In the Fire

by Eileen Griffin

  Jamie tugged at the button snaps on my chef’s jacket as he matched my urgency. He pulled it down my arms and tossed it to the floor along with my black T-shirt, smoothing his palms over my abs.

  I looked up at him as he slowly rocked his hips, his ass brushing against my erection. When I pulled his mouth down again for a kiss, Jamie’s lips parted wider, letting me in deeper, tangling his tongue with mine. He shuddered when he touched the tongue stud again. He’d always had a thing for my piercings.

  His hands curled against my sides, his nails scraping over my ribs. Jamie pulled back just enough to slide his tie loose and over his head. As he unfastened the first few buttons on his shirt, I leaned forward and dipped my tongue into the hollow of his throat. He stilled for a moment, the need between us almost unbearable, then tore at the rest of his buttons, yanking his shirt from the waist of his pants in one movement. My entire body shook with desire as he undressed. He wanted this. Wanted me.

  Jamie closed his eyes when I ran my fingers up and down his spine as he ground his cock against mine. He yanked his shirt and undershirt off, and I leaned forward and grazed his neck with my teeth.

  We both paused as the warmth of his bare chest touched mine. His body was more defined than before, but he still fit against me perfectly.

  He made an impatient sound. “Driving me crazy here.”

  He watched my face as he slid his hands up my sides, fingertips tracing the ink along my shoulders. Fuck. His nails scraped over the barbell piercings in my nipples.

  “I remember these.” Jamie’s hair tickled my chest as he leaned in to run his tongue over one of the barbells, tugging gently with his teeth as pleasure shot through my body. My fingers dug into his thighs as I ground my aching cock against his ass, cursing his pants and mine.

  “You keep that up and we’re not going to make it to the bed.”

  He smiled. “Who needs a bed when you have a table?”

  I slid my hands under his ass, squeezing hard as I lifted his weight, boosting him to sit on the table. It used to drive him crazy when I’d manhandle him like this.

  “You might owe a few more favors after this.” I grinned and hoped he wouldn’t be pissed.

  I pushed the dishes and wine glasses out of the way impatiently, not giving a shit when glass and ceramic shattered on the floor. Jamie’s eyes flashed with lust and a mixture of something deeper as I covered his body with mine, letting my weight trap him against the table. I loved the low, ragged gasp he made when I pinned his hands to the table next to his head. He was mine, had always been mine, and I felt so hollow without him.

  He pushed up against me. “Fuck, Ethan.”

  “Who needs dessert when I can have you spread out on the table?”

  His look of surprise was replaced by a deep-seated lust as he arched against me. When I loosened my grip on his wrists, he turned his palms to lay them against mine and our fingers intertwined. I missed this, feeling his hand in mine and I squeezed his fingers.

  I ground my cock against his as I brushed my lips over his, licking and nipping them. “Fucking delicious.”

  I breathed in the scent that was uniquely Jamie, woodsy and clean, as he slid his fingers into the messy length of my hair, tugging gently.

  “Ethan, please.”

  I dragged my tongue over his nipple, then closed my mouth over it. He squirmed, just like I’d known he would. I’d loved being the one who made him crazy with lust and love. Reveled in the fact he’d given me that right, then and now. “Eight years.”

  His intense expression softened and he tugged my hair again.

  “Come here, please.”

  I won’t be rushed.

  I felt his laugh rumble through his chest as he leaned up slightly to lock his eyes on mine. “I’m not rushing you, but you’re making it hard to take things slow. Emphasis on the hard part.”

  I blinked when I realized I had spoken out loud. He had to know I wanted him this much, right?

  I shook it off and dropped to my knees. As quickly as I could, I slipped off his shoes and socks. Keeping my eyes on his, I popped open the button on his pants, and slid the zipper down just enough to see his cock straining against his boxer briefs. He shrugged out of his pants as I toed off my shoes, never once breaking eye contact.

