Always been You

by Mia Scott

  Big twirled the panties around his finger and slowly looked her up and down. The short, emerald silk robe barely skimmed the tops of her thighs. The same thighs he intended to have wrapped around his body again. "Well, Larrington, you left this little breadcrumb behind for me to find and I thought I'd follow the trail. Looks like I found what I wanted."

  Alisha bit her lower lip and stifled a laugh. "That was the cheesiest thing I've heard in a while."

  He smirked wickedly. "But you still want to get me naked, don't you, Alisha?" he asked smugly.

  She swallowed a moan and grabbed his coat. "Shut up," she ordered, pulling him through the doorway and dragging his mouth down to hers.

  Chapter 12

  "Goddamn, Alisha," he groaned, collapsing back against the pillows. His breathing was ragged, his vision spotty and his skin felt like it could burst into flames at any moment. He was sort of amazed that they'd survived. Kicking the covers off his body, he felt the beads of sweat evaporate from his skin as his brain slowly regained its function. Rolling onto his side, he expected to see her head resting on the pillow and not her feet. "The hell, Larrington?" he chuckled lowly, lifting up the covers, seeing her motionless save for the deep rise and fall of her chest as she tried to catch her breath. "How'd you end up down there?"

  She emitted a little humming noise and opened one eye, taking in his sexy, humored expression. "Not sure. Brain not working," she muttered, stretching her arms overhead and stifling a whimper when her muscles cried out in protest.

  With a satisfied smirk, he grabbed the pillow behind his head and flipped to the other end of the bed, rolling her on top of him. She made the cutest little whine in the back of her throat and his lips twitched up. "You okay there, Shorty?" he asked lazily, a knowing grin on his face. He was glad he hadn't talked himself out of coming over to see her again. When he'd walked into the kitchen after the game and found her panties on the floor, his brain instantly flooded with images of the night before, his blood sparking to life. After going round and round in his mind thinking it was too soon to see her again (and maybe a total pussy move on his part), he decided that he was Big and therefore a badass—a badass that had sufficiently rocked Alisha Larrington's world (okay, and maybe she'd rocked his, too) and he could make his own fucking rules. Besides, who was he to deny her (and himself) another night of insanely great sex? Seeing the slow, sexy smile on her face and her long legs peeking out of that excuse for a robe when she answered the door told him he'd made the right decision.

  Alisha raised her head and looked down at him through dark, hooded eyes, a fully satiated smile curving languidly on her lips. "Mmm," she hummed. "Better than okay." She placed her hands on either side of his head against the mattress and nipped at his lower lip, pulling back teasingly. "Though I have to say I was surprised to see you at my door tonight," she told him honestly.

  "You didn't seem to mind—you started tearing my clothes off the moment I got here," he smirked again, his hands smoothing leisurely down her back until they settled firmly on her ass.

  "Do I need to remind you of the cheesy breadcrumb line you opened with?"

  "It worked, didn't it?" he asked, an eyebrow arched high.

  "I suppose it did," she admitted. She dropped kisses lightly over his jaw. "What'd you do today, or I guess it was yesterday?" His fingers curved into her flesh when she continued her trail of kisses down his neck.

  "Uh…" God, her lips "…went and watched the Giants game at a bar with James and Maggie."

  Alisha stopped the kissing and went stiff as a board, panic setting in. "Maggie?" she choked out, her face growing red. Oh, God. Please, no.

  "Yeah, she was busting my balls about you and I told her to shove it."

  "Oh, my God, did you tell her?" she asked frantically. Alisha pushed to a seated position and furiously brushed the hair out of her face, glaring down accusingly at Big.

  He wanted to laugh. She seemed to be about four seconds away from a complete and utter freak out. "Tell her what?" he asked dumbly.

  "Big!" she cried.

  "Oh, that we fucked? Oops! Was I not supposed to?" He couldn't contain the shit-eating grin that broke out on his face. "Does this mean I should cancel the billboard in Times Square that reads I nailed Alisha Larrington from Chicago and she liked it?"

