Firestorm: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Ellie Masters

  She glances toward the door, then turns her attention back to me. A shit eating grin spreads across my face. I love the direction her thoughts are going.

  “Whatcha got?” I tease.

  “Nothing.”

  “Doesn’t look like nothing.” I prowl toward her, harder than ever. My dick has a mind of its own and it wants her. I’m happy to oblige the fucker, but first that barn door needs to close.

  It faces the house and there’s no way I’m giving my brothers a show.

  Evelyn isn’t going to get fucked in some stall. That rope she’s holding is going over the main support beam stretching over her head.

  It’s been two long weeks of backbreaking work fighting the San Rios fire and I’m ready to let lose a little steam. This is something I intend to savor.

  Instead of coming at her directly, I keep a wide berth and walk around until I reach the barn door. We generally keep it open for ventilation, closing it only during the chilliest nights in winter. Which means it makes one hell of a screeching noise as I pull it shut.

  As expected, there’s movement in the windows of the house. My fucking brothers were watching. We’re going to have a conversation about that later. For now, my attention returns to Evelyn.

  “Have you ever been tied up during sex before?”

  She takes a step back and clutches the rope tight to her belly. Her lower lip rolls in as she nibbles on it. Such a fucking turn on. I know what that mouth of hers can do. Too nervous to speak, she gives a tiny shake of her head.

  This is a first for her and damn if I’m not happy about that.

  She’s willing, but nervous, which means I need to take this really slow. My dick is pissed about that. It wants to rut and fuck and bury itself deep inside her hot pussy. Fortunately, I’m not so far gone that I listen to my dick.

  Yes, I want to fuck, but I’m more interested in making this an experience Evelyn will never forget. I hold out my hand and shift my voice to a lower register.

  “Give that to me.”

  Her eyes widen and she takes another step back. I close the distance, and she takes another step back. The corner of my mouth curves up, because this is going to be so much damn fun.

  On my fourth step, she backs up against one of the support posts. It’s actually the perfect place. I thought to loop the rope over a beam and torment her nice and slow, but there’s a peg at the top of the post that’ll do just fine. I can’t wait to tie her hands over her head, tease her until she screams, then fuck her against the post.

  Yes, this will do just fine.

  “Are you trying to run from me?”

  She can’t find her voice and gives another shake of her head. Attuned to everything about her, I take my cues from the way her cornflower blue eyes blow out with lust. Her pupils fully dilate and there’s only the faintest rim of blue left. The way her breath accelerates turns me on. That damn nibbling of her lower lip drives me fucking crazy. Her eyes lock to mine, testing my resolve, a little uncertain, but determined to see this through.

  “I fucking missed you.” The crotch of my jeans tightens as my arousal grows. I avoid adjusting myself. I want her full attention on me not my cock.

  At least for now.

  I take another step and she presses her back against the post.

  I reach out. “Hand me the rope.”

  Careful to make everything a command, instead of a request, I set the tone for our little experiment. If this is something she likes, I have so many other things I want to show her.

  With some degree of trepidation, she hands over the rope.

  “Hands together, little backpack.”

  Her lips curve into a smile at the crazy nickname. It’s unusual, but I love it. Every time I say it, I’m reminded of the day we met.

  She places her hands out, wrists together. Now I’m the one biting my lip because damn if her trust isn’t the sexiest thing in the world.

  Silence falls between us as I wrap the rope around her wrists. It’s snug, not tight, and if she really needs to, she should be able to wriggle her way free. I’m hoping she doesn’t try and allows herself to really sink into what’s happening here.

  I press her against the post and stare down at her wide eyes.

  “Do you trust me?”

  She gives a nod. Still no words. She’s willing but unsure. Going slow is my motto.

  I lean into her, pressing the length of my body against hers. No way she doesn’t feel my dick. One hand is around her wrists, over the knot I tied. The other presses against the post as I kiss her slowly. Reverently. Desperate for more.

  But I don’t take more. Not yet.

