Dallas Fire & Rescue: Scorched (Kindle Worlds Novella) (The Eldridges Book 1)
Page 7
Then he followed Ryan out the door, shutting it with a soft click. Misty was staring out the front window, her arms crossed beneath her breasts, her spine as straight as a broomstick. He said nothing for a few moments, taking his time to study her. She wouldn’t look at him directly, but he could tell that she had been crying. His heart ached at the thought that he might have hurt her. He had never meant to do that.
No. That was wrong. He had. He had said some hateful things that he would never be able to erase from her memory. But, he could make up for it. Because, if what Smith said was right, Misty loved Cooper as much as he loved her. And good God, he wasn’t going to let her go without a fight.
Misty wanted to kill every man she was related to. Blood and otherwise. The fact that her brothers had brought her here and just dropped her like a sack of potatoes was beyond the pale. She was positively going to make each and every one of them pay for it. They knew how much Cooper had hurt her, but they apparently didn’t care.
She sniffed, mainly because she didn’t want to cry. She hadn’t had any sleep and she knew she looked a mess. Worse, she hadn’t had food or coffee. A woman shouldn’t have to deal with heartache without a good cup of coffee. Worse, her brothers had now abandoned her. They were the worst, and she wasn’t going to ever talk to them again. Or, well, maybe for a week.
“Are you going to look at me?”
Dammit. The man did like to needle her. Truth was, if she looked at Cooper, she would probably lose it. She’d thought she was all cried out, and had been ready to leave Dallas. Then, Smith disappeared, after which, her brothers had abducted and then abandoned her.
Bastards.
“Seriously, Misty.”
“What?” she asked, not feeling the least bit bad that she sounded like a petulant child.
“We need to talk about this.”
“We don’t need to do anything. We’re divorced.”
“It isn’t final until you file the paperwork.”
She knew that. Did he think she was stupid? She ground her teeth together and tried not to yell at him. Yelling at him would lead to her crying, and she refused to do that in front of him.
“I said some asinine things.”
“You got the ass part right.”
“Listen, I didn’t…”
He trailed off. She turned to look at him, and realized that there were dark circles under his eyes and he looked tired. It wasn’t good that he wasn’t resting, because he needed rest to recover from the injury. He should be resting or he wouldn’t heal.
Dammit, she would not show him how much she cared. Not now. Not after the way he had hurt her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
She rubbed her temple. “I told you. Part of it was being accepted for who I was. The other part was how to tell the man I loved that I had lied to him. I thought that if we worked it out, I would ease you into the idea of being married to an Eldridge.”
“That’s…well, that’s just stupid.”
“Maybe, but then again, what do I know? I am a spoiled little rich girl just getting her kicks.”
Saying it out loud brought back all the hurtful words he had said to her yesterday, and she wanted to cry all over again. Just sit down and cry like a baby.
He said nothing, but he kept staring at her. She couldn’t stay. If she did, she would beg him to take her back, and she had decided a long time ago, she would never beg a man. Especially a man who had said horrible things about her just the day before.
“This has been enlightening, but I have things to do. I have to get back to the ranch.”
She turned to leave, but he grabbed her by the arm. She stopped and looked down at his hand on her arm, then up at him.
“What?”
“I just…”
Again, he trailed off.
“What? What the hell do you want from me, Cooper? I don’t know what you want, or what you want me to say. You signed the papers, and I am sure you can get someone else to help you. I need to go. I need to be out of here. Away from you.”
She tried to twist away, but he held on tight.
“Don’t. I need you.”
She rolled her eyes, hoping that she could hold on to the need to cry until she was out the door.
“You can find someone else. I just told you that.”
“No. I need you in my life.”
She stopped trying to move away from him.
“What?”
“I love you. I always have.”
Hope surged, but she mercilessly pushed it back down. She couldn’t ride the roller coaster of emotions anymore.
“Don’t. Don’t say things you don’t mean. I know Smith talked to you, but you don’t have to do this.”
“I do. I really, really do. I need you.”
The sincerity in his voice chipped away at her resolve.
“But…those things you said.”
He sighed. “I was hurt, okay? I was worried that maybe you were embarrassed of me.”
She frowned. “Embarrassed?”
“Before I knew you had money, I accepted the first explanation.”
“When I said I hadn’t told my family?”
He nodded. “But when your brothers showed up, I thought maybe it went beyond your explanation.”
She studied him for a long moment, then shook her head. “Stop trying to mess with me.”
“I am not messing with you. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. I didn’t know who you were, but I knew that smile. You remember?”
She nodded.
“I saw you in that club and it was like everything was right with the world. Never in my life had I believed in love at first sight, but you gave me that smile, and my whole world shifted. When I got to know you, I knew you were the one for me. That’s why I rushed you into marriage. I was afraid you would get away.”
She sighed. “But after the wedding you were weird. You didn’t want to talk about much or anything else.”
“I was trying to hold it together. From the very beginning, I knew I wasn’t good enough for you.”
“That’s insane. What do you mean you aren’t good enough for me?”
“No family. Like your brother said to me. No kin to speak of. Junkie mom, don’t know my father. You come from a good family. Even before meeting them, I knew they were good.”
“How did you know that?”
“You said Smith helped raise you and you turned out perfect.”
Her vision wavered and she realized she was staring to cry again.
“Oh, don’t cry, Misty. Don’t,” he said, pulling her closer.
“I can’t help it, and I am not perfect.”
