by Cora Seton
Out of nowhere, his pager went off. He’d no more than started toward his truck before the rest of the unit all came running. “There’s a four alarm over at the ale brewery. Let’s go before the whole thing blows!”
*
She was such a coward. “Damn!” she yelled, grabbing a blue sofa pillow and hurling it across the room. How did her life get to be such a mess? Sneaking home because she couldn’t bear to be in the same room with him. Even as she processed the thought, Makenna realized she didn’t know for sure which man she was referring to—the husband she despised or the man she pined for. Both of them made her uncomfortable in different ways.
What was she going to do? She’d been so close to telling Allie everything about Damien and their situation on the phone this morning. It had been on the tip of her tongue to spill it all—the beatings, the way he held her head underwater, how he deprived her of food, made her sleep on the floor or stand in one spot for hours. Makenna’s life was hell, yet she kept it all inside.
Her friend had called and invited her to go shopping. And Makenna had refused—again. A few times when Damien was busy on sales calls that took him out of town or if there was a fire Makenna would sneak away to be with Allie, but not often. Damien’s work as a representative for a RV manufacturer didn’t take him away on overnight trips, so her freedom was limited. Allie had pressed her earlier, telling Makenna that she knew something wasn’t right. She’d had to bite her tongue, but Makenna kept her own secrets. She couldn’t afford not to.
Keeping up appearances was tough. Her strategy for staying alive was to keep out of his way and do nothing to set her husband off. Anyone would wonder why she remained, why didn’t she just slip out the door and disappear? Well, there was a very good reason.
Retaliation.
He’d warned Makenna often enough, but she’d learned he was serious the hard way. The only time she’d tried to leave, Damien had come after her and when he’d hauled her home, he not only beat Makenna and broke her arm, he killed their black lab right in front of her. And it had been his dog. Damien did it because he knew Makenna loved the animal and to give her a visual, lingering reminder that he meant exactly what he said. He told her coldly that the dog wouldn’t be the only one to pay the price. He clearly promised her that if she ever told anyone the truth, he’d make her and the one she trusted pay dearly. Makenna had no reason to doubt him. He’d been very liberal with his demonstrations.
She had the scars to prove it.
His threat still rang in her ears. “Don’t test me, Makenna. You’ll be sorry. I know how to deal with idiots and I won’t tolerate anyone interfering in our lives. It won’t pay you to get attached to anyone. If you step out of line, anyone you care about is in jeopardy.”
Makenna knew Damien was dangerous, as dangerous as a coiled cornered Texas rattler. But no one in this town would ever believe her, even if she did escape his revenge. This was his home town and he was loved. When Damien was younger, before he’d taken the job with the fire department in Fort Worth and met her, he’d become a hero in Hays County. Almost singlehandedly he’d rescued a Sunday morning congregation in the Baptist church after a fire had started in the empty baptistery. All they could figure out was that someone had knocked some candles over, but no one remembered lighting them. The story was told how he’d been passing by, noticed the smoke coming through the roof and rushed in to guide everyone to safety, returning to fight the fire before the structure was a total loss. And that wasn’t his only claim to fame. During his previous service in the Hays County VFD, Damien had performed more than one of these happenstance heroics. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Johnny-on-the-spot to dash in and save the day. When they’d abruptly left the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the Wades had been welcomed home with open arms and he’d been instantly placed in the leadership position in their all-volunteer department.
If only she had the strength to do something about it. Several times she’d considered going to Titan, telling him the truth about Damien…about everything. But she didn’t have the courage. How could she open up to a man she didn’t really know? Oh, she’d built up a fantasy world around him, one where he would be her knight-in-shining armor, fight her own personal dragons for her. They’d shared some heated looks, but her experience with men was so limited, Makenna was afraid she might be misinterpreting that look for interest when it was actually indigestion.
