by Julie Morgan
I had never felt this helpless in my entire life. I was thrust into a situation like Rapunzel, waiting on my tower of stairs, blocked from the exit. My fireman knight would rush in with his fire hose and put out the flames, then carry me away in his arms.
Then again, I wasn’t much of a fairy tale kind of woman. I wasn’t the damsel needing a rescue. I was the knight in this tale and would save myself.
Suddenly a gap formed and people began to leave the club. I made my way down the stairs and pulled up the Uber app. I requested a ride and hoped they would be here by the time I made my way outside.
As soon as I made it to the door, red lights were flashing against the walls of the buildings. The sirens wailed as they came down the street. Cars pulled to the sides to allow the engines through. I could see the firefighters on the trucks equipped with their turnout gear, and I looked for Noah, hoping to catch a glimpse of my firefighter.
Just as I made my way to the exit, the men and women in uniform came rushing forward. Two with a hose, three with extinguishers.
I didn’t see Noah in any of their faces. A part of me felt relieved, the other disappointed.
I tightened my jacket and checked my phone. My ride was a few blocks away. I stood on the sidewalk and glanced around for Erin but couldn’t see or hear her. She was lost in the crowd, probably with her new guy of the night. She could take care of herself. If there was trouble, she had my number.
I checked my phone again, and my driver was coming up the road.
“Finally,” I whispered.
“Cara?”
My eyes widened, and my heart jumped into my throat. I glanced over my shoulder, and there was Noah in his firefighter jacket and pants, a helmet on his head.
“Hi,” I said and folded my arms in front of me. I was positive I looked like a drenched cat. I pushed my hair from my face, the wetness of it sending a shiver through my body.
“Are you all right? Do you need medical attention? Were you hurt?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m absolutely fine. Only wet as hell. The performer didn’t fare so well, though.”
“The fire is pretty much out,” he said and took a step toward me. “Do you have a ride home?”
“Why? Would you let me ride your engine?”
He chuckled and grinned that Cheshire grin I’d come to enjoy. “If you like, I’ll be happy to let you ride my engine.”
I pressed my lips together, then shook my head. “I’ll take a rain check on that.” I looked to my phone and saw my ride was here. “I need to go. I’ll call you later?”
He nodded. “Hey, I’m off in a few hours. I can come back if you want?”
“No, she’s fine. In fact, she’s with me.” Erin came up to my side and laced her arm around mine. “Go put out your fire, Mr. Hughes. I’ll get my girl here home.”
I pulled my arm away. Anger shot through me like gasoline poured on an open flame. “Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what? Protect you?” she argued.
“Protect me from what? Go home, Erin.”
I made my way to my ride and looked back to Noah. He held his hand up like a phone and mouthed Call me.
I looked to the driver.
“You called for an Uber?” the driver said.
I looked at him, then his profile on my phone. “Yes, thank you for coming. Bad night.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” he said as he put the car into gear.
I slid into the back seat and glanced back to Erin. She was saying something to Noah and then patted him on the chest and walked past him. He looked over to me as we were pulling away.
I pulled his name up on my phone and sent him a text.
Come over when you’re done.
You can shower at my place.
I pressed Send. I didn’t expect a return text until much later.
Tonight did not go as expected. Hell, it was horrible. However, with the coming visit of Noah, it was about to get a lot better.
And I could hardly wait.
Chapter Ten
Noah
Three hours before my shift ended, there was a club fire. I expected to arrive and get right to work putting out the fire as quickly as possible. What I didn’t count on was seeing Cara Murphy at the location. She was soaked from the sprinklers. She stood before me like a lost deer hoping to sneak away from the predator before she was found. However, this predator wanted to pounce her into submission.
Her hair stuck to the arms of her jacket and her face. When she went to move it from her eyes, her jacket opened enough to see the dress she wore. It was black and fitted. At least I think it was, but then again, she was wet. And holy hell, her nipples were fully erect and begging for my mouth.
If it weren’t for the public setting, the cold in the air, and my fire suit, I’d consider taking her right here in my fire engine. That would be my fantasy with Cara, taking her at the station in the engine.
She mentioned a shower at her place? Hell, yes. I needed to let Mom know I wouldn’t be home to get Marshall until later in the morning.
“Nice seeing you, Noah,” Erin said and patted my chest as she passed by. “Whatever you’re doing with Cara, you should end it.”
I blinked at Erin’s words. “Wow…” I shook my head in disbelief. I wonder if Cara knew her friend thought of her this way. Relationship material or not, what I had with Cara is none of Erin’s business.
Erin turned to respond, but I didn’t give her a chance. I ran past her and headed back toward my crew.
Pushing the conversation aside for a moment, I headed inside the building. The fire was out, and nothing else needed tending. The man I assumed to be the owner was on the phone yelling, then turning to another man and screaming profanities about being an idiot.
Well, who hired who here?
“At what point did we stop playing with matches?” one of my fighter buddies asked.
I shrugged. “Apparently some of us never grow out of it.”
“Who was the woman?” he asked.
