Smokin' Hot (18 page)

“You don’t
think,
or you know for sure?”

“Anything is possible, but I’m pretty sure it’s safe now.” She squeezed his cock again. “Please. I don’t want to stop.”

“I don’t want to stop either.”

Rayna lowered her hips and took his shaft inside her. Marcus moaned at the same time she did. Rayna rested her forehead against his. She wanted to savor this time together, joined as one, before they rushed toward climaxes. “You feel so good inside me.”

“It’s where I’m supposed to be.” His hands slid down to her ass, grasped it through her skirt. “Move for me, sweetheart.”

He tunneled his fingers into her hair, brought her mouth to his for a fierce kiss. Lips slid across lips, tongues collided, breaths meshed. Rayna slowly lifted her hips and lowered them again, easing only the head inside her at first, then more of his cock with every movement. Marcus gripped her ass tighter, raised his hips to meet her each time she lowered hers. Holding to his shoulders for balance, she moved faster, took him deeper.

“You’re so wet.” Marcus slipped his hands beneath her skirt and held her bare hips. “And tight. God, so tight.”

He pumped faster into her, his thrusts brushing against her clit exactly the way she needed. Rayna hadn’t wanted to come so quickly, had wanted to feel Marcus inside her for a long time, but she couldn’t stop the pleasure from overtaking her body. It rushed through her faster than a flash fire. She threw back her head, groaned deeply in her throat, and shot toward heaven.

 

Marcus held back his climax as long as he could. He couldn’t delay it any longer when he felt Rayna’s internal walls pulsing around his dick during her orgasm. Lifting his hips, he buried his cock as deep inside her as possible and followed her into bliss.

She wilted against him, her face against his neck. Her warm breath flowed over his skin each time she exhaled. Perhaps they should’ve talked first, made some decisions about what they would do before they’d made love again, but he didn’t regret this. He could never regret something that felt so right.

He had the love of his life in his arms again, right where she should be.

“I’m sorry, Marcus.” She sat back, rested her hands on his chest. “I regret so many things. Hurting you, never visiting my son’s grave after the funeral, letting his death destroy our marriage.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I never should have left you.”

“Hey.” Cradling her face in his hands, he gave her a soft, loving kiss. “It’s in the past. We’re starting over, right?”

She nodded. A tear slid down her cheek. He wiped it away with his thumb.

“I want to visit Derek.”

Her comment surprised him, so much he didn’t know how to respond.

She smoothed his T-shirt over his chest. “Did you get a headstone?”

“Yes,” he said around the lump in his throat. “I think you’ll approve.”

“I’m sure it’s perfect.” She looked into his eyes. “I have to go back to San Francisco and give notice at my job and apartment. Or maybe not my apartment. One of the nurses—who’s also a friend—is living with her parents while she looks for a place that she can afford. I know she likes my apartment. She might even be willing to buy some of my furniture.” Her gaze traveled around the room. “I like that you kept some of the pieces we bought together.”

“I kept everything you left, Rayna. It’s all packed in plastic tubs in the storage shed out back.”

“It is?” she asked, disbelief in her tone.

Marcus shrugged. “I couldn’t make myself throw away anything. Maybe I thought—hoped—you’d come back someday.”

She rested her forehead against his again. “I’m back. And I promise I won’t leave again. Even if I have to put up with the heat and humidity.”

“We’ll take a lot of cool showers together.”

His kiss sealed her declaration and returned one of his own for another chance. They’d make it this time. He had no doubt about that.

He kissed her once, twice again. “So, what’s your plan?”

“I’ll pick up Nana tomorrow from the hospital and take her to her friend’s house—”

“
We’ll
pick up Nana tomorrow.”

Rayna smiled. “
We’ll
pick her up and get her settled. I’ll make my flight reservation for Friday. As soon as I get back, I’ll give notice at the hospital. It’ll be at least two weeks, maybe three before I can move here.”

“Once you know for sure when you’re heading this way, I’ll fly out there and we’ll drive here together.”

Her smiled widened. “I’d like that.”

“Do you want to go back to nursing?”

She nodded. “Think I’d be able to get a job at the hospital?”

“With your talent and résumé, they’ll hire you in a second.”

An apprehensive look crossed her face. “Do you think we should take it slow? I could live with Nana while we decide if things will really work for us this time.”

