Forged by Fire: A Small Town Second Chance Romance

by Cleveland, Eddie

  “Well, being screwed was definitely the plan,” he teases me. “You know what, I know where to go. You want privacy, right?”

  “Yes.” I nod.

  “Then that’s what you’re getting.” He turns his keys in the ignition and peels out of the parking lot.

  “Where are we going?” I watch the buildings signs and porch lights twinkle as we drive past.

  “You’ll see.” He gives me a glance from the corner of his eye. “Hey, just so you know, I wasn’t just singing any old song. You really do look perfect tonight.”

  I sit a little taller. My smile slides a little further over my face. And I fall a little deeper in… no, wait a second. I try to stop the thought in its tracks, but I can feel the reality in each beat of my heart. Instead, I focus on the road, trying to push thoughts I don’t know how to deal with out of my brain.

  The bright yellow and red Super 8 motel sign catches my eye. Luke pulls in, bringing the car to a stop. “I’ll be right back.” He hurries out of the car and slams the door shut behind him.

  Some people might think it’s sleazy to head off to a motel just to have sex, but I don’t. It’s actually pretty flattering. Luke wants me so bad that he’s willing to pay for a private room just so we can be together. Realizing that he finds me that sexy, well, it’s a powerful aphrodisiac.

  Luke struts out the front door of the lobby and jingles the key to our room from his fingers. I slip out the passenger door and he swoops in, sweeping me clean off my feet and launching me up over his shoulder.

  “Hey!” I squeal. “What are you doing?” I giggle. I know he’s a firefighter, but now he’s just showing off.

  He easily holds me on his shoulder with just one hand. With his free one, he opens our motel door. Luke walks inside, flicking on the lights. It’s hard to make out the details of the room from upside down, but from what I can see it looks clean. And best of all, private.

  The door slides shut behind him with a distinct click. I wiggle my feet as he tosses me down on the bed with a soft thud.

  “You wanted to be alone.” His eyes narrow as they slide over my curves.

  “Mmmhmm.” I bite my lip.

  “I’m guessing it was so you don’t have to worry about anyone walking in on all the dirty things I’m gonna do to you.” His voice is gruff.

  Desire surges through me, flooding my pussy and leaving my sensitive nub swollen with an aching need. My eyes widen, and my breath quickens. “What are you gonna do to me?”

  “Well, I think after all that dirty club dancing and teasing you put me through, you need to be put over my knee.” He steps toward the bed.

  A blaze ignites as blood rushes to my cheeks. “Is that so?” I try to sound brave even though I’m quivering inside. I’ve never been spanked before. The truth is, the only experiences I’ve actually had with men besides Luke have all been fantasies. Just sexy little daydreams.

  “Yeah, I’m gonna pull up your dress, tug down whatever sexy little panties you wore for me tonight, and smack your ass red.” His voice is ragged. “But don’t you worry, because after I’m done I’ll kiss it all better for you.”

  Luke unbuttons his dress shirt. His chest looks like it’s carved from stone. He leans over me and I lick a long line down over each mountain and valley of his abs. Inside, nerves and need battle for dominance. My fingers flutter up under his shirt and my pussy grows slick with a yearning for experiences I’ve never had.

  “And then, when I’m done kissing that sweet ass, I’m gonna lie back on that bed and pull you up until you’re straddling my face and you’re gonna ride my mouth until I’m licking up every drop of your cum.”

  My skin tingles with anticipation. My nerves are on fire and my brain is in a daze of longing. I can’t think straight. Hell, I don’t want to. All I want is what Luke is promising. He lets his shirt fall free from his broad shoulders and eases down onto the edge of the bed. Circling my wrist, he pulls me firmly over his legs until I’m lying flat on my belly and my head is hanging down past his thigh. Luke flings up the hem of my dress and I writhe against him. My panties are soaked with my juices as he peels them so slowly down over my bottom. I breathe in sharp, expecting a smack against my flesh, but he just rubs the palm of his hand over the plump part of my ass in a lazy circle.

  He’s dragging it out. Teasing me. Driving me to my breaking point.

