Text copyright ©2016 by the Author.
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Flashpoint
Delilah Devlin
Troy Barlow wasn’t looking for love when he competed in the Texas Tough Firefighting Competition, but one feisty little blonde caught his attention and wouldn’t let go. The more she tried to deflect him, the more determined he became to make an impression, until he did something she couldn’t possibly ignore.
The last thing Diana Boyle expected to feel was attraction for another firefighter. After her husband’s death, she’d been adamant—never another firefighter. But Troy was impossible to escape. When he wore down her resolve, she thought a one-night-stand might purge him from her system once and for all, but his powerful appeal and uninhibited lust and zest for life were addictive. When a harrowing fire threatens their newfound happiness, Diana has to face her worst fears.
From the Author
To those of you who’ve read me before—hello, friends! To new readers, welcome to my world!
As you’ll discover, I tend to bounce around in different genres, from contemporary to historical to paranormal to sci-fi—all are very sexy, so be warned. I also write in many lengths from short story to full-length novel. If you can’t tell, I love to write. And when a story is fast, it’s short. If my characters need more pages, well, you get the picture.
I love hearing from readers and have a very active blog and Facebook friend page. I run contests, talk about my favorite TV shows, what I collect, what drives me crazy. I ramble a bit. I’m doing it right now. But if you’d like to learn more about me and what I’m doing or writing about, be sure to check out the “About Delilah Devlin” page after the story.
And if you enjoy this story, please consider leaving a review on your favorite retail site or simply tell a friend. Readers do influence other readers. We have to trust someone to tell us whether we’ll have fun when we open a new story!
Sincerely,
Delilah Devlin
Visit www.DelilahDevlin.com for more titles and release dates, and subscribe to Delilah’s newsletter at newsletter.
Table of Contents
Title Page
About the Book
From the Author
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
About Delilah Devlin
Uncharted SEALs Series
Chapter One
TROY BARLOW BEGAN pulling up the hem of his T-shirt to wipe away the sweat stinging his eyes, and the constant chattering nearby silenced. The women leaning over the fence bordering the track circling the high school football field had their cell phones poised, waiting to view some skin. To tell the truth, he’d been flattered by all the attention, at first, but now he was more than a little tired of it.
Sure, he’d been warned when it was announced that the Caldera FD would be hosting the Texas Tough Firefighting Competition that year. His boss, Chief Blake Thacker, had mentioned the event was a babe magnet, but during opening ceremonies, he’d made a huge point of introducing his pretty wife the mayor. In the next instant, the honeys standing at the sidelines had turned their attention Troy’s way.
And while there were dozens of well-honed bodies around for them to ogle, he’d been introduced as a new local firefighter, “A single guy, ladies,” and therefore available for pursuit by the unmarried women of Caldera. And there seemed to be many. Other firefighters from firehouses all over Texas were only in town for the weekend, and therefore not nearly as interesting. After a day of having his every twist and turn inspected, Troy was feeling like a piece of meat.
Not that he wouldn’t have minded one particular woman’s attention. A pretty blonde with bottle-green eyes and a slim, but curvy, figure. She sat behind the San Angelo firefighters’ table, pouring plastic cups of ice water and handing out cookies to the men and women she’d come to support.
He’d already determined that she wasn’t one of the firefighter’s women. She treated them all with equal affection. And when he’d ogled her a little too long, one of the San Angelo crew had approached him to introduce himself and tell him to look elsewhere.
Cade Westmoreland’s expression had been bullish. Troy knew to take him seriously, because he’d attended the same state-run training sessions with the man a time or two over the years. Cade was a decent firefighter and built like a tank.
Troy wasn’t interested in starting trouble, but the woman had drawn his eye from the moment he’d arrived that morning. She’d worked the registration table, giving him a form to complete before he could receive a band to wear around his upper arm with his contestant number.
He was fairly new to Caldera, but he’d known instantly she wasn’t from around here. If he’d spotted her once, he would never have forgotten her. Not that she was the prettiest woman he’d ever seen, but something about her, an air of fragility, pulled at his protective instincts—which was completely at odds with the stubborn tilt of her chin. Something she’d shown him when he’d tried to chat her up. “I’m Troy Barlow,” he’d said, tipping his straw cowboy hat.
“Of course, you are,” she’d said and handed him a form. “Bring it back when you’re finished, and I’ll give you your arm band.”
“Not telling me your name?” he’d drawled.
Her chin had jutted upward. Her green eyes narrowed. She’d cleared her throat and reached for another form, handing it to a firefighter from Dallas, one Troy knew from another workshop they’d both attended. The world of professional firefighters was small. And a guy tried not to ruffle feathers because he never knew who he might be working with or for down the road.
He’d let Kole Brandt jostle him to the side, his cheeks heating because his friend had witnessed her set down and grinned. Troy had moved to a folding chair to fill out his registration. By the time he’d finished, a line of firefighters stood in front of her. She’d held out her hand for his form and quickly passed him his armband. And that had been the end of their conversation.