Her husband didn’t allow her much interaction outside the home. He insisted on approving everywhere she went and everyone she came into contact with. It was a wonder he put up with her volunteer work at the nursing home. Perhaps it was because he didn’t feel threatened by the elderly residents. Little did he know that she had found friends there. They might all be in their twilight years but that didn’t hinder them caring for her. Makenna smiled thinking of Miss Rosa and Miss Ethel, two little ladies who taught her to play chicken-foot, a hilarious domino game. She would sit with them and help them do their nails. And then there was the old gentleman, Mr. Winfred, a WWII veteran who had more stories than he could find people to listen to them. He’d noticed her bruises, the times she’d had her arm in a sling and he’d guessed. It killed Makenna to lie to him, but she did so just in case he might mention it to someone else. Damien was dangerous and she had to take precautions to protect herself and others, especially her friends.
A few years ago, right after they’d moved to Hays County, she’d once gotten in his face after he’d slapped her around. Everything within her told her to fight. She’d never been a violent person, but the injustice of it all just ate her alive. Makenna threatened to go to the police, and he’d informed her with a smirk that she’d get no help there. He had friends, he said. Friends who would make sure no one believed a damn word that came out of her mouth. To show her he meant what he said, Damien had methodically begun to plant seeds. He told folks to help him ‘watch out for her’, that she sometimes got confused and that she’d undergone psychiatric care. Yes, it was true about the therapy, but she didn’t need monitoring and there was no time when she wasn’t painfully lucid. Damien knew good and well that her time seeing a psychiatrist was due to a trauma, not to any mental problems on her part.
Recently, he’d acquired a concealed handgun license and he’d flashed it around in front of her, telling her how easy it would be to pick someone off, like a sniper. He’d made her blood run cold. Honestly, she wouldn’t put anything past the man. He was crazy. So she feared to talk to anyone. All she could do was escape into her own mind until she formulated a way to leave without endangering anyone else.
When reality became more than she could handle, Makenna resorted to day-dreaming. Fantasizing. Walking to the window, she stared out into the night, imagining a different end to the evening. Condensation had built up on the glass, so she took her finger and drew MTF several times. If she were with Titan instead of Damien, he would be here with her now. She could almost feel his warmth, his strength at her back. He would place his hands on her shoulders and she’d lean into him…his palms would slide across her chest to cup her breasts.
Makenna turned in his arms, seeking his lips. He didn’t make her wait, capturing her mouth and claiming her lips as if he couldn’t survive a moment longer without her kiss. She wanted him so much. Clinging to his broad shoulders, she rubbed herself against him, showing him without a shadow of a doubt how much she needed him. She could take pleasure in him, and she would…but right now she wanted to give.
Guiding him to the bed, she bade him undress until he was gloriously nude, his big body a playground for her amusement. He wanted her, she could tell. His cock was strutted with desire, bobbing in front of her eager mouth. Yes, he wanted her. Titan wanted more from her than cries of pain or promises made to escape a beating. He wanted her—just her. “I need to love you,” she whispered as she wrapped a hand around his cock and brought him to her waiting lips. The very act of taking him into her mouth was a sacred one—she did it because she wan
ted to, not because she was forced.
With trembling anticipation, she gently sucked at the tip, teasing the sensitive spot beneath the flared head with her teeth. Titan’s groan was her reward. He fisted the sheet at his side with one big hand while cupping the back of her head with the other. With greedy relish, Makenna sucked and licked until he lost control.
Shifting his hips he pressed forward, bucking inside her welcoming mouth. Makenna smiled, using her hand to stroke him as she slid her lips up and down his shaft, taking him deeper down her throat each time. Oh, how she loved this. Mindlessly she sucked, giving him as much pleasure as she could, reaching down to play with his sac, rubbing his balls between her fingers.
How long had she been denied such pleasure? Being with a man who only wanted to please her—not hurt her. She kept sucking his cock until his grip tightened on her hair and he shouted, bowing his back. And all the while she licked, sucked, swallowing him without mercy until he was gasping for air. “Makenna, my Makenna.” Leaning her head against the cool glass of the window, she massaged herself between the legs until she jerked, giving herself a modicum of release.
