That Snowy Night (Into The Fire Book 11)

by J. H. Croix

  I heard him groan, murmuring, “Sweetheart.”

  Opening my lips, I sucked on his cock, sliding down slowly as I took him into my mouth fully. The salty tang of him danced across my tongue as I settled in. Gripping the base, I teased my tongue along the underside, creating suction with every stroke.

  Alex muttered something roughly. His hand tangled in my hair, and I savored the sharp sting on my scalp. I felt his cock swell, and then he was gasping my name. I lifted my head as I dragged my tongue up once more.

  “Delilah.” His eyes were wild and dark on mine.

  “Mm-hmm?” Another tease of my tongue around the thick crown of his cock.

  “I want to be inside you,” he said bluntly.

  He could be a little bossy, and I didn’t mind it, not one bit. My libido thought it was the best thing ever. I didn’t even think. I slowly straightened, and before I knew it, he had me bent over the couch with my hands digging into the cushions.

  I savored the sting of his palm on my bottom when he lightly slapped it. His fingers teased between my legs. I was drenched, the juices of my arousal slick on my thighs.

  “You like that,” he murmured when he nipped my earlobe.

  Biting my lip, I tried to hold in my whimper, but I couldn’t. Alex took the best care of me when it came to this. I felt empty, desperate for him to fill me, to assuage the need sizzling through my body.

  His palm slid over my bottom, squeezing me, and I felt the tease of his fingers along my swollen pussy. “Alex,” I begged.

  “Tell me what you need.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Alex

  “You, I need you,” Delilah gasped.

  I couldn’t tease her any longer. I was already too close to the end of my tether. Ever since she’d nearly pushed me over the edge with her naughty mouth, I’d been clinging to my control.

  I gripped my cock in my fist, looking down at her pink, glistening pussy. With her bent over, and her lush bottom tipped up, need sizzled at the base of my spine, my balls already tightening in anticipation. Reaching into my back pocket, I snagged the condom I’d tucked in my wallet earlier tonight—because I’d learned I needed to be prepared at all times when I was with her.

  I smoothed it on and dragged my cockhead through her juices. She arched her back more deeply, raising her bottom. “Alex.” Her voice was frayed, ragged with desire.

  I filled her in one deep stroke, gripping her hip with my hand as she let out a low cry. I forced myself to hold still for a minute, gritting my teeth as her channel rippled around my cock. She didn’t let me stay still for long, not when she pushed back against me.

  Drawing back, I stroked into her snug core, my ferocious need for her sizzling through me. She was already at the edge. I could feel it as she clamped around me. Curling over her, I reached around and teased my fingers over her swollen clit.

  She came in a noisy rush, gasping my name between broken cries. I could barely hear her when my own release crashed over me.

  My breath came in heaves as the intensity subsided, like the tide slowly rolling out. After a minute, I pulled myself together and lifted her into my arms.

  Waking up with Delilah was something I could get used to. The last morning before the day she was supposed to leave, I woke before her. The days were already getting noticeably longer here in Alaska. Sunshine fell through the windows in my bedroom in a bright, golden spring light.

  Propping myself up on an elbow, I looked down at Delilah. Her dark hair was tangled on the pillow. She was curled on her side with her bottom nestled against my arousal. I was forever waking up with a hard-on with her. My body knew what it wanted.

  I loved seeing her asleep because the lines of tension smoothed away from her face, and she looked so unguarded. Her cheeks were a little flushed, and her hands were curled up under her chin. My heart gave a wobbly thump in my chest. I didn’t want tomorrow to come. I didn’t want her to leave.

  We had lunch at Firehouse Café. “It’s my favorite place in Willow Brook,” Delilah had said.

  She’d arrived only six days ago, yet today, I was realizing just how comfortable I’d become with her presence. On the one hand, it felt as if she’d been here much longer. On the other, it felt as if we’d only had a fraction of the time I wanted with her. My internal calculation of time didn’t matter, not one iota, because she was leaving tomorrow.

