Heaven Sent

by Mahalia Levey

  “Seeing wedding bells already?”

  “No, but the end result of a good relationship is marriage. He has made me want things I have no control over. Can you see me being the significant other to a fireman? After all I’ve been through?” Mia swiped the moisture from her eyes.

  “Yes. You were a military wife for twelve years. You banded wives together and girlfriends when Connor was deployed. You consoled widows, parents and other family members, even a few mistresses. You can handle chaos. You can handle Dire’s calling. With your years of experience, this is a cakewalk. Look at it this way, instead of months of deployment, you’ll have a chance to have a relationship with only days of separation to get used to.”

  Mia snorted and took a bite of the sandwich. “That is entirely too much credit you’ve given me. War isn’t advertised. Having Dire here while I was hurting made me feel better. The numbness is gone and now suddenly, I want it back. I don’t want the harsh reality in my face.”

  “But you want him. You know he’s a package deal, like you and Ashland. Give me the remote.”

  “Sinclaire—” Mia pressed the box into her hand. “I don’t like you right now.” Even though she sounded petulant, she couldn’t get a grasp on the emotions rolling through her, compartmentalize them.

  “Imagine if we liked each other all the time, we’d be boring friends. Now tell me about your vajayjay vajazzle.”

  “You are so weird. I don’t even want to know why you set that up. I mean, well, it’s a given. You do know that I shave on the regular. Were you expecting bush?”

  “No, of course not, just wanted you fresh in case…”

  “Want to see?”

  “Of course, I showed you my piercing so…it’s only right you give me a preview.”

  “So wrong on so many levels. Don’t try any funny business.”

  “Oh my God woman, just show me already. We’ve already been through the lesbian stage in life. No worries.”

  Mia set her food down on the coffee table and undid the belt on her robe.

  “Wow she is definitely inventive.”

  “I know, right. I took a look in the mirror and had to look again. Thank you for the massage, and oddly for this. I feel like a total new woman.”

  “I knew I should’ve bought you a vibrator for Christmas last year.” Sinclaire resumed eating and Mia followed suit.

  “Would’ve been a waste of your money. I’ve never used one of those and after Connor, whose face would I have gotten off to?” Dire’s face came to mind, bringing a warm flush to her cheeks.

  “Some hot dude from television. Porn on the internet. No wait, I forgot you don’t watch porn.” Sinclaire waggled her eyes.

  “Why are you always so hot to trot?” Mia couldn’t keep up with Sinclaire’s little pink book. “Wild woman.” She envied Sinclaire’s comfort with her sexuality, whereas she was more private. Except for that one time in college. She pulled out the envelope tucked in her robe pocket, she’d placed Sinclaire’s present there earlier so she wouldn’t have to get up. “For you.”

  Her best friend tore the flap open. “Ohhh. You naughty woman. Did you actually go in the store to get this?”

  “Ha. Not. Internet ordering is the way to go.” Mia took a sip of her latte. “Enjoy.”

  “You know I will. Thanks, there’s a new toy I’ve wanted for some time. This will do perfectly.”

  “Maybe you should get a good man and keep him around.” Mia thought her suggestion had merit. Her friend’s commitment issues rivaled her own, yet she wasn’t a widow.

  “I’m thinking about getting back into the market after seeing the sparks fly between you and Dire. He has a couple of hot single guys I wouldn’t mind trying on.”

  Mia laughed. “They’re not a comfortable pair of shoes to decide between. I wonder—”

  Sinclaire’s expression stopped her sentence from being voiced. In her mind, she worried if Dire and his team were okay.

  “Hey, we were doing good. Stop obsessing over something you have no control over. What did Connor used to say to you? Remember?”

  “No worries. He’d see me on the other side if the worst happened.”

  “He prepared you to be okay without him, not to spend the rest of your life without someone else to love. Let him give you the strength to allow yourself some happiness.”

  “The danger is so high.”

