Through Fire (Portland, ME #3) (17 page)

“Stay,” I softly ask her.

“Oh,” she breathes, suddenly scrambling to get off my lap and pulling her sweater down, regrettably blocking my view of her soft skin. Next thing I know, she’s on her knees before me, struggling with the buttons of my jeans.

“What are you doing?” My words freeze her fumbling as her eyes lift to meet mine.

“You didn’t...I thought...” After a few false starts, she closes her mouth and lowers her eyes shaking her head slightly.

“You gave me more than I expected, love.” I gently remove her hands from my crotch, as her eyes flick up at my use of that particular endearment, her face betraying confusion. “Coming undone under my hands and mouth. Trusting me to take care of you. Your tears...” I take a deep breath. “I don’t need you to get me off. Just stay with me tonight.”

I’m don’t really know if any of what I say makes sense to her. I can still see doubt in her eyes, and I don’t blame her. That’s why it’s so damn important for me to keep my physical urges curbed. I’m no fucking saint. I’d like nothing more than to bury myself in that luscious body, but she’s conditioned only to think about the other person’s satisfaction and never her own. I need her to understand I’m not that person. I’m not those Johns.

Sitting back on her haunches, her eyes search my face for the right answer, but she won’t get it from me. She needs to figure things out for herself. She needs to learn to listen to her own needs and not be afraid to voice them.

“Okay.”

I barely hear her, her voice is so soft, but when she stands up and holds out her hand to me, I don’t need to hear the words.

-

T
he first thing I notice waking up is the smell of coconut. The second is my morning wood pressed against the warm, pliable pillow Ruby’s ass makes against my groin.

We haven’t moved from how we fell asleep last night. Me curled around Ruby, who is lying on her side, her back against my chest, my nose buried in her mass of hair, and my arms keeping her there. She was comfortable there last night, but this morning with my dick ignoring my pleas for restraint and poking at her, I’m not so sure. I try to move my hips back a little, but she instantly scoots her ass back to where it has full contact. Did I mention I’m not a saint? I snuggle deeper into her soft body. If I’d known how fucking comfortable all those soft curves were, I’d have given up on the tall, skinny girls long ago. A guilty thought of Viv flashes through my mind, whose long athletic body had been fodder for my fantasies, even as the memory of it faded.

This, though...this feels like home.

Pulling her in a little closer and burying my face deeper in her hair, I feel her start to stir against me. Reluctantly, I loosen my grip so she can move. She immediately turns around and snuggles against my chest.
Fuck me
. I’d be an idiot not to recognize what a huge fucking deal it is for her to turn to me like that. My dick appreciates it too. Especially with the way Ruby’s leg is pulled up across my hips.

Just as my mind is starting to blur with the physical sensations and resulting urges—mainly to strip the still fully dressed Ruby naked and slide into her soft body—my damn phone starts ringing on my bedside table. A quick look at the display shows my parents’ number.

“Morning, Mom,” I mumble, answering on a guess, since Dad rarely uses the phone. But the responding voice proves me wrong.

“Not the last time I checked, boy,” my father’s voice booms through the earpiece, and I lift my cell to a safe distance. Evidence Dad doesn’t use the phone often is his need to shout at full volume, since he’s never progressed from cans connected by a string. Cell phones are a total alien concept to him, since they aren’t attached by a cord, necessitating the full capacity of his lungs. And that was impressive.

“Dad, not so loud,” I plead, holding on to Ruby one-handed, as she’s frantically trying to climb off me. “Inside voice please. I can hear you just fine.”

“We’re going to Freyburg,” he booms, obviously not having heard me from the ringing in his own damn ears. He continues to tell me about this tip he received about a farmer looking to sell his barn wood for a steal. Dad apparently spoke to him at the butt crack of dawn, because the farmer mentioned that if we were able to come today and tear the barn down for him, he’d let us cart it off for free. In the meantime, Ruby’s stopped struggling and is once again lying with her head on my shoulder and an arm slung over my stomach, but her leg remains straight at my side. Pity.

