by Lexy Timms
“Hi there, hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Even his smile looked perfect.
“Not at all, just here pouting.” Becca smiled at him, hoping he realized she was being playful and not serious, despite the fact that she was, in fact, in the cab to pout. She didn’t remember seeing him at Sam’s place earlier.
“If you need me to give you space to pout, just stick out your lower lip and I’ll take the hint... I hope.” His gaze dropped to her mouth and she ran her tongue subconsciously over her lips.
Then she laughed and so did the mystery firefighter.
“You’re the gadgets girl, aren’t you?”
“Is that what they call me, now? I think I need a new nickname”
“How about just your name instead? I’m Luke.”
“Hi, Luke. I’m Becca. It’s always nice to have a name to go with a face.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“I don’t think I saw you at the breakfast buffet this morning.”
“No, I had some errands to run. Barely made it back to the hall before we got the call.”
“Well, luckily you made it. You were the water man, weren’t you?”
“That was me.”
Becca nodded and smiled. “Good Work.”
“You too. You saved that little girl.”
Becca had to shy away, the wound in her heart for the mother still fresh and open. “Not her mother, it seems.”
“Hey, don’t go to that place.”
“What place?”
“The place we go where we can’t save everyone.”
“How do you know about that place?”
“We’ve all been there at least once in our lives. It’s not a nice place to go, so stay here with me instead.”
“That’s very sweet.”
“Nah, I’ve just had my share of bad.” Luke gave Becca a reassuring smile and nudged her with his shoulder.
She smiled back and they continued to chat idly back and forth, changing the subject from the dreaded fire to happier subjects, like when the next breakfast would be, Luke’s fishing obsession, and why sprinkles were delicious in pancakes. They continued talking as everyone else piled into the truck and headed back to the hall, Sam glaring at Becca and Luke the entire way back.
Chapter 9
When the truck got back to the fire hall, Becca and Luke were still chatting back and forth about everything and anything.
Sam was still glaring at them, but Becca ignored him. She and Luke jumped out first, still laughing from their new inside jokes when Becca let out a big yawn.
“Oh wow, it’s getting late. I should head home.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Thanks again, you know, for keeping me out of the bad place.”
“No problem, anytime.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
They both turned to walk off in opposite directions, but then Luke spun around and called out to her.
“Oh, hey, did you maybe want to grab a drink sometime?”
Becca turned and smiled at him. “Yeah, sure. I’d love to.”
“Cool! See you tomorrow.” Luke turned back around and walked off to an unseen part of the hall while Becca headed toward the parking lot, until she looked down and realized Luke had distracted her so much she was heading home in her fire suit. She turned back around and headed toward her locker.
Sam stood leaning against her empty locker with the same scowl on his face he’d had all afternoon. “So you and Luke? You haven’t even settled in and you’re on the prowl?”
She ignored his second comment. “Yeah, maybe. It’s just drinks, Sam.”
“Just drinks.” He tutted. “I don’t believe Luke does just drinks.”
Her head popped up. Really? Now’s the time to say something like that?
“So you’re still mad at me?”
“Yes, I’m still pissed.” You want to be an ass, then you have to deal with the shit.
“Why? You have yet to tell me that.”
“You know why.”
Becca quickly stripped herself of her fire suit and stalked off to her truck. Sam followed quickly behind her. When Becca slid into the driver’s seat, Sam jumped into the passenger.
Becca glared at him.
“Mad or not, you’re my ride.” He grinned. “And I’m your place to stay.”
Becca sighed and rolled her eyes. Starting up her truck, she sped out of the parking lot and drove home as fast as she could. It was awkward sitting in silence with Sam, but she wasn’t ready to start talking.
Once they were parked, Sam got out first, giving Becca her space while he made his way up to the apartment. Becca sat in her truck for over fifteen minutes, messing around on her phone before heading up to the apartment. She stopped dead in her tracks as soon when she saw Sam laying out several beers, bottles of vodka and tequila, and a couple of bottles of wine onto the kitchen counter.
