by J. H. Croix
Melt With You
Into The Fire Series
J.H. Croix
Contents
Melt With You
1. Max
2. Harlow
3. Max
4. Harlow
5. Max
6. Harlow
7. Max
8. Harlow
9. Max
10. Harlow
11. Max
12. Harlow
13. Harlow
14. Harlow
15. Harlow
16. Max
17. Max
18. Harlow
19. Max
20. Harlow
21. Harlow
22. Max
23. Harlow
24. Harlow
25. Max
26. Harlow
27. Max
28. Max
29. Harlow
30. Max
31. Harlow
32. Max
33. Harlow
34. Harlow
Epilogue
Excerpt: Burn For You
Find My Books
Acknowledgments
About the Author
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Copyright © 2018 J.H. Croix
All rights reserved.
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ISBN: 9781729140222
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Cover design by Cormar Covers
Cover Photography: Eric Battershell
Cover model: Mike Chabot
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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“You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.” ~Rumi
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Melt With You
Harlow
A wedding, a one-night stand, and no happily-ever-after.
That’s how it all started with Max Channing.
Along comes another cliché – a second chance.
A year later, I’m about to face Christmas alone when tall, dark & s*xy as h*ll Max shows up again.
Our lives are worlds apart. He’s a billionaire tech investor. I’m a hotshot firefighter.
Nothing about us makes any sense.
I never thought I’d see him again after the hottest night of my life.
I was wrong, so very wrong.
When our paths cross again, we break every rule.
And set each other on fire.
* * *
Max
Harlow May tests every limit I have and makes me want to break every d*mn rule she creates.
She’s a temptation I can’t seem to resist.
She fits no category. She’s strong & sassy and a firefighter to boot.
She fights the fire between us.
Once I have a taste, no one else will do.
I’ll fight for her and for us.
I only want one woman. Harlow.
* * *
*This is a full-length, standalone romance with a guaranteed HEA.
Chapter One
Max
Somehow, while attending a wedding almost in the middle-of-nowhere Alaska, I’d ended up handling taxi duties. Go figure. According to the latest update sent to me via frantic text from the bride, there was only one straggler left. Within minutes, I was rolling to a stop in front of the hotel, and my phone buzzed in my pocket. Sliding it out, I glanced down.
Harlow May is her name. Find her!
This text came from Ivy Nash—the bride, and the woman Owen Manning had fallen so hard and fast for, I was still questioning his sanity. Ivy was perfect for Owen. I considered teasing her and telling her Harlow was gone. But no. It was Ivy’s day, so I’d behave.
On it. She’ll be delivered to the wedding shortly.
I’d expected this last guest, who seemed quite important to Ivy, to be waiting outside. Not so. Harlow May was late.
I thought I’d recognized Harlow’s name. She was the daughter of an investor for Owen’s company, and I happened to be familiar with her father through business connections. Owen and I had met at MIT some years back, and he’d remained one of my closest friends. Off the Grid was his baby, his world-class multimillion-dollar engineering firm, situated in the middle-of-fucking-nowhere Alaska.
After another few beats of waiting, I strolled into the lobby. The wedding was taking place on top of a mountain, at Last Frontier Lodge. Since the wilderness resort was booked out so far in advance, there wasn’t enough room there for all the wedding guests, so this hotel served as overflow. Just as I was about to go to the desk and ask for Harlow to be called, a woman came hurrying out of the elevators.
Inside of a millisecond, I was completely distracted, enchanted, and then some. She had straight, glossy brown hair that hung almost to her waist, and dark brown eyes. Aside from the fact she was flat-out beautiful, she wore a cream silk dress, the outfit as out of place as a giraffe in the midst of a room full of dogs, what with most of the guests around here dressed for the outdoors.
I watched as she hurried through the front entrance, then followed after her. My stride closed the distance between us, my eyes locked on the swing of her hips. She had curves for days, filling out the silk dress. The material swung just above her knees in a ruffle, hugged her hips like a lover, and dipped in at her waist, only to flare out again to cup her breasts.
Stepping through the doors, I walked directly to her, my body tightening the moment I reached her. “Harlow May?”
Her espresso gaze swung to mine. “Yes. Are you the driver?”
I bit back a laugh. “I presume you’re attending Owen and Ivy’s wedding?”
Harlow twirled a long lock around her finger, and the motion made me want to tangle a hand in her hair and muss it. I didn’t, though it took an act of will. At her nod, I gestured to the car. It wasn’t my vehicle, it was Owen’s decked-out black SUV, with every tech feature you could imagine, and entirely electric. It felt as if I were temporarily living a borrowed life.