Marcus had no doubt everything would work for them, but he understood her hesitation. Although he forgave her for leaving him, they had five years of pain to overcome. “If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.”

Her pleased smile lit up her face. He couldn’t resist giving her one more kiss before he slid his hands beneath her tank to the smooth skin of her back. They’d talk more, make additional plans, tomorrow. Now, they had other things to do. “Know what I want?”

“What?”

“Dessert. How about if I spread lemon mousse all over your body and lick it off? Then you can do the same to me.”

He loved the slow, sexy smile that graced her lips. “Sounds like a great idea to me.”

Spark

1

T
alia King kept sneaking glances at Dylan Westfield whenever possible. He stood across the room with three other men on the Lanville Volunteer Fire Department. She kept wishing he would look at her, acknowledge her presence in the room. Then she wondered why she wished that since he only thought of her as a friend.

It sucked to be a friend.

Short of dancing in front of him naked, she’d done everything she could think of to get him to notice her as a woman. She doubted if even the dancing naked part would work. She’d be old and gray before he ever asked her for a date. The few times she’d asked him out, he’d always had an excuse as to why he couldn’t go.

After almost two years of working with him on the fire department, she’d come to the conclusion that he’d never feel that energy, that spark, she felt whenever she came close to him.

Which also sucked.

Talia glanced at her watch. Their fire chief, Clay Spencer, would soon arrive at the fire hall with his girlfriend, Maysen Halliday, and boxes of the firefighters’ calendar Maysen had created for a fund-raiser. Talia thought her boss kind to let her take an extended break from the clothing store to come to the fire hall for the unveiling of the calendars. Of course, Janelle had made Talia promise to bring her one.

Curious at how the calendar turned out, Talia silently urged Clay and Maysen to get here for the big unveiling. The calendar had been Maysen’s idea for a fund-raiser. She’d come to Lanville to do an article for her magazine,
Hot Shots,
about the Lanville firefighters, who had been voted the sexiest volunteer firefighters in Texas. She and Clay had fallen in love. She’d left the running of her magazine in Houston to her assistant and moved into Clay’s house. No wedding bells yet, but Talia wouldn’t be surprised if Clay popped the question at any time.

Lucky Maysen.

The man Talia loved didn’t love her. Fine. She could think of dozens of things that would be worse. She’d pined after Dylan long enough. She dated occasionally, but had always compared the guy to Dylan. That wasn’t fair to her date. She had to forget about anything developing between her and Dylan, move on with someone else.

That decision made, she turned her back on the four men and joined the conversation with Paige Denslow and Lucia Vega.

 

Talia had the sweetest ass Dylan had ever seen.

She stood across the room by the kitchen, talking to the other two female firefighters. Whoever had claimed women to be the weaker sex had never seen those three women fight a fire. No one on the fire department worked harder or longer than Talia, Paige, and Lucia.

No one on the fire department looked as good in a pair of jeans as Talia.

He ached for her. Ever since she’d moved to Lanville two years ago and joined the volunteer fire department, he’d ached for her. It had taken willpower he didn’t know he possessed to keep from asking her out. Then when
she’d
asked
him
out, he’d had to dig down deeper for even more willpower to say no.

He had no choice but to say no. He couldn’t take the chance of hurting her.

“You know you’re an idiot for not asking her out,” Quade Easton said.

Dylan turned his head and looked at one of his fellow firefighters. He knew exactly who Quade meant, but pretended he didn’t. “Who?”

Quade rolled his eyes. “Like you don’t know I’m talking about Talia. Your tongue hangs out every time you get within fifty feet of her.”

“Yeah,” Stephen McGettis said from the other side of Dylan. “What’s with that? Why don’t you ask her out?”

“Or accept when she asks you out,” Dusty McGettis said.

Quade looked at Dusty. “She’s asked Dylan out?”

Dusty nodded. “I’ve heard her at least twice. Dylan said no both times.”

“Not smart, man,” Stephen said, playfully punching Dylan’s upper arm. “Talia is hot.”

“Hey, you aren’t supposed to notice hot gals,” Dylan said as he rubbed his abused arm. “You aren’t supposed to look at anyone but Julia.”