  Alisha glowered down at him, realization that he was joking dawning on her slowly. She huffed out a relieved breath and then slapped him on the chest. Hard. He laughed. "You're an ass! God, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

  Big laughed some more and snaked his arms around her waist when she tried to move off of him. "I wish you could see your face right now." She pouted and he sat up quickly and pressed his torso flush against hers, drawing her in for a kiss and lingering until he felt her relax into it. Pulling away, he leaned back on his hands and leered up at her. "You're not ashamed that you had sex with me are you, Larrington?" he asked teasingly, his voice low and sexy.

  Alisha pursed her lips and considered his words before smiling impishly. "I should be ashamed of a couple of the positions I let you put me in, but no, I don't regret having sex with you."

  He smirked proudly at those words. "Wanna not regret having sex with me again?" he asked devilishly, running his hands along the backs of her thighs.

  She groaned, even as her skin prickled beneath his hands, extremely tempted, but she was exhausted. "Don't you have to work in the morning?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

  He angled his head to read the alarm clock. 2:27. "Fuck—yeah, in four and half hours," he grumbled. "Rain check?" he rasped, bowing his head to draw one pert nipple into his mouth. At her sharp intake of breath, he smirked against her breast.

  "Big," she warned, even as her head fell back and she arched against him, her fingers curling into his biceps. His mouth was fantastic.

  "What?" he asked mischievously before flicking his tongue over her other nipple.

  This sexy fireman was going to be the death of her. She just knew it. "I thought you were leaving?" she murmured, even as she held tighter to him.

  "Hmm," he hummed against her skin, felt her shiver and released her from his mouth, angling his head up to look in her eyes, eyes that were warm and molten as they peered back at him. "Your perfect tits distracted me," he told her matter-of-factly, a lopsided grin breaking out over his face.

  "You're incorrigible," she laughed dryly, shaking her head.

  "Is that good or bad?" he asked, feigning seriousness and making her laugh a little harder.

  "You really should go."

  "Yeah, probably." Cupping the back of her head, he covered her mouth with his, sweeping his tongue easily inside. Her arms slithered around his neck and he deftly flipped her onto her back, not breaking the kiss that she eagerly returned. She moaned softly, hitching a leg high up on his hip and he suddenly pulled back, smirking at her stunned expression. "Gotta go, Larrington," he said rakishly, climbing off her and out of bed.

  "Now who's the tease?" she asked glibly, making him chuckle. She rolled to her side and propped her head up on her hand, watching him grab his clothes and pull them on. His body made her mouth water. The way it looked and moved, the way it felt beneath her fingers, the weight of it pressed down against hers. She mentally scolded herself because that line of thinking was definitely not conducive for not having sex with him again. When he tugged his shirt on, she sat up and got out of bed, finding her robe on the floor.

  "Your body is fucking smokin', Alisha," he said hoarsely, watching her move lithely through her darkened bedroom, slipping green silk over her compact frame. The flirty smile she shot back made him grin wickedly.

  "That's funny—I was just thinking the same about yours," she smiled fully, tying the belt around her waist. "Come on, fireman, I'll walk you out."

  She unlocked the door, but his hand against it kept her from opening it. He pulled her up on her tiptoes and dropped heated lips to her, kissing her soundly. Gently releasing her, he opened the door and walked out into the h
allway. "Night, Larrington," he smirked.

  Alisha's lips twitched, and she smoothed her hair back behind one ear. "Goodnight."

  "Don't forget about the rain check. I'll be calling that in very soon." With one last leering glance, he strolled out of sight.

  Alisha shut the door and leaned back against it, expelling a long, slow breath as a smile tugged at her lips.

  It was cold, gray and blustery Tuesday morning as Alisha walked down the crowded sidewalk on her way to breakfast. But the weather was no match for her mood. She had an extra spring in her step and a smile on her face. Attributing a tremendous portion of the good mood to the amazing sex she'd been having with a certain tall, dark and sexy fireman, the remainder of that mood was because of the blonde up ahead.

