I have no idea how much time has lapsed and I’m too caught up in my vision to care. I move the powder around until the design is exactly how I pictured it in my mind. When I finally finish, I stand up to admire my work, wiping a bead of sweat off my brow with the back of my wrist, careful not to get black powder all over my face.

I’m almost overcome with excitement and pride as I look down at the paper. I sense Collin’s presence and a spark of desire shoots through me when I feel the heat of his body. Collin being directly responsible for the release of the creative juices I’ve kept bottled up for so long is almost enough to make me want to forget about finishing the project and just take him inside the house and strip hip naked.

He hands me a towel and I slowly wipe as much of the powder off of my hands as I can.

“You ready?” he asks as he holds a lighter up in front of him.

It’s possible that he’s more excited about this than I am and I can’t help but smile at his exuberance. I think he might have been lying before when he said watching me work was the best part. He’s like a toddler right now, bouncing back and forth on his feet waiting for me to give him the okay.

I nod my head and laugh at him. “Yep. Let’s do this.”

With remnants of gunpowder still clinging to my hands and splattered across my clothes, I know I need to move as far back as possible. I walk back to the safety of the patio and watch as Collin sets up the fuse that attaches to the paper and gunpowder, holding my breath as he flicks the lighter. When the fuse ignites, he runs across the yard until he’s by my side, grabbing my hand and pulling it up to his chest. He holds my hand in both of his right against his heart as we listen to the ssssssssss of the flame as it flows down the five-foot length of fuse. We both stare with wide, excited eyes as the spark gets closer and closer to the paper until the hissing suddenly stops as the fuse gathers enough energy to ignite all of the gunpowder. Two heartbeats later, a loud pop fills the air and the paper bursts into flames. Within seconds, the fire burns out and all that’s left behind is a cloud of smoke and puffs of powder.

Our heads turn towards each other and I can’t stop the excited grin that lights up my face when I see the same look mirrored in Collin. We take off running, his hand still clutching mine as we race across the yard laughing at how silly we’re both acting.

We stop in front of the hemp paper and wait until the smoke clears. Collin doesn’t say a word as he stares down at the burnt design, each piece revealing itself slowly as the smoke floats away. I start to get a little nervous that maybe it’s not as good as I thought since I’m so out of practice. He lets go of my hand and bends down closer to the paper, his eyes taking in every detail as I watch him.

“Holy shit, Finnley,” he whispers after a few seconds.

I finally turn away from him and look down at my creation. It’s another silhouette of him, this time wearing a fireman’s hat with a rolled up hose slung over one arm and a wall of fire surrounding him.

“This is absolutely fucking amazing,” he mutters in awe.

Pride rushes through me with his words and my long dormant dream of doing something with my talent becomes forefront in my mind. Staring down at Collin admiring my work, I’m amazed that that it’s even possible to be this happy after everything I’ve been through with Jordan.

Chapter 18—She Keeps Me Warm

IT’S STILL HARD to believe Finnley and I only found our way back to one another fifteen days ago. I’ve spent fifteen days learning everything about her all over again and fifteen days discovering every inch of her body. We’ve talked, we’ve laughed, we’ve fucked on every available surface in both of our houses and we’ve only stopped long enough to order take-out before going at it again. I’ve set up countless sheets of hemp paper in my backyard and sat in a chair by the house, quietly watching her work whenever inspiration hit her. It’s amazing to see the passion for her art shining in her eyes with each and every new picture she creates. It’s my damn house, so I’m not limited to wallpapering my bedroom with Finley Morgan originals this time around. I’ve hung each one of her designs on the walls in my home, much to her embarrassment. I want her to be proud of her talent and I want her to see how much pride I have in her every time she walks through my door.

I know that rediscovering her ability has lit a fire inside of her to go to art school like she always wanted to. As much as I want to tell her to quit her job and do what she wants, I know I can’t do that. This is her dream and I want her to find her own strength to make it a reality.

