What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 9)

by Kristine Cayne

  Jamie lifted her against his chest and carried her up the beach. Kissing her, he twirled them around until they grew dizzy and tumbled onto the blanket in a giggling, squirming heap.

  Tugging the blanket, he rolled Rickie underneath him, wrapping them in a cozy cocoon. As he stared into his wife’s eyes, a deep yearning took root in his heart. He’d do anything to keep her, to keep from losing her again. She was everything to him. He just hoped she’d learn to accept that being a firefighter wasn’t a job to him, it was who he was. If she asked him to quit, he’d do it. It might kill him, but for her, he’d do it.

  Love shone in her eyes as she traced the line of his jaw. She bobbed her head up and clamped his bottom lip between her own, sucking gently. His cock hardened and he groaned, nudging against her thigh.

  Nipping at his chin, she snaked her hand between their bodies and undid his shorts. He dropped his head down to her neck and suckled the slender column. “You’re playing with fire, Rickie.”

  “Good thing I found this long hose, then,” she quipped. Her fingers wrapped around his engorged cock, sliding from the base to the tip, around, and back down. He shuddered and closed his eyes as the world around him blurred. Her hands felt like heaven on him.

  Rising up on his elbows, he brushed strands of wind-blown hair off her face. “I love you, Rickie. I’d do anything for you. I hope you know that.”

  “I love you too, Jamie.”

  Their mouths met in a tangle of lips, teeth and heat-seeking tongues. Jamie poured all his wants, needs, and desires into the kiss, wishing he could make her understand how completely she’d captured him. How completely she owned him. He played the dominant, but she held all the power. She literally had him by the balls.

  “Take your pants off,” he whispered, almost feral with his soul-deep need to possess her.

  Her wiggling as she struggled to get out of her pants cranked up his appetite. Using her toes, she shoved his shorts and boxers to his ankles, and he kicked them off impatiently. Together they removed her shirt then his. He wanted to feel her against him, skin to skin. With nothing, not even air between them.

  Before he could get his arms around her, she set her hands on his chest and closed her teeth over one of his nipples, increasing the pressure until he groaned and arched into her mouth. With her fingers, she traced patterns over his chest, his ribs, his abs. She moved quickly as though she wanted to touch him everywhere at once. Then, in a move worthy of Jackie Chan, she flipped him onto his back and rose above him, intense determination on her face. “My turn,” she said, moving down his body. Her nails trailed fire as she disappeared under the blanket.

  Her lips closed over his cock, wet heat enveloping him as she sucked. When the head hit the back of her throat, he went rigid. She’d never taken him this deep before. He burned with the impulse to thrust his hips and fuck her perfect mouth.

  Her tongue swirled around the head of his cock, rimming the sensitive underside before dipping into his slit. Losing the tight rein he’d had on his control, he groaned and flexed his hips.

  She stopped moving.

  Shit. Had he hurt her? Reaching under the blanket, he gripped her shoulders and pulled her up. When her head popped out, she licked her swollen lips and frowned. “Why’d you stop me?”

  “You’re making me crazy and I don’t want to hurt you. Ever.”

  She tapped his chin. “I was just giving you time to enjoy the moment.”

  Pulling her up so she straddled him, he pushed on her ass, impaling her with one powerful swing of his hips. “I’ll enjoy this moment instead,” he said, groaning when her muscles tightened around him.

  The pink and orange glow from the setting sun burnished her skin as she moved above him, meeting each push with one of her own. But it wasn’t enough. “Ride me, Rickie. Drive me wild.”

  “Yee-haw,” she said, sitting up and setting an increasingly frenzied pace. Hips pumping, breasts swaying, she was more beautiful than ever. She came with her eyes closed, her breasts pushed out and her mouth open on a gasp. The sight of her lost in the ecstasy they’d found together sent him over the edge. With a final hard thrust, he filled her, giving her all that he had.

  The world spun by him in a chaotic swirl of colors, sounds, and smells until he stilled, emptied of everything but his love for her.

  They lay panting on the beach as the sun sank into the endless ocean. Jamie ran his hand down Rickie’s back and over the curve of her ass, enjoying the way she shivered under his touch. “We should get going,” he said, finally, reluctant to let her go. But with the sun gone, the wind off the water felt cool, and he didn’t want her catching a cold.

