I swung around. “Stop talking, please.”
His woodsmoke aroma filled my nostrils and taunted me, and my skin was so hot I expected sparks,but he pulled me close, and when his lips met mine, everything inside my head vanished.
His lips were so soft and yet the kiss was firm. There were no hints as to what lay ahead, unless I counted his arousal pressed on my engorged cock. I gripped his shirt because I wanted all of him, but also my knees were wobbly.
Larkin cupped my ass and squeezed. Oh shoot, I needed more, as in both of us naked, fingers and lengths in holes and mouths. I wanted all of him. I whimpered, and he bit my lower lip, just enough for me to experience a sliver of pain, matched with desire.
He pulled back and rested his forehead on mine. “You were incredible out there.”
I harrumphed. “Hey, I’m an incredible kisser too. You should be complimenting me onthattechnique too.”I’d just locked lips with the opposing team's lieutenant after beating him in a competition. It wasn’t the best time to be snarky.
“You kissed the enemy.”
“Apparently.” He was trailing kisses along my jaw, making it difficult to think.“This is a terrible idea.”
“Probably.”
“Your crew is around the corner.”
“So is yours.”
His scent was on my skin, in my lungs, and soaked into the fabric of my gear. I stroked his cheek as voices drifted from the other side of the trucks.
I smoothed my hair as if that would erase the last few minutes. “I need to get back before Briggs sends a search party.”
Larkin nodded and straightened his collar. “Percy. You were incredible.”
He walked away. Now that wasn’t fair. Was he referring to my kissing ability or manhandling the hose?
I leaned against the truck and told myself to breathe. Me and Larkin trying to keep apart was getting more complicated. We had one event completed, two to go, and a secret to keep.
EIGHT
LARKIN
Three days after the kiss behind the trucks, I could still feel Percy's mouth on mine.
It was becoming a problem. Not the remembering but the timing. During equipment checks, my brain would replay him moaning when I kissed him. I'd lose my train of thought. Colin would ask if I was feeling okay, and I'd blame it on the heat. But the weather wasn’t hot.
We'd been texting every day, short messages squeezed between shifts and pretending we didn't know each other. Percy texted the way he talked, fast and with no filter. He sent me a photo of a spider in his locker room.
I almost quit today.
Next came photos of his crew's firehouse dinner, and at midnight, there was a short message that read,I keep thinking about the kiss.
Me too.
Texting wasn’t my thing, and I rarely used emojis, unlike Percy. But he was miles away, and we were working opposite shifts. Texts were all we had until our schedules matched.
I’m off duty tomorrow.
I messaged,Me too,and my dragon told me I needed to go to texting lessons.
We had twenty-four hours where neither of us had to answer to anyone.
Percy suggested we meet up, but I couldn't do another restaurant meal where we pretended we were casual acquaintances.
How about my place? I’ll cook.