I smiled and thought of Cara. Was she my girlfriend or just a friend I was fucking? Definite friend, but more than fucking. “She’s someone I’m seeing,” I decided on.
“Well, she’s hot, even when she’s wet. Nice one.”
I chuckled. “Thanks. All right, the police are here now. Let’s wrap up and head back.”
The chief came over and handed me a long stick burned black. “Seems our pyromaniac was setting up for a flame show. New paint inside plus non-fire-resistant clothes equal serious party foul.”
I shook my head. It could have been much worse than it was. The entire place could have gone up in flames, with Cara inside. I climbed into the engine and removed my helmet. It was cold outside, but I was hot and sweaty. I ran my fingers through my damp hair, and soot beaded on my hand.
Great. Blond hair with black streaks. A shower would definitely be in my future.
At Cara’s.
I grinned and leaned back against the engine wall, then closed my eyes. Chatter from the others drowned away as I relaxed and recalled the image of her standing on the sidewalk. She was soaked, cold, beautiful, and her nipples were begging for a suckle.
With a groan and a sigh, I adjusted myself in my turnout gear. I felt the engine kick forward as we pulled away from the nightclub.
Almost three hours had passed between seeing Cara at the nightclub and when I arrived at her condo building. I stepped inside and made my way up the stairs. Two flights up, her view looked out over the park. Not that I’d seen it. I had only been here in the evenings. Maybe one day I’d be able to wake up by her side and enjoy a morning with her.
When I reached her door, I knocked and then waited. A shadow fell over the peephole, and I heard the locks release. She pulled the door back and stood in the frame like an angel.
She wore a white satin nightgown with a matching robe. Her hair was still wet, probably freshly washed, and braided over her shoulder.
“Hello,” she said wit
h a smile.
“Hi.” I stepped forward.
She took a step back and closed the door behind me. She smiled and locked the door. “You’re still covered in sweat and soot.”
I took a step closer and touched her chin. Lifting it just enough to lean in, I pressed my lips across hers. “You invited me to clean up here. I was not going to pass up that opportunity.”
She giggled. “Come on. I’ll show you the way.” She took my hand and led me through her home. I knew the way, but I let her lead regardless. We made our way through her bedroom, somewhere I had become intimately familiar with. The bed was made, and a spot was disheveled as if she were sitting on it and scooted off.
She flipped on the light to the bathroom, then turned to face me. “Here we are. Take all the time you need.” Cara turned her back to me and opened the shower door.
I moved closer to her, close enough for my chest to graze her back. When I moved my hands over her waist, she let go of the faucet and leaned back against me. I moved my hands up the slick material of her gown to her breasts. Her nipples pressed into my palms. I squeezed the generous mounds, and she gasped a soft whimper.
She reached up and slipped a hand around my neck. Her other hand settled over mine against her breast. I looked down and widened my eyes at the mess I’d made of her gown.
“Shit,” I whispered. “Your nightgown…”
“Don’t worry about it. Nothing I can’t get washed.”
My breath came out in a rush against her neck and earlobe. The bathroom began to steam with the heat of the water. I welcomed it, relished it.
“Shower with me,” I whispered against her ear, then nibbled on the lobe.
A moan escaped her lips, soft and feminine. “Okay,” she answered.
I slipped the robe from her body, then slid the spaghetti straps of her gown down her arms. The fabric fell in a heap to the floor. Cara stood naked before me, my beautiful angel. She turned to face me. Her hair still braided, she removed the holder and began to unbraid it.
I reached for her hair and began to undo her braid for her. Settling her locks behind her back, I ran my fingers through it, then with a gentle yank, I tugged her head back.
She gasped as my mouth slanted against hers. She tugged at my shirt and pushed it up my body. I broke from the kiss just long enough for her to toss my shirt. She fiddled with my pants, then growled against my lips.
“That was so hot,” I told her. “Growl for me again, baby.”
“Your damn pants. I can’t get them undone. Get them off. Shower now. Naked. Come on.” She stepped into the shower and motioned for me to join her.
I chuckled and quickly stripped. I kicked my pants, shoes, and socks to the side and stepped under the hot water.
She closed the door and reached up for my hair. She moved her fingers through it as the water ran over my head. I felt her lips feather across my chest as my body became drenched.
“Cara,” I whispered her name.
She met my gaze, and it was then that I realized she had no makeup on. She was a natural beauty. Her skin blushed from the heat of the water; maybe it was the heat of our bodies as well.
“Yes?”
“I need you,” I told her. Every ounce of me knew this was the truth. I needed her. More than a friend. More than a fuck. I wanted her in my life.
“You have me.” She reached for the shampoo and poured it into her hands. “On your knees. Let me wash you.”
I raised my brows.
“Come on,” she pleaded. “Let me do this for you.”
I did not defy her. I wanted to please her just to see her smile. I lowered myself to my knees and looked up to the alluring enchantress before me. She had me under her spell, and I had no intentions of leaving.
She moved her hands through my hair, scrubbing my scalp. It was an amazing feeling, something I had taken for granted. I would ask for this again in the future. When she rinsed me clean, she stood over me, her lips set in a smirk.
