Play With Fire: Into The Fire Series

by J. H. Croix

  And then she pinched my cheek. Because she still did that, and I let her.

  Jasmine was putting away some groceries, her amber hair up in a loose knot atop her head.

  “Hey, sugar, you got a minute?” I asked, as I walked up behind her, slipping my arms around her waist and dipping my head to breathe her in.

  She closed the kitchen cabinet, turning in the cage of my arms. My cock, of course, stood at attention. No matter that this was an entirely inappropriate time for me to be getting randy. My father would probably be in any minute from whatever the hell he was doing out in the yard, and my mother was upstairs, for God’s sake.

  I sent up a little prayer of apology and caught Jasmine’s lips in a quick kiss. Just that—one swipe of her tongue against mine—and I was hot for her. With a force of will, I drew back. Her cheeks were pink, and her gorgeous blue eyes were dark.

  She bit her lip, a grin curling one corner of her mouth. “Now is not exactly the time,” she said softly.

  “I know,” I replied, stepping back and catching her hand in mine. “I’ve got something to show you though. Come on.”

  She was definitely curious, her eyes widening as she looked at me. She didn’t hesitate and came along as I tugged her out of the kitchen. In the year and a half since the house had been finished, we’d had one summer to do some work in the yard. Just now, the snow was melting, and I could hear the rushing sound of a stream in the trees behind the house. Spring was called mud season in Alaska for a reason. Everything melted and turned the ground muddy for weeks at a time. The streams were overflowing with the snow coming down off the mountains. Jasmine, ever practical, was wearing a pair of leather boots, and she trudged easily through the yard with me.

  I’d been working on the studio every chance I had while she was away during the day for the last month. Normally, I’d have been able to knock out a project like this in a few days. The outside of the old cabin still needed work, but the inside was transformed.

  When I reached the building, I glanced to her.

  “Why are we going to this old cabin? Please don’t tell me you got some kind of animal and neglected to mention it to me.”

  I chuckled. Jasmine had heard plenty about the potbellied pig that my family had when I was growing up. I still missed that pig. Ben was his name. He lived a long life, but he’d passed away a few years ago. I was still figuring I could sweet-talk her into getting one.

  “Oh, no,” I said, “I’m saving that argument for later. Come on.”

  Opening the door, I flicked on the light.

  Jasmine followed me inside. Her breath hitched sharply, her eyes widening as she looked around. “Oh my God! When did you do this?” she squealed.

  Before I even had a chance to answer, she was flinging her arms around my neck and kicking her feet up. I caught hold and held her fast against me.

  Leaning back, her eyes were bright with tears. “This is the best present ever! I mean, I love my studio in town, but …” Her words trailed off.

  “I thought it’d be nice for you to have a place here to work.”

  She dipped her head, burrowing into my shoulder. “Thank you so much,” she mumbled, her voice muffled as she spoke. Drawing back, she shimmied out of my arms and looked around.

  “You bought me a new kiln?” she asked, her tone wondering. “How did you get that?”

  “I might’ve had a little help from Levi and Cade. My parents also might’ve come to visit now because I wanted to have this ready before your busy season.”

  She stood still for a beat before walking slowly around, her gaze sobering. Her footsteps echoed in the mostly empty room. Spinning to face me, she took a few steps, closing the distance between us. Stopping in front of me, she reached out and caught one of my hands in hers. She leaned up, tracing her fingertip over my lips.

  Her touch was like a blaze of fire. Just like that very first night I met her.

  “I’m so damn lucky. In case I don’t say it enough, I love you,” she said, as she leaned up and pressed her lips to mine.

  “Sugar, I’m the one who’s lucky.”

  Somehow, we ended up having a quickie in her brand-new studio, christening her worktable.

  Later that night, after we walked back to the house hand in hand, and Jasmine let my mother take over in the kitchen, I lay in bed beside her. The moonlight lined her silhouette in silver.

  I’d go anywhere in the world to be with Jasmine. Because she was home. I trailed my fingertips over her shoulder, and she sighed, shifting her bottom back against me.

