Set the Night on Fire

by Jennifer Bernard

  In her statement to the coalition, she was going to say that she herself couldn't support Brad’s candidacy for her own reasons, but if the coalition voted to endorse him, she wouldn't fight it. It might be hard to spit the words out, but she was pretty sure she could pull it off. Brad simply didn’t matter to her anymore. She wasn’t afraid of him. She had better things to think about now.

  Like Sean. And their amazing night on the cliffs.

  As incredible as that experience had been, she knew it barely scratched the surface of what could happen between them. With Sean, something had clicked inside her. She felt as if she was looking at everything with new eyes—including herself. What had she been doing for the past thirteen years? Had she even been alive? Had some sort of weird holographic image of Evie McGraw been playing her part all this time?

  She blinked. Brianna was waving a hand in front of her face. “If that’s how you plan to address the coalition, it should be an interesting meeting. “

  “Oh. Sorry. Were you asking me something?”

  Brianna let out one of her classic belly laughs. No one within a hundred foot radius could resist Brianna’s laugh. “Does this have anything to do with a certain hunky hotshot who just moved back to town?”

  Evie felt her face turn as red as the rhubarb. “I have a lot on my mind,” she said with dignity. With her arms full of rhubarb stalks, she crossed to the refrigerator to put away Brianna’s gift.

  “I’m sure you do. Speaking of Sean, do you have any idea why he was at the station house earlier? Word has it he met with Chief Becker for about an hour yesterday and came out looking like death warmed over.”

  Evie’s stomach did a slow, queasy roll. Chief Becker was the officer who had come to this very house on that night thirteen years ago. He’d questioned her, Sean, and Brad. Did this have anything to do with that night? “Maybe it’s just routine, something he has to do for the hotshot crew.”

  “He didn’t mention it to you?”

  “No, which is probably a sure sign that it’s nothing important.” She shoved the rhubarb into the refrigerator and shut the door. “I don’t even know why you’re spreading gossip like this.”

  “Spreading gossip?” Brianna bristled like a ginger-haired tomcat. “I’m not spreading anything. I’m asking my best friend about her new crush’s visit to the cops. Maybe I’m concerned.”

  “Last I heard, you were telling me to kiss Sean.”

  “Yes. Actually, I said you should fuck him. But not if he’s going back to his old bad-boy ways. People used to tell so many Marcus family stories, remember?”

  “Brianna.”

  Her friend’s vivid blue eyes widened in surprise. “You’re raising your voice. You never raise your voice. What is going on with you?”

  “What’s going on with you? Why are always so tactless?”

  “Excuse me?” Under normal circumstances, Brianna’s wounded expression would make her switch gears right away. But she hated the thought of people dragging Sean’s name through the mud. It wasn’t fair.

  “Those stories are over thirteen years old. Do you really think they need to be brought up again?”

  “But I’m not the one who—”

  “Sean Marcus is here to do a job that protects us. Protects our community. And you’re talking about stuff that’s ancient history. Why don’t you just give him a chance? Not just you, but all of Jupiter Point?”

  Brianna snatched her basket off the counter and backed toward the kitchen door. “You’ve changed, Evie. This isn’t like you.”

  Evie opened her mouth to apologize and beg her friend for forgiveness. Brianna didn’t deserve to be yelled at like this. What was wrong with her?

  But before she could say a word, Brianna broke into a wide grin. “It must be all that hot sex you’re having with Sean Marcus.”

  “I’m not—who said—?”

  Brianna blew her a kiss from the door. “Don’t worry, Evie. I like the new version of you. You’re like a tiger protecting your young. It’s awesome. But this is Sean Marcus we’re talking about, and I think he can take care of himself. Love you!”

  “Love you, too!” Evie called after her as she waltzed out the door.

  She took a deep breath and realized that she felt pretty good. It wasn’t nice to call Brianna “tactless,” and she would definitely apologize for that. But she’d made her point, and it was an important one.

