Firecracker Under Pressure - Firecracker #3 (Erotic Romance) Read online

  That was awfully close to describing Erik, but not quite. Cy was trying to find out if she was interested in meeting anybody new now that he was in the picture, but was asking in a way that was both curious and prudent. Cy had tactfully given her room to deflect the secret of Erik, so she did.

  “I’ve been looking for somebody like you for a long time Cy. Now that I’ve met you, I’m not interested in meeting anybody new.”

  Good save, Trixie thought. It was technically true. She hadn’t met anybody new, but she had revisited somebody from her past. Now she had two worthy men in her life, neither of whom she wanted to lose.

  Cy rolled her response around in his head, still contemplative. “I think you’re amazing Trixie, but I’m also not so crazy as to think that I’m the only man who feels this way. It’s hard for me to imagine you don’t have other men vying for your attention. Why should I be the only one?”

  Trixie wondered how long she could keep up the charade of not admitting to Erik. She stared into Cy's his brown eyes for a moment and gathered her thoughts.

  “You know my past. I’m not ashamed of it. Everyone I’ve been with was a learning experience, even the shallow guys. They taught me what I didn’t want as much as what I did want. Being with those guys gradually helped me to recognize their type from a long way off. After a while, l could tell if they were a waste of my time right away. You alone stood out, and not just by a small amount. It's like you come from a whole different class of men.”

  Cy smiled at the compliment, but if Trixie had to guess it wasn’t the answer he wanted.

  “If memory serves, you mentioned that I was one of two guys on a very small list of men who lasted the whole time.”

  Did she say that? Why did she have to be so damned precise! In addition to everything else that she liked about Cy, apparently he was also an excellent listener. She found it heartening because who doesn’t want to be heard? She found it troubling because she knew what he would ask next. The question was practically floating in the air. He would ask who that other man was, or possibly if he was still in her life. Trixie wouldn’t lie. No matter how much she wanted to preserve this moment, peacefully gliding across the water as he paddled for them both, she wouldn’t deny him the truth.

  Then an unexpected thing happened. Cy didn’t ask. The silence pervaded so long that Trixie couldn’t take it anymore. She had to fill it with something.

  “You’re the only one that matters to me when we’re together.”

  She wondered if he would understand her meaning. Cy was all that mattered to her when they were together, just like Erik was during their time together. They were equally meaningful to Trixie, but at separate times.

  “Does that change anything for you?” she asked, needing very much to know if it was a deal breaker. If it was, she needed to either choose him alone or stop investing herself in Cy more than she already had.

  He replied right away.

  “I feel like we’ve gotten to know each other really well Trixie, but also at a breakneck pace. Our first date lasted all weekend and then three more days in the city. It was more like twenty dates all at once. Now I’ve invaded your city and your neighborhood. Sure, I’m free to live wherever I want, but you were there first. It’s your world and I’m new to it. I can’t be so full of myself as to think that your life will come to a stop simply because I moved into town.”

  Trixie wanted to believe what she was hearing. Could Cy be that understanding? Did men like him really exist? She honestly thought that he would be crushed, especially after uprooting his whole life to become a city dweller. Near as she could tell, he really didn’t have any expectations. Secret hopes, yes, but Cy was determined not to be a source of undue pressure.

  Trixie fixated on the remarkable man paddling the kayak across from her and felt a little awestruck. No matter how complicated her life was about to become, she wanted Cy to be a part of it. Until just now, she didn't know whether she liked the idea of having him so close. She did, a lot. Trixie blinked at the surprising realization. She must have been staring into space, because Cy had already stopped paddling.

  “Trixie? Are you all right? You disappeared for a second.”

  She shook it off.

  “I’m fine. It’s just that… I’m really glad you moved into the city.”

  Cy was a taken aback. He seemed to stall for a few seconds as well before finding his voice again.

  “I… I’ll be honest. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. It felt right to me at the time, but I didn’t know if you would feel the same way. I mean, let’s be honest, I could easily be fling material for you.”

  Trixie wanted to slap him again. Or kiss him. She wasn’t sure which yet. That would be decided once she was close enough to do either. She climbed out of her cockpit seat and leaned forward to crawl across the kayak between them.

  “Trixie wait!” Cy yelled.

  Too late. The whole kayak lurched under her weight and she slid into the ocean face first. Neither of them had put their life jackets on for the return trip, which was just as well. She was a good swimmer the flotation vest would only get in her way. Trixie surfaced immediately and spat out a mouthful of water. Cy was on his knees reaching for her.

  “Take my hand! I’ll use my weight to counter balance you back up!”

  Trixie timidly put her hand out. Cy reached forward, over extending himself. She grinned deviously and grabbed his forearm, yanking him forward. Cy spilled out of the kayak, sending it rocking away from them both. He emerged in front of her frowning, but only for a moment. Trixie grabbed him and mashed their lips together. They both sank underwater, but she didn’t let him go. The natural buoyancy of their bodies slowly brought them back to the surface. Cy had to gasp for breath first. Trixie still had plenty to go. She really did have to work on his stamina. Now at least she knew that there would future opportunities for them to do so.

