by Stone, Piper
His grip tightening, he moved her from side to side then lifted her hips, slamming her down again. And again. He slipped his hand up, cupping her breast and squeezing with one hand as he wrapped his other around her hair, pushing her up and forcing her back into an arch. He pinched her nipple as he nipped her shoulder, then licked across the bite. “Ride me .”
The whisper was dark, full of dangerous need. Savoring the pain as he pinched her nipple between his fingers, she moved up and down, trembling as her legs continued to shake. Using her strong thigh muscles, she rode the man, her lover, their bodies melding together .
He held her as they moved in unison, his mouth never leaving her skin. “More .”
The command succinct, they rocked up and down, the sound of the metal bedframe hitting the wall mixing with their carnal grunts .
Just as she knew he was about to come, he hoisted her up and off, tossing her across the bed. Leaning over, he laughed, the sound guttural. “Such a bad girl .”
Crack! Smack !
“Oh!” Jerking up, she threw back her head as the sound of his hand striking her naked ass floated into her ears. She hadn’t been spanked by a lover in so long and she was breathless, taken aback .
Whap! Crack! Smack !
He peppered her ass with hard strikes, his hand moving from cheek to cheek. Kicking her legs open wide, he continued the spanking, moving from side to side in a calculated volley .
Whap! Crack !
With every hard strike, every slap of his hand, her body undulated, fighting against his control but longing for so much more .
Smack! Slap !
“You will be mine,” he commented. There was no inflection, no indication he’d ever take a compromise .
Crack! Whap !
Panting and moaning, she fought to keep her fingers wrapped around the comforter, to remain a good girl while he issued her punishment. Flashes of her past, her desires rolled into the back of her mind. This was more than she could have ever wanted. She threw back her hand, attempting to cover her ass .
“None of that.” Landen wrapped his hand around her wrist, giving her several additional smacks .
Shannon pushed her face into the comforter, clenching her eyes shut. A myriad of emotions rocketed through every muscle, every cell. Succumbing to this man was terrifying as well as thrilling .
He leaned over, kissing the back of her neck as he rubbed his hand down the length of her back. When he spoke, his whisper was husky, barely audible. “Just a reminder of who’s in charge.” With one hand, he eased her off the bed. The other he slipped around her neck, his thumb planted just above her spine. He thrust his cock deep inside her pussy, breathing out in an exaggerated fashion when his balls slapped against her legs .
She pushed down against the bed and issued a strangled cry. His shaft throbbed, sending shivers skating down her spine. When his grip tightened, she arched her back, jutting back her hips. The offer was blatant .
“More?” he asked as he pulled out, until just the tip of his cock was inside .
“God, yes .”
He drove in harder, holding his stance, then repeated the move, again and again, until the force drove her body into the soft bedding. With every savage plunge he growled and beads of sweat fell from his face and neck to her back .
They moved together, the rhythm perfect yet frantic, both their actions almost desperate .
She knew he was close to coming, could sense his balls swelling, filling with cum. The moment an orgasm rushed into her system, curling her toes, she squeezed her pussy muscles .
“Fuck!” His bellow floated past her, his fingers digging into her skin .
“Oh! Oh…!” Her body tensing, the climax roared, sweeping her into utter bliss. “Yes !”
Landen exhaled and peppered kisses along the back of her neck. “Amazing .”
When she stopped shaking, he wrapped both arms around her, easing them onto the bed. He crossed her arms, then placed his over hers. He curled around her, his leg thrown over hers and both remained quiet .
She could feel his rapid heartbeat, savoring the way he seemed so protective of her, as if she were the only thing that mattered in his life. Absently, she rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand, her mind reeling. She was so comfortable in his arms. She belonged. God. What was she thinking? Everything about this man, this smokejumper who raced headlong into danger was intoxicating. Inhaling, she drank in the scent of their sex and had to fight to keep from crying .
As she felt herself drifting off, her eyelids getting heavy, her inner voice remained repeating in a song-song fashion, this can never happen again .
Chapter 7
“P lease. Please help me!”
“I can hear you. Hold on. Just hold on!” Crawling through the rubble, Landen stretched his arm, trying his best to dig away at the bits of concrete. Nearly smothered in debris, he coughed as sweat ran into his eyes. The flashlight cut in and out and he slammed his head on a jagged slab. Wincing, he stopped, trying to control his rapid pulse and irregular breathing. He had to keep a clear head .
“Pppllleeeaasseee!”
The voice was getting weaker, further away. Landen could hear the calls of the rest of his team as they tried desperately to find any survivors. He continued his path, inch by inch making some headway. He’d have to turn back soon. Just a little bit longer. Yes, he could do this. After another foot gained, a clinking sound was followed by an intense whoosh. But from where? He managed to maneuver his flashlight around to the direction of the noise .
Bap!
The flashlight went off, surrounding him in eerie darkness. “Fuck!” He tapped the edge against the rock, thankful the stream of light flashed once more. In the next few seconds, he concentrated on identifying the sound. What was he hearing? He could almost -
Whoosh! Boom !
