by Jacie Lennon
And I do, slowly at first, but I build momentum, taking my cues from her. She feels fucking wonderful, and I fight the urge to come, determined to make this good for her, but damn, she’s tight.
Like a virgin. The thought enters my mind, and I grin.
No, focus.
I move faster, her moans spurring me on, and I lower my head, sucking lightly on her collarbone as I use one hand to caress her breast. She arches her back, pushing her chest closer to me at the same time as she grimaces.
“Are you okay?” I ask, stopping for a moment to assess how she’s feeling.
“God, yes. Don’t stop,” she says, wrapping her hands around my ass and pushing down, making me enter her again as she closes her eyes.
“Fuck, Pep. I’m not going to last long.” I push between us. My thumb finding her clit, I push, making her gasp as her eyes fly open wide.
“Do that again,” she demands.
And I do, rubbing it back and forth before pressing in as I continue to move in and out of her tightness. I hold one of her thighs, raising her leg up so I can angle deeper, and I swear my eyes roll back in my head at the feeling.
She bucks against me, and her hands grab at me—my arms, legs, torso, anything she can get a grip on.
“I think I’m about to come,” she whispers.
“Come, baby,” I whisper as I keep up my thrusts.
I relish in her expression and the way she tenses up as the waves of pleasure overtake her, rippling down her body and leaving a limp, sated Pepper in its wake. I come only a moment later, groaning my release as I throw my head back, hands on her soft skin.
The realization hits me. This is it for me. I’m ruined forever.
We don’t speak for a moment, catching our breaths, and I’m trying to wrap my mind around how explosive that was for me.
“Pepper, God. I, uh—” I start to tell her how amazing she is, but I’m cut off by my phone ringing on my bedside table. I look at Pepper before shifting and glancing to see who it is.
Mark.
I grab it and show Pepper the name. She widens her eyes and nods, telling me to take it, so I stand and swipe the screen, bringing the phone to my ear.
23
Ben
“Mark?” I say, my brow furrowing as I glance back at Pepper, beautiful and naked, lying on the bed.
I can’t tear my eyes away until Mark’s panicked shouting brings me back to the phone call.
“Slow down. What’s going on?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer for a moment, making my heart beat faster in panic.
“Everything okay?” Pepper’s concerned voice comes from behind me, and I turn, shrugging.
“Ben?” Mark says, finally talking to me.
I sigh in relief. “Mark? Tell me what’s going on. Where are you?”
“It’s on fire,” he says, his tone rising in disbelief.
“What’s on fire? Are you okay?”
No answer.
“Mark!” I yell, trying to get his attention.
The call drops, and I yell again in frustration. I feel Pepper’s hand grip my arm as she circles in front of me. She’s put a T-shirt on, and she’s chewing on her bottom lip. I bring the phone back up, about to hit Mark’s name to call back when my phone starts vibrating.
It’s the station, and I have a feeling I know what they’re calling about.
“I’ve got to take this. It’s work,” I say to Pepper, and she nods.
Once I swipe, I’m met with Craig’s familiar voice.
“Calling all hands on deck. Apartment fire. Get your ass to the station now,” he says before ending the call.
My heart sinks even more.
I feel like such a dick, walking out on Pepper after this, but it can’t be helped. I try Mark’s number once more, but it goes straight to voice mail.
Fuck.
I’ve got to go, but for some reason, I’m rooted in place.
“Hey,” she says, gesturing toward my phone. “What did work say?”
“I’ve got to go to the station.” I let the words hang between us, and she gives me a small smile.
Striding forward, I grip her face between my hands and tilt her head up to look at me. I lean down to kiss underneath each eye, the tip of her nose, and then finally her mouth.
“This isn’t over,” I whisper against her lips, and I feel her body shift as she brings her arms around me. I pull back and run my eyes over her face.
“Okay,” she says.
“I’ve got to go. Dinner is still in the kitchen. Help yourself,” I say, stepping away to collect my things.
I don’t want to leave her here alone, but I hope that Danger will at least do some damage control on my behalf for taking off so quickly after our first time having sex—and Pepper’s first time ever.
I jump in my truck to book it to the station, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. I can’t bring my issues to the job. They’ll just have to wait for another time.
The flames are high by the time I’ve suited up and made it to the apartment with my boys. Our chief is there. The first round of firemen has already been working for over an hour to quench the flames that started on one end of an apartment complex. There’s a crowd of people gathered, watching the drama unfold. Men and women that I consider my friends from the station come and go, some disappearing inside to check for anyone stranded, some handling the hoses, streams of water being sent straight into the largest parts of the flame.
Cops are there, setting up barriers so onlookers can’t get too close.
“What’s the status?” I ask once Ezra and I are beside the chief.
“North end is under control. Fire is spreading fast inside, and we’re checking the south end of the complex for anyone still inside. Need you to assist,” he yells over all the noise.
Ezra and I start running for the mainly unaffected south end of the building.
We stop by a door, preparing to enter by fastening our helmets when an open window catches my attention on the back side of the building. Someone is yelling—a man—and I draw Ezra’s gaze to it.
“Shit,” he yells before we run inside.
