Fire Me Up

by Kimberly Kincaid

  If he had a million years to discover her, he’d want a million and one.

  Wordlessly, Teagan slipped out of the rest of her clothes before liberating him from the rest of his. The combination of silvery light from the windows and the adjustment of his eyes to the dark let him watch as she moved toward her bed, propping herself on her knees in the bedsheets. He stepped in to kiss her, and God, how could anyone be so soft and yet so strong and firm at the same time?

  The kiss went from slow and sexy to right fucking now in the span of a breath, and Adrian deepened his motions to meet every one of Teagan’s soft little moans. Dividing the cradle of her hips with his own, he pressed against her body until she’d reclined over the mattress, her knees listing open in hot invitation. Adrian shifted to his side to ease the weight of his frame off his injured arm, smiling into the fold of Teagan’s shoulder as the lean muscles in her inner thigh tightened under his touch. He dragged his fingertips slowly forward, lingering in the crease between her leg and her hip before sliding over her core.

  Impulse sizzled through Adrian’s veins as he thrust into the slick heat between her legs, burying his thumb in the soft knot above his fingers. Teagan’s answering cry of approval only pushed him harder, and he strained to keep his balance on his impaired arm as he worked her closer and closer to the edge.

  “Do you know how badly I want to be inside of you?” he whispered, but the words had barely finished passing his lips before Adrian found himself flat on his back, covered by nothing more than the warm, wanting woman and his insane need to have her.

  “Yes,” she whispered back, swinging from the bed only long enough to grab a condom from his discarded jeans. Even the gentle motions of fitting it into place made Adrian’s cock ache in demand, and he gripped Teagan’s hips as she replaced her body over his. She fastened him with her gaze, her eyes glinting with desire and emotion, and even though the scant light of her room shadowed the connection, Adrian still felt the full force of it in his chest.

  “Let me in, Adrian. Let me take care of you.”

  Teagan sank down, the space between their bodies becoming nothing in one breath-stealing thrust, and going slow never stood a chance. Adrian canted his hips, tilting her closer until he could reach around to palm the gorgeous swell of her ass to control every movement, pushing deeper into her with each unforgiving thrust. Rather than shy away or try to slow down, Teagan rocked right back against him, giving and taking and giving again until her warm, wet body went rigid around him.

  “Oh God.” The oath left her lips as more reverence than curse, and Adrian locked her relentlessly into place as he arched off the bed to fill her. With need that bordered on despair, he levered himself up from the mattress, seating Teagan to the hilt in his lap and holding her there as she unraveled in his arms.

  Only, instead of going boneless in her release, she knotted her long, strong legs around the small of his back to adjust to her new position. She rolled her hips over his in a torturously sinful glide, squeezing just as tight and hard as Adrian had only moments ago, until a dark, familiar tingle broke free at the base of his spine. He struggled for the last thread of control in his grasp, but then Teagan looked down at him, her cinnamon-gold stare penetrating him like a palpable touch.

  “Your turn. Come for me, Adrian. Please.”

  His release rushed up from every direction, shuddering through him in a heated wave of pleasure-pain, but Adrian didn’t fight it. His mouth parted over the sleek column of her neck, and he surrendered to every last impulse as he came with a groan. Teagan held him fast in her arms as the intensity subsided, the earthy, sweet scent of rosemary filling him up as her hair tumbled down over both of their shoulders. Her chest rose and fell against his, her heartbeat sending a pattern over his skin that grew calmer with each breath.

  They sat, locked together in silence and bedsheets, and for the first time in his thirty-two years, Adrian felt like he belonged somewhere other than the kitchen.

  Teagan’s eyes fluttered open just as the last strains of purple predawn light gave way to smudges of orange and pink through her bedroom window. The thick smattering of oak trees and tall pines around her cottage sent a kaleidoscope of shadows through the sheer white curtains, and she watched the patterns shift over the carpet at her bedside with a swirl of at-odds emotions uncurling in her chest.