“Oh, my God, I’m so full I think you’re going to have to roll me into the house,” Finnley jokes as I pull my truck into my driveway.

I wanted nothing more than to keep her naked and tucked away in my bed forever, but I thought it was time I took her out for a real meal. I surprised her by taking her to the Italian restaurant where we had our first date. It was kind of nice not having to bum a ride from an older friend this time since neither one of us had our driver’s licenses back then.

I make my way around the front of the truck and open her door, holding her hand as she steps down from the cab. My dick has been hard since I picked her up at her house earlier and she opened the door wearing a red, wrap-around dress that hugged her curves.

Her matching red heels click against the pavement as she jumps down and the vee in the front of her dress gapes open, showing off even more of the creamy skin that I’ve been staring at all night across the candlelit table.

I move our clasped hands behind her back and rest them right above her ass as I trail the fingers of my free hand down her collarbone and over the exposed skin of her breasts.

“I need to be inside you,” I tell her softly, staring into her eyes as I move my hand lower until I’m cupping one breast in my palm.

I run my thumb back and forth over her nipple through the material of her dress, lightly pinching it after it pebbles

“How fast can you unlock that door and take your clothes off?” she whispers as I kiss my way across her cheek until my lips are right by her ear.

“About as fast as I can make you come. What’s the record now, thirty-five seconds?” I tease.

She laughs, swatting my hand away from her breast. “Let’s see if you have it in you to make it twenty.”

AN HOUR LATER, I’ve got her right on the edge of her third orgasm. She’s sprawled across my bed, her body glistening with sweat. I’m on my stomach between her thighs, pressing my dick into the mattress in an attempt to calm myself down. In my line of work, patience and control are critical, and it’s taken every vestige I have of both not to drag her down the bed and fuck her so hard we both pass out, but I have something else in mind. I’ve been thinking about our phone sex conversation a week ago and I want her as ready and pliant as she can be.

Pulling my fingers out of her, I slide them into my mouth and clean her wetness off them with my tongue. She’s up on her elbows watching me, her hips lifting slightly in an unconscious request for more. Moving out from between her thighs, I slide up the length of her body, rolling her onto her side so I can curl myself behind her. I pull her hair away from the back of her neck and nip at the skin there while I reach back and grab the bottle of lube I bought the day before.

Placing it on the bed behind me, I slide my hand over the front of her thigh, grabbing her leg and pulling it back over my hip so she’s open to me. Her head is resting on her arm and I scoot closer, lifting myself up on my elbow so I can stare down at her body.

I slowly slide my hand up the inside of her thigh and ghost my fingers through her folds, pulling the wetness pooling there up with me to circle it around her clit. She’s so wet that I’m not even sure I’ll need the lube for what I have in mind, but I’m still going to use it. I want this to be as pleasurable as possible for her.

Her hips shift back and she grinds her ass against my cock as it slips between her cheeks. I move myself against her, sliding my cock through her as my fingers continue playing with her clit.

“I want to fuck you here, baby,” I whisper in her ear, emphasizing what I mean by thrusting hard against her ass.

My fingers easily slide through her pussy as she gets even wetter at my words.

“Oh, God, yes,” she mumbles, her hips moving against my fingers as I push two of them deep inside of her, my thumb flicking over her clit.

I pump my fingers in and out of her, moving my thumb faster until she’s gasping and moaning with need.

“Fuck, I’m going to come. Oh, my God,” she whispers.

I quickly pull my fingers out of her and move my thumb away from her clit, smiling to myself when I hear her whimper.

“Not yet, baby. You’re not coming again until my cock is inside your ass.”

She groans and I move my hand back between her legs, just barely skimming my fingers over her clit. She’s so swollen and wet that I know just the right amount of pressure will have her exploding against my fingers, but I want to prolong this. I want her shaking with need and ready to take every inch of me inside her.

Her hand moves over top of mine and she tries to add pressure to my fingers as I slide them around and around her clit. I remove my fingers from her slit, grabbing her hand and bringing it up to rest on her breast.

