The Fireman's Feisty BBW

by Ella Roane

  I manage to get slightly untangled from Todd’s embrace, but he shifts so that he keeps one arm around my waist as he turns to face Brad.

  Brad pulls off his helmet before dismounting his bike. “Hey, babe,” he calls up the stairs to me. His gaze doesn’t even flicker toward Todd. His attention is on me and me alone.

  Watching him dismount his bike makes me feel the need to smoke a cigarette—and I don’t even smoke. I hum my pleasure at watching his muscular body move with graceful ease, and I feel more than see Todd cut his attention toward me with a scornful look. He and I were together for a long time. He no doubt knows my sounds, knows how much the sight of Brad is making my insides ache and throb. His arm tightens around my waist, but I give it as much attention as Brad is giving him.

  None.

  Leaving his helmet on the bike, Brad climbs up the stairs with the air of a man in complete control of his destiny. When he reaches me, he effortlessly shifts to slide his body between Todd and me. Once there, his strong arms wrap around me. Our full lengths are pressed together, and this time when I lean backward, it’s because I’m matching what Brad’s body is asking me to do. Together, he bends and I arch as he captures my lips in a kiss that has my body reliving what he did to me last night. It’s a memory that has me moaning into his mouth, and it’s a moan he answers with his hungry growl.

  Chapter 16

  Brad

  Kissing Stella’s the best.

  Putting some interloping, snot-nosed kid in his place is second best.

  It’s a scenario I’ll have to get used to, I’m sure. Stella’s an intoxicatingly gorgeous woman. Guys want her. They want to be with her. Dealing with them will be easy. Dealing with my reaction to seeing another man want her, well… that’s going to be hard.

  Rock hard. Throbbing. Achingly hard.

  I’ve got Stella bent backward, her body pressed to mine… my cock demanding to have its first taste of her. It’s taking all my willpower not to devour her right here and now. Her wanna-be suitor can stay and watch. The whole world can watch. They need to know that Stella’s my girl. Now and forever. When I wake up, when I go to sleep, when I bring my paycheck home to her, and when I make her cry out my name in the middle of the night.

  Everything I will ever do for the rest of my life will be for her.

  A tiny whimper escapes Stella. It sets all the cells in my body on fire. My arms tighten around her, and I growl like a dog with a treasure nobody—and I mean nobody—can take away.

  But then another sound reaches my ears. One that’s not mine and that’s not hers. It’s a sound made by her wanna-be suitor, the snot-nosed kid. It’s a groan filled with bone-deep anguish.

  I witness people’s homes and lives go up in flames on a near-daily basis. I know the sound of absolute devastation when I hear it. What surprises me is that such a sound could come from some happy-go-lucky man-child such as him. It startles me enough that I end my kiss with Stella sooner than the rest of my body would like, although I do not allow any space to grow between us. I keep Stella held firm against me even as I swivel my head to look her would-be suitor up and down.

  He’s moved away from us by stepping down a couple of stairs. Looking down on him feels fitting. Stella makes me a king among men. Even though I consider her a goddess, I wouldn’t deign to raise myself up to the level of her magnificence. But, I know, if I’m a king, the poor guy looking up at me is a damn fool.

  I give him my best dead-eyed stare.

  He dead-eyes me right back.

  Time to shake him up. I switch over into a broad, best-buds smile. Keeping my left arm around Stella’s waist, I extend my right in an invitation to shake hands. “Brad,” I say, introducing myself.

  The young man’s brows go up, surprised. He hesitates, but then takes my hand.

  “Todd,” he says.

  “Hiya, Todd. So how is it you know my best girl here?” I’m eager to let him know where he stands with Stella, which is nowhere.

  Todd’s gaze flicks from me to Stella, and dammit if his mouth doesn’t twitch up at the corner in what threatens to become a shit-eating grin.

  “Stell and I go way back,” Todd says. His grin twitches bigger.

  His use of a nickname for Stella is not lost on me. He’s showing me that he’s got a level of familiarity with her that goes beyond what I have. We keep up like this and we’ll be pulling our dicks out to measure them.