  Janet stopped by our table to pick up our plates. Her cheeks plumped with her smile as she looked back and forth between us with her brown eyes twinkling. “Now, Delilah, I hear you’re trying to decide between your internship at the emergency department or at the family clinic. What are you thinking?”

  Delilah looked startled. Her eyes widened, her mouth parting before she closed it quickly. “I definitely don’t know,” she finally said.

  An uneasy feeling slithered up my spine. I knew she didn’t know, but I wanted her to know.

  A few minutes later, we climbed in my truck. Delilah was quiet as I started it up and turned out of the parking lot in the direction of my parents’ place, which was on the way home.

  Out of nowhere, or so it felt, Delilah asked, “Are you telling people I’m coming back for my internship?”

  Fuck. I did not need Delilah getting more squirrelly than she already was about this.

  “I haven’t said anything to anyone. I’m guessing you should ask Holly or Rachel about that. Holly is the likely culprit.”

  Delilah was quiet long enough that I stole a glance at her. She was looking out the window, those familiar lines of tension around her mouth with her shoulders held stiffly.

  “Are you even thinking about it?” I heard myself asking.

  I didn’t see it because I looked ahead again, but I felt Delilah’s head whip in my direction. “I don’t know. Obviously with people asking about it, I’m thinking about it. But what are we doing? Alex. It seems crazy to me to move across the country. The only reason I would come here would be because of you.”

  I looked her way, practically feeling the burn of her gaze. “I would move across the country for you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Delilah

  May

  I would move across the country for you.

  That one sentence from Alex had been spinning a circle in my thoughts for weeks. I felt a little crazy.

  I took one last look at my father, who was sound asleep and had been for the entirety of my visit this afternoon, before standing and leaving the room quietly. My mother was in the kitchen planting seedlings in her flower boxes. She would put them out to hang on her deck railings soon.

  She looked up, her eyes meeting mine as I crossed into the kitchen. “He still sleeping?”

  I nodded. “Oh, yeah. When he’s awake, how is he doing?”

  My mother looked down as she carefully used her fingertips to pat the soil. “He’s only awake for an hour here and there. I think he mostly feels tired. They’re giving him enough pain medication that I don’t think he’s in a lot of pain, so for that, I’m grateful.” She looked up at me again as she dusted the potting soil off her fingertips. “How are you?”

  “I’m okay. Do we have any updates from his doctor or the hospice program?”

  “Nothing new. They don’t expect him to make it for more than a few months. That hasn’t changed.”

  “Isn’t that what they said when he was first diagnosed?”

  My mother stood and crossed to the sink where she rinsed her hands as she replied, “That is what they said. The nurses tell me they’ve seen cases with someone this far along where they dwindle a while before finally passing.” My mother turned and dried her hands on a dish towel before hanging it over the oven handle.

  I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Okay. I just wish we knew more.”

  My mother cocked her head to the side. “Do you want to know exactly when he’s going to pass? Hon, life very rarely gives us guarantees like that. We are all guaranteed to die, but precisely when is ha
rd to know. Even with someone as sick as your father.”

  “I know, I know,” I replied, idly rubbing my knuckles over my breastbone. There was a burning sensation in my throat and heart.

  “Ever since you were a little girl, you always wanted to have guarantees. Every time we moved, you would say, ‘Tell me how long we’re going to stay here. Exactly.’” Her mouth twisted in a sad smile. “Of course, I understand now that the uncertainty you experienced when you were growing up is precisely why you look for certainty now. I didn’t understand it so much then.”

  That burning sensation intensified. I turned and quickly walked to look out the windows as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Maybe so,” I said, striving to keep my tone casual and noncommittal.

  “How was your trip to Alaska? You haven’t said anything since you got back.” My mother’s voice became louder as she crossed the room to stand beside me.

