Up in Flames: Steamy Firefighter/Single Mom Romance

by Mari Carr

  She kept trying to put him into some macho bachelor category that suggested she didn’t think he could handle little kids. He didn’t like it and was ready to prove himself. “Pick out your favorite, George, and yell for me when you’re ready.”

  George scrambled down the hall to the bathroom.

  “Thanks,” she said, though he could see her doubting his motives. The Bootlick rumor mill had been working overtime. Jake had a lot of work to do if he hoped to prove to her there was more to him than the big hose.

  And there it was again, this unfamiliar feeling of wanting a woman interested in him because of who he was, not what he could offer in the bedroom.

  “No problem.”

  “I’ll finish cleaning up the kitchen. Then,” she said pausing, “would you like a cup of coffee or something?”

  “Coffee would be great.”

  George called his name, so he walked to his room. It was pretty standard for a five-year-old, toy cars strewn all over the floor, a shelf full of picture books, baseball mitt on the nightstand, and Disney posters on the wall. Jake was pleased by his choice of sheets. “Firetrucks?” he asked.

  “Mommy and me went to Walmart last week. She let me pick out whatever I wanted.”

  “If you want, you and your mom can stop by the station someday and I’ll let you sit in the driver’s seat of one of the trucks.”

  George’s eyes widened. “For real? Honest?”

  Jake promised, then they settled down to read a well-worn copy of Curious George and the Puppies. Jake suspected the book’s appeal came from the monkey’s name and the fact George was desperate for a puppy of his own.

  Once Jake finished reading, he stood up and tucked George in.

  “All done?” Hope said from the doorway. She’d obviously been listening from the hall. She crossed the room to give George a goodnight kiss, then she turned on a nightlight and shut the door behind them.

  Jake had expected her to keep the boy’s door ajar as a way of protecting herself from him. The closed door pleased him. Either she was starting to trust him or—as the kiss in the kitchen suggested—she was finished fighting this attraction between them.

  They swung by the kitchen to grab the two cups of coffee she’d made—they both drank it black—and returned to the living room.

  There was something Jake had been wanting to know, but he wasn’t a hundred percent sure how to ask.

  “George likes you,” she said, opening the door for him without realizing it.

  “He’s a great kid. If it’s not out of place, can I ask about his dad?”

  Hope put her mug on the end table and sighed. “There’s not much to tell. I guess it’s best to say he falls into the category of sperm donor. He’s never seen George. I didn’t even tell him when he was born.”

  Jake frowned, wondering what kind of guy didn’t want to meet his son, especially one as cool as George. “Old boyfriend?”

  Hope bit her lower lip, the gesture completely adorable. “There’s no way to tell this story without me looking like an idiot.”

  He put his coffee cup on the table and reached for her hand. “I wouldn’t worry about that. I got a whole arsenal of embarrassing stories myself. Bet I’d win in a game of one-upmanship.”

  “I’m tempted to put money on that because this story…” She paused, but he could see the wine had loosened her inhibitions. She was going to tell him, so he didn’t press her.

  She took a deep breath. “Okay. Here it goes. I met Alan my sophomore year of college. I told you my dad was military. That basically meant I grew up in a pretty overprotective environment, and I didn’t date much in high school. When I got out from under my father’s thumb at college, I went a little wild. Parties, drinking, making out with guys.”

  “Just making out?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Jake expected her to confess to more, but she nodded.

  “Yeah. Alan was my first. He was this hot frat guy—a junior—and I was crushing hard on him. He invited me to a party one night. Three vodka tonics later, I was in his bedroom at the fraternity house. Ten minutes later, I was no longer a virgin, in bed with a passed-out, drunk-off-his-ass naked guy. Three weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. When I told Alan, he seemed genuinely shocked to find out we’d had sex. Which isn’t really his fault. I left two seconds after he passed out, and then avoided him like the plague.”

  Jake sat there for a few seconds before he realized his mouth was hanging open. He closed it, then tried to say something. He didn’t have a clue what.