  Mine’ll be bigger. It’s always bigger.

  “Oh, yeah? How far back?” I fight the urge to impose myself fully and completely between him and Stella. But I don’t want him to know he’s getting to me, so I keep my body relaxed, at ease.

  “Six years.” Todd’s smile grows even more. It’s everything I can do not to smash my fist into it.

  I turn a warm smile on Stella. I’m committed to playing it cool. Insecurity is the weakness of the fearful. I won’t be that guy. Not in front of her. “It’s great that you have such an enduring friendship,” I tell her.

  “Boyfriend-ship,” Todd interjects.

  My attention snaps back to him. A metaphorical knife slides effortlessly into my belly… then twists.

  Six years…

  Boyfriend…

  My head needs to explode. Physically and literally. The pressure building up inside spins the world on its axis.

  This twerp, this boy-man, this earthly waste of space has no doubt taken Stella in every way imaginable—and I can imagine a lot of ways. How could any man with Stella do anything less? No mere mortal such as he or I could ever resist knowing her in every way possible.

  I’ll kill him.

  It’s a thought, a fleeting one. It flashes through my brain, but I do nothing to impede its progress on its way back out.

  Cut off his dick? A part of me offers it up as an option after recognizing that I have no intention of taking the wishful Romeo’s life. But, nope. I won’t be doing that either.

  Stella and this guy were together for six years… and it ended. If they had the stuff to make it last, they would have lasted.

  He’s history.

  I’m Stella’s today and her future.

  I turn my attention back to Stella. “You ready to go, babe?”

  She nods. “One sec.” She disappears back inside, then returns with a mini-purse looped crossway from opposite shoulder to hip. It’s just big enough for a cell phone. It’s such a little detail, but I find I adore Stella even more. I appreciate a woman who has the confidence to set out into the world armed with just the minimum.

  I give her my elbow and escort her down the stairs. She doesn’t bat an eye when I lift a helmet to fit over her glorious, luscious, long dark curls. I then take my leather jacket off and help her slide into it. I fasten it securely in place before bothering to give Todd an ounce more of my attention. He’s still standing where we left him, halfway up the stairs.

  I give him my own barely-there shit-eating-grin, then I swing a leg over my bike. I rock it off the kickstand, rev it to life, and then offer a supporting hand and shoulder to Stella as she climbs on the back.

  But her climb on doesn’t go as smoothly as I’d imagined it in my head. I feel her balance falter, but I’m facing forward, not toward her. There’s little I can do.

  Todd leaps off the stairs and is by Stella’s side in an instant. His hands steady her. There is a lingering in their touch after she settles into place behind me. A shared moment that I’m not a part of. I hate it. It kills me. But Stella… she’s okay. That’s all that matters. Not me. Not Todd. Not the rest of the world. Stella’s okay.

  Their shared moment passes, and I feel Stella’s arms slide around my waist as her body presses into my back. It’s the best feeling in the world. It’s my heaven. Right now, with her.

  I hate to admit it, but Todd’s assistance gave me this moment.

  I give him a curt nod. Recognition for his help. A thank you.

  I’d thought the silent admission that he mattered would bother me, but it doesn’t. There�
��s no niggle at my senses, no resentment that makes me want to hold his head under water until he quits kicking.

  I stare at him a moment longer. Assessing. Maybe I’ve misjudged him. But his barely-there grin comes back, this time accompanied by a knowing lowering of his eyelids.

  I read the message loud and clear. He just owned me.

  Well, the joke’s on him. I’m going to marry his girl… then I’m going to own every inch of her by making love to her until she forgets he ever existed.

  Chapter 17

  Stella

  Why’d he have to come by? I lament to myself.

  I’m glad that Todd is getting his life together, that he’s moving forward, but so am I! I don’t need him messing me up. I don’t need him filling me with doubts… filling me with, you know, feelings. Feelings that are supposed to be gone.

  Todd’s not the one for me.

