Table of Contents
Burning Bridges
Copyright
Blurb
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Epilogue
Sneak Peek
Chapter One
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About the author
Other Titles by Mayra Statham
Copyright © 2018 by Mayra Statham
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover Image: Deposit Photos
Cover Work: Tracie Douglas of Dark Water Covers
Editing: Julia Goda of Diamond in the Rough Editing
Fomatting: CP Smith
Blurb
Fireman Maverick Bridges doesn’t do complicated. All he needs are his firehouse brothers and an ice-cold beer after a long day. His life is turned upside down the moment he unknowingly sets his sights on the one woman he shouldn’t want.
Sofia Blanco is back in her hometown after a decade abroad. Her first night, she meets a man whose dark blue eyes promise the ability to deliver on a dirty and sinful night. A night that’s ruined when they find out she’s his best friend’s little sister and temporary housemate.
An instant attraction that is hard to resist quickly turns into steamy showers and Nutella-licking fun. But what happens when casual fun turns into more? Will they be able to walk through fire for one another?
NOTE: A shorter version of this story was previously published in the BURN ME Anthology. This is the extended and complete story that will make your heart burst into flames. Grab an ice-cold drink and a fan; it’s about to get hot in here!
Acknowledgements
Forever boyfriend: Thank you for your endless patience as I create these worlds and balance our real one. This wouldn’t be possible without you as my cheerleader! I love you.
My babies: Never stop dreaming and working towards them. No matter what.
Julia Goda, CP Smith, Kelly Tucker, Tracie Douglas & Winter Travers: Your endless support and friendship means more than any of you will ever know. I love you guys!
Diamond in the Rough Editing: Thank you for polishing my work and making it the best it can be.
Dark Water Covers: Thank you for the beautiful cover!
Statham’s Sexy Stars: Your support of my work humbles me and makes me want to work harder. Each and every one of you, from the bottom of my heart: Thank you!
To you, the reader: Thank you so much for taking a chance on Maverick and Sofia’s story! Hope you fall in love with them as much as I did. I would love to hear what you think! You can email me at [email protected] or contact me on social media! Let’s connect!
Dedication
Love isn’t something you find.
Love is something that finds you.
-Loretta Young
Chapter One
Maverick Bridges
Stepping into Hank’s, their local bar, Maverick couldn’t help but notice how the place felt as familiar as his own living room. He was thirty-five, and this was his home away from home. He didn’t know what to do with that. Instead of dwelling on it and attempting to figure it out, he headed toward the empty spot at the bar with his cell phone pressed to his ear.
“Don’t worry about it, man,” he spoke into the phone as he maneuvered his way to the empty stool at the end of the bar.
“I’ll work on getting us a table,” he muttered just as his ass sat down. He would find them a table eventually; he just needed a beer first.
“Thanks. Sorry about this, Bridges,” Gabe Blanco mumbled, and Maverick fought from rolling his eyes.
“Come on, Gabe,” he started to say. Maverick knew exactly what his best friend was going to say. He was about to start on the whole ‘My little sister is a pain’ rant.
Again.
“I didn’t think this was going to take that long, and the traffic I’ve hit sucks. And, of course, she had to change the damn plans,” Gabe mumbled.
Blanco was a great guy. Not only was he Mav’s best friend, but he was also the guy Maverick trusted with his life every day they stepped foot into the firehouse. It had been that way since he had moved to Beech Grove, California, a small, well-hidden gem in Los Angeles County.
They worked at the same small-town firehouse, and Gabe was one of the best men Mav had ever met. He had nothing but respect and loved the guy like blood. But once he started to complain about his little country hopping, abroad-studying baby sister, it was close to impossible to get him to stop.
His sister, Sofia, whom Maverick had yet to meet, was a sore subject to say the least.
“Don’t worry about it,” he repeated, nodding at a couple of familiar faces that passed by him.
“She’s a fucking pain in my ass,” Gabe bitched, and even though Gabe couldn’t see him, Mav shook his head.
Maverick had been in Beech Grove for five years, and he had heard all there was to know about little Sofia Blanco. She left to study abroad her senior year of high school, and from what he had understood, she had fallen in love with everything European.
After graduation and receiving her acceptance to Oxford, she stayed gone to continue her education and was now returning home with her master’s in hand. Being the overprotective older brother and stand-in father-figure after their dad passed away, Gabe was a nervous wreck.
“What else are little sisters for, right?” he tried to lighten the mood, not really meaning it. He had no clue what little sisters were like. He only had brothers. Two of them. And even though there were three of them, each two years apart, they weren’t particularly close.
“Shit. Right?” Gabe huffed. Mav heard the sound of a horn honking on the other line.
