* * * *
Jake stepped forward and placed his hands onto Michaela’s shoulders. He bent lower so he could whisper.
“I was so worried when the call came over the radio about a fire at your address.” He stared at her, and she swallowed hard. He removed one hand and gently clutched her chin before caressing her skin with his thumb.
“You have to be more careful, baby.”
The way he called her baby was enough to give her palpitations. She stared up at him.
“Jake, I’m fine. I told you that I could take care of myself.”
He shook his head.
“I don’t want to hear that nonsense anymore. Around here, friends stick together. I care about you.”
“What? How? You don’t even know me,” she said with attitude.
“I’m planning on rectifying that situation and so are my brothers. Now sit tight, and we’ll give you the okay when it’s safe to go back inside.”
He released her shoulders and she stared at him as he walked away. Did he just hint that he and his brothers, Billy and Hal, were interested in her?
“Miss, I see that your elbow is bleeding. Let me clean that up for you.” A paramedic interrupted her thoughts and she nodded, still speechless after what Jake just said, never mind did. She was attracted to the three of them, but she shouldn’t be. Especially since she may not even be sticking around this town for that much longer. With thoughts of her situation and the danger she was in, came thoughts of why she couldn’t act on her attraction to Jake or to his brothers.
Plus, that type of relationship had never even crossed her mind, not even in fantasy. A ménage? Three men and one woman?
I’ve never even had a boyfriend. One boyfriend. How the hell could I even consider three boyfriends?
At once. She felt sick to her stomach with a combination of fear and curiosity. Those men can’t be serious. They must just like to have fun and be wild in bed. Each of them were so damn sexy, they probably had had dozens of women, maybe even more between the three of them. She’d had none. Zip. Not even a boyfriend. Too fearful of being tricked, cheated, or just plain used.
The walls I’ve put up are pretty damn solid. Three sexy firefighters who like to share their women will not break those walls down. I’ve been hurt and heartbroken enough in my life. Nope, I’m not going to weaken now. I can’t.
It was easier to remain alone and secluded than it was to open herself up for more pain, and more than likely more disappointment. Everyone in her life disappointed and failed her. A ménage relationship was just asking for it to fail and for them to break her heart and leave her as hollow as she felt right now.
“Excuse me, Michaela?” She turned toward an older man who joined her and the paramedic. She recognized him immediately. He lived next door, at the closest house to hers in the cul-de-sac.
“Yes.”
He smiled. “I’m so glad that you’re okay, and so is the house. When I saw the smoke and knew you were inside, I called the fire department right away. My name is Ike. Ike Mason.” He introduced himself and held out his hand for her to shake.
She reached over with her right hand since the paramedic was wrapping her left. Ike chuckled but gently took her right hand.
“Michaela Smitt. It’s nice to meet you, Ike, and thank you for calling in for help.”
“No problem. I was so happy to see someone had brought the old Fennigan home. I’d hate for something like this to scare you off.”
“Oh, no worries there. I don’t scare too easily,” she told him and then thought about how she might have to leave on a moment’s notice if that hit man or Solomon came looking for her. She turned away and back toward her house which wasn’t in terrible shape at all.
“It could have been a lot worse. Looks like you probably stopped that electrical fire from getting out of control.” Hal interrupted her thoughts as he, Billy, Jake, and the fire chief came over.
“Michaela, this is Chief Martelli.”
She smiled at the man as he shook her hand.
“How are you feeling, honey?” he asked her with a smile.
“I’m okay.”
“Good to hear. The men were worried,” he said, glancing at Billy and Hal.
Hal took position next to her.
“What caused it, do you know?” She asked.
“It appears to have been electrical. Something wired up through the eaves of the house from the outside. Not done by code at all.”
“Great. Well, I can tell you it probably had something to do with the porch light. It kept flickering on and off since I bought the house. I changed the outlet and the bulb. It was working fine.”
“Are you certain you knew what you were doing?” Hal asked.
She gave him the once-over. “Oh, I know what I’m doing. I don’t mess around with the heavy electrical work, the minor stuff I can handle.”
The chief cleared his throat.
“More than likely the problem wasn’t in the outlet where the main connector was. It seems that the previous owner rigged his own source of wiring from up in the attic. Probably to hide it from an inspector. The faulty wire behind the walls of the siding finally gave out, and when they shorted, they caught fire by the small box up in the attic,” the chief stated.
“It didn’t help that the box was made out of wood, and there were old cardboard boxes and rags near it. I even found paint containers. It could have been worse. It could have blown up with you up there,” Hal stated and then leaned his hand against the back of the fire truck right above her shoulder.
His turnout coat was undone, his gloves off, and she could see his bulging muscles beneath the tight blue T-shirt he wore. The man was flammable himself. Her heart raced as she held his gaze.
“You probably helped to stop the fire from getting out of control. Although I don’t condone what you did. But you’re safe, and the house is intact. You’ll just need to get rid of all the junk up there in the attic,” the chief continued.
“And you’ll need an electrician to come in and check out all the wiring, so this can’t happen anywhere else in the house,” Jake added with his arms crossed in front of his chest. She felt like a child being reprimanded.
