by Tasha Blue
Laura immediately hung up the phone and dialed 911. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she rushed to the window to keep an eye on the fire across the street. All she could think about was Marie, who lived there with her little boy, Jacob, who would be asleep right now. What if they were both in their beds right now even as the flames grew higher?
The thought terrified Laura. Marie was a sweet woman who had been so kind to her when she'd first moved to this house with Connor. She'd talked to them about the area and invited them to her summer barbeque and when everything with Connor fell apart, she'd always had time for a smile and a chat over the garden fence.
Right now, that garden fence was about the only thing not burning. The light of the flames were brightest in the top right window. Laura knew that was Jacob's room and when at last she got through to the fire department, she practically screamed the address down the phone and then ran out into the street to stare up in horror at the flickering flames. Her eyes moved from window to window for any sign of movement within, and her ears strained to hear if anyone was crying out for help.
She couldn't see or hear anything and she prayed that this meant that both Marie and her little boy were out of the house somewhere, and safe. rather than trapped in the flames. The thought made her lungs tighten in fear. By now, other neighbors were gathering in the street and everyone was staring up at the flames. Nobody seemed to know what to do.
Fortunately, the sound of a siren rushing down from the end of the road and the sight of a big, red fire engine made the whole street breathe a collective sigh of relief. The fire crew was there. The big, crimson truck came screeching to a halt and several firefighters dressed in their heavy fireproof gear jumped out, running to the side of the truck to unravel the hose and pulling helmets over their faces ready to go inside.
One firefighter began asking the crowd if anyone was in the house, but nobody knew. A pair of the brave men entered the building and when they returned without bodies in their arms, Laura told herself that had to be a good sign. Hopefully Marie and Jacob were safe at Marie's mother's house just a few minutes away. Laura let out a sigh of relief and watched with less terror now, but still sadness for Marie and Jacob as the flames in their home were put out.
It didn't seem to take long for the firefighters to have the blaze beaten and when they were done, Laura realized that she was still standing around like a lemon and felt like she had to do something to show her gratitude to these men for saving Marie's home. She prepared a round of ice waters for the men and shyly went outside to pass them around as the men began packing away their equipment and winding up the hose.
Each of the firefighters flashed her a grin as they accepted a glass, but one man in particular held her gaze longer than the others and in such a way that it made Laura blush. Perhaps he was staring at her because she'd been staring at him first. Not that she could help it, of course. No hot-blooded woman could. He was the most stunning man she'd ever seen.
Chapter2
He had dark blonde hair made even darker by the ash that had settled over him during the fire and which was smudged across his face. His face itself was exactly as Laura thought a man's face should be. He had dark, brooding eyes which sparkled with something mischievous; and a definite awareness of the effect that he was having on her. His chin was chiseled and Laura was surprised to find herself attracted to the shadow of stubble on his face, as though he were too busy fighting fires, saving lives and being a hero, to shave.
Then there was his smile. Although he was probably in his mid to late thirties, he had a boyish charm in his grin that made Laura completely forget that she was only just out of her twenties. His shoulders were incredibly broad, but in a lean, athletic way, rather than making him seem bulky. His waist was slim and when Laura noted the ridges of taut muscles underneath his white shirt she almost swooned and dropped her tray. Covered in ash and a knowing smile, this wonder of a man took the last glass from her.
Laura simply stared at him as he took a long swig and her mind immediately turned back to the conversation she'd had that morning with Sophie about giving into the more carnal temptations and forgetting the plan. The condensation on the glass spilled down the fireman's fingers and cut a trail through the soot on his arm. Her gaze followed the droplet, longingly following its track down his muscular, strong arm. When she looked up, she saw that the firefighter was staring at her again. She blushed and cleared her throat and decided that she better speak at last.
“Was there anyone in the house?” she said at last.
“The house was clear,” the fireman replied. “Do you know the family?”
“Yes, Marie is my neighbor,” Laura nodded. “I live right over there.”
She pointed to her house, number thirty-two, and Laura followed his gaze. The way he smiled when his eyes settled upon her front door, made Laura's blush deepen and that's when she remembered that she was wearing the tiny pair of shorts she'd intended to throw away last summer and the shirt that Sophie had once said made her look like a wannabe glamour model because of the way it hugged her ample chest. It had been so hot in the house that Laura had thrown on the skimpiest outfit she could find and she now felt embarrassed to be wearing so little in the middle of the street, and bare-footed, too.
The firefighter's eyes moved from the door of her house to her bare skin and then his gaze shifted to meet her own eyes. She wondered if he could tell how fast her heart was beating when he looked at her. She shyly stood on her tiptoes on the dirty ground and tugged down her top to hide a little more of her navel and then tugged it up to hide a little more of her cleavage. Whatever she did with it, she still felt half-naked and this man was definitely aware of the fact. Once more, Laura tried to break the steaming sexual tension that was quickly mounting between them with small talk.