  She picked up her phone, fingers poised to dial Sean’s number. She had to find out what he’d spoken to Chief Becker about. But she didn’t want to bug him when he was busy. Call him or not? She went back and forth, until all the arguments on either side fell away and only one thing mattered.

  Tonight she’d be back at her own place. And she wanted to see him. Desperately.

  She texted quickly. Want to come over tonight? I’m making pizza.

  What man—especially fireman—could resist pizza?

  A second later he pinged her back with a big thumb’s up and an emoji of a bouquet of tulips

  * * *

  Sean arrived with a real bouquet of tulips in one hand and a six-pack of root beer in the other. A day’s worth of stubble covered his jaw and his eyes held a stormy intensity she recognized from his rebellious teenage years.

  That expression vanished the second he laid eyes on her. It was replaced by one hundred percent lust. That was exactly the reaction she’d been hoping for when she put on the black slip dress that barely reached the middle of her thighs.

  He dropped the bouquet on her little entryway table then set the six-pack on top of the poor tulips. Oblivious to the squished flowers, he advanced toward her like a beast arrowing in on his prey.

  “Um…hi, Sean!” With every nerve in her body already on fire, she took an involuntary step back.

  “Yeah,” he growled, his hot gaze sweeping up and down her body. “Hi.”

  “Are you, um, hungry, because the pizza’s hot and it’s best when it’s right out of the oven and—ack!” She broke off with a squeak as he swooped her into his arms and strode down the hall.

  Forget the pizza.

  He pushed open a door with one foot, then stopped dead at the sight of piles of boxes. “What’s this?”

  “Storage. If, by any chance, you’re looking for the bedroom, it’s across the hall.” She felt giddy and silly, like a newly opened bottle of champagne releasing bubbles into the air.

  Sean swung around and crossed the hall in one long stride. He pushed open the door and they moved into her bedroom, lit only by the warm glow of her bedside lamp. The next thing Evie knew, she was flat on her back on her king-size bed with a fierce-eyed warrior braced over her. “You’re not wearing any underwear, are you?”

  She giggled. “There’s only one way to find out for sure.”

  “Don’t have to ask me twice.” He pushed the hem of her dress up her thighs. Instant liquid heat rushed to her sex. It was those damn hands of his, their size and power and gentleness. They made her melt just by landing on her skin.

  He gazed down hungrily at her bare body. At the last minute, she’d taken off her panties just to see what it felt like. Right now, she was thinking that was one of the better decisions she’d ever made in her life.

  “Good God, you’re gorgeous,” he breathed. He hooked her knees over his shoulders, making her squeak again. “I have to taste you.”

  “You do?” It was a good thing she was lying down. The carnal look on his face made her feel faint.

  “Mmm. Look at you, already wet, and my mouth is watering.” He bent his dark head to the juncture between her thighs. She dug her hands into her goose down comforter and squeezed her eyes shut. This was one more experience she’d never had, and she intended to enjoy it to the fullest.

  The first touch of his tongue to her sex made her shriek. She plastered both her hands over her mouth in shock.

  He chuckled, the sound vibrating her clit. She couldn’t tell if he intended that or not, but it felt freaking amazing. “Don’t hold
back for me, sweetness. You know your sounds make me crazy.”

  He slowly drew the flat of his tongue across the little bundle of nerves. That kernel of pleasure felt like the source of everything good in the entire world. She moaned—or was it groaned—loudly, then grabbed a pillow and stuffed it over her face.

  He reached up with one arm and pulled it away. “Don’t cheat me out of your sounds, Evie. That’s no way to treat a guy. Especially one with his mouth on your pussy.”

  Ohmigod, the dirty way he talked. It made her simultaneously mortified and aroused. The aroused part definitely took over when he began circling her clit with skillful, eager sweeps of his tongue. He seemed to know exactly how much to lick, how hard and how fast, to keep her right on the edge of orgasm. He put his hand under her ass and changed the angle, eliciting another muffled shriek from her.

  Fine. Why try to hide the way he made her feel? That was something the old Evie would do. Not the new Evie.