  “Wasn’t the danger higher when he pulled you out of that car? Think about this. He’s been a firefighter for years and out of the many lives he saved, he picked you. You picked each other or fate stuck you together. You know I’m all about signs and that is one heck of a neon blinker.”

  If Sinclaire started spouting about cosmic energies and the universe she’d lose it. Mia didn’t want to hear about how perfect Dire was for her or the rightness of them she felt down in the marrow of her bones.

  “You watch too much television or read too many books to believe in all of that. I have Ashland to think about, maybe Dire and I should be friends.”

  “I call bullshit. You could no more be just friends with him, than he with you. Better yet, I dare you to say that to him and see what his response is. Do you honestly think you could be around him on his days off or see him with another woman and not want to strike her dead?” Sinclaire polished off her food and sat back, arms crossed.

  Her dearest friend knew her well. “I don’t know. Probably.” The thought of him with another woman killed her, made her want to writhe in physical agony. “No.”

  “Then you have some thinking to do. I’ll let myself out. And Mia, no television.”

  * * * *

  Darkness fell early in the evening. Mia sipped a cup of hot cocoa while waiting. Time had never moved slower than waiting for Dire to show. Maybe she needed a psychologist or some heavier meds of a different type. Who worried about a man they recently met, and without an exact definition of the relationship they were heading in. She grasped his shirt in one hand, wanting to bury her face in his scent. Madness. She’d fallen head over heels into insanity. Tired of pacing and watching out the blinds for a glimpse of his truck, she sat down and flipped the television on. True to her word, she kept away from the news channels. Comedic family shows played on every channel. Not in the mood for comedy, she turned the television off and picked up a historical romance she’d found at a swap and shop months ago, but hadn’t had the time to read. She slipped the robe off and donned his shirt, wanting to feel closer to him in his absence. Using the discarded robe as blanket, she curled up on the couch and disappeared into the pages of her new book.

  Lost in the world of thievery, abduction and handsome as sin highlanders, she’d toned out the world until a loud banging on the door scared her out of her wits. She dog-eared the page and tossed off the robe. The incessant pounding grew louder. “What.” She swung the door open ready to rip the balls out of the person who’d made her put down the fantastic book and probably dented her door. “Dire.”

  “I rang the bell seven times.” Did he growl at her? And why did she find the sound arousing. Wait…I’m mad at him. She crossed her arms over her breasts and glared at him.

  “I’m sorry for scaring you.”

  Mia saw red. She clocked him with her open palm across his face, spun on her heel and stormed back into her house.

  “Mia. Stop.”

  “Go to hell.” She launched her body forward into a sprint up the stairs away from him. Pounding footsteps fell behind her as she heard him chase. Halfway up the stairs, a band of steel wound across her middle, halting her momentum. She kicked back and found her legs trapped by muscles as hard as tree trunks.

  “Why are you mad?”

  God he smelled good. Even angry with him, his energy singed her. Struggling to break his hold got her nowhere. His breath tickled her neck. His rock hard chest cradled her back.

  “You didn’t text or call.”

  Dire cussed under his breath. “Because I thought you’d be asleep like we discussed,” he snapp
ed at her and spun her to face him.

  She saw the angry welt on his face and dropped her gaze. Dire didn’t deserve her abuse. Ashamed of her actions, she couldn’t look him in the face.

  “You should’ve anyhow.”

  “I’m okay.” She frowned refusing to give into the two words she’d wanted to hear for hours.

  “The team is okay too. Mia. I like to look who I’m talking to in the face.”

  “Why are you doing this to me?” She pushed against him to get away and stumbled on the stairs when he let go of her. “Take this back and get out. I can’t do this.” Tears threatened to spill as she tore off his shirt and threw it at him. The T-shirt hit him in the face and fell to the floor. “I wanted to tell you that we should be friends but I can’t now because I’m in too deep.” His stunned expression, the way he held his body rigid while raking a gaze over her body caused her to shiver in reaction and start for her bedroom. “I said to leave,” she repeated when he made no move to.

  “Calm down.” Instead of leaving, he followed her.

  “Fuck you.”

