Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
NICK
“ L et’s go over the list of volunteers to make sure we have everything covered,” Rachel says, turning the page of her comprehensive, multi-page checklist.
We’re lounging in her living room, going through all the plans we have so far for the chili cookoff. We’ve already run through all the equipment we’ll need for the day of, as well as selling tasting tickets and armbands at the door.
“The guess that spice challenge for kids?” she asks, pencil poised above her list.
“Mrs. Klassen is doing that.”
Rachel smiles. “She’ll be great at it. And it’s finally some quid pro quo for all the times you’ve gone to story time, huh?”
No kidding. Even so… I rub the back of my neck. “I’m not keeping score.”
“I’m joking.” She squeezes my knee. “And the hot pepper eating challenge for adults?”
“One of Mark’s friends. Anakin.”
She laughs, then stops when she realizes I’m not laughing. “Wait. You’re serious? His name is actually Anakin?”
I wince, nodding.
She sets her paper and pencil down. “How have I not heard of him before? I know I don’t go out much, but there’s no way I could have missed that.”
She looks so adorably confused, I want to smile. “I don’t think he lives in Aurora. Mark said he’s visiting that weekend.”
She shakes her head, astounded. “Does he even like Star Wars?”
I do laugh then. “Why are you so fixated on this?”
Heat touches her cheeks. “You’re right. I’m getting distracted.” She scribbles something on her list. “Anakin for the peppers, I guess. And you have the list of spices and peppers to buy on Thursday?”
I nod. “It’s on my phone.”
“Good. What about face painting?”
“Jae said she’d do it.”
She sets down her checklist. “Jae? My Jae?”
“Yep. The one and only.”
Her forehead scrunches. “How am I only hearing about this now?”
I scratch my jaw. “Maybe because Chief only gave us a few weeks to put this whole thing together and we’ve had a lot else going on?”
Even so, this is the most ambitious fundraiser the fire station has done that I can remember in the last decade. That could be why we keep needing to have them, though—the ones we’ve been putting on haven’t had enough going for them.
“There’s that,” she concedes. “But we only have a few days now. How did it sneak up on us this fast?”
Guilt creeps over me for a moment. I’ve been so focused on Rachel lately, I’ve forgotten the whole reason we started getting to really know each other in the first place. At least Chief has stayed pretty hands-off about it after he approved the plan.
We have it handled, though. Especially with how thorough Rachel’s checklist is.
“We’ll be fine,” I assure her. “Seriously. This is going to be the best fundraiser we’ve ever had.”
She seems appeased at that. “Okay, but when did Jae volunteer? Where was I?”
“I ran into her at the grocery store a couple weeks ago and she asked what she could do.”
“Face painting…” She trails off, thinking it over. “Has she ever done it before?”
I shrug. “She said she’d learn.”
“Yeah, that sounds like her.” She chuckles, shaking her head. “I’ll talk to her about it.”
We go through the rest of the list—games, station tours, raffles, her bakery’s dessert table, the band’s set list. It feels like it goes on forever, but I’m just grateful Rachel’s organized enough to have everything mapped out.
I promise I’ll get her all the volunteers’ emails tomorrow so she can forward them their part in the day’s activities, and then we call it quits for the night.
“What do you want to do now?” I ask, stretching out on Rachel’s new couch. Selfishly, I’m glad she bought a new one if the old one was making her think of Kyle.
“I have a surprise for you,” she says, eyes twinkling.
“Oh?”
Between my shifts and a small business association meeting she needed to attend one night, our schedules haven’t aligned the past few days. But I don’t remember her saying anything about a surprise.
“Close your eyes,” she says.
“What?”
“Close them,” she insists, getting up from her chair.
“Okay…”
I cover my eyes, resisting the urge to peek, and a minute later, she tells me to open them. She’s walking across the living room, carefully carrying a cake with three lit candles. The candle flames flicker, casting a soft light over her face.
“I’d sing you Happy Birthday, but I inherited my mom’s singing voice. And I considered doing twenty-eight candles, but it seemed excessive. I don’t think I’d do well with that much fire, either.”
I nod, unable to speak past the unexpected lump in my throat. She actually made me a cake? I remember us talking about it, but…
She sets it in front of me on the coffee table. “I know your birthday isn’t until tomorrow, but you’re working then, so I wanted to do this today.”
Warmth curls through my chest, even though it’s only a cake. But with the way she’s looking at me, like I matter… It undoes me a little.
“Thank you,” I murmur. “This means a lot to me.”
“Of course.” She smiles, sitting next to me. “It’s cinnamon roll flavored. Since you said you like them.” She nudges my knee with hers. “Make your special birthday wish. You only get one a year.”
