Into the Fire

Note: This story is the only thing I've written (besides book reports and term papers) so I really appreciate all the good-natured comments and suggestions. The sexy-times won't be coming until Chapter 7, so thank you to those who are hanging in there! And to those who don't, I don't blame y'all. I promise my next story will be better, theoretically.

Chapter 5

I picked up my watch on the nightstand. It was after three a.m., and sleep was nowhere in sight. I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair. I went back and forth all night, teetering between leaving and staying. Sighing, I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and forced myself to go talk to him.

I tried to open his door as quietly as possible, which was silly since I was going to wake him up anyway. It turned out to be unnecessary; he sitting up cross-legged, staring out the window. He said nothing as he turned toward me, just watched as I rounded the bed to the unoccupied side. I climbed up and sat while hugging my legs. I didn't know where to start. So all I said was "Hi."

He waited a beat. "Hi."

I pulled my knees into my chest as tightly as I could. "I'm sorry I hit you. And threw my purse at you. I shouldn't have done that."

My eyes were still adjusting to the darkness of the room, illuminated by a lone sliver of moonlight, but I could see him rubbing his face in his hands. "I deserved it. Shit, I deserve for you to kick my ass ten times over. I am

so

sorry, Tess. I was...when you told me you were going out with Sam...I was jealous. More than jealous," he chuckled, "I wanted to put my fist through his fuckin' face. But you were right. I don't have any right tellin' you who you can see. And it doesn't excuse the things I said to you. That's somethin' I'll never forgive myself for. I'm an asshole."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding in. "Yes, you are."

We sat in the dark muted for a minute before I spoke again. "I...God, I can't believe I'm about to admit this, but...I wanted to make you jealous. Sam told me that you and, ugh,

Chastity

, were an item. Then I overheard her at the salon talking about how you always get back together. And I thought you and I...that we were..." I shook my head. "It doesn't matter what I thought. I used Sam to make you mad, which makes me feel like a horrible person. I just...I was starting to really like you, and I wasn't thinking clearly."

Shane cleared his throat. "And now?"

"Now what?"

"Now, how do you feel about me?"

I looked out the window as I mulled over his question. "I don't know. That was a pretty dark argument we just had. But...but I can't deny that kiss was...was..." I stuttered, trying to think of the right word. "Anyway, does it really matter how I feel? I'm leaving in a few days. That was the plan, right?"

He uncrossed his legs and leaned against the headboard. "Come here."

I hesitated. "Why?"

"Just come here."

I released my legs and crawled towards him. When I reached his side he grabbed my arm and pulled me until I was straddling his lap. He circled his hands behind my back and interlocked his fingers, keeping me still. "Don't go, then."

I pulled back and gave him the "you're batshit crazy" look. "I have to go, Shane. My life is in New Haven."

He started moving his thumb up and down the base of my spine. "Your life in New Haven doesn't start until August. There's nothin' you can do there that you can't do here. Stay with me for the summer."

I cocked my head to the side. "I can't stay here and keep disrupting your life, look at what happened today! We don't even know what we are, and..."

He covered my mouth with his hand. "Tess, stop. You're spiraling. Just listen." I rolled my eyes at his attempt to silence me, but I nodded and stayed quiet.

He returned his hand to rubbing the small of my back. "What we are is two people who are attracted to each other. The reason that fight was so intense is we've been lettin' all this unspoken tension build up because neither one of us has the balls to tell the other one how we feel. I

like

you, Tess. I enjoy your company. I like spendin' time with you. It's not just about sex. At the end of a long day I like comin' home to you. So don't go. Let's figure what we are, what we could be. We'll worry about the rest later."

I leaned forward so my forehead rested on his shoulder. I took a moment to think about his proposition. There were so many reasons this was unpractical, not to mention ridiculous. We practically tore each other's heads off today. I'd never even dated, let alone lived with someone. That was so different from me. That I'd only known for three weeks. The sirens were going off in my head, warning me to turn back, go back to my oddly comfortable hermit life.

So when I sat up, looked him square in the eye and responded with a very succinct "Okay" it was just as much as a surprise to me as it was to Shane. As soon as I uttered the word he rewarded me with an enormous grin. It was so genuine I couldn't help but return the sentiment. It also gave me the opportunity to lighten the mood. "So it's not all about sex, huh?"