  “That’s mature.” He caught up to her, spun her around, and fisted a hand in her hair keeping her from running further. “Look at me Mia.” Her choice was to squeeze her eyes shut or to do as he bid.

  “You had better be glad I’m not tender headed.” She glared at him, uncomfortable with the close proximity of his body so close to hers and her runaway emotions.

  “I’m not hurt and you’re okay. Nothing bad happened.” He pressed her against the edge of her bed and dropped an arm to her lower back. Mia almost died when his lips feathered over her skin of her throat. Soft at first, until he worked a path up her neck, swept a finger along her jaw line and nipped to her lips.

  Dormant need blazed to life. Mia turned aggressor, wrapping her legs around his waist and planting her lips over his mouth. Tongues tangled. Moaning into his mouth, she found the hem of his shirt and thrust her hands up his chest. Dire helped her take the T-shirt off. God, he is so sexy. To think she’d been totally naked in front of him this whole time left her feeling inhibited.

  “Don’t get shy on me now. You looked damn sexy wearing my name.” He bit into the curve of her neck while palming the globes of her ass. His sparse chest hair abraded her sensitive nipples. Wetness drenched her thighs as he laid her down. Dire paused assaulting her mouth to grab a condom out of his pocket. She watched enthralled as he unbuttoned his jeans and shrugged out of them to cover his heavy cock.

  Oh shit.

  “Trust me Mia. This is like riding a bike.” Dire shifted her legs over his shoulders and silenced her worry with a slow lick over her core. She came for the first time in a long time at the slightest provocation. He chuckled against her quivering muscles and eased his tongue into her slit. She rocked her hips toward him feeling the wondrous climb begin again. He kept her on the verge, nipping on her clit and stretching her sex with his tongue, then his finger, setting a mind spinning pace. “Dire.” She needed more, craved him. Her lover crawled over her body, ran his palms over the inner seams of her thighs and parted her sex for him. A hint of a smile spread across his face.

  “Your sparkly fireman hat is fucking sexy.”

  “Thank you.” A heady moan departed her lips as Dire teased her folds with the tip of his erection. He slid in an inch, and then out again. Impatience set in. Mia dug her heel into his flank to spur him into action. He gifted her with a cocky grin and not the result she wanted.

  “Why are you playing with me?”

  “Because we have all the time in the world.” Dire bent over her body to capture her nipple in his mouth. “You have a beautiful body.” He delivered the same attention to her other, sparking an unquenchable thirst to have all of him. Work worn fingers trailed over every inch of her body, while his mouth pleasured her, finding erogenous areas she never knew existed. Mia pushed her fingers into his sides, urging him for more. “Now. Please.” Perhaps the plea in her voice was his undoing. Dire pressed into her. Sinking, stretching her to the brim. She rotated her pelvis to fully seat him and sighed in relief when he began to move within her.

  “Damn baby, you’re so tight. I don’t want to hurt you, Mia.” He braced his hands on the sides of her head, to cradle her face in his hands as he rocked slow and deep into her body. Mia wanted to speak but speech fled as sensations flowed through her. Dire moved with aching tenderness, plunging her into an endless abyss of white hot pleasure. Her body opened for him and clenched on his withdrawal. A heavy emptiness encased her with his absence, but then thick fingers added to the girth of his rock hard cock, his thumb strumming her clit. Mia closed her eyes and let the sensations roll over her. Her nipples tightened to peaks brushing against his chest. Under her palm the muscles of his ass clenched. Dire lazily plunged into her. She wanted faster, harder and opened her eyes to tell him so. However, he captured her mouth and plunged in before she could muster the nerve to break his tenderness.

  She breathed into his mouth and wound her arms around his neck. “I need more.”

  “I can’t fuck you hard now, Mia. You’ll be the death of me and I’ll hurt you more than you are right now. Let me love you, baby. We’ll get wild and crazy another night. Not tonight.”

