Ladder 54: Five Firefighter Romances

by Maren Smith

  Troy provided aftercare for every sub who requested it in their negotiation but sometimes it happened by chance. Some of the bottoms he played with were adamant about not needing care, but his flogger skills were quite epic or so he’d heard. Even the most stoic players sometimes needed a bit of TLC. He kissed her forehead, loving how her body reacted to his touches. She nuzzled under his chin and slid an arm around his waist. He missed the smell of her hair, along with the soft and supple curves of her body. He missed her laugh, her smile. His grip on her tightened, but he hadn’t realized how her return affected him until this moment.

  “Are you okay?” Dakota brushed a tear from his cheek, sobering a bit. “Your eyes are leaking.”

  “Yeah, they do that sometimes.” He didn’t elaborate and thankfully she didn’t push him to explain. Troy wasn’t overly emotional in general, so he knew it would raise a flag for her, but they could hammer it out a different night. It wasn’t the time to drag up deeper meanings.

  “Troy?” She shimmied upward until they were face to face. “I never imagined your flogger could force such a state of relaxation. I don’t know if I hit subspace, since I don’t have enough information on it, but I’m so incredibly happy right now.”

  “Good, I’m happy you were able to relax. I know we’re alone tonight, but I wish we could do another scene. I’d love to tie you up and hang you upside down. I won’t do it without a spotter and medic around. So, maybe next time?”

  “I’m so not into suspension.” Dakota bit her lower lip. “Well, I’ve never tried it or thought about it. I guess maybe we could talk about it some other time.”

  “I think it’s funny as hell that your statement went from not being into suspension and then suddenly downgraded it to sort of curious.” He patted her leg, and she got the message to get up. “Anyway, we can talk about a bigger scene later.”

  “I’ve never seen you rig someone.” She raised her eyebrows. “Is it fun?”

  “For me? Hell, yeah. For the bottom? It’s got to be or I wouldn’t get so many requests. I’ve been suspended twice, to see what it’s like. I trusted the top, but it wasn’t relaxing for me.”

  “Was it your friend Blake?”

  “Yeah, actually. I’ve been his spotter through about a dozen suspensions. Anyhow, I was worried he wouldn’t be able to support my weight. Blake supported me without issue, and the experience provided insight on how to rig someone heavier and taller than my typical partners, but it wasn’t my favorite. This wasn’t about submission though, it was just a scene. If I’d been in service of some sort to him, it might have been a different head space, but I can only say what I experienced and what I drew from it.”

  “I am trying so hard to picture you being strung up, but I can’t imagine it.”

  “I’m a strange bird, darling, but you knew that. I won’t engage in a scene unless I’ve personally tried it out from both sides. I have few limits, fewer than many others I’m sure, and it’s a rule of mine.”

  “So you’ve had a plug up your ass before?” She cocked an eyebrow.

  “I said scene, Dixie, I did not mention any objects. Do you want me to punish your saucy little mouth?” Troy rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. “Or are you going to take your insinuation back?”

  “I suppose you should teach my mouth a lesson. I did ask a sincere question, Sir. My curiosity is piqued regarding nipple clamps and bath brushes and if you’ve tried them too.” Dakota raised both of her eyebrows, demanding a reaction. “I’m not really sure what sort of punishment you can dish out though; your bag is way upstairs.”

  Well, fuck. This presented a slight dilemma. He couldn’t punish the intended target with his cock, though the thought made him grow rock hard. “Sincere question, huh?”

  “Yes, Sir.” She practically purred her response.

  Troy had spent a lot of time in this room when he played at the cabin, and he’d left a secondary toy bag in the back storage spot. His bag held a shiny new ball gag. A purple one, her favorite color. He couldn’t recall Dakota listing gags as an interest, but he knew for a fact she hadn’t referred to them as a limit. Striding across the room, he grabbed what he needed, and returned to stand in front of her.

  “Kneel down, Dixie.”

  She did so immediately, faster than he thought she would.

  “Open your naughty mouth.”