“Have you worked for the department long?” she asked him.
“Long enough,” he told her. “I was promoted to Captain last year.”
Captain. Something about the word made her skin tingle with excitement and she squeezed her bare legs together as she started to feel an arousal that didn't seem suitable when she was still surrounded by her wandering neighbors.
Every guy that Laura had dated in the last six months had been, as Sophie had so rightly pointed out, a loser. Even Ray, whom she thought had made her weak at the knees, had nothing on this guy. The captain made her feel exposed and wanting all at once and she knew instinctively that never in her life would she ever have been as satisfied as one night with this man would satisfy her.
The thought shocked her. Laura had never been particularly promiscuous—not that she was a complete saint either—but something about this man made her not care about whether he respected her. She had a feeling that a night sweaty and breathless in his arms would be worth feeling regretful in the morning.
She was feeling warm now. The way he looked at her, so knowingly, made her heart flutter and her skin flush. She was squeezing her legs together even tighter now. She was practically squirming under his gaze.
He was taller than her and the way he looked down at her made her feel like doing whatever she was told. Five minutes ago, she had been worried about being nearly naked in public and thinking about running inside to throw something over herself, but now she found that she didn't want him to stop looking. She liked the way that his eyes were sizing her up and reading her movements. She liked the way the corner of his mouth flickered in a smile when he noticed her thighs clenching once more.
He finished his glass of water and placed the cup back on the tray. Laura placed the tray with the glass on the ground and stood shyly next to the fire truck, self-conscious about the fire in her own body, which she was sure that everybody could sense.
“Your neighbor will be grateful that you were keeping a lookout,” he told her. “One room is pretty burned out, but she'll be able to save the house. It's a good thing you were watching.”
“I just looked up at the right time,” Laura said hum
bly.
“It's nice when you're in the right place at the right time and you get lucky.” the captain replied. He took a subtle step closer to her and leaned against the fire truck with one arm above her head so that he was leaning over her. “I'm feeling pretty lucky right now.”
Laura giggled slightly and turned her head away so that her dark hair fell over her face and hid her from his view. He brazenly reached out and tucked it back behind her ear.
“You've got soft hair,” he told her. “And a beautiful face. How old are you? Twenty-five?”
“A bit older than that,” Laura said. She flashed him an alluring gaze from under her thick eyelashes, surprising herself with how naturally the gaze had come to her. Usually she looked men directly in the eye without trying to tease them, but she found herself feeling unexpectedly sultry in the moment and lowered her chin like a repentant schoolgirl so that she was looking up at him in that innocent, but somehow erotic way that made men get excited.
Although that kind of behavior was new to her, drawing sultry glances from good girls was obviously something this supremely sexual creature was well used to, because he flashed her a smile which was so full of confidence that it was clear that he understood Laura's intentions perfectly.
“What's your name?” he asked her.
“Laura.”
“I knew a Laura once,” he told her. “She was wild in bed.”
Laura couldn't believe his brazenness, but then again, she could. If she were a blonde-haired, six-foot five Adonis, she would be brazen too. In fact, she was a five-foot eight, brown-eyed black beauty, but there was still something brazen in her stirred by his breath on her neck.
“We can't help ourselves,” she replied. She didn't even giggle as she said it, even though that kind of comment was not how she usually behaved. Never in her life had she been as turned on as she was by this man. She'd only ever been this hot in her own bed and fantasizing, when she was able to imagine a man as athletic and handsome as she desired. Now that man from her fantasies had stepped into her real life and was leaning over her, making suggestions about her character and Laura knew right then that she was going to play his game so that she could have one night of guiltless, shameful, no-strings attached sex with a man that she deserved.
“Don't you want to know my name?” he said teasingly, drawing out his words slowly and deliberately to make that warmth between her legs intensify with desire.
“Who wouldn't want to be on first name terms with the captain?” she replied seductively. “Tell me.”
“Daniel.”
“Well, Daniel. You did a fine job here today. Let's hope there are no more emergencies in this area. I'm sure you don't like visiting the same place twice. Or do you?” she coaxed.
“It just so happens that I'm going to need to take your statement for our records,” he told her with a wicked grin. “I hope you don't mind if I drop by later.”
“Just my statement?” Laura asked.
She had been so caught up in flirting with him that she had a sudden panic that perhaps she'd misread that whole thing and had made a fool out of herself by giving sultry glances to a man who was just there to put out fires. Looking at the glint in his eye, she doubted that it would be a professional call, but she asked just to be sure.
“Just yours,” he confirmed. “After all, you were the one who was looking.”
The way he emphasized the words made it clear that he was talking about her wandering eyes on his body rather than her attention to the house across the street and his words made another sultry smile appear on her face, but this time she locked eyes with him with every intention of making sure that he would not misread her intentions.
Perhaps it was out of character, wild and irresponsible, but looking at this man and feeling the heat of his body close to hers as he leaned over her, Laura didn't care about what the neighbors would say or what Sophie would say.
