Fighting the Flames (6 page)

The sound of her voice, low, seductive and needy, was his kryptonite. He caved every single time, and right now was no different. Her legs were spread, inviting him in, and he entered her in one fluid movement. It was easy considering how ready they both were. Her core enveloped him, her hot juices coating his erection. They moaned simultaneously when Ryan began to move inside her. “Damn, Jess.” He kissed her. “You feel so good. I’ve missed this so much.” He practically went cross-eyed at the feel of her walls tightening around him, holding him deep inside her. He could stay there forever. To him, it was home.

She moved beneath him. Her hips lifted, meeting him thrust for thrust. “God, Ryan,” she cried.

It dawned on him that he wasn’t wearing a condom. “Shit.” He stilled.

“No,” she whined. “Please. Don’t stop.”

She was begging again. He was so screwed. “No condom,” he said, even as he began to move again, withdrawing until nothing but the head remained tucked inside and then plunging all the way back in. Hard.

“I’m on the pill.” She wrapped her legs around him, tucked her feet under his ass, and then grabbed it with her hands, squeezing it, making it clear he wasn’t to stop again.

That was all he needed to hear, all caution thrown away. Ryan plunged into her hard and fast until they were both sweaty and breathless. He’d never had sex with her without wearing a condom before, and after this, he knew he would never wear one again. There was nothing like the feel of a woman wrapped around his cock with no barrier—especially this woman. She felt so good, it should be illegal. His mouth was on hers again as he pumped and thrust and pushed them over the edge into a perfectly timed, simultaneous orgasm. His whole body shook and he jerked violently as he came hard inside her. “Wow, Jess... Oh, my God...” he moaned, his hips still pumping even though he had nothing left to give. It was just so good he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

Jess cried his name repeatedly as her core clung to his erection, milking it for every last drop he had. Her fingernails dug into his back.

Ryan collapsed on top of her, his face buried in her neck. He showered her neck and shoulder with tiny kisses as they both took time to catch their breath. He used to have marathon sex with his ex-girlfriend, coming three or four times throughout, and all of those orgasms combined weren’t as intense as the one he’d just had with Jess. It blew his mind.

“Wow,” she said with a laugh. “That was...”

“I know.” He propped himself up and looked down at her. She was absolutely breathtaking. A wave of anger and sadness swept over him at the thought that he’d lost three years with her. And for what? He still had no idea. “Jess—”

“Don’t.” She drew a shaky breath. “Please don’t ruin this moment.”

“We’re going to have to talk about it sooner or later.”

“I know. And we will. I promise. Just not right now, okay?”

Yeah, like he could ever say no to her. He nodded. “Okay.” He pulled out of her and immediately wished he hadn’t. Ryan rolled away and brought her with him, tucking her into his side, her head on his chest. He kissed her forehead. “Stay with me tonight?”

“I can’t. I left my sister. She’s probably passed out on my couch by now, but she’ll worry if she wakes up and I’m not there.”

He frowned. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her he wasn’t going to be just some guy she had sex with when the mood struck, but he refrained. Saying so would make him sound needy, and he was afraid he’d scare her away again. That was the last thing he wanted.

“I’ll stay for a while though.” She swirled her finger around his chest. “I don’t think I could walk home right now anyway.”

“Why’s that?” He tucked his hand behind his head and enjoyed the feel of her touch. It sent shivers through his body and caused goose bumps to erupt on his arms.

“Because my legs are still shaking from that orgasm. I’m pretty sure if I try to stand, I’ll fall.”

He laughed. “So what you’re saying is if I give you several more orgasms like that last one, you’ll be incapacitated and have to stay here?”

She playfully smacked him and laughed. “That’s not even close to what I said.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s what I heard.”

“Oh yeah?” Jess sat up, flung her leg over his waist, and straddled him.

He cocked a brow and grinned. “Yeah.”

Jess smoothed her hands up his torso, lowering her body until it was flush against his, and then she kissed him. It was a kiss unlike any he’d ever had: slow, easy, and full of passion and sexual desire. That single kiss was enough to arouse him to the point of frustration. He wrapped his arms around her and ground his hips up, rubbing his hard cock on her warm folds. “Again?” she asked.

