by Sami Lee
Sierra gasped, comprehending for the first time since she’d been rudely awoken what she was wearing. Her pink silk PJ’s, consisting of a teeny pair of silk shorts and a matching top with spaghetti-thin straps. No underwear, no bra. There was little more than a sheer layer of pale pink silk between her and Rob’s prying eyes.
Not that he’d been prying. If he’d leered at her even once, she would have realized how scantily she was dressed before this. But no. Rob McConnell hadn’t even given her the onceover, while she’d been gaping at his bare-chested hotness like someone who’d never seen a fine set of abs before. Pathetic. You’re making a pathetic fool of yourself, giggling and blushing. He’s probably laughing at you. Flirting, my ass!
“Thank you for that,” Sierra said tautly when Rob returned with the dustpan. Time to remember he was a complete stranger and stop ogling him like a lust-struck idiot. “Don’t forget your fire extinguisher.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Rob said, and had the audacity to laugh while doing so.
Sierra blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You have a gaping hole in your house.” Rob gestured toward the back door. “And it’s dark out. I’d better stay here for your protection.”
“For my what? I do not need protection.”
He chose that moment to finally give her body the perusal he hadn’t bothered with before. But all he took note of was her diminutive size, if the slightly patronizing tilt of his lips was any indication. “It can’t hurt.”
Sierra’s jaw flapped open. “Gee, you really know how to make a girl feel special.”
Rob’s eyebrows hiked. “What did I do?”
“It’s what you didn’t do,” Sierra muttered and then bit her lip, hard, before she begged the man to notice her as a woman. It had been far too long since anyone had, or at least since she’d wanted anyone to. It was refreshing to want it, and for now that would have to be enough, because Rob McConnell was obviously not attracted to her. “Forget it. I’m seriously fine. You can go.”
Sierra turned to leave, hoping that if she retreated to her bedroom, Rob would take the hint and disappear. He halted her egress with a hand on her arm. “Sierra?”
Like before, his touch singed her, sending that tingle through her body. She stilled, suddenly unable to take another step away from Rob. How did he do that? Make her freeze and feel unbearably hot at the same time? He moved closer to her, his body heat covering her back like an electric blanket. He bent his head and lowered his voice to a near whisper. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”
The denial came fast, too fast maybe. Sierra’s heart was palpitating and a strange panic gripped her. “No.”
“Neither do I.”
Rob turned her around then and eased her up against his body. Her nipples burned when they touched his chest—or rather his torso. Damn, he was big. Too big for her. If she wanted to kiss him she’d have to climb him like a kitten would a tree. The idea of kissing him at all made Sierra’s mouth dry out, while the other possibilities that ran through her head at the reminder of Rob’s size made everything below her waist grow wet and quivery.
She was a hot mess, and the way Rob was gazing down at her wasn’t helping. He studied her face, every line of it, leaving a scorching blush behind. When his focus sharpened on her lips, they parted involuntarily.
Rob groaned and traced the curve of her lower lip with his thumb. A full-body quiver moved through Sierra, making her tremble helplessly against him. If she was making a pathetic fool of herself, there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it.
He looked into her eyes, and what he gave away with his made her realize that her insta-lust infatuation wasn’t so one-sided after all. “If we don’t believe,” he began, nearly whispering, “then what is this?”
He half lowered his head, half lifted her, until their lips met. Fire engulfed Sierra the instant contact was made. His lips were so soft, so hot she could practically hear the sizzle as they came together. She gripped his shoulders, hoping to God he didn’t drop her before she could understand what this was. Maybe it wasn’t possible to understand it, but she could at least enjoy it for a while. Surely she was entitled to a moment of insanity—glorious, seductive insanity? She hadn’t had a feeling like this in so long.
You’ve never felt like this, Sierra. It had never been like this with Eddie. They’d been friends first, for a long time, before anything happened. By the time they’d kissed, they’d known each other inside and out. There’d been no insanity there, no craziness. Everything between them had made sense.
