“Anyway,” he continued after another shot was consumed. “I found Grams. She was out like a light. I wasn’t sure if she just slept heavy or if the smoke had got to her, but I closed her bedroom door, got her window opened, kicked the screen out, and then I snatched Grams up. Almost dropped the poor old lady twice. I was a freaking weak ass motherfucker back in those days. Sixteen, still growing, and hadn’t figured out what hitting the gym could do for me, you know?” I did not, but I figured it was a rhetorical question.
“Got her out safe just as the CFFRD and an ambulance were rolling up to the scene. A firefighter took her out of my struggling arms, and ran her straight to the ambulance where they put oxygen on her. The fire chief was on scene, and he clapped me on the back, told me ‘good job, son,’ and started barking orders to his men to get shit done and put the fire out before it had a chance to spread to the other houses in the neighborhood.”
I was smiling while listening to his story. “So, that’s where you discovered your passion?”
“Yeah, took off the next day to hit up the fire station that responded to the incident. I went in, requested a meet with the chief, sat my ass down, and laid it out for him.”
“Wow!”
“Yeah, wow,” he chuckled. “So much wow that good old’ Chief Murdock fuckin’ laughed his ass off for a solid five minutes before he sobered up and told me how it was really gonna go. He said, ‘son, I appreciate ya, and you did good yesterday, but you’re gonna finish up high school, move on to college, and start hitting the gym, then you come to me if you’re still ready for this. I need men with brains and brawn to fight fires and save lives. You ain’t ready yet, but you will be one day if you stay smart about it.’” His eyes glimmered as he recounted the speech he’d been given by the fire chief. Then he grinned at me as he took a swig of the beer he had to chase his shot with.
“So, you followed his instructions and here we are?” I asked.
He laughed again. “Well, I almost wasn’t. See, when I started hitting the gym I met Wren and Heavy. They saw to my training, and I got a gleam in my eye for the bikes they always rode away from the gym on.”
“Wren was here earlier, helping out with the unloading,” I told him. “I liked him.”
“Yeah, he’s a great guy, and even better now that he’s settled down with his woman and little girl.”
“So, the call of riding free nearly derailed your plans?” I asked, still curious.
“Yeah, you could say that. Once I graduated high school I enrolled in the community college like I was supposed to, but I also started prospecting for Aces High. They understood I was a student, and Ghost liked the idea of having a guy who actually wanted to get an education too, so they worked with my school schedule. I just had to prospect a little longer than the norm.” I nodded my head understanding this since I had both a brother and a soon-to-be ex husband in the club. “I got caught up for a little while in the life. Even prospects get their pick of women and fun when they’re off duty, so long as they aren’t stepping on the brothers’ toes.”
“Yeah, so you’re saying you discovered easy pussy and partying,” I laughed out the words, knowing full well I’d never say pussy in mixed company if it weren’t for all the alcohol loosening my tongue, or the residual anger. Still, I felt the heat of a blush staining my cheeks when I did it, and Smoke’s eyes went liquid at the sight of it.
“Exactly that.” His voice held a lower, huskier quality as he spoke those two words, and the sound did something to my insides I wasn’t sure I was ready to acknowledge. So, I prodded some more.
“So, what then? Obviously you still went on to be a firefighter.”
“I did. Around the same time I was earning my patch, and in danger of actually flunking out of a couple classes, my mom had her first stroke. She was young for that shit, and the doctors told her they thought her birth control, and the fact she smoked cigarettes like a fuckin’ chimney were probably to blame. While she was getting healthy, I figured I needed to pull my head out of my ass and make sure my ma stayed that way. I’m eight years older than my little brother, six up from my sister. They were 12 and 14 at the time. I was 20. My mom couldn’t work for a while, and I needed to get my ass in gear and make some money for my family. I was pulling in some cash working for the club, but definitely not enough to keep a family of four afloat while paying for college, and then the medical bills started piling up.”
“That’s a lot to put on your shoulders. Where was your dad?”
