Burning Bridges (Beech Grove)

by Mayra Statham

  “What’s going on with you, man?” Concern was obvious in Gabe’s voice, and for a moment, Mav wanted to tell him. But what was there to tell?

  He wanted to fuck his sister?

  He wanted to ask his sister out on a date?

  Maybe marry her one day?

  Marry? Where the hell had that come from?

  “Nothing.” There was no way he could say that.

  “You’re lying,” he pointed out, because let’s face it, Gabe knew him better than anyone.

  “I’m just tired.” At least that was partially true. Jerking off into the wee hours of the next day would do that to a person. It would also cause you to chafe if not lubed properly, he had discovered.

  “You do look like shit. You’re not sleeping?” This was not a new issue for either of them. The long hours combined with what they saw on the clock did that to them.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Try a Tylenol PM tonight,” Gabe suggested, and Mav nodded, acting like he was listening.

  “Will do, Mom.” Mav winked. “Add some onion rings to lunch. And make it a double order,” he added in hopes to throw Gabe off his back.

  “That sounds more like it.”

  “I’ll give her money when she gets here,” he muttered, hating how much he was looking forward to seeing his princess, wondering what barely-there outfit she would be in today.

  “Sounds good, bud.” Gabe walked away, and he leaned his head against the couch, trying to kick off the guilt that was eating at him.

  Sofia

  I looked toward the firehouse in front of me and took a deep breath. God. Why am I here?

  Oh yeah, because big brother dearest wanted to spend some time together now that my apartment would be ready earlier than expected. A week earlier. Even if his hot-as-hell bestie would probably be there, I had to admit I liked the fact that Gabe wanted to hang out.

  Adjusting to returning home had been a lot smoother than I’d anticipated. Seeing how calm and happy my mom seemed to be in her smaller home had put my mind at ease. She had even mentioned a male friend a time or two, which made me think that maybe there was more to it than she’d led on. But I didn’t pry. I knew she would tell me when she was ready.

  Grabbing the bags of food, I slipped out of my car and went into the firehouse on the lookout for Gabe. With my hands full holding the bags from the diner, I turned and bumped into a massive wall of heat.

  Big hands held me as I caught my footing.

  Inhaling deeply, I knew exactly who it was. I knew because they were the same hands that I had been dreaming about since I had walked out of a way too steamy bathroom.

  “You okay, Princess?” he asked, his face at my ear. His voice made me shiver from head to toe. All of it a reminder of our little bathroom rendezvous. And just like that, I was turned on. What is it about him?

  “I’m fine,” I squeaked, closing my eyes, unable to stop how much I liked the feeling of his smile against my face.

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah.” I cleared my throat.

  “I don’t know.” His lips closed over the bare flesh at my neck, and a breathy gasp escaped. It’s like he brings out my inner porn star!

  “You sure? We bumped a little hard,” he pointed out. I heard him exhale and groaned. My nipples stood at attention. Damn him!

  “I’m good.” When I straightened, our faces moved to look at each other. Both of us opened our mouth to say something, but I jumped at the sound of my big brother.

  “Sofi!” he called happily, and I turned, taking a step back from Maverick, even if his eyes were burning with unbridled passion.

  “Hey, Gabe.” I forced a smile, and thankfully he didn’t seem to notice.

  “Oh, my God, thanks, sis! This smell great.” He beamed, and my smile faltered.

  I’m an awful person!

  Lusting after his best friend!

  “Doesn’t it smell great, Mav?” he asked, and I looked at him. His navy eyes were pinned on my lips.

  “Fucking delicious.” I gulped, knowing he wasn’t talking about the food.

  “Oh.” My breathing picked up and my nipples strained toward him, aching for his touch.

  “Let’s go sit down,” Gabe suggested and patted Mav on the shoulder as he led the way toward the dining room after taking the bags from me.

  “Sounds good,” I muttered, following both of them, my eyes on Mav’s beefy ass.

  “How are you, kid?” Mav asked as we all sat down at a small kitchenette table. I gave him a saccharine-sweet grin.

