Beautiful Burn

by Rachel Blake

  His mother laughed as she looped her arm through Gwen's and led her into the house. "Come on; I have to get to know the woman who has my son tied in knots."

  "I'm not so sure about that, Mrs. Keetes."

  "Call me Daniella, and trust me, Jensen is smitten."

  While he stood in the cold on his parents' front porch, he looked to his laughing dad. "I'm not sure what just happened."

  "Your mom just claimed that girl as her own. If you don't marry her, she's going to adopt her."

  "I could not imagine doing what you do. All the blood and gore."

  Jensen chuckled at his mom's shiver.

  "It isn't that bad, and the adrenaline makes it easier."

  "A bit of an adrenaline junky?"

  "I am, Mr. Keetes."

  "Greg."

  "Sorry, Greg."

  "Your blush is showing again, bellissima." The sharp intake of breath from across the table caught Jensen's attention. "Ma, it isn't that big of a deal."

  She waved him off before turning to Gwen. "Did you know that bellissima is what his father calls me?"

  "I did."

  "Do you know why he calls me that?"

  "Because you're beautiful?"

  "Yes," both Jensen and his father proclaimed at the same time, daring the older woman to disagree.

  Jensen watched his mom roll her eyes. "He also calls me that because I'm Italian. My parents moved here shortly before I was born. The little bit of English they could speak was very broken and hard to understand, even after years of my siblings and me trying to teach them. The first time Greg met them, my father had practiced what he was going to say for hours. He was determined to be able to carry on a conversation with him. He wanted to get to know the man." She turned and smiled at her husband. "What my father and I didn't know, at the time, was that Greg had been practicing as well. Unfortunately for him, he had been doing so with his cousin. Long story short, he ended up slaughtering whatever it was that he was trying to say."

  "I wanted to tell him that I loved his beautiful daughter with all my heart and to ask him for her hand in marriage."

  "The only word he got correct was bellissima. For the rest of the night, both he and my father called me that. It was a real boost to a girl's ego."

  "And it stuck. I have been calling her that ever since." He chuckled. "The only time I call her Daniella is when she's in trouble."

  Gwen laughed at what Jensen knew was his pained expression before she smiled evilly at him. "Sounds like father, like son."

  With a growl, he playfully pinched her thigh. "Except I know more than one word of Italian." His next words were for her ears only. "Like sculacciata." He nipped her lobe before he looked to his mother.

  "You should; I drilled it into all of you kids when you were younger. I wanted you to know some of your past."

  "Not to mention, every time they got under her skin, her words became a jumble of English and Italian. I don't know how many times I heard her threaten to give them a sculacciata with her spoon for their cattivo behavior."

  Gwen turned her big eyes on him. She had filled in the blanks and had figured out exactly what sculacciata was. When she turned back to their hosts, she spoke to his mother. "When he told me it was his father's pet name for you, I knew it had more meaning than he was letting on. I love when he calls me bellissima. It makes my heart light."

  "It was a part of his childhood that he wishes to carry into his future, and he chose you to do that with." Daniella smiled at the two of them.

  Deciding to turn the topic of conversation, Greg asked. "So, you are on the same shift as Jensen?"

  "Yep. Have been, for about four years now."

  "So you knew the previous chief as well?"

  "Yeah, he hired me." Gwen looked to the floor. "I had nine job interviews all over the state and I was ready to give up. At my tenth interview, what I had decided would be my last, he took a chance on the female medic; I owe him so much." Jensen took stock of the woman at his side. Sadness shone in her eyes, but so did her unwavering determination. "I will do everything in my power to help catch the fucking bastard who killed him." Her eyes widened slightly. "Sorry, I just…I should have chosen to word that differently."

  "I agree wholeheartedly." His mother held up her hand, keeping Jensen from speaking. "Not that you should have watched your mouth. Fucking bastard were the exact words you needed to use. Oh, Greg, don't look at me like that. What else am I to call the person deliberately putting the life of my son in danger. His job is dangerous enough, now some 'fucking bustard' is targeting them."

