The Fireman I Loved to Hate by Jenna Gunn
Chapter 24
The drive takes us out of Rockville proper, but it’s still only a short drive. Rockville is a tiny town. My home is a small one-story with no porch and a pointed roof. I tell her, “It’s small,” almost as an apology. Her house has to have a thousand square feet on mine and I feel odd about that. “But I spend most of my time at the station, so I’ve never needed much.”
I pull into the gravel driveway and open the car door for her, hoping to continue the gallant evening. I take her hand and hold it as we walk up. I admit in a murmur, “I haven’t had anyone over in a long time.”
In the moment before we enter, I wonder if she’s imagining a nightmare of bachelor disasters inside. But once inside, the worst thing about my home is that it’s bare. It almost looks like a furnished rental. There’s only one picture on the wall; a family portrait of Alyssa’s little family. It’s undeniably sweet-they’re in pajamas in front of their fireplace. The best part about it is that I knew Alyssa always used to hate fireplaces, but Grant makes her feel safe enough that she can have one in her home.
I take her jacket and hang it. Then I go to the kitchen and ask, “So, mozzarella sticks?”
She’s followed me there. I’m in front of the open freezer door. There is something clawing at my soul, drawing me to her, but I don’t want to push my luck. I know how she is about sex and I’m not going to rush us into that so soon after getting back together. But her voice is low and husky, “I’m not hungry for cheese right now.”
Instantly, my eyebrows raise as I look at her and shut the freezer door. “Oh?”
She reaches out and takes my hands. “You are chivalrous, Alexander Whitmore.”
“I am?”
She nods slowly. “You are thoughtful.”
“Who? Me?”
A smirk creeps the corner of her mouth upward. “And you have absolutely swept me off my feet tonight.”
“Not yet,” I growl. Then, I scoop her up into my arms and carry her through my home to my bedroom and toss her onto the bed.
She bounces and giggles. When I crawl onto the bed, she begins, “Alex-”
And I panic. “Wait,” I stop in my tracks, “is this what you want?”
She grabs my collar and tugs me to her. She wants this, I know she does. But I’m scared she’ll hate me for it. And I don’t know how to stop myself from falling for her even harder right now. I press my lips to hers and take her in my arms. Raina pushes me back and says, “I’ve been wanting this all my life.”
Something in me finally relaxes, before I kiss her again. She lays down and watches me. I carefully kneel, then cautiously pull my sweater over my head. There are bruises and other wounds on my chest and across my ribs, and she looks both fascinated and frightened by them. But she reaches up and explores them with her fingers. I watch her touch me, but then wince with pain. Her hand jerks away and she mutters, “Sorry.”
“Don’t ever be sorry for touching me.” I take her hands, kiss them, then pin them onto the pillow under her head. She is beneath me, and I craved that sensation for so long, that I am taken by it. I kiss her roughly and my hands explore her body.
When I grope her breasts over her blouse, she groans, “Alex.”
I love hearing her say my name like this and her name steams out of my lips as I kiss up her throat. Then I sit up and give her room to maneuver from her clothes. I watch as she tosses her blouse somewhere. Then, I bend forward and kiss the tops of her breasts, as I work the clasp on her cream-colored lacy bra.
I’m struck by the differences between now and the last times. Our other times together were almost a rehearsal. This is the real thing.
She wriggles from her jeans and I watch, absolutely enthralled. Then I stand, and she watches as I remove my own. I’m naked and hard, taken by her lust for me. Before she slides from her panties, I shake my head. I have something else in mind. I get onto the bed again and wedge myself between her thighs.
I kiss up her soft inner thighs and watch her eyes, while I touch her over her cream-colored lacy date night panties. Lightly, at first. The lace is hardly even noticeable. But then I press firmly against her, over her panties, in long strokes over her pussy. She gasps, “What are you doing?”
“Watching you dance for me.”
She’s shaking and her voice is choked, but she says, “I want you now.”
I slip a finger under the lace and into her. Raina’s head digs into the pillow and she grips the comforter in tight fists. I curl my finger upward in a maddening search for that spot. When I find it, her legs lock down. Then, I mouth her over her panties.
