Love on Fire (Stars Book 2)

by E. L. Todd

  “If you aren’t going to budge, does that mean there’s already a new woman on your radar?”

  By now, there usually would be someone else in my bed. Women were easy to come by, especially when most of them recognized me from my appearances on late-night shows and wherever else my face was plastered. Despite my dry spell, I wasn’t in a rush to get laid. Jerking off was good enough, a luxury I didn’t have at the Lunar Labs because privacy was nearly impossible to come by. “Not really. But give it time.”

  “So, are you more excited?” I asked. “Or more scared?”

  Vic sat on the other couch, holding a beer close to his mouth without taking a drink. “Both.”

  “Hyde told me he was scared shitless to be a father. When we’d work together, he would find anything to do just so he didn’t have to go home. Every time he looked at Jane, he was reminded that the baby was coming…and he’d lose his resolve.”

  “I’m not that bad. Stacy’s little belly is sexy. When I look at her, I just want to fuck her.”

  I chuckled despite the crass comment. “Romantic…”

  “You’ll see what I mean someday.”

  No, I really wouldn’t. “Found a house yet?” We were in their apartment, the two of us in the living room in front of the TV. Stacy must still be at work because she hadn’t come home and started dinner.

  “No, but we’ve been looking. I want to be close to work, but Stacy wants a huge yard, lots of privacy, the whole nine yards.”

  “Doesn’t she want to be close to work too?”

  He set his beer on the table. “No. She’ll be a stay-at-home mom now.”

  “Really?” I asked. “She’s okay with that?”

  “That’s what she wants. She said she only worked so she had something to do, and now that she has something to focus on, she prefers that over working.”

  “And how do you feel about that?” My brother had become a successful litigator right after college. He made good money overnight, making him a desirable bachelor to every single woman. But Stacy never seemed to care about his money.

  “I think it’s great. I hate the idea of a babysitter or day care.”

  “True.”

  Footsteps sounded in the hallway, along with a pair of loud voices. “Can you believe that?” Char’s voice was easily recognizable. “Never, ever, in my whole life, has that ever happened to me.”

  “It’s kinda sexy, if you ask me,” Stacy responded. “They were both decent-looking.” She opened the door and stepped inside first, carrying a to-go container of food. She set the plastic bag on the counter.

  My eyes immediately went to Charlotte, who was wearing denim jeans with holes in the material and a black t-shirt that hugged the swell of her perfect rack. Her hair was straight and shiny. Her figure was just as sexy as I remembered, and those eyes still made my stomach tumble with somersaults.

  “About time you brought some food.” Vic walked into the living room and pulled the containers from the plastic bag. “What’d you get?”

  Stacy put one hand on her hip, glaring at my brother. “Uh, hello?”

  “Hi.” Vic didn’t even look at her as he grabbed the food along with two paper plates.

  “Wow, your pregnant wife brings you food, and I barely get some eye contact?” Stacy asked, her attitude in full force.

  Vic abandoned the food and turned to her. In one fluid motion, he backed her into the fridge as he slid his hand into her hair and kissed her like no one was watching. His body pressed against hers, and they become locked together in a heated embrace, a sexy moment that was beyond PG-13.

  Charlotte watched them with red cheeks then looked away, her eyes finally settling on me.

  I shrugged and gave a slight smile.

  She smiled back—cute as ever. “Anyway…” She walked into the living room and sat on my couch but chose the cushion on the opposite side. “I was gonna get a beer, but I guess I’ll wait.”

  “It looks like you’re gonna wait a long time.”

  She chuckled. “If she weren’t already pregnant, I’d say she’s about to get pregnant…”

  Vic finally broke apart from Stacy, grabbed the food, and walked off like nothing happened.

  Stacy continued to lean against the fridge, her fingertips covering her lips while her eyes looked distant. Like she was a schoolgirl, a smile spread across her lips.

  Vic slid the container toward me across the table then opened his. Inside was a roast beef sandwich with cheddar cheese along with fries. Mine was the same. He picked it up with both hands and took a large bite as if he hadn’t just had a make-out session with his wife against the fridge.

  “What happened to you that you thought would never, ever happen?” I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees and looked at her. I was hungry, craving the fat sandwich right in front of me after eating space food for so long, but her pretty face was far more entertaining.

  “Oh.” Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Stacy and I got a drink after work, and these two guys came up to me. Basically asked me to have a threesome.”

  “What?” I blurted, surprised that two guys would be interested in something like that.

  She shrugged. “I’m guessing one of them is bisexual. I was super flattered, but not interested.”

  “And I thought it was hilarious.” Stacy had finally recovered from her fluster and opened the fridge to grab some beers. She picked up two then carried one to Charlotte. “It was very flattering. It’s not often you get propositioned for crazy sex like that.”

  It happened to me all the time.

  “Maybe I should have said yes,” Charlotte said as a joke. “Just so I could say it happened. They were cute…”

  Picturing her with another guy, let alone two, immediately made every muscle in my body tighten. But since she’d said no, it also made me laugh. “I’m sure there will be other opportunities.”

  “I don’t know…threesomes aren’t common for me.”

