Burn Me Anthology

by Shantel Tessier

  Just as I reached to grab for a glass, Mav had come in through the back door. And because I had the luck I did, he had come in from a run.

  A long one from the look of how sweaty he was.

  As if trying to goad me, his eyes pinned me in place as he pulled his sweat-drenched tee off and over his head. Leaving him mouth-wateringly shirtless in front of me. Because of the steam in the shower and the dim lightning in the bathroom, I hadn’t been able to appreciate his body fully before. Damn. He had an amazing body. He looked like he had been sculpted from marble. Chiseled and defined and extremely solid. I had no idea how I had kept my tongue in my mouth and my jaw off the floor.

  “That was good,” Gabe sighed, patting his flat stomach. “Sofi, I am so glad you brought us food.”

  “Yeah, it was pretty good. Thanks, kid,” Mav added. I clenched my jaw. Kid? Gabe’s phone beeped, and a smile covered his face. I wondered about that.

  “I gotta go check on a couple things and meet with the chief later.”

  “I bring you food, and you shovel it into your face and suddenly don’t need me anymore,” I teased, giving him a hard time.

  “Don’t be like that.” Gabe winked at me before giving me a hug.

  “I’m kidding. Go. I’m actually going to an interview in a little while.”

  “Interview?” he asked, and I shrugged.

  “Yeah, just for a side job.”

  “Side job?” Mav asked.

  “Hank’s had a ‘Help wanted’ sign. I guess he’s looking for a new bartender.”

  “Hank’s? Like our bar, Hank’s?” Gabe asked. The scowl on his face immediately clued me in that he didn’t approve. Tough.

  “Well, I’m sure Wally and his brother, Oscar, own it and your name isn’t actually on the deed, but yeah. Your Hank’s.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh?” My head tilted.

  “It’s just that you have a master’s, Sofia.”

  “I know that.”

  “You should use it,” Gabe pushed, and my nerves bristled.

  “I will get to use it once the summer is over, Gabe. This is just temporary.”

  “What about the Crown and Crumpet?” he suggested, and I frowned.

  “The coffee shop?” I asked, slightly disgusted at his suggestion.

  “Yeah. They are always looking—”

  “I’m not a barista,” I pointed out, and his frown turned into a scowl.

  “You’re not a bartender, either,” Gabe countered. I rolled my eyes.

  “I worked at a pub after school and on weekends to get through my undergrad program. So, I’m sorry if I beg to differ, Gabe.”

  “Okay, look. Just, you know, apply at a couple of places,” he suggested as his phone pinged again. “I gotta go.”

  “Okay,” I mumbled.

  “See you tomorrow morning. We’ll go to Crown and Crumpet.”

  “If you’re buying, sure.” I shook my head, giving him a small smile. I hugged him back, genuinely happy to be home, “Love you.”

  “Love you, too, Sof. Mav, do me a favor and walk her to her car, yeah?” my big brother asked, and just like that, he annoyed me again.

  “Sure,” the idiot agreed way too quickly with a chin nod.

  “He doesn’t have to,” I added hastily, nervous about being alone with him again, but Gabe being Gabe ignored me and kept walking.

  Maverick stood next to me as we both watched him leave.

  “Why you applying at Hank’s?” he finally broke the silence. I looked up at him.

  “The extra cash wouldn’t hurt.” I shrugged looking over his shoulder, toward at all the other guys. No one was paying any attention to us.

  “Come on.”

  “Where?”

  “I’m gonna walk you to your car.”

  “Thanks. But I’m a big girl. I don’t—" The words stopped in the middle of my throat the second his huge hand encompassed mine.

  I looked down at them, fingers intertwined, before my eyes jumped back to his.

  “I’m going to walk you to your car,” he repeated with steel in his voice. I wasn’t sure if it was because my body instantly grew warmer than after having accomplished a half marathon in 100 percent humidity, or because I didn’t want to make a scene, but all I could do was nod as he led us outdoors.

  As we walked side by side, I noticed we were both walking slowly. Like neither of us wanted the small innocent moment to end like we knew it would when we reached my car.

