Up In Flames (11 page)

"Shane,” she whispered into his ear.

To hear his name uttered by her with such passion made him even harder, which he wouldn't have thought possible. In response, he let his mouth sear a trail of kisses down her neck to her shoulders.

As he'd been aching to do since she appeared to tell him about the roof, he moved aside the straps of her camisole. He brought his mouth down to her collar bones, kissing the length of them.

"Oh God, Jules,” he said, “you're so damn gorgeous. You don't know what you do to me."

She stared up at him, her eyes almost unbelieving, beautifully vulnerable. When he brought a hand to her breast, she closed those eyes, luxuriating in his touch. He watched her lose herself as his fingers circled her nipple through the silky fabric of her camisole. She was so turned on, and he was so fucking aroused, seeing her like that. He was desperate to tear the camisole off her. Instead, he brought his mouth to hers again, as he kneaded and stroked her breast.

Unable to control the fever rising inside him, he slid himself lower on her body. Her nipple was hard and straining under the camisole, impatient for his attention. With a deft hand, he tugged on the front of her camisole, freeing the breast he so wanted to taste. It was incredible, lush and full, with a soft, rosy nipple.

"Beautiful,” he whispered, before closing his mouth on the erect tip.

His tongue glided and flicked over her breast, and Jules arched her back, pressing into him. She ran her hands down the length of his back, tracing every curve of his musculature. On and on Shane teased her with his tongue, bringing her to the breaking point. He nipped her gently and felt her body quiver against his, her hands reaching up into his hair.

Smiling because of what he was doing to her, Shane released his hold on her swollen nipple and looked into her eyes. “I swear I've wanted to do that to you since I first saw you that day with Kevin."

"Kevin.” Her eyes darkened, as if a heavy veil had been drawn over her.

Immediately, Shane knew the spell was broken and his heart sank. Jules sat up, and pulled her camisole back over her chest. “Jules, I..."

"I think you should go,” she replied flatly. “This was a mistake. Aren't you due at the firehouse in the morning?” She asked it as if it were an accusation.

Seeing the hardness in her eyes, he knew there was no sense fighting. At least not then. And as he watched her cover herself back up with her blanket, he felt his own twinge of remorse, as if Alana had just walked into the room and seen them. He stood up, took a long look at Jules’ crumpled figure on the couch, and headed to his room.

With the door closed, he hoped it would be easier to ignore the sound of her quietly crying. But it wasn't.

Jules was up early the next morning, hoping she could catch Shane before he left for work. Bleary-eyed, she dragged herself off the couch, and listened at his door for any signs of life. All was quiet inside. He'd already left.

"Damn,” she cursed.
Now I can't apologize for being a mental case. What was I thinking? I'm under a gorgeous man and I send him packing as soon as I remember he's a firefighter. There's something wrong with me
.

She stumbled into the kitchen, desperate for coffee, but was startled to see Shane had already brewed a full pot and had left it waiting on the counter for her. Smiling, she approached, but then saw he'd also left her a note. “Oh dear,” she whispered. “More notes."

She read it:

Jules, I'm so sorry. Maybe it's better I find another place to stay. I'm not sure either of us is ready for what's happening here. I'll check out some options today and get out of your hair tonight.

By the way, I checked on the roof situation this morning before I left. It doesn't look good. I called my associates at J&S. They'll be in contact with you today. If you need me, I'm here.

Shane

Jules swore. She leaned on the kitchen counter and stared unseeing out the window. “Congratulations, sister. You scared him away. Another notch for your stellar track record."

"No,” Claire exclaimed, as she chased a naked Paige around their kitchen table. “No! Juliet, what were you thinking?"

"Sheesh,” Juliet muttered, tearing off a hunk of bagel and chewing on it as if it were the least digestible thing in the world. “You only call me Juliet when you're really frustrated."

"Well, I am.” She lowered her voice and checked to make sure the little ones weren't listening. “You tell me you had that man naked in front of you, and you let him go?
That
man?"

"Well, technically, neither of us was naked. But I was showing a little boob. A lot of boob, actually."

"Sweet lord,” Claire gasped. “He wants you. When are you going to get it through your thick skull?"

