Taming Fire (Braving the Heat #2)

by Leora Gonzales

  Dear Lord, what did her sister think was going to happen? Someone would come up and steal the big lug right out from under her flat-ironed hair and perky breasts?

  Louise grimaced inwardly. She couldn’t believe that she had considered asking Nix out to dinner. Not if he was the type of man that would be interested in her sister. He probably would have said no anyway. The sisters were the exact opposite in both looks and personality. There was no way he would be attracted to her and her sister at the same time, unless he was simply a manwhore out to score on whoever said yes. Unfortunately, Louise had come face to face with a few of those disgusting men in the past, but the idea of Nix falling into that category bothered her more than she expected.

  “How awful has she been?” Louise wrinkled her nose, unsure if she actually wanted to hear the answer.

  “Well, she wasn’t awful right away. It wasn’t until about thirty minutes after she got here that I wanted to stab her with a fork,” Winter said, and popped a chip into her mouth.

  “I knew I didn’t like the look of her last night.” Jazz gave Louise the side eye. “And, I was pretty much drunk and loving everyone.”

  “How long have they been seeing each other?” Louise asked, part of her not wanting to hear the answer. If Nix had made a move on her while dating her sister, well, she may not like her sister, but she did love her.

  “Leo said they met last night. She’s been coming around the station with Libby lately, and they were introduced at the Tinderbox,” Jazz explained, cuddling her obese dog to her chest.

  “Libby Lieberman?” Louise raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t know she was still around.”

  “Oh, she’s still around alright.” Winter practically hissed, her eyes shooting fire.

  “I sense there’s some bad blood there.” Louise leaned forward wanting to hear what had happened.

  Winter took a deep breath, obviously trying to calm whatever emotion Libby stirred up. “I’ll just say this: that viperous whore needs to watch what she says, and to whom she says it to. You may want to let your sister know that she’s not hanging around the best of people if that’s who she calls her friend.”

  “Honestly, Maggie isn’t little miss sunshine either. She normally stays out of trouble, but I have a feeling there’s a lot that she gets into that the family doesn’t know about.”

  “Well, if the look that Nix is giving her is anything to go by, she won’t be invited to another party.” Jazz pointed a chip in the direction of the not-so-happy couple.

  Louise couldn’t help but look immediately to where they were standing, “I couldn’t care less.”

  “Interesting,” Winter said with an amused voice while smiling at Louise. “Your nephew is adorable, by the way. Do you have permanent custody?”

  Louise glanced at where Junior had lured the dog away from Jazz and was rolling on the ground with him. “No, I’m just watching him while my brother gets treatment.”

  “Cancer?” Jazz’s voice was empathetic yet curious.

  “Alcoholism,” Louise answered without wincing. She could tell she had surprised them with her answer as they stared at her with wide eyes.

  “I’m so sorry,” Winter offered, looking uncomfortable.

  “It is what it is.” Louise shrugged. “Junior is a sweetheart anyway. He’s four and a handful, but none of what’s happening is his fault. I’m still struggling a bit to keep up with him, but we’ve got this.”

  “Wow,” Jazz whispered with a stunned look on her face.

  “What?” Louise asked, unsure what Jazz was surprised by.

  “You’re just…not bitchy about it.” Jazz tried to explain, “I mean, if my brother needed me to watch his kid for a while, and I didn’t have kids of my own…let’s just say I would probably not be thrilled with it.”

  Louise tried to think before she spoke. “I love my family, even my idiot selfish sister over there.” She hiked her thumb toward where Nix and Maggie had been standing earlier. “It is a pain in the ass. I’m not going to lie. I end up cleaning up more messes than I would ever want to, but that’s what you do for family. Or at least, that’s what I do for my family. Lord knows my sister is useless when it comes to picking up the slack. Honestly, I told my mom we needed to have a family meeting to go over helping out with Junior soon.”

  “How much longer do you have him for?” Winter asked, handing Louise a cupcake.

