Burning Up: Firefighter Contemporary Romance Series Box Set

by K. C. Crowne

  “What are you doing?” Chelsea exclaimed, sitting up in bed. She pulled the blanket up around her.

  “I thought-- I was checking to see if you’re still breathing, that’s all.” I quickly stood up, backing away and feeling foolish for my reaction. My hands had graced her naked breast, and while it had only been forty-eight hours since we’d been intimate, from the look on Chelsea’s face, she didn’t appreciate the groping. Not that I’d intended to grope her, that is. My cheeks burned bright red as I realized what it probably looked like to her when she woke up and found me like that.

  “You thought I was--” she didn’t finish the sentence. Her gaze moved to the doorway.

  “Mommy?” Oliver piped up from behind me.

  “Oh sweetie,” she said, her voice cracking. “Are you okay, baby?”

  Oliver rushed over to the bed, and with my help, climbed up into it and into his mother’s arms. She held him close, rocking him gently against her chest and smoothing her hair back.

  “I wasn’t the only one worried about you,” I said. “He was crying, and I didn’t know what to do.”

  “I didn’t want him to see me like this.”

  “But I think the alternative might have been worse,” I added.

  She looked down on her son, who was still sniffling and had a red nose from crying. She simply nodded her head.

  I turned to leave the bedroom, but she stopped me.

  “Finn?”

  “Yes?” I said, looking over my shoulder at her. She was mostly covered now, but it still felt weird to be there with her, knowing she was naked under the blanket.

  “Thank you,” she said. “I know I say it a lot, but I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “It’s no problem. I already told you, Chels. I’ll take care of you both,” I said.

  “Why are you so good to me?” she asked.

  I honestly didn’t have the answer to her question. My parents had raised me to take care of others, but it was more than just that. I’d do a lot to help other people in need, but letting them stay in my house, watching their son and promising to protect them from an abusive ex? Well, that was a lot, even for me.

  I didn’t have the answer on the tip of my tongue, but somewhere deep inside, I knew why I was doing all of it.

  And I think she did too. Or I hoped she did at least.

  I gave her a soft smile, and instead of answering her question, simply told her, “Get some rest. You both need it.”

  I shut the bedroom door, leaving the two of them alone.

  I awoke to someone pounding on the front door.

  “Jesus Christ,” I muttered, “Can’t a guy get some sleep around here?”

  I was on the couch, still in my clothes. I hadn’t made it to bed yet. I was staying in the living room in case Chelsea needed anything and hadn’t meant to fall asleep. It took me a second to remember why I was in the living room and not in my bed.

  The pounding continued.

  “I’m coming, geez,” I said. I looked at the clock, and it wasn’t even nine am. I’d slept for maybe a couple of hours, at most. If I didn’t answer soon, the knocking would wake Chelsea and Oliver up, and they needed their rest.

  I grabbed the door and pulled it open, ready to cuss out whoever was on the other side. But there was no one. I walked into the hallway, looked both ways, but apparently whoever knocked took off pretty quickly. When I turned to go back inside, I spotted the slip of paper tacked to my door.

  “What’s going on out here?” a sleepy voice called out from inside my apartment.

  “Uh nothing,” I said. I pulled the note off the door. “Some asshat must have had the wrong apartment.”

  I’m not sure why I lied. Perhaps because I knew that a note to her was likely coming from her ex, and I didn’t want her to freak out on me. I slipped it into my pocket, checking the hallway once more before shutting the door and locking it behind me.

  Chelsea was standing in the living room in my old sweatshirt again. Nothing but the sweatshirt either. It went down to her knees almost, but still, seeing her like that so early in the morning caused other parts of me to wake up too.

  Her hair was messy, but it only added to her beauty. She made bedhead look so incredibly sexy. Damn, it brought back the memories.

  I found myself unable to speak, and all I could do was stare at her. My gaze moved over her body, and I noticed her blushing.

  “Sorry, I’m just surprised you’re up,” I said, looking down at the floor. “How are you feeling?”

