Firecracker: A contemporary romance

by Kelly Jamieson

  He didn’t want to tell her that the money she made from her waitressing job probably wouldn’t cover the rent Jamie should charge for an apartment like this. She didn’t need that kind of reality check right now. She was trying to make a life for herself.

  “This is why it’s so important for me to do this on my own.” She lifted her head and gazed at him, her eyes bright. “I need to prove I can do it. That I can be a grown-up and handle my own life and not screw it up.”

  He wanted to assure her that she was definitely a grown-up and that he knew she could do it. But somehow he knew whatever he said would sound patronizing to her. And he got why she was pushing back at his attempt to help her. He could see how important it was to her.

  “And I’m definitely not looking for a relationship.” She bit her lip.

  Right. That was how they’d gotten into this discussion. She’d said they shouldn’t be doing this. But at least now he knew it wasn’t because she was still in love with her husband.

  He smiled.

  Her eyes widened.

  “That’s great,” he said casually. “Neither am I. And since we agree that this has nothing to do with Jamie…” He bent his head and found her mouth again.

  She made a little noise, but she kissed him back. The blanket slid off her shoulders, and he set his hands on her skin there, so soft, so warm. She lifted her arms and twined them around his neck as he deepened the kiss, that heat between them flaring up again.

  She was here, in his arms, practically on his lap, and he was kissing her. Arden.

  Fuck yeah.

  He pushed the blanket away, set his hands on her waist, and lifted her so she was straddling him. She gasped, her hands gripping his shoulders. Wide-eyed, she stared at him. “You’re strong.”

  She made him feel like he could crush bricks with his bare hands. “I have to be.” He slid his hands down to her ass and pulled her closer, so his throbbing erection was pressed right to her warm, damp center. He lifted the hem of her nightie and found skin again.

  Christ. When he’d filled his palms with her taut little cheeks, he’d damn near come. He squeezed the firm flesh and let out a groan. “Damn, Arden.”

  “Tyler…”

  The strappy little garment had to go. He slid his hands along her back, pushing it up, slowly, anticipation tightening his lungs, blood surging to his groin. He held her gaze as he eased the fabric up…and up…and she didn’t stop him. His fingers skimmed over her ribcage, thumbs brushing the undersides of her breasts, and then she lifted her arms so he could draw it over her head and off.

  His head spun as he took in nearly naked Arden, perfection right in front of him. “Jesus,” he muttered. “Look at you, gorgeous girl.”

  Her hands drifted down to rest on his shoulders again. He studied her avidly, and then he cupped her breasts, another groan rumbling up from his chest. Her head fell back, her back arched, pushing her softness into his palms. “Oh…”

  Her nipples hardened and more heat flooded to his groin.

  Christ, she was perfect, sweet, addicting…better than any of the fantasies he’d had about her in his teenage bed when he jerked off thinking about her—after watching her bounce around on the sidelines in her little cheerleader skirt; after seeing her in a tank top with no bra one day; or another summer day he’d glimpsed her lying in the sun in a bikini in their backyard. So much better…now he could breathe in her scent, taste her mouth, fill his hands with her softness…he felt like he’d waited his whole life for this. For her.

  He hadn’t thought of her every minute for the last ten years. He’d been with other women. But now this was happening…that all fell away, like smoke clearing.

  He felt the weight of her breasts as she made breathy little noises and squirmed against him, which only made him harder. He skimmed his hands down to her waist, which he could easily span, and dipped his head to taste her.

  Her hair tickled his hands, flowing down her back. “Oh God.”

  “Mmm.” He sucked, enjoying the feel of her hands smoothing across his shoulders, her fingers brushing the nape of his neck, then sliding up into his hair. Tingles slid down his spine and pooled in his low back. “That’s it, baby. Give me these…they’re fucking perfect.” A buzzing in his groin was building in intensity, but he wanted to draw this out, to enjoy every second of it, every breathy moan, the feel of her on his tongue, her hands tugging at his hair. His entire body was lit up, combusting.

