Trial by Fire (Southern Heat Book 4)

by Jamie Garrett

  A chuckle escaped him and Maya grinned, as if reading his mind. Yep, it was definitely time to head home. At the thought, Seth sobered. She’d be staying at his house again tonight, that was a given, but then tomorrow? He’d be back on shift and would have to sleep at the firehouse. Even if he could lock every door and keep his cell on him, there were no guarantees. He’d be rising soon after five to be at the firehouse by 7 a.m., well before many of his neighbors were awake. And then during the shift, things could be quiet or it could just as easily be a raging madhouse. Even if he just ended up standing out on a lawn for nearly four hours like they had last shift, there was no way to predict if he’d be able to have his cell on him. He swore under his breath, running his fingers through his hair, but then he remembered Meg. She’d offered—no told him in no uncertain terms—to tell her if she could help him or Maya in any way. He’d be gone for a full twenty-four hours, but unless there was an arson case, Liam would be around more. Plus Seth knew Promise House was secure. After what had happened to Meg, Liam would have made damn sure of it. He was still taking Maya home and making love to her until they were both exhausted, but he’d also be waking her early and dropping her off at Promise House on the way to his shift. Meg would look after his girl for him. That’s what family did.

  24

  Maya

  Maya shivered in the early morning. It was so damn early. Early enough that the sun wasn’t even up yet, though a cool gray light fell over everything. At least she wasn’t stumbling up Meg’s front path in the dark. She yawned again, resisting the urge to rub at her eyes. If she closed them while still mobile, she was sure she’d fall flat on her face.

  Unlike the first time, they’d actually managed to order food last night before Seth had dragged her into the bedroom. Maya had protested, saying they should at least wait for dinner to arrive. That had lasted all of five seconds, until Seth had shucked his shirt and had his hands on the button of his jeans. Suddenly, it seemed very important that she watch him strip and any thoughts of takeout Asian had fluttered from her mind. Instead, she’d spent a good few minutes watching Seth remove his clothing. When he’d noticed her gaze on him, he’d become playful, removing the remaining pieces slowly, some with a little flourish at the end that made her giggle. Then she’d spent an even better few minutes watching him do the same to her. Seth had been a lot faster stripping her clothes away, but the lack of theater hadn’t bothered Maya in the least. At the first touch of his lips to the newly revealed skin, leaving a pattern of goose bumps behind, her entire body was alight and ready for him.

  As promised, he’d taken his time exploring her body, giving her two orgasms before finally sinking himself inside her with a groan. It had been worth the wait. Less frantic with her own built-up desires and nerves, she took the time to really feel him, feel every fucking inch of him as he moved in and out of her body. They’d fit dinner in there somewhere, though she could barely remember eating. Orgasms three and four had come soon before she’d fallen into an exhausted sleep, only to be woken close to four a.m. for number five. She’d come on his tongue that time, a wonderful and hurried rush before they’d jumped in the shower to wash away the hours of passion before she had to go to Meg’s and Seth headed to work.

  Another yawn overtook her and this time her eyes closed. She couldn’t help it. Maybe Meg would let her curl up on the couch for a few hours before the day began for real. Seth had chuckled when she’d claimed she couldn’t possibly go again after the second, then had proven her wrong in the most spectacular way she’d ever experienced. He’d claimed he had the next twenty-four hours to make up for in advance, but holy hell. Five? If the man kept that up, she’d be dead by the end of the next week. Kept it up. Maya snorted. Seth shot her a curious look and she turned to look at him. The toe of her tennis shoe caught on a brick in the path and she pitched forward. Strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her upright against him. She wiggled appreciatively. Now she knew what those muscles felt like bare, her imagination ran away with her at every touch. The man felt like he was made out of granite. She pressed back against him—holy hell! He couldn’t? Maya’s head fell back, half groaning and half grinning. He was half hard again already, his erection pressing against her lower back. She reached around and palmed him, still grinning, and giggled when Seth let out a low groan. Yep, the man was a machine. Apparently, five hadn’t been a one-off. With a full day before he saw her again to recover, he probably was going to kill her with orgasms the next time she saw him. But hell, what a way to go.

