He’s laying in the center of the bed, flat on his back, in nothing but a pair of boxers.
The only light provided is from the moon slicing through the curtain, creating a soft blue glow across his velvety, tattooed skin. I use it to my advantage, watching the rise and fall of his deep breaths. Somehow, the rhythm calms my own and my breathing syncs with his.
He’s awake, I know it. I can feel it in the way my skin prickles as it only does under the heat of his eyes.
My greedy gaze takes its time, covering every inch of him, until I meet his dauntless stare.
It’s dark, way too dark to truly see his face, but I know what he’s telling me without saying the words.
Be bold.
No second thought is needed as I take the four short steps forward, then I’m climbing onto his bed, crawling across his body.
With one of his arms flat against the blanket, the other behind his head, he lies perfectly still as I hover over him. My hair brushes against his chest as I take inventory of his face. The two small scars, the fullness of his seemingly swollen lips. Dark eyes with eyebrows to match. And just enough scruff to rub on, to feel scratch against my body, should he give me what I want.
Alec says nothing, doesn’t move an inch, as he lets me run the show, leaving it all up to me. The slight tip of his lips tells me he wants me to continue.
It’s an intoxicating sensation. One that consumes every inch of me, driving me forward.
I’m hovering over him, looking down at the mystery of a man beneath me and all I can think of is how it would feel to be on the other side of this, to have him hovering above me, his strong thighs pinning me to the mattress. Those sturdy arms casing me in.
My tongue slides out, wetting my lips as I lower my hips, feathering my core against his.
His chest stirs, a harsh breath escaping through his nostrils and my muscles tighten.
I crawl up another inch, bringing my knees just above his hips and slowly lower my body down on his.
His thigh muscles clench beneath me. The sound of his fingertips digging into the comforter as his hand twitches fueling my desire.
My eyes close. I’m so ready to touch him, to grind against him. Get lost with him.
He must see it, maybe even senses it—my control slipping—and he sits up abruptly. He shifts our bodies, so I’m sitting between his thighs, our chests inches apart, mouths sharing the same air.
It’s nowhere near close enough.
I drop my hands to the mattress, scooting myself closer. He allows it, making some room for me, so I wrap my legs around his back, staring into his eyes.
His narrow in confliction.
I know he wants me. The proof of it is resting against his stomach. Swollen and angry, the tip of his dick pokes out of the waistband of his boxers, begging.
A small sound makes its way up my throat, and Alec’s rough hands finally land on me.
My eyes close as he grips my forearms, pulling my chest closer all while holding me back, keeping me from getting too close.
“Open your eyes.” He speaks in a low timbre that vibrates through me.
With a deep inhale, I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, ever so slowly peeling my eyes open.
I’m met with fiery green eyes, so dark and daring, angry and lust-filled.
His hands slide up and over my shoulders, then down my back, his fingertips scraping across my t-shirt. When he reaches my bare ass, he takes a shuddering breath, then cups it in his large hands. He lifts me from the mattress, quickly folding his legs beneath me so he can place me on his lap, finally letting me feel all of him. The heat of his skin, the thickness of his hard-on.
His hands shoot to my hips where he holds me in place.
Eyes on mine, he dips his head, only breaking contact when he reaches my neck, where he slowly blows hot air against my goose bump covered skin. His head slowly turns, so the heat of his deep exhale fans across my neck, to my ear, then mouth, where his eyes come back to mine. They’re only half open now, his want almost at the peak of no control.
I want him to lose it.
I want to feel all of him.
My body shudders when my palms meet his pecs, my fingers fanning across them, needing to touch as much of his skin as possible. His muscles tighten and my eyes cut to his briefly, then back.
Ink. Everywhere. Intricate twists and detailed designs cover every inch of his chest. And what a canvas he’s made.
My hands slide lower, my thighs tightening around him as his abs constrict under my touch, thick, defined ridges becoming even more intense.
Right before I get there, before I feel what I’m assuming is the silkiest part of him, his knuckle hooks under my chin and he slowly returns my gaze to his.
And oh my God, those eyes. Dark and dilated. Hungry.
He’s so ready.
Good thing, because so am I.
With the new leeway I have, I push closer, bringing my chest to his, letting him feel my hard nipples though my shirt.
He growls, pushing on my back, bringing me even closer and I gasp, the form of his dick now positioned perfectly against the slit of my pussy.
“Kiss me,” I breathe.
“No.”
My eyes fly to his, watching as they narrow.
“Don’t beg,” he demands. “You want it?” One brown brow raises. “Take it. You need it? Prove it.”
He sees it, the hunger consuming me and he continues, giving me that final push, overwhelming the last of my senses.
“You want me?” he all but growls, a tremor shooting through him as the possibility lights him up. “Fucking show me.”
A slow grin starts to stretch across my lips, but it never makes it all the way out, because I slam my lips into his, sighing through a deep moan the moment his fevered lips hit mine.
His lips are soft but firm, starving and slightly abraded from the heated environment he trains in. So unexpected and slick, so tough and wanting. So Alec.
Because that’s what he is.
He’s rough edges with a smooth interior, dark days with bright nights.
He’s the wrong kind of right.
