Trial by Fire (Southern Heat Book 4)

by Jamie Garrett

  She frowned, her brow furrowing. “You know what’s bugging me the most? It isn’t the fire, or even how he died or didn’t. What I want to know the most is just what the fucking hell he was doing there.” Well, shit. Her outburst had surprised even herself. Her hand gripped the water so tightly the plastic creaked and she forced herself to relax. Maya shouldn’t be surprised. She was the queen of bottling up all the shit until it exploded at apparently the most inopportune moments. Like now.

  Seth leaned forward and placed his water on the table. He sat back, but his posture was tense. Maybe he was waiting for her to throw something. She resisted rolling her eyes. Why the hell couldn’t she be like normal people and break down in private instead? “Tell me something,” he said. “Do you think there’s any possibility that Jesse was there on the wrong side of the law, even by accident? Maybe he got caught up in something you don’t know about, or maybe he was working undercover and got stuck?”

  Maya shook her head. “No. No way. Jesse was one of the good guys.” She smiled bitterly. “Actually, he could have been their mascot. He would never have taken another life, not unless he absolutely had to, and never one of an innocent man. Even if he was in over his head, he would have lost his own life before he did anything to the judge.”

  “Okay.”

  Okay? Okay! That was all he was going to say? She sat back, blinking. Maya had been all set for an argument. She knew the lines by heart by now, she’d had the discussion so many times—with law enforcement, with her parents, hell, even with herself in the mirror more times than she’d wanted to admit. Never had the other party just accepted her answer. No one had even believed her.

  Believed in her.

  The thought—no, the realization—hit her like a Mack truck, leaving her breathless. She took in one breath, then another, her breath hitching on a quiet sob. Oh, hell no! There was no way she was crying. Not in front of Seth, the man she realized she was falling in love with. Not in the middle of his perfectly everyday living room. Not while they were sipping wine and just talking. Not when she’d been feeling relaxed and happy for the first time in months. Seth had made her feel that more than once in the last week and damn it if she was going to screw it all up with tears again. She pushed to her feet and hurried to the kitchen, standing with her face to the wall and eying her reflection in the perfectly ridiculous red shiny kettle.

  “Maya?” Seth called her name from back on the couch, his voice colored with confusion. She heard him stand and walk toward her. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?” His footsteps clicked onto the tiled kitchen floor and she swiped at her cheeks in an attempt to brush away any evidence of her latest breakdown. Arms circled her waist, pulling her close, and Seth’s chin rested on her shoulder, his cheek brushing hers. “As much as I’m sure you make a regular habit of admiring other people’s kitchens”—Maya snorted, swiping at her cheeks again—“you doing okay in here? You want some time alone, or . . . ?”

  Why’d he have to be so freaking perfect? If he was like any of the other men she’d dated, he would likely have barely noticed her even leave the room. Either that, or he would have asked her to fetch him another beer while she was in there. Instead, here he was, touching her, holding her, giving her what she needed. It was as if he could read her mind. Maybe he left his dirty laundry all over the bathroom floor or didn’t wash his sheets for an entire month . . . there had to be something! She shook her head at the thought, smiling, and Seth’s arms tightened further around her. “There’s my girl.”

  She had to know. They’d been exchanging not-so-innocent touches and definitely flirting comments for days now, and yet neither of them had made the leap. Suddenly, standing in the kitchen, surrounded by the stupid red appliances bought by Seth’s family—because that’s what the firehouse was—just because they’d known it would make him laugh, she had to know. Was there a chance she could be a part of that family, too? A longing filled her. She had to know. Right now.

  Maya turned, moving her arms to embrace Seth. Her arms curled around his waist and she tilted her head up, meeting his gaze. His eyes were full of compassion, but a little heat burned there still, giving her the courage to keep going.

  “Am I, Seth? Am I your girl?”

  Seth groaned, his forehead dropping forward onto hers. His hands on her hips tightened, squeezing her just enough to set everything burning. He heaved in a breath and then almost growled his next words.

  “Fuck, yes.”

