ControlledBurn (3 page)

Chapter Four

Mitch was fucking trembling. Actually shaking from head to
foot. He locked his knees to keep from falling over and made his way into the
sauna. The door was warm to the touch and his senses automatically had him on
red alert. Years of being a firefighter couldn’t be nudged aside so easily.

At least today they hadn’t dealt with a big blaze. He had a
big enough one in his pants.

Steam billowed out as he stepped into the sauna. In a single
glance, he saw the small space was empty. His cock leapt and the thick towel
swathing his hips gaped open. He pinched it shut and crossed to one of the long
teak benches.

Trying to get hold of his emotions, he rested his shoulder
blades against the wall and closed his eyes. Counting to ten did nothing. In
fact, ten images shot across his mind’s eye. Pearce’s crooked grin, the way his
gaze flashed when he was pissed off or scared or…aroused. He knew that about
his chief now, and damn, he liked it.

Since the moment he’d come to Firehouse 5 and set eyes on
Pearce, Mitch had hungered for him. He had that body type that got Mitch all
riled up—thick shoulders, bulky chest and hips that a man could latch on to.

He bit off a groan. His dick was as hard as the wood he sat
on. It lengthened until he couldn’t keep the towel from opening around it.

Seconds ticked by as he waited for Pearce. What would it be
like to be his lover? To crawl into bed with him and press lips and cocks and
explore his hard body?

There was also Ellie to think about, which led to hotter
thoughts. Of the three of them together, rolling, kissing, touching everywhere.

The sauna door opened and some of the steam was sucked out
like a vacuum, taking Mitch’s heart with it. His breath caught.

His chief’s gaze pierced him, nailed him to the bench.
Struggling for air, Mitch attempted a smile.

“Hey.” Pearce shut the door and crossed to the bench where
Mitch sat. He took a seat close—so close. Almost thigh-to-thigh.

Mitch stared at the small fraction of wood bench between
their muscled legs and his heart raced with adrenaline as if he’d just heard
the blare of the siren. Pearce’s body caused a different sort of alarm in him.

“Long day.” Pearce’s voice came out shaky.

“Pearce—”

“I talked to Ellie. Told her.” Pearce’s gaze bore into
Mitch’s.

They were so damn close. Inches away. If he leaned in a bit,
he could put his mouth over Pearce’s. Taste that long, wide seam of his lips
before plunging his tongue between them. And he felt he should make the first
move. In the firehouse, Pearce was in charge, but this territory was Mitch’s.
He’d started it yesterday, after all.

He slid his tongue against the back of his teeth, readying
himself. He was going to kiss him—unless he told him Ellie wasn’t onboard, that
was.

“Yeah?” Mitch croaked.

Pearce stared at him, his jaw clenched and muscle jumping in
the corner. Had Mitch ever noticed how hot his mouth was before? Wide and full
with a bow to the upper lip that made him think of the chief’s mouth on his
cock.

He shuddered.

“Last night Ellie and I had a long discussion about…what
happened here yesterday. About what’s been going on between you and me for a
while.”

Mitch tightened his stomach muscles, feeling Pearce’s words
like a blow. So it hadn’t been one-sided. He’d read Pearce’s body language
correctly and the man had been experiencing the same need as he was. Relief
made his fingers tingle.

“Go on,” Mitch encouraged, trying to keep his gaze from
wandering all over Pearce’s body, from lingering on the tight brown nipples set
into his bulging pecs and the tent of his towel.

“She wants me to go for it,” Pearce said quietly.

“Go for what?” Hell yes, he was going to make Pearce say it.
He wanted confirmation—acknowledgement that they both wanted this—that it
wasn’t just a passing moment between horny buddies but a real desire they meant
to pursue.

Pearce scuffed his knuckles along his jaw, making a rasping
sound that resonated within Mitch. His balls tightened and his cock swelled
painfully.

“Go for…” Pearce waved a hand between them, nearly grazing
Mitch’s chest. “This. Come on, Mitch. You gonna make me say it plain?”

“Yeah.”

“Go for…” He struggled, bright hazel eyes silently pleading
for Mitch to understand. His heart tugged again and he took pity on his chief,
his friend—his soon-to-be lover.

