The Hot Line (19 page)

“Ahhh…is this supposed to be turning me on?” she asked breathlessly. “You’re turning me into a sex nymphette. Keep this up and I’ll want you to do this to me every day.”

Then his plan was working.

She pushed against his cock and he instantly hardened. “I’m just trying to wash you up.” When she angled her head to see him, he pulled an innocent face and purposely nudged her clit.

As his erection pressed into her back, she stepped forward, splayed her hands on the wall and tipped her ass, offering herself up so nicely to him. “Please, Brady, I need to feel you inside me, again.”

Brady knew there was just no sating their hunger for each other. He stepped back to let his gaze pan over her. Hands pressed to the wall, ass up in the air, her slick pussy was wide-open, still swollen from his cock. He swallowed hard at the erotic sight.

Passion and possession raced through him. Brady quickly sheathed himself and, with one quick push, plunged into her heat.

“Ooohhh,” she whispered, rocking back and forth on his cock, “that feels so good.”

He wrapped his hands around her waist and pumped hard and deep. She fisted her fingers and bent forward a little more, granting him deeper access.

“More,” she screamed. “Harder.”

Brady rammed her deep, giving her his entire length and girth. Bending over her back, he practically buried his balls inside her.

Wild with need, she began thrashing against him. “Take the condom off, Brady. I don’t want to feel rubber. I want to feel you inside me. I want to feel your cock.”

Before he had a chance to honor her request, she came apart in his arms. Her muscles clenched around his dick, and he exploded right along with her.

He grabbed her waist and spun her around to face him. His lips found hers. “You are so wild,” he murmured into her mouth.

She gave a satisfied sigh. “You’re pretty wild yourself.” She wound her hands around his neck and held him close to her.

He brushed her wet hair from her face. His heart pounded in his chest. There was no way he could let her walk away tonight. “Megan, stay here with me.”

She glanced around. “Here?”

He chuckled. “Not here in the shower. Here in the firehouse.”

“Can I do that?”

He nodded. “I’ll make us something to eat, and later, when you get tired, you can go to sleep in my cot.”

Her glance settled on her wet clothes. “What will I wear?”

“I keep spare clothes in my locker. You can slip into something.”

She grinned. “You think they’ll fit?”

“We’ll make them fit.” He pulled her in tighter. Now that he had her here, he had no intention of letting her go. For the rest of the night, he planned on fucking her over and over again, catering to her every sexual need.

“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go get changed. I’m turning into a prune.”

“Umm, Brady, before we go…”

“Yeah?”

“You mentioned something earlier about chivalry.”

He dipped his head to look into her gorgeous blue eyes. “Uh-huh.”

“Something about ladies first, second, and even third.”

“That’s right. I did.”

She nibbled her bottom lip and offered a mischievous grin. “I believe I only counted two,” she lied.

“Two, huh?” He chuckled at her playful side.

She shrugged innocently. Her lips twitched. “Yup, only two.” She gave him a sexy wink. “Then again, math never was my strong point.”

G
ood morning, gorgeous.”

Megan stretched and opened her eyes. She smiled as her gaze settled on Brady. Eyes dim, hair mussed, and fully clothed, he lay beside her on his cot, looking warm and sleepy. She’d fallen asleep only hours earlier, not that she had wanted to. She enjoyed Brady’s company far too much to waste the night away sleeping. But morning was upon them, his shift was over, and she knew it was time for her to make her way back to Cassie’s house.

“Good morning, handsome,” she whispered back. She snuggled into him and took a moment to recall the amazing night they had shared. Her body quaked in remembrance.

Late last evening, after showering, they’d made their way to the firehouse kitchen, where they’d whipped up a couple of omelets. She had no idea that Brady was such a fabulous cook.

Over their omelets, Megan had spilled jam on herself, which meant another trip to the shower to wash up. The erotic memories of what took place during that little interlude filled her with warmth. Honestly, now that Brady had opened those sexual floodgates, there was just no stopping her.

Last night was the most amazing, incredible, fairy tale night she’d ever had. Too bad morning was now upon her, and it was time to get back to the real world.

When Brady dropped a soft, tender kiss on her mouth, her lids fluttered open. Her gaze met with warm hazel eyes, and something inside her hitched. There was no denying that she felt something deeper for him. How could she not? Brady had been so giving, tender, and attentive last night, taking care of all her needs, inside the bedroom—or, rather, shower—and out. Even though she felt the deeper connection, she refused to go there—to that place where fairy tales turned into bad realities. Right now she just wanted to savor the memories of their great night together and leave it at that.

“Come on, sweetheart. Let me take you home.”

She touched his cheek. A warm shiver tingled all the way to her toes. “Brady, last night was great. Really, really great. But there can’t be anything more between us. I probably should have made that clear from the beginning.”

He shook his head. “I know.”

Okay, so he agreed to those terms rather quickly. But wasn’t that what she wanted?

Less than a half hour later, still dressed in Brady’s flannel pajama pants and a T-shirt, Megan followed Brady out to his truck.