  “Great, Max,” I chimed, not missing how his eyes twitched at calling him the wrong name. Why is it so much fun to poke his buttons?

  After we took our food out of the bags, we ate in a somewhat comfortable silence. Gabe led most of the conversation, with Maverick chiming in, adding humor.

  The more I was around Maverick, the more uncomfortable I found myself with him. After our erotic little session in the bathroom, I had done everything I could think of to avoid him. Not that it was difficult, since he had to work and I had tons of things to take care of. But when my landlord had called earlier today to let me know my place was going to be ready a week ahead of schedule, I’d jumped for joy.

  I’d done a good job of avoiding any more alone time with him until last night. I’d slipped out of the guest room to grab a glass of water and hadn’t noticed Gabe had disappeared somewhere in the middle of the night.

  Just as I reached to grab for a glass, Mav had come in through the back door. And because I had the luck I did, he had come in from a run.

  A long one from the look of how sweaty he was.

  As if trying to goad me, his eyes pinned me in place as he pulled his sweat-drenched tee off and over his head. Leaving him mouth-wateringly shirtless in front of me. Because of the steam in the shower and the dim lightning in the bathroom, I hadn’t been able to appreciate his body fully before. Damn. He had an amazing body. He looked like he had been sculpted from marble. Chiseled and defined and extremely solid. I had no idea how I had kept my tongue in my mouth and my jaw off the floor.

  “That was good,” Gabe sighed, patting his flat stomach. “Sofi, I am so glad you brought us food.”

  “Yeah, it was pretty good. Thanks, kid,” Mav added. I clenched my jaw. Kid? Gabe’s phone beeped, and a smile covered his face. I wondered about that.

  “I gotta go check on a couple things and meet with the chief later.”

  “I bring you food, and you shovel it into your face and suddenly don’t need me anymore,” I teased, giving him a hard time.

  “Don’t be like that.” Gabe winked at me before giving me a hug.

  “I’m kidding. Go. I’m actually going to an interview in a little while.”

  “Interview?” he asked, and I shrugged.

  “Yeah, just for a side job.”

  “Side job?” Mav asked.

  “Hank’s had a ‘Help wanted’ sign. I guess he’s looking for a new bartender.”

  “Hank’s? Like our bar, Hank’s?” Gabe asked. The scowl on his face immediately clued me in that he didn’t approve. Tough.

  “Well, I’m sure Wally and his brother, Oscar, own it and your name isn’t actually on the deed, but yeah. Your Hank’s.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh?” My head tilted.

  “It’s just that you have a master’s, Sofia.”

  “I know that.”

  “You should use it,” Gabe pushed, and my nerves bristled.

  “I will get to use it once the summer is over, Gabe. This is just temporary.”

  “What about the Crown and Crumpet?” he suggested, and I frowned.

  “The coffee shop?” I asked, slightly disgusted at his suggestion.

  “Yeah. They are always looking—”

  “I’m not a barista,” I pointed out, and his frown turned into a scowl.

  “You’re not a bartender, either,” Gabe countered. I rolled my eyes.

  “I worked at a pub after school and o
n weekends to get through my undergrad program. So, I’m sorry if I beg to differ, Gabe.”

  “Okay, look. Just, you know, apply at a couple of places,” he suggested as his phone pinged again. “I gotta go.”

  “Okay,” I mumbled.

  “See you tomorrow morning. We’ll go to Crown and Crumpet.”

  “If you’re buying, sure.” I shook my head, giving him a small smile. I hugged him back, genuinely happy to be home, “Love you.”

  “Love you, too, Sof. Mav, do me a favor and walk her to her car, yeah?” my big brother asked, and just like that, he annoyed me again.

  “Sure,” the idiot agreed way too quickly with a chin nod.

  “He doesn’t have to,” I added hastily, nervous about being alone with him again, but Gabe being Gabe ignored me and kept walking.

  Maverick stood next to me as we both watched him leave.

  “Why you applying at Hank’s?” he finally broke the silence. I looked up at him.

