On Fire (Seduction Series Book 3)

by Emily Vincent

  I knew that was true. I could trust Trevor. “Okay,” I responded, feeling better about getting in the car and knowing that we didn’t have any expectations.

  He opened the door for me and I got in and then shut the door behind me. He went around and hopped into the front seat. Once he was seated and started the car, he glanced at me. “You’re worth waiting for, Krystal. That I know for sure.” He reached over and grabbed my hand. Our eyes met and I could feel the heat boiling inside of us. It was interesting, because I had just had that speech with him, but there was definitely a moment where I questioned everything. I just smiled at him and tried to push those thoughts from my mind.

  He started the car and pulled out of the parking spot, heading back in the direction of my apartment. I leaned against the seat in his car and turned to look out the car window. The fact that my head was full of thoughts had me wondering where we were heading.

  Before I even got many questions out of my thoughts, he turned into the parking lot of the apartment building. He stopped the car and got out to go around and open the door for me. We walked up to my apartment. It was at the door that I turned to him. “Guess this is where we’ll say our goodnights,” I said.

  He nodded. “Guess so!”

  I could feel a lump in my throat, so I swallowed hard to get rid of it. “Goodnight!” I turned around and opened the door to my apartment. I pushed it open, then looked back at him.

  He had inched closer to me, and I saw the smug grin on his face. “Just because we’re not going to sleep together tonight, doesn’t mean that I’m not going to attempt to kiss you. Will you stop me?”

  I shook my head and before I could fully get my answer out of there, his lips met mine. I slipped my hand around the back of his neck and we stayed in that position for a long and passionate while as my breath caught deep in my throat. His tongue smoothly crashed against mine and every fear tried to slip out of my mind. If my heart wouldn’t have been hidden by the outer shell of my chest, you would have heard every beat. Even now, I thought I heard something. I took in a whiff of his cologne as the kiss slowly came to an end.

  “Uh…goodnight, Trevor,” I said. I backed up and into my apartment. The look on his face said it all. He was only going along with this because it was my wish. My wish was only there because I was trying to protect our hearts, but there wasn’t any way that I would be able to go too much longer with fighting the sexual chemistry.

  “Goodnight,” he said as I slowly closed the door that was between us. I turned around and fell against the door, feeling a little shaky. I stayed there for a moment and thought about him. The night couldn’t have gone any better and I would message him soon to see about getting together again.

  I stepped away from the door, having the intent to go take my shower when I heard my cellphone ringing. I grabbed it from my purse and saw his number on the caller ID window. I grinned as I answered the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, it’s been so long and just thought that maybe we should go out sometime soon.”

  I laughed. “You’re a nut.”

  I could hear him snicker on the other line I fell on the couch, lying on my stomach as he continued. “Yeah…maybe I am, but tonight reminded me of how much I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you too,” I softly replied. “And I do think that we should make sure to get together soon.”

  “When are you off again?” he asked.

  “Not for three days,” I admitted.

  “Oh…” he mumbled. “Well, how about lunch tomorrow? I can get away at noon and we can meet up for a quickie.” The way he said it had me thinking that he meant a sex quickie, but he quickly corrected himself. “I just mean that we could have a quick lunch.” He laughed. “If you’re up for it.”

  “I am. That sounds great!”

  “Perfect. How about meeting me at Jasper’s Shack at the corner of Second and Main Street at noon.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Perfect! So…uh…goodnight then.”

  “Goodnight!” I hung up the call and rolled onto my back. I stared up at the ceiling feeling a momentous amount of excitement welling up inside of me. If this was my new life I didn’t want it to end.

  I arrived in Jasper’s Shack before he did. I took a seat in the corner booth and immediately a waitress came up. “Dining alone today?” she asked.

  “No…he’s just not here yet.”

  “Would you care to start off with something to drink? Our Ice Tea is the special drink of the day.”

  “Actually, I’ll just wait until my party arrives, but I’ll keep that in mind, thanks!”

  The woman nodded and left me to wait alone. After ten minutes of sitting there and the time slowly passing noon, I looked down at my watch. “Where are you, Trevor?” I mumbled.

  Another ten minutes passed and the waitress came over to the booth. “Are you sure I can’t get you something to drink?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “I’m fine, but thank you!” After she left, I grabbed my phone and made sure he hadn’t left me a text message. When I was confident that he hadn’t, I pulled up his name and decided to send one to him.

  Krystal: Just checking to make sure we’re still on for today? Sitting here and waiting.

  I heaved a sigh and put my phone down. I was used to this, back when I lived in New York and he was running late because of work duties, but I tended to believe things would be different, especially because he wanted to make a go of this relationship thing. Or, at least it appeared that he did. After a minute went by, then another five, I grabbed my phone and purse. I was ready to leave. I didn’t want to be made a fool, by sticking around to be left hanging.

  As I was getting up, though, a message came through. I looked at it, even though I was a tad hesitant.

  Trevor: I am so sorry. Please…give me just five minutes to get there. I’ll be right there and explain.