  Peeling the wrapper off the sugary snack, Louise shrugged. “Aaron is in an eight week program, and it’s been two weeks so far.”

  “Yikes.” Jazz made a face. “I’m not sure I could do it.”

  “It’s not that bad.” Louise laughed, unable to keep a straight face. “Okay, I’ll admit, it’s been educational. I mean, I didn’t realize that I wouldn’t have even a minute to myself. I haven’t pooped alone for two weeks. Two weeks,” she hissed while the others chuckled. “I’m not kidding. Junior lies on the floor, sticks his hand through the crack beneath the door, and talks to me the entire time. I’ve never used the bathroom so fast in my life.”

  Both women started laughing at Louise’s story, but she wasn’t done yet. “And then, he called the fire department on me for having a fire in the pit the other night. They busted down my gate with Nix leading the way, and the entire time I was trying not to spill my wine.”

  “No shit?” Jazz exclaimed while Winter cackled like a witch.

  “No shit.” Louise stuffed the rest of her cupcake in her mouth. With chocolate smearing her lips, and fluffy cupcake coating her teeth, she went on, “Then Nix comes over to fix it. He demands that we go on a date, to which I say no. Fast forward to today where he’s here with my bitch of a sister who was supposed to take Junior to the zoo and give me a kid-free day. Not only that, but she canceled because she was supposedly busy with laundry and errands yet somehow managed to show up here with Nix. So…that’s basically my life.”

  “Wow,” Winter said, her eyes wide. “It’s like a soap opera.”

  Jasmine all of a sudden acted flustered, “Shhh. He’s coming over here.”

  Louise didn’t even bother to look who he was. She knew. For some reason, every time Nix was around, the air seemed to fill with electricity. The product was that Louise was unable to be anything other than extremely aware of the large man.

  “Can I talk to you?”

  Louise didn’t need him to specifically address her, considering he had leaned in and asked the question close enough to tickle her ear. Unable to control a shiver that worked its way from her neck all the way down her back, she felt goose bumps rise on her arms.

  Winter immediately butted in, “We’ll keep an eye on Junior for you.”

  “Ummm…okay,” Louise answered, looking into Nix’s gray eyes. Taking his hand, she accepted his help out of the low lawn chair and let him lead her away from the crowd and into the house.

  As she walked toward the sliding glass door, Louise realized that her sister was nowhere to be seen.

  Interesting.

  Chapter 8

  Nix kept a tight hold of Louise’s hand. Unlike her sister, this one he wanted to keep around him.

  Sisters. How in the hell were those two sisters? He knew some guys would jump at the chance to land a pair of sisters, but that was low, even for him. It still shocked him that they were related. They were the exact opposite in looks except for the brunette hair, but that’s where the similarities ended. Rose, or whatever the hell she was called, had only been able to keep his attention for roughly ten minutes before she started annoying him. Within fifteen minutes of arriving at the party, Nix had deeply regretted extending the invitation. There was no nice way to say it.

  Rose was a bitch.

  Since the moment she had arrived, separately thank God, Rose had done nothing but complain about anything and everything. She wasn’t wearing the right shoes to stand in the grass, she forgot her sweater at home, the wind was messing up her bangs, and she didn’t see any veggie burgers.

  It had taken every ounce
of willpower in his body to not roll his eyes and tell her he didn’t fucking care. He had already started looking for a way to escape before he had spotted Louise walking in.

  Once she had arrived, all of his patience had gone out the window. The two women side by side had been more than enough to highlight the differences between genuine and fake.

  What kind of person changed their name because their friend said it sounded better? Apparently, Rose did, which explained why she always took a little while to answer him when he said her name.

  After Louise had basically washed her hands of them and gone to join Winter and Jazz, Rose had really shown her true colors. She didn’t hold back when talking about her sister either, which Nix found distasteful. He had never met a more two-faced person in his life, and that included some of the other women that hung around the station trying to score with a firefighter.

