by Cora Seton
She was just about to grab the first stack of boxes and head out to the van with them when the door of the shop opened and Jax came sweeping in.
“Did you forget something?” she asked as she picked up a big box of coconut frosted cupcakes.
He took the box out of her hands and set it on the counter. “As a matter of fact, I did.”
Then he pulled her close and kissed her long and lingeringly on the lips. Skye slid her hands up the hard wall of his chest and kissed him right back. She was wondering if maybe they had time for a quickie on the counter when he pulled away with a sexy groan.
“What was that all about?” she asked breathlessly.
Jax grinned as he headed for the door. “Nothing special. Just wanted to make sure you knew how much I love you.”
Skye smiled. Oh, she knew. But she wouldn’t mind him showing her on a regular basis.
The End
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Paige Tyler is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of sexy, romantic suspense and paranormal romance. She and her very own military hero (also known as her husband) live on the beautiful Florida coast with their adorable fur baby (also known as their dog). Paige graduated with a degree in education, but decided to pursue her passion and write books about hunky alpha males and the kickbutt heroines who fall in love with them.
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Texas Wildfire
Sable Hunter
‡
‘I Am My Brother’s Keeper’ are the words engraved on the plaque awarded to volunteer firefighter/rancher Titan Sloan. Daily he risks his life to save and protect friends and neighbors. When he finds out the person he loves the most is the one he’s failed to protect, Titan is fit to be tied. Titan Sloan is a hero, but he’s no angel. For years he’s secretly been in love with his Captain’s wife. When he finds out their marriage is a sham and Makenna is being abused, all hell breaks loose. A Texas Wildfire is the backdrop for a story so hot and a love so intense, no one will come through it unscathed.
Chapter One: Prologue
‡
“Whoo-hoo! Show us some skin, guys! Yea!”
Makenna blushed as her best friend unselfconsciously danced to the music, shouting catcalls at the half-naked firefighters who were posing for a calendar shoot. “Allie, calm down,” Makenna whispered in her ear. “You’re going to have a stroke.”
Her vivacious BFF did a fist pump. “I can’t help it, girl. These men are seriously hot. Whoop!” Allie winked at the handsome blond flexing his muscles as he swung a fire axe over his head. “Who is that Greek god?”
A crowd had gathered in the bayside of the fire station. Rain had been falling for days, but everyone wanted to see the Hays County heroes strut their stuff. “His name is Ronan, he’s a good guy.” She playfully fanned the girl who knew all of her deepest darkest secrets—except for the one that mattered most. That secret she couldn’t share.
Allie licked her lips. “Oh, I bet he is good. Girl, if I’d had any idea you lived in beefcake heaven, I would’ve moved here long ago.” The photographer shouted directions while music played and three other well-built men came forward to flex and pose.
“I think I told you there were eligible bachelors in the department.” She couldn’t help but smile as Hotshot mimicked a male stripper, teasing the women by lowering his fireman’s jacket over one well-muscled shoulder. “And I’m glad you’re here. I needed you.”
Allie hugged her. “I’ll always be your friend, you know that. After all, we have much in common.” Returning her attention to the front, she leered at Hotshot. “He’s got the cutest dimples and that long dark hair…hmmm.” Allie sighed. “Wow. What’s the guy’s name with the military cut?”
“Oh, that’s Montana. He’s a former marine, but don’t use the word ‘former’ when you speak to him. He says once a marine always a marine.” Makenna’s voice trailed off as she saw who was coming forward next. Her mouth went dry and her heart rate sped up significantly. Glory be—what a man.
Allie seemed to agree. “Oh. My. God. I didn’t know they came that big. Or that perfect. Grr-rrr-wow! Sheesh.”
“His name is Titan. And yes, he lives up to his name.” Makenna bit her lip, determined not to drool or show any emotion that would betray how she was feeling. She allowed her eyes to rove over his smoking hot body—wide, wide shoulders, massive biceps, strong arms and sculpted chest. Oh how often she dreamed of being held against him, to know what it was like to feel safe and cherished. She had to press her lips together to keep from smiling. He didn’t look comfortable. While the others danced and flexed, flirting with the crowd, he just stood there. But when you looked like Titan, standing there was all you needed to do.
Makenna trembled. There was no other man on earth like him. She watched the photographer’s assistant spray water on him for the shoot and she wanted to lick the droplets from his skin. Did that make her a bad person?
“Look at them, just look at them,” Allie murmured as the camera clicked again and again. The men paraded around, muscles rippling. Every one of them epitomized pure male power, yet each had a hero’s heart. As Titan strolled past her, their eyes met and every cell in her body screamed for him.
“You’re so lucky to be married to one of these hunks,” Allie whispered. “Where is Damien, by the way?”
