Bad Boy's Kiss (Firemen in Love Book 2)

by Amy Starling

  I touched the rippled skin on my cheek. Maybe it was the scar that turned her off. Maybe she didn't find me attractive enough for her.

  Although the way she kissed me back kind of disproved that theory.

  Just ahead were the Willow Bend Apartments. I checked the address on my phone to be sure which one was Trey's.

  Turned out I didn't need to bother. Trey was sitting on his porch in a folding chair, waiting for me while he sipped a mug of coffee. He was all dressed for work and I had to admit, was looking pretty spiffy in his park ranger's uniform.

  He waved as I struggled to jam the RV into a parking spot. Once I'd managed to wedge myself in there without hitting any cars, I climbed out and went to greet him.

  For a moment, I forgot about Anna. I hadn't seen Trey in years. Barely even spoke to him on the phone these days after all the crap that'd gone down with mom and dad. What if this little family bonding thing didn't go as well as he planned?

  “Max!” He jogged downstairs to meet me. “Man, it's good to see you. Bit later than I expected, though.”

  He pulled me into a hug, and I smiled. I'd never been big on family, but it was nice to be home again.

  I stood back and looked him over. Back in the day, he sported long hair, an unkempt beard, and usually paired torn jeans with a t-shirt from his favorite band. Now, he was neatly groomed, clean, and dressed like a professional.

  “Can't believe how much you changed.” I gestured to his brown uniform with the shiny badge on it.

  “Ah, well, we all gotta grow up sometime.” He grinned. “And it helps I've got a girlfriend who's not keen on facial hair.”

  “You shaved your beard off for a chick. Seriously?”

  He clapped me on the back. “When you love someone, you'll do what it takes to make them happy. No big deal. I was getting sick of looking like a bum, anyway.”

  “Keep telling yourself that.”

  He led me into his apartment. It was a small box of a home, with one bedroom and a tiny bathroom alongside it. There was no dining room; looked like he'd been eating his meals on the coffee table in front of his TV.

  “Nice place.”

  He sighed and picked up some dirty laundry off the couch. “It's not bad, but it doesn't feel like home.”

  “I bet not. You ever gonna move into a new house?”

  He shrugged. “It's not that easy. I put a lot of savings into my old place, and for what? A damn wildfire struck and wiped it off the map. It, and hundreds of other homes in the county. I don't have the money to buy another, just for it to happen all over again – and it will.”

  I flopped down on his couch and sniffed. Smelled like it'd been misted with apple-cinnamon air freshener. The touch of a woman, I'd wager.

  “You should move. Why not come to Waco, where I'm at? It's a nice city, and our houses don't burn to the ground every couple of years.”

  He fiddled with his badge. “I know Bastrop has its problems, but it's home.”

  “Yeah, you keep saying that. Personally, I think it's stupid you put up with this shit. What if your neighborhood got demolished by tornadoes all the time? Would you just grin and bear it?”

  That remark was met with a glare. “Here we go. You've only just arrived, and you're already starting with the insults.”

  “I'm not trying to insult you.” I held my hands up to show I meant no harm. “It's just... You're my brother, man. I don't wanna see you go through this again.”

  He grunted and pulled a soda from the fridge. “If you care so much, where were you when the fires came? Whatever I couldn't fit in the truck before we had to evacuate, I lost.”

  “I told you – you were welcome to come stay with me if you wanted.”

  “And do what? My job's here. Rachael is here. I wasn't just gonna leave them.” He closed his eyes briefly. “Mom and dad got lucky. Their house didn't get hit, but they'd had enough. That's when they sold and moved to Mexico.”

  “Trey...”

  “I just could have used some moral support, that's all. I had Rachael and some friends, but you're family. That's different.”

  Looking at Trey made me realize how much pain the guy had been in over this. He was a lot like me in that way. If something bothered us, we put on a smile and hardly ever showed it. That's how dad taught us – keep a stiff upper lip. No complaining. Don't show weakness; it'll only give your opponent a weapon with which to beat you.

