Phoenix (Own The Skies Book 2)

by Emma Nichole

  I move my gaze off of his, and finish the last of my vodka soda, releasing a deep breath. I’m getting swept up in this. I’m away from the stress of work and essentially on vacation with a hot as sin man. Of course I’m getting swept up and it’s okay.

  It’s okay to have fun.

  Okay to feel something.

  Have fun. Unwind. That’s why I’m here. Right?

  The show rolls to a close and I stand, giving them the round of applause they deserve.

  “What did you think?” he asks.

  “It was fucking incredible! I can’t believe you wanted to come see this,” I admit.

  “Andre is a friend and his girlfriend owns the place. I like to support when I can, and I had a feeling you’d really enjoy yourself.”

  New music starts moving through the speakers and the crowds at the tables scatter, some back to the bar, some over to the small dance floor.

  “I really did. Thank you for bringing me.”

  “The night is still young. Are you sure you don’t want another drink? I’ve heard through the grapevine, they have a pretty amazing cheesecake here, too. It’s the only food they serve.”

  “Actually, that sounds incredible.”

  “I swear. This woman walked right out of her house, stark fucking naked and shouted ‘You’ll never take me alive’ before diving into her pool,” Case says, very animatedly, and I cannot stop laughing.

  “You can’t be serious. Case, that sounds fake.”

  “Swear. It happened.”

  I don’t know where the hours have gone. We have sat at this table in Erotique, sharing cheesecake, and just talking like we did the first time I was in Savannah before everything fell apart.

  “Tell me about work. How’s it really been going for you?” he asks, finishing his water.

  I sit back in my chair and sigh. “It’s been...work. I don’t really know how to answer honestly.”

  “You aren’t happy anymore?”

  “It’s not that. I like helping people—but nursing—it’s just not what excites me anymore. Does that make sense?”

  “Perfect sense.”

  “Some days are harder than others. I manage.”

  “You shouldn’t just manage, Nora. You should do what excites you. What makes you tick and keeps your heart racing.” He talks with his hands. I love it.

  “Is that what being a cop does for you?”

  “Every day.”

  I shake my head in response. “I couldn’t do it, and I couldn’t be the loved one of someone who puts their life on the line every day like that.”

  He doesn’t respond right away, like he’s trying to think of a retort, but he doesn’t get the chance.

  A voice breaks over the PA system, signaling last call.

  “Last call?” I pull my phone out of my clutch to check the time. “Holy hell. It’s 3:00 a.m. already.”

  “Look at us party animals with our water, cheesecake, and burlesque.” He stands, taking my hands and pulling me to my feet.

  We stand close together, his hands naturally at my waist. “I like this kind of party.”

  “So do I.” He pushes my hair behind my ear and my lips part in a sigh. He leans in closer, and I feel it. He’s going to kiss me.

  “Case...” I whisper. My nerves take over. The idea of finally having the kiss I’ve thought about so often the past few months is too much, and I just blurt it out. “You should request our Lyft.”

  He freezes just a couple inches from my face, then licks his lips and pulls away. “Yeah, I should.”

  Damn it, Nora.

  Solid job.

  You’re cock-blocking yourself.

  Chapter 12

  Nora

  To say the sexual tension in the back of the Lyft is so thick you can see it is an understatement. I can literally feel my heart pounding in my chest. It’s a steady, quick bump...bump...bump.

  Case keeps “accidentally” touching my hand, my leg, any part of me he can, really. My body is on fire. I can feel heat rising in my cheeks.

  I only had one drink tonight, and that was hours ago. This isn’t intoxication. No, this is Case. Nothing but Case.

  The driver makes a sudden left, I assume because he almost missed his turn, and my dress against the leather seat sends me sliding into Case’s side.

  Into the warmth of his body.

  I don’t think. Thinking is overrated and I do too much of it.

  I paint on a carefree act for my friends and family, but deep down, I’m an overthinker.

