Ignite

by Karen Erickson

  Shit. Wasn’t he supposed to be the one who went to the bathroom to take care of the condom? He pulled it off and got up, tossing it in the trash in the kitchen before making a mental note to throw that garbage outside first thing tomorrow morning. With his luck, one of his brothers would stop by and see a discarded condom in the trash and ask him whom he’d boned. They were that crude. And that nosy. Then again, so was he. Hell, he knew Lane would figure it out quick if he found even the smallest clue.

  He was exiting the kitchen when Harper walked past him, headed straight for the trench coat, which she snatched off the floor and slipped back on her body, tying the fabric belt extra tight around her waist.

  “Guess the panties are a lost cause.” She nodded toward the discarded scraps of black lace scattered on the floor.

  “Sorry about that.” West rubbed his jaw, feeling like shit for destroying her panties. He didn’t know what had come over him.

  Harper. That’s what came over you.

  “Don’t apologize. It was hot, the way you ripped them off my body. Like you couldn’t control yourself.” She smiled at him as she slipped on her impossibly high heels, wobbling a little bit. Reaching up, she finger combed her sexy-messy hair, glancing about the room like she might’ve forgot something else. As if she were looking for her opportunity to make her escape.

  It suddenly dawned on him what she was doing.

  “Are you leaving?” he asked incredulously.

  “Well, yeah.” She approached him, fully clothed. He felt a little raw—a lot on display since he was still completely naked—and he sort of hated how quick she was jetting out of there.

  That was usually his job. He was the one who fucked and ran. Always.

  “You sure you don’t want to stay a little longer?” Damn it, he sounded pitiful. Clearly she didn’t want to stay. She was already dressed and mentally on her way out.

  “I really shouldn’t, though thanks for the offer.” She rested her hands on his chest and kissed him lightly. “I have to work tomorrow so I need a good night’s sleep.”

  He slipped his arms around her waist, wishing she didn’t have that stupid coat on. “You don’t think you’d get a good night’s sleep with me?”

  “I know I wouldn’t.” She patted his chest and withdrew from his arms. “That was amazing,” she whispered, kissing him one last time. “Thank you.”

  And with those last words, she slipped out of the house, closing the door quietly behind her.

  West flopped back on the couch, running both hands through his hair.

  What the hell just happened?

  Chapter Ten

  “I WANT DETAILS.”

  Harper shook her head, concentrating on dumping creamer in her coffee. It was early and the restaurant was quiet for a Saturday, thank goodness. She and Delilah had agreed to meet at a breakfast house normally frequented by tourists. Last thing she wanted was to run into someone one of them knew. “No way. I don’t kiss and tell.”

  The only reason they were meeting was because Delilah had hoped Harper would kiss and tell—and tell and tell and tell some more.

  “Come on. You gotta give me something.” Delilah sounded completely put out. “Do you realize that West and I never actually did it?”

  Harper paused in her stirring, surprise rendering her completely still. “Seriously?”

  Delilah nodded. “I never even got to see what he was packing. We were young and stupid and scared. My mom drilled the fear of pregnancy into me. No way was I going to have sex, especially when I was only sixteen. I was terrified West would knock me up.”

  “Oh. Wow.” Harper was stunned by Delilah’s revelation. “Well, let’s just say he knew exactly what he was doing.”

  And then some. West had seemed completely in tune with her body. She’d loved every minute of it. He’d given her not just one, but two orgasms, which was unheard of for her. Most of the time she didn’t even have one during sex. Granted, the second one hadn’t been a big one, but it had been pleasant. Especially with West buried deep inside her body, shouting his pleasure when his own orgasm swept over him.

  Her body went warm at the memory.

  “And did you rock his world?” Delilah smiled mischievously.

  Harper grinned in return. “Yes. I definitely surprised him when I showed up at his front door. It was such a great idea for me to wear the trench coat. Thank you again.” The look on his face when she’d taken it off had been worth the nerves shaking her to her very core.

