Into the Flames

by Multi-Author

  “He’s either making calls or keeping an eye out for you. I don’t think I trust that guy.”

  “He’s fine. He’s just been a little off lately. I hope he’s okay. This case we’re working has really gotten to both of us.”

  “Dan’s fine.” He swung her around to face him. “I’ll bet he’s just jealous I get to take home the prettiest girl at the party. Come on, let’s not worry about him.”

  “I’ve moved,” she told him once they were in his car. “I live on the northwest side now.”

  She gave him her address, and he programmed it into the GPS before he pulled out into the street. They said nothing on the drive to her place, as if saying something might disturb or damage the fragile atmosphere between them.

  “You bought a house?” he asked, pulling into her driveway.

  “I like owning my own place.”

  “You’re pretty far out though, aren’t you?” He looked around, obviously seeing the rural nature of the little community.

  “It’s what I wanted. Besides, there are things I like to do that I can’t do in an apartment or a condo.”

  He chuckled. “Like what? Wild monkey sex?”

  She batted his arm. “You know better than that. No, for one thing, I like to hang my clothes out to dry on a line.”

  “You don’t have a dryer like everyone else on the planet?”

  “What for? I like my clothes to smell of fresh air. Using fabric softener isn’t quite the same thing. I like the smell of sunshine and the breeze and—”

  “Okay, okay.” He threw up his hands. “How did I never know this about you?”

  “There are a lot of things you never knew about me.” Then, before they could get into a discussion that would break the mood, she opened her door and climbed out of the car. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”

  Randi had left a small lamp lit in the living room, giving a soft glow to the room. She looked around at the comfortable furniture she’d chosen and wondered what Noah thought about it. Then there was no time to think as he swung her around to face him and took her in a kiss that made the earlier one feel like a chaste peck. He threaded his fingers through her hair, holding her head firmly in place while he plundered her mouth like a starving man. His tongue was a wild thing, thrusting and sweeping and licking, drawing her own into his mouth and scraping it lightly with his teeth. The kiss went on and on until she had no breath left, yet still she didn’t want it to stop.

  Finally, Noah lifted his head, the expression in his eyes hot and demanding. “Which way is the bedroom?”

  She pointed toward a short hallway. “The door at the end.”

  He swept her up in his arms and carried her into her bedroom where he set her beside the bed. The room was dark, but he seemed to have no trouble finding either the bed or the little light on the nightstand. He turned it on then stepped back and looked Randi over from head to toe. She shivered beneath the intensity of his gaze.

  For a brief moment, she panicked, wondering how she could let herself fall into this trap all over again. Nothing had changed. For all she knew, Noah still felt the same way about where she worked and where he lived. They certainly hadn’t taken the time for any deep discussion.

  Maybe that was just the way it was supposed to be. And maybe they would just have this one night. If so, she planned to take full advantage of it. It would be a better memory than the one of the last time they were together.

  Chapter Five

  “You have too many clothes on.” His voice was rough with need. “I need to do something about that.”

  He peeled off her ever-present blazer and tossed it to the side, not even looking or apparently caring where it landed. Then, slowly, as if unveiling a present, he tugged her tank top from the waistband of her jeans and eased it in increments up and over her head. She lifted her arms to help him, wondering if he could tell she was trembling.

  With the tank gone, his eyes focused on the lace-and-satin bra she wore. With the tip of one finger, he traced the line of her collarbone then dropped to the upper swells of her breasts. His fingertip just ghosted over her skin, setting up another little ripple of shivers.

  “Look at me, Randi,” he commanded. “Can you see how much I want you?”

  “Y-yes.” She whispered the word.

  “You want me, too.” A statement, not a question.

  Oh, lord, did she want him. More than she would have thought possible.

  “Your nipples are all swollen and hard,” he murmured, brushing his thumbs over them before taking them between thumb and forefinger and pinching them.

  Heat shot straight to her pussy, the walls in spasm, and she could feel how soaked her panties were now.

  “I want to touch you,” she half-whispered, unbuttoning his cotton shirt.

  He helped her remove it then added it to the growing pile on the floor. Randi smoothed her hands over the hard wall of his chest, feeling the crispness of the scattering of dark curls.

  She pressed a kiss to his breastbone, reveling in the clean masculine scent of him, the earthy touch of his aftershave. Everything about him just smelled so good. When she found his flat male nipples and scraped her fingernails over them, the hiss of his indrawn breath was sharp in the otherwise silent room.

  “My turn,” he said, unhooking her bra and tossing it.

  His eyes flamed with hunger as he took in every inch of her naked breasts. Then, cupping both of them in his large palms, he lowered his head and took one of them in his mouth, drawing hard on it. She felt the pull clear to her core and had to grab his biceps to hold herself steady, her legs were shaking so badly. He turned his attention to the other one, taking the first one between thumb and forefinger and squeezing just hard enough to cause an erotic bite of pain.

  Oh god!

  Randi was sure she was going to come just from what he was doing. It had been so long since anyone had touched her this way, with such reverence and desire. The few times she’d engaged in meaningless sex during the past six years had done nothing to diminish either her feelings for Noah or her need. Her response. If only—

  Whatever thought had begun to germinate in her brain dissipated when he unzipped her jeans and pushed them past her hips.