  After getting dressed and folding the blanket, Rickie grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him to her. Laughing, he went willingly. She hugged him tightly, surprising him. “Hey. Everything okay?” he asked.

  “You’ve made me the happiest woman in the world. This is the best honeymoon I could have ever asked for.”

  “Worth waiting five years?”

  “Oh yes.” She gave him a quick heated kiss. “We weren’t ready for this five years ago. But we’re ready now. I can be the wife you always hoped I’d be.”

  He shook his head. “You already are, sweetheart.”

  Taking her hand, he led her back to the highway.

  The air filled with the screech of tires and the terrified squeals of animals. A sickening thud and deadly silence followed. A cold, empty silence that sent adrenaline coursing through his body. Scenting smoke, he stopped under the lone street lamp and handed Rickie his phone. “Call 911. Ask for the fire department.”

  Shock on her face, Rickie took his phone and nodded. Knowing she’d follow his orders, he took off in the direction of the accident. In the dark, he couldn’t see it yet, but he could smell it. A few yards away, the odor intensified and he knew he was close. The road turned a little and just around the bend on the eastern side, he saw the red glow of fire. Jogging across the highway, he recognized the remains of two wild pigs. The driver had probably swerved to avoid them but was too late, and the car had rolled on impact. Hitting the two large animals, weighing around two to three hundred pounds each, would have been like hitting a barrier.

  He approached the old overturned sedan, assessing the situation. Two passengers. Male driver. Child in the back. At least the boy was in a car seat. Jamie opened the driver’s door. “Hello.”

  The man’s eyes opened and stared at him blankly. “Sir,” Jamie said, filling his voice with authority.

  The man blinked and understanding flashed in his eyes. “My son. Please help my son.”

  Looking up, Jamie noted the man’s legs were trapped between the dashboard and the seat. Smoke was filling the interior of the car and he could smell gasoline. He didn’t have much time. He unbuckled the belt holding the car seat. If the kid had any injuries, he’d be better off remaining in it.

  With the car seat clasped against his chest, Jamie jogged back to where he’d left Rickie. Her eyes grew round as she spotted the bundle in his arms. “Is he—”

  “He’s alive. I don’t know what his injuries are, so leave him strapped in. I have to go back for the father.”

  When he turned to leave, she grabbed his arm. “The fire department said they’d be here in ten minutes.”

  “Fuck.” He blew out a breath. “I can’t wait that long. The car’s about to explode.”

  She gasped and her fingernails dug into his arm. Tears filled her eyes and her bottom lip trembled. “No! Jamie, it’s too dangerous.”

  Cupping her face, he swiped his thumb through the wetness on her cheeks. “Sweetheart, if it were me trapped in the car, you’d want someone to help me, wouldn’t you?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “It’s who I am, Rickie.” The child, who couldn’t have been more than a year old, let out a loud wail. “I’ll be fine. But right now, that boy needs you.” After drying her face with her hands, she crouched down beside the car seat and stroked the boy’s h
air, murmuring in that soothing way she’d had when Chloe was little.

  He ran back to the car. Flames licked out from under the hood and the smoke inside the vehicle had thickened. He had to get the man out now. To his advantage, the car was an old model with manual seat controls instead of electric ones. He braced his feet on the doorframe and engaged the lever with one hand while using his shoulder to push the seat back. It took all his strength to move it a few inches, but it was enough to free the man’s legs. The victim screamed as gravity dragged them down.

  “I’ll have you out in a minute, sir.” Eyes stinging, Jamie wiped the sweat from his forehead and maneuvered himself under the upside-down driver, wrapping his arm around the man’s legs. A roar ripped the air as fire burst through the dashboard, melting it. Heat seared his arm. Shit. He had to remember he wasn’t wearing bunker gear.

  Ignoring the pain, he released the seatbelt and, with a grunt, caught the heavy man across his shoulders in a fireman’s hold. Even though he was hurting the man, Jamie had no choice. Agonized cries blasting his ears, Jamie stumbled away, moving as fast as he could. The screams finally stopped and the man’s body went lax. Thank Christ he’d passed out.

