Fire and Flames [Dragon Love 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
Page 1
Dragon Love 3
Fire and Flames
Determined to be as good as any male firefighter, Marlee Hendrickson fearlessly races into danger. When she’s saved from getting killed by a gust of shimmering air, she has to wonder. Did she really imagine the winged-something that pushed her clear of danger?
When weredragon cousins Ridge and Colter Radison, along with their friend Adam Parker, see the beautiful Marlee risking her life fighting a house fire, they know they have to have her. Saving her is easy. Getting to know her? That’s harder than flying with a broken wing.
When Marlee’s brother, Kyle, and his lover Clay go too far trying to exact revenge against homophobic bullies, Marlee has to choose between upholding the law and keeping her brother safe. Now that she’s met three mysterious and sexy men, she’s not sure she can trust them with Kyle’s secret. Should she fight fire with fire? Or just let the flames burn out?
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 39,195 words
FIRE AND FLAMES
Dragon Love 3
Jane Jamison
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
FIRE AND FLAMES
Copyright © 2015 by Jane Jamison
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63259-788-5
First E-book Publication: October 2015
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
Dear Reader,
Thank you for your continued support. Without you, my books would come to life only on my computer. Without you, wonderful adventures would never be realized. Without you, the characters would remain trapped on a page without the hope of coming alive in your mind. Without you, there would be no Jane Jamison.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Jane Jamison
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
About the Author
FIRE AND FLAMES
Dragon Love 3
JANE JAMISON
Copyright © 2015
Chapter One
Marlee Hendrickson’s one dream since she was a small girl had nothing to do with finding “the one,” that perfect, handsome man who would take care of her for the rest of her life. She’d never thought about the pageantry of a wedding or the romance of a honeymoon. Instead, after seeing her first fire truck and the men who’d rushed to put out the fire at her neighbor’s home, she’d dreamed of becoming a firefighter.
Marlee rode in the cab of engine No. 2 of Station House No. 4 of the southeast Houston, Texas area and watched as the business district flowed into a housing addition. Although she loved everything about being a firefighter—from the comradery of the station house to the long hours—nothing compared to the thrill of racing toward a fire.
“Where is it, Walt?”
The driver, Walt Hinkman, a veteran of the force, kept his attention on the road as he maneuvered the fire truck in and out of traffic. “Deserted house fire. Around the corner.”
That was Walt. During a run, he was so focused, he dropped down to short sentences. Any other time, he’d talk a girl’s ears off, chatting about everything from his family to how birds fly. As a devoted father of two boys and a loving husband, he was one of the good guys.
Marlee glanced behind her, catching a scowl from Jack Haant. Too bad the same couldn’t be said of Jack. She tried not to hate anyone, especially not a fellow firefighter, but Jack made it tough not to. He’d been on her, riding her ass from the first day she’d come onto the job, as green as any recruit. Although she’d already run into some of the “boys’ club” mentality, saying a woman wasn’t strong enough, good enough to fight fires, most of the time, the men would come around. She’d proven her worth several times. But no matter what she did, no matter how many times she’d tried to win him over, Jack was still steadfastly against “females” on the squad. She’d finally given up, recognizing he was a lost cause.
Some people were just too closed-minded to face the truth. She could hold her own with any man.
“Let’s go.” Walt pulled the engine to the curb. Thankfully, there was a hydrant nearby.
Marlee slammed her shoulder against the door and slid to the ground. The bulk of her suit and equipment had her landing hard, but she was used to it. She took off, her mind going on autopilot as she went to work.
Fighting fires was never easy and always dangerous. Once a firefighter started taking it easy, relaxing on her training, she was putting not only herself but her crew in danger. Marlee was careful, doing things by the numb
er, making sure she stayed safe. Putting herself in a position where another firefighter had to risk his life to save hers would make her physically ill. They’d do everything they could to save one of their own, and she felt the same way.
