“Yeah. I hate not knowing what happens after the fire is out. The fire inspector takes over and tries to figure out what started the fire. Sometimes they never find out, other times they find someone who started it and that person goes to jail or pays restitution.”
“What’s the biggest fire you’ve been to?”
He lowered his head to gaze in to her face. “The one in the field the other day was pretty big.”
“Do you get scared?”
“I was scared when I saw you out there.” His voice dropped low and sultry.
“I was fine.”
“You could have died or been burned badly.”
She kept his focus, watching his lips move, watching the breeze blow his hair around and listening to the sounds of Serenity Harbor as night closed in around them.
He picked up a piece of her hair and slid it behind her ear. “Is the interview over?” he whispered.
She nodded.
Without hesitation he lowered his head and teased her lips with his. He didn’t go right in for the kiss, but provoked her senses. His hot breath fanned around her mouth, she could feel his restraint as he dropped velvet kisses on the corners of her mouth and finally he pressed his whole mouth to hers.
She remembered the kiss from the other night, but this one blew that one away.
She opened her mouth to him and he took advantage of it. Her hands went around his head and she ran them through his hair. It was soft and perfect. She slanted her mouth to get better access.
He helped lift her up and on to his lap. She straddled him, bringing the most sensitive part of her in touch with the very male part of him. He wasn’t immune to her. She kissed him harder until they were both breathing heavily.
She pulled back first. Blinking she glanced around them. All of the benches were empty and everyone seemed to know they needed this time alone. She slid off him and straightened her skirt.
“Sorry. Got a little carried away. I told you I wouldn’t jump you.”
“Yes. You did, but I didn’t say I wouldn’t jump you.” He swooped back in, capturing her mouth with his, pulling her closer and controlling the pressure with his hands on either side of her head, his fingers speared in her hair.
Her body hummed with need and sexual desire. She felt like a teenager with hormones that couldn’t be controlled. Except she wasn’t a teen. She was a woman with an apartment, no roommate and a king sized bed that hadn’t seen action in a year.
“Let’s go,” she said, taking his hand, kissing him one more time, and pulling him off the bench.
Chapter 8
Back in her apartment, Erin wasted no time reaching for his shirt, pulling it up over his head and discarding it. She started working on his belt and ran the side of her hand across his almost painful erection. He twitched.
He wanted to help, but he needed all the control he could gather. If that meant letting her undress him, then so be it. He closed his eyes and waited. He wanted her in the worst way. Trying to keep her at arm’s length hadn’t worked. Taking her to bed was the exact opposite of what he should be doing, but he couldn’t walk away from her now. He didn’t want to.
His eyes flew open the moment he heard his zipper and felt himself being released from the prison of his pants. She caught him and started gently rubbing back and forth. He sucked in a breath.
“No, you can’t do that,” he said.
She was on her knees in front of him and he wanted nothing more than for her to wrap her lips around him, but he knew the second she did that, he would be a goner. “I can’t. You can’t. Let me.” He pulled her to her feet then reached for the hem of her shirt and whipped it off over her head. She had on a white lacy bra that barely contained her breasts. He had thought were on the small side, but tonight, they looked perfect to him. He flicked at both distended nipples at the same time with his thumbs.
She groaned and pushed into him. His reserve tank of wait was running low. He didn’t know how he could hold out with her making little noises in the back of her throat and moaning like what he was doing was rocking her world.
He slid his hand up her leg, pulling her skirt up as he went. The cool material was in direct contrast to the hotness of her skin. The closer he got to her apex, the warmer she got. Her head was thrown back exposing her neck.
He went in for a taste. Her pulse was racing and when he slipped his finger under her panties and ran it though her slick opening, he thought he felt her heart skip a beat. He licked her throat and stroked her clit, while she moaned and started to press against him in rhythmic motion.
“Oh not yet,” he said with a smile.
He scooped her up. “Where’s the bed?”
She pointed to a room of the side of the spacious living room. Inside her room, the moonlight shown on one of the largest beds he’d ever seen. All that just for her?
He set her down and finished undressing. He’d never been shy about his body. Even in the station showers, he didn’t care who saw him, but tonight, he cared what Erin thought.
She sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to him, caressing down his chest, waist, hips, ass, then back around the front and down his thighs murmuring her satisfaction, but never touching the part that ached to be fondled.
He gave her a warning growl. She smirked up at him. “What?”
He reached for her, pulling her panties off but left the skirt. When she tried to remove it, he put his hand on hers before kissing her lips to distract her.
He moved them back on the bed kissing his way up her legs from her knees to her thighs.
He dropped a few kisses, nibbled the soft flesh of her inner thighs and with a hand on her stomach tried to keep her from wiggling away. He knew right where he was headed and he guessed she did too. She clutched his head as he made contact with her most sensitive spot.
She called out. He lapped at her again. She pushed on his head and ground her hips into him. Sliding a finger inside her, he pressed against her G-spot and she came unglued, thrashing and crying out.
