All Fired Up

by Denise A. Agnew

He leaned his rump against Donna’s desk, and he partially obscured her view of Donna’s body. “I could shoot you.”

  Jenny’s blood ran to ice. “Why would you do that? I’ve never treated you with anything but respect.”

  He smirked. “You’re just collateral damage in all this. Don’t you get that? Wrong place, bad luck.”

  What could she say to that? She switched gears, the terror in her threatened to derail her ability to speak coherently.

  “All right. Even if you kill me, what do you plan to do next?” she asked.

  “Kill myself. Maybe suicide by cop.”

  She swallowed, her throat so tight now she could barely squeeze words out. “Look, I just met this wonderful man last week. He saved me from the tornado.”

  “So?”

  She could’ve been braver, perhaps. Had more bravado in her speech. Been more clever. She decide bald honest might get her some points.

  “I’m already falling for him, and I don’t want to lose him now. Okay? It’s…I want to live.”

  She didn’t know what would happen next. Would he decide to go out in a hail of bullets? Would he decide peace was better and let her go? In the back of her mind, a few words repeated themselves over and over.

  I just want to be in Greg’s arms. Now. Now.

  “You know, you’re all right.” James’s voice was quiet as he put his gun down on Donna’s desk.

  She hadn’t expected that, either. She stared at the gun and then snapped her attention to his face. “Thank you.”

  “When I’ve come in the office you never treated me like a piece of shit. That counts for something.”

  “I try to treat everyone with respect, James.”

  “Why aren’t you asking me why I did this?”

  “Would it matter?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Okay, I think I can guess a little of why you felt it was necessary. You hate Donna?”

  He snorted. “Yep. Hate her guts. I’m glad she’s dead.”

  “Okay. You’re so angry at what she did to you, that you think she deserves to die.”

  “Exactly.”

  “You couldn’t just stick with the divorce and just leave it as is?”

  His face hardened, and for a terrifying second, she wondered if she’d screwed her chance to escape death.

  “I just don’t give a shit about my life any more, Jenny. So this kills two birds. Donna and me.”

  “You don’t have to die.”

  “I think I do.”

  The phone rang, and she startled. He let it ring twice more before answering.

  “Yeah,” he said into the phone.

  She couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation.

  James said, “Yeah. Yeah. It’s over, man. You ought to hire Jenny Hannigan as your negotiator. I’m done here. She just convinced me not to shoot her.”

  Jenny’s heart about stopped as relief and suspicion battled for control inside her. She didn’t know whether to believe him or not. This had been too easy, right?

  “Yeah. Okay. Doing that right now,” James said.

  After he hung up, he also retrieved the gun. Her stomach clenched in anxiety. He stood.

  “I just told them I’m coming out of the building right now. They said you should stay here. Don’t leave this office.”

  He walked to the doorway, and she understood a second later that he had to know the cops were in the building already. He opened the door and walked out, closing the door behind him. Without thinking, she ran to Donna in case she was still alive. Like clockwork Donna moaned. Relieved, Jenny leaned over Donna and checked for a pulse in her neck. It was faint. Jenny grabbed her phone from her handbag. Before she could dial 9-1-1 to let them know Donna was alive, she saw that Greg had left a voice mail.

  Tears followed, rolling down her cheeks. She heard loud voices and commotion outside. The shouting became louder. Within a few moments the door popped open and three armed SWAT officers came in the room, weapons up.

  On instinct she put her hands up. “Thank God. Help me, she’s still alive.”

  One of the SWAT officers knelt beside Donna and immediately started first aid.

  Another officer touched Jenny’s shoulder. “Are you all right, ma’am?”

  She nodded. “I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me. Did he hurt anyone else?”

  “No,” the man said. “He seemed to target just this office.”

  In the jumble of minutes that followed, she learned that James had surrendered without incident. He hadn’t provoked suicide by cop. Hospital operations would ramp up again as soon as possible. Most people had stayed sheltered in place, and hordes of cops went door to door announcing that all was clear. The P.A. System announced the same. The lockdown was over.