I took the opportunity to soak in her body. I wanted to memorize every inch of her, taste every part of her. I reached for her hips, pulled her closer, and pressed my lips to her navel.
She giggled, and I felt her stomach flinch. “That tickles,” she said in a soft voice.
I smirked and looked up at her. I stood to my feet and reached for her soap. I gave my body a good wash. When I set the soap down, I motioned for her to come closer. When she did, I moved my fingers through her wet locks and cradled her head. “I want to be inside you, and as much as I want to fuck you here in the shower, I’d rather take you to your bed and make love to you.”
I felt her body give way with a sigh under my hold, and I wrapped my other arm around her. I smirked, teasing her lips with my tongue. With my gentle licks against her upper lip, she gave way and swiped her tongue across mine. I tightened the grip in her hair and claimed her lips.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and held on.
“The water,” I mumbled against her lips. She reached around me and turned it off. Immediately my body chilled from the loss of the heat.
“Come on,” she whispered and pulled herself free from my grip. She wrapped herself in a towel and handed one to me. I dried myself enough to get the water from my body, then hung it. I didn’t give her a chance to finish.
Grabbing Cara by her waist, I turned her around, and she squealed. I bent down, pulled her to my shoulder, and lifted her into the air.
“Oh my God, you caveman!” She laughed and slapped an open hand across my bare ass.
“Hey, that stung!” I chuckled and laid a smack across her derrière.
She squealed once more, and I let her fall onto her bed. She bounced once, then scooted back to her headboard.
I lifted my brows and rolled my shoulders. I leaned onto the bed and began to crawl toward her. She grinned and moved one of her feet toward my hand, and I grabbed her ankle and pulled her toward me.
“Noah!” she screamed with laughter.
The bed cover and sheets pulled down as I dragged her, and I chuckled. I pressed a knee between her legs, and she opened for me. Looking down at her pussy, bare and glistening, I knew she was ready for me. I met her gaze and paused.
“I don’t have a condom with me.”
“I’m on the pill,” she answered.
I grinned and leaned down to her. I pressed my lips to hers and teased her pussy with my dick.
“Please,” she begged. “Please, fuck me. I need you.”
“Cara,” I whispered in a heavy breath. I wanted to push inside her, feel everything there was about Cara wrap around my cock as it filled her. “Are you sure? No condom?”
“Yes,” she told me and lifted her legs around my waist. “I want you with no condom inside me. I want to feel you.”
I groaned, and my balls pulsed. I had only touched her on the surface and was ready to explode. I reached between us and grabbed my dick, pressed it against her, then pushed.
I pulled back and thrust back inside her. Cara held on to my shoulders, and her back arched underneath me. With every push, she moaned. She was this perfect woman who held nothing back. She wanted me as much as I wanted her.
Her walls clamped around my cock and squeezed, her honey coating me. I needed more of her. I was consumed by her.
I pushed myself back on my heels, grabbed her legs, and pulled her up to my waist. I held her by the hips and began to thrust hard and fast into her pussy. Our bodies slapped in the silence of her room. Beads of sweat formed on my brow as well as on her chest and stomach.
I still needed more. “Come here, baby girl,” I growled.
She met my gaze, and without a whisper, she knew exactly what I wanted. Cara sat up and straddled my body. I moved to sit with my legs stretched out front. She rocked against my cock, taking me deeper with each move she made. As she rolled, I thrust upward. We moved in a beautiful union.
“Cara,” I groaned. “Damn, woman, I’m going to come very soon.”
She pl
aced her hands on the sides of my face and rested her forehead to mine. “Come with me,” she whispered.
I gripped the back of her thighs and held her against me. She was my match in every way possible. An emptiness inside me filled in this moment, and for me, there was no going back.
“Cara!”
A warm rush of heat soaked my cock as she came. She tilted her head back and groaned out loud into the bedroom just as my balls tightened. I lost myself in her tonight, and I never wanted to be found.
Our breathing slowed, and Cara lowered her gaze to mine. No words were exchanged. None were needed. She slipped her arm around my neck and pulled herself close.
And I held on to this woman who had found her way into my life by a chance meeting, and fate had brought us together once more as my son’s teacher.
I’d never been one to believe in or leave anything to fate, but after meeting Cara, all of that had completely changed.
And I’d fallen in love with her.
Chapter Eleven
Cara
The moment you begin to wake from a dream of perfection, the one you want to remain in because it was complete ecstasy… The moment you’re running through a field and your body soars, when the man you’ve wanted for so long confesses you’re the one for him, or the moment you’re making love in a dream and the most intense orgasm of your life begins…and then your eyes open the hell up.
I groaned and turned on my side. Reaching to my clit, I rub my fingers vigorously in hopes of capturing the last essence of the climax that teased at the surface of my consciousness. The hardened bundle of nerves pulsed as if to mock my attempt. The sensation disappeared as quickly as it came.
A different type of groan—one of frustration—escaped this time. With a sigh, I relaxed my arms and longed for sleep to pull me back under. It was Sunday, and I had nowhere to be.
Then I felt my bed move, and fear raced up my spine. No one was here with me, were they?