  I looked at the message and then sat back down. There was probably a logical explanation, so I would give him the benefit of the doubt.

  Krystal: Okay. I’m waiting!

  After I sent through the reply, I looked up to see that the waitress was giving me a sad look, like she was feeling sorry for the fact that I was stood up. When our eyes met, she slowly walked back over to the table. “You really don’t want a complimentary drink? It’s on the house.”

  I smiled. “Thanks for the offer, but my friend will be here at any moment.”

  She opened her mouth like she wanted to argue and tell me that she wasn’t buying that for a minute, but then Trevor arrived and all was well. At least for the moment, all was well, I thought.

  “I’m so sorry I’m late,” he said. He leaned in and kissed me lightly on the cheek.

  I smiled. “It happens.” We then looked up at the waitress, who was still standing there. She gave Trevor a disapproving look, which I found funny. “I will take the Ice Tea,” I said.

  She wrote that down, then turned to Trevor. “I’ll take a Root Beer,” he said. “Thanks!” The waitress left and I turned to him. I arched an eyebrow up, waiting for his explanation to come.

  “Krys, I am so sorry,” he started. I held up my hand to stop him from apologizing. “Don’t apologize, just let me know what happened.”

  He nodded and took a deep breath. I noticed that he was out of breath. I tilted my head and gave him a curious look.

  “Did you get winded just running in here?” I asked.

  He shook his head and when the waitress got there, he grabbed the Root Beer and took a swig, then let out another breath. “Not winded from coming from the parking lot, I’m winded from walking three blocks and then running eight blocks.”

  I frowned. “I’m not following.”

  “My car gave out eleven blocks from here. I left the office in plenty of time because I wanted to make sure I was on-time, if not early. Well, once I got to Schwartz road, my car sputtered and then died.”

  My mouth hung open. “So, you walk
ed and then ran the rest of the way to get here?”

  He nodded. “I thought I would be late, obviously, but I had no idea how much and I just started walking. When you messaged me, I was in the middle of a jog to get here.”

  I laughed. “Why didn’t you text me? I would have come and got you, or we could have rescheduled.”

  He quickly shook his head. “I didn’t want to reschedule and I was worried that you would make the suggestion. I thought I could get here and we could just laugh about it afterward, but then when the text came through, I realized how late I truly was. Krystal, I’m so sorry.”

  I rolled my eyes at the apology. “Come on Trevor…I can’t fault you for being late now because your car had issues. It’s amazing you’re here now.” I smiled at him and I hoped he could see how impressed that made me. “And because I want you to know that I hold no ill-feelings, I’ll take you back to your car.” I winked at him and took a drink of my Ice Tea.”

  He laughed. “That’ll be mighty kind of you ma’am,” he said, tipping his head.

  I chuckled and we looked down at the menus and gathered up our order for when the waitress came back.

  Lunch was nice. It was a good feeling of being with him and just relaxing and not letting any doubts or issues crowd our mind. By the time we were done eating, we started talking about his car, and how he was going to get it to a shop to have them look at it.

  “Maybe you should call a tow truck to meet us there,” I suggested.

  “Good idea.” He grabbed the phone from his pocket and searched for local tow trucks, then dialed up one, while I sat there and waited for him to get that taken care of. The waitress brought us our bill, and I grabbed it from her.

  “Thanks,” I said. I withdrew my wallet from my purse and got out my debit card to pay for the bill. When I laid it down on the table, Trevor was off the phone.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “My treat this time.”

  He laughed and then pushed my card back towards me. “Not on your life,” he said. “It’s my treat whenever we go out.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, then laid some cash down.

  “Why?” I asked. “Just because you’re the man?”

  He looked at me and shook his head. “No. It has nothing to do with the fact that I’m the man, but I want to buy. I always have, because I feel it’s necessary. So, why change things now?”

  “Things were different back then. I didn’t have a very good job and you and I were dating.”

  He smirked. “Aren’t we dating right now?”

  I smiled. “Well yeah, but I guess it’s a little bit more complicated than that.” He nodded that he understood and I slowly took back the card. “So, I guess I’ll accept that you want to pay, but I don’t expect it all the time.”

  “Okay, we’ll consider that later then.”

  “Okay, but anyway…did you get a hold of a tow truck?” I asked.

  “I did and they’ll be at the car in thirty minutes, so we might as well go.”

  I stood up at the table and we left the restaurant and headed to my car. We get in and I back out of the parking spot and head towards Schwartz Road.

  “What time do you have to be to work?” he asked me.

  “Six,” I replied.

  “Oh okay…” Things went quiet and I figured what he wanted to ask, but was maybe too worried to bring up.

  “So, I was thinking…” I started. “You aren’t going to have a car. Maybe I should plan on taking you to work and then picking you up. Would that work?”

  He laughed and I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. “That would be awesome.”

  I smirked. “You know, you could have just asked.”

  “Yeah…I know. I should have,” he admitted. “Thanks for putting me out of my misery though.”

