Blaze & Bind: A MFM Firefighter Romance (Surrender to Them Book 10)

by Kelli Callahan

  “I think you’re wrong about that—judging by her reaction.” Liam shook his head back and forth.

  Yeah, and she meant something to me too, but I was an asshole and never called her after I got her in my bed.

  Two years ago

  “Excuse me, miss. I’m looking for—oh, hey!” My face lit up when I realized the woman standing behind the counter at the candle store was someone I knew from high school.

  “Gerard?” She immediately smiled. “Wow, it’s been a while. How are you doing?”

  “I’m good.” I nodded, but I was immediately captivated by the beautiful woman’s smile. “I didn’t know you worked here.”

  “Yep, I’m working here part-time over the holiday break, trying to save some money for college.” She nodded quickly. “Candles are popular this time of the year.”

  “Don’t I know it.” I exhaled sharply. “I’m actually looking for the kind that doesn’t burn—the ones that just melt.”

  “Oh, a candle warmer? Those are over here.” She stepped out from behind the counter. “I’ll show you.”

  “Thanks…” My eyes took in her curves once the counter didn't hide her, and then it wasn’t just her smile that was captivating me.

  “You’re shopping for someone who doesn’t like regular candles?” She looked over her shoulder as we approached the section of the store with the candle warmers.

  “More of a personal thing.” I grimaced slightly. “I’m a firefighter now. I’ve seen what a real candle can do when it’s left unattended—hard for me to give someone a gift that could burn down their house.”

  “Our candles all come in jars, so they aren’t just going to fall over…” She raised an eyebrow.

  “It’s still a hazard, especially when people forget about them.” I shrugged. “I just see the worst-case scenarios.”

  “Well, the candle warmers certainly won’t set anyone’s house on fire—I hope.” She pointed to the selection in front of us.

  Fuck—she’s beautiful. She’s at least eighteen now—god, I feel a dirty old man and I’m only four years older than her.

  “Thank you.” I nodded, but my eyes stayed fixed on the gorgeous brunette. “Hey, are you dating anyone?”

  “Me?” Her nose wrinkled as she shook her head. “No, I’m trying to focus on keeping my grades up. I don’t have time for dating.”

  “You’re young—this is when you’re supposed to be dating.” I grinned and chuckled under my breath. “That’s the whole point.”

  “I’d like to believe the whole point is to get a good education.” She shifted her weight slightly. “I’m more concerned about my future than my love life.”

  “You can have both, you know.” I shrugged and narrowed my eyes. “Why don’t you let me take you out some time?”

  “Um, I think Billy would kill you!” Her tone became hurried, and her eyes opened wide.

  It’s been a couple of years since I’ve seen him anyway—it’s not a big deal.

  “Maybe—but it might be worth it.” I chuckled again. “Come on; you can’t spend the entire holiday break studying.”

  “I should get back to work.” She nodded, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips.

  Rachel didn’t agree to go out with me before I left the candle shop, but I went back the next day—and the next day. By the time she finally agreed, I had so many candle warmers that I was going to be able to send some to relatives that I barely spoke to. I knew Billy would freak the fuck out if he knew I asked his little sister on a date, but she wasn’t so little anymore. I barely even recognized her, but that smile—it was the same one I had seen on her face when she was younger—before she had mesmerizing curves. Back then, she seemed more obsessed with our other best friend, Liam, but she was way too young for us to see her as anything more than Billy’s kid sister. That wasn’t the case anymore. She had become a beautiful young woman—and I couldn’t help but notice. I wanted to do a lot more than notice too.

  Billy will definitely lose his mind if he finds out, but it just might be worth it…

  Present day

  “Holy shit.” Liam blinked in surprise. “How did I not know that you dated Billy’s sister?”

  “Because you were spinning the pussy roulette wheel at the time and I barely saw you unless we were at work.” I chuckled under my breath. “That was right before you met—her.”

  “Ah.” Liam nodded. “Yeah, things were moving a little fast around that time.”

