by Brynn Hale
It’s clear I’m not going to change her mind. She either can live with the chances and we can move forward or she’ll never live with them and we’re done before we start.
I back away. “Let’s eat some dinner and then we’ll go for a long walk.”
She turns toward the food. “I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be. I can understand. I’d rather have you as a new friend instead of nothing at all.” But part of me doesn’t know if that’s possible. I’m too close to the fire and I can feel my skin tingling, singing.
She leans into me. “I wish I could believe it’d all be okay.”
“It will all be okay, Josie.” I kiss her forehead. “Let’s eat. You wanna watch a movie?”
“No, let’s talk.”
And so we do.
But the entire time all I can think is how this woman isn’t afraid of me dying. She’s afraid of living without me.
She’s a different person with me. Around her father she’s quiet and reserved, but here she’s been full of life. His fears are now hers. I wondered why this station has top of the line gear and machines are passed down to other stations. It’s all to save someone in the future that he couldn’t save in the past.
Chapter Seven
Josie
Dinner was lovely. The kissing was heavenly. Conversation stayed light. I couldn’t explain to him my feelings in a way that would be what he needed to hear. Part of me thought maybe we could be friends. But the more I learned about him, the more I knew that wasn’t possible.
We went on a walk to the lake.
May evenings are beautiful, crisp, full of new life, and hope.
“Not a lot of people are here yet. It’s kinda nice. I spend a lot of my days off here.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Just wait, after Memorial Day, it’ll be busy.”
His hand brushes mine and I force myself not to grab it. There’s a bench on the shore, but I want to dip my toes. I walk the short dock and sit on the edge, slipping off my shoes, rolling up my jeans as much as I can and then dipping my toes into the water.
“Brrr…” The cold treks through my body.
Archie sits next to me, our thighs touching. This doesn’t feel like friendship. It feels like…
“So, what else do you do on your days off?” I ask.
“You’ll think it’s crazy.”
I still. I think of the craziest thing. “You’re a lion tamer?”
He laughs. “No.”
“Clown for children’s birthday parties?”
“No, but I could be. My dad has always said I’m goofy.” He pushes his shoulder into mine.
“Modeling for…condoms?” I suck in a quick breath.
He stills, his eyes wide. “Ummm…I didn’t know that was a thing.” His blue eyes darken to midnight and I’m covered in the glow of the moon reflecting off the water in his pupils.
“I…I don’t know why I said that.”
His hand slips over mine. “It’s okay. But no, condom model isn’t it. I take dance lessons.”
My mouth drops open. “Like hip-hop?”
“That and ballroom and line-dancing and Latin dances…” He moves his hand and rubs his together. “Lots of different ones.”
“Wow. That’s cool.” I scramble to stand, knowing my ass is right in his face. “Show me!”
“What?” he looks up with confusion.
“I want to learn. How about a line dance?”
He stands. “Okay. Country or hip hop?”
“Surprise me.” I slip my ballet flats back on.
He starts giving me directions. I allow—and I use that term loosely—him to teach me. He stands in front of me and I get to watch his ass. What he doesn’t know is I’ve got fifteen years of dance lessons under my proverbial belt. But if he’s going to continue to shake his butt like that, I’ll continue to pretend to know nothing.
He starts the music.
“No, like this. Turn, foot, foot, tap, tap, cross over, swoop, and then spin.”
“Oh, like this…” I’ve had enough. I start dancing with turns and twists and giving the “Cotton Eyed Joe” my own twist.
He stands back. “You little liar!”
“Maybe I have a little dance training.”
“Little?” Those dimples in his cheeks deepen as he smirks and shakes his head.
The music changes to a country ballad and I reach out for his hand.
“There’s one thing my mama always said…” He stares at the hand. “You can tell a lot by how a man dances.” He grabs my hand and spins me toward him. “So I decided to make sure I had the moves.” He pulls my back to his front and rotates his hips in a sensual gyrating of our bodies. “Like that, Josie. Just like that.”
