by Desiree Holt
“I know you do. Just be glad that incidents like that aren’t what make up every shift.”
She sighed. “You’re right. I keep reminding myself that being a firefighter is about a lot more than putting out fires. We roll to auto accidents and natural disasters. Conduct building walkthroughs to check for fire hazards and make sure the building has appropriate fire prevention setup. Do public presentations to educate people on fire safety.” Her lips curved into a smile. “And yes, we also do get cats out of trees.”
“You have a very complex job that provides multiple services to a community. You should be proud of what you do.”
“Um, would you like a tour of the firehouse sometime? I can set it up with my chief.”
He studied her. “You don’t think the guys you work with would give you a hard time about bringing a man around?”
She chuckled. “We all give each other a hard time about almost anything. But we’re a tight group and we respect each other.” She blew out a breath. “They respect me, so all is good.”
“Then yes, I’d like to take you up on that sometime.”
She leaned forward, resting her elbow on the table and her chin on her hand. The gold in her hazel eyes seemed brighter, more sparkling tonight, for some reason. Maybe it was the dark gold of her blouse that brought it out. The thick fringe of eyelashes made her eyes look even larger, and the one beer she’d had sent a rosy flush to her cheeks. She looked delectable. Fresh and mouthwatering. The only words to describe her. God, he was in so much fucking trouble here.
He had to remember to be very careful. He wasn’t up for being tromped on again. The trust issue was still a major problem for him, and he was a long way from being free of it. Still, as long as he was cautious…
“You get lost in a fog, sailor?”
Holly’s musical voice pierced his consciousness.
“What? Oh, no. Just…thinking what a nice night this is and how pleasant it is having dinner with you.”
“Really?” She smiled. “Me, too.”
Her dimples winked at him and his cock at once hardened and pressed against his fly.
“So. You up for dessert?”
She shook her head. “I’m stuffed. This was really good, Chase. Excellent choice.”
“Glad you liked it. Want to take a little walk? There’s a lot of touristy stuff up and down these blocks, but I’m a people watcher. And the windows are pretty good to look at.”
“Good idea. I could use the exercise.”
He could think of better exercise, but that would have to wait until later. He signaled for the check.”
* * * *
Holly couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed just walking with a man, not heading any particular place. Making teasing little remarks about the people and things they saw. A no pressure situation, her performance not being critiqued. Oh, wait. After the first official date, the dinner. The feeling then had been so strange she’d wondered afterward if she’d just imagined it. Since she’d been in San Diego she hadn’t really given a lot of thought to the men she chose to date. Not that she went out with just anyone. She was way more choosy than that. She just hadn’t wanted anything more than a superficial good time and maybe some good sex. The guys had been looking for the same thing.
She had found that worked perfectly for her. She had a career she loved and superficial entertainment that didn’t put her in danger of being emotionally hurt. All was good.
Until Chase.
She needed to be very careful here. She had to be sure she didn’t end up wanting more out of this than he did.
But lordy, she just loved being with him. He treated her as a person. Made her laugh. Really listened when she talked to him. And the sex. Holy mother. The sex was off the charts. Okay, then. She’d ride this until it all ran out, and she’d keep the pleasant memories.
She could do this. She could. For sure.
It seemed to her they were back at her apartment way too soon. Should she ask him in? Did he want to come in? She pushed the door open, hoping she hadn’t misread the little signals he’d been sending all evening. He followed her inside, then stopped, his hand on the doorknob.
“I want to come in, Holly, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“Yes?”
“Damn straight.” He nudged her farther inside. “Please tell me that’s okay.”
“It’s okay,” she whispered.
But when he was inside, the door shut and reaching for her, she put a hand up to stop him. Beneath her touch she felt his muscles tighten.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
“No. Nothing.”
“Are you sure?” she persisted.
“Positive.”
She wet her lips. “So if I ask you a question, will you give me a straight answer?”
“Sure, Holly. Whatever you want to know.” Hunger and heat flared in his eyes. “Just ask me quick so I can get us both naked.”
She giggled nervously. “Do you…um…think we’re moving too fast with this thing?’ Heat crept up her cheeks. “I mean, this was just supposed to be a friendship slash fake dating situation and look where we are.”
“Yes, look where we are,” he echoed. “I think it’s where we are supposed to be.”
“I’ve been hurt before, Chase. I’m scared to death of making another mistake.”
He stared at her for a long time, then blew out a breath.
“I’ve been hurt too, Holly. But this feels so different to me. It feels right.”
She studied his face for a long time before she gave a nod and a tiny smile.
“Okay. Me, too.”
As if she’d given an invisible signal, he lowered his mouth to hers.
If she’d wondered about the reality of the initial sizzle, wondered if the snapping electricity the other kisses had generated, wondered if she’d imagine that connection, her questions were put to rest the moment his lips touched hers. Heat bloomed throughout her body. Her nipples hardened to painful points and the pulse in her sex thundered like a bass drum. He banded one muscular arm around her body, holding her close to him, the hard length of his cock pressing against her.
