Forever Embers (Embers Series Book 3) Read online

  His fingers brush over the bare flesh of my midriff, and I shudder as he leans forward and nips at my skin.

  I grab his hair and tug. His fingers move lower and trace up and underneath my shorts, his palms grabbing my arse. There’s no give in my jean shorts, and they tighten between my thighs with delicious friction. He breathes over my stomach as his tongue trails over me, and I throw my head back.

  I climb onto his lap, straddling him, my hands roaming over his chest and shoulders.

  “Ethan, will you do something for me?”

  He nods, his eyes boring into mine.

  “Will you make me forget my own name?”

  “Yes,” he replies, his eyes growing darker.

  His gaze is intense as he watches me untie the knot in his shirt I’m wearing before I move to undo the buttons. He slides it over my shoulders and down my arms before dropping it to the floor. He wastes no time, reaching behind me and unhooking my bra with a quick flick of his fingers. I cock an eyebrow and he smirks as he pulls the straps down my arms and tosses my bra to the side.

  With my double D’s cupped in his large palms, he takes turns teasing my nipples. I push on his shoulders until he lays back on the bed, and I hover above him before kissing his bare chest.

  “Do you have any protection?” I ask, my voice breathy.

  His eyes squeeze closed and he shakes his head. “No, I didn’t expect to be doing this,” he says honestly, his eyes meeting mine.

  I smile, because for some reason, his answer pleases me. I lean forward to kiss him before pushing myself off of him. Without saying a word, I rush to Vi’s bedroom and straight to her bedside table.

  “Bingo,” I say, grabbing the box and racing back to find Ethan sitting up, his head in his hands.

  “Why are you still in your jeans?” I ask as I unbutton my shorts and push them down my legs. Tossing the box in his direction, he reaches out and catches it effortlessly.

  He gets to his feet with a seductive smile as his eyes roam over my body, sending tingles of what’s to come up and down my spine.

  Chapter Six

  Ethan

  Charlotte is a temptress, and I am her prey. There’s something about her confidence that has me hardening even more. I strip out of my jeans and boxer shorts, freeing myself, watching her as she watches me, her teeth digging into her bottom lip.

  We stand opposite one another, each taking our fill. We might be strangers, but I intend to change that by exploring every single curve of her body, ready to burn it to memory.

  Stepping closer, I reach for her hips and pull her body flush with mine, her chest heaving. She smells like fresh blossoms, sweet, warm, and absolutely enticing.

  “Are you sure about this?” I ask.

  Charlotte reaches between us, her hand wrapping around my hard length as she pumps her hand up and down my shaft. I suck in a harsh breath.

  “Yes,” she replies. “Are you?”

  I grab her hips and spin her around. She lets out a gasp as I push her onto the mattress.

  “Lay back,” I say, my voice rough and hard.

  Crawling between her legs, I spread her thighs with my knees. Taking one hand at a time, I put them above her head and hold them together in one of mine. And then I kiss her with abandonment. It’s been so long since I let myself get lost in a woman who has this kind of effect on me. Before I allow my thoughts to wander to the woman I’m trying to move on from, I lower my hand and seek out Charlotte’s centre.

  I’m rewarded with a soft moan as my finger works between her folds and then hooks inside her. I circle her clit with my thumb, and it’s not long before she’s greedy for more, so I add another, working her up higher until she’s close to letting go, and then I ease off.

  “No, don’t stop,” she hisses.

  “I wasn’t going to,” I reply, lowering myself between the apex of her thighs. “I’m going to work on making you forget your name,” I say, dipping my head and swiping my tongue up the length of her centre.

  She bucks at the contact. “Yes,” she moans.

  I plunge my tongue inside her hot, pulsating channel, my mouth sucking over her mound. Her fingers grip my hair as I continue to fuck her with my mouth.

  I don’t ease off until she’s coming around my tongue and fingers and over my face.

  “Oh. My. God.”

  When I come up for air, she has an arm slung over her eyes, her chest rising and falling in quick succession.

