Hearts Ablaze (Courageous Hearts Series Book 2)

by Jenni Lovewell

  Finally, he stood and removed his shirt. I clenched my legs together at the pure man that rested beneath his clothes. He pulled down his pants and boxers, revealing the rest of himself. Looking at him from the bed as he towered over me in nothing but the skin in which he was born, my heart exploded with love and admiration. He could have been a statue as he stood staring down at me, with his angled abs and scars. They rested in long strips across his side, almost like a fierce tattoo. He was spectacular.

  He crawled on top of me, hovering above my body with little effort. He was calm, but the lower half of my body told me what I needed to know. I wrapped my legs around him and brought him down to me, allowing our lips to meet in a fury. He supported his weight with one arm while he wrapped the other around my back and unclasped my bra. With the same hand, he toyed with my breasts meticulously. He worked circles around my nipples as his tongue caressed mine.

  I tightened my legs around his hips and guided him downward until he filled me. There was no discomfort as there had been the first time. I released a breathy sigh as he filled me entirely and started thrusting.

  The sweet friction caused a building sensation within me. He reached downward and used his fingers to further the pleasure that rolled through my body in waves. It built within me and I twisted my hands in my comforter and arched my back. I cried out as pleasure wracked through every ounce of my body. I continued moving with every one of his thrusts until the sensitivity faded and he roared his finish atop me.

  I laid breathless beneath him, and he collapsed to the bed beside me.

  He spent long minutes first preparing me for him, then caressing and appreciating every inch of me before moving onto bigger, more satiating things. I knew, from that alone, that he was the one I needed in my life.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sylvia sat at my left side and Derrick switched from my lap, to the space in front of my chair. “This looks amazing, Sylvia.” The entire town square was decorated in fairy lights and long strands of flowers. At the front was a stage, advertising numerous local businesses on the front. She had worked for days on the setup, and it was worth it. She couldn’t have done better.

  She smiled modestly. “I had a lot of help from the entire town council and the mayor. His kids did the flower ropes by hand using freshly picked wildflowers from a field across from their house. Neat, isn’t it?” Sylvia looked proud of the result, and she had every right to. “The real testament of my skill was convincing the crew to be part of the auction.”

  “Most of the crew,” I elaborated.

  Sylvia groaned. “I thought you’d be able to get Ethan to do it,” she admitted. “But four out of five isn’t bad at all. I imagine it will raise a little money for the woman’s shelter.”

  “Don’t forget about the younger police who volunteered,” I reminded her.

  She groaned. “One of them has a mullet.”

  I laughed and nodded in agreement. “The one Jones brother should fetch a nice price,” I joked. Everyone in Brunswick knew of the Jones brothers, and I had no doubt many people wanted a piece of them.

  “I sure hope so. I warned Garrett that if any bleach blonde bimbos decide to bid for him, I’m taking over and he’s paying for it.”

  “I have no doubt Garrett is the luckiest man alive,” I teased.

  “Oh, and he knows it.” She winked as the mayor strutted across the stage with a smile.

  He was short—no more than 5’6—but bulky. As a heavier set man, his steps echoed as he made his way across the stage and waved at everyone in the audience. He made his way to the microphone. “Hello, hello. Thank you all for coming out this evening.”

  The mayor went on to thank various people for their contributions in the event, followed by a list of the things being auctioned. Numerous little baskets spread across the stage, and Sylvia pointed out the gaming basket she and Garret contributed. As the auctioning started, I kept looking around for Ethan who promised he’d be here. I stopped pushing him to be a part of the raffle, but I didn’t think it would be too much for him to be present.

  When the mayor held up a basket of toys and a drone, Derrick tugged on my leg. “Please, mommy. I’ve always wanted that.”

  I saw him eyeing the basket earlier, but I didn’t pay it much attention. To appease him, I stood and raised my arm at the beginning of bidding, but once the cost exceeded a hundred dollars, I sat down. “Sweetie, it’s expensive. Do you even know what’s in it?” I asked quietly as the bidding continued and the price grew more intimidating.