  “Please, I’d like to get out of here,” she said to one cop.

  “We need to take you downstairs for debriefing. Sorry about that, ma’am. I know you’d like to be reunited with friends and family,” the young man said. “A detective will need to take your statement.”

  Tears were still falling—she couldn’t seem to control the shivering that wracked her body. “I understand.”

  She almost forgot to take her handbag with her. The same SWAT officer escorted her out of the building just as paramedics rushed inside. There were still masses of people outside the building. She scanned faces, looking for Greg. She knew without a doubt he’d be there looking for her. She saw fire trucks and ambulances across the parking lot but had no time to see if Greg might be there before a detective waylaid her. He took her into the SWAT mobile command center, and for the next thirty minutes she answered questions. She got the good news that Donna was in better shape than expected, although she’d been taken to the hospital with a concussion.

  Just after the thirty minutes passed, a SWAT officer cleared his throat and announced to the men in the command center, “Miss Hannigan? There’s a guy out here who says he knows you. Been insisting that he see you.”

  “Greg Falk?” she asked in happiness and anticipation.

  “That’s him.”

  “Are we done here?” she asked detective.

  “For now, yes. You’re free to go. Thank you, Miss Hannigan.”

  She managed a lopsided smile, and within a moment she saw Greg outside of the command center standing between two SWAT cops, his face unreadable. No, that wasn’t exactly true. He looked mad. Ready to eat bear. She could see it in the tightness of that handsome mouth and the heat in his eyes.

  She left the command center and hurried toward him just as he started for her. His face eased into a brilliant smile as she rushed into his arms.

  He cupped her face just as he had earlier in the day. “God, Jenny. That scared the shit out of me. I—are you okay?” He drew back just enough to look her up and down. “Did James hurt you?”

  “No. He didn’t hurt me. I’m fine. I’m fine.” Tears started to flow again.

  “Oh, God, I thought…a couple of times I thought…” He brushed her tears away, then kissed her forehead.

  “I know. Me, too. Can we get out of here?”

  He supported the back of her head as she pressed her face to his shoulder, his other arm banding around her tightly. He held her while the tears flowed.

  Chapter Eight

  They drove to her place in relative silence all the way. Darkness hadn’t come yet, but the sun was lowering. She didn’t have the energy to talk, and he seemed to understand. They’d run the gambit of reporters in order to leave the hospital, and when they arrived at her house, they discovered three local news trucks parked in front of her house. Greg cursed. She did, too. They swarmed the car like locusts.

  “We can drive away if you want. I can take you anywhere you like,” Greg said.

  “Okay, but I need to get some things. Clothes, toiletries.”

  Greg looked over at her, his eyes glittering with disgust at the way the reporters were shouting questions. “Come stay with me until this blows over.”

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sp; She didn’t hesitate. “Okay.”

  “Stay in the car until I come around to your side.”

  He left the car and the reporters backed away like Greg was a bulldozer. She smiled. Maybe they’d felt the danger coming off of him the way she had on Independence Day.

  He opened her door, and when she stepped outside, she said to the crowd of reporters, “No comment today. Thank you.”

  Greg rushed her into the house, and when they entered the house she made quick work of gathering what she needed into an overnight bag. Before long they left the house again, but this time the reporters had already left.

  Greg lived about ten minutes from Station 58 in an older home built some time in the nineteen eighties. The immaculate front yard showed easy care desert landscaping. Once inside the house, she sighed in relief. The house was bigger than she expected with a soaring front entry and high ceiling in the living room. He was right, though, about the decoration. The brown sectional furniture didn’t have much to recommend it. She didn’t care. She’d take it.

  “God, it feels good in here. So quiet and cool.” She placed her purse on the couch.

  “I’ll show you the guest room.”

  She went upstairs with him, and the guest room was at the top of the stairs. Large and comfortable but without a decoration on the wall. She put her overnighter bag on the queen-sized bed. Lexi texted her while they stood there, and Jenny replied back that all was well at Greg’s house. After that was done, Greg showed her the guest bathroom and made sure she had fluffy towels.