  Cy held Trixie against his side with one arm and reached out for the kayak before it drifted away.

  “So what did I do this time?” he asked.

  Trixie held his face in one of her hands so he couldn’t look away.

  “You’re not a fling Cy. We might have started out fast, but you mean a lot more to me now than any one of those other guys. Don’t make me drown you to prove it!”

  “Okay, okay, I believe you!” he laughed.

  Trixie couldn’t remember the last time she was this happy.

  4. Firecracker Under Pressure

  Cy and Trixie finished off their weekend at a bed and breakfast in the coved community run by a pleasant old couple. The paddling had left them exhausted by that point, but Trixie got back at Cy by going down on him in their suite. She refused to stop after he started coming, but the walls were too thin for him to really express his pleasure with volume. Cy must have been louder than he realized, however, because the lady of the house actually brought it up the next morning during breakfast.

  “You don’t have to hold back for our sake deary. After thirty years of running this place, we’re quite accustomed to all the sound and fury.”

  Cy almost spit out the orange juice he was in the middle of drinking. She placed a hand on his shoulder and winked at Trixie.

  “You did well for yourself dear. This one’s a keeper.”

  “Yes he is,” Trixie agreed.

  “Come back any time!” the lady said with a knowing smile before leaving them to eat.

  Cy and Trixie spent the balance of that day exploring the local shops, caught a bite to eat, and then headed back to the city around dusk. She was curious to see the place he found for himself. Trixie had to admit that it was a good find when she walked in the door. Cy actually owned some halfway decent furniture and several tasteful pictures. The second bedroom was filled with workout gear comparable to any gym. There was even a fold out massage table. Cy told Trixie that she could use the space anytime, after which he would be more than willing to put his trained hands on her body.

  Trixie could d
efinitely imagine spending nights at his place, but much as she wanted to today, she had work tomorrow. Of course that didn’t stop her from screwing his brains out on the couch before she left. As usual, Trixie saw no point in holding back in the moment and only realized how loud she was after the fact.

  “Oh gods, sorry about that. I forgot that you’re new here.”

  He shook his head unconcerned.

  “If I have my way, it won't be the last time they hear a Firecracker going off when you visit. May as well get them used to it.”

  Cy really liked her just as she was. Trixie left him spent and smiling at his door. He offered to walk her home, but she declined. Trixie was only a few blocks away, and Cy had given her enough lightning jizz to go for a longer walk.

  The moment she stepped into the cool night air, Trixie was overcome with thoughts about her active lifestyle. Her weekend with Cy had just ended, but now Erik would no doubt be asking about her availability. Would it be possible to juggle them both? For that matter, would Erik even be okay with her seeing somebody else? That was the real question.

  Cy, for all his surprises this weekend, gave her every reassurance she needed. He was being realistic, or at least trying to seem that way. Going by appearances, Cy not only understood what he had done by moving into the city, but also didn’t expect Trixie to suddenly change her life to accommodate him. Even after figuring out that they weren’t exclusive, he didn’t let it impact their weekend. Trixie only felt closer to him now.

  So what was she doing with Erik anyway? Well, she knew what she was doing to Erik. Where Cy was attentive, knew what he wanted, and took it -- all attractive qualities -- Erik could be barbarically primal, but only when coaxed out. She wasn’t always successful at getting him to take the initiative, but when he did, it was nearly the best sex of her life.

  She had all but restored Erik after Vanessa, his business partner and occasional fuck-buddy who, near as Trixie could tell, had corrupted him with her uptight nature. He was better off in her hands, even if her attention was divided between two men.

  This was all academic until she found out whether Erik could accept that she wasn’t exclusive to him. Trixie concluded her walk by circling around the park and made her way home. Her phone had been turned off all weekend, but there were several messages from her girlfriends. There was also a message from Erik asking if she could swing by his fitness studio tomorrow, and even a recent text from Cy, wanting to know if she had gotten home safely. She replied that she had, thanked Cy for his concern, and said good night. Trixie needed to focus on the other man in her life now without distraction. How she was going to break the news to him hadn’t occurred to Trixie yet, but it would be done in person.

  She called Erik and made plans to see him after work tomorrow. When she showed up at Bare All Fitness the next day, Vanessa was just finishing a class. It was the first time they had seen each other since the boot camp weekend, when Trixie kicked her skinny little ass in all the exercises.

  “Vanessa,” Trixie said curtly.

  “Trixie,” Vanessa replied coldly.

  The air crackled between the two women. Trixie couldn’t help but notice that Vanessa was wearing a new outfit, one that didn’t climb up every fold of her snatch. Apparently it was possible to get through to the woman after all.

  “Is Erik in the back?” she asked.

  “He’s having a shower.”

  Trixie raised an eyebrow.

  “Well isn’t that familiar.” She brushed past the woman as if she were invisible.

  Unfortunately Erik had already finished in the shower and was getting dressed in the co-ed change room along with a few students from the class who had just finished. There really was no shame in this place. The men and women were oblivious to their nakedness and even talked openly as they dressed or stepped out of the shower.