  I crawl up and pull her arm away––her eyelids heavy. I stroke my thumb over her bottom lip. She sits up and pushes me until I’m on my back.

  “My turn,” she says with a wicked grin as she hovers over me.

  “Oh yeah?”

  She licks her lips and nods.

  “Pinch me. Have I died and gone to heaven?”

  Laughing, she crawls lower. “Not yet,” she says, her lips trailing a path until she reaches my erection. She grips it tightly and gives me a few hard strokes before her tongue circles my tip and she wraps her plump lips around my head, taking me slowly to the back of her throat as my balls tighten.

  I try not to move, but it’s impossible with her mouth sucking me off like I’m her favourite flavoured lollipop.

  Her fingers move to the underside of my balls.

  “Fuck,” I hiss.

  She giggles around my girth, causing her to gag, and I almost lose it.

  “I want to be inside you,” I grunt, gripping her shoulders and pulling until she releases me with a wet popping sound.

  I pat around until I find the box and tear it open, spilling the contents onto the bed. Not to be presumptuous, but I’m grateful there’s more than a handful, because I’m hoping to take her multiple times before the night is out. Reaching for one of the foil packets, I rip it open with my teeth. Charlotte reaches out, taking it from my lips before she grips my length and sheaths me.

  She lays back, and I move between her legs and slowly work my way inside her. We both let out satisfied groans. I wait for her to accommodate my size––I’m not small by any means, but if anyone can take me, it’s her.

  Grabbing her hands, I pin them above her head. Her legs wrap around my waist as she arches her back. My mouth moves to her breasts, teasing her nipples with the tip of my tongue as I thrust in and out.

  “I need to touch you,” she says breathlessly.

  I release her hands and her short nails scrape down my back until they reach my arse, her fingers digging into my arse cheeks––almost painfully––as she pulls me tighter against her.

  “Do you want more?” I ask, ever the gentleman.

  “Yes.” She sighs as I pick up my speed, each thrust harder than the last, and every time she digs her fingers into my flesh.

  “Yes, right there,” she says, her eyes squeezing closed, her mouth forming into the perfect ‘O’ as I pound into her without mercy––her whole body moves up towards the headboard from the force of it.

  “Come for me,” I ground out.

  She tenses, and I know she’s about to climax because I’m right there with her. My body becomes erratic as I topple over the edge, and I come hard, wishing I was bareback as my seed fills her pulsating channel.

  Apart from our heavy breathing, the room is otherwise quiet until I pull out of her and discard the condom in the bin. I take the space in for the first time, noting her things that occupy the room and her clothes that are strewn across a trunk, over by the wall.

  When my eyes roam back to her, she’s watching me, a blanket now covering her nakedness.

  “So, erm, that was unexpected,” she says, only this time when her cheeks heat, it’s from something akin to shyness rather than excitement.

  And she’s right. As much as I was looking for an escape, I hadn’t expected to find myself balls deep inside a beautiful stranger. I reach out and touch her hand, which holds the blanket between her fingers, and then I eye the box of condoms on the bedside table. She follows my line of sight, her cheeks growing a darker shade of
red against her soft skin. It’s a contrast to the confident woman she was ten minutes ago, and I wonder if she wants me to go or if she’s up for round two.

  Sitting up, she leans forward and kisses my shoulder. Her lips are velvety soft, sending a jolt straight back down to my cock.

  “I haven’t quite forgotten my name yet,” she whispers against my bare flesh.

  I can’t hide my smirk. “Well, in that case, how about we make use of whatever is left in the box?”

  Her hand reaches for my hard length, and she gives it a tight squeeze as I let out a deep groan.

  “I’d like that. Let’s make the most of tonight.” Her voice is seductive without even trying, and I’d be a fucking fool to deny myself.

  I grab her chin and tilt her face until her mouth connects with mine. She lets out a soft whimper as our tongues touch in a searing kiss. I move us until she’s flat on her back and slowly slide the blanket from her body.