“Are you having a party?”
“No.”
“Then what is all this?”
“We’re going to drink until you’re not mad anymore.” Sam winked and flashed Becca his incredibly charming grin.
“Sam...”
“Uh-uh! You’re not allowed to talk till you’ve had at least two beers.”
Becca pressed her lips tight trying not to laugh as she walked over to the counter, grabbing two beers and the tequila, taking them into the living room. She sat on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table, setting the alcohol within reach of her. She patted the spot beside her on the couch and smiled at Sam, who happily joined her on the comfy couch. He pulled out two beers and handed one to Becca, the other one for himself. He set another in front of her as well.
“Am I drinking twice as much as you?”
“Uh-uh. No talking till those are done.”
Becca smiled and rolled her eyes, opening her first beer and chugging it back, making Sam cheer for her.
“Woo, go for it, Becks.”
She finished her first beer and held it up to toast Sam, who joined her in drinking when she moved on for another one. She chugged that one back while Sam sipped his, placing her second empty bottle on the coffee table as she reached for the tequila. Sam wanted to drink before they talked? Fine. She’d drink so she wouldn’t have to think about the past or what happened today. “Can I talk now?”
“Are you drunk?”
“Buzzed.” She opened the bottle of tequila and took a swig. It was an expensive kind, she could tell by the bottle and the way it smoothed its way down her throat. “Damn that’s good,” she mumbled.
“Good enough. You’re free to talk.”
“Why couldn’t I talk before?”
Sam reached for the tequila and took a swig. “Because you were angry, and talking with Angry Becks is a bad idea. Corey taught me that.” Sam smiled and Becca snorted.
“Angry Becks?”
“Mm-hmm, though I have no idea why.”
“Because you won’t help catch the arsonist.”
“What? That’s why you’re pissed? ‘Cause I told you to drop it?”
“Yeah. Especially after what happened to Corey.” Becca chugged more tequila after she grabbed the bottle from his hand, feeling the anger fuming up inside her again.
“I want to, Becks, don’t think I don’t.”
“Then why? Why just give up?”
“Because the station has already been under investigation for trying to meddle in police affairs.” It was Sam’s turn to chug the rest of his beer, putting the empty bottle on the table and grabbing another one. He returned with the case and set it on the coffee table. He popped another one open and leaned back against the arm of the couch, gazing over at Becca.
“What do you mean under investigation?”
“We tried to help, and they claimed we tampered with stuff. Spent three months investigating us. Almost lost our jobs.” He shook his head as he stared down at his bottle. “It was a mess. We didn’t do it. None of us at the fire station
would ever do that. We save lives, risking our own every day without a second thought.”
Becca stared at him, feeling like a stupid jerk. “Shit, I didn’t know.”
“Yeah, well, now you do.” He took a long swig of his beer.
“I’m sorry, Sam.”
“Just drink. Fun, Drunk Becks will make it up to me.”
She was beginning to feel the effects of the drinks and relaxed into the couch. Sam jumped up and disappeared into the kitchen. He came back a moment later with two shot glasses and a lemon on a plate. He’d sliced the lemon into wedges and taken a salt shaker along as well, which he produced from his pocket.
“Oh hell, I’m in for a rough night.” Becca laughed and sat up. She motioned with her hand. “Pour me one.” She had drunk most of her way through college, always partying hard and trying to make the memory of her brother disappear. It never worked, and after a while she got tired of trying and focused on her studies. Good thing she had. She lifted the shot glass. “Bottom’s up?”
Sam picked up his shot and tapped it against hers. “Let’s drink to the top, to hell with the bottom, because if there were no top, there’d be no bottom.” He licked the salt he’d put on his hand, swallowed the drink, and grimaced as he stabbed the lemon in his mouth.
Becca burst out laughing from the look on his face. “You are such a wimp.”
He wiped his mouth. “No, I’m not!” He pointed at her drink. “You’re the one who’s stalling.”
