by J. H. Croix
His silver-smoke gaze held mine as he drew his fingers out and sank them inside again. I cried out, my pussy clenching. I was already on the edge when he teased across my clit, just enough pressure to push me a little closer to the edge but not enough to take me over.
He curled his fist around his cock, stroking it lightly as his fingers drove me wild. Hunger coiled inside as I saw another drop of pre-cum roll out, glistening on the tip before it dripped onto my belly.
“I suppose we should discuss protection,” he said, his words nudging my eyes back to his. “Since you’re pregnant, we don’t have to worry about that, but I don’t know how you feel about it. I’m clean. I’ve never in my life had sex without a condom.”
“Me neither,” I murmured, this conversation feeling suddenly intimate.
“So?” he drawled. “Your call.”
The idea of Ward being bare inside of me made me hot all over. That was saying something since I was practically on fire already. I swallowed. “There’s no need.”
He held my gaze, sliding his fist up and down his cock as he stared at me. Without a word, he slowly withdrew his fingers from where they’d been buried inside of me. Levering over me slightly, he dragged the thick head of his cock through my folds. I was dripping wet with need. With every pass, his cock slid across my clit, nearly pushing me over the edge.
“You want this, don’t you?” he murmured, teasing me relentlessly. “You’re so fucking wet.”
“Ward, please…” My voice came out in a ragged, breathy plea.
“Look at me.”
My eyes slammed into his, the look there alone tightening the pressure gathering inside of me. With his eyes locked to mine, he dragged his cock over my clit again as my hips bucked into him.
“Please,” I begged.
I didn’t even recognize myself. Ward turned me into a mess of need and desperation, nothing but desire driving me. Desire for him to claim me, to bury his cock inside of me and fuck me so hard, I might, maybe just for a few moments, be satiated.
He didn’t rush. Oh no. With his smoky gaze locked to mine, he dragged the head of his cock through my slick folds again, teasing my entrance and then passing up over my clit, sending yet another spike of pleasure shooting through me. I cried out and only then did he sink inside. In one swift surge, he filled me completely.
I was teetering on the edge of detonation already, my nerves so sensitized, it bordered on painful. Ward held still inside of me, his gaze locked to mine, searing me with its intensity. It felt so good to have him bare inside of me, no barrier between us. He drew his hips back slowly before seating himself again, the slide of his cock in my channel sending sparks of heat flying inside.
I couldn’t break free from his silver smoky gaze. The intimacy of the moment was shocking. My entire body was vibrating, while my heart thudded hard and fast. He drew back again, this time surging inside quickly and then holding still. He lifted a hand, brushing my tangled hair away from my forehead. I soaked in the feel of him stretching me, bringing me to the brink, pleasure spinning and coiling tighter and tighter. It felt so good to be held within his gaze and encompassed within the sheer power of his presence.
His eyelids started to fall, his words slurred as he spoke. “So fucking good. You feel so good.”
My hips arched into him reflexively, the vibration in my body impossible to withstand. The moment I moved, he drew back and finally gave me what I needed—hard and fast, his hips pounding into me.
Every beat of every thrust stretching me and filling me. Never once did his eyes break away. His hand slid down over my breasts, giving a gentle pinch to my nipple before his touch trailed over my belly, his thumb pressing over my clit. Pleasure exploded, shattering into pieces inside of me. I flew apart, lost in the throes of a climax so intense it ruined me.
With my pussy clamping down around his cock, I dimly heard him cry out as his body went rigid and he sank into me once again, the heat of his release filling me. He held still for a beat, his muscles taut as he looked down at me. He slowly eased down, rolling us over so that I rested atop him with his cock still buried inside of me. I lay still, my breath gusting as I felt his heartbeat pounding against my own. His palm slid down my back in a slow pass, coming to rest on the curve of my bottom.
There was something about being held by Ward, even when relaxed he felt so strong. Held tight against him with him buried inside of me, I felt as if nothing could get to me. All of a sudden, it hit me. I was pregnant, and Ward knew.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I tensed.
“Don’t start thinking yet, Zanna,” he murmured, his voice a rough whisper above my head.
I flushed to realize he could sense I had started to worry. I laughed softly, the tension easing as I lifted my head, resting my chin on my hand.
Sweet hell. There should be a law against men looking as sexy as he did. With his black curls tousled, the shadow of his beard, his chiseled features and those eyes…fuck me, those eyes. He could seduce a woman with nothing more than a look.
I didn’t dare tell him he could probably make me come just by looking at me. I had some pride.
He opened his eyes, a subtle glint in them.
“Well I’m sure you’d agree, we might have something to talk about,” I said, feeling bashful all of a sudden.
His hand slid up and down my back in another slow pass, giving my ass cheek a squeeze. He shrugged, his shoulder lifting against me. “I suppose, but we could relax now and talk later.”
“Are you going to take me back to my car tonight?” I asked.
He grinned, one of those ridiculous grins that made my belly flip. “No. You’re staying.”
“That wasn’t a question. Were you planning to ask me if I wanted to stay?”
His grin stretched to the other side of his mouth as he shook his head. “No.”
“I don’t usually take orders,” I countered.