  “Kick off your shoes,” he told her. “I want to get these off and see you naked. Damn, Randi, this is all I’ve dreamed about for six long years.”

  She sat down to take off her ankle boots then lay back on her elbows while Noah slid her jeans off. Kneeling between her outstretched legs, he lifted one foot and slowly kissed his way up the inside of one leg from ankle to thigh. The soft touch of his mouth was like magic, awakening every little nerve beneath the surface of her skin. When he reached her mound, he stopped, placed a kiss on the top of it then continued his journey down the inside of her other leg. By the time he finished, she quivered with need. Without warning, he spread her thighs, bent closer again, and drew a line the length of her slit with his tongue.

  “Mm,” he hummed against her. “Soaked and delicious.” He did it again then lifted his head and deliberately licked his lips. “I missed this taste, Randi. I missed all of it.”

  So saying, he slid off her tiny bikini panties, dropped them, and went to work on her with his mouth and his fingers. She had forgotten just how clever he was, how good. Opening her labia like the petals of a flower, he slowly licked the tender flesh surrounding her opening, pausing now and then to swirl his tongue around her now throbbing clit. She tried to urge him on with a thrust of her hips, but he seemed determined to take his own sweet time, tormenting her as long as he possibly could.

  When he finally slid one long, lean finger into her, she clamped down on it as hard as she could, trying her best to ride it to completion. Again, he was determined to control everything, sliding his finger in and out with a slow rhythm. He punctuated the movement with occasional attention to her clit, nibbling it with his teeth or sucking it gently with his mouth. The need was building slo
wly inside her, making that slow climb up and up but leaving her hanging on the precipice.

  “Please,” she said at last. “Oh, please.”

  She remembered now—as if she’d ever forgotten—how much he loved to tease her and make things last. He would take her right to the edge and leave her hanging until he was sure he taken her as high as possible. Then he’d give her that last little push, and she’d tumble into a whirlwind of erotic sensation.

  He slipped a second finger inside to join the first, moving them together to stretch her and scrape that very sensitive spot on her inner walls. The sweet spot. It was certainly sweet the way he played it like a musical instrument to give her as much pleasure as possible.

  She could feel it, that hot, sweet feeling that swamped her and engulfed her body. Like a swimmer poised on the high diving board, ready to take that leap and reaching for the edge of the board with her toes.

  “Please,” she cried out again.

  He lifted up his head to look at her, his mouth and chin coated with her cream.

  “Ask me nicely,” he teased.

  Oh god!

  “Please, please, please,” she chanted, breathless.

  “Okay.”

  He worked her pussy in earnest with his fingers, in and out, in and out, faster, faster, faster. She fisted her hands in the comforter and lifted her feet to brace them on his shoulders. Then he bit down on her clit, and she fell into the whirlpool, spinning and turning, head over heels, her body shaking with the spasms. Her inner walls pulsed and pulsed as her release swept over her and she pushed down as hard as she could.

  Eventually, the tremors eased, replaced at last by softer aftershocks. Her breathing slowed, and her muscles relaxed. Finally, she went limp.

  Noah rose from his kneeling position and loomed over her, grinning.

  “I didn’t think it possible, but you taste even better.” He kissed her, a gentle meeting of their mouths, her taste all over him, her musk enveloping them both.

  “Wow!” she managed at last. “Just wow!”

  “I have more wow than that.”

  Randi lifted up on her elbows and ran her gaze over him. “One of us is still overdressed.”

  “I can fix that,” he assured her, and shucked his jeans and boxer briefs, exposing what could only be described as a very impressive erection.

  Immediately, Randi was ready for him again.

  Noah prayed silently that he wouldn’t embarrass himself. It had been so long since they had been together. Too long, but that was his fault. Thank god the heat and the passion were still there. He’d been so scared what Randi felt for him had been ruined by his selfish stupidity. He’d tried so hard to forget her, to erase the bitter memories of that night. Yet, no matter what he did, no matter who he slept with, the woman he dreamed about, the woman he wanted in his life, who lived in his heart, was sexy, smart, feisty, gorgeous Randi Alexander.

  He figured it would take more than one night to make things up to her and convince her they belonged together. He was finally even willing to make changes, although he didn’t know how he was going to handle the ever-present fear of the danger she put herself in.

  Not now, asshole.

  Tonight was for reminding her how good their chemistry was. He’d deal with the rest later.

  He allowed himself a long moment to study every inch of her body. He loved the way her skin flushed a gorgeous shade of pink after the intensity of an orgasm. The way her nipples, now glistening with his saliva, darkened and swelled. The way her delicious cunt clamped down on his fingers and that final bite on her clit sent her flying over the edge. He was going to send her there again, but, this time, he’d be right along with her. All the familiar things of her body were still etched in his brain as if someone had drawn them on glass.

  She was Randi. Her body, her scent, her sound, everything about her was as familiar as her name yet, just like every other time, new and fresh and exciting. The magic was still there.

  Thank god!