  “I’ve always wanted it,” he begged.

  I shook my head. “Maybe if another basket comes up and you want it, we can try. How about that?” Derrick sat on the ground below my feet, crossed his arms, and pouted.

  It came as no surprise, and I easily ignored his pouting as the price of the basket exceeded two-hundred and fifty dollars. I checked behind us to make sure Ethan wasn’t standing at the back of the crowd, but I didn’t see him there either. Where was he? Derrick’s pouting lasted far longer than usual as the basket was finally raffled, and he rushed to the stage to examine the others alongside Sylvia.

  Sylvia reached forward and grabbed the basket with the drone and electric cars before they each strutted back to me. “No, you didn’t,” I whispered as she sat the basket in front of Derrick, and he dug into it without hesitation.

  She shrugged. “It’s the least I can do for my favorite nephew.”

  “You better tell her thank you a hundred times for this,” I told Derrick. He rushed to her before opening the basket fully and gave her the biggest, tightest hug he could have mustered.

  Sylvia accepted the hug with open arms and sat him back down to explore the basket. Unsurprisingly, he handed me the drone and asked what it was, despite earlier claiming that it was all he had ever wanted. I smiled and told him that we’d talk about it when the mayor wasn’t speaking.

  Despite the sweet moment, though, I couldn’t stop worrying about Ethan. Was there a fire that kept all of them away today? As the mayor finished raffling the last basket and called the firemen to the stage, I pulled out my phone and began typing out a message. “No way,” Sylvia muttered. Still concerned with my phone, it took me a moment to notice the silence of the crowd around me. I looked up, and low and behold, Ethan stood shirtless at the end of his four best friends.

  Even without my biased opinion, it was obvious that Ethan was the most attractive man standing on stage. They oiled all the men in something that made every ridge of their bodies shine. “I promised you a child friendly night, but we needed some entertainments for you adults, too. Here are our five volunteer firefighters, and we’re auctioning off a date with each of them. Beware, ladies. Some of them are married, but you have a fair shot at one all-expenses paid date. How does that sound?”

  Various ladies whistled at the proposition and Benji, in his typical way, turned and shook his behind for the entire audience to see. Scott punched his arm and turned him back around, whispering something in his ear. Despite the scene on the right side of the stage, my eyes were fixed on Ethan. I knew a dozen other women in the crowd had similar interests. He was undoubtedly the most perfect specimen any of the women—me included—had ever seen.

  And he was about to see exactly how attractive he was.

  The mayor started with Garrett, who stood tall as he flexed his considerable muscles for the entire audience to see. Sylvia snorted. “He’s laying it on extra thick. He’s got ten bucks on being auctioned for the most.”

  “Who’s his competition?”

  “I put ten on Ethan beating everyone.” Her smile told me that she saw how attractive he was just like everyone else.

  A few people bided on him, but in the end, an elderly lady won, and Sylvia didn’t bother bidding once for her husband. We erupted in hysterics as he waltzed over to the woman in question and sat at her side. Her smile lit up the entire stage as Garrett held her hand and they began making small talk.

  They worked through th
e auction, and Nehemiah went for double the price of everyone else. His dark skin coated in oil made him shine in the sun, and the crowd went crazy over his bid. A half dozen young girls kept upping the stakes until only one remained, and Nehemiah was thrilled about the outcome. The girl who won a date with him was just as stunning as him, and I knew something would come of it when she smiled shyly at his approach.

  Benji went for the least money, but he thoroughly enjoyed himself as he flexed and posed for a crowd that deemed him worth thirty-five dollars. Scott, at least, was sold to his wife for one-hundred and twenty dollars, which I had no doubt he’d be paying.

  When Ethan came up for bidding, last on stage, I held my breath and prayed that everyone else saw him in the same light as me. “Mommy,” Derrick said. He looked at the stage for the first time. “He’s an extra superhero.”

  I squinted down at him as the bidding started. “What do you mean?”

