Flames of Love

by Melissa Foster

  He ran his fingers through his hair with a shaky hand as she made her way across the small apartment. His mind fell back to the fire again.

  He’d had to tell Vetta he wasn’t able to save her husband, and she had grabbed his arm and held on tight. I know you did the best you could. That was the moment things changed in Cash’s mind. He could have done more, and he promised himself he would from then on, no matter what the risks were to himself. He had so little to lose compared to some of the other guys.

  The pull to continue pushing himself past what was acceptable was so strong it was like another person inhabiting his body. Keep doing more. For Vetta. For Samuel. For all they lost. Then his mind returned to Siena, and the guys in his unit, and he fought against that pull with the realization of the risks he was taking—and the danger he posed to the other guys in the unit by his hotshot behavior.

  Pride and guilt tangled together.

  “Why are you making fists?”

  Vetta’s worried voice brought his attention back to the present. He hadn’t even realized what he was doing, but his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white.

  He sat back, opened and closed his hands, then placed his palms flat on his thighs. “I’m sorry, Vetta. I was thinking about…work.” He lifted his eyes to Samuel’s picture.

  Vetta’s eyes remained trained on him. “Yes, I suppose you were. You always are, aren’t you?”

  The concern in her voice brought the truth to his lips. “Yes.”

  Vetta reached for his hand. “Well, then, let’s talk about something to unfurl those fists. Tell me about Siena. She seemed like a nice girl. Are you sweet on her?”

  Cash almost laughed. Sweet on her was an understatement. “You might say that.”

  “And is she sweet on you?”

  Cash felt heat rush up his neck.

  “Oh, goodness, I’ve embarrassed you. I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.” She set her hands back in her lap and fidgeted with a tissue that she held in one hand.

  “No, it’s okay. I’m just not used to talking about…” What? Dating? Women? He talked about women all the time with the guys at the station, but usually they were quips, jokes. Siena wasn’t a joke, and he’d be damned if he’d let anyone make any more quips about her.

  “It’s okay. You’re a private man, and I respect that. If you’d ever like to bring her by, it’s okay with me. I enjoyed seeing you two together. She softens you.”

  Softens me? “Is that supposed to be a good thing?” Softens. Sweet. What are these women doing to me?

  “Why don’t you ask her that?” she said with a warm smile that left him completely confused.

  AN HOUR LATER, Cash was on his way to Siena’s apartment. He’d purposely stayed away from magazine stands and avoided looking at the newspaper or Internet, given what she’d said about the possibility of seeing a picture of Gunner kissing her. He’d received a text from Tommy about twenty minutes earlier, which he’d ignored. Better look at Us Daily before ur date. Two minutes later, the text was burning a hole in his pocket, so he deleted it. He told Siena he could deal with the situation, but the truth was, he worried that once he saw another man’s lips on hers—in a picture that the world would believed meant something more than it did—he wasn’t sure how he’d react. Better to ignore the situation until he was forced not to.

  She opened the door, and a rush of longing whipped through him. It had been only a day since he’d seen her, but it felt like so much longer as he reached for her.

  “How could I have missed you so much?”

  Her eyes widened, and her lips curled into a smile as she grabbed the collar of his parka and settled in against him.

  “I might have missed you a little, too.”

  He nuzzled against her cheek. “You smell amazing.”

  He kissed her cheek, and she turned in to the kiss, sliding her hands up his neck and burying them in his hair. He felt himself getting hard, and with his hands wrapped around her waist, he walked them inside, his lips never leaving hers. He kicked the door closed and told himself to pull away, but that was the last thing he wanted to do. Her sweet curves felt so good against him, and kissing her was like falling into heaven. He never wanted to stop. When she ran her hands beneath his coat and over his shoulders, dropping his coat to his elbows, then pressed her hips against his, he knew they were completely in sync.

  “Siena,” he whispered between kisses, shrugging out of his coat and catching it in one hand. He drew back, long enough to glance at his coat and remember he should hang it up. He reached behind him and hung it on a hook, then ran his hands through her hair and searched her eyes, just to be sure her desire wasn’t all in his mind. She was breathing hard, clinging to his shirt, her heart slamming against his.

  “I’m not usually like this,” she said.

  “I’m not complaining.” He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, lingering in the soft pillows of them for a beat before drawing back again and running his hands up along her ribs. God, she drove him crazy.

  “I…”

  He pressed soft kisses along her collarbone, then licked the indentation in the center.

  “Oh God.” She closed her eyes as he brought his hands up her body and cupped her breasts, trailing kisses along the curve of her neck. “I…I thought about us all day.”

  “Me too.” Jesus, he had to have more of her. She felt so damn good. He slid his hands down her back and cupped her ass, pulling her against him.

  “I was afraid you’d break up with me when you saw the pictures,” she said in a heated whisper.

  “I didn’t look at them.”

  He took her in a deep, greedy kiss, burying the thoughts of the pictures in their heat as they stumbled toward the bedroom. She moaned into his mouth, a feminine, urgent sound that made his entire body hot. She cupped his balls through his pants, and when his hands pressed against her bare stomach and slid down the front of her jeans, she arched in to him with another wanton moan. Jesus, she was so hot. He buried his fingers inside her and settled his teeth along the silky flesh of her neck, sucking and stroking her with his tongue as she writhed against him.