“Am I late?” Harlow asked as she stepped over to the SUV.
Her scent drifted up to me, a hint of honey and vanilla. “I don’t know if you’re late, but you’re the last one,” I said. She’d missed the first three scheduled trips, but I no longer cared.
I opened the door for her, glancing down to see a flush crest on her cheeks. She slipped into the front seat and buckled her seatbelt. Once we were en route to the lodge, my eyes flicked sideways, landing on the curve of her thigh. My hand itched to slide over the silk, to feel the heat of her skin penetrating through it. I didn’t know what it was about her, but I hadn’t been this curious about a woman in, well, longer than I could remember.
“So, Harlow, how do you know the bride and groom?”
I thought I knew the answer to my question, but I figured I’d ask anyway.
“I met Ivy and Owen through my father because he’s an investor in their company. I’m here for the weddi
ng because Ivy’s become a friend. Alaska was on my bucket list too.”
“Alaska is quite beautiful, definitely bucket list-worthy.”
I rolled to a stop at an intersection, glancing over to find Harlow’s gaze on me. “I don’t think I caught your name,” she said.
She crossed and uncrossed her legs, tempting me to touch her again. Forcing my gaze forward, I turned onto the road that wound up into the mountains.
“Max. Max Channing,” I replied.
“Are you just a driver, or here for the wedding?”
“I’m a friend, and driving as a favor,” I replied.
I didn’t know why, but I preferred Harlow didn’t know how our worlds might intersect. Within minutes, we were pulling up in front of Last Frontier Lodge, the spectacular setting for Owen and Ivy’s wedding. Diamond Creek, Alaska was one of Alaska’s coastal jewels, with the mountains dipping their toes in the sea here.
As I opened the door for Harlow to step out, I caught a glimpse of blue silk between her thighs. I was a gentleman, and wasn’t prone to trying to catch sneak shots of women’s panties. But sweet hell, Harlow was a magnet for me, and my eyes had a will of their own.
Of all the factors I had considered in coming to this wedding, encountering a woman so delectable I could hardly keep my body in check wasn’t on the list. Not to mention, I wasn’t on the best terms with her father. In fact, the last time we’d crossed paths, I’d told him he was a fucking asshole. Because he was.
As I walked behind her up the entrance stairs, I idly wondered what she did, but now wasn’t the time for chitchat. We only had a half an hour before the wedding started. As we strolled through the door, I rested my hand on her back, guiding her inside and savoring the heat of the silk against her skin.
If Harlow noticed my touch, she didn’t react. We walked through the crowded lobby and restaurant, and onto the back deck. Guests were milling about, yet Owen and Ivy were nowhere in sight. I glanced down to Harlow. “Seating’s over there. Check with Delia,” I said, gesturing to a woman who ran the restaurant at the lodge and was also a wedding guest.
When Harlow glanced at me, I noticed how her dark lashes curled against her cheeks. I couldn’t have looked away if I tried as a slow smile stretched across her face, and I had a sudden urge to kiss her.
“Actually, I’m a bridesmaid. Thank you for the ride,” she said softly before turning away. She paused beside Delia, her dark hair a contrast to Delia’s honey blonde. They briefly conferred, and then Harlow slipped through a side door back into the lodge.
As much as I wanted to linger, I had duties to attend to. I walked back into the lodge to hunt down Owen and found him, with Derek Bridges, in one of the rooms set aside for dressing. Along with Owen, Derek was one of my closest friends from our days at MIT.
Owen was leaning against the dresser, ready in his suit and tie, while he laughed at something Derek said. He glanced my way. “Did you round up everybody?”
“Of course I did. Just ferried the last guest. Harlow May. She’s Howard May’s daughter, right?”
Owen nodded, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners as he grinned. “Yes. Harlow and Ivy are close.”
Derek stood from where he was seated by the windows. “Aren’t we all relieved Howard couldn’t make it to the wedding?” he asked with a wry grin.
“I gather his daughter is nicer than he is if she’s one of Ivy’s bridesmaids,” I replied.
Owen chuckled. “Ivy adores her, and she’s nothing like her father. In fact, he’s cranky because she’s refusing to work for him.”
Just as I was about to counter with a question—because I was that curious about Harlow—there was a knock at the door, and Garrett Hamilton poked his head inside, flashing a grin when he saw us. “I’ve been ordered to come fetch you boys.”
In the short time I’d been here, I’d met the Hamilton family in a whirlwind. They owned this ski resort, which was primarily run by the eldest brother, Gage. Garrett was a former corporate lawyer who still practiced law, but he’d said goodbye to his high-flying career in Seattle and moved up here to marry Delia.
