HEAT: A steamy firefighter romance boxed set

by Mia Madison

  “What are you going to do with all the animal costumes?” Kieran asks, after we feast on quiche and sandwiches and he serves up the chocolate dessert.

  “I thought I could have the animals wandering around at the school fair. I'll make some bright new safety notices for the animals and the kids can have their pictures taken with them. I expect parents will post the pictures on social media and spread the safety messages like that. I just needed to know if we had enough costumes or if we should rent them. I can probably rope my friends into wearing them.”

  “That's good, because I can't see the guys wearing them, and they'll be busy anyway with the demonstration or at work.”

  “You made me wear the thing.”

  “I don't think the costumes were made to fit firefighters. Maybe they brought people in to wear them. It's nice to see you out of your yellow fur disguise again, though.”

  “It's not a disguise. Teddy exists if you believe he's real.”

  He whips the last bit of chocolate mousse out of the pot on his finger and feeds it to me.

  “Like magic.” I suck the mousse off his finger, shyly, as if I'm doing something I shouldn't.

  “I stopped believing in magic a long time ago.”

  “How can you not believe in magic? You really are sad, aren't you?” I’m smiling, but I half-wonder if it’s true, and if he really has something to be upset about.

  “I’m not sad today, no. Today I'm with you on the roof in the sun, and I have the whole afternoon off work. That makes me pretty lucky, I would say.”

  “Very lucky. I don’t spend the afternoon on a roof with just anyone. Whether it’s their afternoon off work or not. In fact, I think this is the first time I’ve ever been on a roof.”

  “Your first roof top experience. We should celebrate that.”

  “And how would you like to do that?” I ask, but I have a good idea of what he's planning with the way he's looking at me in my dress. My body seems to know too because it's reacting to him, my heart thumping, a tingle running right through me to my core.

  “Come here,” he says, pulling me to him on the blanket, “and I'll show you.”

  CHAPTER 8

  Kieran

  Luckily, we're not overlooked here on the roof except by passing seagulls, because the things I want to do to and with Hannah are for our eyes only. I'm leaning against the wall, a pillow behind me when I pull her to me. She feels soft and pliant in my arms but as I kiss her, her hands find their way inside my shirt, skimming over my back, holding me close, and then she moves them down onto my ass inside my shorts, pulling me even closer.

  I roll her over on her back on the blanket and pull the straps of her sundress off her shoulders, kissing the places where the straps were, and then pull down the front of her dress, exposing her to the soft spring air and my lips.

  “You have the most beautiful tits,” I say, sucking hard at each nipple. She blushes at the compliment, but her nipples grow plump like summer berries ready for plucking.

  “I bet you're beautiful here, too.” I pull up her dress so it's bunched around her waist, kissing her softly rounded stomach, and I follow that with a slow trail of kisses down to her little lacy boy shorts, the cutest underwear—it suits her perfectly. “Let me see, what are you hiding there? That can't be beautiful too.”

  She giggles. “I expect it's as beautiful as this.” She runs her hand over my cock in my shorts and I almost come right then.

  I pull the elastic of her panties open at the front and take a peek. “Yes, absolutely gorgeous there too. A shame to hide beauty like that on a fine day like this.” And I slip her underwear down and off her legs so she's wearing nothing but the dress bunched around her middle.

  I lean down and take her in my mouth, my tongue toying with her soft wet folds, making her squirm and moan with delight beneath me. “And you know what?” I lick her again, a long slow lick that makes her squeal. “You taste as good as you look.”

  I grin down at her. “But let me just check that.” I put my mouth to her once more, enjoying the whole scent and taste and feel of her, the noises coming from her mouth, the way she shudders around my face when I suck her hard nub between my lips and how she calls out my name when she comes.

  “Let me touch you.” She makes to undo my shorts, but I grab her hands.

  “First, I might have to make you come again. We have all afternoon. I'm starting to regret going back to work tomorrow already.”