  She rubbed her palms over his chest, setting even more nerve endings on fire. He tangled a hand in her hair and brought her mouth to his for another hot, lush kiss. She rocked her pelvis against him, and damn near made him lose it.

  Panting, they broke apart and stared at each other. He rubbed his nose alongside hers and murmured, “Are we doing this?”

  “Oh please. Please, yes.”

  “Thank Christ.” He gripped her ass and stood. She let out a little squeal and held onto his shoulders as he started toward her bedroom. Her legs wrapped around him as he’d imagined a few or maybe a million times.

  He couldn’t make her whole life better. At least not right now. But for the next few hours, he could make her feel pretty damn good.

  He carried her into her bedroom and set her in the middle of the bed, then leaned down, fists planted in the mattress and kissed her again. He lowered one knee to the bed between her legs, then the other, slowly rolling her down to her back so he was lying in the cradle of her thighs. One of her hands caressed his face, the other gliding up and down his bare back. Her hips rolled, pressing her core against his straining hardness, and he matched her rhythm so they were slowly rocking together in an exquisite, brilliant cadence.

  He pushed up onto straight arms again, watching her face…her eyes shadowy, her lips parted. He lowered his head and kissed her lower belly, then slowly drew his tongue up over her stomach. She moaned as he licked higher.

  Her body twitched hard and her hands tightened on his arms. Still taking his time, he opened his mouth over the nipple and drew it into his mouth in a long, slow pull.

  “Oh God.” Her hips bucked up against his. “Oh God, that feels good.”

  “Mmmm.” He sucked harder, pressing his whole mouth into her plump flesh, then moved to the other breast. He feasted…long, delicious draws, circling the tip with his tongue, then sucking again.

  Her soft whimpers teased his ears, making him even harder, almost unbearably primed. He kissed his way back down her abdomen, aware that she was watching him, then sat back on his heels and tugged her up to sitting and leaned in for more long, deep kisses. She sighed into his mouth and he pulled back. “Jesus. You’re so goddamn hot. I want to make you come again.”

  She whimpered.

  “Want you to come on my tongue.” He kissed her again. “Want to make you lose your mind.”

  “Oh God.” The words eased between her lips on a shaky breath.

  He cupped her breasts with both hands and gently squeezed, admiring the shape and weight of her, then he lost patience. His dick was a throbbing spike in his boxers, leaking with the urgent need to come. He hauled Arden up on to his lap, her legs around his hips, her arms encircling his neck, and kissed her again and again, both of them now making frantic, fraught sounds, hands grabbing and clutching at each other.

  He urged her down to her back again and, a smile curving her lips, she reached for his boxers and palmed him through the thin cotton. He let out a low groan, closing his eyes, letting her tug the elastic waistband down, lower, freeing his heavy cock.

  “Oh.” Her eyes lit up and she let out a soft sigh of pleasure, curling her fingers around him to stroke. “Wow. You’re, um, big.”

  Okay, there was no bigger turn-on than a woman looking like that at his dick. Like she wanted to worship it. Like she couldn’t wait to have it. Call it primal, but his manhood was definitely tied to his dick, and if he already wasn’t crazy about Arden, he was now.

  “Fuuuuuck, that feels good.” He dragged his eyes open to
see her watching her hand fondle his shaft and balls. Sharp need built inside him, fierce and throbbing. Then he shifted back and set his hands on her knees, pushing them open. She was still wearing the little black cheeky panties.

  He bent and kissed her inner thigh, working his way closer to her center. She smelled insanely good, musky and feminine, obviously aroused. Then he opened his mouth over the fabric of her panties.

  “Oh God.” She bent an arm behind her head to raise it and watch him, her eyes heavy lidded, her chest flushing a pretty pink. “That’s so hot.”

  He licked and kissed her through her panties, inhaling the scent, getting a faint taste of her. Eager for more, he tugged the fabric aside and revealed the most goddamn gorgeous pink lips he’d ever seen, completely bare and smooth with a neat triangle of dark hair on her mound. He wanted to weep. “Jesus, Arden. You have the prettiest pussy.” With a groan, his eyes drifted closed and he lowered his mouth there and swiped his tongue over smooth, smooth flesh.