  I slid my fingers along the bulge in his boxer briefs, holding him still with the other hand as he struggled to grind against my palm. I pulled back to slip my fingers under the waistband of his briefs, sliding them completely off. Jesus, my cock ached. I got off on making him wait as a completely naked Jamie lay before me. His cock jutted heavy and thick against his stomach and made my mouth water.

  Jamie watched as I ran my thumb over the drop of pre-come that had pearled at the tip. He struggled to keep his eyes open as my fingers ghosted over the shaft. Unable to wait any longer, I reached down with my free hand to tug at my jeans. Without warning, Jamie’s hand brushed across my hip and pushed my fingers out of the way. He popped the button on my pants and just barely skimmed the throbbing erection peeking over the top of my boxers.

  He pushed all the way up and slipped his hands under my boxers and slid both them and my pants down my body, finally freeing my straining cock.

  “It’s been too damn long since I’ve touched you, Ethan.”

  The hungry look on his face as he reached out to stroke me pushed me toward the edge. I hastily kicked my pants off, then slipped my hands over his ass and pulled him to the edge of the table. The friction of our erections rubbing against each other drove my need to feel more of him even higher.

  Not wanting to waste another minute, I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth. “I don’t suppose you have any lube here.”

  He sunk his fingers deep into my hips, pulling me closer. Needy Jamie drove me insane. “In my bag. Bedroom is just through there.”

  I pulled back, not wanting to ask the question suddenly burning in my brain.

  His smile was small, but genuine. He ran his hand through my unruly hair, his nails scraping against my scalp. My eyes closed in pleasure and I leaned into Jamie’s touch. I needed this. But I needed him more. “I haven’t been with anyone else since you were in New York. I was hopeful about tonight. That’s all. Nothing more.”

  The enormity of what we were about to do suddenly hit me. If we slept together it wasn’t just sex. It was everything. I couldn’t pick the pieces up again if he decided he was done with whatever we started here. “Are you sure—”

  “Be here with me, Ethan. Focus on what’s important right now. Remember?”

  I swallowed hard. Those words had gotten me through school, but more importantly had forged a deep connection between us that still survived to this day.

  “Don’t overthink this, Ethan. We’ve done that enough. This is just you and me. Nothing else matters right now.”

  When I opened my eyes, Jamie watched me steadily. He had always been the braver one between us. I took a deep breath, nodded and took off in the direction he’d pointed. My cock throbbed as I palmed myself, trying to regain some control as I entered the suite’s master bedroom. The time for thinking would come later but right now all I could focus on was burying myself inside Jamie Lassiter as quickly as possible.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Jamie

  I watched Ethan’s ass as he went in search of my lube. Was what we were about to do the best idea? Probably not. But I couldn’t find it in myself to regret anything. He’d let down his walls long enough for me to glimpse inside and what I saw was the Ethan I’d missed. I wasn’t going to regret finally being able to savor this moment and him.

  Too impatient to wait, I followed him, chuckling under my breath as he made a triumphant noise when he found the tube of lube in my bag. I padded forward, and when he stood up I wrapped my arms around Ethan’s waist. I dragged my lips across the
ink trailing over his shoulders. “Find what you’re looking for?”

  He looked back at me, eyes twinkling, then nodded, holding up the lube for me to see. His breathing grew strained when I reached around to stroke his dick—slow, rough pulls, just the way he liked it. His head lolled back against my shoulder as I ground against his ass. Ethan had the ability to short-circuit my brain function and all I could focus on was feeling his skin against mine.

  He had gotten new ink since I’d last seen his body like this. As I set out to discover all the new images on his skin, I let my lips trace the outline of a spectacular phoenix that curled over his shoulder and ran down his back. With my hand still slowly stroking his length, I traced each curve of the bird’s wings and claws with my tongue. Though I’d had several casual relationships and a few serious ones while I was in New York, none of them had been inked, save for Alex, who had a small ankh on one of his ankles. It’d seemed like a fashion statement, something he’d only gotten to be trendy. Seeing Ethan’s body in front of me like this, a beautiful tapestry of muscle and ink, only made me want to discover everything I had missed all these years.