  “I don't know what you expected me to do.”

  “What a brother should do. Call and ask how I'm doing. Come and visit me.” His eyes got misty. “Help me pick through the rubble in the hopes that something, anything, survived the blaze.”

  It hit me then. Trey hadn't invited me down here to hang out and party, like when we were kids. No, this time, he needed me. Too bad I was a clueless idiot about this stuff. I understood feelings about as well as I did calculus, which was to say not too well at all.

  “I'm sorry,” I said. It was all I had to offer him right now.

  He smiled again. “Whatever. You're here now; that's what matters. It'll be good to catch up on old times, and the volunteer fire department will be glad to have an extra pair of hands.”

  Trey was on his way out to work – if you could really call it that, since he got to hang out in the state park all day. We took his truck down to the station so I could meet some of the men, then drove around listening to music while he looked out for any guests making trouble.

  At the campgrounds, a trio of young men had built themselves a fire in a ground pit. Trey rolled up and stopped next to them.

  “Make sure you put that out when you're done, guys. It's wildfire season now,” he warned them. “All it takes is one breeze to blow a burning leaf into dead brush, and we got a serious blaze on our hands.”

  A man dumped a bucket of water over the flames. Trey made sure the embers had died completely before moving on.

  “You sure do take this seriously, don't you?”

  “We've all got to do our part. If everyone in town worked together, if we all handled fire with care, things wouldn't get nearly so bad.” He shook his head in disgust. “You know what started the wildfire that destroyed all our homes? Some idiot threw a lit cigarette into dry grass on the side of the highway. We got no rain for most of the summer, dead vegetation, a strong wind... It's a recipe for disaster.”

  We stopped at a ridge that overlooked most of the park below. This was a place I knew well. We'd played here with friends as kids, taking turns riding on the tire swing and daring one another to take the fifteen-foot leap into the water below.

  I got out of the truck and ran my hand along the weathered wooden bench. As a horny teenager, how many girls had I made out with on this bench?

  “Can't believe this thing is still here. Brings back memories.”

  “Man, this whole park is a memory for us. We had all of this pretty much in our backyard growing up.” He sat and gazed at the clouds. “Don't you ever miss it? You ever get sick of the city, the noise, all the people?”

  “Nah. I live for that sort of thing.” I wriggled my eyebrows. “Besides, it definitely gives me a bigger pool of ladies to choose from.”

  He grunted. “If you'd just find one to settle down with, what more do you need than that?”

  “Settling down is not in my life plan.”

  “Your twenties are almost over, y'know. One day, you'll wake up and realize how lonely you really are – except all the good women will be taken, and it just might be too late.”

  “Words of wisdom from my big brother.” I laughed. “How could I possibly get lonely? All I need to do is head down to the club when I need company for the night.”

  “That kind of company isn't fulfilling and you know it.”

  “Feels pretty fulfilling to me.”

  We'd never see eye to eye on this. Trey had always been the sensible guy, the one who fell in love hard and poured everything he had into a relationship with one woman. Me, I was content to take pleasure wher
ever I could get it – legal or otherwise. Probably why I wasn't the most popular person in our conservative family, I'd imagine.

  I slumped into the bench with a sigh. The air did smell a lot cleaner here. When something wasn't on fire, at least.

  “Hey, be honest with me.” Trey pushed my shoulder. “There's nobody out there you have your eye on? Really?”

  “Well...” I grinned like the devil I was. “I did run into Anna Southwell on the way into town. Her truck was broken down and I saved the day.”

  Suddenly, Trey looked super pissed. His face reddened; his hands clenched into fists. When he grabbed me by the collar, I was too stunned to push him back.

  “Oh, hell no. You stay away from her, Max. I mean it.”

  “Dude, what? She's not your girlfriend, is she?”

  I sure hoped not. Didn't want to let him know I'd just made out with his lady – because she definitely liked it just as much as I did.

