by Lisa Childs
*
WYATT COULDN’T HAVE been asleep long. He was used to the power nap—the quick ten or fifteen minutes that was sometimes all he could manage when working a fire. If it was a big one, the team wasn’t able to sleep sometimes for days. Maybe even a week without more than brief power naps in a safe zone.
It was all he needed to be alert and ready to go.
His body was alert, his cock hard and ready to go—aching to go. He had to thrust inside her again—had to see if she’d really felt as hot and incredible as he’d thought she had.
But maybe it had all just been a dream. Because she was gone…
She’d left behind only the heat of her body and the sweet, musky scent of sex.
Had she regretted what they’d done? Was that why she’d left so quickly? Or maybe she had only wanted revenge against Howard and she’d gone off to rub it in the accountant’s face that she’d taken another lover, too.
Or had he only been a one-night stand?
He waited for the relief. It was good that she’d taken off. He couldn’t afford to get used to her being in his bed, in his arms. He couldn’t afford to get attached to a woman like her.
It was better that she’d just been using him.
The doorbell rang, and a weight he hadn’t even realized was there lifted from his chest. Wrapped only in the quilt, he hurried to the door and opened it with a grin.
“Missed me already?”
“I just saw you this morning,” Matt Hamilton replied. “But somehow I don’t think you’re talking to me.”
He had to stop doing that—had to stop assuming someone’s identity before he saw her or his face.
“No,” he admitted.
Matt glanced outside. “Were you expecting my sister?”
The kid was smart. Fiona was right; he needed to stay in college. He should have never dropped out before learning if he’d gotten a job with the Forest Service Fire Department. Wyatt had already said as much to him, but the kid had been certain that he’d get hired. He hadn’t heard anything Wyatt had subtly brought up. Maybe he’d been too subtle then.
But he knew Fiona’s jackhammer approach wasn’t working with her brother, either.
Matt snapped his fingers in front of Wyatt’s face. He must have been zoned out. And he asked again, “Were you expecting my sister at your door?”
He had been hoping but he hadn’t actually expected her. So he was able to answer honestly, “No.”
The kid’s brown eyes narrowed with suspicion. “I thought I saw her car here just a little while ago.”
She hadn’t been gone for long, then. If only he’d awakened a few minutes earlier…
Matt would have caught them together. That wouldn’t have been good. The kid was already bristling with anger. But Wyatt didn’t know which of them he was angry at, him or Fiona.
“There are a lot of cars like hers,” Wyatt pointed out. And there were—since it was a top safety pick, families and old people loved them.
“Not parked outside your house,” Matt persisted.
That was true.
“You don’t date women who drive cars like hers.”
That was true, too. The women he dated didn’t care about safety. Theirs or anyone else’s.
The realization gave him pause. He had considered that a good thing?
But it was—because those women didn’t care how dangerous his job was. They wanted him as he was; they wouldn’t try to change him.
“No, I don’t date women like your sister,” he agreed. So it was good that she’d snuck out while he was sleeping. For his sake as much as Matt’s.
But her brother’s face was still pinched with tension and suspicion. He had probably known Wyatt long enough to recognize when he was being vague to avoid the truth.
Or maybe not, since he had applied to the fire department despite Wyatt’s subtle attempts to discourage him.
Matt released a breath he must have been holding and nodded. “Yeah, you’re too smart. You won’t let fussy Fiona get to you.”
He hoped the kid spoke the truth. He hoped he wouldn’t let her get to him.
9
WITH A SOFT SIGH, Fiona kicked off her shoes and curled her legs beneath her on Tammy’s velour couch. Her friend’s place was as colorful as she was—the couch purple, the pillows orange and the walls yellow. But not a soft, warm yellow like the walls of Wyatt’s house. These were the color of a highlighter.
Oddly enough, Fiona felt comfortable there. Maybe it was the wine. She took a big sip from the glass her friend had pressed into her hand the moment she’d stepped into the house.
