by Tl Reeve
“Flattery gets you everywhere,” she teased then moaned as her eyes fluttered shut.
“Good to know.” He smiled against her skin while looking up at her. “Ready?”
Every time he asked a question, she wished he wouldn’t. She wanted him to take control of the situation. Make her forget everything and put her into a headspace where both of them were writhing on his bed. Yes, she understood why he asked. It was endearing. “More than ready.”
He grunted as he pulled her pants and panties from her. Brittney trembled under his gaze. Nervous energy whipped around her. For as much as she wanted him, she'd still been scared. It'd been a long time since someone stared at her as he did. Hunger and arousal darkened his obsidian eyes. His lips were parted, and his breath came in soft pants. Dexter nudged her knees apart and licked his lips.
When he ran his tongue along the seam of her sex, her back came off the bed and a silent cry of ecstasy fell from her. She held him in place while he swirled his tongue around her clit before drawing the nub into his mouth. A whine of pleasure built in her throat while she rolled her hips. The muscles in her stomach quivered and bunched with each pass he made. It was too much but not enough either. She wanted more.
“Dexter...”
He groaned against her sex and the vibrations worked through her. “I’ve got you.” He added a finger then a second, stroking her from the inside while he continued to lick and nibble on her pussy. “Fuck you taste so good.”
“Oh, God.” She rolled her eyes. “Don't be too corny.”
“I’m not.” He withdrew from her. “Taste.” Dexter ran his finger across her bottom lip and, keeping her gaze on him, swiped her tongue over the offering. “Fuck that’s hot too.”
She couldn’t describe what it tasted like, other than a bit sweet and a bit different. He entered her again and she cried out. Everything inside of her coiled into a knot of anticipation. Dexter sucked on her clit at the same time he flattened his tongue against the bead. She shuddered. The tingle of awareness spreading through her body grew in intensity before shattering. She bucked against him, riding out her release. Dexter kept at her, drawing out her climax and when he finally climbed over her, he pressed his lips to hers. The slickness of her release covered his mouth. She tasted herself and him and it turned her on.
“I could lose myself in you,” he whispered against her neck. “Nothing has ever compared to you.”
On several occasions through the years, she'd thought the same thing. Nothing compared to Dexter. At the time it'd seemed stupid to have such thoughts because she'd only been with him once. Now, staring up at his ravenous gaze, she realized it wasn't as ridiculous as she'd thought.
“Me too. It scares me.”
He nodded. “Same.”
Dexter climbed off the bed and removed his pants. The thick length of his erection appeared intimidating under the stretched material of his boxer-briefs. He reached into the nightstand drawer and retrieved a condom then held it between his teeth while he removed his underwear. He was glorious in his nakedness. Strong thighs gave way to his tapered waist and muscular abs and chest. He looked like a god standing before her. The tip of his dick glistened with precum and her mouth watered.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Dexter stroked himself.
“How am I staring at you?”
“Like you want to eat me up. I’m already hanging on by a thread. He let go of his length before ripping the foiled package open.
“Sorry, can’t help it. I feel as though this is the first time I’m getting to see you.”
He closed his eyes as he rolled the condom over his shaft. “I feel the same way.” He joined her on the bed again and positioned her where he wanted her. “This time, however, I’m not letting you get away from me.”
“Mmm.” She wriggled beneath him. “That so?”
“Yep.” He rubbed the crown of his cock against her clit, before lining himself up with her entrance. When he pressed forward, he threaded her fingers with his and pinned her arms above her head.
She jerked in his embrace. Her mouth fell open. It was too much. Too good. He stretched her to the point of pain and when she didn’t think she could take much more, the sensation morphed into pleasure. Her breath came in harsh pants. She needed him to move, but he seemed content to hold still. He stared down at her. His features shifted and now there was wonderment and love. No, she didn’t want to give voice to that thought. They didn’t love each other. It was too soon. The physical chemistry between them didn’t make a relationship, plus she’d told him several times she didn’t want anything from him.