This—kissing Rob McConnell twenty minutes after they’d met—made no sense at all. Yet it felt as right as anything with Eddie ever had. The thought seemed like a betrayal, and the pain she’d thought had dulled grew swiftly sharp, as though it had been ready all this time, waiting to pierce her the instant she felt something for someone besides her lost fiancé. Her heart seized and she gasped, wrenching her mouth away from Rob’s with a mixture of relief and intense regret.
Rob set her down right away. He kept hold of her shoulders with a gentle touch and searched her face. To her horror, Sierra felt tears sting. Her voice trembled. “I’m sorry.”
“No, I am. That was too much.”
“That was crazy.”
“Crazy good,” Rob said, his lips tilting. “Sierra, I’ve never felt…”
His voice trailed off when the flash of red and blue lights came into the house like a disco strobe. Sierra followed the line of Rob’s gaze to stare at it. Police lights. Sierra recognized them like she recognized her own heartbeat.
“The breaking glass before,” Rob concluded. “Someone called the cops.”
Sierra managed a wan smile. “I promise not to let them arrest you.” Unless that kiss of yours is registered as illegal weaponry—which it probably should be. She glanced down at herself. “I might go throw a robe on before I let them in.”
Rob’s gaze followed hers, trailing over her body with a slow, hungry look that turned Sierra’s knees to jelly. She realized the reason he hadn’t ogled her earlier wasn’t because he hadn’t wanted to, but because he was too much of a gentleman. Too bad she wasn’t a lady, because the thought only made her hotter for him.
Forcing her wobbly legs to move, Sierra dashed to her bedroom and hastily drew on the silk robe that matched her pajamas. It was ankle length and long sleeved, so all of her was covered, but when she caught sight of herself in the mirror, she realized the imprint of her nipples was clearly visible against the two layers of silk. Damn it. When her body decided to wake up, it didn’t muck around. She crossed her arms over her chest and hoped no one would notice.
By the time Sierra walked back out to the living area, Rob was chatting to the two uniformed officers like they were old friends. One of the officers was a woman, and Sierra couldn’t help but notice how she was smiling at Rob, concentrating hard on his face because she was probably trying not to ogle his chest. The man really ought to wear a shirt. Without one, he was dangerous to the sanity of any woman in a twenty-meter radius.
“Here she is,” Rob said when he saw her. “Everything’s fine now, right, Sierra?”
“Right. Thanks for coming, but we don’t need the police.”
“Sierra?”
Sierra turned to the second police officer, the man. She recognized his face instantly, and seeing him was like a punch in the stomach. Goosebumps rose all over her skin and the arms she had crossed over her chest tightened involuntarily. Her voice was a mere wheeze. “Jason, hi.”
“I can’t believe it.” Jason Earls shook his head as though to emphasize his words. “It’s been a while. How have you been?”
He asked it tentatively, as though he was afraid the answer she’d give would be accompanied by tears. Once upon a time, he would have been right. But she’d had eighteen months to get over Eddie’s death, and while over it wasn’t quite the phrase she’d use, she at least could talk about him now without sobbing. “I’ve been good. Thanks f
or asking.”
“Still working at Housing?”
“Yep. You’re still in the job, I see.”
Jason smiled. “It’s a tough job, but not enough people want to do it, so here I am.”
Sierra did her best to return his smile, but his words brought the old sadness with them. It was so close to what Eddie had used to say to people when they’d asked why he wanted to join the force. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. More than once, Sierra had wished that someone hadn’t been Eddie. Then he wouldn’t have been the one called to that armed robbery in the dead of night. He wouldn’t have been the first to enter the darkened hotel. He wouldn’t have been struck by that stray bullet.
He’d still be with her.
“I’ve been meaning to call you again, but…”
Jason trailed off with an apologetic shrug. Sierra nodded her understanding. It was as hard for Jason to see her as it was for her to see him. Eddie Vargas had been Jason’s best friend since they were both in school. They’d grown up together, joined the force together, gotten engaged around the same time. The last time Sierra had seen Jason had been ten months ago at his wedding to Keesha Stanley. The four of them—her and Eddie and Jason and Keesha—had once been inseparable. But after Eddie died, it was like Keesha couldn’t stand to look at Sierra anymore. Sierra knew it was because she reminded the other woman of the risks her husband took on the job every day. She understood, but that rejection had still hurt.
