Experimenting With Ed (5 page)

Her fingers flexed, digging into muscle, and his head tipped back against the floor, his eyes closing, the muscles in his face pulled tight as she rocked against his hard belly. Ed’s hands caught her hips, holding her tightly against him for an excruciating second before he released her to grab the hem of the shirt she was still wearing.

He pushed her back until she straddled his hips so he could sit up. He pulled the shirt up and off as Claire raised her arms obediently, leaning her shoulder blades against his up-drawn knees.

“That dress is hot,” he growled, staring at her with hungry eyes.

She wriggled in pleasure and then groaned as hot spikes of sensation shot through her pussy at the movement. The slightly rough fabric beneath her was almost as arousing as his bare stomach had been. “Didn’t think you’d noticed,” she tried to purr, although it came out more as a gasp.

“I noticed.”

The room blurred as Ed reversed their positions, flipping them both over so she was on the bottom. One arm was wrapped around Claire’s waist as the other supported them both in a sort of one-armed, two-person push-up while he slowly lowered them until her back touched the floor. She marveled again at his strength. No matter what he said, she knew he must work out for
hours
every day.

He kissed her again and all rational thought disappeared. His mouth was purposeful, intent, claiming ownership of hers. Claire grasped his head, pulling him into her, wanting him inside her—tongue, cock, everything. She wrapped her legs around his torso and he grasped her thigh, his fingers slipping across her sensitive skin until he touched the edge of her panties.

She froze, all sensation focused on the fingertips slipping beneath the damp fabric, tracing the outline of her pussy before pushing into her. As the thick digit penetrated, Claire unthinkingly sank her teeth into his bottom lip. With a snarl, he yanked his mouth away and thrust his finger deep, parting the tight muscles with inexorable force.

She came, twisting against his hand, her body clamping around his finger, trying to hold him inside her. Her head thrashed against the floor as heavy waves of pleasure broke over her.

Ed yanked the neckline of her dress down, exposing her breasts, and caught an erect nipple in his mouth. He withdrew his finger to catch her clit in a gentle tug. Still caught in the final shivers of her orgasm, Claire jolted at the double assault on her senses, the pulling suction of his lips on her breast and the squeeze and flick of his fingers.

Fighting for control, she moaned as the sensations began to build again. The pleasure radiating through her body had taken over, whipping her into another climax, this one even stronger than the first. Digging her nails into the clenching muscles of his shoulders, Claire cried out as she toppled over the edge again.

She drifted, eyes closed, floating on the lingering threads of her orgasm, the heat and weight of Ed’s body blanketing her. Her legs relaxed, her ankles sliding down the length of his thighs until she let them slip to the floor.

It’s nice
, she thought sleepily.
I hope he stays.

“Claire?” The concern in Ed’s voice pulled her back to reality and she opened her eyes to meet his silver gaze. She offered him a sated smile.

“Okay?” he asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and she nodded.

“Oh yes,” she purred, running her fingers along the dips and planes of his muscled back. “Never better.”

He watched her uncertainly and she realized his erection, still barricaded behind his pants, was as rigid as ever. The bulge pressed against her hip. With a small smile, she traced his waistband around his sides and into the small of his back, sliding her fingers between his pants and skin. Burrowing beneath the elastic band of his underwear, Claire dug her fingers into the hard globes of his ass.

His eyes closed as if he were in pain. He pulled her hands free and turned, making the world spin around her as he rolled them both over once again so she was on top. Eager to wrap her fingers around his erection, Claire pushed herself back until she straddled his thighs and fumbled to unfasten his pants, carefully easing the zipper over the straining bulge. She tugged his pants and underwear past his hips and off his legs, pulling off his shoes and socks as she went. Ed allowed her to strip him naked and she felt a pulse of power and arousal that this powerful man would let her do what she wished to him.

Her dress was still tangled around her middle and she pulled it off impatiently, leaving her in only a tiny pair of panties. His molten gaze was locked on her as she knelt above him.

That heat fueled her confidence. With hands that trembled only a little, she touched her stomach, feeling the muscles jump beneath her skin. She trailed her fingers over her ribs to the small mounds of her breasts, pinching the hard points of her nipples, unable to hold back a moan as pleasure shot through her.

