Ignite: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Kim Loraine

  Daisy appears in my periphery, her wide eyes displaying the shock of seeing me talking to this gorgeous man. She mouths, “Is that him?” And I smile. So, she takes a drink from each of the cups in her hands and turns on her heel. Bless her.

  “Are horses less…challenging?”

  “Yeah. They don’t talk back, that’s for sure. Sometimes they’re stubborn as hell, but, I don’t know, they don’t choose to hurt you.”

  A woman shrieks, the shrill sound making me jump as panic races up my spine.

  “Whoa, there. You’re wound tighter than a drum.”

  “I just…don’t like surprises.”

  He nods, his eyes finding mine. “Let’s go for a walk. Get some space between us and this group.”

  “Sure. I’d like that.”

  His hand flexes, indecision flickering across his features.

  “What?”

  “I, uh, I don’t know how to do this.”

  Laughter bubbles up inside me. “Walk on the beach?”

  “Date.”

  My throat goes tight. “Is that what we’re doing?”

  He grins. “I thought so. You invited me out. Was I wrong to think that’s what you wanted?”

  “No, but…” I don’t know how to read him. He wants me, that much is clear, but now he’s talking about dating?

  “But?”

  “Nothing.”

  His fingers link with mine, and I have to fight a shiver of longing. I like it when he touches me. Too much.

  We walk slowly, leisurely, toward the surf. I don’t take my hand from his. I’m not ready to give up the contact.

  “So, tell me about yourself, Lark. Because I can’t stop thinking of you and it’s driving me crazy.”

  I grin, but on the inside, I’m lit up like a firework. “Not much to tell.”

  “What do you do?”

  “I’m still figuring that out. I was studying for a degree in graphic design.”

  “No shame in figuring yourself out. I’m still trying to do that. Even after I thought I had my life planned out to the letter.”

  The water kisses my toes, cold and crisp. It brings me back from the haze of attraction Travis stirs in me. “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” I murmur the words, but he chuckles, so, clearly, he heard me.

  “So you’re a John Lennon girl?”

  “Technically, I’m a Beatles girl.”

  His grin is heart stopping. “Oh, well that’s definitely a point in your favor.”

  “Is it?”

  “Yeah. I thought you’d be more into…you know, stuff that’s popular now. Not classics.”

  “Well, appearances can be deceiving. I thought you’d be a constant Wranglers and western shirt wearing cowboy, but look at you now.” I gesture to his well-worn jeans and black tee. “You fit right in.”

  He shrugs. “Not in Montana anymore. I don’t need the boots unless I’m working the ranch or riding.” Then he winks. “I got the boots in the truck though.”

  “Oh good. I like you in boots. I like you like this too. Different sides of you.”

  A chuckle rumbles in his chest. “Things are…different in every part of my life.”

  “Good different?”

  Stopping, we stare at the crashing waves, the moon casting a silver reflection over the water. Then he looks at me, and my breath catches in my throat because there’s such want in his gaze. Want and pain and hope and, maybe even, a little fear.

  “It feels good now.” His fingers trail over my bare shoulder and up until he’s cupping my neck. “You feel good.”

  I swallow the lump of anticipation taking up residence in my throat. This is really happening. This beautiful, rugged man is pulling me close to him as waves crash in the distance. “Ah—are you going to kiss me?” I hate the stutter in my words.

  “Do you want me to?”

  “More than anything.”

  “Thank fuck.” His words are soft and rough all at the same time as he closes the distance and seals his lips over mine. I’d kissed exactly two guys in my entire life before him. Neither experience was good. But Travis? He knows exactly what he’s doing.

  His fingers slide into my hair, gripping as though he needs me to keep him grounded. But I’m sinking into the kiss, forgetting everything around me, and if he hopes I’m going to be there to remind us we’re in public, he’s wrong. I open my mouth, just enough to offer entrance for his tongue. He takes the opening, deepening the kiss and sending butterflies dancing in my belly. I’m hot and cold and my blood is racing through my veins in a way I’ve never felt.

