Melt With You: Into The Fire Series

by J. H. Croix

  Harlow nodded her head toward the door that led into the back of the station. Seeing as trying to have a conversation of the likes I wanted wouldn’t exactly take place in the waiting area, I followed.

  Hell, I’d have followed Harlow anywhere right now.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Harlow

  With Max’s hand warm around mine, the calloused pad of his thumb brushing across my knuckles, I led him into the back of the station. My heart was beating hard and fast, while my stomach felt as if I had just taken a dive out of a plane.

  Today had been one revelation after another. I had woken up to a text from Cliff, of all people. Like I said, I was well over him. I hadn’t been thrilled to hear he might be coming up here and had been a bit relieved at Susannah’s vehement and protective reaction to learning he was planning to apply here for a summer position.

  Not that I had rewritten our history in my mind, but he had promptly reinforced all of it with a single text.

  Hi, hoping you don’t mind putting in a good word for me. I’d like to take on one of the temporary summer positions up there. The money is good. If I like it, maybe I’ll stay.

  That was it. That was all my ex had to say. He hadn’t even bothered to ask how I was doing. But then, that was how bad my judgment had been with him. My tendency to be polite had my thumbs hovering over the screen to reply. Then, I remembered that I didn’t owe Cliff anything. Instead of replying, I had ignored it and blocked his number.

  I didn’t miss him at all, and I was clear-eyed about what he’d actually meant to me—in genuine terms, not in wishful terms. All I had to do was think about Max to put that relationship—or rather, non-relationship—in perspective.

  I’d come into the station and gone straight to Ward to let him know precisely why I didn’t recommend he hire Cliff. I left out all the details, except for the fact that he slept around amongst the crews and lied about it. Ward had been nothing but gracious, and I sensed Susannah might have given him a little bit more information. He was tactful enough not to bring it up.

  Only minutes after that, Maisie had buzzed me to let me know my father was here. Before that, I had promised myself I was going to scramble up the courage to call Max because if anything could have cast my feelings for him into sharp relief, Cliff’s text most certainly had.

  When I’d walked out to meet my father and found Max waiting, an immense sense of relief had washed through me. Without a word passing between us, I knew he had my back when it came to my father. I would have plenty of time to contemplate what had prompted my father to show up like that, but right now, my priority was Max.

  Beck happened to be walking out of his office. Perfect. I called, “Beck?”

  He was heading down the hallway toward the kitchen, and spun back. “Yeah?”

  “I don’t suppose I could borrow your office for a few minutes.”

  Beck looked curiously from me to Max before nodding. “Of course. I actually need to run to the hardware store. Let me just grab my jacket.”

  Stepping back into the office, he snagged his jacket off the back of his desk chair, gesturing us through the door. “It’s all yours. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  When the door shut behind him, my anxiety notched up to an eleven on a scale of one to ten. The abstract concept of letting Max know I was willing to give us a shot was a lot easier than actually doing it. We were alone now.

  He still held my hand where we stood by the door, his familiar gaze canting down to meet mine. With butterflies taking flight in my belly, I looked up at him. It had been too many days and I had missed seeing him. I absorbed the sight of him—his icy blue eyes, and the clean, strong lines of his face. He had more than a five o’clock shadow at this point, and I loved it.

  “Well, that was a surprise,” he said.

  “Seeing my dad, you mean?”

  “No. You.”

  “Me, what?”

  “You not ignoring me,” he clarified, his mouth hitching up at the corner and sending a delicious streak of heat through me.

  “I was going to call you today, but you’re here.”

  “I am. What were you going to call me about?”

  He turned to face me more fully, the gravelly sound of his voice sending a shiver chasing over my skin.

  This man. All he had to do was be near me and turn the intensity of his focus to me, and I melted. My heart and body surrendered to him. My emotions were so close to the surface, pressing against my skin to get out. I tried to take a deep breath, but air was hard to come by. My pulse was racing, and I felt hot all over; almost feverish, ablaze with a mix of desire and emotion.