"My skull is not thick. It's just been a little distracted.” She pulled her light cardigan around her, the memory of his lips on her breast still vivid in her mind. She'd done everything she could, short of plunging into a cold basin of water, to try to forget the memory. However, as if it had a searing-hot life of its own, the image refused to be dowsed. “He just got carried away last night. It didn't mean anything more than that, I'm sure."

Claire stared at her, as if her glare would somehow penetrate the wall of resistance Jules had created. “Take it from me, a woman who has conceived and given birth to three children. I can tell when a man is looking for more than a one-night stand."

"He'll hurt me. He might have been into it in that moment, but he rejected me five minutes earlier. He doesn't know what he wants, and I don't intend to be any man's plaything, waiting for him to decide."

"Oh Jules, you're probably just the first woman since his wife. It's natural he'd want to go slow."

"Yeah, well, he's about to go a whole lot slower.” She grimaced. “He says he wants to move out, Claire."

"No! He's perfect for you."

"Is it really perfect I be the rebound woman for a man whose wife is dead?” Jules stared at her sister, eyes wild with a desperation she'd never felt before. Her heart was thumping, audibly thumping, at the thought Shane might dump her if she gave herself to him. “How on earth do I compete with a dead woman? And judging by what I've seen of Shane, that dead woman had to be one fine specimen."

Claire walked over to Jules and put a hand on her cheek, wiping the tear now trailing down it. “Have you looked in the mirror, sis? You're beautiful. And he wants you. He said so himself."

"I can't get hurt again, Claire. I won't survive it.” She rested her forehead on her older sister's shoulder. “What happened with Kevin nearly killed me, and he was a jerk. Shane is a different animal altogether. He's so damn ... wonderful. If I gave in, and he walked away, how would I go on? I'm already in pieces."

"You may not realize it, but you survived Kevin just fine. You're strong.” Claire smiled, and patted Jules’ back. “Besides, you've got to be more positive. Take a chance. Would he have been so upset if he didn't really care? And would he have made arrangements to fix your roof?"

Jules frowned, her stomach pitching. “He didn't exactly say that. He just said he'd called someone."

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if he takes care of it for you."

"I won't let him. It costs too much. I can't let him."

"He cares, Jules. And so do you."

She thought about it. “I do care. A lot."

"Then we get him back. Anyway,” she continued in a teasing voice, “my baby girls want cousins. We can't let him move out!"

"I'm pretty sure
we
don't have anything to do with it."

Claire let go of Jules and grabbed the naked Paige as she streaked by. Gently, she moved the little one to the carpeted floor of their living room, and proceeded to dress her. “You leave it to me, sister. I'll think of something. There's more than one way to undress a firefighter."

"Don't you mean ‘there's more than one way to skin a cat'?"

"Whatever,” purred Claire.

Shane was staring at some paperwork on his desk, chin in hands. He'd been staring at it for the better part of an hour, but his eyes were glazed over, unseeing. The whole morning had been that way. The only times he'd been able to focus at all were when they'd had to go out on calls. They had been the first unit on the scene at the sight of a highway collision, and then they'd been called to help an elderly lady who'd had a heart attack. He'd been able to focus at those times, reviving the woman himself, staying with her until the paramedics took her away.

And, he was sad to discover, there'd been a couple of minor cases of arson to deal with as well. Probably a bunch of teenagers with nothing better to do, deciding it was entertaining to set tool sheds ablaze. No one had been hurt in either situation, but it was upsetting anyway.

Especially in light of the discovery he'd made near the second tool shed. The remains of a printed note which still clearly said “HA HA HA."

He didn't like that one bit. It was too much like the note Jules had found. At least it had given his police counterparts more to work with. And had given him cause to have a cruiser stationed at her house.

Now, after having dealt with all of that, it was hard to think. His mind felt as if it were spiraling into a foggy haze.

He couldn't get Jules out of his mind. Specifically, the image of her sprawled beneath him on the damn couch, perfect breast displayed to him, her eyes warm and inviting as he kissed her. Again and again.

