Going for Four: Counting on Love, Book 4 (13 page)

Cody put his free right hand on Olivia’s ass, cupping her cheek, soaking in the feel of the soft cotton warm from her body. He curled his fingers into the firm flesh and lifted her slightly, bringing her forward, her breasts pressing into his chest.

Now his mouth was near her ear.

“This is a stupid, dangerous, terrible idea,” he said huskily. “But I tend to make very bad decisions when something feels good, and you’ll forgive me for anything anyway.”

“If that means I should go ahead and take my panties off, I’m in favor,” she said, sounding a bit breathless herself.

And the bad decision was made just like that.

“Last chance to avoid believing in an asshole.”

“I can’t believe in an asshole,” she told him. “I believe in
you
.”

Her words shredded his resistance. He turned his head and captured her lips with his.

She sighed against his mouth, both of her hands going to his head so she could press closer, and lust rushed through his bloodstream, lighting his nerve endings on fire.

“Uncuff me,” he murmured against her lips.

“Not yet,” she whispered.

“Liv, there are some really great things I plan to do—with both hands.”

“Give me a second here.” She leaned back and licked her lips. Her fingers went to his shirt, and she tugged it up and over his head. He slipped his free hand from the sleeve, and she let the shirt fall to dangle from the chain of the handcuff that held his wrist to the chair.

She ran her hands over his chest. “You know, I’ve never touched you like this,” she said softly.

He knew that. He was absolutely, one hundred percent aware of that fact. Her touch was gentle but he felt like he was coming out of his skin. Every cell in his body was yearning to feel her hands, her tongue, her body against it.

She kneaded her fingers into his shoulder muscles, then ran her palms down his upper arms to his elbows, then back up to his shoulders and down over his pecs and lower.

He watched her face as he absorbed the feel of her hands on him. She looked as turned on as he felt, and that gave him an even bigger surge of adrenaline.

“Liv—”

“I love touching you like this. I can’t imagine what it will feel like to kiss you all over.”

“Girl…”

“Almost done.”

She ran her hands over his stomach and the muscles tensed under her fingers. She explored the bumps of his abs, seemingly fascinated. But surely she wouldn’t…

Her fingers trailed down over the rock-hard erection behind his fly and he swore, his hips bucking.

The sly look in her eyes when she met his gaze was as potent as the fingers that again traced over the straining bulge, this time with more pressure.

“Olivia Ann,” he said firmly. “Uncuff me.”

She flattened her palm against his cock, pressing and dragging up and down the length.

“Now.”

Her smile was pure feminine power, and any chance of resisting her that might have been lingering flew out the window.

She pushed herself back, stood and retrieved the key from a coffee cup on the counter behind her. She returned to his lap, legs spread wide over his thighs, and leaned in to reach the cuff. The move pressed her breasts and nipples into his chest, and he sucked in a quick breath.

The moment his hand was free, he reached for the bowl of batter sitting on the table next to him.

“Best cupcakes you’ve ever made.” He scooped a glob of batter up with two fingers and painted a stripe of chocolate over her right breast. As he ran his fingers over her nipple, she gasped and wiggled on his lap.

There were a thousand things he should probably say or do or ask or at least think about, but all he could do was wrap his hands around her rib cage and lift her to his mouth.

He licked up every trace of chocolate from the gorgeous swell before fastening his mouth on her nipple and drawing all of the stickiness from the stiff point. He knew the sweetness he was going to crave forever was all Olivia and had nothing to do with the sugar in the recipe.

Her fingers dug into his scalp, and he relished the breathy moans and the “oh, Cody” that he pulled from her.

Finally settling her back on his lap, he took in the dazed look in her eyes.

Not letting himself think too hard or long, and needing to keep her from saying anything that might pull him from this moment, he slid his hand down, around the curve of her butt, over the silky skin of her thigh and around to cup her mound.

She gasped. He kept his eyes on hers as his finger moved past the elastic band of her panties and met the wet heat that would have sent him to his knees if he hadn’t been sitting down.

Her hands dropped to his shoulders, her fingers digging in again, but she said nothing to stop him. She simply pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and seemed to be holding her breath.

He pressed his finger forward, her slick folds parted and he eased in, her body welcoming him, holding on tight as he stroked in and out.

Olivia puffed out a breath and tipped her head back. “Wow,” she breathed.

Wow
. Three letters, but they were perfect.

She looked perfect, she felt perfect, she sounded perfect.

He moved his fingers deeper and faster and felt a surge of satisfaction when her hips moved with the rhythm. He leaned in and sucked on a nipple, feeling the response around his finger. Then he looked up at her as he brushed his thumb over her clit.

She cried out, clutching at his shoulders.

The look on her face was one of the prettiest sights he’d ever seen.

He did it again, with more pressure this time. Her thighs clenched on his, and her inner muscles tightened on his finger.

“Cody,” she gasped.

“Anything, Liv.”

“Never stop.”

He grinned and happily added another finger, deeper strokes and faster flicks over her clit.

She was tight. It was a snug fit for two fingers, and Cody groaned at the thought of how she would feel around his cock. He’d have to be careful not to hurt her.

Though the delicious sounds she was making and the way she was moving against his hand, seeking the relief he was holding just out of her reach, made him doubt his ability to go slow with her. He’d have to be sure she came at least a couple times before he took her completely.

Darn.