  “I was going to tell you that you were right,” I finally said, my voice coming out breathy.

  “Right about what?”

  Oh geez, he was going to make me spell it out.

  “That we should give us a chance.” Giving voice to my deepest desires was hard, much harder than I had imagined. When they weren’t abstract, the gravity was overwhelming.

  Max’s gaze held mine for a few beats, the look in his eyes so intense, it seared me to my soul.

  “Oh, thank God,” he muttered fiercely.

  In a hot second, he fit his mouth over mine. Our kiss was rough and fierce, pent-up emotion pouring into every stroke, every nip, and every mingled breath. I had been holding back inside. Letting go was akin to water rushing down a mountain in spring, the ice melting and breaking loose.

  Sometimes words just wouldn’t do.

  His tongue swept into my mouth, a guttural groan coming from his throat. One of his hands tangled in my hair, while the other swept down my spine to cup my bottom, palming my ass and rocking his hips into me. His arousal was hot and hard, resting at the apex of my thighs.

  He drew back, his teeth catching my bottom lip before he released it gently. His forehead fell to mine.

  “You make me crazy, Harlow,” he murmured against my lips.

  I was caught in a wave of emotion. Tears pressed hot at the backs of my eyes.

  Drawing back, his eyes narrowed in concern. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” I said swiftly, shaking my head and swiping at my tears just as he brushed his thumb across my cheek to catch one. “It’s just a lot. Not bad, all good.”

  The tension in his face eased slightly. “I have no idea what I’m doing, just so you know. All I know is I had to come here today. I couldn’t take it, not knowing what was going on with you. I was trying to give you space, but it turns out I’m not so good at that.”

  A laugh slipped out. Seeing Max Channing, a wealthy man who had the world at his fingertips when he chose, looking a little lost and uncertain was simultaneously humbling, overwhelming, and amusing.

  His mouth curled into a grin, and he shrugged. “I don’t mind admitting you bring me to my knees.” His gaze sobered as he brushed my hair back from my face, sliding his fingers through it and tucking a loose lock behind my ear. A little shiver ran down that side, a trail of goose bumps chasing in the wake of his touch.

  “I was worried that I said too much too soon,” he murmured.

  Emotion was tight in my throat, but I breathed through it and held his gaze. “You didn’t say too much too soon. I needed to hear it to kick my butt in gear.” I paused, trying to gather myself. I was unsteady inside, with emotion and need spinning wildly. I was also plain overwhelmed at having Max right here in front of me.

  Max all by himself, was intense. His physical presence was overwhelming. All it took was a look, and he stole my breath and sent my senses spinning.

  Although I meant what I said—I had planned to call him today and tell him I wanted to give us a chance—I hadn’t thought through what to say. Just now, with the heat of him close, one hand resting on my bottom and the other on the curve of my neck, his thumb brushing idly over the wild thrum of my pulse, I couldn’t think clearly. At all. My heart was practically stomping its feet, throwing a little tantrum in order to be heard over the cacophony of my though
ts that usually snuffed it out.

  “I didn’t expect to fall in love with you.”

  Well, that just slipped right out without my permission. Saying the word love aloud sent a bolt of sheer terror through me. I was so accustomed to trying to love people who weren’t present to return it, and reading love into every small gesture when it wasn’t even there.

  Max’s eyes blazed bright. “You don’t have to say that until you’re sure.”

  I recalled his words, days ago now, when he said he hadn’t planned on falling in love with me, and my argument that it was too soon. In truth, it had been over a year ago now when our lives had first collided in a single, utterly unforgettable night. My body and heart had known the potential contained between us then.

  There was no room for doubt. I shook my head. “I know I don’t have to say anything, but I meant it. I don’t think I’m falling in love with you, I am in love with you.”

  I had all kinds of reasons why the idea of love in reality scared me. Max didn’t leave me room to say any more, tracing my lips with his thumb before he fit his mouth over mine, spiraling us right back to where we’d been— in another hot, wild kiss. Then he was spinning us around, bringing my back flush to the door, as I curled my legs around his hips and tried to imprint myself against him. He held me easily in his arms, his lips blazing a trail of fire down my neck.

