Warnings and Wildfires

Then she breaks with a sweet cry of relief. I bury my face against her neck, grinding into her harder and faster until I let go. Squeezing my eyes shut as the orgasm overtakes me.

As I keep pumping into her, I wish I’d taken her up on the no condom offer. All sorts of images run through my head. Coming inside her. Filling her. It’s something primal. Mating instinct? I don’t fucking know. I want all of it though. Want all of her.

Mine.

I touch my lips to her forehead, trying to orient myself. Catch my breath.

Regain my sanity.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

I wake with Aubrey snuggled up against my back. The warm weight of her feels so right next to me.

As smoothly as possible, I turn, watching her for a few minutes.

She blinks and smiles when she sees me. “Morning.”

“Move in with me,” I say.

She raises her eyebrows.

“I miss you when you’re not here and I love waking up next to you.”

“Wow,” she whispers. “That’s some good morning.”

“I’m serious.” I brush a few stray strands of hair off her face. “Move in with me.”

She sits up, pressing the sheet against her breasts. “I don’t know. Your family has a knack for walking in when we’re in delicate situations.”

She’s teasing me. I sit up and kiss her shoulder.

“I’ll buy better locks. And a Do Not Disturb sign.”

She turns, but there’s no hint of teasing. “What about Madison? Won’t that be weird for her? Will it screw up your custody arrangement?”

I don’t get the sense she’s trying to dodge my question. More like she’s genuinely worried about these things.

And it makes me love her even more.

“Let me worry about that stuff.”

“Okay.”

“Okay, you’ll move in?”

Her lashes flutter and a smile flickers over her lips. “Yes.” She hesitates. “Just give me a little time to break it to my sister.”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

She turns over and I draw her into my arms. At first just to hold her, but other parts of my anatomy have different ideas.

I kiss her shoulder blade and up to her neck, moving her hair so I can kiss behind her ear. Not so subtly, I rub my morning wood against her ass. “Did you offer up something last night?”

“Such as?” A cautious note colors her question.

I decide not to fuck around and go right for the important information. I trust her not to lie to me. “I haven’t been with anyone but you since my last physical.”

“Oh,” she whispers. “Me either.”

Reaching down, I hook my arm under her knee, lifting her leg. “Arch your back.”

My other arm snakes under her body, cupping her breast and anchoring her to me. Molding myself to her, I continue nibbling on her neck. My cock nudges her entrance and she presses back even more, inviting me to drive in. I stop, overcome with how fucking amazing she feels bare.

“Fuck,” I groan against her shoulder, grazing my teeth over her smooth skin.

She wiggles and I lift her leg higher for a better angle.

One of her hands reaches back, gripping my arm. “Fuck. That feels. That feels amazing,” she whispers.

No sounds except us. So hot. Like we’re melting into each other. She leans back, and I nuzzle her, leaving faint abrasions from my rough morning stubble on her skin.

I’m not sure how long we’re like that—half cuddling, half fucking—until she shudders against me. I push her over on her stomach and stuff a pillow under her hips. She arches her back, granting me access to push back inside. My hands fit into the curve of her waist, holding her in place while I pound into her with unrelenting strokes. Under me, she bucks, moans, and encourages me with dirty words.

“Oh.” She claws at the pillows, grasping and pulling them toward her. “Oh.” Her moans go on and on, triggering my release. I hold myself up, tense as I empty everything I have into her.

When I’m finished and can see again, I kiss my way up her spine. “I want to wake up with you like this every day,” I whisper.

She turns, watching me over her shoulder. “Sounds good to me.”

Pulling out, I tap her ass once, then again because it feels so good. “Love your ass,” I mumble.

She glances back. “I can’t get rid of it no matter what I do, so I guess that’s good for me.”

Shaking my head, I sit next to her on the bed, rubbing my hand over her back and ass. “You have any idea how many times in class I had to stop myself from grabbing this hot ass? Don’t you dare try to get rid of it.” This time, I grab a handful and she squeals, laughing and slapping my hand away.

“Mine,” I growl before planting a kiss on her cheek.

“You’re full of it.”

Wow, she seriously questions herself. Something I’ve noticed since I met her. Not the usual fishing-for-compliments insecurity some girls display. Something much deeper than that.