“For this?” Mitch hooked a hand around Pearce’s nape and
slammed his mouth atop his. Lightning crashed in his ears and dark heat
barreled through his veins. He held the kiss, filling his head with Pearce’s
intoxicating scent. He tasted of mint, the corned beef someone had brought in
to share for lunch and male.

Pearce reached for him too, locking their bodies together as
he angled his head to accept Mitch more fully. He took immediate advantage,
parting Pearce’s lips with his tongue and delving into the hot depths of his
mouth.

They shared a groan, chests vibrating. Hell, every inch of
them was vibrating. The walls around their emotions were about to shake loose
and collapse.

Pearce scraped his fingers over the back of Mitch’s head,
giving him a thrill. When their tongues met in mutual need, any excuse they
might have tried to blame the moment on was completely lost. They’d officially
broken through the barricades of pretense.

Mitch pressed him back against the wall, pinning him with
his body and mouth. He grasped his shoulder, kneading the flesh and learning
the hard muscle beneath. Pearce did the same, exploring Mitch’s shoulders,
chest, back and down to the ridges of his abs.

Between biting kisses, Mitch gave him a command. “Get it
out. Touch me.”

Pearce tugged on the towel around Mitch’s hips and it
opened. Hot air rushed over his cock and balls. Pearce tore his mouth away from
their kiss and stared down at the thick shaft that had seemingly jumped into
his hand.

Pearce’s gaze burned, almost a caress of its own. “Fucking
hot.”

“Stroke it. I want to feel it in your hand.”

Pearce’s eyes cleared and he withdrew. “Just a moment.” He
gained his feet and grabbed a wooden stool from the corner. Then he took it to
the door and wedged the seat against the handle and the legs against the
built-in bench, effectively barring the door from intruders.

Mitch didn’t give a fuck who walked in and saw them, even if
it was the entire team of Firehouse 5. Luke, Zacherel, Dobbs, Howland, Damian.
What did it matter? All Mitch wanted was to shout out the news of his and
Pearce’s mutual desire. For too long it had been Mitch doing all the wanting,
or so it seemed.

In two steps, Pearce was with him once more, and Mitch
thrust his hips upward, forcing his cock into Pearce’s hand. He wrapped his
long digits around Mitch’s length with a grin, thumb strumming the sensitive
tip.

“Shit,” he murmured as Pearce rolled the head through his
fingers. Juices formed at the opening and Pearce immediately captured it with
his thumb, smearing it over the tip until it was shiny.

Mitch moved in for another kiss. Pearce met him halfway,
giving his mouth and tongue with an eagerness that was almost desperation. Hot
tongues clashed. Mitch yanked open Pearce’s towel and captured his length in
his fist.

Pearce’s whole body convulsed, rocking forward. Mitch met
his gaze as they began to stroke each other. Mitch worked down Pearce’s
velvety-hard shaft, learning every ridge and vein. It filled his palm
perfectly. When he reached the root, he slipped his fingers below to cradle
Pearce’s balls.

A low growl issued from Pearce’s chest. “Fuck!”

“Jesus, you’re hard.” Mitch abandoned Pearce’s balls, unable
to stop himself from feeling his long erection instead. Soon enough he’d give
every bit of Pearce’s body its due. But right now, he needed this.

He clamped his hand around Pearce’s cock and pumped it.
Pearce’s eyes hooded. He didn’t stop touching Mitch in return though, working
his arousal in time to Mitch’s strokes.

Suddenly Mitch released him. He dipped his body over
Pearce’s, pressing hard cock to hard cock. Searing heat washed through him and
settled somewhere around his heart.

Pearce buried his face in the crook of Mitch’s shoulder,
breathing as if he’d just escaped a gas explosion. The pressure mounted in
Mitch’s body. Reaching between them, he wrapped his hand around both of their
cocks. There was no need for a barrier—they were both regularly tested and
clean.

“It’s not going to take long. Damn, I don’t wanna blow yet!”
Pearce bit off his words and then sank his teeth into Mitch’s shoulder.

Fisting their cocks together, rubbing flesh to flesh and
letting their lengths glide through his hand, Mitch continued his torment.
Nearing the edge, he turned his mouth into Pearce’s. Time enough for extended
play later. Right now he needed a goddamn orgasm.

It rushed up, roared through his veins. He jerked as the
first spurts erupted and slid all over Pearce’s shaft. His partner gave a
guttural cry and began to come. Mitch pumped them harder, faster, milking them
both for every last drop.

