Freed by Fire (13 page)

By his ragged breathing I knew this wasn’t going to last long. I wasn’t sure if I was ready yet, but I didn’t want him to hold back on my account either. So, I reached down between our bodies and slowly circled my throbbing clit with my fingers.

“Oh, Christ,” Caid rumbled. “Don’t fucking stop doing that, Em. That’s so goddamn sexy.”

I held him by his nape and pulled his lips to mine with my free hand. I claimed his mouth and explored every delicious surface in his mouth. I couldn’t get enough. I was addicted.

The build was like a pot of boiling water, ready to steam over the edge and I cried out into his mouth that I was going to come.

“Do it, baby. Come for me,” he commanded.

With his words, I unravelled like a ball of yarn. Like a rocket set off into the night sky, bursting as it collided with a star. I panted and breathed heavily as I tried to regain my sense of sight. My eyes were clamped down so hard all I could see where surges of light behind the lids.

Caid dropped his body down to mine, I didn’t care if his weight was smothering me. I loved the way he felt on top of me.

“Mmm,” he groaned as his orgasm shuddered through his body. Sweat trickled from his head as he laid it beside mine and buried it into the bed beneath us. I felt his Adam’s apple on my shoulder, and the vibration from his rumbling.

The fire on his shoulder was right in front of my mouth. I pressed my lips into the tattoo, to his skin. I let my tongue run slowly along the black and red ink and closed my eyes as I tasted the salt of his sweat and the succulent essence of what was Kincaid Burke.

Chapter Ten

Friday, July 12
— 6:30 pm

I placed the last box into the back of Caid’s truck and he closed the tailgate. I took three boxes full of items from my bedroom. Some photos, a few trinkets that I had collected over the years. Medals and one trophy from when I played on the girls’ volleyball team in high school. Everything else; my bed, dresser, desk and chair could go to charity. I tossed the sheets into a garbage bag and stuffed them into a box. I wasn’t going to donate them, but I would wash them once I got back to Chicago.

“What’s in there?” I asked, pointing to a large plastic box in the bed of his truck.

“Well, what I had planned for you this weekend, actually.” Caid dipped his head to kiss me. “Unless you just want to head back to Chicago.”

I regarded him intently and smirked. “Just want do you plan on doing with me?”

“Mean and awful things, remember?”

“I hope so.” I placed a chaste kiss on his lips before giggling and walking around the side of his truck to get it. I smiled and quietly said my goodbye’s to my mom’s house.

No “till later.”

Not this time.

Despite the loud rumble of Caid’s truck I heard the growl in his stomach from across the cab. “You’re hungry,” I said.

“Well, I forgot to eat earlier.” He grinned. “You just wanted me inside of you too badly.”

“Caid!” I covered my face. “As I recall, you didn’t put up much of a fight. Besides, there wasn’t anything in that house to eat.”

“There was.” He bit his lip and his nostrils flared. “I may just have to pull over before I starve to death.”

Oh, my God. He wasn’t talking about real food. He was talking about
me.
I gaped, unsure of what to say.

“I’ll just have to gorge myself on your sweet pussy later,” he said.

“Oh, my God, Caid. You can’t say things like that to me.” I blushed and looked out my window. “You’re too much.”

“I thought you liked my dirty mouth.”

Damn, do I ever.
“I do…” I breathed.

“Well then, what’s the problem, love?”

I tried to stifle my smile, but I failed miserably. There was absolutely no problem whatsoever. We both knew it.

“Hey, a Big Boy! I haven’t had that shite in ages.” Caid flipped on his signal switch and turned into the parking lot.

Fleeting memories of Matt passed as I leaned my head back and fell a little crazy for Caid. He looked so young and spirited; so happy, and I ate it up.

He parked away from all of the other cars in the lot, probably afraid someone was going to scratch his beautiful machine. Caid ran around the front of the truck and opened my door for me, ever a gentleman.

His hand entwined with mine and I snuggled my face into his thick arm as we walked up to the entrance of Big Boy. The air conditioning in the restaurant was like heavenly escape from the thick and humid evening air.

I felt like a teenager again. All stupid and silly with…feelings. We found a booth and sat down. When the waitress approached us, I knew her face right away. She was the same girl from Rosemary High that held the door open for me on the last day of school.

