Burned by Desire (Highland County Heroes Book 2)

by Lily LaVae

  Even people on the fourth floor would be smelling like smoldering embers for weeks. He’d ended up throwing away some of his own clothes after training. The smell just never came out. He searched the scene again and an empty pit opened in his belly. She was nowhere. Had Axe kidnapped her? Was this all a trick to distract him while Axe got away?

  Kyle and Dylan were sent back in, even though the scene was still hot, to pull whatever evidence they could from the basement. They wouldn’t have much time in a multi-family dwelling to do any investigation before the insurance companies and building owners would want the scene clear, so they had to go in and finish right away.

  Gage kept himself busy by getting everything put back in order on the truck while his buddies did his job. If only the tanks were a little bigger, he could’ve gone back in. He’d been the one to investigate the first two scenes and while his teammates were good, they hadn’t had the extra training he had.

  As it got too dark to do more work inside, the team brought out three totes with labels on them. Since Alexander wasn’t there, he made to go over and look. A small cry distracted him. He glanced over to the yellow tape where a whole group of people had been earlier and there, leaning against a building for support, was Melody. She wasn’t seeing him or anything else, just her home with smoke still pouring out of it.

  He rushed over to her, so glad to finally see her. At the last moment, her eyes widened when she glanced up into his. Her lip quivered softly.

  “Is Livy okay? How?” She reached for him and he didn’t wait for any additional approval, just pulled her into his arms.

  “She’s with Hernandez and I don’t know. Where have you been? I’ve been going crazy, worried about you.” He held her head to his chest. How had he gone from being completely annoyed by her presence to having her as his first worry?

  “I was with him…Axe. He called me to meet him, asked me to see him right away. I went. The first explosion happened as I was going inside the coffee shop. Hell, I was only a few blocks away! I wanted to leave, but he was right there, pulling me in.”

  She was starting to sound frantic, and he rubbed her back to calm her down.

  “He held you there?” He tensed unable to stop himself, he would take on the jerk single-handedly if he’d hurt Melody.

  “Sort of, I was so in shock by what he was saying. I admitted I knew his name, he didn’t deny it. Then he told me DemaCrane was behind the fires, though he was sure preoccupied by the fire truck and copter.”

  “He pegged it on someone else?” Her trembling had almost stopped and he blocked the view of her apartment building with his body, not that he could keep her from it completely.

  “He told me you wanted to talk to him about it, but it wasn’t him at all. He said he’s being framed. I don’t know. If I hadn’t been sitting with him…”

  It didn’t mean he wasn’t guilty. Both devices he’d seen were remotely detonated. He’d yet to hear what the other team had found out at the other house, other than there wasn’t much left of it. Hopefully, there would be some evidence that could be pulled. “It doesn’t mean we have the wrong guy. I’m so glad he let you go. I shouldn’t have let you be a part of this.”

  He dug in his pocket for his apartment key. “You can’t go back inside, not yet. You should go to my place for now. You might be able to have some of your stuff professionally cleaned, but at least it wasn’t burned.” He handed her the key, but she didn’t take it.

  “And Livy, you’re sure she’s fine? I left her there.” She finally let the sob loose she’d been holding back, her voice scratchy.

  “Livy is fine. Alexander took her home.”

  Melody finally laughed but it was slightly hysterical.

  “What’s so funny?” He tilted her head back, needing to make sure she wasn’t in shock from dealing with the Wonder-Asshole and coming back to find her home ablaze.

  “Livy has been on her best behavior lately other than tonight when she was so depressed about it. Livy decided that if I’m going dry, then she will too, so she’s been spending a lot of time on my couch. Not with guys.”

  Livy was far from dry, from what he’d seen. “Dry? I’d say she was pretty well in the tank when I carried her out of your apartment.”

  Melody rested her hand against his chest and met his eyes. “I mean she plans to stay out of men’s beds until she finds someone special. She’s been without a bedmate for almost a week now, so she’ll be crossing her legs and whining if she’s with Alexander too long.”

