Blaze: A Firefighter Romance

by Lisa Lace

  I knew Montana would never have looked at me like that. She would have agreed with me. I always selected a particular type. Genial, agreeable, wanting to please...that sort of woman. Not the kind to openly challenge me and push my buttons.

  I decided to start over. “Please allow me to rephrase myself. I don’t know how long we have. I’m not that smart, and I would like a clear explanation.”

  “The Silver Mestolo. It’s a word in an ancient Earth language that means ladle. The first woman who discovered its existence was a famous archeologist from Earth named Zelia. It’s made from filaden, one of the strongest elements in the galaxy. Even if you dropped a spaceship on it, the Mestolo wouldn’t be crushed.” She trailed off when she saw the look on my face.

  “It’s a serving instrument. I get it. But why does everyone want it?”

  “Morley believed it could cure any disease. It contains a large concentration of Higgs boson particles. On Earth, we think Higgs boson particles are the source of matter and life.”

  It took everything within me not to smile. This human was talking about Higgs boson particles like they were the first ones to discover them. The commonly accepted name for them was Trovveqs.

  Emmy mentioning Trovveqs meant she was highly educated...for an Earth woman. I wondered how intelligent she was. She was much different than I had imagined Montana. I had anticipated conversations about riding and making small talk with my wife, not speaking about physics.

  “The Zelia's ladle has a higher concentration of these particles, and the theory is that it can enhance the life of anyone who drinks from it,” she finished. “It may be able to heal patients previously thought to be incurable.”

  My mind was only partially listening to her words. The other half contemplated Emmy’s education. Even though she came from a primitive planet like Earth, apparently she was one of its most highly educated inhabitants.

  I had old feelings of inadequacy from when my aunt repeatedly told me I was stupid. I couldn’t help it. Whenever I found myself around people smarter than me, I felt like an idiot. I tried to focus on what Emmy was saying, but I had a terrible feeling in my gut.

  At the same time, I fixated on her soft, pink lips. Perhaps if I kissed her, she’d stop talking about Higgs boson particles and bringing up my old issues. But I couldn’t kiss her because I wasn’t going to get involved with her.

  What kind of guy couldn’t handle having a woman who was smarter than him? A pathetic one.

  EMMY

  I tried to ignore how close Ven was to my body. I knew I owed him an explanation. I couldn’t sum up everything in three sentences. He was getting annoyed with my vague statements. I had to start at the beginning, or the motivations of the people involved would be confusing.

  His arm was touching me, and I could feel warmth and tingles at the point of contact. When I was this close to him, I couldn’t deny the attraction. In fact, I could hardly focus on my story. Energy rose in my torso and spread out, making me feel giddy. I forced myself to concentrate on how I had ended up here.

  “Everything started when I was still a little girl. My mentor and teacher, Morley, began searching for Zelia's ladle. He had been searching for it for about twenty-two years when I met him. I was a graduate student in archeology at the top of my class.”

  Ven wrinkled his nose. I realized I probably didn't need to add the part about being the best.

  “He hired me to work with him when I finished school. I started as an assistant and worked my way up.”

  “Because you both became obsessed with a utensil?”

  I scowled. “We weren’t obsessed,” I said, objecting to a word that implied I was nuts. “We were enthusiastic.”

  He stared at me.

  “Persistent?”

  No response.

  “Okay, driven. But not obsessed.”

  “You sound like treasure hunters to me.”

  I pressed my lips together. That was the most insulting thing he could have said to me. I didn’t like to be called a treasure hunter. It made me feel gauche. Treasure hunters were classless money-grubbing jerks. I thought of myself as a sophisticated archeologist. With a single comment, Ven had implied that Morley’s work was an obsession, and my assistance said the same thing about me.

  I resolved to control my temper.

  “Morley pieced together many clues about the ladle. He worked on it between paying projects until he had enough information to start an expedition. We were close. We narrowed it down to a single planet and thought a mountain concealed it. I got sick and had to go back to Earth. Morley continued without me.”

