Dallas Fire & Rescue: Hearts Afire (Kindle Worlds Novella) (MacKay Destiny Book 3)

by L. J. Garland

  But Melanie? She never showed. Never came to the hospital to see him—which she admitted when she’d called.

  “I was wrong.” God it hurt to say that out loud. But he pushed on. He’d confess the truth to Kyle. If anyone understood the ups and downs of relationships, it would be him. “She can’t take the pressure of not knowing if I’ll come home after my shift.”

  “She called you,” he growled.

  “She wants to have kids.” She would, too, but they wouldn’t be his. Damn, that hurt to think about. Don’t think about it. “She couldn’t risk becoming a widowed single mom.”

  He nodded. “She picked up the damn phone and called.”

  Beep. Beep. Beep.

  “When?”

  “Yesterday. While Kat and Brigit went out to get something to eat.” Thank God. If they’d been there when Melanie called, all hell would’ve broken loose. To say they were protective of their big brother was putting it mildly. They’d never cared for Mel, but his happiness meant more to them. So, they’d oohed and ahhed over the ring, grilled him about his proposal plans, and told him they’d kick her ass if she ever broke his heart. Yeah, good thing they weren’t here when the bomb dropped.

  “Well. Shit.” Kyle grimaced. “Look, I ain’t no romantic, but I really hoped you and Melanie could do better than me and my sorry track record. I’d hoped she was the real deal.”

  “Me, too.” He swallowed hard.

  “I know you’re not gonna want to hear this right now”—he eyed the IV—“and maybe the meds will help dim the blow, but, seriously, it’s better that it happened now. Sucks that your leg got busted and all this shit happened. But at least you don’t have the picket fence and kids and a lawyer sucking your bank account dry ahead of you when something did go wrong.”

  His day nurse entered the room, her shoes squeaking lightly on the tile floor. “How are you doing, Mr. MacKay?”

  “Okay, I guess.”

  “Time for pain meds.” She eyed Kyle then looked at Aiden. “Then you need to get some rest.”

  His partner stood, rounding to the opposite side of the bed giving the nurse room to access the IV. He patted Aiden’s hand. “I know this is fu— um, messed up. Stuff happens for a reason. And any woman who calls you to end a relationship? Well…you know what I think.”

  Beep. Beep. Beep.

  The sense of floating moved to the forefront. Thank God. Pain medicine. At least it eased the pain in his heart. Yeah, from a sledgehammer to another slightly smaller sledgehammer.

  “I promise you,” Kyle grumbled, “it’ll be all right.”

  Aiden let his eyelids slip closed.

  Doesn’t feel like it’s going to be all right.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Present day….

  At a loss for words, Jessica stared at Aiden. Her mind whirled with the story he’d shared, with all his pain and loss. No wonder he struggled with whether to tell me or not. He worried I’d be like Melanie and leave him once I learned the truth. His whole life changed that day.

  “So, Donnie Mizener.” He gazed at her expectantly.

  She nodded. “Yes, we do have him in common. But, Aiden, Donnie Mizener is such a small part of what makes you and me, us. We were best friends long before he became a drug dealer.”

  “But he’s singlehandedly changed both our lives.”

  “Maybe. If we let him.” She stood up. “But we shouldn’t let a horrible commonality like that influence our relationship. Not when what happened was a moment in our lives—a horrible moment for each of us, but we shouldn’t let it steal all the years we have left. You’re a fighter, Aiden. So am I. Together, we can get past this.”

  He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His fists relaxed a little—a good sign.

  “Don’t you know? Can’t you feel the truth? You and I would’ve met anyway.” Oh how she wanted to touch him, to hold him in her arms and soothe his weary soul. “Or am I the only one who feels the connection between us.”

  “I feel it, too.” His hoarse response made her heart both ache and hope.

  “Good. Because the only thing tying us together”—she gestured from him to her and back to him again—“is what we feel for one another. Nothing else. Just us.”

  He nodded.

  “Please trust me, Aiden. I’ve got one foot in your life and the other foot out. Let me in all the way.”

