by J. H. Croix
Nothing but the thin silk of her panties was between me and paradise. I looked up at her—with her hair falling around her shoulders, her nipples playing peekaboo through the dark locks, her skin flushed and her eyes flickering with desire. I reached up, brushing my thumb across her bottom lip and groaning when she caught it in her teeth and sucked it into her mouth. I rocked my hips into her, savoring the damp heat of her through the silk. Drawing my thumb free, I trailed my fingers down, tracing a nipple with the dampness before dipping down over her belly and then sliding my fingers over the thin silk of her panties.
I didn’t bother to take this slow. I’d had enough of that already. Shoving the silk to the side, I sank my fingers into her slick core, watching as she arched back, her breath hissing. Her channel clenched around my fingers.
“Look at me,” I said gruffly.
Her eyes opened slowly. I fucking loved the look of her when she was like this. It felt as if we were all alone in the world and surrounded by a shimmering curtain of desire. I didn’t care to ever escape.
“I’d love to watch you come on my hand, but I don’t think I can wait that long. More than that, I want you to come all over my cock.”
Her lips parted and her eyes widened as I drew my fingers out. Adjusting the angle of my hips, I held still for a beat, the head of my cock nestled at her entrance, its slick heat calling me. She rose up, her eyes on mine, and sank down slowly, taking me in, inch by inch, until I was fully seated inside of her.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ella
Caleb’s dark gaze held mine. The room was quiet, save for the soft sounds of our breathing. My heartbeat, pounding fast and true, echoed through my body. His hands slid down my sides to curl around my hips. With a flex of his hips, his cock stretched my channel. The feeling was so delicious, it sent a hot shiver through me.
It had been three long weeks where I’d been holding back. But right here, right now, everything else fell away. Everything but the feel of him filling me. My eyes started to fall closed on the heels of another arch of his hips into mine.
“Look at me.”
His gruff command drew my gaze to his again. I started to rock with him, rising up and sliding down, sheathing him in my core again and again. I felt pulled tight inside as pleasure spun within me.
I couldn’t look away as he gripped my hips. My clit, slippery and wet, rubbed against him as we rocked together. Pleasure splintered through me, hot slivers of fire with every flex of his hips into me. This moment felt wild and out of control, spiraling madly. Yet, it also felt suspended in time— in a haze of passion and intimacy that ran so deep, it struck me straight at the heart.
This wasn’t just sex. The scars on my heart and those on my body were mementos of everything we’d walked through together. We’d walked through our own fire and come out to the other side where the flames of this new fire could rise from the ashes of the old.
He slid a hand free from one of my hips, stroking up my back in a heated pass and levering me closer. His lips caught mine in a slow, sensual kiss. He drew back as I rocked my hips into him, every spark of sensation feeding into the pleasure flashing through me.
His palm slid down over my belly, dipping into my curls and pressing on my clit. Everything inside drew together tightly and then unraveled in a burst of pleasure. My channel pulsed around his cock, clamping down tightly. I felt the heat of his release fill me when I collapsed against him, dipping my head into the curve of his neck as I struggled to catch my breath.
Pleasure pinged through my body in little aftershocks. Caleb’s skin was damp, as was mine, but he was warm and he smelled so good. He smelled like him—a woodsy scent mingled with a crisp freshness that I loved.
One of his hands rested on my back and the other curled over the dip at my waist. Once again, I felt that strange sensation where his thumb stroked back and forth over the soft skin of my belly and then along the edge of the scarred skin on my side. I doubt he even noticed it. I did.
After a few moments, I managed to lift my head. Before I realized it, my question slipped out. “Do you even notice them?”
He adjusted his shoulders against the pillows and opened his eyes. “Notice what?”
There was my answer.
He arched a brow in question. “My scars.”
His gaze flicked down, his thumb stilling where it was. “No,” he finally said, his eyes rising to meet mine again.
I lifted a hand, tracing my thumb along his jaw. “Well, you got what you wanted.”
He laughed softly and shrugged. “See, I’m completely fine. I bet I’ll sleep better than I have in weeks tonight.”
The following morning, it was Saturday, and I was in the kitchen starting coffee while Caleb showered. I’d woken up on the sofa bed with my head tucked into his shoulder. His arm was wrapped around me and held me close against him. In that hazy, dreamy time, I felt completely safe, as if I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Even with my old doubts, Caleb managed to make me feel as he always had. Just right.
Pulling out the eggs, I heard a thump and then a muttered swear. Setting the eggs on the counter, I hurried across the room and into the downstairs bathroom, pulling open the glass door to the shower. Caleb sat there, his hips resting on the corner seat in the shower.
“Are you okay?”
He glanced over to me, his eyes annoyed. “I’m fine. Just slipped.”
“Do you need help?” I asked, stepping in the shower, not even paying attention to the damp floor until the moisture seeped through my socks.
He curled his hand into mine. I helped him to standing and got him out of the shower onto the less slippery surface of the dry tile floor.
“Have I mentioned I can’t fucking wait to get this cast off?”
“You might’ve mentioned it,” I said with a laugh, realizing he was perfectly fine. “When do you see Charlie again?”