  She’d almost chickened out twice, making a U-turn and heading straight for home. She’d also sat in her car in the condominium parking lot, searching for courage before finally forcing herself to walk to West’s front door. To think of all she would’ve missed out on if she had bailed . . .

  “So now what?” Delilah prodded. Forget food, she wanted dirty details. But Harper needed a fortifying meal so she could work in her grandma’s office for the rest of the day.

  “What are you referring to?”

  “What’s going to happen next with you and West?”

  Harper shrugged. “I don’t know.” She truly didn’t. And she didn’t want to think about it either. She’d rather take it day by day. It was easier that way. Without expectations, there was no need for worry. She wouldn’t be disappointed. She’d just . . . be.

  She was learning that when dealing with West, she needed to have no expectations at all. He didn’t want serious, she knew this. It was best to keep it easy. No pressure. West bailed at the first sign of pressure.

  At least, she thought he did. She still didn’t understand why he’d never contacted her again after that one night they kissed. He’d left for a job, but that didn’t mean he should’ve ditched her completely . . .

  “Are you going to see him again? Did you two make plans?”

  “No.” A waitress approached, topping off their coffee cups, and they didn’t speak until she left them alone. “What’s the point? I figured we’ll see each other again eventually.”

  “So you really are treating this whole thing as a casual affair?” Delilah sounded surprised.

  “Well, yeah. There’s no point in wanting more from West.” She meant that, really she did. Yet, if he tried to turn what they had into something more serious, she’d be inclined to give it a go.

  Oh, whom was she trying to kid? She’d totally go for it. She had feelings for West. But she was also trying to tell herself that she could settle for a purely sexual relationship with him. If she got in too deep, she’d walk.

  Simple as that.

  Hopefully.

  “Listen, this isn’t good enough.” Delilah slapped the edge of the table, startling Harper so she jumped in her seat. “I need more details. You don’t have to get graphic, but was he an attentive lover? He was a good kisser back in the day, so I can only imagine he’s improved. Was he considerate? Dirty talker? Quiet grunts? Did he make sure you had an orgasm?”

  “All of your questions require fairly graphic answers,” Harper pointed out primly. “So . . . no comment.”

  “Come on, Harper, throw a dog a bone.” Delilah lowered her voice. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had sex? I’ve gone through the most serious dry spell of my adult life. I’m dying over here.”

  “Don’t you think it’s weird that you’re encouraging me to give you sex details about my encounter with your ex-boyfriend?” Harper thought it was pretty weird.

  “No, that’s the joy of living in a small town your entire life. Eventually we’re going to have that six-degrees-of-separation thing,” Delilah said with a nonchalant wave of her hand.

  “More like two degrees,” Harper muttered as the waitress approached again, a local newspaper folded in her hands.

  “You gals want to look this over? The people that just vacated left it behind.” When they both nodded the waitress dropped the paper in the middle of the table, startling them both. “Your breakfast is almost up,” she said before she walked away.

  They e
ach grabbed for a section, Harper grabbing the front part. Yeah, most city newspapers were a dying art, but the Wildwood Guardian was still a staple among the townspeople. They loved their news and local gossip.

  “My favorite section is the Daily Blotter,” Delilah said as she flipped through the paper to find it. “Ah, here we go. Monday, 2:22 a.m., Phyllis Corneal at 1147 Woodland Drive reported a break-in. Turned out it was the neighborhood bandit raccoons digging through her trash cans yet again.” Delilah glanced up, a smirk on her face. “Direct quote.”

  The Daily Blotter was a full list of police and medical calls. They were mostly ridiculous. It was everyone’s favorite section.

  Harper scanned the front page, her gaze snagging on a headline.

  Possible Arsonist in the Wildwood Lake Area.

  Frowning, she read the article, but it didn’t say much. Just talk of a few miscellaneous fires, a quote from Lane, along with one from Tate. Neither were encouraging talk of an arsonist, but they weren’t denying the possibility either.