Then she reached for his unoccupied hand and lifted it to her breast.

“Please.”

“What, Liv?” He wanted to hear it. “Whatever makes you feel good.”

“Play with my nipples. I love that. It makes me come faster.”

All the blood in Cody’s head drained south. Holy hell. He would have easily assumed that hearing Olivia talk dirty would be hot, but…

He took a deep breath. He’d so firmly steered away from anything that made him look at her sexually that everything about being smack dab in the middle of such a hot moment was a surprise. A pleasant, erotic, I-want-to-do-this-over-and-over-and-over surprise.

He took her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, tugging, then squeezing, making her grind closer to his hand and give a hissed “yes.”

“God, you’re gorgeous,” he said, watching her with awe.

And then she was coming. Her head fell forward and she gripped his upper arms as her pussy clamped down hard.

He didn’t hear his name, but otherwise it was perfect. And there was always next time.

The ripples of her orgasm hadn’t even quieted when he pulled his hand free, cupped her ass, stood and turned to deposit her on the table.

“Lie back.”

He started unbuttoning his pants. He’d make her come again, this time with his tongue, and then he’d have her—in the first of the dozen or so positions he needed her in.

He’d barely opened his fly when his phone rang.

He froze.

Fuck no. This couldn’t be happening.

She must have seen something in his expression because she sat up on the edge of the table. “Is that your work phone?”

It sure fucking was.

“Son of a bitch.” He yanked the phone from his pocket. “What?” he barked a moment later.

“Fire. Downtown in the old warehouse on Tenth.”

Fuck. The warehouse they’d converted into upscale studio apartments.

He disconnected and started rebuttoning, a task he did carefully over the raging hard-on he still had. Dammit-fuck-hell.

“I have to go.”

Olivia nodded. “I figured.”

She was perched on the edge of her kitchen table, half-naked. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair tousled, and she had remnants of chocolate cupcake batter on her right breast.

He paused in the process of reaching for his shirt. “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more than I want you right now.”

Her eyes widened at the unexpected comment. “You know where to find me when you’re done at work.”

He nodded. But it was very possible that he’d come to his senses by the time he was done with work tonight. Whether he liked it or not. He was good at ignoring his conscience, but it broke through a hell of a lot more often than he wanted it to as he got older. And grew up. Somewhere along the way he’d become an almost-adult. Most of the time.

“And Cody?” Olivia added.

He shrugged into his shirt. “Yeah?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

He paused, the double meaning crystal clear.

What was he going to do with her?

Nothing
was, of course, the answer he was supposed to come up with.

And she was right in saying he’d changed since college. Now he had a sense of responsibility. He liked to help and protect other people. And he had an appreciation for deep, lasting friendships.

“I’ll talk to you later,” was all he said as he finished dressing.

Because, of course he would. She was his friend. They had a standing Wednesday night baking date. And she’d promised to see Michael Bublé with him—and tell everyone
she
was making
him
go. And the next time Melanie Carter flirted with him at Trudy’s, Olivia was honor bound to save him.

He glanced at the bowl of batter on the table next to Olivia’s hip, then turned quickly and headed for the door.

Of course, he was going to have to bake with a painful erection from now on. But hey, a true friend was worth a little pain.

Like the pain of never finding a woman to measure up to the one he’d just left in green-and-white polka-dotted panties.

Chapter Five

Cody pulled up to the scene fifteen minutes later and quickly took in the details as he grabbed his hat from the seat next to him and bailed from his truck.

The structure was big, taking up a full city block. There weren’t as many units as in a typical apartment complex, but they were big, wide-open studios. There was only one floor of living spaces above the craft store and art gallery on the street level, but a fire in one area could easily spread to the entire warehouse. It was an old building, made mostly of brick. The wiring and plumbing had been updated when it had been converted to lofts, but the walls, floors and ceilings were original.

There were already three engines on scene and a ladder truck extended against the side of the building. As he strode toward the command truck, where his assistant fire chief, Tom, would be running the scene, he noted two ambulances and several police cars keeping the curious public back from the area.

As always, he hoped Conner, Ryan and Shane were some of the personnel on scene. They didn’t always work the same shifts, of course, but when they did, everything was better.

Tom saw him coming.

“Go,” Cody told him as soon as he was close enough to hear the man’s rundown of the situation.

“Search teams have been in and out. They cleared all the apartments, but we had a fireman go down. A couple paramedics went in.”

“Who went down?”

“Greg.”

Dammit. He was a new guy. “What happened?”

“There are some archways in the living spaces,” Tom said, pointing to the upper-level windows. “Mostly decorative, made of lightweight stuff. One collapsed and smacked him in the head. He was knocked out.”

Cody glanced around. “They got him out?”

“Yeah, he’s en route to the hospital. Had a pretty good gash on his head.”

“No civilians left inside?”

“The lofts were all cleared. Fire is under control on the south side, but we’re still fighting on the east.”

Cody zeroed in on his friend Ryan. So Ryan and Conner’s crew was here. Awesome. But then Cody frowned. Ryan was holding on to their crewmate, Gabby, by the arm. It looked like he was holding her back.

“Who were the paramedics that went in?” Cody asked, his gut telling him already that Tom was going to say—

“Dixon was the first in.”

“Fuck.” Cody started in Ryan’s direction. “Kaye,” he said as he got closer. “What’s going on?”