  That brought us to both laughing as we continued the drive. We got back to his car before the tow truck had arrived and we sat there, just waiting. That brought me to bring up a subject that up until that point, I had left untouched. “So, how are your parents?” I asked.

  He snickered. “I know how much you love them.” Again, we chuckled at the meaning behind those words.

  “Let’s be honest…I could handle them if they wouldn’t hate me so much.”

  Trevor didn’t even try to deny it this time, as he had done in the past. “They are doing well. Dad finally retired and they’ve been doing some travelling. It’s been good for them and keeping them mobile.”

  “That’s great!” I replied. “How have they handled your other lady friends?”

  He snickered. “Well, you have to remember that there was a good portion of that time where I was out of the country, so they didn’t really have much say.”

  I nodded. “Oh…so that’s the secret. Leave the country?”

  He looked at me and chuckled. “I believe that if they would have had time on their side that they would have fallen in love with you, just as much as I had.”

  That brought the car to a dead silence as we looked at one another and each started plotting out our next words. Luckily, the tow truck had gotten there and so we were saved by the distraction. We got out of the car, and I stood back as he went to greet the driver and they talked a little about where he would take the car and then Trevor took out a credit card and paid for the tow truck services and handed over his keys. They shook hands and Trevor walked back to the car.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked.

  “He’s taken it to a shop right down the road. B. Wreckers?”

  I nodded. “Oh yeah…I know the place.”

  “Then I can call them and give them my info for them to reach me. Then I’ll keep you posted and if I can get it back today, but if I can’t…”

  “Then we’ll work it out,” I said, finishing off his sentence.

  “Thanks, Krys,” he stated.

  I shrugged. “What are friends for?” I walked around the car and we got in and he directed me to where the new building was.

  When I pulled into the parking lot, he glanced at me. “Want to come up and see where my office is?” he asked.

  I looked up at the large building and a part of me really wanted to, but then I feared that it would make things automatically move in a quicker pace than expected, so I sighed and shook my head. “Maybe next time?”

  He nodded. “I understand. Will you pick me up at five then?” he asked.

  “I’ll be here.”

  He leaned over and kissed me softly on the lips, and we stayed in that position for what seemed like hours, but in actuality ranged for less than a minute. When he pulled back, he smiled. “Have a good rest of your day. I’ll see you at five.”

  “Okay…see you then!”

  I watched him get out of the car and head up to the building and I smiled to myself. I didn’t know why I had to be so nervous about rekindling what we once had. It was perfectly clear to me that Trevor was on the boat to getting there. If only I could take that leap with him. In due time, I wanted to believe that I’d get there.

  Chapter 5

  I picked up Trevor promptly at five o’clock. He was waiting for me out front. “Hey!” he said, as he was getting in the car.

  “Hey! Did you hear anything back about your car?” I quickly asked.

  “Yeah…that they won’t be able to look at it until tomorrow.” He paused and looked at me. “So, would you mind getting me tomorrow morning?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “Not at all. Already cleared my morning schedule.”

  He was intrigued by that. “Oh…you had a busy schedule?”

  I laughed as I backed out of the parking spot and headed away from his office building. “I’m teasing. I really didn’t have much of anything planned, perhaps clean out my closets.”

  He chuckled. “Well then, I’m sorry that I had to keep you from that.”

  He motioned for where I was supposed to turn to get to the small apartment he was renting, which made me ask
the question. “So, will you be staying at this place long term?” I asked.

  “Gosh, I hope not,” he said, chuckling. “I was thinking that I would try to find a house. After all, you just might never know how long I’ll be here and I don’t know that apartment living suits me.”

  A house sounded pretty permanent, and it made me happy to hear him say that. “Well, I have a few connections, maybe I can get you help in looking for a place.”

  “That’d be nice,” he said.

  It, of course, was helping me out too, because it would be nice to have a sense of understanding that Trevor wasn’t going back to New York anytime soon. Then maybe it would push me to be more open to something happening between us.

  He pointed for me to turn down a dirt road, which surprised me, but I did as he said. “I’ve never been down this road,” I said.

  He laughed. “Yeah, that really doesn’t surprise me. You have to remember that I was kind of looking for a place on a whim and I figured it wouldn’t be for long.” He motioned towards a building that was on the right. It was nicer than I had anticipated, especially going the route that I had been driving, but it wasn’t the type of place that Trevor would really gravitate towards. I kept my opinion to myself, as I drove into the parking lot and up by the door. “You can come if you want to,” he said.

  “Thanks for the offer, but I really should be getting to work.”

  “Oh right,” he mumbled. “Then I guess we’ll see each other tomorrow. Be here at seven?” He hesitated. “If that’s too early, I can work from home and go in later.”

  I reached out my hand and touched his leg, quieting him. “I’ll be here at seven.”

  “Okay,” he said. Our eyes met and there was no denying the heat that I felt on my end. I just wondered if he had it on his own. I moved in and kissed him. This time it was a lingering kiss that took my breath away. I moved my tongue in between his lips and a soft moan left him. I didn’t care what doubts there were, in the heat of the moment, I felt that a kiss was our destiny.