  I woke the following morning with her warm and soft in my arms, and the bright sun rising against snowcapped mountains. This was life with the woman I loved, the one who owned my heart and soul, held tight against me. She was my everything.

  Thank you for reading Play With Fire - I hope you loved Jasmine & Donovan’s story!

  * * *

  Up next in the Into the Fire Series is Melt With You - Harlow & Max’s holiday story. A tech billionaire collides with a sassy firefighter heroine - opposites attract doesn’t quite capture it.

  * * *

  Keep reading for a sneak peek!

  * * *

  Be sure to sign up for my newsletter for the latest news, teasers & more! Click here to sign up: http://jhcroixauthor.com/subscribe/

  Excerpt: Melt With You

  Max

  Somehow, while attending a wedding almost in the middle of nowhere in Alaska, I’d ended up handling taxi duties. Go figure. According to the latest update sent to me via frantic text from the bride, there was only one straggler left. Within minutes, I was rolling to a stop in front of the hotel. My phone buzzed in my pocket. Sliding it out, I glanced down.

  Harlow May is her name. Find her!

  This from Ivy Nash, the bride and the woman Owen Manning had fallen so hard and fast for, I was still questioning his sanity. Ivy was lovely though and perfect for Owen. I considered teasing her and telling her Harlow was gone. But no. It was Ivy’s day, so I’d behave.

  On it. She’ll be delivered to the wedding shortly.

  I’d expected this last guest, who seemed quite important to Ivy, to be waiting outside. Not so. Harlow May was late.

  I thought I recognized Harlow’s name. I surmised she was the daughter of an investor for Owen’s company. I happened to be familiar with her father through business connections. Owen and I had met at MIT some years back. He remained one of my closest friends. Off the Grid was his baby, his world-class multimillion-dollar engineering firm situated in the middle of fucking nowhere Alaska.

  After another few beats of waiting, I strolled into the lobby. The wedding was taking place on top of a mountain at Last Frontier Lodge. There wasn’t enough room there for all the wedding guests since the resort booked out so far in advance, so the other guests were staying here. Just as I was about to go to the desk and ask for Harlow to be called, a woman came hurrying out of the elevators.

  Inside of a millisecond, I was completely distracted, enchanted, and then some. She had straight, glossy brown hair that hung almost to her waist and dark brown eyes. Aside from the fact she was flat out beautiful, she wore a cream silk dress, the outfit as out of place as a giraffe in the midst of a room full of dogs, what with most of the guests around her dressed for the outdoors.

  I watched as she hurried through the front entrance, following after her. My stride closed the distance between us, my eyes locked on the swing of her hips. She had curves for days, filling out the silk dress. The silk swung just above her knees in a ruffle, hugged her hips like a lover and dipped in at her waist, only to flare out again to cup her breasts.

  Stepping through the doors, I walked directly to her, my body tightening the moment I reached her. “Harlow May?”

  Her espresso gaze swung to mine. “Yes. Are you the driver?”

  I bit back a laugh. “I presume you’re attending Owen and Ivy’s wedding?”

  Harlow twirled a long lock around her finger. The motion made me want
to tangle a hand in her hair and muss it. I didn’t, though it took an act of will. At her nod, I gestured to the car. It wasn’t my vehicle. It was Owen’s decked out black SUV with every tech feature you could imagine and entirely electric. It felt as if I were temporarily living a borrowed life.

  “Am I late?” Harlow asked as she stepped towards the SUV.

  Her scent drifted up to me, a hint of honey and vanilla. “I don’t know if you’re late, but you’re the last one,” I said. She’d missed the first three scheduled trips, but I no longer cared.

  I opened the door for her, glancing down to see a flush crest on her cheeks. She slipped into the front seat and buckled her seatbelt. Once we were en route to the lodge, my eyes flicked sideways, landing on the curve of her thigh. My hand itched to slide over the silk, to feel the heat of her skin penetrating through it. I didn’t know what it was about her, but I hadn’t been this curious about a woman in, well, longer than I could remember.

  “So Harlow, how do you know the bride and groom?”