He held my gaze, that silver flashing again. “Sometimes you do.”
I flushed straight through, recalling our last night together when he ordered me to turn around on the bed and arch my back—because he wanted to see “your sweet ass and your pussy.”
I hadn’t hesitated. I hadn’t even questioned it. That was only one of several times he ordered me around that night.
I rolled my eyes, trying to keep my composure. “Fine. Sometimes I do.”
I didn’t really want to leave tonight. The idea of curling up beside him and falling asleep, well, that would be heaven.
He didn’t give me much of a chance to contemplate this. He shifted to slide out from under me, lifting me into his arms from the couch. In a matter of seconds, he was carrying me into the shower. With the water running down over us and steam cocooning us, I was rinsing the water out of my eyes when I heard his palm land on the tile wall beside me. His other palm slapped on the other side, and I stood in a cage of his arms. With his curls damp and water running in rivulets down his magnificent body, my channel clenched.
“So let’s make one thing clear,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“You’re mine.”
The following morning, I insisted Ward drop me off at my car early. I didn’t want to run the risk of anyone from the crew noticing us arriving at the station together. He hadn’t offered much on the point, but had gone along with it. Afterwards, I drove over to grab some coffee at Firehouse Café and headed home to change my clothes.
As I got ready to leave again, his words spun through my thoughts again. You’re mine.
What the hell? I didn’t even know what to think about that. I was annoyed with the part of me that savored his streak of possessiveness. I mean, good grief. I wasn’t the kind of woman who needed a man to take care of her. While I couldn’t deny the force of my attraction to Ward—even I knew that was pointless—I was starting to think it had to be hormones. Dr. Jenkins had warned me to be prepared for the influx of hormonal changes, which would affect me in a range of ways. So this crazy,
out of control desire must be that. I’d let it ride, but I wasn’t about to let him think he had a claim to me just because I was pregnant and he happened to be the father.
The more I thought about it, the more apparent it became I needed to keep my boundaries clear. Otherwise, he’d dominate his way right into my life.
Chapter Eleven
Ward
The following day, I strolled into the front area of the station and found Beck leaning on the counter, laughing at something. Maisie’s cheeks were flushed as she glanced my way.
“Hey Ward,” Maisie said, brushing a curl out of her eyes. “Do you need anything?”
“Rumor has it you handle ordering supplies,” I said.
“She sure does. You’ll have better luck than me. She’s too worried about making sure she doesn’t treat me special around here,” Beck offered with a sly grin.
Maisie threw a pen at him, which Beck caught easily. Their banter was so easy-going, the love between them clear. Because I had it that bad for Susannah, it crossed my mind it was convenient for me to know there were interoffice relationships around here. If there was such a thing as an office when it came to being a hotshot firefighter.
With a roll of her eyes at Beck, Maisie glanced back to me. “Just let me know what you need. I do orders every Monday. I handle all the office supplies plus the crew equipment.”
“Got it. Things look pretty good so far, but I had a few requests, so thought I’d check.”
Maisie nodded, her curls bouncing with the motion. “Just let me know. Oh, and ignore Beck. He gets treated just the same as all of you here.”
Beck pushed away from the counter, flashing her another grin. “Exactly the problem. I give you foot rubs every night, and I get nothing special for it.”
Maisie’s phone rang. She threw a glare and a kiss Beck’s way before taking the call and shooing us away.
Beck walked with me into the back hallway. There were a few offices along the hall and then it opened up into a massive break room with a kitchen, a pool table, a television and a work out room off to one side, along with a few bedrooms. From what I gathered, most of the guys on the crew lived here locally, but some flew in only for fire season and stayed at the station.
As we rounded the corner into the break room area, the hair on the back of my neck rose. I knew without seeing her that Susannah was here. There were a few guys lounging on the couch in front of the television, while Susannah stood at the kitchen counter filling a tea kettle with water. She glanced over her shoulder as Beck and I came into the room.
The moment her eyes landed on mine, they widened and a flush crested on her cheeks. Seeing her was a jolt to my system, a straight shot of lust in my veins.
Her strawberry blonde curls were tamed into a ponytail. A few curls had fallen loose, dangling along her cheeks. She wore jeans with boots and a T-shirt. My eyes, my greedy eyes, willfully flicked down and then back up. Her nipples were taut, pressing against the cotton of her shirt.
My mind flashed back to the other night—her nipples damp from my mouth, her channel clenching around me as I pounded into her. The recollection was so sharp, blood shot straight to my groin.
She looked away, abruptly setting the kettle on the stove and then clicking on the burner before turning around and crossing her arms. “Hi guys. How’s it going?” she asked politely.
Beck leaned against the counter beside Susannah, hopefully oblivious to the tension between her and me.
He nudged her with his elbow. “Be nice to Ward. He’s still getting used to things here.”
Susannah glanced from him to me, rolling her eyes as her gaze returned to him. “Beck, I’m pretty sure Ward can handle himself. He doesn’t need me, or anyone, to baby him.”
Beck clearly liked to tease, and anyone was fair game. He shrugged easily. “Of course. But still. Be nice.”
