“I don’t know that this is such a good idea…” He didn’t stop kissing her neck, though. Her compliment pleased him, made him glow a little.
“What are you talking about?” She pressed her hips against him and looked up, her eyes hot. “I can tell you want me.”
“Well, duh. But I don’t like the idea of taking advantage of you like this.”
She pulled back and frowned at him. “Jeez, you sound practically Victorian. Neon, I’m not hammered, if that’s what you’re thinking. I know perfectly well what I’m doing.”
“Okay, you’ve convinced me.” He wanted her so badly he didn’t think he could have stopped even if she’d wanted him to.
She gave an exultant laugh and slid her arms around him. “Good.”
He pushed her back until her legs met the hand basin, kissing her hot and hard, running his hands over her breasts. She went to pull off her top, but he stopped her. “No don’t. You’re all soft like this…” Her breasts were heavy in his hands, and his fingers slid over the fabric easily as he brushed his thumbs across her nipples.
“You’re not.” The words came out breathless as she moved her hips against his.
“The perfect combination.” He started to hitch up her long skirt. When it got to her knees he ran a hand up the outside of her thigh, reaching around to cup her ass.
“Whoa.” He pulled back and stared at her as his hand found only skin.
“What?” She grinned. “I was hot.”
“Oh God, you’re telling me.” He lifted her skirt up so he could cup both cheeks with his hands.
Merle rested back on the hand basin and shot up again with a squeal. “Jeez, that’s cold!”
He laughed and moved her to the side, kicking the laundry basket away to make room. She met the wall with a bump and gasped, pulling his head down, kissing him deeply, opening her mouth to accept his tongue, matching it stroke for stroke with her own.
Sighing, he pushed a knee in between her legs, nudging them apart, then slipped a hand beneath her skirt. He knew better than to worry about lubrication this time and, sure enough, as he brushed his fingers through her hair, he found the warm folds of her skin already slick with moisture, his fingers sliding easily.
He gave a half laugh, half groan. “God, you’re sexy.” She laughed and he kissed her as he stroked her, slipping two fingers inside, sighing at the wetness and the heat of her.
She pushed his hand away, however, fumbling at his shorts. “No time for that. Come on, I want you inside me.” She stopped, staring at him. “Oh crap, I forgot…”
Grinning, he pulled back, putting a hand in his pocket and drawing out a condom.
She looked up, raising an eyebrow. “You came prepared?”
“I knew you were going to be here tonight.”
Her eyes widened. “You assumed I’d have sex with you again? That’s a big assumption, mister.”
Uh-oh. He shrugged. “Hoped, not assumed.”
She studied him for a moment. He could see her deciding whether or not she should be insulted. Clearly she then realised how ridiculous that would be and grinned. “Fair enough.”
He laughed, relieved, and tore open the packet, pulling down his shorts a little, sliding the condom on. She lifted a leg around him, moving herself into position, but she wasn’t quite where he wanted her.
Placing both hands beneath her backside, he lifted her, wrapping both her legs around his waist. She squealed, flinging out an arm for balance, knocking several bottles off the nearby shelf as she did so. He laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”
“Neon!” She clutched hold of him. “I’m heavy—you’ll drop me!”
He looked at her wryly. “Sweetheart, I have to be able to lift a hundred and five kilos, and I can do almost double that. I don’t think you weigh quite that much.”
She stared at him, wide-eyed. “I keep forgetting you’re a firefighter. Wow.” She ran her fingers up the tight muscles of his arms, her eyes glinting mischievously. “Can I slide down your pole please?”
He chuckled. “Absolutely, but stop making me laugh or we won’t get anywhere.” He pressed her against the wall, his arms tight around her, pushing the tip of himself into her warmth. “Now relax.” He kissed her deeply, waiting until she felt safe enough to let go of the tight grip she had around his neck, her thighs slackening. Slowly he lowered her, sliding right into her warm velvet skin until she was completely impaled on him.