At the husky sound, Ed surged up, catching her around the waist and yanking her down to him. His impatient hand stripped her panties down her thighs and over her knees. Claire kicked the small scrap of fabric off her feet, relieved the final barrier was gone, and pressed her naked pussy against his stomach.

He froze.

“What?” she gasped, already desperate for him again.

“Condom,” he grunted. “Don’t have any.”

Claire blinked at him. Didn’t every guy carry at least one in his wallet? Wasn’t that one of the man rules? “None?”

He gave a short shake of his head. “Didn’t know I’d see you tonight.”

The implications of that statement made her catch her breath. “But what if you’d found another woman you needed to walk home during your break?”

Ed just looked at her as if she were crazy. “No.”

Any condom Claire had in the house would be scarily past its expiration date. “Guess we’ll just have to improvise.”

The eyebrow was questioning her again.

She smiled. “Just leave it to me, Eddie.”

His grunt was suspicious but she ignored it and kissed his mouth. When his hand cupped the back of her head, trying to pull her harder into the kiss, she squirmed free. She had a plan now.

Claire planted a trail of kisses across those hard planes of his chest she’d been admiring during their walk home, working from the indentation above his breastbone to his nipple. Flicking the point with her tongue, Claire could feel the shockwaves echoing through his chest. He barely seemed to move but that just made every slight quiver, every tiny vibration, so dramatic.

It became a game for her, to see if she could draw a reaction from him, a movement or a sound. Claire used her whole body, allowing her hair to brush his chest, her breasts to drag across his rippling belly, while she caught his nipple in her teeth, closing just hard enough to confuse the pain with pleasure. The memory of how it’d felt when he’d lightly bitten her in the supply closet made her squirm against him. His hands found her head, his fingers burying themselves in her hair. He didn’t direct her movements but just held her lightly.

Claire moved to his other nipple and sucked it between her lips, using the tip of her tongue to tease it to a sharp point. She was gentle, licking and sucking, and his fingers tightened.

“Harder,” he rasped, echoing her words from earlier, and she raised her head to look at him in surprise. Ed had been so quiet up to this point.

“Yeah?” she purred with a slow smile. “Like this?” Lowering her head, Claire nipped the straining nub sharply and felt his muscles contract beneath her. She glanced at him. “Did I do that right?”

“Yeah,” he growled. “Again.” His hands on her head grew more insistent as they urged her back toward his chest. Claire was happy to oblige, alternating between gentle tongue and rougher teeth until sweat began to slick his skin. Deciding she had to taste, she lapped at the salty moisture, drawing a line down his abdomen with her tongue.

As she slid down his body, her nipples brushed against his skin until the tips were tight and almost painfully sensitive. The wet tip of his cock bumped her chin and she turned her head, allowing her cheek and lips to touch his straining erection. It burned against her skin, almost hot enough to brand her as his.

He shuddered as her hair brushed against his cock. Delighted she’d drawn such an obvious reaction from him, she hid his erection in the silky fall, dragging the strands along his length just to hear him gasp.

Although she was tempted to tease him some more, the rigid cock in front of her was too hard to resist. Claire licked the head, decided she loved his taste and probed the slit with the point of her tongue. She smiled at his almost silent groan, knowing the quiet sound was equal to a shout from any other man.

His fingers worked against her head, tightening and then easing, and she could almost read his mental battle just from that movement of his hands. He was dying to take control, she could tell, but he resisted the urge, allowing her to have her way with him instead. As a reward, Claire cradled his balls in one hand as she closed her lips around the head of his cock.

His hips bucked and he swore. She smiled around the tip of his erection and then swallowed half his length. Giving his sac a gentle squeeze, Claire drew back until she could tease the head with her tongue. Releasing his balls, she wrapped her fingers around the base of his cock and took him in her mouth, deeper and deeper, until her lips met her hand.

Her fist followed her mouth as she raised and lowered her head, pressing her tongue against the underside of his cock. She took him deeper, swallowing the blunt tip to the back of her throat.

With a guttural sound, Ed tightened his hands around her head and he took control, holding her still as his hips thrust up into her mouth. She took him eagerly, licking and sucking as best she could. The ruthless way he fucked her mouth excited her and she moaned, her grip tightening on the base of his cock.