She clung to his hard, muscular arms to steady herself because her head was spinning. His mouth was magic, coaxing a response from every part of her body. His tongue again was a silken flame scorching her lips and sending heat streaking to her breasts and her core. She let her own small tongue dance with his, twining with it, sucking it deep into her mouth as if she never wanted to let it go. No kiss had ever reached so far inside her it touched her soul the way this one did.
When he lifted his head, she missed the contact immediately. She opened her eyes to see the color of his darkened almost to midnight blue, emotion swirling inside them. She could barely catch her breath. Yes, this was right. She had to believe that.
“I want you.” His voice was a deep rumble. “Right now.”
All she could do was nod, because she wanted him with just as much desire. Taking his hand in hers, she led him to the bedroom. She turned on the bedside lamp, its soft light casting the room in a warm amber glow. She folded the covers back, then turned to face him. The other night the heat between them had been so sudden and so intense they had gone at each other like two sex-starved maniacs. Tonight she wanted to savor each and every moment.
It seemed that Chase had the same idea.
“I want to go slow tonight, Holly. I want every moment to be special.”
She nodded.
He sat on the edge of the bed and set her an arm’s length away. “Undress for me. Let me watch you. And take your time.”
Holly had never done a strip tease for a man. He who shall be nameless hadn’t been into anything like that, and she hadn’t been with anyone since then who inspired her to tease and tantalize.
She studied Chase’s face for a long moment, memorizing the hunger and desire she saw there. Then she took another st
ep back and lifted trembling hands to the buttons on her blouse. Her eyes locked with his as she popped first one button, then another and another and another. A gentle tug brought the fabric free from her jeans, and she shimmied her shoulders as she shook the garment free. Tonight she’d worn deep purple satin and lace lingerie bits. When she reached behind her to unfasten the clasp of the bra, she bent forward slightly, the curve of her breasts more prominent.
With the bra disposed of, she stood for a moment, taking a breath to still the fluttering of her pulse and the heavy thump-thump of her heart. Then she stepped out of her sandals, kicking them aside, and grabbed the tab of her zipper. The sound of it gliding open was so loud in the room it sounded like the heavy rasp of a saw. She pushed the denim fabric down her hips, wiggling teasingly as she did so, kicking the jeans aside to join her other garments.
When she was down to her scrap of purple bikini, her unknown and well-hidden minx burst to the surface. She felt as if she was in someone else’s skin. Wetting the tip of one finger, she moistened first one hardened nipple, then the other, rewarded by the flare of need in Chase’s eyes. Smoothing her hands down her sides to her hips, she hooked her fingers in the lace edge of her panties and slid them back and forth for a moment. Chase looked as if he’d reach out and rip them off her if she didn’t get rid of them soon. Smiling, she inched them down her legs as slow as she could, stretching out the action until the bit of purple was at her ankles. With another little shimmy, she stepped out of them and kicked them away.
She forced herself to stand still, hands at her sides, while Chase looked his fill of her.
“Come here.” He motioned her forward with his fingers. “Right here in front of me.”
She walked forward until she was standing between his muscular thighs, his breath like a hot breeze on her skin.
Reaching out, he coasted his hands over her arms up to her shoulders, then slid his palms down to her breasts. Cradling them in his big palms, he flicked his thumbs back and forth against the diamond-hard tips, the sensation sucking a breath from her. Never taking his eyes from hers, he squeezed the rounded flesh before trailing his fingers down past her navel to the curls covering her mound.
“Are you wet for me?” His voice was hoarse, rough with desire.
She could only nod, knowing her scent was rich in the air around them.
He nudged her thighs apart enough to allow him to slip a finger between the lips of her sex and glide it up and down the wet flesh. He eased it out, then lifted it to his mouth and licked it with a slow swipe of his tongue. The pulse in her core thundered in response.
He lowered his hand, and this time slipped two fingers inside her, giving them a slight wiggle. She clenched her inner muscles around them and without thinking thrust her hips forward, rocking back and forth. Hot sensations cascaded through her, suffusing her with such pleasure she had trouble keeping her balance.
When he eased his fingers from her, he did so with slow deliberation, stretching out each sensation. He danced his fingertips along the lips of her sex, found her clit, and pressed his thumb against it. She drew in a breath to steady herself, then let it out slowly. Chase pulled her closer, sliding his hands around to cup the curves of her ass. He pinched them lightly, then soothed them with gentle strokes.
“I love this ass.” She barely recognized his voice. “One of these nights I’m going to spend a very long time just kissing it over and over.”
She thrilled inside, shivering at the erotic image it brought to her mind.
“I want to see you naked too,” she told him and wet her lips. “I want to look at your body too.”
“In a minute,” he growled. Bending forward, he took one nipple into his hot mouth, sucking hard, grazing it with his teeth, and then giving it gentle licks with his tongue. He did it over and over until she was ready to scream from the intensity of the sensations. Chase gave a rough laugh and moved to the other hard point. By the time he’d finished, every nerve in her body was sizzling and she could barely stand upright.
Chase pressed a kiss to her tummy before standing up, lifting her, and placing her gently on the bed.
“Don’t move.”
“I won’t,” she whispered.
