Chapter 9 - Stoking the Flames (f)

The first snow had already melted again, the dry weather over the last week taking care of the slush at the side of the streets and the mud on the lawns. The wind had decided to keep away today too, making it bearable to be outside despite the cold.

Emma was on her way to get Henry after she'd finished her shift, ignoring the increase in her heart rate when she quickened her steps to get to the church faster. She repeated the same words on a loop in her head when she stepped onto the driveway of Killian's house.

This is not one of your 'dates'. You're just picking up Henry.

Over the last two weeks, Henry had spent more and more time with Killian. The first time he'd asked if he could visit Killian, he'd put on a serious expression and told her that Rocket needed to play with kittens his age. That it was important for him to spend time with other kittens. Emma had almost laughed, admiring Henry's reasoning. Killian had been on board with it immediately when she'd asked him, waving away her concerns that he might not have time for a rambunctious twelve-year-old.

It had definitely not helped with her struggle to keep their relationship in the 'friends only' zone. Sometimes she wondered how long she'd be able to keep her hands off the priest.

Her heart skipped a beat before slamming hard against her ribcage when she saw the scene on the lawn. Both Henry and Killian were wrapped up against the cold, their cheeks flushed red as they faced each other in a fencing pose.

This is so not fair, a voice in her head whined as she tried to keep her heart from falling for the one man she couldn't have. She scrambled for the walls she'd tried to reinforce over and over again over the last few weeks to keep her heart out of the equation, but her efforts were futile. They crumbled at warp speed, leaving her out of breath and light-headed.

How could she possibly protect her heart when he did stuff like teaching her son sword-fighting with the plastic lightsabers she'd given Henry on his birthday? He even made the swishing sounds whenever he swung his saber through the air. It was adorable. And heart-melting when her son threw his head back and laughed out loud about something Killian had just said.

"Mom," Henry greeted her excitedly when he spotted her, his smile practically covering his whole face as he rambled on, "Killian is teaching me sword-fighting. And he invited me to come to his house on Sunday afternoon to teach me how to play chess. He says strategy is as important as strength. Brawn alone might win you a fight, but if you use your brain you can compensate your weaknesses. Right, Killian?"

"Aye, lad," Killian said, clamping the sword between his body and arm, freeing his hand to put it on Henry's shoulder. Her son looked up at him with clear worship in his eyes and she almost melted into a gooey puddle on the ground right there. Especially when Killian continued with an earnest voice, "But you remember what I said about Sunday afternoon?"

"Yeah, I need to ask my mom first." Henry turned to her again, eyes in full 'puppy-dog-eyes' mode. "Can I go, Mom? Please?"

Emma stood no chance whatsoever against the onslaught of those two blinding smiles. Not that she wanted to put up much of a fight to begin with.

"If you finish all your homework on Saturday, I have nothing against you spending Sunday afternoon with Killian."

"Yippee," Henry screamed, wrapping his arms around Killian and hugging him tightly. "Did you hear that, Killian? We can play chess on Sunday."

"I heard it," Killian replied, locking eyes with her over Henry's shoulder. "I'm looking forward to testing your wits, Mr. Swan."

Henry pulled out of the embrace and beamed up at him, the expression on her son's face making her breath hitch in her throat.

God damn you, Killian Jones. Why are you so perfect?

"See you on Sunday then?"

"Yep, I'll be there," Henry stated excitedly, taking the lightsaber Killian hold out to him and stashing both in his backpack. He swung it on his back and walked towards the gate, throwing over his shoulder, "Come on, Mom. Rocket needs feeding."

"Thank you," Emma whispered when Henry was out of earshot.

"Thank me for what?"

She let out a shuddering breath, battling down all the emotions threatening to drown her when it came to this man. "For being another great male role model in my son's life."

The flush in his cheeks deepened, his eyes wandering over her shoulder to watch Henry. When he met her eyes again his gaze was full of sincerity. "Your son is easy to get along with. He's smart and has great manners. It's a pleasure to spend time with him."

"Still, thank you."

"You're welcome."

She could only smile at him shakily before she turned around and followed her son, balling her hands into fists to keep them from shaking.

She was screwed. So, so screwed.

Emma sat opposite him at the kitchen table, her hand curled around a mug of hot chocolate. She was uncharacteristically quiet today, if you ignored the half-swallowed winces she'd tried to hide from him.

His mouth twitched as he suppressed a smile he knew she wouldn't appreciate. But he knew exactly what had happened, his heart squeezing in his chest when he realized how much he'd gotten to know her over the last weeks. He would bet quite a hefty sum of money that she'd poured over the missing person case files again, always hoping to find a clue even when it seemed more and more unlikely to find any. The crappy chairs at the precinct always made her back tense up considerably. But he knew the best remedy for that. He might have only one hand but he was still good at finding the knots and releasing some of the tension in her shoulders.

Getting up from his chair, he walked slowly around the table, coming to a stop behind her.

"Let me help you with that." She threw a questioning look in his direction when he put his hand on her shoulder. "Lean forward a bit. A massage might help relax your muscles."

She looked up at him like a deer caught in the headlights for a few seconds before she turned around and leaned forward. His fingers trembled slightly as he lifted his hand and brushed her hair over one of her shoulders. He swallowed a groan when the soft strands slipped through his fingers like silk.

What the bloody hell are you doing?

