by Jaci Burton
He grasped her hips. “Well, I didn’t record it, but I could probably make you do it again.”
She grasped his shaft in her hand and leisurely stroked it. “That confident in your abilities?”
“Yes.”
“What if I make you scream?”
He shook his head. “Not possible.”
She leveled a determined look at him. “I’m taking that as a challenge.”
“You’re not going to shackle and torture me, are you?”
She slid off his lap and knelt on the floor between his legs. “Depends on what you mean by torture.”
When she cupped his balls, he let out a short moan. “Anything you do with my dick and balls is not torture, Becks.”
She lifted her gaze to his and smiled while she gently massaged his balls, watching as his cock grew harder. “Really?”
“Okay, I take that back. I’m pretty vulnerable down there, so my life is in your hands.”
He didn’t look the least bit nervous as she played with him, teasing his shaft with her fingertip. “Wouldn’t dream of hurting you. You’re safe with me.”
Having control over Jackson’s cock was incredibly enticing. Becks wanted to pleasure him, to make him feel amazing in the same way he’d done to her.
She wanted to make him come so hard he’d lose all control.
* * *
• • •
Jackson had to admit that Becks kneeling between his thighs with his cock in her hands was the hottest sight he’d seen in a long damn time.
Until she put her mouth on him. Then that was the hottest thing he’d seen. Or felt. Definitely felt, because her mouth was liquid fire surrounding his shaft, and as she wrapped her tongue around the head of his cock, he was sure he was going to die.
If so, it was going to be the best death ever, because Becks didn’t let up, sliding her mouth over him, then rolling her tongue over the backside of his shaft.
She had moves he wasn’t prepared for, and it took all the willpower he had not to let go right then. But he wanted to hold on, to let this ride last a bit longer, because it felt too damn good to get off now.
Though his resolve weakened when Becks grasped the base of his shaft and began to stroke upward, feeding his cock deeper into the recesses of her mouth.
There was something hot as fuck about a woman who took control over your dick, who knew exactly what she was doing and didn’t ask you for direction on how to please you. All he could do was grab hold of the sofa and lift his hips to give up control, because she had him—literally and figuratively—by the balls.
He felt the tremors starting in said balls and knew he wasn’t going to be able to hold back.
“Becks. I’m gonna come.”
She took him deep, and that was all it took for him to lose it.
His entire body shook as his orgasm erupted, and he couldn’t hold back the yell of pure satisfaction. He came hard, leaving him spent and wasted.
He vaguely registered Becks getting up and moving away. When she returned, she sat next to him on the sofa, draping her arm over his shoulder.
She whispered in his ear. “You screamed.”
Since he was still trying to find his bones, he turned his head. “Did not.”
“Oh, yes. You did. I recorded it.”
He frowned. “You took video of giving me a blowjob? Let’s see it, because I could relive that every day until I die.”
“Okay, fine. I didn’t record it. But you still screamed.”
He finally found enough energy to push off from the sofa. “I might have made a slight noise.”
She went into the kitchen and filled two glasses with ice water. “Grab our clothes, will you? And you did yell.”
He gathered up their things and followed Becks up the stairs, enjoying the view of her naked body as he walked behind her. When they made it into her room, he shut the door behind them and dumped their clothes onto the chair.
He took the glass she offered him and swallowed several gulps of water before setting the glass on the nightstand. Then he grabbed hold of Becks and dragged her on top of him on the bed.
“How about this time we both scream?” he asked.
She rubbed her breasts against him. “I like that plan.”
CHAPTER 18
The sun beat down on Jackson like the seventh level of hell while fire raged all around him. His crew was battling a three-alarm warehouse fire. It was four o’clock in the afternoon, the hottest part of the day, and they weren’t getting anywhere managing this fire. This bastard of an inferno was resistant and wasn’t going down easy.
When they’d arrived they’d been the first engine on scene. The building had already been blazing hard, flames busting out windows and billowing up black smoke, making it hard to see.
Right now he was managing the scene along with Captain Mathias, who was on the street coordinating with the other stations. Jackson’s job was to keep tabs on his station’s individual firefighters, their locations and their safety.
“We’ve got two lines in the main house,” Jackson relayed to make sure his captain was kept informed, as well as all his team members. “One team’s on the main floor, one upstairs. Ladder squad is on the roof along with Ladder 24.”
“Copy,” Mathias said.
“Status, Kal,” Jackson asked.
“Roof’s hotter than Satan’s asshole. We’re venting it as fast as we can, but we’ve got concrete tiles and the work’s slow going. We’re getting there. Should have enough of the roof vented within the next ten.”
“Not fast enough. I want all of you off that roof in five.”
“Ten-four.”
Next up was his inside crew. “Check in, Hendricks.”
“Davidson and me have left quadrant covered. We’re mixing it in with Engine 15. Getting a handle on this area, sir. Fire’s about out.”
