Burn So Good

by J. H. Croix

  Fuck me. Ella owned me—body, heart and soul. Just that tiny motion, and my cock swelled so hard it ached. I needed to be inside of her. Shifting, I shoved my briefs down over my hips, too hurried to even bother getting out of my jeans. Glancing up at her, I curled my fist around my cock. Only then did reality hit me.

  “Fuck. Condom,” I muttered as I pushed back. I was going to have to walk all the way upstairs to deal with this issue.

  Ella caught my hips with her legs, pulling me back close to her. “I’m on the pill,” she murmured. “And I’m clean. I know you must be too.”

  I stared at her for a long moment, my mind spinning back years. Back in high school, we’d never had sex without a condom. My father had put the fear of God in me about that. But I was older now and so was she, and I didn’t doubt she was on the pill.

  This was her call though, not mine. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded emphatically. On the heels of a deep breath, I stepped back to her again, gripping her hips and sliding her all the way to the edge of the counter. Adjusting the angle of my hips, I sank inside of her creamy clench in one swift surge.

  She cried out, her hips rocking into me instantly. I wanted to drag this out, to make it slow, to savor every second of it. But the intensity was too much, my need too great, and the years of missing her carrying so much weight that all I could do was lose myself inside of her. I rocked into her again and again, murmuring her name over and over as heat and pleasure twisted at my spine. I felt her channel throbbing around me. Reaching between us, I swirled my thumb over her clit, opening my eyes to witness her cry out, her body arching back and going taut, clamping down around my cock.

  Only then did I let go, the heat twisting at the base of my spine and slamming through me, my release pouring into her with one last surge.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ella

  Caleb called my name as his head fell into the dip of my shoulder. I felt the shudders of his body while tremors of pleasure were still wracking mine. My skin was damp, and I could hardly catch my breath, gulping in air as I came down from the intensity of my climax crashing through me.

  His palms slid down my sides to rest at the curve of my waist. The tile counter was cool against my skin, a contrast to the heat inside and out. It was heaven to feel him so close to me. I savored the hard planes of his body and the feel of his strength encompassing me.

  When I felt him lift his head, I dragged my eyes open to find his waiting. My heart twisted sharply inside my chest. Everything felt so intense. It was so easy to simply lose myself in him, in the heat of our desire, in the heartbeat of every moment.

  We stared at each other, intimacy shimmering around us, hazy in the air. Again just as before, it felt as if time was falling away. I was simultaneously falling backwards and barreling forward. I would wonder later if everything felt so heightened with him because of how much I’d had to shut myself down to get through the last year and a half. But for now, I felt free of those worries and let them fall away.

  I felt the subtle, prickly sensation of his thumb brushing across my scarred skin, crossing over to the smooth surface of my unblemished skin. The contrast in sensation was odd and something I hadn’t felt often. I couldn’t help but love that Caleb didn’t even seem to notice the scars, not in a way where he was careful, or as if he had to be aware of them.

  There was a thump behind us and then Caleb’s mouth curled in a grin as his eyes flicked beyond my shoulder. “Looks like we have company,” he observed.

  Creamsicle leapt onto the counter, keeping a safe distance away, his tail twitching back and forth. I’d had a cat when I was a little girl, but I’d forgotten how inquisitive they could be. Creamsicle’s amber eyes surveyed us. After another moment, he turned away, leaping to the floor and heading over to his seat on the windowsill.

  I bit my lip as I glanced up at Caleb. “I suppose…”

  Before I had a chance to finish whatever I meant to say, which probably wasn’t sensible, Caleb lifted me against him and carried me upstairs. It was late, the lingering rays of the late autumn sun leaving nothing but a burst of orange, gold and red in the sky.

  The view from his bedroom was spectacular. The mountain ridge in the distance was outlined against the darkening sky as the inky night took over. Once he reached the foot of his bed, he eased me down, only then pulling out of me. I instantly missed the feel of him filling me, if only because it was the closest we could possibly be. And right about now, the feeling of intimacy and complete safety that I felt when I was tangled up with Caleb, well, I would just about sell my soul to keep feeling it.