  “Cash,” she whispered.

  He pulled back and searched her eyes again, making sure he wasn’t taking them too far too fast. She locked her eyes on his and reached for the button on his jeans, adeptly releasing him from the tension as they fell open and she drew the zipper down. He brought his mouth to hers and ran his tongue along the swell of her lower lip.

  “The bedroom seems very far away,” he whispered against her lips.

  She slid her hand inside his boxers and wrapped her fingers around his hard length. “Bedrooms are overrated.”

  She playfully backed him up against the bar that separated the kitchen from the living room and trapped her lower lip between her teeth, looking at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. He reached for her, and she pushed his hands away and shook her head; then she hooked her fingers into the waistband of his pants and yanked them down, taking his boxers with them. She raised her eyebrows and dragged her hands sensually up his bare thighs.

  “Siena…” Her name came out as one long breath as he watched her take him in her hands and lower her mouth around his throbbing erection. “Holy hell, Siena.” He buried his hands in her hair. She looked up at him as she licked the length of him, then took him in her mouth again. She clutched his hips and swallowed him deeper, then drew him out slowly. He groaned, trying to keep from coming apart. She was like his every fantasy come true. She took one last lick of the tip as she shimmied her way back up his body, and in one quick move, she took off her shirt and tossed it on the floor, revealing the sexiest lacy bra he’d ever seen. It barely covered her nipples, and pressed her perfect breasts together, creating cleavage so deep he wanted to bury himself in it. Cash reached one hand behind him and ripped his shirt from his body, then pressed her against him.

  “You’ve still got too many clothes on.” He grabbed her ass, then san
k his teeth into her neck.

  She gasped a breath, and he released her and kissed the tender spot. Siena hooked her thumbs into the waist of her jeans and wiggled out of them. Bradleyt. She stood before him in a black thong and that damn lacy bra, and he could barely breathe. He stepped from his pants and wrapped his arm around her waist, then backed her up against the counter while running his hands over her hips. He licked along the crest of her breasts, to the deep cleavage in between.

  “You can’t be this beautiful,” he whispered.

  She guided his head to her breast, and he licked her through the lacy material, feeling her hard nipple against his tongue. She grabbed his face in her hands and brought his mouth to hers, then kissed him forcefully, sucking his tongue as if she were between his legs again. This time the moan came from his lungs, and when she reached for his hand and pressed it to the damp fabric between her legs, he thought he was going to lose it. She released his tongue, breathing heavily.

  “Touch me,” she commanded.

  Jesus, she was going to drive him right over the edge. “You little sex kitten, you.”

  “Make me purr.”

  He unhooked her bra and ripped it off, then took her breast in his mouth, roughly sucking one, then the other as she pressed the back of his head, urging him to take her harder, more aggressively. His hands found her hips, and he lifted her to the counter, searching her eyes, making sure they were still in sync. The smile that curved her lips told him everything he needed to know. He slid his fingers beneath the swatch of fabric that separated them and entered her, then massaged the sensitive nub that had her clawing at his shoulders.

  “Lick me.” She pushed his head down.

  He pulled her panties to the side and licked her slowly at first, then hungrily as she moaned and writhed, burying her fingers in his hair and guiding him to the pace she wanted. He felt her thighs tighten around him and he lifted his head and pulled her mouth to his, kissing her as she rode the wave of her climax, shuddering against him again and again, her insides pulsating around his fingers, her tongue licking her own juices from his. He had to make love to her. He drew back as the tiny pulses against his fingers slowed, and she panted against his chest.

  With her palms against his chest, she pushed her head back enough to look him in the eyes. She licked her lips and whispered, “Make love to me.”

  She gripped his biceps as he lifted her from the edge of the counter and wrapped her legs around his waist, then buried himself inside of her. Good Bradleyt, she was so wet and so hot, and the way she moved, clutching his arms for support, drawing herself up along his entire length, then burying him again, drove him closer to the edge. Then she was coming apart again, clawing at his shoulders and whimpering against his cheek. As much as he wanted to let himself go, he wanted to love her properly—in a bed, feeling her luscious curves beneath him. Still buried deep, he carried her into the bedroom, lowered her onto the bed, and made sweet love to her, slowly and lovingly. Caressing, tasting, touching every inch of Siena’s flesh and bringing her over the edge two more times before finally allowing himself to find his own earth-shattering release.

  Chapter Eighteen

  SIENA ZIPPED HER jeans and pulled a long-sleeve shirt over her head, listening to Cash in the bathroom, drying off from the bath they’d just shared.

  “I’m not usually the type of guy who’ll let you take advantage of him without at least taking me on a date, so don’t think I’m just here for the taking whenever you want,” he called into the bedroom.

  Siena peeked her head in the bathroom. “That’s what they all say.”

  He tied the towel around his waist and grabbed another one, then chased her around the bedroom, flicking her with it. “Oh yeah? So this is how you treat all your dates?” He paused. “Wait. Don’t answer that.”

