Fighting Shadows

by Aly Martinez

  “And that’s just the first time you call my name tonight.” I stepped away from her and proffered an elbow. “Eyes closed.”

  “Yes, sir,” she replied, linking her arm through mine.

  “Even. Better.” I laughed.

  FLINT’S FOUR-BEAT STRIDES LED ME blindly through his house. I heard him close a sliding door, and some sort of hard surface, which I immediately recognized wasn’t carpeted, welcomed my feet. I wanted to open my eyes and take in every nook and cranny of where Flint dwelled, but he was right. It would have done me no good. In the weeds on the side of his house, he had managed to convince me that I belonged with him—that I deserved him, even. But convincing and believing were two separate issues. However, I was more than happy to ignore that for a night spent in his arms.

  “Okay. Open them,” Flint said after a door clicked behind us.

  I peeked my eyes open, and a simple, clean bedroom lay in front of me. Everything was neat, and bookshelves lined the walls. I felt at ease. While everything was a hell of a lot nicer, the room was reminiscent of his old apartment.

  I glanced over my shoulder to find him warily watching me—purposely positioned in front of the door.

  “I’m fine.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. I really am.” I smiled, and he let out a relieved breath. “Can I . . . um . . . use your bathroom to . . . maybe freshen up?”

  Using his crutch, he pointed to a closed door adjacent to his bed.

  “Thanks.” I walked away.

  Flint called out from behind me, “Don’t get too excited. There’s no window in that bathroom.”

  “Ha. Ha,” I deadpanned, closing and locking the door behind me.

  I looked around his modest bathroom. It had a large garden tub with a glass stall shower at the foot, complete with a glass bench inside. The double vanity made me smile, and I was so much more than pleased to find that the stone countertop was faux.

  I took a deep, calming breath.

  Then freaked the fuck out.

  “Shit shit shit!” I started rummaging through his drawers. I need a shower, razor, and toothbrush—stat. I was about to have sex with Flint Page and I had spent the morning sweating my ass off on breakfast deliveries.

  I knew for a fact that my legs weren’t clean-shaven, and I had never had sex, but I knew that men liked a smooth palette to work with in the lady regions as well. The electric trimmer resting next to the sink explained how he kept that sexy stubble so neat, but it did me little good. After starting the shower, I continued my search until I found his linen closet, where I hit the ultimate jackpot. Towels, razors, and shaving cream were all meticulously organized, complete with printed labels to assign their location.

  God, he’s anal.

  I suppressed my smile, nabbing the necessities, including his toothbrush, off the counter and got in the shower.

  Twenty minutes later, I stepped out a new woman—or at least a clean and hairless version of one. I would have given anything for some sexy lingerie or, at the bare minimum, a clean bra and panties, but my two small bags were still in Flint’s SUV. Really, what was the point though? He had made it more than clear that they would be coming off—a fact that excited me.

  After finger-combing my long locks, I wrapped myself in one of his plush, white towels and took one last glance in the mirror.

  I should have been nervous.

  I wasn’t.

  I was ecstatic.

  Once I’d allowed myself a final silent schoolgirl scream, I collected myself and headed out to him.

  “I told you there wasn’t a window,” he joked.

  He was lounging on the far side of the bed, shirtless, and judging by the way the covers showed off the sculpted muscles just above his hips, he was pantsless as well. His hair was no longer styled but rather appeared to still be damp. A book sat in his lap, and a sexy smirk played on his lips.

  I wasn’t nervous at all—regardless of the way my heart began to race.

  “Well, aren’t you presumptuous. Showered and naked,” I quipped.

  “I could say the same to you.” He winked. “Drop the towel, Ash,” he ordered, closing the book and setting it on his nightstand.

  Mayday! Mayday! I lied. Totally nervous!

  “Um . . .” I stalled, but it was only for a second.

  I had wanted this with Flint since the day I’d first laid eyes on him. Nerves had stopped me the first time all of those years earlier, but I wouldn’t allow that to happen again.