“Copy. Check in, Rafe.”
No answer, which wasn’t uncommon since the fire and the water often made hearing difficult.
“Check in, Rafe,” he said again.
He heard static, which meant Rafe was trying to respond.
“Tommy here, sir. Rafe’s got his hands full right now. We’re battling back along with the Engine 24 crew, but this son of a bitch is a fighter.”
Jackson took a deep breath. “Need extra hands?”
“No,” Rafe finally said. “We’ve got this. Engine 3 guys are coming in to assist.”
“Copy,” Jackson said.
Just then a giant flashball of flame burst from the center of the roof.
“Check in, Kal.”
“We’re on the north side. Saw that, though.”
“Get your asses off the roof now.”
“Almost finished venting.”
“Now, Kal.”
“In a minute.”
Goddammit. Jackson radioed to the lieutenant of 24. “Your ladder team coming down?”
“Already exiting.”
“Copy.”
He marched over to the north side, already steaming mad because he had to do this. Pressman and Vassar had already come down.
“Kal still up there?”
Callie Vassar nodded.
Fuck. “I’m going up. You and Pressman hit those northeast windows with a blast.”
“Yes, sir.”
He climbed up the ladder, cursing his brother the entire time. He had better things to do than babysit his asshole little brother who didn’t follow orders.
When he got to the roof, he could feel the heat radiating off the concrete. Kal was right at the edge, using his hook to pull the concrete tiles.
“I told you to exit.”
“A few more tiles and I’m done.”
“A few more tiles and this whole roof is going to blow.”
Kal shook his head. “I’ve got this. I know the situation.”
“So do I. Get your ass off this roof right now.”
Kal looked like he was going to argue, then shrugged and headed toward the ladder.
Jackson followed him down. When he got to the bottom, Kal was already at the mechanicals, maneuvering the ladder so he could hit the roof with water.
The one thing Jackson liked about his brother was that he knew how to operate in a fire, had instincts for what came next. The one bad thing was his recklessness. He always put himself in dangerous situations, and he didn’t listen.
They’d have a conversation about that, but not right now. Now there were more pressing things to tackle, like getting this out-of-control fire more under control.
And hoping he wouldn’t have to pull his attention away again to babysit his younger brother.
It took the entire day to put the fire out. Now all that was left was walking every inch of the building to look for rekindles. Jackson and his engine crew walked through the eastern side, while the other companies took the other portions of the warehouse.
The debris was considerable, so they pried loose any piles of furniture and crates to check for hot spots or hidden flames that needed to be extinguished. Walls were checked and debris torn down to be sure no heat or fire lurked. The last thing they wanted was to be called out again because the fire restarted. They put out a few hot spots, and once they walked through, walked through again, and then again, Jackson was satisfied the fire was out.
No injuries, which was great. They’d been lucky—if a fire was ever lucky—that no employees had been here because it had started before anyone had reported for work. The fire investigation team would come in to determine the cause of the fire. That wasn’t Jackson’s or his team’s job.
They met with the other companies and debriefed, then both Engine and Ladder 6 headed back to the station.
When they got back, trucks had to be washed and tools had to be inventoried and cleaned. Hoses had to be inspected, and everyone was busy. Every person in the station was doing something, including Jackson, who had pages of reports to write.
They were two hours into postfire work when he got to the next item on his to-do list. He called Kal into his office.
“You wanted to see me?” Kal asked.
“Yeah. Shut the door.”
Kal pushed the door shut. “Oh, must be serious business.”
Kal had a smirk on his face. Jackson intended to wipe it off.
He stood up from his desk and stood in front of Kal. “That stunt you pulled on the roof today put yourself and your fellow firefighters in danger.”
Kal frowned. “What stunt?”
“I told you to exit the roof. You didn’t comply on my first request.”
Kal rolled his eyes. “I was still venting. And it wasn’t like I stayed up there for an hour. I only had a few more tiles to complete the venting.”
“It’s my job to see to the safety of my firefighters, Kal, and you know that. Yet you made me come up there and force you down. While I was doing that, I couldn’t monitor the rest of the team, which potentially put them in harm’s way.”
“And if you had just left me up there I would have finished the job and you wouldn’t have had to go up there and babysit me. I’m not five years old, Jackson.”
He couldn’t believe they were having this conversation.
“Lieutenant. On the job, I’m your lieutenant, not your brother.”
He could see the anger on his brother’s face. But as he told Kal, on the job, Kal was just another firefighter. Not his brother. And he had to treat him just the way he would any other firefighter. No different.
And said firefighter had fucked up today.
“Lieutenant,” Kal said, the word dripping with sarcasm. “I know my job.”
“Do you? Because it sure as hell seemed as if you compromised the safety of your team by not following orders.”
Kal lowered his voice. “And you know as well as I do that I’m the best you’ve got on Ladder 6.”