  “Later,” he whispered in her ear, leaning close enough that she could feel the warm puffs of breath on her cheek as he spoke. “As much as I’d love to give you six, that’ll have to wait until we’ve got a whole day to ourselves.” He stepped away and hefted his duffle back on his shoulder. “And I think Meg might withdraw her offer for you to stay if I start fucking you on her front lawn.”

  Maya’s mouth dropped open and Seth just grinned, walking up the path, a little jaunt added to his step. She scrambled to catch up, to match her sleepy movements with his wide steps. They were nearly at the front door when Meg opened it and pulled her into a hug. “Maya!” Somehow the woman managed to sound both excited and worn out all at the same time. Maya stood back and looked at her new friend with a critical eye. Meg looked okay, but she was obviously exhausted, maybe even a little ill. A small wave of guilt hit her. Meg had offered her a job, the chance to help out in exchange for a little cash, but she’d gotten caught up in the investigation and completely forgotten about it. Suddenly, she felt bad about pulling her out of bed so early. Meg had mentioned Liam had been bugging her to hire some help, and it was obvious why now. She was just as exhausted as Maya was, though it probably wasn’t for the same reasons. She took another look at Meg, peering at her. In fact, she looked a little green around the gills.

  “I’m so sorry,” Maya said. “Just go back to bed. I’ll make myself at home.”

  Meg waved her hand and turned, shutting the door then shuffling back to the armchairs near the front table, still wearing fuzzy pink slippers. “I was already up. Can’t sleep late much these days, it seems.” She picked up a mug sitting on the side table and then waved at the chairs, shuffling back toward the kitchen. “Grab a chair. I’ll be back with coffee.” She took a couple more steps and then left the room, leaving Maya and Seth alone.

  He turned, placing the duffle on the floor. On their way back from the library, before everything had turned into a gorgeous mess of Seth and orgasms, they’d stopped by Maya’s motel and picked up what she’d need for the next couple of days. She considered checking out, but she’d gotten a deal on the rate for a longer booking and the clerk didn’t exactly look like the refunding type. She may as well keep it as somewhere to store her stuff, or just in case. Seth was insistent he wanted her around, but who knew what the future held.

  Her clothes and her notes from the library were now shoved into the bag, packed in a hurry the night before so they could get back to his apartment. A small part of her had wanted to resist, to argue that she was a grown woman and capable of looking after herself, but then she remembered the note and the photographs of the crime scenes she’d seen at the library, and suddenly she was quite happy to bury herself in Seth’s chest and feel his strong arms wrap around her. Her inner woman-hear-me-roar called her pathetic, but right then Maya didn’t care. Besides, she was under no illusions. She’d seen exactly what the darkness out there was capable of. And bonus points—if she managed to still be alive at the end of all this, she could find out what Seth could do to her given an entire weekend. Her toes almost curled at the thought.

  She smiled, taking a seat in the plush, comfortable chair. Her fingers trailed over the eggshell-blue fabric upholstery as her mind wandered. It was incredible what a difference a week could make. Just seven days ago, she’d stood in the cold, out in front of a firehouse, waiting for the men and women who had been there the night her brother died. Then it had all seemed so cold, so imper
sonal. She’d locked everything away to cope with the grief and just get the job done, but she hadn’t realized that in doing so, she’d locked her entire self away from the world. Meeting Seth had been a revelation of sorts—she grinned—even without the killer orgasms.

  He’d shown her that it was still okay to be happy, to want happiness in her life, even to go so far as to seek it out. He’d been careful at first, nudging her out of her comfort zone with little comments and questions, then pushing her that little bit further and more again, until she’d fallen head over heels in love with the man. There was no denying it any more. Love had been the last thing on her mind when she’d arrived in Monroe, but in one week Seth had shown her more about acceptance and love than she’d seen in months. For the first time since that terrible day when the men had arrived on her parents’ front porch, she was happy again—truly happy. And it was because of Seth. Jesse would have liked him; she was sure of that. Seth made her happy, and that’s all Jesse would have wanted for her.