  He felt his jaw harden at the compliment to his partner. “Are you saying the Special Agent is hot?”

  She gently slid her hand up his chest and to his cheek. “You have nothing to worry about.”

  “Really, because you just said you were going dry, whatever the hell that means. Where does that leave me?” Not that he wanted her to run down the aisle with him that moment, but he’d just realized he might feel something deeper for her. And if it wasn’t mutual, he needed to slow this rocket down.

  “I’m dry until I’m not on this case anymore. Then, you’re mine.” She closed the distance between them, pressing herself against him and wrapping her arms tightly around him.

  “Is that so? Maybe you’re mine. And by the way, I’d already decided you’re off the case.”

  She pressed onto her tiptoes and landed a kiss on him that tasted like tears and roasted his blood.

  “I need to finish up here a little bit. Take my key. Go to my apartment and wait for me. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He ran his hand through her hair and held her there just a moment longer.

  “I’ll be there, but don’t make me wait.”

  Chapter 24

  Though the guys had told him to go and take care of Melody, Gage had still stayed and done as much on-scene as he could. Alexander had not returned, leaving him to handle cataloguing the evidence, and wonder if the fed had somehow been trapped by a drunk Livy into staying.

  The secondary explosion had been the type used at the other two residences, but the first had been an explosive device meant to kill anyone who happened to be in the basement, with shrapnel. They’d found detonation devices for both and they were similar. Even the chief agreed this was the work of the same arsonist. They just needed to prove Axe was the one who set them off, then they could arrest him and be done with it.

  Gage pushed his door open, a little angry Melody hadn’t locked it for her own safety. She lay on the sofa, her hands tucked under her head and mascara stains down her cheeks. All his anger with her melted away and he just wanted to help her, hold her. “Hey, can I get you anything?”

  She sat up from the couch and stared at him, her eyes brimming as she blinked away tears. “I just can’t stop thinking about the fact that I could’ve died. He targeted my building. Mine. He targeted me. I should be dead.” The more she spoke, the higher and faster she her voice got.

  He sat next to her wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, trying to bring her back to his couch and not the scene.

  “I don’t want to die, Gage. I want to live.” She ran her hand down his face. “I need you. Show me I’m alive.” She gripped his hair and yanked him into a kiss. She tasted of salt and a little smoke from standing by the building. Her movements were rough and vehement.

  He’d wanted to shower, to get himself ready for her, but her need took precedence. He lifted her slightly and laid her down on the sofa as she clung to him, then rested himself on top of her. She flexed her legs around his waist, pulling him down heavily on her. Though he was exhausted from fighting the fire, he held himself, not wanting to crush her, yet she pulled against him. Begging for his weight without words. Her kiss took on a life of its own as she rocked up and down his body.

  His microfiber couch felt hot against his arm and he wished he’d carried her to the bed where they could’ve had more room. There was too much between them and he broke the kiss long enough to tug off his shirt and dispense with hers. It smelled too much like soot and he
didn’t want his clothing as a reminder. After dispensing with his pants, he took care of the condom, as she kissed every inch of his skin she could reach.

  She arched her back as he left a trail of kisses down her chin, nibbled over her neck, then scraped his teeth over the sensitive skin under the satin fabric of her bra as her sensitive peaks hardened under his touch.

  “Take it off,” she rasped, as she clung to him and dug her nails into his back.

  “Aren’t you bossy?” he teased, reaching behind her and tugging the pretty detail away.

  “Consume me, Gage.” Her breathing hitched and she stared at him, needed him. He unfastened her jeans and she let him go just long enough to slide them down her hips, then did likewise with his own.

  “A fire needs three components.” His voice hardly worked as he stared down at her luscious body. “Fuel.” He gently ran his finger over the satin fabric of her panties, just at her apex. “Oxygen.” He blew on the superheated skin of her breasts, watching her arch as she rocked with the pleasure, then continued fanning her flame. Down, farther still, until he reached where he’d touched. He removed her panties and she groaned, thrashing under him. “And an ignition source.” He lowered and kissed the tender flesh he’d just sensitized with his breath.