  Her body twitched and she gasped, her head falling back and her back arching, pushing those perfect tits up. He pulled her soft skin into his mouth in tiny sucks, swirled his tongue up and down, sinking it deeper to taste her more fully.

  “So damn wet. Look at you.” He slid his fingers through her slit. “That’s for me. Right, baby?”

  “Yes. For you…”

  He tasted her again. “Christ. Could eat you like this forever.”

  Her hips rolled against his mouth, faster, and he tongued her clit. She reached for his hand and he twined his fingers through hers, holding on tight as she gave a soft cry. He moved his tongue faster too, her body quivering and tightening as she came in another exquisite orgasm, her pussy getting even slicker. He kissed her thighs again, eyes on her face, drawing back to lift her legs straight up.

  “Jesus, look at you.” Her plump folds pouted between her thighs. “Fucking gorgeous.”

  He pulled her panties up her legs and off and tossed them aside, then shucked his boxers too. Then he froze, hands on her thighs. “Fuck.”

  “What?”

  “I need a condom.”

  “Oh.” She swallowed. “Right.” She bit her lip. “I don’t have any.”

  His lips quirked. “Luckily I live nearby. Be right back.”

  He jogged naked in the darkness to his apartment, snatched up a couple of condoms, and sprinted back. He ripped open one and had it on before he made it to the bed, and was rewarded by her sleepy, sexy smile as he crawled up over her.

  He returned the smile, mesmerized by her, lost in the moment, then he bent his head to kiss her. She cupped his face with both hands, her knees coming up to his sides. He found her entrance, his body tensing.

  “Tight,” he muttered, easing in. “So goddamn tight. And hot.”

  “Mmm.” Her fingers curved over his shoulders, digging in.

  “Okay?”

  “Yes. Oh God, yes…do it. Please.”

  He loved hearing her say that, the perfect princess begging him. “Oh, hell yeah.”

  She held onto him, staring up at him. Arms pressed into the bed, he held eye contact as he slowly moved his hips, rolling them against her. His skin tingled everywhere at the connection between them, at the intensity of their linked gazes. Sensation skittered up his spine, pressure building, fire burning beneath his skin.

  “Not gonna take me long.” He brushed his mouth over hers. “Want you to come again though.”

  “No. It’s okay…I don’t know if I can.”

  He’d always liked a challenge. Not to be cocky, but he prided himself in his ability to make a woman come. Making a woman orgasm made him feel powerful. And he fucking loved that feeling. Loved giving that to her.

  He slipped a hand between them. She bucked against his hand with a gasp. “There?”

  “Yes…oh…” It didn’t take long and she shuddered against him, her face contracting. “Oh my God…”

  He kissed her mouth, still moving inside her.

  “Harder.” She gripped his shoulders.

  Oh yeah. Harder. Faster. Her soft cries cheered him on, inflaming his senses. Now he was the one making noises, helpless guttural noises that came from deep inside him. He buried his face in the side of her neck, her knees at his ribs, her heels on his ass, gripped by a nearly paralyzing bliss.

  Sweaty and sticky, breathing hard and heart pounding, he lay on top of her, taking as much weight as he could on his arms, feeling like he’d just been caught in a flashover. He was blistered and fatigued and so incredibly satisfied, his brains scrambled, overloaded on sensation.

  Her hands roamed up and down his back, her mouth opening on his shoulder in a long, wet kiss.

  Arden.

  He was with Arden. He’d just defiled the prom queen.

  A smile tugged at his lips. Because she’d loved it. Again, not to be cocky, but he’d made her come three times, and there was no way that wasn’t good for her. Not to mention, she’d begged for more.

  He couldn’t wait to do it again.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Another thunderstorm was passing over, but this time Arden was so relaxed and content, it didn’t bother her at all. It helped that there was a big, strong man in her bed, and she snuggled closer into him. His arms wrapped around her, their bodies fitted together in a way that was particularly satisfying. She rubbed her calf against his and breathed in Tyler’s unique scent, that delicious clean and spicy scent.