“Again,” he confirmed, adjusting her body so that he could enter her. But before he had the chance to do so, his pager went off. He grabbed it from the night stand and looked at the message. “Son of a bitch.”

Jess sat up on him, his cock resting against her pussy. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Fire call,” he said, setting the pager down and clutching her hips. “I have to go.” What he really wanted to do was slide inside her and make her scream his name until she was too damn exhausted to do anything but fall asleep in his arms.

“Oh.” She was clearly disappointed. So was he.

Ryan palmed the back of her head and brought her down to him for another kiss. Damn. It was torture feeling her wet pussy on his shaft and not being able to do anything about it. He groaned. If he didn’t get out of there right now, he knew he never would. “Can I see you tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll spend the whole day together like we used to.”

“I’d like that.” She rotated her hips on him, making him jerk in response.

He rolled his eyes. “You’re killing me, Jess.”

She giggled and climbed off him. “We can finish this tomorrow.”

“Damn right we will.” Ryan dressed quickly while Jess gathered her clothes from the bedroom floor and the kitchen. He ensured she made it home safely before getting in his truck and taking off. For the first time in a long time, he was looking forward to the next day. He’d made up his mind: he would find out why she’d run away, and then he would do whatever was necessary to make sure she never did it again. Once and for all, Jessie Taylor would be his.

Chapter 6

J
essie stared out her window and watched until Ryan’s truck disappeared from view. She blew out a breath and leaned against the window, a smile plastered across her face. Sex with that man was as incredible as it had always been. She had gone to his house to talk, to tell him she was sorry for running out, but that they couldn’t get involved again. She’d jumped from one bad relationship to another, and it was time to take a break, to focus on reclaiming her independence and finding herself.

Well, that had been her intention anyway: to explain that the only thing she could offer him was friendship.

Then he answered the door in nothing but a towel and she knew she was in trouble. His dark hair had been wet and messy, his body lean and damp, beads of water trickled over his shoulders and down his abs. In two seconds flat, she’d gone from a mature woman who wanted to have an adult conversation to a sex-crazed, hormonal teenager who wanted to jump his bones. And that’s exactly what she’d done. It was unsettling how he had such an effect on her. She went inside and saw her sister sprawled on the couch, snoring lightly. Jessie covered her with a blanket and then went to bed.

****

“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” Jessie smiled and handed Lisa a cup of coffee.

“You’re in a good mood. I take it things went well with Ryan? God knows you were there long enough. I got tired of waiting up for you.”

“Yes, things went very well—although we didn’t do much talking.”

Lisa stopped with her cup halfway to her mouth. “You had sex with him?”

Jessie grinned and sipped her coffee.

Lisa shook her head in disapproval; her frown morphing into a broad smile. “You’re terrible.”

“Probably, but Ryan sure as hell isn’t.”

Lisa laughed. “Does this mean you’ve changed your mind about him?”

“No. Last night was a moment of weakness.” Jessie sighed. “I still just want to be friends.”

Lisa narrowed her eyes. “You have to tell him. Think with your brain, not your clitoris.”

Jessie laughed, she couldn’t help it. Her clitoris was exactly what she had been thinking with. “I know, I know. We’re going to spend the day together. I’m going to tell him. Today…”

Jessie ignored Lisa’s look that said,
yeah right, like that’ll happen
. “Well,” Lisa set her coffee cup in the sink, “I need to head back. Mark called this morning. He has to go to work. I have to pick up the kids early.”

Jessie put her cup on the counter and hugged her sister. “Thank you for visiting and for your help.”

“You can plan on seeing me every other weekend.”

They laughed and Jessie released her. “You’re welcome here anytime, Lisa. Just make sure you bring the wine”

“Deal.”

Jessie walked Lisa to the door and stood on the porch, waving as she pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street. Then she went back inside and looked around. She only had a few boxes left to unpack. She might be able to get most of it done before her date with Ryan. She didn’t, he arrived seconds later.