  I thought I knew the answer to my question, but I figured I’d ask anyway.

  “I met Ivy and Owen through my father because he’s an investor in their company. I’m here for the wedding because Ivy’s become a friend. Alaska was on my bucket list too.”

  “Alaska is quite beautiful. It’s my first time here myself.”

  I rolled to a stop at an intersection, glancing over to find Harlow’s gaze on me. “I don’t think I caught your name,” she said.

  She crossed and uncrossed her legs, tempting me to touch her again. Forcing my gaze forward, I turned onto the road that wound up into the mountains.

  “Max. Max Channing,” I replied.

  “Are you just a driver, or here for the wedding?”

  “I’m a friend and driving as a favor,” I offered.

  I couldn’t have said why, but I preferred Harlow didn’t know how our worlds might intersect. Within minutes, we were rolling to a stop in front of Last Frontier Lodge, the spectacular setting for Owen and Ivy’s wedding. Diamond Creek, Alaska was one of Alaska’s coastal jewels with the mountains dipping their toes in the sea here.

  As I opened the door for Harlow to step out, I caught a glimpse of blue silk between her thighs. I was a gentleman. I wasn’t prone to trying to catch sneak shots of women’s panties. But sweet hell, Harlow was a magnet for me, and my eyes had a will of their own.

  Of all the factors I had considered in coming to this wedding, encountering a woman so delectable I could hardly keep my body in check wasn’t on the list. Not to mention, I wasn’t on the best terms with her father. In fact, the last time we’d crossed paths, I’d told him he was a fucking asshole. Because he was.

  As I walked behind her up the entrance stairs, I idly wondered what she did. Yet, now wasn’t the time for chitchat. We had a half an hour before the wedding started. As we walked through the door, I rested my hand on her back, guiding her inside and savoring the heat of the silk against her skin.

  If Harlow noticed my touch, she didn’t react. We walked through the crowded lobby and restaurant, and onto the back deck. Guests were milling about, yet Owen and Ivy were nowhere in sight. I glanced down to Harlow. “Seating’s over there. Check with Delia,” I said, gesturing to a woman who ran the restaurant at the lodge and was also a wedding guest.

  When Harlow glanced at me, I noticed how her dark lashes curled against her cheeks. I couldn’t have looked away if I tried when a slow smile stretched across her face. I wanted to kiss her.

  “Actually, I’m a bridesmaid. Thank you for the ride,” she said softly before turning away. She paused beside Delia, her dark hair a contrast to Delia’s honey blond. They briefly conferred, and then Harlow slipped through a side door back into the lodge.

  Meanwhile, I had duties to attend to. I walked back into the lodge to hunt down Owen. I found him in one of the rooms set aside for dressing with Derek Bridges. Along with Owen, Derek was one of my closest friends back from our days at MIT.

  Owen was leaning against the dresser, ready in his suit and tie while he laughed at something Derek said. He glanced my way. “Did you round up everybody?”

  “Of course I did. Just ferried the last guest. Harlow May. She’s Howard May’s daughter, right?”

  Owen nodded, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners with his grin. “Yes. Harlow and Ivy are close.”

  Derek stood from where he was seated by the windows. “Aren’t we all relieved Howard couldn’t make it to the wedding?” he asked with a wry grin.

  “I gather his daughter is nicer than he is if she’s one of Ivy’s bridesmaids,” I replied.

  Owen chuckled. “Ivy adores her, and she’s nothing like her father. In fact, he’s cranky because she’s refusing to work for him.”

  Just as I was about to counter with a question—because I was that curious about Harlow—there was a knock at the door. With a grin, Garrett Hamilton poked his head around the door. “I’ve been ordered to come fetch you boys.”

  In the short time I’d been here, I’d met the Hamilton family in a whirlwind. They owned this ski resort, which was primarily run by the eldest brother, Gage. Garrett was a former corporate lawyer. He still practiced law, but he’d said goodbye to his high-flying career in Seattle and moved up here to marry Delia.

  Glancing toward Owen, I asked, “You ready for this?”