  “Do it,” I beg. “Please.”

  “Please what?” His hand is flat but powerful. I want to feel it snap down against my ass.

  “Please, spank me.” Words I never thought I’d say fall from my mouth.

  Snap!

  “Ohhh!” I clench my thighs tight and twist back as the pain radiates through me. The sting makes my eyes water, but the hurt ripples out into pleasure, making my pussy squeeze down with a primal need for more.

  Smack!

  “Uhhh!” I cry out. Luke has unlocked a secret hunger I never knew I even had. All this time I was starving for something I never understood.

  “Mmm, that cheek is looking nice and pink.” He squeezes my skin and spreads the pain further. I groan, silently wishing for more. “Now it’s time to match this side.” His hand slaps flat against the curve of my ass and I mewl weakly. I had no idea how much I needed this. How much I could crave this burn spreading over my bottom. This fire spreading inside my core.

  “You like that, don’t you?” he teases me, tickling his fingers over the spot he just smacked.

  “Mmm,” I moan.

  “I said”—he brings his palm down again, harder this time and I yelp—“you like that, don’t you?”

  “Y-yes,” I stammer.

  “Good girl.” I can hear the smirk in his voice.

  Beep-beep-beep!

  “No!” I yell at the tones going off on his radio.

  “Ugh, fuck.” Luke pulls me off his lap, my entire body sliding over his thick, hard cock.

  “All available members, we have an active fire at two-six-two King Street. Business name is Sweet Treats. All units respond,” the disembodied voice commands.

  “Don’t go.” I cling onto Luke’s hand selfishly. For the first time in my life he’s awakened something in me I’ve never experienced before. I can’t stand to watch him walk out that door.

  “How can you ask me that? You know I have to go,” he growls.

  I look down, shame crashing over my head like a cold, powerful ocean wave. Of course he does. Luke lost his father in one of the biggest fires Pine Grove has ever had. He knows firsthand the destructive power those flames hold and yet he’ll still risk his own life to possibly save another.

  “I’m sorry.” Regret travels through my veins like ice, cooling my desires and bringing me back to reality. “I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

  “Hey, don’t cry.” He slips his shirt back on hurriedly and gives my crumpled face a kiss. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Just wait for me, okay? I promise, I will make this up to you.” His voice flickers with that same tone and I nod.

  “I’ll wait,” I promise.

  He looks into my eyes. I can see how important this is to him. Beyond that, I can see how important I am to him. It’s overwhelming, but I can’t look away.

  “Good girl.” His voice is hoarse. He finishes buttoning his dress shirt and grabs his keys. Before I can even say goodbye he’s out the door, speeding off down the road toward the same danger most people flee from.

  Sighing, I straighten out my clothes and plop down on the bed. “Ouch,” I whisper, my ass still tender from my spanking. Hey, isn’t Sweet Treats the name of the new bakery in town? I’m pretty sure that’s what was on the brightly-colored sign. I hope the guys get there before it spreads and burns the place down.

  Think positive. Luke and the other firefighters are trained for this. They’ll save the shop and they’ll all make it back safe. Please, God, let him come back safe.

  I should probably call my mother and tell her I’m not coming home tonight. But maybe I should call Rebecca first, so
she’ll cover for me. I’m not eager to tell Mom that I’m holed up in a motel, waiting for Luke to come back and fuck me. It’s better if I tell her I’m spending the night at my sister’s place. I pull my phone out of my purse and notice I’ve missed a call and have a voicemail. I don’t recognize the number, but it’s from New York.

  I punch in my password and listen carefully to the voicemail message. My mouth drops open and my emotions tangle up inside me.

  My fingers tremble as I save the message. I check the time. It’s already getting late here. There’s no chance I’ll get anyone if I call back now. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

  Oh. Reality thuds against me like a brick wall. Now what am I going to do?

  28

  Luke

  It doesn’t take long to extinguish the flames in the kitchen. It is by pure luck that we managed to get the kitchen fire in Naomi’s bakery under control before it spread to the grease fryers. The wall beside the oven is bubbled and stained black with char. Thankfully the flames flickered in a window visible from the road. The burning curtains caught someone’s eye and they called it in.