Free is a magic word for my dad. He believes everything that’s free is worth having, which is why he has two spare and very ancient washers in the garage, the ugliest floral fabric couch in the basement, and an array of antique exercise equipment in the spare bedroom, gathering dust. Never mind it had needed three grown men to haul each and every one of those items inside his house. So the fact he had heard
free
and didn’t waste a minute considering what it would take to bring down a barn, shouldn’t surprise me.

“And it’s gotta get done today, Son, so get your ass out of bed.”

Ruby stifles a giggle against my chest.

“You want to come, Boop? Spend the day watching a bunch of men swearing and getting sweaty over a pile of free wood?” I ask her, watching as her head lifts and eyes light up.

“I have to work,” she whispers, a little disappointed by the way her face drops. “Dino’s off tonight.”

“Who the blazes are you talking to? Who’s Boop? You got a dog?” My father’s voice blusters, setting Ruby’s giggles off again.

“Dad! Inside voice, please!” Christ, my head’s already starting to pound. “Too bad,” he says to me.

“Honey?”

Oh great, now Mom’s on the phone. “Hey, Mom.”

“You got a dog?” She’d obviously been listening to Dad’s side of the conversation, and not unexpected, decided to take over.

“No, Mom, no dog.”

“But your father said you were talking to someone?” she persists, and I choose not to respond, letting the silence do the talking. It doesn’t take long. “Oh...oh...ohhhh,” she finally stammers before continuing in an excited whisper. “Do I know her?”

Not ready for a parental inquisition, especially with Ruby making moves to escape me again, I cut my mother off at the pass.

“No you don’t, Mom. Can you put Dad back on again? The barn?” I helpfully add.

“Yes, yes of course. But, honey? I’m making pot roast tomorrow. Enough for an orphanage.” Subtle, my mother is not.

“I’ll keep it in mind, Mom,” I reply, my eyes on Ruby’s face, which has gone beet red. She heard, and she understands, what was implied too, judging by the panic in her eyes.

With my father back on the phone, I make quick arrangements for him to round up my brother, and assure him, I’ll try to get at least another body along to help. Maybe one of my baseball mates. Ike might be game.

“Dad, I’ve gotta go,” I interrupt my Dad’s ongoing ramble. “I’ll be there in thirty. Let me make some calls.”

“Later, Son. Say bye to the girl.”  With a roll of my eyes, I end the call, turning back to Ruby, who has her hands covering her face, mumbling behind it.

“Ohmigod,
Madre de Dios.”
I hear the moment I pull her hand away from her mouth. I could say something to calm her down, but there’s a much better way to silence her. Taking advantage of her moving lips, I cover her mouth with mine, and slide my tongue inside. She only struggles for a few seconds before she gives in on a big sigh, curling her hands behind my head.

Moments later I pull away, out of breath. The woman has no idea the power she wields. One soft touch of her lips is like a spark to a powder keg: explosive. Unfortunately, given my unexpected change in schedule, I don’t have time to let it burn the way I’d like.

“I seem to be saying this a lot, but if I don’t stop now...That barn wood, you heard my dad mention, would save us a fortune in expenses if we had to buy it from a salvager,” I explain, but she puts her fingers on my lips.

“Go,” she urges with a smile. “Go chase your dream.”

Not quite sure how the fuck I got so lucky, I waste a little more time showing her my appreciation.

Thirty minutes after that, I drop her off at her apartment building, with a hard kiss to her mouth, and the promise I’ll see her tonight.

R
uby

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

Dino’s large hand lands on my shoulder. He’s been dawdling in the kitchen for at least ten minutes and his phone has rung three times already.

“I’ll be fine,” I reassure him. Again. “If I run into trouble, I promise I’ll get Viv.” Granted. Last time I took over the kitchen by myself had admittedly been pretty disastrous. I can’t blame him for being a tad apprehensive.

