“This is insane. I can’t even wrap my head around it.”
“It’s a lot to take in at first, but once you talk with your dad, you’ll understand it better. The things he does, the people he helps—it’s all to serve justice where the government has failed. He researches everything, gets all the facts before anything. It’s a solid organization.”
“Yeah, I’ll deal with that bomb later, but what happens now?” I question, removing myself from his lap to stand. “We wait for them to show up again?”
He looks away as he stands as well. “It’s the middle of the night. Get some sleep, and we’ll talk in the morning.”
He rushes out, heading back to his room before I have a chance to argue.
I stare after him for a moment before dropping onto my mattress.
I always knew Blaze was more than a sought-after title, but I never knew the true power behind the name.
Blaze are initiated few and far between, because not many can possibly possess the strength it takes to embody what it means, and you have to be all in or completely unaware.
They – we – are the strongest of the strong. The ones who go out, and demand justice for those who were failed by the system. We force the hands of evil with our deepest form of power.
Fire.
We go in, undetected and unexpected, and burn the bad to the ground.
God, I can’t believe I’ve been so unaware. This is beyond insane.
With a sigh, I close my eyes, hoping sleep will come.
Chapter Fifteen
Oakley
Three hours.
I’ve been staring at my window for three damn hours, replaying what happened earlier tonight over and over again in my head.
Alec had no fear when it came to those men. None.
This man, who owes me nothing, who I thought hated me all these years, has shown that he’s willing to put his own life at risk if it means my safety. I know he’s a fireman, and he has risked his life for complete and total strangers more times than I’m aware of, but whatever’s going on involving me, it’s different. I see it now.
It’s strange, the feeling of empowerment, the intensity that comes hand in hand with desire when the other person craves you the same.
Alec’s told me in several ways that he wants everything I have to give, and I believe him.
His aggressive behavior and impulsive attitude are simply testaments to his eagerness, his desperation. A raw need to have me. Because he wants to have me.
I can feel it in his animalistic stares and raving words. The way his hands shake when he’s near me, forcing his fingers to curl into tight fists.
And I don’t know how it happened or when, but I want something from him, too. I’m not sure what or how much of it yet, but tonight? Right now? I want to be in his bed.
When it comes to men, I’ve never been good at taking what I want, what I need.
I’ve never been bold.
But I want to be. I want to be the strongest, bravest version of myself … for him.
So, tonight, I will be.
As quietly as possible, I pull myself from my bed and make my way to his room.
He’s lying in the center of the mattress, flat on his back, in nothing but a pair of boxers.
The only light provided is from the moon slicing through the curtain, creating a soft blue glow across his velvety, tattooed skin. I use it to my advantage, watching the rise and fall of his deep breaths. Somehow, the rhythm calms my own, and my breathing syncs with his.
He’s awake; I know it. I can feel it in the way my skin prickles, as it only does under the heat of his eyes.
My greedy gaze takes its time, covering every inch of him until I meet his dauntless stare.
It’s dark, way too dark to truly see his face, but I know what he’s telling me without saying the words.
Be bold.
No second thought is needed as I take the four short steps forward, and then I’m climbing onto his bed, crawling across his body.
With one of his arms flat against the blanket, the other behind his head, he lies perfectly still as I hover over him. My hair brushes against his chest as I take inventory of his face. The two small scars, the fullness of his seemingly swollen lips. Black eyes with eyebrows to match. And just enough scruff to rub on, to feel scratching against my body, should he give me what I want.
Alec says nothing, doesn’t move an inch, as he lets me run the show, leaving it all up to me. The slight tip of his lips tells me he wants me to continue.
It’s an intoxicating sensation. One that consumes every inch of me, driving me forward.
I’m hovering over him, looking down at the mystery of a man beneath me, and all I can think of is how it would feel to be on the other side of this—to have him hovering above me, his strong thighs pinning me to the mattress, those sturdy arms casing me in.
My tongue slides out, wetting my lips, as I lower my hips, feathering my core against his.
His chest stirs, a harsh breath escaping through his nostrils, and my muscles tighten.
I crawl up another inch, bringing my knees just above his hips, and I slowly drop my body down on his.
His thigh muscles clench beneath me. The sound of his fingertips digging into the comforter as his hand twitches fuels my desire.
My eyes close. I’m so ready to touch him, to grind against him. Get lost with him.
He must see it; maybe he even senses it—my control slipping. He abruptly sits up. He shifts our bodies, so I’m sitting between his thighs, our chests inches apart, mouths sharing the same air.
It’s nowhere near close enough.
I drop my hands to the mattress, scooting myself closer. He allows it, making some room for me, so I wrap my legs around his back, staring into his eyes.
His narrow in confliction.
I know he wants me. The proof of it is resting against his stomach. Swollen and angry, the tip of his dick pokes out of the waistband of his boxers, begging.
A small sound makes its way up my throat, and Alec’s rough hands finally land on me.
