Fire In The Water Chapter Six

Bella

Oh, my God.

Oh, my fucking God.

Despite his request for a book, I didn't release Ward’s shirt. My fingers flexed, attempting to drag him closer. “No.”

“What do you mean, no?” he whispered.

His breath fanned over my cheeks, his long, hard body molding mine to the shelves behind us, and he wanted me to let go of him to do something as stupid as sell him a book?

Looking into the depths of his eyes—as close as we were, the flecks of blue and brown were clear—I tried to gauge his intentions. “I’d rather keep doing this.”

Clearing his throat, Ward took a step back. “We can't.”

Yeah, I might have whimpered and been incredibly reluctant to let go of him. “Why?”

He scrubbed his hand over his head, and that was when I noticed he wasn't wearing his customary hat. The one with a random logo that was likely given away as a gimmick at some point. Furrows remained in his hair when he stopped messing with it, and I couldn't help but want to put my hands there instead.

“Many reasons.” Stepping further back, he said, “But for one, your doors are wide open.”

I didn't recognize my voice when I spoke again. “I would only care about that if you were about to rip my clothes off.”

Those eyes darkened, and my pussy responded with a clench. Me too, girl. Me too.

“I would never do that in your shop.” Clearing his throat again, he took a few more big steps down the aisle.

“I live right next door.” Was I inviting him over? Hell, yeah, I was. 

“I’m dangerous for you, Bella. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along.”

“No, you aren't.” Who was I going to convince; me or him? “I’ve seen enough to know you aren't.”

His mouth turned down, and he spun to face the door. “I’d like to buy a book, please.”

“I’ll sell them all to you, give them to you . . . fuck, Ward, I’ll unload my entire inventory into your apartment if you’ll just talk to me.”

“This one,” he said, plucking one blindly from the shelf.

“Gone with the Wind?”

Glancing at me over his shoulder, his mouth twitched. “‘Well, my dear, take heart. Some day, I will kiss you and you will like it. But not now, so I beg you not to be too impatient.’”

I gaped. “Did you just pull that out of your ass?”

“One thing you don't know about me includes the years I had nothing to do but read old books from the depository at Storm Cove.”

“What does that mean?” I moved toward him, cautious not to spook him. “You’ve memorized Poe and Margaret Mitchell?”

“And countless others.” He shrugged, placing the book back exactly where it belonged. “But I’d rather have something I haven't read before.”

I repeated the name Storm Cove in my head a few times so I would remember to Google it later. If he was going to drop pieces of his life in my lap so casually, I was damn sure going to fit them into the whole. “What do you enjoy?”

One corner of his mouth lifted. “Not, what do I enjoy reading? Is that meant as an innuendo?”

“If you want it to be.” Grinning at the turn of events, I inched closer. “What do you like to eat, to watch, to read? What do you like in a woman? A friend?” I added quickly.

“I’m currently on a seafood strike.” Walking backward, he picked up another book and studied the cover.

“I don't blame you.”

“The fresh vegetables from Of the Ocean are great.”

“Before you moved here, what would you eat for dinner?”

Clouds rolled over his face, obscuring his eyes from me as he looked down at another book. Fuck. “When it was my choice, I guess I ate fast food. Burgers, fries. I’m not picky.”

“As you know, I have a weakness for snickerdoodles.” My throat wanted to go dry, but I swallowed past it to keep him talking. “Riley makes a fantastic clam chowder.”

“The coffee over there at the bakery is next level.”

My shoulders relaxed. “Yes, it is.”

“I saw Alice give you some of the ground coffee, but yours doesn't taste the same.”

“No, and it’s because she has a secret she won’t tell me. I think it’s cinnamon, but when I try it I get varying results.” 

Ward circled the shelf to peruse the next aisle. Realizing how late it had gotten, I moved to close and lock the front doors.

“You’re locking us in?” he asked in a voice gone husky.

“Um, yeah.” 

Christ on a cracker, he looked like he wanted to eat me for dinner. Stalking toward me, Ward walked up to the counter, forcing me to back up until I had nowhere else to go. Leaning around me, he set a book on the counter and straightened back up.

“I’d like to read that one.”

“Yep, sure.” Fuck, woman, pull yourself together. “Uh . . .”

I couldn't get around him to ring him up unless he moved.

Or I touched him all over.

I knew which one I’d choose, but not which one would make him stay and keep talking versus breaking down the doors to flee.

“What is it, Bella?” With every breath he took, his chest brushed against mine, and I fell further into the pull of his gravity.

“Don't use that croony voice of yours, knowing you’ve got me all hot and bothered. What’s your next move?”

“My move? I thought it was your turn.”

Gahh-awd damn. Was that permission to kiss him? To jump and hope he’d catch me, to pedal faster with no brakes? Rising onto my toes, I looked between his eyes and his mouth. A hint of stubble graced his chin, spreading along his jaw to bump into his pulse. Of all the places I wanted that stubble to caress me, I would settle for my lips. For now.

So I eased in slowly, gently, treating him as a newborn colt. If he shied away now, I might just cry, so I balanced my hands on his shoulders and touched my lips to his cheek. His exhale ruffled the hair near my ear, and I shivered. With an open mouth, I tested the boundaries of the man who insisted he was a bad guy, finding the hair on his jaw to be coarse. Ward had yet to touch me, and I didn't know where his hands were, exactly. Where I wanted them was a whole different story, but apparently, he couldn't be rushed.