And soon we’re basically having vertical sex. His hands that were on my waist are on my hips, grinding my ass into his crotch. The hardness there takes my breath away. My arms are up and around his neck, threaded into his thick blonde hair.
“Take me back…” I moan.
“To?” His lips brush my ear.
“Scratch that…Archie, I want you to take me. Just take me. I’m not scared to have sex with you.”
“You’re sure, sweetheart?”
The way my body has skyrocketed into the heavens, part sparkling like the bright stars above, tells me that I’m sure.
I spin to face him. “This is all I can give you, but I need you to know that I’m…I’m a virgin and I know how that sounds. It’s—”
“Perfect. It sounds perfect.” His lips drop to settle on mine and I moan into his mouth. While he’s doing that, he threads his fingers into mine. Our bodies completing a full circle, never ending.
And I fear more now than I ever have. I fear him being a firefighter, but I fear losing him more than anything.
We lay on the most comfortable pull-out sofa in the world. Okay, that might be stretch. But when Archie’s next to me, I’d lay on a board of nails.
I turn toward him and our gazes hold. Caressing his face, I trace his gorgeous lips with my fingers. His eyes close and his breathing alters to shallow pants.
I could spend hours touching you and watching your reactions.
My head is a tornado of thoughts and not one of them is how this feels wrong. It feels really too right.
“I wanna go down on you, Josie.” Archie =cups my face. “Watching you orgasm will be amazing.”
I concentrate to keep from moaning in anticipation.
“Okay…” It’s all I can say.
He brings his face down and places his lips on my nose, pecking lightly.
Goose bumps pimple skin all over my body.
“I trust you, Archie. And, I’ve never…I mean, I have by myself, but I haven’t ever…you know…with a…” I finish in a rush of breath, “Had an orgasm…with anyone else.”
Archie smiles while giving me a knowing look. “I promise, we’ll go slowly. Tell me what feels good. Let’s see what happens, no pressure. Okay?”
I nod in silent agreement.
His lips press tenderly to mine. No tongue, just his luscious full lips. His mouth trails a path down to my earlobe, pulling and teasing, licking a slick and hot path.
Gently nibbling my neck, like he’s trying to savor the taste of my skin.
“You smell and taste like a bowl of fruit.” He settles his lips over mine again.
I’m lost in a million different sensations. Archie’s tongue strokes against my lips asking for permission to have a heart-to-heart with my tongue. I open and his tongue swirls in, teasing and playfully tumbling, our flavors mixing.
I can’t get enough. I slide my tongue on the inside of his teeth and Archie sucks in a quick breath. He backs away and nudges my nose with his, tipping his forehead to meet mine.
There is so much desire simmering under the surface. I can tell we might quickly lose all control and Archie is attempting to slow our progress down, just a little.
“I like your shirt. Can I help you take it off?” he rumbles from his chest with
a wink. Just like the one he gave me earlier.
“Sure,” I wink back.
“You have something in your eye, baby?”
“No, I was winking, like you did to me earlier.”
He chuckles. “Oh shit. I’m sorry, this latest one was a wink, that earlier one was an effect of smoke.”
I shake my head. “Wow. And here I thought you were flirting with me ten seconds after meeting me.”
He swallows. “My heart was pounding three seconds after seeing you, Josie.”
My shirt is up and over my head in one smooth motion.
“You’re gorgeous.” I can see the reverence in his eyes.
My brain misfires, completely unable to create sentences or coherent thought. My heart pounds like a machine gun in my chest, the anticipation growing with the speed of my heart.
His body adjusts on the bed, pausing briefly to kiss my lips lightly and then his kneels and his fingers work my jeans button and zipper. No words are needed. I lift my hips and he slides the fabric down my legs leaving me in just a bra and my underwear.
An admiring smile crosses his face. While keeping eye contact, Archie slowly reaches behind me, touching as much sensitive skin around the fabric as he can. He unhooks the bra. It falls away and he gazes at me like he had never seen a woman naked from the waist up before.