  “He has more of a superhero mark than anyone. He could even win against you.” Derrick’s excited eyes jumped from Ethan to me. Then, they went down to his own arm. The burn was healing nicely, but it would leave a nasty scar for the rest of his life. He looked thrilled about it. “I know so many superheroes.”

  His excitement was so pure and undiluted that I didn’t bother correcting him. I refocused on the bidding, which was quickly escalating. A few women throughout the crowd continued bidding, laughing with their friends as their checkbooks grew emptier. It finally began deescalating once the price rose above four hundred dollars. I noticed Nehemiah leaning closer to the stage. He sold for four hundred and sixty dollars, and Ethan was progressively getting closer to the number.

  I couldn’t imagine how anyone would be willing to spend that much money on a single date. There were no guarantees that the date would go anywhere, especially for people who were already in relationships.

  Ethan’s posture progressively loosened as the price grew. I knew he needed to be part of the auction, but I didn’t realize so many people would have such an interest in him. “Four hundred and eighty dollars, can I get a four-ninety?” For a moment, nobody spoke or stood. “Going once.” Everything remained still. “Going twice.”

  Someone stood from the other side of the crowd, and my jaw dropped. “Is that…” I started.

  “Oh no she didn’t,” Sylvia said, standing and placing her bid above Taylor’s. “That bitch will not come back into his life and ruin him again.”

  The mayor acknowledged Sylvia’s bid, and I met Ethan’s eyes. He looked infuriated by the situation. He was tracking each bid carefully, but somehow, we both missed the biggest threat. Taylor, without hesitation, stood and raised her hand again. Sylvia moved to stand, but I pushed her back into her seat and stood, taking her place. Maybe I did understand why people were willing to bid a lot to win a date.

  Ethan saw me standing and his eyes lit. I knew, no matter what, I would not allow her to come back into his life and destroy what we have rebuilt together. He was finally willing to remove his shirt in front of a crowd of people and face a house fire.

  For him, I’d continue standing until she wouldn’t anymore.

  So that’s what I did. All the way up to seven hundred dollars, I stood until I won.

  Ethan strutted over to me after the bidding ended. His long strides and oiled body were something from a dream as he wrapped an arm around my back and brought his lips down to mine without hesitation. I warmed in his arms until he pulled away and left me with weak knees. “I was hoping you’d win,” he whispered, smiling broadly down at me.

  “You’re paying.”

  He smiled. “Once you get started on our rentals, you’ll have more than enough to pay me back.”

  I stared up at him in shock. “Wait, I got the contract?”

  “After everything you did to my house for under a thousand dollars, I don’t think I could hire anyone better for the job.” He swept down and left another small kiss on the corner of my lips.

  A throat cleared from behind us and I stiffened. For the first time in my life, I had no qualms about hitting someone. “I don’t think that was a fair bid,” Taylor said as she placed her hands on her hips. “What about that coffee, Ethan?”

  I saw her ploy for what it was. She wanted to plant seeds of doubt in my mind by using his generosity. “Actually, Taylor, I don’t think so,” Ethan said. His tone was kind, but his expression was hard and unmoving. “You can’t leave people when it’s convenient for you and then expect them to come back to you with open arms.”

  “We agreed that I could come back when I was ready.”

  “You agreed,” Ethan said. “I never did. So leave my girlfriend out of your drama, and leave me out of it, too.”

  She clenched her jaw but plastered a smile onto her glossed lips. “I don’t need damaged goods, anyways.”

  I lunged, but Ethan held me back by the arms. Every ounce of me wanted to hurt her in the same way she hurt him. Sylvia, on the other hand, had nobody to hold her back. She threw her fist into Taylor’s nose and knocked her backward a step. Almost as if nothing happened, Sylvia reclaiming her seat. Taylor examined the crowd around us and huffed before rushing away. I bit my lip to withhold a grin.

  I turned to Ethan. “Girlfriend?” I asked.

  He nodded and kissed my forehead gently. Derrick, who noticed Sylvia’s punch, rushed to her excitedly. “You’re a superhero, too?” I smiled back at Ethan and placed a small kiss on his lips.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Derrick sat on Ethan’s back as we walked through the stifling heat and down the groomed pathways of the cemetery. I held onto Ethan’s hand as he supported Derrick with his other. The lawn keepers were carefully grooming around a few headstones, and the sound of a lawnmower distantly revved to life. Derrick guided Ethan as we made our way to the headstone we’d both grown to love.