“So tell me about the firefighter,” Tammy said.
The wine caught in Fiona’s throat, making her sputter for breath. Covering her mouth, she coughed.
Tammy passed her a napkin. “So he was that good?”
She mopped the wine off her chin. “The red was that dry,” she said. “It caught me by surprise.” Usually Tammy drank sweet wine—more sangria than merlot.
“I thought that was the kind you liked,” Tammy said. “I wanted to get you drunk so you would spill details.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sure, Tammy had advised her to sleep with Wyatt, but Fiona had given her no reason to think she would actually take that advice.
She couldn’t believe that she had. She took another sip of the wine. It was more to her taste than Tammy’s.
“When I left the club, the firefighter was chatting you up at the bar.”
“Oh, the stripper…”
“They prefer to be called exotic dancers,” Tammy corrected her.
“You left with the police officer,” Fiona said. Of course, she hadn’t realized that until Tammy had texted her later—after she’d already stranded her with the stripper.
Tammy giggled. “I wanted him to frisk me. Maybe even cuff me…”
Fiona laughed at her friend’s shamelessness. Personality-wise they couldn’t be more different. But they had been friends since they were little kids. Even after Fiona’s grandparents had been awarded custody and taken her away from Mandy, Tammy had written to her and called her in Florida. They’d stayed in touch.
And when Fiona had moved back, they’d grown even closer. So close that they had a tendency to overshare. Usually…
But Fiona had been too embarrassed to admit much to her friend. They’d also both been very busy the past week, Fiona at the office and Tammy as a hair dresser at a busy beauty salon. So they’d held off on catching up until the following weekend.
A week following Fiona’s night—no, it hadn’t even been a night—with Wyatt.
“So did he do a full body search?” Fiona asked.
Tammy laughed—her raucous cackle that ended with a snort. Fiona passed her the napkin to clean up her spattered wine droplets. “I wish,” Tammy murmured. “He wound up being all talk.”
Fiona’s body heated as she flashed back to the conversation she’d had with Wyatt—to how she’d goaded him with that very accusation. But he hadn’t been all talk. There had actually been very little talk.
“So what about the firefighter?” Tammy asked.
“Which one?” Fiona asked. “The stripper or…”
Tammy leaned forward. “Oooh, has there been a development with the other firefighter?”
Feeling oddly defensive, Fiona said, “The real firefighter.”
Maybe it was just because the stripper had been a jerk that she didn’t appreciate Tammy acting as if he was a real firefighter. He didn’t deserve to be compared to the people who actually did the dangerous work of fighting fires.
That guy hadn’t even been able to fight Wyatt, let alone a wildfire.
“The one who mentors your brother?” Tammy asked. “You took my advice and worked what your mama gave you?”
Fiona took another long sip of wine.
Tammy leaned farther forward and lightly slapped her leg with the napkin. “Come on—share! I tell you everything!”
Fiona groaned. “Don’t I know it.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault that I usually have more to share,” she said. “You usually choose to date boring accountants like Howard.”
Fiona groaned louder and with great bitterness repeated, “Howard…”
“What did Howard do?”
“Saturday night.”
“You went out with him Saturday night?” Tammy asked with surprise. Then she groaned. “Don’t tell me it’s getting serious with him.”
“No,” Fiona said. “Saturday night is blonde. Maybe Thursday night is brunette.”
“Howard is a man whore?”
Tammy sounded so horrified that Fiona couldn’t help but laugh—maybe a little too hard. How had she not known that there had been nothing boring and safe about Howard? Okay, boring maybe…
After having sex with Wyatt, she knew exactly how boring Howard had been. Hopefully Brenda found him more exciting than Fiona had.
“You don’t seem too upset about his cheating,” Tammy said.
“Now I have my Friday nights free.”
“Ohhh…” Tammy murmured. “It is Friday night. I wondered why you were free.”
“Now you know.”