“Close,” he gritted, pulling out, but Claire tugged free of his hands and followed him, closing her lips around his cock again. With a shout, he came, filling her mouth with hot cum. She sucked at him eagerly, taking everything he could give her, loving the taste and intensity of him.

His hands were back on her head, stroking this time instead of clutching. His tense muscles relaxed and Claire pulled off, giving his cock a final lick as she did so. He shivered and growled, making her smile. She rested her cheek on his stomach, wanting to crawl up to kiss his mouth but feeling oddly shy. Catching her under the arms, Ed hauled her up his body so she was lying on top of him.

Tucking his cheek against hers, Ed exhaled, sending a warm, damp draft against her ear. She shivered.

“Cold?” he rasped.

Claire shook her head, bumping gently against his cheek, enjoying the sweaty heat of him, the rough drag of stubble against her skin. “Just…” She trailed off, not knowing how to explain the feeling that had washed over her, the sensation of something new, exciting, life changing, all happening in one moment. She gave up trying to explain. “Yeah, a little.”

Twisting around, he rolled to his feet, somehow managing to scoop her up in his arms as he stood.

He’s freakishly strong
, Claire thought, bemused and turned-on—again.

“I’ll get you to bed, little mouse,” he growled. “You won’t be cold anymore.”

She bit her lip, her breath stalling in her chest. The inflection in his voice had made the words sound like a promise, as if he was going to personally make sure she was never cold again—ever.

Chapter Five

“Wake up.”

The words were almost inaudible, less than a whisper, but they brought Claire to immediate consciousness. Her eyes flew open, giving her a sideways view of her room. She sat up with an inhaled gasp.

“Shh,” Ed hushed as he leaned over her. His chest was still bare but his pants were on. “Get dressed. Need to get you out.”

Obediently pushing herself out of bed and to her feet, she blinked at him, trying to make sense of the situation. “Wh—”

He silenced her with a shake of his head, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the living room.

“I can’t go anywhere,” she protested in a whisper. “I’m naked!”

Glancing back at her, Ed gave a short nod and scooped her crumpled dress off the floor. Bemused, she allowed him to tug it over her head. The urgent way he was moving as he dressed her was scaring her. When her dress was pretty much in place, she glanced around for her panties but Ed seized her hand again and towed her toward the door, almost yanking her off her feet.

“What’s going on?” she hissed.

He eased the door open and checked the hallway. “Fire,” he grunted over his shoulder.

“But…” Claire shook her head, still not sure if she was awake. “There’s no smoke.”

“It’s not lit yet,” he said, and pulled her out of the apartment.

“Wait,” she yelped, grabbing at the doorframe as he yanked her through. “Keys!”

“Got them,” he whispered impatiently. “Let’s go.”

After quickly snatching up her purse from the table next to the door, she allowed him to haul her into the hallway. He closed the apartment door soundlessly behind them before moving toward the stairs. Claire, her hand still caught in his, had no choice but to follow.

“But there’s no fire,” she whispered, stumbling down the stairs after him.

“There will be—soon,” he told her without slowing.

She stared at the back of his head. “What? How do you know?”

The barged through the front door of the building and into the biting wind. Ed didn’t stop but towed her across the street to the entrance of another building. He tucked her into a corner of the recessed doorway, running a hand over her bare arm.

“Forgot a blanket.” He frowned at the goose bumps lifting on her arms.

“Ed, what’s happening?” she asked. “You’re freaking me out. Why do you think there’s going to be a fire?”

“I heard him. Then I smelled the gas,” he explained. “Stay here.” With that, he turned and shot back across the street, disappearing into the shadows draping one corner of her building.

“Wait!” Claire whisper-yelled into the empty darkness. “Damn it, Ed, enough with the super-smeller Spidey senses. Get your ass back here and tell me what’s going on!”

Her quiet tirade did not get a response. Sliding down to sit on her heels, she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. She was tempted to go back into her apartment but Ed had the keys. Besides, as crazy as he had sounded, talking about a fire that hadn’t started yet, there was something about him that made her trust him, urging her to obey when he told her to get out of the apartment.