  She wanted to be wary, to throw on the prickly suit of armor that had served her so well for her entire adult life so she could push her vulnerability away with a nice, mean shove and go back to self-preservation mode. The only problem was, when Adrian had looked all the way into her last night and said he wanted her no matter what, Teagan had trusted him to stay.

  And that trust hadn’t budged or faded all night long.

  Teagan shifted under the covers, slowly turning to her side. The strong angle of Adrian’s jaw was lax in sleep, the heavy fringe of his eyelashes sending shadows over his cheeks. Her dark green comforter draped over his imposing frame at the waist, and the corded muscles of his bare chest rose and fell in steady rhythm. Moving one scant inch at a time, Teagan propped herself up on an elbow, leaning over Adrian’s body to examine the scrolled letters inked heavily into his right forearm.

  Vivere senza rimpianti. He wanted her with no regrets.

  But sometimes, regrets didn’t happen in the moment. Sometimes, they happened only after everything was lost.

  “It’s a little early for good morning, don’t you think?”

  The rumble of Adrian’s voice caught Teagan completely unaware, and she jumped about a mile off the bed at the same time his arms shot out to hold her close.

  “Gah! I didn’t know you were awake!” Her heart slapped around in her rib cage, and she squinted through the gray shadows of her bedroom to take him in with a critical eye. Nothing about him had changed, from his position flat on his back to his closed eyes and relaxed breathing, but his heartbeat kicked a faster rhythm beneath her palm.

  “You’re awake,” he pointed out, shifting her against his side so her body fit under his uninjured arm. He trailed lazy circles over her back, sliding his fingertips from shoulder blade to spine and back again.

  “Yeah.” Teagan’s pulse wound down at the steady, warm pressure of Adrian’s arms around her, holding her tight, and she wordlessly relaxed into his touch. “Guess I just popped up for a second.”

  “It’s early as hell, and I know you’re tired. Go back to sleep.” Adrian leaned down, filling her drowsier-by-the-second senses with his cinnamon-spicy scent before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

  “I should get up. I can’t go back to sleep,” she mumbled, making a feeble attempt to resist the yawn welling up from her throat. But Adrian’s body framed hers, all hard lines and strong angles, and damn it, everything about him felt perfect on her skin.

  “You can. I told you, I’ve got you, Red. I won’t let you go.”

  As Teagan’s eyes drifted shut and she gave in to the exhaustion in her body and the pure, bright trust in her heart, she knew that Adrian was telling the truth.

  And she was falling in love with him.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Adrian shifted his weight against the passenger seat of Teagan’s Corolla, inhaling the woodsy-sweet scent of rosemary as her ponytail rode the early June breeze coming in through the open windows. Neither one of them had said much as they’d finally woken up and gotten ready to go to work, but that was fine with him. He’d spilled enough marbles last night to last him another decade.

  And even when he’d told Teagan the darkest part of his past, the part that should’ve scared her the most, she hadn’t run. She hadn’t shut him out or shoved him away.

  She’d let him stay.

  Teagan cleared her throat, the soft sound pulling him back to the tight confines of the car. “You’re awfully quiet over there.”

  “Sorry. I must have been zoning out.” Okay, so it was a lame response, but he was pretty sure sorry, I was just sitting here thinking that despite th
e fact that it’s going to get my heart crushed like an overripe tomato and my ass thrown back in jail, I might be falling in love with you would make him sound like an absolute wing nut.

  Jesus. Nothing about this could end well.

  “Oh. Okay.” For a minute, nothing but silence filled the space between them, until Teagan broke it with a curse. “Sorry, no. It’s not okay. Look, I’m not any good at subtlety, so I’m just going to say this. I know things got a little crazy last night, and we both said some emotional stuff. But if you’re, you know, having second thoughts—”

  Adrian’s head snapped up. “Having what?”

  “Second thoughts about staying,” Teagan repeated, pressing her lips into a thin, strawberry-red line. “Why else would you be sitting there looking all freaked out and not saying anything?”

  Oh hell. “I’m not freaked out because I’m having second thoughts.”