  His bed was luxurious with pillows piled high, cool sheets and a lightweight down comforter. The air gusted across my skin as he lifted the comforter and let it fall over us, pulling me close against his side as my skin prickled at the chill chasing over me.

  “You didn’t even ask me if I wanted to stay,” I teased.

  His eyes canted down to meet mine, a gleam visible in the fading light. “Do I need to ask?”

  I shook my head against his shoulder, tracing circles on his chest with my fingertip. “No.”

  “Okay then,” he murmured, dusting a kiss on my hairline, just below where my new scar was.

  I tumbled into a deep sleep. I could’ve gotten addicted to this. Falling asleep with Caleb was a heaven I hadn’t contemplated. I wasn’t much for cuddling, or so I’d thought. In the few dating relationships I’d had after high school and before the last year and a half when everything went to hell, spending the night had always been more of an afterthought and nothing I thought too much about.

  Yet with Caleb, it appeared I was a cuddler. Though we’d always been affectionate when we were dating in high school, I’d never spent the night with him. Because, well, we were in high school. He’d tried to cajole me into it, but the downside to having a father who was the police chief in town was trying to sneak around for anything seemed impossible. Oh, we’d had sex, in fact I lost my virginity to him. But we’d never spent the night together. I couldn’t have known that he would hold me close all night—pulling me up against his side where I could comfortably drape myself over him, or spooning behind me, holding me in the cage of his arms.

  That was how I woke the following day—with the sun angling across the bed and Caleb’s warm, hard body curled behind me. His palm rested on the curve of my belly, and I could feel his breath rise and fall, slow and steady, against my back.

  I shifted my hips, my body reflexively seeking to be closer, and felt his quite obvious arousal against my bottom. I was instantly slick between my thighs. My body moved on its own accord, my hips shifting restlessly, trying to ease the ache at my core. I felt him come awake from a subtle shift in his breathing. He murmured something and then flexed in a shivering stretch that I felt to my bones.

  His palm slid up my belly to cup one of my breasts. My nipples puckered, instantly tight and achy. “Mmm, Ella,” he murmured in my hair before dropping a kiss against my shoulder. He was warm all over, and I loved it. I tended to be cold. All the damn time.

  Much as I loved winter and I loved Alaska, I had never loved the cold that came with it. I was the kind of person who went to sleep with socks on just to keep my feet warm. That wasn’t necessary with Caleb. He was my own personal heater.

  My hips shifted back against him again. I couldn’t resist rocking into the hard, hot length of him. Because I knew what I wanted and where I wanted it. I turned my head, reaching a hand up to trace along the strong line of his jaw. He caught my lips in a kiss.

  On the heels of a breath, his hand slid down, sifting through the curls at the apex of my thighs and dipping his fingers into my folds.

  “Fuck Ella, you’re so wet already.

  I rocked into his touch as he teased me with his fingers for a moment. He didn’t make me wait. He shifted, lifting my leg over his calf and sinking into me from behind, burying himself to the hilt.

  He held still for a beat, brushing the hair ba
ck from my neck and dragging his tongue in a blazing path over my skin, his thumb tracing my lips before I turned. Another hot wet kiss, and then we rocked together, the motion languid and slow. Still sleepy, it felt like a dream—one where I was caught in a shimmering web of intimacy with him. Nothing existed outside of us together. Sensation unspooling inside, I was at the edge inside of a few seconds, murmuring his name. His hand slid down over my belly again, dipping into my curls and teasing over my clit.

  My climax unraveled, everything in me fracturing apart in slow motion as pleasure rocked me deeply. I felt his release as he went taut above me for a moment before he shuddered. We lay still, our breath coming in soft heaves together.

  As my brain flickered back online, I thought to myself that I couldn’t believe this was happening. I couldn’t believe I was here.