  Finally, when Derrick saw it at the end of the path, he wiggled around Ethan’s shoulders until Ethan finally dropped down and helped Derrick to the ground. Derrick took off. I knew Bruce looked down at his grave every time Derrick visited. I felt it. Derrick finally reached the grave and sat in front of it. He talked to it like he talked to a friend in school, occasionally brushing his hand against the cool stone.

  I clutched the baby’s breath in my hands as I grew closer. Anxiety wrapped around me as I considered what I was doing. Ethan and I had been an official couple for less than a year, but it still felt wrong bringing someone foreign to Bruce’s grave. We’d waited a while, but Ethan wanted to visit with me. He was insistent, and I knew it was time. He’d healed, so I needed to finish healing, too.

  As we cut through the grass and stood above Bruce, Derrick’s voice lowered as if he was telling his father a secret. I laid my hand on his shoulder and handed him the flowers. He sat them on the ground as he removed the old ones from the grave. “Mommy thinks that big boys like us want flowers, so here you go. I won’t tell her the truth,” Derrick whispered to the headstone. I chuckled and placed my favorite worn photo of Bruce on the headstone. I planned to move on, and with that photo sitting on my bedside table, I wouldn’t be able to. I took a step back beside Ethan.

  “This is Bruce,” I said, refraining from talking to him like I always had in the past.

  Ethan squinted as he read the words ingrained onto the stone. “Don’t you want to say anything?”

  I nodded. “I’m not used to… other people hearing.”

  Ethan nodded. “I can take a walk for a few minutes,” he proposed, squeezing my hand.

  “No, I want you here. I need you to be here for this.”

  I released his hand and walked to the other side of the grave, sitting back to back with all that remained of my husband—a memory in the shape of a stone. I leaned my head against it and wove my fingers through the grass. “Hi, Bruce,” I whispered. My voice was soft, but I knew Ethan was listening. “We miss you just as much as always.”

  Derrick quieted as I spoke, and I closed my eyes. The warmth on my face sooth
ed my worries. “I brought Ethan with me today. You know I talk about him like every time I visit, but I thought it was time for you to see the man behind the stories.” I sighed. “I think it’s time I move on.” A breeze brushed my hair into my face, but I let the strands go where they please. “He’s gentle and kind, just like you were. And most importantly, he’s the superhero your son needs in his life. Derrick and I will never forget you, but you have to know that we’re starting a new chapter. I think you’d be okay with that.”

  I needed the silence that Derrick and Ethan offered to wrap my head around what I was saying and how Bruce would have felt about it. “I love you, Bruce,” I said. The same breeze as before whipped around my head and left my hair tumbling. I wanted to believe it was an “I love you, too” from him. I smiled and looked at the sky before standing.

  I wasn’t sad anymore. I felt comfort when I came and talked to him, just like I felt when he was alive. Our memories finally brought me joy rather than sadness, and I knew moving on was easier because of it.

  I walked back to Ethan and grabbed his hand. “You’re done?” he asked.

  “We don’t usually stay long. We just replace the flowers and talk to him for a minute, Derrick longer than me. The kid always has a lot to say to his dad.” Derrick wasn’t even close to wrapping up his conversation. “Do you want to take a short walk while he finishes up?”

  Ethan stared down at Derrick and Bruce’s stone before shaking his head. “I’d like to say a few things to him,” he said. I didn’t know what to say as he stepped forward and kneeled beside Derrick.

  His tone was much more hushed than mine, and I couldn’t make out many of his words. Derrick stopped talking and watched Ethan. He concentrated deeply on what he said, and I wanted desperately to know what it was. Derrick smiled at something and Ethan wrapped an arm around my son, who looked up at him with admiration. I stood behind them as Derrick giggled, nodded, and came to my side, hugging my legs tightly.