  The heat from the fire built, and even from across the road, it seemed to burn his back. He had only seconds to get himself and the man to safety. Spotting a road barrier a short distance ahead, he hurried over and lowered the man behind it. The car exploded, and Jamie dropped to his knees, covering the injured man’s head and chest with his body. A fireball filled the sky, the roar so thunderous it made his ears ring.

  Parts of the vehicle crashed to the ground next to him. With a growing sense of unease, Jamie realized how close he was to Rickie and the boy. Had the debris reached the beach where he’d left her?

  Surging to his feet, he tossed the still unconscious man over his shoulders and ran. Fear constricted his chest, making him breathless. The acrid smoke of burning tires and metal scorched his eyes and throat. Nothing mattered more than finding Rickie. He’d almost lost her in the earthquake barely three weeks ago. He couldn’t handle this again. Not so soon. Not ever.

  His pulse thundering in his ears and his heart pounding against his ribs, he shouted for the one woman who’d ever meant anything to him. The one woman he’d give up his life for. The one woman he couldn’t live without. “Rickie!”

  As the night sky filled with fire, Erica continued to stroke the boy’s hair, tears streamed down her cheeks. Jamie’s okay. He has to be okay. Panic rolled over her like a weighted blanket, compressing her chest and making it impossible to breathe.

  Stop it! Stop it now!

  He couldn’t be dead. Not like this. Her hands dropped to the ground and she pressed her forehead to the cold sand. She’d thought she’d come to terms with his job after the earthquake. She really had. But it had been different that night. She’d been involved in the rescue, not left alone and waiting, desperate to know what was happening.

  If he were dead, she’d feel it deep in her heart, wouldn’t she? Jamie was her soul mate, she understood that now. Finally. Pushing to her feet, she checked the boy to make sure he was secure, then headed for the fire. If Jamie were injured or trapped, she’d find him and help.

  A shadow rose out of the dark, massive and oddly shaped.

  “Jamie?” she asked, a tremble in her voice.

  “R-rickie?” He coughed and started again. “You okay?”

  “Yes! I thought you were hurt or trapped or—” She pressed her lips together to keep from admitting what she’d really thought.

  Jamie carried what she now realized was the driver over to the lit area and lay him on the ground beside the boy.

  “Da?” the child asked, reaching to touch the man’s shoulder.

  “Shh,” Jamie murmured. “Your daddy’s going to be fine. You’re going to be fine.”

  When he moved away and turned back to her, she launched herself into his arms. Tears poured down her cheeks uncontrollably. Her need to hold him, to hear his heartbeat, and to feel his warmth was basic. Almost primal. She couldn’t get close enough to him, couldn’t hold him tightly enough.

  After a moment, Jamie loosened his embrace and raised his head. “You thought I was dead.” The sound of his voice, raw with emotion, tore something inside her, and she realized not all the tears were her own. His eyes were bright glittery pools as his gaze pierced hers. His breath caught and he crushed her against his chest and buried his face in her neck. “When I saw how far the debris was falling, I-I…” He trailed off, his breath hot on her skin as he gripped her even more tightly. “I’m never letting you go.”

  Erica’s heart skipped a beat, echoing painfully in her chest. Jamie had thought she’d been injured. Or dead. Both their minds had immediately jumped to the worst possible scenario. Yet, he’d kept his head and managed to rescue the boy’s father. A sob shuddered through her, and she breathed deeply to keep from breaking down.

  A strong odor stung her nose. She pulled back with a grimace. “What’s that awful smell? It’s like roasting flesh.”

  Jamie dropped his arms from her waist and shrugged. “The car hit a couple wild pigs. That’s what made the driver spin off the road. The fire must have reached their carcasses.”

  She pressed a hand to her stomach, sickened at the thought of the poor animals cooking in the car fire. Jamie lifted a hand to wipe the sweat and soot that was dripping into his eyes.

  Her eyes zeroed in on his arm. The sleeve of his shirt was charred and his skin was a black bloody mess. Blisters swelled through the layer of soot. The smell of burning flesh was coming from him. All the blood drained from her head as a scream built in her throat and clawed its way out. “Jamie, you’re injured!”

