She pointed a finger at him. “I use the facts.”
“I guess knowing you since you had brown hair doesn’t count for anything.” He hadn’t seen her natural hair since high school. He liked the colors. It fit Sloane. Would still find her just as hot if she dyed her hair unicorn colors.
“We don’t speak of a time before hair dye,” she said in a hushed conspiratorial tone.
“I guess we’ll also forget that cute chipmunk picture when you got your wisdom teeth out.” He remembered that day. He’d driven Erin over to Sloane’s house with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Poor Sloane was draped over her couch, cheeks swollen, looking absolutely miserable. Her face had brightened when she’d seen the ice cream in his hand. He wondered if she was still fond of Chunky Monkey.
“You’re such an asshole sometimes.” She paused and took a bite of her fajitas. Her face softened when she said, “Thank you for convincing me to bail tonight.”
“No problem.”
“I mean, it’s not every day that the fire department makes personal calls.” Her lips twitched.
“I could have carried you out over my shoulder, but I decided that’d be a bit much. Plus, I wouldn’t want to make the guy feel too bad. You were already doing a great job of that.”
Her lips twitched again. Even a semblance of a smile was a sucker punch to his gut. “Is that what you do to women? Just use brute force and they all swoon?”
“Is that what you like? That I’m a brute?”
“I like my firefighters with finesse. You never know when you’ll need a delicate touch.” Her finger traced across the rim of her plate, and he was thankful for the table covering his thickening cock. He tried to shake images of those bright purple nails wrapped around him, stroking him off.
“I know how to be gentle when needed. Make them squirm under my touch.” He took a bite of his chili colorado, and Sloane’s eyes followed his lips. She swallowed hard. Yeah, he was moving himself out of the friend zone. It was his goddamn mission. “I can get very creative with my fingers. My mouth.”
He’d love to show her just what he could do with his mouth. Make her back arch. Cry out his name.
She took a sip of water, her face turning a deeper shade of pink. “We are talking about firefighting, right?”
“Of course. What did you think I was talking about, Smurfette? Get your mind out of the gutter.”
“Right.” She let out a shuddering breath and shifted in her seat.
Yeah, he was getting out of that friend zone.
Twenty minutes later, they finished up their meal, and Reece walked Sloane back to her apartment.
“We good now with the favors?” He didn’t actually want to be done with them. He liked having an excuse to see her. But he also would like his job to go back to normal.
“Not a chance. I’m still decorating your apartment. Your act of chivalry was not of my asking.”
“I forgot. Smurfette is too good to beg for help.”
“I don’t beg. Especially for you.”
He eyed her. “I bet I could change that.”
Their light mood evaporated, and his reaction to her was becoming evident. She swallowed hard, and her eyes widened. And an image of her beneath him—legs wrapped around his waist, begging for him—washed over him.
“I’d like to see you try,” she said.
He quirked a brow. “You know what happened the last time you said something like that.” He moved closer, his body pressing against her soft curves. “You try to act like I don’t affect you, but I can see it in your eyes.” He leaned down and lowered his voice. “How bad you want my face between your thighs. I want to lick you until you beg me to stop, until you’re riding my face.”
She mashed her lips together, pink filling her cheeks.
“That’s just me getting started. You play it off like you don’t care, Sloane, but I can see how bad you want it. You deserve to be worshipped, and I’d make sure every inch of you is explored. I won’t stop until my name comes from your lips.”
He pressed his throbbing cock against her stomach, and she let out a whimper.
Fuck. He was getting himself worked up, just imagining exactly what he’d do to her. How her nails would pull at his hair as he rolled his tongue over her.
“Seriously, look what you do to me. How is it one minute you can be so sweet, and the next I want to throttle you?”
He liked the honesty. Made it hotter to know he affected her this way.
“Throttling.” He grinned. “I knew you were into the kinky shit.”
“Did anyone ever tell you that you have a sharp tongue?”
