Slow Burn (Forbidden Heat Book 3)

by Bella Winters

  And there it was. The bucket was right in front of me. But I was falling short of it. I was short! Shit!

  I flailed out with my hands and stretched my reach as far as I could. My fingers were grasping air repeatedly. I was going to fall. I was going down. No… was this it? Was this the way it ended for me? I couldn’t let it go down like that.

  My fingers touched metal. And my hand gripped around it tightly. My weight pulled hard on my grip and my digits threatened to give way at any second, but I gritted through the pain. The weight snapped into my wrist hard as if I’d landed on it. The pain was surreal. I felt that I was barely hanging on, like I was about to fall at any moment.

  But I didn’t. Being tall had paid off for me. I had a long reach with long fingers. My right hand barely made it, but I was alive. I was safe for the moment.

  I reached up and grabbed the rail of the bucket with my other hand. My weight was swaying back and forth creating tension on my sore wrist. I gritted my teeth and pulled down hard to bring my weight back up towards the bucket.

  I was almost there when Cody showed back up to lend assistance. He grabbed my hands and helped me pull my body up into the bucket. There I slumped to the bottom and rested comfortably. I felt worn out, exhausted. My skin was hot as could be and I thought some of the smoke might have gotten through the protective mask, but I was alive. I was going to be ok.

  “The girl,” I said. “How is the girl?”

  “The medic thinks she will be fine,” he said. “It’s a miracle, but thanks to you, she is going to be ok.”

  I smiled and he gave me a high five. I rested there in the bucket for a few minutes while it was being lowered back down. When I finally found the strength in my legs to stand up, I started to come back down to earth a bit. The adrenaline rush was crazy and my whole body felt a bit wobbly.

  That was close. It was damn close. I had come close to dying. I knew that. That was the most sobering and mind numbing thought a man could have. It was a reality for all of us. And this was not the first time a close call had happened.

  And it definitely would not be the last.

  “Are you sure you are ok?”

  I smiled at Shelly’s concern. “Yes, I’m fine. I had the medic take a look at me. I’m just fine.”

  “Good,” Shelly said. She smiled sweetly at me through the screen. “I didn’t get a chance to really ask you and check on you at work. I thought it might give people the wrong idea.”

  “Understood,” I replied. “I appreciate the concern.”

  When I got home that night, I called up Shelly on face time. I really wanted to talk with her. I’d been thinking of her all day, much more so since the fire. Just thinking that I might have died without ever really being with her was unbearable. Of course, I didn’t tell her any of this. I didn’t want to freak her out or seem forceful in my feelings for her. I knew she was trying to stop our burgeoning relationship in its track.

  “Of course,” Shelly said. “I heard what you did. That was really brave. It was borderline insane and suicidal, but it was very brave. That girl wouldn’t have made it out if you’d followed protocol.”

  I sighed. “Yeah. I know. That’s the thing about the job they don’t tell you. The rules are meant to keep everyone safe, but sometimes the rules will get someone else killed. That isn’t the way I do things. I’m sure I’ll catch holy hell from the chief about it tomorrow.”

  “He didn’t talk to you today?”

  “No, since things went well, he usually gives you a day or so to enjoy it and recover from the shock. It lets you know you did a good job, but you’d better never do it again.”

  Shelly shook her head and laughed. “That’s crazy. But it’s different from station to station.”

  “Right,” I said. “He’s a good guy. But it’s his jobs to enforce the rules. Even if he doesn’t always agree with them.”

  “Have you ever thought about making a play for the chief’s job? I know he is getting close to retirement,” Shelly said.

  “I’ve toyed with the idea, but I think I’d miss the action too much. It would have to be a really good reason to go for it. The money isn’t that much more. And I’m not sure I would feel as comfortable sending guys out there who aren’t as capable and experienced as I am to handle bad situations. But that’s the job. I’d have to learn to live with that.”

  “Well, that’s something to think about anyway,” she said. “For the future.”