“Are you working again tonight?” she asked. It felt weird, making small talk after the intimacies they’d shared last night.

He nodded and opened the passenger’s-side door for her. She offered him a smile. “You really are a gentleman, aren’t you?”

He gave her a sexy wink. “Like I said, ladies first.”

“Yeah, and second, and third, and fourth, and fifth,” she blurted out.

They both chuckled, easing the tension around them. After he backed his truck from the parking lot, his hand snaked out and closed over hers. Never once did he let her go during the entire ride to Cassie and Nick’s.

When Brady pulled into the circular driveway, Megan glanced at him. Okay, this was awkward. What did one say after a night of wild sex with a man she’d only recently met, but felt like she’d known for a lifetime? “I guess I’ll see you later then.”

“At least let me walk you to the door.”

She nodded and climbed from the truck. They made their way to the back door. The minute Megan stepped inside, she knew something was wrong. She came up short and Brady crashed into her from behind.

When she bumped forward, his hands snaked around her waist to support her. It reminded her how incredible his touch made her feel.

“Whoa. You okay?”

She assured him she was fine, but that didn’t stop him from holding her tight, like he’d always held her in such a manner. He remained pressed to her back, arms around her waist as she glanced at Cassie and Nick sitting at the table. Cassie’s eyes were red. Had she been crying?

Megan worked to keep her voice steady, which was hard to do with Brady’s arms around her. “What’s going on?” Megan asked them.

Cassie blew her nose and said, “It appears the entire staff at All Seasons Catering has come down with food poisoning. It happened a few days ago but they delayed in telling me because they thought they’d be up and running by now.”

Megan felt the blood drain to her feet. “Oh no.”

Cassie threw her hands up in the air. “The wedding is in four days. Where am I going to get a caterer this late? Finding a dancer was hard enough on such short notice, but getting someone to cook an entire meal for one hundred people will damn well be impossible.”

Megan’s mind raced with the turn of events. She could do this. If she had the proper facilities and staff, she could pull this off. Her heart beat harder in her chest.

“It’s not impossible,” she blurted out.

Cassie’s eyes lit up in hope. “No?”

“No. I can do this, Cassie.”

“You can?”

Still cradling her from behind, Brady said, “And I’ll help.”

Incredulous, Megan stepped away from the circle of his arms and twisted around to face him. “Really?”

Brady’s arms dropped to his sides, and he shrugged easily. “Sure. I’m not without my own culinary skills, you know.”

Oh, she knew. He was a man of many talents.

“Where can you prepare the meal?” Cassie asked.

“We can use the firehouse kitchen. It’s fully equipped. We might have to rent another oven and refrigerator but that shouldn’t be a problem,” Brady said.

Nick piped in. “What about kitchen staff?”

Megan spun back around to face Cassie and Nick. “With Brady’s help, I won’t need any other kitchen staff. We’ll just need serving staff at the banquet hall.”

“I already have serving staff in place,” Cassie added. “I just didn’t have any food for them to serve.”

“We can prepare the food ahead of time, and deliver it to the hall,” Brady said.

Megan turned to Brady. “Brady, do you know where we can rent hot and cold chafing dishes?”

“Not offhand, but we can check the rent-all place down on Main Street.”

“Good, we’ll do that this afternoon. We also need to go shopping for food supplies. We can prepare the food the morning before the wedding and drop it off at the banquet hall. The serving staff can take over from there.”

“Then we’ll still have plenty of time to get ready for the wedding,” Brady added.

“Right, because no way am I missing the wedding.”

As Megan and Brady talked out the details, Cassie and Nick just sat there listening, their heads bobbing back and forth between the two, following the conversation.

It suddenly occurred to Megan that Master Chef Lucien Beaufort would be a guest. “Oh my God,” she said.

“What?” all three asked at once.

“I’ll be cooking for Lucien Beaufort.”

Still sniffing, Cassie stood and plugged the kettle in. “That’s right, Megan. You know he’s always on the lookout for new talent.”

A mixture of excitement and nervousness stole through her. “I’ll be cooking for Lucien Beaufort,” she repeated.

Brady’s soft chuckle wrapped around her. So did his arms. “Don’t worry, Megan. We can pull this off. You’re going to impress Lucien so much, he’s going to beg you to come work for him.” He dropped his voice for her ears only. “Then you can move to Chicago, and after a hard night’s work, when you’re all dirty, you can stop by the firehouse for a long, hot, soapy shower.”

Her entire body quaked with the possibility.

His hands cupped her cheeks. “Why don’t you go get some sleep and I’ll stop by later to pick you up? Then we can work out a menu and go shopping. I need to pick up some supplies for the station anyway.” Despite the audience, he dropped a warm kiss on her mouth and then shot Nick a glance. “I’ll see you guys later.”

With that, he made his way out the door. Megan watched him go. Tamping down a sudden riot of emotions, she turned back to Cassie and Nick. When Cassie opened her mouth, Megan held her hands up in a halting motion. “It was a one-night affair, that’s all.”

Cassie didn’t press Megan any further, and for that, Megan was grateful. Instead, Cassie crossed the room and leaned in to hug Megan.

