Up in Flames (Firehouse Three Book 1)

by Sidney Bristol

  Jesse had only seen the oiled-up exterior, the sexy smile, because that was what he presented to the world. He wore that face for others, just like she hid behind her boots, hardhat and dogs. They were both more than what they appeared.

  She wanted to throttle his parents and the women before her, for what they’d made Hunter into. Yes, she was guilty of falling into bed with him for the wrong reasons, to scratch an itch, but he was so much more than that.

  Hunter kissed the top of her head.

  He thought that was the end of it, but it wasn’t.

  One way or another, she was going to show him he mattered.

  14.

  Jesse peered into the bedroom, holding her breath. That was the last time she tried to ignore Sirius’ morning antics. She’d assumed his gnawing on her foot meant he was bored. Not that he was about to pee all over the bed and Hunter.

  The mattress was stripped down and the wee-wee proof cover gone.

  She tiptoed into the bathroom, already thick with steam. Though most of the barn apartment was purely functional, she’d splurged on the bathroom. Soaker tub. Glass shower. Double vanity. It wasn’t fancy, but it was more than she needed. Usually.

  With Hunter around though, it didn’t seem like there was enough space.

  She swallowed, fully aware she was staring. The glass, foggy and covered in water droplets, only gave the impression of his body, but her memory supplied the rest.

  He was never going to speak to her again.

  What guy would after her dog peed on him?

  Good grief. This was her life.

  “Hunter?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m so sorry. I—”

  He opened the shower, hair slicked over his brow and her mouth dried up.

  She’d been speaking? Words were a thing?

  Hunter leaned out and grasped her by the hand, pulling her into the shower.

  “Wait—Hunter!” She squealed and tried to jump out, but the warm water had already soaked his shirt.

  He pressed her up against the cold glass with his hot body. His mouth covered hers, silencing the protest. His tongue licked at her lips, teasing her.

  It was too hot in here. Between the steam, water and the man, her brain was scrambled.

  She was wearing clothes. In the shower.

  But who cared when he did—

  Oh, God.

  Jesse gasped and tightened her hold on his shoulders. Hunter cupped her mound, his fingers massaging her through the thin fabric.

  “You know what I was dreaming about?” He pressed his hips against her. His erection prodded her abdomen.

  “W—what?” She panted for breath despite the way her body heated.

  “That skirt again. Flipping it up…” He slid his hand along the hem of her panties, then past the fabric, running his fingers over her folds. All the while, he stared at her, his gaze boring holes in her skull. There was no hiding from a look like that.

  She could still recall, in great detail, how he’d put her on the dresser and proceeded to drive her crazy. It wasn’t a bad moment to relive, as opposed to dog pee. She’d take the dress any day, even if she looked ridiculous. Hunter had dreamed about her. That meant something, didn’t it?

  His fingers stroked her, back and forth, easy touches. She bit her lip and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. As if that would protect her, shield her in some way from his soul-deep gaze.

  “I want to be inside you,” Hunter whispered, his lips caressing her cheek.

  Jesse swallowed. More than the words, it was how he said them. Needy. Rough. A touch of teasing. He knew her inhibitions, and he wanted to play with them.

  “Do you want me, Jesse?”

  She nodded.

  “Tell me.” He kissed her cheek and his hand stilled between her legs.

  “I—I want you.” Her throat constricted, making the words forced, but she got them out.

  “You sure about that?” He curled his fingers, pressing closer.

  “Yes!”

  “Making sure.” He chuckled and kissed her lips.

  Hunter stepped back, only to grasp the panties and tug them down her hips. He let them go and they hit the tile with a wet slap. His shirt molded to her body, no barrier at all.

  “I’m just going to touch you.” He slid his hand up her chest, cupping her breast.

  “I…like your hands.” She tried to relax, but her body was too hot. Too tight.

  “Yeah?” One side of his mouth kicked up.