Jerking up, Landen gritted his jaw and threw out his arms, pushing. Pushing! He panted and blinked several times, trying to focus. There was no light in the room, but there was a sound. Swallowing, he rubbed his face, wincing from a slight twinge of pain. He was covered in sweat and he touched his eye, realizing he’d had a terrible dream. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and he closed his eyes, using a practiced method to calm down, kill the adrenaline .
The nightmare had seemed so damn real. Breathing out, he remembered where he was and managed to smile. He hadn’t realized how exhausted he’d been. Reaching over, his fingers brushed against her skin and he shuddered. Only one other woman had seen his scars and reacted with care. Shannon’s touch had been so tender, so sweet as if she would take away his pain with a simple question .
He allowed the simple pleasure of stroking her arm, caressing her neck and shoulders until she shifted, moaning in her sleep. Even in the quiet of darkness, he could see just how beautiful she was. Here, she seemed much more vulnerable. He touched her face, moving a stray strand of hair, and wanted nothing more than to curl up beside her. Why he’d wanted her so desperately was obvious and their connection was off the chain, more electric than he’d experienced in so very long, perhaps forever. That’s not what troubled him. To allow his mask to fall, even remotely to a stranger was completely out of character. Breathing out, he rubbed sleep from his eyes and could just make out the dog, happily sleeping near the doorway .
The light of the clock on her nightstand drew his attention. Almost five-thirty. “Shit,” he mumbled under his breath. He was gonna be late for training. Perfect. Giving Shannon one last look, he eased out of bed, careful not to wake her, and grabbed his things. The dog followed him into the living room, all over him as he tried to put on his boots. “All right, dog.” He chuckled and rubbed the pup’s ears. “Jace. That suits you, boy. I’m gonna let you outside, but you need to stay here, just for today. I’m going to get our place this afternoon, so I’ll come get you. Okay? Shannon will take good care of you .”
He glanced at the door, a part of him wishing she was awake, so he could explain. So, he could
tell her. He sniffed and shook his head. Yeah, so he could be a freaking coward and make sure she knew this was never going to happen again .
* * *
T wenty minutes later, he arrived at the hanger. As he zoomed into the parking lot, he eyed the group of vehicles already there. The entire team must be inside, getting ready for the day, preparing for drills. Where was he? Fretting over being late. Just another black mark on his less than stellar record. Snorting, he slammed the gear into park and swung out of the car, pillaging through the trunk in order to find suitable clothes. Didn’t help he was in the same shit as the day before and it reeked of wine. Finding what he needed, he shoved the items into a duffle bag, grousing the entire time .
Sighing, he tossed the bag over his shoulder and took long strides toward the door. The hinges creaked the moment he yanked, something he hadn’t noticed before. The ugly sound drew every man’s attention in his direction. Even though he was too far away to tell for certain, he could sense the harsh stares, almost hear their justified grumbles. Wearing a smirk, he headed for the small conference room .
Captain Phillips didn’t bother to look up when he stood in the doorway, but he did stop talking, albeit briefly. The silence was deafening .
“As I was saying,” Captain Phillips huffed, “there is reason to believe the recent fire was accidentally set. The fire investigator should be here later with additional findings. Whether this is from kids playing with matches, or a smoker dropping a still lit cigarette, we need to make certain. The fire burned hot, but not hot enough for any accelerant to be considered. I don’t want the press grabbing this story, believing we have an arsonist in town so keep quiet, boys .”
“You have that look on your face, Cap’n,” Boone offered as he sat back in his chair, folding his arms .
The captain shrugged. “Call it a hunch, but the fire roared through that building way too damn fast .”
“Shoddy building materials. Doesn’t appear that fire retardant plywood or wallboard was used anywhere. I also didn’t see any signs that the fire suppression system had gone off. Leads you to believe costs were cut, maybe on purpose.” The words left Landen’s mouth before he thought about what he was suggesting .
Antonio was the first to shoot him a nasty look, his dark eyes narrowing to the point they appeared enraged. He seemed to be concentrating on Landen’s eyes. “And who do you think you are, the new investigator here ?”
The men laughed, Sawyer punching Antonio on the arm .
“All right. Let it go.” The captain glanced in Landen’s direction, eyeing him up and down. “Curious why you would think that way, Weaver. Did you get an up close and personal look while you were in there, since the rest of us certainly didn’t have the opportunity ?”
Landen held his tongue and dropped his bag, inching further into the room. “I know a few things about construction. Easy to tell if you open your eyes. My guess is the owner doesn’t want this information front page news.” He gave Riker a quick glance. The man was expressionless, his eyes blank .
“Whoa,” Stoker said under his breath .
“Should send him to Investigator Nelson’s office. He’ll do a lot more work there, obviously,” Garcia chortled .
“Yeah! That’s it!” Sawyer chimed in .
“Enough! I said enough.” The captain’s voice bellowed into the room. “We’re working together here. Do you get it, boys?” When no one said anything, including agreeing in any manner, he shook his head. “Seems like there’s a hell of a lot of testosterone in this room today as well as before.” The captain homed in on Landen’s face then Riker’s before shaking his head. “I think you need some extra drills. That’ll be two more miles around the hanger to start. Then, we’ll see .”