  Dakota obeyed again, and he popped the gag just behind her teeth, securing it with the thick black band. Her eyes narrowed up at him for about fifteen seconds, then settled into more of a curious stare. He patted her head, slightly more aggressively than you would pat an animal. Troy wondered what sort of things she had running through her mind, but the pretty gag in her mouth prevented her from sharing anything at the moment.

  Unraveling the strings with a huge grin on his face, he hummed while he placed it all around her. The rope was soft from dozens of uses. Multiple shades of purple, teal, chartreuse, and navy jute landed across Dakota’s knees as well fanning out in a brilliant pattern. Her eyes went wide, realizing he meant to do this while she stayed absolutely quiet, since the gag wouldn’t be removed anytime soon. She would look fantastic wrapped up like a present, tied up in the corset weave he’d been eyeballing for more than a year. He grinned and patted her head again. This was going to be so much fun.

  * * *

  Troy finished the last tie, and a huge sense of accomplishment filled him. Dakota kept her eyes on him, though she couldn’t do much else. He admired the lovely colors against her tan skin and jet black hair. He wished for a camera to show her just how gorgeous her limbs, torso, and breasts looked when hugged in rope, but their phones were tucked away upstairs.

  “You look amazing, sweetheart.” Glancing down at her face, he was shocked to see red-rimmed eyes staring up at him. Tears combined with the drool at her mouth, and she coughed behind the gag. He released it immediately and wiped her cheeks with a soft cloth. “Easy. Just breathe, Dixie.”

  “You asked me something the night of the auction. I didn’t answer you—” She took in several great gasps of air.

  “It’s okay, honey, you don’t have to bring it up right now.” Troy knelt down to face her, and he put his arms around her. “This is supposed to be a fun night. We can talk later about bigger stuff. Okay?”

  “I know we could, but this is really important. You asked me why I call your mother every Sunday. Amelia has been my Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor for years.”

  “I’m glad my mother could be there for you when you needed someone. I found out the two of you were talking, but I didn’t make a big deal out of it. Though I admit I wondered why you called her and not me.” His mother revealed the sponsorship information after he’d been to the house for dinner and she’d excused herself right in the middle of the meal. Being a sponsor was an important job. You never knew when the temptation would hit you, and if Dakota reached out to an empty phone it could be enough to push her over the edge. Amelia took great pride in keeping her former daughter-in-law on the straight and narrow, but it had also placed a strain on the relationship between her and Troy. As much as he wanted to grill his mother about Dakota, mainly her whereabouts and why she had left, he let it all go, rather than risk her sobriety. Dakota might have stopped calling altogether if she knew Troy was aware of the reasons behind the phone calls.

  “When you were deployed, I didn’t do so well alone. I don’t know if your mom told you, but I didn’t make it through the first leg unscathed. Your mother got me into rehab after the third blackout drunken night I told her about, though there were many more. I thought it was the worst thing we could possibly go through together, but,” her voice broke, “Troy, when you got hurt your mother tapped into a reserve of strength like I’d never seen before.”

  “Dixie, we don’t have to get into this tonight.”

  “You don’t understand. Your mom wouldn’t let me give up on myself and all the progress I made, any more than either of us would give up on taking care of you.” Tears p
oured down her cheeks in a steady stream. “I didn’t mean to get into this tonight, but if you’ve decided I hurt you too much in the past for you to speak to me again, then I had to tell you anyway.” She choked on a sob. “I apologize for treating you so badly. I wanted to take out my pain on you. I know you didn’t do any of the things I accused you of. Please tell me maybe one day you can forgive me. You’re the only man I’ve ever loved. Please, Troy? Tell me you don’t hate me as much as I’ve hated myself since the minute I hit the town line four years ago?”

  “Don’t say another word.” Troy did something stupid. He kissed his ex-wife, hard, claiming her tongue with his mouth. His other hand slid into her ponytail against her scalp, and he tugged her even closer. Breaking his own rule, he made nothing into something. His beautiful Dixie came home, and he’d be damned if he let her go anytime soon. She blinked several times, confusion creasing her brows.

  He got to his feet, and then picked her up and set her over his shoulder. She hissed when he adjusted her, probably the nipple clamps rubbing against his shirt, and the movement tugged the chain dangling between them.

