Beautiful Burn (14 page)

“
Say
my name,” I growled and tugged on her hair, forcing her head to
swivel and her gaze to meet mine. Her eyes narrowed and a small quirk
of her lips told me she enjoyed this.

“
You
own my pussy, Reed,” she purred and then reached a hand between her
legs and cupped my sac, massaging. With one hand supporting her
against the brick wall, I fucked her like an animal, sending us both
into oblivion in the soft moonlight when we released everything
between us in a frenzy.

We
were hustling up the stairs minutes later. Upon entering my door, she
dropped her bag and headed straight for the fridge. The sense of
peace that flooded my system seeing her so at home at my place made
all the stress worth it. “Who keeps peanut butter in the fridge?”
She twisted on her hip and held the offending jar up to me.

“
I
dunno, people.” I shrugged and swiped it from her hands, grabbing a
pack of crackers on the counter and dipping one in the smooth
mixture. I chomped and looked up at Auburn. She broke out in a laugh
and then swiped the jar from my hands, stealing a cracker and dipping
her own.

“
Mel
hates when I do that,” I said before thinking. In hindsight, not a
time to bring up an ex, or wife, as it were.

“
Hmm…”
Auburn hummed and took my comment in stride. I knew then she was bad
ass. No jealousy, no complication, just us. The baggage we carried,
we shed at the door. Maybe it was an escape. Maybe she’s what I
needed. Maybe she was exactly the thing I didn’t need. I was unable
to keep the stupid half-smile from my face as I relished in the
comfort of it. We were lovers, friends, and so much more. It felt
good.

“
Beer?”
I asked as I leaned around her and into the fridge.

“
Sure.”
She stepped around the island to watch me. “Want a smoke?” She
pulled a cigarette from her bag.

“
I'm
good. I need to get back to healthy living.” I answered as I swiped
another cracker in peanut butter.

Auburn glanced
down at the small stick held between her fingers and then back to me.
“You're right.” She broke the cigarette in half and then tossed
it and the rest of the pack in the garbage.

“
You
don't have to quit, smoking's just never really been my thing. I
mean, how fast could I row with a smoker's cough?” I joked.

She laughed. “I've
been wanting to quit.” She shrugged and leaned a hip against the
counter before stealing the jar from my hands and swiping a blob onto
her finger. She sucked it in her mouth with a flirty smile.

“
Stock
up on energy, you’re going to need it tonight.” I wrapped my arms
around her waist. She pushed her hands in my hair and planted a long,
slow kiss on my lips. It was fucking heaven and hell all wrapped in
one. My entire body craved her. I craved her intellect, her sex, her
smile, her laugh, her eyes--I craved everything about her.

“
Take
me to your bedroom.” Her warm breath washed over my neck and
alighted every nerve in my body. I heaved her into my arms and she
locked her legs around my waist, kissing me the entire way to my bed.
I laid her down on the fluffy white cotton and hovered above her,
peeling her out of her clothes one scrap of fabric at a time,
discovering her body as if it were the first time, from the last hair
on her head to the tips of her painted toes. My tongue traced down
the center of her neck, tasting the sweet spot between her breasts,
before ending at her navel, tonguing and tasting her, savoring this
moment. I no longer needed to get lost in a book, I needed to get
lost in Auburn.

I held my breath
as I pressed into her, inch by inch, filling her until she gasped and
arched against my taut frame. “Reed,” she moaned as she clutched
at my shoulders and locked her ankles around my waist. I moved
slowly, but with purpose. I drove her to the edge, lost myself in her
body and watched her come to the brink, before slowing again. I
relished her for over an hour. I took and took and Auburn gave
everything.

“
Spend
the weekend with me.”
I mused a few minutes later once we’d finally come down from our
sex-induced high.

“
Is
that smart?” She turned and curled up under my arm, one fingertip
trailing a circle around my erect nipple.

“
I
don't care.” I caught her hand when she started to blow warm air on
the sensitive flesh. She laughed and snuggled into the crook of my
arm, settling into the comfort of being together. Her hand was
touching me again, running fingertips along the sharp slash of my hip
bones and causing my flaccid cock to twitch to life.

“
I
like the new, carefree Reed.” I grunted and arched my hips
reflexively when she ran a palm just close enough to brush my dick.
I'd never fucked twice in one session before, much less three times.
I wouldn't have even thought it possible before Auburn.

“
Good.
Say you'll stay.”

She pushed off my
lower abdominals with a palm and sat up in bed. “I'll stay on one
condition.”

“
Name
it.”

Her brow furrowed
in thought before she continued. “The memoir has been going really
well.”

“
Okay....”
Auburn hadn’t spoken to me much at all about her writing after the
initial bout of inspiration at the lighthouse. My mind was working
overtime with the possibilities, maybe a
To
the Lighthouse
parallel, but I was too respectful to ask.

“
It’s
going so well, I think I’d like to publish it. I mean, I’m only
twenty-two thousand words in, but it’s turned into a full length
novel and I can’t stop writing it. Like, I’m obsessively writing
it in the middle of the night. I’ve never written so fast, the
ideas just keep flowing.” She was motioning with her hands now.

My smile
broadened. “That’s awesome.”

“
Yeah.
It feels good. But I was thinking…I don’t want to turn it in to
you, for the class, I mean.”

