by Lexie Davis
Sizzle and Burn
Copyright © July 2008, Lexie Davis
Cover art by Anastasia Rabiyah © July 2008
Amira Press
Baltimore, MD 21216
www.amirapress.com
ISBN: 978-1-934475-84-3
No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and e-mail, without prior written permission from Amira Press.
Dedication
To Billy and Diane
Prologue
She had left home to be with him. Ran away, in fact. Mustering up courage from deep in her soul she came here to his place. He was the one. He had to be. No one else on earth made her feel this way. Nobody else made her body burn with desire—not the way he did. She managed to gain control over her nerves and looked one last time in the mirror before she forced the car door open. What will he say? Will he be shocked? Will he be pleased I came for him? That I gave everything up for him.
The little house he called his own sat right outside of the city. Situated on a cozy little cul-de-sac, the small house held promise. She hadn’t seen him since he worked with her father a few months ago.
Taking a deep breath, she surveyed her surroundings. The place hadn’t changed much. Still the same white siding, the same pink roses—the only color in all the shrubbery of his landscaping, she mused. She smiled at that. Pink. Of all colors for a man to choose.
She took a step toward the walkway and smoothed her filmy white shirt down. Perspiration slicked her palms, and her stomach fluttered as she neared the door. The staccato beat of her heels clicking along the concrete was the only sound in the night air. It hadn’t turned full dark yet, and a lamp in front of a window revealed someone was home. She hoped Jax would answer. She hoped all would go well.
Taking a deep breath she raised her hand and rapped twice on the wooden door. Her heart beat frantically, her mind reeling with all the possibilities. This past summer had been the best three months of her life. Every moment she spent with Jax the more she grew fond of him. At first, she thought he didn’t like her, that he didn’t want her because she was too young. But he soon proved her wrong and showed her just how fond of her he was. Autumn’s cheeks heated at the mere thought of what they did. Half the stuff he taught her didn’t even grace the pages of her sex ed book. Half the stuff he made her feel didn’t begin to describe her want, her need, maybe even her love.
When no one came to the door she knocked again, this time harder in three consecutive raps.
“Coming,” came a voice from the other side. When the door opened, a blonde dressed in a man’s white button-down shirt and disorderly hair greeted her. Scrunching her nose, she looked down at Autumn. “What do you want?”
Maybe it’s his sister. “I’m here to see Jackson Cooper. I’m, ah . . . friend.”
She pursed her lips. Then, she yelled over her shoulder, “Baby, you’ve got a visitor.”
Autumn scratched “sibling” off her list of who the lady was and waited patiently for Jackson. Her heart hammered in her chest, her stomach knotted into a little ball. Maybe this was stupid. What the hell was I thinking?
Jackson came around the corner wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers. Autumn gulped, reminding herself to breathe. His tousled dark hair was in desperate need of a trim. Bronze skin covered hard muscles and a very thin piece of cotton fabric hid a nicely large package that was branded in Autumn’s memory forever. She allowed herself a few seconds to admire the view, knowing that if all else failed she deserved at least that much. He had a tattoo from the Marines on his upper arm, something that resembled the same one her father and brothers had. Her gaze roamed back to his face, the dark stubble hiding his strong chin and only adding to his handsome features. But his eyes . . . oh, his eyes made her weak at the knees and wet between her thighs. Deep chocolate eyes that simply said, “I want to fuck you” with tiny swirls of gold in the mix. Their first night together, he had promised her without words all the carnal deeds he’d deliver. His eyes alone reminded her of each and every one.
“Do I know you?” He wrapped an arm around the busty blonde, both of them waiting for her response.
“You, uh—stayed with my family this past summer. I’m Autumn Callaghan.” Heat rose to her cheeks. How could he not remember me? It’d only been five months since she’d seen him last, and she would have been here sooner if her father hadn’t put two bodyguards on her who acted like leeches. Finally she escaped their iron grasp and headed for the hills, and yet the one she came for—escaped for—didn’t even remember her? “My father, Major Callaghan was on assignment with you. In the Amazon.”
Realization struck him and he nodded his head. “Oh, yeah. You’re his daughter. The one he tried to keep away from the neighborhood boys.”
Her cheeks grew hotter. Three months shy of her eighteenth birthday, she didn’t appreciate being treated like a child. She was more adult at thirteen than most twenty-five-years-olds. She was anything but naïve.
“What brings you here?” he finally asked.
Autumn looked to the girl standing in his arms. Her hair was styled in the fresh out of bed look, her clothes—or rather his shirt—was wrinkled and barely buttoned enough to keep her decent. Her lipstick was smeared, her face holding the ‘I’ve just been fucked’ look Autumn knew Jackson perfected over the years. Hell, she’d had that look herself and he was the one who gave it to her.
“Um, can we talk in private somewhere?”