The only voice she was listening to right now was the voice of her body which was telling her to wrap her legs around this man before the pressure between them became too unbearable. It was telling her to forget romance; to forget dating; to forget everything except animal instinct and passion. When was the last time that Laura had been passionate?
She'd had sex over the years. She'd even go so far as to say she'd made love. But she had never had a wild, animalistic, hair-grabbing, back-scratching, orgasmic, screaming encounter with a stranger. She told herself that every woman needed to have that kind of sex at least once in her life and if she had been waiting for her time, then her time had come. This was the man to unleash that caged side of her. This was the man who was going to rip her clothes off and throw her down on the bed or against a wall and blow her mind.
As Laura imagined all the things that this man could do to her, she could barely catch her breath and yet she was still holding his lustful gaze with her own. As her mind turned over all the things she would let him do to her if she had him, she could just about perceive his breaths also coming slightly faster, as her fantasies played out behind her eyes in a way that a wanting man could detect.
It was unspoken, but they both knew what this was. She was a barely-dressed girl with her back against a fire truck and he was a muscular, hot-blooded captain. Between them was a sexual frisson so tense that both their skins were already burning. The way they were looking at each other and breathing rapid breaths, it was almost as if they were in the bedroom already, but Laura practiced self-control for greater pleasure later. Although she could have led him by the hand to her house and let him take her right then and there, she wanted to tease him and prolong this feeling of being in control.
For these past six months, she had been feeling unattractive and undesirable. She had felt hopeless as one after another boring, average man had failed to rock her world. Now she felt her own sexuality burning wildly. As she saw how his eyes devoured her, any doubt about the ability her body had to drive a man wild disappeared. She felt like a passionate, sexy woman in charge of her own body and experiences.
The change in mentality was a welcome surprise. It felt good to only be thinking as far ahead as a one-night stand and being satisfied in the thought. It wasn't like a date where anything could go wrong and she had to say and do the right thing, but ultimately be let down. A night with Daniel would be a night where she would reveal everything and he would take everything.
Disappointment wasn't an option. She felt her desire burning with such intensity throughout her body that she was certain that even a touch from him would set her off, so a whole night of him would undoubtedly blow her mind.
They had been silent for almost a minute. Both of them were already somewhere else in their minds, held in the moment only by that intense gaze which Laura suddenly broke, turning away and looking coyly at the ground.
“Well, I suppose if you need a statement you should probably come by at around eight?” she suggested. “In fact, as you've done such a wonderful job for a good friend of mine, I think it's the least I can do to cook you dinner for all of your hard work.”
“Eight,” he nodded. “I'll be there.”
Laura smiled devilishly and took a step closer to him, standing pointedly looking up at him until he moved his arm to let her pass. She smiled to herself at the moment of desire she had detected in him when she had stepped closer, and then she turned to walk back towards her house without looking back. Now that she was away from him she could feel the cool breeze brushing against her lower navel and the very tops of her legs below shorts that didn't leave much to the imagination. She felt a little surge of glee knowing that he was watching her walk away from the fire truck and it took everything in her not to look back herself and take a second glance at those incredible abs or those sculpted shoulders.
It was only as she was steps away from her door that the reality of what she had just done hit her. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Laura was a sensible, forward-thinking girl who had always wanted to set up home and settle dow
n with a good man. She had always felt that sex kind of got in the way of that. Today, she was feeling like her responsible side had been holding her back from this wild side of herself that she found herself rather liking.
There was something exhilarating in being able to captivate a man, and Laura had felt that she had captivated Daniel. It made her walk taller as she became acutely aware of the feel of her own body and the attention it could command. She felt the touch of her long, dark hair against her bare shoulders as she turned to shut the door behind her and then she melted into excited laughter.
She felt like she was doing something dangerous and daring; like she had a naughty little secret that she could carry around all day. She rushed to clean the house and rearrange her clutter to make it seem like a mature, sexual woman lived here rather than an awkward just-turned-thirty girl who spent her time reading advice columns written by mature, sexual women.
Chapter3
When she picked up her magazine to clear it away she scoffed at the woman from the lipstick advert who would never get to spend a night with anyone as hot as Daniel. The thought sent a thrill shooting through her once more. Somehow she, Laura Clark, had managed to seduce a man way out of her league. Her body reacted with spasms and heat every time she brought to mind his dark eyes and that incredible, rock solid washboard stomach...
Laura had to make a special trip to the store to buy something for dinner. She wasn't sure that she would be able to impress the captain with half a bag of brown rice or the half an avocado that had been in her fridge for just a tad too long now. And what to wear? Her mind was a carnival of thoughts.
She was glad that she had been in her mini-shorts and tank top when she had called the fire department and ran out into the street. Usually a modest dresser, having that extra bit of skin on display had undoubtedly helped her to catch Daniel's attention, but a dinner date required something a bit more sophisticated than strawberry-print cotton.