  I glanced up at him quickly. Did he think I was a coward? I wondered if he had anything to say but he only lifted his chin, indicating for me to continue.

  “Once I had recovered enough to speak again, we talked every day. We discussed his progress and tried to decipher the riddle of Zelia's ladle. One day was different.”

  I didn’t think about Morley's death often, but whenever I did, I choked up. I tried to pull myself together. I knew Morley wouldn’t want me crying over him. I couldn’t help it. I missed him so much.

  “He was a father figure to me. I never knew my dad.” I didn’t know why I needed to explain my emotions, but I couldn’t stop talking. Ven patiently waited as I wiped my eyes.

  “He called me one day with a cryptic message and then the men who were chasing him...” The tears were falling again. “They caused a cave-in somehow and killed him. I never heard from Morley again. Morley died, and all his knowledge vanished.”

  I sat silently, absorbed in my memories and thinking about my loss. I wasn’t the only one affected. Morley’s death hurt the archeological community as well.

  “Everything wasn’t lost. You’re still here. Part of Morley lives through you.”

  I stared at the floor. “That’s right.” I lifted my eyes again. “The last transmission he sent me held a key to finding the ladle. It has something to do with the Stone Goddess of Heralla.”

  “And you want to get it?” His tone sounded condescending.

  “I don’t want to. I’m going to. Morley entrusted me with information that could find the artifact and save descendants of the Great Race all across the galaxy. Nothing’s going to stand in my way.”

  “Do you think an old ladle is going to save people?” He looked at me like I was nuts. “Let me guess. It makes a magic soup.”

  I tried to explain patiently, remembering that everyone didn’t have the same knowledge I did.

  “Sort of. There is supposed to be an abnormally high concentration of Higgs-Boson particles in the ladle's metal. Legends say it can cure almost any ailment.”

  “Really.” He looked skeptical.

  “Yes. That’s why Morley was interested in it. He wanted the ladle for his brother who had an incurable disease. Medical science has made fantastic advances, but there are still neurological diseases that our doctors can’t cure. Even if Zelia's ladle can’t fix everything, it should provide medical researchers with fresh ideas.”

  “If what you’re saying is true, it would be amazing.”

  “I know. Morley knew this brother would eventually become a vegetable if he didn’t find it. His brother was the most important person in the world to him, even after they had a falling out.”

  “That must have been difficult.”

  “I don’t know much about it, to tell you the truth. Morley rarely spoke about his brother. I knew he was hurt, but even after whatever happened, Morley still wanted to find the ladle.”

  “So who were the guys chasing after him? Am I right in assuming they’re the same men who were trying to take you?”

  I nodded. “Those were Abel’s men. He’s another person looking for Zelia’s ladle. He’ll do almost anything to get it.”

  “Who’s Abel?” Ven looked confused again.

  “Abel wants to keep the silver Zelia's ladle and keep it for himself. He’s the one who sent the men to me. There’s one more thing.” I hesita
ted, bitterness filling my heart as I remembered.

  “He killed Morley.”

  Chapter Eleven

  EMMY

  The sound of voices outside the space shuttle made my stomach flip. I held my breath until they moved away.

  Ven shook his head. I wondered if he was troubled by my story, or if he didn’t believe anything I was saying.

  “He killed Morley?”

  “At the minimum, he indirectly caused Morley’s death.” I was beginning to feeling defensive. “It was as good as killing him. He was the one who gave the order to use explosives and empty the tunnel. It destabilized the area, resulting in a cave-in around the section Morley was searching.”

  I closed my eyes, feeling silent tears beginning to drip down my cheeks. It still hurt. I missed him. My heart ached for the man who had been more of a father to me than my genetic parent, who had abandoned me.

  I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I jumped when I felt Ven put his arms around me and pull me close to him. I let out a shuddering sigh.

  Why did everything seem less horrible when he had his arms around me? It didn’t make sense.

