The Firefighter's Appeal

Goose bumps rose on her skin. “What’s not fair?”

Garrett dipped her over his arm, reveling in the sound of her surprised laugh. He brought her back up so fast, her hair whipped across his chest. “You know my weaknesses and I know nothing about yours.”

“I call that ammunition.”

His turn to laugh. If he wasn’t mistaken, her cheeks flamed in a blush. It might have been the lighting from the streetlight, but he doubted it.

“Nice.” He gave Lily a spin. “No holding out now.” Garrett pulled her tight against him, his lips close to her ear. “Tell me one thing.”

A hum came from deep in her throat with a resonance that made his heart flutter. “I, ah...have a cabinet full of marshmallows?”

“Marshmallows?” Garrett spun her again to keep from kissing her hard and full the way he wanted. The ground was springy and soft under his feet. The scent of the damp earth and impending rain cast seductive notes in the air. Her palm met his chest, fingers clutching his shirt. “Stress food.”

He nodded in understanding. “Peanut butter and jelly. On toast. With an extra piece of bread in the middle. Another weakness.”

Lily made a noncommittal sound, her eyes locked on his mouth, fingers tightening with just enough pressure that her short nails dug harmlessly into his skin through the fabric of his shirt.

“Seems I’ve developed one more, though...” Garrett smoothed hair from her face, taking time to trace along the beautiful curve of her cheekbone, down alongside her ear to her neck. She shivered as he moved slowly to the rise of her collarbone. Oh, yeah, she was feeling him. She was into this.

“Black hair. Bright red lips. Pretty tattoos.”

“Oh,” she whispered, tilting her head for him to lean down and take her mouth. Garrett stepped closer to her, his hand reaching for her chin, when the sky suddenly let loose, dumping a torrent of rain straight down.

Lily’s eyes went wide. Garrett shrugged off the shock of the rain, cupped Lily’s face in his palms and pulled her fully against him. He half expected her to protest or struggle against the rain, but she sank into him, her right hand grabbing his wrist.

Her lips parted just enough to leave no doubt.

Lightning cracked in a brilliant line behind them, making them both jump. Cursing the weather, Garrett grabbed Lily’s hand and pulled her to the gazebo. He should have been praising the rain, truth be told, because it was giving him an opportunity to stop this now, take a step back. He had more fire in his blood than he could ever remember having before—and that was saying something, considering the beautiful women he saw at the bar nearly every night.

He raked his fingers through his bangs, spinning to sit on the single bench in the middle of the gazebo. Lily was laughing, and the sound cut off in a heady gasp when he pulled her to sit across his lap.

It didn’t matter if her kisses were random and meaningless. It didn’t matter that she probably wouldn’t wake up in his bed in the morning, despite his willingness to give it a go. He wanted her anyway, and no amount of rain was going to cool that burn. Even if it was just a taste.

Her bottom was seated firmly against his thighs. Water ran in silvery streaks down her jet-black hair, dotting his jeans and soaking through the fabric in cool bursts. Garrett cupped her lower back, reveled in the shiver that coursed through her. She was sweet under that tough exterior and reserved demeanor. Maybe that was what drew him in—the mixture of all the things she was. He stared at her for several beats, only breaking his gaze to blink raindrops away from his lashes. His arms tightened around her—damn, she felt good—every muscle in his chest and neck tightening.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he growled. Tantalizing him, thwarting him, Lily leaned closer and put her lips next to his jaw. His senses flared to life.

“I thought you wanted my phone number,” she replied, her fingers kneading the nape of his neck. Garrett trembled. The rain beat down harder. Lily’s lips pressed into the sensitive skin just beneath his ear. Garrett clenched his eyes, trying to stomp down an insistent burning flare of desire.

“I do.”

She pulled back to look at him. Rivulets ran over her high cheekbones, a stray drop curving over her lower lip. Lily licked it off with a slow slide of her tongue. “Then you’ll have to work for it.”

* * *

LILY HAD NO idea where this brazen streak had come from, but she couldn’t bring herself to resist it. She hadn’t planned this by any stretch of the imagination when she’d first approached Garrett. Okay, maybe she’d had a stray thought or ten about what it would be like to take him to bed, but it had been fantasy. A nice thought—one that wouldn’t come to fruition.

But now it was a possibility, and even as Lily considered the “should she or shouldn’t she” debate, her body was pulling for should. Definitely should. It had been a long time, and Garrett made it so easy to give in. Plus it might help erase the anxiety that had burst open with learning she’d won that stupid prize. A date with a fireman? Nothing like coming face-to-face with the horror of her past. No, firemen were off-limits. And she wanted to forget....

Garrett was sexy and funny. For the first time in a long time, she felt empowered with an attractive man. He was interested. Despite her initial reluctance, she was interested, too. More than. Especially now that she was out of the firemen-infested bar.

Still, her lack of normal restraint was so foreign, it left her unsure of what to do next. She’d take a few hot kisses. And if that was all that happened, she’d rejoice in it. And if there was the possibility for more... She’d never had a one-night stand, never hooked up with a man she didn’t intend to have a relationship with. That wasn’t her style.