The blonde rolled her eyes. “I’ll be in the hot tub. You better return naked or I’m going to be mad.”
She gave him a small pout that turned into a devious grin before she leaned in to bite at his lower lip. Her hand traveled down his chest to his abs and then to his crotch where she squeezed him with a giggle.
Oh, my god.
Jackson watched her leave with a smile before returning his attention to Autumn. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, waiting.
On the way over here, Autumn had it all planned out. Her speech was foolproof, perfected and rehearsed, guaranteed to get him to come back to her. When she left, though, she hadn’t dreamed a woman being here. A pretty woman who obviously slept with him.
“I came to ask you what this past summer meant to you.” Whew, what a way to start this conversation, Autumn. Just pack up your pride and go home now. “When you left, you sort of gave me the inclination you wanted more with me. That after all those nights we spent together that you sort of . . . cared.”
He chuckled, unexpectedly shaking his head. “Did someone put you up to this? Who was it? I know I deserve some payback from the guys at the base but this is classic. Who put you up to this?”
He thinks I’m joking?
Autumn frowned. “No one. I’m serious. You told me when you left that I was special to you. But then I never received a phone call or letter. I-I just wanted to know if what you said was true. If you really care about me and want to be with me.”
He smirked, almost mocking her. “Sweetheart, I say that to every girl I fuck. They’re all special when I sink balls deep into a warm, wet pussy. But I was talking about your sweet pussy. It wasn’t special, but extra special. So tight and ripe, perfect for fucking. Damn, I could come right now from the memory.”
Autumn’s stomach crashed to her toes. She fought back the hurt his words caused, the anger she had for herself in coming this far and being so foolish. She pushed aside the words her brother Jeffery said when he told her what boys like Jackson wanted. They didn’t care and she was foolish to assume they would.
What the hell was I thinking? The sting of tears gathered in her eyes and she forbid them to fall. She refused to humiliate herself anymore
than she already had. It was a stupid move coming here. A stupid move to assume some kind of connection was made. She wouldn’t give him ammunition to mock her and laugh at her stupid naïve ways. As much as she hated to admit it, her brother was right.
“I’m sorry I misunderstood. Please forgive me for barging in on you and your”—she waved her hand indicating the blonde—“companion.”
Jackson blew out a harsh breath. “You’re just a girl, sweetheart. A little high school girl who lets her emotions overrule her clear judgment. Why the hell would you think a man like me would be interested in anything but your sweet untouched pussy? I don’t want marriage. I hate kids, and I sure as hell can’t picture myself with one pussy for the rest of my life. Even as great as yours was, I can’t see myself making that kind of commitment. Sorry.”
A sob caught in her throat. After several years of living with a family full of soldiers, she considered herself tough. Emotionally, physically, mentally—everything in between. There was nothing she hadn’t won in her brother’s stupid competitions at least once, and some of them had been pretty damn hard. Yet, this man crumbled all her defenses with a simple speech.
“You’re a bastard.”
“You’re not the only one who thinks so.” He shrugged. “Nothing new to me, sweetheart. Go back home and play with your Barbies. Get your head out of clouds and back down to reality. You don’t belong here.”
Autumn turned away as the first drop of wetness hit her cheek. She didn’t look back. Her dignity wouldn’t allow it. Jackson Cooper was an ass, and now she saw the neon sign proclaiming it shining before her bright and florescent. What had she been thinking coming here to him after so long? She left her life, the only life she knew, willing to risk everything on him and the ludicrous idea of a possible relationship. Or, God forbid, love.
Fuck love.
She climbed into the driver’s seat and finally stole a glance toward the door. The blonde was back, in his arms and obviously checking his tonsils with her tongue. Rage coursed through her veins hotter than the pits of hell. She turned the key in the ignition, put the car in gear and took off down the street. She had no choice but to go back home. Even with the humiliation of them knowing why she left, and returning with a broken heart. She’d get her damn veterinarian degree. She’d open her small clinic. Anything and everything she could do to get as far away from Jackson Cooper as she possibly could.
Turning the radio on, Tina Turner belted out the lyrics, “What’s love got to do with it?” And Autumn couldn’t agree more. She had sex for the first time with an asshole who simply used her for that and only that. She was foolish to think love resorted from the dick she had inside her. Jackson was right. Love had nothing to do with them fucking. Or better yet, why the hell did she think love had to do with anything?
Chapter One
Fourteen years later . . .
“Dr. Callaghan, I’m worried about my dog, Scruffy.” Leslie Marcum stood before her dressed in her usual attire of fancy clothes and the best designer jeans money could buy. Autumn couldn’t understand why five-hundred-dollar denim jeans made a person feel better about him- or herself, but for Leslie, it did. Same with her dog, she supposed. “He just doesn’t initiate—you know—with the neighbor’s dog anymore.”