  The funny thing was that everything that she complained about regarding Louise only made her look better in his eyes.

  “Lou never worries about her hair or her clothes. That’s why she can’t keep a boyfriend,” Rose had pointed out earlier.

  Hell, he liked the fact that she hadn’t shown up to a barbecue wearing skinny jeans and heels.

  Rose kept the hits coming when she followed up with, “Maybe if she watched what she put in her mouth, she wouldn’t still be single.”

  Nix, on the other hand, had nothing but admiration for the curves Louise displayed. He was barely able to keep his mouth shut at that point but managed to for purely selfish reasons. He was learning more about Louise the more Rose tried to knock her down, and the last thing he wanted to do was shut her up before he had his fill of information.

  He stayed silent as Rose talked, listening to the vile sewage she was spewing, but also paying attention to what wasn’t being said. Rose didn’t know it, but she was clear as glass with her intentions. She was trying her damnedest to make her sister look bad, but in the end, all she did was show her own true colors.

  Nix heard it all. He listened to her drone on and on about how Louise always did whatever her family asked, how she never said no, and how she was stupid not to lie to get out of stuff she didn’t want to do. Rose bragged about how she was able to get out of the grunt work when it came to family. Every word was a nail in Rose’s coffin and a point in Louise’s column. He admired the fact that she tried to be there for her family. Her honest nature was a breath of fresh air considering the type of women he normally spent his time with.

  Nix had let her talk for about ten minutes before he’d had enough. Nix had found that while Rose had been fairly informative regarding the type of person Louise was, he was getting really tired of her voice. When she stopped bitching to take a breath, he plainly said it would be better if she left. He mentioned she might be a better fit with some of the other men at the station and left it at that. Instead of putting up any type of resistance, she had merely blinked her perfectly made up eyes and toddled out of the backyard and into her car like some sort of weird Barbie fembot.

  “Where are you leading me?” Louise asked, tugging at the hand that he had a grip on.

  Nix stopped in his tracks and looked around Will’s house. That was a good question, where was he leading her?

  “In here.” Nix practically pushed them into the small space before closing the door behind them and flicking on the light.

  “Why are we in the bathroom?”

  “Good question.” Nix cleared his throat, now realizing he had no plan when he approached Louise in the yard. Something that was completely unlike him.

  Louise brushed a strand of hair off of her face that had escaped her messy bun. The action drawing Nix’s attention to another difference between the sisters. He leaned back against the wooden door trapping them in the tiny bathroom. Now that he had gotten rid of Rose, he was able to fully take in the vision that was Louise.

  Wearing leggings and an oversize T-shirt, she was the picture of comfort. Slip-on canvas shoes and a messy bun completed her outfit, which was the perfect ensemble for a barbecue with friends. Unlike her sister who had shown up wearing skinny jeans, a tight fuzzy looking shirt that emphasized her breasts, and heels.

  “Why are you staring at me?” Louise asked, tipping her head to the side.

  Nix dropped his head back against the wooden door and let it thunk loudly. “Because I can’t help myself.”

  “Sorry?” She took a step back, as if dealing with an animal she was unsure of.

  “I said, I can’t help myself.” Nix groaned, moving toward her slowly. Not wanting to startle her, but definitely stalking the woman in front of him.

  It was not normal for him to feel like he had to work for a woman. This was so against the norm, at least his normal. He felt like a horny teenager again. He never had to ‘work for it’ when it came to the women in his life since before he had grown into his body. Maybe that was why she had captured his attention.

  “You can’t help yourself?” Louise parroted, her expression as confused as he felt.

  “With you. Not your sister, whatever name she goes by.” Nix grimaced, realizing he mentioned her sister, which was probably not the best move to make.

  “Did you ask me out when you were already seeing Maggie?” She huffed, only making herself look more adorable in his eyes.