  21

  Maya

  Seth shifted and suddenly his lips were on hers, kissing and licking at her. “Tell me this is okay,” he said. His lips moved toward her ear and then down her neck. “Tell me you want this as much as I do.”

  Maya’s head dropped back at the sensation. The movement pushed her chest more firmly against his and a low groan echoed from Seth’s mouth between kisses. As his mouth continued to lick and suck at her neck, Maya let her hands explore. They traced along his abs and then moved to the hard planes of his chest. The muscles bunched and rippled beneath her touch. He stood back, looking at her, waiting. “I want this. Seth, I want to feel you. Show me how good it could be.”

  Seth’s head dropped back, another groan escaping. His hand cupped her cheek and his lips met hers, harder this time. Maya’s hands moved to his shoulders, brushing across them as Seth deepened the kiss. His tongue licked her lips before delving into her mouth, tangling with hers as his hands gripped her head, keeping her in place. His mouth moved with hers and everything—the fire, the suspicions—faded away. A warmth sparked deep within her, and grew as his lips continued to move against hers. Finally, he pulled away, resting his forehead against hers and breathing deeply. The idea that what they were doing affected him as much as it did her caused the spark in her core to ignite into a flame.

  Seth’s hands copied her earlier movements, sliding over her chest and just skimming the edge of her breast. A shiver went through her and he pulled her closer, his hand coming to rest on the small of her back. Maya’s hand moved to the back of his head and this time she took control, taking his lips and thrusting her tongue inside, tasting him. God, she could live on this. He tasted sharp, crisp from the remnants of the wine, and oh so masculine.

  His hand was on the move again, caressing her hip before moving along the curve of her ass, resting lightly there. Their lips met again and he squeezed. Maya jumped and pulled away. Seth’s grin lit up his entire face.

  “Hey!” she said, smacking him against the chest.

  Seth chuckled. “Oh, Baby, I’m just getting started.” Maya moved her hands from his shoulders and slid them down to the waistline of his jeans, slipping them in to touch his bare skin. The cocky grin slid from Seth’s face, replaced with a smolder in his eyes that ratcheted up the burn inside her again. His skin was hot and firm against her palm, and Maya wanted to feel more of it. She pushed upward, bunching his T-shirt up. Seth removed his hands from her body for only as long as it took to grab the shirt at the neck and pull it over his head. He threw it in the general direction of the living room, his eyes never leaving hers. There was that grin again. “Like what you see?”

  Oh, God, did she ever. She’d tell him, as soon as she could speak again. She’d known he was strong, muscular even. He had to be, and she’d felt it through his shirt when they’d been close. But this? Seth without a shirt on took her breath away. Her gaze traveled over him. His bicep flexed as it reached around her back, his pecs two slabs of strong muscle, leading down to the ridges and bumps of his abs. She bit her lip as she caught sight of the trail of hair. Starting at his abs, it moved down, past the ridges beside his hips—the mere sight of which had the ability to make her pant—and disappeared into the top of the jeans. Her eyes dropped lower and the heat inside her pushed its way to the surface at the sight of the well-defined bulge. Fuck, the man was huge, even still tucked up into his pants. Her cheeks—no, her entire face—burned and she forced her eyes upward, taking in his other arm. Her eyes widened. Why hadn’t she n
oticed that before? Starting at the junction of his shoulder and trailing down nearly to his elbow was an exquisite tattoo. Flowers—no, roses—beautifully detailed, surrounded a bird, flying free along his bicep. Far from reducing his manliness, the clear, crisp lines of the beautiful artwork instead enhanced the dips and curves of his body, highlighting the firmness of his arm and shoulder muscles.

  Seth reached up, flexing that glorious arm again as he tipped a finger under her chin, bringing her gaze up to meet his. “You’re going to give me a complex with all the staring.”

  Maya smiled. “Like that would ever happen. You know what you look like.”

  He smiled, pulling her back against his bare chest. The skin bared at the neckline of her shirt pressed against his and Maya swore she could hear a sizzle. Seth chuckled, brushing his lips over her hair. “Spend some time at the firehouse and you’ll learn that nothing is sacred. But I’m not going to complain about attention from a beautiful woman.”