“Not soon enough. It’s been three weeks, and I get my first checkup next week. She warned me it would be six to eight weeks, but it feels like forever.”
Stepping back and tossing my now wet socks in the hamper, I rested my hands on my hips and eyed him. “You keep saying you’re fine.” I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
“I’m fine, but this sucks,” he muttered as he dried off.
I left him as he tugged a pair of sweatpants on, while I jogged upstairs to find a dry pair of socks. I returned to making omelets. After we finished eating, he asked me to drop him off at the station for the day. It was Saturday, so I cast a puzzled glance his way.
“Are you sure?”
“You’re running errands, and for fuck’s sake, I am so sick of hanging out at the house.”
“Are you…” I bit back my question. For the third time this morning, I’d been about to ask him if he was okay.
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “I’m fine.”
I stepped to where he sat on one of the stools by the kitchen counter. Without missing a beat, he tugged me between his legs. Shamelessly, he slid a hand down my spine and cupped my bottom. Need rolled through me in a flash.
“Oh no, you’re not starting that now.”
Lacing his free hand in my hair, he pulled me within an inch of his lips. “I might be a little cranky, but it’s pretty awesome to have you fussing over me.”
“Does that mean you’re going to stop complaining about being laid up?”
A bubbly joy spun inside of me, mingling with a clench of my heart, so tight the emotion almost made me cry. He shook his head, murmuring no against my lips just before he kissed me. His kisses slayed me—every single time. Inside of a hot second, I felt as if I was caught in a flame. Then he was drawing away, his eyes catching mine.
“Don’t forget I love you.”
Epilogue
Caleb
Six months later
I stood at the top of the ski slope. It was winter, and the sun was high in the sky, bright against the blue backdrop. Lifting my eyes, I took in
the view as I turned slowly in a circle. Mountain peaks rose behind me and to the sides. Kachemak Bay was visible in the distance, the sun striking sparks on the surface of the water.
Ella and I had come to Last Frontier Lodge for a mini-honeymoon. We’d gotten married two days before and intended to spend a few more days here. The ski lodge was roughly four hours south of Willow Brook in Diamond Creek, yet another stunning town in Alaska. Owen and Ivy Manning, who’d designed my house, had invited us down after the wedding.
Ella was waiting at the lodge, and I needed to ski down this mountain to get to her. With a push of my ski poles, I curled forward and flew down the slope, the snow spinning in an arc around me when I reached the bottom. With a wave to Cam Nash, Owen’s brother-in-law and retired world-class skier who happened to make his home here, I headed into the lodge.
After a quick trip to our room to change out of my gear, I made my way to the restaurant. I found Ella typing away on her laptop. Since she’d moved in with me officially, I’d learned she did not know how to take a break from her work. Not that I was complaining. At all. I couldn’t really, given that my job took me away for weeks at a time.
I walked up beside her in the booth and dipped my head, dropping a kiss on the side of her neck. Angling her head up, she smiled. “I was just finishing up,” she murmured.
In the last six months, we had settled into a comfortable routine. She mostly worked from home, while I stayed busy dealing with whatever came up for my crew. Creamsicle kept her company anytime I needed to be gone. Though we’d yet to face the busiest time of year for me, spring through fall, I wasn’t worried. I’d miss her like hell, but she’d be there when I came back.
I slipped into the booth across from her, taking in her tousled dark hair, her mossy green eyes and the way her teeth dented her bottom lip as she finished typing before she closed her laptop. My eyes flicked down to her hand where she wore a simple platinum wedding band. She hadn’t wanted anything else. She wasn’t much of a diamond girl, and that was just fine with me.
Lance was in jail. The charges related to Ella had held up, along with a few more connected to two other women. He had a pattern, and it was a damn miracle he’d managed to stay in respectable positions. He’d faced charges in California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. In the end, the charges from here and Oregon were enough to put him away. I was damn relieved we hadn’t had to even think about him recently.
As I sat there, looking across the table at Ella, I couldn’t quite believe she was here, and we were married. I’d never have guessed that her car rolling into a ditch seven months or so ago would’ve brought her skidding back into my life.
Delia Hamilton, the lodge restaurant’s chef, paused by our table, her honey blonde hair catching the lights from the restaurant. “So how is everything?” she asked with a warm smile.
“Perfect,” Ella replied, glancing up at her.
“Do you need something to drink?”
“I’ll take some of your hot cider. You?” I asked, catching Ella’s eyes.
A slow smile teased her lips, and she nodded. With a nod, Delia turned away. She ran the kitchen at the lodge and had been nothing but welcoming. Her hot cider had quite a kick, and it was sublime on cold winter days. We’d been here for the weekend, and I’d quickly become addicted to the stuff.
While we waited, I reached across the table to catch Ella’s hands in mine. “Are you ready to go to Hawaii?”
She cocked her head to the side and nodded. “Absolutely. Although it’s nice here. I’d heard they did a ton of renovations while I was in grad school. But… Wow. It’s pretty crazy that this place used to be empty.”
“I think it’s been about five years since Gage came back and renovated it. Anytime you want to come down here again, let’s do it. I love it here, plus it’s good to see Owen and Ivy.”