  So, while staring into the bright-blue eyes that had haunted me, I brazenly released the towel.

  “Fucking hell.” His gaze raked over me from head to toe then back again.

  I sauntered to the foot of the bed. “Sooo . . . I owe you a razor.”

  I leaned down on my hands and began to prowl up toward him, but I didn’t make it very far. As soon as I got within arm’s reach, he grabbed my shoulders and dragged me on top of him. Then his mouth slammed over mine and a hand thrust into my wet hair.

  “Goddammit.” He roughly tugged at the blanket between us, failing in his frenzy. Within seconds, he gave up and tossed me to the other side of the bed, tearing the blanket away before rolling to cover me with his muscular body.

  I was right. Flint was very, very naked. I didn’t have a chance to fully check him out, but I felt every hard inch of him pressed against me.

  “You are fucking beautiful,” he whispered against my skin as he trailed kisses down to my breasts.

  “So are you,” I answered awkwardly—but it was the truth.

  Flint’s body was gorgeous, and even as I looked down over his shoulder at the numerous scars that covered his back, it didn’t change that in the least.

  I felt his lips tip up, but just as quickly, his tongue circled my peaked nipple.

  “Shit,” I breathed, arching off the bed.

  His mouth shifted, capturing my other breast and shooting sparks to my core.

  “Flint, please,” I begged wantonly.

  I couldn’t say exactly what I wanted him to do; I just knew I needed more.

  More of his hands.

  More of his mouth.

  Just more Flint.

  “Oh God,” I prayed when his fingers brush over my folds. My hips lifted, urging him forward.

  After cascading kisses down my stomach, he settled between my legs on an elbow.

  “Slow down,” he murmured.

  “No. You speed up.” I threw my head back against the pillow with a groan as his hand disappeared. Well, that was until the warmth of his tongue laved over my clit. “Yes,” I hissed.

  “Have you ever gotten yourself off?” he asked before licking me again, sending my head spinning.

  “Yes,” I admitted on a breath.

  “You think about me?” he questioned, pressing a finger inside me.

  I couldn’t have uttered words if I’d tried; a nod was my only reply.

  Twisting his hand, he adding another finger. A sharp sting flashed over me before it faded into overwhelming pleasure.

  “I didn’t hear you, Ash. Say it out loud. Tell me how you thought about me every time you touched this tight pussy.”

  His fingers deliciously twisted again, and my hands tangled in his short hair, urging his mouth down.

  “I especially thought about how you would feel inside me,” I said boldly, and he rewarded me with another flick of his tongue.

  “Soon. First, I want to taste you.” Without removing his fingers, he sucked my clit into his mouth.

  My hands flailed, knocking everything including the lamp off his nightstand, before slamming down on the bed, fisting the sheets. The tension was building already, my muscles clenching with every swirl of his tongue, but just as I reached the highest peak before the euphoric fall, he backed away.

  “No, don’t stop,” I begged, opening my eyes.

  He rolled to the side, settling next to me on his back. “I need to feel you come, and not on my mouth and fingers. You aren’t t
he only one who has been using their imagination to get off for the last three years. I want you to come while wrapped around my cock,” he replied, his voice husky with desire.

  “Stop talking,” I said even though I loved every syllable out of his dirty mouth.

  Judging by the smirk that formed on his lips, he knew it too.

  He began stroking his long, thick cock. “Get on top. It’ll be easier this way.”

  “Easier for who?” I asked, rising to my knees, but my eyes stayed glued to his moving hand.

  He caught my wrist and guided my hand to join his. “There you go,” he moaned, releasing his cock as I continued gliding long strokes up and down his shaft.

  The sight of Flint’s smooth length sliding through my grasp enraptured me. I was vaguely aware of him rifling around in the drawer of his nightstand.

  Suddenly, Flint sat up, grabbed the back of my neck, and hauled me down to his mouth. My hand fell away while he kissed me deeply. Gripping my hips, he shifted me to straddle him. His cock settled between us as he held me to his mouth in a deep and sensual kiss. My arousal still lingered on his lips.