“Listen, I appreciate all the great advice. I’ll be sure to go over everything more thoroughly tomorrow. I’m planning on gutting most of the place room by room, which means down to the beams beneath the sheet rock.”
“My nephew works for an electrician. He’s really good. I can have him come over here tomorrow and go through things with you,” Ike offered.
“That’s very nice of you. I’ll let you know, Ike.”
“Hey, I know the company his nephew works for. It’s a good company and the owner is a friend of mine. I think that’s a great idea, Ike,” Jake added.
“Listen.” She raised her voice and they all stared at her.
Michaela took a deep breath and then released it. “Listen, I appreciate the offers, but I can handle this on my own. Now, can I go inside to see the damage?”
“You may want to rest for the night, maybe take this on tomorrow. You did inhale a lot of smoke,” Hal said as he placed his hand on her shoulder stopping her. He glided his hand down her arm, giving her goose bumps and making her shiver from the level of attraction she was feeling. He was sexy and very good looking. He gently turned her arm to look at the bandage.
“I’m fine, Hal. I just cut it on the flooring when the attic ladder fell.” She pulled it from him and slowly eased between him and Billy to walk into her house. She would have run if she weren’t trying so hard to prove her independence and desire to be left alone, and not let on to the dizziness she felt. She thanked the other firefighters as they cleaned up their equipment.
As she inhaled the smell of smoke in her home she wondered how she would even sleep tonight. With no lights on, of course. God knows what else might catch on fire in this place.
She looked at the mess in the hallway from where the attic stairs were lying on the ground. She leaned her
head against the wall and closed her eyes.
Will I ever have peace in my life? Will there ever be a happy time, even a moment of normalcy and accomplishment? Or will my life eternally be filled with heartache, struggles, and fear?
She wiped away the tear she wouldn’t let fall and pushed away from the wall. It was time to do what she always did when shit happened. She cleaned it up because no one else was going to help her to do it.
I’m alone in this godforsaken world. I know that, so why am I feeling ready to cry and just give up? Suck it up, Michaela. Like always.
* * * *
Michaela was startled as she heard the banging on the front door. It was seven o’clock in the morning on a Sunday. Who could be here? She hadn’t even made coffee yet. She had gotten dressed in shorts and a tank top. It wasn’t as hot as yesterday but she would be sweating soon enough. She had the mess from the fire to clean up before she could even think about moving on to the demolition work.
She looked at the front window as she made her way toward the front door, and her heart caught in her throat. She could see multiple trucks and guys carrying things from their vehicles. She opened the front door and there stood Jake with a large brown bag and a huge takeout container of coffee.
“Good morning, darling. Hope you didn’t have breakfast yet. The chief’s daughter sent all this stuff over from Sullivan’s restaurant.” He walked right by her and headed toward the kitchen. Hal was behind him along with Billy. They were carrying tools and some sort of square vacuum thing. A glance past them and she saw the electricians truck, Ike from next door, and about five other men.
“What are you doing here? What’s all of this?” she asked, feeling her throat clog up with emotion.
Hal walked by her. “We’re here to help. That’s the kind of people who live in Treasure Town. When one of us is in trouble or needs some help, the community is there to pitch in. Sometimes you just need a friend or friends to help get through things.” He set the machine thing down in the hallway.
“Let’s grab some bagels and coffee and then get started in the attic. Lou is bringing by the other Dumpster,” Jake told them. Michaela covered her mouth in awe as the other men came inside, introduced themselves, and then grabbed some bagels and coffee in her kitchen.
She walked into the hallway a moment and gathered her emotions. She’d never experienced anything like this before. No one cared about her. She was alone in this world. She didn’t even know that people like this existed.
The arm wrapped around her waist from behind. She tried to step out of the hold but Jake held firmly and whispered against her hair.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to say a thing. It’s no big deal, baby. Everyone heard about the fire, and about the problems with the house, and they wanted to pitch in and help you. You don’t need to handle this alone. We’re here.”
“But I…I don’t know what to say. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.” She turned around. He held her still, and she leaned against the wall in the hallway. Jake reached down and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.
“You’re strong and you’re brave, but everyone needs a little help now and then. Come have some coffee and bagels and then we’ll get started.”
She shook her head in disbelief at the offer and the generosity. “Thank you, Jake.”
He smiled at her and then took her hand and led her back into the kitchen.
* * * *
Billy was working side by side with Michaela in the attic. They had passed down numerous items, clearing the entire attic of debris. Jake was installing the new attic stairs pull-cord along with Hal.
Billy watched Michaela struggling with the insulation. She was trying to tear it back in order to assist the electrician downstairs with locating another main line. She was tugging on the wire but it wasn’t budging. Billy crawled along next to her, his body brushing against hers as he approached.
“Let me try,” he whispered. Their gazes locked and he felt his heart pounding in his chest. All day he and his brothers took turns working by her. He didn’t know if Hal and Jake took the opportunities that he did to rub against her, lock gazes with her, or absorb her natural beauty and strength. But right now, with gazes locked as he reached under the insulation and tugged the wire free, she mesmerized him.