And right now, his mouth is pure clarity.
Nothing has ever felt so right, so real and raw.
This man is foreign to me, yet his touch feels so familiar.
When he growls into my mouth, my body shakes against him, my hips rolling on their own accord.
He yanks his mouth from mine, his fist finding the hair at the base of my skull where he pulls gently, his lips dropping to my neck, making my teeth sink into my own.
“I hope you know what you just did,” he rasps, before nipping at my skin, then drawing a line with his tongue to my ear. “That was it, Oakley. Seal’s broken.” He pulls back to look at me.
I stare at him, too far gone to respond.
“You got that, right?”
My hands slide up his chest lazily until I can grab the back of his neck and yank it to me.
He allows it, allows me to pull myself up high. His legs come up, bending at the knee so I’m wedged between his thighs and torso.
I lean forward, sinking my teeth into his lip, before plunging my tongue into his mouth.
He chuckles, a raspy sexy sound that makes me shiver.
Then, in two-point-five seconds, I’m flipped flat on my back with Alec above me.
He stares at me, a small smile playing at his lips, so small, it’s almost nonexistent. But it’s there. “I’ve waited a long time for this view.”
Unable to speak, I keep my eyes on his as I reach for the hem of my shirt, shimmying against the mattress so I can pull it over my head.
His head dips, green eyes blazing, and kisses me between my breasts, his rough hands gripping them both as he massages them gently.
My tongue traces my lips, my hands sliding down his torso, pushing his boxers down when I reach the waistband. His dick bounces as I do, poking my abdomen, making my muscles tighten.
“I want you,”
I whisper, pushing against his chest, so he lifts enough for his hard-on to align with my opening.
He groans, biting my skin, murmuring against me, “Waited a long time to hear that, too.”
Finally, his head lifts and he stares.
I know what he’s doing. He’s wondering what all this means, wondering if I’m in this or if thoughts of another are floating through me.
Truth is, I am and there aren’t.
I want this, want Alec inside me and had he not been looking at me with unspoken questions in his eyes, the only thing I’d be thinking is why he’s taking so long.
Giving him no more time to consider, I lay my feet flat against the comforter, pushing my pussy onto his dick.
A whimper leaves me the second my body sucks him in, not because it hurts, but because it’s overwhelming. Intense.
Nowhere near enough.
His hand comes down quick to squeeze my ass, tilting it up on a slant for him to slide all the way in. We both groan, deep and full, when our flesh meets in the center, his dick now buried in me. I pull my knees back and he sinks impossibly deeper. And I’m gone.
With the scent of his sweat mixed with mine, the weight of his body against me, his frantic movements and continuous growls, I come long and hard and loud.
Spurred on by my uncensored moaning, Alec’s body stiffens, his hips picking up speed.
I stare at his body as he moves, watch his muscles grow impossibly tight, and feel as he pulls almost all the way out, just to slam all the way in.
He comes on a growled exhale, grinding down on me as he rides it out.
Without a word, he rolls off, shocking me when he grabs the sheet we kicked to the edge of the bed and covers our naked bodies. He roughly drags me to him. Hitching my left leg up and over his body, he slides his hand along my thigh until his open palm lays sprawled over my ass cheek.
And then he sighs, content.
Alec Daniels, fearless firefighter, the number one ranked Blaze Blazer Academy has ever seen, instructor of the new recruits, is fulfilled while holding onto me. This intense, intimidating man is satisfied having just fucked me.
An unfamiliar thrill runs through me. I just can’t figure out if I’m excited or terrified.
Because if one Daniels brother had the power to wound me, the other must have the power to break me.
Chapter 16
The backs of my hands slide down the pillow, coming down to lay flat against the cool sheet, my back bowing slightly.
Warm, textured hands glide up my stomach and my lids peel open, connecting instantly with the most mesmerizing shade of hunter green.
Alec continues his ascent, gently nudging my knees to the sides so he can fit between them.
Eyes locked on mine, he slowly pushes inside me and I stare, transfixed as his eyes flutter closed, deep ridges taking over his forehead, completely lost to the feeling.
I lazily lift my hands, running my fingertips up his back, until I can grab his shoulders from behind and hold him close.
My breaths speed up, mind shutting down and then it’s just him and I and the heat between our bodies, the swelling of his cock inside me.
“Ruined,” he rasps sleepily and I couldn’t agree more.
This. This is what I’ve waited for, yearned for.
To lose myself in someone without a second thought, with zero effort, just from the feeling of a man—this man’s—skin on mine. The heat of his body against me. His need for me.
Alec slides his hand from my ankle to my thigh, then up to my breasts.
My back bows off the mattress, my nipple sliding across his lips from the movement.
I look to him, watching as he lightly scrapes his teeth against my sensitive skin.
My hands glide across his back, dipping into every curve of his muscles as they indent with his amorous movements. My palms glide across his ass, feeling as it flexes with each slow, strong, telling thrust. With unhurried motions, he grinds against me.
His right hand trails across my collarbone, landing on my neck, where he feels for the rapid beat of my pulse. He groans, then finally, for the first time since his dick entered me last night, his lips find mine and pressure fills my chest while heat floods my body.