  Maya stood, stretching and chasing away the last of the early morning tiredness. She was at peace, happy, calm—well, she would be when she got some caffeine into her. What was taking Meg so long? She hurried off to the kitchen and found Meg hunting through the walk-in pantry, muttering to herself. “Need a hand?” Maya called out.

  “I’m good,” Meg said. “Just can’t find the damn coffee.”

  Maya looked around. A large canister of ground coffee sat on the kitchen counter. Stifling a laugh, she picked it up and walked over to Meg, tapping her on the shoulder. “This coffee?”

  Meg groaned. “Oh, God, and I really need one, too.” She held up a box of herbal tea. “Unfortunately, this is all I’m getting this morning. Don’t want to upset my stomach.” She walked over to the kettle and set it heating. “You go for it, though.”

  She cast a critical eye over Maya. “Looks like you don’t do mornings any better than I do. I don’t know how our boys manage all these long shifts.” Meg turned around to set up the tea bits and pieces and Maya grinned. Our boys. She liked the sound of that. When she stopped to think about it, it was amazing, really, how effortlessly Meg had accepted her into the fold. But then, she supposed, that’s just what they did. They were a family. One that might be hers one day, too. She stood up from her chair, pulling one out for Meg. “Sit. I’ll go find us some breakfast.”

  Nearly an hour later, and on their second plate of toast and eggs, Liam wandered into the kitchen and found them both howling with laughter over a second—or was it third?—cup of coffee. “And oh my God, it was everywhere!” Meg said through snorts. “When Matt jumped out of the shower, the flour was still all sticking to him in weird, wet clumps. Unfortunately it didn’t cover the one area he probably wished it had, or so I heard,” she added, her face the picture of innocence. “I was sure Matt was going to murder Jeremy in his sleep after that.”

  Liam dropped his keys, cell phone, and wallet on the counter top and walked over and kissed Meg good morning. “Matt got him back a week later instead,” he said. “Kool-Aid crystals sprinkled in his sheets.” Meg snorted again, nearly sending her tea spraying over the counter.

  Maya tilted her head to the side. “That one I don’t get.”

  Liam grinned. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

  Meg reached up and slapped his chest. “Cool it, double-o seven. Besides, Maya’s one of the gang now. Don’t tell me you haven’t heard.”

  “There might have been a rumor at the house that Seth had finally gotten a real woman to talk to him,” Liam said, chuckling. “Don’t worry, Maya. They all love you. Just no one is going to let this moment pass without giving Seth hell for at least a week.” He walked over to the coffee she’d brewed earlier and poured himself a cup. “Might even be a month’s worth in this one.”

  “Colored crystals, hard to see, meet hot, sweaty firefighter for at least a couple of hours, provided they get downtime during shift,” Meg explained. “If all goes well, your intended target has blue legs for days.”

  That time it was Maya’s turn to snort her drink. Her eyes widened. She was going to have to watch herself around these guys. What on earth had she gotten herself into?

  Meg reached forward and patted her on the hand. “Don’t worry,” she said. “It’s a battle of practical jokes between the squad, but us girls are safe. Usually.”

  Maya grinned back at her. It was obvious how much they all cared for each other. She’d take the occasional flour shower if it meant being a part of that. Speaking of which . . . she looked over at Liam. “Do you work different shifts than the rest of the guys?”

  Liam nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. He leaned back against the counter next to where Meg was sitting. “I live here in Monroe, but work for the entire county. I go where they send me, which last night was Loganville. I’ll have to head into HQ later today to file my report, but figured I’d drop in for breakfast and see my favorite girl. Make sure she’s looking after herself.” He shot Meg a stern look. She held his gaze, looking like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. “I know you too well, my love.” He looked over to Maya. “It’s good to see you here. Meg could do with some help around the place before she overdoes things and falls over.”

  Maya smiled. “I’m happy to help. I’m just sorry I hadn’t stopped by properly again before now.” She shrugged. “Things have been, well, you know, a little intense.”