  Getting there, I cursed at not having parked farther. “Thanks for, umm…”

  “You smell like cinnamon.”

  “What?” I asked, confused.

  I had been expecting a variation of something that sounded like a clear reminder of the fact that nothing could happen between us. I didn’t have the time, energy, or need to have something like whatever was brewing between us.

  “Why?”

  “What?” I frowned looking at him.

  “You smell like cinnamon.” He leaned in toward the other side of my neck. “Cinnamon and oranges,” he mumbled against my skin, making breathing close to impossible.

  “Maverick…”

  “I can smell you in my dreams,” he admitted on a groan.

  “Well…” I cleared my throat, not sure of what to say. Should I tell him that I can smell him in mine? With a shrug and a non-convincing eye roll, I replied, “I don’t know what…” My mind fizzled when his face moved right in front of mine. His eyes were warm and honest and the deepest navy blue imaginable as they freaking twinkled at me.

  “Tell me to back off,” he warned. My heart was about to burst out of my chest.

  “Mav.”

  “Tell me you don’t feel the fire between us, and I promise…”

  “I can’t.” The pull was too great. I gave in. I admitted to the devil himself he had me. “I do. I feel it.”

  “I knew it.” He straightened, and just like that, the rug had been pulled out from under me. I opened up to him for what? To be vulnerable so he could act like a stupid guy?

  “You’re like an overgrown child,” I mumbled, feeling as if anger was steaming out of my ears.

  “Whatever,” he grunted. “You feel this thing between us.”

  “I gotta go. I don’t have time to waste with…. whatever this is.” I pointed back and forth between us.

  “Princess, this situation—”

  “This is why,” I pointed out to him, and I couldn’t help feeling the anger that bubbled up inside of me. “This is exactly why it’s better to act like nothing happened. I can guarantee you I know what you were going to say!”

  “Gabe.”

  “Gabe is a grown man,” I told him, even though part of me felt guilty about it. But I knew that at the end of the day, Mav was using my brother as an excuse. “Yes, he’s my brother. But you know what, Maverick? I’m far from jailbait and way past the legal age of consent. I’m a grown woman. Not a child. If you aren’t man enough to see that and do something about it when you feel this thing between us, then that’s on you.”

  “Baby—“

  “It’s not my problem!” I exclaimed.

  “Princess,” he sighed, and my eye twitched.

  “Don’t call me that. I’m far from being—what was it you called me? A spoiled little princess or brat or whatever?”

  “Sofi—“

  “No. You don’t know me.” I laughed humorlessly. Hurt and exposed, I knew I was lashing out, but I didn’t care. “You just know you want me. It’s so typical of a man to be led around by his dick. And the kicker is, you probably only want me because you won’t let yourself have me.”

  “I had a taste,” he growled.

  “We rubbed one out, Mav!” I pointed out with a grimace.

  “That’s all. It doesn’t count, and it sure as hell wasn’t a taste.”

  “Fuck!” he cursed, closing the space between us, but I raised an arm, palm up between us.

  “Don’t. No more touching or little neck kisses or
hand holding,” I ordered. I might have come with him in the bathroom, but I’d been on edge the last two days. Whatever sexual need he had woken up was far from tamed, and I was pissed. “Don’t do that shit. Especially if all you are going to be is a tease and not man enough to use your dick for anything other than to take a piss with, all because you are too scared of Gabe.”

  “He’s my best friend,” he pointed out again. It was starting to get old.

  “Then go fuck him, because guess what? I’m not available,” I threw out at him, sick of his hot and cold games.

  “Kid,” he sighed in a hushed, deep tone that made my heart ache for more, but I turned and pointed at him. He put his hands up in defense.

  “Fine. I should have kept my hands to myself.” He sighed, and I stopped myself from flinching. I hated how he regretted touching me.

  “Awesome. Make sure you do that from now on,” I lied. It was the last thing I wanted. But I wanted more than to be his dirty little secret.

