Protect Me (12 page)

Lia dives in with gusto, slathering her chimi with every ounce of guacamole on her plate. She takes a bite
and her eyes close. A small smile crosses her content face as she savors the food in her mouth.
 

“Oh my god, you have to try this,” she says and pushes her plate towards me.
 

I cut off a small piece with my fork and shovel it in my mouth. The chicken is prepared to perfection and the cheese sauce has just enough spice to keep you coming back for more. And the guacamole…damn.
 

“That’s good,” I say as soon as I swallow. “Want a bite of mine?” I ask as I push my plate towards her.
 

Lia uses her fork to cut off a piece of my steak and chicken burrito. Just as she is about to lift her fork towards her mouth, she swipes it through my cup of sour cream. “There, now it’s perfect,” she says as she takes the bite.
 

I watch her chew, mesmerized by the movement of her jaw. I watch her delicious throat swallow the bite and I long to lick that damn neck again. Who knew eating dinner could be so fucking erotic.
 

“So, I have something I want to ask you,” I say in between bites of my burrito. “The twenty-fourth is my brother Jake’s wedding. I was kinda hoping that maybe you’d want to go with me,” I ask, praying that she can’t tell that my nerves have my throat dry and my stomach a little loopy. Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with me?
 

“Um,” she starts but doesn’t really say anything. I can tell her mind is working a mile a minute and her nervous jitters have returned.
 

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” I say, trying to soften the blow that is coming my way.
 

“It’s not that, Nate. I just don’t usually date, is all.”
 

I look up into her beautiful eyes and gauge my response. She wants to go – or at least I think she wants to - but something is holding her back. Something is always holding her back. And I’ll be damned if I don’t vow to get to the bottom of it.
 

“We still have almost three weeks. Consider it an open invitation if you want to go, okay?”
 

“That sounds nice. Thank you,” she says with another small smile.
 

We finish off our dinner in relative silence. After I pay the bill, I take Lia by the hand and head towards the parking lot. Outside, there is little noise as most of Rivers Edge is home and locked up inside the cool confines of their houses. The humidity has been high for the last several days and doesn’t look like it’s going to be letting up anytime soon.
 

When we reach my car, I pull Lia against my body. She comes willingly and threads her arms around my waist. I feel her perky breasts flatten against my chest and her breathing has a slight hitch in it. Hell, my breathing practically becomes erratic. Lia strokes her hands up and down my back as we continue to hold each other.
 

“Where do you want to go?” I whisper into the
evening air.
 

“Can we go to the creek?” she whispers back.
 

I smile against her head as I picture my spot with her in it. “Of course we can,” I say as I place a hard kiss on her forehead. Lia slides into my car, and we set out for my quiet creek bank spot about ten miles outside of town.
 

As I’m driving down the road – hell, before I even pull out of the parking lot next to El Toro – I link my fingers within hers. Touching her has quickly become a lifeline. It’s as necessary as eating, drinking, and breathing. I don’t think I’ve held hands since Jill and that was over a decade ago. I’ve never felt the need, the desire. But Lia makes me feel all of that, and if I’m being brutally honest, she makes me feel so much more. That terrifies the shit out of me.
 

When I pull the Mustang into the drive, I quickly hop out and unlock the chain restricting access. The moonlight shines through the windshield illuminating Lia in the front seat. The sight just about brings me to my knees. Her beautiful eyes are following my progress as I stroll back towards the car.
 

How is it possible to want this woman, need this woman, with such a ferocious intensity that it practically renders me speechless, stupid, and immobile all at the same time? I’ve known this woman for a matter of days. A week. But it feels like I’ve known her forever. I want to worship her body with my own. I want to hold her
tight and show her that nothing will ever hurt her. I want to protect her. For the first time in more than a decade, I might want more.
 

Isn’t that a kicker? My life isn’t conducive to a wife, children, and white picket fences. I’ve made peace with that lifestyle or so I’ve thought. So, why the hell am I dreaming of more with Lia? Because the “more” that I’m envisioning is a hell of a lot more than just throwing her over my shoulder and pleasuring her body all night long. No, it’s so much more. Fuck.
 

Guys in my line of work do it all the time, I understand that. They have the family at home, the dog, the mortgage, and the baseball practices. But, I’ve seen what happens when the wife receives that knock on the door, telling her that her husband is never coming home again. I’ve held the hysterical woman while she screams for her husband and ignores the truth. I can’t do it. I won’t do it. If I love someone enough, I have to let them go to live their own life.
 

I slip back inside the car and drive along the path. I park next to the shack and walk around to help Lia out. With her hand securely inside of mine, I lead her towards the old building so we can get the chairs. It’s the perfect summer night to sit outside. Sure, a little on the humid side, but humidity has never really bothered me before. And apparently, it doesn’t bother Lia too much either.
 

Once the chairs are sitting in the dirt as close as
possible along the creek bank, Lia and I both relax and enjoy the quiet. Crickets chirp and frogs croak. The occasional fish jumps in the shallow water of the creek.
 

“When you were little, what was your dream?” I ask, breaking the silence that has surrounded us for the past ten minutes or so.
 

Lia is quiet for several beats before responding. “When I was little, I wanted to be a teacher,” she says.
 

“A teacher? I can see that.”
 

“I wanted to teach early education like preschool or kindergarten. There was something magical about connecting with children and helping them learn to become better adults. When I was young, I used to sit in my little room and teach the few stuffed animals or dolls that I had. I’d set them on my bed and teach them everything I had just learned from my own teacher.”
 

Lia leans over and places her hand inside of mine. It’s like she finds comfort in my touch. Maybe even strength. I sense that she’s had a rough past, I can see it in the way she avoids talking about it. I sense that there is so much more to Lia than what meets the eye.
 