  “Well, my face still hurts,” she said, “But I’m no longer dizzy when I stand up, so that’s a plus, right?”

  Her voice even sounded better. She sounded like her old self again.

  I looked at her again, this time checking out her face. Yes, she was bruised up, but it would heal. Besides a scar or two, she would be just fine. And hopefully, she could put all of it behind her.

  “You okay, Finn?” she asked, a smile spreading across her face.

  “Uh yeah,” I said, running a hand over my hair. I didn’t have enough of it to give me bedhead, thank God, but I smoothed it down anyway as a nervous habit. “Last night was just a little crazy.”

  “Tell me about it,” she said. She no longer sounded as cheery as she had moments before. She walked over and flopped on the couch, sighing as she did so.

  I remained standing, putting my hands in my pockets. That’s when I felt the note. I pulled it out, without thinking. All that was written on it was an ominous, “I found you.”

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “Oh, nothing,” I said, stuffing the note back into my pocket. The hair on my arms stood on end, and my blood was boiling. How dare he come to my home and threaten her like that. I tried to remain calm, for Chelsea’s sake, but clearly, I wasn’t doing the best job.

  “Seriously, what’s going on, Finn?” she asked me.

  I wanted to tell her the truth, but I knew if I did, she would run. She wouldn’t trust in me to protect her, just like she hadn’t trusted me all those years ago. Her and Ollie would leave again, and while I knew I couldn’t keep her there forever, I also didn’t think it was for the best.

  If he found her here, he’d find her anywhere. It was only a matter of time.

  I knew I shouldn’t make that decision for her, it wasn’t right for me. But I also couldn’t bring myself to tell her either.

  I shoved the note back into my pocket, pulling out my phone instead. I sent a text to my chief. Not the most professional way to tell your boss you needed time off work, but it would have to do.

  “Finn, you’re scaring me,” Chelsea said, standing up. She walked over to me, placing her hands on my shoulders. “Who was at the door earlier?”

  “No one,” I said. It was the truth too. I put my phone away. “There was no one outside the door when I opened it.”

  “You sure?” she said.

  “Positive. No one in the hall either,” I said.

  “Huh,” she said, biting her lower lip. I licked my own lips, fighting the urge to kiss her. The desire was overwhelming, and I had to step away from her to avoid doing something stupid.

  She was injured and scared and had been through so much trauma in such a short period of time. Her son was asleep in the other room. It wasn’t the time to get frisky with her. I promised to protect her, but I needed to keep my guard up. I couldn’t myself get attached, and most of all, I couldn’t let Ollie get too attached to me.

  Still, the way she looked at me, all I wanted to do was hold her close and tell her it was all going to be alright. I wanted to kiss the tears away. If only life wasn’t so complicated, I thought. What I really meant was, if only she had never left.

  “Could you--” Chelsea asked, then she shook her head and said. “Never mind.”

  “No, what? Could I what, Chels?”

  “Could you maybe sit with me, for a bit? And maybe--”

  She didn’t finish her sentence, and I didn’t ask her too. I had
a feeling I knew what she wanted.

  “Sure, I’ll sit with you,” I said.

  We went back to the couch and before I could protest, she leaned against me, resting her head on my shoulder. She took a shaky breath and let it out.

  “I’m just so scared, Finn,” she said. “I feel so alone in this world. I know I have Oliver and right now we have you, but I also know things are complicated. I’m so sorry about the other night.”

  I lifted her face in my hands, forcing her to meet my gaze. Her eyes were filled with fresh tears, and it pained me to see that look on her face. I’d have done anything to make it go away, to make her smile again. I wanted to be strong, to resist her, but she made me feel so weak and powerless to resist.

  “You have nothing to be sorry about,” I said. “It’s my fault too. I shouldn’t have let things get that far, it’s just-- well, seeing you after all these years has brought back memories. Sometimes it feels like we’re both seventeen again.”