  Toss it away, Nora. Don’t think. Just do.

  I don’t try to move away from him, and when he notices, he curls his arm around my back.

  I tip my face up toward his, only catching quick glimpses of his eyes through passing headlights.

  “Nora...”

  My name in that delicious voice lifts me up like a cloud and I pull him to meet me halfway, and finally...our lips meet.

  I melt into him like ice cream on hot pavement.

  He tastes like mint with a twist of sugar, and as his tongue finds mine, a moan climbs up my throat and vibrates across my lips.

  I can feel him smiling, but he doesn’t pull away. He only deepens our connection.

  I feel his strong hand curl under my thigh and pull it up over his waist so we can be even closer.

  The slight change in position lets me feel the solid piece of pure male pressing against me.

  Holy hell! This is affecting him just as much as it’s affecting me.

  He slides his lips over my chin and down my jawline, pausing at my racing pulse to gently suck.

  There comes another moan.

  “No fucking in my car,” the driver says from the front seat, pulling us both from the moment.

  “Oh my God.” I cover my face and slide back to my side of the car, stifling a laugh.

  “Come on, buddy. Look at her. Wouldn’t you?” Case says to him jokingly.

  “No fucking in my car. Even if she is a dime piece,” he says.

  My eyes go wide in embarrassment.

  “That she is, but you’re right. No fucking in your car. Noted.” Case settles back in his seat then reaches over to take my hand, lacing our fingers together.

  He’s letting me know it’s okay.

  He’s letting me know he’s right with me.

  He’s letting me know he wants me too.

  The drive back to the hotel seems to take forever. We catch every red light known to man, even in the middle of the night. The universe wants to give me too much time to overthink this.

  He brings my hand to his lips and presses a kiss to the top as the car finally rolls to a stop.

  We climb out of the car and walk through the deserted lobby to the elevators.

  When we step onto the elevator car, and the doors slide shut, all the sexual tension comes rushing back.

  “Holy fuck,” I whisper under my breath.

  “I know. I feel it too,” he says.

  I swallow a large gulp when he steps closer.

  “Nora. If you don’t want this, say so now, because once we step inside of that hotel room, and I get my hands on you, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop.”

  I step back until I hit the wall behind me, and he cages me in with one hand on either side of my head.

  I lick my lips and place my hand on his chest over his pounding heart, then give him the confirmation he needs.

  “Kiss me.”

  I see a hint of a smile on his lips before he dives in, capturing another taste of my lips.

  With each ding of the elevator as we rise toward our floor, he kisses another part of my body.

  Ding.

  My lips.

  Ding.

  My chin.

  Ding.

  My neck.

  Ding.

  My chest.

  I’ll be like Pavlov’s dogs by the time this is over. Instantly wet at the sound of an elevator bell.

  I glide my hands down his body to grip his belt,
holding him to me. My fingers tickle their way down until I can cup his hardness through his jeans.

  “Christ,” he huffs. “I’m so hard it hurts.”

  “I can feel that.” I smile, giving it a squeeze.

  The elevator bounces to a stop, signaling we have reached our floor. He takes my hand and essentially drags me down the hall.

  His excitement is heady, sexy, and it’s sending a rush of adrenaline through me.

  Holy hell. I’m going to have sex with Case Carmichael.

  “You’re lucky I don’t have my handcuffs with me,” he says.

  “Next time.” I bite my lip in a smile; then screech a laugh when he actually lifts me from the ground and tosses me over his shoulder.

  “Case!” I shriek out with a laugh and swat at his ass. “Put me down!”

  “Nope. I’m proving a point, Phoenix.” He swats my ass in return, and I don’t hate it. Interesting.

  As soon as our hotel room door opens, confident Nora tries to scurry away and take a back seat again.

  Fuck that. I yank her back and force her to stay put. It’s the only way I’ll truly be able to enjoy this without worrying about the awkwardness tomorrow could bring.