  “I’ll never tell.”

  She laughed as she dodged the flick of the towel and jumped onto the bed. He threw the towel and tackled her, pinning her to the mattress as she giggled and wiggled beneath him.

  “Careful wiggling like that. You might get me all hot and bothered again.”

  She whipped the towel from around his waist with a burst of laughter, and he trapped her laughter in a sensuous kiss.

  “Now look what you’ve done.” He shifted his eyes to his erection.

  “Yeah, well, you’ll have to wait. I’m hungry.” She pushed him onto his side and wiggled her eyebrows. When she saw his eyes narrow, then widen with understanding, she whispered, “Whoa, dirty boy. I meant for real food.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she rose to her feet. She felt his hands encircle her waist as he tugged her back down to the bed.

  “You think you’re so funny.” He pressed a kiss to her lips and smiled down at her.

  “Well, not so funny, but clever,” she teased.

  “Okay, I’ll give you that.”

  The way he was looking at her, like he felt the same rush of emotions she’d felt from the moment she opened the door, stole her next breath. She ran her finger along the line of his jaw, unable to find the right words for what she was feeling. I love being with you. I wish you were always right here. Don’t move. Let’s just stay here forever.

  “What?” He searched her eyes.

  She shook her head, still unable to voice what she felt.

  He kissed her, a soft, tender press of his lips that asked for nothing more. “I’m going to get dressed so you don’t get any other dirty ideas.”

  She watched him move around the bed and leave the room to retrieve his clothes. Her heart squeezed in her chest. She’d never been so forward with a man before, and with Cash she had no hesitation. She had been ready for a nice night out, maybe to catch a movie or take a walk, but the minute she’d seen his smile and locked eyes with him, her need to be close to him was greater than any other need she’d ever felt.

  He came back into the bedroom fully dressed, running his hand through his hair; then he picked up the two towels and brought them into the bathroom. He moved comfortably, like he lived there, and she liked it. His cell phone vibrated, and he didn’t reach for it.

  “Aren’t you going to check it?” Siena rose to her feet, and he took her hand as they walked out of the bedroom.

  “You’re right here. Who else is important enough to interrupt our date?”

  “I don’t mind. What if it’s Vetta? Or work?”

  “I have a special ringtone for work. I guess it could be Vetta, but I visited her before I came here. She asked me if I was sweet on you.”

  Siena laughed and put her hands on his hips. “Are you?”

  “Maybe a little.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “She also said you soften me, whatever that means.”

  “Did she?” Siena pulled on a pair of leather boots, proud that Vetta had attributed a change in Cash to her being in his life. “I think I just bring out the softy that’s always buried deep inside you.”

  “No man wants the word softy linked to his name.” He shook his head.

  “Okay,” she whispered. “I won’t say it too loudly. What did you have planned for our date?”

  “It’s a surprise.” He crossed his arms.

  “I love surprises.”

  “I never realized I did until tonight.” He took her in his arms and narrowed his eyes. “Everything you do surprises me.”

  “I’m going to hope that’s a good thing.”

  “It is.” He glanced around her loft.

  Siena followed his gaze from the large windows to the substantial wooden dining room table pushed off to the side, across the floor to the kitchen, the bedroom, then back down the other wall.

  “What?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “Nothing. I hadn’t really taken in your place before. It’s very open, clean. The exposed brick walls are cool, and the wide-planked floors are great. I don’t think I’ve been in an apartment without walls before.”

  “It has walls.” She pointed to the bedroom. “There’s a wall between the kitc
hen and the bedroom, and the bathroom of course.”

  “I meant other walls. Most apartments have the rooms separated. You know, a kitchen, a living room, a dining room.” He grabbed her coat from a hook on the wall and helped Siena into it.

  “Yeah. I hate that. I like to see everything. When my family is over, we’re always moving between the kitchen and the table, and someone’s always sitting on the couch being lazy, and I like knowing I can see all of them at once.”

  “I would have figured you for a wall girl.”

  “Why?” She watched him put on his coat, which made him look even more muscular than he was. She felt her belly flutter when he reached for her hand.

  “Because you were pretty protective of yourself when we first met. You had a pretty thick wall around you.”

  “I did? Gosh, I think of myself as a pretty open person.” Did I have a wall around me? “You weren’t exactly Mr. Open yourself.”

  “Yeah. I know.” He pressed her hand to his lips. “But you make all my walls crumble.”

  “I’m not sure I ever knew I had walls around me until you said that. Do you still feel like I have walls around me?” She made a mental note to ask Willow about that.

  He pulled her close and smiled down at her. “Your walls didn’t stand a chance against my charm.”

  She saw the tease in his smile, but the shiver that ran through her told her he was absolutely right. He might be too gruff for some women, but for Siena, he was just perfect.

  “Now I have the very important job of making sure I’m worthy of your openness.”

  “The first part, that was cute. Let’s not lay it on too thick.” She grabbed her purse, catching a glimpse of the magazines on the coffee table. “Speaking of walls and worthy, you really didn’t see the pictures from the bookstore?”