She sighed and hugged herself tighter. It wouldn’t hurt to hang out here for a while, she figured. Just in case. Claire made a face. She hated feeling helpless. Pulling her cell phone from her purse, she stared at the lit screen for a second before dialing.

“9-1-1. What’s your emergency?”

Claire hesitated for a second, not able to bring herself to report an as-yet non-existent fire. “I…um, I think I smell smoke.”

When she first saw the movement, Claire thought it was her imagination. After stammering out the address of the building, she pretended to lose the cell connection and hung up, turning her phone off. As her head came up after slipping the phone back in her purse, she saw a shadow shift.

Claire strained her eyes and saw it again. Something—someone—was easing around the front of the building, bent low, scurrying around the pools of light created by the streetlights.

“That you, Ed?” she asked in a tiny voice, knowing it wasn’t even as she asked the question. The figure was too slight.

The person began crossing the weedy vacant lot next to Claire’s building, moving more casually, as if he was confident in his undetected escape. Claire bit her lip, glancing around for Ed but there was no sign of him. If she didn’t do something, this guy—who may or may not have just set fire to her home—was going to get away. With an almost inaudible groan of terror, Claire hurried across the street after the disappearing shadow.

She jogged across the lot, stifling a squeak of pain as her bare foot came down on a buckthorn. Her eyes watered as she yanked out the tiny burr and set her foot down again tentatively. Thoughts of broken beer bottles and rusted nails chased through her head but she forced herself to keep moving.

Reaching the edge of the weedy lot, Claire peered into the alley that bordered it and spotted the figure. He was almost to the cross street and Claire felt a bolt of panic, worried he would turn the corner and disappear. She started running down the alley, her bare feet silent on the pavement. Small stones and debris scattered around the Dumpsters dug into the soles of her feet. She ignored the biting pain, forcing herself to concentrate on the dark silhouette in front of her and the narrowing distance between them.

The figure darted left as he exited the alley, hurrying to a dark-colored van parked on the side of the road. He swung into the driver’s seat and the vehicle roared to life a second later. With a final burst of speed, Claire shot behind the van, hoping to at least get the license plate number.

Only two of the letters were visible—the rest were obscured by dirt and darkness. The van pulled away from the curb as frustration and panic flooded Claire. Without thinking, she sprinted to catch up, grabbing a door handle and yanking herself up to stand on the back bumper.

What are you doing?!
the sane portion of her mind shrieked. Clinging stubbornly to the door handle as the van accelerated, Claire bracketed the tow hitch with her bare feet, intensely glad the cargo van didn’t have rear windows. She realized she still clutching her small purse in her other hand and gave a small sob of relief. On their walk home the previous afternoon, she had finally gotten Ed’s cell number.

Holding the purse between the van door and the side of her bent knee, Claire managed to open the bag. Her fingers just touched her phone as the van hit a pothole and her whole body bounced, only her one-handed grip on the door handle keeping her from flying off onto the pavement. The purse slipped, falling until she trapped it against the van with her free hand and the side of her calf.

Breathing so hard she was almost sobbing, Claire pulled the bag up and pinned it with her knee again, her fingers shaking so much it was hard to grab the phone. She finally managed to grip the cell in her sweating hand, fumbling to push the button to pull up Ed’s number.

Putting the phone to her ear, she struggled to keep her balance as the van turned right and accelerated again. They were on Walnut Street now, which Claire knew had a thirty-five-mile-per-hour speed limit, but they were only a few miles from the interstate. She flinched at the idea.

The phone was ringing in her ear. Claire almost cried in relief.

“Where are you?” Ed barked. It was the most wonderful sound she had ever heard. Emergency sirens wailed in the background of the call.

“I’m on his van,” she said as softly as possible, not sure if the driver had his window rolled down or not.

“Where exactly?”

Claire blinked. She had expected more demands for explanations. “Walnut and…” She strained to see the cross street as they flew past the sign. “Thirty-Second. Heading north. I…um, think it’s north.”

“Hold on.”

With a hysterical choke of laughter, Claire glanced at her fingers, tight around the door handle.
Not much choice with that one
, she thought.