  A snort of laughter erupted from Gwen, forcing Jensen's brow to quirk. "I'm sorry. I tried to stop it, but swear words coming from your sweet, innocent mom is hilarious." As he squeezed her knee gently, he turned to his dad.

  "Daniella, it has warmed up a bit, and I think that dog of yours wants out."

  "That is code for 'go do something productive before I decide to get bossy.'." Want to walk with me to the mail box?"

  "Yeah, probably in my best interests, too."

  As soon as the women shut the door behind them, his dad said, "And that is how she is going to get all the dirty details out of your girl."

  Jensen shrugged. "She may just get more information than she bargained for."

  "Think she already has a plan in place to 'help' catch this arsonist of yours?"

  "Without a doubt." When his father raised his brow, he shrugged. "I have to trust that if she needs me, she will come to me."

  "And if she doesn't?"

  "She has been on her own for a long time, dad. It's a new relationship. Hell, we have only been on one date, but I trust her. If she gets overwhelmed, she will come to me." He ran his hand over his bald head. "And if she puts herself in danger, she and I will address it."

  "Get her to talk to you, son. I would put money on that woman already having a plan in motion."

  The conversation had taken a turn to easier topics when his mom came into the house alone. "Where's Gwen?"

  As sheepishly as he had ever seen her, his mother looked between the two of them before his dad spoke. "Just tell me that whatever it is doesn't require a trip to the hospital."

  With a huff and a roll of her eyes, she finally looked at Jensen. "Don't listen to your father; it's not that bad."

  Jensen was out of his chair and at the door to the garage in a heartbeat. "Gwendolyn."

  He heard her laugh before she stepped from around the truck, the fabric of her shirt dangling uselessly in front of her, exposing the left side of her chest. "I need your shirt."

  "What happened?" He fingered the flap of material before he ran his finger over her exposed flesh, her belly contracting under his hand.

  "George took off running."

  He huffed a laugh. "That's why mom looked like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar."

  When he didn't elaborate, she continued. "He went into the thick of trees behind the house. We went after him, of course, but I was lucky enough to get my shirt caught on one of the leftover nails from, what your mom says, used to be a tree house. Now, give me your shirt." All it took was an arch of his brow to remind her who she was talking to, and her eyes instantly dropped to her toes. "Please, Sir?"

  He pulled his shirt over his head before popping her on the ass. "Manners go a long way." After he dropped the shirt into place, he turned to the door, sticking his head inside. "We're going to head out."

  His dad just laughed as he waved them off. He took Gwen's hand in his as he led her to his truck. "Shit, it's cold. Maybe I should have brought a coat after all."

  "I can give you back your shirt."

  "Take that shirt off, and we are going to be doing much more than kissing in this driveway. It won't just be my chest that's cold, either."

  The feel of her finger tracing the thick, black line of the tattoo circling his arm had his dick twitching behind his zipper. "I'll make you a deal. I'll let you take full inventory of my chest—"

  "And
all your tattoos."

  "And all my tattoos, if you wear my shirt to for the rest of the day."

  "Deal! Wait, are we going anywhere special?"

  "Just to Boisy's house."

  "Deal!" With a satisfied expression, she managed to finagle her own shirt out from under his before tossing the torn garment into the back seat. "I had every intention of making you freeze anyway."

  "Just so you could look at my tattoos?"

  "Among other things. How long have you had them?"

  He smiled, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "About five years now." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he felt the slight tug on his nipple as her fingers wrapped around the silver hoop, admiring his piercing.

  "Thank God. I wasn't sure if I could have left them alone long enough to heal if you had told me they were new."

  At a stop sign, he turned and clasped her chin in his hand. "Maybe you should get yours done so we can match, then I'll have something to play with."

  "Maybe we already match."

  Chapter 11

  "I'm not complaining about the view or anything, but did I give the impression that this was a clothing optional get together?" Autumn questioned from across the table, a smirk playing on her lips.

  "Keep admiring a man that isn't me, princess, and you may be the next one without clothes."