“Hi, Mrs.
Morgan
,” she said, emphasizing the Morgan. Her eyes darted to Caid and she grinned. It just made me want to slap her smug little face. “What can I get you guys tonight?”

I expected Caid’s hold on my hand to tighten when she spoke, but it didn’t. He knew I was divorced, and I promised I would always be honest.

“It is Finn now,” I leaned in to read her nametag. “Andrea. Miss Finn. We’d like to see the menu’s first, please.”

Andrea smirked and placed the menus she already had in her hand on the table. “Drinks?” She asked.

“Pepsi,” Caid said, not looking at her.

“Same,” I answered and smiled.
Little bitch
, I muttered to myself.

The look on his face told me he wanted to say something, but didn’t.

“A student of…my ex-husband’s,” I said.

“Oh, that ol’ arsehole, eh? Well, I wonder what got her knickers in a snit…”

I rolled my eyes. I wondered if Matt had slept with her too. I wondered if the pregnant blonde was the only one. My stomach turned. I bet she wasn’t.

“Speak of the fucking devil,” I whispered and sunk low in my seat.

Matt walked in. Like my world needed to have a wrench thrown in the gears at that moment. He wasn’t alone, either. He had mommy-and-belly in tow.

“
Emery.
” Caid’s deep voice rumbled across the table top.

My eyes darted back to his beautiful hues of green. “I’m here.”

“Good.” Then he squeezed my hand. “Ol’ arsehole?”

I nodded.

“Well, imagine that. Want me to slide in beside you and show him what is no longer his?”

Hell yes I did.
“No, it’s okay. Really.”

Matt and Baby Mama sat a few seats down. I didn’t even think they saw me. The girl from the school/waitress emerged again, this time donning a scowl on her face, which told me right away that he must have slept with her too.

“Here you go,” she said, setting down the Pepsi’s with a little force. “Have you decided what you want?”

“A smile would be nice, love,” Caid said, flashing her his megawatt smile.

She melted and blushed.

I smirked.
Can’t have this one, little girl.

“Sorry, it’s been a long shift. What can I get you?” her tone softened with his combination smile and accent.

“I would like to have,
Andrea
,” he pronounced her name like it dripped sex. “The Best Cheeseburger on the Planet.”

“O-okay,” she stuttered. “And what about you Mrs. Morg—Miss Finn?”

“I would like to have,” my eyes flashed to Caid’s then back to her. I licked my lips and pulled my hand away from his, bringing it to my hair to run my fingers through it. “That new one. You know, that
Big. Irish
…”

Forget Caid making her blush. I just turned her into a lobster in two seconds flat. Andrea scrawled something down and bolted to the kitchen. I smiled at my little moment of confidence and sipped my Pepsi.

“The
Big Irish
, eh?”

Fuck.

I blinked. His tone was forbidding and delectably wicked. I knew what I had just started. And I loved every second of it.

“Yeah,” I said, trying to sound blasé. “It’s some new sandwich. Nothing special. I just thought I’d give it a whirl.”

Caid moved from his seat and over to mine before I could catch my breath. He took my face in his hands and kissed me. I tasted the bubbles from the carbonation of the Pepsi on our tongues. I touched my fingers to his jaw and traced the stubble. Imagine my trepidation when I heard a familiar giggle. Preggo’s giggle, to be exact.

I pulled my lips away from Caid’s and touched my mouth.

“He knocked her up, didn’t he?” Caid asked, brushing his thumb along my lip.

I bobbed my head slowly. “Yes.”

“My God, Emery. Don’t think for one second that you are lacking because of that. He’s the motherfucker that threw you away for some trashy little blonde. You’re perfect, and beautiful…” Caid whispered into my ear. “And delicious, let’s not forget about my impending tooth decay. If you were mine, Em, I would spend every waking moment worshipping you like the goddess you are.”

Is this guy for real? I mean, come on. I wanted to believe him, I really did. But, the bigger part of my heart—the one that held the years of emotional shit from Matt won. I still felt incompetent. A dud with a broken uterus.

“So, what about it?” Caid asked.

“About what?” I breathed, slowly licking the pad of his thumb against my lips.

“Being mine.”

I opened my eyes and took his hand in mine. It was fast. Too fast. But, the need for him was unlike anything else I had ever felt. I didn’t want to let it go, not for a second. “I’m yours.”