  “You were in love.” I reached for my beer. “I get it.”

  “I was in the middle of a fucking mistake—my biggest one ever.” Liam exhaled sharply and took a drink of his beer.

  “Not that it matters at this point since we probably won’t see Billy again unless he wants the ass-whooping he has coming, but—he doesn’t know about Rachel.” I sipped my beer. “It probably should stay that way.”

  “Yeah, I’m not going to say anything.” Liam put his beer down on the table. “So, now that she’s moving in, do you think you’ll try to hook up with her again?”

  “Nah, that ship has sailed. I’m surprised she didn’t slap me across the face when she saw me. I wasn’t really looking for a relationship, and I never called her—after we…” My words trailed off.

  “Got it.” Liam understood without me having to fill in the blanks. “Well she’s hot as hell now—I might not have been thinking about Billy either if I was in your position.”

  “Rachel deserves someone a lot better than either of us anyway. She’s fucking amazing—I just wish I had realized that when I had an opportunity.” I sighed and put down my beer. “What’s done is done though…”

  “Yeah, just like fucking Billy,” Liam growled under his breath. “I’m going to punch that asshole in the face if I see him again.”

  “I’d like to, but we both knew that Billy was a fucking basket case—it’s not the first time he’s screwed us over.” I leaned back against the couch. “Hopefully he’s happy at least, wherever the fuck he ends up.”

  Liam and I made another trip to the bank later that afternoon and withdrew some more money, so we could pay our share of the rent for the second time. I wasn’t happy about it, but I really didn’t want to have to hunt down another apartment when we were desperate. Liam’s ex-girlfriend had left him with a lot of debt, and he was struggling enough as it was. Billy’s decision to run off with the rent money was going to put him further in the hole, but so would a new apartment. My finances were in better shape, but I wasn’t eager to blow a bunch of money unless I had to. Rachel’s offer was a quick fix to the problem at hand, but I doubted she would stay long. We needed to find another roommate and convince the landlord to switch over the lease or spend the next month looking for a new apartment that we could move into when we got paid again. Either way, it was going to be an exciting month.

  A few days later

  “You didn’t bring much stuff.” I peered into the back of Rachel’s car.

  “Nah.” She shrugged and opened the back door. “It’s not like I need furniture or anything. I just need a lot of disinfectants, a new set of sheets, and some essentials.”

  “Yeah, not like you’re going to be staying very long.” I shrugged and grabbed one of her bags.

  “You don’t want me around?” She followed me towards the building while Liam worked to dislodge a suitcase that was jammed between the seats.

  “I didn’t say that.” I looked over at her. “I’m surprised you even wanted to move in—especially after what happened between us.”

  “You mean when you decided to become the world’s biggest asshole?” She stepped into the elevator when the doors opened.

  “Yeah, I guess that’s pretty accurate.” I sighed and walked in behind her.

  It looks like Liam is going to have to catch the next one…

  “You could have called, even if you didn’t want to see me again.” She hit the button for the second floor. “I expected that much, at least.”

  “I k
now, but as you said—I became the world’s biggest asshole.” I sighed under my breath and waited for the elevator to carry us upstairs. “I’m sorry about that, but I know an apology doesn’t mean much when it’s two years late.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” She shook her head back and forth. “I guess it’s a start though.”

  The elevator opened, and we started carrying her stuff towards Apartment 2B. We dropped everything in the living room and passed Liam on the way back downstairs. I didn’t know what to make of Rachel’s demeanor. I expected her to be a lot angrier, especially when I saw how she reacted when she saw me for the first time since the night I took her virginity. She seemed almost numb to it like I was a stranger that had never shared a bed with her. Maybe that was the best-case scenario if we were going to be living together, even if it was only going to be for a month. Liam and I helped her clean Billy’s old room with disinfectant wipes until it was almost as good as new. She decided not to throw away his stuff, even though that was my suggestion. She packed everything that she didn’t want to keep in the apartment in the back seat of her car and left to take it to her Dad’s house.