“Not today you weren’t. Today you were careless. Today you acted like a hotshot who wanted to be a hero. Is that the job you’re looking to do?”
Kal opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, lifting his chin. “No, sir.”
“This is your one and only verbal warning. If it happens again you’ll have a written reprimand put in your record. Understood?”
Kal sucked in an angry breath. “Yes, sir.”
Jackson pivoted and returned to his desk. “You’re dismissed, Donovan.”
Kal just stood there as if there was more he wanted to say. Jackson knew there was more his brother wanted to say. But if he did, there was a chance something would be written down on his record. Arguing with your lieutenant was never a good idea. So he hoped Kal would suck it up, take the verbal reprimand and leave the office.
Kal finally turned and opened the door, closed it and walked down the hall.
Jackson felt every one of Kal’s angry steps as he watched him disappear around the corner.
He exhaled and leaned back in his chair, dragging his fingers through his hair.
Shit. The last thing he needed was discipline problems with one of his firefighters. The absolute last thing he needed was said firefighter to be his brother.
Desperately needing to get away from paperwork and thoughts of Kal, he got up from his desk and went into the break room.
Since they’d missed dinner, they had to settle for sandwiches tonight. He hadn’t gotten around to eating yet, so he made himself a turkey sandwich, threw some chips on the plate and grabbed a soda, then juggled it all on the way back his office, figuring he could eat and get more paperwork done.
When he passed by the battalion chief’s office, his dad motioned for him to come in.
“Hey, Chief.”
“Rough fire tonight.”
His dad had been there overseeing the entire situation, ready to call in more units if necessary and relaying with the other chiefs.
“Yeah, it was.”
“You all did a good job out there.”
“Thanks.” He bit into his sandwich and chewed.
“Any issues?”
He swallowed and took a sip of his soda. “Issues?”
“Yeah. Equipment failures, personnel, anything I need to know about?”
Typically Jackson would report anything to his captain, who would relay it up the chain of command to the battalion chief. So, technically, this was a breach of protocol.
“I’ll file my report with Chief Mathias before end of shift.”
His dad leaned back in his chair. “Okay, what did one of your brothers do?”
There was no hiding anything from his father. If it was routine, Jackson would have just told his father, no big deal, and he’d read the official word in the report. Dammit.
“Roof was getting too hot. I ordered Kal down. Twice. He didn’t comply so I had to go get him.”
“Dammit. You talk to him?”
“Yes.”
“Verbal or written?”
“Verbal, this time.”
Dad shook his head. “You probably should have done written. Not the first time you’ve had to talk to him.”
“Want me to correct that?”
“No. You did what you thought was right. But don’t go easy on him just because he’s your brother.”
Jackson frowned. “Do you think I treated him differently?”
“That’s not my call, Jackson. The question is, do you think you treated him differently?”
He pondered that question while he ate his sandwich and chatted with his dad about other things. He tried to let the question go, but it stayed prominent on his mind, as if he had to answer it.
“No, I don’t treat him differen
tly.”
His dad looked up from his laptop. “What?”
“Kal. Or Rafe. I don’t treat them differently. If it had been any other firefighter up there, I’d have done the same thing. I have to give them the benefit of the doubt. I know they’re doing their best out there, Chief. I was tough on Kal today. And if he does it again, he’ll get a written reprimand in his record. I made that very clear to him.”
His dad nodded. “Good enough. And I wasn’t questioning your leadership or your impartiality. I knew you were fair when I recommended you for promotion. I just wanted to make sure you knew that.”
Hearing that from his dad—from his battalion chief—meant everything. He respected his father more than anyone. “Thank you.”
They had three more calls that shift, which meant it was late by the time Jackson fell into his rack. He only had about four hours of sleep before end of shift. Rafe and Kal looked beat, too, and no one wanted to go out for breakfast. He was looking forward to getting home and face-planting in his bed.
They all got home at the same time. He noticed that Becks’s truck wasn’t there, but something smelled good in the kitchen.
“Hey, Becks left a note,” Rafe said, handing the handwritten note off to Jackson.
He read the note out loud:
Saw you all were fighting that big warehouse fire. That looked rough and I figured you’d miss a couple of meals. I’m heading into the shop today to get ready for opening tomorrow, but I made a breakfast casserole. It’s in the fridge. Have a good day.
~ B
He smiled.
“Breakfast,” Rafe said. “Nice of her to think of us. And I’m starving.”
Jackson turned to his brother. “You’re always starving.”
Rafe patted his belly. “Hey, gotta feed all this muscle.”
“You gonna eat, Kal?”
Kal shook his head and went upstairs. When his door closed, Rafe asked, “What’s up with him?”
Since personnel issues were confidential, Jackson shrugged. “No idea. Guess he’s just tired.”
Jackson wasn’t going to bring their issues home, so he was determined to ignore Kal’s mood. Instead, he went to the fridge and got out Becks’s casserole, which looked damned enticing.