  Turning his head to break the connection, he growled, “Sit up.”

  As always, when it came to Flint, my body obeyed. He made quick work of rolling on a condom as I watched his skilled hands in awe.

  The nerves began to creep back up at the thought of finally having him, something I had fantasized about more times than I could count. There was no question that I wanted to be with him. I was just terrified of what would happen after we finished. I wasn’t sure I could ever go back from a moment when I belonged to him in every possible way.

  And because of that, he would belong to me too.

  I wasn’t sure that, if I ever truly had him as my own, I’d ever be able to let go.

  “Look at me,” he ordered.

  My gaze immediately lifted to his.

  “I have waited so long to have you, Ash. I have so much to apologize for, but this . . . tonight . . . with you . . . will never be one of those things.”

  My eyes flashed away as insecurity and doubt clouded my vision.

  Or maybe they were tears.

  Whatever they were sucked. I was naked and in bed with a man who had literally been the star of every single dream I had ever had. Insecurity had no place in the equation.

  “Be with me, Ash. Tonight, tomorrow, a decade. Just be with me. No more running.”

  I swallowed hard, pushing the paralyzing fear of tomorrow out of mind. “I can do tonight.”

  I want to do eternity.

  I leaned back down, resting my arms next to his head. Nose to nose with him, I inched my hips forward to hover above his straining erection. His hand slipped between us, poising himself at my entrance. Without giving myself another second to reconsider, I slowly sank down on his cock.

  I wished we were frenzied by passion—all hands and mouths—because then I wouldn’t have seen the moment his face softened.

  Or felt his breath whisper across my skin as he gasped.

  But especially because I wouldn’t have heard his possessive growl.

  “All mine.”

  I stilled. The biting pain from him stretching me was nothing compared to the vise he had twisted around my heart.

  Who I belonged to had never been in question.

  Flint, on the other hand . . .

  He nipped at my lips, gliding his hands up and down my back. Rocking his hips ever so gently, he began moving inside me. I may have been on top, but Flint took charge. After several minutes of coaxing, the ache between my legs subsided, leaving something very primal in its place. My body overrode my chaotic mind, allowing me to forget about the searing pain in my chest.

  “I know I need to be gentle, but fuck,” he groaned, planting himself inside me then roughly taking my mouth again. His hands squeezed my hips and guided me into a rhythm he met thrust for thrust.

  The familiar climb began building inside me. I lost one of Flint’s hands as he lifted it to his mouth before licking his index finger and dropping it to my clit.

  A cry escaped my throat as I tossed my head back. I was unable to even concentrate on kissing him any longer.

  “God, you are so fucking tight,” he whispered in my ear. “No one else will ever experience this with you, Ash.”

  With his finger circling my clit, I was dangerously close to stepping off the edge. But before I gave him that, I needed to give myself something first.

  “You’re mine,” I demanded, suddenly sitting up.

  His lips twitched as his tongue darted out to dampen them. I held his gaze, searching for affirmation.

  But I got so much more.

  His eyes were burning with emotions I had never been given but prayed I could earn.

  “Always,” he breathed, gripping my hips and roughly burying himself to the hilt.

  “Flint,” I moaned as the orgasm tore through my body, ravaging me physically while the echo of his promise soothed me emotionally.

  Not even a full minute later, he found his own release with the hiss of my name flowing from his lips.

  He might have done all of the work, but I was exhausted. I collapsed on top of him as he began to soften inside me.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  I nodded against his hard chest.

  He drifted his fingertips up and down my back. “You want to take a shower?”

  I shook my head.

  “You ready for round two?”

  My head popped up in a weird combination of “no fucking way” and “abso-fucking-lutely.”

  “I’m kidding.” He laughed, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips. “Let me get rid of the condom and clean up. I’ll be right back.”

