Up in Smoke (Firehouse Three, #4)

by Sidney Bristol

  “No,” he said, maybe with a bit too much force.

  He wasn’t about to think about Abby that way, when he’d been with Payton. That wasn’t right. Besides, he and Abby were friends. Co-workers. If she’d gotten the wrong idea, well hell, he’d apologize but he’d never meant anything by it.

  “I’m just saying, she might be good for you. That’s all.” Payton straightened.

  “Payton...” He tightened his hold around her waist. “Why are you trying so hard to get rid of me?”

  “I’m doing no such thing.” She squirmed in his hold.

  “Yes, you are.” He pushed the box onto the floor, then pulled her into his lap. She gasped and made a rather cute growling sound. “I think we should talk about us.”

  “Us? What us? There is no us.” She huffed and crossed her arms across her chest.

  She was right, in a way. Sex didn’t automatically a couple make. If Payton was freer with her body, he might be inclined to believe her words. But she wasn’t. She’d tease and flirt, but he’d never known her to sleep around, despite what people wanted to believe about her. She used people’s snap judgments about her to deflect. The difference here was he knew the truth. He’d spent over ten years learning to read her, see past the face she presented to everyone else.

  Payton was many things, but underneath it all, she was honest to a fault. She didn’t try to pretend she was perfect. She owned who she was, even if he didn’t like it all the time. She might just be the one honest person in his life.

  “Kiss me,” he said.

  “What?” Payton stared at him.

  “Go on. Kiss me.” He let go of her and crossed his hands behind his head.

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because you have to show me that you feel nothing when you kiss me. If you can do that, we will chalk last night up to a fluke and I’ll never mention it again.”

  She stared at him, wary and rightly so. He didn’t plan on playing fair.

  First, he’d make her admit to there being something between them. Then, he’d figure the rest out. They’d spent so many years dancing around the attraction, the sizzle of awareness. This was going to happen. But it didn’t have to be a one-time thing. They could have something. And then she wouldn’t have to go back to that job she hated. She could have a life. With him.

  9.

  Payton didn’t trust the look in Chaz’s eyes. He was too...disarming. Nonchalant. And he wasn’t that guy. But he didn’t lie either. If she kissed him with zero emotion, they could pretend once more things were fine. They wouldn’t be, but that didn’t matter. She’d have him, her anchor and he’d be free to go be with a woman better suited to him than she was.

  Quick and fast, no feeling.

  She leaned in, watching him.

  This was wrong.

  It was a trap.

  But Chaz had set the rules.

  He didn’t cheat.

  She pressed her lips to his. Just for a moment. Then it was over.

  She’d barely breathed, her head spun a bit, but she’d kept any and all heat out of the contact. They were done. Finished. This was it.

  “There. See?” She ran a hand through her hair to give herself something to do.

  “You call that a kiss?” Chaz frowned.

  Oh, no... No, no, no...

  “It was.” She shrugged.

  “That’s how you’d kiss your grandmother. Come here.” Chaz leaned toward her, his gaze on her lips. “A real kiss, Payton.”

  She couldn’t do that. Not a real one. She wasn’t that great of an actress. But there wasn’t anywhere to go.

  Chaz had a hand in her hair, an arm around her waist.

  Give her a perp and an objective and she knew how to handle a situation. This? No way. There wasn’t training for this kind of thing.

  She braced her hand against his chest to push him away.

  But his mouth...

  The way he’d kissed her last night...

  Chaz’s hold on her hair tightened. He tilted her head a bit.

  She was a goner.

  Stick a fork in her, because there was no way to not react to his kiss.

  Chaz’s mouth was soft, so unlike the rest of him. He suckled her lower lip, his tongue caressing her. She gripped his shoulder. For balance. The room was spinning.

  Was that her groaning?

  Probably.

  He deepened the kiss, his tongue darting into her mouth, stroking hers. She curled her arms around his neck, losing the fight with her resolve to show no emotion. This was Chaz. The one good thing in her life. She couldn’t turn away when he offered her something so...right.