  “So, what are you up to this evening?” I asked. “You just hanging by your lonesome?”

  “Well, a few of the girls invited me to go out with them dancing tonight. There’s a club called the Nip. I don’t know. It doesn’t really sound like my thing.”

  “You should go,” I said. “You might have fun. Get out of the house and live a little. I’m not staying home.”

  “Really? What are you up to?”

  “Well, I’m heading to the dojo in a bit. Charlie and I are going to do some sparring after class. Until then I might play a little guitar and try to put together a healthy dinner.”

  “Speaking of which, I was thinking I might want to learn to play the guitar. I’ve always wanted to.”

  “Really? Well, I could definitely teach you. I used to give lessons a while back.”

  “Why did you stop?”

  “Too many people just won’t practice or work on it. They expect it to happen by magic. Learning a musical instrument takes patience and hard work. There is no shortcut about it.”

  “I figured as much. Well, I’m willing to work hard if you’d have me,” Shelly said.

  “For you, I’ll make an exception,” I replied.

  “Well, thank you so much,” she said. “This sounds like fun. When shall our first lesson be?”

  “How about Saturday at noon?” I asked.

  “That sounds perfect.”

  Yeah, it really did sound perfect. I was shocked she’d brought it up. But now we would see exactly how this whole thing unfolded.

  This was going to be interesting to say the least. After finishing the face time call with Shelly, I warmed up some chicken and veggies and sat down with a beer to wash it down with. Saturday seemed very far away. I would have fun teaching Shelly how to play guitar, but I had a feeling that we were going to be distracted, and I could definitely see how we would both interrupt the lesson to do other activities.

  That was the fantasy anyway. But the ball was going to be left in Shelly’s court. It was up to her if she wanted to play this that way.

  Chapter Ten

  Shelly

  “Ok, now put your index finger here, at the third string, second fret. Then your ring finger here, at the second string, third fret. And last, you will place your middle finger here on the first string, second fret. Now that is your basic D chord shape. Keep your fingers arched and pressed down and then you strum.”

  I listened to every single direction that Gary gave me, but it was awkward and my fingers were cramping up a little bit. Still, he was patient and very attentive. He would occasionally move my finger a little bit left or right to hit the right angle, and he would instruct me the proper way to intonate the notes so they rang out. I was doing pretty well for the first lesson, or at least I thought so anyways.

  I strummed the chord down, dragging my pick across all six strings. It sounded better than I thought it was going to, but there was still something off and a little clunky about the whole thing. What was I doing wrong? My hand kept wanting to slide off.

  “Ok, almost,” Gary said. “With the D chord, the root is this D string. That’s the fourth string. So, you really want to start your strum on that note. If you want to drape your thumb gently over the bottom two strings to mute them, you can, or if you just want to concentrate on hitting that D string and strumming from there, I’m sure you will get that going in no time.”

  “Alright,” I said. “Let me try again.” I held my fingering and tried once more. The chord sounded bright and a bit flashy. “Alright,
I’m getting it.”

  “Yes, you are,” Gary said.

  I was glad I’d asked him to teach me to play. I was shocked at myself that I had inquired about this. I was, once again, putting myself in a position where things could end up getting hot and romantic with Gary. Those feelings were hotter inside of me now than they had ever been. What was I thinking?

  I knew what it was. The accident. The fire. When I heard that Gary had almost been killed, my whole body went numb. I felt sick. I had to go to the bathroom and cry it out for a few minutes. The idea of losing him in such a horrible way, for all of the members of the crew for this tragedy to befall, it was just too much for me to handle.

  The minutes ticked by the rest of the day until I could talk to Gary freely and let him know I cared and to make sure that he was alright. I never would forget the relief that came over me when I finally spoke to him. It was maddening, not knowing how he really was, if he was hurt and shook up more than he was letting on, and if he’d actually done something to stupidly put himself in harm’s way or if there really was no other choice about it.

  But he was fine. He was strong. I admired that strength and wished I could internalize some of it for myself.

