Burn For You: Into The Fire Series

by J. H. Croix

  We parked in the back of the home, walking onto the small deck that had an entrance into the kitchen. Stepping inside, we knocked the snow off our boots on the soft gray tile. The kitchen had a counter running against the back wall, along with the refrigerator toward one side, and the oven and stove flanking it. Directly opposite that was an oval-shaped island. Countertops of soft gray granite matched the floor. Pots and pans hung above the island from a decorative rack. Just beyond the island, hardwood floor demarcated the kitchen from the open style living room and sitting area.

  I looked over to the far corner, where a woodstove was situated with seating around it. On the other side, a flat screen television was mounted on the wall. A sectional couch smack in the middle of the room was angled such that you could see the television, along with the view out to the front of the home. Like so many homes in Alaska, there were windows floor to ceiling to take full advantage of the spectacular view.

  The upstairs was only on the back half of the house with a set of stairs to the side leading to a balcony with a railing so the view could be seen from the second floor. Just now, it occurred to me that I’d never actually been in the upstairs of Nate’s home. He’d built the home about five years ago after he got his pilot’s license. Although I’d been here, I’d never had reason to go upstairs, and I presumed the bedrooms were up there.

  Nate occasionally had casual gatherings, which of course meant my brother was invited, and me, by extension. Suddenly, the weight of everything that was happening between us slammed into me. I didn’t want to think right now, not at all.

  Turning, I kicked my boots off as Nate stepped back out onto the deck to sprinkle salt and sand on the icy surface. Were this any other man, I would have felt a sense of tension, perhaps unfamiliarity from being in their space. With Nate, I was experiencing an odd combination of familiarity and newness. The sands had shifted beneath our friendship. About the only time I wasn’t running laps in my thoughts, occasionally tripping and stumbling, we were tangled up together—the fierce, white-hot desire burning between us sending my worries up in smoke.

  Hanging my jacket on a coat stand beside the door, I glanced up when he came back through the door, a gust of cold air following him. My nipples perked up in response as the cold air filtered through the fabric of my shirt. I was dressed about as un-sexily as possible. I had on a pair of bright purple scrubs tonight, the color cheery for me when I was at the hospital for a long day. I preferred to wear loose scrubs when I worked because I needed to be comfortable.

  This was quite the opposite of what I’d been wearing that fateful evening at the fundraiser last fall. Taking a shaky breath, I willed myself to stay calm. Yet, desire was beating like a drum in my body, liquid need spinning through my veins and whispering there was only one relief.

  Nate tossed an empty plastic cup into the bucket of salt and sand mix by the door before sliding the lid back over it. After toeing his boots off and shrugging out of his jacket, he turned to face me.

  My eyes—my naughty, willful eyes—tracked up and down his body, absorbing the sight of him. He smelled like cool winter air with a hint of wood smoke clinging to him. He wore jeans, faded and soft, the muscles of his thighs filling them. My eyes tracked their way up, his cotton jersey doing little to hide his muscled chest and shoulders. It hadn’t skipped my notice that his arousal was evident.

  A flash of relief pierced me. At least I wasn’t alone in this wild rush. Restlessness nudged me. I needed to move, needed to do something with the tornado of emotion and desire spinning wildly inside. My thoughts jostled inside my brain, competing for attention and space, crowded out by pure lust.

  Stepping to Nate, I boldly slid my hand over the hard ridge of his arousal, leaning up to catch his lips in a kiss. I startled him, his breath coming out in a low groan against my lips. Drawing back quickly, I made quick work of his fly, sliding my hand into his briefs and freeing his cock. The velvety skin was hot, a drop of pre-cum rolling off the tip when I glanced down.

  Shoving him against the door, I shimmied down, swiping that drop up with my tongue. Satisfaction raced through me when he murmured my name roughly, his hand lacing into my hair tightly. I was no blowjob virgin and settled in to drive him as wild as he drove me. Dragging my tongue along the underside, I swirled it around the broad head of his cock, savoring the salty tang of pre-cum and taking him into my mouth, all the way to the base, licking, stroking, and sucking.

