Passionate Heat

by Rachel Kenley

  Her father said nothing. His silence was more intimidating than any of his words. Finally he said, “We’re not done.”

  He walked out before she could answer, but she responded out loud anyway. “Yes we are.”

  And she meant it.

  * * * *

  Miles paused the movie when the pounding on the door started. He couldn’t imagine who wanted him so urgently that they’d come to the house at this time of night rather than call. For a moment, he worried it might be Charlie or someone else from the department coming to talk about the case or, worse, another fire. He needed to get a squawk box for the house to let him know when there was an emergency.

  He couldn’t have been more surprised to see Jillian, but she was spitting mad. He stepped back from the doorway without saying a word and let her enter. She walked in and headed straight for the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of beer, unscrewed the top using a dish towel and drank deeply.

  “Since when do you drink?” he asked, closing the front door and joining her in the kitchen.

  “Since I turned twenty-one,” she answered.

  “You were offered alcohol long before then, and I always saw you turn it down.”

  “That was when I was a good girl, remember?”

  “And you’re not now?”

  “Not according to my father and Rob.”

  “Well, they’ve both made me want to drink a time or two. I’ll join you.”

  She reached back in, took out another a bottle and handed it to him. After taking a swallow, he said, “What brings you here?”

  “I wanted a beer.”

  “There are stores in town where you could have bought beer, so I know you didn’t come for a drink. Stop being evasive. What’s the reason?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it and don’t interrogate me. I’ve had enough of that in my life and plenty for today.”

  He recognized the signs. “Rob or Norman this time?”

  “Norman,” she said flatly, drinking more.

  He hated when people pushed him for answers he wasn’t ready to give. As much as he wanted to know why she chose him for company, he didn’t press. She would talk when she was ready. “I’m watching Young Frankenstein. Do you want to join me?”

  “Sounds good,” she said.

  They went to the couch and when she sat, he chose the opposite side. He wasn’t going to crowd her. Harlow padded over and lounged between them as he hit play. He wasn’t far into the movie and soon they were laughing as Gene Wilder and Teri Garr had troubles with a candle and a revolving wall. By the time Teri was singing about the sweet mystery of life she had at last found, they had finished two beers each, and Harlow was snoring softly.

  “I suppose I should be getting home,” Jillian said, looking down into her empty bottle.

  “Unless you’re in the mood for another Mel Brooks film.” He didn’t like the thought of her leaving without telling him what was bothering her. “I’ve got Blazing Saddles with me.”

  “You brought your own movies?”

  “It drives me crazy when I’m traveling and I come back from a day on the job and can’t find anything to watch in whatever town I’m temporarily located. I pack a DVD player and movies on every trip. This time I only needed the movies since I knew we had a player here.”

  “I meant to say how impressed I am by the changes here. When I pulled up, I wasn’t certain I was at the right house.”

  “I had the same reaction. Zack’s worked a miracle with it. Jason and I wanted to sell it, but he said there was money to be made if we fixed it up and rented it out. He was right. I get some decent quarterly checks from him. If there’s one thing Zack’s learned to do over the years, it’s to make money.”

  “And what have you learned to do?”

  Now it was his turn not to answer a question, but the responses leapt into his thoughts. Keep to himself. Not put down roots. Avoid connections. He chose an easy one. “Fight fires and those who set them intentionally.”

  “You always did have a heroic side,” she said with a smile.

  “I’m no one’s hero,” he said automatically.

  “You were mine,” she said as she absently petted Harlow between her ears. The dog shifted and put her head on Jillian’s lap. Damn, he envied his dog her ability to do as she pleased.

  “Then why can’t you tell me why you’re here tonight?”

  “It’s been a long time since I told anyone what was on my mind. Truthfully, it’s probably been since you left, and I’m out of the habit.”

  “No time like now to make a change.” She said nothing, but he could see she was considering it. He’d try one more time, and then concede defeat. “What happened?”

  “My father ambushed me at the gym. He came by to talk.”

  “If I remember correctly, Norman doesn’t talk. He tells.”

  “Exactly, and he was there to tell me what a huge mistake I am making with my marriage and my life.”

  “Nice to know he’s as supportive as ever.”

  “It’s worse than ever since I refuse to even compromise this time, but Miles, I’m done with that.”

  “Good for you.”

  “Thank you, that’s what I think. Anyway, once he saw I wasn’t backing down, he went from wheedling to insisting until I was saved by a business call and he had to leave. It was awful.”

  “I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?”

  “Yes, show me where you’re sleeping.”

  He was grateful he wasn’t drinking anything when she said that or he’d be wearing the liquid.

  * * * *

  Jillian suspected she was as surprised as Miles looked. It wasn’t what she’d intended to say, but once the words were said, she knew the truth of them. He looked so comfortable in his oxford shirt and jeans with bare feet. She wanted to be near him, touch him, and feel beautiful again. Her conversation with her father left her drained and dredged up the insecurities of her teen years, which she had only felt strong enough to fight when she was with Miles.

  Now he was here again, close to her, and for once she was going to take what she could.