The window is on the third floor, so we locate the back stairs, checking each door we come to for fire. Thankfully, it hasn’t made it all the way to the end. But it’s approaching quickly. It’s more likely the smoke will take the man out first, but this is what I do. I became a firefighter to save people, and I risk my life each time I enter a burning building.
We stop at the third-story landing, and Ezra puts out a hand, stopping before we open the door. It’s clear. We run down the hall, banging on doors, a lot of them standing open where their occupants have vacated, until we get to a closed door.
“Hello? Is anyone in there?” I yell, listening intently for a reply. “Hello?” I say again and then step back, kicking at the door.
My chief’s voice flashes through my head, making me pause for a second. “You can’t help anyone if you are dead.”
I look over my shoulder to see Ezra making his way along the rest of the doors before he stops at the end. This apartment complex is structured oddly. The buildings are connected, but the hallways don’t go the entire way through, so that limits us to this tiny space.
I pause as I hear it—the sound of a voice—and I know I’m at the right door.
I kick it in, yelling, “Who’s in here? Where are you?”
I quickly make my way through the front room, the smoke growing from the fire creeping up. I have sweat rolling down my face, my neck, soaking my body inside my gear. It’s heavy, and I’m hot.
“In here,” the voice screams back, sounding closer now that I’m inside the apartment.
I turn my attention in the direction I heard it, noting that Ezra has joined me.
“Someone’s in here,” I tell him, and he nods as we make our way to the back.
The only shut door has a dresser pulled in front of it, and I glance at Ezra as he looks back at me.
; “What the fuck?” he says.
We reach for the dresser and shove it sideways, revealing the closed door. It’s wrenched open from the other side, and the man is wild-eyed as he looks at us.
“Thank God. Thank God,” he says, relief evident. “I have to get out of here.”
He pushes past me, but I stop him.
“Is there anyone else here?” I ask, needing to know before we leave.
“There,” he says and slips from my grasp, running out the door as Ezra tries in vain to stop him as well.
He turns at the door and shakes his head at me, indicating that the man is gone. I look back into the room, seeing it’s a bathroom, and my eyes drop to the floor where someone is lying facedown, a puddle of blood on the floor.
“There’s someone else,” I yell to Ezra as I step inside the bathroom.
I make an executive decision to attempt to carefully flip the man over, even before checking his injuries. We don’t have the time right now, and the medics can look him over once we get outside.
Ezra comes in the bathroom, but it’s too little for us both to maneuver with a third man, so he steps back out as I lean down, putting my hands on the guy’s arms and slowly turning him over. My breath catches, and I can feel my heart sink.
“No, no, no,” I mutter over and over.
I move up to check his head, which is beside the puddle of blood. There’s a bump, a gash that has crusted over. I can’t check his pulse with my gloves on, so I pause a moment, relief crashing through me when I see his chest rise and lower.
“Everything okay?” Ezra asks.
I look over my shoulder. “It’s Mark,” I say, and I can see the name register on his face.
“Fuck, man. Come on. We don’t have much time.”
I nod, reaching down to scoop him up. His sheer size and my gear make lifting him difficult, but once I have him, I follow Ezra out. It’s slow-going as we make it through the apartment, Ezra clearing the way in front of us, and once we’re in the hallway, I set a quicker pace. The smoke is stifling, and I have to get Mark out of here.
Once we reach the staircase, Ezra holds the door for me, and I descend the first set, no problem. The next set of stairs proves more difficult as Mark’s weight grows on me, and I set my foot down wrong, my leg collapsing underneath me.
I lurch forward, my front crashing into Ezra as he turns slightly, grabbing and managing to keep Mark from hitting the ground as I fall.
“Ben, you okay?” Ezra says, his arms wrapped around Mark’s still-unconscious form.
I grab the railing, trying to right myself. Pain shoots through my ankle, causing me to buckle again.
“Fuck. Take Mark. I’ll be all right,” I say.
Ezra scoops Mark’s body more firmly onto his shoulder.
“I’ll send someone in,” he yells, heading down the stairs.
I sit and put my legs in front of me as I decide to start moving down the steps on my ass. There’s no way I’m standing on this ankle right now. I scoot down to the next landing before one of my colleagues is in front of me, grabbing under my arms and hoisting me up. We make our way down, and I’m given over to the medics.
“Can you tell me what happened to the man who just came out?” I ask the first medic I see.
“He’s already on his way to the hospital; that’s all I know.”
I sigh, and my mind races.
What was Mark doing in a bathroom, injured, with a dresser in front of the door? Who was that other man? What the fuck happened?
24
Pepper
“Wait, he just ran out of there?” Andi’s shocked voice comes across the speaker, and I wince.
“Yeah, but he had to go in. I don’t think he wanted to. And he’d gotten a weird call from his brother. I’m not really sure what all is going on.”
“How about I come over and help you eat that delicious pasta he made?”
“It’s bucatini with marinara and ricotta.”
“It’s about to be in my mouth,” Andi says, and I can hear her car door open through the phone. “Be there soon. Put your clothes back on.”
“I have—” I start to say before I realize she already hung up.
