One Fiery Night (2 page)

He prodded the sensitive skin beneath her jaw. “You sure, Josie?”

The sound of her name falling from his lips made her shudder. Concern crossed his handsome features. “You’re cold. I’ll get you a blanket.”

“No, no, I’m fine. Please stay and talk to me. I didn’t know you were a firefighter.”

Rather than take up the chair the social worker had abandoned, he remained on his knees before Josie. Suddenly he stiffened and drew back. He grabbed up her left hand where it supported Maggie under her bony legs.

A sigh of relief whooshed from him.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking to see if an angry husband is about to storm into this room and bust my jaw for touching his wife.”

She lifted Maggie a bit. Her blonde head lolled against Josie’s chest. “Ex-husband. And I don’t think anyone would have a chance at breaking your jaw, Luke. You’ve…put on some muscle.”

Saying this was like stating that her house had had a “little fire”. Gross understatement. In college, he’d always been fit. Football had kept him roped with muscle and training on the track had contributed to his overall appearance. Now he was broader than she’d ever imagined he could be.

A grin carved brackets around his mouth and he rubbed a palm over his chest. The swells of his pecs beneath his slim t-shirt drew her gaze. Her pussy clenched and moisture soaked her panties.

Stop. What the hell am I thinking?

“Muscle added by hauling hoses.”

“And people out of burning buildings?”

“That too.” The expression in his eyes softened. He reached for her again, this time threading his fingers into her hair. “You sure you’re all right? They checked you thoroughly? And this little one?” His gaze skimmed Maggie and Josie’s heart skipped a beat, seeing his concern. Tears filled her eyes again.

“We’re all right. Tired and…maybe a little scared.”

That noise in his chest issued again, this time making her nipples bunch. She could almost feel his lips and tongue moving over her breasts, that sound rumbling from his solid chest.

Solider chest now.

He wrapped his arms around both her and Maggie and pulled them against his wall of flesh. His scent engulfed her immediately—musk and male and a new cologne that was perfectly fitting. She dropped her head to his shoulder and released the tears she’d bottled up for hours.

He rubbed her spine and whispered soft words into her ear, probably to keep from waking Maggie. Josie allowed him to comfort her, too weary and despondent to worry about the fact that he’d dumped her years ago. Ignoring the fact that he’d told her she wasn’t what he wanted.

When she gained control of her emotions, she lifted her head and gave an awful sniff. He chuckled and reached for the box of tissue that had been placed on the floor at her feet. He handed her two and while she wiped her nose, he used a third to dry her streaming eyes.

“Why are you being so sweet to me?”

“I’m a firefighter. It’s my job to rescue damsels in distress.” He glanced down at Maggie. “
And
their children.”

“You do this for every woman you rescue from a blaze?” Her voice was rough with emotion.

“No. But I do it for women I love.”

Chapter Two

Luke scrubbed his hands over his face, trying to erase the memory of Josie’s face when he’d opened his mouth and the bomb had dropped out of it. The
L
word. Why, why, why had he said that? He hadn’t been in love with her for a very long time. Not since the moment he’d learned she was schmoozing his big brother.

Luke had brought her home to the suburbs from college with him often, and it was inevitable that Ryan and Josie would become friends. Ryan was like Luke, except bigger, better, more full of life.

Not anymore.
Ryan had perished in a five-alarm fire on the West Side of the city he and Ryan had moved to as adults, when a roof caved in on him. He and another firefighter had died along with the inhabitants of that single-family home. At least the five family members got to pass into the afterlife together. Ryan had left behind his wife and three kids.

Heaving a sigh, Luke paced the lobby of the hotel, determined to go up to Josie’s room and apologize for what he’d said. How was he going to do that though? He couldn’t just barge into her room and tell her he didn’t really love her.

Because it would be a lie. The instant he’d had her in his arms again, that burning ember of passion had flared to life once more. It had almost cut his heart out to leave her in college, but he couldn’t have her lusting after his brother. Couldn’t have married her, wondering at every family function if the pair were stealing a moment together.

Ryan wouldn’t have done that.

What makes you think Josie would have?

He took another turn past the vending machines and steeled himself for what was to come. Heading on to the elevator, he punched the button of her floor. The unit lurched upward. He leaned against the wall and flexed his fingers. They were still a little sore after the fire. He really should wear gloves but they were so obtrusive. And he wouldn’t have felt her body through them as he carried her and the little girl out.

Maggie, she’d called her. A child born to an unknown man whom Josie had fallen in love with and committed herself to. What had happened between them? Had her gaze wandered from him too?