So did the smudge of dust or dirt by her lower lip. Hell, the tiny droplets of perspiration dripping between her breasts aroused him, too. It brought some pretty wild images of her in bed with him and his brothers making love to her multiple times. They’d have her sedated and well loved in no time.
They heard the electrician yell from below that he got the wire. Michaela didn’t move, nor did Billy.
He reached up and gently ran his thumb along her lower lip and the slight bit of dust.
She parted her lips and looked too damn sexy to not kiss. Leaning closer, he held her gaze, staring into her deep blue eyes as he whispered. “There was something on your lip.”
“Oh,” she replied and began to lower her head, but he moved his fingers to her chin, gripped it, and covered her lips with his.
The kiss started out slowly. Hell, he was only going to take a sample taste, but his desire and the attraction between them was too much and that kiss grew wild quickly. He wasn’t sure how it happened, but he wound up halfway on top of her, felt her fingers running through his hair, pulling him closer as their tongues dueled for control of the kiss. She moaned into his mouth and he absorbed everything he could about the moment. The sweet taste of her, the scent of her perfume, and the burned wood left over from the fire. The humidity of the attic, their bodies perspiring, her breasts full and plump against his chest, and the feel of her petite body beneath his thighs and hips.
He ran his hand along her waist, past her ribs to cup her breast, and she lifted her thigh and tried to maneuver. They were losing breath from kissing so deeply, so wildly, and when he moved his mouth off her lips to her neck, he heard her rapid breathing. It matched his own.
“Billy. Billy we have to stop.” She panted and he stopped kissing her to look down at her face. He saw the arousal and brightness in her eyes but also something else. His heart ached. His chest tightened. Did she not feel what he felt? Oh God, please let her have felt the desire, the intensity like I did. I never felt like this before.
“Stop?” he questioned, and now she looked like she was in pain.
“There’s something sticking into my spine.” She cringed.
“Oh shit.” He slid to the side bringing her up and off her back. She half straddled him as she reached back and patted away at her shirt in the back.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know but it is stinging.”
He grabbed the flashlight as she turned on her knees. He gently lifted her top in the back noticing the shredded bits of wood. As he stared at her skin, he saw the splinter.
“Shit, you got a splinter on your back.”
“Ouch. Can you pull it out?”
“Uhm, what exactly is going on up here?” Jake asked, staring at them from the top of the ladder.
He could only imagine what his brother was thinking with Billy holding Michaela’s shirt up in the back.
“Splinter,” he stated.
Jake’s eyebrows crunched up.
“Come over here. I’m great at taking out splinters,” he told her.
Michaela looked at Billy.
“Old attics, huh?” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and he reached out and ran his thumb along it.
“I’ll never look at old attics the same way again, baby, thanks to you.”
She turned a nice shade of red as she lowered her eyes and crawled toward Jake. Billy winked at his brother, and saw the look in his eyes. Jake would get out the splinter, and then he would take a taste of Michaela for himself.
* * * *
Michaela almost felt dizzy with giddiness. It was so silly, stupid actually, to react to a kiss in such a way, yet every ounce of her
reacted. She was so inexperienced in many ways. For one, in the sex department.
She was a twenty-four-year-old virgin. And why? Because of the fear she had of giving away any part of her whatsoever because of her family. Her mother failed her, her father failed her and abandoned her, and even her sister, who she took a shot to the heart for, failed her. Even in the final moments before Annette’s death, her sister still supported Solomon, her boyfriend. She didn’t even look at Michaela.
In fact, when Michaela showed up, her sister asked why she was there. She told Michaela to leave, and that she didn’t have a sister. There was never any love or connection at all.
It broke Michaela’s heart because she had made the trip to New York in hopes of salvaging the only family she had left, her only blood relative, and that was the response she had gotten. It took Michaela some time to realize that giving any part of her to anyone one else might never happen. She just wouldn’t be able to handle that type of pain and disappointment again.
As Jake took her hand and guided her toward the bathroom with Hal right in the hallway, she focused on trying not to pass out or overanalyze the kiss with Billy.
But Jake closed the door slightly to the small old bathroom and told her to take off the tank top.
“What?”
“I need to see the splinter and make sure there aren’t more.”
She swallowed hard as he opened the medicine cabinet and rummaged through it.
“The tweezers are in there and I can grab a needle in the basket of sewing supplies under the sink.” She bent down and the splinter ached on her spine.
“Let me,” he scolded. She stood up straight and watched the oversized sheriff look for what he needed, including some peroxide and cotton balls.
He stood up and told her to turn around to face the mirror and vanity.
His lips were next to her shoulder. “Relax and let me take care of you.”
She closed her eyes and imagined how incredible life could be if he was sincere in that statement and she were willing to give it a try. What would it be like to be cared for by Jake? By Hal and even Billy? Oh God, I like them. I’m so attracted to them. I basically kissed Billy and ran my hands over his body possessively. Oh Lordy, this is insane.
Hearts on Fire 2: Michaela (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 6