Scorch

by Liliana Hart

  Maybe it was true what they said about misery loving company. Maybe she had a good reason to stick around after all.

  Sleep wasn’t coming.

  Lacey watched the clock on the wall and got up every hour to check on him. She was worried—he’d scared the hell out of her. She was attuned to every sound in the house, and when she heard the squeak of a floorboard she threw back the covers and headed toward his room.

  She hadn’t wanted to go home for a change of clothes, afraid to leave for even a short amount of time, so she wore the white tank she’d been wearing under her clothes and her panties to sleep in.

  The door to Shane’s room was cracked, as she’d left it, and his light was out. But she knew there was displacement in the space as soon as she stuck her head in. There was no light coming from the bathroom, so she turned toward the window and saw his shadow against the moonlight.

  “What are you doing up?” she asked.

  “Just wondering how many times you’re going to come check on me and keep me awake,” he said. “I’m a SEAL. I’m trained to wake up when something moves.”

  “So you were just faking the snores then?” she asked.

  “It was enough to fool you.” He let the silence lapse for several seconds, and she almost turned around and went back to the couch. But then he surprised her by saying, “I wouldn’t have done it, you know? It’s not in my makeup to quit. I might want to sometimes, but I wouldn’t. You and I both know the suicide statistics of vets that come back after war and can’t adjust to civilian life. And we know that those who think of it, but never follow through, is an even higher percentage. How many men and women do you know who’ve served that have held the gun in their lap, just staring at it? Or further yet, put it to their temple?”

  “Several,” she answered. “It’s something that many who suffer from PTSD struggle with, from local law enforcement to special operations to field agents. It’s the reality of what we deal with on a daily basis.”

  She could see his head nod in the darkness and she moved into the room a little more.

  “We all have the thoughts,” Shane said. “It’s whether or not they’re acted upon. I know for certain I have a future. What I don’t know is what it will be.”

  “You’ll know when you know. It hasn’t been that long since the accident. Don’t try to rush it, but at the same time, you can’t sit around with nothing to accomplish. A man like you has to have a purpose, otherwise he withers away.”

  He snorted out a half-laugh, half-sigh. “Today’s been the first day since I’ve met you that I’ve sat on my ass and done nothing. You’re worse than any instructor I’ve ever known at the Naval Academy.”

  “Thank you,” she said, deciding to take it as a compliment.

  He moved just a little to the left, enough so she could see him better in the moonlight. Her breath caught at the beauty of him. His chest was bare and the gym shorts he wore hung low on his hips.

  He took a step toward her and the crutch caught on the chair leg and fell to the ground. She went automatically to pick it up for him, but as soon as she moved closer his hand latched onto her wrist and he pulled her closer.

  “You did that on purpose,” she accused.

  “Of course I did. You told me a man like me needs to have a purpose. I just thought of one.”

  Her brows raised at that. “Oh did you?” she asked. “Very subtle, MacKenzie.”

  His smile was wolfish as he brought her closer, so her nipples barely brushed the hair on his chest. They were both adults and there was no doubt what was happening between them. The question was what to do about it afterward. Could she take just one taste of him and go back to the way things were before?

  “I never pretended to be subtle,” he said.

  He dropped his hands to his sides and lowered his head, so their mouths were close to touching. She could feel the heat from his body, the warmth of his breath as it feathered across her lips. Her breasts were heavy, and she’d had about all the foreplay she could stand over the last couple of weeks.

  “Tell me straight out,” she said, bringing her hands up so they rested softly at his waist, her fingers toying with the elastic band of his shorts. She was no shrinking violet and would give as much as she got. “What do you want from me, Shane?”

  His growl was low in his throat and he leaned closer to nip at her bottom lip, sending a bolt of lightning straight through her. “I want from you what I’ve wanted from the first second I saw you, and your sorceress eyes captivated me.”

  This time it was she who nipped at his lips, and she loved the way he growled at her aggression. “I thought you liked women with a little meat on their bones,” she taunted.

  “I just said that because you were driving me crazy. My cock has been hard since I met you.”

  “I’ve noticed.” She’d never given much thought to her body until Shane had said that that day. She’d always been small—petite—as her mother liked to say. But she was built like an athlete, no hips and barely a B-cup to speak much of, and she was lean with muscle.

  Enough thinking. She decided to take matters into her own hands and pulled the thin tank top over her head so she stood only in her panties.

  He groaned as he stared at her, and then grabbed her by the hips and lifted her so his cock was wedged against her clit. His strength was unbelievable as he held her, balancing them both, and then his head lowered and he took a nipple into his mouth and she lost her mind with the pleasure.

  His hands palmed her ass as her hands tangled in his hair. Before she knew it, he’d released her breast and set her back on the floor. His blue eyes were wild with passion and a light sheen of sweat covered his skin. He pushed down his gym shorts, and she couldn’t help but lick her lips. His cock was fucking beautiful. That’s the only way she could think to describe it. And it was about to be hers. Thick and hard it rested against his thigh, and she knew he’d be a tight, marvelous fit.