  Hope giggled. “Ada had the same response. Told you I’d win.”

  “Let me just clarify something,” he said. “You lost your virginity and got pregnant on the same night?”

  She nodded. “I dropped out of school when I found out, moved home, and that was that.”

  “Wow.”

  She laughed, clearly not bothered by his reaction. “I was lucky, actually. My mom and dad have been super supportive and they adore George.”

  “What made you move so far away?” The more Jake learned about her, the more he wanted to know. She took everything in stride and he liked her easygoing approach to life. She got dealt a tough hand and instead of crying about it, she rolled with it, finding success anyway.

  “Dad retired and they planned to start traveling. The RV was packed and gassed up twenty minutes after he left work that last day. My mom grew up in Kansas, spent her childhood here and she’d always talked about it fondly. Never mentioned the damn tornadoes, though.”

  Jake laughed.

  “Anyway, I thought it was time for a fresh start somewhere new, so I started looking for teaching jobs online and came across Bootlick.”

  “I’m glad you did.”

  She leaned toward him, giving him a pretty good look at her cleavage. He could tell the move was intentional. Hope, in her own awkward way, was trying to flirt. Jake took the bait because…well…her tits were amazing.

  He reached for her and she shifted closer. Jake ran his hand over the front of her shirt, squeezing one of her breasts. She released a long, nervous breath.

  “How long has it been?” he murmured as he kissed the side of her neck, reaching for the hem of her shirt, intent on slipping his fingers underneath it for a better feel of her breasts.

  “What?” she whispered, her eyes closed, her arms wrapped around his neck. The air in the room had grown warmer. He could smell the wine and coffee on her breath, and his mouth watered for a taste.

  Jake kissed her again, his lips pushing hers open so his tongue could touch her. Hope ran her fingers through his hair, then she tightened her grip. He needed to slow things down. There was no way he was going to take Hope here on the couch with her son sleeping just down the hall.

  Unfortunately, that resolve weakened with each passing minute as they continued to kiss—he ran his lips along her neck and she shuddered. Then she took one of his earlobes between her teeth, nipping it like she was his personal sex kitten, and his resistance fell away.

  Jake shifted over her slightly as she lay down on the couch. They kissed for several minutes as she tugged his hair and he reached beneath her shirt and cupped her breast.

  “Hope. We need to slow down, sweetheart. George…”

  Her face was flushed, her breathing labored. “Oh God. Please don’t say that. It’s been so long and I’m so…”

  “How long?” he repeated the question, aware that while his cock was rock hard and uncomfortable as hell in his jeans, Hope’s arousal appeared even more painful.

  “I told you,” she said, wrapping one leg around his thigh, thrusting against it. “Sophomore year.”

  Jake froze. “You haven’t had sex since the night you got pregnant? The night you lost your virginity?”

  It felt as if someone had doused him with a bucket of ice-cold water.

  Hope looked at him, confused, and he realized she really was tipsy. She’d drunk the whole bottle of wine, and even though they’d only spent a few days together
, sober Hope struck him as someone responsible and composed.

  That did not describe drunk Hope.

  “When would I have had sex since then, Jake? I was pregnant, then I had a baby. And I lived with my parents, for God’s sake.”

  Jake sat up. She’d clearly been privy to the gossip surrounding him, so her behavior right now made no sense to him. “And you thought you’d break that dry spell with me?”

  Hope pushed herself upright as well, and he could tell she didn’t know how to respond to his question. “I, um, well, I mean I kind of got the impression that you…” She sighed. “I don’t know how to say this without it sounding bad.”

  Jake felt his temper rising. “Try it anyway.”

  She must have sensed his anger, and for some reason, it sparked hers. As such, she let it fly. “I heard from several people that you’re good in bed and you aren’t looking for a relationship. I thought it might help me if I…have some casual sex before I seriously get back into the dating game again.”

