Page 70 of Embers in Autumn
She just smiled, wicked and sweet all at once, before taking me into her mouth.
I groaned, loud and unrestrained, my hand tangling in her hair, not to guide but just to anchor myself, to prove this was real. Heat wrapped around me, her tongue sliding slow, teasing, until my hips jerked forward despite myself.
“Fuck, Amber,” I ground out, watching her, utterly helpless. “Look at you… goddess on her knees, ruining me.”
She hummed around me, and the vibration shot straight through my spine. Every filthy word I’d ever used before, every thought I’d buried, felt pale compared to the reality of her, of this. I’d fought fires, dragged men out of burning buildings, faced things that should’ve broken me. None of it touched the way this woman had me trembling, undone, just by choosing to take control.
All I could think was how much I wanted her, how much I never wanted to let her go.
I nearly lost it right there. Every sound she made, every flick of her tongue had me gripping the wall like it was the only thing keeping me upright.
But just when I was about to unravel, she pulled back, her lips slick, her eyes flashing with heat and mischief. She wiped the corner of her mouth with her thumb and rose gracefully to her feet, smoothing the emerald silk back down her thighs.
“Not here,” she whispered, kissing me once—teasing, maddening. “Upstairs.”
I groaned, half in relief, half in frustration, and followed her as she tugged me by the hand up the rest of the stairwell. Her apartment door swung open, the faint scent of books and candles rushing out, and I barely had time to close it behind us before she shoved me back against it, kissing me with wild hunger.
“Amber…” I rasped against her mouth, my chest heaving.
“Shut up, Dean,” she whispered, tugging at my jacket, stripping me piece by piece. “Tonight, I want to try something… different.”
Different.The word slammed into me like a jolt. She’d almost wrecked me downstairs—what the hell more could she do?
But then she guided me backward toward the bedroom, her hands sure, her eyes blazing. She pushed me down onto the edge of her bed, and for the first time since we’d started this dangerous, beautiful thing, I realized she wasn’t letting me lead.
Her hands pressed against my shoulders, firm, keeping me seated. Then she slipped out of her heels, the emerald dress sliding up her thighs as she straddled me slowly, deliberately, her eyes locked on mine.
“Amber…” My voice cracked, my hands trembling as they hovered at her waist. “What are you—”
Her mouth brushed my ear, her words like fire. “I want to be the one in control tonight. I want to take what I want. How I want it.”
And holy fuck if that didn’t make me harder than I’d ever been.
I let her, every muscle screaming to flip her under me, but I didn’t. I stayed exactly where she wanted me, my chest heaving, as she rolled her hips against mine, the friction making us both moan.
She wasn’t just letting me in—she was claiming me. And the thought of giving myself over to her like this, letting her set the pace, letting her show me what she’d never dared before, was hotter than anything I’d ever imagined.
Her lips brushed mine once more, soft as a sigh, then she pulled back and slid my jacket the rest of the way off. Before I could reach for her, she caught my wrists, her eyes daring.
“Lie back.”
The command was quiet, but it hit me harder than any order barked in the firehouse. My body obeyed before my brain caught up, leaning back against the pillows while she straddled my hips.
She reached for my belt, tugging it free with slow, deliberate precision. The leather hissed as it slid through the loops, and my pulse hammered.
“Amber…” I warned, half desperate, half undone already.
She only smiled, looping the belt around my wrists, tying them together and fastening them against the headboard. Not rough—just secure enough that I couldn’t move without her permission.
Fuck.
She leaned back, her hands running over the front of her emerald dress, her hips still pressing me down. Then, with slow, teasing fingers, she began to strip. The straps slid down her shoulders, baring the delicate curve of her collarbone. The silk puddled lower, inch by inch, until her breasts spilled free, pale and perfect in the low lamplight.
My cock strained against my trousers, throbbing with every second she took her time.
“You’re killing me,” I groaned, tugging against the belt, helpless.
“That’s the point,” she whispered, eyes dark with heat. She pushed the dress down her hips, the fabric sliding like water, leaving her in nothing but lace and firelight. She let me look—just look—while she stood there, every inch of her a goddess I wasn’t allowed to touch.