I felt a silent laugh rumble in his chest. "No, but trust me, that is a very big perk," he replied as he gave my behind a gentle squeeze. "Speakin' of which, there is somethin' I'd like to do."

My eyes went large. "Shane, I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

He pulled himself up so that we were nose to nose. "Not that, sweetheart. At least, not tonight. Since I was a royal ass, all I want to do is make you feel good. Is that okay?"

I wavered, uncertain. "Yes."

He leaned back slightly so he could pull my shirt over my head. I became very aware of my lack of a bra and immediately tried to hide my breasts with my arms. Shane gently tugged them down. "You don't have to hide from me, sweetheart. I've been dreamin' about these beautiful tits of yours for days."

I shook my head frantically until my hair fell over my eyes. "I don't doubt that...I've just never...you're the first guy to see them."

He placed a kiss on my clavicle and cleared the strands from my face. "Trust me?"

I closed my eyes and sighed. "I trust you."

He kissed my lips with great tenderness before parting my lips with his tongue. We entwined our tongues lazily. His large hands splayed across my back, pulling me closer to him. I found myself grinding against his lap as our kiss deepened. Suddenly he pulled away and held me still by my hips.

"Tess, I want to take this slow," he squeezed his eyes shut, "but if you don't stop gyratin' that ass on my cock I'm gonna throw you down on this bed and spend the next 24 hours fucking you. And yes, I'm being completely serious. So sit still."

I suddenly became very aware of his sizeable erection underneath me. "I'm sorry! We haven't even gotten to the touching part and I'm turned on, I can't help it!

He laughed. "It's okay, darlin'. I'm just trying to be a good boy." He stroked my lips with his thumb while the other hand kept me rooted to his lap. He watched me as he parted my lips with his thumb. "Now you be a good girl. Suck."

I curled my tongue around the tip and pulled it into my mouth, alternating between swirling my tongue around it and sucking it firmly. He let out a low groan.

"Fuck. If that's how you're just suckin' my thumb I can't even imagine how good your mouth is gonna feel on my cock."

His praise just made me suck harder and graze it with my teeth. After a moment he pulled it from my mouth and ran it in a straight line down to my breasts, taking the time to roll each harden nipple between his fingers. He continued on his journey down south until he finally stopped at the area still covered by my panties.

"Jesus, sweetheart, you are

soaked

." He pushed at my swollen lips through the fabric and I whimpered. "Is that because of me?"

I braced my hands on his chest and nodded. I wanted to move against his hand but his other hand was keeping me still. "Shane...please."

"Please what, Tess? Tell me what you want."

I parted my mouth to speak, trying to steady my breathing. "I want...I want you to touch me."

"Where?"

"Jesus, Shane!" I whined impatiently.

He started circling his thumb, barely grazing my clit. "Tell me, Tess."

I dropped my head back onto his shoulder and muttered. "Please...touch my pussy."

He kissed the side of my neck and gently pushed me back onto the bed as he settled between my legs. "Good girl." He stopped torturing me and swiftly put his hand into my panties and felt my how slick I was. He traded his thumb for a middle finger that parted my lips and entered me slowly. I cried out at the foreign touch while he gently pistoned in and out. He started speaking low, the soothing sound vibrating into my neck as he sucked the sensitive skin.

"Are you gonna come for me sweetheart? Does that feel good?" He bent his head and ran his tongue against my peaked nipple. "How about that? Or maybe if I did this?" He sucked it into his mouth, rolling his tongue over the hard nub before moving to the other to repeat the motion. "Or maybe this?" he added his index finger to join the other, which caused me to start bucking against his hand. "Does that feel good?"

"Yes!" I cried out as I let the new sensations take over my body.

He started to speed up his strokes while continuing to taunt me. "Are you gonna to come for me, Tess?" He growled in my ear before dipping his head to nip at my breasts with his teeth.

"Oh God, oh God..." I felt it in my belly, first. Then it spread to my arms and legs and made my toes curl. My heart felt like it would burst out of my chest and my and everything sped up. My head, my heart, everything felt intense and immediate. I gripped the sheets tightly and roared out his name.

***

I was aware the sun had risen before my eyes opened. I felt a feather-light touch tracing circles on my shoulder blades. "'Mornin', darlin." My smile was as bright as the light filling the room. "Good morning."

He kept up his skin sketching. "You know, you talk in your sleep."

I groaned. "I do not."

"And you snore."

"I do not!"

