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5
WILL
Being in a small house filled with people is driving me insane. The last thing I want to do is let my temper flare with a bunch of people who are already going through a lot of shit. People who are willing to help us and put themselves in a dangerous situation.
I just wish knowing all that would make it easier to deal with them.
We all agreed not to go far from the house alone, so every time I feel like I can’t take it anymore, I step outside and go to the edge of the woods. Beneath the safety of the trees, I let my fire magic go, like exhaling a frustrated breath.
In the shadows beneath the trees, flames dance from my fingertips, and I study them as my muscles ease if only a little. Fire mages need to use their magic when it starts to build up, but more so when our emotions run high. The consequences of not doing so are almost too much to bear. And damn it, if my emotions aren’t spiked for too many reasons right now.
When I see Hank emerge from the house a few minutes after making my break for the woods, I suck in a deep breath. So much for alone time. But it’s hard to be too annoyed when I know he’s struggling. His brown hair is messier than ever, and his usually clean-cut face has a three-day-old beard growing. His nerdy clothes are wrinkled, which is definitely not like him, and I can see the way his shoulders sag, if only by a little.
That’s the thing that’s rough about being childhood friends. We know each other too well. With the others, we might be able to pretend that we don’t mind that just a few weeks ago, the most exciting thing in our lives was putting out a fire, but we can both see right through each other’s facades.
His intense eyes sweep the backyard, then land squarely on me. Without hesitation, he heads straight for me. “You going nuts?” he asks when he reaches me.
“You know it,” I say, rotating the flames that swirl around my hand.
He looks from the fire to my face and raises a brow.
Yeah, yeah. I do this when I’m feeling like my space is being invaded. Shut up, man.
Growing up, my mom was always out of the house. She’d bounce between the bar and different guys’ beds. I was five when I turned a bucket upside down to use as a step so that I could reach the washer and dryer and make sure I had clean clothes. I was six when I learned how to use the oven to boil water and fry up food.
That was also around the same age that I started pulling weeds and cutting grass for the neighbors so I could take the money to the store and actually buy things to eat. Yeah, it was rough, but it also became part of who I am. A person who likes his space. Who likes to be alone with his thoughts.
Even in this situation.
Hank leans back against the tree beside me. “You know, the only way this is going to stop is if we get Callie on the throne. Until then, we’re stuck hiding out here, which means everyone who helps Callie is stuck here, too.”
I shrug. “I know, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
He grins. “But you’ve been so pleasant to be around.”
Okay, so I’ve been miserable, but there have been a few awesome moments. “I almost laughed my ass off when King Roberts’ men walked right past our house.”
If they hadn’t frightened Callie, I would have.
“That was amazing!” Hank says, his smile widening.
I fucking loved the idea that we were literally next door to the firehouse. That King Robert and his minions should’ve found us on day one. But the wards James and Hank used help people look past the house. It makes it so they have to really be looking for it to find it.
“We need to come up with a better plan than this,” he continues.
My grin fades away. Yeah, we do. “I never wanted to get mixed up in this witch bullshit.”
“Well, it seems like Callie and this ‘witch bullshit’ is a package deal now.”
He doesn’t need to say more. We both know that as awful as witch politics is, it’s worth it to be with Callie. Any price is worth it to be with her. I’m already hooked, through and through.
But it changes everything for all of us. We’ve been like a group of college guys, enjoying life as firefighters, hanging out together, and now we suddenly have to get the woman we care for on a witch’s throne.
It’s fucking perfect .
“We just need to find a way to take out the most powerful group of witches in our coven and make her the leader of the rest of them?”
“Basically,” he says.
“That can’t be too hard.”
It’s Hank’s turn to smile. “You know, you’re handling this better than I thought.”
“I’m not as weak as you think I am,” I say, trying not to sound like I’m so pathetic that he managed to hurt my feelings.
“I’m not saying you’re weak, you idiot. I just thought after you-know-who , you’d never get close to another woman.”
I stiffen. This is the last thing I want to talk about. “Whatever. It’s fine.”
“Come on, I bet you’re struggling like hell not to let yourself go nuts protecting Callie.”
I am. If I’m being honest with myself, knowing Callie was in danger had more to do with the feeling of agitation I couldn’t seem to let go of. I’d never forget that the woman I had loved died because of the witches. It seems like some kind of cruel punishment to fall for another woman who is throwing herself right in the line of fire with the witches again.
Except that Callie hadn’t chosen this. It chose her .
“I’m doing okay,” I lie.