I feel like I’m his first, when clearly, I’m not. He could’ve been with models, or women who look like models.
Nerves tingle and anxiety instantly envelopes me. I close my eyes and use my arms to cover myself. There is nothing to obscure his view of my imperfections. My braveness in the dim light of night is overtaken by insecurity. A rush of sadness overwhelms me.
“I know I’m not probably what you usually go for. Sorry…” I murmur, keeping my eyes away from him.
Archie guides me back to face him and holds my head in his hands, but I keep my eyes firmly locked shut.
“Josie, open your eyes and look at me, please.” I slowly open and Archie is an inch from my face. “Josie, they are perfect. You are beautiful. I never want to hear you compare yourself to anyone. I don’t want anyone else. I need you, Josie. And I need you badly.”
The last five words are my new three favorite words in the world.
Archie grasps my arms lightly and separates them, moving his hands into mine, linking our fingers, guiding our hands above my head. He hovers over me and places soft kisses against my breasts. The touch is mind-blowing; his hot breath igniting skin like a blowtorch anywhere he goes. I writhe with pleasure as he sucks my left nipple into his mouth.
My head is a swirling whirlwind of sensation. A body rocking lightning bolt hits between my legs and I lift my hips off the bed in response. He still clasps my hands above my head. Not being able to touch him is both frustrating and releasing.
“So, you like that, huh?” he asks, lifting his head with a cocky smirk.
“God, yes.” I nod frantically. He kisses the frantic from lips. I breathe quickly, panting and moaning.
“Josie, if we start, are you sure you’re ready?”
I swear I can see his heart beating in his throat. “I’m ready. And I’m sure I want my first to be you, Archie.”
Archie inhales with a curse and slumps his forehead onto mine.
“You don’t know what you do to me, baby. I’m on the edge instantly. The control I used to have doesn’t exist. Josie …will you touch me?”
He releases my hands. I reach down to unzip his jeans. He pushes them to the floor and his erection stands straight out from his body, caged by his dove white boxer briefs. I look into his eyes and they roll back into his head as I stroke him through his briefs.
I don’t have anything to compare him to, but I’m sure he’s well above normal. Well…above.
Needing to see the effect I have on him, I grab the waist of his briefs and he stops my hand.
“Uhn-uhhh. Sorry. This is about you, not me.”
I’m sure I don’t hide the disappointment in my eyes as I rotate back to the sofa and stared up at the ceiling. “Josie what’s wrong? You need to talk to me. I can’t read your mind, baby?”
His voice has a touch of irritation, but I need to remember, he was trying to make this about me, not him.
How to tell him?
Trying to regain my thoughts, I adjust my neck and turn back to him. “If it makes any sense, to see you excited by me, helps me to be more excited.”
Something perceptive crosses his face. He grabs his briefs and with one tug down to his knees the fabric goes. And exactly as I told him, my body responds quickly; my heart races, my mouth waters, and my body trembles with excitement. His swollen flesh pulses. I want to touch him, but not yet, there is time.
“Is that better?” he asks with genuine interest and a little sarcasm.
It is better, much.
Before I realize what he’s doing, he captures my right nipple in his mouth. I wriggle under the electric effects. My hands feed into his hair, both desperately holding him to me and insincerely moving him away.
Paybacks are hell! Wonderful and mind-blowing hell.
His hands knead and rub over my body, heating everything they touch, sensitizing my skin. I clench my legs together feeling a pressure building. Archie’s right hand skims the rim of my panties. I try to relax as much as possible, concentrating on his mouth more than his hand, twisting my hands in his hair.
Am I ready for this?
Somehow, he instinctively knows that I’m questioning, and he instead grazes over my underwear, lightly stroking. My breathing is uneven, and my body temperature rises to blistering. I relax my legs a little and he cups in between my legs resting his hand, not moving.
His eyes return to mine, “Josie, you okay? I want you to know how much being with you means to me.”
