Saving Mel

by Rye Hart

I would only be half a man if I did.

  “Okay,” she said.

  “Wait—are you serious?” I asked.

  “Trust me, I’m just as shocked as you are. But, yes. I’ll go with you. I’ll have to call Angela and tell her what’s going on, but yes. I will move with you.”

  Happiness leapt into my chest. I sprang to my feet and pulled her into me, crashing my lips down onto hers. I picked her up while she giggled, her feet kicking in the air as I walked her back to her bedroom.

  A bedroom she would soon share with me in Washington.

  I tossed her onto the bed and we quickly removed our clothes. I wasn’t going to spend another second doing something I didn’t want to do. I crashed my naked body onto hers and we covered each other with our lips, leaving no crevice untouched in the process. Her sweet mouth wrapped around my throbbing cock as she sat her pussy onto my lips. She tasted like salted caramel and honey, the mixture drizzling into my mouth as I teased her clit.

  The way she swallowed my thick dick down her throat curled my toes.

  I massaged her ass and teased her tight little hole. I had her grinding her hips uncontrollably into my face as her throat closed around my cock. Her curves covered me and her skin felt so soft. I was intoxicated with the way her mouth sucked my dick.

  But that wasn’t where I wanted to cum. Not tonight.

  I shoved her hips off my lips and she released me with a pop. She clamored on top of my cock and sank down onto it, her ass bare for my viewing pleasure as she rode me. She slammed onto my dick and soaked my pelvis in her juices until she was shivering with her orgasm. Her pussy sucked me in deep as her fingernails dug into my shins, and the lust I had for her overwhelmed my senses.

  I got up before she was even done coming and positioned her on her hands and knees. I fucked her from behind as my balls smacked against her clit, prolonging her orgasm until she was breathless. Her tits were bouncing against the bed as her hands braced against the sheets, and soon my thighs were dripping with her splattering juices as she cried out my name.

  “Daniel! Please. I need to rest. I can’t take it. It’s so good. Fuck.”

  I wasn’t going to let her breathe, though. I wanted her to remember this night. The night she gave herself over to the only man she’d ever need. I wanted her to know that every whim, every pleasure and dream she could ever wish for herself would be taken care of.

  Starting with her carnal enjoyments.

  I flipped her over onto her back as she tried to catch her breath. I slammed into her time and time again, feeling my balls pull up into my body with want. Sweat was dripping off my face as tears of joy brewed behind her eyes. I leaned down to capture her lips as my body raked against her swollen clit, and I could feel her about to pop.

  “Come with me, Layla,” I said, whispering. “Come with me and never look back.”

  Her eyes flew open and a cheeky grin crossed her cheeks. Her hands flew to my back, her nails pressing into my skin as I groaned. I fucked her steadily, feeling her body lurch against mine as her pussy milked my cock for all it had.

  Then we both climaxed together in a fit of sweat and cum, shaking as our bodies intertwined as I filled her to the brim.

  We collapsed to the bed, heaving in the same sex-tainted air as she curled into my side. Her skin was covered in a light sheen of sweat that mixed with the musk from my body. I pressed a delicate kiss to her forehead as we laid there, and I thought about the journey to come. About our move to Washington State. About how we had to pack up her things. About how she would have to wrap up work and how we could open up her own coffee shop in the place where coffee shops were birthed.

  “I’m excited,” Layla said lightly.

  “You are?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I mean, it’s a new adventure. Both living in Washington and being in love. I feel safe with you. Like you would never steer me wrong.”

  “And I never will,” I said as I looked down at her. “I promise you.”

  “I love you, Daniel,” she said, as she looked up at me.

  “I love you too.”

  She brought her lips up to connect with mine and I sighed into her touch. I wrapped my arms around her as we settled into the sheets, ignoring the stains we’d left behind from the love we had shared. There was packing to be done and tickets to book, but for now I wanted to enjoy the woman against my body.

  I wanted to hold her close just like this. To set precedence. To set an example. To show her that this was the bare minimum of what she would get from me. She would get nothing less than my energy, my attention, and my touch.

  She would get nothing less than all of me, just like I got nothing less than all of her.

  IT’S STILL NOT OVER! BECAUSE I LOVE MY READERS SO MUCH AND I’M ALL ABOVE DELIVERING THE CONTENT YOU LOVE, I’VE INCLUDED A NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED FIREFIRGHT ROMANCE: HEART ON FIRE. CHECK IT OUT…

  When the call came in, I never knew it would take me back to that night.

  That night, I couldn't save her.

  I wasn't about to let it happen again.

