Page 107 of Fire Fight

Aspen gave me an eye roll, but it did nothing to dampen her answering smile.

There was no way I’d ever be satisfied where Aspen McKay was concerned. My sexual appetite had always been voracious, but everything was different now.

I was falling in love with her, and that changed everything.

twenty-nine

. . .

ASPEN

Crew filledthe tub with borderline too hot water—the way I liked it—and some eucalyptus scented bubble bath that had been hiding under the sink. When the water reached the perfect level, he stepped in and relaxed against the edge, then helped me in after him. I reclined with my back to his chest, cocooned in the warmth of his body and the water surrounding us.

“A girl could get used to this,” I mused as I ran my fingertips over his kneecaps which jutted above the surface. The tub was massive, likely custom made to fit his big body, but with his long legs bent, they still extended past the lip.

“Sex so good you can’t walk?” he asked, brushing my hair off my shoulder to bend and press a kiss there.

“That too,” I giggled as he hit a particularly sensitive spot right above my collarbone. “I meantthis.” I gestured to our current situation. “Being taken care of. A man giving me life-altering orgasms followed by him relaxing in the bath with me.”

I could get used to a lot of things where Crew Lawless was concerned. The camaraderie, the care he showed me both in and out of the bedroom, the safety I’d found in his arms.

The sex too, but while I’d spent the time since I’d met him knowing without a doubt it would be explosive between us, it had also been tender in a way I hadn’t expected. He was gruff and commanding, wringing pleasure from my body like wringing water from a rag, but he never pushed for more than I could take. With him, I knew I could take even more than he’d given me. And I wanted to explore all of that, find out exactly what he meant when he said we’d work our way up to what he liked.

But I wanted more from him that went beyond being physical. For the first time since my sister died, a future where I wasn’t alone stretched out before me. I no longer wanted to punish myself for something that hadn’t been my fault.

I still had secrets, and I wanted to share them with Crew. Wanted to unburden myself for the first time since I’d left Chicago in the rearview nearly a decade ago.

“We agreed to one day at a time,” he said, almost like he was reminding himself more than me, “but I’ll give you whatever you want for as long as we’re together.”

“Ditto,” I managed to choke out around the emotion suddenly clogging my throat.

His lips continued to ghost along my skin as he murmured, “Tell me about your sister.”

With the warm water lapping around us and the heat of his skin on mine, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so protected. So I opened my mouth and talked about my sister in a way I hadn’t done with anyone ever.

I told him about growing up with Lola as my idol. We were nearly seven years apart in age, my parents trying for years after she was born to have another until finally, they got pregnant with me as they were about to give up.

“She wanted to be a pediatrician,” I said, smiling. “And I have no doubt she would’ve had a whole brood of her own children. Secretly, I think a lot of that stemmed from growing up with a sister so much younger than her. She was almost like athird parent. By the time I reached high school, she was nearly done with undergrad. She was the first person I’d gone to for advice, the first call I made when something good or bad happened.” I swallowed hard, trying to get through this next part. “And then she was…gone. Caught in a fire in one of the older buildings on campus and I never saw her again. Never got to hear her voice, or hug her and tell her I loved her. I never even got to say goodbye.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks, and Crew shifted me around to cradle me against his chest, swiping at my face with his thumbs.

“She was so badly burned we had to have her cremated,” I choked out. “My parents couldn’t even visually identify her. They had to use her dental records.”

“Fuck,” he breathed, pressing a kiss to my hair. “I’m so sorry.”

“It was a long time ago,” I whispered, trying to play it off if only to regain my composure. “I shouldn’t still be crying about it.”

“Hey, no,” he said, turning my face until I looked up at him. I wanted to drown in the blue depths of his eyes. “You’re allowed to feel sad. And cry about it. Grief isn’t linear. My dad has been gone since I was ten, and it still fucking hurts to think about.”

“I’m sorry you lost him.”

“I think he would’ve liked you,” Crew said with a soft smile. “I’ll have to go visit him soon and tell him about this girl who turned my world upside down.”

Craning my neck, Crew caught my drift and met me for a kiss. “In a good way, I hope.”

“In thebestway.”

“What was he like?”