February Burning: A Firefighter Secret Baby Romance

by Chase Jackson

  “Yep, that’s the one,” Mike said. “I’m sending some police officers out that way. They won’t come to your door, but they’ll trail the area, watching and waiting to see if he’ll come by. This might be our chance to get him. Do you think you can leave your place for a second? Just to move your car off the premises so that he can think Joanna is there alone? That way, we can get a hold of him to serve him a restraining order.”

  I walked back toward the living room, looking at Joanna sleeping peacefully. “Yeah, I can do that,” I said, although different plans were stirring in my head.

  “Good. I’ll call you back,” Mike said, and then hung up.

  Kissing Joanna softly, “I’ll be right back.” I grabbed my car keys, locked up the apartment, and headed out the door, my mind on Zander. As I got into my car and pulled off, I actually spotted a few of the police cars heading toward my apartment. I quickly turned out of their view, praying that they wouldn’t deduce what I was up to. Losing track of them, I practically began to drive on auto-pilot, my body knowing precisely where to go to find Zander, as if he was a magnet that I was being pulled to.

  I got there in what felt like record speed.

  I practically spotted him the instant I walked through the bar’s door, despite not having previous knowledge of what he looked like.

  He was big, sloppy, and looked like trouble even from a distance as he sat at the bar, chugging down what looked like several shots too many.

  My blood coursing angrily through my veins, I approached the bar, and came to a stop right beside him.

  “Can I help you, sir?” the bartender said.

  I forced a polite smile. “Sure. Scotch, please.”

  “Coming right up,” she said.

  It took everything within me to not turn around and knock Zander’s lights out. But instead, I glanced sideways and smiled. “What’s up, buddy?” I said, careful to keep my voice light and friendly.

  “Nothing much, my man,” he said, his words slurred.

  I tilted my head sideways. “You from around here? You don’t look familiar.”

  He laughed. “Nope. I’m an out-of-towner. That obvious, huh?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. You’ve got an accent that I can’t quite place. Where’re you from?”

  He laughed again. “Oh, if I tell you that, I’d have to kill ya!” he said, thumping me a little too heavy-handedly on the back.

  “Oh really?” I said. “So what brings you into town?”

  He sighed. “I’m here for my girl.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. She thought she could get away from me, but what can I say? I can’t let her go. Gotta make sure she knows it.” He grinned, under the impression that his words sounded romantic. But I could see the sinister stirrings behind his eyes. I could see the cockiness in the way he held his mouth. I could hear the hidden threat beneath his words…

  “Women,” I said, just as the bartender returned with my Scotch. I took a sip and then thumped Zander on the back myself. “Hey, step outside with me for a smoke, will ya?”

  “Sure thing, partner,” Zander said. “Then I can just head on my way afterwards. Check to see what she’s up to.”

  “Cool,” I said, and stood from the bar. I walked a pace ahead of Zander as we made our way through the door. “Let’s go around to the side. You know, these damned buildings got all these regulations on smoking and stuff now.”

  “Yeah! The world’s turned into such a wuss! People get all up in arms about a little smoke. It’s bullshit, man!”

  The second we had rounded the building, my hand balled into a fist that caught Zander right in the gut.

  “Umph!” he groaned, doubling over. He looked up at me, his face full of surprise. “Hey? What the f—”

  But before he could say anything more, I punched him again, landing another one in his stomach, and one to the side of his jaw, knocking him clean off his drunken feet.

  “Hey, man!” he cried.

  I leaned over, grabbing him by the collar. “That woman you speak of, wouldn’t happen to be Joanna Gentry, would it?”

  “Hey, how do you—” But his words were cut off by my fist again.

  “Listen to me, I’m only going to say this once you sick mother fucker, you come anywhere near her again, you’re dead. I will sue your pathetic ass for everything you’re worth, and then when you think you’re done with me, I will hire the best hitman in the city and kill you. So don’t you dare try me, Zander, so help me God…” I leaned in close to his ear. “And be warned if you somehow land yourself in prison before I can finish you, I know some guys on the inside. They don’t take too kindly to women-bashers. I’ll make sure they know just what a pathetic piece of woman-beating shit you are, and in return, they’ll show you precisely what they think of you. Catch my drift?”

  And just to drive home my point, I gave him a square kick in the ribs.

  He looked up at me, fearfully. “Who are you?” he asked, blood spilling from his mouth.

  “Your worst nightmare, and the wrong guy to be messing with. If you’re smart, you’ll get out of town. You’ll get out of town and never show your face around here again. Because like I said, you come anywhere near Joanna…” I balled my fists once more.

  “All right! All right!” Zander cried. “I’m leaving,” he said as he crawled away.

  “For good? Never coming back?”

  He shook his head. “No. Never.”

  CHAPTER 30

  Joanna

  Four months later

  “Oh my goodness, Tobias. You really went all out for this,” I said, glancing around the office, dumbfounded. I had initially planned a baby shower, but then fell in love with the idea of having a gender reveal party instead. And Tobias had happily offered to let me hold it at the office.

  “That way, all our co-workers can attend,” he’d said.