Still, her heart whispered for her to try and how could she not? She closed her eyes, blocking out his open adoration of her. She wouldn’t allow herself to dream of what if’s or could be’s. Not after all this time. They should be focusing on their son. If they had a little fun on the side, so be it.
“Hey...” he murmured. “What’s wrong? Am I hurting you?”
She shook her head. “No. Feels good.”
“Too much?”
Emotionally? Yes. Physically? No. “Get me out of my head.”
“Can do.” Dexter began to move. The slow drag of his length along her sensitized walls had her breath hitching. “However, you should know, this won’t be a one-time thing for us.”
“You can’t know that,” she whispered.
“Oh, I know it. I’ll prove it too.”
He set a pace leaving her gasping and shuddering in his arms as he moved. Nothing had ever felt so good. She gripped his hands squeezing them for all she was worth. He overwhelmed her. Pushed her higher and higher until she couldn’t think. He was everywhere. He consumed her. Forced her to shut down the errant thoughts in her mind and focused her attention on where they were joined. Then she was floating as he lifted her into his arms.
He sunk deep into her. In their particular position, he pushed her past her limits. Dexter palmed her ass, rocking her over him. Brittney clung to him digging her nails into his shoulders for purchase. She whimpered his name and he grunted in response.
“I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered, before drawing her nipple into his mouth.
She gasped. With each suck of his mouth, her clit throbbed. The invisible thread between the two points of her body went taut. A different type of expectancy swirled within her. This time, all she could do was hold on and hope he wouldn’t destroy whatever was left of her. Brittney matched him stroke for stroke, reaching for whatever lay just out of her grasp.
His thrust became more demanding then. He was rougher with her and when he grazed her clit with his thumb then settled in, rubbing it in small circles, her head fell back on her shoulders. “Shit, princess. You got me in a vice. Come for me.”
No one but Dexter called her princess. Ever. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth seconds before the ball of bliss inside her fractured and her climax stole her senses. She shuddered in his arms, clinging to him as he pushed her through her release. It was delicious and cruel. He shouldn’t be able to still give her the best orgasms of her life. He shouldn’t be able to make her want things she couldn’t have.
“Fuck!” he slammed into her twice more before letting out a low groan. “So fucking good.”
It was.
She panted for breath and closed her eyes, waiting for the awkward silence she feared would open her eyes to the reality of them—they were good in bed—but nothing more. Instead, it didn’t come. The silence was intimate. Welcoming. They didn’t have to say a word. Dexter eased out of her with a groan then placed her back on the bed. “I’ll be right back.”
She nodded as she watched his naked form enter his bathroom. When he returned, he situated them on his bed and pulled the sheet over them. Still, they didn't speak. It was almost as if their bodies knew what her mind refused to tell her—they were meant for each other. Brittney closed her eyes. With as much work as she still needed to do, her thoughts were filled with what-ifs. Of thinking a
bout her future with the man whose chest became her pillow.
“You’re thinking way too hard,” Dexter murmured. “What’s going on in your head?”
“Thinking about the future,” she said.
“Oh? Does this future include me and you?”
She sighed. “It does.”
“How do you feel about us?” he pressed.
She shook her head. “I didn’t come here for this. I don’t ever want you to feel like I’ve trapped you or I’m expecting anything other than you being Rai’s father.”
“I didn’t think you did,” he answered. “If I didn’t want to have sex with you, Brittney, I wouldn’t have. This whole situation shouldn’t make sense.”
“Right?” She glanced up at him.
“However, there’s something here. More than I think both of us can comprehend.”
“Where do we go from here?” She inched up onto her elbow.
“I think we take it a day at a time. It's been years. We're not the same people who walked out of that bar. We've been through tons of shit.” He motioned between them. “This, whatever it is, we share, is strong. I've always thought about you. I think I've always wanted you. Shit, if I'd never gone overseas, I believe we'd be married by now with Rai and a couple of more kids, to be honest.”