“Just breathe, man. She’s going to be fine.”
“I know. You’re right. Look, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Traffic looks like it’s starting to clear up. I shouldn’t take too long. I’m more than sure I’ll beat her there. Sofia shopping usually takes a while, but just in case—“
“Yeah, I know. A redhead who looks like a mix of you and a pain in the ass,” Mav cut off his buddy, raising his hand to grab Wally’s, the bartender and co-owner of Hank’s bar, attention.
“Shit. What if she dyed her hair?” Gabe groaned, making him want to laugh. Gabe was usually laid-back. Seeing him all ruffled up was amusing.
“What?”
“Girls her age do that, don’t they?” Her age? Jesus. The girl was twenty-five, not fifteen.
“She would still look like you, but you know, with tits,” Mav pointed out, relieved to hear Gabe’s deep laughter on the other end. His buddy had to loosen up.
“Okay. I bett
er go. I’ll be there before you know it.”
“No worries. Good luck,” he ended the call and slipped his phone into the front pocket of his dark denim jeans.
“Tab?” Wally asked after setting his usual beer on the bar, and Mav nodded.
“Yeah, that would probably be a good idea tonight. Oh, hey, Wally, a chick might ask for Gabe. Let me know if she hits you up, will ya?”
“Oh? Who’s looking for that guy?” Wally teased.
“His sister.” Mav found himself grinning, and Wally chuckled.
“Got it!” he shouted, walking away to help other customers.
Looking around the bar, he scoped out the talent tonight. He might have been there to meet his boy’s little sister, which was all great and dandy, but he needed to get laid.
Throughout the years, he had become an honorary member of the Blanco family. Always having a seat at their table over the holidays and Sunday dinners. He had even helped Gabe pack his childhood home when his mom, Jill, decided to downsize to a smaller house.
Still, there was no reason he couldn’t kill two birds with one stone. Who said men couldn’t multi-task?
Being a fireman in a small town more than guaranteed him a smorgasbord of women. Not to mention the fact he looked the way he did. Not that he was being overzealous of his looks and charm. He was just honest. Finding a woman had never been difficult for him. Women were simply attracted to him. They always had been.
There was something about being six two, broad shouldered, tanned, and strong from working outdoors and with his hands, navy blue eyes, and shaggy dark hair, which made him like catnip to women. It was something he had more than willingly enjoyed.
Until two months ago.
He’d hit a semi self-imposed dry spell. The allure of easy pussy and one-night stands didn’t do it for him anymore.
Not that he was looking to settle down.
Hell no.
He had just turned thirty-five. He was too young to put his balls in a jar all so that a woman could have them on her nightstand.
But he did recognize he needed something different.
A challenge.
If Maverick were being honest, his little realization had started after bumping into his ex-girlfriend. It had done something to him seeing her married, happy, and very pregnant.
Not that he was hung up on Kimi. He was over the moon happy for her. She was a good woman who deserved happiness and everything that went with it. It was more of the fact that it had been a stark reminder of what he didn’t have in life.
A reminder there was more to life than an easy lay and going to work. Rinse and repeat.
Seeing her, comparing his life and the direction it was in, had literally kept him up. Night after night, he found himself wondering what the hell he was doing with his life. Not that he would admit it to anyone.
Is thirty-five too young to start having a mid-life crisis?
He shook off the dark road his thoughts had taken and looked around, surveying the lay of the land. It had been a rough week and he needed to unwind.
He had earned it.
He spotted a group of co-eds, all dressed in different versions of the same thing. Short skirts with tight, barely-there tops more than highlighting their assets. Each sexy and probably a great fucking lay. But for some reason they didn’t catch his eye. He could almost see how the night would go, and as fun as getting his dick wet and bounced on would have been, by the end of the night he’d be tired of taking selfies and bored of listening to them talk about their favorite reality TV show and what brand lippy was a must have.
There was another group of women at the far end of the bar. They were older, probably in their mid-thirties, closer to his age, and from what he could tell, they were a book club of some sort. Each had what looked like the same book next to them. He could approach one of them, but fuck, they seemed like too much effort. Again, a feeling of dissatisfaction filled him. What the hell is going on with me?
“Rum and Coke, please,” a soft voice beside him spoke to Wally, snapping him out if his thoughts. Turning to look at her, he wasn’t prepared.
Not one fucking bit.
Bare feminine shoulders with creamy, slightly tanned skin. Long, wavy hair that hung loose down over her shoulder and her back. It was shiny and thick in the most beautiful color. It wasn’t brown or red. It was a deep auburn that inspired visions of Mav’s hands getting tangled up in those silky looking tresses.