  “Yes.” She tried to ignore the way her cheeks burned. It was the truth. A simple, revealing statement another woman might make boldly. Tell him what to do with his hands. But that wasn’t her. She could still try.

  “I like touching you.” He braced his forearm against the glass, his hand stroking her nipples, toying with them. “You like it when I do this.”

  He squeezed her breast, not hard, but enough.

  “Y-yes.”

  “You suck your cheeks in when you like something.”

  “I-I do?” That damn stutter!

  “Yeah.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Just look at me. You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.”

  “But…”

  Hunter grabbed the hem of the shirt and peeled it up and off of her. A chill raced up her body, followed by waves of heat. He dropped the shirt on the wide bench, never once looking away from her.

  “That’a girl.” He cupped her cheek and kissed her, his tongue delving into her mouth.

  What had he told her?

  Do what feels good.

  She wanted him to feel good, too.

  He pushed his hand back between her legs, but this time there was no gentleness to the touch. It was bold. Possessive. He slid his fingers along her slit and she shifted her hips.

  “Here?” he whispered against her mouth.

  Jesse groaned.

  Hunter thrust his fingers inside her, eased by the water and her arousal. He wedged his knee between her legs and kissed her neck, her face, her mouth. She moved with him, rubbing against his palm with each thrust.

  It felt better than good.

  “Fuck, it’s hot when you’re turned on, Jesse.” He grabbed her by the hair, bending her head back a bit.

  She needed him.

  Right now.

  In a way that went deeper than pleasure. She had to have him. It defied logic or reason. It was simply a truth. Hunter recognized her. He saw her. They knew each other because they were the same kind of broken, different souls, and they completed one another.

  “You’re going to—”

  Jesse gasped, caught unaware by the tidal wave of pleasure.

  “—come.”

  Her vision blurred and she dug her nails into Hunter’s skin, holding on for dear life. Her body rippled, coming apart at the seams and snapping back together, only this time there was a Hunter-shaped-hole in her chest.

  “Easy!” Hunter caught her under the arm with one hand.

  Her nerve endings sizzled and she hissed as he pulled free, scooping her up to sit on the bench.

  She’d often joked about her knees going weak, but this was a serious first. The room was spinning a little, her whole body tingled and her heart…it…felt funny. Different.

  “You okay?” Hunter knelt in front of her.

  She wasn’t sure how he got there, only that—she needed him.

  Jesse dug her hands into his hair and pulled him to her. She didn’t have words for this sudden, intense passion, so she put it into the kiss. Drinking him in, tangling their tongues.

  Hunter grasped her hips and pulled her ass to the very edge of the bench, his big body between her thighs.

  Was this what other women talked about? Passionate love making that left you addlebrained and crazy?

  He cupped her mound again.

  The touch was so intense, it felt like a jolt of electricity right to her nerves.

  She yelped and wiggled her hips out of his grasp.

  “Easy
! Easy. What’s wrong?”

  “Not good.” She twisted to the side. “That did not feel good.”

  “Did I hurt you?” He frowned, oh so serious.

  “No, just—too sensitive.”

  His mouth worked for a second, his brows drawing down.

  “Oh,” he finally said.

  Her body continued to…resonate. It was as if all of her cells were vibrating at once, sexually charged with feeling.

  “Well, okay then.” Hunter braced his hands on the bench and stood slowly.

  She wanted him to feel as she did, but it was too much. Too soon. Her clit still felt swollen, throbbing with each pulse of her heart.

  “Hunter…”

  “Don’t worry about it.” He smiled at her, but couldn’t hide the disappointment.

  Jesse pushed up right and her knees held, though for a second it was a little iffy. She reached for him and he caught her hand in his, bringing it to his lips.

  “Can I…do…something?” she asked.

  “Anything you want to.”

  “What…feels good?” She wanted to die on the spot just asking that, but if he could do it, so could she.