  After a huge crack of thunder, Tyler said, “That was a good one. Are you still nervous?”

  “Nope. Not even a little.”

  Maybe she was drunk or something…high from breathing in his scent, intoxicated by the flood of hormones several orgasms had released. She knew this was probably a very bad idea, and yet…right now it didn’t seem all that bad. In fact, it seemed pretty damn good.

  She wouldn’t think about tomorrow or the next day or what was going to happen between her and Tyler, and whether they would pretend this never happened, or…no, she wouldn’t think about that stuff. She’d just drift on this cloud of contentment for a while longer, enjoying the threat of danger from the violent storm outside while feeling safe and protected in Tyler’s arms.

  “Thanks for telling me about what happened.” Tyler’s hand smoothed over her shoulder. “With your husband. I had no idea what a rough time you’ve been through.”

  “There’ve been times I felt sorry for myself,” she admitted. “But I’m not a victim. I want to own my part in what happened and hopefully learn something from it.” But would she ever learn how to really love someone?

  “Good for you.”

  “This isn’t what I thought my life would be. Not the money part! I mean, when I was a kid, my parents always told me I could do anything, be anything I wanted to be. I always believed that. Then I married Michael, and I had everything I wanted. Except…it wasn’t because I’d accomplished anything. My own goals and ambitions got…forgotten. And here I am, a widow, twenty-eight years old, and I have nothing to show for myself.”

  “I don’t know if that’s necessarily true,” he said quietly. “You’ve proved how strong and resilient you are.”

  She was silent, absorbing that. “I guess that’s true.”

  “My parents told me I could be anything I wanted, too. But turned out that really meant I should do what they wanted.” He grimaced.

  Ugh. She hated that.

  “But you know what I’ve learned?” he continued. “We all figure things out differently. Jamie knew what he wanted to do when he was seventeen, but some of us take longer. Mila had about ten different jobs before she ended up working for Jamie. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I started college. I spent that year all frustrated. Like I said, my parents were pushing me to go into business or law school…” He paused. “When you said this isn’t how you thought your life would be, well, this isn’t how I thought mine would be either. I thought I’d end up in some white-collar profession, but…I didn’t know what. I like computers
, but not the way Jamie does. Then when I saw something about applying to be a firefighter, it caught my attention. It was what I wanted to do, and I’d never really considered that.”

  “That’s so good you found it.”

  “My mom’s never been happy about it.”

  “Yeah, you said that. That sucks.” She paused. Again, she hated that his mom didn’t appreciate what he did. “I’m proud of what you do.” Uh…maybe she shouldn’t have said that. “Not that that means a whole lot.”

  He squeezed his arms tighter around her. “You know what? It means a lot.”

  “I just don’t like the idea that your job is dangerous.”

  “There can be danger,” he agreed. “But we’re trained to deal with it. And honestly, there aren’t that many big fires that require rescue.”

  “Have you ever had to do it? Go into a burning building?”

  “Yeah. Not gonna lie, it’s scary. We’re weighed down with equipment, facing a wall of heat and smoke. We have breathing tanks, but it’s awkward and we don’t have that much time. I went in, and of course it was totally unfamiliar. When it’s dark like that, we don’t know our way around, we don’t know what kind of hazards there are. We didn’t know if there was anyone in the house, so we had to check…basically crawling through the heat and dark, feeling our way around and trying not to get lost in the smoke and end up trapped ourselves.”

  “Oh God. Was there someone?”

  “No. Turned out the house was empty. We got the fuck out of there just before the whole roof collapsed.”

  Her heart bumped, and she rubbed his shoulder. “That’s scary.”

  “I was fine. I’ll do it again if needed.”

  Something expanded in her chest—warmth, admiration, maybe pride. He was brave and strong. She wanted to be brave and strong like that.

  She would be brave and strong like that. Sure, her life wasn’t what she’d thought it would be. Neither was Tyler’s…but he was doing what he wanted to do and had made a good life. It was up to her to make her life good. And maybe that even included having hot sex with a hot guy. Why the hell not?