Autumn’s head pounded. The need to wrap her hands around Leslie’s neck and choke the woman grew stronger as the seconds went by. This was the fifth time the woman came in her office in four days to talk about her dog’s nonexistent sex life. If she recalled correctly, only three months ago, the woman wanted the dog neutered because he humped everything.
“Maybe he’s just not in the mood,” Autumn mumbled trying to fill out the day’s worth of paperwork piled on her desk.
“But he always initiates. It’s not like him. Do you think his—you know—is broken?”
Autumn was five seconds away from telling her she didn’t know so she’d blush and shut up. She’s your client. Her business puts food on the table and a roof over your head. “Has anything else changed? Diet, sleep, exercise?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Nothing I can recall.”
“Well, Leslie, I can’t help you. Dogs are much like humans in that department. If they want to have sex, they do. If they don’t, they don’t.”
Leslie pursed her chic colored lips. “If you’d stop writing and actually pay attention and care about my baby, maybe you’ll find the answer to my problem. After all, it is what I pay you for.”
Autumn threw her pen down. “I don’t have time for this. I delivered four packs of puppies, a litter of cats, and two calves today—and that was by sticking my hand up a cow’s ass, not once, but twice. I’m tired, cranky, hungry, and just a little bit sexually frustrated myself. I don’t have time to deal with a stupid matter such as this, especially when you didn’t even bring the dog to see me. I’m sorry, Leslie. I can’t help you.”
Immediately, Autumn wanted to retract her statement. She couldn’t believe her control had snapped and from the stunned look on the other woman’s face, neither could she.
“Well, sorry to have bothered you.”
Autumn watched Leslie walk away and didn’t even try to stop her. Five years of this and still it didn’t get any better. Living in the city had sucked. Her small apartment felt like a jail cell on a good day. She had no money for anything since she still owed plenty for her student loans. So she moved here—a small suburb where she ruled her own clinic with her own standards. She left behind the big city business with her ex and couldn’t afford to lose another customer to him, Dr. Gallagher.
Moaning at the aches and pains within her body, Autumn rubbed her temples. It’d been a long time since she had a decent night’s sleep, and even longer than that since she had a warm body by her side. She needed to get laid. Pure and simple to relieve some tension and a whole lot of stress. She needed to have some fun for once in her life instead of working twenty-four, seven. All work and no play, made Autumn a dull girl.
“Dr. Callaghan, there’s a package for you on the front desk,” Summer, the vet technician, announced, peeping in Autumn’s office.
“Thanks. I’ll check in out in just a minute.”
“Something wrong?” Summer inquired.
“Nope. Everything’s peachy keen.” She pushed away from her small desk and strolled out into the waiting area.
With Leslie gone, the last client of the day was taken care of, and she only had a few overnight patients to care for before she went home for the evening.
The package was wrapped in plain white paper with her name on the top. Curious, she carefully cut the tape and opened it. Inside there was a note and a small ticking clock.
‘Time is running out. Soon, what’s yours will be mine.’
Confused, she looked around the room and then back at the note, reading it a second time. “Summer, who delivered this?”
“I dunno.” She leaned on the counter next to Autumn. “Why? What does it say?”
She handed her assistant the note before examining the clock. The smiley face mocked her as she stared at it. She noticed the time was wrong. Her fingers grew warm against the backside. Autumn flipped it over to find a small pack of explosives attached to the clock mechanism.
“Shit. Summer, it’s a bomb!” Autumn screamed at her assistant just at the second hand ticked to number twelve and exploded.
* * * *
There are some things in life Jackson didn’t do. He didn’t steal his buddies’ girl no matter how much she begged. He didn’t use flowery terms when referring to what he thought or felt. And he sure didn’t answer the fucking phone when he was balls deep in a woman screaming his name repeatedly in ecstasy.
It rang once and the girl squealed and contracted around him. During the second ring, he bit back his own urge to scream. By the fourth, he cursed loudly, came, and then answered his damn cell. It was business. He couldn’t ignore business, no matter what the situation was.
His cock slipped from within the
girl beneath him as he reached across the bed and answered with a harsh, “Cooper.”
“Cooper, this is Major Callaghan. I have an important job for you with excellent wages if you are interested.”
Callaghan. Jackson shuddered hearing the name. The meanest bastard ever to walk the face of the earth called him with a job offer. How the hell could he resist? Everyone wanted Callaghan’s attention. What power the man held over them all, he didn’t know, but everyone wanted to be in his good graces. The ones who weren’t, well, he never heard of anyone that dared to get on his bad side and Jackson didn’t dare want to be the first. Everyone he knew wanted to prove they were worthy soldiers. Callaghan, for whatever reason, finally noticed Jackson and actually seemed to like him.
“Yes, sir, Major. Tell me when and where.” Jackson grabbed a pen and paper and wrote the information he gave.
“Ah, Cooper, this case is very close to me. I trust you to take care of the one prize I have left in this world. Promise me you will do that.”