Naked Flame

by Desiree Holt

  Charity balled up the paper towel and tossed it into the nearby trash. Irritation welled up, bolstered by a simmering anger.

  “Look, asshole.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “It was obvious to me you had a real problem here. Lots of business and not enough help.”

  “So you thought you’d just give the poor gimp a hand, right?”

  Her jaw dropped. “What? What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I saw you watching me walk. I don’t need you to feel sorry for me.”

  Anger bubbled up inside her. “Listen, you ass. Sorry is the last thing I feel for you. Especially after a stupid remark like that.”

  “Yeah?” He moved a little closer. Now there was barely space for a sheet of paper between them. “Then why’d you do it? What do you feel?”

  Charity’s mouth went suddenly dry. “I—I—I wanted to help. I could see you were shorthanded and I worked my way through high school and college doing this. That’s all.”

  She would have backed up a step but there was no place to go. The counter was already digging into her back.

  His face was so close to hers she could feel his breath on her cheeks and smell the male scent of him. Her nipples peaked and tingled as if he’d actually touched them, and between her thighs a pulse beat slowly as moisture dampened the crotch of her panties. Charity had been with hot men before, men who aroused her to unbelievable peaks—until the relationship crashed and burned—but no man had ever aroused her this much just by looking at her and standing so close.

  Everything around her ceased to exist as Liam dipped his head, slow enough for her to tell him to stop. When she said and did nothing, he touched his mouth lightly to hers. Every nerve in her body ignited just from that soft caress. Then he licked her lips, teasing her, tempting her, and her mouth opened for him of its own volition. When it did, he threaded his fingers through her curls to hold her head in place and took the kiss hotter and deeper.

  His tongue was a live wire in her mouth, coaxing hers to duel and dance with it. She clung to him, digging her fingers into his biceps, anchoring herself as if the entire earth shifted beneath her feet. And she wasn’t sure it hadn’t.

  Abruptly, Liam broke the kiss and lifted his head. Charity hung on to his arms desperately, caught off-balance. She shook her head, trying to clear it, to understand what had just happened. Liam’s hand was still anchored in her curls, his body pressed against hers. She realized the thick outline of his cock was nestled in the vee of her crotch. Heat pulsed from his body and burned in his eyes. She had the feeling things had gone from zero to one hundred in less than a minute.

  Holy shit. What was she supposed to do?

  “You all might want to take that out of my kitchen.”

  A gravelly voice broke into her haze. She looked over Liam’s shoulder to see the older man pointing at them with a spatula. Embarrassment singed her cheeks. What on earth had she been doing kissing him like that? Letting him kiss her?

  “I should never have done that.” His voice was husky. “I never do things like that. But I’m not going to apologize, unless you want me to.” He paused. “Do you?”

  What had just happened here? Had she fallen into an alternate universe? Still, she shook her head, speechless.

  “I’m not sorry either.” He stared so hard into her eyes she thought he could see clear into the core of her. “I’m a lot out of the habit with the social scene, but I want to take you out to dinner.”

  “You…you do? Take me out, I mean?” Was she dreaming this? Could she possibly sound any more like an idiot?

  “Tonight. Seven o’clock. Someplace besides this town. You staying with Amy?”

  “Um, no.” She finally unscrambled her brain. “I’m at the Butterfly B&B.”

  “Fine. See you at seven.” He nodded toward the swinging doors where Amy was standing trying to be nonchalant. “I think you need to satisfy Amy’s curiosity before she breaks her neck trying to look inside here.”

  “Oh. Oh. Okay.”

  He stepped back, and without the support of his body, she nearly pitched forward onto her face. He caught her by the shoulders, steadying her on her feet.

  “You okay?”

  “Yes. I…yes.” She smoothed her hands over her cheeks, as if she could wipe away the blush she knew was staining them. “Thank you. I mean, I’ll see you at seven.”

  She escaped the kitchen, hardly believing she’d just agreed to go out with this man.