As she straightened her clothes, Makenna heard the sirens. As always, a tingle of apprehension slid down her spine. She was always afraid one of the firemen would be injured or there would be a fatality. Firefighting was a dangerous occupation. Even with her hatred of Damien, her need to be free of him, she wouldn’t wish a fiery death upon him or anyone. But he wasn’t the main one on her mind. Oh, she worried about them all—Hotshot, Blaze, Maverick, Dallas and the rest—but Titan was the one she prayed for. So pray she did, asking for his safety, his care. She turned up the volume so she could hear the dispatcher’s voice while she got ready for bed.
As she stood nude in front of the bathroom mirror, Makenna studied her reflection. Oh she paid no attention to her looks, what little she had, or to her too generous figure. What caught her eye was what she had to hide. The fresh bruises on her breasts, the older yellow and purple ones on her ribcage, and the black finger marks on her shoulder where he’d grabbed her and flung her against the wall the night before.
If only she could have a normal life with a man who loved her.
After a quick shower, she returned to the living room, sitting next to the scanner. At least this way she could keep up with the unit, make sure they were all okay by listening to their radio transmissions. Plus, she’d know when Damien was on his way home.
Over at the brewery, things weren’t going as planned. Titan thought they’d be in and out quickly. The initial report had been that a welder was working to replace an old fire escape when a spark ignited some beams in the wall. Two ladder trucks had begun spraying the outside structure while he and two others had headed inside. They’d got everyone to safety and were on their way out when a spark fell into one of the vats. That was all it took. With the flammability of alcohol, the explosion was instantaneous. The whole building shook and Titan was thrown about twenty feet. As he tried to rise, he hung his jacket on an exposed jagged pipe, tearing the thick material. A flame of fire licked right up his side. Due to his battered gear, Titan was burned. The next thing he knew, the whole ceiling was coming down.
“Man down! Man down!”
Through a haze of pain, he heard Ronan radioing for help. The last thing on his mind was…Makenna.
Back at the Wade house, she heard the ominous announcement. “Man down! Man down!” Jumping up, Makenna ran to the scanner, standing over it with her heart in her throat. The channel was designated for firemen and first responders only, and since this was a rural community, there were few formalities.
“Who is it and what’s going on?”
She knew this was one of the EMTs, most probably Owen, the senior member of the team. Straining to hear, Makenna went down on her knees.
“Ceiling collapsed, one of the ale vats exploded. The firefighter is unconscious with some burns to his back. He’s out of the building and we’re working on him now. Hurry, it’s Titan Sloan.”
Unbidden, a cry broke from her throat and she didn’t even think. Running to her room, she scrambled to get back into her clothes. With little forethought and no plan, she grabbed her keys. Makenna was out the door and headed for the hospital before she could talk herself out of it.
Chapter Three
‡
“Hurts like a bitch!” Titan groaned.
“Hold still, son,” the doctor ordered. “If you’re able to make so much noise, I think you’re going to be fine.”
Titan should’ve been relieved at the announcement. Instead, he cursed himself for his idiocy in not anticipating what was about to happen. “Was anyone else hurt?”
“No, not to my knowledge,” Doc Proctor muttered as he applied ointment to the second degree burns on Titan’s back.
“At least I didn’t need blood. With my rare blood type I would’ve probably died.” Titan closed his eyes, trying to shut out the pain. Burns were the worst.
“I remember, you’re AB positive. No problem now, you had an anonymous donor give blood in your name. You have your own private stash.”
“You’re kidding.” Titan was curious. “Who would do something like that for me?”
“You may never know, that’s why they call it anonymous.” Owen laughed, standing to one side. “By the way, I just heard from the scene on the scanner. The department is still fighting the fire. That last explosion took the building. They’re trying to keep it from spreading to nearby businesses. Don’t worry, Damien will take care of everything.”
