Slow Burn (Into The Fire Book 2)

by J. H. Croix

  A waitress passed by us, and as much as I wanted another beer to bury the jealousy chewing me up inside, I declined. The last thing my anger needed was enough alcohol to make me stupid.

  Bar noise hummed around me. I made a strong effort to keep my cool, but it was dicey. I thought I was good enough to get my ass out of there, so I said my goodbyes and stood, tossing a twenty on the table to cover my portion of the tab. I started to make my way through the crowd when my eyes landed on Amelia and Earl. My barely in check jealousy flared when I saw Earl leaning across the table, trying to reach for her hand.

  I went from angry to on fire and shouldered my way over to their table. Amelia’s eyes whipped to mine. “Come on,” I said.

  Earl glanced up, his gaze annoyed. “This is none of your business Cade. I know you and Amelia have some history, but…”

  Earl made the mistake of reaching for Amelia’s hand again. She drew back, her eyes flashing. “Earl, I already told you. We’re done. Period.”

  “Amelia, you don’t get to…”

  I grabbed Earl by his shirt, yanking him up out of his chair. No easy feat, given Earl was close to my height and plenty strong. But I was beyond angry. My jealousy was now mixed with raw anger at seeing Earl try to push Amelia on anything. “Fucking listen to her. You don’t get to make her talk to you anymore.”

  Earl’s eyes were wide now. Whatever he’d thought about us before, realization appeared to be dawning it might be more than old history. “Oh, you think you can just show up in town and call the shots with her? That’s fucking bullshit. We were getting married. You’re the one who screwed around on her.”

  I drew back and drove my fist into Earl’s face. I didn’t hear a damn thing through the fury buzzing like static in my brain. Earl stumbled back. “What the fuck!”

  Before Earl had a chance to punch me back, Amelia stepped between us, shoving him to the side. Next thing I knew, Beck was at my side pulling me away. “Back off, man. No one needs this,” he murmured, his voice low at my shoulder.

  The sounds around me broke through my fury, and I glanced over to see Amelia in Earl’s face. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but it was obvious she was pissed. Through the jumble of the next few minutes, Beck dragged me out of the way. Likewise, Earl was pulled out of the way by his brother Dan. I leaned against the wall in the back hallway leading to the restrooms with Beck standing across from me.

  “Here’s hoping Earl doesn’t decide to be more of an ass and press charges,” Beck said with a slow shake of his head. “Be great to have your dad dealing with this.”

  My dad was Willow Brook’s chief of police. I knew if Earl decided to be an ass, my dad wouldn’t stand in the way. I loved my dad, but I could count on him not treating me special. I closed my eyes and ran a hand through my hair. “Fuck. Wasn’t thinking back there.”

  Beck chuckled. “Nah, you weren’t.”

  He paused long enough, I opened my eyes.

  “So, she’s not your girl, huh?” he said with a slow grin.

  I leaned my head against the wall and shrugged.

  Footsteps sounded in the hallway. I rolled my head to the side to see Amelia walking our way. My heart thudded, and the lust I couldn’t seem to turn off around her hit me like a bolt.

  She reached us quickly, her long legs eating up the distance between us with ease. Her honey-amber hair fell in tousled waves around her shoulders with her matching eyes glittering bright. Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked, well, the only way to put it was angry. Her cowboy boots struck the hardwood floor, the sound echoing around us as she came to a stop. She wore jeans that hugged her legs, those legs I wanted wrapped around my waist. Atop her jeans, she wore a bright blue silky blouse, unbuttoned over a fitted tank top. My eyes were drawn to the tempting curves of her breasts, and I wanted nothing more than to strip her bare and forget everything else.

  It didn’t matter that I’d gone and made a mess by punching her very-recent-former fiancée in the middle of everything. I forgot everything but how much I wanted her. Beck’s gaze bounced from Amelia to me and back again.

  “Well?” Beck asked calmly.

  Amelia glanced to him. “Well, what?”

  “The obvious—is Earl gonna make this more than it needs to be?”