  He places me on my feet and presses me against the door. The height of my heels allows my eyes to rest right at his neck, rather than at his chest, where they normally reach.

  I feel his hands glide up the outside of my thighs until he reaches the hem of my dress. He curls his fingertips underneath it and pulls it upward to bunch at my waist, revealing my lace panties.

  Thank God I packed my sexy ones.

  I’m shaking, literally coming apart at the seams with need for him to touch me. The desire and intense craving I have for this outweighs any and all logic I normally push front and center.

  He buries his face in the crook of my neck, sucking on my skin, and laying kisses anywhere he can.

  “Your body was built for sin, Phoenix. I fucking need it.” His voice sends a vibration from my ear, down my neck, and directly to my clit.

  “Take me. Take me, please. Right here.” I drop my hands to the front of his jeans and open his belt. The metallic clink of the buckle fills my ears between our blending sighs.

  He responds with his mouth to mine in a kiss I can feel all the way to my toes. His tongue glides and rolls with mine. His teeth nibble on my bottom lip for a moment before he tugs it and releases.

  He walks his fingers down the front of my body, pausing at the waistband of my panties, and that’s when his eyes meet mine.

  “Say yes.” Two simple words uttered from that delicious voice. He’s asking for my consent, again. Such a gentleman.

  “Yes. God, yes,” I moan, pushing my hips forward, showing him I want this.

  “Hands above your head.” He smiles a devilish grin and my body complies without a second thought. I raise both arms high, and he uses his free hand to pin my wrists together to the door.

  My chest rises and falls rapidly as he slips his hand into the front of my panties and his fingers connect with my pussy. My clit is swollen, peeking through my folds and begging for his attention.

  “Fuck. You’re bare,” he says. “And so fucking wet.” He swipes a finger over my clit.

  “Yesssss,” I sigh, arching my body out.

  He does it again and again until I’m moaning and writhing. I tug my arms to lower them, wanting to wrap him up and pull him in closer, but he squeezes them, letting me know he’s in control.

  His middle and ring fingers dip lower to my entrance and carefully stretch me open and glide inside.

  “Ohhhhhh fuck,” I breathe out.

  His palm presses against my clit and his fingers curl up to find that special spot deep inside.

  He finds it with ease and I instantly know I’m going to come. I begin to move my body over his hand, finding my own pleasure.

  “Fuck my hand, Phoenix. Come for me just once, and then I’ll fuck you,” he commands.

  I rock my hips back and forth to find that perfect rhythm. My entire body is alive, covered in goosebumps and a thin sheen of sweat.

  Case is a glistening pool of fresh water and I am desperate to drown myself in him.

  The walls of my body begin to tremble. I am climbing toward the tip of the mountain. Closer…Closer...

  “I’m gonna come. Fuck, Case...now, now, now.” I spread my wings and jump. Flying over the edge into ecstasy.

  He holds me tenderly, letting the orgasm rock my body from the follicles of my hair to the soles of my feet.

  My eyes are squeezed closed with every wave. I feel his hand still between my legs, coaxing every ounce of pleasure from my body.

  When I finally open my eyes as my body settles, he releases my arms. I drop them to rest on his shoulders.

  He pulls his hand from my panties and does something I never expected.

  He glides his finger across the seam of my mouth, letting me taste myself, then he licks his fingers clean.

  “I knew it,” he whispers, cupping my face.

  “Knew what?”

  “That you’d taste like fucking magic.”

  I pull him to me by the back of his neck to bring his mouth back to mine.

  My orgasm didn’t temper my need for him. No. It simply doused my flames with gasoline.

  He slides his hands down the backs of my thighs then I feel his fingers curl in. He lifts my feet from the ground and my legs wrap around his waist.

  I can feel the hardness of his cock through his jeans.

  “I knew it,” I say against his lips with a grin, repeating his words. “You’re big.”

  “That’s the most amazing thing a man can ever hear.”