  Amy grabbed her as soon as she came through the swinging doors.

  “We are getting in my car,” she ground out, leading Charity toward the exit, “and you are telling me every detail of what happened in there. And don’t try to worm out of it. I think my ancestors ran the Grand Inquisition.”

  Charity gave a giddy laugh. “I’m not sure I even know what happened myself.”

  “Come on.” She tugged on Charity’s arm. “I’ll get it out of you one way or the other. And believe me, I can’t wait.”

  “Stepped into it now, didn’t you?”

  The rasping voice cut into Liam’s whirlpool of thoughts. “Mind your business, old man, and I’ll pay attention to mine.”

  Mac chuckled. “Oughta let Mike know, if you don’t plan to be working tonight. Didn’t he say he had something to do?”

  Shit. He’d forgotten all about that. Damn, damn, damn. They didn’t serve food except at lunch, at least not yet, so it only took one of them and on the weekend a waitress. He and his dad alternated shifts. Tonight was his, and he knew Mike had a poker game scheduled. He’d have to call Andy Woolfolk, their sometimes substitute bartender.

  “I’ll take care of it. You just make sure you leave the kitchen shipshape.”

  He limped out of the kitchen and down the hall to the office. What in God’s name had come over him? That woman addled his brains. That had to be the answer. And what had she been doing helping him the way she had? She didn’t know him from Adam, but she’d jumped right in as if she’d been there forever. What had she told him? Oh, yeah, that she’d worked as a waitress in high school and college. Sure didn’t look like it. He would have taken her for coming from money, like Amy Montgomery. Guess he wasn’t very good at reading people these days.

  He made his way back to the office, looked up Andy’s number and called him.

  “Yeah, I’m not doing much tonight,” the man told him. “And I can use the extra bucks. What time?”

  “Six work for you?” That would give Liam time to get home, shower and make himself presentable. Or as much as possible.

  “Yup. See you then.”

  The call to Mike wasn’t quite as simple.

  “Where are you going that you need to bring Andy in? I can always change my plans.”

  “Out. That okay with you?” Liam tried to dial back the defensive edge in his voice.

  “Sure is. Just wondered why, after I’ve been trying to boot your ass out into some company for a year, you suddenly decide to do it out of the blue.”

  “Look. If you have a problem with it, just tell me. Andy will cover the hours and I’ll be home in time to cash out.” I think.

  “Liam, I just—”

  “Is it okay or not?” His hand tightened on the phone. He didn’t need to give Mike a hard time. The man was just concerned about him. “Sorry. We just had a busy lunch and Edie went home sick. So you’re good with this?”

  “Sure I am. It’ll do you good to get away from the bar and the house for a night. Whatever you’re doing, try to relax and have a good time, will you?”

  “Yeah. Uh, thanks, Dad.”

  He hung up before his dad could say anything else, dropped into the chair and put his legs up on the desk. What the fuck had he been doing, asking that woman out? He barely knew her. Shit, barely was even too strong.

  But that sizzle and crackle between them? He just c
ouldn’t ignore that. Too much time had passed since a woman had even juiced a little response from him. In just a few moments, with the briefest of touches, Charity Vance had made him want to strip her clothes off, lay her down on the floor and plunge himself into her.

  Not that he’d get to do it on a first date. First date? Did he expect more? Did she?

  Fuck. His head ached from thinking. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and tried to sort out his brain. Immediately, a vision of Charity danced into his imagination as if she were right there in the office with him. Curls gloriously tousled, face free of all makeup except a little lip gloss, she wore the tee-shirt and jeans she’d had on when he’d first seen her.

  She moved slowly toward him, hips swaying, her lips curved in a smile that was pure, sinful temptation. When she ran her tongue across her full lower lip, his cock tried to push its way out of his jeans and his balls developed a fierce ache. She stopped about two feet from him, reached for the hem of her tee-shirt and slowly tugged it up and over her head. His mouth watered at the sight of her creamy skin and the pale-yellow satin bra holding her full breasts. His hands opened and closed of their own volition, as if he were actually kneading those delectable mounds.