The sense that she was being watched made Sierra glance over Jason’s shoulder to the other side of the room. Rob was studying her exchange with Jason, a vicious scowl marring his handsome face. What was that all about?
“Well, if there’s no complaint to be made, we don’t need to file a report,” the female officer announced, casting her eyes between Rob and Jason. Her gaze finally landed on Sierra. “There is no complaint here, right, ma’am?”
“No complaint,” Sierra confirmed.
“Are you going to be all right here, Sierra?” Jason asked, indicating the open back door.
“She’ll be fine.” It was Rob who answered for her. Then he sent Jason a look. Sierra could only describe it as territorial. “I’ll stay here ’til morning.”
Sierra planted her hands on her hips and glared at Rob. “I already told you that isn’t necessary.”
“It’s a good idea, Sierra,” Jason said. “I don’t like the thought of you being here on your own in an unsecured house.”
Men, Sierra thought. “I’ll be fine.”
“Of course you will.” Rob showed her a smug grin. “Because I’ll be here.”
The radio on Jason’s belt hissed with static. He pressed a button and the dispatcher gave him details of another job he needed to attend to. When he signed off, he smiled at Sierra once more. “Let him stay, Sierra. If you can’t have a cop standing guard, the next best thing is a fireman.”
Rob snorted and rolled his eyes at the next-best-thing remark. Sierra was familiar with the friendly rivalry between the boys in blue and the boys with the big red trucks. She knew about it because her fiancé had been a cop. And apparently, the only man she’d kissed since Eddie had died was a fireman.
She really should have seen that coming. The way he’d burst into her house wielding that extinguisher, all that talk of how fast a house could catch alight. Had she really thought he was simply a Good Samaritan? How foolish of her. Rob McConnell was a firey, which was a very dangerous job. Sierra wasn’t interested in danger any more. Danger got people killed.
No way would she care about anyone else who lived with danger every day. She’d done that once and wouldn’t do it again.
Never again.
Chapter 3
“You didn’t tell me you were a firefighter.”
The lights of the patrol car had just receded into the dark when Sierra’s accusation came at him. That was the only way Rob could describe her tone. When he spun around, he found the look on her face matched it. “Does that matter?”
“Yes. If I’d known I would never have…” She threw up her hands in a stop gesture and shook her head. “Never mind.”
Sierra turned and went back into the house. Rob closed the front door and followed her, not willing to let it go. He wanted to know what had suddenly turned her from the sweet, sexy woman who’d responded so fervently to his kiss into Miss Cold and Cranky. “If you’d known you’d never have what?”
The answer she threw over her shoulder as she disappeared into the bedroom surprised him. “I would never have kissed you. I don’t kiss firemen.”
Rob froze in the middle of the living room. Hard not to be offended by that declaration. He’d joined the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service straight out of school. It was the only job he’d ever wanted and he was damn proud of it. Sienna’s words shocked him. In his experience, his career choice was usually a plus with women.
She came back into the room carrying a single, sad-looking pillow, which she tossed onto the couch. “If I thought I could convince you to leave, I would. But since you seem so determined, you’ll have to settle for the couch.”
Rob eyed the lumpy-looking vinyl sofa with a serious lack of enthusiasm. The addition of the flattest pillow he’d ever seen didn’t add anything to the appeal of sleeping on it. He turned back to Sierra, arching a brow. “What, no blanket?”
“You could always go next door and get yourself a shirt.”
Her eyes tracked over his bare chest as though of their own volition, and color stole into her cheeks. She muttered something as she turned away, something about her peace of mind that Rob didn’t quite hear. But he didn’t need to hear her words to interpret her look. He hadn’t imagined the heat that had arced between them from the moment they’d met.
“Sierra, wait.”