She dragged in air. Her facemask clouded over briefly then cleared. Signaling to Ray Kait, another veteran, she entered the house, determined to make certain no one was inside. Sometimes the homeless would break into a deserted house to find shelter. As luck would have it, the fire had been contained to one bedroom.
She went through the rest of the place, methodically checking the rooms on the right. Following their training, Ray took the other side. Sweat beaded on her face and at her hairline, but she was used to it. A girl couldn’t jump into a fire without getting a little hot.
Hurrying, yet taking care to be thorough, she checked first one room then another. By the time she’d made her way to the bedroom where the fire was still blazing, she was sure the house was empty. The voices of her squad flowed through her headset.
“Hendrickson, check in.”
“All clear.” She glanced to her left to find Ray motioning for her to follow him. He’d found a back door out of the house. Instead of returning the way she’d come, she’d get out faster by following him. Nodding, she started after him.
As exciting as it was to be inside a burning house, she still let out a breath of relief as she stepped out into the open. Ray checked to see that she’d made it out then disappeared around the corner, heading toward the front of the yard. Instead of following him, she turned to the left. She’d see if she could help the guys still fighting the blaze.
Without warning, flames burst from the nearby window as the fire jumped from one room to the next. She ducked, but not fast enough. From the corner of her eye, she saw part of the house break away, boards alight with fire, and fall toward her.
She didn’t have time to react. Her mind blanked, realizing the futility of her situation. Only a miracle would save her from getting hit.
And then, it seemed as though a miracle happened.
A gust of something—wind?—struck her from behind, knocking her several feet from the spot. The burning wood fell, narrowly missing her as she landed on her face. Slowly, she rolled over onto her back.
Had Ray come back? Had one of the others pushed her out of the way?
And yet, there was no one.
She felt the heat from the fire ebbing as her gaze slid to the darkened sky overhead. Had she been there long enough for the sun to set?
The darkness, however, lightened, giving way to the clouds and smoke above her. The air shimmered above her. She blinked, trying to see better, clearer.
What the hell is that?
She moaned but didn’t move, intent on understanding what she was seeing. Something was floating above her as through it was hovering in the air. The shimmers solidified a little until an outline formed. She studied it as she’d study clouds drifting across a sky, trying to distinguish a form, but what she saw didn’t make sense.
Is that a…dragon?
Wow. I must’ve whacked my head good and hard when I landed.
She squinted, her mind trying to tell her eyes they were wrong.
Am I knocked out? Do people dream in comas?
Suddenly, the outline grew thicker, the darkness of the form changing into a blue hue. Puffs of warm breath struck her mask as she remained as motionless as she could. Before long, her crazy mind took her over the edge, revealing the impossible. Although she could see the sky through the body, she could now make out what the outline had formed.
It is. It’s a fucking dragon.
The imaginary creature lowered its head. Red eyes glinted at her. Sharps fangs stuck out from the huge mouth that seemed to be…smiling. Its wings battered the air, pushing against her and kicking up the dirt around her. A long tail with an arrow-shaped point at the end rested against the ground as though supporting the rest of its body.
Sure she’d gone insane or was dreaming, she reached out. The dragon jerked back as though she could harm it. Then, with a tilt of its head, it swept out its forked tongue and slicked it over her mask.
For a moment, she was blinded, but strangely, she wasn’t afraid. Fascinated, she reached out again, and this time touched the side of its head.
If only I wasn’t wearing my glove.
“Hendrickson, hang on. We’re coming.”
The dragon jerked its head up. Its smile faded as it opened its mouth to show more fangs. Then, in the next moment, it was gone.
“No. Don’t go,” she whispered.
She searched the sky and found the shimmer of air again, moving swiftly away.
“Hey, Hendrickson, what do you think you’re doing? Taking a nap?” Ray’s grin couldn’t hide his worry. He and Walt took her by the arms and helped her to her feet.
“Are you all right?” Walt steadied her, wrapping his arm around her as Ray had done. Together, they helped her away from the house. The fire was gone, and only smoke remained.
How long had she been out?
“Talk to us, Hendrickson,” urged Ray.