  His hands roved over her back to her ass, pulling her closer.

  This shouldn’t happen—and it was. She couldn’t stop him. Didn’t want to. And maybe...she shouldn’t.

  Payton leaned into the kiss, plastering her body to Chaz’s. He was so warm, and big and—him. All her girlish fantasies rolled into one man. Who just wanted her to kiss him back.

  “See?” He kissed along her cheek. He slid his hands up under her shirt, touching skin. “There’s something between us.”

  Payton squirmed. His cheeks drew in.

  “I’m pretty sure that’s just your dick.” She grinned.

  Chaz’s gaze narrowed.

  He wanted her.

  And he wanted her to want him back.

  There was no use denying the attraction. It’d always been there, even if it made no sense.

  Maybe the trick was...wanting him too much.

  Chaz was a straight-laced sort of guy. Not wild and crazy. If she was going to put him off the idea of what they could be, then perhaps she needed to be drastic. Give him more than he bargained for. Basically, let her mind run wild. Act on every impulse.

  She leaned in, sealing her lips over his.

  Hold nothing back.

  His hands slid farther up her back. She pulled her shirt off over her head. If this was the last time she ever got this, what did she want? What wouldn’t Chaz expect?

  She stared at him, watching his slack-jawed expression, the way his gaze roved over her body. As though he wasn’t sure what to touch first.

  Yeah. She knew the feeling. Except, given everything she’d seen and touched last night, she knew what she wanted.

  Payton placed her hand over his erection, stroking him through his jeans. His gaze sharpened and his lips pressed together.

  Yeah. She knew that feeling, too. Being rubbed the right way. He’d always done that to her by virtue of being himself. Now the tables were turned.

  She unfastened his belt, her mind made up. He covered her hands.

  “Payton—”

  “Tell me you don’t want me.” She tipped her chin up.

  He wasn’t the only one who could issue a challenge.

  “You don’t have—”

  “I want to. Isn’t that the point?” She closed the distance between them, kissing him softly. Teasing at the seam of his lips.

  His hands relaxed and she tabbed his jeans open. She pushed his pants down and wiggled away from him. He watched her, that hungry man glint in his eye. How many times had she wanted him to look at her like that? To see her as something desirable and not just a fuck up? Now he was, and she was out to overwhelm him. Life was funny.

  She reached behind her, releasing the catch on her bra.

  His lips parted and his gaze dipped. She splayed her palms over her breasts, both to ease the ache and tease him.

  Chaz reached for her, but she caught his wrist and brought his hand to cover her. His touch was a little hesitant. He’d lost a bit of his boldness from last night, though come to think, he hadn’t spent a lot of time on her boobs.

  “Tell me you don’t like touching them.” She guided his fingers, enjoying the sensation of his rougher skin on hers. It didn’t matter that she was the one showing him what to do, it was still his hand. “You can’t, can you?”

  “Huh?” He glanced at her face.

 
“Nothing.” She chuckled.

  Lust. It could be powerful. She felt it, too.

  Chaz hooked an arm around her waist and hauled her back to him, burying his face between her breasts. He turned his head, licking one while strumming the other.

  Oh...my...

  She gripped his shoulders.

  So much for being the one to tease him.

  Payton let her head drop back, chest thrust forward. He was a quick student. He slid his palm over her breast, then captured the stiffened peak between his fingers, abrading it gently while he sucked at her other nipple. She moaned and pushed her fingers through his hair, holding him close while he played one, then the other breast.

  Of course Chaz would be an attentive lover. That made perfect sense.

  Damn, but that felt good. She could feel him, his touch, all over her body. Stroking the fire of her arousal hotter.

  What had begun as a plan of seduction was spiraling out of control.

  Now she just wanted.

  She pushed her hand between them, finding his erection tenting his boxers. She worked the elastic band out of the way until she could grasp him.

  Hello, friend...

  Chaz groaned into her mouth, his hold on her body loosening.

  It was the opening she needed.

