his shirt.

  “Let’s get him settled, and then you can tell me how bossy I’m being again. Deal?”

  Louise tried not to grin but was unable to stop her lips from tilting up, an action that Nix caught. “Deal.”

  “I love that smile, darlin’.” Nix stroked her cheek before letting her go so she could walk down the hallway to Junior’s room. “Now hurry up, slowpoke. It’s been a long day, and all I can think about is holding you while we sleep.”

  “Dear Lord.” Shaking her head, Louise let the goofy smile she was unable to hold back take over her face.

  Chapter 13

  “You’re awfully bossy, you know that right?” Louise asked as she cuddled against a warm naked chest.

  Nix let out a dramatic sigh, causing her head to rise and fall where it was settled on his chest. “Is this going to be problem again?”

  Louise hesitated in her answer. Did it annoy her a little? Yes. Was she willing to overlook a little bit of his drill sergeant attitude because he was beyond hot and a nice guy in general. For the time being, she would.

  “Not at the moment, but I reserve the right to tell you to fuck off if you really piss me off. Deal?” Louise answered honestly.

  Her head bounced with his chuckles. “I guess that will have to do for now.”

  “Good, now go to sleep.”

  “Don’t drool on me.”

  Louise smiled and stuck her tongue out to dab at the pec that was close to her mouth. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

  “Now you’re just being a brat,” Nix teased and ran his fingers through her hair before squeezing her tight one last time.

  Louise stayed awake for a little while, running over everything that had happened during their date and after. Once Junior had been tucked in and settled for the night, Nix and Louise had both gotten ready for bed. A strange sense of familiarity taking over her actions while she pulled on her sleep tank while she talked to him through the bathroom door.

  Louise was sure of one thing. Whatever the hell they were doing was going to keep her on her toes. One minute, she wanted to strangle him, and the next minute, she wanted to kiss him. He kept her on edge yet there was something very comforting about being around him.

  Tonight had been a prime example of her being out of her element. She had been more than ready for their date to end. Then Nix read Junior a story, and they got ready for bed as if it was something they had done a million times before. She had been prepared to give the ‘we need to be quiet’ speech, but that hadn’t even been necessary. Something that bothered her to no end. He didn’t push for sex. In fact, he had simply stripped down to his boxer briefs and asked which side she slept on.

  That was it.

  To top it off, she couldn’t even pull out her vibrator because he had wanted to stay over. Well…she guessed she could use it while he was lying next to her, but that wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted the monster that she had felt in his pants, and not eight inches of pink dildo and her pocket rocket.

  So, there she was.

  Surrounded by large touchable muscle, and the owner of the muscles simply patted her on the head with an order not to drool on him.

  One of the last things that went through her mind before she slipped into sleep was how pissed she would be if she hadn’t been so tired.

  * * * *

  The next morning, Louise woke up to an empty bed, the smell of coffee and Junior’s giggles coming from the kitchen. Stumbling out of her room, she pulled her hair up into a bun as she walked toward the smell of nirvana.

  “Coffee,” she mumbled. The one word must have gotten her point across because Nix handed her a cup before she even made it to the table.

  “Aunt LouLou doesn’t like mornings,” Junior tattled, already dressed for school.

  Sipping her coffee, she simply stared at the two males in front of her waiting for an explanation.

  “I woke up your friend,” Junior admitted when she stayed quiet. “He made me eggs and toast.”

  Louise transferred her attention to Nix, who had seemed to make himself right at home in her kitchen.

  “Do you want me to make you something to eat? I’m not on shift until tomorrow so I have a little bit of time if you’re hungry.” Nix lifted his own cup to his mouth, drawing her attention to the fact he was using her favorite cup.

  “That’s my cup,” Louise said.

  Nix looked at the mug in his hand before giving her an indulgent smile. “I figured these were all your cups since this is your house.”

  “That’s my favorite.” Louise knew that she sounded bitchy, but there was only so much she could handle this early. After getting clam jammed last night, she was not in the mood for the man who denied her nookie to also be using her favorite cup. There was a line in the sand, and he was right up to it at this point.

  Handing her the cup, Nix winked at her before grabbing the pot and topping them both off.

  “I went and brought your car back this morning,” Nix informed her.

  “Shit! I had completely forgotten that it was still at your house. Wait, so you drove home and brought mine here? If you can give me thirty minutes, I can run you home.”

  “Yeah, it wasn’t a big deal. I was going to hit the gym with a buddy today, so he’s on his way over to pick me up. What are you up to today?” he asked, passing her a piece of toast that she didn’t ask for but happily took a big bite out of.

  “School drop-off then I have classes today.” At the reminder that Junior had school, Louise scraped herself off the chair and started preparing his lunch.

  “What time do you finish up?” Nix asked, while he watched her fix a sandwich. Standing up, she now noticed that he was wearing work out gear instead of the jeans and shirt from the previous evening.