  It wasn’t as if I had any doubts that Nate was well-endowed, but this was the first time I’d gotten this up close and personal. He was long, thick and hard, reminding me precisely why I was still a little sore from the other night. I heard his head thump against the wall, as I slid my hand up and down in time with the motion of my mouth.

  Another drop of pre-cum danced across my tongue. “Holly,” he murmured gruffly.

  His hand tightened in my hair, the sting on my scalp welcome as sensation collided with the need churning inside of me. I drew back, slowly dragging my tongue around the tip. With a muttered growl, he tried to yank me up, but I wasn’t having it. Driven to make him crazy, I drew back slowly before taking him in deeply until the head of his cock bumped the back of my throat. Another slide along the length of him, and I felt the pulse of his cock, savoring the rough cry of my name from his throat as he found his release.

  I waited for a few beats before slowly easing back with a last swipe of my tongue. As I straightened, I opened my eyes, taking him in. Leaning against the door, he was so damn sexy, my breath caught in my throat. My fierce desire surged. With his jeans hanging open and his shirt loose, his eyes were at half-mast, his gaze intense. The brief surge of power I felt at having him at my mercy dissipated at the heated look in his eyes.

  This man. Only this man could melt me with nothing more than a look.

  With his dark gaze locked to mine, he kicked his foot against the door, pushing away. In a flash, he was lifting me against him, not even bothering to deal with his clothes. My legs curled reflexively around his hips and a gasp escaped when he nipped at my neck. Heat shot through me. He didn’t hesitate, moving swiftly across the living room and up the stairs, carrying me easily in his arms. His hold was strong, the kind that made me feel safe—as if he’d always have me. I suppose he would. In more ways than one.

  Restless with need driving me as he carried me up the stairs, I dusted kisses along his neck, savoring the salty tang of his skin and the rapid beat of his pulse. Then, he was shouldering through a door in the center of the balcony upstairs. With a nudge of his elbow on the light switch by the door, two lamps in the corners came on, the lights casting a soft glow in the room.

  I barely had time to absorb his bedroom—a large king-size bed in the center of the room, low to the floor with built-in bookshelves framing it on either side, and a dresser under a side window were the only furnishings.

  Nate practically tossed me on the bed, his gaze dark as he looked down at me. “I need you,” he said bluntly, those three words making my sex clench.

  Our remaining clothes came off in a tangle. The next thing I knew, the mattress dipped, his knee pressing down between my thighs. My nipples were tight, my lower belly clenching, and I was wet, so wet, I could hardly bear it.

  His gaze swept down my body, the heat of it making my skin prickle. When his eyes traveled back up to meet mine, a wicked gleam entered his gaze.

  “Your turn.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Nate

  Holly’s skin glistened in the soft glow cast from the lamps on either side of the bed. Her nipples were tight and dusky pink, her breasts plump and full. A bolt of lust shot through me. My body had all but forgotten she’d just brought me to release in her mouth. My cock was already swollen and aching again. I was barely clinging to my control, but I would wait. I needed to savor this, savor her.

  Leaning back slightly, I skimmed my fingertips on the insides of her thighs, watching as her lips parted on a gasp and she shifted restlessly. Her ton
gue swiped across her bottom lip, her gaze holding mine.

  That was one thing I loved about Holly. She didn’t hesitate, never once shying away from looking at me. Just now, it occurred to me that I’d been the only man to have her like this. I’d never considered myself a possessive man, it wasn’t particularly my nature.

  Holly proved me wrong on that point. At the idea that no man had ever been inside of her other than me, the surge of possessiveness and raw need was fierce. I couldn’t even countenance another man being like this with her. Skimming my fingers higher, I dragged the backs of my knuckles across her lower belly as she rippled under my touch.