  Okay, so Brad’s not either. They both might as well have “death wish” tattooed across their foreheads. I won’t do it. I won’t tie myself to men determined to throw their lives away. I chose me—not them.

  I lean my helmeted cheek against Brad’s back, tighten my arms around him, breathe in deep, then sigh on release. My desire to find comfort from being near him isn’t lost on me. The man I want to toss away feels good between my legs. My thighs are spread wide to fit him between them as his massive bike hums beneath us. Its power is intoxicating. Even a little lubricating, if I’m being honest.

  If only he’d let me have my fun with him. That way I could throw him back to all the other fish in the sea with a satisfied curiosity… and a satisfied body. Brad makes me feel good in every way. He’s comfortable and wonderful. Being near him makes me want for nothing. His presence is as good as an all-over body massage with warm, softly scented oils rubbed in by strong, masterful hands.

  Snap out of it!

  Ugh! I can’t do anything right! I can’t even stick to wanting to end things with a guy who’s no good for me. He’ll leave me devastated and heartbroken. Alone. Left to face life without him by my side.

  No, I won’t do it. I won’t!

  And yet I feel my body settle in against him all the more. The hum of the bike and the road is intoxicating. I have no idea where we’re going. My dress looks more like a miniskirt, but I’m warm and snug in his large leather jacket.

  We head out of the city and into the countryside, the kind with lots of grass and an occasional cow. The road feels mostly flat, but I’m aware of gentle slopes leading us gradually higher.

  The grass gives way to trees, and the air gets a little nippier against my legs despite the caress of the warm sun. It’s large in the sky but low on the horizon. Its golden glow has given way to softer hues with long shadows stretching across the ground. Finally, it’s lost from my sight altogether when the tall trees stand tighter together and Brad and I get swallowed up by the forest.

  Not long after, the bike slows, the trees open, and a gravel parking lot is revealed. We turn in, and Brad parks behind a fence made of long, bark coated timber stacked in a zigzag formation. Beyond the fence lays a circled caravan of food trucks, ones that look as though they haven’t been moved in a very long time. Tall decorative grasses and flowers create natural borders around each one. The trucks face each other with a shared courtyard filling the middle.

  I unlatch my helmet and slip it off. The scrumptious scent of untold delectables tickles my nose, and to my surprise, my stomach rumbles an urgent demand. It’s then I realize I haven’t eaten since before being called into work. I’m suddenly ravenous.

  “I heard that,” Brad chuckles, balancing his helmet on the motorcycle’s handlebars. “Stay put.” He rocks the bike up onto his stand, then dismounts by swinging his leg over the front.

  His absence makes me instantly aware of how open my legs are and how high my dress is. I rush to pull the fabric into a more covering position, but then silently sigh in relief when I see that the thigh slits on my dress have allowed its center flap to stay very well in place.

  Once off, Brad takes my helmet from me and hangs it from the handlebar’s other side before turning to me. I gasp when he leans in and scoops me into his arms.

  “What are you doing?” I ask in a panicked voice when he starts walking with me held snug against his chest.

  “You’re wearing high heels. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. They’re sexy as hell, but I don’t want you to take a header on this gravel.”

  “You can’t carry me around all night,” I say, a mix of desperation and exasperation creeping into my voice. I’m not a small woman, but he seems to be carrying me without any effort at all.

  Brad fixes me with smoky bedroom eyes that fill my insides with liquid heat. “I can think of nothing I’d like more.”

  My brows go up, and I slow blink. “Nothing?”

  His mouth curves in a lazy grin. “Almost nothing,” he says, his voice low.

  Holy shit.

  I want to tell him to say it again. His voice is like a caress to my sensitive parts when he drops it low like that. I bite my lower lip and squeeze my thighs together to keep from doing anything lewd that could embarrass me.

  The crunch of gravel beneath his steps gives way to quiet. To my ears, it’s a sad quiet because it means that I won’t be in Brad’s arms any longer. But as my legs move toward the earth, Brad holds me close against him. His hand is on my ass when my feet touch down. His other palm is flat on my back. His warmth sinks into me as I lift my chin for a kiss that sends tingles through every inch of my body.