  I wanted to be someone’s something more.

  “Okay.” He swallowed, agreeing so damn easily it made me feel stupid. There was no way a player like him would actually be interested in a boring book worm like me, anyhow. Not in the long run.

  “I don’t have time for dating or stupid mind games. Especially ones that make me run hot and cold.”

  “I make you run hot?” Of course, that was all he heard.

  “I’m more than happy being single right now. If I have an itch, I have a great array of toys to take care of any whim that grabs my fancy,” I shared, too pissed off to stop myself as I made my point.

  “Toys?”

  “And if I want more than that, I know where and how to get laid,” I kept going, not missing the lines forming on his brow. “And I don’t need to have my brother’s indecisive best friend playing with my head.”

  “Indecisive?”

  “Trying to start something that will only lead him to a mountain of regret seconds after.”

  “I wouldn’t regret—”

  “You kissed me, and a second later you looked like you had stolen a three-year-old’s favorite candy. From his hand!” I shouted, surprised at how turned on I was in the middle of an argument.

  “I—” he started to say, but I quickly cut him off.

  “I deserve a guy who wants to be with me. No second thoughts. Not that I’m even looking. If you didn’t look like you were going to puke with fear every time you come near me, I would have been more than happy to try out something casual and unclingy. Kind of like the type of relationships I heard you prefer.”

  “Sofia,” he groaned, but I was done.

  Done and turned on and wondering if I had time to go home to double click my mouse before my interview.

  “I’ll see you later.” With a sigh, I hopped into my Jeep and ignored the ugly way my chest ached every single time I walked away from Maverick Bridges.

  I didn’t even know him.

  Not really.

  I knew of him and how I felt around him. When I didn’t want to strangle him for being a putz, I wanted to dry hump him to mark my territory.

  Who said coming home was easy?

  Chapter 6

  Maverick

  “Hey!” Mav turned to see Gabe coming toward him in the bunk room at the station.

  “What’s up?” he asked, running his tongue over his teeth.

  “You sure you’re okay, man?” Gabe leaned against the wall behind him, and Mav shook his head.

  “Yeah, why?” he asked, hating his guilty conscience.

  “Just making sure, Mav. You seem…”

  “What?”

  “Like something’s up with you. Look, I’m here if you need to talk. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah, of course.” Mav ran his fingers through his short hair and opened his mouth but stopped himself.

  Sofi was far from wrong. She deserved more. He liked her. Hell, he liked her a lot. Maybe Gabe will get it? Maybe he’ll be okay with him asking Sofia out?

  “Actually, there is something I want to talk to you about,” he rasped out. Gabe tilted his head.

  “What’s up?”

  Maverick opened his mouth, but before he had the chance to say another word, the firehouse sirens blared as the dispatcher rung into the speaker system.

  A big factory fire just on the outskirts of town.

  “We’ll talk later. It’s show time!” Gabe grinned as he rushed straight to the lockers that held their gear while calling out to others around.

  ***

  The fire was a lot bigger and wilder than anyone could have expected, and they walked right in.

  With their gear weighing them down, breathing masks in place, they gave each other hand gestures, so they knew where to go and who to follow. Like always, Maverick followed Gabe, both of them in charge of looking for any workers or personnel who might have been working overtime.

  The heat was excruciating.

  Blazing fire suddenly surrounded them as they hit the third floor. He looked at Gabe, who stood straight and turned to him, giving him the all-clear sign so Maverick could pass.

  About to take a step forward, Maverick found his world shift right in front of him. One moment, Gabe stood in place; the next, he was gone. His huge body slipped through the floorboards and down a floor below them. Maverick heard a scream in his head and quickly realized it had been his own. He turned and rushed down the steps, determined to find his best friend. His heart was in his damn throat. They might have lived in a small town, but they had suffered their own share of losses.

  Gabe isn’t going to be one of those, he promised himself.

  He took the steps three at a time as time ceased to exist. Rushing through the harsh flare-ups and the hissing of the surrounding inferno burning around him, he didn’t stop until he reached Gabe’s body.