  “I’m pretty easy to please.” He tugged her closer, the hot spray of the water hitting them both now.

  Ho-boy.

  She could do this.

  He made it look so easy.

  “Show me?” she asked.

  Hunter’s gaze went sharp. Predatory again.

  “Give me your hand,” he said.

  She swallowed and held out her hand. He grasped her palm in his fingers, then finally looked down. The oxygen rushed back into her lungs, but only for a moment. She followed his gaze, down to the proud jut of his cock. It lay against her hip, red, needy, aroused.

  He guided her, showing her how to grasp him, urging her fingers tighter.

  “Like that.” He peered at her and she nearly wanted to die.

  But not yet.

  Not until she’d mastered this.

  She stroked him, root to tip and back again, just a bit tighter than she’d have thought. He rocked his hips, pushing into her grasp.

  “Does that…is that, right?” Her luck, she was the only woman alive who had to ask these questions. If she couldn’t ask Hunter, there wasn’t a man alive she could ask.

  “Yeah.” The one word was forced. A little like she felt trying to talk.

  She glanced up, and caught him staring at her.

  His need stared back at her.

  This was what he meant. When he said her cheeks sank in, this was what he looked like when…when he wanted her. When he was aroused because of her.

  She wanted to…to do something for him. Help him. Make him come. To feel as she did.

  Hunter was going to blow his load after a thirty-second hand job.

  It wasn’t her touch, it was the way she looked at him.

  Like a starving creature, as though he were the only thing she wanted.

  Jesse stared up at him, her open, innocent gaze searching his face. Probably looking for some shred of humanity.

  Fuck.

  “Stay right there,” Jesse said slowly.

  If she were smart, she’d walk out of this shower right now and lock the bathroom door. He…wanted her. As badly as his next breath. This was crazy.

  Jesse placed on hand on his hip and bent, going to her knees.

  Oh, hell…

  His mouth dried up and his vision tunneled.

  No way… She was too shy, too hesitant, too—

  Her hand wrapped round his cock.

  All thought ceased.

  What would she do next?

  He was fascinated by the way water droplets slid down her brow to her cheek, the water glistening off her breasts.

  Jesse leaned forward.

  He was dreaming…

  He had to be…

  Her lips wrapped around the head of his cock and he shuddered at the feel of her hot mouth on his skin. His hands shook. He pushed her hair back, the better to see her face. She peered up at him, her tongue flicking over him. Little touches, as though she were investigating.

  God damn.

  “Oh—God—Jesse—”

  He should tell her she didn’t have to, but the words wouldn’t come out. He was a greedy bastard, and he’d take whatever she gave him.

  She grasped his shaft, like he’d shown her, and slid her lips further down.

  Hunter meant to say words, something intelligible, but all that came out was a moan. He braced his hand against the glass to keep from losing his balance.

  Jesse’s motions were a little awkward. Unsure. But she was trying. And that—more than an expert touch—was the hottest thing ever. She trusted him.

  He gathered her hair into his fist, squeezing the wet strands to keep from taking control.

  His cock slid deep between her lips. The sight of her, the feel of her mouth—that was the best. He had to move. Something.

  “Tell me if it’s too hard?” He tugged on her hair until she glanced up at him, her cheeks rosy.

  Hunter pumped his hips, slowly. Careful. Mindful that this might very well be her first time. She stopped him a few times, shifting her grasp, moving a little, but after a moment she seemed to find her rhythm.

  Jesse’s hand at his hip slid down, her nails raking his skin. She sucked, her cheeks drawn in and he sputtered curses, words that had her cheeks blushing a deep, dark crimson, but she didn’t stop. She just peered up through her lashes, watching him the same way he’d watched her, learning his body.

  Had a woman ever done that?

  Paid attention to what he liked?

  Yeah, some did, but it was usually as a prequel to what they wanted.

  This though? With Jesse? Was all about him. It went deeper than an orgasm, than a few moments of pleasure. It was about connection, and being with her.