My heart thumps hard in my chest. I’ve never felt so… seen before. And there’s nothing I’ve wished for more than her.
I blow out the candles quickly, wisps of smoke curling upward, and reach for her. “I don’t need any more wishes.” I kiss her softly, enjoying her sweet taste.
She kisses me back, then pulls away for a moment. “Why?”
“Because they already came true.”
Her hand rests over my chest, smoothing the fabric of my shirt. “What came true?”
“You.”
“You wished for me?” She looks like she isn’t quite sure if she believes me, but wants to.
“Every chance I got.”
I kiss her again, and she doesn’t stop it as it grows wilder, my lips moving over hers with surety. I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.
She lets me tug her toward me, settling her on top of my lap, and though it’s the same position we were in when she called things off weeks ago, she stays this time, kissing me with enthusiasm, her hands running over my shoulders and down my arms, then back up.
My own hands roam her back, then rest on her ass, squeezing.
She makes a sound of enjoyment, her lips slightly swollen as she draws away. “I had another birthday surprise I was thinking of.”
I rub my thumb over her bottom lip, reveling in the softness. “Yeah?”
She nods, something anticipatory in her eyes as she rolls her hips against mine, grinding down on me. I hiss in a breath at the pleasure, my cock already hard for her.
“I want to do the same for you that you did for me in the truck.”
The same… She wants to touch me? “I’m open to the idea,” I deadpan, loving when she grins back. As if I would ever deny her touch.
“Oh, only open to it? What can I do to sweeten the deal?”
I press kisses to her neck, her grip on my shoulders tightening. “What did you have in mind?”
Her mouth moves to my ear, her voice sultry as she says, “How about I use my tongue, too?”
“Oh, fuck, yes.” My response slips out unbidden, my hips thrusting up without my meaning to, but she seems to like it.
She kisses me once more then slides off my lap, pushing the coffee table back to make more room as she kneels on the floor in front of me. It’s the same as I imagined the other night with her on her knees, and a shiver runs over me. I didn’t think that wish would come true so soon.
She places her hands on my knees, widening them as she moves into the space.
My breathing picks up as she moves lightly up my thighs, toward where my dick is straining to be let out, and a groan escapes me at first contact as she rubs me over my jeans.
Even through the thick denim, I can’t get enough of her touch.
Her fingers make quick work of the button and fly, and I help her tug them down, my boxers doing little to conceal how much I want her. She finds the flap, pulling me out, and I bite my lip to hold back the curse that wants to run free.
Her gaze is… primal. There’s no other way to describe it.
And as her delicate fingers wrap around my length, pumping up and down, I feel like I’m having an out of body experience.
That this isn’t actually happening to me.
That my dream girl doesn’t have her hands on my dick, looking excited like she wants to do more.
She strokes me from base to tip, working me up, then moves forward to lick the head gently. All rational thought flees my mind, the baser part of me taking over.
“Yes, baby,” I murmur, sliding a hand through her hair. “That feels so fucking good.”
I watch her play with my cock, barely breathing for fear she’ll stop. That I’ll wake from this fantasy. But as she envelops me in her mouth, her tongue exploring me further, a fresh wave of lust rises within me, roaring to the surface.
I groan again, and she makes this sound of satisfaction deep in the back of her throat that ratchets up my enjoyment more.
“You’re going to make me come before we’ve even gotten started,” I murmur, my grip tightening in her hair.
She releases me, looking up with a devilish smile on her lips. “Did you want me to stop?” Her hand passes over me lightly, making me strain toward her.
“You know I don’t.”
She takes the tip in her mouth, sucking, and my head drops back against the couch, unable to watch anymore. She looks so sexy doing that, and I don’t want to come too soon. I’ve been waiting for this for too long.
Even so, I have to grip the throw pillow next to me, bracing myself as she takes more of me into her mouth, the suction incredible, until she can’t take any more.
I soak in every sensation, her talented mouth building me up over long minutes until I fear I might burst with the amount of lust coursing through my veins.
I peek down, the sight of my cock disappearing inside that beautiful mouth more than I was prepared for, and embrace the sudden zing down my spine.
“I’m so close,” I whisper, stroking my thumb over her jaw, loving the flex and release of it as she sucks me off.
She hums a happy sound, and I let myself go, coming in her mouth in a rush of pleasure. Her hands move to my thighs, gripping me, and I revel in the sweet sting of her nails as my body shudders with relief.
When I’m finished, she releases me slowly, wiping at her lips, and something about the action has a surge of possessiveness running through me.
I want to claim her with my mouth, too. To discover if she sounds different when I make her come with my tongue versus my fingers. To find out how good she’ll taste.
She watches me with big eyes as I pick her up and take her into her bedroom, tossing her on the bed.
“My turn.”