The Fireman's Ready-Made Family

by Jules Bennett

  Instead of sitting back down, he took her into his arms Rhett Butler–style, earning him a squeal and a slight laugh.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, looping her arms around his neck.

  “I changed my mind. I want you in my bed.”

  His bed, where no other woman had ever been. He’d replaced the bed he and Andrea shared, just another way he had moved on.

  Marly’s openmouthed kisses along his neck had him nearly growling as he gently placed her on his bed and came down to lie beside her. He was very careful not to put any weight on her.

  He stroked her hip, the dip in her waist and traveled on up to one breast. Her bright eyes held his as she trembled beneath him. Knowing she trusted him with her body, her heart, was beyond humbling. This woman wouldn’t be here if her heart wasn’t invested...and that silent fact made him even more excited about where this was going.

  When Marly reached down to stroke him, Drake’s eyes nearly rolled back in his head. He eased away, falling onto his back, and laced his hands behind his head. She wanted control, fine by him. Who was he to stop her?

  Damn, that felt good.

  When she slid one leg over his and eased up to straddle him, Drake opened his eyes, not wanting to miss a second.

  Marly smiled down at him and settled her hands on his chest. “You should know, I’m falling for you.”

  Drake swallowed. “Yeah? You should know I fell for you a while ago.”

  When she sank onto him and began to move, Drake knew she was the woman he’d been waiting for. He knew she was the woman he was meant to move on with. Now he just had to make sure she kept on this path, the path that led the two of them into a future together and away from her fears and insecurities.

  Drake reached up, pulling her head down so he could capture her lips. Their bodies moved perfectly, her soft little moans filled the silence.

  All too soon her body tightened, her fingertips bit into his shoulders and Drake let himself go, too. Finally. He’d finally found where he belonged.

  * * *

  Marly rested her head in the crook of Drake’s arm. She’d tried to move more than once, but he’d silently kept his arm around her and tugged her back in place.

  Tears pricked her eyes. The man was absolutely perfect. Well, no man was perfect, but he was perfect for her. She never knew a man could be so selfless, so genuine, with no hidden agenda. She’d been living in a shallow, loveless world for so long...and that was on the good days.

  “Don’t bring anything of your past into my bedroom,” he whispered into the dark. “It’s just us. There’s nothing to fear. There’s no one to hurt you.”

  Marly slid her hand up over his taut stomach and up onto his chest. “Sorry. Just thinking.”

  “I’d rather you be sleeping. It’s after midnight and we had a really long day.”

  Sleep? At a time like this when she’d discovered she could fall in love, for real this time, and she had to figure out a way to keep Willow for good, as well as keep Drake off Kevin’s radar? Sure, no problem falling to sleep with all of that swirling around in her mind.

  “What was it like growing up with brothers and a loving family?”

  Drake slid his hand up her bare arm and settled it on her shoulder. “You really want to just talk?”

  “Yeah.”

  She’d never made love with someone and then just settled in afterward to appreciate the special bond. This was a moment she wanted to capture, because she’d never realized just what she’d been missing.

  “My brothers and I may have caused a ruckus in town a time or two when we were teens,” he started. His low voice caused his chest to vibrate. “My poor mother, she took it one day at a time. My father, on the other hand, wasn’t so lenient. I know we embarrassed him on more than one occasion. He was the town doctor, so he was well respected. Then the St. John boys came through.”

  Marly fisted her hand on his chest and rested her chin there. “And here you all are with powerful jobs in the town. What transformed you?”

  “As hellacious as we were, we respected our father.” Drake slid her hair over her shoulder and smoothed it down her back. “Plus we all joined the service after we graduated. That pretty much knocked the chip off our shoulders.”

  He’d been a soldier, fighting for others. Just another layer to his selfless ways. The man was remarkable in the fact he was always putting others first, proving beyond a doubt he was indeed a hero to anyone who came in contact with him.

  Which made her wonder...

  “Tell me about Andrea.”