  Taking my time, I explore her face with a light dusting of freckles, a birthmark just below her ear––a tiny heart shape. Tracing her skin with my fingertips, it pebbles with goosebumps under my touch. I pepper kisses over her breasts. My tongue licks a soft path down to a scar on the lower part of her ribcage. My eyes flick to hers in a silent question.

  “Kidney transplant,” she says hoarsely.

  “Beautiful,” I reply and continue to kiss her until I’m back between her legs.

  I inhale with a satisfied hum. She smells of sex and us, and fuck me if this isn’t a new kind of aphrodisiac. I might only have her for tonight, but it doesn’t mean I can’t leave a lasting impression, does it? Plunging my tongue back inside her tight channel, she pushes forward, begging for more as I fuck her with my mouth.

  Chapter Seven

  Charlotte

  When he reached my scar, and his eyes flicked to mine, with an unspoken question, one of curiosity, not repulsion, I found myself being honest. Even though it’s something I’ve always been self-conscious about in the past. But here I am with the lights on, allowing this demi-god of a man to see all of me when my ex rarely had the privilege.

  “Oh, there, right, ahh…” I gasp. He hits the spot with his tongue and fingers, causing my eyes to roll into the back of my head. Wow, he has some serious skills. I grab the sheets and writhe as he continues to please me in a way Shaun never did. I can’t help but smile at the revelation.

  I let myself go and give my body over to Ethan as he worships me.

  “E-than…” I exhale, lights flashing behind my eyelids as an orgasm comes on so suddenly that it not only takes my breath away but I almost blackout from the force of it.

  I feel him move and hear the telltale sound of the foil packet ripping.

  I open my eyes just as he positions himself and thrusts. My channel is still pulsating from my orgasm, and my mouth falls open, gasping for breath as he hooks my leg in the crook of his arm and pushes it higher until he is so deep, I don’t know where I begin or he ends.

  “What’s your name?” he grunts as he thrusts in a fast circular motion.

  “Charlotte…” I moan, he does it again and again until all coherent thoughts abandon me, and a drawn-out orgasm takes hold, even more powerful than the last. He pulls me up, so we’re chest to chest, and I hold onto his shoulders for dear life. He pulls me down hard, my orgasm keeps going, and I almost cry. Finally, he finds his release, sweat dripping from his temples and collarbone, my hair sticking to my face from the exertion.

  When I fall back to the bed, I’m as loose as a rag doll, my body tingling from head to toe as I come back down to earth.

  I think I might have dozed off when his whispers rouse me.

  “Charlotte,” he says as his fingers stroke the swell of my breasts. “You still with me?” he asks.

  “Yes,” I reply, stretching my arms above my head, letting out the most satisfying sigh and aching in all the right places. This man is a fucking machine.

  “Good, because I’m not finished with you yet.”

  He kisses along my clavicle, and I all but purr.

  “I think we might need some sustenance first though.”

  His chuckle does the most wicked things to my lady parts.

  “Yeah, we need to keep your stamina up,” he says, nipping at my shoulder.

  I cock an eyebrow, pointing to myself. “My stamina?” I say, playfully pushing at his chest.

  “Oh, are we having our first fight?” he asks, pouting.

  I roll my eyes and scoot off the bed in search of some clothes when my house phone rings. Shit. I already know who it is as I run butt-arse naked to pick up.

  “Hello.”

  “You’re alive then?”

  Ethan holds out his shirt for me, and I reach for it. I cover the mouthpiece with my hand.

  “I’ll be one minute,” I say, running into the main bathroom and locking the door behind me.

  “Hello?”

  “Shit, Vi, sorry,” I say breathlessly and pull up the toilet seat, desperate to relieve myself.

  “Are you taking a fucking piss?”

  I cringe. “Yeah, sorry,” I say again.

  “You should be. You never messaged me.”

  I hold the phone between my shoulder and ear as I sort myself out and flush the toilet before washing my hands.

  “You fucked him, didn’t you?”

  Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I would have to agree that yes, I most definitely did fuck him.

  “Maybe,” I say, biting my bottom lip.