  The intercom buzzes. “Is that someone at the door?” Hannah asks.

  “No one comes here. Don't worry about it, it's probably someone selling windows or something.”

  But they buzz again, as if it's important, and then my phone goes off in my pocket.

  “Sorry, baby. I'd better get that. You should have confiscated my phone again.”

  I recognize the number. “It's my sister,” I say to Hannah.

  “Where are you?” my sister asks.

  “I'm up on the roof.”

  “What are you doing up there? Come down and let me in.”

  I don't have much choice about it, now that Vanessa knows I'm here. There's no telling her I'm busy. Besides, she has always been there for me.

  “Come and meet my sister,” I say to Hannah, on the spur of the moment, as she puts her dress back together. She smiles and follows me down the ladder.

  “Very pleased to meet you,” Vanessa says to Hannah. “He never introduces me to anyone.”

  I roll my eyes at my sister. “And that would be because you're far too nosy.”

  “Maybe,” Vanessa says, but she knows exactly why I never introduced her to anyone. No one was ever there long enough to be introduced.

  “Where did you two meet?” she asks.

  “Hannah is doing a traffic campaign for the council and I'm helping out.”

  “And that involves going up on the roof?”

  “I told you she was nosy,” I say to Hannah. “That's my sister for you.”

  I have to get Vanessa out of here. I don't want to start thinking too hard about what I was doing with Hannah and what that means or the day will be wrecked. Hannah excuses herself and goes to the bathroom and I ask Vanessa, “What did you want anyway, sis?”

  “A favor.”

  CHAPTER 9

  Hannah

  I don't know what the favor was but when I come out of the bathroom, there's a change in the atmosphere in the room. I'm sure of it. All I hear is, “I'll ask him,” which could be anything.

  I look at Kieran. He must be able to see I’m puzzled, but he's not telling me what's going on.

  “I'll give you a call then and leave you to get on with your day,” Vanessa says to her brother. “I was just passing by. I thought I might let you take me out to lunch if you were still off work, but never mind. I'll catch you again soon. It was good to meet you, Hannah. Very good.”

  “Get out of here, would you?” Kieran pretends to shoo Vanessa out and she leaves, laughing. They are obviously close. But somehow, the spell between Kieran and me is broken.

  “What was that about?” I ask

  “My nephew, Ben. She's worried about him.”

  “Is she right to worry?”

  “He'll be okay. He's a good kid. More sensitive than most.”

  It feels like there's something he's not telling me, here. And I'm pretty sure there is, as soon as he says, “I'd better take you home.” One minute he’s all over me, and the next, he wants me out of there.

  “Can I help bring all the stuff down?” I ask.

  “No, just leave everything. I'll do that.”

  He's gone cold again. I'm not putting up with this again. “Do you always do this?”

  “Do what?”

  “Blow hot and cold. Do you know how fucking annoying that is?”

  “Sorry, I'm just not used to this.”

  “To what?”

  “To feeling like this, like I'm not sure if this is a good idea. I don't do relationships. I don't get involved.”
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br />   “Is that what all this is about?”

  “I usually say something. I just didn't want to have the not-doing-relationships chat with you.”

  “Because you knew I wouldn't buy it?”

  “Because I thought there was something more. There is something more.”

  “Speak for yourself.” I turn away. I've had enough of whatever game he's playing. It hurts more than it should, given how little I know him, but I was convinced he was different. He said he didn’t get tied down, but I felt we had a connection until now.

  “Don't be like that.” He touches my arm and I whisk it away.

  “Don't be like what?” I can't help being sharp with him. I look about for my bag and pick it up. I put on my cardigan. I'm going.

  “Don't turn away. Don't go. I want you to stay.”

  “Make your mind up. Stay. Go. Which is it? Because I'm pretty confused here, Kieran.”

  “Listen. It's not easy for me. I swore I would never fall for anyone again after...”

  “After? After what?”