  “Jesus, Lark, what are you doing to me?” He whispers the question over my lips as I thread my fingers together behind his head.

  “It’s you. Not me.”

  A groan fills the air as he grabs my ass and lifts me until I wrap my legs around him. I feel him, hard and insistent behind his jeans. He wants me. Flutters of nervous energy twist in my core. Are we really doing this? Out in the open, where anyone could see us?

  He carries me farther back from the shoreline and doesn’t stop until we’re hidden from view behind some driftwood piles. Then he kisses me hard again, this time not starting gently. The man kisses me as though I’m his last hope for salvation, or I’m the temptation he’s given into. I can’t decide which one I want to be.

  “You’re so damn beautiful. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the day we met. I shouldn’t want you. All of this is a bad idea. But that doesn’t change the fact that if I stop kissing you I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

  I blush. I can tell because my cheeks are on fire. “Then don’t stop kissing me.”

  He settles me on the sand and kneels between my legs. A curl of fear spikes in my chest at the thought of having sex with him again, right here and now.

  “Fuck, I want you.”

  Yes. Please. I want him too. I reach for him just as a drunken couple walks past us, laughing loudly. Travis jerks away from me and stands. He holds out a palm and I take it, letting him help me to my feet too. He curses under his breath, and the harsh sound makes my chest ache.

  I brush the sand off my shoulders and stare at him. He’s all hard lines and sharp edges in the flickering light of the bonfire. Closed off. Brought back to reality.

  The moment is gone. That much is clear from the icy expression on his face. I’ve lost him. But then he grabs my hand like he’s afraid I’ll vanish if he doesn’t hold onto me.

  “Let’s get out of here, sweetness.”

  11

  Lark

  “I thought you couldn’t do this,” I whisper as he starts the truck.

  “I shouldn’t. There’s a difference.” He slides his palm over my knee and the contact sends shivers up my spine. I never want him to stop touching me.

  “And what happens if we do?”

  “What do you mean?” Fingertips playing across my skin, he locks eyes with me.

  “Are you going to freak out? About our situation? Because I can’t take it if you do. I don’t want to be pulled in a dozen directions. Either you want me or you don’t. Make your decision, cowboy. I’m not here for you to toy with.”

  “I’m not toying with you. I’m trying to figure this out.”

  “Can we figure it out at your place?”

  He chuckles and pulls onto the road, heading back into town. “Yes.”

  His hand doesn’t leave my thigh the whole drive, and I’m a bundle of hypersensitive nerves. Each brush of his thumb over the crook of my knee has me coiling tighter, and the tension in his jaw says he’s feeling the same way.

  We pull into the driveway, and this time I don’t wait for him to get my door. I’m out of the truck and meeting him halfway, my hands sliding along his shoulders as we collide in a hungry kiss. I’m certain we wouldn’t have stopped on the beach if it hadn’t been for that couple walking by. We would have come together under the stars with the waves crashing as our soundtrack.

  “We gotta get
inside or my neighbors are gonna see a lot more of you than I’m comfortable with.”

  Giggling, I move to pull away, but he cups my ass and lifts me, murmuring against my lips. “I didn’t say you should stop touching me.”

  In answer, I wrap my legs around his waist, and he walks us inside, kissing and nipping my throat. With a kick, he closes the door and holds me with one hand while locking the deadbolt with the other. The hard bulge in his pants makes it clear what he wants.

  “We have all night.” My voice is breathy, but I can’t help it. Desperate need for him makes me just as eager to have him inside me.

  “Won’t anyone be missing you?”

  By anyone, I know who he means, but I just shake my head. “Overtime.”

  He nods and sets me on my feet. “I never thought I’d be so thankful for overtime.”

  Fingers trailing over my bare shoulder, he slides his hand up until he reaches the strap of my top. “This. This is a fucking tease, darlin’. All it takes is one tug on the bow and your gorgeous tits will be bared to me. Do you know how hard it was not to picture that while we were on the beach?”