“Oh?” She quirked a brow. “So confident.”
“I am. You have the same thoughts too, don’t you?”
She shrugged. “I guess, maybe I thought about it. But this is our reality.”
He nodded. “It is. I agree. We have to build from now and create the future we were both denied.”
“I want to,” she said before nibbling on her bottom lip.
“You’re afraid. S’okay. I am too,” he said.
“You are?” Disbelief filled her.
“Very. I don’t want to let go.” He wrapped his arms around her and for the first time, he trembled in her arms.
The idea he'd been as afraid as she was, stunned her. They were both messed up by the turn their lives took. She held him in her embrace for as long as he needed then eased back to stare at him. “I'm not going anywhere. It's selfish. I know this. I've wanted you all these years. When I saw you at the barbecue, I thought for sure you were married and my heart, broke again because some irrational part of my brain thought I lost my chance.”
He chuckled before kissing her. “I thought the same thing.”
“We’re a horribly messed up pair,” she muttered.
“We are,” he agreed, before rolling her to her back. “We’re also perfect.” He grabbed another condom out of the nightstand. “We’re made for each other too.” Dexter sat back and put the condom on then entered her once more. “Fuck. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how your little pussy flexes around me.”
Her eyes went wide. “Dexter...”
He grinned. “Still wanna learn why they call me Dirty-D?”
She bit the corner of her lip. “Think you’re up to the task?”
A devilish smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Hooyah.”
The fire alarm brought him out of the deepest sleep he’d had in years. Brittney was curled up in his arms. The warmth of her body made it hard for him to leave her side, but someone needed help. The alarm sounded again, and this time Brittney’s eyes came open with a flash. He winced. He should have told her about it before they fell asleep.
“I gotta go,” he said. “I’m needed.”
“My own personal superhero,” she murmured. “Be careful.”
He grunted as he threw on his clothes. “I will.” He came to the side of the bed and gave her a kiss. “I’m not sure how long this will take.”
“It’s okay.” She waved him off.
“Fuck. It’s hard leaving you right now.” He kissed her again. “I thoroughly enjoyed last night. I want to keep doing that with you.”
She grinned. “Go. You have a fire to put out.”
He did. Dexter grabbed the go-bag he kept by his bedroom door and headed out. As he stepped into the hallway, Rai opened his door and glanced out. The boy rubbed his eyes and his hair laid in haphazard layers on his head. “What happened?”
“Gotta go to work. Life of a firefighter and all.”
Rai yawned. “Yep. Be safe, pops.”
Warmth filled him. “Pops, huh?” He laughed. “I will. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
He headed to the kitchen and grabbed the radio off the sidebar, clipping the mic to his shirt as he pushed out the door leading to his garage. He depressed the button once he was inside his truck. “Paramedic Walsh responding. ETA ten minutes.” He started his truck and hit the garage door opener.
As soon as he could clear the area without hitting his truck, he backed out and tore off into the early morning light. In the distance, he could see the black smoke rising. It was over the ridge not far from the VFD so it would be easy to find.
One by one the other members of the VFD called in as he drove, with their locations and estimated times of arrival. When he pulled into the VFD, Pops and Buff were already there. He parked next to their vehicles and got out, going straight for the building to grab his turnout gear.
Once everyone had arrived, they headed out. He took the medic truck while Buff and Short Shit were in the pumper and Pops was the fire engine with Tank. It shouldn’t have surprised him about the extent of the emergency as more information came in. A farmer had been up early trying to clear some of his property and the fire he started got out of his control burning him and a few acres of land. When they arrived, the farmer’s wife had his hands in a bucket of water while she’d also wrapped a towel around his neck.