  A warmth went through her, and this time it had nothing to do with arousal. Even as they talked, his hands moved over her body, touching, caressing little spots that had never had so much attention. Maya had had boyfriends before, both the ones Jesse hadn’t managed to scare off and then the ones that came along after he’d moved out, but none of them had paid so much attention to every place on her body. Now, and over the last week, Seth had spent time learning everything he could about her, asking questions, paying attention to her likes and dislikes. He knew her better already than guys she’d dated for months. It felt right . . . just right. That’s all she could muster right now, but standing in Seth’s kitchen, skin against skin, it was enough.

  She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his again. Seth responded without pause, his hands threading through her hair and then holding her lightly in place as his tongue moved with hers. Her hands floated up the bare skin of his back and she reveled in the sensation; soft and hard all at once, smooth skin with heated muscles moving underneath. He kissed her again, taking her mouth, as both hands gripped her, moving down her body. Rather than just graze her breast, this time his fingers traced the curve of her flesh then moved to cup each one in his hands, his thumbs brushing over her nipples and bringing a whole new round of erotic shivers coursing through her. His eyes were half lidded, his movements unhurried as he felt every inch of her. Maya’s breath evened out into large, steady gulps of air as she felt the stress of the day drain out of her. There was no urgency, no worries, just Seth and a sense of contentment she hadn’t felt for a very long time.

  Her lips parted as his hands moved lower, still stroking her through her cotton shirt. She stepped forward, pushing herself harder against him, her legs slipping apart almost without thinking. Seth slid his leg between hers and Maya could feel the roughness of the denim, the lightweight fabric of her jeggings offering little in the way of resistance to the pressure from his thigh. Pleasure skittered through her as he captured her mouth again, pushing back against her. Even through clothes it was as if she could feel every inch of him. Already her imagination was flooded with images of what other inches of him would look like, feel like.

  She let out a moan and Seth nipped at her lower lip. His hands once again copied hers, leaving her breasts and moving lower, trailing down her front. As they reached the hem of her shirt, he gripped the edge then lifted, pulling the loose shirt over her head. He stepped back and simply stared, his hands holding firmly at her hips.

  Maya squirmed as his eyes blatantly perused her, his gaze seemingly lit from the inside as his eyes danced with a flame she could feel building again inside her. “Fucking perfection,” he muttered before moving flush against her again. He grabbed a hold of a bra cup and pulled it down, sucking her already erect nipple into his mouth. Wet warmth surrounded her breast and Maya’s eyes fluttered closed as she grinded herself against his leg. Seth suckled on her nipple until she was almost whimpering and then let it fall from his mouth with a small pop. He peppered kisses against her chest, moving up to her collarbone and then to her neck, sucking lightly there as his hands brushed her hair aside and then reached down to unhook her bra. His hands moved to her shoulders to sweep the straps off and the satin fabric fell away. Cool air brushed over her skin causing goose bumps to appear on the newly revealed flesh. Her nipples, now both red from Seth’s ministrations, grew further as another shiver ran through her.

  “Cold, Sweetheart?” Seth asked. “I’ll have to do something about that.” His hands swept under her ass and he pulled her against him, lifting her effortlessly onto the kitchen counter. The way he carried her as if she weighed nothing at all made her feel small and so feminine for the first time in her life, and she loved every second of it.

  His hands planted on the counter top on either side of her and Seth leaned in and claimed her lips again, caging her between the wall behind her and his body. The light shivers from the cold turned into full-on tremors as he attacked her mouth, leaving zero room between them. Every clumsy fumble in the back of a car and unfulfilling sex with selfish lovers in her past paled in compassion, and they still has their pants on. She could do something about that. Maya wiggled, pushing her hands in between them and then sliding them down toward his waistband, never breaking the kiss.

  When she slipped her thumb in behind the brass button and popped his jeans open, Seth’s lips fell away and a harsh breath left him. His head fell forward, his arms still caging her in and he stilled, taking in deep breaths, as if he was trying to rein in his control. Maya had never seen anything so sexy in her life.