  Payton slithered down his body. He pulsed in her hand. She stroked him, relearning his size and shape. Last night she hadn’t gotten to look much, only feel. Now she committed him to memory, every vein, the color of his skin.

  There was only one piece missing.

  “Payton—”

  She ducked her head, leaning forward. Chaz’s hand dug into her hair. She tightened her lips around the head of his cock, swirling her tongue over him.

  First taste.

  She closed her eyes and operated on feel alone. Her hand stroked his length and she rubbed the flat of her tongue over the engorged vein along the underside of his cock.

  He said something, maybe her name, but it was unintelligible.

  Good.

  She was going to make him crazy. Take away his control. Make him realize that when it came to her, she’d never fit in this nice, neat suburban box he’d built for himself. And then...well, she didn’t want to think about that. This moment was all that mattered.

  Payton relaxed her mouth, sliding more of him past her lips.

  Oral wasn’t usually her thing. It was...intimate. Too personal. And she didn’t have the luxury of getting close to people. But if she only had this time with Chaz, she sure as hell wanted it all.

  The hand in her hair tightened.

  She sank down until he hit the back of her throat. Her nipples brushed his jeans, the rough fabric against her sensitive skin making her toes curl. She peered up, bracing herself for frozen horror. Nice girls didn’t go down on guys. That’s the line she’d been told.

  His eyes were wide, his lips parted, cheeks sunk in. It was a raw, lustful look. Not shell-shocked at all. Oh, maybe a little around the edges, but that was the look of a man ready to snap.

  He liked what she did to him.

  She shivered and lifted, letting him pop from between her lips.

  Chaz watched everything.

  She used her tongue, circling the mushroom cap with just the tip, swaying her hips from side to side.

  For as long as she lived, she’d never forget this moment. The way he was looking at her. The heat in his gaze, the way he held her hair, how he fit in her mouth.

  She inhaled the scent of him and stroked up from the base of his cock.

  Would he shout when he came?

  She intended to find out.

  Payton dipped her head, humming around him.

  The hand in her hair tightened to the point that pain pricked her roots. He hooked a hand under her arm, dragging her upright. He pulled her to him, kissing her mouth, fucking her with his tongue. His hand slid up to cup her breast. Her hair got caught around his wrist, between his fingers.

  She’d meant to be the wild one, and here he was the one that’d snapped.

  Chaz pushed up, partially dumping her on the floor and partially hauling her to her feet as well. He tipped her head back, the hand in her hair still tightly wound, and kissed her, palming her ass, pulling her up onto her tip-toes.

  He walked her backward, bumping into the coffee table, the edge of the entertainment center. She would have chuckled, except he’d stolen her breath and her ability to think. Her entire focus was on him and the need throbbing through her veins. She’d never seen Chaz like this, both out of control and in command.

  They stumbled down the hallway. She pushed his jeans and underwear down his ass to his thighs and he yanked the tab off her jeans. It pinged on the floor and was gone. She palmed his erection, still damp.

  Chaz growled something and pushed her hands off his body. He took a step away, robbing her of his touch, his heat. She swayed, staring at him, an addict hungry for her fix.

  For a moment, the heat in his gaze didn’t quite register. It was new. Different.

  Anger?

  Was he...angry at her?

  He caught her around the waist, lifting her as he turned. Startled, her breath whooshed out of her lungs as her back hit the wall and his big body braced her there. She wrapped her legs around his waist, wiggling her hips. His erection prodded at her bottom, not at all where she wanted it but so damn close.

  He kissed her, hands rubbing her body, stroking her need.

  His knee?

  Would this hurt him?

  “Chaz,” she managed to get out, though it sounded more like a moan.

  “Yeah.” His voice was ragged, full of need.

  He straightened, carrying her into his bedroom. The shadows played across his face, making it hard to read his expression.

  Chaz leaned forward and dropped her on the mattress.

  What had happened to Chaz? Who was this caveman?