“I love Julia, but I’m not blind or dead.” He glanced over his shoulder at the object of their conversation. “I can see where a man would want to wrap all that long, blond hair around his hands.”

So could Dylan. He fantasized about doing that very thing almost daily. He dreamed of holding her, kissing her, sliding his hard cock into her sweet cunt. She would take him perfectly. He had no doubt about that.

Before his thoughts made his cock swell, he looked away from her. “Not gonna happen, guys.”

A frown turned down Stephen’s lips. “Why not?”

“It wouldn’t work.”

“I’m not suggesting you ask her to marry you, man. Just go out with her.”

Dylan would like nothing better, but knew it could never be. Deciding it was time to change the subject, he turned toward Dusty. “How’s the baby?”

Dusty’s entire face lit up with his grin. “Great. Handsome as his daddy.”

Stephen snorted. “Yeah, right. You mean handsome as his uncle.”

“Just because R. J. has your middle name doesn’t mean he got anything else from you.”

“Maybe he inherited my daredevil spirit. It might be time for his first motorcycle ride.”

A look of horror passed over Dusty’s face. “He’s only two months old! There’s no way I’m letting you take him on your motorcycle.”

“Gotta start ’em young.” Stephen winked at Dylan and Quade. “Bet I can have him racing by the time he’s five.”

Dylan couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer. Quade and Stephen soon joined him, until Stephen slapped Dusty’s back. “Just pullin’ your chain, cuz. I’d never do anything to hurt R. J. You know that.”

“Yeah, I do. Geez, don’t tease me like that.” He placed one hand over his heart. “The protective instinct kicked in big time.”

A twinge of envy settled beneath Dylan’s heart at the thought of having a son or daughter of his own. Which would never happen. Dylan made sure of that by always using a condom whenever he had sex. Not that he had sex that often. His friends might think of him as Mr. Stud, but they’d laugh if they knew how long it’d been since he’d held a woman’s naked body in his arms.

Too bad his dad had never possessed the protective instinct for his son. Life would’ve been so different if his father had cared for his son the way a father should.

Pushing aside those gloomy thoughts before they could overtake him, Dylan drained his cup of coffee. “You guys want a refill?”

Before any of them could answer, the outside door opened. Maysen walked in, followed closely by Clay pushing a handcart holding four cardboard boxes. Before anyone could rush forward to peek in one of the boxes, Clay held up a hand to stop them.

“Everyone will get calendars. We have enough here for each firefighter to get four. Whoever couldn’t come today will gets theirs whenever they can pick them up. They’ll be in my office.” He parked the cart next to one of the long tables. When he looked out at the crowd, Dylan could tell by Clay’s eyes that the next thing he had to say wouldn’t be pleasant.

“I got off the phone a few minutes ago with Walt Kinney’s attorney. Walt passed away about an hour ago in a Fort Worth hospital.”

Murmurs and gasps of surprise came from everyone, including Dylan. Walt had been part of Lanville for years. He’d sit outside his gas station in nice weather and play checkers with some of his buddies. As a kid, Dylan had ridden his bicycle to Walt’s gas station with his friends. Walt always had the coldest Cokes in town.

Clay had bought Walt’s station last year to be part of the national Spencer’s Station and Convenience Store chain. He’d renovated and added on to the old building. It now included a three-bay garage for car repairs, as well as a large, modern store and twelve gas pumps. Clay hadn’t skimped on the best equipment, making it a pleasure for Dylan to work there as a mechanic. Some days, he changed the oil in only one car, but other days he stayed so busy, he barely had time for a bathroom break.

“Walt never married, never had any children,” Clay continued. “His brother passed away several years ago, so he didn’t have any family. He always supported the fire department and never passed up one of our fund-raisers.” His gaze swept the room, touched each person. “His attorney didn’t give me a specific amount over the phone—I have an appointment with him next week—but he did tell me Walt left a substantial amount to us. With the presales of the calendars and what we’ve already earned from other fund-raisers, we should have more than enough to buy our new tanker.”

Applause erupted in the room. Dylan imagined everyone here felt the same as he—sad that Lanville had lost one of its oldest citizens, yet happy the fire department would be able to serve the people of Lanville County even better with new equipment thanks to Walt.

Dylan looked over at Talia in time to see her wipe tears from her cheeks. He wished he could hold her, comfort her. She’d loved Walt just like everyone else in this room.

