by Cathryn Fox
Trent glanced around and searched for a place to take her, wanting to make it as comfortable as possible for her.
“Follow me.” With a naughty look on her face, she grabbed something from the cupboard, gripped his hand and led him to the small break room off the kitchen. She threw a pillow onto the floor, dropped to her knees in front of the floral sofa and crooked her finger.
He sucked in air. The sight of her bent over that couch and opening her body to him had his cock spasming with pleasure. “Katy, Jesus…”
He dropped down behind her and pushed his hand between her legs. “I don’t have any lubricant, sweetheart.”
“That’s what the almond oil is for,” she said as she handed him the bottle.
He groaned, took the bottle from her and poured a generous amount over her back. It dripped over her curves, and he couldn’t believe how sexy she looked as it seductively slid over her sweet ass. He spread his palms over her back and massaged the oil in. She moaned in bliss as he moved closer and closer to her back passage, taking his time to prepare her properly. He gently squeezed a finger inside, and when he met with tight walls, he asked, “Katy, sweetheart, is this a first?”
When she nodded, he exhaled slowly, determined to make this good for her, and loving how open and honest they could be with each other.
He put his mouth close to her ear, needing to claim her and put his mark on her in a way he’d never marked another.
“Me too.” The truth was he’d only ever wanted to take Katy this way, only ever needed to be one with her like this.
“T.” Her voice hitched as his admission seemed to do something to her. She reached around and locked her fingers with his. “Please, T. I want to feel you inside me.”
“You’re not ready for me yet, baby.” Trent wet his dry lips and spent a long time playing with her ass. He worked in one finger, and then two, until her body beckoned his and her passion flared hot. Attuned to her needs, he continued to lubricate her with the oil, to ensure she was completely ready for him.
He positioned his cock at her opening and she wiggled backwards. “Baby, if this hurts, let me know and I’ll stop.”
Trent took his time, entering her slowly and savoring every inch. When her fingers curled around the cushions and she gave a little yelp, he stopped. He kept still while she got used to the fullness and, wanting to give her pleasure, slipped a finger around her body and lightly brushed her clit until it filled with blood. Soon she was moaning, and when he gave a gentle thrust and pushed past her ringed opening, her body relaxed for him.
“That’s my girl,” he murmured, and gripped her hips for leverage.
She began moving with him, encouraging him, meeting and welcoming each thrust. Soon the two were rocking in sync, each giving and taking, and coming together in a beautiful new way—a way they’d only ever experienced with each other. That thought turned him inside out, and created a new closeness between them.
Trent slid his hands around her body and hugged her to him. Moisture sealed their flesh together as he rammed home. Her breathing changed, became erratic, and he brushed his finger over her clit to guide her along. As her muscles tightened and she came for him, he drove deep and stilled. Closing his eyes, he released himself inside her as every feeling he had for her pulsed through his body and rose to the surface.
He stayed inside her, lying over her body until his cock grew flaccid. When he finally pulled out, he dropped down beside her and pulled her to him for a long, soul-searching kiss.
A long time later he inched away and she smiled. He ran the back of his hand along her flushed cheek. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
The emotions in her eyes touched his soul and he could feel himself hardening again when she said, “Maybe a little,” she admitted honestly. “But I know you would never purposely hurt me.”
As his heart pounded in his chest, and emotions tore through him, Katy yawned. Trent chuckled and gave her a hug. “Am I keeping you up?” he asked.
She laughed and pointed downward. “No, but I think I might be keeping you up.”
He kissed her mouth and pitched his voice low. “I can’t get enough of you, baby.”
“Yeah, but maybe we should get out of here before we lose track of time and the breakfast crew arrives and finds us like this.”
Basking in the afterglow of great sex, Trent climbed to his feet and hauled Katy up with him. They made their way into the kitchen and went in search of their clothes.
Katy winked at him as she scooped up her pile. “When you said you wanted to cook in my kitchen, you weren’t kidding.” She gave a low sigh full of contentment then glanced at the mess. “But now I’m too spent to finish up here.”
“Want me to help?”
She pulled on her panties and jeans. “No. Leave it. I think I have my menu figured out anyway.”
“Katy about this menu, do you think it’s a little too…sophisticated for the townsfolk?”
She shrugged. “It’s the kind of food I prepare on the show.”
He treaded gingerly, not wanting to offend her, but always wanting to be honest with her. “I know, and as much as I love your show, sometimes I think your menu is a bit too complicated for the average Joe.” He rolled one shoulder and added, “Hey, there is something to be said for down-home cooking.”
She frowned, and mumbled under her breath, something about her viewership.
“What?” He tipped her chin to bring them eye to eye, and wondered why she suddenly seemed so distressed.
“Nothing,” she said. “It’s nothing.”
“Katy,” he pressed, wanting her to share everything with him.
“Come on. I’m anxious to get home, soak in a bubble bath and crawl into bed with my favorite firefighter.”
“You’d better be talking about me,” he teased.
Katy laughed, stepped away from him and pulled on her shirt while Trent finished getting dressed.