“Captain!” Stoker hissed .
“Why the hell should we be punished for his shit?” Garcia added .
“Because we are a team. Get it?” Riker rose to his feet, hissing as he placed his hands on his hips. “Landen is right. I noticed a few aspects about the building that should concern all of us. If another building goes up in that manner, we could have a firestorm on our hands .”
“Whatever.” Sawyer’s words were said with disdain .
“At least Sheffield has some common sense. We need to work together. We have a huge tourist season. Lots of people are staying at the various hotels both in and out of town. Summer was the driest season yet, which means the trees could go up easily. You saw what happened in Washington State this year. We don’t want any tragedies here, which means we will be in top form. Am I clear enough, boys or do I need to write this down for you?” Captain Phillips tapped his pen on the table and gave every man a single glance, ending with Landen .
“Yeah. Got it,” Stoker answered first .
“Sure,” Boone added .
“I’m not hearing you!” The captain smacked the table .
“Yes, sir!” The group half shouted collectively .
“Better. Get out there and get started. After you finish, we are getting the new plane ready to go.” Captain Phillips rubbed his eyes .
“Aww, I love the old girl.” Sawyer grinned as he popped out of his seat .
“Me too.” Stoker laughed .
“You heard the captain. All good things must pass,” Antonio pointed toward the door. “Now go !”
Landen grabbed his bag and turned, moving toward the locker room .
“Not so fast, Weaver. Follow me into my office. We need to finish with your orientation. Then you can join the team .”
Swallowing, Landen nodded, hearing the captain’s directions. He waited while the others filed out. Only Riker gave him a nod. This was going to be a shit day .
Every man seemed to be grumbling their frustration as they passed by .
Landen remained stoic and noticed Cooper standing outside the captain’s door. He’d read about the man, knew of his reputation and various occurrences that had led to his recent job change. He was a true hero .
“Get in here, Weaver.” The captain’s voice held exhaustion as well as disdain .
He walked past Cooper and into the captain’s office and waited, remaining silent, preparing for the necessary tongue lashing .
The captain motioned for Cooper. “I get that you’re new in town. You’re not settled and was immediately faced with a fire. There’s no easy way of preparing yourself for what happened. However…” He allowed the word to linger as he locked eyes with Landen. “We need you in top form, body and mind .”
“I understand, sir .”
“I hope like hell you do. Should I be worried about the fight you had with Riker ?”
“He told you ?”
Captain Phillips shook his head. “No, you just did. I also don’t need members of my team fighting for any reason .”
“Yeah, I get it,” Landen huffed .
“Uh-huh.” He looked away. “Do you have a place to stay other than a hotel ?”
Landen nodded. “Bought a place. Just haven’t made it there .”
“I get it. Make time after your shift. That should help to get you settled. And you know what I mean .”
“Yes, sir .”
The captain looked Landen up and down. “What made you call out the building materials ?”
“Worked several fires in New York where the assholes slapped the buildings together. Didn’t bother with code. Although the entire firefighting team, including the various investigators suspected various officials had been bought off, looking the other way, we could only prove one incident. One single one. The asshole allowed over one hundred men, women and children to be killed when he could have prevented the damn tragedy if he’d followed code. Even the last fire I worked, same thing. Bunch of bullshit if you ask me .”
Exhaling, he nodded and looked away, his expression pensive. “Between you and me, I’ve heard this before and had suspicions, but we can’t go spouting off this kind of shit right now. Do you understand ?”
“Yeah.” Landen wasn’t entirel
y certain he did .
“Do you? Son, we have thousands of tourists here, providing often millions of dollars to our economy. We can’t express concerns like this that are unfounded .”
Landen didn’t move or blink. This felt like the same crap he’d experienced in New York – complete opposition to the truth .
“I can assure you that I’ll express your concerns to the investigator. He’s damn good at what he does and will follow through .”
“Okay,” he answered as he shifted from foot to foot. “Can I ask you one question ?”
“Somehow, I doubt I’m going to stop you. Go ahead.” Captain Phillips raised a single eyebrow .
“Who is this owner? You mentioned Jeffries Corporation or something as if they are a problem .”
“Jeffries Development is a sore thumb in an otherwise cautious town. They’ve bought up every scrap of land from here to California, building indiscriminately. I don’t know the politics and don’t want to, but they’ve been in the news for months, a solid two thirds of the information negative .”
“Maybe there’s a real problem .”
“Leave that to the city council and the good sheriff. That’s my honest opinion.” When Landen snorted, he inched closer. “Look, the Jeffries family has very influential members, if you get what I mean. We must be certain before we go exposing or inflaming. The family’s reputation hasn’t been questioned, just certain building practices. However, the corporation they own provides thousands of jobs. So, go easy .”
The implication was clear enough. Let it go. “Yes, sir.” As he glanced out the window, he thought about the horrific event in New York City several years ago that had cost so many their lives. The cover up had been another difficult situation for the city to deal with, yet if he hadn’t pushed, the entire situation would have been shoved under the rug. He held his breath as a vision swept into the back of his mind .