  “I really love your ass,” he said. “Watching you bend over has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life so far. It’s so round. Fits perfectly in my hands.”

  “I’m glad the squats have finally paid off,” she panted.

  There was a wooden chair next to a small round table just behind him, and he maneuvered so he sat in the chair. He took his cock in hand and held it tight and stared at her out of eyes so hot with need they almost scorched her.

  She put her thumbs at the edge of the plain cotton underwear she wore and pushed them down so they fell to her ankles. And then she stood completely naked before him and let him look his fill.

  “Tell me,” she said, moving toward him. “What were you thinking about that day I caught you in the shower?”

  “This,” he rasped. “With you.”

  “Tell me,” she said.

  “I imagined you kneeling in front of me, my hand in your hair as you sucked my cock.”

  “Hmm.” She moved between his open thighs and knelt in front of him on the floor. “Like this?” she asked.

  “Almost,” he said, his full, seductive mouth curling in a smile. “Almost, baby.”

  She smiled back and her hands went to his thighs, her nails biting into his flesh. And then she leaned forward and her tongue traced the underside of his cock.

  “Oh sweet Jesus,” he said, throwing back his head.

  And then her mouth opened wide and she took him down, tasting the salty pre-cum that had gathered at the head of his cock. Her mouth was stretched to the limit, and she used her tongue and saliva to take as much of him as she could. And then she started the process over again, eventually taking him all the way to the root.

  His hand was tangled in her hair and his hips flexed as he fucked her mouth in time with her own movements. And then she pulled back with a soft, wet pop and said, “Then what happened?” Her voice was husky, lower than usual, and her tongue nipped back for a quick lick of his cream. “Is that how you came in your fantasy? Did I swallow every drop of you? Did you come on my
breasts? Tell me,” she demanded.

  Her pussy was throbbing and soaking wet, and she knew it wouldn’t be long before she was coming herself.

  He tugged at her hair and she took the hint and stood up. “Then you rode me,” he said, pulling her toward him.

  “Oh did I?” she asked, brow arched. “There are all kinds of rides, now aren’t there?”

  His nostrils flared and his eyes dilated so they looked black. “What do you have in mind?”

  “I don’t want you to think you know what’s coming because of your little shower fantasy. I like to be more unpredictable than that.”

  “You’re anything but predictable, baby. Who would have thought there was so much kink under those no-nonsense scrubs?”

  She smiled and trailed her finger across his skin as she circled to the back of him. And then before he knew it she’d put her foot on the back rung and tilted the chair so he was on his back.

  He rolled to the side and she kicked the chair out of the way, knocking it into the table and bringing the small vase of flowers on it crashing to the floor. And then they were on each other like animals, rolling and pulling sheets and anything else that got in their way into a tangle on the floor.

  His fingers bit into her hips and his mouth latched onto her breast and she threw her head back, letting out a long low moan at the liquid tugs that she felt directly in her clit. She felt the head of his cock probe her opening, but maneuvered out of the way and laughed as he cursed her.

  “I told you there’s more than one way to ride,” she said, crawling up his body so her knees were planted on his shoulders.

  “So I see,” he said, and his hands grabbed her ass and pulled her forward, so her pussy rested just above his mouth. And then his tongue did something miraculous and she lost all sense of equilibrium. Her head fell forward and her hips slid back and forth as his mouth destroyed her, his tongue flicking over her clit with each pass until her back bowed and the white-hot light of orgasm ripped through her.

  Lacey cried out as her body shook, and she didn’t notice as he flipped their positions again and she was on her back, the fallen bed sheets a tangle beneath her. He didn’t give her a chance to recover. Her pussy was still throbbing, still spasming as he began pushing inside her.

  “Christ, you’re so tight,” he said, sweat gathering on his brow at the strain of holding back.

  She brought her knees up so they were at her shoulders and entry would be easier, and then finally he was all the way inside. She was full—had never been so full in her life—and they lay there for a moment, adjusting to each other as their hearts banged in their chests.

  And then Shane started to move and her eyes rolled back in her head. Her moans grew louder and things crashed around them as her hands reached out for something solid to hold onto. He was relentless and his stare was intense as he looked into her eyes, pushing her higher and higher with every thrust.

  “Shane,” she screamed, as her pussy clamped around him like a vise. Her body felt liquid from the inside out. Her nails dug into his shoulders and her heels pressed against his flanks. She felt his cock get impossibly harder—bigger—and he called out her name before taking her mouth in a searing hot kiss and emptying himself into her.

  She was too exhausted and weak to move, but all she could think was that she couldn’t wait to do it again.

  “Are you going to tell me about it?” Shane asked later, trailing his finger down her spine and enjoying the way she arched into him. They’d somehow made it to the bed after another bout on the floor, but the covers were long gone. His body heat was keeping her warm.

  “Fourteen is a critical age for girls. Everything is a life or death situation. Every feeling is intensified a thousand-fold as you’re right on that cusp between still being a child but so close to being an adult.”

  “And when you were fourteen, you hadn’t been a child in a long time.”