  Liam nodded. “Just as I’m happy to help you with that.” His face turned serious. “I’m glad to see you here, Maya. It’s the best place for you to be while Seth’s on his shift.”

  She returned the nod with a smile. “Glad to be here.” She picked up her and Meg’s plates and mugs and moved over to load them in the dishwasher, giving the couple a little private time. She glanced over. It was obvious how much Liam loved Meg, and she him in return. Even as they talked quietly, probably about everyday, mundane things, they were always touching each other. Little touches—her hand on his shoulder, his caress on her cheek. It warmed her heart to see it. Maybe one day, when this was all over, she and Seth would have the same. She just had to get up the courage to tell him how she felt.

  After she’d loaded the dishes, Maya found a kitchen cloth and gave the benches a wipe over, and then put away the coffee and tea, along with a few random piles of other non-perishable grocery items that were sitting around the place. Then she took the trash out the back. By the time she was done, Liam was back in the room, hair wet from a shower, and was kissing Meg goodbye. He looked over at Maya. “I’ll try to be back by dinner. Do me a favor and make sure she stays off her feet, for today at least. She needs a break.”

  Maya saluted him, smiling at the glare Meg was shooting him. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

  Liam grinned. “I’m a lieutenant, but I’ll take it.” He picked up his stuff still resting on the counter top, and left, kissing Meg one last time on his way out the door.

  Maya leaned against the counter, pretending to fan herself. “You two sure know how to wake a girl up,” she teased.

  Meg simply grinned back, a cheeky look in her eyes. “Oh, Girl, you have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into. Seth might be young, but he’s in this for the long haul. You better be serious about him, because there’s no going back now.”

  Strangely, that didn’t bother Maya. Not at all.

  The rest of the day passed in a blur of chores and preparations, Maya making Meg sit in a chair wherever possible and give Maya orders. First there was a mail-out to print, fold, and mail, then prep for the community meal nights Meg ran, followed by laundry and general housekeeping, and finally catching up on the books. Meg hadn’t stopped grumbling about Liam’s request all day, but at least the amount of the grumbles versus instructions had changed. As the day wore on, it became obvious how much she’d needed the break. The color was back in Meg’s cheeks by mid-morning and by the time the sky was darkening and Maya slid the last of the dinner prep into the oven, Meg’s eyes were bright and sparkling again, all
traces of weariness from that morning gone. She stood, ignoring Maya’s shout to sit herself back down, and rummaged around in the fridge, coming back with a bottle of non-alcoholic wine. “I don’t keep alcohol on the premises much,” she explained, “I might have it for special events, but some of Promise House’s guests do better in a dry environment.”

  Maya grabbed a couple of wine glasses. “That’s totally fine with me.”

  “So,” Meg said, pouring them each a generous glass, “tell me, where are you at with your brother’s case?”

  Maya stood, moving over to Seth’s bag that she’d placed at the door, ready to take up to whichever room she was staying in that night. “I’ll do one better than that. I’ll show you.” She rifled through the bag, looking for the papers she’d printed from the microfilm. “You won’t believe what our research uncovered yesterday.” She dug to the bottom of the bag, but couldn’t find them. Crap, where had they gone? With an apologetic look at Meg, Maya dug everything out of the bag and went through it again. Nothing. Where the hell had she left them? Her heart sank when she remembered. They were sitting on the dresser back at the motel. Everything had been in such a mess after Seth’s attempts at filing while she’d been using the microfilm machine, and she wanted to make sure they got put in their proper spot. They were too important to lose. She frowned. She could just print them out again, she supposed, but that didn’t change that they were out there, out of her possession now. What if she really was on the right track, and someone went back to her room again? If they found those, she’d give away their hand before they’d even really started.

  She pulled out her phone, checking the time: 5 p.m. Still early enough there’d be plenty of people around, and it wouldn’t be dark for nearly an hour. If she got over there now, she’d be safe and could scoop the papers up and be back before it was even time to serve dinner. Maya looked to Meg, her best I’m-not-up-to-something look plastered on her face. “Could I borrow your car? Please?”