  A shiver dances down my spine. “And what about now?”

  “I don’t have to picture it.” He pulls on the fabric and the top falls down to my waist, the cool air in the house making my nipples tighten.

  I’m on fire for him. The look in his blue eyes only serves to fan the flame. “Travis,” I whine. “Touch me.”

  He doesn’t respond. Instead, he takes one step closer and grips my waist before sliding his palms up until he holds the weight of my full breasts in his palms. “So fucking perfect. Made for me.” The words are murmured soft enough I know he’s not talking to me. He’s simply stating his mind.

  When his thumbs circle my nipples, I moan, the simple movement causing sensations to overwhelm me. The shockwaves of need all gather between my legs, sending a flood of arousal to my center, right where I want him most.

  “Stay the night.” It’s a command. There’s no hint of question to his words.

  I bite my lower lip and nod. Damn, he’s so sexy. His low rumbly voice, the rough hands, calloused from hard work, his broad shoulders and long legs. He doesn’t know how he affects me. Reaching for his pants, I open his belt and pop the button on his waistband. He stands there, watching. Gaze heavy enough I can feel it without seeing it.

  My heart is racing with pure anticipation of having him again, and when I open his fly, his cock is right there, hot and hard and begging for attention. I cock a brow. “No boxers?”

  He grins. “No. Never.”

  Oh, God. That does things to me. “Good to know.”

  I drop to my knees and pull his jeans down to his ankles without another word. Then I grip his cock in one hand and stroke long and slow.

  “Fuck, that feels good.” His hand tangles in my hair. “Have you ever sucked a cock before?”

  I look up at him, my belly flipping at the thought. I haven’t. I’ve barely touched one. My experiences—aside from my night with him—were rushed gropes, dry humping, and a couple of quick unsatisfying fucks in the backseat of a station wagon.

  “No.”

  “Do you want to?”

  I bite my lower lip again and glance down at the swollen length of him. There’s a bead of clear liquid at the tip and I swear I can see his pulse throb. “Teach me how.”

  He groans. “Jesus, you can’t talk like that and expect me to control myself.”

  “Maybe I don’t want you to control yourself.”

  A low growl is his only response before he grips his dick and stares down at me. “Open your mouth. Taste it. Kiss it.”

  I lean in and lick the drop off his crown, it’s bitter and salty and I know it’s all for me. Then I kiss the head of him. The skin is silky smooth and even that light touch makes him moan.

  “Yes, just like that. Suck it like a popsicle.”

  God, my pussy is so wet I can feel it in my panties. “Yes, daddy.”

  He grits his teeth, and I see it. The war with how much he likes it that I called him daddy and how wrong he thinks it is. But his dick jerks and gets harder as I open my mouth and wrap my lips around him. His fingers tighten in my hair and his thighs tense. I can tell he’s holding back. He doesn’t want to move too fast. “Jerk my cock while you suck me.”

  I don’t need him to tell me twice. I bring my hand up and wrap it around his base, stroking slowly as I start to get into a rhythm that has him shaking and pulling my hair. My free hand drifts between my legs, and I stroke my clit to give myself some kind of relief.

  “Look at me, Lark.” The growly demand has my gaze rolling up to meet his and when those blue eyes lock on mine, I see the desperate need for release. “Can you take it deeper?”

  My answer is a moan as I work to suck him harder and deeper. I almost gag, but he backs away and says, “Breathe through your nose.”

  I move faster, trying hard to keep him from the back of my throat. His hand grips mine, helping me stroke him. His gasps are harsh and ragged as he holds himself steady and I work his cock. He swells and throbs in my mouth, and just as the first jet of salty release hits my tongue, he pulls out and strokes himself to completion, spilling his orgasm across my bare breasts. Falling to his knees, he grips my shoulders and presses our foreheads together, his breaths still unsteady. Then he looks down at the evidence of what I did to him, now decorating my skin, and uses his fingers to rub his cum into my skin.

  “You marked me,” I whisper.

  “I did. You’re mine now.”