  He grabbed her by the hips and rolled her to her stomach. Just enough of her legs were hanging off the side for her toes to touch the floor. He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her jeans and jerked, stripping her in no more than a few yanks.

  She pushed up to her knees. Or tried to. He planted a hand in the small of her back and shoved her back down.

  Payton grinned into the comforter.

  Where had that come from?

  “Stay there.” That voice was Chaz, but the rasp, that deep note of need was all-new.

  “Chaz,” she drew his name out for several beats.

  She swayed her hips from side to side.

  He rummaged in his nightstand drawer before shoving it shut again.

  She watched over her shoulder as he bent. What was he—?

  “Oh!”

  His teeth bit down on the curve of her bottom. Not at all hard, but where the hell had that come from?

  He tossed the condom on the bed and palmed her ass with both hands, staring at it as though he’d never seen one before. There wasn’t much light, just what came in from the hall, but it was enough.

  “Chaz.” Yes, that breathy, wanton voice was all her. And so what? She wanted him. Had wanted him for years and now here they were.

  He leaned over her, his weight pressing her into the mattress.

  “You make me crazy,” he whispered against her neck.

  “I want to feel you.” She reached back, stroking his hip. His erection lay in the crease of her ass.

  “Yeah, me, too.” He pushed his hand between her legs, his fingers stroking her slit.

  She pushed her knees into the mattress, trying to get closer, but he kept the touch gentle.

  “Fuck,” he muttered.

  “Mm-hm.”

  “Stay right there.” He tugged on her hair.

  “Do you want me to say ‘Yes, sir’?” She grinned. She could role-play the heck out of that.

  “No.”

  He pushed up. She twisted to watch, hungry for the sight of him. He ripped open the condom and rolled it on, all the while staring at her a
ss.

  Was he a booty guy? Was that why he’d mostly ignored her breasts last night?

  The things she never thought she’d want to know...

  Fantasizing about him was one thing, wanting to figure out exactly what he liked was a new thing for her.

  Chaz grasped her thighs, pushing them apart. Her stomach tightened. She closed her eyes, surrendering to the feel of it all. His touch.

  And that.

  The press of his cock to her pussy.

  She groaned and lifted her hips.

  He thrust into her.

  She shuddered as he slid in, her arousal easing the penetration.

  “Fuck, Payton.” His voice was tight. He gripped her hips.

  “Oh, yes.” She planted her hands on the mattress and pushed back.

  His hand splayed against her lower back, keeping her flush to the mattress. A thrill raced through her. Who’d have known he hid such an alpha streak under all those frowns?

  He pulled out and thrust. Not hard, but enough to create a delicious drag of friction.

  She wiggled her hand between the bed and her hips.

  “God damn.” He ground his hips to her ass, his cock seated fully inside of her.

  “Chaz, fuck me already.” Her patience would only last so long.

  He kept the hand on her back. The other reached up into her hair. She liked how he held on, the control in his grasp. Because then she could let go. So much for driving him over the edge, she was barely hanging on.

  His cock slid out, until she was almost empty. She held her breath, but didn’t wait long. He thrust, nothing gentle or easy about it. This was need. A deep, driving desire she’d created. She groaned, lifting her hips into the thrusts. The bed rocked under the power of his motions. She felt each one ripple all the way through her, deep into her core.

  Payton stroked her clit, her fingers sliding around the base of his cock. She needed to come with him deep inside of her.

  The hand on her back slid down, until he had her braced at the hips, completely at his mercy. He growled, something that might be words. The bed bounced, the mattress squeaked. He pistoned in and out.

  She kicked her feet, her senses overwhelmed. He filled her, body and soul, in a raw, primal way she was wholly unprepared for. Left raw and vulnerable, he ravaged her body, branding her his.

  Payton screamed his name into the comforter, toes curling, kicking her feet. He slammed into her, the impact of their joining reverberating through her. He roared something, his motions jerking, uneven. He pitched forward, over her, wrapping his arm around her, turning her face toward his. He pushed deeper, inching her across the mattress, devouring her mouth, groaning his release.