  Abandoning any attempt at dignity, she pushed herself hard against his mouth.

  “Please, Sean. Please, I can’t stand it! Make me come.”

  “That’s right, tell me what you want. You want to come?”

  “Yes.”

  He lifted his head, his eyes dark, burning pools of intensity. “I want to feel you come while I’m inside you. Are you ready for that?”

  “Yes—God, yes.”

  “Hang on.” He released her legs so she lay splayed across the bed, and dug in his pocket. He produced a wrapped condom that he clamped between his teeth.

  “Wait,” she said suddenly. The alarm in his expression almost made her laugh. “One tiny little thing.”

  He froze, chest rising and falling in rapid heaves.

  “Could you take your clothes off? I want to see you. I get turned on even when you’re dressed, but now I want to see everything. In the light.”

  He grinned. “Not a problem.” Tossing the condom on the bed, he ripped off his t-shirt and jeans so fast, he looked like Quicksilver in the X-Men movies.

  “Don’t move,” she begged him. “Just let me look at you for a minute.”

  Playing it up, he lifted his arms overhead in a victory pose.

  She let out a sigh of sheer appreciation. In the soft lamplight, the definition of his muscular chest stood out in deep grooves and sleek ridges. He had barely any hair, just a silky swirl right in the middle of his chest.

  “I wish I had my camera right now.”

  “So that’s why you’re into photography. For the naked men.”

  She gave a soft snort. “Hardly. Just you, Sean Marcus.”

  Her gaze lingered on his tattoo, then dropped lower. His erection pushed against the fabric of his black boxer briefs. “These are coming off,” he warned her, just before he pushed them down his strong thighs.

  Her heart jumped into her throat as his erection sprang forth in all its thick, eager glory. Heat rushed right to her core, a liquid rush of desire that stunned her. She couldn’t take her eyes off it—she could stare at it forever…and touch it…and taste it…

  But Sean was growling something, hands on his hips. “How long do you need to do this? Asking for a friend. You know, him.” He indicated his shaft with a quick gesture of his head.

  She waved him on, almost speechless from the overwhelming effect of so much maleness. “I’m good,” she whispered in awe. “So, so good.”

  “Glad to hear it.” Sean grabbed his condom and ripped open the wrapper, then worked it over his erection. Watching his big hands move across his own organ made her light-headed. Wild with excitement by now, she arched against him when he covered her with his body.

  “I want you,” she whispered, putting his hand on her sex. “Can you feel how much?”

  “Right there with you, sweetness. Believe me.” With deft fingers, he stroked her a few more times, stoking her arousal back to the peak where she’d been before, trembling on the edge of orgasm. Lashed by the urgent edge of desire, she twisted and moaned under his hands.

  “Ready?” he whispered. Hunger shone from every tense line of his face.

  She nodded.

  At the first push of his thick head against her entrance, her body tensed. But he took his time, stroking her hips and inner thighs, whispering hot words that she couldn’t make out. They acted more as a kind of chant more than anything else, simultaneously soothing and inflaming her.

  It wasn’t as if she was a virgin, after all, she told herself. She’d done this before. But Pete hadn’t been quite this big, or maybe he just hadn’t been this hard. He hadn’t been fully aroused, whereas Sean…Sean felt enormous and so hard and stiff and…

  He slid inside, filling her up completely, and a strange tingling feeling danced across her scalp. The soles of her feet felt it too. Her toes literally curled. He drew back, dragging his erection across her clit. Her eyes nearly rolled back in her head at how good it felt.

  In again. Her channel expanded to receive him, sending ripples of pleasure through her body in every direction.

  A stream of urgent murmurs poured from her lips. “Oh my God, that feels incredible, oh yes, oh sweet Lord, how can it feel so good…”

  As soon as their bodies got used to each other, he set a faster rhythm, flexing his hips to drive deep. She closed her eyes against the sensations welling inside her. Watching his powerful body braced over her was too much, too overwhelming.

  And then he reached between their entwined bodies and found her clit. He pressed the aching little nub with his strong fingers and just like that, the entire world was erased by pure, mind-blanking, orgasmic ecstasy.