“I’m okay.” Was she? Or would she hallucinate again? “Just got the air knocked out of me, that’s all.”
“It wouldn’t have happened to a man.”
She lifted her gaze to meet Jack’s. Just as she was about to speak, Ray did it for her.
“Fuck off, Haant. She’s as good a firefighter as you. Hell, better.” Ray and Walt moved her past Jack.
“You don’t see me having to get my ass hauled out of there.”
Why wouldn’t he give her a break? Although he wasn’t the only male firefighter she’d run into with the same low opinion of women working at a station, he was the most vocal one. She didn’t have it in her to argue. Instead, as they left him behind, she lifted one finger toward the sky. Laughter broke out, yet she was sure Jack wasn’t joining in.
“Good one, Marlee.” Walt tightened his hold on her.
“Yeah. Let’s get you back to the station where we can get a good look at you,” added Ray. “You must’ve taken one hell of a wallop to put that sappy grin on your face. Did you see stars or something?”
Or something.
She glanced over her shoulder, her attention lifting to the sky.
I saw a dragon.
Of course, it hadn’t been real. She knew it couldn’t be. Too bad, though. She’d always had a thing for dragons, collecting photos of dragons and even a stuffed animal collection of the mythical creatures.
Once more, she searched the sky. And again found nothing.
Too damn bad.
* * * *
Colter Radison rolled with Ridge’s attack and, using the momentum of the punch, went into a spin and still managed to stay on his feet. “Fuck off, cuz.”
“You’re the one who should fuck off. What the hell were you doing at a damn house fire?” Smoke seeped out of Ridge’s mouth.
It wasn’t the first time Colter’s cousin, Ridge Radison, had taken him to the ground. Growing up together, they’d had more fights than he could remember. Some had led to blood while others were simple wrestling matches. He wasn’t sure which kind this one would turn out to be. They were both large men, each standing six feet three inches with broad shoulders and muscles on top of muscles. Both of them were strong, not only as dragons but as men. The main problem was that both of them could be as stubborn as a mule on a hot day.
“Want to bet he started the fire?” Adam Parker, their friend, sat on the couch, leisurely watching as the two cousins lit into each other. As a professional gambler, Adam didn’t like using his hands for anything other than picking up cards or pleasuring women. He was a player, not a fighter.
“Then that’d be a bet you’d lose. Your losing streak is on a roll.”
Adam snarled at Colter. Adam hated losing more than almost anything.
“I didn’t start any fire, and you damn well know it. Although from the way it looked, I’d bet that the fire was intent
ionally set.” Colter wiped his mouth, saw red on the back of his hand, and got ready for another attack.
“Fine. You didn’t start it. I don’t give a fuck who did. But you sure as hell could’ve fucked things up by landing on top of that firefighter.” Ridge backed up, wiping away his own streak of blood from his forehead.
“What was I supposed to do? Let her die?” He’d seen the accident a second before she’d looked up. If he hadn’t used a hard gust of his breath, she would’ve been struck on the head.
“You should’ve thought of some other way.”
“I didn’t have time, cuz.”
“Fine. You didn’t have to let her see you.”
How had Ridge been around to see him anyway? “What were you doing there? Maybe you’re as guilty as I am. You should’ve stayed here. I didn’t ask you to go flying.”
“I wasn’t the one who got so fucking close, but it’s a good thing I was there. Shit. Who knows what you would’ve done if I hadn’t been around to stop you? You fucked up, Colter.”
Adam glanced up again from concentrating on the cards lying on the coffee table in front of him, interest sparkling in his eyes. “Wait a sec. Her? The firefighter was a woman?”
“So what?” grumbled Ridge. “He interfered and then let his cloak drop enough for her to see him. Fuckin’ A stupid. That’s what it was.”
The cloaking skill all dragons possessed allowed them to fly over populated areas like Houston. How else could they live in a city and still fly? When in use, the cloak would keep them hidden except for a shimmer in the air around their dragon bodies.