  “No. I'm dating her sister.” He paused. “You don't remember Rachael?”

  The wheels turned in my head. Oh, crap. How had I not put two and two together sooner? Hell, I didn't know Trey had been dating that Rachael.

  She and Anna were sisters, yeah. I'd also slept with her once before I moved to Waco. Did Anna know about it? Was that why she seemed to hate me so much?

  “Rachael told me what you did to her.”

  Shit. “Don't know what you're talking about.”

  “She had a big crush on you. You gave her some BS sob story about how you were being deployed in the army so she'd put out. Need I go on?”

  “Look, man. Whatever she told you, I'm sure it's something of an exaggeration.”

  He glared. “Back then, she was saving herself for marriage – until you worked your snake-charming magic on her.”

  “She was a virgin? Never told me.”

  He sighed and got back in the truck. I followed, and off we drove down the hill toward the main entrance.

  “Point is, we all know what kind of guy you are – and so does Anna. Don't even think about laying a finger on her.”

  “What if she puts her hands on me first?”

  He slammed the brakes hard at the stop sign. “I'm serious. I love Rachael with all my heart, and if I let my punk-ass brother go after her sister, she'll never forgive me.”

  “How about you let Anna make her own choices? She's a grown woman. She can decide what she wants for herself.”

  Trey looked away, studying the red light intently as if deep in thought.

  “Go on and whore yourself out to some other girl if you want. Just... Leave her be, okay? She's already been hurt more than enough. Doesn't need you adding to her pain.”

  Sure, I could go after other women, but that was too easy. Anna resisted me. Fought against me – although any fool could feel how eager she was pressed up against me like that.

  Well, she could fight it all she liked. She ought to know by now that when I was challenged, I wouldn't give up until I won the prize.

  One way or another, I'd find out what she looked like under those clothes.

  Chapter 5 - Anna

  Bright-orange flames kissed the steadily darkening turquoise sky. A piece of kindling made a loud popping noise, sending a flurry of sparks from the grill onto the deck.

  “Crap!”

  I raced after the mess with a wet rag to smother the embers before a blaze broke out on my porch. Rachael seemed to think this was pretty funny.

  “What's with you lately, Anna? You've been running about like a headless chicken all afternoon. Not that it isn't amusing to watch, but still.”

  I tossed the dirty cloth at her. She shrieked as it landed in her lap with a plop.

  “You should know 'what's with me.' I've got a thousand and one things to do before your brother gets here with Max. The house is a mess, I haven't showered yet, and this stupid grill is about to start the next devastating wildfire that'll wipe out every house for the next hundred miles.”

  Her smile vanished. “Hey, it's going to be okay. You didn't have to volunteer to host a dinner party, you know? If it's too much for you, we can go out to a restaurant.”

  Too much for me? Right. Rachael was a good sister most of the time, but I sensed sharpness in those words. We'd always been competitive, duking it out over test scores, sports, and of course, boys.

  “I can handle it.” The coals were good to go. Better put the lid back on. “And of course I had to volunteer. I'm the only one with a house big enough for us all. You and Trey live in those small apartments. And we definitely can't eat in Max's RV.”

  She took a long sip of her vodka and lemonade. “Max. Wow. I can't believe he actually came back here. He's got some nerve, showing his face here after all the trouble he's caused.”

  I turned away from her and licked my lips. The taste of Max remained on them, and the memory of that kiss from three days ago was still on my mind.

  I knew better than to let my curiosity get the best of me. During the day, I managed to shove his handsome face out of my mind. But at night, when I lay alone in bed, I was helpless.

  In my fantasies, that kiss became much more. Last night, I had a dream of him so explicit, so filthy, that I woke up with soaked underwear. Then I was so painfully turned on that I couldn't go back to sleep.

  My vibrator provided some welcome relief, but it just wasn't enough. It was his touch that I craved, in spite of how very bad he was for me.

  Or maybe because of it.

  “He certainly has broken a lot of hearts,” I murmured.