  “Ok,” Gary said. “Now let’s go back to that C chord we did earlier. It’s important to be able to switch cleanly between the chords. It will feel awkward at first, but eventually you will get that muscle memory down.”

  “Ok,” I said. I tried to think of exactly where to put my fingers. I made the first two but forgot where my ring finger went. Gary reached over and lightly corrected it.

  “Now strum that one,” he said.

  I did and it sounded very clunky. I groaned.

  “Don’t get discouraged. You need to be aware of the open third string there. That G note. It has to ring out. So pivot your wrist slightly.” Gary moved my wrist back a little bit so it was at an angle. I loved it when he touched me. I wanted him to take me right then and there. It would be so romantic, just knowing that our passions overflowed and we couldn’t help ourselves. I’d played through the scenario in my mind so many times that I’d almost willed it to happen. Maybe if I dreamt it enough, that dream would come true.

  I hadn’t forgotten all of the reasons why it was a bad idea, either. I was just tired of fighting it. I think we both were. There was only so long you could ignore your deepest, darkest desires. And mine were on the verge of crippling my spirit. I was not strong enough to hold it back anymore.

  “I’ll get us a few beers,” Gary said. “You’re doing well. Don’t get flustered.”

  “Beers? At noon?” I teased.

  “Don’t judge me. It’s our day off. Why not? It will loosen you up and you’ll stop thinking too much about where your fingers go. It needs to become natural.”

  “Ok, you’re the teacher,” I said.

  Gary returned with two bottles of beer. I took a swig and sighed as the refreshing concoction rolled down my parched throat. I wasn’t aware I was that thirsty. Now, that felt so much better.

  “That’s a nice guitar, by the way,” Gary said as he sat down.

  “Would you believe that I only paid ten dollars for it at a yard sale a while back?”

  “That’s great. I love getting those types of sweet deals. Someone doesn’t know the value of what they have, or they are just sick of the sight of it and want something different badly enough they just want to get rid of this thing, right?”

  “I guess,” I said. “I just happened by it. I was thinking I’d want to learn to play at some point, so I picked it up. It’s been sitting in a closet for six months.”

  “That’s fine,” he said. “That’s the great thing about a guitar. It can be the best friend you have, but you can just put it away until you are ready for it.”

  I smiled. I took another drink of my beer. “I do feel like I’m learning a lot. You are a really good teacher.”

  “Thanks,” he said. “But right now we are just going over the basics. There is no shortcut around just practicing the movements over and over again.”

  “I’m determined to practice my fanny off,” I joked. Why the hell did I just say “fanny”? I cringed silently.

  “Ok,” Gary said. “Let’s try this again. That C chord.”

  I put my fingers back into place being careful to pay attention to the things that Gary had taught me. This time when I strummed the chord it sounded great. I was tingling with excitement now. I almost leapt up off the chair and dropped the guitar I was so happy.

  “Great!” Gary said. “And morph to the D chord.”

  I did as he instructed. Then I played the D chord. It sounded great.

  “Yes!” I exclaimed. “I did it!”

  “You sure did. Great job.”

  Out of nowhere I reached over and put my arm around Gary hugging him tightly to me. “That’s amazing!”

  Feeling his warm, hard body against me did something to me then. The world around me seemed to stand still. There was nothing in the world but him and me right there and then. I was looking into his eyes. I was close to him, face to face almost. I could feel his energy seeping into me and drawing my own energy out. I wanted him so badly. I was damn tired of fighting it. It was time to fight for him. It was time to fight for us.

  I leaned in and kissed him hard on the mouth. He reciprocated instantly pushing his lips back against mine. His hot mouth covered me, massaging his thick, sweet lips against my own. I sucked in his breath, doing everything I could to get any part of him inside of me to mingle with my own essence.