Raw and ravenous.
Ruined.
***
When my eyes open, I feel as if I only just drifted off. Last night was intense. From being with Alec and the attempted break-in, to learning about my dad’s off-color contracts, my brain is exhausted. I feel for Alec, finding he’s not in his place beside me, but when I look across the room, I see him sitting in the armchair across from the bed.
His brows pull in slightly as he looks at me and I slowly sit up to see him better.
Alec looks off for a moment before his gaze meets mine again. “I have to go back, end this.”
I take a deep breath, nodding. “Okay, I’ll go with you.”
“You can’t.” He shakes his head dimly.
I shift to stand, suddenly wide awake. “Don’t tell me I can’t. I am!”
He narrows his eyes, standing as well so he can look down on me. “You will not. I can’t take you into the lion’s den with meat strapped to your back, Oakley.”
“Then what? Huh? Where will I go?”
He hesitates for a moment, before his eyes come back to mine. “Rowan’s.”
A bitter laugh leaves me. “I… no. No.”
“There’s no other option.”
“This is bullshit! I’m so tired of everyone else deciding what’s best for me.”
“You think I want you there?!” he shouts. “After everything last night, you think I want you within ten feet of him? Fuck. No. But he’s all we’ve got, Oakley. If not him, tell me who, because I’m all for another fucking choice.”
I can’t help it and I start to cry.
He looks away, swallowing hard. “Go pack some things. I’ll call him, tell him to come now.”
I nod and leave him to make his call, heading for my room to gather what I’ll need.
In no rush to leave, I take my time getting my stuff together, lowering myself to my mattress once I’m done.
I stare at the bright lay of light that peeks through my curtain. I’m not sure what I expected today to bring, but Alec leaving was the last thing on my mind.
Everything’s changed. Last night solidified what I’ve been feeling lately and it’s him. Only him.
It’s crazy to think, not too long ago, this man wasn’t even on my radar, yet today, he’s all I see.
And now I feel shorted. I want more time with him, to learn of all the things I missed along the way, when I was blinded by another. I can’t help but feel I’ll never get it.
Alec’s leaving and I have to stay here with Rowan. At least until my dad can get back here in the next few days.
It’s the last thing I want, especially when everything finally feels right.
I glance up when I see Alec’s shadow in the doorway.
He stares at me, his eyes tight around the edges, and I offer a sad smile.
He pushes off the frame and comes to stand in front of me.
My head tilts back to look up at him and he runs the backs of his fingers across my cheek, causing my eyes to close.
“It’s only for a little while. A couple weeks, maybe.”
Tears threaten to fill my eyes, but I force them away. He’s doing this for me and I don’t want to make this harder for either of us.
I feel him grow closer, then his lips land on mine.
His kiss is strong, telling. It’s a slow, rhythmic dance, full of wish and worry.
His promise to return, my promise to be here waiting, when he does.
When a knock sounds at the door, he pulls back, dropping his forehead to mine. “Time to go, baby.”
I nod, swallowing my disappointment and reach for his hand, needing to touch him as long as possible.
He turns to me when we reach the door and I see the worry lining his green eyes, worry I’m
sure he sees reflecting in my own.
The knocking sounds again, harder this time. I give a small nod and he pulls open the door. We both freeze when we find a police officer on the other side, a man in a suit behind him.
“Oakley Rivera and Alec Daniels?”
Alec’s grip on my hand tightens and he shifts to stand slightly in front of me. “Yeah?”
“I’m Officer Bennett, this is Detective Murphy.” I glance from the man in uniform to the other. “We regret having to be here under these circumstances, Ms. Rivera, but your father was killed last night.”
All the air leaves my lungs in a loud swoosh and I lose balance, my knees buckling beneath me. Alec catches my body before it hits the floor and spins me into him.
“No,” I whisper, tears streaming down my face instantly. “Alec, he’s wrong, he has to be wrong.” I sob into his chest, gripping his shirt tight and his arms constrict around me, his own breathing growing choppy as it blows across my hair. “Tell me this isn’t real…”
“I’m so sorry, baby,” he whispers into my skin, and I cling to him.
No one says a word for a few moments, but then the officer clears his throat.
“I hate to do this after delivering the news,” the officer begins hesitantly and we both shift to look at him, “but Detective Murphy needs to take Mr. Daniels back to the station. He’s wanted for questioning.”
I stand straight, shaking my head. “Questioning for what?”
The man looks from me to Alec, his eyes pinching slightly. “We need to speak with him in regard to his relation to the suspect.”
“I… I don’t understand.” I look between the men, who both cut their gazes from mine. “The person in custody,” I whisper, swallowing past the pain in my throat. “Who is it?”
“We’ve arrested a Marissa Daniels.”
Marissa.
That’s the name of the woman who has been calling Alec repetitively over the last few weeks.
But wait…
My hands fly to my stomach as it begins to ache and I pull myself from Alec’s hold, tears blurring my vision. “Daniels?”
He glances to the men and back, the skin around his eyes pinching. His pained expression begs for me to wait, to hear him out and my heartbeat grows heavy.
Burn Me Anthology Page 22