  “I know, this place isn’t much to look at. It needs a woman’s touch.” He smiled at her.

  “That it does. But it’s a nice house.”

  “Do you want to lie down? You’ve had a hell of a day. Or I could make you some dinner.”

  “I’m starving. I’ll take anything you can whip up. I don’t even care if it’s a bowl of cereal.”

  They settled on salad, and she decided to get a shower while he made the dinner. The entire time she allowed the water to cascade over her in the shower, she felt numb.

  She came down wearing a plain blue t-shirt and plaid shorts along with a pair of sandals. When she entered the kitchen, Greg stood there looking damned domestic. At least as much as a bad-ass Marine with miles of muscles could look like a chef. He looked over at her, and his gaze sizzled as it sized her up. She didn’t miss the fact that his attention lingered on her bare legs.

  “Hey,” he said. “Feel better?”

  “Much. Thanks.”

  As they sat at the dining nook table, he said, “I promise breakfast will be a lot better. I can cook a great omelete.”

  She smiled. “This is fine. I’m just hungry and tired.”

  They still didn’t say much, and she wondered what went on in that mind of his. She’d seen how concerned he’d been for her, and she’d read the text he sent. He had feelings for her, and she knew it, and that warmed her clear through. After eating, they agreed mindless television would help them wind down.

  As they slumped on the sectional couch, he sat close to her and reached for her hand. She loved his touch and felt so comfortable being with him here. They watched a sitcom but she couldn’t find anything amusing in it. A news report flashed on the screen between commercials, and of course the headline story dealt with the hostage situation at the hospital. She must have flinched or made a sound, because he slipped his arm around her. Nestled against his side, she felt incredibly safe.

  She turned toward him. “I never thanked you for letting me stay here.”

  “You’re very welcome. Any time.”

  “You…” She swallowed hard. “Your text was…incredible. The fact you came for me.”

  He looked uncomfortable. “You don’t know how much I wanted to rush in there and save you. And I couldn’t.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t try. You getting arrested or hurt would’ve made things worse. It was enough just to see you there.”

  “I felt freaking helpless. I remembered how I was talking to my father and couldn’t save him, either.”

  She gave him a lopsided smile. “You’re a very conscientious, reliable man, aren’t you?”

  “I try to be.”

  She yawned and some time after they settled into watching more television, they promptly fell asleep.

  * *

  Jenny woke up sprawled across a wall of muscle. Disorientation made her wonder where the hell she’d landed. She spread her right hand out and discovered a ridge of warm, hot flesh beneath her touch. She moved again and realized it was six-pack stomach muscles with a sprinkling of hair over them. At that realization, she froze and came fully awake. Her head was lying on a hard chest, and she was cradled in two powerful arms. Her legs were tangled up with Greg’s, and one of his thighs pressed between her legs and touched…well, right where if felt good. She shifted and a spike of pure arousal darted from her nipples to her womb. Sometime during the night they’d fallen asleep like this on the couch. She allowed her hand to trail over those abs up to his chest. His t-shirt was pulled up now and when she opened her eyes she got an eyeful of his amazing pectorals. A light sprinkling of hair over those pecs tickled her fingers. She shivered in delicious anticipation. What would it be like to explore every inch of him? To feel him deep inside her?

  A low masculine rumble came from his throat. “God, sweetheart. Don’t stop.”

  She smiled and pressed her nose against his chest. She drew in his warm, masculine scent and sighed. Wow, this guy was potent and every moment in his arms felt like heaven. She traced her hand over him, and his touch roved over her as well. He stroked her arms, her back, her butt until the arousal inside her ramped up into high gear. Everything coalesced into heat, into need and desire thicker than she’d ever experienced. She propped up a little, and in the low light looked into his smoldering, hungry eyes. She couldn’t mistake the warmth and heat in his expression, the tenderness.

  “You’re so amazing,” he said softly.

  She grinned. “Flattery, sir, will get you everywhere.”