  Her glass was already empty. She was halfway to drunk, but got up to refill her drink anyway.

  “Yeah, including mine. He lied to my face and told me he was going to Afghanistan for the army.” She tripped over a loose board and cursed. “Said he'd be alone there for months with no woman to love him. The things he said to get in my pants...”

  Thankfully, she trailed off as she made her way back indoors. Max really did have some nerve, didn't he? The guy lied to sleep with my sister, bailed on her, and now he was coming after me.

  I wasn't sure whether to be disgusted or proud that he'd picked me as his next conquest.

  They'd be here soon. Better get in the shower so I didn't smell like sweat, dirt, plant fertilizer, and chicken poo when they showed up.

  Inside, Rachael was busy pouring a fresh drink. Three-quarters vodka, with a splash of lemonade – yikes. If she kept this up she'd be totally smashed by the time the guys got here.

  When she spotted me watching her, she thrust the glass at me. Booze splashed out and soaked into the hardwood floor.

  “You want some? If I were you, I'd be getting hammered right about now.”

  I stared at the little bump in my belly. I'd been avoiding alcohol for the past couple of months with no problem, but eventually, someone was going to get suspicious. How much longer could I keep hiding this pregnancy? At the rate my tummy was growing, it wouldn't be long until everyone found out.

  “No thanks. I've got iced tea.”

  She shrugged. “Suit yourself. After what that dipshit Rich did to you, you deserve it. I mean, the asshole was dating you while he was married. And he didn't even have the balls to tell you the truth.”

  The worst part was if he hadn't knocked me up, we'd probably still be “dating” this very moment. The day I took that test, I felt so sick. I thought Rich would come over and hold me. That he'd tell me we'd figure it out, and everything would be okay.

  Instead, he told me – over a phone call – that this was an absolute disaster for him because he had a wife and kids at home.

  Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, right?

  Rachael took a swig of her lemon-flavored vodka and stumbled to my pantry for a snack.

  “Where the heck's your potato chips? I'm starving to death.”

  “Sorry. I usually make a batch every week, but I've been super busy lately.”

  She rolled her eyes. “What woman makes her own chips? You realize
how utterly pretentious that sounds? I mean, it's like a dollar fifty for Lay's at the store.”

  “Well, I think they taste good. Anyway, there's a bag of Doritos in there somewhere.”

  She muttered something unintelligible as she stuffed nachos in her mouth. “We just have the worst luck with men, don't we, sis?”

  I tried to work out what she meant while I gathered my clean clothes from the dryer. Luckily, she continued explaining without me having to ask.

  “That Rich guy was such a douche. I knew it from the minute you introduced us. He drives an electric car and drinks Starbucks, for God's sake.”

  I didn't bother asking her what was wrong with either. I knew she'd just launch a tirade about how I was awful at picking out guys and how she could set me up with a friend of hers from work.

  “And then there's Max. If anybody takes the crown for being a royal jackass, it's him.” Another glug of booze, down the hatch. “I mean, so what if he's got a huge dick?”

  At that very moment, Max himself stepped in off the porch. His eyes widened as he slowly set a few grocery bags on the table.

  “Y'all talking about me behind my back? It's not nice to gossip.”

  Rachael spun around looking like she was going to pee herself. The glass slid from her hand, plummeted to the floor I'd just cleaned, and shattered into a billion tiny shards. Even then, with liquor dripping down her legs, she didn't move an inch.

  “Oh, uh... Max! Hey there. So you're back in town.”

  “For a little while, yeah.”

  His gaze landed squarely on me. He didn't bother hiding his desire for me.

  And of course, Rachael just had to tell me all about his penis size. I prayed he hadn't heard that part of our discussion.

  None of this was going to end well for me, was it?

  “We're here,” Trey announced as he wandered through the side door. “Now the party can really get started.”

  Max nudged him. “I think your girlfriend's started the party without us.”

  Poor Trey paled as Rachael stumbled through the kitchen, kicking bits of broken glass in all directions with every step.