  He looks distraught. Like he's raking up memories he doesn't want to think about.

  “There was… there was a girl, at the end of my last year at college. It didn't end well.”

  “Lots of people have relationships that don't end well. They get over it. They move on.” And I try to not think about how long it has taken me to move on from Simon because I'm not in a forgiving mood.

  But he's not finished. “This was more than that. My girlfriend’s parents bought her a car for her twenty-first birthday. Janine wanted to show it off. We were celebrating the end of our exams and she took me for a drive. She had music blasting, and we were singing, relieved to have the exams over with and the summer ahead. Neither of us saw the truck coming over the hill until the last moment. It was on the wrong side of the road passing a tractor. The truck rammed right into us. The car spun around and turned over. I had to be cut out of the wreckage and had nothing but a broken leg. Janine was killed.”

  “Oh my god, Kieran. Did you love her?”

  “I thought so at the time. But looking back, I don't know if we would have lasted, if we were really suited to each other. I mourned her like I did love her, though. I never wanted to hurt that badly again, that was for sure. One minute she was there, full of life, and the next, she was gone. And I know I could have easily died that day, too.”

  If it was Simon telling me this, I might suspect he was giving me a line, but I believe Kieran. The anguish in his face tells me it's all true.

  “So you stopped dating?”

  “For a while. But then it was just like I was just paying lip service to everything. I stopped getting involved. There were girls, but I never let anyone get close. And I couldn't even think about a career. Vanessa talked to me since I wasn't listening to my parents right then. She said I was wasting my life not applying for jobs. The thought of using my business degree was doing nothing for me. But I remembered the guy who pulled me out of that wreck. I went to see him. It was Mike.”

  “The chief at the fire station?”

  “Yes, he was just a normal fireman then, doing his job. He was so calm and reassuring the day of the accident, I knew that's what I wanted to do. So, I did the training, joined the fire department and never looked back. But I never had another serious relationship either.”

  I put down my bag and kiss his cheek. “I'm sorry you went through that.”

  He pulls me into his arms and kisses me deeply, as if he's trying to lose himself in it.

  At my age, he went through something terrible, and even now it's obvious that talking about it hurts. I want to make him feel better.

  “Thank you for telling me,” I say.

  “I'm sorry I spoiled our afternoon. Can I take you home?”

  “No, I want to stay here, if you want me to.” I hope he says he does.

  CHAPTER 10

  Kieran

  There's no doubt about wanting her to stay. I want her more than I've ever wanted anyone. But I don't know if she's ready for how much I need her after being with her on the roof, after opening up to her about the accident. Call me crazy, but it's as if I need to warn her off me.

  I tilt her chin up so she's looking at me. “Of course I want you to stay.” I know she can feel how ready I am through our clothes, how hard I am against her. “Just know that, if you stay, I'm going to fuck you so hard, you'll know I mean it.”

  She gasps at my words. But she doesn't take her eyes off me. She just nods and I run my fingers over the front of her sundress, beneath that little librarian cardigan, and feel her hard nipples bursting out through the thin floral fabric.

  I've never been anything but gentle with her so far. I've been holding back in all kinds of ways. But the real me is not about half measures, in bed or out. I'm all in with this woman. No fucking around.

  I might have ripped that sundress off her if I didn't want her to wear it again, but I do. It's like sexy meets milk-maid—and I like that look. She looks all clean and fresh and pure and I just want to get her dirty.

  So instead, I pull her cardigan and soft cotton dress off slowly, revealing her nakedness inch by beautiful inch, kissing the tops of her breasts, her nipples, her stomach as she stands there in front of me before I yank down her underwear. Her hands move forward as if she's going to cover herself, despite how open she was to my mouth on the roof.

