Feel the Fire (Hotshots)

by Annabeth Albert

  A frustrated noise escaped his throat. “I don’t need...training wheels or something. Not gonna freak out on you.” At least he didn’t think he was. Part of his frustration was in not knowing exactly what it was he liked, not having go-to suggestions for Luis. All he knew was that he wanted more. “Need you.”

  “You’ve got me.” Luis’s smile was almost more tender than Tucker could bear.

  “Kiss me again,” he demanded.

  “Like this?” Moving slowly, like they had decades to get this right, Luis proceeded to make a study of Tucker’s mouth, showing even more finesse than earlier with little nips and sucks and flicks of his devious tongue. Tucker’s heels dug into the sofa and his back arched.

  “Yeah.” His eyes fluttered shut as Luis started a devastating combo of delving deep with his tongue while his hips moved insistently against Tucker’s. He felt the rhythm everywhere in his body, like someone had turned the bass up to eleven and each small movement was enough to have him shuddering. “Fuck. That.”

  “Damn. I like making you curse.”

  “Then do that again.” Moving restlessly against Luis, he tried to goad him into more of those kisses.

  “This?” Luis gave him fluttering light kisses on his lips, cheeks, chin, lips again. Torture. “Or this?”

  Right when Tucker was about to demand he stop teasing, he captured his mouth for real, owning his lips completely as they rocked together. Tucker was starting to get a feel for how to follow Luis’s movements, and each thrust and retreat had his cock demanding more and more until he was breathless with want.

  “That. Definitely that.”

  “Love how damn responsive you are.” Luis snaked a hand between them, pulling Tucker’s shirt loose from his pants. “Can’t wait to see you lose it when I suck you.”

  “So you keep threatening.” It was hard to think with Luis’s warm hand resting against his bare abs, fingers idly moving but nowhere close to where Tucker wanted him most.

  “Not a threat. A promise.” Before Tucker could even register what he was after, Luis scooted back, arranging them so that Tucker’s feet were on the ground again and he was kneeling next to Tucker. Instinctively, Tucker sat up more so he could watch as Luis made quick work of his belt. He was slower with Tucker’s fly, blunt fingertips teasing him through his pants, taking his sweet time lowering the zipper.

  “Oh.” He breathed out as Luis finally withdrew his cock, featherlight touches all along the shaft followed by his hot breath, so close but not close enough. “Damn. You...”

  “Want something?” Luis’s voice was innocent, but his eyes were molten, all sinful promises in the soft light spilling in from the entryway.

  “This. Just this.” Yeah, he wanted to come, but then this would be over, and he wasn’t ready for that. And he wanted to see exactly what Luis had planned. “You’re killing me, but it’s worth it.”

  “Right answer.” Luis rewarded him by licking all along the underside of his cock, little flicks that wreaked havoc with his resolution to simply go along with whatever Luis wanted to do.

  “That. Do that. More.” Licking his suddenly parched lips, he reached for Luis’s shoulder, then retreated, not wanting to be too demanding. He jammed his ass into the couch cushions, stilling the urge to thrust toward Luis’s exploring mouth.

  “It’s okay. You can touch me.” Grabbing Tucker’s hand, Luis returned it to his shoulder before tapping Luis’s thigh. “And move. Turns me on when you lose control.”

  He punctuated his words by swallowing Tucker’s cock, sucking him into all that wet heat, active tongue making Tucker groan. “Oh, fuck.”

  “That’s it.” Pulling back long enough to grin, Luis resumed his efforts, taking Tucker deep. So deep. Tucker could feel Luis swallow, and simply that subtle flutter and pressure was enough to have his balls tightening.

  “Close. Too close.” His voice shook, tone almost panicky because he wasn’t ready for this to end, wanted the good feelings to go on indefinitely. But his body seemed to have another agenda, hurtling closer as Luis quickened his pace.