“Nobody has ever complained about my tongue.” He arched a brow, and his nostrils flared.
In an instant, he took a step forward, only a wisp of air between them.
“Look at you, Mr. Badass Firefighter. You think you can intimidate me.”
“Will you shut up for just one minute, Sloane?” He leaned down until his forehead touched hers.
“Make me,” she breathed.
Challenge accepted.
Once those words slipped out of Sloane’s mouth, Reece closed the space between them, his body pressing into her, moving her backward until her shoulders hit the wall. They were still lingering outside her apartment door, right out in the open where anyone in her hall could witness. His fingers combed through her hair, and she was staring up at his eyes. Hungry. Wanting. She bet that the same was reflected back in her own. She tilted her chin up as he leaned down. Their faces were inches apart, and the peppermint from Reece’s gum mingled with her breath. He probably tasted like a candy cane. Something so sweet on such a bad mouth seemed so wrong. She wanted to taste him.
Her tongue darted across her lips to wet them, and her pulse hummed in her ears. His eyes searched hers for a moment. Calculating. No. She’d made her own rules.
She closed the gap between them, her lips on his, soft and warm. But nothing about this kiss was soft. Her lips parted, and Reece’s followed suit. Her tongue swept into his mouth, and then they were fighting for control. His breath sped up, and the grip of his fingers in her hair tightened, like he was fighting for the last shred of control. Strong hands drifted down, skimming her neck, inching down her curves until they moved to cup her ass. He pulled her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing her harder into the wall.
Everything in Sloane went liquid. The space between her thighs throbbed as she moved against Reece. The promises that had just come out of his mouth—she wanted him to keep those. To make her mind go blissfully blank. Everything ached to be closer, needing more. A groan ripped out of him.
She hadn’t been kissed like this since . . . well, ever. The way his mouth moved over her, it devoured her. He wasn’t gentle. He was demanding. And Lord help her, in that moment, Sloane was willing to cave to anything that Reece asked.
After a long moment, Reece slowly pulled back, eyes hooded, his lips swollen. He was the embodiment of sin. She’d have to do a heck of a lot of Hail Marys to atone for the thoughts going on in her head right now.
Crap. There was no stopping now. Any voice of reason floated away like wishes on a dandelion puff.
She grabbed his face, feverishly kissing him, only pulling away to jam the key in her door and open it.
They spilled into her entryway, Reece’s fingers working at the button of her jeans, his other hand slowly lowering the zipper.
He pulled back, breathing hard. “Tell me to slow down, Sloane, and I will.”
Was he actually insane? The shuttle to Pound Town had left the station. There was no return ticket. “Why the hell would I do that?”
His lips curved into a wicked grin, and he carried her to the kitchen and set her down on the counter. With her jeans already unzipped, he pulled them off with efficient grace, along with her panties, until she was bared for him on the counter.
“Damn, Sloane.” He kissed down her neck, his fingers slipping underneath the straps of her tank top, yanking th
em down until her breasts were exposed. He pulled back, his eyes raking over her, glazing with lust. That one look sent a wave of heat between her thighs.
His face closed the distance, and his warm tongue swirled around her nipple. “Like I said earlier, I can be very gentle.” His teeth lightly grazed her skin, then nipped. Her hips bucked in response. “Or do you need a rougher touch?” He suckled harder, and sparks of pleasure exploded behind her eyes.
A gasp escaped her lips, and she moved closer to him, his tongue and teeth punishing her. “Oh. Wow. Yeah. That.” She’d been reduced to one-word answers. She’d never done anything in any place other than a bedroom before. The cold granite bit into her ass. It seemed so forbidden.
He worked his way down her stomach and kneeled on the floor and grabbed her legs, placing them over his shoulders.
“Reece, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want—”
“Smurfette.” He looked up at her with intense hazel eyes that sent a fresh curl of lust blooming under her skin. “Let me get a taste. I’ve been dying to do this.” And with that, his tongue was on her, flicking over her center.