Her orgasm went on for at least a minute. He’d never known someone to milk an orgasm like that. He respected her more now than he had a few minutes ago. When he was sure she was finished, he continued his journey up her body, laving one nipple, then the other before reaching her mouth.
He was pretty sure he was going to explode in the next few moments. Watching her and feeling her come apart with his mouth had pushed him right to the edge of his restraint.
“Condom,” she breathed.
He moved quickly to where he’d left his pants, quickly sheathed himself and joined her back on the bed. She shouldn’t have had time to get cold without him.
“I can’t wait anymore,” he said in her hair, his cock positioned between her legs throbbing.
“You don’t have to.”
With permission given, he thrust inside her in one motion. She bucked under him, sliding him in deeper. They moaned together at the rightness of the moment.
Shit, he wasn’t going to last.
He tried to concentrate on the condom, but that only reminded him of the woman he was inside. Erin.
He opened his eyes and watched her face and he caught the rhythm of their bodies. He was like a sports car going from Driving Miss Daisy to the Fast and the Furious in 60 seconds.
“Now,” she demanded.
He gave one more thrust and came. He felt her inner muscles clench around him, milking him as her second orgasm wracked her body. The sensations were so strong that it almost hurt, but he wasn’t moving. He was staying inside her as long as she’d let him.
“Oh baby,” he said, placing kisses on her face and neck. He felt himself rebound, getting ready for round two, but he didn’t want to scare her. “You okay?”
“Mmmmm. I’m great. Again?”
“Whenever you’re ready,” he said. He rolled them over so she was on top and he let her take control.
Chapter 9
The next morning, Erin woke up sore and satiated. Sh
e reached across the big bed. Then she reached a little further. No Seth.
She barely opened her eyes to confirm what she already knew. He was gone. She rolled onto her back and flopped her arm over her eyes. He had been everything she wanted and more. If he was on his way to work, he was going to have a tough day trying to stay awake. They hadn’t slept for more than three hours, if she’d had to guess. She thought about rolling over and going back to sleep herself, but she knew she had a few things to do to get ready for next week’s paper.
But first a hike to clear her head and stop herself from running to him and taking him again. Not knowing if he regretted giving in to their passion last night, she would wait for him to call. He had acted so weird at dinner that she suspected he had been fighting the same attraction she had been.
She climbed in to the car she rarely used and headed out of town. The weather was perfect, crisp, low seventies. If she’d had a convertible, she would have driven it with the top down. She loved this weather and this time of year.
The best part about the fall was the decline in the number of tourists who inhabited the town. Even this weekend when all of the people came out to see the sheep, they would spend the rest of the weekend in town eating, shopping and socializing. She might have the park to herself.
She didn’t go back to the fire scene. She thought she might, but she had what she needed for pictures and really, she wanted to see some wide open spaces with green trees and soak in the reason she lived in Maine.
She pulled off the main drag and drove a little further down the dirt road. Anyone driving by wouldn’t see her car and wouldn’t bother her - especially nosy park rangers and a particularly helpful fireman.
Slinging her backpack over her shoulder she took off into the woods. She let the cool breeze soothe her body. The stress of her riotous emotions where Seth was concerned worried her. He hadn’t left a note or said goodbye. She wanted it to be casual, didn’t she?
The hike helped clear her head and soon she was huffing and puffing up one of the mountain trails in the park. A branch snapped behind her and she whipped around to see what little creature might have made the noise.
There was nothing there.
She hiked up a few more feet and stepped off the path in to some low bushes. She scanned the woods, but didn’t see any deer or bears. She checked behind where she hid, but nothing was there either. Actually she couldn’t even hear birds singing anymore.
She tried to look back down the path. A form emerged from the other side of the clearing about thirty feet away. He was a big man, short hair, white T-shirt. He was wearing a baseball hat that was Navy blue and said something in red on the front and back. He turned down the path and started sprinting away, not looking back at her, but he must have seen her, she wasn’t that far in front of him.
Erin emerged from her hiding spot and tried to get a better look at the man. She had a bad feeling about this. She was out here all alone with no protection, which had never bothered her before, but someone skulking around on the same deserted trail she was on gave her the creeps.
She started down the trail anxious to get out of here. All thoughts of a relaxing siesta at the top of the mountain were long gone.
She heard the crackling before she saw the flames. The dry tinder of the pine trees was burning hot and fast blocking the trail down the mountain. Had she just watched an arsonist set a fire in the park? Could it have been the same man that set the other fires? Her heart lurched.
She didn’t have time to ponder arsonists or other fires, she had to move, now.
The flames were spreading so fast that she bolted up the mountain. It didn’t matter how tired she felt, she had nowhere to go but up above the tree line.
She pulled her backpack off and held it in front of her chest while she searched for her cellphone. She only hoped she had reception. She kept running as fast as she could, which was more of a quick step up higher and higher.
Once she had the phone, she slung the backpack into its original location and dialed 911.
“Serenity Harbor dispatch, what is your emergency?”
“Peggy, it’s Erin.”