  West had never mentioned an arsonist to her, though it wasn’t like they’d talked much last night.

  Again her cheeks went warm at the memory of exactly what they’d done. No way could she give Delilah details. How he kissed like a dream. How amazing his hands were as they roamed all over her body. The way he’d torn off her panties and shredded them into bits. How he made her come with his magical mouth and the ridiculous things she said to him and the sexy things he said to her . . .

  “Oh, crap. They’re here,” Delilah whisper-hissed from across the table. She held her newspaper up in front of her face, rattling the paper so it made an annoying crinkling noise. “Put your paper up!”

  Harper did as she commanded, holding the front section of the Guardian up so it covered her entire head. “Who’s here? Who are we hiding from?”

  “Freaking Lane and Weston! What are they doing here? Only tourists come to this dump.” Delilah sounded about as panicked as Harper felt. “God, he’s wearing his uniform too.”

  Harper swore she heard Delilah whimper.

  Taking a deep breath, she told herself to focus. So West was here. So what? He was allowed to go out to breakfast the day after they’d had the most amazing sex of her life. She’d known she’d run into him eventually, she just hadn’t thought the moment would come so soon.

  Carefully, she peeked around the edge of the newspaper, watching as the waitress escorted them to their table. She was young, her smile was big, and her chest was thrust out, as if she was desperately showing off her boobs. Lane was in his uniform, looking like he was about to go on duty, and he flashed the woman a polite smile but otherwise didn’t pay her any mind. West didn’t either. He seemed distracted. The relief that Harper felt at seeing this shouldn’t have made her so happy.

  But it did.

  “Tell me they’re clear across the room from us,” Delilah said.

  “They’re clear across the room from us,” Harper lied. They were really only about halfway across the room—and in their direct line of vision.

  Meaning, the moment they set down the newspapers, they’d be caught.

  Delilah checked around her newspaper, then sent her a glare. “You lied. They’re not clear across the room.”

  “You asked me to tell you that.” Harper paused. “You didn’t ask if it was true.”

  “Dude, you’re feisty after you get some. Jeez.” With a sigh, Delilah set the paper down, putting herself on display. “May as well get it over with,” she muttered under her breath.

  Now that she’d been hiding behind the newspaper shield, Harper felt kind of stupid lowering it. Would it be obvious that she was hiding from West? If it weren’t for Delilah commanding for her to do so, she would’ve never hid. She would’ve smiled and waved at him and then carried on her conversation with Delilah. Killed him with nonchalance. She knew it would’ve driven him insane.

  One bit of advice Delilah had given her that had stuck was pretending she didn’t care. No matter how much it killed her, she needed to keep up the pretense that what she and West had shared was casual. Though really . . . was it much of a pretense? She sort of liked this newfound freedom. The idea that she could have no-strings-attached sex with a hot guy—a hot guy she’d actually crushed on when she was younger—had always been inconceivable.

  But why? The only person who was holding her back was . . .

  Her.

  Deciding to hell with it, she dropped the newspaper and folded it, throwing it at Delilah, who batted it away with an annoyed laugh. Of course, the sound drew the Gallagher men’s attention and their heads both swiveled in their table’s direction.

  West smiled, his gaze warm and intimate. As if communicating just with his eyes their shared moments from last night. She smiled back, her gaze skipping right over him and landing on Lane, who was staring at Delilah like he was a starving dog and she was a very juicy, delectable bone.

  Harper looked at Delilah, but she wasn’t paying Lane any mind. Too busy resuming her Daily Blotter reading, the idiot woman. Why were her two closest friends lusting over guys who lusted over them too, yet none of them seemed to make a move? It made no sense.

  She was the quiet one. The meek one who was never expected to make any sort of move. Yet she’d gone after West like she was the ballsiest one of them all. It was kind of crazy.

  Her gaze returned to West, who was rising from his chair, his eyes still on her. Her heart started to beat faster as he made his way to their table, his stride slow and easy, his smile downright hungry.