He laughs, not believing me for a second. “I think it’s easier for me since I’ve never really felt that attached to any woman I dated.”
“What about Cathy?”
He scowls. “I was eight, and she broke my damn heart when she decided to start eating lunch with Billy.”
I grin. “And Rebecca?”
“What? She wanted a damn jock. Girls in high school are fickle. It didn’t bother me one bit.”
I can’t help but laugh. “And you didn’t cry over either of them?”
“I told you, I stubbed my damn toe, I wasn’t crying over a girl .”
His gaze meets mine, and then we’re both laughing. This is what we needed, to remember: not everything about life was doom and gloom. That falling for a woman, even a complicated one, is better than getting our hearts broken.
Hank’s gaze moves to the house, and his laughter dies along with my own. “But Callie is different.”
“She is,” I agree, my mind crafting a picture of the beautiful woman.
Suddenly, the backdoor opens, and James’s gaze goes to us.
“It looks like you’re wanted,” I say, waving my hand and extinguishing my flame.
“How do you know he doesn’t want you?”
I fold my arms over my chest. “Because you’re the helpful one.”
James walks across the lawn. “Hank, I got to talk to you about something.”
I wink at Hank, and he glares. “See ya later, buddy.”
Hurrying away from them before I can get roped into doing laundry, dishes, or making beds, I escape into the house. Inside, people are everywhere, but I don’t see Callie, which instantly puts me on edge.
Frowning, I climb the stairs, then tap lightly at her bedroom door.
“Come in!” she calls.
I open the door and step inside.
And there’s Callie, wearing nothing but a towel. I hear the sound of the bath running across right the hall, and the smell of a flowery soap lingers in the air.
“Sorry,” I clear my throat, trying to hide my arousal at finding her practically naked. “I didn’t know you were busy.”
“I’m not busy,” she says, staring down at her toes.
“Uh…”
“Want to join me in the bath?”
Don’t scream ‘fuck yes.’ “Sure.”
She heads toward the bathroom, glancing back at me once, then disappears into the room.
The second she’s out of sight, I start shedding my clothes, following her across the hall. In the huge bathroom, I turn and lock the door, then stare really hard at the door for a long minute, trying to calm myself down. I’m not going to be a jackass. She’s been through a lot lately. If she’s not in the mood, I would be happy just to hold her.
But if she wants more, I’ll be happy to oblige...
Taking a deep breath, I look down at my hard firehose. Calm the hell down . I will the words at my eager fella as I push the treacherous bastard down, but he continues standing tall and long, as if screaming look at me, look at me .
Straightening my shoulders, I decide that the best bet is just to pretend like I don’t notice I’m sporting a major erection. That’ll come off cool and calm, right?
I finish shedding the rest of my clothes and turn to find Callie reclining in the bathtub. Man, she’s hot as hell. Her blond hair is lying behind her. The tops of her breasts are barely visible over the bubbles.
But then her gaze immediately goes to my misbehaving firehose.
“Uh.” I clear my throat.
“I’ve never had sex in a bathtub before,” she says, letting her fingers move across some of the bubbles.
“I have.” The second the words leave my lips, I want to snatch them right back.
She lifts a brow. “How in the hell did you ever get a woman to go out with you?”
“I’m pretty enough that I usually tried not to talk.”
She laughs, and her laugh is amazing. It holds back nothing, and I decide it’s the purest, sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. “Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to get in?”
“The tub or you?”
Her mouth quirks. “Just shut up, handsome.”
I’m grinning as I climb into the bath, lying down on top of her. Trying my best to keep my eyes on hers and not to let them slide down to her bubble-clad chest. Some of the water spills out over the sides of the top, and she squeals as I lower myself on her wet, naked body.
“You’re soaking the floor!”
“I’m a big guy,” I say, shrugging.
To my relief, she doesn’t actually seem mad. Instead, she rests her hands on my shoulders and pulls me closer. Our lips meet, and the humor flees from between us.
Beneath me, I feel her legs widen, at least as far as the garden tub will allow her, and I sink deeper between her thighs. Loving the fact that we’re naked, pressed together and that it’d take nothing at all to slip inside her.
When our kiss grows more and more intense, I find it harder to concentrate. Part of me knows I need to take it slow. That Callie has been through a lot, and I don’t want to push her into doing something she can’t handle right now, but part of me is noticing that the way her tongue strokes mine is conjuring all kinds of images of how her tongue would feel wrapped around my dick.
At last, she breaks our kiss, panting hard.
I almost apologize, when she leans her head back and her legs wrap around my back. “I’ve been so tense, Will. Could you… could you help me relax?”