Someone called Beck’s name from the workout room, and he ambled away, leaving Susannah alone with me. I’d been aching for her for a month straight and finally gotten another taste of her. I was beginning to realize I wasn’t even close to satiating my need for her.
What I wanted to do was pick her up, cart her out of here and lose myself in her for days. I knew I needed to sort out how to deal with the reality of our situation. She was pregnant, and we were having a baby. I couldn’t tell if I was so stunned by those facts that I couldn’t face them. All I could think about was what I wanted—the hottest sex this side of the Mississippi, so we should keep having more of it.
I’d been on firefighter crews for four years now. Relationships among crewmembers weren’t unusual. On my last crew, another one of the superintendents was married to one of the crewmembers. They’d been in training together and married within their first year of work. Though I couldn’t quite imagine myself married, somehow I kept using this example in my mind when I told myself it was perfectly fine for me to lust after Susannah. There was also the small matter of the fact she was carrying my baby, and it made me crazy protective. Well, that and the fact I didn’t intend to let her go.
Chapter Twelve
Ward
The following day, I leaned back in my chair at the table in the break room and glanced around. This was a busy station. Given that it housed three crews, that was no surprise. Yet, the size of the town belied the busyness of the station. Since it was a central location in Alaska, it served a number of other areas.
Nursing my coffee, I pondered how and when to handle the issue of Chad. Rex had been spot on with his assessment. The guy was an asshole, his attitude a problem for the team. We’d responded to a local fire in a nearby town this week. There’d been a large fire at a property with a collection of buildings. The sparks from the initial fire ended up setting two sheds on fire. In short, it was a mess. Chad had been negative the entire time. He grudgingly responded to orders from the two foremen on the team, one of which was Susannah.
Although my predecessor might’ve put off dealing with the issue, Al had left a trail of documentation regarding the problems, setting me up to deal with Chad whenever I wanted. At the moment, I was trying to suss out if anyone on the crew was close to him. I needed to assess if making a quick decision to fire him would shake up the team. I’d been superintendent for my last team in Montana and before that foreman on another crew. Adjusting to new leadership had its challenges under the best of circumstances. Starting off by firing someone wasn’t always a good move, even when it was warranted.
A couple of the guys were working out, and a few others lounging in the back of the break room in front of the television. Meanwhile, I sipped coffee and plowed through a few of the online training courses I needed to finish up.
Cade entered the room from the hallway, pausing by the coffee pot and filling a cup before walking over to join me at the table. He ran a hand through his shaggy brown curls, flashing a grin my way as he sat down. “How are you settling in?” he asked.
I tapped save on the screen before closing my laptop. “All in all, doing okay. I got everything moved in last month when I came up.” I was relieved we’d already gotten through the niceties about my mother passing away.
He nodded, sipping his coffee. “Rumor has it you bought the place out on Fireweed Lane.”
“Rumor would be right. I heard your wife built it. Damn nice place.”
Cade grinned. “That she did. Amelia’s one of the best builders in town.”
“Yeah. I love it. That’s why I bought it. The price was right too.”
Cade’s resemblance to his father was impossible to miss. In that vein, I commented, “Mind sharing the station with your dad?”
He chuckled, shaking his head with a wry grin. “Nah. When I was a teen, it wasn’t so great to have my dad as the police chief, but I grew up. Now we can keep tabs on each other, but we don’t really step on each other’s toes.”
“Good to know,” I said with a chuckle. Considering Cade had been filling in with Beck to manage my crew until I started, I figured it wa
s worth asking for his feedback on Chad. He might have more insight and knowledge on how the crew felt about Chad.
“Speaking of your dad, he gave me a heads up on Chad. Any thoughts on that situation?”
Cade took a healthy swig of his coffee. “Probably not much more than my dad gave you. I would say it’s best to deal with him sooner rather than later. There’s no love lost between him and anyone on the crew.”
“I’m trying to weigh whether to take care of it soon, or wait a bit for the team to get to know me. No matter what, it doesn’t set a good precedent for the new boss to show up and fire someone.”
Cade leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh, his gaze considering. “Good point. But I don’t know if it’s worth the wait. He’s so pissed he didn’t even get an interview for the position, it’s just made his attitude worse. I’d be worried about the effect he has on morale.”
I gulped my coffee, setting it down and idly tracing circles around the bottom of my mug. “Fair point. Well, Al’s got a wall of documentation about disciplinary issues with him. I might just go ahead and act on it. With you and Beck covering for me last month, any thoughts on whether it would be good to have one or both of you sit in with me on this conversation with him?”
Cade nodded slowly. “Good idea. We’ve both been here a while, so the crew trusts us. Beck’s been here longer than me. Us being a part of the decision will take the pressure off of you. We’ve got your back one-hundred percent, so does Rex and probably the team.”
I’d already developed a healthy respect for Cade and Beck. They were rock solid and had the respect of everybody in the station with the exception of Chad, but then Chad didn’t appear to grasp the concept of respect. Neither one of them threw their weight around much though. They earned genuine respect, rather than trying to demand it.
“Well let’s plan on it sometime in the next few days.”
“Sounds like a plan. Be good to take care of it before next week. My crew’s scheduled for a training then.”
