Burning Wild

Chapter Fourteen

It wasn't long before the weather started to change. The autumn breeze transitioned into the cool winds of winter. The heat was long gone, and the mornings and evenings were crisp.

But things were just starting to heat up for Jake and me.

I was surprised how readily I'd been able to accept the dynamic Jake and I had created, and just how much happier I was for it.

As I stared at myself in the mirror one afternoon, I couldn't help but notice how healthy and happy I looked. I had managed to sleep for a week straight without experiencing the fiery nightmares. I didn't think it was a coincidence that they disappeared when Jake was nearby. I felt safe knowing that he was just one room away. He was like an antibiotic, the cure for the disease that had afflicted my life since the fire.

Jake seemed to feel a similar sense of relief. Since our "no commitment" revelation, he was no longer the distant and hesitant man who avoided me like the plague. With the burden of obligation was off of his plate, he was a different man- a man who couldn't seem to keep his hands off of me.

As the weeks passed, Jake and I started to get to know each other on a deeper level. We spent all of our free time together, and when we were apart, we texted constantly. We were also back to our routine of having dinner together at night. Laughing over a warm, home-cooked meal was the best cure for any dispute.

Despite the caveats of our agreement, I quickly felt closer to Jake Lucero than I had with anyone else. We let each other in, little by little. Perhaps it was breaking the rules of our imaginary contract to get so emotional vested in each other's lives, but it was hard not to. It was so effortless to talk to one another, that it was almost unnatural not to discuss our thoughts. Our relationship continued to grow each day. Jake was quickly becoming my best friend.

Once the sun went down each night, our dynamic shifted, and we moved forward to the "benefits" part of the friendship. The dinner table was hardly cleared before his lips were on mine, working their way down to my most intimate areas, exploring my body in ways no one ever had before.

The truth is that I had never really cared for sex. It wasn't something I ever yearned for- not until I met Jake. It came naturally with him, like we were two jagged puzzle pieces that fit perfectly to each other, and left me yearning for more. My need for him was insatiable. When we weren't sleeping together, the idea was constantly at the back of my mind. I found myself distracted, longing for the night to come. Jake probably thought I was a sex-crazed lunatic.

There was something about this man that ignited my libido like never before. It blazed through my body like a wildfire, and only Jake could extinguish the flame. To watch Jake's muscles ripple as his skilled fingers pleased me, or to see the way his face scrunched up whenever I made him climax, it made me want him more than and more.

Each night I would lie in his arms for as long as he would allow it. But after a few minutes, the companionship always became more than he could handle, and I could sense his need to be alone. The inevitable time always came when I had to go back to my own room, leaving me feeling empty without his touch.

As time passed, I discovered more about Jake than I thought possible. I learned that he likes his coffee black and that he gets temperamental when he loses at Monopoly. I knew that he couldn't sleep without the ceiling fan on, even in the dead of winter, and that he cared about the environment, so recycling was a requirement in his house. 

Most of all, I learned how to please him in the bedroom. I had never been assertive when it came to sex. In the past, I usually took the backseat and allowed my partner to take the lead. But Jake made me feel like a sexual goddess, and in time, I quickly took the reins. There was no greater sense of control and confidence than when I was on top of Jake, staring down into his kind, chocolate eyes as I used my body to please him. For the first time in my life, I wasn't sitting on the sidelines but was in the heat of the game.