  Cupping one of her breasts in my palm, I savored the weight, the feel of her silky skin, and the way her nipple peaked tighter when I brushed my thumb across it and pinched it lightly between my thumb and forefinger. I couldn’t hold back anymore, bending forward to catch her other nipple with my mouth, swirling my tongue around it, and sucking it lightly before nipping it with my teeth.

  She was so responsive, flexing up into me, her hand burying in my hair and gripping as she arched up. I knew if I eased my hips down against her right now, that would be it. The need to bury myself in her slick heat would override everything else.

  Holding back, I swirled my tongue around her nipple, my hands mapping my way down her body, dusting kisses over the soft curve of her belly and pushing her thighs apart. On a muttered gasp, she fell back against the pillows. Lifting my head, I glanced up. Her breath came in ragged pants, her breasts rising and falling rapidly. Her long blonde hair was in a tangle on the pillows, and her cheeks were flushed.

  She was so fucking beautiful and so sexy, she took my breath away. I let my eyes slide down. The core of her was pink, wet, and glistening. I trailed my fingers over her slick folds, watching as her hips rose into my touch.

  “Tell me what you want,” I murmured, watching her face.

  Her eyes dragged open, her gaze dark and fiery.

  “More of this?” I asked with a tease of my fingers just over her entrance.

  “Nate!” she said on a gasp as I sank one finger inside of her.

  I meant to tease her more, but as usual, I loved watching her go wild. When her hips rose to meet a stroke of my finger, another finger joined the first. I brought my mouth to her, growling in satisfaction when she cried out, her hips bucking up against my tongue when I swirled it around her clit and buried my fingers inside of her.

  She was close to the edge already. I could feel the quickening with every stroke of my fingers. I drank her in, her juices slick on my hand and against my mouth. Another few strokes, and then her cry was sharp as she shuddered against me. Her entire body rippled as her channel clamped down around my fingers. I drew back slowly, almost reluctant to leave the taste of her. Overriding that desire was the need to be buried deeply inside of her.

  Rising up, I paused, my cock swelling when I looked down at her. With her skin flushed with passion, her pupils dark and dilated when she dragged her eyes open, my heart squeezed like a fist in my chest, setting to beat so hard and fast I could barely think or hear over the emotion rushing through me.

  I knew when this began that Holly was far more to me than any woman had ever been. And yet, I hadn’t been prepared for this piercing connection to her. The depth and sweetness of it was an ache in the center of my heart.

  I couldn’t have known that giving in to the desire between us would only serve to spin me into the flame that would burn me to ashes if I couldn’t have her—on every level, body, heart, and soul. Completely.

  She shifted her legs, reaching up, her fingers skimming over my chest. That subtle touch was a lash across my skin, slivers of fire chasing in its wake. Fisting my cock, I dragged the head of it through her folds, clinging to my control when she gasped, her body still shuddering from the echoes of her climax.

  In one swift thrust, I filled her, her slick core drawing me in and clenching around me. Leaning forward slowly, I eased over her, groaning at the feel of her damp, silky skin against mine, her softness to my hardness.

  Just as I settled against her, awareness sliced through me, and I started to move back, not fast enough though. She curled her legs around me and held me in place.

  “Where are you going?” she demanded, her voice husky and bossy as hell.

  God. I fucking loved this woman.

  “Condom,” I grunted.

  “Didn’t we already have this conversation?” she murmured. “I get the shot. I’m a nurse, for crying out loud. I’m clean as a fucking whistle. And I trust you because you’re a freaking Boy Scout,” she said with a sly grin.

  Seeing as I was already buried in the silken core of her, the last thing I wanted to do was pull out and put a barrier between us. But this was her call. “Are you sure?” I asked, watching her eyes.

  They widened, flashing with annoyance. “Oh my God, yes!”

  I didn’t need any further instruction, not when her hips arched up into mine, beckoning me and urging me on. Dipping my head, I caught her lips in a kiss as I drew back and filled her again.

  I felt like a fucking teenager. I should’ve been sated, way back when she drove me wild with her mouth. But no, I was already racing off to another climax, my balls tightening and heat twisting at the base of my spine. She gasped into my mouth as I surged inside of her again, tearing her lips free with a ragged cry.