  I break apart and slowly lift her wrists over her head, watching her expression the entire time.

  No fear.

  No hesitation.

  Exactly the opposite. Her breathing accelerates and she licks her lips.

  I raise her hands over her head, then force her on tiptoe to slip the loop I made over the peg jutting out of the post.

  She’s completely at my mercy.

  A quick glance at her heaving breaths and I realize a mistake. I should’ve taken her shirt off first. Too eager to begin, I didn’t think everything through.

  That’s okay. I’ll make it work. Slowly, inexorably, I lift the hem of her shirt, taking my time to expose her bra.

  She giggles as my fingers tickle her ribs and bites at her lip.

  I hold back a moan.

  “You’re so goddamn sexy, little backpack.” I nuzzle her neck, sucking gently as I decide whether or not to leave a mark. I decide not to, because my fucking brothers will only tease me about it later. I can take the heat. I’ll throw it back at them, but I don’t want to make Evelyn uncomfortable.

  She dances beneath me, squirming and shifting her feet as I nibble my way to her collar bone and back up to gently suck on her ear lobe.

  She only just now realizes she’s at my mercy. With her hands over her head, I can do whatever the hell I want. My attention shifts to her amazing tits.

  “Asher!” Her sudden shout stops me in my tracks. “Watch out!”

  I pull back, see the whites of her eyes. Her mouth opens on a scream.

  Something hard slams against the back of my head.

  Evelyn’s scream is the last thing I hear as I slump to the ground.

  29

  Evelyn

  Felix watches Asher collapse. With his chest out, shoulders back, his angry glare turns to me. I stare at him, eyes wide, shocked by this turn of events, then it hits me. It slams into me like a sledgehammer and I don’t know why I didn’t notice before.

  Those copper-colored eyes? His rugged good looks? His barrel chest and broad shoulders? Throw a beard on him. Grow his hair out shoulder length…

  It’s all right there, something I should’ve seen. Something I can’t forget.

  I’ve seen him before, and it wasn’t at the bar.

  I look at the rope binding my hands, the peg far over my head, and thrash trying to get free.

  It’s hopeless.

  I’m stuck.

  “Felix, what are you doing?”

  Maybe I can reason with him.

  Anger flashes in his eyes and he fixes me with an unblinking stare. Placing his hand on his hips, his attention shifts to Asher and his lips twist into a snarl.

  “Ace-fucking-La Rouge, who knew he’d be such a pussy.”

  He squats down and rolls Asher face down in the dirt. Yanking Asher’s arms behind his back, Felix turns his smug expression back to me. He yanks out a long, black zip tie from his back pocket and secures Asher’s hands behind his back. Felix stands and his attention shifts back to me.

  “You’re one tough bitch to kill.” He shoves his hands in his pockets then pulls them out and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I thought I got rid of you on the ridge, but no, you survived.”

  “Felix…”

  He holds up a hand. “I got them to pin the fire on you. Figured it was an open and shut case, but no.” He
jabs a thumb at Asher’s unconscious form. “Your boyfriend has to go crying to the cops. Which made them dig.” He points at me. “Fuck the La Rouge triplets. Thorn in my fucking side my whole damn life. They always bounce back no matter how hard I knock their asses down.”

  “I don’t know what this is about, but we can talk about it.”

  “Talk?” He huffs with indignation. “I’m done talking. I’m done trying to take what’s mine. This time, Ace is going down and La Rouge Vineyards is going up in flames.”

  I try again to free my wrists, but I’m effectively trapped.

  “Felix…what are you doing?”

  His grim smile stretches wide as he looks around the barn. I see the can of gasoline the moment he does and my insides go ice cold.

  “Felix please, you don’t have to do this. We can talk it out.”

  “Talk it out? Do you have any idea what that bastard did to me? What his family took from mine? This is our land. Ours! And he forced those girls to tell those filthy lies. He stole from my life.”

  What girls? What lies? I twist in my bonds. I try to jump, hoping to get the loop of rope to slip over the peg. Nothing helps.