  I wrapped my arms around him, his comforting presence giving me permission to unleash all the feelings I had held back ever since Morley died. I sobbed until my heartache went away.

  When I recovered, I was soaking an alien I hardly knew with my tears. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” He held on and wasn’t letting go.

  “I’m not in the habit of crying on the shoulders of strangers, Ven.”

  I broke off what I was saying when he put his hand under my chin and forced my face up. What I saw on his face made me freeze with my whole body at attention.

  “You don’t have to be sorry.” He was searching my eyes for something. I don’t know what he found, but a heartbeat later, he leaned down, and I experienced my first real kiss.

  A quick peck in the bathroom at a childhood birthday party didn’t count. Kissing Christopher had been like giving mouth-to-mouth to a snake. I had only done it because I thought he wanted me to, not because I enjoyed it.

  This was different.

  The feeling of his lips touching mine took my breath away while simultaneously setting off fireworks in my body. I forgot that I didn’t want a man. I forgot that I had to focus on my goal. I think I even forgot my name.

  I held him tighter, making a little sound in the back of my throat and opening my mouth so that our tongues could touch.

  How could something that sounded so weird be this amazing?

  His arms were roaming over my back and found the hem of my shirt. I felt his hot palms slipping underneath my clothes and lightly grazing the skin of my torso. I practically passed out from the pleasure of his touch. I didn’t think the kiss could get any hotter and yet somehow it did.

  But when his hands moved up and one brushed the side of my breasts, making me shudder, I realized what I was doing.

  “Ven.” I pulled away as I gasped his name.

  “What?” He closed his eyes, as if in pain. He put his hand to his forehead and started to rub it. I noticed that he had two thin purple stripes on the back of his right hand, almost like a cat had clawed him. “I know. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have. Isn’t there a no-sex clause?”

  He opened his eyes and looked at me in amusement. “We weren’t having sex. At least, that’s not what they call it on my planet.”

  “No, but kissing leads to sex. Everyone knows what happens when you start kissing, pretty soon you’re naked and things start happening.”

  “I do know.” The look in his eyes made me melt again. That made one of us. I blushed.

  “I’m not going to lie, Emmy. I’d like to see you naked.”

  I felt my eyes widen, and there was a gush of wetness between my legs. Was that normal? I knew nothing about sex. I would have to read up on the subject.

  I wasn’t going to have sex with Ven, was I?

  “That would definitely lead to sex. We’re not having sex because our marriage is barely legal.”

  “No?” he asked, his eyes smoldering. He flipped over my forearm and ran his finger along my skin, revealing the embedded marriage certificate. His touch made me shiver. “This looks pretty real to me.”

  “You know what I mean, Ven.”

  “If you don’t want to have sex with me, you don’t have to. That’s one of the stipulations in the contract.”

  “I know that. It’s not that I don’t want to…”

  “So you do want to have sex with me. What’s the problem?”

  I pressed my lips together and huffed out my breath, staring at the ceiling in embarrassment. I had to admit to myself that my body seemed ready to participate. But my mind told me that I was smarter than that.

  Besides, he wouldn’t want someone inexperienced like me.

  He studied me for a long moment and he must have read my mind. He spoke his next words in an incredulous tone of voice.

  “Wait a second, Emmy. Are you still a maiden?”

  “A maiden?” I frowned, then understanding dawned on my face. “Oh, you mean a virgin?” My cheeks were burning up.

  “How old are you?” He flipped my arm over again to check my birth date on the marriage certificate. I pulled away, but not before he starts doing the calculation in his head. “Wow!”

  “Shut up,” I said. “I never planned on getting married. I don’t want a man.”

  “Oh, so you like girls?” Now it was his turn to blush.

  “A lesbian? No.” I was frustrated that I couldn’t articulate what I meant. He had me flustered after the kiss.

  “That’s a relief.”

  “Would there be something wrong if I were?” I asked, taking offense on behalf of lesbians everywhere.