“Oh my.” Her pupils were so dilated her eyes looked black. She linked her ankles behind his back, slipping her hands through his hair, which was damp with sweat. She pulled his head forward and he kissed her again as he began to move, starting slowly, worried about hurting her, but after a while, she tightened her legs around him as he pushed forward, encouraging him to deepen his thrusts. Before long, he was past thinking, past caring, driven by instinct and a desperate hunger for this wild and beautiful woman.
“Oh God…oh God…oh God…” she started to say each time as he thrust even harder, making him smile in spite of his rising passion.
“Don’t make me laugh.”
“I…can’t…help it…” She tipped her head back. “It feels like…you’re trying to…spear me…through the wall!”
“Do you want me to stop?” Please, please don’t say yes.
“It’s…too late…for that…” She panted, unable to kiss him now, to do anything but breathe in big gasps. Her eyes drifted shut. “I think I’m…going to…oh!”
Her muscles tightened around him, squeezing him as her orgasm started. “Open your eyes,” he demanded, and she did so, blinking as she tried to focus on him, small cries escaping her soft, bruised mouth. At that moment, her head tipped back on the wall, her eyes wide with pleasure, he’d never seen anything so beautiful and erotic.
It was too much for him and his own climax started, his muscles pulsing as he felt the familiar rush and focus of his whole being in his groin.
At that exact moment, just as they reached their peak, someone knocked at the door.
Chapter Seven
They both jumped but were too far gone to stop, and Merle clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to cover up her cries, while Neon leaned his head on her shoulder, cursing and laughing at the same time as his body continued to pulse.
“What?” he barked out as soon as he was able, hoping fervently it wasn’t his mother.
“Are you all right in there?” Jake’s concerned voice was followed by a muffled snort, presumably from Bree. “It sounds like you’re in pain!”
“Oh Christ.” Merle met Neon’s gaze, trying hard not to laugh and failing miserably.
He glared at the door. “Fuck off, Jake!”
His cousin’s laughter echoed and Neon shook his head, joining in, planting a kiss on Merle’s hair as his body finally began to calm. “I’m so sorry!”
“I’m not—I haven’t had so much fun in years.” She met his eyes, her own very warm and filled with amusement as her breathing started to slow. “Oh my God, I swear I’m not going to be able to walk for a week.” She unlinked her ankles and he let her slide down him as he withdrew carefully. She groaned as she straightened her legs, wincing.
Laughing ruefully, he pulled his shorts up then wrapped her in his arms. She lifted her head and he studied her, smiling, bending to kiss her, long and languidly, tightening his arms around her. Afterward he rested his cheek on the top of her head, kissing her hair as she snuggled up to him.
It took a moment for him to move, but eventually he said, “We’d better go out. I think they’re still out there.” He bent and picked up his shirt, pulling it on and buttoning it.
“Can you go first? I need to…you know.” She nodded at the toilet.
“Of course.” He unlocked the door. He looked over his shoulder, then came back and pressed a kiss to her lips. He hesitated.
“Go on.” She smiled. “I’m okay.”
He met her gaze. For a second he saw a hint of sadness in her eyes, like the
glimpse of a coin at the bottom of a well. Then it vanished and she winked, playful once again.
Blowing her a kiss, he went out and shut the door behind him.
Merle waited for a moment. There was a second of silence, then Bree and Jake burst out laughing.
“Very funny,” Neon said wryly. “Bastard.”
“Neon, we could hear the two of you from down the hall, it was hardly a secret assignation.”
Merle groaned quietly.
“So what? She was giving me an early Christmas present.”
“Oh, she was giving you one all right.”
A string of expletives came from the firefighter, followed by more laughter from the other two.
“Where’s Merle?” Amusement filled Bree’s voice.
“Waiting for you two to bugger off. Come on, leave her alone and don’t embarrass her—she gets enough of that from me.” His voice grew fainter as he propelled them out of the room.
Merle sat with her face in her hands. Dear God, what was she doing? She was a guest in a strange house and she’d dragged a man off for a quickie while his mother was in the next room, for crying out loud. Oh please, God, don’t let Julia have heard us.