  “The extra cash wouldn’t hurt.” I shrugged looking over his shoulder, toward at all the other guys. No one was paying any attention to us.

  “Come on.”

  “Where?”

  “I’m gonna walk you to your car.”

  “Thanks. But I’m a big girl. I don’t—” The words stopped in the middle of my throat the second his huge hand encompassed mine.

  I looked down at them, fingers intertwined, before my eyes jumped back to his.

  “I’m going to walk you to your car,” he repeated with steel in his voice. I wasn’t sure if it was because my body instantly grew warmer than after having accomplished a half marathon in 100 percent humidity, or because I didn’t want to make a scene, but all I could do was nod as he led us outdoors.

  As we walked side by side, I noticed we were both walking slowly. Like neither of us wanted the small innocent moment to end like we knew it would when we reached my car.

  Getting there, I cursed at not having parked farther. “Thanks for, umm…”

  “You smell like cinnamon.”

  “What?” I asked, confused.

  I had been expecting a variation of something that sounded like a clear reminder of the fact that nothing could happen between us. I didn’t have the time, energy, or need to have something like whatever was brewing between us.

  “Why?”

  “What?” I frowned looking at him.

  “You smell like cinnamon.” He leaned in toward the other side of my neck. “Cinnamon and oranges,” he mumbled against my skin, making breathing close to impossible.

  “Maverick…”

  “I can smell you in my dreams,” he admitted on a groan.

  “Well…” I cleared my throat, not sure of what to say. Should I tell him that I can smell him in mine? With a shrug and a non-convincing eye roll, I replied, “I don’t know what…” My mind fizzled when his face moved right in front of mine. His eyes were warm and honest and the deepest navy blue imaginable as they freaking twinkled at me.

  “Tell me to back off,” he warned. My heart was about to burst out of my chest.

  “Mav.”

  “Tell me you don’t feel the fire between us, and I promise…”

  “I can’t.” The pull was too great. I gave in. I admitted to the devil himself he had me. “I do. I feel it.”

  “I knew it.” He straightened, and just like that, the rug had been pulled out from under me. I opened up to him for what? To be vulnerable so he could act like a stupid guy?

  “You’re like an overgrown child,” I mumbled, feeling as if anger was steaming out of my ears.

  “Whatever,” he grunted. “You feel this thing between us.”

  “I gotta go. I don’t have time to waste with…. whatever this is.” I pointed back and forth between us.

  “Princess, this situation—”

  “This is why,” I pointed out to him, and I couldn’t help feeling the anger that bubbled up inside of me. “This is exactly why it’s better to act like nothing happened. I can guarantee you I know what you were going to say!”

  “Gabe.”

  “Gabe is a grown man,” I told him, even though part of me felt guilty about it. But I knew that at the end of the day, Mav was using my brother as an excuse. “Yes, he’s my brother. But you know what, Maverick? I’m far from jailbait and way past the legal age of consent. I’m a grown woman. Not a child. If you aren’t man enough to see that and do something about it when you feel this thing between us, then that’s on you.”

  “Baby—“

  “It’s not my problem!” I exclaimed.

  “Princess,” he sighed, and my eye twitched.

  “Don’t call me that. I’m far from being—what was it you called me? A spoiled little princess or brat or whatever?”

  “Sofi—“

  “No. You don’t know me.” I laughed humorlessly. Hurt and exposed, I knew I was lashing out, but I didn’t care. “You just know you want me. It’s so typical of a man to be led around by his dick. And the kicker is, you probably only want me because you won’t let yourself have me.”

  “I had a taste,” he growled.

  “We rubbed one out, Mav!” I pointed out with a grimace.

  “That’s all. It doesn’t count, and it sure as hell wasn’t a taste.”

  “Fuck!” he cursed, closing the space between us, but I raised an arm, palm up between us.