Her friend tilted her head and studied Fiona through narrowed brown eyes. “I think you’re leaving out a lot. What about this real firefighter? He hasn’t booked your Friday nights?”
A pang struck Fiona’s heart. “No…”
Now Tammy leaned across and sympathetically squeezed her leg. “What’s wrong?”
“I took your advice,” Fiona admitted.
Tammy smiled. “That’s great. So you teased him into helping you with Matt?”
The pang intensified, and Fiona shook her head. “It didn’t work.”
“Just because he’s a real firefighter doesn’t mean he’s into women,” Tammy said. “I wouldn’t take it personally that he wasn’t interested in your goodies.”
Fiona’s face heated with embarrassment. “I didn’t say that he wasn’t interested.”
Tammy clapped her hands together. “Oh, you gave up your goodies.”
Fiona lifted her glass and drained it.
“Was it that bad?”
She’d thought it was amazing. “He must have thought so. I haven’t heard from him since Saturday.” Of course, she had run out on him. Maybe he thought she didn’t want him to contact her. But she couldn’t imagine that stopping Wyatt—if he’d really wanted to see her again, if he’d wanted to be with her again…
“Oh, that’s past the three-day waiting period.” Tammy patted her leg now with even more sympathy. Probably more like pity.
“And Matthew is as determined as ever to become a Hotshot,” Fiona said. “So it was pointless.”
“Was it?” Tammy asked, her eyes wide with curiosity. “You didn’t answer my question—was it bad?”
Fiona sighed—lust slipping in with the wistfulness.
And Tammy clapped again. “Oh, it was that good.”
“Apparently, I am not a good judge of sexual satisfaction,” Fiona said. While she’d been completely satisfied—blown away even—he must have been unaffected. “He hasn’t called me. And he hasn’t talked to Matthew about going back to college.” But Matthew wasn’t the only one she wanted him to talk to; she wanted to hear from him again, too. Or see him…the way she’d seen him that day—gloriously naked.
Tammy leaned back and sipped her wine, and her brow furrowed as she thought.
Unease chilled Fiona more than Tammy usually chilled her wine. “I don’t like that look…”
“Apparently neither did the police officer,” Tammy remarked. But she harbored no bitterness. Tammy enjoyed men, but she had never gotten attached to any particular one.
Neither had Fiona. She wasn’t upset about Howard. She was actually more upset about Wyatt not calling than her boyfriend cheating. But that was only because the plan hadn’t worked. Wyatt hadn’t helped her with Matthew.
That was the only reason she’d slept with him.
Liar.
But it didn’t matter. It was over now. Her plan hadn’t worked.
Tammy leaned forward again and excitement sparkled in her brown eyes. “You have to step up your game, girlfriend.”
“What?”
“You probably got rusty with boring Howard. You need to seduce the firefighter.”
“I already slept with him.”
Tammy waved a hand dismissively. “That was just the awkward first time—not knowing how to tilt your head, being too tense and nervous to let yourself enjoy it.”
Heat rushed over Fiona, but it wasn’t embarrassment. It was passion as she remembered how much she had enjoyed herself. “I wasn’t nervous.”
Tammy sighed. “Oh, he was. That was the policeman’s problem. He got so nervous that he couldn’t perform.”
“Wyatt wasn’t nervous, either,” Fiona said. “He was…” She swallowed hard and wished she hadn’t already finished her wine.
“Better than average?”
“Amazing…”
“Then you have to seduce him,” Tammy said again. “You might not have been nervous, but I take it you weren’t planning to sleep with him.”
Fiona shook her head. “No, I wasn’t. I just wanted to talk to him—to get him to talk to Matthew for me. But I had just found out about the Howard thing. And…”
She had no excuse. She’d wanted Wyatt. She’d even goaded him into sleeping with her.
“So be ready this time,” Tammy said. “Make him fall for you.”
“Love?” she asked. She didn’t want him to fall for her.
Tammy snorted. “Not love. Lust. Make him fall into lust with you.”