With just a nod, he finally grabs his coat off the hook and shrugs it on. His face is drawn, haggard, and his movements are jerky. Without thinking I put my hand on his arm. “Is everything okay with you?” His eyes snap my way, and for a moment, they show a deep turmoil before he blinks it away.

“It will be,” he says gruffly. “It has to be.” The last is said on a whisper and I almost missed it.

“If there’s anything I can do...” The rest of my words disappear in his thick winter coat as he pulls me into his chest.

“What you can do is stop running. Let the people who care about you help. Let them in.” His voice is ragged, as he all of a sudden releases me and walks out the door without looking back.

I watch him go with a heavy heart before turning back to the stove.

“Hey. Viv said I could find you here.” I turn to find Pam walking into the kitchen.

“Hi. How are you?”

“Good. Frozen. It’s cold out and the snow is really starting to come down,” she says, as she shakes out her coat. “Was that Dino just leaving?” she asks, tilting her head in the direction of the back door.

“Yes,” I confirm, as I make a split second decision. “And Pam? There’s something really wrong with him.” Her eyebrows shoot up as she pulls out a chair at the table.

“How so?”

In between getting orders ready, I give Pam a description of the things I’ve observed. Do I feel guilty talking about someone who’s become a friend? Sure, but I’m also concerned about him and know Pam is better equipped to help people than I am.

“I’ll see if he’ll talk to me. Lord knows, the man’s knuckle dragging, alpha antics drive me up the wall, and he may well wipe the floor with me, but I’ll give it a go. Now,” she says straightening in her seat. “I came in here to find out how you were doing. I haven’t seen you all week.” I can’t help the smile that spreads over my face and Pam clearly does not miss a thing. “It’s like that, is it?” she says, the corners of her mouth lifting.

I start catching her up, skirting around a lot of the details, but she keeps looking at me with that one eyebrow raised high. She prompts me with, “And?” every time I take a breath, until finally I crack.

“Okay, fine. I had an orgasm,” I blurt out way too loud, giving the big pot on the stove a good stir, too embarrassed to look at her.

“Oh my God, my ears! I’ll never recover.”

I swing around and look straight into Matt’s horrified face. “Madre de Dios!”

“No shit, Sherlock. I come in here for a damn bowl of chili, and I’m slapped with an orgasm,” Matt rambles, as he turns on his heels and walks straight back out the door.

In shock, I look at Pam who is trying, and failing, to contain her deep, rolling laugh.

-

“R
uby?”

I can’t help the deep sigh of relief that escapes me when I hear the voice on the line. By the time I left The Skipper last night, I was trudging through snow already up to my ankles. There’d been no sign or sound from Tim. Although I knew it was possible he’d be home late, the weather had been cause for concern. It was coming down something fierce and wasn’t expected to let up until sometime Sunday evening. When midnight came, and I was still waiting by the phone for a call, I’d had enough. Who knows what is
normal
in a situation like this? It’s not like I have any experience being in a relationship. If that is what this is. I’m not even sure.

Frustrated and worried, I ended up going to bed, where it took forever to fall asleep.

Starting at ten this morning, I tried not to dwell on the fact I’d still not heard anything and went through my regular routine. The walk across to the wharf was even more treacherous than last night, even in daylight, I couldn’t see a hand in front of my face. Snow was coming in sideways and strong gusts of wind swirled it around. My old boots were no match and my socks were soaked in minutes.

I’d barely gotten in the back door when the phone rang.

“Are you okay?” I blurt out the minute I hear Tim’s voice.

“I’m fine,” he chuckles, which somehow irritates me. He was fine, and I’d just spent half the night rolling around in bed, worried sick. “We ended up stopping at a roadside motel for the night, the snow was ridiculous. We’re just grabbing a bite and then we’ll be back on the road. Hopefully, plows have gone through, although it’s still coming down.” He must’ve noticed my silence, because he’s suddenly quiet too. “Ruby? I’m sorry if you were worried. I tried calling late last night, but there was no answer. I was going to try again in five minutes, but I ended up crashing.”