“Okay.” There was only silence on the other end. “Ed?” She heard her voice trail upward with a ring of hysteria and she forced herself to calm down. He would come get her. Even though the roads were empty of cars or pedestrians, the van would have to stop at a red light or stop sign soon, wouldn’t it? Pressing back another surge of panic, Claire worked her phone back in her bag and grasped her purse in her free hand.

It was freezing cold and she couldn’t feel her fingers. She stared at her hand to make sure she hadn’t accidentally let go of the door handle. The van began to slow and Claire’s stomach jumped in excitement but her relief was short-lived. The vehicle picked up speed again and they barreled through the intersection.

“Stupid synchronized traffic lights,” she muttered, shifting on the bumper. Her arm ached from the strain of the bumps and turns, and she was pretty sure one of her feet was bleeding, because the bumper was growing wet and slick beneath her.

There was a faint sound. She cocked her head, unsure if she was really hearing the noise over the grumbling roar of the van engine. It was definitely there—a high-pitched buzz, growing louder. Looking behind her, Claire saw a single headlight behind them, coming up fast. The motorcycle flew around the van, giving her just a glimpse of Ed before he was past.

She wondered what he was doing for a split second before the van screeched to a complete halt, flattening Claire against the door. She bounced off onto the pavement as the van started forward again, swerving to the right.

Scrambling to her feet, Claire saw Ed leap off the motorcycle. He’d swung right in front of the van, forcing it to stop. As the driver accelerated, maneuvering around the bike, Ed ran to the side of the van and ripped the driver’s side door completely off.

Grabbing the arsonist and pulling him out of the vehicle, holding the man with a fist knotted in his coat, Ed reached into the still-rolling van and shoved the gearshift into park.

Claire stared, stunned. He’d peeled off the van door as if it’d been made of aluminum foil. That just wasn’t…normal.

“Put me down, man!” the guy yelped as Ed pinned him against the side of the van, forearm to throat.

“Why’d you start the fire?” Ed demanded, increasing the pressure against the other man’s neck. The trapped arsonist gasped for air, his hands scrabbling at Ed’s impervious arm. Ed let up fractionally and the man inhaled sharply.

“What’re you talking about?” the man wheezed. “I don’t know nothing about a fire—” The rest of his words were choked off as Ed’s arm pressed down, squeezing against his throat.

Jerking out of her frozen trance, Claire took a step toward the two men, wanting to protest but only managing a small, strangled sound. Ed tipped his head toward her, giving her a small shake of his head. His arm must have lightened, though, as the other man was able to take a long, wheezing breath.

“Why?” Ed asked again.

The man’s eyes were wide with panic and a continued need for air. “Wait!” he shrieked as Ed made a tiny movement, as if to press on his throat again. “Wait, I’ll tell you! It ain’t worth it—not for ten thousand bucks.”

Ed didn’t blink. “Who hired you?”

“Some prissy little shit—I don’t know his name. Works in that yellow building on Fountain and Broad Street.”

“Gordon?” Claire gasped.

The man glanced over at her but Ed grabbed a handful of his lank hair and wrenched his head back around.

“Don’t look at her,” Ed growled. “This guy—short, goatee, brown hair?”

“Yeah.” The man tried to nod and winced when Ed’s fist held. “Last week, he wanders into Captain’s—you know, that bar on Fourth?” He paused expectantly, but when Ed’s rigid expression didn’t change, he hurried to continue. “Anyway, this guy needed something—easy to tell he wasn’t there for a game of pool. I’m always looking for…new business opportunities, so I take a seat and start talkin’. Turns out this guy has a problem,” his eyes slid toward Claire again before quickly darting back to Ed, “and he has cash for the guy who can solve it. Said he might not need my help but he was back at Captain’s yesterday. Told me where she lives, said it was a firetrap just waiting for a spark, and took off. It’s not like I’m suspicious but I figured it’d be a good idea to follow him, get an idea of where I could find him if he doesn’t come through with the cash. That’s when I saw where he worked.”

A police siren wailed faintly through the night and the arsonist looked simultaneously panicked and hopeful. Ed hauled the man to the back of the van and opened the door, glancing around the cargo area before pulling out a roll of duct tape.