  Madi may not love me –but we had a past.

  Rocky as it might have been, I wasn't about to fail her too.

  Especially since the same man who killed my ex is now targeting Madi.

  My only goal is to solve the crime, save the girl and put the murdering bastard behind bars once and for all.

  What I didn’t expect was falling so hard for Madi along the way.

  HEART ON FIRE

  CHAPTER ONE

  Oliver

  I was just settling in for my shift when the call came in. A warehouse fire. Pretty routine stuff. Honestly, I assumed it was just a bunch of kids interested in starting their career in arson and destroying private property. But my thinking changed immediately when a follow-up call came in – there was someone inside the burning structure.

  My heart thundered in my chest. I always got a rush of adrenaline and a racing pulse whenever a call came in. But, that rush of adrenaline and pounding of my heart always intensified when someone's life was in danger. My body was awash in sensations more powerful than any drug man could ever concoct as I flew into motion.

  That's why I did what I did. To save lives. And I did everything in my power to do just that. I wasn't always successful though. The names and faces of the people I'd lost over the years were etched into my brain forever. Including her face. But, I believed in what I did and would never stop trying to save everybody I could.

  With a flurry of action in the house all around me, I pushed all thoughts of Lauren out of my head as I climbed into the truck. Sirens blaring and lights flashing, we raced out of the firehouse and blazed our way through the streets of Chicago.

  The smoke was thick in the air, surrounding us before we even parked the truck. Jumping out of the truck, I noticed that the air was choked with the smell of gasoline. Looking at the structure, I saw that the flames engulfing it were larger than a dumpster fire. The smell of the accelerant and the aggressiveness of the fire told me this wasn't simply a case of stupid kids playing with matches and trash cans.

  The smells around me disappeared once I put on my mask. All I could smell now was plastic as the protective mask covered my face and I felt the cool rush of oxygen. Rushing from the truck toward the structure, I heard a cracking and popping all around us. It sounded like gunshots but it was just the sound of light bulbs exploding. That sound was accompanied by the sound of wood cracking and the glass in windows shattering as the heat inside the building intensified.

  The smoke pouring out of the warehouse made it almost impossible to see as we entered the building. The whoosh of the flames and cracking, groaning noises around us grew louder and more ominous. I looked up at the ceiling and grimaced when I saw the tendrils of flame crawling along. I couldn't see much else, but I prayed the roof didn't collapse in on us. Not until we'd finished the job.

  The first step we needed to take – and take quickly – was finding the person inside. Witnesses repo
rted they heard screaming, but I strained my ears and couldn't hear anything. There was a good chance the person who'd been heard screaming was no longer conscious. Which meant we had seconds instead of minutes to find them and get them outside and into fresh air.

  Or, the witness could have been mistaken and there was nobody in the building. It was possible we were risking our lives on a wild goose chase. It's been known to happen. More times than I could count, actually. But, better to err on the side of caution. I can't even imagine how I'd react if we pulled out, only to find out later there was somebody in there and they'd died because we didn't take the time to look.

  The heat inside the structure was nearly unbearable, reminding me of the last warehouse fire I'd been on. The one that left me with burns all over my body because I just wouldn't quit trying to find survivors, even as my air was fast running out. If it wasn't for Jimmy, I'd very likely be dead too. Alongside her. The woman I'd gone in there to save.

  I shook my head and pushed away the memories. Not this time, I told myself. No, this time, I would find the person in here and save them. I wasn't about to let another one die on me. No, this person, whoever they were, would be saved.

  Moving through hallways choked with thick, black, cloying smoke in the darkness, and not knowing anything about the building, I felt like I was trapped in a maze. A maze I wasn't sure I'd find the end of.

  I pushed the negative thoughts out of my head. They weren't going to help. And I needed focus. I could do this. I had to do this. My heart pounded harder and my senses slowed down. It was like moving in slow motion.

  The sound of a loud snap up ahead made me pause. A moment later, a large section of the ceiling, completely engulfed in flame, came crashing down from above. One of the guys behind me stepped forward and hosed it down, white smoke replacing the black smoke, fogging up the place even more than before.

  “We don't have much time before this whole thing caves in,” he called out.

  I nodded and gripped the ax I was carrying even tighter as I stopped to listen. I was intensely aware of the seconds ticking by. Every grain of sand slipping through the hourglass added to the pressure. I knew if we didn't find the person soon, get them out and get them to safety, this whole building was coming down.

  Our Captain would, of course, order us out before the flames consumed the structure, but the person inside would be left inside. And I couldn't have that. I couldn't stand for it. Wouldn't. I was going to find them.