I rub my finger over her cheek. “I don’t lie, Aubrey.”

“But you didn’t want anything to do with me.”

“That’s not true at all.”

She raises an eyebrow, challenging me to explain. I sigh and trace my fingers down the line of her spine, trying to decide how much I’m willing to share.

I may have reached a new level of pathetic and needy. The man told me he loves me last night. Asked me to move in with him this morning. Gave me one of the most intense orgasms of my life—in fact, I’m still quivering from it, which is why I haven’t found the strength to move yet.

But seeing Darren yesterday messed with my head. I might have shoved the encounter out of my mind for a few hours last night, but his words won’t stop echoing. And, oh, how I hate letting that particular ghost haunt me when I’m with Sully.

He seems so torn and I’m almost afraid to hear what he has to say. The soothing way he keeps stroking his hands over my back seems to help.

“It’s not because I wasn’t attracted to you,” he explains. At first, his voice seems tentative as if he doesn’t want to reveal too much, but then he shakes his head and continues. “I wasn’t using not getting involved with clients as an excuse. I meant it. This is a small community with a lot of big mouths. You know all those free classes I do at the shelter and the Y? They’re not gonna let me do that if I gain a reputation as some sleaze who hits on all the students.”

I turn over and sit up, dragging the sheet over me. “Why do you do so many of those free classes?” I admire him for it, especially since it comes at the cost of not growing his business in ways that will earn him more money. His dedication stems from something deep that I want to understand.

His stepfather. Sully already gave me the answer the other day. I just didn’t hear him.

“Did your stepfather hit your mom?”

He runs his hand over the back of his neck and looks away. “Yes.”

“Her injury. Her eye. Did he do that?”

His jaw locks tight and he nods.

I reach out, run my hand over his arm and twine my fingers with his. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s a long time ago.” He seems to shake himself out of the memory. “He ended up dead. I went into juvenile detention.”

“Jesus. Why? For protecting your mother?”

He shrugs. “A man was dead.” He snorts. “The ‘Castle’ where they hold the fights? That used to be a Juvenile Detention center. One of the more vicious ones. It got shut down when the feds investigated and found out just how many broken bones and teeth were caused by the so-called youth counselors.”

&n

bsp; “Oh my God. No wonder you wanted to stay away,” I whisper, feeling awful that I made him go there when it probably brought up a lot of bad memories for him.

“That’s not the main reason. To Griff and Remy it’s their way of flipping off the system. But yeah, I’d rather not be reminded of my stay there. Although it is where I took up an interest in martial arts.”

“How old were you?”

“Around eleven.” He lets out a humorless laugh and turns his head. “A guard there offered to ‘train’ me. It was really more of an excuse to kick my ass.”

“But you were so young.”

“Youngest one there for a while.” He forces a bitter smile. “Everyone knew I was there for killing my stepfather. People tended to steer clear of me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It feels like a lifetime ago.” He closes his eyes. “I didn’t want to be defined by that one thing for the rest of my life. The counselors used to say it was a warm-up of what the rest of our lives would be like—in and out of prison. It drove me to prove them wrong. It’s why I get so pissed with Jake—”

“Because the fighting could get him in trouble?”

“That and…other stuff, but yeah.”

I understand exactly what he means by not wanting to have your whole life determined by one bad incident. It’s why I’ve lived the last few years trying to escape and bury my own painful past. Hiding it from anyone in my “new” life.

Now that Darren’s resurfaced, I might not be able to hide any longer.

“Sully?”

“Too much too soon?”

“No. Not at all. Thank you for trusting me.” Now it’s my turn. “I—”

His phone rings and I snap my mouth shut.

“Hey, Maddy,” he answers. A genuine smile lights him up.

Her voice is loud enough to hear her excitement but not the actual words. While Sully talks to her, I get up and run to the bathroom, clean up, and throw on a T-shirt.

He’s dressed but still on the phone when I emerge. “Okay. Yup. Heading out in a few. Talk to you later. Love you too.”

He’s grinning when he ends the call. “School was closed today. She’s pissed she didn’t know about it sooner so she could’ve stayed an extra day.”