Normally, I’d take that as a yes, but I want to be sure. “You want me to fuck your brains out?”
Her hooded gaze meets mine. “The stereotype is true, huh? Firefighters… dumb but hot.”
I press my tip between her lips, and she gasps. “Watch it, woman, or I might just leave you alone, thinking about what you almost had.”
Her breathing comes in and out faster. “I think you’d regret leaving me more than I would.”
I slide deeper into her, pushing into her channel one excruciating inch at a time. My control is paper thin, but I’ll be damned if I let her know it. “I was once… in a calendar… in my uniform… with kittens. The calendar sold out.”
She gives a breathless laugh. “Everyone loves kittens.”
“Everyone wanted to see me with nothing but a hat over my junk.”
Her nails dig into my shoulders. “Come on, Will. Damn it.”
I slip all the way inside her.
She cries out, and I feel her inner muscles squeezing me with a tightness that begs me to spill my load there and then. But then I think I’d have to move to a new town, just so I wouldn’t have to see Callie on the street and have her point and laugh at me. So, I grit my teeth and will myself not to come too soon.
A second later, she wiggles under me, and the movement raises her nipples out of the water. Unable to help myself, I lean forward and take one of the perfect buds into my mouth and suck. She swears and bucks under me, causing a groan to slip from my mouth as my dick takes her even deeper.
And then, because I don’t think I can handle it much longer, I start to fuck her slowly. My mouth moving from one nipple to another. Lavishing them with my tongue. Sucking them deep into my mouth and grazing them with my teeth.
When she starts to cry out, chanting my name, I know she’s getting close.
And then, I hear James. “Callie!”
We both turn to the door of the bathroom as one. James stands in the doorway, his cheeks slowly turning red. “I heard… I thought you were in trouble.”
Oh, hell. This is the moment Callie will push me away. The moment her arousal fades and I have to walk around the rest of the day with a chubby.
“Get in and lock the door,” she commands, her question breathless.
“Uh, okay,” he tells her awkwardly.
She gives him a sharp nod, and the guy turns and flicks the lock into place.
What the hell?
He turns back around a second later. “What do you want me to?—?”
“Take off your pants, James.”
I swear, we both stare at her in surprise. Is she actually willing to… willing to have both of us in here? For some reason, the idea only turns me on more. I want to see how she can unravel the tightly wound James. Maybe he’d be less of a pain in my ass.
Slowly, James undoes his pants and drops them to the ground.
“Now, your boxers,” she tells him.
He removes them, too, although he seems even more hesitant.
“And the shirt.”
Suddenly, the guy is standing in the center of the floor, naked, his own dick hard and ready as he stares at Callie.
“Come here,” she says.
Callie leans up ever-so-slightly as he approaches, and James kneels down. She pulls him closer, and then her mouth is wrapped around his cock.
I feel my shaft twinge inside her, and then I slowly start to thrust into Callie again, all the while watching her suck James off. I’ve never thought it’d be hot to see a woman touch another guy, but I must be a kinky bastard because this is totally working for me.
I’m getting hotter and more aroused with each second that passes, and damn it, so is Callie. Her legs hold me tighter. She meets my thrusts harder. And she starts to moan around the shaft buried deep into her mouth.
When I feel myself swelling, I swear I grip the edge of the bathtub as if it could give me the strength to hold on longer. Fortunately for me, it’s just the time I need. Callie orgasms a second later, her movements wild, the sounds of pleasure moaning around his dick hot as fuck.
And then, I come, filling her with my hot seed. My body seems to pour into her own, claiming her as my woman, slicking in the insides of her channel as it continues to squeeze around me.
When James comes, too, I’m barely processing what’s happening. I hear his groan of pleasure and watch as the hand he’s dug into her hair holds her deeply against him.
A few minutes pass, and James slowly releases her. Callie falls back against the tub, and damn it if she doesn’t look satisfied.
At least, I hope she is.
“That was fucking amazing,” James whispers.
“Yeah, she is,” I say.
Callie’s eyes open. “Oh, hell…”
“What?” I ask, feeling every muscle in my body tense.
“I think you guys may have ruined me. One dick might never be enough again.”
I grin at her. “Good, because I think you’ve ruined us too.”
Sweeping the hair back from her face, I stare at the gorgeous woman who so easily stole our hearts. She’s special. She’s perfect.
And even though I know this moment has to end soon, for a little while, I want to pretend that it could actually last forever. Because forever is exactly what I want with her.
Table of Contents
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- Page 40 (Reading here)
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