  “My last class today ends at four, and then I pick Junior up from aftercare. Why?” Louise licked jam off her fingers, noticing the way that Nix followed the action.

  “I was thinking of grabbing a pizza and heading over here tonight to keep you guys company. Does six work for you?” Nix ruffled Junior’s hair as he made the suggestion and waited for an answer.

  Louise couldn’t hide the surprise on her face at his words. “Uhhhhh.”

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” Nix replied and leaned in, giving her a fast peck on the lips before patting Junior on the back with an order to behave at school. Then, he was out the door before she realized what happened.

  “I like him,” Junior said with his mouth full of eggs.

  “Me too, buddy. Me too,” Louise added, smiling into her coffee cup.

  * * * *

  Later that day, Louise was beyond ready for her pizza date with the two men in her life. The first two yoga classes had been overrun with new college students. Students who decided they wanted to talk the entire class instead of finding peace and breathing. It was almost enough to make her lose it. Especially when she had overheard a few of the girls talking about the “fatty instructor.”

  As students were leaving the studio, she had calmly stopped the group of freshmen with a smile and some words. “Ladies, there is another class on Wednesdays
that you may enjoy more.”

  “Yeah, we probably will switch. I don’t feel like this was a good fit, ya know? Like, maybe we need to do some more advanced positions,” one of them said haughtily.

  “I do teach the most advanced class, but that’s only on Thursdays, and currently it’s at capacity. Stop at the front desk, and they can give you a list of what still has space available if you’re interested in changing it up.” Louise kept her tone even and decided now was the perfect time to be sweet as sugar. If not, she was going to grab this bitch by her ponytail and smack her a couple times.

  She figured she was done dealing with the sorority squad until one by one they turned their attention away from her and to the front desk.

  “Daaamn,” one of them said, fanning herself as if overheated.

  “Will you look at that?” another said, tossing her ponytail as if she were a show horse in front of a judges’ panel. The only thing that was missing to complete the image was her pawing at the ground and prancing around.

  Louise rolled her eyes at the group, wondering which one of her coworkers happened to be lighting the ladies’ fires. The studio employed three men, and each of them was appealing in their own way.

  That was when she heard her name being called.

  “Louise?” Nix called out. “How were your classes today, honey?”

  One by one, the women in front of her stiffened, and turned to look at her as if she had grown another head…or lost fifty pounds.

  Deciding to act as if she always had hunky firefighters coming to her work and fawning over her, Louise smiled and walked into Nix’s open arms. The gasps of disbelief behind her were enough to make her do a jig—later when nobody could see her. For now, she just wanted to know why he was at her work.

  “What are you doing here?” she whispered into his chest.

  “I remembered seeing the oil light was lit up on your car this morning while you were sleeping, and I had some free time. I figured I would change it for you.” Nix smacked her on the ass playfully when she pulled away to stare at him incredulously.

  “You want to change my oil?”

  “Among other things,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

  “That’s…sweet.” It really was. She hadn’t had anyone offer to change her oil since she bought her first car, and her dad had still managed the maintenance. Hell, she hadn’t had anyone offer to help her change a lightbulb for that matter.

  When Louise simply kept staring at him as though he was some type of unicorn, Nix cleared his throat and held out his hand. “Keys?”

  “Oh, of course,” Louise replied and led him toward the back office where she had her locker. As they maneuvered past the pack of pert college girls, Nix didn’t even take a second glance. Louise turned bright red when she realized his gaze was locked squarely on her ass as she walked in front of him.

  Handing him the key, Louise couldn’t stop the smile that spread over her face at the enigma that was Nix.

  “What’s that smile for?” he asked after seeing the grin on her face.

  “I can’t figure you out,” Louise admitted, knowing that honesty was the best policy.

  Nix shrugged, leaning his arm over her head, effectively trapping her against the office door. “There’s no big mystery with me, babe.”

  “I feel like there is,” Louise whispered, smelling whatever cologne or deodorant he was wearing, the scent masculine, yet clean and crisp.

  “Not really. I work hard, and I play hard.”

  “Where do I come into the picture?”

  “Normally, I would say that relationships fall into the play hard category, but I would be lying if I said you weren’t making me work hard too.”

  “Is that what we’re doing here?” Louise pointed back and forth between them and asked, “Is this a relationship?”

  “Babe, you know this is more than that. I’m just waiting for you to catch up.”

  Watching Nix strut away with her keys twirling on one finger, Louise felt a flutter in her stomach. That damn man had gone and given her butterflies.

  Chapter 14

  Louise was not used to having things done for her. From the little things all the way up to the big things, she was accustomed to managing everything on her own.

  That was until Nix decided to come barreling into her life.

  Over the past week, he had changed her oil, picked up or cooked dinner a couple times, and even helped her rake leaves one afternoon after work.