It’s not exactly a biting motion, but almost. I use my chin to press against her clit over the lace and she gasps, “Oh god!” She’s so wet, I can taste her through the lace. Her warmth on my skin and my cock against my comforter, it’s the best and worst tease of my life. I want it forever, and I need it to be upgraded right now. I whisper, “I can’t take this anymore.”
“What’s wrong?” she squeaks out.
“This.” I pull my hand away, then rip the panties off of her like they were nothing. I lick her all over, before I suction my mouth around her clit. My tongue swings side to side in a steady motion.
Her back arches, and she rolls her hips up to my face. She can’t hold still, and I love driving her crazy like this. She abandons the comforter and grabs my hair instead. She pulls me off her, but I fight it for a moment. I was having fun going down on her-it’s delicious torture for us both. She’s panting when she tells me, “Alex, make love to me.”
It’s exactly what I wanted to hear from her. I crawl up her delicate body. But she says, “Lay back.”
I do, and she decides to take her time, too. She watches me while she toys with me. She seems to enjoy the slight flinches as I adjust to the feeling of her tiny hand on me there. Her fingernails drive me onto the edge. She strokes me and finally, I can’t take it anymore. I beg, “Raina, please.” Then, she licks me there. A stiff, “Oh my god,” pours out of me.
But it seems that she can’t take this teasing either.
She climbs onto me, careful not to disturb my wounds, leaning her hands onto the pillow under me. By the time she’s fully on top of my body, though, she has such a strange look on her face. She asks, “Alex?”
“Yes?”
“You’re sure about this? You can still want me after everything I’ve done to you?”
I look up at her and I see it all over her beautiful face. Guilt. I am astounded. I have never wanted her to feel that way with me. I reach up and cradle her cheek in my hand. “Why do you look like you feel guilty?”
“Because I know that I hurt you, when I pushed you away.”
I pull her down for a kiss, “Whatever happened in the past is in the past.”
“But, I don’t want you to think this is all I want you for and every time we get together, we end up here.”
I smile at this wonderful woman on top of me. “Raina, if you want me to make love to you, then promise me you’ll still be you in the morning, and not that scared girl who pushed me away.”
Her lips curl into a smile and she says, “I promise.” Then, she bends down to kiss me and presses her body back to take me inside of her. We groan into each other’s mouths. She’s so wet and at that angle I manage to get half of myself into her in one shot. She rocks herself back and forth against me, and my body drives upward into her. Soon, we fit together perfectly.
It’s like our sex is the perfect example of our lives together. It took some time, but she’s figured out how to make room for me in her heart.
Her body squeezes against me, and I shudder between her thighs. I roll up to meet her ride, and she moans my name. I slide my hands over her hip to her ass, and I hold her tightly, pulling her up and down my hardness. I throb against her and she quakes in my arms. My mouth finds hers again, and things grow feverish between us. She’s giving me the fire of her body, making it mine. Biting, nibbling, sucking, trying not to bang our teeth together. My heart races like a champion thoroughbred.
And I buck up into her.
I thrust my whole body at her, and she growls. I can’t get enough of her. Like my entire body wants to consume her. She is pinned to my body, helpless to my desire, but it’s merely a reflection of her own. Her throbbing becomes mine, and she screams into my mouth when her fire is unleashed. I drive myself into her over and over, stoking her orgasm again and again. Each pulse floods heat into my bones. Ultimate pleasure seeps out of every pore like steam. Finally, her fire becomes glowing embers.
I roll her onto her back, my own fire not yet extinguished. I thrust steadily into her, my raging desire making it reckless. I’m close, faster than I thought possible. She reaches up for me and I lay on top of her, kissing her wildly. This time, I’m too in the moment to worry about crushing her, and she gets all of my weight. Raina is strong enough to take it.
My upper body locks tight against her, my hips jerk wildly, and I snarl in her mouth as the fire takes me, too. We’re boiling, but we both want more. Raina’s kisses are needy things, like she craves my lips. She runs her fingers through my hair, and I savor each moment.
Those quiet, breathless seconds that tell me everything I have ever needed to know about Raina Groves. I can see her heart.
My body eases and my muscles finally release. I stroke her cheek and stare into her eyes. Our skin is slick and sweaty, and everything is glorious. Eventually, I pull out and roll onto my back. I clean up in the bathroom, and when I come back, I turn out the light and spoon her under the covers. The music of her sweet snores is all I have ever needed. I am madly in love with this woman.
-