Page 31 of Raging Inferno

Chapter Nine

A Hero in The Bedroom

As a practicing Catholic, I was taught that we all become saints before entering God’s kingdom. He forgives us of our sins and welcomes us into the gates of heaven. It isn’t until you truly fuck up that you pray your beliefs are true. If you’re me, it happens after you spend a month lying to a woman you’re falling head over heels for.

A better man would’ve come clean the moment she revealed Chris had passed away. A man a little less selfish would’ve confessed to knowing her late fiancé. He would’ve told her all about how he rescued him and when she stared at him with a baffled expression he would’ve confessed another truth. Coincidences like this don’t happen to people like us. I might not know the reason but I am undoubtedly certain fate intervened to align our paths.

To be fair, I almost told her that day at the diner but, she lifted her finger to my lips and when I stared into her pleading eyes, I thought better of it. Here was this beautiful woman trying to move on after living the last five years of her life stuck on pause. It was a big step for her. A huge one and she wanted to take it with me.

As a man who lived for the sake of others, I found it inspiring and for the first time in seventeen years; I put my wants and needs above everyone else’s. To ease my guilt, I convinced myself I was helping Melissa too. Telling her I knew Chris prior to his death wouldn’t bring him back. Not to the woman who wanted to marry him or the son who never got a chance to meet him.

He was gone and me, well; I was still here.

I was the guy standing in front of a woman looking to fill the void another man left behind. I would never take his place but, I could be the man who awakened her soul. The man who made her smile again and restored her trust in God’s plan.

“What’re you thinking about?” Melissa questions, jarring my thoughts. Turning my head, I meet her curious stare.

“You,” I reply, draping my arm around her shoulders. Drawing her closer, I let my fingers glide over her bare shoulder. “Did you enjoy dinner?”

“Do you even have to ask?” she replies, burying her nose against my chest.

God, I like the way she feels in my arms.

It took some time for her to come out of her shell and be comfortable around me but once she did, I learned there are so many fascinating layers to her. She’s a little quirky, sometimes funny, loves to tease and when she puts her mind to something, she gives it her all.

“You can cook for me anytime,” she continues, running her hand down the concave center of my chest. While I love having her hands on me, there is only so much I can take. My balls have been permanently blue for four weeks straight. Rubbing one out in the shower doesn’t even help anymore so when I feel her fingers slide under my t-shirt I mutter a curse.

“Melissa,” I grunt.

“Hmm?”

Angling her head, she slides her free hand up my thigh and gives me those innocent eyes of hers.

“You’re playing with fire,” I warn roughly.

“Funny, I thought that was your job.”

Closing my eyes, I allow myself a moment to enjoy the feel of her pressed against me. Her hand moves down the inside of my thigh and a growl sounds from the back of my throat. Without thinking, I grab her hips and pull her onto my lap. Straddling me, she braces her hands on my shoulders and rocks against my erection.

My eyes snap open, searching her face for the slightest hint of apprehension but all I find in those pretty eyes is desire. Drawing in a deep breath, I lift my hands and cup her face. Her nose brushes against mine and I watch her gaze divert to my lips.

“Kiss me,” she whispers.

Sliding one hand through her hair, I cup the back of her head. Fisting her hair, I position her and then I take.

I take and take.

Licking her lips, she opens for me and I dive in, taking more.

More and more.

Deepening the kiss, she grinds her hips and I lose it. My hands move to her ass, squeezing her cheeks through the thin fabric of her sweats as I arch against her. Frenzied hands, glide down my chest, clutching my shirt and it takes every bit of control I have to pull back.

In between breaths, she licks her lips and stares at me.

“What’s the matter?”

“If we don’t stop now, I don’t know that I’ll be able to later,” I rasp, noticing her nipples straining through her tank top. “Jesus,” I groan.

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