  “You’re not?”

  Adrian closed his eyes for just a second before turning against the front seat to face her as completely as he could.

  “No, Red. I’m freaked out because I’m not having second thoughts.”

  “Oh. Oh,” she said, the second word wrapped tight in realization, and she pulled into the Double Shot’s parking lot and put the car in park. “Really?”

  “Really. I know the odds are stacked mile-high against us, but I don’t care. I need to live my life with no regrets, and that means helping you all the way through this street fair, no matter what the risk.” Unable to help it, Adrian kicked one corner of his mouth into a half smile. “Did you honestly think I’d changed my mind?”

  “No.” Teagan dropped her hands to her lap. “I don’t know. I trust you. I guess I’m just . . . scared.”

  Adrian leaned across the cramped space of the front seat, cradling her cheek in his palm. Sunlight streamed in through the car window behind her, illuminating her hair to a fiery red gold and showing him every inch of the honesty on her face, and suddenly, there was no might be about it.

  He was a total fucking goner for this woman. Even if being with her was dangerous as hell.

  “Not gonna lie, Red. We’ve got a lot in our path, and Lonnie’s obviously been doing his homework.” Adrian pressed a kiss over her mouth, quick and reverent. “But we’re going to get through this together. I’m not taking off on you. Not now.”

  This time, Teagan eked out a tiny smile. “Okay.” Her eyes flicked to the restaurant over his shoulder, growing serious again as she returned her gaze to his. “But if you’re going to stay, we need a game plan. The bar is a risky place for you to be, now more than ever. Your parole officer is out for blood, and if he finds out—”

  “Oh, I’ll deal with Big Ed,” Adrian said, his heart pounding a fresh load of adrenaline through his veins. The guy had gone too far, bullying him and threatening Carly. Felony record or not, that shit was going to stop, today.

  “I agree that you need to talk to him, Adrian, but you also need to think,” Teagan shot back, her tougher side making a not-so-surprised appearance. “You said yourself he’s just salivating for the chance to drag you back to jail. If you go at him full throttle, you might as well be gift-wrapping yourself for express delivery.”

  Shit. As badly as Adrian wanted to let loose on Big Ed once and for all, Teagan had a point. Still . . . “He went too far this time. I’m sick and tired of these bullshit power plays.”

  “So end them,” Teagan said, the words so direct and matter-of-fact that he had no choice but to listen. But he’d been sucking up Big Ed’s veiled threats for the last three years because he’d had no other choice. How the hell was he going to make them disappear now, when he needed them gone the most?

  Unless . . .

  “Okay. Big Ed’s threats work for the same reason Lonnie’s do, right?”

  “Leverage,” Teagan agreed, and oh holy hell, this just might work.

  “But if he doesn’t have any, he’ll have no choice but to back off.” Adrian pushed a hand through his hair, hope percolating in his chest. “I wonder what my attorney would think of him putting the screws to a high-profile character witness like Carly.”

  Teagan’s eyes flashed with coppery surprise. “You’re going to call your lawyer?”

  “I’m going to meet leverage with leverage,” Adrian corrected, the idea snapping into place. “Big Ed crossed the line, and he needs to back off. I’m just going to motivate him to do it. I don’t want to call my lawyer unless I have to, but it’s past time for some pushing back.”

  “Threatening him is a little risky,” Teagan said, her face unreadable. “Do you think he’ll bite?”

  “I think it’s worth a shot. Look, I’ve put up with Big Ed’s bullying for three years because a part of me believed I deserved it for screwing up so badly. But he’s messing with more than just me now. I need to do something. If it works, he’ll let up on Carly and we can focus on getting Lonnie paid back.”

  Yup. And that just might be the biggest Hail Mary in the history of the two letters I and f.

  But Adrian stuffed down the thought. “We’ve got two weeks to make this street fair work, and like you said last night, it’s gonna happen. I’ll deal with Big Ed. We’ll make this work.”

  “And what about Carly?”

  The question slapped him with a twin pang of surprise and don’t-go-there. “What about her?”