  Melody dug her hands into his hair as he kissed, a full assault on her. She’d asked to be consumed and he could feel the tension coiling inside her, ready to burst. He kissed his way back up her body and slid inside her. She took over, rocking her hips and raking his back with her nails. He wouldn’t stop her, she needed that moment of control to regain what she’d lost and he would let her rake him until he bled to give that to her.

  “I could’ve died,” she screamed as she slid up and down over him. “Dammit Gage, I could’ve died,” she sobbed.

  He let her yell until she screamed and flung her head back, squeezing him, then tugging his weight on top of her as her body shuddered in aftershocks of pleasure. She’d needed him to cauterize her wounded heart and show her she was still alive, and he would do it as often as needed until she was whole again.

  Her fingers relaxed and her nails gently ran down his back. She gazed up at him, her eyes barely open, sated, groggy. “I’m sorry,” she said, as sleep took her.

  Chapter 25

  The alarm went off early and Gage slapped it off, his arm still under Melody’s neck after he’d carried her to his bed the night before. She hadn’t woken after their lovemaking and he’d let her sleep, held her close to him all night. He wasn’t about to let her go again after he’d realized how much she meant to him just the day before. When he hadn’t known where she was, he’d been sure she was gone for good, and he couldn’t take that.

  She stretched like a cat then glanced over at him and smiled. “I wondered if your hair would stick up or still be perfect in the morning. Damn you.” She rolled over to face him and ran her hand through his hair, then tried to ruffle it. It was too short and she wouldn’t succeed, so he laughed at her effort.

  “I’m sure I don’t look half as good.” She pouted slightly.

  He slid his arm out from under her. It was numb anyway and useless except to prop himself up. “I don’t know. I think you look pretty amazing.” He wrapped his good arm around her and slid her across the bed into him.

  “I keep my hair short so I don’t have to think about it.” He ran his hand through the military-style cut. Melody had opened up to him, shown him who she really was, even though she’d been drunk at the time. He didn’t share his past with anyone, but he’d never let himself get close to anyone else. “When I was growing up, my dad was military and we lived all over. He said that things didn’t seem so chaotic if the house was always orderly. So, I learned to keep everything spotless. To keep the chaos at bay.”

  She blinked and her eyes misted over. “You see me as chaos, don’t you?”

  He pulled her closer to him and kissed her softly. “At first, yes. You were chaos personified and I didn’t even know what to do with you. But I do now.” He cupped her face, knowing that she needed a champion, someone to be behind her, no matter what, and offer her a warm set of arms to retreat to when she needed them.

  “I didn’t think I’d want you again right away in the morning…but I do.” She snuggled into him and pressed her lips to his.

  As much as he wanted to continue to explore the physical, he couldn’t. He needed her on the same page with him emotionally. He playfully took her wrists and held them together.

  “Oh, we’re going to play this game? I’m not very good at it.” She went from blazing hot to chilly in a second.

  “No, we aren’t going to play any games. That guy groomed you to be his victim and I will never treat you that way. We are equals in this. If you walk away, that makes me single, so equal partners.”

  She gazed up into his eyes, trusting yet still unsure. He wanted her trust and that meant telling her everything. “I made a commitment to myself that I wouldn’t start anything with you until we caught Axe, or whoever was starting these fires. I wanted you after you said that I was no longer helping you, but I just don’t think that’s a good idea. It doesn’t mean I don’t want you, but it does mean I shouldn’t.” She lay back, allowing him to still hold her arms, and he couldn’t help letting his gaze travel over her. She was amazing.

  He traced the soft line of her jaw and watched her tremble at his touch. “I don’t want you to be a part of this anymore. I don’t want to worry about you. Hell, I don’t want to care about you…” And he couldn’t admit that he did. Not yet.