“Gone. That bastard ran out when Kent was three. Never saw him again. My mom worked her ass off to keep us fed, clothed, and a roof over our heads. Lucky for her, the house was paid off. They’d inherited it from my dad’s family when I was a baby. Only decent thing my dad did was put that house in mom’s name before he took off. I guess it was her parting gift since he was leaving her to raise three kids on her own with no help and no other financial support.”
“That sucks,” I managed to get out even while my tongue felt heavy and thick from the alcohol. Actually, it sounded more like ‘that thuckth” so I started giggling. Then my hand flew up to try to hold the giggles in so I wouldn’t offend Smoke. I definitely wasn’t trying to make light of his family’s situation. He didn’t seem offended though. Instead, he got up, went to the kitchen, and brought back a couple bottles of water.
“I think it’s time for these,” he stated as he handed me one.
“Oh Jeezzzzus, I’m a meth,” I tried to say and ended up in the midst of another giggle fit.
“She develops a speech impediment when she’s drinking heavy,” Smoke said to absolutely no one. “Good to know,” he added as he watched me, the fine lines near the corners of his eyes crinkling with the humor that caused the unusual, mismatched gems themselves to twinkle even brighter.
“Mesmerizing,” I managed to mutter as I took in the sight of him. That was when his eyes changed again, becoming darker, and something more. His gaze began to appear almost lazy as his lids slid down to half-mast and got closer, much, much closer to my own. I didn’t even register the fact that his eyes getting closer to my own meant he, himself, was moving in. At least, I didn’t register it until his lips were on mine, and then sweet lord in heaven, nothing but bliss followed.
Smoke’s arms wrapped around my body, one moved around my shoulder where his hand cradled the back of my neck while the other wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him. Our lips scored each other with their heat, and when mine parted for him he wasted no time dipping his tongue into my mouth to taste more of me. I felt that kiss from the roots of my hair to the tips of my curled toes. For some odd reason Stone Sour’s version of Wicked Game started playing in my head. Maybe it was a warning of things to come, maybe it was just the perfect mood music I was conjuring, because God rest my wicked soul, but this man’s kiss was about to burn me to the ground where I stood.
Somewhere in the background I vaguely registered thunder cracking, but it was at the same moment that I was divested of my shirt, and I couldn’t bring myself to be concerned with a late summer storm. Instead, my body caught fire as Smoke blazed trails of heat up and down my ribs from his deft fingertips before he latched onto my full breasts, only separated from skin on skin contact by the sadly utilitarian, and slightly worn out, cotton bra I had donned for comfort on the long ride from Georgia to my new home. Thankfully, I was inebriated, and didn’t give a hoot what my bra looked like in that moment. Tomorrow, I’d be embarrassed a plenty. For that matter, it only took a moment, maybe Smoke’s mind powers, to melt the bra from my body anyway. It would seem there really wasn’t much to be concerned with. If there was, I felt I sufficiently distracted him by tugging his t-shirt up his beautifully crafted body, helping him to pull it over his head, and toss it aside wherever the rest of our clothes had settled thus far.
“Please, tell me you have a bed set up.” Smoke mumbled the words into my kiss-swollen lips as I nodded and then pointed down the lonely little hall off the side of th
e living room that lead to one bedroom on either side and bathroom separating the two in the middle.
“Left or right, babe?”
“Left,” I explained as he lifted me in his arms forcing me to wrap my legs around his hips for balance while he maneuvered us to the bedroom. Luckily, Chief had put the bed together first thing, and I’d made it up once the guys were busy unloading the boxes into the other rooms. I made the bed thinking I’d be ready to crash at the end of a long day. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be tossed on top of it as the most gorgeous man in the history of manly men stripped me of my yoga pants and my sad cotton panties that matched the sad cotton bra of a woman who had been married and underappreciated for far too long.