As they came down, Pearce reached down and massaged the
thick cream into their abs and thighs. When he ran his wet fingers around
Mitch’s sac, his cock jumped to attention once more.

“Come home with me,” he said in a harsh rasp.

Pearce met his gaze and the fervor in his hazel eyes cooled
a bit. “Ellie…”

“You said she wanted you to have this.” Mitch found the
tender flesh between Pearce’s balls and anus and thought he’d have to peel his
new lover off the ceiling as he convulsed. A rumble of a laugh vibrated Mitch’s
chest.

“She did, but… Mitch, I don’t have to tell you we need to
keep this quiet.”

Mitch shifted away to look at him. A tiny snake of unease
wove through him. Was Pearce ashamed? Mitch was out as a bisexual, and he
didn’t care who the hell knew.
Maybe he needs time.

“Okay,” Mitch agreed. “We can be quiet at my place. Or at
yours.”

Pearce stared at him for a heartbeat. “I need some time with
Ellie first, and to get a grip on what’s happening.”

“All right, I appreciate that. It’s not as if this happens
to me every day either. I haven’t been with anyone in a long time. And never
with someone I’ve wanted so badly.”

Pearce’s hazel eyes sparked with that expression of absolute
lust again. Heat clawed at Mitch’s insides. Was he going to be able to survive
this inferno until Pearce and Ellie decided what to do? At the moment he felt
as though he’d be burned to ash.

* * * * *

Ellie’s pacing did nothing to alleviate her need. Her inner
thighs were drenched with evidence of her desire and her nipples were two tight
buds chafing her button-down work shirt. All day she’d battled with her wants
until she’d finally succumbed. In the women’s restroom, she’d plunged her
fingers into her soaking sex and fingered herself to completion. Minutes later,
Pearce had phoned to tell her he was meeting Mitch at the gym, which only
rocketed Ellie back up the steep slope of need once more.

She tossed another glance at the clock on the kitchen wall.
Dinner was in the oven, a frozen meal she’d pulled out to warm up, but she had
little interest in anything besides the flavor of a male.

Hair prickling on her body, she imagined Mitch in bed with
her and Pearce, between them. How would it feel to be touched by someone brand
new after all this time? To taste him? Fuck—to see those hot men with each
other?

Her pussy clenched and a fresh flood of moisture wet her
panties further.

“That’s it.” She reached under her skirt and tugged down her
hose and panties together. Just as she stepped out of them, she heard the front
door open. Heart thundering, she kicked the wad of fabric into the corner of
the kitchen and spun to face her husband as he came in.

From ten paces away, their gazes met.

A fierce expression creased his face. Then he was stomping
toward her faster than she could blink, scooping her up around the hips and
storming down the hall to their bedroom. Fleetingly she thought of their dinner
in the oven, but her cares fled as she caught the scent of another man on her
husband.

“Pearce—”

“I’ve gotta have you. Now.”

Dark warmth sidled through her core and smoldered low in her
belly. Whatever he’d been doing had maddened him with as much passion as it did
her.

He kicked open their bedroom door, sending it careening into
the wall with a
bang
. In a few steps, he’d reached the bed and was
stretching her out on it, peeling away her skirt with one hand while deftly
popping her shirt buttons with the other. The bulge in his jeans pressed her
almost painfully.

“Fuck, Pearce, talk to me!”

He stared down at her, need etched across his handsome,
rugged features and blurring his eyes. “We kissed. Taste him on me.” With that,
he crushed his lips to hers, filling her head with Pearce’s familiar musk and a
taste unknown to her—Mitch Morelli’s.

She opened her mouth wide, letting Pearce feed his tongue to
her, gathering all the flavors. Wriggling, she fought to get closer, to devour
him whole. He fumbled off her blouse. Then he twisted her bra front in his fist
and yanked. The delicate hooks in the back gave way.

“Sorry,” he groaned.

“Who cares about a bra?” she responded, hitching her bare
thighs around his hips and yanking him fully atop her.
Smothering. I’m
smothering in their scents and I can’t get enough.

Pearce’s hard chest pressed her down into the mattress. She
reached between his shoulder blades and dragged his t-shirt over his head. The
first brush of his heated flesh against hers sent her spinning out of control.

“Gods, baby, I can smell him all over you…taste him.”