Reaching out, she pressed her hand against the hard planes of his chest. The heat of his skin burned straight through her. Cool droplets clung to him, sparkling in the sunlight. And she was done denying what she wanted.
Leaning forward, Lola ran her tongue across his skin, collecting the droplets and savoring the taste of him.
“Lola,” he groaned deep in his throat. The rumble of her name rolling off his tongue pulled any last resistance out from under her.
This was what she wanted. He was what she wanted.
And she was strong enough to take what was in front of her. She’d worry about the aftermath later.
Erik gripped her arms, and for a moment Lola worried he was going to try to shove her away again. But he didn’t. Instead, Erik wrapped an arm around her back and boosted her higher against him.
And there was no denying he was as turned on as she was. The hard length of his erection pressed into the open V of her thighs, making her want even more.
Their night together at the fire station had been good, but it had been almost a distant dream. Like many she’d had since Erik left. Hazy and liquid heat.
Right now, in broad daylight, with nothing between them but the burning desire they couldn’t deny...this was reality and it felt amazing.
Erik’s mouth found hers, kissing her and reclaiming what had always been his. Memories and need lapped against her just as surely as the water against her skin, eroding everything but the way Erik made her feel. Had always made her feel.
It was déjà vu and something new all wrapped together, and it made her head spin. His lips roamed down her throat and across her collarbones. Scooping her up, Erik carried her out of the lake, all without breaking his assault on her senses.
He grabbed their towels and tossed them onto the sandy ground before dropping to his knees and stretching her out.
For several seconds he stared at her. Long enough that Lola had to fight the urge to squirm. She’d never been the kind of woman to care what others thought of her, but Erik’s opinion had always mattered, even when she hadn’t wanted it to.
She wasn’t the same girl she’d been six years ago. The expression in Erik’s eyes seemed to mean he didn’t care that she’d changed. Heat and intensity scraped across her skin as his smoky eyes moved slowly down her entire body. She felt the touch of his gaze like a caress. Goose bumps pebbled her skin, and she fought down a tremble.
“Cold?” he asked, his voice rough and deep.
“No,” she whispered.
His lips quirked up into a knowing grin that immediately changed the entire dynamic of the moment into something more familiar and comfortable. Reaching up, she smacked his shoulder. “Cocky bastard.”
His grin only widened. And any last nerves she’d had fled. This was the playful, brash boy she’d known her entire life beneath the layer of the strong stranger he’d become. For the moment, she had her Erik back, and she was going to enjoy it while she could.
As if sensing the change in her mood, Erik latched his mouth onto the side of her neck and sucked. Lola groaned—he knew that was a weakness of hers—and then bucked when he kept going. “If you leave a mark I have to explain...”
Against her skin, he chuckled. “Wasn’t I always careful?”
“Mmm, most of the time.” But not always. She’d had to wear scarves or turtleneck sweaters to hide his enthusiasm from her dad on more than one occasion.
Back then she’d been avoiding a confrontation, protecting him just as much as herself. Now she wasn’t ready or willing to explain.
His mouth roamed over her shoulder, down her ribs and across her tummy. He nipped and sucked. Licked and ghosted with his lips. And her body slowly, thoroughly burned. Lola had no idea how long he tortured her—could have been five minutes, could have been five hours. Either way, she was panting and delirious.
Never in her life had she wished for a smaller bathing suit, but now she did, since that seemed to be the barrier he wouldn’t cross.
“Erik, touch me,” she finally whispered.
“Isn’t that what I’m doing?”
She whimpered, pressing her hips up to rub against the hard plane of his thigh. “No, I’m pretty sure you’re not. Not where I want.”
That wicked grin was back when he pulled away and stared down at her. “And where do you want?”
Pushing up onto her elbows, Lola grasped the knot at the back of her neck and yanked, doing the same to the one behind her back until the bikini top she wore fell into her lap. Cupping her breasts, she pulled in a mixed gasp of pleasure and pain, so sensitive from her pregnancy. “Here.”
Erik’s gaze sharpened on her breasts. He reached for one, rolling the distended nipple between thumb and forefinger, drawing a groan from deep inside her.
“Yes, there. More.”
Leaning forward, Erik slid his tongue across the other, a soft, barely there caress, all the while never letting up on the pressure with his fingers. The combination of hard and soft nearly had her mind exploding.
“Tell me if this hurts,” he murmured against her skin. Always looking out of her. Always protecting.
“It doesn’t hurt, exactly. My breasts are just achy lately. But that feels so damn good,” she said, threading her fingers through his hair and holding him right there.
She wanted more. Everything. And unwilling to wait any longer, Lola wrapped her legs around Erik’s, pushed up with her hips and flipped them both.
It might have been funny, the way he blinked up at her, disoriented, from the ground. But she was too preoccupied for that.
Stretching out over him, Lola found his mouth and sucked on his bottom lip. She straddled his hips, the V between her thighs perfectly cradling his hard erection. The feel of him was unbelievable and exactly what she needed.