“You can play with your nipples, baby, but this,” I tell her as I cup her sex in my hand, “is mine. Even when I’m taking your ass, Lee, it’ll still be my fingers fucking your pussy. You don’t get to touch.”

I hear her sharp intake of breath as my fingers resume the light, teasing circles around her clit and I watch in rapt fascination as she lightly tugs at her nipples. When her hips start moving faster and I know she’s seconds away from coming, I quickly move my hand down and thrust three fingers inside of her, holding them as deep as they’ll go as I feel her pulse around me and her orgasm slowly ebbs back down to a simmer.

Her thigh quivers around my hip and, as much as I want to continue torturing her, I can’t hold off any longer. I need to be inside of her. I need her to give me that last bit of trust so I can show her I would never hurt her, that everything I do is to bring her pleasure.

Pulling my fingers out of her, I reach behind me and grab the bottle of lube. As I move my cock away from her ass, I flip the lid on the tube and squirt a generous amount of the silky gel up and down my length. Tossing the tube to the side, I, spread the lube over my cock until it’s glistening.

“Get up on your knees.”

I palm my cock, stroking it as I watch Finnley roll to her stomach and push herself up on her hands and knees, her ass in the air waiting and ready for me. Getting up behind her, I grab the bottle of lube again and squeeze, letting it slide down the crack of her ass. Using the fingers of my left hand, I rub the slippery wetness around, pushing my fingers gently inside of her to spread the lube there, as well.

She shivers with a combination of excitement and shock at the cold feel of the lube sliding down her body and my fingers pushing inside her ass. I continue slowly pumping them in and out of her, readying her for my cock. When she starts pushing back against my fingers, I know it’s time. Sliding them out of her, I grab onto her hips and pull her towards me until the tip of my cock rubs against the spot my fingers just vacated.

“Fuck,” she mutters, dropping her head down between her shoulders.

I wrap my hand around the base of my cock, holding myself still as I push just the head inside of her. As much as I want to slide the rest of the way in with one hard thrust, I know I need to make sure she’s ready.

I move my right hand away from her hip and slide it around the front of her body, between her legs, finding her clit and working it between my fingers.

Her hips start moving against my hand and I grit my teeth as the head of my cock moves in and out of her ass.

“You are way too big for this to work,” she mumbles through groans as my fingers continue to slide around and around her clit.

“Do you trust me?” I whisper, sliding barely another centimeter inside of her as I move my fingers faster between her legs.

“Yes, I trust you,” she moans immediately as I slide in a little further.

“This will work, I promise. If it doesn’t, you tell me right away and I’ll stop. If it doesn’t feel good, promise me you’ll tell me to stop, Lee.”

I silently beg her not to tell me to stop. Her ass is already gripping the hell out of the tip of my cock and I’m dying to push myself the rest of the way inside her.

“I promise. I trust you. Fuck, keep going,” she begs, pushing back against me until I slip deeper inside.

Sweat breaks out all over my body with the effort it takes to hold myself still behind her and not pound into her ass. She’s so tight and hot and, with every rock of her hips against my fingers, she brings me deeper inside her all on her own.

“Fuck-shit-oh, my God,” she whimpers incoherently as I add pressure with my fingers against her clit.

As slowly as I can, I push myself a little further inside her ass, stopping when I feel her relax around my cock as her orgasm quickly bubbles back to the surface.

Wrapping my arm around her waist, I hold her tightly to me and slowly rock against her without going deeper. I want to pull my cock completely out and slam fully inside her, but I won’t do that her first time. I’m perfectly content letting her dictate how little or how much she can take this time.

“Jesus, Lee. You feel so fucking perfect,” I groan as she pushes back against me.

Her ass grips me like a fist and I know I’m not going to be able to last much longer.

“Keep going. Fuck, keep going,” she begs loudly.

I hold my breath and squeeze my eyes closed as I slowly push forward until my hips are pressed tightly against her ass. I hear her panting and whimpering as I hold myself still.