“
What?
Why?”

She wrung her
hands together as she spoke. “The thought of anyone else reading it
at this stage gives me hives.”

“
That’s
not really fair.” I cut my eyes to the right to see her. She was
watching me now, a look of upset on her face. “Listen, if you don’t
want anyone to read it, I respect that, but you're only cheating
yourself not getting eyes on it early on.”

“
I’m
not turning it in.”

I
turned to look at her straight on this time and she flashed me an
awkward smile as if to ease the tension. It worked. I laughed. “Fine,
but I've got a condition for you. You stay this weekend, I won't
punish you for refusing to turn it in...unless you want me to?” I
quirked an interested eyebrow. She laughed.

“
I
might be able to agree to those terms,” she twisted her lips, as if
pondering my proposal. It made me laugh out loud.

“
What?”

“
You
look like a duck.” She arched one skeptical eyebrow in reply. “The
lips, when you scrunched them, it was cute.” I finally ended,
realizing I’d shoved my foot in my mouth.

“
A
cute duck?”

“
A
sexy as fuck duck.” I grinned and pressed her close to me. Her
laugh filled the space–the room, the apartment, my life. I pulled
her up to straddle my waist. She looked down at me, dark hair tousled
and sex-rumpled, a smile splitting her beautiful, full lips, darks
eyes glistening with amusement.

“
You
know, I might be able to teach you a thing or two about that story,”
I teased.

“
You
already have.” She placed a kiss on my nose.

I laughed and
pulled her down, chest to chest, and sucked her bottom lip between my
teeth. “I can’t wait to have you to myself all weekend.” Every
muscle in my body was strung tight as one hand cupped her bottom, my
other at her lower back. I soaked her up because I knew our time
together would fly by and I would have to let her go, but I couldn't
dwell on what the future held too much, I’d find myself paralyzed
with anxiety. So instead I held her.

Auburn
spent that weekend curled up in my apartment, and slowly eased her
way into my life. We left once, when I took her to a five-star
restaurant Saturday night in the city. I'd made late reservations,
and and I was relieved when we'd walked in to find most of the dinner
crowd had already cleared out.
We'd
dined over white wine and a dinner of oysters and crab, things Auburn
had never tried before. I loved her eager gusto for life, and I loved
that I could be the one to show it to her. I’d always been the guy
who stands, assesses, and evaluates before dipping in a toe. Auburn
was a breath of fresh air.

After
I'd settled the check, I pulled her chair out like a gentleman and m
y
eyes drank in the curves of her calves and up the milky skin of her
thighs until they landed on the tight band of her leather dress that
sat mid-thigh.

“
Thanks
for joining me.” I smoothed a palm up her leg and forced the tips
of my fingers just under the hem that hugged her thighs. I ran slow
circles before inching to the backs of her legs and pulling her
against me in the near-vacant dining room. “You’ve had my dick
hard all night,” I murmured. A shiver shook her muscles and
goosebumps erupted on the exposed skin. “You did it on purpose,
didn’t you? Any shorter and that dress would be indecent.” I
grunted and itched to run my hands up the smooth flesh under her
dress.

I
loved the look of lust in her eyes, the thought of getting caught
turned her on. That assessment was confirmed when she snaked a hand
between us and rubbed my cock through my dark dress pants right there
in the middle of the restaurant. I grunted and thrust my hips against
her on reflex. “Let’s go. You need out of that dress.” I rested
a hand at her waist and guided her with long steps to the elevator.

We passed an older
couple as we exited, the husband running a quick up and down of
Auburn, lingering on the curve of her ass and the swell of her tits.
But Auburn didn’t notice, she was staring at me, smiling. “I know
that look,” I growled and placed a gentle hand at her hip as we
waited for the elevator.

“
What?”
She turned, mouth popped open before a smile curved her lips.

“
The
one that says you want me inside you.” I smiled, satisfied.

Her
eyebrows arched but before she could reply the elevator dinged and we
stepped in. As the doors closed my hand slid down the curve of her
ass, past the hem of her leather dress, and then back up, between her
legs.

“
This
tells me I’m right,” I hummed in her ear as I slid long fingers
through slick folds. She moaned and her head fell back, hair
cascading down my chest. “I’m not sure if I should spank you or
fuck you for not wearing panties with this dress,” I grit as I
massaged quick circles around her clitoris. Her fingertips clutched
my forearm as she rolled her hips back and forth, riding my hand.

“
Both?”
She breathed.

“
Jesus.
You were made for me. Think that old fucker knows you’re getting
thumb-fucked in the elevator right now?” I growled and thrust my
thumb into her pussy, hot and wet and smooth. My dick pounded against
my zipper as I massaged the raw bundle of nerves buried deep inside
her, swirling my fingers quicker over her clit until she convulsed
and her body went rigid as she came. Soft whimpers and moans sang
from her lips as I licked at the damp sheen that'd collected at the
crook of her neck. She was honest and feral and so fucking beautiful
when she came.

“
That’s
been my favorite noise this weekend,” I teased and thrust my thumb
in my mouth. My tongue relished her honey taste and I gave her a wink
when she righted herself as wide open eyes took me in. “Your pussy
tastes fantastic.” I smiled when I’d finished.