Still, he hadn’t been able to keep his gaze from seeking her throughout the day. Every time he’d finished an event, he’d searched, encouraged when he found her looking his way, even if she did immediately give him her back or pretend she wasn’t staring.
He guessed he wasn’t hard to miss. Even in a crowd. Besides his large frame, he was extremely athletic. A ringer, some of the firehouses had complained good-naturedly to his chief. Which was true, he’d competed nationally in other firefighter challenges and placed. But this weekend wasn’t about trophies or blue ribbons, the competition was about raising money for the Fallen Firefighters Fund. Chief Thacker had told his crew not to embarrass him, placing would be nice, but having fun and making sure the people attending enjoyed themselves was the highest priority.
Troy had already done his part, winning the ladder competition—his score seconds faster than Cade’s score climbing a ladder up a tower of scaffolding. He’d helped his team secure second in the hose relay, where firefighters representing t
heir houses ran with fire hoses, extending them as fast as they could to the next firefighter on the track, who then had to run with his own section of hose toward the finish line. Yeah, he’d more than done his part. And while he was pretty sure he could blow through the competition during this final event, he didn’t think his boss would mind if he broke the rules and disqualified himself—all in the name of giving the crowd something they’d love.
At last, his turn arrived to stand behind the starting line, this time beside Kole. There being only two Rescue Randy dolls meant only two firefighters could compete at one time. The goal was to lift the weighted doll and drag it to “safety” a hundred feet to the finish line. Troy eyed the doll lying on the ground in front of him and smirked.
“Don’t think I’m making this easy for you,” Kole said.
Troy fought to keep his voice even. “Oh, I know you can give me some competition. Just don’t break your stride over anything I might do.”
Kole shook his head and laughed. “Already making excuses for why I’m gonna smoke your ass?”
“Just saying,” Troy said, grinning. He shot a look at the blonde woman’s table. Her gaze widened when it locked with his. Did instinct tell her she ought to run? He hoped so.
A shot rang out, and Kole leapt forward to pick up his doll, tucking his hands under its armpits and shuffling backwards down the track.
Troy turned and darted into the crowd, heading straight for the woman’s refreshment table.
“And we have a firefighter who’s a little directionally challenged,” drawled the commentator over the loudspeaker.
Troy didn’t break stride, leaping over duffels and hoses, his gaze on his prize.
His prey’s eyes widened farther, and she pushed up from her chair, her head turning left and right as though making sure she really was his quarry. Her delayed reaction gave him time to catch her. He planted a hand on her shoulder, turned her gently, then bent and pushed his shoulder against her soft belly.
With a yelp, she folded over his shoulder and grabbed for his waistband to steady herself, because he was already straightening and turning. From the corner of his eye, he noted the firefighters from San Angelo beginning to stand, hands fisted as they moved to cut him off, but he was closer to the track, and definitely more determined. He reached up to pat her bottom. “Hold on tight. I’ll try not to bounce you too much, sweetheart.” With laughter ringing out among the onlookers, he jogged behind Kole who shook his head and continued dragging the dummy down the track.
“Seriously, bro?” Kole shouted out.
“Put me down, idiot!” came the sweet, chopped voice of his victim.
“Can’t now, hon. I’m committed. You really should have told me your name. We’d have shook hands, I’d have asked you for your number and a date—”
“I would have said no!”
He laughed, not the least disappointed. She acted as he’d expected. “And that would have been okay. Not that I would have given up.” He slowed his pace, not wanting the race to end too quickly.
Kole laughed too hilariously to threaten anyone’s time. At the moment, he was bent over the doll he’d dropped as he held his sides.
Troy was nearly running in place, doing his best to drag out his rescue. “Yeah, I’d have called, and when you blocked my number, I would have shown up at your job and sweet-talked all your friends into telling me where to find you.”
She wiggled on his shoulder, pinched his sides. “You’re just a stalker! A freaking perv.”
Only he noted that she didn’t sound very outraged. Instead, she sounded like she was choking. Was she laughing? He grinned.
“And you’re a liar. There’s no way you could find out where I live or work.”
“Sweetheart, I have friends with badges. I’d have followed you to your car, got your plate number—”
“That’s illegal. Officers wouldn’t just run a plate like that.”
“I’d have said you stole something. That I saw a pretty girl carrying it away. And hey, I did my civic duty and wrote down her license plate…”
“Oh yeah? And what did I steal?”
Pretending to stumble, he patted her ass again. “You don’t know what you took?”
This time laughter shook her frame. “You’re a jerk.”
“That’s okay. You’re a thief.” He crossed the line behind Kole and turned toward the crowd, holding out his arms and raising his hands, still balancing her slim body on one shoulder.
The crowd roared, but her friends moved in on him, their faces tight and red. He figured he needed her help to keep this friendly and slowly bent, lowering her to the ground.
She shook back her hair and met his gaze. “What did I take?” she asked, her face reddened, her expression a mixture of embarrassment and something kind of…poignant.