He held his hand out to her. “Come on, I’ll walk with you.”
“You want to be seen with me?”
“I’m sure as hell not going to let you face the wolves yourself.”
She smiled. “Firefighter and bodyguard,” she teased.
Once they were dressed, they slipped out the back and took the gravel path until it led to the main road. As soon as they surfaced, cameras were directed at them and microphones were shoved in their faces. Jesus, he hated being thrust into the spotlight like this. Deputy Veinotte controlled the reporters as Trent and Katy kept their heads down and hurried along the street. When they reached her cottage, Trent guided her along the lane, stopped at the door and ignored the questions being fired their way from the street.
“Aren’t you coming in?” Katy asked.
“Don’t want to sully your reputation, lassie.”
She angled her head and grinned. “So what, now you’re a pirate?”
He gave her a wink. “If you want me to be. I’m sure I can rustle up a costume.”
She laughed, went up on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his mouth. “I think I’ll stick to my fireman. He’s quite good at putting out fires and I don’t just mean the ones in my trash can.”
When her smile faded, he brushed his thumb along her mouth, knowing what was going through that pretty head of hers. “Don’t worry, Katy. You’re safe here. Brody said the noise was from loose shingles. I fixed them this afternoon.”
Her eyes widened, emotions passed over her face. “You did? Why?”
“Do you really need to ask?”
With that he bent and kissed her with all the love inside him. When she kissed him back, the press taking pictures from the end of her lane, he knew in his heart his Katy had found her way home.
Feeling alive for the first time in a long time, Trent couldn’t wipe the smile from his face. He turned to leave, knowing it was time to take their relationship to the next level. A plan began to formulate, and as he warmed to the idea, excitement rushed through his veins. From here on out,
when he wasn’t working, he was going to spend every moment with Katy, making love to her and proving over and over again just how good they were together before he moved forward with the rest of his agenda.
As he made his way back to the fire station, the paparazzi tight on his heels, he tried to ignore them. Except when someone hinted that Katy was back in town simply to create a buzz, and had found the perfect hero to help her become America’s sweetheart, he stopped in his tracks.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Trent demanded.
“Come on, Trent,” the reporter said. “Who doesn’t love a firefighter? A down-home boy respected by men and wanted by women. You’re exactly what Katy needs to draw interest and get her ratings back up.”
Trent fisted his hands and worked to keep his anger in check. He resisted the urge to hit the guy only because he didn’t want it to look bad on Katy. “Take a hike, pal.” Trent turned and reminded himself the guy was nothing more than the damned paparazzi trying to get a rise out of him.
“Yeah, well when the story breaks, we’ll see who’s going to be taking the hike and who’s going to be the one left behind.”
Trent’s stomach tightened as old, painful memories resurfaced. As he mulled over that worry, a seed of doubt blossomed inside him and his pulse kicked up a notch.
They had to be wrong. They just had to be. Katy said she had nothing to do with the media’s sudden appearance and he believed her. She was honest and caring and would never throw her small town into the spotlight for her own selfish reasons.
But as he walked back to the station, something began niggling in the back of his brain, something Katy had said that he couldn’t quite put his finger on…
Chapter Eight
Katy woke to the sound of seagulls squawking outside her window. She smiled as she recalled the last three days. She and Trent had hung out like old times, relaxing, chatting, cooking. They’d spent every spare moment they could together, sneaking around town, hiding from the paparazzi and making love every chance they could. Katy had never been happier in her life, not just because she and Trent had found each other again, but because of something Trent had said three nights ago when they’d made love at the restaurant, she’d finally figured out what she wanted to do about her contract.
After a restless night of thinking, tossing and turning, and planning for her future, Katy climbed from bed, dressed in her work wear and hurried to the restaurant. She’d scrapped her idea of introducing sophisticated gourmet food to the menu, thanks to Trent’s insight, and used the last few days to play with local recipes. As she glanced over the day’s menu, good old down-home cooking with a twist, she knew it was time to contact her station and put her plans into motion.
As excitement began building inside her, she jotted down a quick, bullet-point presentation, determined to prove to the network that she had what it took to increase ratings. It was time to put in a call and get the contract back on the table. Then, once it was signed, she needed to talk to Trent about what their futures held.
After her quick, succinct presentation, the network agreed to her idea, and immediately faxed the contract for her signature. Katy spent the rest of the day desperately trying to focus on her work. The day flew by far too slowly for her liking and she counted down the minutes until she could see Trent, to tell him about her newly signed contract and her exciting new ideas.
Katy couldn’t help but think things couldn’t have worked out better for her. She and Trent had found each other again, had put the past behind them, and she now knew where her career was headed. All day she’d been bursting to tell someone, but she wanted Trent to be the first to hear it.
After the dinner rush hour, she slipped out the back entrance and cut along the gravel path to avoid the cameras. She came upon Trent’s big old Victorian house and her heart tightened as she stood back to look at it. He’d painted it red, changing it back to its original color, a color once used to help the fishermen find their way home in the fog. Had he done that on purpose? To help her find her way back to him? Katy swallowed the lump in her throat and choked back the tears as love rushed to her heart.