The air in the room was so thick with sensual tension she couldn’t have even if she wanted to.
Chase was as unhurried in his strip tease as she’d been in hers, removing each piece of clothing with careful, deliberate movement. First the shirt, exposing his hard chest with its tempting dusting of dark blond curls. He toed off his shoes and socks before lowering the zipper on his fly, easing it over the very prominent bulge of his erection. Again, the rasp of the metal teeth was loud in the thick stillness of the room.
Holly watched with avid fascination as Chase stripped off his jeans and his boxer briefs. Then he stood there beside the bed, an erotic statue. Her eyes were drawn at once to his engorged cock, reminding her how thick and hard he’d felt inside her.
Without another word. he knelt between her legs, lifting them and placing them on his shoulders so she was completely open to him. Pressing open her pouty lips with his fingers, he lowered his head and drew a line with his tongue the length of her slit. All of her inner muscles clenched with need and her pulse pounded even harder. Then he did it again, a long slow glide along her hungry flesh, and again.
The position he’d arranged her in lifted her hips from the bed so she braced herself with her fists for his assault on her needy, greedy body. And assault was definitely the word for it. His tongue was a live wire, igniting her every place it touched. When he slipped it inside her pulsing channel, she moaned in pleasure and tried to thrust herself against him.
He was relentless, plundering her with his tongue, sliding it in and out, dragging it against her very sensitive sweet spot. Her body shook with need, with the curl of lust rising up from deep inside her. Again and again he thrust into her, driving her right to the edge of release but never quite letting her reach that hot spot she needed so badly.
But then he found her clit with thumb and forefinger, and as he pushed his tongue into her one more time, he pinched that swollen nub and catapulted her into the orgasm she needed so badly. Her entire body shook as spasms gripped her. Chase eased his tongue out and replaced it with his fingers, filling her channel and curling the tips to reach the spot that was her trigger.
When the most intense of the contractions slowed, he eased her down onto the bed, a panting, sweaty mess. Moving over her, he took her mouth in a deep, intense kiss, sharing her flavor with her. The act was so erotic, so intimate, her pulse began to thrum again.
But she had her own ideas. As soon as she could catch her breath at all, Holly rolled up to her knees and pushed Chase back. He gave her no resistance, only that hot smile that set her entire body on fire.
“My turn,” she told him, in a voice she hardly recognized as her own.
With great care she wrapped her fingers around his hard length and licked the bead of fluid from the tip of his cock. Then she licked the velvet flesh again and again. Chase shuddered and thrust his fingers into her hair, anchoring his fingers in the strands. She opened her mouth wider and took in his entire length, sucking hard, then easing her lips up and down.
Chase groaned, his fingers tightening in her hair.
“That feels so damn good,” he groaned. “Damn, Holly, what you do to me.”
Encouraged, she increased the pace, sliding her fingers with her lips, up and down, up and down, his cock growing unbelievably harder.
“More,” he urged. “Faster.”
She slipped her free hand between his thighs to cup his balls, the sac covering them so soft and feathery. As she sucked she rubbed and maneuvered the sac with her fingers. His hands tightened on her head, his hips moved in rhythm with her and a long groan rolled from his throat.
She loved the feel of his flesh, silken soft over hard steel, and the velvet of the now-darkened head. Adventurously she prob
ed the little slit with the tip of her tongue, drawing another loud moan from him and a thrust of his hips. Teasing, she dragged her teeth up and down his length, just hard enough to draw another rough sound from him and to feel him swell even more, a fact she hadn’t thought possible.
Everything else faded away as she bent to her very desirable task. Up and down, pause for a swirl of her tongue, then a drag of her teeth. Over and over, again and again. She let him guide her head with his fingers, a little this way, then that, sucking and pulling and loving the glorious taste of him.
She was shocked and startled when he suddenly pushed her back and sat up. Her heart hammered, wondering what the matter was.
“Am I doing it wrong?”
“Are you kidding?” His breathing was labored. “If you did it any better. I’d be a hot mess right now. I want to be inside you when I come. I have to be inside you. Right now.”
He dug a condom from his wallet and sheathed his cock with incredible speed.
Panting, Holly lay back, her eyes fixed on him as he moved over her. He paused, his hands framing her face, his eyes staring so hard into hers, as if he had a message he was sending. She wanted to ask him about it, but he traced her lips with his tongue and all rational thought fled.
“Bend your legs for me,” he told her, his words sounding as if they came from deep down inside him. “Please.”
She planted her feet on the bed, knees bent and legs apart, cradling him between her thighs. He braced himself with one hand, wrapping the fingers of the other around his shaft and nudging the head against her opening. She pulled in a deep breath as he eased his thick length slowly into her hot, waiting body.
Oh, God!
Again his gaze was locked with hers. She couldn’t have turned away if she wanted to.
He filled her completely, the heat and size of him suffusing her. She forced herself to draw a deep breath and let it out slowly. Waiting. And then he moved, slow steady strokes at first, then harder and faster. She lost all sense of time and place, all sense of self as she became one with this man. All that existed was this incredible man, his thick cock and the pleasure he was giving her.