  She let out a long breath of relief that she didn’t have to explain it to him. The pressure. The coldness from her parents. That she might has well have been bred and born in a lab somewhere. Even animals had greater affection for their young than her parents had for her.

  “It was a long time ago, and thank God someone found me. It was a regrettable decision made in an instant. What seems hopeless in one single moment will never stay hopeless for long. Our minds, and surroundings, and circumstances are always evolving. Every day brings new possibilities.”

  “That seems rather philosophical for a hardcore scientist like yourself.”

  “Not philosophical,” she said. “But as I see it, there are seven billion people in this world. To think that any life is without purpose or worth is absurd. We all come from various backgrounds. Advantages and disadvantages. Somewhere there’s an impoverished child who holds the cure for cancer. An abused woman who will start a shelter and save hundreds of lives. It’s how we learn from the life we’re given and what we do with it that matters.”

  “I’m not too keen on thinking what life would be like if you’d been successful at your attempt,” he said.

  “Four years later, I was enlisted and on the battlefield. The years of classroom training, learning the languages…it all helped me save lives. And I realized very quickly after the first time I kept a man from bleeding out that if I’d been successful in my attempt, there might have been other medics with Private Gordon, but they might not have been as good as I was, and he might have died that day.

  “The legacy lives on much longer than what we see. It’s just the click of a camera button. An instant photograph of time that can affect everything or nothing. Private Gordon was honorably discharged soon after that, and made a full recovery back in New York where he was from. He married his high school sweetheart, and became a firefighter in a small firehouse in Greenwich Village. He and the others from his house saved more than fifty lives when the towers fell on 9/11. He never made it back home to his sweetheart.”

  His arm tightened around her and he held her close, but he didn’t say anything.

  “Think of how many lives you’ve saved,” she told him. “How many catastrophes that were averted because of you, and how much evil has been destroyed. Those characteristics are intrinsic to your nature. They’ll always be there. There will be more lives you’ll save. More evil you’ll stop, and more catastrophes that you’ll avert in this next phase of your life. You might have easily been killed during that explosion. You died twice and were brought back by modern medicine. That seems a very strong indicator to me that there will be greatness from you down the road.”

  Her eyes fluttered closed and she stifled a yawn. And just as she was drifting off she thought she heard him say, “This moment right here is pretty great.” And then he kissed her softly on top of the head.

  Chapter 15

  Lacey’s eyes opened as the sun was rising, just like they did every morning. Only this morning an arm was wrapped tightly around her waist and an erection was pressing rather insistently against her bottom.

  “Well, good morning,” she said and smiled as he chuckled in her ear.

  And then he lifted her leg and probed against her, her morning wetness making the intrusion easier. She was sore, but in a good way. And she moved against him as he loved her slowly, his mouth and teeth nibbling her neck and ears, and his fingers tweaking her nipples before making their way to her clit.

  He’d touched every part of her during the night. Invaded her mind, body, and soul. And there was no turning back now. She’d let him breach her walls. She was well and truly in love with Shane MacKenzie.

  “You’ve made me insatiable,” he growled in her ear. “I keep thinking each time will have to be the last so we can rest, but I touch you and I’m hard again.”

  “Mmmhmm,” she moaned. “I like it when you touch me.”

  “I can tell. My ears are still ringing from your screams.” He bit at her neck and she gasped and shivered. “This is just the beginning. Your pussy is like a drug. I’m going to
want it anytime and anywhere.”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “And I’m going to want that cock anytime and anywhere too.”

  He laughed and rubbed her clit a little faster. “I hope so, baby. When I was watching you shoot at the range the other day I wanted to fuck you so bad. I love the way your ass looks in those pants. You were just begging to be bent over where you were standing. The next time we’re there I’m going to fuck you that way.”

  She shivered and her nipples tightened to tiny pebbles at the thought. She could see it perfectly.

  “Have you ever been fucked in that perfect ass, sweetheart?”

  “Yes,” she panted. “And I love it. But never by someone as big as you.”

  “I knew you would love it,” he said, thrusting a little harder. “That ass just begs for it. I’m glad you’re not a novice, because I don’t know how patient I can be.”

  “There’s not another orgasm like it,” she panted. “Sometimes I pass out, it’s so strong.”

  “God, baby. I’ll take your ass soon. And I’ll fill it up. Just like I’m about to do to that sweet pussy.”

  “Hurry, hurry,” she panted. “Fuck me.”

  It didn’t take much to send them both over the edge.

  They were only a little late to breakfast and physical therapy. This was new territory for her. The relationships she’d had in the past never overlapped with her work. Her personal life and work life had always been two very separate things. But here she was, with Shane, and from his own mouth she knew they’d very much be mixing work and pleasure.

  Breakfast was mostly spent in silence, and there was a brief moment where she wondered if the sex had messed up their ability to have great conversations.

  “You’re thinking so hard you’re giving me a headache,” he finally said. “And you know what? I actually hate oatmeal. Why do I keep getting it?”

  “It’s good for you. Sticks to your stomach.”