  “Don’t get riled up. You can take your hands off those gorgeous hips of yours and stop being mad.” Nix reached forward and gently shackled her wrists in his own large hands. “I met your sister last night. She had been around the station before, but I had never talked to her…not even to say hello. If anyone is going to take the blame for her being here today, it’s going to be you.”

  “Wait, what? How is this my fault?” Louise asked but didn’t pull away from his touch, a fact that pleased him.

  Nix stroked his thumbs over the pulse points on her wrists. “You confuse me. I don’t know what to do with you.”

  “First of all, you don’t have to do anything with me.” Louise huffed, stopping her lecture when he gently applied pressure to her wrists in his grip.

  “You see, that’s not going to work for me.” Nix pulled her closer, reeling her in with his touch. “I want to do so much with you that it would make your head spin. Second, I didn’t say you confusing me was a bad thing. In fact, I think it may be a very good thing.”

  Louise swallowed hard, her eyes almost comically wide as she listened. “I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t either, but I’m hoping we can figure this out together,” Nix whispered as he leaned forward, tucking his chin down so their lips lined up. “You know, you’re awfully short.”

  The words came out on a low chuckle causing her eyes to crinkle in amusement right before he captured her mouth in a kiss like he had never had before.

  Just as he was getting ready to open her lips with his tongue, the doorknob behind him jiggled.

  “Hello?” a man asked anxiously from the other side of the door.

  Nix jerked back and glared at the door behind him. “Go away.”

  “I have to take a piss, man!” the man half yelled, then twisted the knob again. “The other bathroom isn’t working. Can you hurry it up?”

  “Nix,” she whispered against his chest, Louise’s breath heating his skin through the fabric of his T-shirt.

  He looked down at the woman cuddled to his front, his blood heating again at the sight of her pink puffy lips. Lips that he shouldn’t be staring at, but instead tasting.

  “We probably shouldn’t bogart the bathroom,” Louise whispered, her cheeks turning red.

  “Come home with me,” he ordered.

  “What the what?” she squawked.

  “Not to fuck, I mean, just to talk,” Nix stuttered, completely out of his element with this woman.

  Did he honestly just say ‘not to fuck’?

  Smooth, Nix, real smooth. He was amazed she was still standing in front of him and not smacking him across the face

  Louise made a funny
noise in her throat, the sound similar to someone choking. Nix prepared himself to perform the Heimlich if needed right before she let a smile take over her face and started laughing uncontrollably.

  Her laugh…dear God her laugh. It was the type of laugh that was contagious. His deep chuckles took over the small space quickly. Their amusement filled the bathroom until the person waiting outside thumped the door once more. “Everything okay in there?”

  For some reason, that question caused the pair to laugh even harder. Louise wiped her eyes and fanned her face to calm down while Nix took in her gorgeous smile.

  “We should probably let him in before he pisses in the kitchen sink. What do you say?” Nix offered, reaching for the doorknob.

  “Winter probably wouldn’t like him using the sink as a toilet, so I think getting out of here is a good idea,” Louise agreed.

  “Not that, I meant about us going back to my place?” Nix held his breath and then let it out in a disappointed sigh when she shook her head no.

  “I have Junior with me,” Louise reminded him. “Maggie was supposed to be taking him to the zoo today, so I could have a free day, but she bailed on me…apparently for a date with you.”

  Nix started to argue, but when the door jiggled yet again he let out a growl and jerked the door open. Coming face to face with his friend Baker, he was a split second from punching him on principal alone. It wasn’t Baker’s fault he had to piss, but at this moment, Nix didn’t care. “Fuck, man. Are you five fucking years old? Can’t you hold it for two goddamn more seconds?”

  Louise patted him on the back, “He doesn’t mean to be an asshole. He just gets cranky when he hears the word no.”

  Baker stood completely still, his hand still raised to knock. Louise peeked around Nix’s shoulder and winked at the man, causing Nix to growl, like a dog protecting his bone.

  “Don’t wink at him,” Nix grumbled as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room.