  He stiffened beneath her, his heavy-lidded eyes closed for a brief second. “Are you sure you want that here?”

  “I’m sure,” she told him. “She’s a part of you. I want to know about her.”

  With a sigh, Drake continued to stroke her hair. “We met when I came back home from the Marines. She was actually new to the area and was a professor at the college. She loved Nashville, but wanted a small town to settle in. We were set up on a blind date and we dated about two years before we became engaged.”

  Drake’s eyes drifted across the room. “We were only engaged about a month before the accident. We were headed to a fund-raiser for the department. I was driving, she was in the passenger seat putting on her makeup and—”

  “You don’t have to go into that,” Marly told him, placing a hand on his cheek to offer support. “I don’t want you reliving it.”

  His eyes sought hers. “I relive it every day. But I’m to the point I can talk about it without all the survivor’s guilt I once had.”

  “How did you get past that?”

  “Counseling,” he admitted. “I fought it at first, was convinced talking to a stranger wouldn’t change the fact that Andrea was gone. I still have some guilt—I always will—but I realized that I couldn’t have saved her. The accident was the fault of the semi driver who ran the light, not mine. She was pinned, and thankfully had passed out.”

  His chin quivered, sending a knife of remorse straight through Marly’s heart. “Drake, please. I don’t need to know any more.”

  Through the moonlight slanting across his bed, she saw the shimmer of tears in his eyes. “You’re part of my life, Marly. I want you to know.”

  Flattening her hand over his heart, she waited for him to continue. This was important to him, perhaps even to his ongoing healing process. And he was right. She was part of his life now, no matter how frightening and thrilling that may be. If he wanted to share the most hurtful part of his past, then she would be brave enough to listen.

  “The flames appeared before I could even try to get her out. The semi had tipped and was leaking gasoline.”

  Drake closed his eyes, a single tear slipping down his cheek. “The hardest part was getting out of that car, knowing she was trapped inside and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. That image... It haunts me. But I know had I stayed, I wouldn’t be here.”

  Marly swiped Drake’s damp cheek and turned his face until he met her gaze. “You’re the most honorable man I’ve ever met.”

  Taking hold of her hand and kissing her fingertips, Drake smiled down at her. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you. You know that, right?”

  “When you say the words, I want to believe.”

  “Then believe it. I’m not afraid of what Kevin could do to me or my job. He tries anything in this town and he will have to answer for it.”

  Marly said nothing, letting the implications and this entire situation settle in. She truly believed Drake would do anything in his power to keep her and Willow protected. But she worried this was moving faster than she’d ever anticipated.

  “I don’t want you to think I want to be with you out of my need to protect,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “I’m not replacing Andrea with you and I am not attracted to you because I think you need saving.”

  Drake shifted on the bed, scooting up until his back was propped against his pillow. Marly sat up, too, facing him with the
sheet pulled up over her chest.

  “I’m perfectly aware that you can save yourself,” he went on, taking her hands and settling them in his lap. “You’ve done a remarkable job for so long, but you don’t have to be alone anymore. I want to be with you. I want to provide support both emotionally and physically.”

  Marly squeezed his hands. “I admit I’m tired. Tired of worrying, tired of wondering if he’s going to find me today or if his lawyer and a corrupt cop are going to show up at my door and take Willow.”

  “What’s the status of the courts and custody?” he asked.

  Holding the sheet between her arms and her sides, Marly shook her head. “Right now I have full custody. He honestly doesn’t care about Willow. She’s too rambunctious, too tomboyish and too much work according to him. But he’ll take her out of spite just because I love her and she’s my world. Anything that hurts me would bring him joy.”

  Something glinted from Drake’s eyes that hadn’t been there a moment before. Something darker.

  “He’ll find me,” she went on. “He needs me and Willow to stand by him for this upcoming election. He only waited because I threatened to go to the press about the abuse and he thought I’d come back on my own. Now that he sees I’m stronger and I’m not coming back, he’s forcing his hand. He wants to play up the angle of how he’s turned his life upside down to accommodate his family and how he’s made every effort to reunite us.”