My eyes close as he grips my forearms, pulling my chest closer, all while holding me back, keeping me from getting too close.
“Open your eyes.” He speaks in a low timbre that vibrates through me.
With a deep inhale, I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, ever so slowly peeling my eyes open.
I’m met with fiery green eyes, so dark and daring, angry and lust-filled.
His hands slide up and over my shoulders and then down my back, his fingertips scraping across my T-shirt. When he reaches my bare ass, he takes a shuddering breath and then cups it in his large hands. He lifts me from the mattress, quickly folding his legs beneath me so he can place me on his lap, finally letting me feel all of him. The heat of his skin, the thickness of his hard-on.
His hands shoot to my hips where he holds me in place.
Eyes on mine, he dips his head, only breaking contact when he reaches my neck where he slowly blows hot air against my goose bump-covered skin. His head slowly turns, so the heat of his deep exhale fans across my neck to my ear and then mouth. His eyes come back to mine. They’re only half-open now, his want almost at the peak of no control.
I want him to lose it.
I want to feel all of him.
My body shudders when my palms meet his pecs, my fingers fanning across them, needing to touch as much of his skin as possible. His muscles tighten, and my eyes briefly cut to his and then back.
Ink. Everywhere. Intricate twists and detailed designs cover every inch of his chest. And what a canvas he makes.
My hands slide lower, my thighs tightening around him as his abs constrict under my touch, thick, defined ridges becoming even more intense.
Right before I get there, before I feel what I’m assuming is the silkiest part of him, his knuckle hooks under my chin, and he slowly returns my gaze to his.
And, oh my God, those eyes. Fully dilated. Hungry.
He’s
so ready.
Good thing because so am I.
With the new leeway I have, I push closer, bringing my chest to his, letting him feel my hard nipples through my shirt.
He growls, pushing on my back, bringing me even closer, and I gasp, the form of his dick now positioned perfectly against the slit of my pussy.
“Kiss me,” I breathe.
“No.”
My eyes fly to his.
“Don’t beg,” he demands. “You want it?” One dark brow rises. “Take it. You need it? Prove it.”
He sees it, the hunger consuming me, and he continues, giving me that final push, overwhelming the last of my senses.
“You want me?” he all but growls, a tremor shooting through him as the possibility lights him up. “Fucking show me.”
A slow grin starts to stretch across my lips, but it never makes it all the way out because I slam my lips onto his, sighing through a deep moan the moment his fevered lips hit mine.
His lips are soft but firm, starving and slightly abraded from the heated environment he trains in. So unexpected and slick, so tough and wanting. So Alec.
Because that’s what he is.
He’s rough edges with a smooth interior, dark days with bright nights.
He’s the wrong kind of right.
And, right now, his mouth is pure clarity.
Nothing has ever felt so right, so real and raw.
This man is foreign to me, yet his touch feels so familiar.
When he growls into my mouth, my body shakes against him, my hips rolling of their own accord.
He yanks his mouth from mine, his fist finding the hair at the base of my skull where he pulls gently, his lips dropping to my neck, making my teeth sink into my own.
“I hope you know what you just did,” he rasps before nipping at my skin and then drawing a line with his tongue to my ear. “That was it, Oakley. Final seal’s broken.” He pulls back to look at me.
I stare at him, too far gone to respond.
“You got that, right?”
My hands lazily slide up his chest until I can grab the back of his neck and yank him to me.
He allows it, allows me to pull myself up high. His legs come up, bending at the knees so that I’m wedged between his thighs and torso.
I lean forward, sinking my teeth into his lip before plunging my tongue into his mouth.
He chuckles, a raspy, sexy sound that makes me shiver.
Then, in two-point-five seconds, I’m flipped and flat on my back with Alec above me.
He stares at me, a small smile playing at his lips, so small that it’s almost nonexistent. But it’s there. “I’ve waited a long time for this view.”
Unable to speak, I keep my eyes on his as I reach for the hem of my shirt, shimmying against the mattress so that I can pull it over my head.
His head dips, green eyes blazing, and he kisses me between my breasts, his rough hands gripping them as he gently massages them.
My tongue traces my lips, my hands sliding down his torso, pushing his boxers down when I reach the waistband. His dick bounces as I do, poking my abdomen, making my muscles tighten.
“I want you,” I whisper, pushing against his chest, so he lifts enough for his hard-on to align with my opening.
He groans, biting my skin, murmuring against me, “Waited a long time to hear that, too.”
Finally, his head lifts, and he stares.
I know what he’s doing. He’s wondering what all this means, wondering if I’m in this or if thoughts of another are floating through me.
Truth is, I am, and there aren’t.
I want this, want Alec inside me, and had he not been looking at me with unspoken questions in his eyes, the only thing I’d be thinking was why he was taking so long.
Giving him no more time to consider, I lay my feet flat against the comforter, pushing my pussy onto his dick.
