Chapter 4
chapter four
Brock
I wake up with Sadie curled against my side.
Her head rests on my chest, one of her legs draped over mine.
Her breathing is slow and even. Early morning light filters through the curtains and catches the auburn strands in her hair.
I stay still for a long time, just feeling her there.
The weight of her body against mine. The warmth of her skin.
My hand rests on her back, stroking slow circles over her spine.
She makes a small sound in her sleep and presses closer.
Something settles deep in my chest. This feels right.
I ease out of bed carefully, trying not to wake her.
She needs the rest after everything she’s been through.
I pull on a pair of sweatpants and head to the kitchen.
Coffee first. Then I pull out ingredients for breakfast, eggs, bacon, fresh fruit I cut up while the pan heats.
I move quietly. The house feels different with her in it.
Fuller. Like it’s finally what it was always meant to be.
When everything’s ready, I plate it and carry it back to the bedroom on a tray.
Sadie stirs when I set the tray down. She blinks up at me, blue eyes soft with sleep, hair messy around her face. She pulls the sheet up over her chest and sits up. “You cooked again.”
“Figured you’d be hungry.” I sit on the edge of the bed and hand her a mug of coffee fixed the way she likes it. “How are you feeling?”
She takes a sip and closes her eyes for a second. “Good. Really good.” When she opens them again, she looks at the food, then back at me. “You didn’t have to bring it in here.”
“I wanted to.” I watch her take the first bite, the way her shoulders relax, the small smile that crosses her face.
I eat with her. We talk about small things.
What she wants to do today. How the station schedule looks.
Every time she reaches for something, I’m already handing it to her.
I like doing it. I like seeing her let me.
After we finish, I take the tray back to the kitchen. My mind is already back on her. On the way she looked spread out beneath me last night. The sounds she made. The way she said my name when she came. I want her again. Need her again. The intensity catches me off guard, but I don’t fight it.
When I return to the bedroom, she’s standing by the window wearing one of my shirts.
Nothing else. Morning light streams through the glass, outlining her curves through the thin fabric.
The hem barely covers her ass. My cock hardens immediately, pressing against my sweatpants.
She doesn’t notice me at first, she’s looking out at the lake, one hand resting on the window frame.
Mine. The word pounds through me with every heartbeat. She’s mine and I need to prove it again. Need her to feel it. Need to know she’ll choose me again this morning the way she chose me last night.
I cross the room silently. When I reach her, I don’t say anything. I just wrap my arms around her waist from behind and pull her back against my chest. She gasps softly but melts into me immediately. Her ass presses against my erection and I groan.
“Brock,” she breathes.
“I’ve been thinking about you since I woke up.
” I slide my hands under her shirt, palms flat against her stomach.
Her skin is warm and soft. I move slowly upward, feeling every inch.
When I cup her breasts, she arches into my touch.
Her nipples are already hard. I roll them between my fingers and she whimpers.
“Someone could see,” she whispers, but she doesn’t pull away.
“Let them.” I kiss the side of her neck, teeth grazing her pulse point. “Let them see you’re mine.”
My hands explore her body possessively. One stays on her breast, teasing and squeezing. The other slides down her stomach to the apex of her thighs. She’s already wet. I groan against her neck when my fingers find her slick heat.
"Fuck, Sadie. You're soaked for me already."
"Yes," she gasps as I circle her clit with my thumb. "God, yes."
I work her slowly, building the tension. Two fingers slide inside her and she cries out, her hips rocking against my hand. I feel her getting wetter, her body clenching around my fingers. I add a third and she moans my name.
"That's it," I murmur in her ear. "Take what you need."
She's panting now, one hand braced against the window, the other reaching back to grip my thigh. I curl my fingers inside her, hitting that spot that makes her see stars, while my thumb keeps working her clit in tight circles.
"Brock, I'm, I'm going to…”
"Come for me," I command. "Right here against this window where anyone could see how beautiful you are when you fall apart."
She shatters with a cry, her whole body shaking. Her pussy clenches around my fingers as I work her through it, drawing out every wave of pleasure until she's trembling and gasping.
Before she catches her breath, I spin her around and lift her.
She wraps her legs around my waist instinctively.
I carry her the few steps to the bed and lay her down, the shirt riding up to her waist. I yank it over her head and throw it aside.
She's completely naked beneath me, flushed and beautiful and mine.
"I need you again," I tell her, my voice rough. "I need to be inside you."
"Yes," she breathes. "Please, Brock."
I shove my sweatpants down and kick them off. My cock is hard and leaking. I position myself between her thighs and pause, looking down at her, auburn hair fanning across my pillow, blue eyes dark with desire, lips parted as she breathes hard.
"You're mine, Sadie." I grip her hip with one hand, the other braced beside her head. "Say it."
"I'm yours," she whispers.
I thrust inside her in one deep stroke. She cries out, back arching off the bed. She's so tight and wet and perfect. I pull back and slam in again, harder this time, and she takes all of me.
"Fuck," I groan. "You feel so good. So fucking perfect."
I set a brutal pace, driving into her hard. The bed frame slams against the wall with every thrust. She moans with each stroke, her nails carving lines down my shoulders. I lean down and capture her mouth in a rough kiss. She kisses me back just as fiercely, her tongue tangling with mine.
I pull out suddenly and she whimpers at the loss. "On your hands and knees," I order.
She scrambles to obey, getting into position. The sight of her ass in the air, her pussy glistening and swollen, nearly undoes me. I run my hand over the curve of her ass, then grip her hip hard enough to leave marks.
"You're so fucking beautiful like this," I tell her. "Spread out for me. Ready for me."