He'd never felt so protective. Had never been so aroused, so needy for a woman. The more he thought about it, even Alana had not elicited such a response from him. With Jules, his body longed for her, ached to be joined to her. Kissing her had felt as bloody close to perfect as he'd ever experienced. The way their tongues moved with each other, the feel of her delicate hands on his bare back, the way her flowery scent filled him as he took her nipple in his mouth.

"It was perfect,” he whispered. “So freaking perfect, until I said the name of that idiot Kevin. What was I thinking? What possessed me to bring up his name at that moment?"

He stared down at his document again, and then impulsively crumpled it into a tight ball in his fist. With a noise that was almost a growl, he launched it at the wall, wishing his missile had been bigger and heavier. He would have gladly put his fist through the wall. His only deterrent was a mental reminder he was the captain and had to set an example. Shane settled for running his hands through his hair, closing his eyes, and doing some deep breaths.

"And now I've left her a note saying I wanna leave,” he muttered. “She'll think I'm a pig."

Yes, he knew he couldn't stay there, not if he wanted to retain any sanity. He couldn't look at Jules, or be surrounded by her things, without wanting her. It was no good. Even all the little inconsequential details in the farmhouse made him desire her. The sight of her denim jacket hanging in the hallway made him imagine what it would be like to peel off all her clothes. Seeing her coffee cup and plates on the kitchen counter made him think of what it would be like to get naughty and feed her. And, of course, the sight of the house in disarray made him want to do things for her, to take care of her.

That was why he'd made a call to Geordie at his company. He could at least help Jules with her roof. He wanted to do it for her.

He wanted to make her happy. Delirious. He wanted her to be overcome with passion for him.

Everything that damned Kevin couldn't do.

At that moment, Kevin chose to knock on Shane's open door. “Hey boss!"

Shane's head popped up, and he couldn't hide his anger. “What the hell do
you
want?"

Kevin stared, unsure of what had brought the reaction on. “Uh, is this a bad time?"

Don't be such an ass, Shane told himself. “Sorry. I was ... thinking about the note at that second scene today.” He narrowed his eyes at Kevin. “What do you make of it?"

He shrugged. “You know kids.” He ran a hand through his hair and laughed. “Some boys just like to watch stuff burn. Shit, I was always playing with fire when I was a kid."

The comment made Shane sit up straighter. “Really."

"Sure. I guess that's how I got fascinated with this job.” He grinned, as if remembering his childhood shenanigans. “Anyway, I wanted to give you an update."

Shane watched him through distrustful eyes. “Okay."

"There are some events coming up, stuff the fire hall's involved in over the next while. I figured you might need to get up to speed."

"I'm all ears."

"I guess you could say I'm a bit of a community liaison for the fire hall,” he laughed.

"I bet you are."

"So,” Kevin continued, unaware of Shane's dig. “In September, we have a community barbeque with a corn roast. It raises money for the hospital burn fund. At Halloween we do a party for the local kids here at the hall. But the one coming up soon is the bachelor auction. It's in a week. Here's the info.” He passed Shane a piece of paper with a date and other information on it. “You'll want to make time for it. It's good PR and people will want to meet the new captain. The money goes to the burn fund, too.” He sat back and smiled.

"Bachelor auction? For real?"

Kevin laughed at Shane's reaction. “Yeah! It's big money for us, and it can be fun, too. Like I told you, the women in this town go nuts for firemen. As captain, you'll be the big prize that night. Hope you're not shy, ‘cause we dress for the ladies."

"Meaning?"

"You know, turnout pants and bare chests. Gotta give ‘em what they want, put on a little show for the girls."

Shane inhaled deeply. “So, what you're telling me is in a week, I have to expose myself and then sell myself?"

Kevin eyes him coolly. “Yup. I took the liberty of signing you up. Seeing as you're new to town, I thought it would also be a good opportunity for you to meet some babes. You know, get out there."

Why, you little shit
. And because it was for charity, he couldn't say no. “Thanks Kevin. I presume you'll give me any other details I need."

"You know I'll do my best to keep you up to speed, Captain Gaskill.” He moved towards the door, and then looked back, leering. “You'll thank me later."