  “You’re serious?” Miles asked.

  “I am,” she answered.

  “And you’re suggesting what I think you are?”

  “Yes. I want you to take me to bed.”

  He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. When he pulled away, he said, “I’d argue and tell you it’s not right. I should say you’re doing this for the wrong reason, or you’ll regret this in the morning. But I’ve wanted you from the moment I first saw you again. So if you have any second thoughts, you’d better follow up on them now, because once I get you to the top of the stairs, there will be no turning back.”

  Jillian said nothing. Her only thoughts were of being naked in his arms. She stood, took off her shirt and started walking to the stairs. Miles followed immediately behind her and before she could take two steps up, he had lifted her into his arms and carried her the rest of the way. She protested, reminding him of his injury.

  “You weigh nothing in my arms.”

  “Concerned you may lose me in the pillows?”

  “Never,” he said, kissing her. “How could I ever do that?” He put her down and looked at her. He must have seen something in her eyes, because he said, “Someone else made that comment. Someone else suggested you were too skinny.”

  “Yes,” she whispered, glad she didn’t need to say more. Rob used to tell her there was hardly anything to fuck. It made her want to disappear.

  “You are, and have always been, beautiful to me. Let me show you.” He kissed her again, softly, tenderly and swept her up into the bedroom.

  Lit by the hall light, she knew where they weren’t. “This isn’t your old room,” she said, looking around.

  “No, that much of the past I wasn’t ready to take. None of the rooms looks the way it used to, but there were still too many memories for me to want to spend the night in there. How about we make some n
ew memories in here?” he said as he put her on the bed.

  She held out her hand and pulled him toward her. “My thoughts exactly.” He joined her and she moved to the center of the mattress. “This is going to be much more comfortable than the times we made out on your old twin bed.”

  “And we don’t have to worry about being quiet,” he said.

  “Or getting caught.”

  The last and only time they had been together, they were nervous and rushed. Tonight, Jillian felt none of those things and wanted nothing more than to take her time and enjoy every minute.

  She kissed him and allowed her hands to roam down his back, enjoying the play of his muscles beneath his clothes. He had been strong in high school, but that was nothing compared to what she could feel now. Bringing her hands forward, she undid the front of his shirt and experienced the heat of him through her hands. Hard and giving, so like the man she was getting to know again. He stopped touching her to take off his shirt, and she looked at him, taking in the familiar along with the new.

  “What’s that smile for?” he asked.

  She hadn’t realized she was. “I like the view.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yes, it’s better than I remember.”

  “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

  “So much that I want to see more.”

  “You weren’t this bold before, were you?”

  “Not even close,” she said and reached for the button on his jeans. It took both hands to undo it, and the process was made more challenging by his kissing her neck, sending shivers though her body. Once she had his pants open, her hands slid over his ass, and she enjoyed the feel of the cotton briefs he wore. She teased him by running her fingers along the elastic waist and was rewarded by his deep intake of breath and soft moan. She dipped her finger under the band, finding new places to touch, more places where he was sensitive. And she had barely started her exploration.

  Working to slide his jeans and underwear off simultaneously, she stopped when he opened the front closure of her bra and the straps fell off her shoulders. She moved back to look at him, and he used the opportunity to lay her on the bed and take one of her nipples into his mouth. As he sucked deeply, she gasped at the unexpected pleasure. Her ex-husband seemed to think there wasn’t enough there to bother with. Refocusing on the sensations Miles was causing, she forcibly shut thoughts of her ex away and gave her full attention to the man responsible for her pleasure.

  She arched her back, allowing him to take more of her into his mouth. He played with her other nipple, bringing it to a hard peak before running his hand under the curve of her breast and up between them. She had no idea her skin was so sensitive there. Goosebumps covered her as her body ached for more.

  “I want you naked,” she said. “I want to be naked with you.”

  “I am more than happy to give you want you want, hummingbird.”

  She gasped – this time from a word, not a touch. Hummingbird, his nickname for her because he said she moved so quickly, making it look effortless, while in truth she was working her heart out. Hearing it brought her a new warmth and yearning.

  He kissed his way down her body, licking and nipping as he went. She tensed, thinking it would tickle, but all it did was excite her. He teased her as she had him when he got to the edge of her yoga pants, tracing the skin with his tongue and gently blowing on the wet skin. She clawed at the bed.

  “You’re driving me crazy,” she said.

  “Exactly my goal.”

  “What happened to being naked?”

  “I’m getting there,” he said.

  “Not fast enough.”

  “Patience, my sweet.”

  “Patience be damned,” she said, trying to sit up.

  “Very well,” he answered and before she had time to say more, he grabbed the elastic waistband and yanked both her pants and underwear down in one move. She shivered as she was exposed to his gaze and his touch. He dropped her clothes on the floor and caressed her bare legs.

  She wondered briefly if he avoided her feet because he remembered she was self- conscious about them. Years of dancing were not kind to the bones and skin, but before she could ask, his kisses moved higher and his tongue was grazing the inside of her thighs.