  “This doesn’t seem to be as awkward as I expected.” Liam looked over at me after Rachel’s car pulled away.

  “No, but that worries me a little bit.” I turned towards the apartment building and sighed. “She should be a lot angrier with me—I know I would be if I was in her shoes.”

  “Let’s not overanalyze it.” Liam shrugged. “The rent is paid, and things are set for the next month. We can figure everything else out before then.”

  “Yeah.” I nodded.

  “Hey.” A rather gruff voice nearly startled me, and I looked to see a large man approaching. “Are you Billy Lawson’s friends?”

  “Uh, yeah?” Liam tilted his head to the side.

  “Where the fuck is he?” The man’s face twisted into a somewhat menacing snarl.

  “I don’t know. Who the fuck are you?” I took a step forward.

  “I’m the guy that is here to collect all of the fucking money he owes Robert Townsend.” The man’s jaw tightened. “When you see Billy, tell him that this is the only friendly visit he’s going to get.”

  “Hey…” I took another step forward as the man turned to walk away. “We don’t know where Billy is. He skipped town.”

  Now I think I know why…

  The man didn’t respond; he just walked away from us with each step he took slamming into the pavement with a purpose. I had no idea who he was, but I knew who Robert Townsend was—by reputation at least. He was the kind of man that nobody did business with unless they could pay him back with interest—missing a payment wasn’t an option. If Billy owed money to a man like that, it was no wonder he skipped town. I knew Billy liked to gamble, which was part of why he was always broke, but I had no idea he was borrowing money from anyone except his father. I had a worried expression on my face, and when I looked over to Liam, I saw the same reaction. We walked back into the building, but I was feeling a lot of uneasiness in my stomach. I doubted Robert Townsend was just going to take our word for it that Billy had skipped town.

  Changing our address might not be the worst option in the world right now, but we don’t have anything to do with this. I need to try at least to make sure Robert Townsend knows that before we get a visit that is—less friendly than the one we just got.

  5

  Rachel

  Later that day

  “Okay, I think I’ve got everything situated.” I walked out into the living room and noticed Gerard putting on his coat. “Where are you going?”

  “There’s something I need to take care of. I’ll be back in a little while.” He slid his arms into his jacket and started walking towards the door with a scowl on his face.

  “He doesn’t look happy.” I sat down across from Liam.

  “No, but hopefully it isn’t a big deal.” Liam sighed and shrugged.

  The look on Gerard’s face suggested otherwise.

  Liam and I spent some time getting caught up after Gerard left. We decided to have some food delivered since neither of us had eaten. I was surprised that he had become a firefighter. Of all the guys in our high school, he was the last one I would have expected to put his life on the line to help other people. He was a jock that sometimes seemed like a bit of an airhead back then, but he was hot-as-sin. It looked like every girl in our school had a crush on him, even if they didn’t have a chance of ever catching his eye. I wasn’t entirely in love with his new look, especially the long hair, but he was still incredibly attractive—even more with a lot more muscle on his frame. There was something that seemed more down-to-earth about him than I remembered, and he was easy to talk to, especially when his eyes were locked on mine—like he was drinking in every word I said. The conversation shifted to relationships, and he told me about the girl he dated before he moved in with Liam and Billy. I could tell there was some pain left over from the break-up, but he hid it well.

  “So what about you? Did you fall in love with anyone after high school?” He tilted his head to the side.

  “Love? I don’t know…” I shrugged and sighed. “There was a guy that I liked, but—things didn’t work out.”

  I don’t know if Gerard has mentioned our brief relationship, but I don’t really want to get into a discussion about it with Liam.

  “At least you’ve got plenty of time left.” He leaned forward and started to stand. “I need another beer. Do you want one?”

  “Sure, why not.” I nodded and handed him my empty bottle.

  I guess I’m going to get the drinking part of my college years out of my system while I’m living here.

  “That guy you dated?” He walked back into the room and opened my beer before sitting it down. “He was an idiot.”