  Almost the entire department showed up tonight. Even the newbies. Hannah doesn’t shy away from helping Samantha and Dan drain the hose and get it back on the truck. I’m happy that my worries about her being too delicate for this kind of work were unfounded.

  “Hey, how about you come with me?” Blake Pierce, our new chief, pats my shoulder.

  Under the ridge of his helmet I can see his salt and pepper hair. Pierce is the right last name for him all right. With eyes that color of blue, you feel like your soul is being pierced every time he looks at you. They’re such an unusual shade, both youthfully bright and showing the age of an old spirit at the same time. They kind of look like one of the many crooked, distressed picket fences around town. The ones that have flakes and flecks of the original color clinging onto the boards, but time has worn most of the paint off and interrupted the beauty with weathered patches of gray.

  “What’s up?” I follow his lead in through the watery mess we left on the bakery floor into the kitchen.

  “I think I’ve found the fire source.” He points to a grimy, industrial-sized coffee machine. “This is an old one. It doesn’t have an automatic shut off. It looks like Naomi forgot to turn it off and the paper filters fell down and burned up.

  “Really? That seems pretty careless.” I scan the kitchen. Even after the blast from the firehose, you can see she puts regular effort into keeping this place ultra clean. “It doesn’t seem like her style.” I search the room for other evidence of neglect but there is none.

  “Who knows?” Blake shrugs. “Maybe she was tired and missed it. Or maybe”—he lowers his voice and leans into me—“it was missed on purpose.”

  “Like, arson?” I whisper, huddling in.

  “Stranger things have happened. Do you know if her business does well? Sometimes desperate shop owners can do desperate things for insurance payouts.”

  Granted, I don’t know Naomi that well, but that sounds really out of character to me. I’m not saying I expect an arsonist to be a mustache-twirling super villain with an evil laugh or anything. However, I do expect them to be a little less enthusiastic and cheerful. I’d even expect them to take less pride in their shop if they planned to burn it to the ground.

  “Oh no!” A woman’s voice punctuates the air and we turn around. Naomi is rushing in, frantically running her hands over the walls and crying. “What happened? How did this happen? Oh no! Look at my beautiful floors,” she cries. “All that water.” She spins around, searching for something. “It’s going to ruin my hardwood! I need my mop.” She races past us despite the chief’s protests.

  Naomi emerges from a cleaning closet with a mop and bucket and immediately starts soaking up the mess on the floor. “It’s okay.” She wipes her tears on the back of her sleeve. “I can fix this. I just need some time to clean and paint and it’ll be good as new.” Her voice breaks.

  “Naomi.” Blake approaches her, but she swings the mop around the floor maniacally, almost knocking into him.

  “I’ll get it all sorted out. My poor bakery. I can’t lose my bakery,” she cries.

  “Naomi, stop for a second,” Blake tries again.

  She either can’t hear him, or she doesn’t want to. She wrings out the excess water into the bucket and keeps swishing the cotton mop head through the small lake on the floor.

  “Naomi!” Chief Pierce barks at her and she freezes. Her hands hold the handle so tight her knuckles are strained. “Stop. We need to talk!” he orders her.

  She drops the mop on the floor with a splash and practically falls into Blake. Her rounded shoulders shake as she wails against him uncontrollably. He pats her back and looks at me for help.

  I don’t know what to do.

  Blake clears his throat. “Ma’am, you need to take a look at this. I’ve located the fire source.” His voice is much gentler.

  Naomi’s head pops up. Her makeup is smeared in circles around her eyes. “Where?” She hiccups the word.

  “Right here.” Blake points to the coffee machine. “You must have left it on tonight when you closed up.”

  “No, I didn’t.” She shakes her head violently from side to side.

  “You did, trust me. The switch is still in the on position now. Look for yourself. It’s okay, you’re only human, right? We all make mistakes,” he offers her an excuse, but she frowns at him, refusing it outright.