  “Do it. Let go,” he urged, voice rough, almost like he needed this as much as Tucker, and that need spiraled inside him, everything tensing as his body tried to follow Luis’s orders. Sucking harder, Luis took him even deeper, more of that irresistible pressure, and there was simply no way to hold back. Years of waiting and wanting and wondering, and he was coming in waves so intense his fingers dug into Luis’s shoulder. His hips lifted, almost like his body was trying to levitate with the pleasure coursing through it.

  “Wow. That...wow.” He slumped back against the couch, barely enough energy left to haul Luis up next to him. Luis licked his now-shiny lips, and Tucker’s cock gave a valiant last twitch.

  “Wow indeed.” Laughing, Luis kissed his cheek before reaching for his own fly. “Damn. It okay if I...”

  “Of course, but I want to help.” Feeling bold, he traced a finger of the ridge of Luis’s erection. “Show me what you like?”

  “You.” Luis chuckled as he echoed Tucker from earlier. “Here, let me...”

  Undoing his zipper, he withdrew his cock, which was maybe slightly longer than Tucker’s with a wider, more oval head. Unlike Tucker, he was uncut, and watching him slowly jack himself was mesmerizing. Meeting Tucker’s gaze, Luis moved his hand away, making room for Tucker to touch. He trailed a finger down the silky length, memorizing the contours and veins.

  “More.” Luis moaned, hips moving impatiently, and Tucker got the message, wrapping his hand around the shaft and trying to duplicate Luis’s grip and pace.

  “This?”

  “Yeah. Faster. Little...exactly that. Yeah.” Luis’s breath came in harsh pants, head falling back enough that Tucker could lick the straining cords of his neck muscles. Moving his hand back, he covered Tucker’s fist, urging him on.

  “Close?” he whispered, pulse surging, cock stirring back to life simply watching Luis’s reactions.

  “Fuck yes. Gonna get me off.” Luis tightened their shared grip, quickening the pace, and the eroticism of the moment had Tucker moaning too, right along with Luis.

  “Yes.” He wasn’t sure which of them said it, maybe both of them, groaning in concert as Luis shot creamy fluid all over both their hands.

  “Damn.” Opening his eyes, Luis stretched, head falling against Tucker’s. “You sounded like you came too.”

  “Almost felt like that.” He was still dazed, not precisely sure what had happened there at the end, only knowing that he wanted more of it. “It was okay?”

  “More than. You’ve never...that was a first for you?”

  “Kind of. With a guy, yeah, pretty much.” Cheeks heating, he looked away. “There was this guy a couple of years back. Smoke jumper in town for the season. There was a kiss, but he got transferred to Idaho before anything else happened.”

  “I’m not sure whether to feel bad for taking advantage of you, puffed up because you wanted that with me, or high on everything else I’d like to show you.”

  “That last one, please.” Even now, Tucker’s pulse still galloped, body more than eager to try for seconds. There was little he didn’t want to try with Luis and not nearly enough time.

  “Damn. You’re dangerous.”

  “Good.” Tentatively, Tucker moved in for a kiss. He could taste himself, but the earthy hint was far from unpleasant, a familiar saltiness combined with the reminder of what Luis had done for him, turning him on all over again.

  Groaning, Luis pulled back. “Seriously, though, I should go before your kids come barging in and find us all messy.”

  “Yeah. They’re probably going to end up sleeping at Heidi’s, but you have a point. Here.” Since he wasn’t the one who had to drive, he pulled off the cotton polo he’d changed into after work and handed it to Luis, who laughed as he used it on both their hands.

 
“Such a gentleman.”

  “I try. You sure you’re okay to drive back?”

  “Yeah. Orgasm did me in more than the half glass of wine, but I’ll be fine. Want me to text you when I get in?”

  “Please.” It wasn’t simply wanting to know that Luis reached his hotel safely. He wanted that last contact with him, that little reminder that he was still thinking about Tucker. And damn. Fanciful thoughts like that were going to do him in.

  “I will then.” Smiling, Luis looped an arm around Tucker’s bare shoulders, pulled him in for another slow, sweet kiss. “Damn, Tucker. You make me want...”

  Everything. Swallowing, he met Luis’s gaze. “I know. Now go on before I end up dragging you off to my shower and keeping you here.”