  He had deliberately left his jeans on before, knowing that if he didn’t restrain his dick in some fashion, he might very likely come without even being inside her. That was how strongly she affected him. That was how good their chemistry was together.

  He lifted her long enough to strip back the covers and place her on the bed, carefully arranged for him. Reaching for his jeans, he took out the condoms he’d hopefully placed there before he left his hotel room. Then, after tossing all but one of them onto the nightstand, he positioned himself between her legs. Before he could go any further, however, Randi rose up and pushed him onto his back.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “What does it look like?”

  Pressing on his shoulders, she urged him to lie back. He saw the hunger in her eyes as her gaze swept over him. When it landed on his cock, it felt as if she was actually touching him, and he flexed in response.

  “I see he’s still an eager beaver,” she teased.

  “For you, Randi.” He deliberately made sure there was no teasing in his tone of voice. He had to get this message across to her. “Only for you.”

  She stared at him for a very long time. Then she reached her hand out and wrapped her fingers around his very swollen shaft. Squeezed. Squeezed again. He flexed in her hand, wishing he was inside her mouth or, better yet, in the wet heat of her cunt. But her fingers were so gentle, even as she grasped him firmly. He watched her through slitted eyes as she bent and closed her lips over the swollen head.

  That was bad enough, the sizzling heat of her mouth scorching the sensitive flesh. But then she slipped one hand between his thighs to cup his balls and slid her mouth up and down his shaft. Once. Again. Again. It wasn’t just the act itself that was so incredible. It was the powerful connection between them it symbolized. He’d never felt it with anyone else. And now, being here with her again, he knew he didn’t want to. There was—watch it, Cutler—something almost mystical about the two of them together. He didn’t want to lose it again.

  He tucked her silky blonde hair back behind one ear so he had a clear view of what she was doing. He didn’t want to miss a moment of this. He still tasted her cream on his lips, still breathed in the familiar scent of her musk mixed with the lavender she always wore. He’d been inhaling the memory of that for six long, painful years, holding it close enough to kill any pleasure he might have had with any other woman.

  Randi wrapped her tongue around the swollen head of his shaft and stroked her fingers up and down, squeezing his balls with the other, and all thought flew from his brain. He gave himself over to sensation, feeling her velvet-soft lips, the silky wetness of her mouth, the pressure of her talented fingers. He wanted to lie here like this and let it go on forever, except he knew his staying power was seriously eroding.

  He wanted to come in her mouth, feel those silky lips close around him, see her throat flex as she swallowed his cum. But right here, right now, he wanted to be inside her more than anything. Six years was a very long time to go without something you badly wanted, even if you’d been the one stupid enough to throw it away. He dared to hope there would be more than this one time because, at this moment, he craved the feel of her sweet, tight cunt around him more than anything else.

  “Stop.” He almost didn’t recognize his own voice, as hoarse with need as it was.

  Randi lifted her head and looked at him, startled. “Am I doing something wrong? You always used to like the way I did this.”

  “I loved the way you did this. And I want you to do it again.” He sat up abruptly and shifted her body until she was straddling him. “Don’t move.”

  “But—”

  “Just wait. Please.”

  He only hoped he could wait. Ripping open the condom wrapper, he rolled the latex sheath onto his throbbing, aching, engorged cock. Then, lifting Randi into position, he settled her straddling his thighs, her opening right over his cock. Using every bit of self-discipline
he could dig up, he very slowly lowered her onto his shaft until he was fully seated inside her.

  “Ohhhhh.” It was more a sigh than a word, drifting from her mouth on the soft breeze of her breath.

  Noah held her in place with his fingers at her hips, staving off any movement for the moment. Randi leaned her head back, lifted her hair from her shoulders, and closed her eyes. He feasted on the slender column of her neck, the graceful line of her jaw, the lift of her breasts, the lush eyelashes resting demurely on her cheeks. She was an innocent and a hoyden all rolled into one. The sight was so erotic he had to grit his teeth to keep from coming without anything more than this.

  God, he could just stare at her forever, the wild tumble of sun-streaked golden hair, the fullness of her breasts, the lushness of her body.

  Admit it, asshole. You screwed up big time. Right here is the only woman you ever wanted or ever will.

  Just then she clenched around him, testing the limits of his control. Okay. He couldn’t hold off any longer.

  “Now,” he said through clenched teeth.

  Hands still at her hips, he urged her up and down. She caught the rhythm, slow at first, then faster and faster. Noah felt the clutch of her inner walls around him, squeezing him, and he knew he wouldn’t last much longer. He found Randi’s clit and massaged it with his thumb exactly the way she liked it.

  He kept his eyes focused on her as the ride grew hotter and harder and faster. Randi braced her hands on her thighs and pushed, again and again. He barely hung on until he felt the first tremors in her soft inner walls and then he let himself go.

  It was cataclysmic, the only word he could think of afterwards. They shook like aspens in the wind, everything disappearing except their connection. It was hard to say where one of them left off and the other began. They simply throbbed as one, bodies shaking, hearts thundering, on a wild ride down the mountainside. He lost himself in her and in their shared orgasm, the experience so intense, he wondered if he’d even survive.