Page 26 of A Baby for the Firefighter
I had to laugh at that, tense as I was. “You really know me, don’t you?”
“I do!” He handed me a muffin. “Eat. You’ll feel better.”
“Thank you.” I took the sugary treat from him and our fingers brushed as I did so. The contact made my skin tingle, and I wondered if he felt that too. Probably yes, judging by the way he looked at me. He wanted more contact just as much as I did, only without the fear I associated with that idea.
I bit into the muffin to distract myself. Dean really needed to know what he was getting into with me—that was only fair. And he’d said I could have whatever I needed, so… I swallowed the piece of muffin, barely noticing the taste, and spoke again. “When I say slow I mean… uh… no… bedroom activities for a while.”
I really wished I could have said that without my cheeks glowing, but that wasn’t possible. Dear Lord, I wasn’t twelve anymore, but I sure acted like it.
“Were you scared I was going to drag you into bed right now?”
“Don’t you want to?”
Dean scoffed. “Of course I want to. But I also want to eat a whole batch of muffins and cake for breakfast, and I want to buy a ridiculously expensive car and never work another day in my life. But just because I want to doesn’t mean I’m going to do any of those things. I can control myself. I just want to know what’s bothering you, so I don’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”
“The thought of sex makes me uncomfortable,” I admitted. “That’s why I didn’t tell you that I like you.”
“Really? That’s why?” Both of Dean’s eyebrows went up. “I was never just going to jump you like a wild animal, you know. We can… work up to it. If you want to, I mean.”
I exhaled, and bit into the muffin again. It had a bit more taste now that Dean was being so relaxed about all this. “I do want to. I’m just… I’ve never been with anyone like that.” Embarrassing to admit, at my age. Being a virgin was considered a good trait in an omega—but only to a point.
“That’s okay.” Slowly, Dean laid an arm around my shoulders, as if waiting for me to object. I didn’t, though. I leaned in to his touch, in fact, glad he was taking all this so well. I’d never thought I’d find an alpha like him, someone not scared off by my issues with intimacy. Maybe I could trust him.Of courseI could trust him. My fears just needed time to catch up with what my heart already knew.
“How do you feel about kissing?” Dean asked. “Is that out too? Did I step over the line last night? Because I need to know where the line is.”
“I’m not sure. I think kissing is okay? Just a little bit?” I could probably handle it if I knew things weren’t going to go further than that. Just a little mouth-to-mouth contact. Just a little thrill. I wanted that.
“Can I kiss you? Because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since last night.”
I gave him a smile, and kissed him. Because why should the alpha always be the one to take the initiative? I liked this man, he liked me, so I could kiss him, right?
And actually, being the one to start things off felt really good. There was no pressure, no expectation of submission, or anything. Just the feeling of my lips touching Deans and that small jolt of electricity that went through me at the contact.
Dean seemed to have no problem letting me run the show either. He wasperfect, opening his mouth when I nudged his lips with my tongue, and then letting me explore without trying to gain dominance over the kiss. So I was free to enjoy the way he tasted, the way he smelled even, all masculine and alpha. But that wasn’t scaring me now. For this one blissful moment, all I felt was affection—and a deep, deep longing for time to just freeze us this way, resting our foreheads together. Picture perfect.
But as a photographer, I knew that time always ticked on and the conditions for a perfect shot were fickle, and so even this moment came to an end. Still, when I parted from Dean, I saw the brightest smile on his lips and a look of awe on his face—and that memory would stay with me forever.
“Was that what you were thinking about?” I asked, grinning at him and grabbing another muffin.
He laughed, and there was so much joy in his voice. I really hadn’t scared him off with my confessions at all. “Not exactly,” he admitted, “but we’ll have to do that again.”
I smiled at him. “Wouldn’t mind that.”
He simply smiled back at me. “Actually, I have a favor to ask. Sort of.”
“What kind of favor?”
“Don’t worry,” he said, reaching for a muffin. “It’s nothing sexual. It’s for my cousin, really.”
“Good thing then that it’s nothing sexual, because I wasn’t going to kiss your cousin.” I bit into my muffin. Now that the tension had fallen off me, I noticed a hint of vanilla in the flavor.So good.The twelve-year-old part of me wanted to marry this man for his baking skills alone.
“No, nothing like that. I wouldn’t want you to kiss him either.”
“Oh, are you possessive?”
“Maybe a little bit,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Good to know!” I punched his arm. “Now I know not to let you see me get my muffins from the café.”