Caid closed his eyes, and when they opened they were green fire. The heat radiated from them and penetrated my flesh. His hand pulled from mine and slipped between my thighs, inching up my tender flesh until the tips scraped the fabric of my panties.

Oh, no. He wasn’t going to do this here. Not in Big Boy with other people around. Not with Matt and Blondie just over—
ahh!!

He did it. He slipped in two fingers and chuckled quietly to himself as I gasped for air.

“Caid!” I tried to keep my voice down.

“Shhh, love. Don’t want everyone to hear you come.” His fingers moved in such a way that I felt like I could fall apart at any moment. “Or, maybe you do.”

Andrea approached the table at the worst possible moment. Caid turned his body so it simply looked like his hand was on my leg.

She smiled as she set down our plates and asked if there was anything else we needed.

Yes! For you to go away!
I wanted to scream. I wanted to come, but I fucking couldn’t with everyone around me.

“Well, Andrea,” Caid said, shoving his fingers in deeper, and I gasped quietly again. “What do people do for fun in Belleville?”

Oh, my God. Was he really doing that right now? He was having a conversation with that little twit while he was knuckle-deep inside of me? Caid was a piece of work; that was for sure.

“Umm,” she said, twirling a piece of hair in her fingers. “There are some nice beaches. We have a drive-in theater still, but I don’t think anything good is playing this weekend.”

“Mmm hmm…” he stroked my walls some more. “Well, I don’t know what the lovely Miss Finn would like to do, but I think taking a little dip in the water might be nice. What do you think,
Miss Finn?
”

I let out a small whimper, glared at him and released my lip from the death-lock my teeth had on it. “I—I don’t care. A swim sounds nice.”

“Yes,” Caid purred. “A nice
wet
swim. Thank you,
Andrea
. It looks like we’ve got everything we need right here, love.”

With the turn of her back Caid pushed his fingers in deeper and stroked me just as my orgasm hit. He turned his body and cradled my head into his chest as I pushed my mouth against him, attempting to muffle my cries of ecstasy.

“That’s my girl,” he whispered.

I pulled my face away and frowned at him. “I can’t believe you did that to me!”

Caid shrugged and slowly pulled his fingers from me. “God, you’re wrapped around me like a fucking vise.” After a quick kiss on my nose, Caid brought his fingers to his mouth and stuck them both in.

My eyes widened as I saw Andrea move to our table once more. What the hell was she doing now? She set down a bottle of ketchup. “I forgot to bring this earlier, sorry. How is everything?”

“Mmm,” Caid said, licking and popping his fingers from his mouth in a loud manner. “Delicious. Thank you.” He picked up a French fry and winked at me while taking a bite off the end.

“Mean,” I whispered through gritted teeth.

“Ruthless, love.”

The rest of our meal was spent in relative silence. Andrea didn’t even bother us again. Which I was thankful for, as I didn’t want to endure her drooling over Caid and him sending her in to an intentional flutter.

“I’m going to call Caleb now, he’ll be going to sleep soon,” Caid said, giving my hand a kiss. “Are you okay?”

I smiled and nodded. I was more than okay. Should I tell him to say hello for me? Is it too soon for that? I didn’t know how something like this worked.

Caid got up and left the restaurant. I saw him standing near his truck with his phone to his ear. He smiled and spoke. He laughed a few times and absently kicked the dirt with the toe of his shoe as he stood in the parking lot.

“Emery?” Matt’s voice tore me from my beautiful vision. “What are you doing here?”

I looked up at him. Nothing was familiar. The man I thought I knew was long gone. I drained my Pepsi, placed money on the table and started to slide out of the bench. “I was just leaving, excuse me.”

“Em, wait!” he called to me when I pushed past him.

I stopped and turned on my heel. “Congratulations, I forgot to say it earlier.” I smiled at the blonde. “I hope you three are very happy together.”

“Four,” she said softly. “They’re twins.”

I gaped “Of course they are!” I couldn’t believe it. “Way to go, Matt. You really got the job done.”

Matt gritted his teeth and moved toward me. “Em…” his voice was riddled with warning.

“What?” I stepped toward him with my new-found sense of courage. I could thank the Big Irish for that one—and not the sandwich, either.

“Don’t raise your voice to her.”

I blinked. “You’re fucking kidding me, right?” I laughed. “You’re a joke.” As I turned to leave Matt grabbed my arm and yanked me back. I fell to the ground, scraping my knee.