  “I was yours the moment you kissed me.”

  Travis

  Lark grins at me from where she’s still on her knees, my cum painting her breasts, her lips swollen from sucking my cock. Fuck, my dick stirs even though I came so hard my knees buckled only a minute ago.

  “Can I…clean up?” Her words are soft, as though she’s afraid she’ll break the moment between us.

  I clear my throat and take her hands, helping her rise as I do. “Yeah, come on. Want a shower?”

  She nods, and after I pull up my jeans, I take her back to my bedroom. We enter the bathroom and I turn on the shower, making sure the water is warm enough before turning back to her. My throat runs dry. She’s completely nude. Her clothes are in a pile on my floor, and I’m ready for her all over again.

  “Was I any good at it?”

  I laugh, shock racing through me. “What?”

  Hurt flashes in her eyes. “You heard me. I’ve never done that before.”

  “You were so fucking good at it, I’m hard again already.”

  The hint of a smile turning up her lips is exactly what I want to see. Shucking my jeans, I grab her hand and tug her close. Then I bring her with me into the shower. This isn’t about sex. This moment is about the two of us together. She lets me wash her hair, then she does mine, and after I lather up a loofah, I scrub her clean. My fingers trail over the scar under her collarbone and I fight the urge to ask her about it. I know the gist. School shooting on her college campus. But that’s a story she needs to tell on her own.

  “So, what else can you teach me…daddy?” she whispers, reaching down between us and stroking my cock.

  I go from hard to aching when she says that word. Fucking hell. I’d thought it was just a fluke, just because she was going to suck me off when I’d been hit with a bolt of need after she’d called me daddy earlier. But now, now that she’s said it again, testing me, I can’t deny how much it turns me on. I shouldn’t like it, but fuck, I do.

  “Call me that again, and I’ll show you.”

  “Please, daddy.”

  Shit.

  “Do you need to come, darlin’?” I cup her breast and pinch her nipple, loving the little breathy moan she lets out.

  “Yes.” Her brow furrows as I run my hand between her thighs and find her clit, already swollen with arousal, her pussy slick for me.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t let you.”

  She rolls her hips,
clearly in search of the friction she needs. “Please.”

  I back away and turn off the water. Her whimper of protest nearly does me in. “Patience. I want you on my bed so I can watch you come apart.”

  Stepping out of the shower, I grab us towels and hand one to her. Soon I’ll have her spread open and begging for me. I’ll be able to take the pleasure she gave me and return it and then some. I’ll teach her everything I know, teach her how to ask for what she wants.

  But she’s already one step ahead of me. Lark drops her towel and strides past me, round ass swaying as she makes her way to the bed. I let my own towel fall to the floor and grab my cock, stroking lazily as I watch her.

  “On the bed for me.”

  She sits and scoots herself to the center of the mattress. “How do you want me?”

  “On all fours. Ass in the air. Legs spread.”

  I snag a condom from the bedside table and tear it open, desperate to get inside her. Palming her ass with one hand, I stroke my length with the other, running the head over the exposed lips of her pussy, brushing her clit and making her moan. I should have the condom on. I know that. But I want to feel her skin on mine for a minute longer. She presses back, nestling my crown at her opening, the tip breaching her just enough to give me the perfect tease of her tight slick heat.

  I back away and give her ass a sharp smack. She groans and looks over her shoulder at me, cheeks flushed, eyes sparking with arousal. “More.”

  “Not without a condom. Now be a good girl and wait.”

  She’s ready for me. Wet and glistening. I roll the condom down my length and in one quick move, grip her hips and sink deep inside her. The shudder of pleasure that courses through her makes her walls flutter around me and, fuck, I almost lose it right there. She’s so fucking tight. She lets out a soft cry of my name and I slide my palm up between her breasts, lifting her until we’re both kneeling, her back to my front.

  My other hand drifts down between her legs as I thrust up into her, and when I find her clit with my fingers, she bucks against me. I work her until she’s panting, trembling, and on the verge of orgasm.