“Erin?”
“You went to school with me. I’m on Fire Mountain.”
“Why are you out of breath?” Peggy asked.
“Peggy. Listen to me. This is an emergency. I’m on Fire Mountain and it is literally on fire. I saw the man who started it. I’m trying to get above the tree line. You’ve got to send the fire department. It’s spreading fast.”
She almost heard Peggy sit up straighter. “A fire on Fire Mountain in the park. I’ll send units now. Can you get to safety?”
Panic seized her throat. She looking up the trail, but didn’t see the sky or any indication that she was close to where the trees would open up and the granite rocks would continue to the summit.
“Erin?”
“I don’t know. I’m trying. Tell them to hurry.”
She heard Peggy speak into another phone or line. “We have a fire on Fire Mountain. At least one person is trapped. It’s Erin Ridge from the paper.”
“Ten-four, we’re on our way. Someone call Seth.” Erin heard it, but thought perhaps her mind was playing tricks with the lack of oxygen and dehydration setting in. She glanced back over her shoulder. The fire was still growing and the flames were at least forty feet in the air. Hearing Seth’s voice in her head, she remembered what he said about the flames changing direction and burning everything in its wake.
She glanced back again, but kept moving forward. Her legs were cramped and her lungs burned with exertion. She heard a helicopter and hoped that was someone coming to help. They would never see her where she was now. Pushing on, there was renewed energy in her step. If she could get to a clearing…she wouldn’t have to hike down or be fried like a marshmallow over a campfire.
The rotors of the helicopter were almost over head when it started to rain. She relished the cooling water as it came down over her and the fire. The flames dipped for a moment, then found new trees to burn. Erin kept moving. She had to be close to the tree line. She’d been hiking for at least an hour and if she remembered correctly this trail had never taken this long before.
Another helicopter or the same one came over her again and dropped its load.
“Erin?” a loud voice called through the roar of the fire and the noise from the helicopter.
It sounded like it was coming from above her. She was hearing things.
“Erin!”
She heard it again.
“I’m here,” she called out barely above a normal speaking voice. Her throat was dry. She tried to swallow to wet her throat and called again. “Over here.”
Seth came running toward her dressed in his fire gear, she’d know him anywhere, even if he hadn’t had Greenway written on his helmet and jacket.
He wrapped her in a wet blanket and helped propel her up the trail. She had almost made it to the tree line by herself.
She was exhausted, physically and mentally. She clung to Seth as he brought her to the waiting helicopter.
“Did you see anyone else up here who might need to be rescued?” Seth asked.
She shook her head. “No wait. There was a guy. An older guy. I can describe him. He was there just before the fire started. He ran down the path. I think he started the fire on purpose.”
Seth held her head against his chest and shushed her.
“You’re safe now. Don’t worry about anyone else. We’ll take care of everything.”
EMS whisked Erin off to town after checking her out to make sure that she was going to be okay. Seth watched as the chopper left the mountain top. He’d made a habit of rescuing that woman and every time he did, it made him feel like a king. She was grateful, if not clueless to the danger she was in.
He sighed. He hadn’t called her after their night together. He didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t wanted to get into that situation, but now that they had, he wanted her again and again, profe
ssionalism, being her source and feelings be damned. He needed to have her in his life.
He pulled into the station moments after Erin was released from treatment.
“You okay?” he whispered in her hair as he wrapped her in a hug. “My heart almost stopped when I heard your voice on the radio,” he said, touching her forehead with his lips.
“Well, this is a sweet moment,” the chief broke into the cocoon they had created with his sarcastic voice. “Greenway, I need to see you in my office immediately.”
Seth nodded at the chief and hoped he would move away.
He didn’t.
Erin’s eyes went wide and she shifted her eyes from the chief back to Seth and back again. She looked …terrified.
“You okay? I know today shook you up. How about if I come over later to check up on you?”
She nodded, but she wasn’t looking at him anymore.
“Erin?”
She nodded before backing up. She spun on her heels and ran across the street. He watched her go, more confused than ever.
Chapter 10
The chief sat at his desk with his fingers steepled on top. “Your relationship with that woman is causing a problem for the department,” he started.
“What relationship? I was asked to be her source for a story about the department.” Seth crossed his arms.
“It’s obvious there’s more going on. I don’t want her nosing around here.”
“Okay. I’ll mention it to her, but she’s still working on her story, so I can’t stop her.”
“You will stop her. I’ll call the damn police if she’s on the property again,” the chief said, red and angry.
Seth sat back in his chair trying to figure out what was going on here.
“This is a tough time for the department with all of the recent fires and with the town wanting to cut some of our positions, we have to be vigilant. Having a reporter around all the time is a problem.”
Seth nodded, knowing that he was never going to be able to keep Erin away from the department or the men in it. It was a public building after all. He did value his job and knew the chief wouldn’t ask this of him if he didn’t believe it was truly a problem, so Seth would talk to her later today when he went over to check up on her.
Welcome to Serenity Harbor Page 22