  Gwen eyed the others over her cards. "I tore my shirt before we came over, and he was nice enough to give me his."

  "Last shirt you had, huh?" Liv laughed at her own joke. "Now you guys can stop pestering me about his tattoos. Did they hurt?"

  "The tattoos or the piercings?"

  "The nipples."

  "Just the clamps," Gwen answered at the same time Jensen did. All the eyes in the room swung to her. "Gin!" she called as she laid her cards down on the table and started to rise from her seat. A hand clamped on her leg, stopping her escape, but it was everyone staring at her that had her dropping her eyes and smiling to herself.

  "We aren't even playing Gin."

  Sierra's confusion had Gwen snorting a laugh. "I know."

  "Can I see?"

  "Liv, you've seen pierced nipples before." She pointedly looked at the man next to her.

  "So."

  With a smile, Gwen whispered in Jensen's ear, enjoying his need to crudely adjust himself under the table far too much. "You're not going to get any complaints out of me."

  "I didn't think I would." She addressed the table, "New game! If you guys can beat me at poker, I will show you my piercings."

  "Strip poker?" Sierra stood from the table. "I'm out. Bye guys."

  She eyed the others. "Last chance to back out if you're not up for the challenge."

  "I'm in," Liv announced as she tossed her cards onto the table, forgetting the game they were previously playing.

  "Lee?"

  He smiled at his girlfriend. "Oh, we are definitely in."

  Autumn's happy dance was interrupted by a deep voice from the hall. "Sorry I'm late. People do stupid shit at the worst times."

  "Atticus. I was beginning to wonder if you were going to make it." Leland stood and greeted the officer. "You're just in time."

  He took the only open seat and nudged Liv with his elbow. "What are we playing, lovie?"

  "Strip poker."

  "Jensen losing?"

  "No, he showed up that way. Something about running out of shirts. I don't know, I was too distracted to listen." Autumn laughed at her joke until Leland nipped her ear teasingly.

  "You really know how to make a man self-conscious."

  "Rules. The player who didn't fold, with the worst hand of the round loses an article of clothing. If you run out of clothing to discard, you are not allowed to quit the game. Instead, your Dom or sub or other unattached player…" She looked to Liv for approval of this statement. At her eager nod, she finished, "…gets to draw a punishment." She snagged a pad of paper from the counter. "Each of us gets to write three. Ladies, we write punishments for the men. Men, you write them for the girls. Be nice, guys."

  "I don't see this going too well for us," Liv mumbled as she scribbled on her paper.

  "Come on, how bad can it be? Besides, most of us have seen the others in action before. I can't count how many times I have seen your ass." Liv wagged her tongue at the other woman. "I've seen that with a clothespin on it, too."

  When the laughter died, Gwen said, "You can take off your clothing in any order you want. Jensen gets one free pass because I stole his shirt. And lastly, socks as a pair are one article."

  Jensen simply smiled at her as he dealt the cards. "Let's see if we can get some clothes off my girl, shall we?"

  "I've taken some off."

  "Your socks hardly count."

  "She took off her bra, too, remember?" Liv smiled at the man innocently.

  The groan that vibrated from Jensen's chest had a smirk playing on Gwen's lips. "How could I forget? She pulled it out from under her shirt without even a glimpse of the beautiful skin beneath." He shook his head disapprovingly.

  "Not to mention the pebbled nipples trying their best to force their way through her shirt for the last fifteen minutes." Leland dodged the ice cube as it soared past his head.

  "Not helping." At Jensen's complaint, Gwen smiled innocently. "Don't give me that look, or I will pull you over my lap for more swats. No pouting, bellissima."

  "But I'm winning. How come I keep getting spanked?"

  "Because you're winning," the guys proclaimed as one.

  "It's totally killing her not to roll her eyes right now." The ice cube Gwen threw hit its mark and rested nicely on the front clasp of Autumn's exposed bra, the only article of clothing she had left. Smiling, she popped the cube into her mouth and spoke around it. "Nice shot."