  Yet again, time collapsed. I hadn’t felt this way since before the accident. And yet, this was even more intense. As if I’d finally made it to the other side of the lingering grief and guilt. As if we’d somehow earned this by walking through fire. The burn of the pain was something else altogether now.

  A little while later after we showered and dressed, I glanced across the counter at Caleb as he pushed his plate back. I’d gotten ingredients for pancakes when we went to the store last night. It was all rather domestic. While I didn’t quite know what to think of any of it because it was racing at me so fast, it felt so good, so right that I couldn’t stop it.

  The easy feeling was shattered when a phone started buzzing—again and again and again. My gut coiled with dread, and I felt sick instantly.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Caleb

  The phone vibrated over on the table by the door where I left it last night—again, again, and again. Ella‘s eyes darkened and fear flashed through them. Her features tensed, and that was all it took to make me furious. Not with her. Rather, over the fucking asshole who’d been tugging on the strings of her peace of mind like this.

  I spun away from the counter, walking swiftly toward the door and snatching the phone. I didn’t even look at the messages. I just turned the phone off. Because I’d be damned if I’d let that asshole reach across space and time and ruin this morning.

  Ella was right behind me, reaching for the phone. “What did they say?”

  “Ella, it doesn’t matter. I’m sure you can imagine. Leave it alone. Talk to your dad today. He’s got some feelers out on this to see what he can do.”

  Her lips tightened as she looked at me, her cheeks flushing, but not in a good way.

  Spinning back around, she walked to the windows, crossing her arms tightly. “I know you’re trying to help,” she finally said. “But I don’t like this feeling. I don’t need you to take over like this. I don’t need my dad to take over.”

  I bit back the curse that wanted to fly out of my mouth.

  Walking to stand beside her, I stared out over the view. Mist was rising off of the field in front of the house. It had been cool enough last night to leave a light dusting of frost on everything. As the sun’s rays angled across the landscape, mist rose in the air with the frost evaporating. A misty view of the sunrise stretched out in front of us.

  “Ella, no one’s trying to take over. I don’t want you to have to deal with that shit. Neither does your dad.”

  She glanced up at me, nothing but frustration staring back at me in her gaze. I had to admit, I didn’t understand why it would bother her to have us try to shield her from this. But it clearly did.

  “It’s not that I don’t want help, but I’m not helpless. I don’t…” she sighed, shaking her head. “I can’t explain it. I want help but I don’t want help. That’s all.”

  Staring down at her, my heart twisted sharply in my chest. I understood what she meant. Yet, all I wanted to do was shield her from all of this. Uncertain what to say to ease her mind, I simply nodded. I pulled her close, feeling the tension in her body. After a moment, she relaxed. But we didn’t speak of it again.

  Later the following day, I sank into the chair across from Rex’s desk. In the last day or so, the text messages had picked up the pace. I’d been forwarding them to Rex. The theme was just like the first messages I’d seen—an undertone of threatening, telling her he wouldn’t stop, telling her he’d find her, telling her she couldn’t escape, on and on.

  Staring at Rex, I sighed. “Please tell me there’s something you can do about this. I can’t believe this bullshit.”

  Rex mirrored my sigh, raking a hand through his salt and pepper hair. “Here’s the thing with assholes like that. Now’s the time when things pick up. Because she’s removed herself from any proximity to him. He was getting off on rattling her and shaking her up without every laying a hand on her. Now, he can’t see her so he doesn’t get the satisfaction of knowing he’s fucking with her. So he’s going to amp it up.”

  “Yeah, but is he actually going to come up here? I’ll be honest, it might be fucking crazy but part of me wishes he would. Because I’ll beat the shit out of him.”