  Owen, with his jet-black hair, ice blue eyes, and calm demeanor, actually looked a tad apprehensive. His shoulders rose and fell with a breath as he pushed away from the dresser. Adjusting his tie, he met me at the door with Derek behind him. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

  Garrett had already started to walk down the hallway. “Let’s do this,” Derek added, clapping Owen on the shoulder. “Now would be the time to speak up if you have any doubts.”

  We had started to file out when Owen came to a complete stop, turning back to face us. “I have no doubts. If you’re wondering, I’m half terrified Ivy might suddenly come to her senses. If she does, I don’t know what I’ll do,” he said flatly.

  His eyes met mine, the depth of emotion contained there almost startling. “I don’t think you need to worry about that,” I heard myself saying.

  Barely a hint of relief entered his gaze as he turned around.

  We filed down the hall and onto the back deck of the lodge, which had been transformed into an outdoor wedding chapel. As I took my place beside Derek at the front, I contemplated that Owen had once been just as unlikely as me to settle down. Yet, here he was, head over heels in love with Ivy.

  He had his reasons for keeping to himself, as did I. I still couldn’t quite imagine caring that deeply for someone. I’d all but written the idea of love out of my life. As the pastor began the ceremony, I scanned the crowd. My eyes made their way to Harlow who stood with two other women beside Ivy. The moment I saw her, lust lashed at me. I could most certainly imagine a night between the sheets with Harlow.

  I couldn’t quite get a bead on her. She was quiet and gave off an air of steely strength. I wanted to know more.

  Forcing my gaze off of her, I took a moment to scan the horizon. Mountain peaks rose all around us. The air was crisp and cool. Kachemak Bay was visible in the distance, the sun striking sparks on its surface. On the heels of a breath, savoring the crisp mountain air, I turned back and watched one of my closest friends get married.

  I wasn’t much for weddings usually. Yet, this wasn’t a typical wedding—outdoors on the back deck of a beautiful lodge with the mountains and the ocean serving as the cathedral for the ceremony. My eyes were drawn to Harlow—as if she were my own personal magnet.

  With a forceful mental shake, I tore my gaze free. Relationships were another part of business for me, a way to meet my needs and nothing more. Love, the flash in the pan, crazy love that Owen had stumbled into with Ivy, well, that wasn’t for me.

  Harlow

  After the wedding ceremony, the sky started to cloud, and the guests were herded inside. The lodge was busy even t
hough it was only autumn. They catered to tourists for every season. I leaned against the bar, sipping my pomegranate martini. I didn’t drink often, but I did enjoy a good martini. I was working on my third at this point, but I figured what the hell? I was at a wedding for one of my dearest friends, happy to escape the pressures of my life.

  When Ivy had asked me to be one of her bridesmaids, my only hesitation had been whether or not my father was coming. Ivy, being the friend she was, had been sympathetic but still begged me to come. She’d also gleefully called me when my father bowed out. Owen had invited him out of courtesy since he invested quite generously in their company.

  “Hey, hey,” Ivy’s voice called.

  Spinning around, I leaned my hips against the barstool and smiled.

  “Are you glad you came?” she asked when she reached me.

  She was glowing in her cream silk dress with her amber hair and eyes. I was so happy for her. She and Owen were perfect for each other, the kind of perfect that didn’t come along very often.

  “Of course I’m happy I came. I think I might stay a little longer than I planned. When do you leave for your honeymoon?” I asked.

  Ivy leaned against the bar beside me, glancing over her shoulder to catch the eye of Gage Hamilton. He was the owner of the lodge and had been taking turns bartending with his brother Garrett. He was quite handsome with his gray eyes and dark hair. He was also quite taken. Not that I felt any kind of spark with him, not at all.

  “Give me what she’s having,” Ivy said to Gage.

  He flashed a smile and mixed her drink while he carried on a conversation with another customer.

  “We’re leaving tomorrow,” Ivy replied. “I wish you would stay longer.”

  “Why? You won’t be here.”

  “Because it makes me happy to think you can have some downtime. You can stay at the house if you’d like. I know how you feel about hotels.”