“Keep me informed,” Titan hissed. “I need to know what happens.”
“Will do. In the meantime, there’s someone here to see you.”
Titan turned his head, trying to see past the physician and the nurse. “Who?”
“Hold on, we’ll be out of your way in a second.” The nurse continued to apply gauze to the wound.
Whoever it was stepped back, probably one of the guys. “Tell them not to leave.”
“She won’t.” Owen assured him. “I’m sure Damien sent her to check on you. It’s Ms. Wade.”
Makenna.
Whatever he’d been feeling, any pain or discomfort, went right out of his head. “I want to see her,” he began forcefully, then remembered what he was doing. “To ask her about the others,” he added quickly.
“Hold your horses,” the doctor said as he applied the last bit of tape to the bandage. “There.”
As soon as the health professionals left the room, he waited…impatiently. Finally, she stepped into view. Titan’s heart lurched in his chest. She was so beautiful. Makenna had the sweetest face and a mouth he’d give ten years of his life to kiss. Her hair was long and full of body, hanging down her back in fat sausage curls. Once when he’d been watching Grey’s Anatomy, it had hit him that she looked a little like Jo Wilson. The actress’ name was Camilla…something. It didn’t really matter, because the actress wasn’t the object of his desire, the real person standing in front of him was. “Hey. You came.”
Makenna’s whole body was vibrating. She shouldn’t be here, but her heart hadn’t given her any choice. “Of course I came. How are you?”
“I’ll live.” He tried to smile, raising himself up on his forearms. They’d told him he needed to stay off his back for a few days. And by the way it felt, he figured that might be a good idea. “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
She wanted to comfort him, to put her arms around Titan and hold him tight. But she couldn’t do that, he didn’t belong to her and she was as much a prisoner as if she dragged a ball and chain behind her with every step. Titan had never given an indication he was drawn to her in any capacity other than a friend. All of the intimate connections between them existed only in her head. When she’d arrive at the fire hall with a heavy dish and Damien strolled ahead of her, not even holding the door—it would be Titan who raced to take it from her. He was always first to see when she needed anything. But he was like that with al
l the women. Titan Sloan was a gentleman and she’d read entirely too much into his gallant gestures. Licking her lips, heat blooming on her cheeks, she stammered over her words. “I…I was worried about you.”
Hope heated his chest like a flare gun going off. If this woman gave him even one hint, one hope she wasn’t satisfied in her marriage, that she longed for him as much as he did for her—he’d move heaven and earth to make her his. “No need. I’m fine.”
“I was listening to the scanner. I heard there was a firefighter down,” she said lowly. “I’m sorry you were hurt.”
“You were afraid it was Damien,” he ventured. “No, it was just me.”
Makenna cleared her throat. “I didn’t want it to be you.”
Titan gripped the sheet. It was a wonder he didn’t tear a hole in the cheap cotton. The meds running through his system weren’t doing a helluva lot of good, except maybe to loosen his tongue. Before he could call back the words, he just spat them out. “Makenna, you know this isn’t working.”
“What isn’t working?” Makenna tensed. A sinking feeling rose in her middle. He didn’t have to say anything more. She understood. He’d seen through her concern and knew she felt more for him than mere friendship. And he didn’t want it…or her…
Titan sought words, words to explain how he felt. But they wouldn’t come.
“Makenna, what the hell are you doing here? You know you shouldn’t be out alone at this time of night!”
Titan couldn’t argue with that—he didn’t like Makenna out alone either.
A pain shot through her where Damien pinched her arm in a cruel grip. To anyone looking on, it would seem he was just holding her. They couldn’t tell he was digging his thumb in with great force. She winced, then tried to control it. What happened later would depend on how she acted now. “I was just checking on Titan.” Next, a lie slipped from her lips, implying she thought the injured firefighter could be Damien. “I heard there was a firefighter down. I was worried.”
