Page 122 of Fire Fight

“You being selected was a miracle,” she said.

“Yeah,” I replied, shaking my head. Some days, I struggled to wrap my head around it all. I was the luckiest son of a bitch in the world, as evidenced by the woman wrapped in my arms. “It saved my life.”

“I’m glad it did.” Aspen swung her legs around so she straddled my lap and cradled my face in her hands. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to save mine.”

“God, you would’ve hated that version of me. I wasn’t a great guy back then, Aspen. I wasn’t worthy of you, and I’m not sure I am now, either.”

My secret shame and my greatest intrusive thought: that I didn’t deserve all the good in my life because of the kid I’d been.

“No, Crew,” she assured me, gripping my shoulders fiercely, like she was going to shake some sense into me if I didn’t see reason. “You’re a good man. Thebestone.”

“I’ve done bad things to good people,” I protested. “And you better believe if it comes down to it, I will stop atnothingto keep you safe You’re…everything to me.” Fuck, it felt good to get that off my chest, even if emotion clogged my throat, my body stiffening, bracing for her reaction. “If that means I have to put a bullet in the head of the fucker responsible for this”—I brushed my fingers along the material of her tee over the burn scars on her back—“make no mistake, baby. I’ll happily do it and sleep like the dead afterward.”

Aspen tiptoed her fingers up my chest, her entire palm coming to rest against my cheek. “You’re pretty sexy when you get all murderous like this.”

My hand continued down her side, over the curve of her ass, and she shifted onto her knees so I could grab a handful. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Gets me all hot and bothered. Makes me wanna do naughty things to you.” Leaning in, she pressed a kiss right over my heart. “And for what it’s worth,” she continued, pulling back to look me in the eye. “I wouldn’t survive if something happened to you. This”—she gestured between us—“is everything to me too.”

A low grumble emanated from my chest. Fuck, this woman turned me on something fierce, both with the dirty talk and emotional vulnerability. I slipped my hands under the hem of the tee, once again peeling it off her body. Then I scooted us to the side of the bed and put Aspen on her feet. Naked again save her panties, she stared at me in confusion.

I merely smirked at her, sliding off my pants and boxer briefs. Aspen’s eyes widened, and the tip of her pink tongue darted out to trace along her bottom lip, as though she could sense where I was going.

Despite my emotional purging, I was hard as a fucking rock, and I hissed at the pressure when I gave my shaft a few tugs.

“Get on your knees and show me then.”

thirty-two

. . .

ASPEN

Before I laideyes on Crew’s, I thought dicks were ugly as hell, but his was as beautiful as the rest of him. Long, thick, the broad, blunt crown flushed a deeper red than the rest of the pink shaft, hearty veins running along the length. I fuckinglovedhis cock, and I was falling hard for the man attached to it too.

I placed my hands on his thick thighs and leaned in for a teasing kiss, using my tongue to trace his lips instead of giving him real pressure. I angled my head to brush my mouth over his stubbled cheek and jaw, the dark blond hair rasping deliciously against my delicate skin.

“I like this,” I said, cupping his other cheek with my hand, rubbing my thumb over the beginnings of his beard.

“Beards are too itchy.”

“This length is perfect,” I promised. “I want beard burn on my thighs and pussy next time I let you eat.”

Crew choked on a laugh. “Then that’s what you’ll get.”

I continued my path south, nipping and sucking the strong column of his neck. Laving my tongue over his collarbones, deeply satisfied when he shivered. Lower and lower until I reached his pecs and tight brown nipples. Sinking my teeth intothe muscle on the right side, I soothed the sting with a lick before drawing his nipple between my teeth, flicking it once, twice and letting it go. Crew wasvibratingagainst me as I shifted to the other side, clamping his nipple ring between my teeth and tugging. His head dropped forward, chin to his chest, and he fuckingmoaned, a breathy, pleasure-filled sound that sent a rush right to my core, my thighs slickening with my arousal.

“I can’t tell you how sexy this is,” I said, lifting a hand to toy with the hoop.

“A remnant of my wild youth.”

“I like you wild,” I admitted. “But only in here. Only with me.” I glanced up at him. With him reclined on the bed and me standing flat on the floor, he was still taller than me, but I leaned close to meet his eyes. “Promise me.”

“Only with you,” he assured me.

“Good boy,” I praised. “And good boys get rewarded.”

Finally sinking to my knees, the high pile of the carpet cushioning my bones, I slowly inched my hands upward from right above his knees to the indents at his hips, tracing them with my fingers, following the path to the creases of his thighs. I leaned in to press kisses to his skin, close to but never quite where he wanted me.