  She surrendered to it, letting anything come out of her mouth that wanted to. Cries and moans and pleas…she didn’t care. Let it all come out.

  Her climax triggered Sean’s—he went rigid above her. She clutched at him, her sweaty hands slipping off his broad back.

  Her orgasm felt like it came from somewhere deep inside her, from some endless, forever source that would never run out. It would always be there for her, like another part of herself. A vital, wild, essential part.

  When they both finished, Sean collapsed next to her, one long leg draped over her upper thighs. She felt his hair brush against her cheek. With every rapid breath, she inhaled the delicious scent of his skin. This felt like heaven, right here, right now. He mumbled something she couldn’t quite make out. Her eyes fell shut and she drifted into a soft, satisfied doze.

  21

  First sex, then a nap, then pizza…Sean should have been totally relaxed by the time Evie posed her surprise question about his meeting with Chief Becker.

  He didn’t want to talk about that pile of shit. But she caught him off-guard and he tensed up right away.

  “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

  “Come on, Sean. My imagination has been going in all kinds of crazy directions since Brianna told me. Officer Becker was the one you punched that night. If he’s digging into what happened with Brad, I need to know.”

  “It wasn’t about that. Well, it wasn’t just about that.”

  Evie put down her slice of pizza and fixed him with a determined look he hadn’t seen from her before. “Please, Sean, I’m begging you. I have this feeling that Brad is up to something. He’s been awfully quiet since he wrote the op-ed piece. He knows that we’re having a special coalition meeting tomorrow night. I want to know what’s going on.”

  A muscle tightened in Sean’s jaw. “I have it handled, Evie. I know Brad’s type. He’s a typical bully. You can’t give into them. I intend to keep doing my job until my boss tells me not to.”

  She went slightly pale. “What do you mean about your job? Is he trying to make trouble for you with the hotshots? You have to tell me.”

  He made one more attempt to head her off. “I thought you McGraws didn’t like facing difficult things.”

  “I’m breaking the mold. Come on, Sean. Whatever Brad’s doing, I need to know.” Her eyes blazed with silver light. This fired-up ve
rsion of Evie was sexy as hell. Almost as sexy as the one who’d come apart in his arms.

  Sean ripped off a big bite of pizza to buy himself a little time. The meeting with Becker had been like a sucker punch in the gut. He wished he could erase that hour from his life. But there was more crap coming his way, so he couldn’t. Besides, with her history with Brad, she deserved the truth.

  He swallowed his bit of pizza, then met Evie’s eyes.

  “Brad is publicly questioning my fitness to lead the Jupiter Point Hotshots. Not just because I got into so much trouble in high school. There’s also…the crash.”

  He had to force the word past the sudden tightness of his throat.

  “Crash.” Horror dawned on her face and she pushed her plate away. “You mean your parents’ plane crash? What could that possibly have to do with anything?”

  “He’s requesting that the police department reopen the investigation. There was never a final determination of a cause.”

  It felt surreal to be talking about this. Even during that terrible year after the crash, he hadn’t spent much time thinking about why it happened. Jesse Marcus wasn’t a very experienced pilot and he’d had a lot of hubris. Bad combination.

  “I thought it was…well, pilot error,” Evie said, almost apologetically. “That’s what everyone around here said.”

  “It’s okay, Evie. You don’t have to tiptoe around it. I always refused to get into a plane with my father at the controls. No fucking way. Of course it was pilot error. He was a crap pilot. That’s why he had to hire real pilots to run the tours.”

  He took a long swallow of root beer to wash down the pizza, and his disgust.

  Evie rose to her feet and paced restlessly. She wore sleep shorts and a ribbed tank top that showed off her slim form. His mouth watered even more than it had for the pizza.

  “I still don’t understand why Brad would want to bring up the crash. It has nothing to do with the hotshot crew. You were a kid then. You lost both your parents. It’s beyond callous. I can’t imagine what he’s thinking.”