  Charity tossed the shirt onto a stack of boxes and reached behind her to unclasp her bra. When that followed the shirt and her breasts swung free, Liam almost swallowed his tongue. They were so nice and plump, the nipples a dark-rose color just begging for his mouth to close over them. He could almost feel the hard buds on his tongue.

  As if she could read his thoughts, she backed away and oh so slowly lowered the zipper on her jeans. She slipped her feet out of her sandals and kicked them to the side, shimmied her jeans down her legs and dropped them on the pile of clothes, leaving her in just a satiny yellow thong that matched her bra.

  Her thighs were smooth clear up to the elastic, no little wiry curls peeping out, a sure sign that she waxed. Holy shit. He wanted to lick her legs from the ankles clear up to that scrap of fabric. Run his tongue over that lustrous skin until he reached the dampness of her crotch, wet with her juices. He didn’t know how long he could sit there without touching her. He was about ready to combust when she sashayed close to him and worked her way between his thighs.

  At last. At last, he could finally touch her. He cupped her rounded ass with his hands and drew her even closer, inhaling the sweet scent of her. With his tongue, he drew circles at the indentation of her navel before pulling her forward to capture one nipple with his lips. Her little soft moan made his blood heat and his cock throb. When he bit down gently on the hard peak, she threaded her fingers through his hair, holding him close to her.

  He teased himself as well as her when he spent long moments worshiping her nipples, sucking and nibbling and licking first one and then the other. Liam slid his hands along the warm flesh of her bottom, digging his fingers into her softness as he trailed his tongue down her tummy to the top band of her thong. Burying his face against the damp fabric, he inhaled her sweetness, her sexy, erotic scent before pressing the material into her slit with his tongue.

  Jesus. He was so fucking hard, and the sexy little sounds she kept making weren’t helping a bit. Keeping her anchored with one hand, he reached between them to yank down his zipper and free his aching shaft. Wrapping the fingers of his hand around it, he stroked a couple of times before nudging it against the heat of her pussy. Leaning his head forward just enough, he caught the fabric of her thong with his teeth to drag it down away from her skin, and—

  Bang!

  The desk chair crashed backward, back into the sagging couch he kept meaning to replace. Now he was grateful for its lumpy cushions that prevented him from a hard landing on the floor. He found himself on his back, cradled by the tipped chair and struggling to get his balance. When he tried to right himself, he was shocked to realize his fly was open and he had the fingers of one hand wrapped around his cock.

  Holy shit.

  “Hey, Liam. You okay in there?”

  The sound of Mac’s raised voice came through the closed door. Holy shit again. Liam quickly tucked himself in and zipped up before the door opened. He was awkwardly trying to extricate himself from the chair when Mac barged in.

  “What the fuck?” He reached out a hand to Liam. “You been drinking in here?”

  “Of course not. I just leaned too far back in the chair.” Managing to get to his feet, he pushed the chair upright, moved it closer to the desk again and sat again.

  Mac frowned at him. “You okay? You look red in the face.”

  “I’m fine.” He made a show of looking at his watch. “Isn’t it time for you to leave?”

  “I’m going, I’m going. Sheesh.” He turned and walked away. “Can’t even be concerned about someone around here.”

  Liam would have protested, but he was too busy catching his breath and wondering how the hell he’d fallen into an erotic daydream. Clearly, he was in bad shape, more than the damage to his leg. The erotic beast in him wanted to get Charity, drag her into his truck and strip her naked. But the few rational brain cells he had cautioned him to take it slow. For the first time in longer than he could remember, this woman might just be worth the effort. Might just be the first bright spot in his life for a long time.

  And he hardly even knew her yet.

  A ribbon of excitement wiggled its way through him. Yes, he was really looking forward to the evening, for a whole lot of reasons.