“Thank you, Megan. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you doing this for me.”

Megan hugged her back. “For you, Cassie, anything. But save the thanks until after the food is served. Just knowing Lucien will be dining on my cuisine has my stomach in knots.” And knowing Brady would be in that kitchen with her, helping her every step of the way, had the rest of her in knots.

Even though she was tired, her mind continued to race a thousand miles an hour. She made her way to her bedroom for a quick nap before Brady came back for her.

Brady.

The things that man had done to her last night. And the things he promised to do to her again. Her body ignited with memories.

Okay, so the guy was hot, heroic, witty, charming, and skilled in bed. Qualities she never thought she’d find in a man. But that certainly didn’t mean she was going to go all soft inside and fall for him.

Exhausted, Brady climbed into his truck and drove out of the driveway. He needed to head back to the fire station to pick up Jag before making his way home to crash for a couple hours. Last night he’d gone without sleep, and this morning he was feeling the effects, not that he would have played the night out any other way.

After cooking and talking with Megan until the wee hours of the morning, she’d slept in his cot while he’d spent his time watching her, caressing her, and enjoying every minute of her company.

His heart pounded harder in his chest every time he relived last night’s lovemaking sessions and the frenzied way she wanted him. Her uninhibited responses to his touch had raised his passion to new heights. He loved the way he aroused her until she was delirious with need and the way they were unable to sate their desire for each other. Throughout the night they both continued to take and give until exhaustion finally overtook them.

Brady took a moment to reminisce about the way she gave herself over to him last night, welcoming him into her body. Now he just needed her to welcome him into her heart.

As he flicked on his signal light to pass a slow-moving vehicle, he glanced down and noted she’d left her clothes in his truck. When he picked them up, her unique scent reached his nostrils and aroused all his senses. A sudden rush of emotions made him light-headed and the need to fuck her again filled him with primal possessiveness.

He’d only been away from her for five minutes, but already he missed her heat. Last night when they made love, he knew there was nothing impersonal in the way she touched him. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, but she just wasn’t ready to come to terms with it yet.

He ached to take her home with him, to share his bed, to sleep with her in his arms, but he somehow suspected that it was too soon to bring her into his territory and share such intimacies. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off.

Last night Brady felt it wasn’t the time to press for more. He had played it slow and played it her way. Soon enough she’d learn to trust him and understand that he was nothing like the man who had destroyed her belief in “happily-ever-after.”

Earlier in the morning, when she’d vowed this was only a one-nighter, he’d seen the emotions churning in her eyes. She was afraid—afraid to get involved again. It was written in her eyes and apparent in her body language. It killed him to think her ex didn’t appreciate her the way she deserved to be appreciated.

His thoughts raced to the day ahead. He was looking forward to spending the afternoon with Megan and advancing their relationship to the next logical stage. Last night she’d opened up to him physically, and today, with a little coaxing, he planned on pressing for more.

Brady pulled into the firehouse parking lot. He spotted Dean near the garage doors, basketball in hand. Ever since Dean had fallen for Jenna, he’d been walking around with a goofy grin on his face.

Brady killed the ignition and climbed out of his truck. After stretching his tired limbs, he slipped his keys into his pocket and walked toward Dean.

“What are you doing back here?” Dean asked, going in for a layup.

Brady nodded toward the entrance. Jag stood at the door, tail wagging. “I just drove Megan home and I need to pick up Jag.”

Dean stopped dribbling his ball. “You mean Megan actually spent the night? Here? With you?” Dean seemed rather surprised by that bit of information.

Brady nodded and folded his arms across his chest. “Yeah. Why is that so hard to believe?”

Dean ignored his question and asked one of his own. “Have you convinced her yet?”

Brady exhaled slowly and gave a quick shake of his head. He rocked back on his heels and clenched his jaw. “Not yet.”

Dean grew serious, the way he always did when he went all Dr. Phil on the guys. He slipped the ball under his arm and rested one hand on Brady’s shoulder. “Listen, Brady. Last night, when Jenna and I were talking, she told me that Megan is in it for the sex and the sex only. Megan swore to her that after her messy divorce, she didn’t plan on ever falling for anyone again.”

Brady paused, absorbing that bit of information. What if Dean was right? What if she really was too scared to try again?

“I know you’ve been waiting for the right girl to come along, and I know you think it’s Megan, but I just don’t want to see you hurt, pal.”

Brady slapped Dean on the shoulder. “I don’t think it’s Megan. I know it’s Megan. I’m crazy about her, Dean.”

“Then I suggest you’d better hurry up and convince her that you’re the guy for her.”

Brady’s mind raced. Dean was right. He had to somehow convince Megan he was the man for her. It was time to play it his way and break down her defenses with his erotic touch before she went back to Trenton and all was lost.

After grabbing Jag, Brady made his way home. As soon as he stepped inside his small bungalow in the suburbs, he crawled in bed.

Five hours later, he awoke to his alarm, feeling alive and refreshed and ready to play. And Lord help Megan, because when he played, he played to win.