  I looked left and right, trying to see through the darkness, but all I could see were the thick clouds of smoke choking the hallway, the clouds glowing a malevolent shade of orange and red as the fire climbed the walls around us.

  “We need to get out of here,” my partner, Jimmy, called to me. “This thing is coming down. We need to get out now.”

  I shook my head. “Another minute, man.”

  “We may not have another minute!”

  I strained my ears and stretched out all my senses and then I heard it. Heard her, rather. I heard coughing coming from nearby and I said a silent word of thanks, a powerful sense of relief flooding my body. That she was coughing meant she was breathing. Meaning, she was conscious and more importantly, alive. I lowered myself to the ground and felt my way around, edging forward while keeping an eye on the ceiling above us, following the sound of the coughing.

  I finally found the wall with my hand and, using it as a guide, felt my way along it. The crack and pop of wood echoed around the hallway, sounding right above us. I cast a nervous eye upward, my gut tightening. The ceiling was going to come crashing down on us at any moment.

  The coughing stopped abruptly and all I could hear was the sound of my own breathing in the mask. I focused on that because at least it meant I was alive. And as long as I was alive, I could keep doing my job. Trying to pick up my pace, conscious of the danger we were in, I kept edging forward, moving toward the sound of the woman's cough I'd heard only moments before. I moved forward and then stopped when the toe of my boot bumped into something on the ground.

  I couldn't see it through the smoke and I couldn't tell what it was just by nudging it with my boot. I knelt down and reached out. I couldn't make out what it was through my gloves, but it was soft. And when I touched it, it moved. I gripped it a little tighter, a smile spreading across my face and relief flooding my body with the force of a tidal wave. It was a hand. Her hand.

  I pulled myself closer and reached out, wrapping my arms around a body. Pulling her to me, I lifted the woman from the ground. She was limp, laying lifeless in my hands. She was small and light.

  Still, even carrying a person as light as she was through the thick haze of smoke when you can't see an inch in front of you isn't easy. As soon as I had her in my arms, I turned and walked back the way I had come, my partner hot on my heels. I couldn't see the rest of my fellow firefighters through the curtain of blackness before me, nor could I hear them over the crackling flames and pieces of the building falling around us.

  Except for my partner, I'd lost everybody when I went for her. I just had to trust they were there.

  I also had to trust my instincts. Trust that I knew where I was going and that I could find the exit through the billowing smoke. And find it quickly – before the building came crashing down in a flaming ruin. At that moment, a familiar buzzing sounded in my ears and upped the ante even more – the oxygen in my tanks was starting to run low.

  I had to hurry.

  “We need to go, Ollie,” Jimmy called out. “We need to go now, man.”

  “I know, I know,” I called back.

  I sped up as much as I could and that's when I heard the thunderous crash of the roof as it caved in behind me. The ceiling was coming down around us, and if I wasn't careful and didn't get us out of harm's way soon, it was going crush us. Or trap us.

  Either one would mean certain death for her and likely death for us as well. I hurried toward the exit – or what I hoped and prayed was the exit.

  I stumbled over something in the darkness. Looking down, I realized I'd nearly tripped over the hose being used to extinguish the fire further inside the building. Which meant I was close. I tightened my grip on her and barreled forward, confident that Jimmy was right behind me. I followed the hose until we burst through the screen of smoke and we found ourselves outside. I tore off my mask and breathed deep, relishing the feel of the cool night air in my lungs as the lights of the crowd of emergency vehicles bathed us in flashes of red and blue.

  Jimmy peeled off to find the Captain as I looked down at the girl in my arms and rushed toward the lights with her in my arms, calling out for the EMT's who were gathered about, waiting for something to do.

  “She's alive but she won't be for long if she doesn't get help,” I called. “She needs oxygen.”

  They took her from my arms and gently placed her on the ground. An older man stepped forward and began administering CPR as a woman put a bag over her mouth and started giving her oxygen. I took a step back, feeling myself begin to swoon. I was in a daze as I looked down at her face, lovely even covered in soot.

  The woman coughed and opened her eyes, briefly. They looked unfocused and dazed at first. Not uncommon nor unexpected given what she'd just been through. I looked down into the two white and blue orbs in the middle of that gray and black stained face. She looked up at me, and I realized I knew those eyes.

  I knew that face.

  I noticed one other thing as well – both her hands and feet were bound. She'd been trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey and left there to roast. Which meant this wasn't an accident. This wasn't a case of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  This was attempted murder and Madison Haywood was lucky as hell to be alive.