  Aiden took a breath. No other path lay before him except straight ahead.

  He reached behind his neck, grabbed his collar then tugged his T-shirt off over his head. Her gaze raked over him, heat flaring in her eyes, and his body reacted. She licked her lips then looked up at his face.

  “The fire was bad, Jess. The building was already falling apart before that.” He took a shaky breath, reliving the moment, feeling the heat, the sweat on his skin beneath his gear, the wispy sound of the self-contained breathing apparatus providing him fresh oxygen. “It was dark in that hallway. So much smoke.” He clenched his fingers into the shirt he still held. “One second the floor was there. The next, it just disappeared. I broke my leg in the fall.”

  “I know,” she whispered.

  He couldn’t look at her, didn’t want to see the disgust in her eyes…or worse, the pity. He’d taken his shirt off. He needed to finish this. “That floor gave way, too. Everything crashed in on me, and, as I fell through, I got hung up on something. The back of my turnout gear tore; the strap of my SCBA broke, too. Something hit me in the head. I don’t…remember much else. Except the fire. As I fell…it was like being dropped into the pits of hell.”

  She moved to come to him, but he jerked up his hand.

  “Don’t.” He swallowed, forcing the rest out. “I don’t know how long I was down there before they got me out. Kyle never really said.” Fear riding his heart like a bucking bronco, he dared to look at her. Jess. His best friend. The girl he’d secretly longed to kiss but never had the guts to follow through…until she kissed him. And now, having tasted her, he couldn’t get enough, couldn’t touch enough, couldn’t stop wanting her. The next ten seconds would decide whether they moved forward together or she walked out of his life, this time forever.

  “It’s bad.” The dark words rumbled from the depths of his soul, carrying every drop of horror and hurt and anger with it.

  “It’s okay.” Her whispered words held light and beauty, and reassurances she couldn’t possibly make because she didn’t know, didn’t understand what happened to him.

  “Just remember, it’s me, Jess. I’m still who I’ve always been.”

  He turned, revealing the damage he’d worked so hard to hide from her. He knew how bad it looked. The ropy scars. The thick spots. The intricate roadmap the fire had branded on his shoulders and across his middle back.

  “I tried to return to work. It was all I knew. I thought, if I got in the gear, everything would be okay.” He cleared the lump in his throat. “After a year of skin grafts and rehab, I got cleared by the doctor. First day back at the station, I jumped on the next engine headed out on a call. A house fire. It had been a year, but I didn’t miss a beat. Like I’d never left. But….” He stared at the wall in front of him, clenching his fists, wanting to punch his fist through the drywall. “When we got there, I got as far as front door. Smoke rolled out, and everything sounded loud inside my helmet. I dunno.” He shook his head, shame cloaking him. “I requested a transfer, and now I teach.”

  Jess remained quiet. He waited while she figured it out. Is she recoiling in horror? Trying to find a way out? If so, he wouldn’t stop her—though her rejection just might crack his heart in two.

  Cool fingers slid along his waist. He shivered—it’d been too long since anyone had touched him there. She skimmed her palms over his lower back. Then higher.

  He struggled not to flinch. How could she touch him there? He knew how bad it looked. He tried to turn toward her, but she pressed against his arm, urging him to remain still.

  “Aiden.” His name on her lips t
ore at the walls he’d built.

  “I know.”

  She moved her hands higher, delving into the worst of it. He couldn’t feel her fingers on him, but the pressure was there as she traced the grid-work of scars across his shoulder blades.

  “You saved that woman.”

  He shook his head. “Kyle got her out.”

  “You found her. Picked her up. Handed her to Kyle.”

  His heart galloped with each word she spoke. He chased hope while fear nipped at his heels.

  “You saved her and you survived. You’re a hero.”

  “I can’t go back. I’m a failure.”

  “No.” She slid her thumbs inside his waistband and dragged his shorts and underwear down his legs, leaving him totally nude in front of someone who wasn’t a doctor for the first time in over a year. She dragged her nails over his butt cheeks, and his body responded. Blood rushed south, making him hard. “You’re a hero, Aiden MacKay. You saved that woman’s life, and countless others before her. Now you share your knowledge, your experience with others so they can do their job safely.”