  My hand tightened around the base of his dick as Ethan began to rock his hips. He looked over his shoulder at me.

  “If you keep that up, this will be over before we even begin.”

  “And this is a bad thing?”

  He spread his legs wider when I rolled his balls in my palm and squeezed gently. Ethan always made the best sounds during sex. In the beginning, I was terrified of being the less experienced one in our relationship. But his loud, and sometimes embarrassing—if Claire was home—responses when I touched him made all my nerves disappear. One groan, one hiss of breath told me how much I drove him crazy with need and desire.

  He turned in my arms and dropped to his knees, pulling me close as he engulfed the head of my aching dick in his mouth. When he teased me with his tongue piercing my knees started to shake, and I buried my fingers in his hair to anchor myself. He traced the head with the metal piercing, dipping it into the slit. My whole body tensed as I tried to push back my release. I’d been without him for too long; I needed to feel Ethan inside me, anchoring me in the here and now when I lost control.

  I tugged harder when he trembled at my rough touch, then almost lost it when he licked his lips and slid his tongue along my dick. He still loved driving me crazy.

  “I need you. Now.” I sounded desperate and vulnerable, but I didn’t care.

  He slowly stood, dragging his body along the length of mine. I gripped his chin, shoving my tongue past his lips as I pushed him back against the bed and wrapped myself around him.

  I clung to his shoulders when he rolled us. Ethan yanked my legs up around his hips as he reached for the lube.

  “Gonna go insane if I don’t feel you around me.” He squirted lube on his fingers, then reached down to rub his slick fingers over my balls. I bit my lip as pleasure flooded my body. My eyes slammed closed as Ethan slid the tip of a finger inside me, gently stretching and tugging. It had been over a year since I’d been with anyone like this. Years since I’d been with anyone where it felt like this. Eight years.

  “Open your eyes, Jamie.”

  I didn’t want to open my eyes. I wanted to stay in this dream that we’d somehow stumbled into together. I’d spent more than eight years trying to fill the part of my soul that collapsed when we broke up. Knowing if I opened my eyes now, and this was all a dream, a fantasy my mind had created to have at least one part of him with me, even when I couldn’t have all of him, I’d shatter into too many pieces to be put back together again.

  Ethan was still over me, his voice softer, but more desperate. “Jamie. Please look at me. This is me inside you.”

  My body trembled under his and with more courage than I felt, I opened my eyes. His look was heated and possessive, both emotions forcing the truth from my lips.

  “You’re always inside me. Always.” I reached up to rub my thumb along his jaw, loving how sweat-dampened dark hair fell in his face. This Ethan I knew, stripped bare and raw. This was the man I’d fallen for all those years ago.

  He turned his head, nipping my thumb with his teeth as he slid a third finger inside me. My body arched and writhed as he slowly thrust them in and out as I rocked against him, helpless to do anything but hold on.

  He twisted them, pushing up and in as my whole body stiffened with pleasure, vision going white behind my eyelids. He brushed a kiss over my lips and pulled back long enough to stroke himself. His low moan echoed through me as he ripped open a condom from the stash I’d tossed in my bag. I dug my fingers into his shoulders, tugging him close so I could help him roll it on.

  When it was done, I reached up with my other hand and massaged his balls. Without taking his eyes off mine, he tilted his hips up, giving me more room. Ethan had always loved my explorations of his body, indulging in my need to touch, taste and savor every inch of him as if I was discovering something new each time we were together. As my fingers brushed across the smooth patch of skin behind his balls, his whole body shuddered. Neither one of us could wait much longer.

  “Eight fucking years without you was too fucking long, Jamie.”

  Ethan brushed my hand away and captured my lips in a bruising kiss. When we finally broke for air, he moved from between my legs and gently rolled me onto my stomach. I felt his lips on the back of my neck, lightly brushing over my shoulders. As I struggled to push back and feel more of him he nipped my shoulder blade, then continued his way down my spine. His tongue swept over the dimples above my ass, and his hand curled over my hip, slowly pulling me toward him.