  “Oh—fuck. Jesse—Jess!”

  Hunter pulled out of her mouth roughly and covered her hand on his cock with his own. He clenched around her fingers, guiding her hand. He felt the first prickles along his spine. His hips jerked and he groaned. Seed spilled out over their fingers, washed away almost immediately by the shower.

  He hung his head forward, braced against the glass, and sucked down big lungfuls of air.

  Jesse remained kneeling, her head against his hip, their fingers entwined.

  She was special.

  He sat on the bench and pulled her up into his lap, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

  Somehow, he had to figure out how to convince her he was worth keeping, because he needed her.

  Oscar’s arms shook and his hands were so slick with sweat the phone nearly slid out of his grasp. They wanted him…to do what? He blew out a breath.

  He’d gotten them explosives. A van. Advised on how to make the damn bomb. Wasn’t that enough? He’d done his part.

  “Oscar,” Terry snapped. “We need more.”

  “There isn’t any more.” He turned toward the window and peered out at the street. Tomorrow…who knew what would happen?

  “Find more. We need you to work on the device.”

  “It’s not that easy. You can’t get more that fast.” Oscar paced the empty house into the kitchen. Maybe if he had a different partner, maybe if they had other sources he could get more, but he couldn’t. There wasn’t any more. “We agreed, I got the stuff and you guys—”

  “Your kids must not matter that much to you if you aren’t willing to step up.”

  “That’s not true.” Oscar clenched his hands into fists.

  “If they matter, if you want to get them back from your cheating wife, then we need you to help us help you. That’s all I’m trying to do here, Oscar.”

  He squeezed his eyes shut. They’d brought the hotel down. The next few days would be spent checking the site over and creating a plan to clear the area. He had some cushion, and some time off. He could use it, though it would only bring up questions.

  “Fine. Okay. I can h
elp some, but I don’t work with explosives.”

  “You know more than we do, Oscar. You’re going to be a hero. I’ll get Ben to fill you in on where to be and when.”

  “Yeah.” He closed his eyes and groaned inwardly. Ben. Again.

  “Just make sure you get more explosives. I’ve got to go.”

  “You don’t…hello?”

  He glanced at the phone screen. The call was gone.

  Damn it, Terry.

  Jesse had used every bit of the explosives for the demo. She wouldn’t order more, not for a while. Hell, she wouldn’t even be around until they needed to bring something else down.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  What was he going to do? Their window of opportunity was gone.

  If he didn’t do his part, if he couldn’t get the C4, then what? He could supplement the C4 with other accelerant, but he wasn’t an expert.

  He paused at the fridge, staring at a crayon drawing his daughter had made. The flowers were sad, rain fell from dark clouds. His soon-to-be-ex-wife had pointed at it as an indicator of where their relationship was, why he was toxic for them. His own family. His precious children.

  He’d figure it out, because in the end, it was always up to him.

  15.

  Jesse held onto Hunter’s hand as he practically dragged her down the street toward Cafe Brazil, one of a popular chain of restaurants in the area. She’d rather be at home in bed or with the dogs than doing this, but it was necessary. At least Hunter was there with her.

  She glanced at him, then away before he caught her staring. Her body was still hyper-sensitive from the shower. They hadn’t talked about it, but it was coming. She could see it in the way Hunter looked at her when she wasn’t watching. What was she going to say?

  I think I’m falling I love with you.

  That was crazy.

  Complete and total bullshit.

  And yet…she was.

  He held the door for her. Arthur waited for them inside, leaning against the display case of cakes, a thick folder of stuff under his arm. He was in slacks and a polo shirt, his badge nowhere in sight.

  Hunter had mentioned Arthur watching the demo last night.

  Why?

  Who did he suspect?

  “Morning. Thanks for meeting with me.” His smile was pleasant, but his eyes were tired. They all could have used a bit more sleep.