Dexter went to him while the others began the process of putting the fire out. He sat his first aid bag in front of the man and started checking over the farmer's condition. The elderly man had second and third-degree burns to his hands and some of them full thickness. It was as if he'd put his hands into the fire for whatever reason, allowing them to be burned. Around his neck were first and second degree burns, but not as bad as his hands. Dexter glanced up at the man and frowned.
“How’s your chest?” Dexter prodded.
The farmer frowned. “Fine.”
“You sure?”
The man let out an exasperated breath. “I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”
Dexter pointed to the blisters already bubbling the skin of his palms. “That’s not a scratch. An ambulance is coming for you to take you to Hill Country Hospital. From there, they’ll make the determination if they need to send you to San Antonio or not.”
“Horse shit,” the farmer muttered. “I’m fine.”
“That's the adrenaline talking,” Dexter said. “Trust me, in about two hours your pain scale is going to skyrocket. You need to go.”
The farmer’s wife put her hand on her husband’s shoulder. “Micha go with the young man. He’s not lying.”
“Woman, I don’t have time today,” he harrumphed.
“Don’t you use that tone with me, Micha Tilwater.”
“Sir, I have several concerns about your hands. There’s infection first and foremost, then dehydration. There’s also the fact the doctors will need to monitor the healing process and evaluate you for skin grafts if need be,” Dexter said. “I know this farm means the world to you—to both of you, but how are you going to tend to it, if you can’t use your hands?”
Mr. Tilwater frowned. “I can’t sit on my ass all day.”
“Not asking you to.” Dexter bent his head as he pulled the gauze and ointment from his bag. Though he was a certified paramedic still, he didn't carry all the good drugs with him, so he had to make do for the moment to at least give the man a little pain relief. In the distance, he could hear the siren from the coming ambulance. “Sounds like your chariot is almost here. Go with them and if the doctor says you're clear to come home, how about my son and I come back and help you.”
“That’s so very kind of you,” Mrs. Tilwater said. “See, Micha, he’s only tryi
ng to help.”
The older man nodded. “Fine. I’ll go.”
“Thank you, sir.” Dexter pulled one hand out of the water at a time to work on and when he had those wrapped as best as he could, he checked out Micha’s chest and neck. Relieved to find the areas actually fared better than he originally expected, he left the man’s side to meet the EMTs as they came around the side of the house and relayed the information to them.
“Okay, Mr. Tilwater, your ride is ready for you.” Dexter helped him out of the chair and walked him over to the gurney. “Since you’re going to Hill Country, I’ll probably see you there, too.”
“So you can torture me more?” Micha held up his hands. “Look at this mess.”
Dexter chuckled. “No, sir. I’m one of the head nurses for the emergency department.”
The man blinked. “Horse shit. Let’s go.”
Dexter shook it off as he headed back to his truck and put his things away while the others finished knocking down the fire. They’d all be out there for a couple of hours at least, making sure the fire didn’t pop back up and spread. Not how he wanted to start his day, but emergencies waited on no one.
“How bad?” Pops came over to where Dexter stood.
“His hands are pretty messed up. Probably won’t work like he wants them to, but he’ll be okay.” He glanced down the lane in the direction the ambulance had gone. “It was almost like he stuck his hands in the fire. Like he dropped something and tried to retrieve it.”
Pops scrubbed his chin. “Shit.”
“Yeah.” Dexter shook his head. “I told him I’d come by later with Rai and help with the farm.”
“We’re almost done here. If you want to head back, I think we’ve got this,” Pops said, patting his shoulder.
“You sure?”
Pops nodded. “Yeah. Go on.”
By the time Dexter returned home, Brittney had already left, but Rai was there, from what the note on the table stated, along with where he could find Brittney. A thought struck him then. He walked down the hall to his son’s room and knocked on the door. When he opened it, Dexter took a step back, he should’ve taken a shower before he went to see Rai, but his job was his job and sometimes he’d smell like burnt grass and dead flesh. “I read your mom’s note. How do you feel about spending the day with me at your grandparents’ house?”