She was dressed in a long, colorful dress that looked like an abstract painting. It had multiple thin straps at her shoulders crossing over her back. Even though the dress would have made any other woman look shapeless, it did the opposite on her. It hinted at the curves that lay underneath, and his mouth watered.
She was curvy, the way a woman should be curvy. Tits and ass and a slight softness in between. The soft glow of her skin made his hands ache to touch her.
“Sure thing, pretty girl.” Wally winked, and he fought from rolling his eyes. Poor guy. For being a bartender, he had zero game.
Too bad he was going to have to show him how it was done. Licking his lips, he turned, ready to give her his best smile, but when she turned, now fully looking at him, his confidence took a face plant. Something about her unequivocal beauty made him trip all over himself.
“Hey,” was the only thing he could spit out, mumbling stupidly as he took in more of her.
She was exquisite.
Sitting at the high bar stool, she still had to look up at him. She was a tiny little thing and sparked something in him. A primal need to protect like he’d never felt before.
Protect.
Conquer.
Treasure.
After he blinked those stupid caveman thoughts away, their eyes connected, and she gave him a small smile he felt in his chest.
Damn!
Her smile was a thing of beauty, and he hadn’t even seen it in all its glory. If he were the kind of guy who believed in love at first sight, he would have been tempted to say her smile was like a cupid’s arrow about to shoot his stupid ass. Leaving him helpless to her.
He had never seen a smile like hers in his life. It radiated like sunshine and warmed him up deep inside. Huge red flags waved Danger, Will Robinson! in his head, but instead of turning around and ignoring her, he kept looking at her.
“Hey,” she said back, in that same soft tone she’d ordered her drink in. He opened his mouth just as she turned away from him.
What the hell?
A woman had never turned away from him. They usually fawned and giggled girlishly while they both pretended he was trying to coax them into going back to his place, when in reality they both knew it was a done deal.
Thankfully, Wally came over with her drink, giving him the perfect segue. “Add it to my tab, Wally,” he ordered smoothly, a cocky smirk on his face, one that was a proven favorite. One most women found boyishly charming.
Her head popped up and to the side to look at him. Her smooth, caramel-brown eyes were beautiful, even if they were narrowed at him and her perfectly plucked eyebrow were arched up in what looked like annoyance. “That is not necess—“
“My treat.” He winked and saw the clear hesitation in her stare that left him more than surprised. Usually, women blushed furiously and thanked him. They flirted back, leaving the door open for him to lay the ground work to what would end up in them sharing a hot and sweaty night.
But not her.
Clearing his throat, giving her his best smile, he soldiered on. After all, he wasn’t a quitter. “I haven’t seen you around here. New to town?”
She wasn’t the kind of woman he would have seen and forgotten. Not with those eyes and those luscious lips. She was fucking gorgeous. She had to be from out of town. Maybe she was just passing through? The thought made him scowl inside. He didn’t want her far from him. Which made no sense since he didn’t even know her.
“Nope. Grew up here,” she shared before turning around. He frowned. He had lived in Beec
h Grove for a little over five years and never bumped into her? They lived near Los Angeles; maybe she commuted for work and was a homebody?
“Thanks for the drink,” she mumbled, lifting the glass to the mouth he knew would be front and center in his fantasies for days to come.
She turned away before he could say anything else. Her eyes roamed the bar, her attention obviously no longer on him, and he didn’t like it. He wanted it back. He wanted her eyes on him and never wanted to lose her attention.
“Do you come here often?” he stupidly asked, as smooth as chunky peanut butter. He winced at how cliché and lame he sounded. What the fuck was wrong with him? He was better than that.
Sofia Blanco
God, he was hot.
Like melted butter over a just-outta-the-oven-cinnamon-roll type hot.
The problem was he knew it.
I could spot his type a mile away. It was a gift. A hard lesson I had quickly learned while away at school. A man like him was usually a turn-off for me. But for some reason my body seemed to spark and tingle around him. I was enjoying his attention way too much. I knew better.
He was hot in the bad-boy kind of way. The kind of bad boy you rode over and over and over in a cheap hotel through a long holiday weekend. The kind of bad boy who would make you forget your name and could make you lose your mind.
The bad boy you never brought home to Momma.
No, this guy was a walking billboard for the kind of boy your momma warned you to stay away from.
His height and broad shoulders were hard enough to resist, but that damn beard would probably end up being the nail in my coffin. The final piece that would ensure I ended up under him later tonight. Or maybe on top. Or in front. I was open minded and willing to try anything once. His square jaw was covered with dark, thick but well-trimmed hair that made any sane woman wonder how it would feel against her own skin. He had an angular nose with a slight bump that made me want to trace the lines of his face with the tips of my fingers. I wanted to memorize every angle and ridge of his body.
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