  Felix grabs the gas tank and gives it a shake. The sloshing inside tells me it’s nearly full. He unscrews the nozzle and watches me.

  “Please…” I beg, but his maniacal grin doesn’t waiver. He tips the can and a dribble of gasoline flows out onto the dirt of the barn floor.

  I release a blood curdling scream, hoping Asher’s brothers come running.

  Felix puts the gas can down and marches over to me with a sour expression fixed to his face. He pulls out a rag from his back pocket and shoves it in my mouth.

  I spit it out and scream, louder this time

  His eyes pinch as he picks up the dirty rag. Very deliberately, he yanks Asher’s belt through the belt loops of Asher’s jeans until it’s free. Narrowing his eyes, he scrunches the rag into a ball, pries my jaw open, and shoves the cloth inside my mouth, pushing it as deep as it’ll go. I gag against it and tear up as he ties Asher’s belt around my head and mouth.

  “No one is coming to save you. Not this time. By the time Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb out there figure out what’s happing in here, I’ll be long gone and you and your boyfriend will be nothing but a crispy mess.”

  Why?

  What does he have against me? Against Asher?

  Other than me being the only person who can identify him. The only person who can testify he started that fire.

  I know why he wants me dead, but what I don’t understand is what he was doing up on the ridge starting a forest fire in the first place.

  I scream against the gag, but it’s garbled and too low for anyone to hear.

  With the barn door closed, Asher’s brothers won’t intrude. They think Asher and I are doing something else in here rather than fighting for our lives.

  My attention shifts from Felix to Asher. Is Asher breathing? I can’t tell. Holy shit, is Asher dead?

  Felix hums as he wanders around the barn shaking gasoline over the hay and at the base of the barn walls.

  I wring my hands and desperately try to unhook the damn loop from the peg over my head.

  Each time Felix looks at me, he bares his teeth and sneers. Then he follows that with a dismissive shrug. His lips twist as he turns away. To him, we’re already dead.

  But what does he get out of this? I don’t understand.

  My eyes narrow as I try to puzzle it out. I try to unhook myself for what feels like the hundredth time, and fail.

  Felix finishes his circuit of the front part of the barn. He runs out of gasoline and tosses the empty can to the side. Knight sticks his head over his stall door and gives a nervous whinny. Felix is not only going to burn Asher and me, but all the horses as well.

  Son of a bitch!

  Still no movement from Asher. I can’t tell if he’s breathing, but I’m hopeful. A knock to the head shouldn’t be lethal.

  I think.

  Hell, I survived Felix knocking me upside the head. I call out Asher’s name, but the gag prevents anything intelligible from leaving my mouth.

  Felix returns. He reaches out and cups my breast. My insides twist as he squeezes the sensitive tissues.

  “You picked the wrong guy. You should’ve gone home with me.” He kicks Asher in the ribs. “I guess you’ll die with him.”

  He backs away with a feral grin. When he gets to the horse’s stalls, he looks back at me. “Shame about the horses.”

  With those words, he reaches into his chest pocket and pulls out a box of matches.

  A blood curdling scream erupts from my throat, but it comes out a low rumbly mess.

  Everything slows as he lights the match and tosses it onto a bale of hay. I watch the match arc through the air, land on gasoline fueled straw, and ignite. Flames lick at the straw.

  With a slow wave, Felix turns and runs out the back of the barn.

  The fire spreads like lightning, filling the barn with smoke.

  I struggle, but can’t free myself. When I slump in defeat, the tip of my boot touches Asher’s shoulder.

  “Ungh!” My scream of frustration rips through my throat and goes nowhere, but Asher rolls toward me with a groan.

  He’s alive.

  I toe him with boot, kicking harder until he stirs. He rolls over and slowly opens his eyes. I’m the first thing he sees and his brows pinch in confusion. Then he jerks, realizing his hands are tied behind his back.

  His nostrils flare when he smells the fire, then his attention snaps to the rope around my wrist. He staggers to his feet.