  There was a sudden knock at the door. I abruptly remembered we were in Beck’s office at the station. Max drew away, not letting me go just yet.

  “Beck,” Cade’s voice called.

  “Oh my God,” I hissed. “You have to let me down.”

  Max grinned, easing me down slowly. I took a deep breath, attempting to gather myself and open the door, but then I heard Maisie’s voice. “He ran to the hardware store,” she called down the hallway to Cade.

  “Well, you could’ve told me,” he replied, as his footsteps retreated away from the door.

  Turning back, I caught Max’s sly grin.

  “I think we should probably go,” I murmured, hoping my blush was fading.

  “Please tell me you’re not working for the rest of the day,” he said bluntly, his hot gaze sweeping up and down, lingering over my breasts. My nipples practically stood up and waved at him.

  I shook my head. “No, I was just finishing up for the day as it was.”

  “Let’s go.”

  In a matter of minutes, we were in his new vehicle. It was an all-black SUV—hybrid, of course, and decked out with every imaginable bit of tech. It reminded me of Owen’s vehicle, the very vehicle where I’d met Max when he picked me up at the hotel to take me to Ivy’s wedding.

  I never thought I’d think fondly and romantically about a vehicle, but in this moment, I did. Glancing over, I asked, “Did you just buy this here?”

  He flicked his gaze to the side as he turned onto Main Street, heading out of downtown toward my house. “Technically yes, but I arranged delivery of it after Owen and I finalized the deal for the company. I knew I’d be up here a bit, so I needed my own vehicle. It just came in a few days ago.”

  Only then did I realize I hadn’t even bothered to follow him in my truck, so it was back at the station. It was a damn miracle I remembered to get my jacket and purse.

  “I forgot my truck.”

  Max’s low chuckle sent a little thrill through me. “You don’t need it.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Harlow

  The door slammed shut behind us. Max caught my hand in his and reeled me to him, spinning me around. My back bounced against the door as his mouth collided with mine, picking up right where we’d left off in Beck’s office.

  With his mouth hot over mine, I climbed him like a tree. Curling my legs around his hips, I looped my arms around his neck and tumbled into the madness. A rushing sensation poured through me; everything I’d been trying to tamp down and hold back had been let loose, and I was caught in the tide. With his hard, strong body against mine, and his lips breaking free to tease along my jaw, his tongue swirling in the shell of my ear and sending a hot shiver over my skin, all I knew was I needed more. Now. My head thumped against the door, and I murmured, “You have too many clothes on.”

  Max had been busy working at the buttons of my blouse with his lips teasing along my collarbone. The feel of his low laugh against my skin made me giggle.

  “I could say the same of you,” he replied as he lifted his head, his eyes dark. “Let’s take care of that.”

  As he started to step back, I faced a problem. I didn’t want to let him go. Yet, in order for him to remove those cumbersome clothes, I had no choice. He tried to move away, and I tightened my hold on him. “I don’t want to let you go.”

  Suddenly, what had started out as a tease got caught in the riptide of emotion tugging at me. A sense of vulnerability slammed into me.

  Max’s palm came up to cradle my cheek, his thumb brushing over my lips. “What is it?”

  I shook my head, swallowing through the emotion knotting in my chest and throat. “It’s just a lot,” I finally managed to say, my voice thick.

  “I know.”

  There were so many things I needed to say, but it was all too much. For the moment, I needed to lose myself in the storm of sensation whipping around us. Reading me easily, Max held me close as he turned away from the door.

  “One thing at a time,” he murmured, his lips dusting across my temple as he spoke. “Right now, I need to be inside of you.”

  “Okay, that would be perfect,” I said, almost breathless.

  He eased me down. Our clothes came off in a messy rush. His hands mapped me, his lips, teeth, and tongue teasing my skin as I collapsed onto the couch. It was all perfect. The scrape of his stubble on my breast, and his teeth closing over a nipple. The exquisite feel of his weight bearing down over me, then the intense pleasure of his fingers sliding into my channel, curving and hitting that sweet spot, sending desire sizzling through me.

