Page 39 of Into the Fire
He smirked, brushing a thumb across her bottom lip. “Yeah? And you’re gorgeous, standing here in my shirt.”
She rolled her eyes, trying not to smile. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Too late,” he murmured, dipping his head to kiss the edge of her jaw, trailing heat down the curve of her neck. “This image is branded there now. Permanently.”
Her knees went soft. “You’re in rare form tonight.”
He lifted his head, gaze serious now. “I’m not gonna waste another second acting like this is temporary. It's not. I’m gonna show up for us from now on. Starting now.”
Her heart thudded so hard she could feel it in her fingertips.
“Then kiss me again,” she said quietly.
And he did. His hands trailed down her body and landed on her hips, gripping firmly as he turned her away from the stove and guided her effortlessly to the bare counter across the kitchen, his lips never leaving hers.
Her back was now pressed against the counter as his large frame pinned her in place. Her hands trailed up his arms, kneading his broad shoulders thatwere strong from carrying the weight of the world, solid enough to endure his day-to-day labor, but now holding her like she was something delicate. Not like she was fragile like a flower, but like she was something special to him.
Levi dipped his head lower, his breath hot against her jaw as he murmured, “You’ve got no idea what you do to me.” His lips brushed the shell of her ear, and she swore she felt her knees weaken.
She smiled, her hands now rubbing the back of his neck and pulling at the ends of his hair. “I think I’m starting to get the idea.”
“You keep touching me like this, baby,” he growled, voice low and rough. “And I’m not gonna be able to stop.”
Emery didn’t want to stop. Not tonight. Not ever. She nipped at his bottom lip—gentle at first, but increasing to more of a bite at the same time her fingers gripped tighter into his hair. “Then don’t.”
Levi didn’t need to be told twice.
He lifted her in one smooth motion, and she wrapped her legs around him instinctivelyas he set her gently on the counter.
His body pressed to hers, solid and warm, the tension of him struggling to hold back. “Been thinkin’ about this,” he murmured against her lips, slipping his flannel from her shoulders for her to pull her arms from the sleeves. One hand trailed down her side, pausing just under the hem of the tank top she still had on. “The way I catch you looking at me. The way you talk back… damn, it drives me insane.”
With perfect ease, he lifted the hem of her top as she raised her arms above her head, making it easy for him to remove and toss it aside. His eyes flashed, taking in the sight of her sitting on his counter, with a dark blue lace-trimmed bra that she filled in a way that he'd be willing to bet money it was designed just for her.
He found her lips again, his hands framing her face as he kissed her with the kind of hunger he’d tried to starve for too long. It wasn’t soft; it was full of heat and promise, and Emery matched it with every breathy soundshe gave him.
She let her fingers slide beneath his white tee, nails grazing the skin at his waist. “I want you, Levi.”
That was all he needed.
He stepped back far enough to lose his shirt.
“Damn, cowboy—I don’t think it’s legal to cover up so much sex appeal with a flannel every day,” she blurted as her eyes raked over his perfectly muscled chest, then his stomach. Not the lean cut of a sports or fitness model, not a gym-defined set of abs, but defined. His strong, thick core was layered with muscles built from tossing hay, not lifting dumbbells. She sat there, eyeing the way his jeans sat low on his waist, right where the lines of his torso turned into that deep V dipping low.
Reaching behind her, he grabbed the claw clip that was failing at keeping her hair up and removed it. She gave a gentle toss of her head as her long, dark hair fell past her shoulders, stopping just short of her elbows.
“You’re a damn dream,” he rasped, kissing his way down her neck. One arm wrapped tight around herwaist, the other anchoring in her hair as he kissed her like he needed her to survive. She moaned into his mouth, and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue sweeping across hers in a way that made her throb at her core like she'd never experienced before.
He broke from the kiss, hovering above her, his gaze locking on her like she was the only thing he’d ever wanted.
She pulled at the front of his jeans with both hands, dipping her fingertips into the waistband, grinding into him to create friction between them.
“Fuck, Emery,” he said, lifting her as if she weighed nothing and standing her on the floor in front of him. Before she could complain about the absence of his body, he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and set it next to them. “Strip,” he ordered as he undid his jeans, working them down over his ass, yet again surprising Emery at how defined he was.
“Emery,” his low voice pulled her wandering mind back to reality. “I said strip,baby,” he took control, seeing her eyes raking over him, but not moving. He grabbed his wallet and handed it to her. “There's a condom in here, grab it while I take these off of you.” Unbuttoning her jeans and sliding them lower, slow enough to feel like torture, he got on his knees and helped her step out of them.
She followed his instructions, pulling the condom from his wallet as he looked up at her, still on his knees with his strong fingertips gripping the outside of her thighs tightly. He shot to his feet once their eyes met, towering over her as he tipped her chin up to find her lips, rocking his erection into her and causing her to catch her breath. Struggling to remember how to breathe—between the way his lips moved so effortlessly, and the size of his thick length he had pressed against her, she began to think she might be in over her head. But this just might be worth drowning for.
The fire between them burned slow and deep, like it had all night. No more holding back. No more pretending. Just her, and him, and the unspoken truththat neither of them would be the same after this.