  I scanned the view of Stolen Hearts Valley and my grandmother’s yard. Spring was here. I could see the green shoots from the bulbs coming up in the flower beds, and the daffodils had already bloomed under one of the trees. Everything was becoming lush and green. My mother was already busy with the greenhouse and landscaping business.

  “Delilah?” my mother prompted. “Hon, are you okay?”

  Sliding my eyes sideways, I shrugged. “I guess. Dad and I were never close, but I’m sad he’s dying.”

  It should’ve given me pause that I preferred to talk about my father’s death than answer my mother’s polite question about my trip to Alaska. It’s just her observation about my desire for guarantees in life bumped up against everything I was struggling with around Alex and me.

  My mother wrapped her arm around my shoulders and gave me a gentle squeeze. “I know, hon.”

  I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, the sound snapping me into the moment. Sliding it out, I looked down to see my calendar reminder that I had a shift at the bar tonight. “I gotta go, Mom.”

  Her arm slid off my shoulders, and she walked me out to my car. I rolled the window down after I started it. “If Dad takes a turn, you’ll call me, right?”

  “Of course. Maybe next time you come over, you can tell me how your trip to Alaska was.”

  Three weeks later

  “Here you go,” I said quickly as I slid a beer bottle over the bar with one hand.

  I was spinning away and already taking another order before I heard, “Thank you, gorgeous. Can I get your number?”

  “Absolutely not,” I called in return, flipping the guy my middle finger.

  Fortunately, I worked in a bar where the management was entirely supportive of us being as blunt as necessary with rude, pushy, and inappropriate customers. Navigating the frequent comments thrown my way was simply a part of being a bartender and a woman. For the most part, I didn’t even blink. Tonight, I was snappier than usual, my patience on edge. Perhaps because last week I’d told Alex we should stop trying to carry on the charade that we would someday be able to take things to the next level. I’d broken my own damn heart.

  He tried to argue, and he kept calling me. I’d finally silenced his number because it hurt to see the record of calls I was ignoring. Silencing, that handy feature of modern technology. It wasn’t quite as harsh as blocking, but it allowed me to ignore him for the time being.

  I’d been heartsick ever since. I didn’t like to think of myself as someone who played games, but I couldn’t help but wonder if a subconscious part of me was playing games. Because it hurt me that he hadn’t tried harder to argue the point. His calls had tapered off, and I hated it, which was ridiculous. I felt ashamed for even thinking that.

  I kept serving drinks and got through the night. Gobs of tips were pouring in tonight. There was a wedding at the winery, which meant we got a ton of overflow business and people with cash to spend. After closing, I was wiping down the bar when Jade Cole commented, “Girl, you are cranky. What gives? And I say that with all love because you know my general default is cranky.”

  I dipped a towel into the bleach mixture and kept wiping down the bar in swift, efficient motions. Jade was a friend and filled in at the bar whenever we needed extra help.

  Looking up, I met her eyes. “My schedule is nuts. I’m too busy to stay sane between work and school.” Okay, so that was true. Yet I was also avoiding the truth behind my mood.

  Jade was quiet for a beat before asking, “How are things with Alex?”

  The minute I looked up really fast, I knew I had given myself away. Jade’s eyes took on a gleam. “I met him that one night when y’all stopped by the bar. Don’t forget I also covered for you when you went to Alaska.”

  I finished wiping down the bar and tossed the towel into the laundry bin we kept right behind the bar during the cleanup phase every night. Sliding my hips on the back of a barstool, I leaned my face in my hands. My sigh filtered through my fingers.

  I refused to be a coward, so I lifted my head and met her gaze. “I broke things off with him. It made no sense. Not with him there and me here. You know?”

  Jade gave me a long considering look as she rinsed her hands under the faucet in the sink on the other side of the bar. “I don’t know. Alex seems like a good guy. You don’t talk much about your family, but is that what’s holding you here? Because why not go to Alaska?”

  Chapter Thirty

  Alex

  I almost threw my phone against the wall. Rex Masters looked at me from across his desk at the police station in Willow Brook. “Woman troubles?” he asked with a wry grin.