  What I hadn’t expected was for him to completely transform the place. Decorations practically lined every inch of the walls, there was an enormous and gorgeous cake in the corner, and banners hung everywhere, teasing, ‘Boy or Girl.’

  It brought tears to my eyes.

  Tobias laughed. “You sure are an emotional little thing these days, aren’t you?”

  I playfully slapped his arm and then hugged him. “It’s the hormones!” I said.

  He kissed the top of my head. “Ahh, that’s right. I’d forgotten about that.”

  Moments later, Anderson rounded the corner. “Okay, the food should be here soon,” he announced. “But I have a little early treat for you.” Grinning, he produced a tub of strawberry ice cream from behind his back.

  “You are too good to me,” I said, smiling.

  Anderson grinned and kissed me.

  “All right. I’m cool with it, but it doesn’t mean I want to actually see it,” Tobias said, giving a disgusted shudder that made both Anderson and I laugh.

  Slowly but surely, the office began to fill as our guests arrived.

  “So what time are we doing the big reveal?” Libby asked after the food had arrived.

  “When everyone is done eating, I guess,” I said, glancing toward Anderson.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, don’t look at me. You run the show,” he said.

  “Oh, Joanna, he is a keeper,” Libby said, laughing. “He already knows the rules!” She looped her arm through mine. “Come on, let’s mingle and then eat.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said. “Even though I feel guilty. I ate another tub of ice cream already. I’m going to be big as a house when this is all over.” I rubbed my stomach, which had just started to show.

  Libby laughed. “Girl, this is the one time in your life when it is perfectly fine to eat what you want! Enjoy it!”

  I laughed, letting her walk me around the office to greet our guests. A time or two, I could have sworn she glanced over my shoulder, making eye contact with someone and winking.

  “Libby, what are you doing?” I asked, catching her in the act ag
ain. I tried to follow her gaze, but couldn’t determine who she was looking at. All I noticed was Anderson. He was wearing an equally goofy expression, making me think they were up to something.

  “Oh nothing,” she said. “So, what do you want to eat? Want me to fix your plate?”

  “Sure…”

  “Okay, I think it’s officially time,” Tobias announced. He had Libby had pulled two chairs to the middle of the room for me and Anderson, after everyone had eaten and mingled for a while. “Can we get our guests of honor over here to take their seats?”

  Anderson grabbed my hand, and we made our way over. He and I already knew the gender of our future bundle of joy, but it was exciting to watch everyone else eagerly waiting. He squeezed my hand as we sat, and Tobias and a couple of our co-workers began pushing a large box toward us.

  “You do the honors,” Anderson said.

  “Let’s do a countdown,” Libby said. “Ten…nine…eight…” she began, and everyone else joined in.

  When they got down to one, I stood and pulled the top off the box, grinning ear-to-ear as pink balloons floated out.

  “It’s a girl!” everyone shouted, and broke out into applause. I glanced around, my heart bursting with joy as people cheered and whistled.

  And then something caught my eye…

  One balloon in particular staggered behind, slow to rise with the others. There was a box attached to it. A small black box…

  “Anderson?” I said confused, “was that there when you ordered the balloons?”

  Suddenly, the room filled with gasps. I turned around, finding Anderson standing behind me on one knee. Grinning, he reached for the balloon with the box attached to it.

  “Oh my God…” I said, cupping my hand with my mouth.

  “I could think of no better time to do this. I can’t even put into words how happy you’ve made me.” He opened the box, and the biggest sparkling diamond I’d ever seen, surrounded by white gold, stared up at me. “Joanna, will you marry me?”

  “Oh my God! Yes!!! A million times yes.” This was all I ever asked for and much more. I leaned away and gave him a goofy smile. “I love you, Mr. Lawrence. You’re the man of my life.”

  “I love you too, future Mrs. Lawrence. You’re the love of my life.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve done this.” I glanced at the ring, already in love with it.

  Our lips met again, but this time our kiss was more passionate, both of us lost in each other despite being in the center of everyone’s attention.

  “How about we go for a quickie somewhere?” he whispered with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You know, to ‘celebrate’ this properly.”

  I winked at him. “I think that’s a great idea.”

  He caught me by my hand and led me away from the crowd. “We’ll be right back,” he said to Tobias.

  I caught Tobias’s gaze, flushing when he shook his head. He knew exactly what was cooking, just like Libby, who gave me a satisfied grin.

  “We aren’t going anywhere,” Tobias replied before he continued his conversation with one of the managers next to him.

  “I feel we’re like teenagers who are sneaking around, trying to escape their parents,” I said, letting him take me to his office. Since everyone had gathered in the main office, the rest of the building was deserted, which provided us more privacy.

  “Well, at least we don’t have to hide anymore.”

  He locked the door behind him and backed me to his desk, already unbuttoning my blouse.

  “We have to be really quick about this,” I said and unfastened his belt.

  “Yeah. Really quick.”

  He pressed me against the table and took off my shirt, which left me in my bra.

  “Do you think they know what we’re doing now?” I asked before I pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside.

  “I don’t really care about that at the moment.” He pressed his head against my chest, kissing my skin frantically. “Right now, all I care about is being in you.”