  She shook her head. “Oh you mean press charges? No. He’s pissed, but he’s not a total ass. I told him he was too pushy with me and needed to back the hell off.”

  Beck nodded and pushed away from the wall. His eyes landed on me. “I’m done here. Stay out of trouble for the rest of the night, okay?”

  I nodded, swallowing against my frustration at the whole damn mess. Beck strolled down the hallway, leaving us alone there. Amelia looked over at me, her eyes still flashing with anger.

  We stood there in the hall, no more than a foot apart. In seconds, the air around us hummed. I had one thing on my mind and that was forgetting the seven years of nothing between us and finally having what I wanted like I’d never wanted anything in my life. I’d had seven years of casual encounters with women and hadn’t thought I’d ever want anything more. I also hadn’t thought anything could be like what I’d once had with Amelia. What I’d underestimated was the power of seven years of messy feelings swirling into the raw desire I felt for her. It was lust on octane.

  Whatever might be passing through her mind, I knew what I felt from her. I reached for her hand, reeling her against me in a flash. She didn’t resist, her eyes whipping to mine. I could see the wild beat of her pulse in her neck as her eyes darkened. Her breath came in rough gusts, while my heart thudded so hard, it almost hurt.

  “Are you gonna tell me we shouldn’t do this?” I asked, my voice coming out gruff.

  I knew she could feel my cock, rock hard and nestled right against her core. It was impossible to miss. I’d always loved how we fit together. She was tall enough to meld against me, her curves everywhere I wanted them to be.

  She shook her head, just barely. That was all I needed. I tunneled my hand into her hair and fit my mouth over hers. Our kiss went wild instantly with our tongues tangling roughly. I lost sense of anything other than the feel of her against me, pouring my anger, my jealousy and too many years of missing her into our kiss. Footsteps coming our way barely broke through the haze in my brain, but she broke free, her head thudding against the wall behind her.

  I hadn’t even realized I’d spun us around and pressed her into the wall. One of her boots was curled around my calf as I flexed my hips into the cradle of hers. I could feel her wet heat through the two layers of denim between us. Her eyes locked to mine—wild and dark. She swallowed. “We can’t lose it like this here,” she whispered.

  Chapter 19

  Amelia

  I stood there with Cade’s cock pressing against my core, sending sharp spikes of pleasure shooting through me. I could barely catch my breath and all I knew was I didn’t want this to end. I didn’t even care that someone was walking down the hall toward us while I was tangled like a vine around Cade.

  Cade’s dark green gaze held mine for a beat, and he slowly eased his grip on my hair, his thumb feathering across my pulse as he dragged his hand away. “Well, we could,” he replied, his gruff voice sending shivers over my skin. “But as much as I’d love to lose it here in the hallway, let’s save it for later. Come on.”

  He stepped back, instantly leaving me feeling bereft. I missed his heat, his hard muscled body pressing me into the wall, and the feel of his mouth on mine, kissing me as if the world was about to end and the only way to stop it was to kiss me. He curled his hand around mine and tugged me behind him, heading toward the restaurant. Blessedly, I didn’t recognize the man walking down the hall and was relieved when he turned into the bathroom. I planted my feet, leading Cade to glance behind him.

  “Let’s go out the back,” I said, gesturing behind me. “There’s a door around the corner at the end. After our little scene out there, I’d rather not go that way.”

  His mouth curl
ed at the corner, one of his devastating, dangerous grins. “Good point.”

  Heat spiraled through me as he turned and quickly strode the other way. Earl was so far in my rear view mirror, I could hardly believe what I was doing. Tonight was supposed to be a polite dinner with Earl where I explained why I’d broken things off with him—more calmly than I had when I dashed into the rainy afternoon at our not-wedding. I’d underestimated Earl’s pride. Not for a second did I believe he wanted me any more than he ever had, but then I doubted he’d ever collided with the pulse-pounding, body-melting desire mingled with shocking intimacy that I felt with Cade. Earl just wasn’t the kind of guy to feel much of anything that strongly. He was friendly and comfortable. I didn’t wish him ill, but when he’d started to argue the point with me, I realized he didn’t get it and thought he had a claim to me.

