Chapter Twenty-One
Levi
Iwas damn near late to the station this morning because the idea of untangling my limbs from Tris’s felt absurd.
I still feel like an idiot for leaving her when she looked so damn good naked and tangled in my sheets.
We spent the night after decorating wrapped in each other, barely coming up for air.
I didn’t think I’d ever feel happy again, but she shows me every day that it’s possible.
Now I’m going through each compartment on the rig, checking off items on the list and making sure everything works, but muscle memory takes care of all that.
My mind’s still on her. I replay last night in my head, until everything else around me falls quiet.
“Now come here,” I tell her, more than ready to feel her straddle my hips and take control, to watch the way desire takes over her as she moves above me.
She grins, fully confident as she stands before me naked. Her head tilts down, and she looks at me through her long lashes.
“No.”
My cock twitches in my pants, and I have to pull at them to relieve the pressure.
“No?”
“That’s what I said.” She twirls her short blonde hair in her fingers, lips curving into a coy smile. “I just realized we forgot the tree topper.”
I look over at our tree to see for myself. “You’re right.”
“Usually,” she teases. “You’ll have to get me a ladder so I can climb up there and place it on top.”
I know exactly what she’s doing. The image of her slowly climbing up the ladder and bending over to place the star on top plays in my mind, pulling a low grunt from my chest. She pulls her bottom lip into her mouth, fighting a smile.
She should really know better by now, I think to myself, getting a wicked idea.
“I’ve got your ladder right here,” I growl, and in swift motion, I push off the couch and pick her off the ground. My arms thread under her legs and hold her close, bracing her thighs against my shoulders, my face level with her center while I stand.
“Holy shit,” she gasps, realizing her taunting has backfired.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” I murmur, pretending I’m oblivious to the deliciously vulnerable position I now have her in.
I walk across the room, moving with her effortlessly, and pick up the star, handing it to her.
“Go ahead,” I say, walking up to our tree and turning around so she’s facing it. “Put that star right on top.”
Her eyes narrow as she figures out my game and realizes that I’ve already won. The tree is taller than me, and she has to stretch upward, even on my shoulders, which gives my mouth the perfect angle to her perfect, pink, pussy.
A gasp escapes her as my tongue sweeps up her center, and she arches back.
“Uh-uh,” I say, pulling away. “You have a job to do.”
I eye the star still in her hands and raise my brow as one hand lowers from her back to squeeze her ass. She jumps, and the movement puts my lips right back on her most sensitive spot, pulling a moan from her lips as she places the star on the tree.
I swirl my tongue around her clit and feel her body tremble.
Her hands wrap around the back of my head, her fingers threading through my hair and pulling with each stroke of my tongue.
She’s absolutely powerless up here on my shoulders, and I play her body like it’s my favorite instrument, the sounds she makes is music to my ears.
With a whimper, she grinds her hips against me, and I raise my hands, tightening my grip around her waist.
“Let go, Tris,” I urge her, needing her to trust me in this moment.
“I’ll fall,” she pants, breathless.
“You’re safe with me,” I rasp, feeling a gentle squeeze in my chest, meaning every word.
Slowly, her grip loosens until she lets go, and her body falls back.
With her legs wrapped over my shoulders, I hold her waist, suspending her in the air.
She lets her arms fall to the sides as I lower my mouth back onto her and watch with a carnal satisfaction, the kind that doesn’t only feed the body, but stitches something ragged back together inside me.
She cries out my name, and I watch as her chest rises and falls, her legs trembling against me before her whole body goes slack.
Slowly, I cradle her closer to me and walk us to the bedroom, laying her gently on the bed.
I take my time climbing in beside her, ready to draw her back to that edge so that I can watch her unravel all over again.
The sound of the sirens and lights flashing snaps me back to the present, but it takes my body a few moments to catch up. My heart still beats rapidly in my chest, and I feel as though I just ran a marathon.
“Whoa,” Billy says, laughing as he turns them off and jumps down to head over to me. “Welcome back, Captain King.”
I grunt, my brows dropping as I narrow my gaze.
“No way, big guy. You don’t get to look at me like that after what I just saw. I know the face of a man who’s had a good night, and that was definitely it.”
“Don’t make me hurt you, Billy.” I turn my gaze upward, silently asking God to give me patience to deal with this buffoon.
He laughs, and I’m starting to miss the days when these guys feared getting on my bad side.