Her head knocked back against the cupboard, and warmth flooded her, her body going hot and tingly. Lord, this was probably a bad decision, but she couldn’t find it in herself to really care at this moment. Not with strong hands cupping her thighs and his lips on her skin. His tongue circled her clit, and she cried out, her foot knocking something off the counter. She peered down and saw the bottle of chocolate sauce she’d used on her ice cream last night splattered on the floor.
“I like your idea of dessert,” he said. He reached down and picked up the bottle, giving her a wicked smile.
Oh, she liked that smile. It promised hair-pulling, panting, using-the-Lord’s-name-in-vain things.
He drizzled the chocolate down her stomach, down farther until the cool liquid trickled onto the space between her thighs. Reece moved to her stomach, lapping at her with long, languid strokes while his fingers tweaked at her nipples.
Slowly, he worked down her body, sweeping up the chocolate with his tongue. The heat of his tongue trailing across her skin made her nipples pucker. Warmth bloomed at her core as his mouth hovered over her, and then his tongue was on her, relentless. The familiar climb toward bliss created an ache, one that Reece was about to fix. His hands skimmed down her body until a finger slid between her thighs and entered her. His other hand gripped her hip, pulling her closer, his tongue hitting a spot that sent her past the point of no return.
“Oh God. Reece.” She grabbed at his hair, and he looked up at her, his eyes crinkled in pure delight. And then she spiraled, her eyes scrunching shut, stars sparking behind them. She rode out the wave of ecstasy, grinding shamelessly against Reece, and he groaned in response.
She was left breathless, panting on the counter when Reece stood. He pressed a kiss to her neck, to her cheek, and then her lips. If his hand wasn’t on her thigh right now, she might float away.
“And that’s how a good date should end. Let me know when your next date is so I can crash that one too,” he whispered into her ear.
She smacked his chest. But she was too tired to argue. He’d more than kept his promise. And now that she knew how good it could be, she didn’t want to go back to the way things used to be between them.
“Do you . . . uh . . .” She was trying to find out if he wanted anything in return. That was how it had worked with previous relationships. Expectations and all.
“No way. Seeing you fall apart because of me was more than enough.” He pulled her into a kiss, and she could still taste herself on his lips. The thought made her flush. “I’m going to head home. I have to take Peaches out.”
He grabbed her hand, and she hopped down from the counter, pulling on her pants. She walked him to the door, still feeling like she was having an out-of-body experience, her limbs languid.
He turned to her. “I know you don’t need saving, Sloane. But it’s okay to show people you’re vulnerable.”
And with that, he turned and made his way to the elevator.
Sloane closed the door and threw herself on the couch, blowing out a shuddering breath. Her fingers found their way to her lips, and she smiled. What the heck was that?
Reece made it back to his apartment in record time. He needed to take a cold shower, stat. He hadn’t been expecting the night to end this way. When Erin had come over earlier to tell him about Sloane’s date, he thought maybe he could catch her afterward, give her a hard time. But when her lips touched his, something sparked in his blood, setting fire running up his veins.
Peaches greeted him, and he had a towel ready by the door to catch the pee that flew toward his shoes. Ha. It was getting easier, and he did like the little pooch around. The towel came up dry. “You’re learning, girl.” A swell of pride puffed in his chest.
He gave her a scratch behind the ears. He most likely had only a few more days left with her, and that didn’t sit well with him. They’d gotten into a routine, and if there was one thing he hated, it was breaking up a good schedule.
After taking her out for a bathroom break, he unleashed her and tore off his beanie and shirt. His pants and boxers followed quickly after as he made his way to the shower.
It was smart that he’d left when he had. The trust that he had in himself wavered around her. He could have continued, taken her to the bedroom, and given her what they both wanted, but she deserved better than that. More. He just wasn’t sure he was ready for that jump. Just weeks ago, they hadn’t even been on speaking terms.