As she climbed the stairs, she thought about all the times they’d driven by this particular place when they were young, idealistic teens. Katy loved the old home, had dreamed about buying it with Trent and filling it with kids. They used to talk long into the night about it, excited by the prospect of a future together. But then she’d grown up, and decided she needed to experience more.
When she reached the landing, she knocked on the front door. When no response came, she checked her watch. Trent wasn’t supposed to be on duty tonight. Thinking he might have been called in for an extra shift, Katy hurried to the firehouse and met with Adam. She found him out back shooting hoops by himself.
Still dressed in her work clothes, Katy brushed the moisture from her forehead, and leaned against the brick wall. “Hey, Adam, have you seen Trent?”
Shirtless, Adam took a shot, pushed his hair from his face and met her gaze straight on. “What do you want him for?”
Katy stepped back, surprised by the hardness in his tone. “I need to tell him something.”
The ball came bouncing back and Adam picked it up and braced it under his arm. He angled his head and glared at her. “Haven’t you done enough already, Kathleen?”
Katy swallowed, a nervous sensation moving through her. “What are you talking about, Adam?”
Adam shook his head and grunted. “I thought you said you weren’t going to start something you couldn’t finish.”
“I didn’t.”
“Oh no?”
“No. I love him, Adam,” she admitted, ready to tell the world how she felt.
He studied her for a moment, then his face softened slightly when he said, “Well you sure have a funny way of showing it.”
“Where is he?” she demanded, her knees feeling a little rubbery beneath her.
He gave a long sigh. “I don’t know. He seemed out of sorts and tore out of town earlier. I haven’t been able to get ahold of him.”
As Katy thought through the events of the last few days, she couldn’t deny that there were moments where Trent had seemed a bit distracted. She chalked up his distraction to his concerns over the town’s new arsonist, but now she was beginning to wonder if it had something to do with her.
Feeling numb and confused, Katy turned from Adam and made her way back to her cottage, only to find Granddaddy Errol standing on her front porch. He looked guilty about something and more than a little concerned. That was when she noticed the reporters on the street. She’d been so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t noticed how antsy and excited they’d become. Deputy Veinotte had to employ the help of a few more men to keep them in line.
“What?” she asked when her gaze locked on Errol’s.
“You’d better come inside, lassie.”
Her grandfather led her to the sofa and told her to have a seat while he flicked on the news. Katy felt the color drain from her face as she listened to the perky blonde reporter state that Kathleen Wilson’s return to Whispering Cove was simply a marketing ploy.
After all, who didn’t love a juicy story about young love, especially when the male lead was a heroic firefighter? She then went on to report that with Kathleen’s ratings dropping, speculation was that she and her publicist had planned the whole event, and now with the public’s interest piqued, every network wanted a piece of Kathleen Wilson. The reporter then announced that Kathleen had, in fact, renewed her contract.
“Oh no,” she put her hand over her mouth, thinking how quickly the word had spread, and before she could talk to Trent. “Trent must have seen this.”
“Everyone’s seen it. But Trent heard about it the other day. Apparently some reporter tipped him off. Told him you were using him. I overheard the whole thing.”
Katy’s jaw dropped. “He never said anything.”
But that must have been why he’d been so distracted. Her stomach
knotted and she couldn’t help but wonder if, now that an official statement had been made, he’d torn out of town so he could leave her before she had a chance to leave him. Again.
“I didn’t mean for it to go down like this, Katy.”
She turned her head to see Errol. “What are you talking about?”
“I tipped off the reporters.”
Katy jumped to her feet. “You did what?”
“Thought it might help you see who really cared about you.” He looked so sad and remorseful, Katy’s heart went out to him. He gave her a sheepish look. “I’m old, Katy. Sometimes my ideas aren’t so well thought out.”
“Business wasn’t really down at the Seafarer either, was it?”
He shook his head. “Nah, just wanted to get you home, lassie. Just wanted to show you where you belong.”
Honestly, she couldn’t fault her granddaddy for that. He loved her, cared about her and wanted only what was best for her.
Like Trent.
“The fires?” she asked
“Yup,” he admitted. “I was responsible for them too.”
Katy shook her head in dismay. “Don’t you understand the danger involved? You could have…”
Her granddaddy cut her off. “You were never in any danger, Katy. Not with Trent looking out for you. Besides, Adam was in on it with me.”
“Adam?”
“Yeah, he wanted you two together as much as me. Hell, the whole town knows you two belong together.” He gave a long, heavy sigh. “Dammit, girl, you’re the only one who doesn’t know where you belong.”
Emotions swelled inside her. “I know where I belong,” she said softly.
Just then her door flung open and she turned to see Trent standing there, his eyes were dark and stormy, his mouth tight, set in a fine line. The torment on his face tore at her heart. He looked so lost, so vulnerable, so much like he had ten years ago when she told him she was leaving town.
“And where might that be, Katy?” he asked.
When Katy didn’t answer, Trent stepped through the door. “Well, where might that be?” he asked again.