  “Promises...” Looking playfully to the stairs, Luis nonetheless stood and straightened his clothes. Tucker walked him to the door where they killed another few minutes trading kisses like they were teenagers again, delaying the inevitable.

  “Drive safe,” he said at last.

  “I’ll text.” Luis headed to his car, taking more of Tucker’s heart with him than Tucker wanted to admit.

  Chapter Eleven

  “We’re going to code red. Damn it.” Tucker stuck his head into Luis’s office, frown creasing his handsome face. No sandwich break for two today as he’d been in meetings all morning. It had been a busy two days at work for both of them, and this news wasn’t going to help. Like most in wildfire fighting, Luis might as well get the warning system tattooed on his wrist. The low green and blue days of winter and spring were long gone, and as they entered the real dog days of late summer, it wasn’t unusual for a high alert to transition to these extreme danger warnings.

  “Yeah. They’re posting warnings at all the campgrounds. About to be a lot of unhappy people this weekend.” Code red meant no campfires at all, only approved vehicles on unpaved roads, no chainsaws or mowers for dry grass, and the tourists tended to protest the loudest about the restrictions.

  “They can live without their s’mores. And at least the restaurants and sale of portable stoves should do booming business.” Having been through this many times, he matched Tucker’s concerned but pragmatic tone. The highest level of precautions was taken because the risk of quick-starting, fast-spreading fire had reached a critical point. It also meant more work for everyone, Luis especially as predicting fire behavior became essential in keeping situations manageable. Even small fires needed to be treated with an abundance of care. “What do you need from me to help?”

  “There’s a fire to the north we’re monitoring. Ignition is unclear—reports of some dry lightning last night, but we could be looking at another arson incident. Regardless, Fred wants us to head out. I’m going to talk to the crew supervisor as we decide whether to escalate the response, and he wants you on the scene to get better data than we have thus far. He figured you might have insights as to how it started as well.”

  “I’m on it. You want to go sign out the vehicle?” Luis came around his desk to grab his boots and gear from the corner where he’d left it. Taking a minute to stretch his tight back, he switched from his lighter shoes to sturdy boots while Tucker darted down the hall to get keys to a Jeep. They hadn’t had much time to talk since dinner and their heated make-out session Wednesday.

  And talk about code red—Luis’s libido hadn’t been at these levels in years. All getting a taste of sex with Tucker did was make him want more. And not simply sex either. He craved all sorts of impossible things, and for that reason he’d forced himself back to the hotel and Blaze last night instead of trying to sneak in some more Tucker time. He wanted more of those kisses, but he also didn’t want to hurt Tucker. Either of them, when it came right down it. They were headed for an inevitable crash, and if he was smart, he’d keep his distance.

  That was easier said than done, though, when work kept tossing them together like this. Like him, Tucker seemed both cautious about the personal and all business about the fire risk, heading right out of town, no coffee stops or reminiscing about Wednesday’s kisses. Heck, maybe Luis was the one making more of this than he needed to. But every time he replayed the sex in his head, Tucker’s intensity was there, his grasping hands and the look in his eyes, the sort of need that was hard to fake. Tucker cared, of that he was sure. And thus, he wanted to tread cautiously.

  “Did you bring food?” he asked when Tucker yawned, unable to shut his own caring off, even with the internal lecture. They were in Tucker’s SUV because there hadn’t been a Jeep readily available for them with so much of the office out dealing with the increase to the red danger levels. “If you skipped lunch, I can unwrap something for you.”

  “That would be good. Thanks. There’s a protein bar and some chips in the bag behind you. I’ll start there. I had intentions of convincing you to get lunch out today, but the fire risk stuff took care of those plans.”

  “A date?” Damn it. He was not supposed to find that thought sweet. Fetching the food, he unwrapped a bar for Tucker and held it out. Their eyes connected, and yup, he wasn’t the only one thinking about those kisses.

  “Something like that.” Smiling shyly, Tucker took the food from Luis. “My plan was to butter you up with lunch, then convince you to go to the scrimmage with me tonight.”