Ignoring the alarm bells ringing loudly in his head, he brushed his fingers from one shoulder over to the other, focusing on the tension knotting the muscles under her skin to find the spots that needed his attention most. When he found the first knot he put pressure on it carefully, letting the reactions of her body lead him. Sorrow washed over him for a brief moment as the memory of Milah's laughter brushed through his brain. She'd been the one who'd taught him how to get rid of this kind of tension, telling him it was the perfect foreplay. No woman could resist his magic fingers.

He almost let himself get sucked up into his memories, letting his grief rule over the moment but then the knot he'd worked on loosened under his fingers and Emma let out a throaty moan, pulling his thoughts back into the present with a snap.

His fingers stalled for a few seconds as he tried to keep his body from reacting, but her shoulders arched into his touch and he continued his massage without giving himself time to think it through. He regretted that decision the moment another moan fell from Emma's lips, the sound too close to the ones he'd heard when he'd been buried deep inside of her and his cock jerked hard against the zipper of his pants. Gritting his teeth, he kept going, loosening one knot after the other until most of the tension had left her shoulders.

"Better?" he asked, his voice way too hoarse for his liking as he stepped back and let his hand drop to his side.

She rolled her shoulders experimentally, her eyes falling shut as she let out another soft moan that stiffened his cock painfully.

"Yes," she breathed, her voice doing nothing to relieve the pressure the zipper of his pants put on his rock-hard erection. "Much better."

He needed to go. Right now. He needed to leave the room before he did something he'd regret later.

"I have to ask you to leave now," he said in a brusque tone that earned him a very confused look. He gulped hard once, forcing himself to keep his voice calm, even managed to conjure up a smirk as he added, "I completely forgot I have an appointment with the mayor."

"Sure," Emma replied, shooting him another look that was half-curious and half-worried. No surprise there, he was acting like a mad man right now. He kept the smile on his face when she stood up and gathered her purse, holding his breath until she reached the door and looked at him over her shoulder. "See you soon?"

"Aye," he replied, the tension between his shoulders ratcheting up when she hesitated for a second. "See you soon."

She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something else, but then she just shook her head and walked out the door. When the door clicked shut behind her Killian slumped into the chair she'd just vacated, pressing his palm hard against his very erect cock. Closing his eyes, he let out a growl, dropping his head forward so that he could bang his forehead against the wooden surface.

He was a fool. Letting her back into his life had been madness. Utter madness. But no matter how hard it was...he groaned out loud when his cock twitched under his fingers. He so hadn't intended that pun. But it was kind of appropriate for the situation he was in with Emma.

He couldn't let himself succumb to the temptation again. But he couldn't let her go again either.

He'd created his own personal hell. And he probably deserved to burn in it.

She honestly didn't know why she was torturing herself like this. Of course spending time with him was great...as long as she ignored her body's wishes every time he touched her. Ever since he'd massaged the tension out of her shoulders five days ago, her body had just wanted one thing, pushing him down on a chair and riding him until she couldn't walk anymore. But that was so not happening. Nope. Nyet. Non. Nein.

Emma almost snorted out a laugh about her futile attempts to shut up her raging libido by repeating the word no in all the languages she knew of.

A wince from the other side of the table drew her out of her thoughts and she focused her gaze on Killian, seeing him tilt his head from side to side, his face scrunching up in pain every time he turned his head more than an inch.

"Do you have a crick in your neck?"

"Aye," he murmured, suppressing another wince when he turned his head towards her. "The church is old and drafty."

Without thinking, she hopped off her chair and rounded the table, putting her hand between his shoulder blades.

"Let me return the favor."

Bad idea, Swan. Don't put your hands on him. Just don't.

"Thank you."

Of course, since she was a complete idiot when it came to him, she totally ignored her inner voice and pressed her thumbs into the hard muscles at his neck. He let out a deep groan, the sound shooting down her spine and settling right between her legs. She continued with the massage, biting her tongue to keep herself from moaning with every of his groans. He was driving her insane with the noises he made, especially when she loosened a very insistent knot in his left shoulder and the man actually moaned. A moan she knew too damn well, the sound had haunted her almost every night in her dreams. It was the sound he'd made when he'd come deep inside of her.

She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, forcing herself to imagine it wasn't Killian she was massaging but someone else. It helped for a few minutes until the stupid man opened his stupid mouth and breathed, "That feels wonderful, love."

Seriously? Throwing endearments around again? Didn't he know that she could only endure so much before her control would snap?

Apparently not, since he decided to let out another indecent groan that increased the wetness between her legs even more. It was time to end this massage, no matter if there were still knots left or not. He just had to find another way to release the tension that didn't include her.

When she lifted her hands from his shoulders her fingers twitched, her body vibrating with need. She wanted him. God, she wanted him really, really bad. She closed her eyes for a moment willing herself to calm down. Balling her hands into fists, she fought the urge to just yank his head back and kiss him as if there were no tomorrow. To kiss him until they were both short of breath with the need to rip each other's clothes off, the need to be skin to skin. She thought she had herself under control until she opened her eyes again. All her control vanished when she met his gaze, his eyes burning bright with the same heat blazing through her body.

That was all it took. She needed him. Wanted him. She'd fought so hard not to let her attraction for him come to the surface again, but that one heated look destroyed all her good intentions.

Lifting her hand, she trailed her fingers over his scruff until she reached his mouth. Her fingers tickled when she brushed them softly over his lips. His hand caught hers, stopping her. She expected him to push her away, a part of her hoping he was stronger than she was. But he wasn't. He just kept staring at her, lust and need burning up the air between them. All the walls she'd erected to keep the flames of passion at bay crumbled down and fire rushed through her.

She needed to kiss him. Right now.