"I guess all that money you grew up with can't buy quieter sinuses," he teased.

"Shane Thomas, I will punch you in the throat if you don't stop making fun of me."

His laughter shook the bed. "Then give me a kiss, Tyson, before you kill me."

I hoisted myself on my forearms and smiled at him. "Hi."

He stroked my cheek before bending down to give me a light kiss. "Hi. Coffee?"

"Tea, please."

He kissed the top of my head before hopping out of bed. "So polite," he said with a wink over his shoulder before he strode out of the room. My head returned to its pillow and I closed my eyes, repeating last night over again in my head.

Are you gonna come for me, Tess?

I just want to make you feel good.

Stay with me.

Everything about this was so tempting, but I couldn't stop my mind from going to the What If file in my head.

What happens when the summer ends? How could I possibly have a relationship with everything else I have to do? What if he gets sick of me before then? What if he gets sick of me after we have sex? Oh God, what if I'm bad at sex! I bet Chastity isn't bad at sex. Or any of the other girls he's slept with. What if he's slept with a hundred girls and they're all flexible and kinky and I'm just Plain Jane Vanilla over here? I'm going to be so bad at this, he's going to be bored and dump me and then I'm going to go through the rest of my life alone. With ten cats.

"You're thinkin' loudly again."

His voice jolted me back to the present. He was leaning against the bedpost with two mugs and amused look on his face. "What could you possibly be thinkin' about that gets you so wound up?"

I sat up and pulled the sheet up to cover my breasts. "You don't want to know."

He handed me tea and sat by my feet. "Try me," he inquired as he started to drink his coffee.

I played with the tea bag string and sighed. "Fine. How many women have you slept with?"

He paused mid-sip and brought his mug down. "

That's

what you're so worried about?"

"It's just the first part of a long stream of consciousness," I said with a wave of my hand, "Just...answer the question please."

I watched him do a mental count. "Twenty...ish. No more than twenty-five." He watched my face for a reaction. When I didn't have one, he went to take a sip.

"Have you ever had a threesome?"

That caused him to choke and spill coffee on the bed. "Jesus Christ, Tess! Are you trying to kill me?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "You wanted to know."

He sat his mug on the nightstand and rubbed the back of his neck, looking toward the ceiling. "Uh..."

"What about kinks? Are you, like, into BDSM?"

A confused look marred his face. "Tess, where are these questions coming from?

"What about anal? Have you done anal?"

"Tess..."

"Do you like tying girls up?"

"Tess..."

"Is being able to put my legs behind my head a requirement?"

"Contessa! Stop!" He shouted, breaking my obsessive train of thought. "Slow down. Bring me back to why you're thinkin' about this stuff."

I felt him staring at me but I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eye. "Look, I think it's clear I'm going to have sex with you. Sooner, rather than later, and I'm worried I'm not going to be any good. I mean, I've seen Chastity, she looks like she's up to try anything. And...I'm scared I'm going to be bad and you're going to go find someone who knows what she's doing. I have no idea what I'm doing." I hugged my legs to my chest with my free arm and hid my face on my knees.

He took the tea out of my hand and place it next to his coffee. He started to stroke my leg through the sheet. "First of all, stop comparing yourself with Chastity. She's fucking crazy and my feelings for her have never been anywhere near my feelings for you." I lifted my head slightly to peek at him. "Second, I can say with the utmost confidence that making love to you will be nothing short of amazing. We'll figure out what you like, what

we

like, together. It's just you and me. Don't worry about the other stuff, okay?"

I gave him a slight nod, then a lift of my eyebrow. "So...?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes. To...mostly everything. But putting your legs behind your head is not necessary. Around my waist is fine. Or on my shoulders. Or on the bed while I take you from behind. Or...maybe wrapped around a pole, givin' me a strip tease. This is givin' me ideas. Should we get a pole? We have enough room in the living room...oof!" he grunted as the business end of a pillow socked him in the face. "Oh ho ho! Lil' girl, you're gonna get it now." He leapt across the bed as I shrieked, knocking me over and tickling me until I was breathless.

"Stop! Shane! Okay okay, I submit!" I yelled, gasping for air. "I'm sorry! I submit."

Shane ended his torture and leaned over me, brushing the hair out of my face. His eyes sparkled and he gave me a seductive smile. "Now that is somethin' I could definitely get behind." Then he set about to kiss all of my doubts away.