“One more thing and then I’ll unveil the calendars.”

“
I’ll
unveil the calendars,” Maysen said.

Laughter flowed through the crowd. Dylan chuckled as Clay bowed to his lady. “I stand corrected.
Maysen
will unveil the calendars.” He straightened, looked over the firefighters again. “I’m sure you’re all familiar with the land behind Sonic. The attorney told me ten acres of it belonged to Walt. He also left that to the fire department.”

“What does that mean, Chief?” Tate Coughlin, one of the captains, asked. “Are we going to build a new fire hall?”

Tate’s question made everyone start talking at once. Clay raised his hands to request quiet. “I’ll know more after I talk to the attorney. We need a bigger fire hall and bays for the equipment, especially if we acquire more, and there’s no more room on this lot to expand. We won’t have any more empty bays once we buy the new tanker. But it’ll cost money to build a new fire hall.”

“We’ve got lots of free labor right here,” Dylan said.

Several heads nodded in agreement with Dylan’s statement.

“Supplies won’t be free. Even with the discount we get from the lumber stores, we’re talking a lot of money.” He raised his hands again when the murmurs started once more. “Let me see what the attorney says. He’ll be in town Tuesday for the official reading of the will. Walt left some things to a few of his longtime friends here in Lanville. Once I know exactly how much money is involved, we can start planning the best way to use it, and the land.”

Dylan saw more nods as the firefighters accepted what Clay said. A rush of excitement flowed through him at the thought of building a brand-new fire hall on that ten acres. Only a block from the main highway through Lanville, it would be more convenient than their current location three blocks from the downtown square. A faster response time of even a couple of minutes could mean the difference of the fire department saving a home, or fire destroying it.

“Okay, now we get to the other reason I called all of you here.” Clay grinned. “The unveiling of the calendar. Maysen, I’m sure you have everyone’s attention.”

“Exactly as it should be.”

Dylan laughed along with several of the other guys. Maysen and Clay fit perfectly together. He couldn’t imagine either of them being with someone else.

With a few cuts of the box cutter in her hand, Maysen removed the top flaps of the first box. “I think Talia, Paige, and Lucia should get the first look.” She gave them a come-here motion with her forefinger.

Dylan watched the three gals walk over to Maysen. Or rather, he watched Talia. She wore a short-sleeved blouse in various shades of purple tucked into her jeans with a belt at her waist that looked like woven white rope. She must have come here directly from Janelle’s, where she worked as a sales clerk. Talia wearing some of the clothes a woman could buy at the store had to be the best advertisement Janelle could get. With Talia’s petite body and long, golden-blond hair, she looked good in anything she wore.

He’d bet she looked even better wearing nothing at all.

Paige released a loud wolf whistle when she picked up the first calendar. Grinning widely, she held it in front of her so everyone in the room could see it. Dylan groaned. His image, along with Shawn’s, Jose’s, Wes’s, and Quade’s, graced the cover of the calendar. They stood beside the ladder truck in full gear. Well, except for the fact that their turnout coats hung open over their bare chests.

Paige licked her finger, touched the picture, and released a hissing sound. “Hot stuff, guys!”

“You realize we’ll be teased for weeks about this,” Quade said to Dylan.

“More like months.”

He looked at Talia flipping through the calendar. Something she saw made her stop. She stared at the item in her hands for several seconds before she looked at him. Her gaze swept his body from shoulders to thighs, then she returned her attention to the calendar.

“Okay, enough with the women getting first dibs.” Dylan walked over to Talia. “It’s time to share with us guys.”

He stood close enough to smell the flowery scent of her perfume. Or maybe the scent came from her hair. He had to catch himself before he touched the blond waterfall that flowed halfway to her waist.

Remembering his reason for coming over here, he peered over her shoulder. She had the calendar open to the center, where Maysen had put together a collage of pictures. He saw himself standing next to Stephen, both of them shirtless and leaning against the tanker, arms and ankles crossed. Even in turnout pants, the position of his feet emphasized the bulge at his crotch. He hadn’t noticed that in the little thumbnail pictures Maysen had posted online.

All the firefighters had signed a waiver giving Maysen the right to choose the photos for the calendar. Nothing about the picture could be called obscene. He just didn’t expect it to be quite so . . . sexy.