The old betrayal seized Luke’s chest. He’d carried this grudge against Ryan for too long. Thank God he’d never allowed it to come between him and his brother, because Ryan’s life had been too short, and Luke never would have forgiven himself for something like that. It was bad enough carrying it inside all these years. He’d thought the anger long-ago dead, but Josie’s appearance had resurrected it, like opening a door only to find a wall of flame ready to surge out and capture him.

Did he really want to go through with this? He could ride back down to the lobby, walk out of the hotel and never see her again. In a city of this size, it was possible. And now he didn’t know where she lived.

“No, I’m doing it,” he said quietly to himself. His shadowy reflection on the silver wall didn’t tell him anything about how he looked, but he could guess. He looked like a fucking mess—exactly the way he felt inside.

The doors yawned wide. Automatically he looked right and left, down each hall, a part of his training as inherent as breathing. He could no more stop himself from checking for danger than he could stop himself from loving Josie.

He strode down the hall, keeping his steps even. If not, he’d break into a run. The urge to see her again was that strong. What was it about her that sucked him right in? The streaky blonde waves curling over her shoulders, heavy and full of body? Her full breasts and hips tapering to an impossibly tiny waist between? Even after bearing a child, her waist was still trim, though slightly rounded in a way that enflamed him more than ever. But more than her appearance, he remembered her laugh and her sweet-as-honey disposition.

Fuck, he had it bad.

Reaching her room, he stared at the numbers for a long minute. Did he want to open this door and perhaps greet the fiery pain her presence in his life would surely mean?

He knocked. Inside, he heard a flustered, “Who is it?”

Drawing a gulp of air to dispel the tightness in his chest created by the tone of her voice, he answered, “It’s Luke.”

The door opened and she stood there in all her glory, wearing jeans and a white t-shirt that clung to her ripe breasts. He didn’t think she was wearing a bra.
Goddamn, I’m in for it now.

Her eyes were wide and bright with an emotion he recognized easily—excitement. Not just any excitement, but
sexual
. Without meaning to, he dropped his gaze to her nipples. The hard pearls stretched the cloth of her shirt. He was dying to move her into the light cast by the cheap desk lamps and study the faint pink hue.

He clamped his hands into fists.

“What are you doing here?” Again, she was breathless. Had she recovered from her smoke inhalation? He’d checked with the social worker and been told she and Maggie had been treated as a precaution—they hadn’t truly suffered from the smoke. Still, concern made him narrow his gaze.

“Are you all right?”

She shook her head as if not following his question. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Standing aside, she let him pass, which was good because he was coming in whether she invited him or not.

Glancing around the room, he found it empty. “Where’s your daughter?”

Josie shoved her hands into her front jeans pockets and rocked a little on her heels. “With her dad. He came for her this morning.”

“Yeah? That’s good.”

“Is it?”

“Fuck, yeah.”

Her lips turned up in a quizzical smile. “Why is that?”

“Because it gives me the chance to do this.” He grabbed her around the waist and yanked her against his chest. Using his thumb beneath her delicate jaw, he tipped her face up at the instant he swooped in, crushing his lips to hers.

Their groans mingled and hung in the air between them, as charged with electricity as a downed cable in a puddle. One fraction closer and they’d both be jolted with the energy they’d always shared.

The sweet taste of cherries filled his head. Damn, she tasted exactly the same. He pressed on the seam of her mouth with his tongue and she opened to him. With a growl, he plunged inside, tasting her heated walls, stroking the silken depths with his tongue.

Pressure bubbled up in his groin. His cock swelled and his balls drew up tight to his body. He lashed her to him with a hand on the small of her back, lifting her on to tiptoe.

She snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her, meeting him stroke for stroke. Her tongue flipped, igniting the fires of his desire. If he was hard before, he was steely now. Painfully so. His cock bulged against his zipper, throbbing in time to his heart.

He drank from her lush lips, slowing the kiss and nibbling, then using feathery flicks on her tongue. His head spun with her nearness. Everything about this woman called to him, from her round little thighs to her innocent green eyes. In that instant, he couldn’t remember the real reason he’d dumped her. Surely he’d been suffering from head trauma from a football accident or something. Josie was just too perfect for him.

She started to pull away and he followed her, sinking his teeth lightly into her lower lip and tugging her back. He watched her through hooded eyes at close range. Passion and confusion warred on her stunning features.

Well, he was going to erase the confusion part right now. He’d told her he loved her, hadn’t he? He’d never stopped.

Lifting her beneath her thighs, he turned for the bed. It was still unmade. He laid her down on the rumpled sheets and pinned her hips with his.

“Luke,” she managed between his demanding kisses.

He threaded his fingers in her soft, fragrant hair and trapped her further. “Mmm?” He thrust his tongue deep into her mouth until she was gasping. Her hands played over his spine, nails lightly scraping through his shirt. She worked one leg free and wrapped her ankle around his hip.