  I moaned when he continued leaving kisses down my belly. He stopped before he reached the waistline of my skirt, looking at my stomach with adoration. “I can’t believe our girl is in there right now.” He caressed my bump. “We created a new life.”

  I laced my fingers into his hair, returning his loving gaze. “Yeah. It’s amazing.”

  He left a soft kiss on my bump, which caused flutters in the pit of my stomach. He continued undressing me until I was left only in my pumps.

  “Naked and mine. The perfect combination.”

  He stepped out of his pants and boxers before he brought me on top of the desk, stopping in between my legs. I wrapped them around his waist and ground against him, inviting him to take me right now.

  He dug his fingers into my hips when he plunged inside of me, his fast breathing matching mine. “Too good. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you.”

  He started moving, and I met his hips with mine. I supported myself against his desk when his thrusts became harder, captivated by his eyes. My heart was thumping against my chest furiously, the rising pleasure taking over me, and I felt like I was going to come any moment…

  “Anderson!”

  I clamped my hand across my mouth when I fell apart, drowning in blissful pleasure that spread through every part of me. He pulled out of me and flipped me around, making me stand. “Bring your ass high in the air and support yourself against the desk.”

  I did what he had told me, moaning when he slid into me again. He stroked my ass cheeks lovingly, moving in and out faster than just a couple of moments before.

  “So sexy. I just love fucking you from behind.” His hand moved smoothly up my spine and reached my hair. Grabbing a handful of it, he pulled me up and against him, attacking my neck with his wet kisses as he increased his tempo. The pressure in me was quickly reaching its peak, my pussy throbbing too fast.

  “Ah! I’m so close!”

  “Yes. That’s it, Joanna. Come for me.”

  I grabbed his head from behind and arched my back, shouting his name when my orgasm erupted.

  “The way your pussy squeezes me… Damn. I’m so close.”

  His thrusts turned even heavier, consuming me, and a couple of moments later he finished inside of me, his breath on my neck hot and uneven.

  “Wow. That was quick,” I joked, feeling well-spent.

  He burst into chuckles, pulling out of me. “Hey! Don’t complain. I’m going to take my time with you later.”

  I turned around to kiss him, on cloud nine. “I know,“ I nibbled his lip. “I was just kidding. Besides, we’ve already spent more time here than we should have.”

  I took several tissues and cleaned myself before I put my clothes on. By the time I was done, Anderson was already fully dressed and waiting for me.

  “I just can’t wait to get some alone time with you again,” he told me.

  “Insatiable, are we?”

  “When it comes to you, always.”

  His lips were soft on mine this time, our kiss slow and heart-warming. I had never felt safer and happier than now, all those dark memories before him long forgotten.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked me on our way back to the party, our hands connected.

  “I’m thinking about how lucky I am to have you. I came here searching for shelter, but I found something most amazing instead. You make me the happiest woman alive, Anderson. I’m just so happy.”

  We stopped right in front of the doors of the main office, and he pulled me in for one more kiss.

  “And you make me the happiest man alive. All that matters now is that we finally found each other.” He placed his hand over my stomach, his tender touch and words almost bringing tears to my eyes. “I’m ready to make many more happy memories with you. And our child.”

  “We will. Many many more. That is a promise.”

  All I could think about was how I had come to Chicago to escape a nightmare, only to wind up l
iving my dreams.

  Fighting Desire

  By Nicole Elliot

  ONE

  DILLON

  “Dillon, you’re up!”

  I looked down at my bloodied hands and wrapped them tighter with the fabric that was once white. I’d busted through at least three knuckles on my left hand and one on my right. I couldn’t understand why they had wanted me to fight again. I’d already been in the ring today. I didn’t need any more practice.

  “Leo, I’m good. I don’t want to bust my shoulder again before the fight tonight.”

  Leo put his calloused hands on either of my bare shoulders. His thumb just brushed against my newest tattoo, a quote about fighting.

  Push harder, longer

  And to me, that’s exactly what getting torn up in the ring was about. “You need all the practice you can get, kid. The guy that you’re going up against tomorrow night, we don’t know much about him. All that I know is that he’s got some underground experience, and you know how those fuckers play. He’ll go right for your face. And by the time you realize what happened, you’ll be flat on your back and he’ll have won all our money.”

  I shook my head. “You know I won’t let that happen. Besides those gangbanger fighters, they’ve got nothing on us real pros. I know what I’m doing and I rank better than anybody else you have in this gym. And when I say I’ve had enough, I’ve had enough.”

  Leo pulled his hands off me and put them up in surrender. He might’ve been three times my age, but the old man did know what he was talking about. He had been a boxer first and then learned MMA. He had been my coach my entire life. But he also knew that I wasn’t just some little kid anymore. I was starting to get interest from sponsors and other investors. If I didn’t want to fight today because I knew it wouldn’t make me ready for tomorrow, then I wasn’t going to do it. After my shoulder injury two years ago I thought it was going to be completely done with fighting. But it was my passion, my life. I had done enough rehabilitation for five guys just to get myself back in the ring. And finally after another two years, I was in the prime of my fighting career. There was no way I was going to let some gangbanger fighter beat the hell out of me on my turf.