Rolling her hips, Lola relished the hiss she pulled from him.
“Lola.” Her name was a warning she fully intended to ignore.
“Erik,” she countered, lifting up onto her knees and working her bikini bottoms off.
They were alone for now, protected in the little alcove by the curve of land and huge stand of trees surrounding them. Anyone could ride up from the other side of the lake, but Lola didn’t care. The danger added a forbidden spice, not that sex with Erik wasn’t already dangerous enough.
Her risk was rewarded when Erik’s big hands coasted down her body and across her skin. The heat of him blazed through her. The feel so familiar and right.
He parted the folds of her sex and groaned when he found her dripping wet. “How am I supposed to say no to this?”
“You aren’t.”
Lifting his hips, Erik pushed at the waistband of his trunks until she took pity on them both and helped him take them off.
God, he was gorgeous. Tanned skin, miles of muscles that he’d achieved through the strenuous requirements of his job. All across his hip and thigh were tiny white puckers of flesh, scars he didn’t have six years ago. Reminders she didn’t really want right now about the dangers of his job.
But she couldn’t ignore them, either.
Leaning down, she placed kiss after kiss across each one, losing count at twenty-five. Tears stung the backs of her eyes, thinking about him in danger. In pain. Suffering alone.
“Lola.” This time her name was a prayer and an apology that he didn’t owe her, at least not for this.
She shook her head, continuing to do exactly what she wanted, offering him solace even if it was too late. Silently accepting, him, the life he’d led without her.
His fingers in her hair, Erik gently brought her gaze back to his. The light and heat there singed her all over again, sending a rush of need barreling through her.
“Grab my wallet from the bag, okay?”
Without question, Lola tipped back onto on
e arm and rummaged around until she returned triumphantly with his wallet. Erik didn’t make the task easy. He took the opportunity of her body stretched out to run his fingers along her torso and across her parted thighs.
She nearly collapsed when he buried two fingers deep inside her sex, pulling a strangled cry from her throat. His thumb found her clit and she saw stars. Lola was left panting, hips gyrating for relief.
But that wasn’t what she wanted at all.
Pushing back up, she gripped Erik’s wrist and stopped the motion of his fingers deep inside her.
He looked up at her quizzically. “I want to feel you inside me,” she said, “and if you keep doing that I’m going to come in no time flat.”
“Baby, I don’t care how you come. As far as I’m concerned, watching you break apart is one of the wonders of the world.”
“Just what every woman wants to hear.” Tossing his wallet onto his chest, she waggled a finger at it. “Condom. Maybe this one won’t break. I assume that’s what you were looking for, not your license to prove you’re over eighteen and not jailbait?”
Beneath her, Erik’s entire body shook with suppressed laughter. “How can you make me laugh at the same time I have my fingers buried between your thighs?”
“Talent. Chop-chop, lover boy.”
This time, it was Lola’s turn for a little torture. Erik needed both hands to flip through his wallet, hunting that precious little packet, and she was never one to miss an opportunity.
Placing her hands on his chest, Lola spread her legs wide and perfectly positioned the wet heat of her sex along the hard ridge of his erection. She rolled her hips, sliding up and down.
“Witch,” he groaned, even as his entire body twitched beneath her. Over and over, she rocked her hips. Lost in the sensation they both created, she didn’t even notice Erik had found what he was looking for until she was suddenly on her back again.
The wind was knocked out of her, not by the force of impact, but by the sudden change in location and space.
He growled, latched on to her neck and sucked hard. She laughed, a wicked sound she rather liked, one she hadn’t heard from herself in a very long time.
Rocking back onto his knees, Lola watched him roll the condom down the length of his erection before positioning the head at the entrance to her body. He paused, watching her for several seconds. It took her a few to realize he was waiting for permission. “Yes. Please. Now.”
With one deep thrust, Erik slid inside. Her body didn’t resist him. It never had. She simply melted around him, giving and taking everything.
Beneath the massive strength and force of his body, Lola felt pinned to the earth. Anchored in a way she hadn’t experienced for years, and hadn’t realized she’d missed so much.
And that was before he’d even started to move. In and out, slow and steady. Torturous and unbelievably amazing. The push and pull of their bodies was like a perfectly composed photograph—light and shape working together to form beauty.
Lola’s hips moved with him, searching for even one more shred of connection between them. Her entire body tightened, quaking on the need to let go. But she kept holding on, wanting more, afraid to let the experience end.
The feel of him against her was too good. Too right.
But bringing his mouth to her ear, Erik whispered, “Let go.” And she couldn’t stop herself from falling over the edge.
His name tore from her lips as her entire body trembled. The orgasm shattered her, everything else in the world blacking out and condensing to nothing more than Erik’s glorious body inside her, surrounding her.
It wasn’t long before he joined her, his own grunts morphing into the sound of her name, a panted benediction forced through parted lips.
Together they collapsed onto the ground, a tangle of arms and legs that she wasn’t sure she’d ever have the strength to unravel.