It was no good—she couldn’t stay in there all night. She had to go out at some point.
She checked herself in the mirror. Her hair was ruffled, her cheeks were flushed, her lipstick had vanished and her lips were swollen. She looked like she’d had sex. Funny that. She looked away, wincing. Hopefully it would be dark enough so nobody would notice.
She unlocked the door and opened it. She walked out, stopping immediately. Neon stood in the doorway to the bedroom, leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed. As she came out, he gave a small laugh. “I was beginning to think you’d set up camp in there.”
“I thought about it.” She blushed at the memory of what they’d done.
He smiled as her cheeks reddened. “You’re the only woman I’ve known who blushes after sex.” He held out a hand toward her. “Come on, tiger. Bree and Jake are ready to go.”
Oh, thank God. Maybe they’d be able to sneak out without seeing anyone. She slipped her hand into his, her heart thumping as she thought of where the fingers grasping hers had just been. She had to stop doing this. She didn’t have the constitution to withstand the embarrassment afterward.
They walked down the hall and into the living room, and to her horror, she realised everyone had moved inside. Luckily, though, nobody else—apart from Jake and Bree, who were giggling like five-year-olds—had noticed they were missing.
“I’d better say goodbye to Jake’s parents.”
“I’ll get your sandals.” He headed for the decking.
She thanked Jake’s mum and dad for inviting her to their party and promised she’d be back the following day for Christmas dinner.
When she turned around, Julia stood there waiting to say goodbye, clutching the hand of the tall, grey-haired man who had been talking to Neon earlier that evening. Oh no, surely not.
Julia smiled, eyes sparkling. “Goodbye, Merle.” She came forward to give her a kiss on the cheek. “This is my husband, Pierre, by the way.”
“Ah,” said Merle, interested even though she’d blushed furiously. “So that’s where he got his name!”
Pierre laughed, taking her hand and kissing the tips of her fingers. “And he has never forgiven me for it!” His accent was a strange blend of Kiwi and French, and his gesture showed his European heritage.
She smiled, speaking to him in French. “Are you interested in history?”
He nodded, his eyes widening at her fluency. “I’m a secondary school history teacher.”
“Oh! I’m a lecturer in medieval history at the University of Exeter.” Merle didn’t miss the way Julia elbowed her husband in the ribs, and his answering squeeze of Julia’s hand.
“Wonderful!” said Pierre enthusiastically. “Do you cover any French history?”
“Well, Crécy, Poitiers and Agincourt, obviously,” she teased, referring to the three great English victories of the Hundred Years’ War.
He laughed. “So where did you meet Neon?”
Merle opened her mouth, but their son was already walking back up to them, Merle’s sandals in his hand, and he fixed his parents with a reproachful stare. “Okay, folks, show’s over.” He caught Merle’s hand and backed away, pulling her toward the front door.
“Nice to meet you,” she said over her shoulder as Julia reached up to whisper something in her husband’s ear. Pierre nodded, looking back at Merle, smiling.
Neon looked exasperated. Merle’s good humour faded. He didn’t want her talking to them. Well why would he? It wasn’t as if she were his girlfriend or anything. She was only a holiday fling.
“Sorry,” he said.
“For what?”
“Well, I doubt you expected the third degree from my parents when you made that offer on the beach.”
She started to smile. “No, I suppose not.”
He led her out into the drive, pulling her to one side. “Merry Christmas.” He gave her a last kiss.
“Merry Christmas,” she said when he raised his head. His kiss lingered on her lips like a snowflake.
“Have a great day tomorrow. I doubt it’ll be turkey and roast potatoes.”
She laughed. “I must admit, I’ve never had a barbecue on Christmas Day! But there’s a first time for everything.”
“There certainly is.” He smiled.
“Are you spending the day at your parents’?”
“Most of it. I’m on nights for the next two days.”
“On Christmas Day!”
He grinned. “Someone has to man the fort. It can be busy. There’s often a lot of car accidents, drunk driving, you know.”