  “Of course not. The kiss felt like you were extremely interested, that’s all. I would be an idiot if I couldn’t tell a woman’s interest in me.”

  “I’m interested,” I muttered. “I just don’t want to be.”

  “You’re attracted to me, but you don’t want to be? What the hell does that mean? I thought Earth women would be less confusing than the women on my planet.”

  “I think women are the same everywhere. It’s nothing personal, but I don’t need a man to be happy. I don’t want the complications that come with a relationship, okay? I like you well enough. It’s not that. And you’re…”

  “What?”

  I shrugged. “Hot. But I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to get involved sexually.”

  “I agree.” He still looked put out.

  “You do?” I was taken aback by his sudden acceptance.

  “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that. I apologize. If you want me in your bed, Emmy, you’ll have to make the first move. From now on, we’re totally platonic.”

  He looked like he was annoyed with the whole situation, or maybe only with himself for getting carried away. I had no idea why he was irritated, but something was bothering him.

  “You’re not my type, anyway,” he added, almost to himself.

  It felt like a slap in the face, but I remembered the appearance of the woman with whom I traded tickets in the spaceport. She had been tall, thin, and blonde…nothing like me. If she was his type, then I probably wasn’t.

  “You’re not my type either. I suppose we’re done with this nonsense then.”

  He nodded curtly and stood up. The sound of his boots on the metal floor of the ship hollowly echoed as he moved away from me. I didn’t know where he was going, and I didn’t care. I just wanted to be somewhere else.

  I rose and walked in the opposite direction, going to look at the window. My feelings were stupid. I didn’t know this guy. It was impossible that he could have hurt my feelings by rejecting me, especially when I didn’t want to have sex with him either.

  He hadn’t said anything about fucking. Apparently he wanted to see me naked. But I wasn’t his type, and he wasn’t my type.
It was going to be a purely platonic relationship, which was fine by me. I didn’t need the complications Ven would bring to my life.

  But if that was all true, then why did I feel disappointed?

  VEN

  My head felt like it might explode. My cock, too. This woman was driving me crazy. All I wanted was to learn why those guys were chasing her. Instead, I got a tutorial on the history of the Silver Mestolo of Zelia and the story of Emmy’s whole life.

  I don’t know what made me put my arms around her. It was a mistake. And yet, when I thought about it again, it hadn’t felt like a mistake. It felt good. Like I had been missing something all my life.

  Is that feeling why Pan always went home to Jalla instead of staying for one more beer at the bar? I had always thought he was whipped. Now I suspected it was something else, an elusive feeling that you couldn’t find hanging out with your friends.

  It was a sense of rightness that penetrated to my bones. The idea that as long as she was with me, nothing was as bad as I imagined. I thought I could hold her and take away her pain. Is this what made happily married guys abandon the fun of one-night stands and the free life of a bachelor?

  I had only met Emmy recently. We didn’t even know each other. Why had I let her cry on my shoulder? More importantly, why hadn’t it felt awkward? If any other woman had cried on me, I would have run as far as I could to get away, no matter who was waiting outside.

  At the time, I didn’t want to run. I had wanted to kiss her tears away and make love to her until she forgot her aching heart and cried out my name.

  “Holy fuck,” I said out loud, surprised by my thoughts. Had this woman put a spell on me? I was not interested in falling in love. Ever since the love of my life left me five years ago, I had managed to keep all the women I slept with at arm’s length, never dating them long enough to form a connection.

  How had Emmy snuck into my heart already?

  I pressed my hands against the wall of the ship and touched my forehead to the cool metal, trying to make sense of all the emotions that were churning inside of me.

  I would keep her away just like all the other women. Montana would have stayed at arm’s length, where I wanted her. When I decided to contact TerraMates, I imagined an agreeable companion. A bed buddy. Some nice eye candy across the table from me every morning. I had wanted an easy, no-strings-attached and straightforward relationship.