I climb off of Ben’s bed, where I was burrowed back against his pillows, sniffing them before I realized what I was doing. Danger trots behind me into my room, where he sits at my feet while I change into my comfiest pair of pajamas. It’s almost like he senses that I’m sad and he wants to comfort me. I just settle onto the couch and flip the TV on when there’s a knock at the door.
Did she use turbo boost power to get here?
“That was fast,” I say, swinging the door open.
Andi just grins at me before stepping inside. “My friend is hurting. Also … pasta,” she says, sniffing the air.
“It’s in the kitchen,” I say, walking back to the kitchen while she shuts the door.
I fix us each a plate, and we sit on the couch, her stuffing her face and me pushing noodles around on my plate.
“Okay, let’s recap,” she says around a mouthful of food.
“Let’s not.” I sigh and sit back, food forgotten on my lap as I think back over the last two hours of my day.
“You come home to him cooking,” she starts, ignoring me. “You seduce him, and he picks you up—super hot, by the way,” she says, pointing her fork at me. “Y’all continue the hanky-panky in the bedroom. You stop him and say, Oh, B-T-dubs—that’s by the way for those watching at home—”
“I know what B-T-dubs is,” I interject, but she doesn’t stop.
“I still have my V-card. He acts like it’s NBD—that’s no big deal. Y’all do the dang thing, and then he gets mysterious calls and leaves. Did I leave anything out?”
“Nope, that’s pretty much it,” I say and roll my eyes. “Nothing to analyze really. The calls weren’t mysterious. Well, maybe his brother’s call was.”
“I came here for the pasta, but my expert analyzing skills are just a bonus,” she says, a piece of cheese stuck to her lip.
“You’ve got a little something …” I point to my face.
She sticks her tongue out, licking it from her top lip. “I was saving it for later. This food is damn good.”
“I’ll be sure to let Ben know,” I say sarcastically.
“Okay, here’s my opinion,” she says.
“Thank goodness. I’ve been waiting on pins and needles.”
I place the plate of food I’m holding on the table in front of us and sit back, hugging a pillow to my chest. Part of me knows that he didn’t want to leave, but the other part—the one wallowing—wants to feel sorry for myself and drown my sorrows in ice cream and cold Coca-Cola. Maybe together, like a float.
“I think that he really just had to go to work. He’s a first responder, and that means, he has to respond. I think he’ll want to talk about everything once he gets home. I mean, what was it he whispered to you right before he left?”
“ ‘This isn’t over,’ ” I supply, feeling the goose bumps roll across my skin again.
“Exactly. ‘This isn’t over.’ Which I think means—if I’m reading him right, and I am—that it isn’t over.” She sits back with a smile.
“Don’t quit your day job to become a therapist. You aren’t very good.”
“Look, you are way overthinking this. I’m sure the sexy time was wonderful, and … wait, did you enjoy it?”
“One hundred percent, yes,” I say, nodding.
Andi stuffs the last forkful of bucatini in her mouth and chews while squinting at me. “Safe to say he did too. The guy is obviously into you. Don’t sweat that he left quickly.”
“Of all the nights for him to be called into work.”
“Yeah, that was really sucky timing for y’all,” Andi agrees. “Come here.” She reaches for me, pulling my head into her lap and running her fingers through my hair. “I’m spending the night. Let’s stay up, watching scary movies.” She grabs the remote from where I set it on the coffee
table earlier and flips on the TV.
“I hate scary movies,” I mumble.
“Too bad. I’m controlling the remote, and you need something to take your mind off Hottie McLovin’.” She giggles at her horrible joke.
“You really aren’t funny.”
“I have a specific brand of humor,” she says, and I laugh.
“Thanks for being my friend.” I reach up to pat her head.
“Anythang for you suga’,” she drawls.
I smile before throwing my hand over my eyes and grimacing at the hideous face that just flashed across the television screen. “Really? It’s not even Halloween yet.”
“Halloween is every day for me,” Andi says, leaning forward.
I wrestle the remote away from her and finally find a nice comedy to watch.
We watch the movie and start another one. By this point, I’ve gathered all the blankets and pillows I could find, and we’ve made a fluffy fortress on top of the couch with our fierce guard dog keeping watch. Danger sits, curled up on my stomach, as I’m dozing, and he lets out a yip when my phone goes off, right in his ear.
“Fuck, what time is it?” I hear Andi’s drowsy voice from the other end of the couch.
I squint at my phone until the time comes into focus.
“A little after midnight. It’s Mason.” I have a missed call and a text from him, which is strange since it’s so late.
“Call him back,” Andi says, flopping back on the couch.
I uncover myself and instantly shiver at the loss of warmth from the blankets and Danger lying on top of me.
“Pepper, thank goodness,” Mason says.
“May? What’s wrong?”
“I wanted to let you know that Ben had an accident on the job, and we’re at the hospital,” he says, and I cover my mouth. “Don’t freak out. It’s only his leg. They’re running tests right now to see if it’s broken or a sprain.”
I jump up, still muttering into the phone, “Oh, right. Oh my gosh. Yeah, okay.”
Andi shifts, and I bend down to let her know I’ll be back.
“What’s going on?” she asks, cracking one eye open.