  “I know,” she said, grasping my hand in hers. Her tiny fingers were interlaced with mine, and she stared at it like it was the most curious sight in the world. “I feel the same way. I get so caught up in the past with you, I forget about the present.”

  With one hand still on her face, I stroked her cheek. Her skin was so soft and delicate to the touch. She might look like a fragile girl, especially with all the crying she’d done, but I knew that inside of her was the heart of a lion. She was fierce. She was a fighter. Chelsea had been through hell and back, and yet, she still did what she had to do to keep her son safe.

  “I’m sorry your life didn’t turn out the way you’d planned,” I said softly.

  “Yeah, well, I learned a valuable lesson. Life never goes as planned, for anyone,” she said. Then she chuckled. “Unless, of course, they’re you. You see to be doing alright and living the life you always wanted.”

  “Not completely,” I said.

  “What do you mean? You wanted to be a firefighter for New York City, and you’re doing just that. Exactly what you talked about as a teen.”

  “Yeah, but there’s more to life than work, you know,” I said.

  She met my gaze and gave me a sad smile. Letting go of my hand, she stroked my face, and I leaned into her touch. Her hands were so soft and soothing, and I closed my eyes, relishing the feeling of her skin on mine.

  “I’m sorry, Finn,” she said.

  I opened my eyes. “Stop apologizing. You can’t help that your ex is an asshole.”

  “No, I’m sorry for leaving you all those years ago,” she said. “I regret it now, but of course, I can’t go back and change the past. But I can apologize for hurting you.”

  Her words hit me deep. All these years, I’d tried to pretend like I was okay with letting her go, that we were just too young to understand what real love felt like and that I needed to get over her. But hearing her apologize, and seeing the regret on her face, made me realize that no, I never did get over her. And apparently, she never got over me either.

  I shouldn’t have done it, but I stopped her rambling with a kiss. To know that she regretted her actions in the past somehow made me feel better about the present. To hear her apologize and admit that it had been a mistake to leave me, brought back all the old feelings I’d shoved down years before.

  She gasped as our lips met, but she didn’t pull away. Whispering against my lips, she said, “I never stopped loving you, Finn.”

  “I never stopped loving you either,” I said, kissing her again, this time deeper. She whimpered against me, her hands holding my face to hers.

  “Should we stop?” she asked me.

  Yes, we probably should, I thought to myself. But I didn’t stop, nor did I answer her. I wanted her, and in the moment, I rationalized that what was happening was fine. We could pick up where we left off. She was sorry, and maybe we were meant to be together.

  My heart was also all-in, telling me to go for it. She had a kid, so what? I always wanted to be a father. Things would be difficult, but she was right about life rarely going as planned.

  I wanted her.

  No, I needed her.

  And from the way she ripped off my clothes, she needed me too.

  Like the first time, I picked her up and carried her into my bedroom, trying to not make any noise. The last thing we needed was for Oliver to wake up and catch us naked and in bed together. Gently, I laid her down on the bed.

  “Are you feeling okay?” I asked her.

  “Yes, never felt better,” she said, sitting up and kissing me deeply. Her tongue pushed past my lips as her hands pulled me on top of her.

  It was all blur as the rest of my clothes came off, and hers did too. Before long, I was hovering above her, our naked bodies pressed together, and staring into her eyes. I moved lower, kissing her neck, then her breasts. I started to go even lower when she grabbed me by the shoulders.

  “No, I need you inside me, Finn. Please,” she begged.

  My cock twitched at her plea. How could I say no to that? In high school, we always used condoms, and I panicked for a second. I didn’t have any. It had been so long since I’d dated anyone, I didn’t see a reason to keep any at my place. Before I could tell Chelsea the bad news, she wrapped her legs around me and pulled me down toward her.

  She rubbed against me, her wet pussy against my cock. Her opening taunted me. We were so close, it would only take one thrust and we’d be united again.

  She stared up at me with her beautiful chocolate brown eyes and begged again. Her body wiggled underneath me, “Please, Finn,” she said, lifting her pelvis up to meet mine. Then she said the magic words, “I’m on the pill.”