  My hips drummed into hers, damp, slick sounds from our skin colliding with every stroke. I felt her pussy throb and clench around me before her entire body shuddered again, my name a husky shout. I tumbled over the edge with her, my release like the force of thunder snapping through my body. I fell against her, quickly rolling to the side and taking her with me.

  She was relaxed and soft against me, little ripples from her climax passing through her body, her core squeezing my cock gently. I felt as if I’d been hit by a truck, slammed to the ground with a force of pleasure so intense I was wiped out.

  We laid there in a tangle of limbs, the sounds of our breath filling the air. Thought slowly filtered back online in my brain. I didn’t want Holly to ever move away from me. We could just stay right here in my bed and do that about a thousand times. Maybe, just maybe, that would be enough to take the edge off my burning need for her.

  After a few moments, I felt her shift. Opening my eyes, I caught her gaze when she lifted her head and rested her chin on my chest. Her eyes searched mine, and my heart set to thudding against my ribs again. I didn’t know what I meant to Holly, yet I knew what she meant to me. She had slayed me, completely ruined me for any other woman. I needed to do whatever it took to get her on the same page.

  “Thanks for the ride,” she said, her mouth curling at the corners with a grin.

  For a moment, I was confused, but then I remembered. It said something that I had no idea how long we’d been here since we’d been unable to start her car.

  “Anytime,” I replied.

  I woke in the darkness with Holly warm and soft beside me. I was curled up behind her, holding her pressed against my morning arousal. I didn’t bother to think, my body simply acted. Sliding my hand over the soft curve of her belly and teasing my fingers between her thighs, I found her hot, wet, and ready. She murmured my name, the sound an erotic jolt to my system. Lifting her leg slightly, I sank home inside of her. It was a brief interlude, a slow, sensual fuck in the darkness.

  The last thing I remembered was falling asleep still buried inside of her just after she had rolled her head to the side to dust kisses along my jawline. When I woke later, the sheets were cool, and Holly was gone.

  I had never panicked in my life about a woman being gone in the morning. But right now, I panicked. Kicking the covers off, I scrambled out of bed. After I stumbled into a pair of boxers and walked into the kitchen, I found a note beside the coffee pot. The coffee was still warm, letting me know it hadn’t been too long since she’d left.

  Nate, thanks again for the ride last night. I got called into an emergency s
hift. A friend from work picked me up. I’m sure I’ll see you soon.

  Holly

  I didn’t know what it was about that damn note, but somehow, I knew that Holly intended to create some distance between us. I didn’t like it, not at all.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Holly

  “Oh my God! You have got to be kidding me,” I said, leaning around Charlie to look at Jesse.

  Jesse shrugged, and rolled his eyes. “Definitely not kidding.”

  “I swear, someday, she’s really going to hurt herself if she keeps trying to do that,” I added.

  “You’re telling me,” Charlie chimed in. “I mean, I worry about my mom but she’s living with us. With Carrie, she insists on living on her own. I guess she’s perfectly okay, but now she’s chasing around trees for that new kitten.”

  “Yeah, that kitten likes to climb trees higher than old Herman,” Beck Steele said from beside his wife Maisie, where they sat across the table. Beck was another hotshot firefighter, and Maisie was the main dispatcher for Willow Brook. She’d stolen Beck’s heart a while back and now they had two toddlers.

  I took a sip of my drink. Normally, I went for beer or wine, but tonight the bar was having a special on margaritas. Ella laughed beside me. Glancing to her, I was about to ask her something when I heard Nate’s voice. I reflexively turned in the direction of his voice, only to whip my head back when Ella muttered something under her breath.

  Even though I didn’t hear what she said, I hadn’t been her best friend since kindergarten for nothing. I knew she was teasing me. “What?”

  Fortunately, everyone else around us was occupied with other topics, whether it was Carrie’s old cat, Herman, or her new kitten, or the weather and other sundry matters.