  Except he was driving her crazy.

  Now, don’t get her wrong. She liked the help, which he offered as if it were the normal thing to do. In fact, she liked it a lot. Instead of feeling as if she were about to fall asleep while eating dinner, Louise found herself enjoying a glass of wine late in the evening without nodding off and threatening her carpet with giant red stains.

  The issue she had was that Nix hadn’t made a move on her. He still tucked his arm around her, smacked her ass, and teased her with kisses—but that was it. Even though he had slept in her bed over four nights, he had kept his hands, for the most part, to himself. No matter how much she stroked and kissed his chest before snuggling in to sleep, Nix never took their play below the waist.

  So, when she said he was driving her crazy, she really meant he was dri ving her crazy .

  Crazy enough that she had called Winter and asked if Nix had found religion and become a born-again virgin without her knowing. Not that she would have held that against him, but it sure would explain why she was sneaking into the bathroom in her own damn house to masturbate at night once he had fallen asleep. After Winter had stopped laughing at her, about five minutes later, she had assured Louise that Nix wasn’t waiting for marriage.

  That left her no choice, but to take matters into her own hands. Literally. She bought a new pack of batteries, moved her vibrator to a drawer in the master bath and started sneaking out of bed at night. At first, she had considered pulling out her vibe while he was beside her, the view of a half-naked Nix more than enough to get her going. For a split second she was curious if she could tempt him into finally making a move, but she chickened out at the last minute. The last thing she wanted to happen was for her to try to be sexy and tempt him, and it completely not affect him at all.

  So, here she was, filling up the tub so she could use her waterproof vibrator in some comfort while he snored all snuggled up in her bed.

  Hanging up her tank top and shorts on the hook behind the door, Louise eased into the water. Trying to bite back a groan at the tingling heat working its way up her body as she lowered, Louise splashed down without any sort of grace when the door eased open with no warning.

  “What are you up to?” Nix’s amused voice broke the silence while Louise tried to scramble to hide what she had planned on doing and shake the water off her face at the same time.

  It wasn’t until he was all the way in the bathroom that she noticed her large vibrator sitting on the folded stack of towels in plain view next to the tub.

  “Nothing,” Louise answered weakly, barely keeping her voice from cracking with mortification.

  Nix kept his hot gaze locked on her, even as he picked up the bundle of towels and moved it out of his way, so he could sit, not once letting his eyes drift down to see what was clearly visible in the water.

  Part of her was pissed he waltzed in like he owned the place, and the other part of her was mad he wasn’t taking the opportunity to see her completely naked.

  Nix moved slowly yet deliberately, picking up her blue vibrator and studying it for a moment.

  “How long have you had this?”

  His question caught her off guard, causing her to answer before she thought about it. “A couple of years. It’s my favorite.” Trailing off into a whisper as she finished talking, Louise cleared her throat and reached for her poof and body wash.

  “Why is it your favorite?” Nix asked, his voice sounding genuinely curious.

  Louise moved the poof up and down her legs, thin
king of the best way to answer. At this point there was no hiding what she had been about to do, and if he wanted to act like it was no big deal, then she was going to follow his lead.

  “The size, I guess.” Shrugging she felt bubbles from her soap slip down her chest to pool in the water. “And it’s not plastic. I like the ones that are rubber versus hard plastic.”

  “Does it feel more realistic?”

  Louise knew her cheeks were red since they felt like they were on fire. Eyeing her favorite toy held in his strong tanned hand was almost too much. She was surprised by how small it looked in his hand as he held the blue stock.

  “Did I wake you up?” Louise finally asked, unsure where this conversation was going.

  “No, I’m a light sleeper,” he said and handed her the toy, which she took hesitantly.

  Her mind spun at his words. Did that mean that he had heard her the past few nights when she snuck away?

  “Oh?” she croaked setting it down as if it were a snake.

  “Yeah.” Nix shrugged with a smile. “I wake up at the slightest sound.”

  “Really,” Louise pretended to study the tile grout, which she noticed was cracking in some areas. “I’ve got to get that fixed.”

  “Lou?” Nix said, his voice soft.

  Louise stopped pretending to be interested in her tub surround and met his hot gaze.

  “I would like to see you use that,” he said, nodding toward the vibrator, and he raised one eyebrow in challenge.

  Louise felt her heart race at his dare. “Oh dear,” she said meekly.

  “I wanted to give you time to get comfortable with what I’m wanting from you, what I need.” Kneeling next to her tub, Nix traced circles on the skin of her arm. “But the last couple of nights, listening to you in here moaning as you work that pussy—well, let’s just say that I’m not as strong as I’d like when it comes to you.”

  “What do you mean, what you need?” Louise waited not so patiently for him to explain.

  Nix twirled his fingers in the water causing it to create small whirlpools.