  I leaned back in the chair where I sat in his office and ran a hand through my hair. “Why is she fucking not answering my calls?” I asked.

  Rex gave me a sympathetic look, and I hated it. “Obviously, I can’t answer that. I can only tell you she didn’t actually block your number.” I’d stopped by the police station to ask Rex if there was any way to tell if a number was blocked. He’d done me a favor and checked, only to learn Delilah hadn’t blocked me. That just meant she was doing a fantastic job of ignoring every call and text from me.

  “I know, Rex.”

  At that moment, there was a knock on his door. Rex called, “Come in!”

  Rex’s son and a friend of mine, Cade Masters, stepped into the room. Rex was the police chief here in Willow Brook while Cade was the superintendent for one of the hotshot fire crews stationed in Willow Brook.

  “Oh,” Cade said, his brows hitching up when he saw me. “Sorry to interrupt.”

  “Hey, it’s no problem,” I said as I stood from my chair.

  “Alex is having woman problems,” Rex offered. Unnecessarily, I thought.

  Cade divided a look between us and stayed quiet, although his lips twitched slightly. He looked back toward his father. “Just checking to see if you want me to drop you off to pick up your car from the mechanic this afternoon.”

  “I’d love a ride over there,” Rex said. “When are you leaving?”

  Cade glanced at his watch. “In about five minutes. Will that work?”

  “I’ll make it work.” As I turned to leave, Rex called, “Alex?”

  “Yeah?” I turned at the doorway to look back at him.

  “Fight for her if she means that much to you.”

  “I’ll try.”

  Cade followed me down the hall. He remained quiet until we stepped out into the parking lot. “I’m trying to figure out why the hell my father’s giving you relationship advice.”

  I met his eyes and rolled mine. “I’m just being an idiot. I came to ask him if he could verify if my number was blocked. It’s not.”

  Cade started to reply when a truck turned into the parking lot, emblazoned with the label Kick A** Construction. He cracked a wide smile as his wife, Amelia, parked and climbed out quickly. She angled straight for us where we stood beside the doors to the station. Amelia was tall and leggy, and totally in love with her husband. Cade demonstrated just how whipped he still was by her when he jogged a few steps to close the distanc
e between them and pull her in for a kiss.

  Amelia’s cheeks were pink when she drew away with a laugh a moment later. “I was just coming to see if you wanted me to take you over to pick up your dad’s truck,” she said, glancing in my direction with a quick smile.

  “Funny you mention that,” I called over. “Guess you guys are gonna have to arm wrestle for who takes Rex over to get it. I’d offer to help, but I don’t think it’s necessary at this point.”

  Amelia chuckled. “What are you doing here?”

  “Asking my dad for relationship advice,” Cade said, his tone dry.

  Amelia looked genuinely baffled.

  “Ignore him,” I said.

  “Is Delilah coming back?” Amelia asked.

  Before I could even answer, Beck Steele came out the back door of the station. Great, just fucking great. Beck never missed a chance to tease anyone. As soon as he saw us, he walked right over. “What’s up?”

  Amelia looked toward Beck. “Apparently, Alex is here asking Rex for relationship advice.”

  Beck’s eyes widened comically as he looked from Amelia to me. “Huh?”

  “Fuck my life,” I muttered. “That’s not exactly what happened.”

  “You didn’t answer my question, though. Is Delilah coming back?” Amelia repeated.

  “I don’t know,” I said with a sigh. “I would like to say she would, but I don’t think so. She’s not making it easy. She won’t talk to me right now.”

  Beck hooked his thumb in the pocket of his jeans and gave me a long look. “Dude, if you need relationship advice about women who don’t make it easy, I’m your go-to guy. Maisie loves me,” he said, referencing his wife, Maisie, who did, in fact, appear to love him deeply. Maisie definitely hadn’t made it easy on Beck when they first got together.