He started the water and stared at himself in the mirror. His eyes were wider than normal. His face was flushed. He attributed that last one to the fact that it was freezing outside. When the hot water had steamed up the mirror, he put his head under the water, closing his eyes as he put his head under the spray. He reached for the soap and lathered up his hands, staring at his fingers. They’d been inside her not even thirty minutes ago. He groaned. He could still hear her voice crying out his name as his tongue flicked over her.
His fingers found their way to his throbbing cock. He thought about Sloane. How her hands had roamed over him. How she’d writhed on the kitchen counter, crying out his name as he licked her clean. He’d never been so hard in his life. His soaped hand wrapped around his cock, and he groaned as his grip tightened, and he pulled from shaft to head.
She’d been so tight around his finger. That sweet pussy would wreck his cock. That, and her pretty purple nails would be the end of him. She had delicate hands, ones that were steady enough to fix his injuries, but he didn’t doubt for a second they’d be firm, punishing while wrapped around him. He knocked his head against the tile, slicking his hand up and down.
He’d give anything for her to be here right now. If he hadn’t kicked himself out, maybe they’d be doing this right now.
“Shit,” he ground out.
Everything about Sloane did it for him. The way her wicked tongue threw out insults. How he knew she cared for him under all that bluster. The way her blue hair framed her gorgeous face. Those luscious curves. They were mouthwatering. He liked that she wasn’t rail thin. The way her hips filled out her yoga pants. How his hands itched to grab her gorgeously round ass. He couldn’t get her out of his mind.
He stroked harder, everything growing tighter.
He finally released and sucked in a jagged breath as the warm water began to turn cold.
This woman was trouble. And he was heading full force into a train wreck.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Reece had a rule when it came to women. One night and that was it. No more texting. No calls. No emails.
He was breaking all that and more today and didn’t care. It’d been less than twelve hours since he’d seen Sloane, and he was already going through withdrawal. He pulled out his phone and tapped out a message to her.
Reece: How’s it going?
Sloane: I’m still cleaning chocolate sauce out of my grout.
<
br /> A smile twitched at Reece’s lips, remembering how it had spilled everywhere when Sloane had knocked it from the counter.
Reece: It was delicious. And so were you. In fact, I can’t think of anything I’d rather eat right now.
His pulse thundered in his temples as soon as he hit “Send.” It’d been a long time since he’d done this. Wanted something more. Given himself the chance to hope. When she didn’t respond for a couple of minutes, he was kicking himself for being too forward. Damn it, how had he gone from never wanting anything past a night with a woman to sweating over a text? Sloane had driven him absolutely mad.
Just as he was about to apologize, a text came through.
Sloane: I’d like that.
Sloane: But I have other plans for you today.
Reece: Such as?
Sloane: Time to decorate your apartment.
Reece groaned. But a promise was a promise. And he wouldn’t pass up more time with her.
Reece: Fine. Do your worst.
Two hours later, he picked her up from her apartment, and they ended up at a place downtown that Sloane swore by. It was the type of place that had throw pillows and candleholders in the shape of giraffes. A store that Reece would never set foot in of his own accord.
They were currently in aisle three, arguing over his bedroom decor. Or lack thereof, according to Sloane. “I’m not getting a goose-feather comforter. What’s wrong with the one I have?” he said.
“It’s cozy.” She hugged it to her chest. “Perfect for snuggling. You do like snuggling, yes?”
If it involved Sloane, then yes. Bring on the snuggles.
She tilted her head, and Reece had a hard time concentrating on the task at hand. Her hair was pulled back into a braid that hung over one shoulder, and she wore a white beanie that was both cute and sexy at the same time. He debated taking her to a deserted aisle and showing her all the other things he’d rather be doing right now.
She sighed. “This isn’t going to work if you stick your nose up at everything.”
Up In Flames (Flirting with Fire Book 2) Page 20