She raised an eyebrow and gave him a pointed look. His brown eyes held hers and she grinned slyly at him. “Hold your hand out.”
He did as she demanded.
Becca turned his hand so his palm was facing up and poured a line of salt on his wrist. His eyebrows went up but he didn’t pull away. She set the shot on his hand. “Don’t spill.” She giggled as she set the lemon on the tips of two of his fingers.
Sam watched with interest, his mouth hanging slightly open.
Becca pulled her hair back from her face and held it with both her hands. She winked at him as she leaned forward and ran her tongue across his wrist to lick the salt. She heard his sharp intake of breath as her tongue pressed down to absorb all the white granules. She moved her head and opened her mouth to slip it perfectly over the rim of the shot glass, arching her neck to let the potent, golden liquid slide down her throat. Setting the glass back on the exact same spot on his palm, she then bit the lemon, her teeth sliding against the skin of his finger before she sunk them into the lemon. She sat up, slurped the juice from the tart fruit, and let go of her hair. She spat the lemon out and it landed in the shot glass. The accidental timing of that couldn’t have been more perfect.
Sam looked at her, his eyes wide. Something else was there too, Becca just couldn’t figure out what it was. Or maybe the alcohol was hindering her ability to process her thoughts properly.
“And that is how you do a proper shot of tequila.” She grinned in triumph.
Sam swallowed and set the shot glass on the table, his eyes never leaving hers. “Yeah, you win. Hands down. Fuck that’s se—So... what do we do next?” He cut himself off from finishing whatever he was going to say and grinned. “I think I’m glad your brother didn’t know about your college days.”
“Corey never was a drinker...”
“He was only eighteen!” Becca blinked, trying to focus on one of the Sams. Not the other two that kept blurring to the sides.
“Yeah,” Sam laughed, “but you know high school kids, that didn’t stop us.”
“Corey still didn’t drink hard. He liked to follow the rules, never wanted to risk his future career.” Becca laughed, taking a swig of Sam’s beer.
“I think he did it for you. Wanted you to grow up a good kid, like he was.”
“Yeah, that didn’t happen.”
Sam arched an eyebrow, suddenly intrigued about the bad girl Becca used to be. “Do tell, Miss Taylor.”
Becca snorted at being called Miss Taylor. It had felt awkward coming from the police chief, but hearing it from the drunk mouth of Sam. it now sounded hilarious. “Let’s just say I had a wee bit of a wild side after my parents forced us to move. There was the ‘B’ phase.”
“Pardon?”
“Boys, booze, and bikes.” Becca winked at Sam and chugged back the rest of his beer. “Be glad I didn’t take a lot of photos of that.”
“I wish you had.”
The hunger in his voice caught her by surprise. Or maybe she was hearing things. Her head starting to swim as she tried to stand up. “Time for wine.”
Chapter 10
“Nooo, no wine. Sooooo drunk.” Sam tried to convince Becca they didn’t need any wine but she refused to listen.
She pushed to her knees and leaned on his legs to stand up. She tripped on her own feet, or maybe his, then spun around trying to catch herself. She leaned back and landed flat into Sam’s lap, her nose and mouth brushing across his jaw and stopping at the corner of his mouth. Her hands slid up his chest to push herself up. She hesitated while Sam stayed perfectly still under her.
The feel of his hard chest and strong beating heart under her hands distracted her. Ah, fuck it! She moved her mouth to cover Sam’s completely. Sam continued to hold still for a moment, maybe not knowing if it was his drunk mind playing tricks or if Becca was actually kissing him. Or maybe he wasn’t sure what to do. She was his best bud’s kid sister. She slipped her hands around to the back of his neck.
Carnal response beat out reason. He leaned forward and pressed his lips harder against Becca’s, his hands snaking around to grab both her sides. Becca moaned against Sam’s lips, leaning more into him so she could press her chest against his, letting her breasts rub against him through her shirt. Her hands slid to the back of the couch and she moved, gripping the leather as she straddled him. She pressed her hips down, and feeling the tightness in his jeans, she started to smile against his lips.