I refused to dwell on those memories as Smoke leaned in to cover me with his own body, and I realized the only thing he had on was a pair of boxer briefs, color dark, but otherwise unknown in the dim light of my bedroom. Lips moved a warm trail of kisses up my thighs, teeth nipping here and there as he went, hands trailing on my outer thighs until he moved up far enough that he needed me to spread for him. Then he didn’t ask, he didn’t demand, he just slid those fingers around from the outside of my thighs to the inside and gave a gentle push that had me obeying the unspoken command. I dropped the tension holding them in place and allowed them to fall to the side as broad shoulders slid in place between them and hot breath trailed over my sensitive, wet flesh. I just knew I was at the gates of heaven waiting to be admitted, and then his tongue flicked over my hard bud before sliding thickly through my folds from bottom to top, ending with a seductive suck and nip of my clit that nearly sent me over the edge all on its own.
“Shit,” I whimpered out as my back arched and my head flung to the side, eyes closed, and hands trailed to that gorgeous, thick head of hair Smoke had. I weaved my fingers into those locks and tugged him back down when he chuckled at my quick response to his mouth. It had been far too long since a man had taken his time with me, made me feel good, and enjoyed giving the pleasure instead of looking at the act as a chore to get me prepared. So. Damn. Long.
Smoke’s fingers glided up my sides, tickling my ribs lightly as they moved to reach above him and grab hold of my breast as he continued to dip his tongue into my folds, suck relentlessly on my clit, and giving an encouraging nip now and again when I tugged at his hair. That beautiful beard of his scraped ruthlessly at the insides of my leg and the space where leg met groin. The extra sensations were both relentless and delicious all at once. One final pull on my clit as he pinched both of my nipples simultaneously sent me flying over that precipice into a momentary beautiful oblivion. “Shit, holy…” I panted out. “Jesus, God.” My fingers clamped down as my body grew tight just before the ripples of pleasure blew through me, squeezing and releasing in equal measure. I released Smoke’s hair and felt him roll his body right up mine, maintaining maximum contact as he maneuvered his muscular chest, with its light sprinkling of dark hair up and over my body. The friction – so sweet on my nipples – held me in the throws of my orgasm just a little bit longer while he got into position, wrapped his arms around me as if he was cradling my shoulders while slipping inside me and filling me up in a way I’d never experienced before.
“Ungh, Smoke!” His name pulled from my lips on a breathy moan just as he captured my mouth with his and matched each stroke of his tongue with the movement of him pushing into and pulling out of me. My eyes were forced open with the perfection of the moment, and I found myself lost in those fascinating multi-hued eyes of his.
“Honey,” he drew that one word out on a sexy growl before dipping his head and planting a slew of open mouthed kisses along my jaw, my neck, and down to my collarbone. “Never before,” he huffed out as he started picking up his pace. I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but it didn’t matter, because I was lost once again, dangling on the edge as his thick cock started hammering into a place deep inside me that was sending sparks shooting through my insides, tingling in my limbs, communicating the promise of imminent rippling waves of ecstasy.
“Smoke, I’m…” I couldn’t get the words out quick enough.
“I know, honey. Feel it. Let go, because it’s not going to be the last one tonight. Not done with you yet.” Well, hell. That did it. Heat suffused my entire body, barreling through me on waves that carried with it the pleasure that I had been promised just moments before.
He didn’t lie. It was not the last one. The last one came in a fevered moment with me on all fours and Smoke behind me, pounding into me with an abandon I’d never known from either of the two lovers I’d had in my life prior to this man. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I knew I’d feel every minute of tonight, probably for the next week, but I wouldn’t stop it to save my life. My nerve endings were all on a crash course with my next orgasm, chasing it like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and fearing I wouldn’t get there, but hoping like hell I did in time.
“Honey,” Smoke breathed into my ear as he draped his body, slick with sweat, against my back. His hand came around my waist, arm resting over my belly as his hand dipped between my legs and fingers went to work on my clit while he continued to pump into me at a desperate pace. “Let go, sweetheart. Can’t. Hold. Onnnn,” that last came out as a tortured growl as my release hit and swamped me just as Smoke let go too. His hips jerked into me, hand holding me as close as he could get while he rooted there, coming deep and hard while my muscles clamped and released in rapid succession around him.