  Why can’t I be with him? I’ve forgotten already. Surely there’s room in this life for him and me.

  Life…

  Oh. It comes back to me. His death wish.

  I pull away, feeling unnerved by how much he affects me. He makes me want to toss all care and concern to the wind. He makes me want to pretend that he and I are untouchable by life’s tragedies, but I’m not that stupid. I’ve seen it happen to too many people already.

  Hell, it almost happened to me with Todd. I’d thought I was going to witness his death myself, his body smashed at the bottom of a stone canyon. It was a miracle he survived without a scratch. It was the worst moment of my life because I suddenly became aware of facts most people had already figured out.

  Todd will someday die.

  I will someday die.

  Whoever I love, that person will someday die.

  I just need to know it won’t be because they’re a total dumbass.

  Chapter 18

  Brad

  Stella falls quiet. I don’t know what’s on my baby’s mind, but I hope it’s me. I slip my hand into hers, and we lace our fingers together. Entwined. It’s how I’d like our bodies to be, but I won’t be a notch on my sweetheart’s headboard. I don’t want just tonight with her. I want forever.

  “Do you have a food preference?” I ask. “They’ve got a little bit of everything here.”

  Stella turns her head to look up at me, and she smiles. My heart stops. She’s so beautiful. The blue dress she’s wearing hugs her glorious, generous curves. Her long thighs play peekaboo through the slits of her dress as she walks, and I imagine her straddling me, her knees on either side of my head, giving me a taste of what’s beneath. I’d lick her for days. I’d have her for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but I’m guessing my baby would enjoy something a little more substantial when it comes to her own dinner.

  “You’ve been here before?” Stella asks, and then her cheeks pinken. “Of course, you’ve been here.” Her gaze drifts around. “It’s lovely. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.” She chuckles, but it’s a nervous laughter. “A great place for a first date.”

  Ohhhhh… Understanding sinks in.

  “I used to come here with my cousin and her son before they moved away,” I tell her. “I’ve never brought anyone here before, not romantically.”

  Stella’s cute little blush deepens, accompanied by a smile that steals my heart.

  “And
did they have a favorite dish from here?” she asks.

  I laugh. “That would be everything!”

  We go from food truck to food truck, selecting different items until we have an enormous feast to munch on. A few people are milling about, but it hasn’t gotten as busy as it will later in the night. That means my favorite spot to sit is open, a large flattened tree trunk with curving beanbags wedged around it. That’s where we lay out all our food.

  Stella kicks off her high heels and settles on to the log-like beanbag. I settle down next to her, sitting on the ground and using the bag as a backrest. To my surprise, Stella slips off the bag onto the cobblestones next to me.

  “Aren’t you worried about your dress?” I ask.

  “It’ll wash,” she says.

  I can’t help it. She steals my heart over and over in every little thing she does. I’m jealous of the man I’ll be years and years from now because that man has already had so much time with her. He’s gotten a chance to fall in love with her over and over again every single day. I can’t wait to be him.

  I lean in and kiss Stella’s lips. That’s the moment her tummy chooses to growl again.

  She throws her head back in a laugh. It’s the sound angels make.

  “Sorry,” she says. “I guess it’s been a while since I ate, and this all looks amazing. I can’t believe they put an actual salad on a stick. I’ve never seen anything better.”

  Next to the salad on a stick are teriyaki balls, shrimp scampi poppers, pan-fried pork and chive buns, crème brûlée tarts, and brandy braised peaches over sweet cream shaved ice.

  I pick up a toothpick and spear at a teriyaki ball, then lift it to her lips. Instead of biting it off whole, Stella’s wickedness comes out to play. She teases it with the tip of her tongue before wrapping her full lips around only half of it to suck the juices off.

  “Woman, you’re killing me,” I tell her. If we were alone, I’d have her dress pushed up to her hips with me between her thighs. But we aren’t alone. The crowd has slowly trickled in, and a singer and her guitar serenade everyone from the courtyard’s edge.