  Rex narrowed his eyes. “You know damn well that’s a bad idea. If he dared to come up here, I’d be able to do something about it. They sent up his records from Portland, and I ran his background check. No surprise, but this isn’t the first time he’s done this. He was charged and convicted in Washington State for doing the same thing to a colleague there. Clearly, this is his MO. It sucks, but it tells me he’ll probably back off after a little bit. Doesn’t change the fact that I want him to face charges again one way or another. He got too ballsy in Washington and tried to break into the woman’s house. So, while he didn’t face any charges for harassing texts and emails, or anything at work, he got slapped with breaking and entering charges. Worked out a plea deal and didn’t do any time since he had a clean record before that. My guess is he moved to another state because misdemeanor charges don’t pop up in different states, only felonies. The bullshit he pulls—the texts and emails—those are like trying to nail jelly to a wall. Especially when they’re not doing anything in person.”

  There was a knock on Rex’s office door. Both of us glanced over to see Cade stepping into the office.

  “What’s going on?” Cade asked, standing in the doorway. Cade and his father looked so damn alike, it was almost amusing. Cade was a younger, less weathered version of his father with the same steady, low-key demeanor, and easy-going attitude.

  At Rex’s wave, Cade walked to the desk and leaned his hip on it. Cade and I hadn’t spoken much in the last few weeks, but I knew he was aware of me persuading Ella to use a different phone because he’d thanked me for it.

  Rex glanced to Cade and shrugged. “Nothing new and nothing that won’t piss you off,” he offered with a bitter laugh.

  “Please tell me this fucker can get charged with something,” Cade said, not even bothering to ask what we were talking about.

  “Working on it,” Rex replied. “I’ve got my buddy in Anchorage who handles Internet crimes helping me. Those are easier to deal with than the phone stuff. Far as I can tell, he swaps out burner phones for the texting.”

  I nodded. “Definitely. He uses a different number every time. The tone in the texts is similar, but that’s it.”

  “Don’t suppose I want to see them, huh?” Cade asked.

  I shook my head slowly. “Oh, I’ll show you but it’s just gonna piss you off.”

  At that moment, I heard Ella’s voice along with another feminine voice. In a few seconds, she appeared in the doorway with Amelia, Cade’s wife.

  Cade’s expression softened immediately when Amelia stepped to his side and dropped a kiss on his cheek. He slipped his arm casually around her waist, hooking his thumb in the back pocket of her jeans.

  Amelia glanced around, casting a smile about the room. “What’s up?”

  Ella’s eyes met mine, and I had to restrain the urge to stand and pull her into my arms. We had an audience, a quite specific audience of her brother and her father.

  I made do with
a smile. Rex grinned at her. “Ella, good to see you stopping by. What are you two doing here?”

  “I asked Ella to meet me here. She’s coming to girls’ night,” Amelia explained, tucking a lock of her amber hair behind her ear. Amelia was tall, almost as tall as Cade. I guessed she was close to six feet tall, seeing as I was barely taller than her at six feet, two inches. She and Cade had dated back in high school, broken up and now were quite happily married. I wouldn’t dare say it aloud, but Amelia had just dashed my hopes at another night with Ella.

  “Girls’ night is here?” Cade asked, a look of mild alarm in his eyes.

  Amelia chuckled. “Oh yeah, we’re taking over the station.” Nudging him with her elbow, she shook her head. “No, I dropped my work truck off for an oil change next door, so I asked Ella to meet me here. I figured it was a good excuse to stop by and see you.”

  Cade flashed a grin, glancing between Rex and me. “That means we’re up for cards at Wildlands tonight. Wanna come?”

  Rex shook his head with a smile. “I’m getting too old for that. You guys have fun without me.”

  “I’ll be there,” I replied.

  Amelia dropped another kiss on Cade’s cheek and stepped away. “We’ll get going. I’ll see you when you get home tonight.” Glancing around with a grin, she continued, “He’ll be worried about coming home to tipsy women. Come on Ella, let’s go. If you need a ride tonight, you can stay at our place.”

  I bit back the urge to offer to pick Ella up. I didn’t need our audience of overprotective family members to wonder what that meant, especially when my intentions were anything but pure.

  Rex called to Ella as she started to turn away. “You’re still forwarding me your emails, right?”