I enter her from behind in one hard thrust. This angle goes deeper and she screams into the pillow. I don't give her time to adjust. I fuck her hard and fast, one hand fisted in her hair, the other gripping her hip. The sound of skin slapping against skin fills the room.
"Is this what you need?" I growl. "My cock deep inside you? Claiming you?"
"Yes!" she cries. "God, yes, Brock. Don't stop."
"Never." I lean over her back, my chest pressed against her spine. My hand slides around to her clit. "You're mine, Sadie. Every fucking inch of you belongs to me."
I rub her clit in tight circles while I continue to thrust. She pushes back against me, meeting me stroke for stroke. Her pussy clenches around me, getting tighter and tighter.
"I can feel you getting close," I murmur against her ear. "Come on my cock. Let me feel you."
"Brock," she gasps. "I'm, oh god…”
She comes hard, her whole body convulsing. Her pussy clamps down on me like a vice. The sensation sends me over the edge. I thrust twice more and then I'm coming too, groaning her name as I empty myself inside her. My hips jerk against her ass, riding out every pulse.
We collapse onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. I'm still inside her, both of us breathing hard. I wrap my arms around her and pull her back against my chest. My hand splays possessively over her stomach.
“You’re staying,” I say against her neck. It’s not a question, but she answers anyway.
“I’m staying,” she whispers.
I kiss her shoulder, her neck, behind her ear. Soft kisses now, gentle after the intensity. But my grip on her doesn’t loosen. I can’t let go. Don’t want to.
“I need you to understand something,” I say quietly. “Last night wasn’t just sex. This morning wasn’t just sex. This is me claiming you. Keeping you. I haven’t trusted anyone in twenty years, but I trust you. I need you. And I’m not letting you go.”
She turns her head to look at me. Her eyes are soft but certain. “I don’t want you to let me go.”
Something in my chest loosens. I kiss her properly, slow and deep. A promise. When we break apart, she settles back against me with a contented sigh.
We stay like that for a long time. Connected. Tangled together. Her hand covers mine on her stomach, and I feel her heartbeat gradually slowing. Mine does the same.
Eventually I slip out of her and she makes a small sound of protest. I chuckle and pull her closer, rolling us so she’s on top, her head resting over my heart. I run my fingers through her hair. “We should shower.”
“In a minute,” she murmurs. “I like this.”
So do I. I like holding her after. Like feeling her body relaxed and satisfied against mine. Like knowing I put that contentment in her voice.
“Stay with me,” I say quietly. “Not just today. For as long as you want.”
She lifts her head. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes bright. “I’m not going anywhere.”
That answer settles something deep in me. We lie there until the morning starts to slip away. Eventually we get up and shower together. I wash her hair. She soaps my chest. We kiss under the water until it runs cool.
Later I drive her to the fire station. I want her to see where I spend my days, want my crew to meet her. The truck feels right with her in it. At one point she reaches over and rests her hand on my thigh. I cover it with mine.
The station is busy when we pull in. Engines sit out front getting washed, and a couple of the guys are cooking lunch inside. I park and help Sadie down even though she doesn’t need it. She gives me a look but takes my hand anyway.
Inside the bay, I introduce her. “This is Sadie Quinn. She’s staying with me for a while.”
The crew turns. Ramirez is the first to speak. He wipes his hands on a rag and grins. “So this is the one you carried out kicking and screaming. Nice to meet you, Sadie.”
She smiles back at him. “I wasn’t kicking that hard. Mostly yelling.”
The guys laugh. Torres steps forward next. “Chief hasn’t stopped talking about you since that call. We thought he was exaggerating.”
Heat creeps up my neck, but I don’t deny it. “She needed a place to stay. I had room.”
Sadie fits right in. She asks questions about the trucks, teases them about the amount of food they’re cooking.
When one of the younger guys drops a wrench, she picks it up and hands it back without missing a beat.
They warm to her fast. I stand back and watch, something swelling in my chest that I can’t quite name. She belongs here. With them. With me.
Ramirez catches my eye while Sadie is talking to Torres about the training schedule. “You’re gone for her, Chief. Never seen you look at anyone like that.”
I don’t argue. “She’s different.”
He nods, clapping me on the shoulder. “We can tell. Happy for you, man.”
Lunch is loud and easy. Sadie sits beside me, steals bacon from my plate, and laughs when I pretend to be annoyed.
The crew tells her stories about calls we’ve been on, some embellished, most true.
She listens and asks thoughtful questions, and I keep my hand on her knee under the table.
Every time she leans into me, I feel it everywhere.
On the drive home, I keep stealing glances at her.
She looks relaxed. Happy. I picture more days like this, mornings in bed, afternoons at the station, evenings on the porch watching the lake.
I picture years of it. Her things mixed with mine in the house.
Her laugh filling the rooms. Maybe even kids one day, if she wants them.
The thought should scare me at my age. It doesn’t.
It feels like the future I’ve been waiting for without knowing it.
I reach over and take her hand. She squeezes back, and we drive the rest of the way in comfortable silence.
Back at the house, I pull her close the moment the door shuts behind us.
I kiss her slow and deep, and she melts against me.
We end up on the couch. Clothes come off slower this time.
I take her apart with my hands and mouth until she’s begging.
When I slide inside her again, it feels like coming home.
We move together until we both finish. Afterward, I hold her tight and whisper against her hair that I’m keeping her.
She laughs softly and kisses my chest. “We’ll see about that, Chief.”
I smile into her hair. I already know how this ends. With her here. With me. Forever.
What I don’t know is that miles away in another town, a man named Ryan has started asking questions. He’s looking for the woman who left him. He’s started driving north. None of that touches us yet. Not today.
Today there’s only Sadie in my arms and the future I’m already building in my head.