  Jake’s gut ached. Hope was exactly like the women he’d been avoiding the past few months. Just interested in a night or two with his dick, his personality unnecessary. “You’ve had sex one time and you thought a night or two with the Big Hose was a good idea?”

  She rolled her eyes. “What a stupid nickname. I have no idea what fighting fires has to do with sex, but it’s clear I’ve pissed you off somehow.” She blew out a long, slow breath and her features softened. “I thought there was a shared attraction. I know you’re not looking for anything long term, so I thought there would be no harm, no foul if we acted on it. I didn’t mean to upset you. Truly I didn’t. I’m sorry, Jake.”

  That was when he realized Hope didn’t know about Big Hose.

  God. She didn’t know.

  As if that shoe falling wasn’t enough, the other one dropped right next to it.

  Hope Connor was practically a virgin and he wanted her.

  And not just in his bed.

  She wasn’t wrong to say he didn’t want a relationship. Up until about thirty seconds ago, he didn’t.

  But now…

  Fate had a fucking twisted sense of humor because only that bitch would jerk him out of his bachelorhood like this.

  “I’m not mad,” he said, trying to find a way to convince her. He’d been short with her, mistaking everything she’d said.

  “It’s okay.” Her tipsiness was fading fast. Her cheeks were flushed and some of her shyness was returning. “I can see I misunderstood what was happening between us. I guess”—she looked at him as if she still couldn’t quite figure out what the problem was—“you prefer older women?”

  Hope Connor had been in Bootlick five weeks, and somehow she’d heard every single one of the stories that circulated around town about him.

  He shook his head. “No, Hope. Age doesn’t have anything to do with this. It was a misunderstanding on my part.”

  She waited for him to explain, but he couldn’t.

  No, he wouldn’t.

  For the first time in his life, Jake was out with a nice woman who didn’t have a clue what was hanging between his legs. He wasn’t in a hurry to reveal the beast just yet. Because a big part of him—and not just that part—was afraid she’d run screaming. He didn’t want this thing between them to end until he had a chance to prove to her there was more to him than his reputation.

  “What kind of mis—”

  Jake took the coward’s way out, cutting off her question with a kiss.

  Hope was still for a moment before her hands were back in his hair. God, he loved the way that felt. She shifted and tried to straddle his lap. There was no way she could do that and not feel what he didn’t want her to feel.

  So he stopped her, returning them to the position they’d been in before he had nearly fucked up the whole night.

  “Jake,” she whispered.

  “Shhh. It’s okay, Hope.” There was a blanket hanging over the arm of the couch, so he grabbed it, shook it out, and put it over them from the waist down.

  “What are you—”

  “We’re not having sex,” he stressed. “But I can tell you’re hurting.” Jake unbuttoned her jeans and slid the zipper down. “Let me make you feel better.”

  She lifted her hips to allow him to tug her jeans down.

  “Kick them off,” he directed. “If George comes out, you’re covered up. He won’t see my fingers inside you.”

  She shivered and her jeans and panties hit the floor. “God, yes.”

  He ran his hand along the outside of her bare thigh. Her skin was soft. She felt like silk. Her harsh, excited breathing drove him on, made him harder, hotter. There was nothing he wanted more than to thrust his dick inside her, but he needed to find out just how fucking impossible that was going to be first.

  Hope’s legs parted when his fingers drifted inward, skimming over the light smattering of hair. He dipped lower and touched her clit. Hope’s hips thrust up, and she gasped like he’d pulled a trigger.

  Oh yeah. She was primed and ready to go. It wouldn’t take too much effort on his part to push her over.

  “Tell me you at least got an orgasm from the dick of a frat boy,” he murmured as he kissed her cheek.

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “So you’re giving them to yourself? With cucumbers?” he asked with a wink.

  She laughed softly. “I considered the cucumber but felt too stupid to try. I got a vibrator in the mail yesterday, but I was afraid it would be too loud and George would hear.”

  Jake was already light-headed from the lack of blood making it to his brain. Every word she said kept pushing him deeper and deeper into a realm of utter disbelief. Hope was practically a virgin and she’d never had an orgasm.