  He laughed. “Excellent. I’d like to get everywhere with you.”

  The teasing in his voice couldn’t hide the fact desire filled his eyes. “And you’re the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right.”

  “To me you are.”

  “Tell me more.”

  “I love the way you touch me. I like how you take care of me. I love everything about you.”

  He sighed and his touch caressed her again, making her crazy for more. “I feel the same way about you. Yesterday I was so damned scared when you were taken hostage. If I’d lost you…” He shook his head. “I don’t even want to think about it.” He slipped his hands into her hair and drew her nearer. “I know this is fast. A lot of crazy stuff has happened in the last week. Emotions can run high and intense. But it’s made me think more about what I want in life. I want to be with you. I’m falling for you hard and fast.”

  She shivered at his words, the sincerity of those words making her melt with both happiness and desire. “I feel the same. I don’t care how quick or how crazy it is. I’m falling for you, too.”

  “Thank God,” he whispered.

  He slipped his fingers into her hair and brought her down to him. Their lips met. This time he didn’t ease into the kiss. Hunger and heat exploded between them. His tongue stroked deep, tasting her with soft, sensual strokes that mimicked a sexual rhythm. She tingled, she burned with an overwhelming need. She’d never wanted a man more. For a long time they snuggled on the couch, touching, pleasing and making out until she thought she’d go mad. He sat up long enough to strip off his t-shirt, and his hands palmed her butt and brought her level with his hard erection. She squirmed, wanting between her legs, craving it deep inside her.

  “Let’s go upstairs,” he said softly.

  “Yes.”

  They got off the couch, and he took her hand and led her to his room. He switched on a small be
dside light, and she walked into his arms again. The heat between them ramped up, building so quickly. Every part of her tingled and yearned. Though she would’ve been perfectly ready for a quickie, he seemed more than patient, his gentleness adding to the steadily climbing heat. She learned so many things about him. The way his skin felt, the bristles of his five-o’clock shadow as he nuzzled her neck and kissed her ear. The absolute strength in his muscles. The way he cupped her breasts and brushed his thumbs over her nipples. The sounds he made when she grabbed his butt, caressed his chest. She writhed in his arms, so aroused she didn’t think she could take it any more. Piece by piece they discarded their clothes until both of them stood beside the bed completely naked. He was everything she imagined and more. Broad shoulders, powerful arms, six-pack abs…just muscled in all the right places. And between those muscled thighs, his erection showed he was more than ready.

  “You’re so beautiful, Jenny.” His voice went husky, rumbling in a way that stirred more yearning within her. “So damned beautiful.”

  He leaned over and tongued first one nipple and then the other, sucking them with soft pulls that made her moan and gasp in exquisite pleasure. A moment later he picked her up, and she giggled in surprise as he lowered her to the bed and came down next to her. The urgency of his touches and caresses told her she wouldn’t have to wait much longer. Couldn’t wait much longer. But Greg had other ideas. He parted her thighs and teased her with slow strokes and tender touches. He teased her clit, brushing over that tiny spot of pleasure until she couldn’t stop moaning. Before she could explode, he inched his way down her body with small kisses. He parted her legs and oh, oh yes. There. Right there. He tasted her, using his tongue in ways that ought to be illegal.

  The intimacy of it fueled her arousal. He made love to her with a combination of gentleness and fierceness that overwhelmed her, turned her on so much she knew he had her forever. One more lick, one more stroke, and she shivered on the edge. He slipped two fingers inside her and pumped. He drew her clit into his mouth and sucked gently, and the rush of climax hit her full force. She gasped, moaned as the ecstasy shook her body.

  As she came down from the climax, he reached in the bedside drawer and located a condom. He opened it and slid the protection down his long, thick length. The excitement returned, and she couldn’t wait to discover what it felt like with him inside her. He lowered his hips between her thighs, and her arms came around him. With one steady, gentle push he eased into her. The heat and hardness opened her, spreading her deep and wide. He went slowly and it made her crazy. She was tight around him, and the pressure and fullness made her groan.