  Erik saw her coming, but wasn’t fully dressed. He was wearing a shirt that hadn’t been buttoned up yet. As he bent down from his Olympian height to give her a kiss, his gloriously hairy chest heaved with muscle. Several classmates took notice. Trixie felt her head go light.

  There really was something primitive about Erik. He was feral to look upon, but his temperament remained calm and civilized. She really wanted to do something about that. When his hand went to her face, it covered that entire side of her head. Erik could have her at any moment with his strength, force his desire on her body if he wanted, and there would be nothing she could do about it. He wasn’t like that, of course, but the possibility of that fantasy thrilled Trixie regularly. If only Erik could take her like Cy did.

  No. Trixie stopped herself from taking that thought any further. She liked both men, but for different reasons. More importantly, she was with Erik now. If this was going to work and remain fair to both of them, she had to make that distinction very clearly. They were individuals, no matter how much she wanted to cherry pick qualities from one to the other.

  “Thanks for meeting me here. Did you and your friend have a good weekend?”

  There was curiosity in Erik’s expression, but she was better off not going into details. There was no telling how many of these students would report back what they heard to Vanessa.

  “I did. How hungry are you? Feel like going out for something to eat?”

  “If it's all the same to you, I’d actually like to make you dinner.”

  Trixie shook her head.

  “You cook?”

  That came out wrong. Of course Erik could cook. Lots of people cook. It’s not exactly an uncommon skill. Why did it surprise her that he could do something other than exercise? Fortunately, Erik didn’t take the question offensively.

  “I guess you wouldn’t know. We didn’t exactly date for the longest time a year ago, but yes, I’m an excellent cook. So what do you say?”

  “All I can say. Yes.”

  Trixie half-expected dripping haunches of beef over an open spit, but once again Erik proved to be more sophisticated than his appearance suggested. She really had to stop drawing superficial conclusions about him. He was grilling smoked salmon steaks for them, garnished with avocado, capers, and dill.

  She was embarrassed to admit that she had never seen his kitchen before. Trixie had only spent time in his bedroom, living room, and bathroom, sometimes in that order, before she slipped out again, contentedly satisfied with the drubbing Erik had given her that night. If she had explored even a little further, his love for food would have been obvious by the very well appointed kitchen he kept. The space was sparely decorated, with granite countertops and an ornate island in the middle. Erik poured a glass of elderflower juice for Trixie and perched her on a stool to watch him cook.

  The dinner smelled wonderful. Some part of Trixie’s mind told her that now would be the ideal time to talk about their relationship, such as it was, and the fact that they weren’t exclusive. It would have been the perfect opportunity at any rate, until she started playfully making eyes at Erik instead. Trixie restlessly squirmed on the stool where he had set her and provocatively stretched to steal his attention away from the salmon.

  Idly sitting in one place was turning out to be a bigger challenge for Trixie than she expected. Her clutch of girlfriends frequently bemoaned how the men they dated never took the time to impress them with romantic gestures, like cooking a meal, and here Trixie was taking that exact same gesture for granted. She was hungry for something other than food, which was now taking impossibly long. Was Erik using a low heat or something?

  Trixie started undressing Erik in her mind, replacing his clothes with animal skins, the grill with an open flame, and the kitchen with a wind swept rocky plateau. The granite countertop helped the fantasy along. Erik was her Paleolithic lover and they were surviving in the wild, resisting the elements, hunting wild animals, and using her each other’s bodies to stay warm at night.

  Erik kept engaging her in conversation, returning every smile she flashed at him, but remained dutifully committed to their meal. Trixie found h
erself prompting Erik with questions about cooking, but not really listening to the answers, which was horrible. This was important to him and he clearly took pride in his culinary skills. She leaned forward on an elbow, propped her chin up to feign interest, and then casually slipped her other hand beneath the counter and up her skirt.

  Trixie tugged her panties aside and began to rub her clit lightly. She rounded the nub repeatedly and stroked her labia until both were engorged and moist. Each time Erik turned his back for a moment, grabbing another spice that he thought would taste good, she plunged two fingers up her pussy and imagined that he was having his way with her against the rocky tundra in her mind. Gods she wanted the weight of him between her legs.

  Erik had no idea. Why didn’t he at least suspect what she was doing?! Trixie was about to finish herself off. He was regaling her with techniques about how to sear in flavor. Men could be so oblivious! Food was absolutely the furthest thing from her mind right now, but that wasn’t his fault. She had brought herself to this point, but that was besides the point now. Trixie needed filling. Erik pulled two plates out of his cupboard behind him, and deftly slid their salmon steaks on to each surface. He turned around to ask her a question.

  “Would you like some white wine with dinner--"

  Trixie was right in front of him. She had slipped around the island unheard and unseen. He lurched back almost crashing into her body, but kept his balance. She didn’t speak, but placed a hand on Erik's chest and inhaled his scent, not quite in control of herself.

  “Trixie, are you alright?”

  She looked up at him hungrily, her eyes filled with lust, and then ripped his shirt open without blinking, sending buttons scattering to the ground in both directions.

  “I love that you can cook,” she said bluntly.