“What about you? What was your dream when you were younger?”
 

“I’ve always wanted to be a fireman for as far back as I can remember. I used to talk Jake into setting fire to small piles of brush in the backyard. Then, I’d swoop in with my bucket of water or the garden hose and put them out. I was all of ten years old, maybe.”
 

“I can definitely see you running around with that cute little hat on and pretending to be a firefighter,” Lia says with a smile.
 

“I owned that damn hat. Got me all the chicks in elementary school,” I chuckle.
 

Lia laughs from the seat next to me. “Maybe you’ll have to show me the hat and let me be the judge of that,” she replies. The air around us crackles. The laughter and the lightness fade away. In its place is smoldering ambers of desire, waiting for that little spark to ignite the entire place, sending it up in flames.
 

“I’ll tell you what, next time you’re in St. Charles, stop by the firehouse and I’ll show you my hat.” I lean closer, my mouth just a whisper away from her ear. I can smell the flowers in her shampoo and the sweetness of her lotion. “If you’re a good girl, I’ll even show you my pole.”
 

Lia makes a noise; a throaty choking sound that shoots straight to my groin. The air is so thick, it’s a struggle to suck each breath into my lungs. I lean just a fraction of an inch closer until my mouth is touching her ear. “And don’t forget about my hose. I have lots and lots of hose,” I whisper as my breath fans out against her.
 

Lia turns ever so slightly until I can see her wild eyes. Eyes that are filled with raging desire. The deep gray swirls around like a tornado, ready to devour anything or anyone in its path. And I am the luckiest son
of a bitch to be standing smack dab in the center of the trail.
 

My lips seek hers out entirely on their own like magnets drawn together. With a single swipe of my tongue, Lia opens her mouth for me, sucking my tongue in hard and fast. If I was a lesser man, I would have lost it right then and there in my shorts. Lia’s hands dive into my hair. The feel of her nails digging into my scalp almost sends me completely over the edge. She scratches down the back of my neck as we continue to dual with our mouths and tongues.
 

When she reaches my back, my muscles tighten against her nails causing her to dig in deeper. She can mark me all she wants, just as long as she never stops. I flex my back muscles again and she lets out the sexiest moan I’ve ever heard. I swallow the noise as I cradle her against my hard body and lie her down in what little grass we have along the creek bank.
 

I rise up momentarily and take in the sight before me. Lia’s long, brown hair is fanned out around her head, her breathing is coming in quick, loud pants, and her nipples are peaked and pressing hard against the cotton of her sundress. She’s the sexiest fucking woman I’ve ever seen. Ever.
 

I drop back down to her lips and devour her with another scorching kiss. Lia’s hands return to my back. She pushes my shirt upward until I feel her hot hands on bare skin, which makes me shiver at the contact. She
pushes the shirt up and over my head. Her hands drop the shirt and return to my back. Her nails continue to bite and claw at my sensitive skin. It’s the most delicious pain I’ve ever experienced.
 

I reach down and grab my discarded shirt and lift up her hips, spreading it down on the ground beneath her. I’m not so much of a bastard that I will take her in the dirt, but I will make Lia feel pleasure. No, our first time will be in a house, a room. Somewhere where I can lay her out and feast on her body. Tonight, this is all about Lia forgetting everything else and just feeling.
 

I glance up at her shadowed face, place my hands on the small strip of material at her hips, and give her the questioning look. She doesn’t even hesitate. She gives me a small nod, permission to explore her body. I gently slide down the wet material that has been hidden underneath her dress. I can smell her arousal. Her scent causes what little blood I have left in my body to rush south, fast and furiously. I’m practically light-headed and dizzy from the desire.
 

When the panties are down to her ankles, I gently spread her knees apart by running my hands up her legs. The only sounds are our own urgent breaths. Pants, is more like it.
 

“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” I say honestly as I gaze deep into her eyes.
 

Lia doesn’t respond, but her breath catches in her throat. I slowly lower my face to the apex of her legs
and can see the dampness glistening in the moonlight. I take one finger and gently touch her wetness. Lia’s low moan gives me all of the encouragement that I need. I use two fingers to spread open her folds just before I run my tongue along the seam. Lia’s hips buck up off my shirt so I lay a firm hand along her stomach, holding her in place. She tenses underneath my arm, but slowly starts to relax.
 

Relax. That’s the last thing I want her to be doing right now.
 

I flick my tongue over her clit and watch as she withers at the onslaught of sensations. I explore her entire area, licking and sucking and teasing until she’s all but coming apart in my arms.
 

“Please,” she says so breathlessly that I barely understand the word.
 

“Please what, beautiful?” I ask before my tongue dives into her tight body.
 

She moans loudly into the night sky and says, “I need you.”
 

“Beautiful, I need you more than you could possibly imagine, but tonight, is about you. Tonight, I want you to come apart in my arms, by my fingers and tongue.” I slowly slide the first finger inside of her. Her tightness envelopes my entire finger, soaking it to the bone. I slide the second finger in on the next stroke and return my tongue to her clit.
 

“Please don’t stop,” she groans as she grinds
against my face.
 

“Oh, babe, you don’t ever have to worry about me stopping. Making you come is my favorite new past time,” I tell her.
 

I pick up the pace and push her towards orgasm. She is so close; I can feel her body clamping down on my fingers as her wetness drenches me. The orgasm rips from her body like an exorcism of mind and soul. Lia’s entire body goes rigid, the muscles on her face tight with euphoria, as she slowly returns to earth.
 

She’s fucking beautiful. Lying on my t-shirt on the ground in the moonlight, body sated and spent. I can’t help the manly pride that spreads through my chest. I did that. I made her look like that. It’s a damn awesome feeling. It makes me want to pound my chest and let a roar rip from my gut.