  Before I knew it, Cade had stormed over and lifted Earl out of his chair. I’d like to think I was immune to that brand of alpha masculinity, but I wasn’t. At least, not when it came from Cade. He rounded the corner at the end of the hall and shouldered through the door, his hand holding mine firmly as he strode quickly across the parking lot behind the lodge. He stopped abruptly, leading me to collide with him as he turned back to me.

  He didn’t miss a beat, flashing one of his devastating grins and sliding a hand over my bottom. My breath went shallow the second I felt the heat of his cock against me. “Did you drive here?” he asked, his words a murmur against my lips.

  I shook my head. “Uh-uh. I walked from my office.”

  He held still for a beat, and then spun around again. I’d been expecting a kiss and his tease sent the flames licking inside higher. We were inside his truck in a flash, his hand burning against my thigh as he spun out onto the road.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, just when his hand stroked in between my thighs.

  If he meant to push them apart, it was entirely unnecessary as my knees parted for him in reflex.

  I bit back a moan when he cupped my mound, the subtle pressure against my clit through the denim nearly sending me over the edge. That’s how bad I was with him. The moment I let the walls down around everything I felt for him, my control frayed so fast it was ridiculous. It wasn’t just about sex with Cade, it never had been. Yet, the chemistry burned so hot, it nearly singed me. Our intimacy fed the fire of desire between us, each notching the other higher.

  “Your place,” Cade answered as he dragged his thumb across my clit.

  I didn’t even try to hold back my moan, my hips arching into his touch. “Do you know…”

  He came to an abrupt stop at a stop sign, his eyes whipping to mine. I felt branded by his gaze. After a beat, he nodded. “Even when I didn’t want to think about you, I did. You still out at the property we looked at before?”

  I’d forgotten what it was like to have someone anticipate my thoughts. My heart squeezed and set off on another frenzied bout of pounding. I nodded, wrestling with the emotion coursing through me. Before I stormed out on the heels of that fateful morning, we’d been scouting around for a piece of property to build on when he came back from California. Cade had left town, and I’d held onto my anger as a shield against the hurt and pain. Irrationally, I’d thought I’d go ahead and buy a property we’d loved, thinking I wasn’t going to let him take everything from me. I’d built my own home there, determined I wasn’t going to let a broken heart stop me. I loved it, but there’d always been a rub, like a grain of sand in my shoe, at the memories of Cade and the dreams we once had.

  After my nod, Cade spun his truck onto the highway, heading in the direction of my home. Minutes later—taut with his hand teasing me so subtly I thought I might explode—he turned onto the road leading to my cabin. It was still light out, even though it was approaching midnight. Summer evenings in Alaska were a long, slow dance with dusk. Darkness would fall soon, but not quite yet.

  He slowed, glancing to me. “You’ll have to show me where your drive is,” he said, his voice low and taut and threaded with a hint of uncertainty.

  In a flash, I realized he was as much of a mess as I was. When we’d looked at this land back then, it had been empty—no driveway, nothing to mark it. Realizing he’d never actually been to my place was like a knife slicing across my heart—a sharp sting of pain right where it hurt the most. We’d missed so much and all over a very well-timed manipulation. I caught his gaze and gestured to a drive just ahead.

  Cade turned into the driveway and slowed, his eyes scanning the area. My cabin was in a wooded area, a mix of blue spruce with clusters of cottonwood and birch scattered here and there. There were other homes nearby now, although not within sight. The trees opened up onto a small field with a shallow pond over to one side. My driveway curved in a circle at the end. He rolled his truck to a stop and slowly drew his hand away. Though I was so turned on I was about to melt into a puddle, I sensed the intensity of his emotion.

  I climbed out along with him and went to stand at his side. In the smudgy light of late dusk, the pond looked magical with the rising moon coming up behind the trees and casting a silvery glow over everything. He looked out over the field and turned to look at the cabin.

  “You built this?” he asked.

  Wordlessly, I nodded. I didn’t quite know what to do with the emotions thundering through me. Somehow, this felt more momentous than I’d anticipated. Having him here in this place we’d once intended to share felt so enormous, it crashed over me.