“Hey,” she said, stepping into his arms and accepting the kiss he offered before she could stop herself. She hadn’t realized how much she missed him until she was in his arms again. But the last thing she wanted was to be dependent on a guy, for anything, especially her happiness. “So what’s the plan for today?” she asked, pulling away.

“There’s this great little bistro down in the business district. I thought we could go get some breakfast, then wander around downtown, do some shopping, maybe catch a movie.”

She smiled. “That sounds great. Let me grab a sweater, it’s always cold in the theater.”

Half an hour later, they were seated at a small wrought iron table outside of Le Bistro. The atmosphere was cozy and welcoming. She liked it immediately. Ryan took her hand and brought it to his mouth, giving her knuckles a light kiss. He smiled. “You look beautiful, Jess.”

“Thank you.” She blushed, but held his gaze. His eyes were so green, so vibrant and intense… and completely focused on her. There could be naked women parading around their tables, and she wondered if he’d even notice. The waitress arrived, and they placed their orders. “This place is great,” Jessie said, looking around.

“There’s no reason to be nervous,” he said.

Jessie laughed. He had nailed it: She was nervous. She didn’t know why. Maybe it was because this was the first time in three years they’d spent time together outside the bedroom. Or maybe it was because she knew she had to tell him what she’d failed to say last night. It was going to break his heart, and she hated that. But she vowed to stay true to herself, and getting involved with Ryan wouldn’t accomplish that.

“You look like you’re lost,” Ryan said, giving her hand a squeeze. “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing, really.” She shrugged. “I was just wondering what you’ve been up to these past few years.”

“Thinking about you, wondering if I’d ever see you again,” he said.

“Why didn’t you look for me?” Shit, the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She looked down at the table, wishing she could take them back.

“Jess, you left me…”

“I know, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Is that what you wanted, for me to go looking for you? Was it a test?”

Was it? She wasn’t really sure but shook her head in denial anyway. “No, of course not. It’s really best that you didn’t. I was pretty messed up at the time.”

“Why were you messed up?” The look in his eyes were so earnest, Jessie nose began to burn with building tears. She blinked rapidly and looked around.

“Not here. Please. I don’t want to talk about all that in public. Just know I thought about you too.” There was no use lying to him. In fact, she wanted to be completely honest with him. It was time to put the past behind them so they could both move on.

Ryan took a deep breath and looked like he was going to press the point but then he exhaled and asked, “Then what do you want to talk about?”

Relieved, she went for a neutral subject. “What have you been up to?”

“I’ve kept busy with work.” He said, his eyes boring into hers, still waiting for her to answer the questions that lingered between them.

“I’m surprised you’re not married with a couple kids by now.” She took a sip of her tea and waited for him to answer. Not that she really wanted to hear about his past relationships, but if it meant she didn’t have to explain why she left, she’d listen to anything.

His forehead wrinkled and he shifted in his seat, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. “I’ve dated a few women on and off, but there’s never been anything serious with any of them.” He grazed his thumb across her knuckles. “What about you?”

It was now or never. Her heart raced and her palms were sweating. She was suddenly rethinking her decision to be honest. Yeah, she was chicken shit. “There was a guy, Derrick; he and I were pretty serious with for a while. We were talking marriage.”

“What happened?”

“He cheated on me.” She averted her gaze for a moment. “No, he didn’t just cheat. He had an entire relationship with the other woman. I loved him. I trusted him, depended on him, and he let me down, with a good friend of mine. God, I was such an idiot.”

Ryan leaned over the table and captured her lips in a sweet kiss. “Derrick is a damn moron for doing what he did to you.” He kissed her again. “I’m sorry he hurt you, Jess, but I’m not sorry things ended between you two.”

“His loss is your gain?”

“Exactly. At least I hope it is.” He smiled against her lips before giving her another kiss, this time longer and hotter. He decided he didn’t need to know why she left him three years ago. He just needed to make sure she didn’t run again. The waitress arrived with their food. Jessie was both grateful and annoyed. Ryan sat back down and winked at her. Her body buzzed and fluttered and hummed and all the other crazy stuff it did every time she was near him. Good grief, how did he do that to her? They ate in silence for several moments.