  Vic picked up his sandwich and took enormous bites, focusing on his food and the TV and ignoring our conversation. He must have been starving because he would have been more involved in this conversation otherwise.

  “What do you do when you’re asked to have a threesome?” Char asked.

  I was surprised by the question, and I was even more surprised that I didn’t want to answer it. Every man wanted to brag about his sexual conquests, but in this case, I almost felt embarrassed by them. I shrugged in response. “Did you guys get something to eat?”

  Her eyes narrowed slightly when I ignored the question, but she didn’t press me on it. “Yeah, we both had salads.”

  Vic kept eating. “Sounds terrible.”

  Stacy took the seat beside him, cuddling into his side like she wished she were the sandwich he was eating. “I can’t gain fifty pounds being pregnant, so I’ve got to watch my figure.”

  “Isn’t that the best part about being pregnant?” Charlotte asked. “You can grow to any size and still look beautiful.”

  “But once the baby is here, I’ll just look like a fat chick,” Stacy responded.

  “Skinny or fat, I’ll fuck you anyway.” Vic kept eating, picking up a few fries and putting them in his mouth.

  Stacy rolled her eyes. “Wow, that’s sweet…”

  “Yes, I’m a very romantic guy,” Vic said as he grabbed a handful of fries and placed them in his mouth.

  The moment felt comfortable, the four of us hanging out together. It was much better than the perpetual loneliness I’d felt on the moon. But it also felt particularly nice to be with Charlotte. Our chemistry was exactly what it used to be, and as if no time had passed, we got along great. She was easy to talk to, making the conversation effortless.

  I missed her.

  My eyes kept moving to her face, and I had to force myself to look at my brother or the TV so it wasn’t so obvious. I’d been with a lot of beautiful women, some fitter and sexier, but there was something about Charlotte that outshone the rest. It was like I could se
e her sweet soul right through her skin, see her kindness as if it were a physical feature. I found her compassion, her goodness, far sexier than any pair of legs I’d set eyes on.

  But nothing could happen, so I had to knock that shit off.

  “Has the adjustment to Earth been easy?” she asked, ignoring the TV and looking at me.

  “A little harder than usual, but I’ve improved.”

  “You must be excited to eat again.”

  “It’s usually the thing I miss the most.” My hands came together, and I watched her green eyes convey her emotions throughout the conversation. She was easy to read because her emotions always seemed to be at the surface. She was excited about everything in life, never speaking in a monotone because she had too much passion. “How’re you adjusting to the house?”

  “No adjustment required. Torpedo and I both love it.”

  “How is he?” I hadn’t seen him since I’d returned home.

  “Good. Still sleeping on the couch even though he knows he’s not supposed to. Same ol’, same ol’.”

  I chuckled. “You can’t get mad at him, though.”

  “No…not when he’s the guy I’m sleeping with.” She chuckled too.

  Did that mean she was still single? Not that I should care… “How’s work?”

  “Good. In the last three months, I picked up so many shifts that I only had like…seven days off total.”

  “Wow.”

  “But I bought a house with it, so that’s okay.”

  I liked that Charlotte was a hard worker. Most women I met weren’t so ambitious, weren’t willing to hustle for what they wanted. But then again, I was usually attracted to women who only cared about their looks…which meant they lacked in other departments. “It’s a big accomplishment. You should be proud.”

  “Oh, I’m so proud. It’s one of those things I brag about any chance I get.”

  “It’s true,” Stacy said. “She hasn’t shut up about it.”

  “Just like how you never shut up about being pregnant,” Char jabbed.

  Stacy rolled her eyes. “Touché…”

  When the game was over, we said goodbye and entered the hallway.

  I left when Charlotte left, looking for an opportunity to talk to her when Vic and Stacy weren’t around.

  “Do you need a ride?” Charlotte asked. “Are you allowed to drive yet?”

  “Yeah, the doctors cleared me.”

  We walked down the hallway, took the elevator to the bottom floor, and then left the lobby to head to the parking lot. It was the first time we’d been alone since we’d been seeing each other, and I instantly missed the familiarity of it. It was the only time in my life that I had intimacy with a woman. I’d had more flings than I could count, but those were meaningless. This was actually real.

  “Too bad. We actually kinda live close to each other, so it wouldn’t have been out of my way.”

  “Well, if you want to drive me around all day, I’m not gonna say no.”

  She smiled as she walked to her truck. “I’m glad you’re back. Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I was really worried about you. Last time I watched your capsule land in the ocean, I was just a mesmerized spectator. But now, I’m so involved, so concerned. I understand how Vic feels.”

  I wished my friends and family didn’t worry about my well-being since I was willing to die for my work, but it did make my chest feel warm knowing that she was concerned for my safety, that she thought about me while I was away. “You shouldn’t waste your time worrying. It gets you upset for no reason, and you shouldn’t put yourself through that until there’s something to really worry about.”

  “Ouch.”

  “I mean that generally.”

  “And I’ll always worry about you, Neil.” She reached her truck and crossed her arms over her chest. It was nighttime since the sun set much earlier than it had before my mission. Now her cutoff jeans were long gone, replaced by pants and t-shirts.

