All Summer Long (Fool's Gold #9)

Seconds later his mouth settled on her breast. Warm, wet heat surrounded her tight nipple. He used his tongue to battle with the tip, then sucked deeply.

She was unprepared for the erotic ride. Desire flooded her as pleasure melted her bones. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak, could only get lost in the delicious sensations washing through her body. She moaned and grabbed his shoulders. At the same time she arched her body toward his.

He moved to the other breast and caressed her the same way again. With each pull of his mouth, her body tensed. Need collected between her legs until she was ready to beg for relief.

He returned to kissing her mouth and used his hands on her br**sts. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close, knowing she needed to crawl inside of him, or have him inside of her. Her blood was thick, her muscles trembled as every cell in her body awakened to the delight of this man.

“Clay,” she breathed, an invitation in the word.

He sat up.

She sighed in relief, ready to rip off his clothes, her clothes, anyone’s clothes.

But instead of undoing his shirt or reaching for his jeans, he bent down and collected her T-shirt, then carefully draped it over her. Then he stood.

She stared at him. “What are you doing?”

“Leaving.”

She was amazed at how quickly passion could transform to anger. “What? You do that to me and then leave? We’re not going to have sex?”

“You’re not ready.”

“You don’t get to say what I am.”

He leaned in and lightly kissed her. “I know that anticipation is better than fear. Trust me, Charlie. You’re not the only one suffering.”

As he straightened, she saw his erection straining at his jeans.

“Does it hurt?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” She pulled her T-shirt over her head and smoothed it into place. “Fine. Leave. Whatever. I don’t care.” She had more to say but noticed he wasn’t looking at her face. Instead he seemed very focused on her braless chest.

He swallowed. “I want thirty seconds.” His gaze shifted to hers. “Just thirty seconds. Promise you won’t get scared?”

She wasn’t sure what he was asking, but nodded anyway.

He took a step toward her, then another. He reached for her and pulled her against him.

She went willingly. Unafraid, as he’d asked. They’d hugged before. What was the big deal? Then his arms tightened and his mouth settled on hers in a kiss unlike the others.

Where before he’d been gentle, this time he was a man on the edge. Passion radiated from him as he swept into her mouth, claiming, demanding. He was intense and hungry, his hands roaming over her body. He squeezed her rear, digging into the curves, before circling around to cup her br**sts.

When he stepped back, they were both breathing hard.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “Did I—”

She put her fingers on his lips to silence him. There was nothing he could have said to make her understand. But the actions spoke volumes. In that moment, he’d been as vulnerable as she. Passion equalized.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He managed a shaky smile. “For what it’s worth, it’s going to be a long night.”

He kissed her on the cheek, then walked out. She watched him go and knew that whatever happened, she would always be grateful. Clay had shown her that healing was possible and that being like everyone else wasn’t just a wish.

CHAPTER NINE

“CHARLIE HAS DONE her usual excellent job of weeding out the candidates who aren’t going to be able to handle the program,” Olivia said. She turned to Charlie. “You make any of them cry?”

Charlie groaned. “I don’t take pleasure in that. Why do you always act as if I do? I only want to make sure that everyone is prepared for the work involved and the physical requirements. It’s not personal.”

“That was a yes,” another captain said with a grin.

“You make me sound like a monster,” Charlie grumbled.

“No. You do your job.” Olivia tapped the thin stack of applications. “We have more men this time. Always interesting integrating them into our department. Everyone ready?”

There was a murmur of consensus.

Olivia was weeks away from being promoted to Battalion Chief of Training for the department, so she was the one running the meeting. Charlie had been through the winnowing process enough times to know what was coming. Every applicant was discussed in detail. At least two firefighters would have interviewed the candidates and Charlie had taken them through three preliminary training sessions. It was rare for her assessment to conflict with the interview findings. In her experience, applicants had everyone’s support or no one’s. It made the process go more smoothly.

They worked through three potential volunteers, accepting one, dismissing two, before starting on Clay’s paperwork.

Charlie went first, as she had on the others. “He’s at the top of the class and by a wide margin,” she began. “Physically, he’s in excellent shape and he follows orders.”