“Fuck, honey, never in my life…” he husked out as I took on some of his weight before we both collapsed down to the bed with me hitting face first and him following, riding my back down, still fully lodged inside of me as we went. He immediately rolled off to the side so he wouldn’t hurt me and we both started chuckling. “Sorry,” he grumbled out amidst his own laughter.
“Not a damn thing to be sorry for. I’m amazed you held it together as long as you did.”
“Shh,” he huffed out and tugged me to him so that my body rolled putting my back to his front, then he swiped the blanket at the end of the bed up and over our rapidly cooling bodies. His other hand swiped the hair off my face in a gentle gesture that felt a little too intimate, but beautiful nevertheless. His lips touched down on the top of my head before leaning in closer to my ear and whispering, “get some sleep, honey.”
“Mmm,” was the only response I had, because the beating of his heart at my back, the warmth of his body against mine, and the exertion of the day and night mixed in with the drinks we’d consumed had me tipping over into sleepy la-la land before words could form.
Chapter 6
There was a dull, throbbing ache in my head as my brain peeled slowly back from sleep and into the waking world. The dull throbbing in my head was quickly dismissed as the ache in other places of my body made themselves known. There was also the warm, weighty body plastered to mine that took precedence over all of those aches. For one, brief, heart-wrenching nanosecond the fantasy that the husband I knew from our early years had come to me to tell me what a huge mistake I was making was in my thoughts. Then I remembered he’d stopped holding me like this long before we ever even tried to have babies. He liked his space, and never once thought about what I liked in that regard. If he had, he’d have known there was no better moment than waking up in the arms of the man you love. I supposed in my reality this morning, in the arms of the man who gave me the best sex I’d ever had.
No, it was not my husband wrapped around my body as if he were protecting me in our sleep. This was the man I’d met last night. The man I formed an instant friendship with, and the one who may or may not make things awkward this morning when he woke and realized we were spooned up together. Last night might have been a hit it and quit it fun little tryst for him. Hell, it may have been more. If I weren’t in the situation I was currently in attempting to divorce the husband who had let me down in every way possible, then I might consider the explosive and undeniable chemistry I’d encountered
with the man who was still offering me peace and safety even in his sleep. I sighed thinking about how things were going to go when I attempted to remove myself from his arms. The other thing I’d realized in my quick assessment of my situation was that I had to pee, so escape wasn’t only eminent it was necessary.
The arm wrapped around my waist slid up my body to position itself between my breasts while the hand attached to it cradled my shoulder. “Honey, go back to sleep,” a raspy voice called from just behind me causing my body to tighten with both want and fear of the unknown. Let me be clear, I was not afraid of him, just where this situation would take us this morning.
The arm around me tightened momentarily before he spoke again. “Listen honey, I realize things carried further than either of us intended last night, thanks to our amazing chemistry and I don’t regret a single second, but I know you’re going through shit right now. We need to put this part on hold; I’ll step back for now. We’ll be friends, and go from there. No awkward moments, no wondering or worries. We’re going to be straight with one another because I don’t regret last night, I don’t want you to, and what we started out there with the bonding we did is too important to kick away with morning after awkwardness. Never in my life been so instantly comfortable around a woman. Don’t want to lose that for anything.”
I turned my head into my pillow since I couldn’t control the huge grin that was threatening to split my face. This man. He had just cleared up all my worries in one go. Once I got myself back under control I turned in his arm and planted a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. “That’s all really good to know, Smoke, but right now you’re still gonna have to ease up on the grip you have because nature calls.” I raised my eyebrows as he tightened his grip and then proceeded to start tickling me. Tickling me… when I had to pee… Oh dear lord. I dissolved into a fit of giggles just as a loud banging pounded on my front door startling me and pulling Smoke from his teasing playful manner into a serious growly one.
Redemption Duet (Aces High MC - Cedar Falls Book 0) Page 6