  The thought sickened her. She’d die before she ever returned to his clutches again.

  “I refuse to go back, and when he finally comes after me, he’ll be even angrier.”

  Drake tugged on her until she lay sprawled across his chest. Comforted by his strong arms wrapped around her, Marly slid her leg up over his firm thigh.

  “I don’t want to think about that tonight,” she told him. “My worries will be there tomorrow, and reality is pretty harsh in the light of day. Can’t we just have us right now?”

  When she tipped her head to look up at him, Drake cupped her cheek, stroking her bottom lip.

  “That’s the second-best idea you’ve had.”

  Smiling, Marly eased up to straddle his hips. “And what was the first?”

  “Showing up on my doorstep on a mission.”

  He gripped her arms and pulled her down for a toe-curling kiss. Marly shoved thoughts of anything else aside as she fell deeper in love with her hero.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I’m pretty sure I have stale cereal or possibly a moldy loaf of bread,” Drake mumbled as the sunlight flooded his bedroom. “So what would you like for breakfast?”

  Marly rolled over and sat up, her back to Drake. “As tempting as that sounds, I need to go pick up Willow. Supposedly your mother is making her French toast.”

  The bed jerked behind her, and Marly glanced over her shoulder to see Drake jump up. “My mother is making French toast? Throw your clothes on and let’s get going. You’ve never had a breakfast like that in your life, I guarantee it.”

  “I’m not barging in there and asking your mother to make my breakfast,” Marly told him, still holding the sheet up around her chest. “I can grab something at home, but I don’t want your mom to feel as though she has to keep Marly all day.”

  Shrugging as he pulled on his boxer briefs, Drake said, “Trust me, my mother doesn’t care, and I’m sure by this point my dad is wrapped around Willow’s little finger.”

  Marly tugged the sheet with her as she came to her feet. Her clothes were still strewn about the living room, which had seemed sexy and romantic last night, but in the light of day and after the fact, Marly was feeling more insecure than anything.

  “Drop the sheet.”

  Marly turned to stare at the half-naked, beautifully sculpted man. “What?”

  His eyes roamed over her body. “Drop it. I’ve seen everything you have and there’s no way you’re going to be insecure around me. Any imperfection in your mind is beauty in mine.”

  Marly clutched the sheet tighter between her breasts. Could she just drop it? For so long she’d been told how out of shape her body was, how the stretch marks could be removed if she’d get a tummy tuck. Added to that, Marly hadn’t been naked in front of a man other than her husband before last night.

  Drake crossed the room, slid his hands over hers and gently tugged until the sheet slid away and puddled at her feet.

  “I don’t care what happened before,” he insisted, his dark eyes focused on hers. “I don’t care what you’ve been told or how you’ve been treated. From now on, you’ll be treasured, appreciated and loved. I don’t want any doubts. I don’t want any insecurities. Got it?”

  Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Marly nodded. Drake’s hands roamed up her stomach, over her breasts and up to her neck, where he used his thumbs to tip up her chin.

  “We may be late for breakfast,” he murmured against her lips. “I’m in the mood for something else right now.”

  Marly smiled. “You’re going to make me look bad if I show up late to get my kid.”

  Wrapping his arms around her and tossing her back onto the bed, Drake crawled over her with a wicked grin and a quirk to his brow. “You’re going to look really bad when we show up together. No way am I missing my mom’s French toast.”

  Marly laughed as Drake started showing her his idea of breakfast.

  * * *

  Okay, so they were kind of late and more than likely breakfast was all gone, but the morning spent in bed had been so worth it.

  Drake escorted Marly up the stone sidewalk toward his parents’ house. They were running even later since Marly had insisted on grabbing different clothes from her house because she refused to do the walk of shame up to his mother’s door...as if his mother wouldn’t take one look at the two of them together and draw her own conclusions. The woman had raised three boys—she was pretty smart.