Just go with it. Lily took a shaky breath and lightly pressed her lips to Garrett’s neck. Rough stubble met her touch just below his jaw. His skin was cool from the rain, but hot when she pressed a little harder. His face tilted up just a bit, granting her access, his hands cupping her rib cage and pulling her closer. The cold plastic grass of her skirt became a tangled mess as she straddled his thighs.

Heart pounding, Lily clamped his earlobe between her teeth and gave two soft nibbles. The sudden rise of his chest and stall of his breath made her heart soar. She ran her fingertips down his neck, paused at the collar of his shirt where the fabric was warm from his body and wet from the rain. The hardness of his back muscles made her fingers tingle. Garrett let out a slow breath. It flamed Lily’s boldness. She pulled away to look up at him, trailed her hand from his back, over the round perfection of his shoulder, up the smooth length of his neck to cup his jaw.

Garrett’s hand went to her hair, his mouth slanting across hers in a swoop that left her dizzy. His firm lips turned soft as he encouraged her mouth with a dance of open kisses and soft, closed caresses. A tug at the back of her scalp flittered into pleasurable little zings as she realized he’d fisted a handful of her hair. Lily gasped at the thrill, becoming aware for the first time that she was clinging to him.

Clinging. And she didn’t want to let go. Garrett groaned deeply. She wanted to pull him closer until he wrapped himself around her, claiming her and flooding her with his heat. Desire wasn’t letting her talk herself out of this, and Lily was glad about that. She wanted him. He was hot and delicious, and she was taking this chance. She deserved it.

She slid forward until her center was aligned with the hard ridge of his erection. She nearly moaned at the long, thick feel of him. Garrett jerked, gripping her hips as he shifted and pressed himself up against her. His lips trailed over the bare skin of her shoulder.

She needed a lighthouse for the fog in her head. The feel of his hardness right there—where she wanted him the most—was sweet in its newness and achingly raw in its demand. So much time had passed since she’d last been held. Too many times she figured she’d never have those things again.

His palms traced her ribs, dipped into the curve of her waist and over the flare of her hips. The plastic fringe of her skirt rustled with his touch. He spoke low in her ear; his gravelly voice sent heat straight between her thighs.

“You feel so good.” He grasped her chin and turned her head for a deep, aching kiss. Her mind was so busy absorbing his scent, his feel, his touch, that formulating a response was an unnecessary distraction. Garrett cupped the sides of her breasts, his warm palms pressing against soft flesh and the hard plastic of novelty coconuts. She’d never wanted to be rid of that bra as much as she did just then.

“This makes up for you rejecting me.” Garrett’s voice was teasing and husky at the same time. His hands ran along her sides, making it clear they were playing with a fire neither of them would escape if this kept up.

Lily’s middle fluttered with delicious anticipation over the thought of having Garrett inside her. Here on the bench, against the gazebo wall, hell, on the floor—it didn’t matter. She was so caught up in her body, she didn’t immediately process what he’d said.

“I rejected you?”

He nipped her neck. By the easy way he drew pleasure out of her, Lily had no doubt Garrett would turn her into a pile of mush—a sated pile of mush—in no time. Yet as he embraced her, held her tenderly as though there was no reason to rush, a sense of familiarity and ease settled over her. Being comfortable in his arms was almost as pleasurable as the intimacy.

“I’m Mr. September.”

Garrett nuzzled his nose against her jaw. Lily froze. What? Fate wouldn’t be such a bitch to her, right? Her one time letting loose with a guy like this.... He couldn’t be... A knot of unease tightened in her gut, the same as it had each time she’d seen the DFD shirts earlier.

She leaned back. “Are you—are you a firefighter?”

He trailed a finger over her cheek, eyes narrowed and concerned. “Ah, yeah. Assistant chief for DFD.”

The gazebo seemed to turn inside out, the space getting smaller just as her chest seemed to shrink, too. Couldn’t breathe... She could barely draw a breath, her muscles paralyzed but begging to run. With great effort, Lily blindly slid off him, tears threatening to spill over in a vicious flood. He was just another fireman, one who could have very well been standing around, doing nothing, on the worst night of her life....

This wasn’t fair. She wasn’t supposed to be reacting this way. She was better now.... Dammit, she was better!

“Son of a bitch!” The words tumbled in her head and fell out of her mouth. She turned and faltered as she moved to the exit. Garrett was behind her in a flash, his hand wrapping gently around her upper arm.

Lily went cold inside. She wanted to pull away from him, but her stunned nerves were slow to react. “I thought you were just the hot bartender.” She put a shaky hand to her forehead. The one time she gave in to impulse, and this was her punishment. Firefighters were off-limits. There was no way she’d knowingly get involved with one.

He carefully turned her to face him, one hand out, palm up. Lily’s muscles were stiff; her body resisted his touch. “I own the bar with my uncle Brad, and I’m a firefighter on the department, too. What’s going on?”

There wasn’t any way to explain what was going on because she didn’t fully understand it herself. This bitterness, this...disgust and anger had all come on so quickly, bringing memories with it. Memories of flame, heat, screaming and death. She was unprepared for the emotions, and she found herself equally unprepared for the blend of emotions she could see on Garrett’s face—the confusion alone stabbed her with guilt. She was being irrational, but she couldn’t help it.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”