  "Hi, girl," Alisha called brightly, seeing her friend on the sidewalk outside the bakery.

  "Hey, darling," Maggie answered, a beaming smile on her pretty face.

  Alisha laughed. "You haven't used that one in a while."

  Maggie shrugged and looked at her friend, studying her closely. "You seem awfully chipper today," she said finally.

  "I got a good night's sleep, there's snow on the ground and I get to have a girls' day with my best friend. What's not to be happy about? Oh, and the best part? There's a huge leak in the ceiling of the theater and that caused a lot more damage than they initially thought, so I am now off work until—are you ready for this—Saturday!"

  "Woo hoo!" Maggie loudly squealed, ignoring looks of the other members in the line as she and Alisha excitedly jumped up and down. "Good for you, Lisha, you need a break. Now we don't have to settle just for a mani/pedi. We can spend the whole day at the spa."

  A sneaky smile curled over Alisha's lips. "My thoughts exactly. That's why I already called ahead and booked massages and facials, too. I made appointments for Russell, too. Where is he?"

  "He's meeting us at the spa. You know how he feels about baked goods," Maggie said, rolling her eyes, moving forward as the line shifted. "Four days off…what are you gonna do with yourself?"

  She knew what she wanted to be doing, or rather whom, but she hadn't heard from him yet. "Not sure," she answered honestly. "Relax, probably. Go to the movies. I don't know—we'll see where the wind takes me." Hopefully tangled in the sheets with Big.

  "Sounds good to me. What are you going to get? I can't decide between a raisin bagel and a cherry cheese Danish." Feeling a strong pair of arms come around her waist, she startled until she heard the familiar voice whisper Hey, baby in her ear. "Hey yourself, James," she greeted, leaning back against him, tipping her head up for a kiss.

  Alisha glanced over her shoulder and, just as if merely thinking his name seconds ago conjured his appearance, looked directly into very familiar and very impish hazel eyes. Shit. What if he says something to Maggie? He'd probably already told James. Shit. Shit. Shit.

  "Hey, Larrington," he said lazily, even as his eyes danced with wild amusement. He ran his eyes up and down her body slowly, smirking wickedly when they landed on her annoyed expression and narrowed eyes.

  "Big," she greeted casually. Well, as casually as she could manage seeing the way they spent a good portion of the weekend. He was still in his uniform and that certainly didn't help the whole act natural vibe she was going for.

  "Hi, Big," Maggie said brightly, linking her fingers with James's.

  "Sup, Blondie?" he asked with a careless nod of his head. He crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his eyes back towards Alisha, who was now staring straight ahead and ignoring him. He bit back a laugh.

  "What are you two pretty ladies up to today?" James asked, ever the gentleman.

  "A whole day at the spa," Maggie informed him. "We were just going to get our nails done, but Alisha's got the rest of the week off work, so she's a lady of leisure now."

  "How'd you swing that, Shorty?" Big asked, his brows arched when she looked back.

  "A pipe burst in the ceiling and there's a lot of damage to be repaired before the theater is able to reopen."

  "That's great you get some time off," James smiled kindly before turning his attention back to Maggie, who asked about his shift at work.

  Alisha let James and Maggie walk a few steps ahead of them and she felt his hot breath on her ear and his fingers skipping along her spine, marking every last bit of flesh on her body with goose bumps. "Come over tonight," he whispered lowly. There was no question there, she decided, as heat stirred in her low in her gut. It sounded very much like a command and one she was eagerly going to follow. She tilted her eyes up to his and softly nodded her head as a tiny smirk flashed briefly over her lips.

  His answering smirk was much more pronounced and fully rakish. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he and Alisha both stared ahead at their friends being cute and flirty with one another as the line gradually moved forward. Unable to take the silence that hung thickly between them, she spoke up. "How was work?" she asked nonchalantly.

  "Slow as hell," he said. "Couple of car accidents, a small warehouse fire. Mostly spent the time at the station on cleaning duty and playing Halo."

  "Hmm, my tax dollars at work," she teased, as they finally reached the door of the packed bakery.