Troy hated to end the moment. She deserved a truthful answer. Instead, he reached for her shoulders and turned her toward her friends, then wrapped an arm around her middle and pulled her against his side. “Don’t suppose you could tell them we planned this, huh?”
She gave a breathless laugh and cocked an eyebrow. “Think it would help? They look pretty pissed.”
“Maybe they’d believe it, if…” Knowing he gambled but couldn’t resist, he turned her again, bent with her, and then brushed her mouth with his.
The crowd roared their approval.
He glanced toward her friends who’d slowed their stomps, deep frowns lessening as her hands rose to grip his shoulders. And for a moment, he forgot this was just a way to blow off steam, to teach her a little lesson in good dating manners. Forgotten was the crowd. His boss. Her friends. His attention narrowed to the soft lips moving beneath his, the small hands kneading his shoulders.
As he deepened the kiss, he felt something click into place. A feeling of certainty. Crazy as it might have sounded if he’d said it out loud, he knew she was meant for him. That she had indeed stolen his heart. Now, he wondered how he’d help her see the truth—that he was meant for her. As stubborn as she was, he doubted she’d simply take his word. Nope, she’d make him work for the privilege of calling her his. At the thought of the kind of work it might take, he deepened his kiss.
BECAUSE THE WORLD had slowed, Diana Boyle clung to the handsome firefighter far longer than she should have. Time stood still. Sound grew muffled and distant. But neither of those two facts explained why she was still here. In his arms.
Sure, he’d taken her by surprise. The instant she’d realized he was coming straight at her, she’d frozen, torn between the need to run and the desire to see what he intended. Throughout the day, she’d noted how often his gaze found hers. Something that intrigued her given the fact she’d made her disinterest plain for anyone to see.
Not that he’d seemed the least bit put off. As the day had progressed, the heat beating down from a relentless sun was nothing compared to the warmth stirring inside her. A reaction that caused her both pain and excitement. She hadn’t felt like this in forever. But then he wasn’t just some cute guy.
The man was a machine. Young, well made, broad and thick in all the right places—she’d have had to be dead not to notice Troy Barlow was better than just good-looking, too. Sure his nose was a little large. His smile a little crooked. But his thick, dark hair and glinting blue eyes were sigh-worthy. And he knew his appeal, which should have rung warning bells. His sly glances told her he was aware of her watching him. But for most of the day, she’d watched him right back. He hadn’t flirted with anyone else. So he wasn’t a player. Or maybe he wasn’t used to being dissed and was simply doubling down to make sure she couldn’t tell him no. No matter what.
Right this second, with his soft-firm mouth dragging over her lips, she couldn’t take a proper breath to tell him he should stop. She couldn’t muster the fortitude to pull away. The crowd cheering around them was an annoyance, because she was sure she never wanted the kiss to end. Worse, she wished they were alone. That she could let him do so much more.
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Which wasn’t like her. She wasn’t this easy. And then another thought, or rather, a face slipped into her mind.
Mike’s.
Stiffening, she fisted her hands in his shirt and pushed.
Troy brought them both upright and, with a show of reluctance, slowly withdrew his arms.
Time sped up. The muffled noise intensified. Footsteps clomped closer, and she knew her guys were bearing down on them both. If she wasn’t careful, a fight would erupt because her house looked out for her.
Pasting on a smile, she turned to face them. Cade Westmoreland was closest, his frown digging lines between his furrowed brows. “Cade, have you met Troy?” she said, waving a casual hand toward the man whose mouth was still red from kissing off her lipstick.
With a couple more of the guys at his back, Cade gave her a quick, searching glance. “We’ve met.”
His deep tone didn’t say whether he liked Troy or not. His gaze studied her, no doubt looking for cracks in her cheery facade. She glanced behind her at Troy. The kiss had been beyond nice, but that’s all they’d ever have. She gave him a tight smile. “Well, that was fun,” she said, with the same tone she would have used to describe some ordinary occurrence, although she felt the lie all the way to her core.
This wasn’t real. The incident was an aberration. Maybe she was just restless. Maybe the sight of all the lovely fit men in their uniforms and tight firehouse T-shirts had stirred up nostalgia inside her.
Diana was smarter than this. Troy Barlow was the very last man she should want. She could tell from his easy smile and swagger he wasn’t a man ruled by caution. She’d been married to a man just like him, and she’d suffered for it.
So why did her lips and breasts still tingle? She reached up to touch a fingertip to her bottom lip, wanting to rub away the little spark, and noted her lip was puffy and tender. The tips of her breasts tightened.
Beside her, Troy made a little noise, which sounded suspiciously like a groan, and she cast him a sideways glance. A mistake, she knew, because the second her gaze locked with his, she realized this interaction wasn’t over. That he’d make good on his promise to pursue her. And secretly she wanted him to—despite the fears she harbored.
Dallas Fire & Rescue: Flashpoint (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Cowboys on the Edge Book 4) Page 1