Glancing at Owen, I asked, “You ready for this?”
Owen, with his jet-black hair, ice blue eyes, and calm demeanor, actually looked a tad apprehensive. His shoulders rose and fell with a breath as he pushed away from the dresser. Adjusting his tie, he met me at the door with Derek behind him. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Garrett had already started to walk down the hallway. “Let’s do this,” Derek added, clapping Owen on the shoulder. “Now would be the time to speak up if you have any doubts.”
We had started to file out when Owen came to a complete stop, turning back to face us. “I have no doubts. If you’re wondering, I’m half-terrified Ivy might suddenly come to her senses. If she does, I don’t know what I’ll do,” he said flatly.
His eyes met mine, the depth of emotion contained there almost startling. “I don’t think you need to worry about that,” I heard myself saying.
Barely a hint of relief entered his gaze as he turned around.
We filed down the hall and onto the back deck of the lodge, which had been transformed into an outdoor wedding chapel. As I took my place beside Derek at the front, I contemplated how Owen had once been just as unlikely as me to settle down. Yet, here he was, head over heels in love with Ivy.
He had his reasons for keeping to himself, as did I. I still couldn’t quite imagine caring that deeply for someone. I’d all but written the idea of love out of my life. As the pastor began the ceremony, I scanned the crowd. My eyes made their way to Harlow, who stood with two other women beside Ivy. The moment I saw her, lust washed over me. I could most certainly imagine a night between the sheets with Harlow.
I couldn’t quite get a bead on her. She was quiet and gave off an air of steely strength. I wanted to know more.
Forcing my gaze from her, I took a moment to scan the horizon. Mountain peaks rose all around us, and Kachemak Bay was visible in the distance, the sun striking sparks on its surface. On the heels of a breath, savoring the crisp and cool mountain air, I turned back and watched one of my closest friends get married.
I wasn’t usually one for weddings. Yet, this wasn’t a typical wedding—outdoors, on the back deck of a beautiful lodge, with the mountains and the ocean serving as the cathedral for the ceremony. My eyes were again drawn to Harlow, as if she were my own personal magnet.
With a forceful mental shake, I tore my gaze free. Relationships were another part of business for me; a way to meet my needs, and nothing more. Love—the flash in the pan, crazy love that Owen had stumbled into with Ivy—well, that wasn’t for me.
Chapter Two
Harlow
After the wedding ceremony, the sky started to cloud, and the guests were herded inside. The lodge was busy, even though it was only autumn. They catered to tourists for every season. I leaned against the bar, sipping my pomegranate martini. I didn’t drink often, but I did enjoy a good martini. I was working on my third at this point, but I figured, what the hell? I was at a wedding for one of my dearest friends, happy to escape the pressures of my life.
When Ivy had asked me to be one of her bridesmaids, my only hesitation had been whether or not my father was coming. Ivy, being the friend she was, had been sympathetic but still begged me to come. She’d also gleefully called me when my father bowed out. Owen had invited him, merely out of courtesy, since he invested quite generously in their company.
“Hey, hey,” Ivy’s voice called.
Spinning around, I leaned my hips against the barstool and smiled.
“Are you glad you came?” she asked when she reached me.
She was glowing, in her cream silk dress, with her amber hair and eyes. I was so happy for her. She and Owen were perfect for each other, the kind of perfect that didn’t come along very often.
“Of course I’m happy I came. I think I might stay a little longer than I planned. When do you leave for your honeymoon?” I ask
ed.
Ivy leaned against the bar beside me, glancing over her shoulder to catch the eye of Gage Hamilton. He was the owner of the lodge and had been taking turns bartending with his brother, Garrett. He was quite handsome with his gray eyes and dark hair. He was also quite taken. Not that I felt any kind of spark with him, not at all.
“Give me what she’s having,” Ivy said to Gage.
He flashed a smile and mixed her drink while he carried on a conversation with another customer.
“We’re leaving tomorrow,” Ivy replied. “I wish you would stay longer.”
“Why? You won’t be here.”
“Because it makes me happy to think you can have some downtime. You can stay at the house if you’d like. I know how you feel about hotels.”
I hated them. Well, hate wasn’t the word; they just felt so impersonal. Much of my childhood had been spent in hotels. My mother died when I was young, and work was all that mattered to my father. He traveled a lot and carted me around with him, rotating through babysitters as needed.
I glanced at her as she took her drink from Gage. “Really? That makes the idea more tempting.”