  Troy took the steps to the bedroom two at a time. He laid Dakota down on the king-size mattress and surveyed his handiwork. The ropes twisted around her entire torso, down both arms, making her immobile. He couldn’t keep her limbs restrained much longer, but it would take him a good fifteen minutes at best to untie his masterpiece. His cock hardened with the thought of her being bound while he pumped in and out of her tight pussy, temporarily distracting him from this dilemma, but he needed to focus.

  “Have you ever considered knife play?” He tested the ropes. Neither of them brought up or mentioned any type of edge play, but it didn’t mean she hadn’t considered it with him. He was mostly joking though; edgier stuff such as using a sharp instrument near delicate areas of her body was a bit outside of his wheelhouse.

  “Knife play? No way.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got medical shears.” He pulled them out of his cargo pants and held them up for her to see. “They can’t cut you.”

  “Do you have everything in those damn pants of yours?” She wiggled her hips, arching upward a little, the scent of her arousal catching him and reminded him of how sweet she tasted. It had been so long since they’d been together this way.

  “You’re killing me, Dixie.” His dick strained against the confines of such mentioned pants. He wanted to take her just as she was, rope be damned, but common sense trumped his desire for the moment.

  “I’m more than patient. You don’t have to cut the ropes.” Her breath came out in gasps as he moved his hands over her, searching for the safest places to snip.

  “Maybe you are, but I’ve been patient for long enough,” Troy smirked. “Cutting people out of cars happens in my day job on the regular. This will be a cakewalk.”

  “You shouldn’t waste good rope,” she protested but he lifted her legs and landed several hard blows to each of her bottom cheeks. She screeched. “I just mean it’s expensive, Sir!”

  “I can buy more. Stay still.” Troy loosened the last few knots then slowly and steadily cut away the ropes, moving them out of the way until only one remained. He snipped the last dark purple braid with flair. Her fabulous breasts jiggled, free from their woven cages. His gaze scanned over her chest, relishing in the marks the rope left. Marks he put on her. Troy admired the little tracks all over her body, rubbing his hands over each one, exploring, and occasionally licking along the indents. He ran his tongue along the sweet crease left from the jute just above her hips, and then under her ribcage. She moaned, encouraging him to keep going.

  “You’re torturing me, Sir.”

  “Oh, yeah? I must be doing something right.” Releasing one of the metal clamps on her nipples pulled a groan from Dakota’s lips. Troy flicked his tongue across the sensitive nub. He repeated the same gesture on the other side, but this time she anticipated his teasing and kept quiet. Moving lower, he dipped his head and reached the lips of her pussy, glistening with her juices, and then he stopped.

  Guidelines had been set and firmed up via their email messages. They agreed nothing sexual would happen tonight. Troy had given her nipples more than enough attention and combined with the plug fully seated in her ass, he already toed the line several times tonight. He couldn’t throw away their agreement, no matter how badly he wanted to.

  Troy swallowed hard, considering where this could lead them. This was his Dixie. A woman he’d shared some of the worst years of his life with. A woman he had cried over on more than one occasion, and whom he had missed terribly. If he went forward and took her in a flight of passion, then where would they stand? Would she believe he took advantage of her? No, he reminded himself. She had begged him to do everything he had done tonight. She’d shown up at the cabin in the first place and bid on an auction to win him for the night. She knew what she was getting herself into, but Troy found himself blind to the bigger picture.

  This scenario set him up to be hurt. She had ripped off the scab on some very deep wounds tonight, unknowingly, but it caused him pain nonetheless. Troy weighed the possibilities of their relationship going south in his head, versus getting the two of them on the same page again. Dakota’s trust in him after all this time spoke volumes above any tryst of theirs in the sheets. Losing her once was enough. She was too damn important to him for him to risk it again just to satisfy an itch. No, they needed to reestablish their relationship before jumping into bed with each other. Or could this be just the way to do it? That’s how it had all started after all. He had seduced her at the bar, that fate-filled night, and then they fucked each other’s brains out for days. Maybe taking her, here and now, after all of their ups and downs was the best way to connect again. He studied her face, the slight furrow in each of her brows, and he knew she was trying to gauge where his mind was at.