  “Don't hide from me.” I take her hands and hold them so I can see all of her. She's skittish. I don't know how much experience she has, and I like the idea she's more innocent than me, less knowing than other women I've been with. But her breathing is shallow. Ready. I run one finger gently down her stomach to the junction of her thighs. “Open your legs,” I say, looking into her eyes, and she moans a little and complies, so my finger can run back and forth between her legs. She's soaking with anticipation and need. “Dirty, dirty, girl,” I say. “So wet and ready.” And she gasps.

  I kick off my shoes and pick her up, putting her over my shoulder. She squeals and giggles then, like no guy ever carried her off before, and I can't resist running my hands over her bare ass, giving her a playful spank. “I'm taking you to bed. And I might just have to make you stay there all day and all night, to keep you out of trouble.”

  “Out of trouble or in it?” she says.

  “It's a fine line. I'm sure we'll cross it several times.” I run my finger between her legs, delighting in her wetness, and lay her on the bed on her back. She looks up at me, a mix of wariness and excitement on her face.

  “First, there's the question of your punishment.”

  Her eyes widen at that. But she giggles again. “For what?”

  “There needs to be a reason? Fine. For trying to hide from me. For enticing me on the roof. For being so fucking gorgeous that I can't resist you. Enough reasons for you?”

  She laughs. “And what will my sentence be, sir?” I love that she's playing along.

  “Ten hot spanks over my knee to start with.”

  “And then?”

  “And then you'll have to wait to find out.”

  I sit down on the bed next to her and pull her over my lap, her bare stomach against my thighs, my cock bursting to get out of my shorts as she wriggles against me.

  “Have you ever been spanked before?” I ask her.

  CHAPTER 11

  Hannah

  “No, never,” I say. I have never been spanked and I didn't imagine I'd ever be lying naked over a guy's lap I haven't even slept with, allowing him to “punish” me.

  “I'll be your first then,” he says. “The first to give you that pleasure. The first to turn your bottom nice and pink. Tell me if you want me to stop. Say ‘Teddy’ and I'll stop right away.”

  Teddy? Oh! A safeword. I can't help wriggling as I wait for him to start, my bottom stuck in the air. The anticipation is killing me, making me wetter than ever. I raise my bottom a tiny bit, so little he might not even notice.

  “You want this.” He chuckles
. Damn! He noticed.

  His fingers stray between my legs once more, but this time, I gasp as two fingers enter me, massaging me inside, driving me crazy with need, and at the same time I feel the sharp slap of his other hand on the side of my behind, and the searing warmth that floods my skin after it.

  The sting hardly registers because he doesn't stop teasing me inside. I hear myself groan as the next spank hits the same place on my upturned backside, and another smack follows close behind it. My mind doesn't know whether to focus on the pleasure of his fingers inside me, taking me to the edge, or the burning heat on my skin. I reach out my hand to soothe my skin, but he's there before me.

  “That's my job,” he says, withdrawing his fingers and running his hands slowly and tenderly over my behind. “Don't touch yourself and keep your hands down, or I'll have to tie them together so they can't get in the way.”

  I gulp and put my hands flat on the bedcover. The soft cotton feels soothing to my touch, while the rest of me is anything but calm. Is it really me, Hannah, lying here, allowing this intoxicating, beautiful man do such intimate, taboo things to my body on his soft bed in broad daylight? It can't be. But it is.

  Another smack rains down, harder this time. I feel the sting and squeal. But he doesn't let it find its mark for a second before he's taking away the hard edge with his fingers inside me. He alternates between hard slaps and teasing touches, between pain and pleasure, until I don't know which way is up.

  All I know is that I am all sensation. All his in that moment. He can do anything he wants to me, lying naked over his hard thighs. And with the next spank I come, shuddering over his lap, crying out from the pain and pleasure which have somehow gotten tangled up together.

  And when I come down from that he gathers me into his arms and holds me, kissing my hair, my mouth, my nose. “You're so fucking cute when you come, I could watch you all day,” he says. “I love that you're all prim and proper in your cardigan and sundress or business-like and efficient talking about your marketing project, and then the next minute, you turn filthy, dirty at my touch.”