A whimper leaves me the second my body sucks him in—not because it hurts, but because it’s overwhelming. Intense.
Nowhere near enough.
His hand quickly comes down to squeeze my ass, tilting it up on a slant for him to slide all the way in. We both groan, deep and full, when our flesh meets in the center, his dick now buried in me. I pull my knees back, and he sinks impossibly deeper. And I’m gone.
With the scent of his sweat mixed with mine, the weight of his body against me, his frantic movements and continuous growls, I come long and hard and loud.
Spurred on by my uncensored moaning, Alec’s body stiffens, his hips picking up speed.
I stare at his body as he moves, watch his muscles grow ridiculously tight, and feel as he pulls almost all the way out just to slam all the way in.
He comes on a growled exhale, grinding down on me as he rides it out.
Without a word, he rolls off, shocking me when he grabs the sheet we kicked to the edge of the bed and covers our naked bodies. He roughly drags me to him. Hitching my left leg up and over his body, he slides his hand along my thigh until his open palm lays sprawled over my ass cheek.
And then he sighs, content.
Alec Daniels—fearless firefighter, the number one–ranked Blaze that Blackline Academy has ever seen, instructor of the new recruits—is fulfilled while holding on to me. This intense, intimidating man is satisfied, having just fucked me.
An unfamiliar thrill runs through me. I just can’t figure out if I’m excited or terrified.
Because, if one Daniels brother had the power to wound me, the other must have the power to break me.
Chapter Sixteen
Oakley
The backs of my hands slide down the pillow, coming down to lie flat against the cool sheet, my back bowing slightly.
Warm, textured hands glide up my stomach, and my lids peel open, connecting instantly with the most mesmerizing shade of hunter green.
Alec continues his ascent, gently nudging my knees to the sides so that he can fit between them.
Eyes locked on mine, he slowly pushes inside me, and I stare, transfixed, as his eyes flutter closed, deep ridges taking over his forehead. He’s completely lost to the feeling.
I lazily lift my hands, running my fingertips up his back until I can grab his shoulders from behind and hold him close.
My breathing speeds up, mind shutting down, and then it’s just him and me and the heat between our bodies, the swelling of his cock inside me.
“Ruined,” he rasps sleepily, and I couldn’t agree more.
This … this is what I’ve waited for, yearned for.
To lose myself in a man—this man—without a second thought, with zero effort, just from the feeling of his skin on mine. The heat of his body against me. His need for me.
Alec slides his hand from my ankle to my thigh and then up to my breast.
My back arches, causing my nipple to slide across his lips.
I look to him, watching as he lightly scrapes his teeth against my sensitive skin.
My hands glide across his back, dipping into every curve of his muscles as they indent with his amorous movements. My palms float across his ass, feeling as it flexes with each slow, strong, telling thrust. With unhurried motions, he grinds against me.
His right hand trails across my collarbone, landing on my neck where he feels for the rapid beat of my pulse. He groans, and then, finally, for the first time since his dick entered me last night, his lips find mine. Pressure fills my chest while heat floods my body.
Raw and ravenous.
Ruined.
When my eyes open, I feel as if I only just drifted off. Last night was intense. From being with Alec and the attempted break-in to learning about my dad’s off-color contracts, my brain is exhausted. I feel for Alec, finding he’s not in his place beside me, but when I look across the room, I see him sitting in the armchair across from the bed.
His brows slightly pull in as he looks at me, and I slowly sit up to see him better.
Alec looks off for a moment before his gaze meets mine again. “I
have to go back, end this.”
Back.
He needs to go return to where he’s been the last two years, but ... how will he stop this on his own?
“I’ll go with you.”
“You can’t.” He dimly shakes his head.
I shift to stand, suddenly wide-awake. “Don’t tell me I can’t. I am!”
He narrows his eyes, standing as well so that he can look down on me. “You will not. I can’t take you into the lion’s den with meat strapped to your back, Oakley.”
“Then, what? Huh? Where will I go?”
He delays for a moment before his eyes come back to mine. “Rowan’s.”
A bitter laugh leaves me. “I … no. No.”
“There’s no other option.”
“This is bullshit! I’m so tired of everyone else deciding what’s best for me.”
“You think I want you there?” he shouts. “After everything last night, you think I want you within ten feet of him? Fuck. No. But he’s all we’ve got, Oakley. If not him, tell me who because I’m all for another fucking choice.”
I can’t help it, and I start to cry.
He looks away, swallowing hard. “Go pack some things. I’ll call him and tell him to come now.”
I nod and leave him to make his call, heading for my room to gather what I’ll need.
In no rush to leave, I take my time in getting my stuff together, lowering myself to my mattress once I’m done.
I stare at the bright ray of light that peeks through my curtain. I’m not sure what I expected today to bring, but Alec leaving was the last thing on my mind.
Everything’s changed. Last night solidified what I’d been feeling lately, and it’s him. Only him.
Wrong For Me Page 11