“Don’t worry about it, Levi. I’m just glad you and Tris are happy.” He rubs his jaw, looking off to the side. “Maybe she can put a good word in for me with Ainsley.”
Now it’s my turn to laugh.
“Maybe she wouldn’t have to if you’d stop taking everything with a pulse home to bed with you.”
“Wow.” He clutches his chest. “That’s a low blow. I don’t take every girl home. I have standards.”
“Yeah?” I ask, entertaining him. “And what are they?”
“Uh. Well,” he stammers.
“It’s not Billy’s fault,” Mark chimes in. “He’s cursed with always being the perfect wingman, but never the perfect guy.”
“What the hell?” Billy responds. “That’s hurtful.”
Mark and I exchange glances, then look back at Billy.
“Okay, it’s true, but hurtful.” Billy continues his truck check as the engineer, making sure there’s fuel and water. “At least I’m helping people. Look at the chief. I had a hand in all of that.”
“The outcome for chief is still up in the air, buddy, so I wouldn’t go counting your chickens before they hatch,” Mark points out.
Billy’s brow rises to a comical height. “Where the hell did you get that phrase from?”
“It’s something I heard Ainsley say once, and it stuck.” Mark shrugs.
“I don’t think the chief wants either of you meddling in his business. And I sure as hell know that Rory doesn’t.”
I tilt my head down, waiting for them to acknowledge that I’m right, but Billy smirks.
“I’m like the brother that Rory never wanted. It’s my job to meddle at this point.” Billy smiles like the confident idiot he is.
“Pretty sure she already has a brother,” I point out.
“Yeah, but she wanted that one. I’m the bonus,” he beams.
Mark cackles as he walks away, and I shake my head.
“Alright, but I won’t protect you if you trigger her mighty wrath.”
“Pinky loves me,” he says with a smile, and I can see it. The way that he loves Rory, too, but not in the way most would expect him to.
“Guess in this case, the saying is you can’t choose family once they’ve chosen you,” I tease.
“Ha, see. You get it.” Billy’s whole face lights up. “By the way, I grabbed you those gummy bears you like.” He pulls a bag out of his pack, and I struggle to hide my surprise.
“How’d you know I like these?” I ask. Ever since being around Rory and Ainsley more, I’ve developed a sweet tooth for these bad boys.
He smirks but doesn’t bother answering. He finishes his last check and walks me through a couple of the concerns he has about the rig. Nothing that draws immediate concern, but enough to remind me that Billy’s observational skills expand past his ability to read a person.
“Alright, I’ll make sure to keep an eye on it and tell Chief to have a new battery ordered so we can switch it out.” I look down at the bag of gummy bears in my hand. “And thanks for this.”
“Don’t mention it, Captain.”
What started as a slow day quickly turned into a headache.
We received call after call to the point where I was convinced someone was pranking us, but each one was legitimate.
Even the call about the raccoons that somehow started a small fire behind the townhouses that Emma and Ainsley live in was real.
I called Tom immediately after, and he swore I was lying.
If it weren’t for the video I now have of a very large raccoon running around with his tail on fire, there’s no way he would have believed me.
I swear it was the same raccoon that tried to fight me a few months ago.
It had the same crazed look in his eye. We put out the fire and the tail, but the day kept hitting us in the face with more.
Finally, we all make it back to the station, each one of us exhausted.
Any day that I’m not able to stop by and see my girls sucks, but it’s part of the job.
I texted Tris and let her know I’d see her tomorrow.
“You guys did great today. I know it was rough, but we worked as a team and even managed to do our jobs,” I joke with Billy, Mark, and Maria, who throw me half-hearted smiles. “Oh, and I also ordered some pizzas. They’ll be here in about...”
There’s a knock on the firehouse door right on time.
“You, Captain, are magical,” Maria groans.
“I could kiss you!” Billy calls out, following Mark, who doesn’t bother to wait for the door.
“Please don’t,” I call back.
Everyone digs into the pizza, barely letting the box hit the table before shoving slices into their mouth.
Chief walks up beside me and makes a “hmph” sound that makes me turn to him.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I enjoy being right,” he says quietly so that only I can hear.
I turn my body to face him, keeping the conversation between us while the others chat about our day, now filled with energy that was non-existent only minutes ago.
“I told you when you started that I knew something you didn’t.” He smirks.