  "You got it, baby," he chuckled, winking at her. He held the door open for her and let her shuffle past, brushing his hand over her ass as she did.

  She turned heated eyes to his and mouthed Stop it! Maggie or James could have seen that and then her relaxing day at the spa would go right out the window because she would get the third degree instead. Casting eyes ahead to her friend and James, she was relieved to see them studying the display case of baked goods. Feeling the silent rumble of laughter in his chest, she elbowed him hard in the gut and moved to stand by Maggie, joining in on the intense scrutiny for potential breakfast foods.

  Big read the menu, nearly busting a gut when he read Deluxe Larrington Pie as a listed item. Instead, he leaned forward and murmured in her ear again. "Can't wait to have my fill of number four tonight. That's my favorite kind of pie." He stood up and watched the blush creep up her neck and stain her cheeks.

  "Next?" the woman behind the counter asked.

  "Um," Alisha began, unable to find her words. She could see the arrogant bastard smirking in her peripheral vision. "Cherry Danish, please. Large coffee."

  "And for you?" she asked Big.

  "Blueberry muffin and orange juice." He reached for his wallet and pulled out some cash, nudging Alisha. "I got it."

  She slanted her gaze to his and smiled softly. "Thanks."

  Grabbing her coffee and pastry, she followed Maggie and James to a little booth in the back of the bakery. She wedged herself into the available space and slid over to attempt to make room for Big since James and Maggie were smashed together on the other side and canoodling over their pastry. They were nauseatingly cute. He seated his large frame next to her, brushing his entire side against hers in the process and sending tingles through her entire body. Remembering that she was not supposed to be enjoying this, she elbowed him again. "Jesus, Big, scoot over," she admonished. Smirking, he moved down approximately one inch and took an enormous bite of his muffin. She ate in relative silence, losing herself in thoughts of what tonight would hold, occasionally interjecting when James or Maggie would actually draw themselves out of their own adorable little world and talk to her or to Big.

  Polishing off his orange juice, Big eased out of the booth. "I gotta go crash," he told the group. "See you guys around."

  "Thanks for breakfast," Alisha smiled politely.

  "Don't mention it," he shrugged.

  "You two are nauseating," he grumbled to James and Maggie, smirking when they both gave him shitty looks. "Jesus, I'm kidding. See ya, 'round." With a little salute to Alisha, he strode away and pushed out of the exit.

  Alisha looked down at the table and saw his phone. Biting back a smile, she looked up to the other two at the table. "Oh, Big forgot his phone. I bet I can catch him. Be right back." Grabbing t
he object, she slid out of the booth and walked briskly for the door.

  He wasn't hard to find. She found him leaned casually against the brick wall of the next building over, his arms folded across his chest, waiting expectantly. He shot her a slow grin as she approached. "You're a smart girl, Alisha," he murmured as she handed him the phone.

  "I need to get back," was her response.

  "My place. Nine o'clock."

  She flashed him a coy smile, her dimples winking. "I'll be there." Turning back towards the bakery, he grabbed her elbow and pulled her back.

  "Ah-ah, not so fast," he told her.

  "Big—" she began, but was cut off by his lips on hers, his fingers kneading firmly into the back of her neck. She felt her head start to swim and reluctantly pushed him away. "Go get some sleep, Big," she grinned, "I'll see you tonight." She lifted a hand and hurried away.

  He watched her go and smirked to himself, deciding he really should get some sleep now because he didn't expect any tonight.

  She knocked at 9:15. Grinning, he Rosemary off the couch and took a long pull off the beer in his hand as he walked to the door and opened it. "Hi," he greeted slowly.

  "Hi," she said back.

  Big moved back and gestured for her to come inside. "New coat?" he asked as she slowly brushed by, noting the absence of her red coat in favor of a long white one. She smelled fucking amazing—seductive and sexy, and looked even better. It nearly made him pant after her.

  "Nope," she answered easily, rounding towards him. When he moved to kiss her, she held up a hand and stopped him. "We need to get a few things straight between us before we continue."