  Mia wanted to scream in frustration. She wasn’t an invalid and she’d slept for hours upon hours and taken the stupid medication. Then the twinkle in his eye caught her attention. Dire rolled them, his body staying fully seated inside her. She smiled with relief. “Not tonight.”

  He was giving her control. Allowing her to take the lead in a way she could halt if her body couldn’t handle it. Mia ran her hands up his chiseled chest and rode him. Her body fell into a smooth rhythm. She would slam down and he would rock up taking her higher. Dire wrapped his hands around her hips and ground her against his pelvis, pleasure arched with the friction he provided. Her clit throbbed and her pussy clenched around him.

  Mia cried out when he thrust into her from his position, the loud popping of his hips bumping into her pelvis rattled her to the bone. She came hard, digging her fingernails into his shoulders to keep from being dislodged. When the tremors subsided and aftershocks remained Dire flipped them. Taking the reins once more, he thrust in and out of her and with a guttural growl came, the warmth of his seed flooded the reservoir.

  “Mia,” he murmured her name and pulled out of her. She watched him shuck the used condom with one hand and tie off the end.

  “I have a basket on my side.” Dire pressed a kiss to her lips as he leaned over her to the edge and dropped the rubber in the trash.

  “Beautiful woman. You tried my restraint to the max.”

  “I was feeling better and wanted to be treated like a woman not someone on the injured list.” As Dire rolled back onto the bed, Mia cuddled up in his arms.

  “We can play harder soon.” He played with tendrils of her hair. His fingers brushed into her scalp causing sleepiness to course through her. Her body relaxed immeasurably.

  “Good.” She yawned and slid her leg in between his.

  “So, every time you get mad do I get to have my shirt thrown at me and a glimpse of your gorgeous body? If so, please tell me all your pet peeves so I can look and have my fill.”

  “Only when you make me irrational. I don’t know what possessed me to strip off the shirt and toss it at you. Or hit you. I’m sorry about that.”

  “I know you are. My face is strong enough to handle a little abuse, just don’t make a habit of it. You might not like the results.”

  “Oh, what’s the punishment?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know what happens to bad girls who get slap happy?” He intertwined their fingers and kissed each of her fingertips.

  “I thought you would’ve turned and went home after I did that. And now here we are.”

  Dire pulled her discarded coverlet over them. His body heat gave her the extra warmth and comfort she needed. Baring herself for him was the third scariest moment of her life. The first walking down the
aisle to Connor, the second giving birth, him third.

  “You know us firemen, we take a lick and keep on ticking.” The fingers massaging her scalp intensified. Mia placed her hand over his to halt him. “Stop making me sleepy.”

  He stilled for a moment and ran his hand up and down her back. “Why have you remained single and for how long?”

  “I didn’t have the heart or courage to date for the longest time. One year passed, and then two. I concentrated on raising Ash and being content as a mother. Between her and my job, I never made time or the effort to put myself out on the market. The Cheer Moms set me up on a few trial dates, coffee dates really that tanked. It’s been four years since he passed. I don’t think I remember how to date. It’s changed so much from when I was in college.”

  “Four years of celibacy is a long time. What were your plans when Ashland moved away to college?”

  “I’ve been celibate five and a half years. Connor was on extended deploy when he had a massive coronary.” Dire’s hand stilled. “I don’t know. I didn’t plan that far ahead. I’m not really a cat person and I don’t have the heart to discipline a dog. That leaves me alone.”

  “Not anymore. Are you sore or in pain?” He was so sweet to worry.

  Mia crawled up his body and kissed his lips. “I’m perfectly sore in all the right places. You were right, riding you was like remembering how to riding a bike.”

  Dire’s beautiful eyes darkened. Mia shivered, hoping he’d decide to go a second round with her. All of the sudden she felt the desire to make up for lost time, with him and only him.

  “No.” He shut her down cold and began to soothe her scalp again with knowing hands.

  Mia moved to shake him off.

  Dire chuckled and trapped her body with his and the blanket cocooning her.

  “Rat fink jerk.” The sandman stole the rest of her tirade as sleep claimed her.