  I felt a moan escape me as I sat the guitar down and leaned it against the chair. Gary moved in closer, wrapping his arm around my waist and massaging my side, caressing my skin softly as his tongue invaded my eager mouth. I lapped against his tongue with my own, creating even more passion pouring out between the two of us. I was more turned on than I’d ever been before. I was dripping wet already, my whole body tingling at his touch. I could think of nothing but getting his stiff, hard, thick cock inside of my tight pussy and letting him pound me like there was no tomorrow.

  In the back of my mind the idea that this was the wrong thing to do lingered. We were going to get caught. We were going to get into trouble. My job would once again be in jeopardy and I’d find myself starting over somewhere else. I was sure of it. Gary would lose everything he’d worked for as well. He had seniority, he was respected, and he was liked by his peers. He was a hero. He did an amazing job. But all of it could be taken away in an instant because of a moment of weakness, a moment of total, mind numbing passion.

  I didn’t care right then. I just wanted this. It had been building for too long and I couldn’t fight it anymore. Gary obviously felt the same way. In fact, he’d been ok with it much longer than I had. I loved the way that he stuck his middle finger to the man, as it were. It was sexy. There was a defiant bad boy streak in him that I found intoxicating. It felt juvenile to think about that, but I had to be honest with myself here.

  Gary’s lips moved from my mouth to my neck, kissing me softly, slowly, working his way down my jugular to the space of my collar bone where he lingered, dragging his tongue around in sweet, little circles as he raised the stakes of the passion between us.

  His hand was moving up under my shirt now, brushing against my soft skin and moving upwards slowly, surely as he made his way to my bra. He found the snap and quickly undid it. I felt the relief as the bra came loose and my breasts hung down gently. Gary pulled the bra away from me a little bit to give me more relaxation.

  His mouth went back to mine where our tongues intertwined, dancing together hard, fast, and strong as they quickly locked into a seductive power struggle. It was sweet and intense. I loved the way the tip of his tongue would slide up and down mine, and then the strength of his appendage would pin my own down and then let it back up, only to repeat the process all over again.

  Our lips parted slightly as Gary pulled back to tease and play with me a bit. His tongue continued to play and
dominate mine with our mouths open. This somehow made the thing sexier, as if we were just giving into our desires and making the focal point frenching, as much as possible. The lips were secondary. I was getting so wet now. Every instinct I had was to reach into my underwear and to finger my wet pussy like a madwoman. But somehow I resisted. I had to resist and see where this would lead. What wonderful pleasures awaited me?

  Gary pulled my blouse over my head and dropped it to the floor, pulling my bra along with it. I was now topless there in front of him in his apartment. He stared at my breasts with a warmth in his eyes as if he’d seen the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life before. I actually felt loved by the way he admired my body. It was so comforting. This was the sexiest thing in the world to me. That comfort and that affection. That turned me on more than anything else.

  He touched my breasts, taking each one in his hands. He brought them to his face and kissed them softly, pressing his lips to them as he held them in his large hands. “Beautiful,” Gary said. “You are so beautiful.”

  He took my right nipple in his mouth and suckled at it. His mouth was warm and inviting. I gasped as my body began to move to another level of total lust. I wanted him to do every single thing to me that he could, to experience every single ounce of pleasure that was capable within our bodies to experience. I was wide open for him. This was what I’d been dreaming about ever since I laid eyes on this beautiful man. We would wait no more. We were going to do this.

  Gary dragged his tongue over the nipple, then under it as he forced more of the large, fleshy breast into his mouth. The sight of my breast in his mouth was a huge turn on for me. Just seeing how wild it was driving him with desire to take me this way made me feel so special. That turned me on even more. It had been so long since a man had looked at me that way. I was so tired of waiting for the sweet release of this pleasure.

  His mouth moved to the space between my breasts then. He carefully slid his tongue down his my chest to my stomach as he inched his way farther down towards the waist of my pants. I loved the way his mouth felt on me. His lips felt warm and then instantly cooled as they touched and pressed, touched and pressed…I leaned back in the chair doing my best to enjoy this sweetness.