  Chapter Four

  When Charity came down the stairs dressed for the evening—she had a hard time calling it a date considering the way it had come about—she wasn’t surprised to see the girls gathered in the big sitting room. The B&B was full on the weekend. Georgie had told her they had few if any weekday guests except during holidays and summer. Right now, Charity was it. At the moment, as she looked at the women waiting for her, she wished a busload of guests would descend.

  “We want details.” Reenie lifted a wine glass with amber liquid in it. “And we’re willing to pay for it. Here.”

  Charity had no idea how to react. Except for two women who were always busy with their own lives, for the past ten years, her friends had all been cops. She had never enjoyed the close-knit feeling that defined this group. When she’d decided to come to Saddle Wells, she had figured she’d hang with Amy at her place for a couple of days, move to the B&B and try to figure out the rest of her life. Now she was surrounded by women who were smart and savvy and offering her friendship just because Amy included her. She had no idea how to share. How to be a girlfriend.

  She took the wine glass, swallowed a fortifying sip and forced her mouth into a smile. “I told Amy everything,” she pointed out.

  “Ha!” Reenie flicked a hand at her. “He kissed you and asked you out? That’s details? I think not.”

  Amy sighed. “I did my best to pump her for info when we were in the car, but she’s tighter than a clam.”

  “There’s nothing else to tell,” Charity protested. “Really.”

  Except for the fact that he’s hotter than a pistol and makes all my girlie parts scream for his touch.

  Georgie laughed. “I’m not sure Amy filled you in on Liam Douglas’s history.”

  Charity frowned. “She said he was in Afghanistan for two tours, came home a year ago with a bad leg and took over running Mike’s. Is there more?”

  “No,” they all shouted.

  “That’s why this is a big deal,” Cyn explained. “I only moved here about six months ago, so I probably know the least about him, but it’s common knowledge that he’s Mr. Antisocial except in the bar and hasn’t had a date for as long as anyone can remember.”

  “That’s why we’re so damn curious,” Reenie added. “And what was with the waitress routine Amy told us about?”

  Charity shrugged. “I told Amy. I worked at it through high school and college and the poor guy looked like he needed
help.”

  Cyn rose from the chair where she’d been sitting and put her arm around Charity. “Let’s give the poor woman a break, okay? I know how she feels. You guys can be relentless.” She gave Charity a squeeze. “We’re most concerned about you, honey. Liam is such an unknown quantity. He’s been so remote, and we don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  “I appreciate it. I really do.” She blew out a breath. “To tell you the truth, I don’t even know what happened. One minute I was eating lunch with Amy, the next I was bussing tables and serving lunch. And then he kissed me.” Heat crept up her cheeks. “I don’t usually do things like that.”

  Amy raised her hand. “I saw the kiss. I can testify to it.”

  “Yes.” Charity laughed. “Because you were snooping through the swinging doors.”

  “Whatever. It must have been some kiss, because he actually asked you out.”

  “It was—” She stared at the women.

  Before she could figure out what to say, the front door swung wide and Liam stood framed in the opening. For a moment, her breath was trapped in her throat. Instead of jeans and a tee-shirt, he wore black slacks and a collared shirt. His thick brown hair had been tamed into submission and he held a tan Stetson in one hand. She had to restrain herself from throwing her body at him.

  He stepped into the sitting room, breaking the spell, and nodded at the group, all of whom were staring at him.

  “Ladies. Nice to see you.”

  “Uh, you too, Liam.” Georgie was the first to find her voice. “You sure look spiffy tonight.”

  “Have to shape up if I’m taking out a good-looking woman.”

  The words came out smoothly, but Charity could tell he was well past his comfort level here. Especially since they were staring at him again as if he’d landed from an alien planet.

  “Take good care of her,” Amy said.

  “Be a gentleman,” Georgie added.

  “Don’t keep her out too late.” Reenie winked.