  I slid my hands into the front of my jeans and knew I should walk to my car and drive away. But I stood there with her, without a conversation starter. She certainly felt like a friend, but she felt like more than that too. “What’s new with you?”

  “I told you about my house, dog, and my job. I’m not a famous astronaut, so my life isn’t as interesting.” She smiled, telling me that she was teasing me.

  “I meant your personal life.”

  “Oh…there’s not much to tell on that front either. I went on a couple dates, but they never went anywhere. What about you?”

  “Not a lot of opportunity to date on the moon.”

  “I meant since you got home,” she said with a chuckle.

  “Oh. No.” I shook my head because I hadn’t tried to chase tail like I usually did. Anytime I returned home from one of my missions, pussy was the first thing on my mind, and it was easy to find. This time, the second I returned home, I went for my hand instead…which wasn’t like me.

  She stared at me blankly, as if she didn’t believe me. “I saw Cameron a couple of weeks ago…”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She smiled slightly.

  “What did that asshole want?”

  “I actually went to see him.”

  “Good. You’ve finally decided to punch him in the face.”

  “Not that either…” She leaned against the hood of her truck.

  I stepped closer, watching her face under the streetlight.

  “Stacy told me he and his girlfriend lost the baby…” Her smile disappeared, and now she looked miserable, like it was her baby that she lost. “I brought him flowers and told him how sorry I was… Just terrible.”

  It was terrible, pain no one should ever have to suffer. But I was still surprised she went out of her way to comfort him, to do anything nice when he didn’t deserve it. That was the kind of person she was…innately kind. She was there for people when they weren’t there for her. Her love was unconditional, and she didn’t hold grudges…even though this one was a perfectly valid grudge to keep. “That is terrible.”

  “Kyle thought I was crazy for being kind to him. He cheated on me with that woman and knocked her up while we were still married. Kyle said it was karma. But I refuse to believe the universe works like that.”

  “I have to agree with Kyle for this one. Not the karma part, but everything else.”

  She continued to stare at me, her arms tight over her chest.

  “I wonder if he’s actually the problem instead of you.”

  She shook her head. “The doctors said it was me.”

  “Was he tested?”

  “No…but they said I was barren.”

  “Maybe he’s not so perfect either. Maybe this experience will make him realize how much of an asshole he was to you.”

  “Maybe…but I think he has bigger problems right now.”

  Cameron was a big fucking dumbass for letting Charlotte go, for having her forever and throwing her away. When things got tough, he jumped ship, and that made him less of a man. A real man wouldn’t leave his woman—for any reason. If the same thing happened to Stacy, Vic would stay by her side. He would stay by her side no matter what—and love her unconditionally. This guy was a piece of shit. “You’re kind to be sympathetic, but he doesn’t deserve your sympathy. He failed you as a husband, and you deserve someone much better. You shouldn’t be the one buying him flowers. He should be the one on his knees, begging for forgiveness.”

  She held my gaze without blinking, clearly having no idea what to say to that.

  Just like in the past, we were having deep conversations, the types of conversations that didn’t happen between platonic friends. There was something more here. It wasn’t friendship, and it certainly wasn’t lust.

  Then, what was it?

  When the silence stretched, she cleared her voice. “Well, I should get going. Torpedo will worry.”

  I didn’t want her to go. I almost grabbed her wrist and asked her to stay, asked her to stand under that s
treetlight and talk for the rest of the night. I was lonely on the moon, but now I was even lonelier on Earth—because she was the only person I wanted to talk to. “Goodnight, Slurpee.”

  She smiled at the nickname. “Still going to call me that?” She unlocked the car door then opened it.

  “Definitely.”

  7

  Charlotte

  Neil was just as dreamy as I remembered.

  Those brown eyes, strong shoulders, gorgeous smile…he had it all.

  It was hard to be around him and behave like friends…real friends. It was hard not to wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him right under that streetlight. It was hard not to open my legs and ask him to fuck me all night long.

  But somehow, I managed to pull it off.

  Kyle walked me to my truck after our shift at the hospital. We maneuvered down the aisles of cars, moving to the very rear where our vehicles were located. It was almost six in the evening because we both had to work late. Orders got backed up, so we stayed an extra hour to help out.

  Kyle was close to my side, his shoulder rubbing against mine from time to time. “What are your plans tonight?”

  “I don’t know. Probably sitting on the couch with my dog.”

  “Sounds nice to me.”

  “Torpedo is a great cuddler.”

  “Can I join you?”

  I turned to him. “You want to cuddle with my dog?”

  He chuckled. “No. I want to cuddle with you.”

  I did a double take. “What?”

  “I mean, I want to come over and sit on the couch with you. Is that cool?”

  I didn’t have any other plans. It wasn’t like Neil was going to come over and rock my world. Maybe he was rocking someone else’s world tonight. “Sure, why not?”

  “Cool. You want me to grab beer on the way?”

  “I have plenty.”

  “Even better.” He walked to his truck and got inside.

  When I made it to mine, my phone rang. It was Stacy. “Hey, girl. I already invited Kyle over, but you guys are welcome to tag along.”

  “Actually, I’m calling to talk about something important.”