  Gwen gave her cards a quick glance and laid them down as she looked around the table. "I'll take three." After looking at the new cards, she shrugged. "I'll stay."

  "There's that naughty smirk of yours."

  "What smirk?"

  "The smirk that never bodes well for your ass. " After taking his own cards, Jensen said, "Show us what you got."

  Gwen flipped her cards, revealing her hand. "Three of a kind. King high."

  "You've got the low hand; strip."

  "How do you—" She didn't need to finish her statement as the rest of the players laid down their hands. "Cheaters!"

  "Prove it."

  "You all have straights, what other evidence do I need?" Her mouth fell open as realization dawned. "You guys let them cheat? What happened to subbies sticking together?"

  "Let them?" Liv didn't get any further before Atticus reached over and pinched her thigh. An obvious order to keep quiet. "Coincidence."

  "Coincidence, my ass." She glanced around the table as she straightened her spine before standing from her chair and taking a few steps back. Once in full view of everyone, she grasped the bottom of her shirt for a second before moving to the button of her pants.

  "I told you it wouldn't work!" Autumn accused with a satisfied smirk.

  "No. Take off the shirt, bellissima."

  "But, the rules." She looked at Jensen as she wiggled and shimmied out of her pants, making sure her unrestrained breasts danced under her shirt, her hard, pebbled nipples guaranteeing the sway was noticed.

  "You're tormenting me on purpose."

  "Maybe, but I haven't broken any rules." She kicked her pants to the side of the room. "So, I win."

  "Gwen, don't give him a reason."

  Liv didn't get any further in her warning before Gwen dramatically rolled her eyes at her friend, a satisfied smirk on her face. She had won.

  "The two of you practice the four D's right, Jensen?" Atticus' eyes never left Gwen.

  "We do."

  "Then, is there a reason your lovely sub disrespectfully rolled her eyes at me?"

  "Wait, I didn't roll my eyes at you. I just," she sighed in defeat, "rolled them."

  "Very disrespectful, bellissima." Jensen clicked
his tongue against the back of his teeth. "What happens when you break the rules?"

  Gwen crossed her arms over her chest. "You're enjoying this too much."

  "Don't mumble, girl, I can't hear you."

  Laughter filled the room. "You're supposed to be on my side."

  Autumn shrugged. "We have been riding together in that ambulance for two years, and the whole time you played the sweet, little, innocent girl. Payback."

  "I asked you a question. What happens when you break one of our rules?"

  "I get spanked." Her eyes collided with his as she fought the smile that was trying to work its way to the surface.

  "Don't count your winnings just yet. I'm about to wipe that triumphant look right off your face. The correct answer is you get punished. By me. In the way I choose. You will, more often than not, get spanked, but it is not the only punishment I have in my bag of tricks." He leaned into her and grasped her chin. "Not by a long shot."

  She squirmed under his gaze. "But I was winning."

  "You still are, but if you tease me any longer with what I am picturing is under that shirt of yours, I am going to embarrass myself. No pouting. Take the shirt off. Now. Quit looking at me like that, before I decide to give you a real punishment."

  With a sigh, Gwen did as he bid. In one fell swoop, she tugged the shirt over her head and let it fall to the ground. How her nipples managed to pucker any further was beyond her. but they did, and the feeling had her rubbing her thighs together in an attempt to relieve the tingle.

  Liv was the first one to talk. "They're so pretty. Can I touch them?"

  Gwen didn't respond; instead, she turned to the man next to her with a quirked brow of her own. "What do you say, can she touch?"

  "Fuck, yes," he groaned. "I still might embarrass myself."

  The words were not even out of his mouth before she felt the chilled fingers lift her breast. She watched as Liv examined the bar that ran threw her areola. "And it didn't hurt?"

  "Just the clamp," she whimpered as Liv twirled and pulled on the piercing. "I'm going to embarrass myself if you don't stop that."

  Liv smiled over Gwen's head, the man behind her no doubt encouraging the other woman. "Like this?" She twisted the tip and the small bite of pain had her panting.