“Why are you smiling?” he murmured between kissing her.
“Dreams do come true.” Becca pulled back and giggled as if she were sixteen years old again, unable to hide her grin. Sam lifted a hand to move the hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear.
“You are very, very drunk.”
“So are you.”
Becca tapped her fingertip against his nose to emphasize her point, still smiling like a fool and leaning back into another kiss. She pressed her body harder against him, her tongue caressing against his lower lip.
Sam didn’t stop her. His arms wrapped around her shoulders and held her tight as he opened his mouth and allowed her tongue to slide between his lips. He was a good kisser. A damn good kisser.
Becca moaned again, rocking her hips against him. He began to grind back against her. Becca moved her hand to glide it through Sam’s hair, teasing her fingernails against his scalp as they twirled their tongues around each other’s.
Sam pulled away again, and gazing into Becca’s eyes, he suddenly had a serious look on his face. “This is baaaad. You, you’re Corey’s baby sister.”
“And I had a crush on you foreverrrr when I was a kid. Let the teenage girl in me fulfil a fantasy. Let her get laid.”
“Really?” His erection pressed harder against her center.
Becca nodded. She was drunk but he was flippin’ hot and she deserved a little taste of the eye candy.
“Wow, me too, but like on you of course.”
She straightened. Well, at least her back straightened. Her hips seemed to have a mind of their own now. “Really?”
“Yeah...”
“Then stop worrying so much and fucking kiss me.”
Sam grinned and ran his fingers through the hair at the back of her head, pulling her to his lips and kissing her harder than before. His mouth opened at the same time she did, letting their tongues play around each other within his mouth. His hand slid along her back, along her ribcage, and then cupped her breast.
Becca nibbled on his lower lip, giggling as she felt his other hand snea
k up along the inside of her shirt and tug at the hooks of her bra. To save time, Becca pulled away, smiling down at him as she lifted the hem of her shirt up over her head and tossed it to the side, never looking away from his gaze as she reached around her back and unhooked her own bra, tossing it on top of her shirt.
“Damn, girl,” he murmured as he watched her. “You’re hot. Damn sexy, too.”
“Shh, you’re going to make a grown woman blush.”
“Oh, I plan to.”
Becca kept up her giggling as Sam moved his hands up along her sides to caress her breasts, teasing her soft skin with his fingertips. Becca shivered at his touch and wanted some payback, so she leaned down and snuck her hands up his shirt and started to pull it up over his head. Sam tilted his chest forward and allowed Becca to strip his shirt off of him. She tossed it over to join her clothing. She pushed him so he was lying down on the couch so she could lie half on him, half on the couch. It gave her better access to his body. She rested her breasts on top of Sam’s chest, nibbling along his chin as her hand moved down to tease the waistband of his pants.
“Becca...” Sam moaned her name as his hips pushed up, wanting her to venture further down and feel what she was doing to him.
Becca took her time to oblige him, dragging a single fingertip along the edge of his pants, dipping it just underneath the waistband to tease his desire. When Sam’s breathing grew ragged, she let her hand drop down below his waistband – all the way down until her hand was covering his entire length. She slowly moved her hand up and down along his shaft as she nibbled on his ear and kissed down along his neck. Sam rocked his hips to grind himself against Becca’s hand as he moved his hand into her hair and clenched tightly. He pulled her tightly into a hard and desperate kiss.
Becca curled her fingers completely around him and griped tightly. At the same time, she felt his tongue exploring her mouth, and she moaned against his tongue as her hips rocked against his leg in motion with her hand’s strokes. Becca softly bit down on his tongue and dragged her teeth along it as she pulled away from the kiss and removed her hand from his pants. She re-adjusted her position to straddle Sam’s hips near his knees as she unzipped them. Grabbing each side of his pants, she tugged them down hard, making him quickly raise his hips to allow the fabric to pull over his rear.