  I followed his eyes to the cabin. It was the first project I’d completed entirely on my own. It was a smallish cabin, nestled into the edge of the trees with the small field and pond to the other side. There were decks on both floors with the one upstairs a small curved deck, mimicking the larger curve of the deck on the lower floor.

  Cade was quiet, so quiet I started to get anxious. He reached for my hand and walked to the cabin. We climbed the stairs together, every step feeling monumental. I didn’t lock my door because it was unnecessary. We stepped through, the door falling closed behind us on a whisper. My cabin had a shared living room and kitchen in most of the downstairs with a bathroom and laundry area to the back. An open loft upstairs led to the bedroom and another bathroom.

  His eyes scanned the space, while my heart pounded a wild, frantic beat. Restless, I started to pull free, but he tightened his grip on my hand.

  “Don’t.”

  His word fell into the quiet, his voice husky and sending a prickle up my spine. I looked over at him, instantly caught in his gaze. He reeled me to him. My body remembered his and came flush against him, as if it had been just yesterday that we slept together every night. Oh God. He felt so good. So hard, so strong, so everything I wanted because he was Cade, the only man I’d ever been able to let go with.

  “It’s nice,” he whispered.

  My confusion must’ve shown because his mouth curled at one corner. “This place. I like it,” he added.

  I swallowed and nodded. I couldn’t really talk, not with my pulse running wildly, heat suffusing me, and my longing for him so profound, I couldn’t think past any of it.

  He lifted his hand, sifting his fingers through my hair. “It really pissed me off to see you with Earl.”

  “I wasn’t with him the way you mean.”

  I felt his shrug, his low chuckle vibrating through my body.

  “It didn’t matter to me.”

  His words encircled my heart. The implied jealousy made me flush, inside and out. I’d forgotten how it felt to be wanted this way.

  “I was never with him the way I am with you. Never with anyone.”

  His gaze darkened as his hand slid into my hair to cup my nape, his thumb brushing in a maddening tease along the side of my neck.

  “That’s good to know. Because for me, it’s always been you.”

  We stood like that, flush against each other in the center of the room with the silvery moonlight cast through the windows. I could barely breathe with fierce need radiating through me. Hi
s voice startled me. I’d sunk into the quiet, into the heartbeat of nothing but sensation and desire thrumming between us.

  “I don’t think I can go slow,” he said.

  A hot shiver raced through me, want coiling tighter in my core. I could feel the wetness between my thighs and knew I was soaked for him. “I don’t think I can either,” I finally managed to say, my voice coming out raspy.

  At that, his eyes darkened further. In a flash, his mouth was on mine and he was tugging at my clothes. There was no slow build up. I was so fraught with need, I’d have lost my mind if he weren’t matching my madness. As it was, clothes were torn off and strewn about as we stumbled across the room.

  I managed to flick on a lamp by the couch when Cade paused to kick his shoes off after he almost fell over when I shoved his jeans down. I tumbled to the couch, bare except for my blue silk panties, the one article of clothing where my streak of femininity showed. His remaining boot thumped to the floor behind him, and he kicked his jeans free. I looked up at him, and my mouth went dry. Oh. My. God.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t know what he looked like. I’d even had a chance to get my hands on him once recently. But it had been a long seven years since I’d seen him fully naked. He’d gone from a sexy as hell young man to a hard, muscled, dangerously sexy man. I knew his job was about as physically demanding as it could get, but still. There wasn’t an inch of him that wasn’t honed and hard. He had a dusting of dark hair on his chest, his skin glinting amber in the soft light.

  He looked down at me, his eyes dark and intent. Everywhere his eyes landed lit small fires under my skin. He leaned over and dragged his finger across the silk between my thighs. “You’re so fucking wet.”

  I couldn’t even speak, but my hips rolled into his touch. I cried out when he drew away. He wasted no time and hooked a finger over the edge of my panties, dragging them off roughly and tossing them aside. He leaned over to snag his jeans off the floor. Puzzled, I shook my head when I realized he was tugging a condom out of his wallet.