  An answering hunger rose deep within her, her skin tingling as he drew closer. He looked good, wearing a pair of jeans and a gray T-shirt, his hair a little damp like he just got out of the shower.

  Hmm. She wondered if he’d be interested in taking a shower with her sometime. That could be hot. She’d never tried shower sex before.

  “Morning, ladies.” West stopped directly in front of their table, though he looked only at Harper. “Surprised to see you two here.”

  “More like you should be worried,” Delilah said to him. “Harper is spilling all of your secrets to me, West.”

  The look of pure, unadulterated panic that swept over his face would’ve made Harper laugh in any other situation, but not this one. Nope, she was pissed at her friend and gave her a good kick under the table to shut her up.

  “Ow, shit,” Delilah whispered, glaring at her.

  Harper glared right back before sending West a serene smile. “She’s just pulling your leg. I promise.”

  He still looked nervous. Edgy. “Well. Good to know.” His chuckle was forced. “I’ll let you two get back to your breakfast. Just wanted to say hi.”

  Harper watched him go, longing filling her the farther away he got. She’d been half tempted to invite him to join her. Just so she could sit next to him. Hear him talk. Watch him smile. Listen to him breathe.

  Great, now she sounded like a freaking stalker. Frowning, she tore her gaze away from his retreating form.

  “He came over here to talk to you,” Delilah whispered.

  She turned on her friend, glaring at her once more. “Until you blew it.”

  Delilah winced. “Sorry. I couldn’t help it. My big mouth gets me in trouble all the time, I swear.”

  “Now he thinks I was telling you his dick size.” Harper watched as he slid back into his chair and spoke to Lane, before they glanced in her direction. The both of them looked away hurriedly when she caught them.

  That couldn’t be good.

  “I mean, I have an estimate in my head, but you can be more specific if you’d like,” Delilah offered so graciously.

  “Seriously, Dee. I’m going to run over there and tell Lane you have a massive crush on him if you don’t shut up,” Harper threatened when she turned on her.

  Delilah’s eyes practically bugged out of her head and she shook her head fiercely. “God, no. Please don’t.”

  “Why? Because it’s true?” Delilah parted her lips,
surely ready to deny it all, and Harper pointed at her. “Don’t deny it. I’m serious. That whole ideal-man description you gave me last night? It’s like every characteristic that makes up Lane Gallagher, I swear.”

  Delilah’s lips clamped shut, but she lucked out at that precise moment, what with the waitress showing up with their breakfast. She dumped their plates in front of them, then buzzed off to take the next table’s order. The place was starting to pick up, so Harper figured she could forgive her for the shoddy service, but whatever.

  That would never happen at the BFD.

  Harper grabbed the salt and sprinkled a bunch on her eggs and hash browns. After an invigorating night of awesome sex, she had quite the appetite this morning. She remembered fondly when West tried to eat her whole last night. Talk about awesome. She’d like a repeat performance of that particular moment sometime soon. But that was all she wanted. A fun naked romp and nothing more. That’s all they could be and she was fine with it.

  Really.

  Her mouth watered smelling that pile of delicious-looking bacon on her plate. God, she was downright ravenous. And not really caring much about the calorie count either. “Go ahead and deny it. I dare you. At least I’m brave enough to tell you what’s going on with me and West.”

  “Fine.” Delilah dumped a bunch of syrup on her waffles and then viciously cut off a piece, popping it into her mouth. “You can’t tell Wren though,” she said, her mouth still full.

  Great. Now they were both scared to confess to their friend that they were hot for her brothers. Worse, Harper actually had sex with West. Really good, amazing, mind-blowing, delicious sex that she wanted to have again. Soon.

  Wren was going to kill her.

  “I won’t,” Harper promised solemnly. “Though I guess eventually we’re going to need to confess to her.”

  Delilah said nothing. Harper knew her friend didn’t want to confess anything to Wren and guess what? Neither did she.