  I dipped my head down toward the bed when I finally felt Ethan’s length rub against me. Taking a deep breath in, I pushed back harder, the need to feel him buried deep inside me eclipsing everything else. When I felt him hesitate, I looked over my shoulder, trying to convey how much I needed this, needed him.

  “I want this, Ethan. Right now. With you and no one else.”

  His eyes shone with more emotion than I had seen from him in so long. I wanted to drink it up and savor it, but he slowly rocked against me, the tip of his dick pressing against my ass.

  My eyes closed when he pushed harder, the head breaching my tight ring of muscle. The hiss that escaped me indicated just how long it had been since I had been intimate with anyone else. He stopped and ran his hand along my back and spine, small gentle movements to distract me from the initial pain and stretching. Taking another deep breath, I dropped my head down and pushed harder against him, relaxing my body as he slowly inched inside me.

  His fingers trailed down my back to my hip, gripping it tightly as he rolled his hips. I gasped when he began to slide back out, fisting my hands in the sheets as the slight burn gave way to pleasure. My whimpers urged him on as he rocked his hips harder, sending his dick deeper inside me.

  Ethan’s lips brushed the back of my neck and he breathed, “Fuck, I missed this.”

  “Don’t stop. You feel too good.”

  His fingers curled deeper into my hip as he thrust harder. All the frustration and sadness of our time apart fled my mind. The only thing that mattered right now was feeling as much of him as I could at this moment. We could deal with the other stuff later. Right now I just needed him to keep moving inside me, claiming me in a way no one else ever had.

  When I snaked one of my hands under me to grip my dick, Ethan released his grip on my hips, reaching under me to wrap his hand over mine. I cried out when he tightened his grip and rocked harder. The drag of his teeth along my shoulders turned into biting kisses.

  I closed my eyes, focusing on the pleasure coiled low in my stomach when Ethan pulled back.

  I felt alive in ways I hadn’t in so long as I pushed back harder against his hips. My body began to hum with energy as I got closer to my release. I was almost over the edge when he s
tilled over me. Why the hell had he stopped moving? I couldn’t bite back a sound of frustration when he slowly began to pull out, leaving me empty and aching for him.

  “Ethan?”

  He rolled me to my back. His dark eyes were hungry as he crawled between my legs, and slowly guided himself back inside me.

  “Much better.” His ragged voice sent goose bumps over my skin.

  The way his teeth sank into his lip as he thrust deep was almost enough to send me over the edge. I cried out, wrapping my legs around his thighs as I pulled him closer, desperate to feel every inch of him when his mouth found mine.

  I broke our kiss, pleasure flooding my body when he gripped my hips and tugged them off the bed. The angle sent him deeper and he hit my prostate over and over as his thrusts became more urgent. I scrabbled my hands over his neck and shoulders, pumping my hips as he slammed into me.

  As he stared down at me, I felt our connection stronger than ever. This was the Ethan I had fallen in love with. The one I knew all those years ago, the look he had reserved for me when we were alone in bed together. The memories came crashing and merging with the Ethan hovering over me, making me ache for all those years we had missed out on.

  Still deep inside me, he lowered his head and sucked my bottom lip inside his mouth. I wanted this more than anything, but the power he had over me was almost too much.

  “Ethan—”

  “Just be here with me. Right now. Just me. Everything else can wait, right?”

  When he pulled back, he reached between us and wrapped his palm around my dick. He began to stroke me, his touch confident. I struggled to keep my eyes on his, biting my lip to stave off my orgasm as long as possible. I wasn’t sure if we would ever have this again, and I needed to make it last.

  My breath hitched when he rotated his hips, pulling almost all the way out, then rocking his hips to send his dick back deep inside me. He kept up the maddeningly slow pace until I was writhing under him. I felt my balls tighten and an electric current raced down my spine.