  “Why do you say that?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Because he was lucky as hell.” Liam chuckled as he sat down. “You’ve become a beautiful young woman.”

  “I’m not sure if that’s an upgrade from hot, or…” My words trailed off, but I couldn’t hide the slight smile on the edge of my lips.

  “They’re both pretty fucking accurate.” He leaned back against the chair and stared at his beer. “Sorry, I guess I’ve had too many of these already.”

  “No, it’s fine.” I reached for my beer and took a sip. “I’m just not used to hearing it.”

  Especially from someone, I used to have such a massive crush on.

  “If you don’t tell me to stop, you’re probably going to hear it a lot now that you’re living here.” Liam tilted his head to the side. “And it’ll be the truth every time.”

  “I’m—not going to ask you to stop.” I felt my cheeks blush.

  I probably should, but he’s so damn sexy—so many times I wanted Liam to notice me, even if I knew I didn’t have a chance with a guy like him.

  “What if I move over there…” Liam shifted from his chair to the couch beside me.

  “Well, this—is where you sleep.” I swallowed nervously.

  “It is.” He slid closer. “But that’s not what I’m thinking about right now.”

  Before I even had a chance to process what he said, his lips were on mine. Liam was kissing me—and it wasn’t a gentle kiss either. His lips crushed mine, and he started to ravage my mouth with more passion than I had ever felt before—except one night—one night that was quickly fading from my thoughts as Liam’s kiss lit me on fire. He had one hand on the back of my neck and the other on my shoulder as his tongue swirled against mine. I felt like I was melting into his kiss as our lips were seared together, but I was actually melting into the couch—falling backward until my head was against the cushion. Liam followed me down, and I felt his body pressed against me as his lips broke the seal that our kiss had formed and moved down to my neck. It felt so good—so good that I didn’t even think about what we were doing. I was lost in the moment. His hand shifted from my shoulder and squeezed my breast before he started moving it lo
wer. The alarm bells finally went off in my head, and I pushed him back.

  “Wait—hold on.” I gasped as his hand got to the button on my jeans.

  “Why?” His fingers grabbed the button, and he started to twist it. “I see the desire in your eyes—you want me to keep going.”

  “I do—but I don’t—I…”

  I don’t know if I would have stopped Liam or not. Luckily, I didn’t have to make that decision on my own. There was a noise at the front door, and both of us immediately realized that Gerard was back. Liam pulled away and shifted back to the chair he was previously sitting in while I sat up on the couch. My hair was tousled, but I quickly ran my hand through it and shook my head to make it look as normal as possible. When the front door opened, we were back in our original seats with innocent smiles on our face. My thoughts were spinning. I couldn’t believe Liam had kissed me—I couldn’t believe how much I liked it. Even Gerard didn’t move that fast. He took me on a couple of dates before he made his move. I didn’t resist Gerard though when he finally did—there was nobody at the door to give me a second to catch my breath. I was just left with an empty bed after he got what he wanted.

  “Liam, can I talk to you for a second?” Gerard walked into the living room without even looking at me and headed straight to his bedroom.

  “Yeah…” Liam gave me a worried glance as he started to stand.

  Oh god—he doesn’t know, does he? No, there’s no way…

  There was definitely no way that Gerard could have known that Liam was kissing me before he arrived. We stopped as soon as we heard the door—and I pushed him away before that. What would I have done if Gerard hadn’t appeared at the door? I wasn’t sure. Liam’s kiss left me shocked, with confusion still boiling over inside me. I grabbed my beer and sipped it nervously as Liam walked to Gerard’s bedroom. Gerard closed the door, and I could hear them talking, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I was pretty sure I heard Billy’s name a couple of times, but the rest of it was too hard to make out. A few minutes later, Liam walked back down the hallway, but he didn’t make eye contact with me as he headed to the kitchen and grabbed a beer. Gerard appeared in the hallway a few seconds later, and it looked like the weight of the world was on his brow, but he smiled when he entered the living room—it didn’t look authentic. It seemed forced.