Page 10 of Jagged Burn (Kidds Beach Fire Department #2)

Is It Real

Anna Alexander

Long minutes after Matt’s truck disappears down the street, Stefan walks into the house looking like he just lost a brawl with his own thoughts. His shoulders are tense, his jaw locked, and his hands are shoved into his pockets like he’s holding himself together by sheer force of will.

I’m curled up on the couch, pretending to watch TV but really just waiting for him. When his eyes land on me, something flickers across his face—fear, or longing, maybe both.

“Well?” I ask, crossing my arms as I sit upright. “Am I supposed to guess how that went, or are you going to use your words?”

He huffs a laugh, humorless. “Your brother gave me his blessing.”

“For what?” My brain is trying to catch up to what he said but I feel like nothing is making sense.

“To date you, I think.”

I blink. “Wait. Matt? Mr. Overprotective Alpha Male himself?”

“Yeah.” Stefan drops onto the recliner across from me, rubbing the back of his neck. “He did say I’d better not screw it up.”

A slow smile creeps across my lips. “Wow. Hell just froze over.”

He shakes his head, the scar pulling with the motion. “It doesn’t matter. Blessing or not, you deserve better than me.”

And there it is. The same broken refrain he keeps playing on repeat. Something inside me snaps.

I shoot up from the couch, march across the room, and plant myself directly in front of him. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

His eyes widen as I straddle his lap, caging him in with my thighs. He stiffens like I’ve just set off every alarm in his head.

“Anna...”

“No.” I cut him off and grab his shirt in both fists.

“You don’t get to tell me what I deserve.

You don’t get to decide if I’m allowed to love you.

Do you think your scars scare me? News flash: I lived with a man who wore a perfect face and hands that broke me every chance he got.

I’ll take jagged and real over smooth and cruel any day. ”

His breath comes fast, chest rising against mine. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

“Yes, I do.” My voice drops to a whisper. “I’m asking for you. I’m asking for the only man I have ever loved, the same man who has always been there for me.”

Silence stretches, heavy and charged. His eyes search mine, stormy and raw.

Then he curses under his breath and crushes his mouth to mine.

The kiss is wild and desperate, years of restraint breaking all at once.

His hands fist in my hair, dragging me closer.

I moan into him, my fingers sliding over the hard planes of his chest, down his sides, gripping him like I’ll drown if I let go.

“Anna,” he groans against my lips, like he’s breaking. “You feel like fire.”

“Then burn with me.” That undoes something in him.

He stands in one fluid motion, lifting me easily, and my legs wrap around his waist like I have been doing it for years.

We crash into the bedroom, mouths still locked, teeth clashing, and hands everywhere.

He lays me on the bed like I’m made of glass, but I tug him down with me, refusing the distance.

“Don’t hold back,” I whisper. “Not with me.”

Something feral flashes in his eyes. His mouth trails down my throat, over the bruises, pressing reverent kisses where Sam’s fists landed. Every touch rewrites the story on my skin, not pain, not shame, only him.

I tug his shirt up, desperate to feel him. When it comes off, my breath hitches. His chest is broad, scarred, and beautiful. He freezes like he’s waiting for disgust.

Instead, I trace the scars with my fingertips, slow and deliberate. “You’re gorgeous. You always have been.”

His groan is half disbelief, half surrender. “You’re insane.”

“Maybe,” I say with a grin. “But I’m yours now.”

That’s it. The last thread of restraint snaps.

His mouth claims mine again, hot, and consuming.

His hands roam up my thighs, under the hem of his t-shirt which I am wearing again even though I grabbed a few items of clothes while we were in town.

When his calloused palm brushes bare skin, I arch into him with a gasp.

“Tell me to stop,” he rasps against my ear. “Please, Anna. Tell me now if you want me to stop.”

“Don’t you fucking dare.” My nails dig into his shoulders. “I’ve been waiting for this, waiting for you, longer than you know.”