I went in once more, kissing along his jaw to his ear. With each touch, his breathing picked up faster, and I found mine meeting his pace. My trajectory was his earlobe, sucking it into my mouth to hear him groan. Flicking my tongue out, I suppose I was inviting danger by goading him to act. The simple scent of soap reached out to me, the rasp of his labored breathing inviting me further into his fathomless depths.

Finally, he grabbed me around the waist and hoisted me up onto the counter. My legs widened to give him room to stand, and he clasped his hands on either side of my face. For just a moment, just long enough to show me what I’d done to myself, he stared right the fuck into my soul. 

And then he dived headfirst, with tongue and teeth and full-on threat. The only sound in my brain was the word yes on repeat, the whisper of a growl coming from Ward and reverberating through my bones. Desperately, I shoved at the hem of his t-shirt until I could touch his skin, moaning my satisfaction at finding my prize. If the apocalypse dropped on our heads, I wouldn't fucking know it or care. 

“Bella,” he ground out, dragging his teeth along my bottom lip. He sounded as though every touch was another nail in his coffin.

But, oh, my fucking God, the way he said my name.

Intense verdant green surrounded by lush eyelashes bore into me. Seeking something I couldn't define, I watched him in return. Begging him not to leave. I’d seen enough of his back to know he was seconds from dashing out the door.

“Don't run out on me.” Gripping his waistband, I leaned up to kiss him. “Please don’t.”

The breath he let out shook as badly as his hands. “One thing that’s hard to describe is the way I’ve changed.”

Reclining back on my palms, I locked my legs around his waist. “You can’t convince me you’re a villain.”

The faintest smirk tilted his beautiful mouth. “I have been.”

“And now?”

“Now.” Shoving his hands in my hair, he brought my face close to his. “Now I want what I can't have.”

I wanted to tell him he could have me any time he wished, but he prevented me from speaking by tasting my lips once more. Nibbling, caressing with his tongue, and going back to a gentle brushing of lips.

“Ward.” Forced to speak against his mouth, I tried my best to understand what he had said. “If you’re a good guy now, trying to be a better person or whatever, why do you keep insisting you’re a threat to me?”

Thumping his forehead to mine, he lifted me and set me on my feet. Sensing that our make-out session was coming to an abrupt end, I wrapped my fingers around his. 

“You’re shutting me out after kissing me senseless.”

Staring down at our entwined fingers, he said, “It’s not fair, I know.”

“Then make it fair, Ward. Make it make sense.”

“I need . . . I need to buy this book, and then go back to reality.”

Frustration bubbled, and I huffed out a sigh. Taking the book with me to the register, I scanned it and held out my hand. He pulled cash from his wallet, slowly handing it over with a frown.

“I‘m sorry that I’ve angered you.”

“Not sorry enough to fix it.”

With the book bagged and the change in his pocket, Ward stood by the doors and waited for me to unlock them. I moved sluggishly, hating that he was leaving again.

“While I’m not the bad guy anymore, there are men . . . men who wouldn't blink twice before punishing you for being with me.”

My mouth dropped open. “What the fuck did you do?”

“The right thing.” Fooling with the bolt on the door, he slid it back and let the sunshine in. The bright heat seemed contrary to our discussion. “For once in my god-forsaken life, I did the right thing, and now it haunts me.”

Watching him take off down the sidewalk, I forced down the threatening tears. Calling to Charlie, I grabbed my keys and left the store, locking up behind me and going next door. The white walls and glass cases of the bakery blinded me when they normally brought a feeling of security.

“Alice.” As I stood in front of the case full of donuts, I could only blink at my best friend.

“What the hell happened to you?” Concern all over her face, Alice came around and hugged me.

“Do you have any wine?”

“Um, no, I don't think I have any here.”

Meeting her concerned gaze, I said, “I need you to come up with me for a bit. Can you do that?”

“Give me five to lock up and tell Jasper.”

During that time, I fed Charlie and stroked his fur to listen to him purr while he ate. I drank nearly a full bottle of water and wished I had something strong stocked in my cabinets.

Knocking and entering simultaneously, Alice came into the apartment and met me in the kitchen. “Jasper wants to know if he needs to kick someone’s ass.”

I laughed, and it felt good. “Not just yet, but maybe I’ll put him on standby.”

“What happened?”

Pulling her to sit at the table with me, I held her hand and said, “Ward kissed me.”

Her mouth popped open. “And that’s a bad thing?”

“He ran, like always, so yeah.”

“Damn, why does he keep doing that?” Squeezing my hand, Alice studied my face. “You like him.”

“Yeah, too much. Oh, that reminds me.” Plucking my cell phone from my pocket, I pulled up a search engine and typed in the place I’d memorized. “He said he lived in Storm Cove.”

“Where’s that?”

“It’s in Maryland, apparently.” Scrolling through the results, I found information on Storm Cove Penitentiary in Maryland. “Jesus, it’s also the name of a federal prison.”

“That would explain a whole lot.” Alice tapped her fingernails on the table. “Why he pays in cash, keeps his head down, and won't make friends.”

Facing her, I sucked in a breath. “And why he keeps telling me he’s bad for me.”

“He’s an ex-con.”

“With someone after him, according to what he told me this afternoon.” Shuddering at the memory of what he’d said, I repeated it to Alice. “Bad people who wouldn't think twice about hurting me just for being with him.”

“The prison thing explains why he’s so skittish,” Alice mused.

“Where does that leave me?”

I knew the answer, and I didn't like it. It left me bleeding out with my heart in my hands.

Bella's Kitchen