  “You can tell me all about it tomorrow when I get home, and you can buy me lunch for scaring the living shit out of me.”

  Before I even agree, the line goes dead. “Bye to you too,” I say and pull on Ethan’s shirt buttoning it as I go. It stops mid-thigh.

  I hear the toilet flush in my ensuite and make my way into the kitchen, pulling open the fridge, which is pretty empty. Vi and I seriously need to do a food shop or start getting online deliveries. This is ridiculous.

  The sound of bare feet on the tiled floor causes me to look over my shoulder. Ethan is wearing his jeans, the top button undone with a perfect V.

  “Sorry, there’s not much, I’m afraid. Hope you’re not vegan,” I say, cringing.

  He steps up behind me, his body heat a conflicting contrast from the coolness of the open fridge.

  “Omelette?” he asks, reaching over my head for the box of eggs and a bar of butter.

  “Sounds good,” I say and grab the cheese.

  “Any veg in there?” he asks.

  I pull open the bottom drawer and stack some veg into the crook of my arm.

  “What about the mushrooms?” he asks when he notices I didn’t grab those.

  “Can’t stand them,” I reply with a shudder, putting the contents on the counter and then rummaging in the cupboard for a shallow pan and placing it on the stove. Ethan steps in, turns on the hob, adds a splash of oil and begins heating the pan.

  I grab the carton of orange juice out of the door of the fridge and close it, holding it up to him, and he nods. When he’s not concentrating on the pan, his eyes keep drifting over to me.

  “What?” I ask when I sit on one of the stools at the breakfast bar, enjoying watching the muscles in his back move as he tilts the pan.

  “Nothing, just glad I stayed when I spotted you,” he says, surprising me.

  “I take it you didn’t want to be there?”

  His shoulder moves up and down as he lets out a sigh.

  “I was only there with my cousin as a distraction. Do you go there often?” he asks when he divides the omelette between the two of us.

  “That sounded like a pickup line,” I say, grabbing my knife and fork. “No, not that often. Occasionally when my work schedule allows it.” However, I left out the part that Shaun didn’t like me going out dancing, so in the end, I wouldn’t tell him for argument’s sake.

  I can’t hide my satisfied hum as I take a bite of the fluffy, buttery goodness that hits my taste bu
ds.

  “Oh my God, this is heaven. Don’t tell me, you’re a chef,” I say, pointing my fork at him.

  “Nope,” he says, and I think he’s going to leave it there, but he continues. “I used to be a professional MMA fighter, but something happened and I had to retire. Now I’m a computer programmer,” he says, cutting into his food.

  I wonder why he retired but figure that if he wanted me to know then he would have said.

  “That explains the muscles,” I say, unable to stop the blush heating my face.

  His eyes flit to mine, the corner of his mouth rising.

  “What about you? What do you do?”

  I pause the glass to my lips. “I’m a paramedic.”

  His eyes go wide. “I would never have guessed,” he replies, with something akin to awe.

  I take a huge gulp of my drink. “I just want to help people, as they helped me,” I say, surprised at how open I am with him. Maybe it’s because I won’t be seeing him after tonight, and the thought makes me a little sad, if I’m being honest.

  He licks his lips, and I’m envious it’s not me doing the licking and find myself needing to cross my legs, but he’s observant as his eyes follow the movement.

  “Are you finished?” he asks, his eyes focused on me.

  I nod and swallow as he gets up and stalks towards me, causing me to lean back when he crowds me. His hands reach for my hips, lifting me like I weigh nothing. I wrap my legs around his waist, my wet pussy pressing against bare flesh.

  “Good, because this time when I take you, I want you from behind, on all fours, my hand wrapped around your hair. I want you to wake in the morning feeling well and truly fucked, knowing that glorious ache you feel deep inside was because of the countless amount of times I brought you to pleasure. Over and over again,” he says, his voice gravelly. Never has a man spoken to me like this, and fuck if it doesn’t make me well and truly wet for him. I gasp in anticipation right before his lips crash against mine.

  Chapter Eight