  “Oh my God,” she said on a sigh, feeling her body get wet in anticipation and need.

  “You are so wonderfully responsive.”

  “So it would seem.”

  “You sound surprised,” he said, looking up at her.

  “I am. Not about responding to you, but the intensity of it. It’s…I have no words.”

  “It’s beautiful, as are you.”

  His words slid effortlessly past a wall she had built over the years, and in that moment, she knew she believed him. She could see it in his eyes that he meant what he said, and the truth hit somewhere dangerously near her heart.

  He returned to her legs, kissing the inside of her thighs as his fingers began to gently play with the folds of her pussy. An electric thrill passed through her, and she spread wider.

  “Yes, beautiful, open to me, because I want to touch every inch of you.” She could feel the heat of his breath on her skin. He traced her entrance with tantalizing slowness and for a moment she thought she was going to have to beg, until his mouth joined his fingers, and she released a moan of pure pleasure.

  An avalanche of sensations rushed through her body at his unfamiliar, yet skilled touch. This was something she had only read about previously and craved without knowing it. The warmth of his tongue and the touch of his fingers combined to create a build-up of need which was almost too much to experience all at once.

  “Oh God, Miles, whatever you’re doing, it’s amazing,” she said, gripping the sheets and letting herself melt into the responses he was causing.

  “It’s supposed to be,” he replied, and even the vibrations of his words added to her pleasure.

  She was crazy with desire. His touches were exquisite as he discovered all the places she was most sensitive. The louder she moaned, the more attention he gave that location. By the time he licked her clitoris, she thought she might melt into a puddle of pleasure.

  And still he didn’t stop. He licked and probed until she thought she’d go mad from the bliss. She knew a release was coming, but was unaccustomed to the intensity of what she was experiencing.

  “Miles, I’m almost there. I want…I’m going to...”

  “Come for me,” he finished and plunged his fingers into her as his tongue moved more rapidly over her clit. It was all she needed.

  Her orgasm rushed over in a ceaseless swell, gaining power and passion until it crashed through her, and she cried out from the force of it. She was mindless with the pleasure and wondered if would ever stop. If it didn’t, she wouldn’t object.

  Never before had she had a climax where she felt simultaneously vulnerable and completely safe. She instinctively knew with Miles there was no need for her to hold back any of her desire, and she let herself experience everything she could. Her body and soul had longed for a release like this, and it was more breathtaking than she could have ever hoped for or imagined.

  After she came, he continued to caress her inner thighs with his hands, and his mouth followed with gentle kisses producing more shivers. She would always be different after tonight because now she knew what true pleasure was, and the only thing she wanted more than to experience it again was to share it with him.

  “I need to feel you inside me, Miles.”

  “With pleasure,” he said.

  Chapter Five

  When he saw her shocked reaction to her body’s response, he knew Boxford had never taken this kind of time with her or given her pleasure the way he did. His heart swelled with pride and possessiveness. No matter who she had been with or married to, she was still his.

  Jillian had always been receptive and sensitive when they were together, and their one time in bed before this had been magical, the first time for each of
them. Tonight, however, he was enjoying the reactions of a grown woman, with a depth of unexplored passion that had him aching to share more with her.

  He kissed his way up the rest of her body, licking and nipping, discovering sensitive and ticklish places. When he got to her lips, he said, “Don’t move.”

  “Don’t think I can,” she said.

  He went to the bathroom, removed the last of his clothes, and took a condom from his travel kit before quickly rejoining her on the bed. “You are so warm,” he said, lying against her.

  “And here I thought I was hot,” she said with the hint of a smile.

  “That too,” he said and kissed her, running his hand over the length of her naked body and reveling in her embrace as she did the same to him.

  “You have more muscles than you did the last time I touched you,” she observed. “Makes me realize how much time has passed.”

  “But we’re here now.”

  “Which is all that matters,” she said and kissed him deeply as she ran her fingers down his back until she reached his ass. She grabbed him tightly and pulled him closer.

  “Greedy little hummingbird.”

  “Absolutely, and from the feel of you against me, I would say you are as ready for me as I am for you.” She moved her hands between them and gripped his cock in her hands. He gasped at the sudden thrill and her lack of hesitation. “Yes, very ready.”

  He’d been ready for her for years, but he didn’t say it. Instead, he kissed her again while he found the entrance to her pussy, stroking her and making her wet. “I want you as ready as I am.”

  “That won’t take much, but I certainly wouldn’t want to stop you.”

  “Greedy and a tease,” he said, kissing her jaw, then her neck, loving how she shivered.

  “I am not a tease. Teasing would suggest I am not going to follow through, and I most certainly am,” she said, and her fingers traveled further down his shaft, fondling his balls, learning his sensitive areas.

  “I will explode if you keep doing that for much longer.”

  “The exploding part sounds wonderful, but I want you inside me when it happens.”

  He needed no other encouragement. Letting go of her while he grabbed the condom from the nightstand, he was back in her arms seconds later, ripping off the wrapper and sliding it over his length. Picking her up and situating her more comfortably on the pillows, he raised himself above her, settling between her legs.