Delia delivered our cider, checked to see if we needed anything else and then spun away, leaving us alone. I glanced out the window at the snowcapped mountains and then back to Ella, realizing it didn’t matter where we were. Not to me. Don’t get me wrong, Hawaii would’ve been nice about now. It had been a long, cold winter. While the days were getting longer now, sometimes the darkness could wear on you when you only had five or six hours of sunlight during the dark months of winter.
Later that night, I walked to the windows, watching the sunset over the mountains. Our room offered a view of the slopes and angled out toward Kachemak Bay. The sun slipped behind the mountains, its rays casting pinks and lavenders across the water as it ruffled under the breeze.
Ella’s hands were resting on the windowsill. I stepped behind her, sliding my arms around her waist and dipping my head to breathe in her scent. Her hand slid up to cup my cheek as she angled back to catch my eyes.
“I still can’t believe you’re here,” she murmured.
“Oh, I’m here,” I said, catching her lips in a lingering kiss. “I’ll always be here.”
Ella
A few weeks later, I rolled over, coming awake slowly to feel myself surrounded in Caleb‘s embrace. He was warm, but then he was always warm at night. I loved it.
We never made it to Hawaii. I couldn’t believe it, but the following day, I had fallen going down a ski slope and badly sprained my ankle. Yet again, something had happened and intervened with our plans. But I didn’t care. Not even a little bit. We stayed at the ski lodge for a few extra days and then came home.
My ankle was just about back to normal. I felt Caleb shift in his sleep, and I nestled my bottom back towards him, smiling when I felt his arousal against me. I kept thinking this ridiculous, out of control desire would start to fade now that we’d been together a while. If anything, the opposite appeared to be happening.
In the wispy light of dawn with desire curling around us like smoke, I rolled over when he said my name.
“Yes?”
“Good morning,” he said softly, dipping his head and catching my lips in a kiss. As was always the case, there was no such thing as just a kiss with us. A good hour later after he’d left me boneless from a shattering orgasm, we showered and made our way downstairs. I leaned against the counter and sipped my coffee as Caleb got ready for work.
This—these mundane moments—were my favorite part of our life together. Small gifts like this were something I’d written out of the story for myself before my life intersected with Caleb’s again. He stood, snagging his bag of gear and turning back as I followed him to the door.
“When will you be home?”
“Maybe I shouldn’t even leave,” he replied, his gaze darkening.
My cheeks heated. “No. You go. I have work to do, and you said you guys had some projects today.”
He winked and swung his bag over his shoulder.
“I love you,” I called as he opened the door.
He looked back once more. In a flash, he grabbed my hand and reeled me to him again. He claimed my lips fiercely, leaving my pulse pounding as he drew back. Walking backward, he blew me a kiss before turning. Closing the door behind him, I leaned against it and simply smiled.
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Please enjoy the following excerpt from Sweet Fire, the next book in the Into The Fire Series.
Excerpt: Sweet Fire by J.H. Croix; all rights reserved
Jesse
I stared at Dr. Lane, fighting the urge to tell her to go to hell.
“Did you just tell me to go to hell?” she asked without even looking up from the screen on the small computer tablet she held.
So much for keeping my thoughts to myself. She finally looked up, pushing her glasses up on her nose as she did.
“I guess I did,” I finally said with a sheepish smile. “I can’t believe you’re making me wait another two weeks before clearing me for full duty.”
She cocked her head to the side from where
she sat on a rolling stool by the counter. Her gray eyes scanned my face, and I wondered what the hell she was thinking. She was so fucking uptight.
I was at a doctor’s appointment for a follow up after I dislocated my shoulder for the second time in a few months. Dr. Lane was a new doctor in Willow Brook. I was used to Dr. Johnson, or Doc as I called him, a rather cantankerous older man who definitely wasn’t as uptight.
Damn if she didn’t get under my skin. With her dark hair always pulled back, and her glasses, she gave off a distant vibe. For god’s sake, the woman wore her hair in a bun. I had no idea what her body looked like because she was always shrouded in a white lab coat. I suspected she had a banging body, or at least my cock thought so. Every damn time I saw her, I got tense — all over.
I rolled my offending shoulder, ignoring the slight twinge of soreness. “Helen said it was fine and I might be ready to be cleared,” I explained, referring to my physical therapist.
Dr. Lane was not nearly as warm and friendly as Helen. My physical therapist had a grandmotherly warmth to her and made me feel better every time I saw her. Unlike Dr. Lane who made me feel tense and irritable. If only she would clear me to return to full duty, maybe I could relax.
Dr. Lane adjusted her glasses again, turning her head slightly as she set the computer tablet on the counter. As she turned, I noticed for the first time that she had a streak of purple in her hair. Damn. I did not know what to make of that.
Before I had much time to contemplate the implications of said purple streak, she spoke. “I could, but honestly this is the second time you’ve dislocated it in a couple of months. I think if you wait a little longer before you push it too far, you probably won’t have the same problem again. I know you’re frustrated with me, but I actually do have your best interests at heart.”