“Why are you doing this?” she panted.

He worked his hand down her side to her rib cage, his fingertips brushing the round underside of her breast. Lust spiked in him. She definitely wasn’t wearing a bra.

“Because you’re beautiful.” He kissed a path down her jaw to her throat and along her collarbones. God, he’d always loved her body. Her reaction to him was unequaled. He’d never been with a woman who gave herself the way she did.

She caught his head. He used his mouth to warm the tip of her breast through the cloth of her shirt, sending a warm puff of air through the fibers. “Why—?” she choked. “Luke!”

He opened his mouth over her breast. His cock throbbed against her thigh, demanding release. “I’ve missed this, Josie. Missed how soft you are. How smooth your skin is. And your taste…” He bit through the cloth into her nipple.

She arched, crying out. She rocked her hips into his and he bit off a groan. Going slowly was torture, but he needed to. He planned to relish every stolen moment with her.

Stolen.

Was that what he truly wanted? A one-time encounter?

The answer burst inside his mind like an explosion in an oil refinery. No, he couldn’t bear the thought of finding her again, taking her, then letting her go. He’d never expected to have her pop into his life after all these years, but here she was. Warm and sweet and giving him that tender-eyed look that had always sent him over the edge. The blurry look that accompanied her orgasm.

“Luke, please!” She tugged on the short hair at his nape.

He lifted his head and met her gaze fully. Expectation clouded the air. He could nearly hear her question—what exactly was he asking of her?

“Josie, I can’t lie and tell you I’m not thrilled to find you again.”

“I-I am too.”

“And this was always perfect between us.” He ground his erection into the V of her legs.

She threw her head back with bliss, but didn’t break the connection of their gazes. “Soo good, yes.”

“I want you now.”

“Just now?”

His heart flipped and raced out of control. “I want you again.” There. The words were out and she could take whatever meaning she wanted from them. Hell, he didn’t even know what he meant by them. His instincts to possess her were taking over, a feral need that rushed through his veins with an injection of adrenaline.

He let his mouth hover over hers. “Let me pleasure you.”

She searched his gaze, her eyes swimming back and forth between his, the pupils blown wide the way he remembered from their lovemaking. Damn, to sink into her and feel her clench around him as he stared into her eyes and brought her to the pinnacle—

“Yes,” she whispered. Surging upward, she kissed him. Passion roughened their kiss. He slanted his mouth over hers and began their lovemaking in earnest. No more make-out session. No college foreplay. Pure raging hormones and lust between a man and woman who had once been in love with each other.

He pinched the hem of her shirt and eased it up her body, trailing his fingers over her skin as he did. Age had made her rounder, which turned him on more than ever. His balls clenched against his body and his cock oozed pre-cum, wetting his boxer briefs.

Jabbing his arousal into her body again, he forced a moan from her. “You always liked that, baby. My cock rubbing you through our clothes as we kissed for hours.”

She gripped his shoulders and brought him back to her mouth. She opened wide for him and he swept the interior, out of his head now with need. The hum of the air-conditioning unit faded and the quiet whir of traffic on the street outside the hotel disappeared, leaving only Josie and the soft panting gasps she released.

“I’m gonna make you scream for me.” He pushed away and dragged her shirt over her head. Her long, streaky blonde tendrils of hair floated around her shoulders and the tops of her breasts. He tossed away her shirt and swooped in, capturing one straining pink nipple on his tongue.

She mewled and writhed beneath him as he bathed her areola with his tongue, re-learning the feel of her. He lapped one, then the other, swirling his tongue around each until he thought he’d come in his jeans. He reached between their bodies and pinched the head of his shaft hard, forcing his state of arousal back a notch.

Not yet. He’d promised to make her scream and he was damn well going to do that.

She grasped the cloth between his shoulder blades and yanked his shirt over his head. She threw it and immediately brought her hands back to his body. Her warm fingers splayed over his chest, flicking his nipples the way she knew he adored.

“Fuck, Josie,” he hissed.

“Yes, fuck me. God, you’re so much bigger than you were.” She touched him everywhere—shoulders, pecs, biceps. When she ran her hands down the ridges of his abs, he shut his eyes and fought the shudder of ecstasy that threatened.

When she breached the button of his jeans, he grasped her wrist and pinned it to the bed. “Not yet. First, I need the screams.”

They shared a smile that went straight to his soul. Before he could say what was in his heart, he ducked his head and tugged on the button of her jeans with his teeth. They popped open and he slid down the zipper with a forefinger. Reaching up her body, he teased her nipples into tight peaks again.