  She was the exact type of woman he’d spent a lifetime avoiding.

  Now he couldn’t stay away if his life depended on it.

  He ran his finger along her slit. She was just as wet and hot as he expected. Jake was surprised there wasn’t steam rising from her pussy.

  Moment of truth.

  He slid one finger inside her and knew he was fucked. Her pussy clenched. Even just that one finger was a tight fit.

  “Holy. Shit,” she whispered. Her eyes closed as she started moving against his finger. He slowly added a second, thrusting them in and out a dozen or so times. Then he wiggled his thumb over her clit and just like that, she came.

  Jake captured her cries with a kiss, trying to mute the sound, so they wouldn’t wake up George. Her inner muscles quivered against his fingers, but he kept them there, loving the feel of it, trying not to imagine how good it would feel against his cock.

  Once she started to settle down, he pulled his fingers out, lifting them to his mouth for a taste as Hope watched him.

  “That was…” She struggled for the word.

  “Amazing,” he said.

  She nodded. “I had no idea it would feel like that.”

  Jake sat up slowly, gingerly, his dick constricted in the denim. He needed to get the fuck out of here and get home. This hard-on wasn’t going away on its own, which meant jerking off in a cold shower. And sooner would be better than later.

  She pushed herself up, and damn if the astute woman didn’t catch his slight wince. “Jake.” She started to reach for his dick.

  He gripped her wrist. “No. Not with George here.” And not until he could figure out how he was going to fuck her without hurting her. Two fingers stretched her pretty tight and his dick was at least as wide as her wrist.

  “I can tell you’re hurting too,” she insisted.

  “I’m a big boy, Hope. I know how to take care of it.”

  She smiled, but he could tell she wasn’t convinced. “Hardly seems fair, considering what you just did for me.”

  He kissed her. “I want to see you again.”

  Hope hugged him, her arms circling his shoulders. “I’d like that too.”

  If he didn’t get out of there, he wouldn’t be able to leav
e at all. He’d never been much for after-sex cuddling, but how damn nice would it be if he and Hope stripped off all their clothes, slipped between her cotton sheets, and held onto each other until they fell asleep?

  “I’ll call you tomorrow and we can figure something out.” He stood up and she walked with him to the front door. They kissed again, then he stepped outside. “Lock the door this time.”

  She grinned. “Yes, sir.”

  He waited until he heard the lock snick into place, then walked to his car.

  It was going to be a long fucking night.

  Chapter 5

  Hope parked her car next to the ball field and was surprised when Ada pulled up next to her in the lot.

  George was out of the car in an instant, glove already on his hand. “Can I go now?”

  “Go on,” Hope said, knowing there was no way she’d be able to keep up with him. He’d been beside himself all week, waiting for tee-ball to begin.

  He darted across the grass to where a group of young boys was already gathered.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked Ada when she emerged from her car. Her question was answered when Ada’s niece, Clara, hopped out.

  “Ike and my sister-in-law both had to work late, so I volunteered to bring the munchkin to practice.”

  Clara wasn’t much more patient than George. “Aunt Ada,” she urged.

  “Go on,” Ada shooed her. “We’re right behind you.”

  Hope was glad Ada was here. The idea of watching five- and six-year-olds attempt to catch, hit, and throw thrilled her about as much as dental surgery. At least today she’d have someone to talk to.

  Even so, her resting bitch face was firmly in place.

  “You’re in a mood,” Ada said.

  Hope tried for a smile but failed miserably. “I’m at tee-ball practice, for God’s sake. Pair that with the fact I’m fighting like a dog to get laid and failing, and there’s just not a lot to smile about.”

  “Still can’t manage to make a sex connection with Jake, huh?”

  “No,” she replied grumpily. “And the happy effects of that orgasm have worn off.” She’d told Ada all about dinner with Jake, from the spaghetti and the fact she’d drunk too much wine, right down to where he rocked her world with just two fingers.