  Catching her around the waist, Jamie said, “Rickie, I’m fine. I told you I’d be fine and I am.”

  Unable to speak, she simply held onto him and stared numbly at his burned arm until the squawk of sirens signaled the arrival of the police and fire department. The firefighters quickly put out the smoking vehicle while a police officer took Jamie’s and Erica’s statements. All the while, Jamie kept his good arm around her waist. Even injured, his first concern was for her. The thought made her heart ache.

  The paramedics bundled the driver and his son into the ambulance. “Sir, you need to have that burn treated,” one of them said to Jamie when he went to unlock the Mustang.

  Jamie shook his head. “I’m fine.”

  “Let a doctor assess it.” Erica took the keys from him. “I’ll drive.”

  She followed the ambulance and squad car, retracing their earlier path along Kamehameha Highway to Wahiawa General Hospital. Erica was beginning to wonder if this day would ever end. At the same time, she didn’t want it to, because she had no idea what would happen once they returned to the cottage.

  An hour later, she paced outside the emergency room doors while the doctors treated Jamie, as well as the driver and his son. Earlier, a nurse had offered her some tea, but Erica’s stomach was such a knotted mess, she wasn’t sure she could keep anything down.

  Would she feel this way every time Jamie was injured? Every time he went to work?

  Like a garrote, panic choked her, leaving her gasping for air. If she didn’t calm down, she’d have a full-blown attack. Her throat ached with the need to scream. Her fingers strained with the need to hit. She wanted to throw herself on the ground kicking and crying like Chloe used to do sometimes. Instead, she inhaled deeply, filling her lungs, holding, then expelling her breath until the emotions receded, until she regained control. She had to be strong, for her husband and for her daughter. She didn’t even know how serious Jamie’s injuries were. Silently, she prayed that they were minor, that they wouldn’t keep him from the job he loved. But in that secret place in her heart, she admitted, if only to herself, that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he had to find a different job. One that was safer. One where she didn’t have to worry every day.

  No!

  Jamie would hate her if h
e knew she’d even thought such a horrible thing.

  The emergency room doors opened and out sauntered her husband, a crisp white bandage on one arm and a pretty young nurse on the other. The nurse’s eyes sparkled and her face flushed with admiration and… desire. Erica had seen it happen over and over. And she couldn’t blame the woman. Jamie had that effect on everyone with two X-chromosomes, as well as on some without. People reacted to heroes, and Jamie was one tonight. He’d saved two lives and spared another from widowhood. The little boy’s mother had hugged her son and husband tonight. And she’d been able to do that because of Jamie’s bravery.

  Spotting her, Jamie said something to the nurse, then walked over. He stopped in front of her and his smile faded. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice and eyes filled with concern.

  Gah! Why was she so weak? She pressed her lips together and skimmed her fingers over the bandage. Following her gaze, Jamie sighed. “It’s just a second-degree burn.”

  Her stomach turned as she remembered. “Don’t minimize this. It smelled horrible, like your flesh was charred.”

  “That was the hair, honey. It’s just like a super bad sunburn.”

  “Can we go now? I’m sure you’re ready for a shower, some clean clothes, and a beer.”

  He grinned. “Fucking A. And not necessarily in that order.”

  After some discussion, he agreed to let her drive. Since Jamie was always a little nervous when she was at the wheel, the miles passed in silence. She concentrated on keeping her emotions in check. She’d be a regular Florence Nightingale and take care of her husband for a change. She needed to get him cleaned up and fed. With any luck, Jamie had some pain relievers in that backpack he’d lugged around all day. He’d need some before the adrenaline left his system and the pain from the burn set in.

  Back at the resort, she found a plastic bag and covered the bandage. Then she washed the soot and sand from his warrior’s body while he relaxed in the tub. She couldn’t recall Jamie ever letting her do this. They’d taken some exciting showers together, but this was different. She ran her soapy hands over his broad shoulders, his ridged abs, and his powerful quads. Jamie’s entire body was laid out for her touching pleasure. He seemed to be enjoying it too, if his growing erection was any indication.