  I rolled off him and settled facedown on the bed. I didn’t even bother getting under the covers. It had been one hell of a day, and sleep was threatening to consume me with each passing second.

  Flint rejoined me in bed, sliding in behind me and dragging the covers over both of us.

  As per usual, he shifted me in his arms until he found a position for me that suited him.

  As per usual, I played limp and giggled the whole time he jostled me around.

  I smiled to myself when he tangled his legs with mine. Once I’d wrapped my arms around his stomach, I squeezed him tight.

  “In my dreams, you were walking,” I whispered, kissing his chest.

  “In mine, you stayed,” he replied on a deep, content sigh.

  Sated and smiling, I drifted off in his strong arms, reveling in the culmination of every fantasy I’d ever had.

  FLINT GROANED AS HIS ALARM clock started screaming through the room at what felt like an obscene hour.

  “Oh God.” I folded the pillow over my head in a worthless attempt to block it out. “Turn it off!”

  “I can’t find it!”

  “Why the hell would you hide your alarm clock?” I cried in response.

  “I didn’t hide it, smartass. Someone who shall remain nameless knocked it off the nightstand in a fit of ecstasy last night.” He laughed, pinching my nipple before snatching the pillow off my face and throwing it across the room.

  “Just unplug it,” I whined, slapping my hands over my ears.

  “I can’t. It has a backup battery.”

  “Who in God’s name puts batteries in their alarm clock? That defeats the whole point of praying for a power outage before you go to sleep.” I’d rolled off the bed and begun searching the floor for the blaring disturbance when a second distinct tone joined the chaos.

  My too-early-in-the-morning glare swung to him.

  “What the hell is that?”

  “Backup alarm.”

  “You have got to be kidding me.”

  “I hate being late.” He laughed, flipping the blankets off and nabbing his crutches off the ground.

  I dropped to my hands and knees, following the noise. “Got it!” I shouted, stretching my arm under the bed and barely catching it with the tips of my fingers.<
br />
  I quickly turned it off, and he had apparently found the second alarm, because the room fell blessedly silent. Well, that was until I heard Flint breathe, “Fuck,” from behind me.

  It was then that I remembered I was naked and kneeling with my chest to the carpeted floor and my ass sticking straight up in the air. I glanced over my shoulder to find him standing, staring down at me, his already large cock thickening between his legs—a sight that had me returning his curse.

  “Don’t move,” he commanded when I started to sit up.

  As Flint’s heated eyes leveled me, there was a part of me that felt as though I should have covered up. But I didn’t feel insecure at all. Under his gaze, I felt more secure and wanted than I had in my entire life, and for that alone, I pressed my ass even higher into the air.

  “I lied. Get on the bed, but right back in that position.”

  First, I had other plans. I sat up but didn’t push to my feet. Instead, I spun on my knees and slowly crawled over to him.

  “Don’t do that,” he warned, but his eyes said otherwise.

  “I have a few apologies to make.” I licked my lips.

  “On the bed, Ash.”

  “No,” I responded.

  He arched an admonishing eyebrow, which I ignored.

  “You did a lot of things to me last night—things I loved. But there was something I wanted to do.” I wrapped my hand around his hard-on, steadily gliding to the tip and back again. “I’m going to suggest you sit down.”

  And for once, Flint didn’t have a retort. He backed up to the edge of the bed and dropped his crutches to the floor. I smiled in victory as I followed him forward, running my hands up his thighs until I reached the base of his cock. Then I lowered my head to kiss the tip.

  “Wait,” he urged.

  But I was done taking his orders. I slid his length as deep as possible into my mouth. “Fuck,” he hissed.

  “Wait,” he repeated as I glided back up his shaft. He pulled me upright before bending forward to kiss my shoulder. Using my chin to tip my head, he forced my eyes to his. “I said wait.” He chastely kissed my mouth and teased his hands down my sides to rest on my hips.

  Then the ground below my knees disappeared and the entire world turned upside down.

  Literally.