  “Maybe not, but life is short. I could’ve been in my apartment yesterday. For whatever reason, he wanted me out. He could’ve made some excuse to send me into the basement and I wouldn’t have made it. He wanted to tell me his story. I have to know why.”

  He couldn’t let her live in fear or guilt. “Damnit, Melody. Don’t you understand this is my fault. You called it my fault to begin with and you were right. You’ve been right on every count. He called you out because he knew if he attacked you, I would come running. And it worked.” He couldn’t get through to her, she’d never listened.

  “It isn’t your fault, Gage. I left because I couldn’t keep myself from helping you. Even though you didn’t really want me to.” Her eyes begged him to understand, pled with him to believe her.

  “I came close to losing you yesterday. I don’t want you to be part of this anymore. I thought I could protect you, but I can’t and it’s killing me.” He gave in and kissed her neck. She pressed her body against his and her words came in shallow puffs.

  “Don’t you see? Equal partners means I have to take some of the responsibility for protecting myself.” She wiggled free of him and waited until he looked her in the eye. “I’ve got a few connections at work. This’ll probably be the last time I’ll use them, because I’m not right for this job. I realize it now. I don’t want to be against you, Gage. Let me do this last thing for you, help you as much as I can, then I’ll call it quits.”

  He couldn’t believe she was willing to leave for him, wasn’t even sure if he wanted her to because he didn’t want her to hold that against him later, but they could talk about that when the case was finished. “Fine. But if he comes near you again…” He couldn’t complete the thought because Melody kissed him, just a quick, heated connection.

  “He won’t. He told me what he wanted me to know and he thinks he’s free. He thinks he’s so smart. We’ll get him. Together.”

  Gage got up and made coffee and breakfast for both of them. His place was immaculate, and he’d worried that having her there would feel like an intrusion, but instead, it felt perfectly natural. She strode from his room, now in one of his tees. He handed her a cup of coffee, admiring her legs as she padded across his tile floor.

  Gage’s phone buzzed. “Hey Alexander.”

  “Hey.” He sounded tired. “Late night?”

  “I could ask the same of you.” Gage laughed and Melody quirked a brow as she looked at him
.

  “Yeah, Olivia wouldn’t let me leave.”

  Gage heard Livy yell in the background. “For the love of all that’s holy will you stop calling me that!”

  “Wait…you’re still there?” Gage asked. Alexander had seemed so straight-laced, so tight. He had a perfectionism about him that had almost made Gage think he was gay.

  “Yeah, because someone told Livy that as soon as they found Melody, they would have her call.” Alexander breathed out an exasperated huff.

  All thought of Livy had left his mind the moment he’d seen Melody the day before and she’d even reminded him. “Shit. I’m sorry. She’s here, with me.”

  “Now you tell me. I’m going to let her know and get on the road. I’ve got to get to my computer and try to figure out where Axe went.”

  “He was with Melody. I think he must have had his devices with him and set them off from the coffee shop.”

  “Hmm, maybe the one at the apartment, but ten miles is a long distance and cell service can be spotty in that area. It may be, but it would be risky.”

  Gage heard Livy’s voice, closer this time. “Is she okay? You promised you’d find out and tell me.”

  Gage laughed as Alexander explained. They sounded like an old married couple. “So, does Livy have a comfortable couch?” Gage raised his eyebrows and Melody’s mouth fell into a surprised “oh”.

  “Yeah, look, I’ve got to go. As soon as I get back to my office and do some hunting, I’ll call you back and let you know what I found out. Wait…I’ll call you back. One of my guys is calling me.”

  Gage hung up and laid his phone down.

  Melody set her coffee down on the table and hung her head. “I guess neither Livy or I could stay without for too long. I thought I could, because of…”

  “Shhh, don’t talk about him anymore. Unless you need to. He’s scum and doesn’t deserve it. You should report him to the school and give them any proof that you have, then walk away.”