  He shivered, wanting to believe her.

  Her finger slid along his crack, then down…down between his thighs to cup his balls from behind. The air rushed from his lungs as she held him, his skin there hypersensitive.

  “Don’t judge yourself by a single event, Aiden MacKay. Judge yourself by the life you’ve led. I do.” She moved around his side, her hands trailing over his hip, his ribs, his stomach. She looked up at him, her eyes locking with his. “You’re a smart, giving, sexy man, who risked his life for others.” Her fingers curled around his shaft, gliding over the length of him, up, down, up, down. Her unhurried strokes made him harder. “You’re my hero.”

  Jess lowered to her knees and took him into her hot, sweet mouth.

  The room spun. He set his hands against the wall to keep from falling over. Oh shit. Holy shit! What she did with her tongue…it was driving him crazy. His hips bucked, driving him deeper.

  She hummed with what sounded like approval…God he hoped it was approval.

  He moved. Couldn’t stop himself. In and out, in and out. And she took him. Deeper and deeper. Her soft lips tightening around him as he bumped the back of her throat. He moved faster, wanting nothing more than to empty himself into her mouth, but—damn it—he pulled out.

  He helped her to her feet then scooped her into his arms. “I need you.”

  “Yes.”

  He laid her on the bed then dug into the bedside table drawer, plucking out a condom then ripping it open. He rolled it on, hoping it didn’t tear. How old was that box?

  “Aiden.” Jess held her arms out to him, her lovely thighs spread just for him.

  He went to her, positioning between her legs, his hands pressing into the bed on either side of her head. He lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her, nipping, licking her lips. Dragging his teeth along the column of her neck, he moved down and captured one of her nipples between his lips. He tortured the rigid point, alternately flicking the tip with his tongue and scraping his teeth over the delectable bud. She arched into his mouth, offering herself to him, and he took what she gave. Sliding one hand over the soft swell of her tummy, he moved over her mound, slipping his finger between her folds.

  Wet. So wet and ready for me. My Jess. He moaned, his body demanding he take her. But he forced himself to slow, to focus on her, to give her pleasure. He circled her bud, and her hips lifted from the bed, seeking what he wasn’t ready to give yet. She drove her fingers into his hair, her nails scraping over his scalp, as he continued to lick and tease her nipple.

  He slid his finger through her wetness and into her heat, drawing out even more liquid.

  “Please, Aiden.”

  He rubbed her swollen bud. Faster and faster. Her body tensed, a coil winding tighter and tighter. Her breathy pants ended with short, sharp moans.

  “Come for me, sweetheart.” He caught her nipple between his teeth at the same moment he pinched her clit.

  “Oh, Aiden!” She flew, quivering and shaking as shudder after shudder racked through her. He kissed her breasts, waiting while she floated back to him. At last, she gazed at him with glazed eyes. “Wow.”

  He grinned, the scent of her arousal the sweetest thing he’d ever smelled. “We’re just getting started, sweetheart.” He hoped he’d spoken the truth. In reality, he was about to enter territory he hadn’t been in for a very long time. He had no clue how long he’d be able to hang on. He gazed into her gorgeous eyes. “If you’re having second thoughts about this, you need to tell me now. Because, once I start, sweetheart, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.”

  A sweet smile curved her lush lips. “Make love to me, Aiden.”

  He took her hands and pinned them to the bed. Then, lining up at her entrance, he sank into her wet heat, inch by inch until he filled her completely, then paused, letting her adjust to his size.

  “Damn you feel amazing.” He rubbed his lips over hers.

  She kissed him back then caught his bottom lip between her teeth and gave a quick tug.

  “Naughty girl.” He raised his hips, pulling almost all the way out before thrusting back in.

  Desire flared in her eyes. “Yes.”

  He set up a steady pace, while he held her pinned to the bed. In and out, and in and out. A gorgeous flush crept up her chest and onto her throat and cheeks. Her body tensed beneath him. Changing the angle of his thrusts, he knew he’d hit the sweet spot when that sexy little whimper escaped her mouth.