Maybe Fiona had had just enough wine that what Tammy said actually made sense. She was going to seduce Wyatt Andrews.
*
THE ECHO OF rubber striking asphalt followed Wyatt as his feet pounded the road. The impact radiated through his body, but it did nothing to ease the tension. That radiated through his body, too, starting from his groin.
Every time he thought of her…
He grunted as his cock hardened again. It seemed as if he’d had a permanent erection since the night they’d had sex. If only she hadn’t snuck out…
If she’d stayed and waited for him to recover, they could have done it again. And again…
Maybe then the tension wouldn’t have returned to his body—even more intense than before he’d been with her. Now he knew the release he could find with her—in her.
He groaned now and slowed his pace. He could barely walk, let alone run. Fortunately, he was nearing his house. Then he noticed the car parked at the curb and his pace quickened. Matt was right; not many women who drove a car like that would come to his house.
It could only be her.
He stopped at the bottom of the steps leading up to the front porch. And he saw her…sitting on the bench next to the door. She wore a coat, which was understandable given that it was just spring and still kind of cold.
He hadn’t noticed it during his jog, though. His body had been too hot—and hard.
He got hotter and harder now—because he suspected all she wore was the coat. She’d crossed her legs, and her jacket had parted over her thighs. She wasn’t wearing one of her tight little skirts beneath it.
Her legs were bare as far up as he could see. A high heel dangled from her small foot as her leg moved back and forth—probably to keep her warm.
“You must be freezing,” he said.
She shook her head but shivered as a gust of wind blew through the porch railing. It parted her coat farther, and he caught a glimpse of the lace between her legs.
He groaned. “What are you up to, woman?”
Her eyes—those beautiful green eyes—widened with feigned innocence. As if she had no idea what he was talking about.
“And don’t tell me that you’re here to talk.” He’d expected her to come back—to keep trying to get him to talk to Matt for her. B
ut she’d stayed away a week.
And he’d felt too guilty to call her.
If only he could tell her the truth…
That she didn’t have to worry about her brother making the Hotshots team or even the Forest Service Fire Department. But Matt shouldn’t find out from her, and she wouldn’t be able to hide the truth from her brother.
Maybe he could ask Braden when the letters were going out. But his boss had cautioned him every day that week to not discuss any of the applicants with anyone.
Most especially not Fiona.
That was another reason he hadn’t called her. Because he wasn’t sure he could keep anything from her…
“I’m not here to talk,” Fiona replied as she stood. The heels brought her to his chin, so he could easily see down the front of her coat—see that she wore nothing beneath it but a bra with very small cups. Her breasts spilled over them—all creamy cleavage.
He groaned. “Are you trying to seduce me?”
“I’m just trying to get warm,” she murmured as she leaned in closer.
Despite the cool air, he was sweaty from his run. So he stepped back and pushed open the door. “It was unlocked. You should have let yourself in.”
“I wasn’t sure I was welcome,” she said, and her smile slipped.
His not calling had hurt her feelings. Given what had happened with the idiot accountant, he shouldn’t have been so insensitive.
“You’re welcome anytime,” he assured her. He’d love if one night she would slide back into his bed as she’d slid out of it, slipping between the sheets and into his arms.
She stepped inside and he followed, closing the door behind them. “Do you want to take my coat?” she asked, as she loosened the belt and it slipped off one bare shoulder.
“You’re definitely trying to seduce me.”
“Is it working?” she asked.
“You know that it is…” His shorts were loose, his reaction apparent in the tent he’d made of the nylon fabric.
Her smile widened, and amusement sparkled in her green eyes. She was playing him. He knew it.
“Fiona,” he said. “You don’t want me to talk to Matt for you…” Especially not after her brother had seen her car parked outside his house. He would be furious with her for interfering in his life.
Her smile dimmed for a moment with obvious disappointment. That was what she wanted. But she shook her head in denial. “I don’t want to talk about my brother. I don’t want to talk at all.”