The sound he makes is primal, and then he’s tearing the shirt off me, baring me completely. His gaze scorches every inch of me. “Christ, you’re perfect.”

Heat floods my body, but for once it’s not shame. It’s power. It’s being seen, fully, scars, bruises, and all, and knowing he still wants me.

His mouth trails down, worshipping me with lips and tongue and teeth, until I’m trembling, moaning his name like a prayer. His shoulders press my thighs open to make space for him and his lips find my center.

My hands tangle in his hair, holding him in place as my hips rise to meet his ministrations. He licks and kisses leisurely at my most sensitive flesh, pushing my arousal higher by the second. When he slips a thick, scarred finger into me, I detonate.

“Fuck, Annie,” he mutters. “That is sexy as hell.”

“Please,” I beg. “Stefan...” My words taper off.

He stands and drags my ass to the edge of the bed. “Don’t rush me, Annie,” he says softly, his cock prodding at my entrance. “I’ve been dreaming of this for years and I want it to last more than a damn minute.”

“I promise, you can fuck wherever and whenever you want,” I bite back. “But right now I am going to lose it if I don’t feel you inside me.”

He chuckles but pushes forward. Slowly, filling me with his inches and stretching me to the point I feel I can’t take anymore.

“Oh, God,” I moan, my head thrashing on the bed. “I’m so full.”

“I’m almost in...”

“There’s more?” I call out in shock.

His hands touch me everywhere as he stops moving. He fondles my breasts before tweaking my nipples.

“You’re taking my fat cock so well, Annie.” His voice is hoarse. “Just a little bit more.”

“Please,” I beg again.

He thrusts and a silent scream falls from my lips. Never in my life have I felt so full, so stretched by a man, and it’s too much. An orgasm sweeps through me unexpectedly and Stefan growls.

“Did you just come?”

“Yes!”

“Good.” His hips pull back and he thrusts into me pulling an actual scream from me this time. “I promised myself I wouldn’t come before you.”

“Stefan!” I yell as he hits a spot inside me, I didn’t even know existed. “Oh, my God.”

“Look at me,” he demands, and I open my eyes.

He is fierce, focused, and gorgeous. He fucks me with powerful, leisurely strokes and I can’t look away. His gaze burns with all the emotions he is feeling but is too terrified to speak out loud.

“I’m not wearing a condom,” he mutters, pulling out of me.

“Don’t you dare!” I pull him back to me using my feet against his ass. “We aren’t nearly done yet.”

“I just need to...”

“You need to finish fucking me.”

“You could get pregnant.” He keeps trying to be reasonable and logical.

“Good.”

He stares at me in disbelief, and I use the distraction to my advantage. I push him over and the moment he is flat on his back, I straddle him and impale myself on his big cock.

“Fuck!” we cry out in unison.

“Anna—”

“No, Grey.” I cut him off. “When I said I loved you I meant it. That means me living here, riding this monster cock every day, taking your name, and having your babies.”

“Jesus Christ,” he mutters, spearing me from underneath. “You’ll be the death of me.”

“You’ll die smiling.”

He laughs flipping us back over. His hips piston into my pussy, fucking me brutally now.

His thumb finds my clit, strumming it like a damn musical instrument and forcing my orgasm to crest. His hips lose their rhythm before he stills, the cords in his neck taught, his scar pulling at the edges, as his cock kicks deep inside me and fills me with his seed.

“Stefan,” I gasp, nails clawing down his back. “Oh, God...”

He groans, forehead pressed to mine. “I’ve dreamed of this. You have no idea.”

The world blurs around me and the only thing left is us, jagged edges fitting together, burning bright enough to drown the past. We collapse in a tangled heap, slick with sweat, and our hearts racing erratically. His scarred cheek rests against my chest, and for once he doesn’t hide from me.

I thread my fingers through his hair, whispering into the quiet. “Told you, I’m yours.”

His arms tighten around me like he’s afraid I’ll vanish. “Always.”

And I believe him. For the first time in years, I believe in something good.