  “Gabe!” he shouted, calling into his radio for help. Maverick couldn’t rip his eyes off Gabe’s bloodied mask.

  “Damn it, Gabe!” he shouted again as fear prickled at the back of his neck. He had to be okay. What would he tell Sophia and Jill if he wasn’t? No. Gabe had to be okay. His fingers moved to Gabe’s pulse point at his neck.

  This couldn’t be happening.

  Relief rushed through his body as a steady pulse plucked under his fingers. Pulling Gabe’s mask up, he wiped at the blood on his face.

  “Wake up, man!” Mav yelled, but Gabe stayed still. Eerily still. “Come on, Gabe, this isn’t funny!” he hoarsely shouted, his finger still on his neck.

  Suddenly, Gabe coughed, meaning Mav could breathe again.

  “Fuck, brother, you scared the shit outta me!” Mav told Gabe as Gabe shifted, sagging his body against Mav’s. “You’re going to be okay. I called for help.”

  “I’m good,” Gabe tried to shake off, coughing harshly. “Help me up.”

  “Gabe, you need to stay down.”

  “I’m fine. Help me up,” he pushed, attempting to stand, but he couldn’t. Both Gabe and Mav’s eyes moved down Gabe’s body. His leg was twisted and tangled in some kind of wiring crap. A metal rod pierced almost all the way through Gabe’s calf. “Shit,” he groaned.

  “We got this,” Mav assured him. “We got this. Don’t freak out, Gabe.”

  “I’m not a pussy, asshole,” he gasped, his eyes wincing in pain. Mav knew Gabe wouldn’t allow himself to cry out. Mav repeated his call into the radio for help and gave Gabe his unbroken and unbloodied mask. “Here, breathe in,” Mav ordered. Gabe looked at him, but he knew better than to argue. “Deep, calming breaths, Gabe.” He nodded at him as Maverick looked around, trying to get an idea of the best plan of action.

  “Mav…”

  “Shhh, don’t talk, man. Just breathe,” he reminded Gabe, not missing Gabe’s shallow and labored breathing. Fear and anxiety weighed heavily on Maverick’s mind.

  “If I….” Mav knew what Gabe was going to say, but he wouldn’t let him do it. He couldn’t finish that sentence.

  “Shut the
fuck up, man. Come on… This is just a scratch,” he joked, trying to ignore how much blood Gabe was losing.

  “Right… just a scratch,” Gabe repeated, his body heavier in Mav’s arms.

  Just in time, their other brothers came up. Riley and Martinez helped cut the metal wiring, so they could maneuver Gabe out.

  But it didn’t happen before Gabe lost consciousness, and Mav was terrified he had lost the guy he considered his true brother.

  Chapter 7

  Sofia

  When you grow up in a family of first responders, there is always a small voice in the back of your head. They are the first ones headed into trouble, while others run away from it. You always know there is a possibility of being on the receiving end of the call.

  The call my family was already all too familiar with.

  The one I hoped would never be repeated, but knew it could be possible. You did everything to ignore the possibility of everything that could go wrong. You tried to focus on everything but that. But as hard as it was, you always tried, because what are the chances of getting that call. Right? Of lightning striking twice.

  But it happened.

  I didn’t get the call directly, but my mom did. Not a minute after she hung up, she called me.

  I had never been a fan of hospitals or waiting. After losing my dad the way we had, my dislike was warranted. But now, I was stuck doing both.

  Sitting next to my beautiful mother, her hand in mine while I was trying not to lose my shit. Pushing myself to think positively instead of what I wanted to do. To get lost in the desperation that was lurking.

  I was losing that battle as well as the one to keep my eyes ahead of me, but they kept straying to the doorway of the waiting room where Maverick was standing.

  Somber and grief stricken. Everything yelled at me to comfort him, to fall in his arms and try to take that expression away.

  He watched Gabe fall through the floor and was the one to find him. The one to help him. Mav was also the one who took him out of the building from what the Captain told my Mom.

  Is Gabe worse than they let on?