  “Don’t. No more touching or little neck kisses or hand holding,” I ordered. I might have come with him in the bathroom, but I’d been on edge the last two days. Whatever sexual need he had woken up was far from tamed, and I was pissed. “Don’t do that shit. Especially if all you are going to be is a tease and not man enough to use your dick for anything other than to take a piss with, all because you are too scared of Gabe.”

  “He’s my best friend,” he pointed out again. It was starting to get old.

  “Then go fuck him, because guess what? I’m not available,” I threw out at him, sick of his hot and cold games.

  “Kid,” he sighed in a hushed, deep tone that made my heart ache for more, but I turned and pointed at him. He put his hands up in defense.

  “Fine. I should have kept my hands to myself.” He sighed, and I stopped myself from flinching. I hated how he regretted touching me.

  “Awesome. Make sure you do that from now on,” I lied. It was the last thing I wanted. But I wanted more than to be his dirty little secret.

  I wanted to be someone’s something more.

  “Okay.” He swallowed, agreeing so damn easily it made me feel stupid. There was no way a player like him would actually be interested in a boring book worm like me, anyhow. Not in the long run.

  “I don’t have time for dating or stupid mind games. Especially ones that make me run hot and cold.”

  “I make you run hot?” Of course, that was all he heard.

  “I’m more than happy being single right now. If I have an itch, I have a great array of toys to take care of any whim that grabs my fancy,” I shared, too pissed off to stop myself as I made my point.

  “Toys?”

  “And if I want more than that, I know where and how to get laid,” I kept going, not missing the lines forming on his brow. “And I don’t need to have my brother’s indecisive best friend playing with my head.”

  “Indecisive?”

  “Trying to start something that will only lead him to a mountain of regret seconds after.”

  “I wouldn’t regret—”

  “You kissed me, and a second later you looked like you had stolen a three-year-old’s favorite candy. From his hand!” I shouted, surprised at how turned on I was in the middle of an argument.

  “I—” he started to say, but I quickly cut him off.

  “I deserve a guy who wants to be with me. No second thoughts. Not that I’m even looking. If you didn’t look like you were going to puke with fear every time you come near me, I would have been more than happy to try out something casual and unclingy. Kind of like the type of relationsh
ips I heard you prefer.”

  “Sofia,” he groaned, but I was done.

  Done and turned on and wondering if I had time to go home to double click my mouse before my interview.

  “I’ll see you later.” With a sigh, I hopped into my Jeep and ignored the ugly way my chest ached every single time I walked away from Maverick Bridges.

  I didn’t even know him.

  Not really.

  I knew of him and how I felt around him. When I didn’t want to strangle him for being a putz, I wanted to dry hump him to mark my territory.

  Who said coming home was easy?

  Chapter Six

  Maverick

  “Hey!” Mav turned to see Gabe coming toward him in the bunk room at the station.

  “What’s up?” he asked, running his tongue over his teeth.

  “You sure you’re okay, man?” Gabe leaned against the wall behind him, and Mav shook his head.

  “Yeah, why?” he asked, hating his guilty conscience.

  “Just making sure, Mav. You seem…”

  “What?”

  “Like something’s up with you. Look, I’m here if you need to talk. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah, of course.” Mav ran his fingers through his short hair and opened his mouth but stopped himself.

  Sofi was far from wrong. She deserved more. He liked her. Hell, he liked her a lot. Maybe Gabe will get it? Maybe he’ll be okay with me asking Sofia out?

  “Actually, there is something I want to talk to you about,” he rasped out. Gabe tilted his head.

  “What’s up?”

  Maverick opened his mouth, but before he had the chance to say another word, the firehouse sirens blared as the dispatcher rung into the speaker system.

  A big factory fire just on the outskirts of town.

  “We’ll talk later. It’s show time!” Gabe grinned as he rushed straight to the lockers that held their gear while calling out to others around.

  ***

  The fire was a lot bigger and wilder than anyone could have expected, and they walked right in.

  With their gear weighing them down, breathing masks in place, they gave each other hand gestures, so they knew where to go and who to follow. Like always, Maverick followed Gabe, both of them in charge of looking for any workers or personnel who might have been working overtime.