She halted mid-stride, as though unable to deny his command. And it had been a command issued in a tone of voice Rob had never used before or thought himself capable of. He was the happy-go-lucky guy, the most easygoing member of his fire crew. He was not the bossy type.
Something was going on here, something alien and big and serious that was making him act in ways he wouldn’t normally. He’d kissed a woman he’d just met. Then, when he’d seen that same woman talking with familiarity to another man, he’d been jealous, possessive in a way he had no right to be. He didn’t kiss strangers or get jealous, but he’d been unable to control either thing. Just as he was unable to stop himself from walking up behind Sierra now and placing his hands on her shoulders. She was so petite. Beneath his fingers, she felt almost fragile.
His voice was low now, quiet. “Tell me why you don’t kiss firemen.”
A moment, several heartbeats long, passed before she answered. “Because I don’t date them. And I guess I’m not the type who can kiss a man she’s not interested in dating.”
Not interested my ass, Rob wanted to say, holding the words back for fear of sounding like an arrogant shit. Instead, he sounded like a jealous wanker when he asked, “So who do you date then? Cops?”
She drew in a short, sharp breath and spun around to face him. Her eyes were huge and round, two glittering orbs in her heart-shaped face, which had grown deathly pale. “What?”
“That guy who was here,” Rob said, although he was beginning to see he’d somehow misinterpreted what had passed between Officer Earles and Sierra. “You’re not dating him?”
“Jason?” Sierra shook her head. “No, never. He’s married.”
It was kind of pathetic how relieved Rob was to hear it. “So…is there someone else? Some non-fireman who meets the Sierra Lawson dating criteria?”
“No, I would never have kissed you before if there was.”
Rob stepped a little closer and reached up to cup her face. “Then why did you stop so suddenly, like you’d just remembered you weren’t supposed to be kissing me? Because up until that point, I think you were enjoying it as much as I was.”
“Rob.” Sierra grasped his wrist and pulled his hand away from h
er cheek. “I…don’t want to talk about it. I just… Please leave it. Okay?”
If she’d still been prickly with him as she’d been a moment ago, Rob might have pushed the issue. But she’d moved from aggravated to genuinely upset, and it made Rob’s chest hurt to see her upset. He dropped his hand and took a step back to give her the space she implored him for. “Okay, it’s left.”
For now.
Sierra gave him a grateful smile that eased the tightness in his chest but increased it in his groin. “Thank you. Goodnight, Rob McConnell.”
She turned and left him, disappearing into her bedroom and shutting the door. Not all the way, but leaving it ajar an inch or two. Rob tried not to take that as a metaphoric gesture, because that would be really pathetic. She’d told him she didn’t date firefighters, effectively killing any chance he had with her.
Unless he could convince her what a screwy policy that was. If he thought her reluctance was due to snobbery, he wouldn’t bother, but he just didn’t believe that about her. His instincts told him it was something else, something he might be able to work around with enough time and effort. He was willing to put in both for Sierra.
You don’t believe in love at first sight, McConnell, remember?
As he settled down on the couch and tried to sleep, Rob wasn’t so sure he believed that with as much conviction as he had yesterday.
The sleep thing was a big fat failure.
The couch had to be the lumpiest thing ever made for a start, and it wasn’t quite big enough to accommodate his length. Rob’s feet jutted over one armrest, while his head was propped at a weird angle on the other. The pillow was flat and useless, and even worse, it smelled like Sierra’s shampoo. She used something with vanilla in it, if he didn’t miss his guess.
It smelled like heaven, a heaven that resided behind locked doors. Well, not locked, but barely ajar. Rob’s gaze kept straying to that tiny gap between Sierra’s bedroom door and its frame. She should have closed it all the way. She should have bolted it. As it was, he heard every rustle of her bed sheets, every creak of her mattress as she tossed and turned, obviously having as little success sleeping as he was. Picturing her in there in her silky pink pajamas was driving Rob mad, and he was almost getting desperate enough to consider knocking on her door when the mattress springs stopped squeaking. Next, Sierra’s soft footfalls on the wooden floor told him she’d gotten up.