Makenna swallowed. She didn’t feel lucky. “He’s in the back. They took his photo yesterday.” Probably flirting with the photographer’s assistant. Her husband could definitely put on a show. He was friendly, engaging, always had a kind word for everyone.
But her.
Titan moved back across the stage. This time she got a good look at his strong back, narrow waist and a firm ass any woman would give a thousand bucks just to nip. Yea, she wasn’t dead—not yet anyway. Maybe she shouldn’t notice these things. After all, she was a married woman. But her husband didn’t deserve the loyalty she showed him. The man she married was a monster.
As if it were the sound track of a horror movie, at the exact moment she defined Damien Wade for what he was, the alarm bell sounded. Several people jumped. Titan reached his pager first, he listened, then announced in a l
oud voice.
“Listen up! The river’s cresting. We’re needed out there!”
*
“Hold on, honey, I’ll save you!” Titan Sloan shouted as he swung from the end of a cable attached to a hovering helicopter. Below him the Blanco River was a raging torrent. Out of its banks, the roiling rush uprooted cypress trees that had grown at the edge of the river for decades. “I’d rather fight a fire any day,” he muttered as he maneuvered to grab the young woman who was hanging out the window of her white crossover. “Angle to the right, Hotshot. There’s debris ahead!”
If he didn’t work fast, the vehicle the victim was in would be rammed into a concrete pillar. The river bridge was crumbled and wrecked, destroyed by crashing trees wrenched from their roots and whole houses that had been swept from their foundations by the cruel power of the angry waters. Titan had never seen anything like it. After weeks of rain, the usually placid hill country streams had become rivers, rising forty feet in a matter of hours. Bridges were out, houses were in ruins and dozens of people were reported missing, washed away like this woman who was at the mercy of nature gone mad.
Unless he saved her.
“Lean out the window, miss.” Titan motioned, as he reached for her. “Not too far,” he cautioned, trying to be heard over the roar of the whirling blades overhead. “Give me strength,” he prayed as he glanced ahead, realizing he only had seconds. What was left of the bridge was looming and not only the car was in danger of being lost, he would be slammed into the structure. “Hold steady!” he called to his buddy. One wrong move and it was over.
“Gotcha!” Titan lifted the victim from the car, pulling her up into the safety of his arms. “Let’s go, Hotshot!” With only feet to spare, they were carried away, the hydraulic crank grinding to raise them to safety just in time.
“A little too close for comfort, Sloan,” Jericho Carson, otherwise known as Hotshot, spoke over his shoulder as Titan handed the gasping girl a bottle of water and a blanket. He also made sure she was secured with the safety belt before resuming his place next to Jericho.
“You can say that again.” Titan adjusted his headset, tuning into headquarters. “Captain, warn the authorities. The people downriver need to know that a wall of water is coming and it’s going to destroy everything in its path.”
Chapter Two
‡
“I love touching you.” Titan’s hungry hands soothed her beautiful body, caressing her soft naked flesh, stroking and petting her all over. “You don’t know how often I’ve dreamed of doing this.” He claimed her mouth, kissing her with tender desperation. She tasted as wonderful as he’d imagined, and so he made himself happy, lifting his mouth to nuzzle her neck and kiss her shoulders before coming back to her lips over and over again. He wouldn’t ever get enough. At last he had the privilege of holding her, loving her to his heart’s content.
The most amazing thing to Titan was the way she responded, melting into him. She arched against him, digging her fingers into his back and opening her mouth to his demands. He tangled his hands into her hair as his tongue teased hers, leaving not one iota of her mouth unexplored.
“I want you so much it hurts,” he moaned against her lips.
“Take me,” she whispered, her breath fanning his cheek.
Take, yes, he wanted to take—but more than that, he wanted to give. He ached to show her how much he adored her. Kissing his way down her luscious body, he spread her legs. “You are so beautiful,” he praised her as he knelt to worship between her thighs. With reverence, he ran his eager tongue between her pink glistening folds, licking leisurely. Now that he had her where he wanted her, Titan had all the time in the world.
Beneath him, she writhed as he flicked the tip of his tongue over her clit. “Like that?” He teased, licking her out, closer and closer to the well of her desire.
“Oh, yes. Please, Titan!” She rolled her hips, trying to force his tongue deeper. Wanting to make it last, he held her hips on the bed and kept feasting, alternating between sucking her clit and spearing his tongue where she seemed to need it most. He wanted to drive her insane from wanting him…maybe then…maybe then she’d be his forever.
Over and over again, he pleasured her—licking and sucking, cradling her hips, bringing her to the edge then stopping to trace her slit, giving her time to breathe before he renewed the sensual assault designed specifically to make her addicted to – him.