  He looked up, his gaze locked on hers. “You want this? You’re sure?” She nodded and he kissed her again, hard and fast, and then pulled away. “I need to hear the words, Sweetheart.” She loved the way the terms of endearment flowed from his lips. Perhaps it was a Southern thing, but when Seth muttered “Darling,” called her “Sweetheart” or any number of other names he’d conjured up in the past week, something had changed inside her. Watching him now, on the edge of lust but still taking the time to hold her and make sure she was okay, Maya realized she’d been falling in love with him, little by little, all week. He’d been there for her in the worst moments of her life. She was done holding back. She was taking a flying leap off the cliff and she’d make sure he was there for that, too. She steadied herself with a breath then looked directly into his eyes. “I want this, Seth. Please, make love to me.”

  A groan fell from his lips, but he wasted no time. His hands moved under her ass again, scooping her up in one swift motion. He turned and started off down the hallway, somehow walking while his lips continued to taste every inch of her skin. As he moved down the hall, he paused and then kicked open a door. Another few steps and he fell backward, pulling her with him. The surface they landed on was large and padded—his bed. Yet another intimate part of him he was sharing with her tonight. He kissed her again before shifting, shuffling up to sit against the headboard. Seth made quick work of the rest of his clothes, kicking off his shoes and then shucking his pants, lifting his hips to slide them off. Maya watched, her tongue darting out to moisten her lower lip as she watched the rest of his body being revealed for her. “What if I wanted to do that?” she asked, grinning.

  Seth returned the grin. “Ain’t got no patience for that tonight. When you asked me to make love to you, the only thought in my mind was that I needed to be naked as quickly as possible so I could spend the rest of the night taking things as slowly as possible with you.”

  Lying back on the bed, propped up on one elbow to watch the very sexy view in front of her, Maya almost fell back flat as her arms trembled. Her legs fell open slightly of their own accord as her muscles loosened. How everything could feel so relaxed and yet the coil inside her tightened further was beyond her. Her breath caught in her throat as Seth reached down, stroking himself and bringing his already half-erect cock to full mast. It bobbed at his belly button and her breath stuttered. Seth gave himself a few further strokes and then moved again, crawling over to he
r and unbuttoning her pants. “Of course, no one said I couldn’t take my time with you naked.” He tugged at the waistband of her pants, one hand splayed across her belly. Maya lifted her hips and he tugged, the stretchy material easily giving way and flowing over her hips. When they reached her ankles, Seth paused, pulling the fabric tight. With his hand still pushing down gently on her belly and her knees falling open, she had little room to shift or move. Only a thin layer of cotton lay between her and Seth, and all she could do was lie there and watch as his heated gaze moved directly between her legs. Being held still while Seth took what he wanted? It wasn’t something she’d ever experienced, or even thought about, but now in the moment, a rush of wetness slicked her thighs at the thought. When Seth’s hand left her belly to grip both sides of the jeggings and pull them from her ankles, she was nearly disappointed. She had little time to worry, however, because almost the moment Seth’s hands left her ankles, the jeggings were flung in the same manner as his T-shirt in the kitchen and his hands returned to her thighs, pressing her legs open wider, and—oh, my God, was that his tongue?!

  He started slow, his lips kissing her upper thighs then around her lower belly, and down to her mound. Maya tilted her head up to watch and shivered at the sight of Seth’s blond head as he shifted to move between her legs. She reached down, stroking her hand over the top of his head. His hair was short, but there was just enough to grab onto. Before she could contemplate grabbing hold, Seth lightly kissed her clit and then darted out his tongue, licking her firmly before returning to her clit, sucking the sensitive nub deeply. Maya’s hand fell back onto the bed as her eyes drifted closed and a low groan fell from her mouth. His fingers stroked at her lower lips, parting them and then one finger slipped inside. It thrust slowly—in and out—while his lips returned to kissing her inner thighs. A slow heat grew within her, stoked by the movement of Seth’s hand. Her hips matched his movements, moving and lifting with every stroke.