  Rather than get huffy or defensive, Teagan’s voice went straight for matter-of-fact. “If you’re going to deal with this, you need to deal with all of it. Carly’s your boss, not to mention your best friend, and whether you like it or not, she’s caught up in this, too.”

  “She kicked me out of the kitchen,” Adrian argued, but Teagan countered his defensive pull backward with a single brush of her hand.

  “Temporarily, yes. But Carly’s had your back for the last five years. Do you really think she’d put you on leave without a good reason? Or that it didn’t hurt her like it hurt you?”

  “What?” Considering the utter shock reverberating through his chest, it was the best Adrian could muster. He’d been so caught up in the pain of being tossed from the one place he’d thought he needed, he hadn’t ever considered that Carly’s reasons for doing it might actually be sound. Or that putting him on a leave of absence would certainly have been hard for her, even if she thought it was right.

  But Carly had been right. He really hadn’t been living without regrets, in the kitchen or out. Only he’d been too torqued up trying to muscle through each waking moment to see what had been right in front of him the whole time.

  Oh fuck. He was such an idiot.

  “You’re not an idiot,” Teagan said, and Adrian realized he must’ve uttered the curse out loud. She leaned in, the end of her ponytail brushing softly over his chest as she kissed his cheek. “You’re just kind of prickly, that’s all. And maybe a little thickheaded. I’m sure Carly knows.”

  Adrian swallowed back a healthy dose of dread. As tempting as it was to tamp down his emotions with a fresh layer of tough-edged denial, closing himself off was what had gotten him into this mess to begin with.

  Plus, as much as it scared the hell out of him, he trusted Teagan.

  Enough to let her in.

  “The stuff with Big Ed, I can fix. But I don’t know how to make this right,” Adrian admitted, reaching across the center console for Teagan’s hand, and damn. How did the simple feel of his fingers laced between hers make it so much easier to breathe?

  “You want to live with no regrets, don’t you?”

  He nodded, and she lifted their entwined hands, pressing his palm over his breastbone with her own.

  “Then stop being afraid of what’s in here and just tell Carly how you feel.”

  “You think she’ll listen?” Christ, Adrian wouldn’t be surprised if she punched his one-way ticket to voice mail purgatory.

  Teagan said, “If she cares about you like I think she does? Yeah, I do.”

  She pulled back, the corners of her mouth tugging in
to the sassy smile Adrian knew by heart.

  “But for the record, Superman? It probably wouldn’t hurt to lead with a giant apology. Now go make some phone calls. It’s about time we had a little good news around here.”

  Adrian hit the end call icon on his cell phone and sank back against the couch in the Double Shot’s office, trying like hell to get the bitter taste of talking to Big Ed out of his mouth. As curdled as the conversation had been, Adrian’s not-so-subtle promise to include his lawyer on their exchanges if Big Ed didn’t leave Carly alone had hit its mark, and the surly old crank had agreed—albeit grudgingly—to back off. He hadn’t backpedaled a bit on letting Adrian know he still had both eyes on the situation and one hand on the door. If Adrian fucked up, Big Ed would still drag him upstate.

  And that had been the easier of his two personal calls. Although he’d tried her both at home and on her cell phone, the best Adrian had been able to do was leave Carly two messages saying he needed to talk.

  Now he just had to hope she’d call him back.

  Finding his feet, Adrian slid his phone to the back pocket of his jeans and aimed his heavy-soled boots toward the stairs. They had a hell of a workload in front of them today, and knowing Teagan, she’d already jumped in with both feet first with a yippee-ki-yay on her lips.

  Despite the bone-wearying planning sessions they’d all been grinding out during the Double Shot’s off-hours, Adrian and Jesse had been cutting it millimeter-close with the final menu for the street fair. Everything else had fallen into place over the course of the last week, from the setup to the entertainment to the contract with the brewery. But if they wanted to make enough money to turn Lonnie into nothing more than a bad memory, the food had to go above and beyond and above again, and Adrian was going to do everything within his power to make that a reality.