  The tip of my cock penetrated her, and she whimpered, bucking upward and taking more of me inside of her. I thrust at the same time, filling her up completely.

  Her nails dug into my back as she moaned, “Yes, oh God, yes.”

  Her body tightened around me, squeezing me tight as my cock throbbed deep inside of her. Slowly, our bodies began to move together. A perfect rhythm, as if we were made to be doing this together. Sex had always felt that way between us. It felt natural and perfect, both of us moving in perfect rhythm.

  I’d never fucked her without a condom before, so the sensations were new to me. I could feel the walls of her pussy tightening around me with each thrust. She was so warm, so wet, and I struggled to remain in control.

  Chelsea always struggled to be quiet, so I kissed her, using my mouth to silence her moans. She squealed against my lips, writhing and trembling underneath me. She pulled her mouth away from mine long enough to say, “I’m coming. Oh God, Finn.”

  Her face contorted into a look of pure bliss as she came, her pussy spasming around my cock as I struggled to thrust into her. I was already close myself, but her climax pushed me over the edge. I buried myself inside her, coming hard along with her. My cock exploded, and never had I experienced something so amazing in my life. I was on the verge of passing out from the pleasure as the last wave hit me, causing me to collapse on top of Chelsea. Her entire body was limp underneath me, and except for her breathing, she didn’t move a muscle.

  Slipping my now deflated cock out of her, I relished in the knowledge that I’d come inside of her. Seeing my seed leaking from her body had to be one of the hottest experiences of my life. In the past, I’d merely masturbated to fantasies like this, but now, it was my reality.

  I fell down beside her, pulling her into me. I kissed her face, gently, avoiding her bruised spots. I’d truly meant it when I said I’d never stopped loving her.

  “That was amazing,” she said, giggling. “My legs are still shaking.”

  “Good,” I said, kissing the tip of her nose. “I always loved making you come.”

  “Mmm, and you’re so good at it too, Finn. No one has ever made me feel the way you do,” she said. Her eyes were growing heavy, and I knew she was probably exhausted. I was too. It had been a long few days, and neither of us had gotten much sleep. With any luck,
Oliver would be waking up soon though.

  Chelsea must have read my mind. With one last kiss, she sat up and searched for her clothes. “Better make sure Ollie doesn’t walk in on us,” she said.

  I propped my head up on my arm and smiled. Maybe this could work, I thought again. Being a stepdad would be a challenge, but if Chelsea was willing to stay here and work with me, we could build the life we’d always wanted together. I’d have to learn how to be a dad, but I’d be willing to try for her and Oliver.

  Chelsea was digging around on the floor, still looking for her clothes. I was admiring her naked ass, wondering how it was possible for her to have gotten more beautiful over the years, when she stood up with something in her hand.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  It was a slip a paper. The note I’d found on the door. It must have slipped from my pants pocket while we were getting undressed.

  And it was already opened.

  Chelsea’s face fell, and there was no time for me to grab it out of her hand. She’d clearly read it already.

  “He found me,” she said.

  “Chelsea, I--”

  I sat up, reaching for my pants. I slipped them on, then pushed myself up to my feet. I closed the distance between us, but Chelsea pulled away from me, walking to the other side of the room.

  “Don’t lie to me, Finn,” she said. “I know my ex’s handwriting. Where did you get this?”

  She was right. I couldn’t lie to her. I had to tell her the truth, especially after what had just happened, and if we were to be together.

  “It was on the door this morning,” I said.

  “That’s what the knocking was earlier, wasn’t it?” she asked.

  I nodded my head in answer.

  Her expression went from one of fear to one of pure anger. She crumpled up the letter in her hands. “And you didn’t tell me?”

  “I didn’t want you to be afraid, Chels,” I said, walking over to her again.

  She stepped away from me, glaring at me in a way I’d never seen from her before. She’d never looked at me with so much anger in her eyes.

  “Finn, if he knows I’m here, I need to go.”