His hand ghosted down her back, across her shoulders and over one thigh. “Are you all right?”
“Mmm,” was as close to a word as she could muster.
He chuckled, rolled and tucked her into the warm shelter of his body.
She was languid and spent. So tired and yet somehow so alive.
“Don’t let me fall asleep in the sun,” she said. “The last thing I need is to burn.”
Reaching over them, Erik adjusted the umbrella so it covered them.
“Sleep, baby. I’ve got you.”
8
THE NAP DID nothing but make Lola more tired. No matter what, she couldn’t seem to get enough sleep. And as much as she’d loved it, the time in the sun—and the romp with Erik—hadn’t helped. The rest of the day she just felt groggy.
It was early evening by the time they drove up to her front door and Erik unloaded the car.
Nerves fluttered in her belly whenever he brushed close. Their afternoon together should have mellowed her out. Instead, it only seemed to make her cravings more intense.
Which was no doubt the problem.
She half expected Erik to drop her stuff inside the front door and disappear. She should have known better. Instead, he took the picnic basket to her kitchen and started unpacking. And then vanished down her hallway with the bag of towels.
Lola nearly melted when she heard the distinct sound of the washer coming on. He was doing her laundry. How was she supposed to stay strong in the face of all this? He rocked her world, took care of her because he wanted to and, without being asked, did household chores.
She was pretty sure the crack she heard was the hard shell she’d formed around her heart when he walked away. It was disintegrating into tiny pieces.
Crap.
Because even though on paper Erik sounded like a great guy—and he was—there was still the little problem that he was going to leave her. Again.
His life was in California, along with his reckless, dangerous job that had him parachuting out of planes to fight out-of-control fires. She’d lost her mother. Spent years worrying about losing her father. And watched as her brother lay helpless in a hospital bed, discovering he’d never walk again.
Not to mention, Erik had a nasty habit of leaving when things got tough.
She could not count on him. Period.
But, God, at the moment it was hard to remember all the reasons she should keep her distance. Erik was the man she’d loved for so long. The man she’d expected to spend the rest of her life with. And now he was the father of her baby.
So what was she supposed to do now? Go to the bedroom, strip naked and wait for round two? That idea held so much appeal she had to squeeze her thighs together to stave off the spike of desire.
Or maybe she should cook dinner. Yep, that was what she was going to do. He’d fed her lunch and taken her out for a relaxing day. She would return the favor.
She was leaning into the fridge, rummaging around, trying to decide what to cook, when he set a hand on her back, startling her. Lola let out a yelp as her head hit the top shelf of the fridge.
Hands on her hips, Erik pulled her backward and out. “Are you okay?”
“No.”
With a frown, he found the spot on her head and rubbed. “I’m sorry.”
That wasn’t where she ached. The minute he touched her—anywhere—her body went up in flames. It was frustrating and exhilarating, his physical effect on her.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Lola took a deep breath and tried to find her center of gravity. She was not the kind of woman to lose her head over a guy.
Especially a guy who had burned her once already.
“It’s fine. You startled me,” she said, extricating herself from his hold, where it was all too tempting to stay. “Thought I’d make us some dinner. Nothing fancy. Tomato soup and grilled cheese?”
“Comfort food at its finest.
But I can make it. Why don’t you sit down?”
Because they’d had this argument several times already, Lola decided to take a different tack and completely ignore his question. She pulled out the ingredients she needed, placed a skillet on the burner to warm and then dumped a can of soup into a saucepan to heat.
If she sat still it wasn’t going to be good. She needed to do something otherwise her libido and her brain were going to war. Besides, she could not let herself get used to having Erik pamper her. He was going home soon, and she’d be here alone.
Which was fine. Really, it was. She’d simply ignore that pesky ache in the center of her chest.
She concentrated on the mundane tasks in front of her, throwing some spices into the soup just as her mom had taught her. Within fifteen minutes, Lola had dinner plated. They were both sitting on the bar stools at her kitchen counter, blowing on the first mouthwatering spoonfuls of soup.
It tasted so good. Like warmth and home. One of the best memories she had of her mother was laughing and sharing a bowl of tomato soup. She couldn’t remember how old she was the first time they’d had Lola/Mommy time—maybe four or five. It didn’t matter. The taste of it and the memories always made her smile.
Just as the camaraderie and easiness that always came with Erik made her comfortable. They joked and teased. Poked fun at each other and reminisced. And each time he touched her felt like lightning striking her skin.
Together they cleaned up the kitchen, and Lola allowed herself a sigh of relief. Surely he’d go home now, and her body could release all this pent-up tension.
But the minute she flipped the light off above the sink, his hands settled on the soft curve of her hips, and it became crystal clear he had no intention of letting her off that easily.
* * *
ERIK HAD SENSED Lola’s nervous energy from the minute they’d walked in her front door. He’d been in her house on more than one occasion lately without causing that kind of reaction.
But the lake had changed everything.
Even if neither of them was quite ready to deal with how.
Up in Flames Page 10