Out of breath, I pant on each word. “I. Want. You. Please.”
My pleading words are gasoline on a blazing fire. He crashes his mouth onto mine and moans from somewhere deep while continuing his feather light touch. Each float over my underwear sends a zing of pleasure to just the right spot. I squirm at the building pressure. My hands searched under his t-shirt, feeling the soft skin of his hard, flat stomach.
As his tongue keeps my mind and my mouth occupied, his hand carefully searches for the top of my panties again and his warm hand slips inside of them. I inhale a deep breath through my nose as his thumb finds my clit. I shake at the building thrumb of passion through my pussy as he presses lightly and circles the aching and sensitive spot.
“Are you okay?”
I nod quickly with heavy eyes.
His voice turns smooth, deep, and rich like a fine wine. “Josie, will you touch me, too, please?”
The question is insanely erotic to my ears, my breathing increases to a desperate level. I reach for his amazingly hard erection. I notice when I move, Archie slips a finger between my soft folds, not entering me, but rubbing along the sensitive lips. I quiver as his finger glides effortlessly from the wetness my body is creating. He still continues to rub on my engorged button, taking care not to press too forcefully or too teasingly.
In the same rhythm, I rub my thumb all over the head of his cock. Pre-cum starts to drip down the side.
I encircle the head of his erection to rub the fluid all over my palm. Archie moans loudly as my hand slides effortlessly up and down. His sounds are like a power surge to my electrified body; I elevate my hips off of the sofa and urgently met his hand, grinding up into his palm. He lets me take the lead.
“Oh, my God. That feels so incredible.” My voice comes out breathy.
“Good. Josie, that is better than anything I’ve ever felt.”
He kisses me gently and then removes his t-shirt. My god, the man is almost glowing. A little sweat and that naturally tanned skin, radiating the end table lamp.
“I want to watch you come, too. Do you think you’re close?” I ask.
As the words hit his ears, Archie’s fiery eyes meet mine. My whole bo
dy clenches in anticipation of the release I could feel approaching. His finger slides inside of my body and I arch my neck. If it feels like he’s massive with just a finger, I can’t imagine what his cock will feel like.
“I can hold off. Josie, are you getting close, can you feel it?” His words pleading his desire to have me get there, too.
“I am, I am, just keep doing what you’re doing. Like that, a little more pressure. What can I do for you?”
“I promise, everything you’re doing is working. I just need to concentrate for a minute…okay?” He seemed to be getting close to his finish, so I concentrate, too.
The thoughts and feelings colliding in my brain as memories I will never forget.
Our unoccupied hands searched each other’s bodies frantically. Our rhythm gets quicker and we gasp for air, our foreheads lean against each other for support.
“Archie, I’m there.” Every molecule in my body cries out for oxygen and then bursts in one giant nuclear reaction.
An explosion rolls in waves over my body. My legs clasp around Archie’s hand and I call out his name on a loud moan. Archie says nothing to tell me but I know he’s at his peak, too. His eyes become glossy and his cock grows in my hand. His hips take over, thrusting his erection into my hand, over and over. Quick and hard.
With a rasp in his voice, he repeats my name over and over and over. I shake violent small quakes in response to hearing my name so reverently whispered from his lips. When we release our hands from each other, he moves so we lie in each other’s arms, breathing quickly.
I know what I’m feeling and I’ve never been more scared. I need to release the fears.
“The night my brother died I was caught for underage drinking. My father had to come to the police station to collect me and if he’d been running the call that night maybe Matt wouldn’t have died.”
His arms wrap my body and he pulls me to his chest. “Oh baby, you can’t blame yourself. Your brother was a trained firefighter. He knew the risks going back in and staying in there.”
“They could see him coming out through the front door, but then the ceiling collapsed. He thought he was fine and then he wasn’t. My father never would’ve let him go back in there.” My body rocks with sobs. “I killed my brother, Archie. I took him from our family with my recklessness.”