  “You don’t really want me at the football thing.” Groaning, he let his head conk back against the seat.

  “Sure I do. I like spending time with you.” Another small grin, this one that Luis felt all the way to his toes before Tucker sighed. “And not that it matters now—doubt we’re done in time.”

  “Let’s see how it goes. I’ll try to work fast—not cutting corners, but I can try to speed things along.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

  Out at the site, they found a flurry of activity—hand crew digging fireline, a more experienced hotshot outfit battling the frontline and dealing with flare-ups stemming from efforts to control the initial blaze. A dry, hot wind wasn’t helping matters, and it wasn’t long before he too was sweating. His adrenaline surged, gathering energy from all the activity as he collected the weather and other fire data he needed to make more accurate predictions. He was also carefully looking for signs of possible arson or, alternatively, evidence of a lightning strike or other natural ignition source.

  Meanwhile, Tucker was busy talking to leadership, and at one point, Luis lost track of where he was. His pulse sped up, the smoke hanging in the air seeming to thicken by the second, heat increasing until for a second he was back in California, working that terrible blaze, and Mike...

  Damn it. He wasn’t supposed to care about Tucker or anyone else like this ever again. Tucker was a professional and could handle himself in the field and didn’t need Luis hovering. Not that his expertise guaranteed his safety, though. Plenty of firefighters each year saw devastating injuries and worse, and not simply hotshot personnel and smoke jumpers on the front lines either. Simply being out here was a risk. So is driving, he reminded himself, but that didn’t help his churning gut any.

  He forced his mind back to work, but it kept wandering. What if he never got another chance to kiss Tucker? To hold him and hang out with him and listen to him talk...

  Fuck it. He had it bad. And unlike when they’d been teens with the world stretching out in front of them, he’d lived enough years to know that a connection like theirs was precious and rare. And time was finite, always. Circumstances and choices made for a reality where people never had as much time as they wanted together. He hadn’t pushed for meeting up after work yesterday, and now he was mentally shoving his own shoulder. Idiot. At this point, leaving was going to suck no matter what, and avoiding Tucker only meant fewer memories and more regrets for later.

  “Almost done?” Tucker appeared back at his side. “This appears fairly contained. I don’t think we need to scramble additional crews at this point, and I updated Fred w
ith your latest insights as well.”

  “Yeah. Just finishing up.” He was stupidly happy to see Tucker, dusty and sweaty but otherwise in one piece. “Does Fred need to see you back at the office?”

  “Nah. It’s Friday night. He’s already on his way to the grandkids. If we get another callout, he’ll come in, but otherwise I think we’re good.” Tucker glanced down at his watch. “I’ll drop you at your car, then hustle back up to Painter’s Ridge, see if I can get the second half of the scrimmage at least.”

  “Or we can go straight from here, get you there sooner. We’re closer to Painter’s Ridge than to my car, that’s for sure.”

  “You’re coming?” Tucker’s smile held nothing back. He’d genuinely wanted Luis to come, and that desire was...humbling. More even than the ego boost of being wanted, it was humbling how Tucker wasn’t afraid to show him what his heart needed. And Luis might not be able to give him everything, but he wasn’t about to walk away with nothing either.

  “Yeah, I’m in.” He wanted more of Tucker, however he could get him, even if that meant braving another family thing. He needed more good memories for his stockpile.

  * * *

  Bringing a date to a school function was a first for Tucker, but then he couldn’t say that he’d brought a date much of anywhere before. Thus, it was maybe slightly significant that he’d arrived at the scrimmage directly from the field, hot and sweaty, with Luis in tow.

  “You came!” Heidi, who was also still in her work clothes and heels, scooted over on the bleachers to make room for them. Angelica was already waving homemade pom-poms, and Isaac had a hot dog from the concession stand. It might simply be an inter-squad thing, but the booster club wasn’t going to turn down a chance to make money from food sales.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked Luis. “It’s mainly fair-type food like hot dogs and barbecue beef, but they do have funnel cakes, which are worth the splurge.”