  “No. Listen, I didn’t do it. This isn’t my fault,” she insists, balling up her fists. Tears still streak down her cheeks, leaving a glistening sheen over her mahogany skin.

  “Naomi, we just need to fill out some forms for your insurance and this will all get sorted out. I need to know what time you locked up at so I have an idea of how long the coffee machine was left on for,” Blake presses her.

  “Will you listen to me?” She raises her voice as loud as I’ve ever heard it, but it’s still not a yell. “Chief, there is absolutely zero chance that I left this machine running.” She points to the coffee maker with a trembling finger.

  “Okay, fine. If you didn’t do it, who did? Do you have any employees?” Blake looks tired.

  “It’s just me.”

  “So, then …”

  “No, I didn’t do it. There’s no way I could have because this coffee maker isn’t from this bakery, Chief.” She talks slowly and wipes her tears away. “This is my store and I am the only one who works here, okay? But I have never seen this coffee maker before in my life. Someone planted it here and left it on.” She shivers.

  “Wait, are you saying someone broke in and deliberately set this up here just to start a fire in your bakery?” I look from the chief to Naomi and back again.

  “Hand to God, I will swear on a Bible or take a polygraph test or whatever you want me to do. That must be what happened, Luke. ’Cause when I closed up my shop today this coffee maker was not here. I don’t know who and I don’t know why, but someone put it here and it sure as hell wasn’t me.”

  29

  Luke

  I’m weary as I drive up the road to the motel. It’s been a long night between the dinner and dance and then the fire. Still, as my car pulls over the hill and the big yellow and red motel sign burns bright in the sky like a strange midnight sun, I suddenly get a second wind. I coast down across the parking lot and come to a stop in front of our room’s entrance.

  Goddamn, I want her so bad. Just thinking about her sprawled out in that bed, ready and waiting for me, makes my cock spring back to life. It surges against my zipper, painfully bulging as my pants get tighter with every growing inch.

  I pull out my wallet, but there’s no door key. I forgot to grab it before I left. I rap my knuckles against the cool metal and hope Karen hasn’t fallen asleep. Luckily, I can hear her feet pad over the floor and stop on the other side. I imagine she’s looking out that little peephole at me, so I give her my best sultry smile and, just li
ke magic, the entrance eases open.

  Let’s see if that smile can get me to slide in a few other entrances.

  “Hey, gorgeous.” I walk in and she closes the door behind me, dead bolting it like she’s still in New York City or something.

  “Was everything okay? Are you okay?” Lines of worry etch across her normally smooth forehead.

  I pull her into me and kiss them away. “Everything is good. I mean, Naomi’s bakery won’t be open for a while, but the main thing is no one was hurt and the damage wasn’t that bad.” I try to put her worried mind at ease.

  “You smell like smoke.” She inhales my scent and nuzzles against my chest.

  “Yup, hazard of the trade, I guess.”

  If it bothers her, she doesn’t show it. She just clings onto me. I’m not sure if she was scared about me fighting the fire or nervous about being here alone or what. All I know is she’s holding me like she’s afraid to let go.

  “Luke? I think we need to talk.” She looks up at me with her big brown eyes.

  After the night I’ve had, talking is the last thing I want to do. Don’t get me wrong, I love chatting with Karen. I could normally listen to her for hours. But when I had to race out of here the way I did, it left an ache in my balls that can only be cured one way. And if I have it my way, I plan to ease the pain at least twice, you know, to be cautious.

  “If you want to talk, you’ll have to get naked.” I smirk.

  Karen smacks her hands on my chest, but she’s smiling. “I’m being serious, Luke.”

  “So am I, babe. After a fire the most important thing every firefighter has to do is decontaminate. I’ve gotta wash all those chemicals off my body, but I could use some help.”

  My fingers fly down the front of my shirt and it’s open in seconds. I hang it on the back of a chair and stand tall as Karen soaks me in. I see the way her eyes flicker down over my frame. The way it slowly soaks in my pecs and tight abs. And I definitely notice when they dip down below the belt and she bites her lip to stop herself from smiling.