  Everything was a blur of sensation. One thing held true all this time. Even the very first time Max’s lips met mine, there had been nothing to hide, nothing to hold back.

  Still shuddering, pleasure spun in my core, radiating outward. I dragged my eyes open as Max rose above me, settling his hips between my thighs. We hadn’t even bothered to try to make it to a bed. That was how desperate we were to be bare and tangled up in each other.

  He slid home inside of me in one swift surge, his blue gaze searing me with its intensity. Skin to skin, heartbeat to heartbeat, he filled me completely, the stretch of him sending pleasure scoring through me as he began to move.

  The intimacy that had frightened me before was still slightly terrifying right now. Yet, in the warmth of his gaze, I held on tight and we rode through the storm together. It was raw pleasure, with nothing but the feel of his hard body and the strength of him surrounding me. Every stroke pushed me higher and higher as another climax began to build from the echoes of the last.

  Reaching between us as pleasure began to scatter through me, he pressed his thumb over my clit and sent me flying again. With my name a rough chant, his release poured into me as I shuddered from my own climax.

  The moment he fell against me, he moved to shift his weight off me, but I curled my legs around his hips tightly. “No, I like your weight.”

  He rose up on his elbow slightly, looking down at me. “I don’t like crushing you. Here, we’ll compromise,” he murmured, as he shifted slightly so we were resting at an angle on the couch.

  We lay still and quiet for a few moments. My fingers circled lightly on his chest, and he loosened a hand tangled in my hair.

  “So, you’re going to Diamond Creek for Christmas?”

  Shifting slightly, I leaned back so I could see his face. “Yes, that’s the plan. What about you?”

  When I wasn’t caught in the fire of need blazing between us and reality hit me, I started to get anxious. Just now, with his eyes searching mine, unease tightened in my chest.

 
“Oh, I’ll be in Diamond Creek. Unless you tell me not to go. I might argue the point with you, though,” he said with a low chuckle.

  His sly grin and the gleam in his eyes tugged a laugh from me, easing the anxiety spinning inside. “I’m not planning to tell you not to go. Why would you think that?”

  His shoulder rose and fell in an easy shrug. “I had no idea what to expect today. I came to make my case. Thank God you let me off easy. But I know you might want to take things slower than I prefer.”

  As I stared into his eyes, my heart flew skyward, akin to a bird escaping from its cage. The sense of freedom was immense. “I hadn’t really thought things through, but let’s start with Christmas.”

  He dipped his head, pressing his lips to mine. “I suppose we should have the next part of this conversation before you start worrying.”

  “What makes you think I’ll start worrying?”

  I was partly teasing, but it was slightly unsettling how quickly he’d come to understand the way my mind worked. The downside to my haphazard childhood, and the loss of the primary source of stability in it—my mother—was that I was always looking ahead, wondering and worrying about what might happen next.

  I had created a life for myself where I could manage those contingencies. I wasn’t sure how to fit a man into that, much less the man I happened to fall in love with.

  Even though the depth of my feelings slightly terrified me, and probably would for a while now, I didn’t question my feelings for Max. You’d have to beat me away from him with a stick at this point. Yet, I knew the practicalities of our lives didn’t quite mesh easily.

  He promptly demonstrated his mind-reading abilities. “If we’re going to do this, there are a few practical issues to discuss. Rather than worrying about it, how about we agree that until you decide if you want to leave here, I’ll work from Anchorage? I’ll commute. We’ll figure it out.”

  My mouth must’ve fallen open because he smiled ruefully. “I can tell you like it here. I’m not gonna take that away from you. It might surprise you, but I’m not particularly attached to living in the city. I’ll have to travel some, there’s no doubt about that, but I can make it work. Hell, Owen runs a similar setup in Diamond Creek. I just wanted to make it crystal clear that I’ll do whatever it takes.”