“You are to me,” he said as he brushed away her tears with his thumbs.
“And you are good enough for me, Cooper Murray. You’re trustworthy and good.”
“You already said I was good.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t know if you really want to be with me. Are you sure?”
“I love you, Misty Dawn Eldridge Murray. I never wanted anything more than to be your husband.”
A fresh set of tears started to tumble from her eyes. “Oh, God, you are making me go weak in the knees.”
“I’ve been that way since I saw you in the club. What do you say? I promise to be better at telling you how I feel, and you’ll…well, maybe not lie so much.”
She laughed but it ended up a sob.
“Oh, babe, don’t.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
She looked up at him. “God, I love you. I can’t believe we nearly screwed this up.”
He smiled. “Yeah, well, we’re on the right track now. Your brother said I could work down there.”
She frowned. “On the ranch?”
“No. I could never be a rancher. At least not right now. Being a fireman is in my blood. I need to do that work to feel complete.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s one of the things that makes you so danged sexy.”
<
br /> “He said there might be an opening at the fire department.”
“Probably. If Smith says there is, there is. But I thought you liked working here at Station 58.”
“I do, but I came to Dallas because I was trying to get away from memories. I couldn’t be in San Antonio and not think of you.”
And just like always, her heart started to melt. “Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. You were always there, right there, and I couldn’t escape you.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that ever again,” she said, brushing her mouth against his.
“Good. I love you, Misty.”
“I love you too, Cooper.” She pulled back and then took him by the hand. “Why don’t I show you just how much I do?”
He smiled as he let her lead him down the hall to the bedroom. “Your wish is my command.”
Her heart filled with joy, and for the first time in a long time, she felt as if everything was right in her world.
If you liked Scorched…
Then you need to check out all the fantastic books in Paige Tyler’s Kindle Dallas Fire and Rescue! Alpha heroes, amazing heroines, all set against the exciting backdrop of the men and women who risk their lives for others.
Also by Melissa Schroeder
HARMLESS
A Little Harmless Sex
A Little Harmless Pleasure
A Little Harmless Obsession
A Little Harmless Lie
A Little Harmless Addiction
A Little Harmless Submission
A Little Harmless Fascination
A Little Harmless Fantasy
A Little Harmless Ride
A Little Harmless Secret
A Little Harmless Rumor
THE HARMLESS PRELUDES
Prelude to a Fantasy
Prelude to a Secret
Prelude to a Rumor, Part One
Prelude to a Rumor, Part Two
THE HARMLESS SHORTS
Max and Anna
Chris And Cynthia
Evan and May
A LITTLE HARMLESS MILITARY ROMANCE
Infatuation
Possession
Surrender
THE SANTINIS
Leonardo
Marco
Gianni
Vicente
A Santini Christmas
A Santini in Love
Falling for a Santini
One Night with a Santini
A Santini Takes the Fall
A Santini’s Heart
SANTINI BUNDLES
VOLUME ONE
VOLUME TWO
SEMPER FI MARINES
Tease Me
Tempt Me
Touch Me
The Semper Fi Marines Collection
THE FITZPATRICKS
The Lost Night-free prequel
At Last
TASK FORCE HAWAII
Seductive Reasoning
Hostile Desires
Constant Craving
Task Force Hawaii Vol 1
TEXAS TEMPTATIONS
Conquering India
Delilah’s Downfall-returning soon
ONCE UPON AN ACCIDENT
An Accidental Countess
Lessons in Seduction
The Spy Who Loved Her
THE CURSED CLAN
Callum
Angus
Logan
BY BLOOD
Desire by Blood
Seduction by Blood
BOUNTY HUNTER’S, INC
For Love or Honor
Sinner’s Delight
THE SWEET SHOPPE
Cowboy Up
Tempting Prudence
LONESTAR WOLF PACK
The Alpha’s Saving Grace
CONNECTED BOOKS
The Hired Hand
Hands on Training
A Calculated Seduction
Going for Eight
SINGLE TITLES
Grace Under Pressure
Telepathic Cravings
Her Mother’s Killer
The Last Detail
Operation Love
Chasing Luck
The Seduction of Widow McEwan
Snowbound Seduction
COMING SOON
Tangled Passions
About Melissa Schroeder
From an early age, USA Today Bestselling author Melissa Schroeder loved to read. First, it was the books her mother read to her including her two favorites, Winnie the Pooh and the Beatrix Potter books. She cut her preteen teeth on Trixie Belden and read and reviewed To Kill a Mockingbird in middle school. It wasn’t until she was in college that she tried to write her first stories, which were full of angst and pain, and really not that fun to read or write. After trying several different genres, she found romance in a Linda Howard book.
Since the publication of her first book in 2004, Melissa has had over sixty romances published. She writes in genres from historical suspense to modern day erotic romance to futuristics and paranormals. Included in those releases is the bestselling Harmless series. In 2011, Melissa branched out into self-publishing with A Little Harmless Submission and the popular military spinoff, Infatuation: A Little Harmless Military Romance. Along the way she has garnered an epic nomination, a multitude of reviewer’s recommended reads, over five Capa nods from TRS, three nominations for AAD Bookies and regularly tops the bestseller lists on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. She made the USA Today Bestseller list for the first time with her anthology The Santinis.
Since she was a military brat, she vowed never to marry military. Alas, fate always has her way with mortals. Her husband just retired from the AF after 20 years, and together they have their own military brats, two girls, and two adopted dog daughters, and is happy she picks where they live now.
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