  I give a shake of my head. We’re running out of time. My eyes flick to the ground and I lift my foot. I have no idea if he understands and repeat the gesture, mimicking climbing a step.

  His eyes widen and he goes to his knees at my feet. I step onto his back, which gives me the height I need to finally lift the loop of rope off that damned peg.

  Jumping down, I yank the belt from around my face and pull the rag from my mouth.

  “We gotta get out of here,” he says.

  I pat my jeans. “I don’t have a knife.” There’s no way I’m opening that barn door myself.

  Flames lick up the sides of the barn, growing more ferocious by the second. The horses scream, terrified of the smoke and flickering light of the flames.

  “Back pocket.” He leans back on his knees.

  I reach inside his back pocket and draw out his pocket knife. It takes but a second to slice through the sturdy zip tie, but he’s free.

  Asher runs to the barn door and leans his bodyweight into pushing the heavy door open. The rails screech and it slowly slides on its tracks.

  Knight kicks against his stall in terror. The smoke and flames engulf the walls and reach the roof. The acrid smoke makes it difficult to breathe.

  Asher gets the door open just enough to squeeze through. He waves at me. “Evelyn come. Get out of there.”

  “Not without the horses.”

  They’re behind us, behind a curtain of flame with no escape. Asher gives one look over my shoulder, nods, then leans into the door widening the gap.

  I don’t hesitate. Turning around, I search for a gap in the flames. I’m getting good at getting out of fires. Let’s hope my luck holds out.

  Knight’s stall is the furthest back. I want to get to him, but the chestnut mare and Arabian are closest. I grab a bridle and put it on the chestnut, then do the same for the Arabian. I need to lead them through the flames and they’re going to fight, too terrified of fire and incapable of understanding they must go through the flames to survive. I rip off my shirt and wrap it around the Arabian’s head, blinding it. Then I grab a blanket and throw it over the chestnut mare as I leap onto her back.

  I’m an accomplished English rider, trained for years in riding horseback, but I’ve never ridden bareback before.

  Where is Asher?

  I can’t leave Knight to die.

  But then a shape
appears through the flames, Asher covered in a thick horse blanket. He glances at me, gives a nod, and races to open Knight’s stall.

  I don’t hesitate. The crackling flames reach the ceiling, licking along the wood. Blinding smoke fills the barn and I can’t see my way out, but I know if I head straight I’ll hit the barn door.

  Hopefully, that door is open. That has to be what kept Asher.

  The chestnut mare stamps her feet, but I dig into her flanks and force her into a gallop. The Arabian’s lead yanks my arm and my shoulder nearly dislocates. I hold on to the Arabian’s bridle, and he follows the lead.

  Blinded, the horses can’t see the flames, but they hear the crackling and smell the smoke.

  We charge forward and I brace for the wall of flame, hoping the horse beneath me pays more attention to the pressure of my heels against its flank than the heat of the fire.

  Intense heat consumes me, singing the hairs on my arms, but it’s over in a heartbeat.

  We barrel through the opening of the barn and into the dark night.

  I cough and sputter as the horses come to a stop. Brody grabs the reins of the Arabian and Cage helps me down from the chestnut mare.

  We’re out.

  We’re safe.

  But where is Asher?

  I spin around and can’t believe my eyes. The entire structure is engulfed. It went up so fast.

  “Asher!” I cry out.

  Cage grabs my waist, keeping me from running back into the burning building. My eyes fill with tears and I try to yank free.

  As I struggle, a shadow of the deepest black appears in the flames.

  Knight leaps through with Asher on his back. They breach the opening as the barn roof collapses behind them.

  Asher comes to a stop, leaps off Knight and slaps at the flames burning Knight’s tail. Brody and Cage rush to help, the three brothers put out the burning hair.

  I hold the reins of the other two horses who paw at the ground and rear up on their hind legs. Their eyes roll back, white with fear.

  Asher and his brothers pat down Knight, then Asher hands the reins of his horse to Cage.