She nodded. When she thought of firefighters, she always thought about them fighting fires and forgot they did other stuff. “Well, be careful,” she said awkwardly.
“I will.” He smiled, his eyes warm.
She hesitated. She couldn’t think of anything to say except, “See you.” What did you say to someone you’d just had wild, passionate sex with, but who you were probably never going to see again?
“See you.”
She walked over to the car. Bree and Jake were already inside and she climbed in the back. Jake pulled away smoothly.
She looked at her hands, then out the window. Eventually, however, she had to look at Bree and Jake. Jake was glancing at her in his rear-view mirror with an amused expression on his face, and Bree turned around to look at her over the headrest, eyes brimming with delight. Merle met her gaze and glared.
They both burst out laughing. Merle studied them. “Ha-ha, very funny. This is all your fault, Bree Warren.”
“Don’t know what you’re fed up about. Sounded like you were having a good time to me.”
Merle blushed scarlet and Bree reached over and grasped her hand. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t tease. I’m very happy for you. And you’ve earned yourself another fifty bucks, anyway!”
Two more and I’ll get the bonus. Who’d have thought it of quiet, responsible, respectable Merle?
As Jake drove through the town centre, heading for their house on the east side of Kerikeri, Merle jumped as a siren cut through the air, ringing out loud across the empty streets. “What the hell? Has Germany invaded Poland or something?”
Jake grinned. “It’s the town’s fire siren. The fire service in the Northland is mainly voluntary, you see, and when the volunteers hear the siren they know to come running.”
Merle frowned. “But Neon said he’s on nightshift tomorrow?”
“Yeah, well, he’s not a volunteer.”
“What do you mean?”
Bree glanced at Merle over her shoulder. “He’s one of the senior station officers in charge of the fire station here. He was the youngest in the North Island to make that position. And they reckon he’ll be chief fire officer before he’s thirty.”
“Oh.” Merle felt a tingle all the wa
y down her body. Of course he was special. She looked out of the window at the Christmas decorations in the shops. She should have known he did more than rescue cats from trees.
“There were about twenty-five hundred applicants for twenty-five places on the recruit course,” said Jake. “And I’m pretty sure he was near the top of that list.”
“You should ask him what his training was like,” said Bree. “Intense aerobic tests, press ups, dead lifts, shoulder presses… He scored six on all of those.”
“Out of what?”
Bree looked at her, eyebrows raised. Merle sighed.
“He broke a local record for dead lifting,” said Jake.
Well, that didn’t surprise her. The memory of how easily he’d been able to support her weight wasn’t going to fade any time soon.
Bree’s eyes were twinkling. “How hot are you for him right now?”
Merle looked out the window. The two of them were laughing, but humour was the last thing on her mind. Her heart was thumping, and she felt an unfamiliar surge of something through her blood that made her inhale sharply and her head spin.
Oh no. She closed her eyes. No, no, no. She’d only met him twice. True, she had slept with him repeatedly in that short space of time, but even so, it was hardly a lasting relationship.
She couldn’t possibly be in love.
This was terrible. Awful. Surely she was wrong. Love was something that built up over time, wasn’t it? It developed over months and years, like stalactites—it wasn’t something that appeared overnight like fungus. No, she obviously wasn’t in love. She was in lust. Yes. She breathed a little easier. That made sense. And who in their right mind wouldn’t fall in lust with Neon Carter?
Ella, his previous girlfriend, sprang into her mind, and she remembered overhearing their conversation on the phone. Ella had felt the same way about him. It obviously happened when you were near him for a short space of time—he was gorgeous, warm, funny and sexy—what wasn’t to like? But it didn’t mean either of them had been in love with him.
Love was what happened after the first flush of lust had worn off and you found out they hated doing the dishes and never put their socks in the laundry basket, and yet you still wanted to be with them. Love was looking after them when they thought they were dying from a measly cold, and putting up with their snoring, and letting them watch the rugby although there was a show you were missing on the other side.
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