  Drake eased around Marly and opened the front door. The instantly familiar smell of home greeted him. Laughter and chatter came from the kitchen, and Drake grabbed Marly’s hand, leading her that way.

  “Wait,” she said, tugging on his hand. “I am fine with your mom knowing about us, but let me talk with Willow. I don’t want her to think I’ve just replaced her father or that this isn’t something special.”

  Drake turned, framed her face with his hands and kissed her forehead before enveloping her in a hug. “I will do whatever you think is best for Willow. You just tell me what to do or what not to do.”

  Marly hugged him in return and stepped back. “I’ll talk to her when we get home, so keep those lips and hands to yourself while we’re here. Got it?”

  Drake took a step away and saluted. “Got it.”

  “Mama!” Willow ran through the living room and launched herself at Marly. “Mrs. St. John makes the best French toast ever. I told her she could show you and you could make them again for me.”

  Drake couldn’t help but laugh. When he turned to go find his mom, he ran into Cameron.

  “Hey, didn’t expect you here.” Drake slapped his brother on the arm. “Cameron, this is Marly.”

  “Marly,” Cameron greeted. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”

  “Glad I could finally meet the final St. John brother,” she said, flashing a wide smile.

  “Is Megan here, too?” Drake asked. “Haven’t seen her much lately.”

  “She’s been busy,” Cameron replied. “I haven’t gotten much time in with her, either. Our friendship for the past few weeks has resorted to texts all hours of the day and night.”

  “Megan is Cam’s best friend,” Drake explained to Marly. “She’s a therapist and has a very full schedule.”

  “Maybe I’ll be able to meet her soon,” Marly said, her weight shifting closer to Drake.

  He slid a hand behind her back, silently stating just how serious they were. “You heard about Mom’s French toast, too?”

  Cameron shook his head. “Actually, I just got in from an all-nighter. I ran by here to se
e Mom and was heading to your place next before I run home and grab a few hours of sleep.”

  Drake glanced over his shoulder, saw Marly’s questioning eyes on his. “I’ll be back in in a minute.”

  “Everything okay?” she asked.

  Drake nodded. “Yeah, just tell Mom I’ll be right in.”

  With her hand on Willow’s shoulder, Marly glanced between Drake and Cameron. “Okay.”

  Drake waited until she was in the other room and motioned for Cameron to follow. They stepped onto the porch and Cameron shut the door behind him.

  Crossing his arms over his chest, Drake eyed his brother, who had circles beneath his eyes, wrinkled clothes, day-old scruff and disheveled hair. “You look like hell.”

  Raking a hand through his shaggy mop, Cameron sighed. “Trust me, I look good compared to how I feel.”

  Drake shifted his weight. “Man, you’re killing yourself. I hope this case you’re working on is ending soon. I’ve never seen you like this.”

  “It’ll be over when it’s over,” Cameron muttered. “Anyway, I have information you need to know regarding your least favorite politician.”

  “I hope it’s enough to keep him away from her.”

  “Maybe. I found a female who worked in his office several years ago. Supposedly she tried to file assault charges on Kevin, but then they disappeared and she suddenly left the office.”

  Drake gritted his teeth and glanced across the street as a kid went by on his bike and turned up a driveway. Another car pulled up to the curb a few doors down. Such a simple, mundane life he’d taken for granted, and Marly had endured hell. No more. He wanted this life for her; he wanted her to know simple and mundane.

  Focusing back on Cameron, Drake asked, “So where is this woman now?”

  “We’re trying to find her,” Cameron confirmed. “I should hear something in the next day or two. My friend is relentless, so he won’t stop until he finds her.”

  “Good. I don’t want Marly to know I’m having Kevin investigated.” Drake glanced at the door, hoping his mother and Marly were bonding...or whatever women did. “He’s been sending threats, and if he shows up, you better get there before I do.”