“You, Titan, I need you,” she begged and his chest swelled. He ached to be what she needed. With one last lick to her throbbing clit, he moved up her body, leaving a trail of kisses from her mound to her breasts. And as he suckled at a tender pink nipple, he drove his desperate shaft into her and the relief was so overwhelming he… Came. Hard.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Rolling over, Titan hit the black plastic alarm clock so hard, he heard it crunch. At least the annoying sound was gone. “Lord have mercy,” he groaned, aware of the mess he’d made on his sheets. He’d had another wet dream. Hell, he hadn’t done that since he was a gawky teen—until he fell in love with a woman he couldn’t have. Now, it seemed to be a regular occurrence. Burying his head in the pillow, he tried to recapture her scent. With a lonely hand, he soothed the sheet beside him on the empty half of the bed.
He was alone, as usual.
With an ache in his heart, he acknowledged the truth.
Love hurts.
Why couldn’t he let this dead-end infatuation go? He sat up on the side of the bed and held his head in his hands. At least he’d see her tonight at the awards ceremony. If he was lucky.
*
Fighting the urge to glance over his shoulder to see if she’d arrived, Titan acknowledged his weakness. As the old song said, he’d never laid a hand on her, all he could do was adore the woman of his heart from a polite distance. She was so close, yet so fuckin’ far.
Titan could remember the day he’d first met her… She’d been in front of the Artisan Farmer’s Market on Highway 32, herding baby ducks across the road. Makenna had flagged him down by placing herself in between his truck and the small parade. He’d braked to a stop, took one look at her and fell like a ton of bricks. She was absolutely gorgeous and he’d been entranced watching her try to get the waddling little balls of fluff across the road. When other cars approached, he’d gotten out to help. She’d been grateful. “Oh, thank you. I couldn’t stand the thought of these little mites getting flattened.”
“No problem, my pleasure.” They’d laughed together, and Titan had felt this amazing immediate connection with her. He’d been about to ask her out when she insisted on buying him a cup of coffee as a thank-you.
“I appreciate you helping me. Not many men would’ve taken the time to be so kind.”
“I’m a softie when it comes to animals,” Titan admitted, holding out his hand, needing to touch her. “And beautiful women. I’m Titan Sloan.”
“Makenna Wade.”
She’d placed her small soft hand in his and Titan felt like a missing piece of his soul had finally slipped into place. “Pleased to meet you, Makenna.”
“We just moved here…” The pivotal word ‘we’ wasn’t lost on him and like a domino effect of unfortunate events, Titan noticed her wedding ring at the same time a gruff voice interrupted her explanation.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing, Makenna?”
Titan whirled around to see a tall man with brown hair come lumbering up. His voice was harsh and accusatory. Titan was immediately on alert, even as his emotions went into a tailspin. She was married!
“I was just thanking this nice man for helping me…”
Her voice trailed off into nothingness so Titan filled the gap. “Hello, I’m Titan Sloan.” Titan always felt it was better to know the name of whomever you were tempted to knock flat on their face.
“Damien Wade,” the man said sharply and succinctly. Not waiting on Titan to respond, he’d turned on Makenna. “Did you get lost?” She didn’t answer his qu
estion, just lowered her gaze. Facing Titan, he continued his tirade. “I’m sorry if she bothered you. I have to keep an eye on my wife. She has a tendency to get distracted from what she’s supposed to be doing.”
“She was fine, performing a public service.” Hearing the man refer to Makenna as his wife made Titan feel like someone just hit him hard in the solar plexus. “What did you say your name was?” he asked.
“Damien, Damien Wade.”
Damn, Titan remembered. “You’re the one I’ve heard so much about. Our new Fire Chief.” The guys on the Hays County VFD had been able to talk about nothing else. In fact, the whole town was buzzing about the local hero who had decided to return home.
“That’s me. Are you with the unit?”
“I am,” Titan answered. As Wade stood up straight and proud, he couldn’t help but notice that his wife kept her head down. Two things hit Titan right between the eyes. First, this was someone he was going to have to work with and learn to trust. Second, he was attracted to another man’s wife.
Since that day, Titan fought how he felt. He’d grown to respect Damien Wade. The Captain was a good leader, harsh at times, but he got things done. As far as he wife was concerned, the man seemed possessive, which was probably a good thing. She was a beautiful woman. Rarely was she seen apart from her husband unless she was performing some type of community service. Titan even had to admire how supportive she was of the Captain and his work with the Fire Department. She pitched right in, serving as their secretary, taking care of filing the reports with the county and filling out grant paperwork for new equipment purchases.
Yet every time Titan saw her, he found himself drawn deeper and deeper into a hopeless situation. She was everything he yearned for in a woman. More than aware of her, he gathered memories like photos pressed in an album, things he wanted to remember—her kneeling to tie a toddler’s shoe, taking clothes and food to families who lost their homes to a fire, and visiting people in the hospital or the nursing home. She was one of the most giving people he knew. After their initial meeting, Makenna had never sought him out. She treated him with the same respect she showed all of the men in the unit.
