Page 83 of Burn

Caleb grins, one side higher than the other, the bright white lights above my head catching his smoldering stare. It’s then I notice the slight scruff he had on his face the other day is gone.

“You shaved?”

He nods. “Department policy.”

They can’t have facial hair? Weird.

When he drops his shoulder to take the tank off his back and the mask, I stop him again, my hands on his shoulders. “Don’t think I’m some kind of freak but can you, um . . .” Too late. He thinks that already for sure. My face heats, I’m going to hell. “Can you, like leave all this on and put the mask on?”

And while I maintain my dignity on the outside, for the most part, inside I’m screaming at his face to run away. I would if I was him.

The look he gives me is a straight up,Who the fuck is this chick and what kind of kinky shit is she into?

But then there’s a side of him that’s just as intrigued.

His hard eyes stare down at me, filled with what I think is lust, but I have no real indication as to what he’s feeling. He could be thinking, fuck, this chick’s crazy but I’ll still fuck her.

“You want me to put my mask on?”

This is ridiculous. I nod, biting my lip. “Please?”

He stares at me for several seconds. “This tank weighs forty pounds.”

He’s moments away from running away. I know it. My bottom lip jets out. “Pretty please?”

Caleb chuckles. “Oh, what the hell.” Smirking, he shakes his head like he can’t believe he’s doing this. The grin fades and he becomes focused, like adjusting all this gear is second nature to him. He tightens the straps on his back, buckles it in the front and then takes the mask that’s hanging on another strap in his hands.

As I sit on the edge of the sink watching all this, crazy with anticipation, he removes his helmet, sets it beside me and then puts his mask over his head. It’s a tight fit as I’m sure it’s meant to be and then he pulls a black hood over the top of it, pulls cords and straps tight and reaches behind him and turns the tank on behind him. It makes a high-pitch chirp sound, then another couple beeps and a hiss as air moves into the mask.

His eyes are focused on mine with the same intensity mine are about the time he takes a breath.

He’s Darth Vader, and I’m soaking wet.

The black mask is cone shaped, narrowed at the end with a round valve that’s connected to the tank with a black hose. Reaching for the helmet, he places that on his head and then breathes in again, another hissing sound as the tank on his back helps him breathe.

“Is this what you wanted?” he asks, his voice muffled by the mask.

With my eyes on his chest and the whistle that beeps on his shoulder. I grin like a fool listening to his every breath. I don’t know why but this is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I fight the urge to clap my hands together.

I point to the gauge on his chest with the red button. “What’s that?”

“My PASS. It whistles when I don’t move for fifteen seconds.” He winks. “I’m sure we won’t have that problem.”

Standing between my legs, Caleb’s fingers slowly trace my clit over my panties. “Miss me?”

Don’t answer him. Make him think otherwise.

Too bad my body gives it away. Responsive whore. I move my hands to his chest, feeling his T-shirt under his jacket and notice he’s got suspenders on underneath the jacket.

Well look at that. No wonder his pants aren’t falling down.

From there on out, Caleb’s movements are quick, and I’m assuming because he’s still on duty and probably doesn’t have a lot of time to be fucking someone in a bathroom, or he’s having trouble breathing and wants to take the mask off. It’s like one of the sleep apnea masks people who snore use, but sexy.

He slides my panties off, or rips them, I’m not sure because once my hands move to his jacket and grip the thick material, I lose all sense of control.

Pulling out a condom from a pocket in his turnout pants, my cheeks heat again.

He keeps condoms in there?

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