Fire Safety (Hearts Flames & Hoses)

Out in the room, I thank the nurse again.

“Are you ready?” Jefferson asks, coming back into the room.

“I am, but I don’t see my jacket anywhere,” I say, digging through my suitcase.

“They cut it off of you. Wear mine. I have plenty.” He shrugs his coat off and helps me into it.

“You sure?”

“Of course,” he says, pulling me closer to him. “I’m gonna kiss you now.”

“You better,” I say, licking my lips. Then his lips are on mine.

Hell yeah. This is the kind of first kiss you dream about. Opening my mouth, his tongue sweeps in and dances with mine.

“Let’s get you home,” he says after breaking the kiss.

“Home? Whose home?”

“Our home,” he says, grabbing my things in one hand and my hand in the other. Another shiver travels down my spine, and I swear my uterus clenches.

That kind of talk should piss me off or creep me out, but it does neither of those things. It kinda makes me feel powerful, and it definitely makes me want to see where this goes next.

four

JEFFERSON

In my truck, I keep holding her hand as I drive to my apartment. I suddenly wish I had a bigger and better place to take her to, but this will have to do for now. I help her up the tiny staircase to my one-bedroom apartment. It looks more like a man cave. I am into sci-fi and Marvel, so my place looks like a comic bookstore exploded.

“You live here?” she asks, taking off my coat and setting it on the back of the couch.

“Yes.”

“Alone?” she asks, fishing for any information, I’m sure.

“Yes. I’m single, Zephyr.”

“How old are you?” she asks, picking up a Stormtrooper off of the table under the TV.

“Thirty-two. You?” I ask, though I already know the answer. I looked through her purse to find her ID.

“Eighteen.” One word has never sounded so sweet to my ears. I know that makes me a depraved old man, but I don’t give a flying fuck. She’s legal, and she’s all mine.

“Does the age difference between us bother you?” I ask. If it does, I don’t know that I could stop this fucking freight train of feelings I have for her.

“No. Does it bother you?”

“Nope.” The way she pops that p makes my dick hard for some reason. Her long dark hair is still wet from her shower, but I long to wrap my hands in it. I just want to touch her, but I know she needs time. It’s crazy to me how much I want her. It’s also a bit scary how much I know she’s meant to be my wife. I’ve spoken to her for a total of twenty minutes, but love is deeper than talking. It has to be.

“So what do we do now?” she asks, kicking off her shoes. I like that she’s making herself at home. She looks so out of place here, but that’s quickly changing.

“I’ll order some pizza, and we’ll get to know each other a little better.”

“I don’t eat olives,” she says, wrinkling her nose.

“Extra olives then,” I reply, chuckling, pulling out my phone.

“Funny,” she says, looking around a bookshelf. “You’re a nerd too,” she says, looking up at me.

“I am. We’ll talk more while we eat. Your phone is charging in the bedroom. You should call your mom,” I tell her, carrying her suitcase down the hallway.

“Why are you being so nice to me? Why isn’t this weirder?” she asks once we are in the bedroom. I set her stuff on the bed and pull her close to me.

“I thought we went over this already, luscious girl, but we can go over it again,” I say before kissing her again.

“Okay, I’d like that,” she whispers.

“You are mine. I knew it from the moment I saw you. Well, that’s not exactly true. I knew from the moment the call came into the station. You’re mine, Zephyr. You know it too. That’s why you’re here right now.”

“How do you know I don’t go around spending my spare time in the homes of strange men all the time?”

“Because you shiver when I kiss you. You moan so softly I don’t think you know you are doing it. You smell cherry sweet, and I can’t wait to pluck that cherry.” My hands roam over her back and her juicy little ass.

“My cherry? How do you know I have a cherry? I could simply be a good seductress, letting you believe what I want you to.”

“Are you trying to make me jealous, luscious girl? Are you trying to drive me crazy? Just the thought of you with another man makes me want to murder someone.”

“No, not exactly,” she says, shivering again.

“It’s working. You can forget any other man you’ve had before me. You will never want another when I’m through making you mine.”