  “I’ve changed my mind. Please don’t honor whatever the hell I said earlier that made you stop just now.” Dakota let out a long breathy moan and tapped her feet up and down. “Please?”

  “We agreed on guidelines and limits. I swore I wouldn’t do anything sexual. Burying my face in between your thighs is far beyond that line, sweetheart.”

  “Fluffernutter.”

  “What?” He sat up, away from the sweet temptation in between her legs, and jabbed his fingers through his hair. “Why are you calling your safeword?”

  “It ends the scene. If we’re not playing then whatever preliminary rules we set up online goes out the window.”

  “You aren’t in charge here.”

  “Sir.” She met the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his waist, and pressing her body against his back. “If you can entertain the tiniest possibility of seeing me after tonight, then please make love to me. We’ve stirred up a lot of emotions tonight but I won’t run off again.”

  “If we aren’t playing anymore, Dixie, then why did you just call me Sir?” Her knuckles tightened, and her breath hitched in her throat. Interesting. He certainly didn’t expect any of this. “Answer me.”

  “I-I don’t know,” she stammered. “I suppose it suits you. The title makes me feel like I belong to you.”

  “Hm.” He placed a hand over the two of hers and squeezed. “If you belong to me, the title stays. Whether we’re in a scene or not.” Troy moved out of her arms, turning around to face her. He traced his finger down her cheek. “What do you say, Dakota? Do you promise to stick around this time?”

  “Yes, Sir.” She nodded. “I promise to stay.”

  “I’ll take you at your word. You know how I feel about keeping promises.” Despite the risk, he took the plunge, like he usually did but this time by sinking two fingers deep into her wet pussy.

  She arched upward, not expecting the intrusion from his digits, and then she spread her legs wide. “Oh!”

  He smirked as he fingered her, in and out of her heat while she moaned. Her fists dug into his hair, but he quickly stopped the action. “Let go.”


  She voiced her displeasure with a grunt but she released him, and her hands balled up into the sheets instead of his curly locks.

  “Good girl,” he praised her and then dipped his head lower, capturing her pussy lips in his mouth, eliciting a cry from somewhere above him. She had no idea what she had just gotten herself into. The thought made his cock hard. He would make her beg for it, and then give her exactly what she needed.

  * * *

  Dakota twisted the sheets in her hands as Troy laved his tongue around her clit. His fingers slid in and out of her pussy and she was going to climax soon. A slow tapping on the flare of the butt plug brought her even closer to her peak. She seldom played with anal toys, but she liked the fullness that stroked so many once-hidden nerves. Troy pulled the plug out just a little, and pushed it back in, teasing her most private hole. “Oh, my God!”

  Troy raised his head, rested his chin on her mound, and then smirked at her. “Nope, just me.”

  “Why did you stop?” She gestured downward with her eyes. “I was almost there.”

  “Were you?”

  Oh, shit. This wasn’t fair. An evil plot formed behind those gorgeous hazel eyes. She was sure of it. He set both of his hands on her upper thighs. She didn’t like where this was going.

  “Uh, well, I was.” She bit down on her lip. “Can you please get back to your amazing combo?” Dakota added heaps of sweetness to her tone, hoping he would have mercy on her.

  “Beg me.”

  “I don’t—” A hard slap bounced off her pussy and she yelped. The delicious sting faded into a yummy burst of pleasure. “Oh!”

  “Try again.”

  “Please make me come?” Two slaps fell this time followed by the lightest flick against her clit. She whimpered, her body begged for release but she didn’t want to voice it. It gave Troy so much power over her, but then again, didn’t she crave that? Dakota exhaled slowly. Damaged relationships didn’t usually earn a second chance but if he was willing to take the reins, endless possibilities awaited them. A physical connection would align them toward the right path, so why was this so difficult? He flicked her tiny pleasure nub again, forcing her back to the moment. She gazed down the line of her body at him, and he raised his eyebrows. “Pretty please?”