  He walks across the room then turns around, lowering to sit on the corner sofa, taking me with so I’m straddling him. My knees press into the cushions beneath us and give me a slight bounce.

  I scoot back on his thighs to give myself room to finally lower his zipper. The teeth open with systematic clicks. He hasn’t stopped touching me. I feel his hands slide up and down my back.

  I pull his fly apart and reach into the waistband of his boxer briefs, wrapping my fingers around his cock. It jumps at my touch. Practically diving into my hand. I squeeze it gently, enjoying the feel of the warm velvet skin against mine.

  “Christ,” he groans.

  I give it a nice, firm tug before pulling it free. He shifts a bit to pull his jeans and boxer briefs down, so there is nothing in the way.

  I push up on my knees and reach between my legs to pull my panties to the side.

  We are both still dressed from the waist up and the thighs down, only the necessary parts are exposed. Who knew being half-dressed for sex could be so intimate?

  “Wait,” he says, halting my progress before I can go any farther.

  “What? What’s wrong?” I ask.

  “Condom.” He reaches down to pull his wallet from his back pocket and retrieves one from inside.

  At least one of us is thinking.

  He tears the foil packet open and rolls the latex over his impressive length, then smiles at me.

  “Proceed.”

  I place him at my opening and sink just a bit, only letting the crest of his tip slip inside. I place my hands on his shoulders and my eyes flutter closed.

  “No.” He curls a hand at the side of my neck. “I want to see your eyes.”

  I blink them open and our eyes lock as I slide down slowly until all of him is sheathed by me.

  I feel so full, stretched over him nearly to the point of pain, but the pain is delicious. I relish in it, and want to feel it all over my body.

  I begin to roll my hips, grinding back and forth rather than bouncing on him.

  “I can’t go slow.” I tell him. “It’s too good.”

  He pushes to sit up more so we are nose to nose and his hands wrap around my waist.

  “Don’t go slow. Take me how you need.”

  He doesn’t want to take.

  He wants this on my
terms. He wants me in control. He wants me to decide.

  That’s so hot.

  That simple phrase—that bit of permission—releases the beast residing inside of me. I come alive and begin to really move.

  Bouncing, grinding, rocking, rolling, and fucking him with every ounce of energy inside of my body.

  He wraps his arms around me and hugs me close so we are chest to chest. I can feel every breath he exhales on my skin. I can feel the vibrations of every groan and moan he emits.

  “You’re making me come,” he says, before taking my lips in a kiss.

  His touch gets rougher, his body stiffens, and one movement later, I feel his cock pulse as he begins to come, and that act coupled with a press of my clit to his pelvis, sends me into another orgasm.

  We stay like that, wrapped in one another, his cock inside of me, until our breaths even out and our bodies come back down to Earth.

  He leans back so he can see my eyes. He pushes the strands of hair from my sweaty face and glides his thumb over my mouth.

  “Hi.” He smiles.

  “Hi,” I say in return, then I start to laugh, and so does he.

  “What have we done?” he asks between.

  “Whatever it was, it felt fucking amazing.”

  Chapter 13

  Nora

  Warmth. That’s all I feel.

  I blink my eyes open to see the sun peeking through an opening between the blackout curtains on the hotel windows. It’s slashing across my face and I have to close my eyes and shift a bit to keep it out.

  I reach my hand back, half-expecting the bed to be empty, but my fingers graze against the skin of Case’s back. Memories of last night come flooding back when I feel the soreness between my legs.

  He was so rough, yet so gentle, all at the same time. I touch my waist, where he was gripping me last night and it’s sore there too.

  I wonder if there are marks.

  I hope there are marks.

  We didn’t have sex again last night. It’s like it wasn’t needed. We got into bed and fell asleep with his body curled into mine from behind.

  I roll to face him and take in the expanse of his strong back, tracing every muscle and ripple with my finger.

  This man is Adonis.