  “Look at me, Jess.”

  She turned her lust-filled green gaze on him.

  “Come for me.” He drove deeper, tapping right where she needed. “Say you’re mine, Jess.” Tap, tap. Oh God! Tap. “Say my name.”

  “Oh!” She bucked. “Aiden!”

  His name on her lips, the heat and passion encompassing the sound, sent him hurtling into the abyss with her. They arched and jerked against one another in a wild frenzy, riding out their shared stormy climax, their gazes locked. The wonder in her eyes, her desperate cries of rapture grabbed ahold of him in a way he’d never experienced before. On the next thrust, he came hard, his fluid movements turning jerky as he filled the condom with his seed. She pulsed around him, gloving him tight, milking every last drop from him. And all he could see was Jess while he poured all that he was into her.

  She’d saved him. Freed him. Made him feel alive again.

  He held his weight above her, watching as she floated back to earth, her face softening, her eyes reflecting the same satisfaction gliding along his nerves, through his muscles, and over his skin.

  “Stay with me, Jess.”

  The corners of her mouth tilted up in a soft smile. “Only if we get to do this again.”

  He kissed her. “That’s the plan.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Two weeks later….

  Jessica padded to the kitchen, wearing the shirt she’d stripped off Aiden the night before. She tilted her face to her shoulder to inhale his scent. Sandalwood and fire. Uniquely his. A scent she’d never tire of.

  Yes, the scars from his accident had scored his back, and, at first sight, when he’d revealed his story, her heart had broken for what he’d endured. But then, the entire situation had gelled in her mind—he’d been there saving lives—and the truth had become clear. Aiden was so much more than the sexy handsome man the world saw. He was a loving, giving, compassionate man who risked his life for others. And she’d fallen for him. Hard.

  At first, the idea of loving Aiden thrilled her. But did he care for her that way, too? Could he? The way he stroked and caressed her body said it might be possible. Could she hang around long enough to find out if they could make it work? Did he want her to?

  Wait, what about my P.I. business? Toast. Being in FBI protective custody and now hiding out at Aiden’s house…. Why would people seek help from a P.I. agency with no P.I.?

  She poured herself a cup of coffee and a second for
her man. I could get a license here. Set up a new business.

  Or Aiden could teach in Tampa….

  “Morning.” His gravelly greeting sent desire curling low in her tummy and her nipples pebbled.

  She rose onto her tiptoes and kissed his lips. “Morning.”

  She had never been so happy—or sexually satisfied—as she’d been for the last two weeks. Aiden had kept his promise, taking her again and again…in the shower, on the table, the couch, the recliner, in the kitchen floor, against the counter. And while all those places had been erotic—and some naughty—her favorite place by far was his bed. For some reason, that was the one place where he lowered all of his many walls, letting her see the man inside as he lovingly took her to heights she’d never gone to before.

  She fell asleep in his arms every night and woke up to his kisses every morning. They’d created their own little world, locking themselves away in his house, with Aiden ordering groceries from one of those online delivery sites. She could almost forget a drug lord wanted to kill her.

  Almost.

  “I ordered a few more groceries,” he told her as her picked up the mug she’d poured him.

  “Good. You need to keep your strength up.”

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against his wonderfully hard chest. He laid one of his toe-curling kisses on her. Oh my God the man can kiss! She melted against him.

  “How about a shower?” She had special plans for him this time.

  Ding-dong.

  “And that would be the groceries.” He set his coffee cup on the counter. “You go start the shower. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  “Okay.” As she turned to leave, he smacked her on the ass, and she yelped. “Oh, you’ll pay for that.”

  He grinned. “I certainly hope so.”

  She headed to the bedroom, but the memory of the two FBI agents who’d died protecting her plagued her. Donnie Mizener was a stone-cold psychopathic killer. The image of him strangling Marla Fraser in the hotel room flashed in her mind. His fingers tightening around her throat as she struggled against him. His face a mask of passivity. Like her murder was akin to wringing out a wet dishrag. It meant nothing.